Let’s not allow things to get worse than they are now –Ikimi

By Linus obogo, Assistant Editor

Chief Tom Ikimi is a consummate architect and politician. He was elected first National Chairman of the defunct National Republican Convention (NRC), one of the two political parties in the botched third republic in 1990. Ikimi was Special Adviser to the late head of state, General Sani Abacha in February 1994 and later Foreign Affairs Minister from 1995 to July 1998. He was also a founding and Board of Trustees member of the then All Peoples Party (APP); and following his de-registeration from the PDP, Ikimi co-founded the Movement for the Restoration and Defence of Democracy (MRDD), a rallying platform on which the alleged third term bid of former President Olusegun Obasanjo was swiftly nipped in the bud. He spoke with Assistant Editor, LINUS OBOGO, on the rescue mission of the All Progressives Congress (APC); why INEC Chairman, Professor Atahiru Jega, must steer clear of the obvious minefield being laid in his path ahead of 2015. Excerpts:

Jonathan’s government’s failure has provided an ideology for APC –Senator Kanti Bello

By Linus Obogo, Assistant

Senator Mahmud Kanti Bello represented Katsina North Senatorial Zone from 2003 to 2011. Known for his bluntness, he had caused a stir in the senate during the ministerial screening when he accused former Information Minister Dora Akunyili of cooking for ex-First Lady Hajia Turai Yar’Adua. Recently, he had sensationally debunked the claims of the Niger State Governor Babangida Aliyu of a purported pact President Goodluck Jonathan signed with the governors of the PDP over 2015 presidency.

In this interview with Assistant Editor, LINUS OBOGO, Kanti Bello spoke on what he described as Jonathan’s leadership ineptitude, why Nigerians should rally round the emerging All Progressive Congress to get the country out of the woods.

Excerpts: