Category: Lead

•‘They will guarantee good governance, education, security’
•APC candidate promises economic prosperity
•Lawan, governors, Machina, others at Yobe rally

President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday highlighted the gains that will acrue to Nigerians from the victory of All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, if elected in next month’s election

He said Tinubu and his running mate, Senator Kashim Shettima, will guarantee good governance, defend education, tackle insecurity and build on his achievements.

President Buhari spoke during the APC rally in Damaturu, Yobe State capital, where he raised Tinubu’s hand after presenting the party flag to him.

A huge crowd of party faithful and supporters had converged on the Damaturu Township Stadium from sunrise, singing and dancing.

Buhari, who spoke in Hausa, urged the people to vote for Tinubu, Governor Mai Mala Buni and other candidates for National Assembly and House of Assembly polls.

He said: “I accompany Asiwaju here to tell you to vote for him so that he can continue with my legacy of rebuilding Nigeria.”

Other speakers at the rally included Shettima, Senate President Ahmad Lawan and Campaign Director-General, Plateau State Governor Simon Lalong.

Also at the rally were APC National Chairman Senator Abdullahi Adamu, Chairman of Progressive Governors’ Forum and Governor of Kebbi State Atiku Badugu, Gombe State Governor Inuwa Yahaya, Bashir Machina and other party chieftains.

Tinubu, who commended Buhari for the anti-terror war, promised to sustain the battle, tackle unemployment and promote agriculture.

According to a statement by Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the president, Mr. Femi Adesina, Buhari said following the victory over terrorists in the region, the APC-led government was energized to defeat the threat to the unity of Nigeria.

The President recounted how Boko Haram inflicted damage on the people, their property and the economy before their decimation by the Nigeria Armed Forces and security agencies.

Emphasizing the need for education in countering the despicable ideology of Boko Haram, the President urged parents and guardians in Yobe to educate their children.

He said:  “Make sure you send your children to school and make them understand that whatever you have in this world can be taken away from you, except the knowledge you have in your head.    

“I was an orphan; I did not know my father. I spent nine years in a boarding school and because of education, I was enlisted into the Nigerian Army.

“I want you to strengthen your faith, try your best to uphold the children and family God has entrusted to you. Do not betray that trust”.

President Buhari urged APC candidates not to disappoint the electorate, but ensure good governance.

He said the ruling party has done its utmost in the last eight years at the federal level, assuring that it will continue to ensure the progress, prosperity and stability of Nigeria.

Tinubu urged Nigerians to reject the lies peddled by the opposition parties on the Buhari-led administration.

He said: “This government is a government of progress, integrity and honesty”.

The APC presidential candidate, who lauded Buhari for the return of peace and normalcy in the Northeast region, promised that his government would turn the region into the Agro-allied Processing Centre of Nigeria.

He said: “We will give you good jobs that you can depend on. Agriculture will come back. Hunger will go away. We will give you what is necessary, consumer credit to build houses and roofs over your heads.’’

Tinubu also promised to make the perennial ASUU strikes history, adding that undergraduates should spend extra years in the university beyond the duration of course of study.

He urged the people of Yobe and Northeast to vote for APC candidates, assuring that economic prosperity will blossom under his leadership.

Tinubu said he will use the newly commissioned Yobe Cargo airport to boost agriculture in the state.

He said: “The cargo airport Mr. President commissioned yesterday will be greatly needed when our agenda for greater production of agricultural and industrial exports begins to take off.

“It is a wise investment made with courage and foresight.  It will be needed to transport Yobe’s excellent sesame, hibiscus and gum Arabic to the rest of the world.”

Tinubu added: “Harnessing our agricultural endowment is more than an economic desire.  It is a matter of national security. We need to further guarantee our food security to better ensure social stability and lay the groundwork for even more economic progress.

“We will establish agricultural hubs and irrigation and water catchment systems to assist farmers throughout the nation. Yields and harvests will increase. More importantly, we will encourage value-added agro-processing businesses that will foster greater economic activity creating well paid jobs and bringing better products to local markets and to your family’s dinner table.

“We will invest in the individual small farmer. You will earn a good and guaranteed income through the establishment of commodity exchange boards that will ensure an acceptable price for the crops you labor so hard to grow.”

On the investment and tourism opportunities available in the state, Tinubu promised to work with the state government to invest in the exploration of the precious mineral resources.

He said: “Your limestone, trona and gypsum will create jobs and earn money for the state.  Yobe’s tourism potentials of the beautiful landscapes, sand dunes, oases and bird sanctuaries will be highlighted.”

The standard bearer also promised to improve access to quality education.

Tinubu said: “The youth of Yobe will be better integrated into the national and world economy in ways that help and benefit you. We will empower you with the right education that would make you competitive in the global economy.

“The best of technology will be made available to you. Whether it is the best of knowledge in modern agriculture, the digital economy or in manufacturing and industry, that education will come closer and be more accessible to you.

“We will work with private sector leaders to make sure your education reflects the skills you will need to prosper in the economy of the future.

“We will tackle and reduce unemployment.  My dream is that you are prosperous and never idle. You will have good jobs or will become thriving entrepreneurs giving jobs to others.

“You are a proud people and you will become a source of pride to the nation and to Africa.  We are planning big and good things for you.”

The former Lagos State governor praised the people of the state for their commitment to progressive politics since the return of democracy in 1999.

He said: “Yobe has always been a progressive state. You have never allowed the locusts to land here and feast on what does not belong to them.  Instead, you have been loyal to the progressive cause of building a state and nation both of which have the sole mission of serving their people.

“You have supported this noble cause and the APC, our nation’s best and only true hope for good governance. Now, we are here to ask you to remain true to this proud tradition. Continue to support us progressives.”

Senate President Lawan said the PDP should never return to power.

He said: “PDP mismanaged and maladminister Nigeria for 16 years.

“When Boko Haram started in the Northeast, in Borno State, the then leadership of PDP said it was not true. There was nothing like Boko Haram and Boko Haram blossomed. Boko Haram flourished and Boko Haram gained ground and took root.

“Your Excellency, Boko Haram caused maximum, devastating impacts in our lives here. Borno, Yobe and Adamawa particularly, we were under a state of emergency for 18 months.

“For 18 months, the Federal Government then stopped our statutory allocations to our local governments. We suffered, our people suffered. No developmental projects going on at all until you came in 2015. That was the salvation moment.

“We are indeed, very grateful to Almighty God that the APC, that platform and the people of Nigeria needed a change. They needed a leadership that will care. They needed a leadership that will not segregate and that leadership is your leadership.

“During that time, even the ecological fund or stabilisation account was based on party. They will give to only PDP states. They will not give other states that were in opposition.You came, you changed all that.

“Your Excellency, today, we have 41 million registered Nigerians as APC members. All we need to do is mobilise our base.

“Yobe State is an APC base. Infact at the risk of sounding controversial, I there say that there is no state in Nigeria that is more APC than Yobe State. We are going to deliver every contestable seat to APC in Yobe State.

“You have been in the seat of leadership in this country. For the seven and half years, you have done wonderfully well.

‘They lied. And lied and lied. They want us to believe that they did something. Infact PDP should be ashamed of itself. They destroyed this country. They should have no chance to go round this country, seeking the support of Nigerians.

“You have provided security. As far as we are concerned, the new insecurity that we are seeing, we have acknowledged that it is true and that is the beginning of the solution and we are all working hard to ensure that before you leave, before Asiwaju takes the oath of office on the 29th of May, 2023, the security situation would have further improved.”

•Fed Govt dismisses security threats to polls

THERE is no plan to postpone or cancel the elections billed to open on February 25 with the presidential poll, the Federal Government said yesterday.

The Federal Government’s position contrasted with a claim by a senior Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) official that elections may be shifted in volatile areas because of insecurity.

It was learnt that INEC Chairman Prof. Mahmood Yakubu did not give a mandate to anyone to raise a red flag on the forthcoming elections.

The Chairman, Board of Electoral Institute, Abdullahi Zuru, who represented the INEC chair at the validation of election security training resources in Abuja, said the general election faced serious threat of cancellation if the security situation across the land fails to improve.

Zuru said: “If the insecurity is not monitored and dealt with decisively, it could ultimately culminate in the cancellation and/or postponement of elections in sufficient constituencies to hinder declaration of elections results and precipitate constitutional crisis.”

The government, which was jolted by the report on the likely poll shift, reached out to the commission for clarification on its claim.

Based on the ripples created by the pronouncement attributed to the electoral umpire, Prof Yakubu may make further clarification at a today’s meeting with parties over voter registration.

But the government, through the Information, Culture and Tourism Minister, Lai Mohammed, moved yesterday to douse whatever tension the INEC could have triggered.

He said the elections will hold as scheduled, adding that nothing has happened to alter the timetable.

Mohammed said security agencies have assured the nation of a peaceful atmosphere for the poll.

On December 2, last year, the National Security Adviser, Maj.-Gen. Babagana Monguno, read a riot act to political actors on the election.

He said President Muhammadu Buhari had given a clear directive that “the will of the people must prevail in the general election and that’s exactly what the government would ensure happens during the elections”.

According to him, the Federal Government would not tolerate any political crisis in the states.

He warned governors using thugs to prevent opposition from mounting campaign materials in their domains to desist forthwith from such acts as security agencies would soon go after them.

  Inspector-General of Police  Usman Baba Alkali,  at a dinner for President Buhari in Damaturu, Yobe State,  assured   Nigerians that the police were fully prepared for the general election.

 ‘‘We have exposed our personnel to specialised election security management training, developed a code of conduct handbook to guide the Police and other national security agencies that will be involved in the elections),’’ he said.

Yesterday, Mohammed, who made clarifications in his preliminary remarks at the 17th Edition of the Buhari administration scorecard in Abuja, faulted a National Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for raising a red flag on the poll.

He said there is no cause for alarm on whether the poll will hold or not.

The minister said: “Let me use this opportunity to respond to inquiries from the media over a widely-circulated report, credited to an INEC official that the 2023 general elections face a serious threat of cancellation due to insecurity.

“The position of the Federal Government remains that the 2023 elections will be held as planned. Nothing has happened to change that position.

“We are aware that INEC is working with the security agencies to ensure that the elections are successfully held across the country.

“The security agencies have also continued to assure Nigerians that they are working tirelessly to ensure that the elections are held in a peaceful atmosphere. Therefore, there is no cause for alarm.”

It was however, learnt that the government reached out to INEC on what a source described as a “weighty pronouncement.”

A top source said: “The government has actually reached out to INEC on the real status of the situation on the forthcoming elections. INEC was able to explain that no one gave Zuru such a mandate. Our chairman read the report like every Nigerian.

“Since there will be a meeting with political parties on voters’ registers today in Abuja, INEC chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu will use the opportunity to clarify the position of things. His declaration will douse the tension.”

A huge crowd of Labour Party (LP) members yesterday welcomed former Anambra State governor, Mr. Peter Obi, who is the presidential candidate of the party, to Onitsha, Anambra State.

Obi returned to the commercial city to campaign for support during the February 25 poll.

He told the crowd that his administration would create wealth and secure the country, if elected.

The one-time governor said the Aso Villa in Abuja should not be a retirement home for those he called “tired politicians”.

Speaking at the All Saints Cathedral field during his party’s presidential campaign kick-off, Obi said combination he and his running mate, Datti Baba-Ahmed enjoy stood him should above other contenders.

He described himself and his running mate as wealth creators with capacity to manage the nation’s resources well.

Obi said: “All we’re coming to do is to end suffering and build a new Nigeria. In Nigeria today, nobody is safe; families are begging to eat. We will secure and unite Nigeria.

“What I did in Anambra, I will do across Nigeria. We will negotiate. But whoever that refuses, we will tell him there’s a government.

“Onitsha is a trading and manufacturing city. We will support all businesses in the state. We will do same in Lagos, Kano, Kaduna and Borno. Every part of Nigeria will be productive.

“We will open roads. Any tarred road in Onitsha was tarred by me; I built the best road network in Nigeria. Those who left Nigeria will come back. We will face exportation to stabilise and reverse naira, if we assume power.

“The difference between us and others: there’s no combination. If you’ve not created wealth, you can’t manage it. Datti and I are businessmen. The only way Nigeria can change is to hand it over to wealth creators.

“What we will do will surprise everybody. They say I’m stingy. Between those who stole and those who saved them, who do you prefer? If our previous leaders were stingy, we wouldn’t have been where we are today.

“The more you employ people, the more you will pull them out of poverty. I will fight poverty and out-of-school children in Nigeria. All parts of Nigeria will celebrate me.

“The work of a leader is not to complain but to find solutions. We’re not going to remind you of your past but build your future. We will use factor endowment, taking advantage of oil in the Southsouth, groundnut in North, among others.”

The LP candidate also promised to increase international airports in the country to six, promising to end flooding by dredging Rivers Niger and Benue.

“We will ensure police won’t harass you again. We will recruit more educated officers and train them to know how to relate with the public,” he said.

Datti-Ahmed said his decision to join Obi on the LP ticket was borne out of the former governor’s belief in justice, equality and fairness.

 He urged Nigerians to hold them responsible if they fail in their promises, insisting that the February 25 election was good as won.

Political parties, under the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), have warned against any plot by those it called “anti-democratic forces” to remove the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, from office over alleged false assets declaration a few weeks to the general election.

IPAC gave the warning through its National Chairman Yabagi Sani at the end of an emergency General Assembly meeting on Monday in Abuja.

The parties at the meeting discussed crucial national issues and evaluated emerging threats to the 2023 general election.

IPAC, which is the umbrella body of 18 registered political parties in the country, reaffirmed its confidence in Prof. Yakubu-led INEC to conduct the 2023 general election.

The parties also backed the decision of the commission to deploy the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) for the polls.

Speaking through IPAC National Secretary Yusuf Dantalle, the chairman hailed the judgment of Justice Maryam Hassan, which quashed the allegations of false assets declaration against Yakubu.

Sani said: “It is victory for democracy, due process and the rule of law. Again, the grand plots to derail the ongoing electoral process, create a constitutional crisis, political upheavals and quagmire has been aborted. Nigerians will not tolerate a repeat of the infamous June 12, 1993 presidential election impasse.

“IPAC commends the Judiciary for upholding the rule of law as the temple of justice and beacon of hope for all aggrieved people. Council applauds this landmark judgment that quashed frivolous, spurious, unsubstantiated, wide and baseless allegations against Professor Mahmood Yakubu by political hirelings and their sponsors who are afraid of free and fair elections and want the status quo to remain. The Judiciary should remain steadfast, decisive, firm and unwavering in the discharge of its constitutional duties as the last hope of the common man.”

“IPAC warns these reactionary forces to desist from their plots to truncate the nation’s emerging democracy. National interest supersedes primordial interests. Council will resist any attempt to jeopardise the ongoing electoral process that will deepen and strengthen our civil rule. All patriotic Nigerians are in support of INEC’s efforts to sanitise the nation’s electoral process and conduct credible elections that will reflect the will and mandate of the people.”

“The era of election rigging, vote-buying, ballot snatching and stuffing and falsification of results is over as we collectively take steps to protect and defend our hard-earned democracy since May 29, 1999. This time, every vote must be counted and count in the overall result. We must get it right and move the nation forward in the quest for sustainable democracy in Nigeria.”

The political parties also expressed deep concern about the level of insecurity in the country, spreading in most of the states.

They accused some governors of using sponsored taut to stop and destroy campaign materials and party offices of opposition political parties in their states.

Sani said: “Therefore, the Council urges security agents to be proactive and ensure adequate protection of lives and property before, during and after the elections. The heightened politically motivated killings and attacks are worrisome and should stop immediately for citizens to discharge their civic duties.

“Security agents should fish out the perpetrators of these heinous crimes and their sponsors to face justice. The need for enhanced intelligence gathering, sharing and utilisation amongst security agencies to curb acts of political violence cannot be overemphasised in this crucial general election that will redefine the destiny of the nation…”

•Tinubu: Nigeria will prevail over darkness
• ‘Victims likely in different locations’

One of the victims of the  Edo State train attackhas been rescued by security agents.

Details of her rescue however remained unclear as at last night.

The Tom Ikimi/Ekehen train station at Igueben,  Igueben Local Government Area of Edo State, in Edo Central Senatorial District, was attacked at the weekend, with 31 persons abducted.

Police spokesperson Chidi Nwabuzor confirmed the rescue but refused to give further details

Seven of the 31 victims have so far been rescued by security operatives, with 24 still in captivity, according to the Commissioner for Communication and Orientation, Chris Nehikhare. He addressed a news conference on Monday to say six persons had been rescued, but the culprits denied the claims, saying all 31 victims remained in their den.

Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Asiwaju Bola Tinubu has expressed confidence that Nigeria would prevail against the agents of darkness. He condemned the attack, but urged Nigerians not to be dismayed.

A statement by his media aide, Tunde Rahman, prayed that forces of darkness will not prevail over the country. He also sympathised with the victims still in captivity, and urged the Federal , Edo state governments, and local authorities, to work with security agencies to secure their release.

The statement reads: “This is a sad reminder that we have not completely won the war against insecurity, and that there are still some agents of darkness lurking around the corner. But I assure Nigerians we will win this war. Evil will not prevail over our country because of our strong determination to exterminate the dark forces everywhere they manifest. 

“One of the reasons I am running for the presidency is to improve the security situation in our country. We have a clear plan to end violent crimes and terrorism through our Anti-Terrorism Battalion Forces, investment in more security hardware and surveillance technology that will make our streets, neighbourhood and forests safer for socio-economic activities to thrive and bloom. 

“I praise the rescue efforts of the security agencies that have led to the arrest of some of the terrorists. Nigeria shall overcome.”

There are indications that some of the victims are held in different locations, Managing Director of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), Fidet Okhiria, has said.

Okhiria, who appeared on a television programme, gave an update on efforts by security agents since the attack on Saturday. He said: “Six of the victims that were held in captivity were rescued and they (security) are still in pursuit of the bandits. They are moving from place to place but the security agents are trying to see how fast they can meet up with them and rescue other victims.

“From the information I have, I think they divided the victims and took them to different locations. That is what we are suspecting because they caught one of the attackers and he was able to lead the security team to where the six were released. We must also know that it is a security issue, so we must be careful about what we say.”

On whether to be optimistic about the rescue, Okhiria said: “We hope so with the intensity that the security and the community have deployed to ensure that we are not embarrassed, I think something good will happen very soon. We hope so. Some people have been out there since Saturday and they are still there.”

Senate President Ahmad Lawan on Tuesday hit hard on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for its 16 years of maladministration.

He said the party’s ineptitude allowed Boko Haram insurgency to fester.

Lawan, according to a statement by his Special Adviser (Media), Ola Awoniyi, in Abuja, spoke at the Presidential Campaign Rally of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Damaturu, Yobe State.

Lawan said: “PDP mismanaged and mal-administer Nigeria for 16 years.

“When Boko Haram started in the Northeast, in Borno State, the then leadership of PDP said it was not true.

“There was nothing like Boko Haram and Boko Haram blossomed. Boko Haram flourished and Boko Haram gained ground and took root.”

Addressing President Buhari, Lawan added: “Your Excellency, Boko Haram caused maximum, devastating impacts in our lives here.

“Your Excellency, Borno, Yobe and Adamawa particularly, we were under a state of emergency for 18 months.

“For 18 months, the Federal Government then stopped our statutory allocations to our local governments.

“We suffered, our people suffered. No developmental projects going on at all until you came in 2015. That was the salvation moment.

“We are indeed very grateful to Almighty God that the APC, that platform and the people of Nigeria needed a change.

“They needed a leadership that will care. They needed a leadership that will not segregate and that leadership is your leadership.

“During that time, even the ecological fund or stabilisation account was based on party. They will give to only PDP states.

“They will not give other states that were in opposition. You came, and you changed all that.

“Your Excellency, today, we have 41 million registered Nigerians as APC members. All we need to do is mobilise our base.

“Your Excellency, Yobe State is an APC base. In fact at the risk of sounding controversial, I there say that no state in Nigeria is more APC than Yobe State. We are going to deliver every contestable seat to APC in Yobe State.

“Your Excellency, you have been in the seat of leadership in this country. For seven and half years, you have done wonderfully well.

‘They lied. And lied and lied. They want us to believe that they did something. In fact, PDP should be ashamed of itself.

“They destroyed this country. They should have no chance to go around this country, seeking the support of Nigerians.

“You have provided security. As far as we are concerned, the new insecurity that we are seeing, we have acknowledged that it is true and that is the beginning of the solution.

“We are all working hard to ensure that before you leave, before Asiwaju takes the oath of office on the 29th of May, 2023, the security situation would have further improved.”