APC: All Imo North aspirants cleared

The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) on Monday night declared all the eleven aspirants in the Imo North Senatorial District were cleared to contest the primary.

Its Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Yekini Nabena, who spoke with newsmen on telephone, said all the aspirants for Imo North Senatorial district were cleared by the Screening Appeal Committee.

He confirmed all of them were eligible for the primary, which held last Thursday.

“The truth of the matter is that all the 11 aspirants jostling for the party’s ticket in Imo North Senatorial district were cleared by the Screening Appeal Committee.

“It was on the strength of the decision of the appeal panel that informed the statement the party issued on the 1st of September, 2020 clearing all aspirants to contest the primary,” Nabena stated.

In the September 1 statement, the party spokesman said: “Ahead of the October 31 concurrent legislative by-elections scheduled by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the All Progressives Congress (APC) Screening Committees have cleared all aspirants who purchased expression of interest and nomination forms to contest the Party’s Primary Election scheduled for Thursday 3rd, September, 2020.”

He listed the cleared aspirants for the September 3 primary in Imo North Senatorial district as: 1. Ifeanyi Godwin Ararume, Hon. Mathew Omegara, Achonu Athanasius Nneji, Uchendu Maric Chijioke, Ibezim Chukwuma Frank and Uwajumogu Edith Chidinma.

Others were: Uchenna Onyeiwu Ubah, Okoro Eze Joachim, Nwachukwu Bright Uchenna, Onuoha Chikwem Chijioke and Ihim Iheanacho (Acho) Celestine.

Source: Today.ng

Sokoto PDP Elects LG Excos Through Consensus

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Sokoto State has elected its local government executives through consensus.

Our reporter who went round some of the venues of the congresses observed delegates affirming their executives in an orderly and peaceful manner.

Speaking to Daily Trust, the chairman of the Local Government Congresses in the state, Ogbuefi Ozomgbachi, commended Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal and other leaders of the party for the consensus arrangement which, he said, was the best.

No ELECTION IN SOUTH WEST NIGERIA 2023, Doom lies ahead Yoruba Nation Warns

No ELECTION IN SOUTH WEST NIGERIA 2023 

*Doom lies ahead Yoruba Nation Warns*

Fasoranti, Adebanjo, Akintoye, Adams, Awolowo-Dosunmu, Mimiko, Adegoke, Others to Nigerian Government: No Restructuring, No 2023 General Elections

...suspect foul play on Air force Pilot, Tolulope Arotile's Death, demand Independent Probe

...say nothing must happen to Major-General Adeniyi in Military Custody

...commend South West Governors on Amotekun 

Just like how every cognisant yoruba parent would react when their children are derailing from omoluabi ethos, topmost Yoruba elders and opinion shapers on Friday raised concerns over the socio-economic and political problems bedevilling the nation of Nigeria with a stinker to the Nigerian government: No Restructuring, No 2023 Election.

Arising from a very important meeting on the platform of the Yoruba Summit Group (YSG) in Lagos, Afenifere Leader, Pa. Rueben Fasoranti, his Deputy, Pa. Ayo Adebanjo, Leader of Yoruba World Congress (YWC), Professor Banji Akintoye, Chairman of renowned Yoruba Intelligential group, Voice of Reason (VOR), Dr. Olufemi Adegoke, daughter of late yoruba political sage, Dr. Tokunbo Awolowo-Dosunmu and Aare Onakakanfo of Yoruba Land, Iba Gani Adams unanimously declared via a statement that unless the social, political and economic structures of Nigeria are restructured in line with the Independence Constitution of 1960, the unity, peace and development of Nigeria will continue to be a dream dreamt that would never be achieved. 

Others at the meeting were former Governor of Ondo State, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos, Professor Oye Ibidapo-Obe, Afenifere Chieftains, Mr. Yinka Odumakin and Dr. Amos Akingba, former presidential spokesman, Mr. Akin Osuntokun, retired Assistant Inspector General of Police, Chief Tunji Alapini, former Lagos State Deputy Governor, Chief Mrs Kofoworola Bucknor-Akerele, amongst others accused the Buhari led administration of frustrating the restructuring of Nigeria to consistently favour the north, notwithstanding the realistic fact that Southern Nigeria contributes 90% of the country’s revenue to the federation account. 

The communiqué of the meeting, released to newsmen on Friday by the Director of Media and Publicity of the Yoruba Summit Group, Mr. Mogaji Adejumo, said “the preponderance of permutations for 2023 presidency, zoning, selecting, rather than addressing the nature of the Nigerian union, the dilapidated structure of the farcical "Federation", never known to Federalism, this unitary unworkable morass, we the Yorùbá observe will only lead to the kind of chaos never before seen and experienced in history.

“We the Yorùbá Nation therefore reject the holding of a future general election before Restructuring Nigeria fiscally and structurally. We state that the ship of state is veering off precariously into a precipice, and that Nigeria is at the very edge of a political subsidence.

“We are persuaded that nothing short of Restructuring can save this country. Any attempt to go ahead with elections in 2023 without addressing the issue of Restructuring would spell doom for Nigeria. 

“Notwithstanding the interests of some elements in our midst, it would be presumptuous to assume that the masses of the educated Yoruba Nation will dive headlong into being part of the 2023 elections, when all elements of its execution - the military, paramilitary, INEC, the judiciary have been rigged and appropriated by a single very tiny minority ethnic group in a small corner of the country. 

“The emerging resolve of the Yoruba not to be part of vassal state that Nigeria has become, is better managed with due accommodation before any further degeneration and obvious consequences. Our quest shall henceforth be to mobilise the masses of our peoples not to participate in any further elections until the goal of Restructuring or Self-determination is attained. 

“The Yoruba Nation is therefore making the clarion call for confidence building steps to taken by the Buhari regime immediately, especially as the historic 60th Anniversary of Nigeria as an independent Nation beckons on October 1, 2020. 

“Steps towards an urgent meeting of all Nationalities has to be taken now to determine the nature of our relationships. Unless this peaceful step is heeded to, so that Nigeria heads in the right direction thereafter, the clear alternative would be for self-determination quests to proceed rapidly without any further restraint. 

“It has become patently untenable for the Yoruba Nation to tolerate further incompetence and impunity as has been foisted on all other Ethnic Nationalities across Nigeria,” the statement reads.

Commending South West Governors on the successful take off of the region's  informal security outfit, Operation Amotekun, the leaders said “with the granting of licenses for prospecting for gold in Yorubaland, we are aware of the dangers banditry, kidnapping and sundry criminalities this portends. Yorùbá Nation has noted with great interest, the creation of the Àmọ̀tẹ́kùn Security Network in the South-West states. 

“We extend our warmest felicitations to the Governors who have started in earnest to fulfil the task of filling the huge gulf of various, serious insecurity issues plaguing our region. We hereby call on states yet to put this structure in place to do so in earnest. The Yorùbá do not forget.”

On the death of first female Air force combat  pilot in Nigeria, late Tolulope Arotile, who reportedly died at the Air Force Base, Kaduna , recently, the leaders called on the Nigerian government to constitute an independent panel of inquiry to look into the death of the 25 years old Okun born combatant, alleging that there is more to the death of the late Arotile than being reported.

The leaders also warned the Buhari- led administration of dire consequences if the detained former Theatre Commander of Operation Lafiya Dole, Major General Olusegun Adeniyi die in military custody. 

“We are also aware of the initial casual manner Tolulope Arotile's killing was treated by the authorities of the Nigerian Air Force which is capable of raising suspicion in the minds people. It is better to quickly douse tension and apprehension by coming out in the open. 

“The authorities did not imagine that so much noise would be made, and so many questions would be asked. Her death was treated with levity, just as many other cases where the lives of Nigerians do not seem to matter anymore. 

“The Yorùbá nation therefore demands a full-scale independent investigation by an inclusive panel of experts. The Yorùbá nation notes with sadness that on the very day our daughter Tolulope goes home, a senior Military officer: Major General Olusegun Adeniyi is being court-martialled for daring to voice out the lack of tools and equipment needed to prosecute a Boko Haram war that has become far too prolonged and far too controversial in light of the numerous calls to the Federal Government to change the Military ’Service  Chiefs  who have failed to provide the highest quality of security, leadership and delivery of forthrightness in their duties. 

“We the Yorùbá condemn in strong terms, the cherry-picking of our fighters, soldiers, officers as either cannon fodders easy-targets, operational fall-guys and being used for experimental disciplinary measures, whilst the real culprits, go free! 

“Critical to this development are also pieces of news items of friendly fire from soldiers of a particular part of the country using their guns on our fighters who dare carry the battle deep into the Boko Haram held territories” the statement concluded. 

Others who signed the communiqué are HRH Kabiesi Ọba Oladipo Olaitan, Basorun Seinde Arogbofa, Dr. Ebun Sonaiya, Mrs Tokunbo Ekukanim, Dr. Akin Fapohunda, Mr Femi Adefemiwa, Otunba Aderemi Abdul, Chief Olufemi Kufo, Mr George Akinola, Mr Ademola Folarin, Chief Supo Shonibare, Basọ́run Segun Sanni and Mr. Willy Thomas.

Tribunal sacks Governor Diri, orders fresh election in 90 days

The Bayelsa State Gubernatorial Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has nullified the election of Governor Duoye Diri.

Bayelsa State Gubernatorial Petition Tribunal passed the judgment on Monday.

The election was nullified based on a petition by the Advanced Nigeria Democratic Party (ANDP), which argued that it was unlawfully excluded from participating in the election.

The three-man panel held that the election was unlawful due to the exclusion of ANDP and its candidate, King George from the governorship election that held in November.

The tribunal, however, ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct a bye-election within 90 days.

According to the tribunal, the INEC has no power to disqualify any candidate for any election.

TNG reports the INEC had in its argument said ANDP’s deputy governorship candidate, David Esinkuma was 34 years old at the time of nomination and therefore did not qualify for the election.

However, the ANDP told the tribunal that David Esinkuma was duly substituted by the party within the allowed time frame, following the notification from INEC that he is under-age.

The tribunal ruled that only a court has the power to disqualify any candidate for any election and that the petition was filed within the 21 days which is the stipulated time for petitions to be filed.

Justice Musa described the action of INEC to exclude the ANDP from the Bayelsa Governorship Election as illegal.

However, the Chairman of the tribunal, Justice Muhammad Sirajo dismissed the petition in its entirety on technical grounds.

How To Access INEC Online Platform For Checking Election Results

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Thursday said it was introducing Election Result Viewing Portal (IReV Portal) to strengthen its election management process and enhance the transparency of the system.

It also said it was going to pioneer this innovation in last Saturday’s Nasarawa bye-election, which it did.

Daily Trust was able to log-in and report how the process was done.

INEC National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee (IVEC), Festus Okoye, had said that the commission was aware that result management has remained a major source of mistrust in the nation’s electoral process, as citizens are often concerned, and sometimes rightly so, that results may not always be consistent with votes cast.

“This replica of the polling unit result is pasted at the Polling Unit after votes are counted, recorded and announced. This poster, now widely known as the “People’s Form EC8A”, has increased transparency in result management,” Okoye said.

He added that the form enables the citizens to photograph the results and project the outcome of elections, even before the final results are announced.

“Unfortunately, this has also led to abuses, as unofficial and at times false results are known to have been circulated, particularly via social media, leading to tension and casting aspersions on the final outcome of elections.

“To further strengthen the transparency in the election result management system, the commission has decided to introduce a dedicated public portal, the INEC RESULT VIEWING (IReV), that will enable Nigerians to view Polling Unit results in real-time as the voting ends on Election Day,” he said.

He, however, stressed that this does not constitute electronic collation of results, as the collation of election results shall remain as provided for by law, a manual process of completion of relevant result sheets and their upwards collation until the final results are determined.

He said that this innovation will commence from the Nasarawa Central State Constituency bye-election in Nasarawa State held on Saturday and thereafter, be extended to the Edo and Ondo governorship elections as well as all subsequent elections.

Accessing the portal:

Interested Nigerians are to access the site by login-in to

https://www.inecelectionresults.com

or

https://www.inecelectionresults.com/login

The link will take an applicant to a sign-up or sign-in page.

Thereafter an applicant is expected to “Click on “Create New Account?”, fill in his or her details in the form provided and click on “Sign in”.

Such is also expected to provide state of origin and click on “Continue”.

An account activation email is sent to the email address provided in the form.

And individuals should copy the activation code which will be entered into the text box provided on the portal to activate the account.

These logs applicants into the portal and they can select the election whose polling unit (PU) results they are interested in viewing.

There are also filter buttons to make the search easier.

In the portal bearing “INEC-Result console”, there is a Disclaimer bearing “This platform provides information for research purposes. It is NOT for Election result collation. By continuing to the result section, you agree to the Terms of Use as defined by INEC. Please visit https://www.inecnigeria.org”.

Applicants are also given the opportunity to

Select the election type to view results either Presidential, Governorship, Senatorial, House of Representatives, House of Assembly, Chairmanship, and Councillor elections.

Since the Saturday Nasarawa House of Assembly election was the first to be conducted and results displayed, it was only the ‘House of Assembly’ that has inputs of the Saturday’s bye-election.

A click on this shows the recent results onward basis and clicking on ‘view result’ will reveal the computed result sheet saved in PDF (Portable Document Format) it can be opened in the attachment format directly and it can also be opened in the “Open PDF in browser” link at the bottom left corner of the page.

Applicants can also log out of the portal by clicking on the space provided under their name by the top right corner of the portal

How we’ll win Ondo guber election – YPP candidate

 we’ll win Ondo guber election – YPP candidate

Dotun Ojon, a journalist, is the youngest candidate on the provisional list for the forthcoming governorship election in Ondo State as released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The 38-year-old flag-bearer of the Young Progressive Party (YPP) said his mission was to create a sane state from a seemingly confused country. He also disclosed his agenda for the state, which he said lacked the right leadership.

As the youngest candidate for the Ondo governorship election, how do you hope to sell yourself to the people?  

I was not the only person who wished to be the flag-bearer of our great party, but my candidacy scaled through. That same way, we have been meeting the people, making ourselves and the programmes of our great party, the YPP understandable and acceptable.

The good thing is that our people are tired of the present leadership of the state and have been praying for something entirely different. That thing they have been praying for is what we represent. I must mention that our candidacy has been receiving attention, support and acceptance all over the state.

What prompted your decision to contest?

I will like to paint a scenario of a good keyboardist or singer who goes to a church where the man singing or playing the keyboard is not good enough. I bet with you that the man will be uncomfortable all through the service.

In that same manner, because we know a better way to serve our people, we feel very uncomfortable seeing them wallowing in wants in the midst of abundance. It grieves me to see the way our people are being led at the moment when we do have the capacity to lead them to prosperity and abundance.

Our managers over the years have sold to the people that having good governance is not possible in Nigeria. So, we want to create a sane state from a seemingly confused country, that at the end, the hope of the people will be revived and Ondo may truly be a place of reference, as far as governance is concerned.

Why do you think you should be the next Ondo governor?

I should be the governor of my state because our people deserve to lead a life that matches our prosperity level. It is satanic to live in a state that has every good thing in abundance and still be in abject poverty. The challenge we have in Ondo State is not of resources or funds, it is that of leadership failure. Leadership entails many things, and one of it is the ability of anyone leading to place people at the centre of leadership purpose, programme and policy. But the reverse is the case in my state.

Leadership, as we have it now, is about power, where the man wants to continue as governor, the wife as deputy in disguise, and the son, the chief of staff in authority. Leadership, to them, is about what they can get from the entire governance process and not what they can give. But we want to do something differently.

We want to give people a four-year moment of glory and the opportunity to share directly from the prosperity purse of their state.

Some people do not take your candidature seriously because you don’t have any major political antecedent and experience, what is your take on this?

It is understandable. In a community where 40-year-olds are still looking for jobs, 15 years after graduation, people may doubt our mission.

In a society where mere certification has replaced good education, people may say we are not ready. But the truth is this – no man will stake what we have staked if he is not ready. No man will close a door of possibility to open that of impossibility if he is not willing to disrupt the status quo.

I must quickly tell you, however, that things are changing fast. We are becoming very acceptable by the day. And I know that by the end of this month, it would be clearer to everyone that we are going to emerge winner.

Do you have what it takes to defeat an incumbent governor?

I often tell people that we are not in this race to defeat anyone. In fact, this to us is not a contest between professional politicians, it is an expression of our commitment to something different. We only want to win the election by first winning the heart of our people. For the professional politicians, they are free to be defeating one another. In fact, they have started doing that already and we are taking advantage of that to advance our course. So the resources we are deploying are not to match what others are spending but to strategically communicate our commitment to our community.

How would you describe your support base?

We perhaps have the best in terms of the dependable support base. The majority of our people have not voted before. And in this category, we have about 500,000 people who are truthful about what they want. And that is having me as their governor on the day of our election.

What do you plan to do differently in Ondo State?

To lead differently. Once we change the direction of leadership, everything begins to work differently. We want to build a system that will stabilise governance, even after our own tenure because the kind of system you run determines the kind of result you get.

The leadership system they run in our state now is the one that excludes the majority of people from both governance and the dividends of government.

We identified this challenge and came up with the LEAP AGENDA to help guide our leadership direction as we move on in government.

You tagged your campaign LEAP agenda, what do the residents stand to gain from this?

Every component of the LEAP agenda is people-focused. The letter ‘L’ for instance stands for Leadership, Light (electricity), Labour, Life, and Property Security. And if you notice, these are not new promises, we are only driving them with new passion and technique.

On electricity, for instance, we do not intend to join more people to the national grid, we even intend to drop more people off the grid in communities with agricultural possibilities and entrepreneurial potentials and light them, up using alternative sources.

On labour, we want to build a labour force that will rival the private sector in welfare package, so that our workforce can rival the private sector in productivity.

The security programme of our government is hinged on intelligence and technology. We will start by re-jigging the law creating Amotekun to include what we call the State Intelligence Agency, an arm that will deploy technology to police our communities.

What are your expectations from the INEC and security agencies?

The only thing we expect from them is never to take sides, before, during and even after the poll. We must all know that Nigeria is our own, so we must put the country above sentiments.

How are you conducting your campaigns in the face of this pandemic?

To us, the pandemic is not all evil. This is because politicians may have to rely on the media and one-on-one campaigns. This is what we are doing. I must confess that we are doing well in it. With this campaign, we are not talking in terms of local government again. There are just 18 local government areas in Ondo State, but over 200 political wards. In fact, we have even gone beyond talking about the wards too; we are discussing happenings based on polling units. And it has brought us closer to our people

Buhari has delivered 2015 campaign promises – Gov Bagudu

Governor Abubakar Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi state

Governor Abubakar Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi State has said Nigeria is now better because President Muhammadu Buhari delivered the three cardinal promises he made during the 2015 campaigns.

Bagudu said this in his Sallah message on Friday in Birnin Kebbi.

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Southern Kaduna: CSO lauds Buhari, urges deployment of more troops, equipment

According to him, the security situation in the country is better than when Buhari took over as president.

He added that because of a sustained fight against corruption, accountability had significantly improved.

He said Kebbi was a testimony of the prevailing peace in the country, noting that the state could be adjudged one of the peaceful states in Nigeria.

“Security agencies are making increasing efforts to ensure that there is peace in the country.

“Currently, there is no territory under the control of insurgents.

“Buhari has also succeeded in turning the economy of the country around as he promised,’’ he said

Ondo Governoship: Meet the Eight aspirants battling for PDP ticket

Eight aspirants will on Wednesday battle for the governorship ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP that would pitch them against the incumbent governor, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu of the All Progressives Congress, APC in the October 10 election.

The candidates include former Attorney General and commissioner for Justice of the state, Eyitayo Jegede (SAN) who was the gubernatorial candidate of the PDP in 2016 election.

Ondo guber: Akeredolu emerges APC candidate

Ondo police to bar politicians with security aides from voting venue

Jegede comes from Ondo central senatorial district, He is the only aspirant from that district.

Eyitayo Jegede

Another aspirant is Dr Eddy Olafeso, the national vice Chairman of PDP, South West.

Olafeso is a former Commissioner for Information in the state and he is from southern senatorial district.

We also have the state deputy governor, Hon Agboola Ajayi who crossed from APC to PDP recently. Like Olafeso, the deputy governor is also from the southern senatorial district. About five of the candidates are from the district.

Ondo State Deputy Governor, Agboola Ajayi

Engr Sola Ebiseni, a two time commissioner is also from the Southern senatorial district and a consistent member of the PDP.

Another aspirant is Mr Banjo Okunomo, he was a publicity sectary of the party. He is also from the southern senatorial district.

Another aspirant is Senator Boluwaji Kunlere who was elected senator on the platform of Labour Party. He is also from the southern senatorial district.

Mr Godday Arewa is another aspirant. He is also from Ilaje, the southern senatorial district.

Dr Bode Ayorinde, a former member of the House of Representatives from Owo town, the hometown of governor Akeredolu.

He was a member of the APC before he crossed to PDP. He is from northern senatorial district.

Aspirants, factions disagree over indirect primaryFocus on party’s victory – S’West APC

The All Progressives Congress candidate for the October 10 governorship election in Ondo State will emerge today (Monday) at a primary election that will be contested by the state Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, and 10 other aspirants.

Ahead of the election, there were intrigues on Sunday as some aspirants engaged in last-minute talks aimed at forming an alliance against Akeredolu.

Besides Akeredolu,  other aspirants  are Chief Olusola Oke, Dr Segun Abraham, Mr Olaide Adelami, Bukola Adetula, Mrs Jumoke Anifowose, Ambassador Sola Iji, Mr Isaac Kekemeke, Jimi Odimayo, Mr Nathaniel Adojutelegan and Mr Awodeyi Akinsehinwa.

The party had last month disclosed that it would adopt indirect primary to pick its governorship candidate, but  11 aspirants in a memo they jointly signed  kicked  against it.

The Chairman of the Primary Committee and Kogi State Governor, Mr Yahaya Bello, on Friday turned down the request of the aspirants, saying they could not dictate to the party.

Aspirants  in last-minute alliance talks against Akeredolu

It was gathered that there might be last-minute alliance among the aspirants as several meetings were going on among the party leaders and the aspirants to reduce the number of aspirants so that most popular aspirant would get the ticket of the party.

The spokesperson for one of the aspirants,  Adelami;  Mr Rahaman Yusuf, confirmed that his boss had met with many party leaders.

On Sunday, it was learnt that many of the aspirants, who were active at the initial stage of the preparation for the primary, were said to have lost confidence in getting the desired victory at the primary following the alleged imposition of the indirect primary.

An aide to one of the aspirants, on condition of anonymity,  informed one of our correspondents that his boss knew he had lost the primary already, alleging that the national secretariat of the party had concluded plans to give Akeredolu the ticket of the party.

Akerodolu to benefit from indirect primary

Also, there were indications on Sunday that  Akeredolu  would benefit from the indirect primary.

A top-ranking member of the party who, spoke on condition of  anonymity, said, “Most incumbent governors prefer the indirect mode because those who emerge as delegates are their loyalists.

“There are those we call automatic delegates and these include party members from the state who are former governors, former deputy governors, former speakers and deputy speakers, serving national and state Assembly members.”

Oke vows to challenge indirect primary

One of governorship aspirants, Chief Olusola Oke, who expressed his displeasure over the adoption of indirect primary, however, said he would participate in the primary but would challenge the process.

Aspirants yet to see delegates’ list, says  factional chairman

But the APC  factional chairman, Mr Henry Olatuja, said the indirect primary adopted by the party was against its constitution.

According to him, the insistence of the APC’s  National Caretaker Committee of the party  on  conducting  indirect primary in the state has further caused more crises in the party.

Olatuja said,  “We heard the Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bell,  say the primary in Ondo State will be indirect, meaning it is a delegate election. As I am talking to you now, we have yet to have the list of delegates to use on Monday, even the contestants don’t have it.

However, the state Chairman of the party, Mr Ade Adetimehin, said there was no faction in the party and the was no case in the court .

S’West APC urges aspirants to focus on party’s victory in October

The South-West caucus of the APC on its part appealed to the 12 governorship aspirants to display maturity and harp more on issues that could unite the party, rather than those capable of causing unwarranted division.

The APC South-West Publicity Secretary, Karounwi Oladapo, in a release titled, “Press statement,”  urged the aspirants to look beyond the primaries to how the party would win the governorship election proper holding in October.

Oyedele steps down for Akeredolu

Few hours to the primary, an aspirant, Ife Oyedele on Sunday stepped down from the governorship race.

Speaking with journalists at the Government House, Akure, Oyedele, who is the Executive Director of the Niger Delta Power Holding Company of Nigeria , said he took the decision after the consultation with the national leaders of the party to work with  Akeredolu in the forthcoming election.

Meanwhile, less than 24 hours to the primary of party, the venue for the primary has been changed.

Initially, the primary was scheduled to hold in the 18 local government headquarters of the party in the state but it was gathered that the exercise would hold in three centers in Akure.

The party spokesman, Alex Kalejaiye,  confirmed the development.

National Assembly vehicles: Contractors petition Buhari, demand N875m, threaten suit

A group of contractors have petitioned the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), urging him to prevail on the National Assembly to pay them for the officials cars bought for lawmakers since 2017.

The contractors, 12 of them, are demanding payment of N875m within seven days with 21 per cent interest, failing which they would sue the leadership of the National Assembly.

The vehicles, which were bought by members of the 8th National Assembly, especially the House of Representatives, included Peugeot 508, 2017 model and Toyota Hilux pick-up vans, among others.

The 8th Assembly was led by Bukola Saraki  as the President of the Senate and Yakubu Dogara as the Speaker of the House.

The 9th Assembly is being led by Ahmed Lawan as President of the Senate and Femi Gbajabiamila as Speaker of the House.

While the 8th House procured Peugeot 508 2017 model, the 9th House had ordered 400 units of Toyota Camry 2020 model. The Senate constantly acquires Toyota Sports Utility Vehicles.

The petition, filed by Roland Otaru, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, on behalf of the contractor, was dated July 17, 2020, with Reference Number OO/LIT/LAG/076/07/20, addressed to the President and copied to the Senate President, the Speaker of the House and the National Assembly Service Commission.

It was titled, ‘Re: Refusal of the National Assembly to Pay Our Clients Money Due and Payable to Them in Respect of Contracts Executed for the National Assembly Since 2017.’

The petition read in part, “It is as a result of your zero tolerance for corruption that we, on behalf of our clients, convey to you sir, the refusal of the National Assembly to pay our clients the various contract sums owed our clients despite the supply of various cars and office equipment to the National Assembly by our clients since 2017.

“On the instructions of our clients, we wrote letters of demand to the Clerk of the National Assembly and up till now, there is no any iota of response to our letters of demand.

“Sir, as our President who has zero tolerance for corruption, we have it on good authority that funds have been provided for the National Assembly by your government to pay all outstanding debts owed by the National Assembly, but the principal officers of the National Assembly chose to look the other way and have failed, refused and/or neglected to pay the debts owed our clients despite both oral and written demands.”

When contacted, Director of Public Affairs, at the National Assembly, Yahaya Danzaria, referred our correspondent to the Department of Finance and Accounts.

Also the Director of Information, National Assembly, Rawlings Agada, said, “Anything that has to do with services and concerning purchase by members of the Assembly, go to the Senate or House Committees on Services.”

A top official in the National Assembly management, however, told our correspondent that the parliament has three account heads – Senate account, House account and Management account. The official also stated that the Senate and House Services committees should speak on the matter.

When also contacted, the Chairman of the House Committee on House Service, Mr Wale Raji, said he was not the chairman of the committee, which made procurements in the 8th Assembly.

PDP yet to zone 2023 presidency –Abaribe, Senate minority leader

Senate Minority Leader, Enyinnaya Abaribe, in this exclusive interview, speaks on zoning in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), President Muhammadu Buhari’s anti-corruption war, insecurity and the looming famine, rotational and Igbo presidency, among others.

The 9th Senate has often been described as an appendage to the Executive. Considering what has happened in the last one year, would it be okay to conclude that the assumption is true?

The President of the Senate has dealt with this matter with regards to our one year anniversary and what the successes and failures have been. But I’m a member of the opposition, the minority. Therefore, I don’t believe that Nigerians can say that we are a rubber stamp Assembly. We have vigorously opposed whatever we think isn’t going right within the polity. I’ve even stood up on the floor of the Senate to call for the resignation of the President because we felt that he came in on a banner, proclaiming three things he will do. He has failed abysmally in the three. Having done what we are supposed to do as the minority side, I think we have done well. One thing the public needs to know is that, in a democracy, there will always be a voting and the carrying of the majority. If the majority decides on where they want to go, it doesn’t mean that the minority has not had its say. Lumping all of us together and saying that we are a rubber stamp is wrong. I don’t think we are.

I know where the feeling comes from. It comes from the fact that the APC Government between 2015-2019, explained their lethargy and failure on the contentious relationship with the National Assembly. It said the National Assembly sabotaged their effort. There was a concerted effort by the APC Government to get a leadership in the National Assembly that will be more inclined to what they want to do. We felt since they were talking about the interest of the masses, we decided to give them the benefits of the doubt. Now, we have given them the benefits of the doubt for one year and things have unraveled further, which goes to show that the problem didn’t come from the National Assembly ab initio. Now that the National Assembly is cooperating with them, you can see that things have turned worse. We have seen a Government in total disarray. What this means is that, the National Assembly was right from the beginning by pointing out those problems the Government had, but said they won’t correct. They were just blaming Saraki and others. We can see everything now. I don’t think that there are more excuses that can be heard for the incompetence that has been shown by this Government.

The Senate has held two retreats on insecurity. Yet, the architecture has not been restructured. We still have the same service and security chiefs in office. How do you proceed?

There’s a prima that every person who desires to take the mantle of leadership in Nigeria needs to read. It was written by Chinua Achebe and it’s called ‘The Trouble with Nigeria’. It’s pure and simple- leadership. As we can see, the current government isn’t providing leadership. And because it’s not providing that leadership and it doesn’t have the capacity to provide that, what we see is a breakdown of all the things they have said they’ll do, but will never do it.

How do we proceed from here?

No, I don’t expect that they’re going to do anything. There was a very an interesting article I read written by Colonel Stan Labo.  I’ll recommend that Nigerians read it. He gave a prognosis of what to do on insecurity. An American General said that ‘war is too serious to be left in the hands of Generals’. Some people think that because they’ve attended the Defence College, nobody can tell them what to do. It is obvious today that the current crop of leaders of the Nigerian Armed Forces are incapable of doing anything again. In fact, we are hearing from the grapevine that they’ve been begging to go, yet, they’re being told that they must stay there. There is no motivation or anything left for them to do. They have run out of ideas. The people below them have been retired and those they have to work with today are far their juniors. Soldiers are even saying they don’t want to be part of the Army again. Is this not the same Nigerian Army that imposed order in Sierra Lone and Liberia? Same Army that won accolades everywhere? The problem is leadership. In the Army and everywhere, it’s the same thing. We can’t run away from the fact that the leadership has failed.

Let me take you back to the Senate. President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, has said that over $28 billion had been approved in the last year by the National Assembly. Your people are wondering why the South East wasn’t captured and what you did to change that

We didn’t let it go. If you remember, we made a spirited effort on that day. Beyond the effort, we went to the House of Representatives and agreed to delay it so we could speak to the presidency. This is why I’m talking about the lack of leadership in the country. We spoke to the people in the Executive. Our leadership, the President of the Senate, Lawan and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, had gone back to tell the Executive about our concerns. There would have been a review. But what we see is that, this regime thinks that whatever they do that favours them is okay. What else do we do? We have done the parliamentary work we were supposed to do. We did the voting and that was it. Today, there are litigations and these things could have been avoided if the Government had listened. When you’re holding somebody down, you’re also holding yourself down. When you hold the South East down, you’re also holding yourself down. This is a region that is vibrant and they make their contributions to the country. We have continually said that the feeling you get in the South East, is that, Buhari doesn’t mean well for them. They have continued to reinforce this fact. When they complain that he has not done anything for the region, they’ll tell you about the Second Niger Bridge as if they started it. The work was started long before they came and the Goodluck Jonathan administration had already made some payment through the Sovereign Wealth Fund. No matter the regime in office, it would have been done. We continue to laugh when they bandied these little things. Femi Adesina wrote recently that they built a police station in the South East. So, if a Government wants to do something, it is a police station that it will build for the South East? They’re not building something serious and they want us to be happy about that? He thinks that we are dumb. Enough said about this government.

 Let’s talk about the Igbo presidency. Actors outside the South East believe that leaders of the region need to reach out more to other parts of the country if they intend to get the presidency in 2023. They also claim that the Igbo man doesn’t assimilate well. These claims, are they true sir?

I want to address this very clearly. When someone says that the Igbo man doesn’t assimilate, I think it is the greatest lie anyone can put on us. The Igbo man is the only person that is assimilated in Nigeria. He lives anywhere, builds a house there and develops the community all over the country. Then, someone turns around and tells you that you don’t assimilate well. What else do they want an Igbo man to do? For every other group in Nigeria that ever produced a president, at what point did they go out to meet other groups to support them? When Olusegun Obasanjo became president, no Yoruba person came to the South East to talk to us. Those who felt they owned Nigerians made the presidency of Obasanjo possible. I was there. At what point did Umaru Musa Yar’Adua come to us that he wanted to be president? It was a consensus of the ruling party at that time that power will go to the North. Jonathan became president by happenstance because the incumbent died and he won elections again. Buhari became president. How? When it comes to the turn of the Igbo, hurdles are placed on his way and he’s been told what to do. That’s not true. Political parties, through their internal systems determine these things. Each party will develop their own formula and reach a consensus. That is what will happen in 2023. This demonisation of the Igbo is unnecessary.

Do you see the South East having a chance in 2023 with the major political parties- APC and the PDP?

Parties are made up of individuals and people. Why won’t a South Easterner be able to become president in 2023? I don’t see why. Whoever wants to be president in 2023 will come out and meet everybody. We have capable people from the South East who can vie for the position.

Are leaders from the region meeting across board to take a position on who to support yet?

That’s where you also get it wrong. At what point did the other people meet across party lines to take a decision?

Arewa Consultative Forum openly supported Buhari in 2015 and 2019. It was a consensus then in the North to support Buhari…

The same Arewa Consultative Forum has come out to say that Buhari has disappointed them and taken the country into ruins. What that tells us is that, you can ask for something or demand for it, it can also ruin you. I have a simple way to address this. The structure of the country isn’t proper. We need to first change some of the things in our constitution. We can’t run this feeding bottle system that drags everybody down. We can’t concentrate power at the centre on the presidency where one man is so powerful. We need to go beyond the main acquisition of power and look at other things. Arewa asked for power and see what has happened. For instance, the kind of insecurity we are seeing now, we have not had that. We may be hit by famine soon since people can no longer go to the farm. It’s time for us to think outside the box. Not just enough to ask for power. It has happened everywhere. What we see is incompetence. It leads to nowhere. It should be a matter for every elder in Nigeria to put their heads down in shame. We have promoted mediocrity above excellence. We are paying for that.

There are claims by a PDP senator that the party has zoned the position of the President to the North. Is that true?

It is not true. The party has not met to discuss anything or taken a position on 2023. If there was such a meeting, I was never invited to it. There is no meeting that will concern such a thing that I’ll not be invited. On the issue, there is no where the party is going, you can bury that thought. Not now.

The other issue is the constitutional backing for rotational presidency in Nigeria. Is it something we should consider?

In 2015, we were told that we had the most competent person who will fight everything and was unstained by corruption. They said he was a General who will fight wars. When you answer that question, you can now see whether rotational presidency can hold water. All the things we were told in 2015, where are we today? There is no substitute for excellence. When people make this argument, I agree that every part of Nigeria has competent people. But who will discover them?

Let me go back to Colonel Stan Labo’s quote. Talking to Buhari, he said: “If you have to choose people from the North only, as you’ve been doing, please, choose competent ones.” It is not a question of competent people, but unbridled nepotism is what has brought us here. The fact is not where you come from. If you choose the wrong person, you’ll get the result you deserve

Edo governorship election: Wike, Fintiri, others strategise to defeat APC

Members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Campaign Council for Edo Governorship Election, yesterday, met in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on how to defeat the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the forthcoming election.

The Chairman of the council and Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, said the party was confident of victory for Gov. Godwin Obaseki.

Gov. Wike who presided over the meeting, said Edo electorate was desirous to consolidate the democratic gains the various elective representatives of the party had provided for it.

Those who attended the meeting were Governors Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri (Adamawa) and Seyi Makinde (Oyo), members of the campaign council, chairmen and secretaries of all sub-committees of Edo 2020.

Briefing newsmen after the meeting, Gov. Fintiri said the meeting adopted the best strategies to retain “what rightly belongs to PDP”.

Fintiri who is the deputy chairman of the campaign council said they would leave no stone unturned in working with Edo people to deepen democracy.

He said, “The election is already on the table for PDP. We have a sellable candidate, who is Gov. Godwin Obaseki. Nigerians are moving forward with democracy and we have to deepen it together.

“Technically, Edo is a PDP state, because in the last election of 2019, we actually won all the elections. So, it is not coming as a surprise that Gov. Obaseki has to shift ground from APC to join us.

“Now, we are putting all the forces together, and there is nothing that’s left behind. So Edo is completely a PDP state and we are going in there to win the election.”

The Chairman of the Publicity Committee for Edo 2020, High Chief Raymond Dokpesi, said Edo people were convinced that Gov. Obaseki was the best candidate in the race.

Our correspondent reports that since the inauguration of the 77-member campaign council by PDP NWC on July 7, 2020, in Abuja, yesterday’s meeting was the first.

INEC Releases Timetable For Ondo Governorship Election Primaries (Photos of the timetable)

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has released the calendar of congresses/primaries for the Ondo State 2020 Governorship Election.

The timetable which was released by the official twitter account of the INEC shows that All the 17 political parties seeking to field candidates for the Ondo State governorship election slated for October have settled for the indirect option as a mode of their primaries.

See pictures of the timetable below 

APC IS BECOMING THE PARTY WE WERE INTENDED TO BE- Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu

BECOMING THE PARTY WE WERE INTENDED TO BE

- Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu

 

I wish to begin my remarks by commending members of the National Working Committee. Under their collective stewardship, the party earned great and important victories, not least the vital second mandate handed to President Buhari. President Buhari’s victory, and the overall electoral success of APC speak highly of them.  Our task as a party is to build upon the progress thus made so that both nation and party may advance to their better future.

 

Yet, we must acknowledge that something important has gone off track. For some months we have experienced growing disagreement within the leadership of the party. This unfortunate competition had grown so intense as to impair the performance of the NWC, thus undermining the internal cohesion and discipline vital to success.

 

Some people have gone so far as to predict the total disintegration of our party. Most such dire predictions were from critics whose forecasts said more about their ill will than they revealed about our party’s objective condition. Predictions of the APC’s imminent demise are premature and mostly mean-spirited. However, an honest person must admit the party had entered a space where it had no good reason to be.

 

The trouble is not that we would forfeit our collective existence but whether we were in danger of losing our collective purpose. In some ways, this possibility is of greater concern. A political party that has lost sight of the reason for its existence becomes but the vehicle of blind and clashing ambitions. This is not what drove the APC’s creation.  

 

Those who believe Nigeria can be forged into a better nation and deserves good governance must harken back to the establishment of our party. Those who were there and contributed the most to the party’s genesis embraced a common vision. Not only did we believe the venal, purblind PDP was leading the nation into a pit, we sincerely held a common vision of progressive good governance. This was the overriding reason for the APC.

 

Those most intimately involved in founding the party remain faithful to this benign, timely assignment. Sadly, many members have lost their balance. Their personal ambition apparently came to greatly outweigh the obvious national imperatives.

 

Even in the best of times, Nigeria is beset by myriad challenges. Poverty and economic inequality, insecurity, lack of infrastructure are longstanding obstacles that have blocked our access to national greatness for too long.

 

Through no fault of our own, we now live in a moment of heightened difficulty. We did not ask for COVID-19 but it has found us. We must deal with it and navigate its rude economic consequences. At the same time we must grapple with the violent insecurity caused by increasingly desperate terrorists and criminals. People need concrete help from us.  We must focus on building roads and creating jobs. For the average man, watching politicians wrestle for position is a poor substitute to seeing politicians working for the benefit of all.

 

Yet, such intramural fighting has come to occupy the attention of many high ranking party officials and members.

 

The National Working Committee, itself, became riven by unnecessary conflict. Those who disagreed with one another stopped trying to find common ground. Attempts were made to use the power of executive authority to bury each other. I must be blunt here. This is the behaviour of a fight club not the culture of a progressive political party.

 

Some members went against their chairman in a bid to forcefully oust him. In hindsight, his fence-mending attempts were perhaps too little too late. I believed and continue to believe that Comrade Oshiomhole tried his best. Mistakes were made and he must own them. Yet, we must remember also that he was an able and enthusiastic campaigner during the 2019 election. He is a man of considerable ability as are the rest of you who constituted the NWC.  

 

It had been my hope that the disagreements could be resolved. After all, a political solution should not be beyond the ken of leaders of a major political party. But such resolution has failed to materialise. It was as if some unseen but strong force continued to stoke the embers. Instead of calling a prudent ceasefire, too many people sought more destructive weapons against one another.

 

Order, party discipline and mutual respect went out of the window. Members instituted all manner of court cases, most of them destructive, some of them frivolous, none of them necessary. In the process, a dense fog fell upon our party.

 

When this matter first came to a boil a few months ago, I issued a statement against this litigious tendency. President Buhari and former interim chairman Akande published strong words against this misuse of the courts as being contrary to the spirit of the party and the letter of its constitution. Each of us knew nothing good would come of such conduct. Instead of listening to this counsel, party members increased their trips to the courts. While busy providing ample livelihood for a gaggle of lawyers, these actions cast the good of the party to the wind.

 

After the fusillade of lawsuits and countersuits, two NWC members laid competing claims to the chairmanship. One legitimately elected at our national convention; the latter whose claim was based on the questionable suspension of the former.

 

With lawsuits so numerous one needed a spread sheet to keep track, President Buhari has reasonably decided that he has seen enough.

 

I do not lament his intervention or its outcome. I lament that the situation degenerated to the point where he felt compelled to intervene.

 

President Buhari is much more than a mere beneficiary of the party. He is one of its founding fathers. The APC does not exist in its current form without his singular contributions. That is not opinion; it is undisputed fact.

 

Given these antecedents, he cares about the condition of the party as any parent would care for its offspring. President Buhari has done what any parent in his position and with his authority would do. The more troubling consideration is that so many trusted people acted in such a way as to force the president to put aside the issues of statecraft in order to address these problems.

 

The President has spoken and his decision has been accepted. It is now beholden on all of us, as members of the APC, to recommit ourselves to the ideals and principles on which our party was founded. While we recognize that people have personal ambitions, those ambitions are secondary, not sacrosanct. Members must subordinate their ambitions to health and well-being of the party. Never should our party be defined by one person’s interests or even the amalgam of all members’ individual interests. A successful party must be greater than the sum of its parts.

 

In this vein, I appeal to all former members of the National Working Committee and all members of our party to sheathe their swords and look to the larger picture.

 

We have governorship elections around the corner in Edo and a primary and elections in Ondo. On these important events we must concentrate our immediate energies. In the longer run, we must restore the collegial nature to the party so that it should be in the practice of coming to support the President instead of him having to rescue the party from itself.

 

In Edo, we must rally round our candidate Pastor Osagie Ize Iyamu. In this, Comrade Oshiomhole has a crucial role to play. I congratulate him for his equanimity and loyalty to the party and our President in accepting the dissolution of the NWC. I encourage him, now, to return to Edo State to energise the campaign for the election of Pastor Ize-Iyamu.

 

In Ondo, we must set the procedures for primaries and conduct that exercise in a fair, transparent manner that shows the Nigerian people the party has left turmoil behind.  

 

In addition to the daily operation of the party, the Caretaker Committee has the mandate to prepare for a mini national convention within six months. We must give the committee the support needed to fulfil this assignment in an impartial manner.

 

As I understand it, no one has been precluded from seeking any party office to which he is otherwise eligible. Former NWC members are free to seek re-election to the NWC. Provided they have the support of party members, they will have an opportunity to return to serve the party in a leadership capacity. This reflects our overriding desire to restore and maintain internal democracy not subvert it.

 

To those who have been actively bleating how the President’s actions and the NEC meeting have ended my purported 2023 ambitions, I seek your pity. I am but a mere mortal who does not enjoy the length of foresight or political wisdom you profess to have. Already, you have assigned colourful epitaphs to the 2023 death of an alleged political ambition that is not yet even born.

 

At this extenuating moment with COVID-19 and its economic fallout hounding us, I cannot see as far into the distance as you. I have made no decision regarding 2023 for the concerns of this hour are momentous enough.

 

During this period, I have not busied myself with politicking regarding 2023. I find that a bit distasteful and somewhat uncaring particularly when so many of our people have been unbalanced by the twin public health and economic crises we face. I have devoted these last few months to thinking of policies that may help the nation in the here and now. What I may or may not do 3 years hence seems too remote given present exigencies.

 

Those who seek to cast themselves as political Nostradamus’ are free to so engage their energies. I trust the discerning public will give the views of such eager seers the scant weight such divinations warrant.

 

Personally, I find greater merit trying to help in the present by offering policy ideas, both privately and publicly, where I think they might help. I will continue in this same mode for the immediate future. 2023 will answer its own questions in due time.

 

I have toiled for this party as much as any other person and perhaps more than most. Despite this investment or perhaps due to it, I have no problem with making personal sacrifices (and none of us should have such a problem) as long as the party remains true to its progressive, democratic creed. Politics is but a vehicle to arrive at governance. Good politics promotes good governance. Yet, politics is also an uncertain venture. No one gets all they want all the time. In even a tightly-woven family, differences and competing interests must be balanced and accommodated.

 

My fellow party members who now feel aggrieved by the NEC meeting I urge you to accept the sacrifice you have been asked to make so that the air can be cleared, the party can assume its proper role of helping this government lead the nation toward enlightened improvement, and the party itself can grow and firmly establish itself as the best, most democratic party in the land.

 

 

SIGNED

Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu