Remainders: “I don’t believe there will be an election in 2015″ – The Top 7 quotes this week

Posted By Faruk Ibrahim on January 19, 2013

by Ibrahim Faruk

Trust Nigerians to deliver week in, week out. In case you missed it, here is our Remainders column on the top sound bites this week. It features quotes from a governor of an oil rich state and his predecessor, a cleric, a political party chairman, among others. So enjoy: The Top 7 quotes of the week.

1. “I don’t believe there will be an election in 2015. Instead, the election will come up in 2014. There are issues that will come up that will make the election happen in 2014.”

- Pastor Tunde Bakare, Vice-Presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) in the 2011 elections and firebrand pastor of the Latter Rain Assembly, speaking with journalists on Sunday after preaching a sermon titled: ‘Corruption and the Soul of Nigeria’ in Lagos. This was one of the most under reported stories of the week. What was Bakare talking about? Is he privy to a coup plot or was it divine revelation? Questions we wish we could ask him.

2. “The Muslims in the North should allow Northern Christians be. They should forget about the Presidency because their time is up. What have they done today that they are thinking of 2015? Let us solve the problem of today and not 2015, which should not be the preoccupation of any reasonable Nigerian.”

- Mr. Sunny Oibe, Public Relations Officer of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in the 19 northern states and Abuja, said this in an interview in Abuja on Sunday.

3. “The Dickson system suffers from a credibility deficit. But even a government of doubtful legitimacy can be consistent. Dickson and his lieutenants are confused. They have no idea about how to run a government. They think that running Bayelsa State is about cheap propaganda.”

-Former governor of Bayelsa state, Timipre Sylva fires a salvo at the Bayelsa state government and Governor Seriake Dickson in a statement released by his media adviser, Doifie Ola.

4. “We have always wanted our actions to speak for us and it shall continue to be so whether Sylva and his evil and criminal minded cronies who never meant well for Bayelsa like it or not. We would never be distracted by your antics and will remain focused in the discharge of our goals for the good people of Bayelsa State.”

-Stuff gets personal here as the Bayelsa state governor, Seriake Dickson speaking through his chief press secretary, Daniel Iworiso-Markson responds to former governor Timipre Sylva.

5. “A leader who has rolled back poverty from 48 to 46% (per world bank) who improved power generation 40% (per U.K. Guardian) is not clueless.”

- Reno Omokri, Special Assistant to President Jonathan on New Media goofed on Twitter, Friday, when he tweeted information from a paid UK newspaper advertisement as facts.

6. “Nigeria could be the fastest growing country in our sample due to its youthful and growing working population, but this does rely on using its oil wealth to develop a broader based economy with better infrastructure and institutions as regards rule of law and political governance and hence support long term productivity growth – the potential is there, but it remains to be realised in practice.”

-A report released by international accounting firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) which said that Nigeria may occupy the 13th position as one of the leading G20 economies in the World by 2050.

7. “It is unfortunate that people from the South-South, even governors, particularly Governor Rotimi Amaechi, have no respect for the President of this country. I think this is the right time we should let him know and I have decided to speak because this is the time to speak. Let him (Amaechi) use the resources of Rivers State to develop Rivers State. Let him not use the resources of Rivers State to bribe people in Nigeria. That must stop. He should understand that God is still God. Port Harcourt used to be the Garden City of this country. Today, Port Harcourt is a slum. I expect him (Amaechi) to talk, if he is performing like Akpabio (Godswill, the Governor of Akwa Ibom State). If today the Governor of Akwa Ibom State is talking about those things, I will tend to listen, sit down and reason with him, but not governor of Rivers State.”

- This is the stuff that roforofo fights are made of. Niger Delta minister, Godsday Orubebe, who is one of President Jonathan’s closest allies, unleashing hits upon hits at Governor Chibuike Amaechi. Of course Governor Amaechi, through his aide has responded to the minister’s vitriol.

About Faruk Ibrahim

Ibrahim Faruk is a staff writer for The Scoop. He loves to describe himself as an active Nigerian citizen and has his badges as a social development worker to show for it. He's a major in political science, conflict management and peace studies with special interest in citizenship, residency and 'indigeneship' rights. As a Nigerian citizen, a confirmed Jos boy for over a quarter century and an Adamawa indigene (in that order), it's not hard to see why he majors in all those things.