2019 POLL: SPN DISSOCIATES ITSELF FROM ANY COALITION FORMED BY PDP AND 41 CAPITALIST POLITICAL PARTIES

 *No government formed on the basis of capitalist philosophy is capable of offering any breakthrough for the poor masses

Press Statement 

The Socialist Party of Nigeria (SPN) hereby disclaims the report in the Vanguard Newspaper on Saturday July 7, that it was among the 41 pro-capitalist political parties, led by the anti-poor People Democratic Party (PDP), in a coalition aimed at producing a consensus candidate to dislodge from power the inglorious regime of the Muhammadu Buhari/APC-led federal government come 2019 election.

The story is titled: “2019: PDP, SDP, APGA, 39 other parties move to produce one candidate”. Since this false report was published, we have been inundated with calls by our members and supporters who were disturbed that our great party which stands for the workers, youth and the poor is being grouped with anti-poor and corrupt parties like the PDP and others so listed. 

Meanwhile the SPN was neither represented in any meeting to discuss forming a coalition neither did the leadership of our party at any time confirms its participation in such a meeting to Vanguard newspapers and its agents. Ethics of responsible journalism and fair hearing requires Vanguard newspapers to contact the official leadership of the SPN to confirm or disclaim this report before rushing to publish a false story. We hereby demand a public retraction of this false story by the Vanguard newspaper.

We strongly believe that the inclusion of SPN is a deliberate ploy by the PDP to use the SPN to give credibility to its coalition of anti-poor political parties which are not different from the APC.  It is in the light of this, that SPN dissociates itself from all coalitions formed by pro-capitalist political parties with the sole purpose of wresting political power from the Buhari/APC-led government, regardless of whether or not SPN is publicly mentioned as part of such a coalition.

 As much as we of SPN agree that Buhari/APC-led government is a monumental failure  which deserves to be removed even before 2019, we however, disagree with any false impression that the replacement of APC-led regime with a government formed by the PDP that plunged the country in a deep mess while in power or a coalition of another section of the thieving politicians and their political parties with anti-poor capitalist program is capable  of guaranteeing a better Nigeria and improvement in the living and working condition of workers and the poor masses as a whole.

This is because all these political parties which include the Olu Falae-led Social democratic Parties, Alliance for Democracy, AD; labour Party, LP, Unity Party of Nigeria, UPN, Justice Party and 36 others subscribe to the same anti-poor neo-liberal, capitalist philosophy of exploitation and corruption which is the main reason the Buhari-led regime like the past governments formed by the PDP have failed to meet the needs of the poor masses.

The SPN holds that only a government with a socialist programme in which the needs of the masses form the basis of governance and policies side by side with nationalisation of commanding heights of economy under a democratic management and control by the working people can guarantee basic needs of the masses and sustainable infrastructure developments.

Except Buhari-led regime is replaced with a government that is committed to the implementation  of a socialist programme which SPN is committed to implement if it gets to power, any coalition of political parties that subscribe to capitalist philosophy of running the society will end up compounding the woe of the working people if  it replaces Buhari-led regime come 2019.

Abiodun Bamigboye; 

Acting National Chairperson 08033914091 

Chinedu Bosah; 

National Secretary ( 07033775517)

SPN Calls for Immediate Payment of Outstanding Allowance for Mobile Police on Special Operation in Maiduguri

 *Police and other Security Operatives must be accorded the right to be unionised and belong to political parties of their choice towards an adequate defence of their democratic and economic rights

PRESS STATEMENT

The Socialist Party of Nigeria, SPN supports and endorses the peaceful protest embarked upon on Monday, 2 July, 2018 by hundreds of mobile police officers who were sent on special operation to Maiduguri, Borno State to demand from President Buhari/APC-led Federal government the payment of their six months unpaid allowance. SPN condemns the non-payment of the officers’ allowances; demands an immediate and unconditional payment of their 6 months unpaid allowance and holds that their protest is just and lawful. This is to sound a note of caution of any disciplinary measure against any officer for whatever role he/she might have played in the course of the protest.

According to a media report, the entire city of Maiduguri, the Borno State was thrown into a huge state of commotion in the early hours on Monday, 2 July, 2018 as fully armed mobile police officers marched in their hundreds on the Borno State police headquarters highway which was barricaded while the motorist and commuters were scared away by the sporadic shooting by the protesting officers. 

SPN sympathises with the plight of the aggrieved mobile policemen and maintains that the Buhari/APC-led federal government has no justification to owe any of these officers a month allowance let alone six months. Recently, a whopping sum US$1billion was approved by the federal government Surprisingly, Buhari-led government prioriotises procurement of military equipment and ammunitions while the working and welfare condition of police officers are largely undermined.

It is in this context, the protest embarked upon by these police officers is justified and worthy of the support of every change seeking Nigerians.

We call on President Buhari-led government to immediately meet the demands of the protesting officers which include payment of   backlog of the unpaid allowance and setup an independent panel of enquiry that comprises of elected representative of workers union NLC and TUC as well as professional association like NBA, NMA and ASUU to investigate the cause of the non-payment of allowances as well as how the approved US$1billion itself was spent. 

However, the fact that these officers on special operation in the North East could be owed six months allowance side by side a deplorable working and living condition despite the approval of a huge sum of US$1billion for the purpose of fighting boko haram insurgency has further make a mockery of fight against insecurity of the President Buhari-led government. It also reflects a glimpse of the prevalence of inhuman treatment under which rank and file police and other uniform personnel across the country groan. It is in the consideration of this couple with the aspiration of our party that the police and other armed forces have dependable platform through which they can also defend and advance their economic and political rights that SPN advocates the rights of rank and file police and armed forces to be unionised up to the extent of embarking on strike and belong to political parties of their choice. 

Abiodun Bamigboye                                                                     Chinedu Bosah

Acting National Chairperson                                                         National Secretary

 08033914091                                                                                  07033775517

SPN CONDEMNS BRUTAL KILLINGS IN PLATEAU STATE

Repeated killings across the country show that the Buhari APC government  and capitalist  ruling elite lack the capacity to maintain security and peace in Nigeria

PRESS STATEMENT 

 

The Socialist Party of Nigeria (SPN) condoles with the people of Plateau state over the brutal killing allegedly carried out by herdsmen over the weekend in which at least 86 people lost their lives while many were injured and houses razed. This is one killing too many.

According to reports, this latest brutal attack is said to be a reprisal for recent killings of herdsmen and rustling of cattle. The SPN condemns killings on both sides. We also condole with families of the herdsmen and others who lost their lives in the cycle of violence.

We call for the unity of herdsmen and farmers as the only basis to find solutions to what is essentially a conflict over use of natural resources. As a basis to begin to build such unity and to prevent future violence, we call for the setting up of multi-ethnic and multi-religious defense committees composed of elected representatives of herdsmen and farmers and armed if necessary to prevent violent attacks on human, farmland and cattle.

The herdsmen and farmers clashes have gone on for far too long and the lack of a solution to the issues by the Buhari APC government is sickening. Rather than address the core issue of the conflict, the government is instead engaged in blame game. Even the recently announced plan to build ranches, which is coming rather late in the day, is yet to take off the ground all of which shows that the Buhari government lacks a sense of urgency on this issue. But ranching on its own is not the solution. To stop herdsmen and farmers clashes will require the modernization of agriculture (both crop and livestock) and development of the rural areas in terms of providing basic infrastructures and social amenities something which requires massive government/public investment but not possible on the basis of self-serving profit motive that drives the Public Private Partnership (PPP) approach of the Buhari government.

That security operatives were powerless, clueless and unable to anticipate or stop this killing, just like many other killings that have occurred, is a clear wakeup call to the reality that the Buhari APC government is incapable of guaranteeing the protection of the lives of Nigerians. While the Buhari government is pending billions of Naira on security, all we get as result are more and more dead bodies. This is unacceptable. Indeed if the security operatives were doing their job, the latest killing in Plateau state is a killing that should not have occurred. According to information, the killing was expected given recent attacks on herdsmen as well as repeated cases of cattle rustling. Unfortunately rather than do something to prevent the attack, the security agencies merely went to sleep.

All of these call into question where all the monies voted for security are going. SPN demands a public probe by an independent panel involving elected representatives of trade unions, community association, farmers and herdsmen groups and other civil groups to investigate the way and manner security votes over the last three and a half years have been expended in order to unravel why despite billions budgeted, insecurity is not abating while the security operatives continue to prove useless and clueless in the face of this rampaging violence.

Nonetheless, the SPN strongly holds that law and order as well as heavy security spending alone cannot stop killings arising from resource conflict. This is why we support the call for ranching of cattle with government intervention, which will eliminate or significantly reduce such physical contact between herders and farmers that usually result into clashes including mindless killings, as part of investment in the modernization of agriculture in general.   

There is no doubt that Nigeria has become an open air mortuary under the watch of the President Buhari and the ruling APC. But the PDP has no moral right to even make any public commentary on issues of insecurity. Under its 16-year rule, Nigeria was equally a killing field. The reality is that both APC and PDP have failed abysmally to guarantee the lives of Nigerians. So far, these kind of pro-rich political parties with their inherently profit-first policies continue to rule, the cycle of violence will not stop.

Only the Socialist Party of Nigeria (SPN) has the effective programme to make Nigeria a truly democratic country that guarantees the democratic rights of all minorities (ethnic, religious etc.) on the basis of a socialist economic programme of collective ownership of the key sectors of the economy, wealth redistribution and social programme like free and quality education, free and quality healthcare, jobs for all, payment of living wage etc., in order to ensure that all Nigerians regardless of religious, ethnic or other division live a contented, happy and fulfilled life.

Abiodun Bamigboye                                                          Chinedu Bosah

Acting National Chairperson                                                  National Secretary