Category: Lead

•Like similar endorsements in 2019, they will fail, says Keyamo

The endorsement of Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate Peter Obi by former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Ijaw Leader Chief Edwin Clark has further weakened the Peoples Democratic Congress (PDP), the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) said yesterday.

According to the council, the rejection of the PDP by its old allies meant that defeat was imminent for its presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, in next month’s poll.

APC-PCC Spokesman Festus Keyamo (SAN), who reacted to the endorsement on Channels Television programme, Politics Today, maintained that Atiku’s support base had collapsed.

Clark, former Information Minister and Pan-Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) leader, explained that he supported Obi because a Northerner should not succeed President Muhammadu Buhari in next month’s election.

Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom, who also hailed the endorsement of Obi by Obasanjo and Clark, said the LP candidate has an edge over other flagbearers.

But, the Atiku-Okowa Campaign spokesman, Senator Dino Melaye, flayed Obasanjo, Clark and Ortom, saying that their actions lacked basis.

Keyamo, who spoke on the implication of the endorsements for PDP and Atiku, said they may contribute to the party’s defeat at the poll.

The Minister of State for Employment maintained that following the endorsements, the PDP campaign council and the opposition party have collapsed.

Keyamo said: “The key figures of the PDP in 2019 are the ones pulling out from the coalition. Nothing has affected the APC.

“If you look at 2019, you will see that virtually everything against the APC has collapsed.  The PANDEF endorsed Atiku Abubakar in 2019 and Edwin Clarke is a member of PANDEF.

“Ohanaeze endorsed Atiku in 2019.  Obasanjo endorsed Atku in 2019. Afenifere endorsed Atiku in 2019. Middlebelt Forum endorsed Atiku in 2019.

“What is going on now is that the PDP has actually been turned into shrewd, both internally and externally, through the G-5 governors and imploded even within the supporters and all those that formed alliance with the PDP in 2019.

“Of the results in 2019, can you name any major stakeholder that made the APC win the election then, who has pulled out now? Not one!”

He added: “But for the PDP, the departure of Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso, who were key components of the PDP in 2019 have since pulled out. Those two factors have upset the PDP now.  So, we can confidently say that the PDP has collapsed both internally and externally.

“The recent endorsement of Obi by Obasanjo and Clark was not against the APC, but the PDP and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.

“I am sure you heard Governor Nyesom Wike’s comment on the development, who said that Obasanjo’s endorsement of Obi was an indictment on Atiku.

“And we know that Obasanjo’s endorsement of Atiku in 2019 was because of Peter Obi, who was the vice presidential candidate at the time.

“Like Obasanjo, Edwin Clark, who endorsed Atiku/Obi’s ticket in 2019, has followed Obi from the PDP to the Labour Party.  What is the effect of that on the APC? Rather, this has made the path to the APC’s victory clearer. These endorsements have made the results of the 2023 presidential election clearer now than before.

“Also, we want them to take those votes they brought to the PDP in 2019 to the Labour Party 2023, while the APC continues to wax stronger.”

Clark endorses Obi

Clark said giving the opportunity for a Southeasterner to lead the country will give a true meaning to the former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon’s mantra after the civil war of “no victor no vanquished.”

He said: “The decision of the leaders of Southern Nigeria and Middle Belt Forum, which I also lead, is that the Northern part of the country, as represented by President Muhammadu Buhari, which would have completed full eight years as President by 29th May, 2023, should yield power to candidates from the South for purpose of unity, equity and fair play.

“That the Southeast geo-political zone, which has not produced any elected President of this country since after the First Republic, and particularly during this Fourth Republic, should be given the opportunity to produce the next President of Nigeria, given that the zone has the capacity to present highly competent and qualified persons for the office.

“That, this will bring to practical expression the commitment of the General Yakubu Gowon-led Federal Military Government of ‘No Victor, No Vanquished’, a dictum, at the end of the Nigeria Civil War in 1970.”

He added: “Given his sound educational background, distinguished antecedent in professional life and track record as one of the most outstanding governors this country has ever produced during his tenure in Anambra State and his vision for the country and the Niger Delta in particular, His Excellency Peter Obi is eminently qualified to lead this country as President.

Read Also: Letter: Obasanjo is jealous, frustrated, says Presidency

“I formally hereby announce that I will, therefore, personally, vote for Peter Obi and his vice presidential candidate on election day, Feb 25, as president and vice-president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

Ortom hails Obasanjo on endorsement 

Ortom said if he were not a PDP member, he would have personally led Obi’s campaign across the country.

He said Obi “possesses the qualities of a leader who will be a true president of this country by guaranteeing justice, equity and fairness for all Nigerians”.

Ortom, in a statement by his media aide, Terver Akase, said  Obi has the capacity to effectively tackle the economic, security and other challenges facing the country.”

‘Obasanjo can’t give direction’

However, Melaye flayed Obasanjo’s assumed role as a facilitator of succeeding presidents in Nigeria and one of the “owners of Nigeria”.

He said the former president has continued to create the false impression of being in charge of the political direction of the country.

Melaye said in a statement that the ex-president’s endorsement was another testimony of his misconception of being an electoral janitor who can padlock and unlock Nigeria’s electoral fortune at will.

He said: “Since President Olusegun (Obasanjo) wrote his controversial book, My Command, there are telling indicators to deduce that he has tried to live in the reality of being in charge always.

“To be sure, he has tried to impress as the facilitator of succeeding  presidents of Nigeria. Ironically, this attitude has grouped him among those euphemistically tagged ‘Owners of Nigeria’.

“In the period preceding the 2015 elections, Obasanjo, in his characteristic janitorial expedition, aligned with the marketers of false change.

“He even tore the membership card of the party that gave him the opportunity to be President of Nigeria for 8 years. He also appeared in photo opportunities with Buhari and the All Progressives Congress (APC).

“A few months after Buhari’s election, Obasanjo realised that he had misled himself and many Nigerians. He tried to fight back in 2019, but by then, Buhari had designed some unorthodox ways to remain in power.

“With about 50 days to the 2023 election, former President Obasanjo is out again as the ‘custodian’  of the key to Aso Rock, endorsing a candidate whose main office would be in Abeokuta with the annex office in Abuja.

“It is hypocritical and politically heretic to appeal to Nigerian youths to take their turn by supporting a candidate who is far older than many other young flag bearers. This is the facade in Obasanjo’s postulation.”

Melaye said it is not surprising that Obasanjo is not supporting Atiku, adding that the PDP candidate does not need the permutation of “electoral janitors” who dictate the political direction of Nigeria.

Melaye said Atiku’s sins against Obasanjo was his resistance to attempts by Obasanjo to remove him from office as vice president and his decision to contest for president in the 2007 election, against the former President’s wish.

He added: “The good side of Obasanjo’s self-serving electoral sermon is the advance warning that Peter Obi is being supported to serve as an errand boy to Obasanjo.”

In apparent reference to Ortom and his colleagues in the G-5, the PDP campaign spokesman said the electorate in the five states have not taken oath of electoral allegiance with the five governors.

“As it is the case with Obasanjo, there are other electoral janitors, particularly some state governors, who have been boasting that the electorate in their state would vote as directed.

“First, the electorate in those states have not taken oaths of electoral allegiance, and second, the consciousness of the Nigerian electorate has grown beyond intimidation, manipulation, and deception.

“How can a governor who never consulted his people on governance in eight years now pretend to be taking them into confidence in the dying days of his administration?

“The 2023 election will be a revelation of electoral consciousness, electoral independence, and electoral advancement. Those who seek to keep Nigerians in electoral hypnotism will wake up to discover that Nigerians have moved beyond the lock and key democracy, where janitors operate as if they are in the needle and thread race that were athletic events in post-colonial Nigeria.”

All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential candidate Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, is the brain behind the development master plan being implemented by successive administrations in Lagos State,  Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu  has said.

This, according to Sanwo-Olu , is a fact that cannot not be denied by anyone who worked closely with the former Lagos Governor from 1999 to 2007.

Sanwo-Olu was the special guest on ‘Your View’, a TVC   programme, where he spoke about his administration’s achievements, his re-election, family values and relationship with the APC presidential candidate.

According to him, Tinubu cannot be deprived of credit for the reforms which set the direction for the infrastructural programmes delivered by his successors to transform Lagos to one of the biggest economies in Africa. The governor, who said his working relationship with Tinubu began in 2002, emphasised that he was a living witness to development of the Lagos State Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (LASEEDS) under Tinubu’s leadership.

The LASEEDS document, Sanwo-Olu said, was harmonised with a 10-point agenda document which became the precursor to the Lagos State Development Master Plan (LSDP) that originated from the Lagos Economic Summit (Ehingbeti) initiated by the Tinubu administration.

He added: “With all sense of humility, I joined the Tinubu government over 20 years ago. I was General Manager in my bank before I joined Tinubu in November 2002. From the very first day of my appointment, I was in Tinubu’s executive council and I saw things first hand. I am a living witness to the development vision put forward by Tinubu. It’s not something we should be blabbing about; it’s a fact we all know. Under the leadership of Tinubu, we set up documents called LASEEDS and SEEDS, which are economic development blueprints for Lagos. We also had what we called a 10-point agenda, which laid the foundation for revenue generation drive, transportation reform and public infrastructure renewal.

“LASEEDS and SEEDS documents were working blueprint for transformation in Lagos. We set up the Ehingbeti Economic Summit to run year on year, where we collate inputs from the private sector and put them in flesh of public documents and generate a working paper we could implement. I was the Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, so I was part of those who developed the documents. Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA), for example, did not just come out of the space; Tinubu set up LAMATA with the World Bank in 2002. I was part of the first set of personnel that worked in LAMATA, which is one of the best transportation agencies in the world.

“That’s how the blueprint was developed and we had a 20-year development plan for it, which former Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola improved on. He expunged some items and replaced them based on the realities of the period. Former Governor Akinwunmi Ambode did similar thing. Our government is doing same, because there is continuity. We’re able to see the challenges of previous governments and we decided on those things we can take quickly. Tinubu deserves the credit because he is the one who was able to bake the first retinue of very intelligent people that worked with him to develop an implementable blueprint.”

Sanwo-Olu also dismissed speculations that Tinubu had been running Lagos by proxy, noting that the former governor had since moved to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in the last six years where he had been contributing his quota to national development and building the ruling party.

The governor, however, said Tinubu’s experience in governance qualified him as the right person from whom advice is sought regularly for direction.

“Tinubu is a father and a man that I respect personally. I cannot take that away. Critics always want to say anything, but are we keeping our eyes on the ball? Yes. Are we doing the things Lagosians want us to do? Yes,” the governor added.

On why Lagosians should trust him with another mandate in February, Sanwo-Olu said: “One of the strongest points of a leader is for people to underrate you. You don’t have to be in people’s faces to get your tasks done. All you have to do is roll up your sleeves and get the job done. Check out my background, integrity is what I live by. As a treasurer in a bank, my word is always my bond. If I give commitments, I keep to those commitments.

“It is not about me alone, it is about our future and the legacy we should be leaving behind. We have kept faith with all the things we said we would do under the THEMES agenda. With all sense of responsibility, we have performed and earned people’s trust. Let’s join hands and be on this train together. We can imagine what’s coming in another four years.”

All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate Asiwaju Bola  Tinubu has promised that he will be a fair and just leader if elected president next month.

Tinubu spoke yesterday ahead of his campaign rally in Kano, Kano State today.

The APC standard bearer, at a town hall meeting with Muslim leaders from the Northwest, enjoined   Nigerians to disregard the lies against him.

 He said that it was unfortunate that his opponents were seeking to win the February 25 poll with “a  lie” instead of the truth.

He told the Muslim clerics that since his opponents cannot win through an honest campaign, they want to turn them (servants of God) into preachers of division. 

His words: “They cannot win with the truth. So, they will try to win with a lie. But a lie never wins in the end.

 ”Those they cannot beat with honesty, they seek to beat them with untruth and falsity. They want to turn servants of God into preachers of division and hateful sentiment.

 ”Religious leaders like you are agents of harmony and hope, not division and disunity. All well-meaning Nigerians, regardless of political affiliation, must join hands against violence, hunger, ignorance, and bigotry.

 ”We all must live together. No one has the right to try to lord over the other. Allah stands against such injustice. And where Allah stands, all bad things must fall. 

“Mean-spirited politicians –those thinking only of themselves or those who think they mean more than the nation itself -will go to great lengths to deceive or recruit eminent persons to unknowingly preach division and hatred.”  

Tinubu, a former Lagos State governor told the Muslim leaders he had demonstrated a sense of unity and oneness in all his campaigns and would continue on the same path.

The APC presidential candidate  pledged to conduct himself in public office on the “values and ideals of fairness and justice. He added  that he would always speak about “facts and truths, policies and programmes.”

 Tinubu said: “I promise to be a fair and just leader. This pledge is based on the Islamic teachings of leadership. A leader in a plural society is enjoined to be a leader for all. If elected, I shall govern in harmony with our nation’s democratic constitution. 

“More than that. I shall tackle this nation’s problems with a commitment to solving them. I say this not as a boast. I say it based on my record.

“As Lagos governor, I assembled perhaps the most diverse team by any state government. That team was based on competence, not tribal this or regional that. It was not based on the attire one wore or the accent one spoke with but on the quality of one’s ideas and contributions to society.

 ”If given the chance by Almighty Allah, I will operate in the same spirit of inclusiveness and innovation in order to renew the hope of our people. My highest priorities shall be the protection of our land and the prosperity of its people.” 

He urged the religious leaders to ensure that they preached unity and harmony rather than division and disunity.   

He spoke also on his plans to revitalise the economy and improve security as well as Agriculture. The three sectors, according to him, will top the priorities of his government.

 ”Regarding security, my policy is not artificially created to sound good for this campaign. My security policy is based on dedicated study and long conversations with experts in this field.

“This is the same approach I used to tackle the bad security situation that faced me when I became governor of Lagos. I created programmes and institutions to solve the real and dangerous challenges Lagos faced.

 ”We shall increase security personnel and better equip them. Advanced air and ground surveillance technology will identify, track and attack criminals until they are utterly defeated.

“As we fight terror and crime, we shall also attack poverty, hunger, and the despair they cause,” he added.

 On the economy, he said: “My plan is to turn this economy into a more robust and broad economy where those who want work can find a good job.  

“We will revive the manufacturing and textile sectors in Kano and elsewhere by reforming tax and import policies to create jobs for our people.

“These policies will also produce the goods and services that improve the daily lives of the average person.

 ”We all should find it unacceptable that Kano is no longer the manufacturing hub it once was.  My policies will do more than revive it. It will expand it beyond what it once was to make it what it should be.

 ”As I said during the commissioning of the Kolmani oil wells, we will invest in that project and indeed all vital infrastructural projects such as the Mambilla Power Project and the AKK gas pipeline projects. We shall revive our inland waterways through the dredging of the River Niger and make sure we cut down on our steel import bill by making the Ajaokuta Steel Company work.

 ”Regarding Agriculture, we will increase food security through enhanced productivity and improved farm incomes. Farming will be adequately returned to its prominent position.”

The former governor added that  “to strengthen  our social fabric and guarantee the future, massive investment in education will ensure that we nourish and guide our youths toward better lives.”

 Tinubu also vowed to tackle the Almajiri challenge in the North by creating a special commission to work towards that.

This, he said, is expedient because “every child has the right to an education. It is a social wrong to see them roam the streets or drop out of school due to poverty.”

 Kano State Governor Abdullahi  Ganduje, who accompanied Tinubu to the meeting,  said that over the years, the APC standard bearer had demonstrated fair leadership.

     Ganduje reminded the religious leaders of their role in choosing political leaders.   

 ”As people who are after the wellbeing of the society, you have every reason to be interested in who leads the people to greater prosperity,” the governor said.

*Tinubu is trustworthy, says   Badaru

Ganduje’s counterpart in Jigawa State, Badaru Abubakar said that  Tinubu is a trustworthy and visionary person.

Badaru described as “fake news,” the claims by the opposition that Tinubu is sick and unfit to run for the office of President. 

He said: “People spread fake news about his (Tinubu’s) health status. We that are with him know that he is very healthy. Aside from being physically healthy, he has very high mental alertness.”

He, therefore,  asked the electorate to vote for the former governor.

Muslim leaders like  Ustaz Aminu Aliyu Gusau, Sheikh  Khalid  Abubakar,   Tijani  Kano, and others who also spoke at the event declared support for Tinubu.  

ÿþ

*Mega rally holds today

 The APC standard bearer had on arrival in the ancient city for the mega rally received a rousing reception from stakeholders of the ruling party in the Northwest.  

Before the town hall meeting, he met with Christian leaders and visited  Emir of Kano Aminu Ado Bayero.  

The rally will hold at the Sani Abacha Stadium, Kofar Mata, Kano.

Ganduje, who said the rally would be “historic,” revealed that   APC National Chairman  Adamu Abdullahi, all governors of the party in the  Northwest, and members of the   Presidential Campaign Council, among others would be in attendance.

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leaders thinking of punishing the G-5 governors should perish the idea, Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike warned yesterday.

The governor said nobody in the party could drive members of the G-5 governors, who are members of the Integrity Group out the house they, according to him, spent many years to build.

Wike further warned that insulting members of the Integrity Group by PDP leaders would only escalate the lingering crisis rocking the party to its foundation.

The PDP plunged into crisis after its national convention in May produced former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as its presidential candidate.

Some members of the party asked the party’s Natuional Chairman, Dr. Iyorchia Ayu, to step down. They argued that the president candidate and the national chairman cannot come from the same zone.

They are demanding Ayu’s replacement with a southerner to correct “regional imbalance” in the main opposition party.

Apart from Wike, other governors who are members of the G-5 are: Samuel Ortom (Benue), Ifeanyi Ugwanyi (Enugu), Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia) and Seyi Makinde (Oyo).

The aggrieved governors, who were appointed into the PDP Presidential Campaign Council, withdrew their membership and boycotted its inauguration.

Wike spoke at the Mgbuodohia Community Primary School premises where he kicked off the construction of Mgbuodohia Road in Rumuolumene Town of Obio-Akpor Local Government Area.

He said: “Nobody can drive us from this house we have built. All of us will fight here. So, if anybody thinks that you can just sit in your house and dish out orders, it will not work. The house will collapse on you. So, you better think twice.”

The governor clarified that his comment on the endorsement of Peter Obi by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, instead of his former deputy (Atiku) was motivated by his concern for the PDP.

He said Obasanjo had served as President on the platform of the PDP with Abubakar as his vice president for eight years and was in a better position to solicit support from Nigerians on his behalf with confidence.

Wike said that if Obasanjo could not endorse his former deputy, it only showed that something was fundamentally wrong that should elicit concern by PDP members.

He said: “I meant no harm. I’m only worried as a prominent PDP member. A man who loves PDP should be worried. I was not mocking anybody. I was merely worried. My prayer was, look, let Obasanjo remain quiet and not say anything. That was all my prayer, but my prayer didn’t work.

“My prayer was that if this man makes any statement, it will indict us because he was president under the PDP for eight years, and he worked with our presidential candidate. And the campaign of our presidential council is that our presidential candidate during the eight years did very well, with experience.”

Wike lamented that instead of people in the party to look at the issues critically and ponder on what could be done, they were busy abusing him.

He said: “What did I do? I didn’t do anything. All I did was to express concern. If you care for this party, it is for you to go back and ask, what is fundamentally wrong?

“Me that is worried that we should do something and I have expressed it, you’re abusing me for telling the party that we should do something.”

Wike said only those who truly love the PDP would be worried about the development, describing those abusing him, including a spokesman of the party as jobbers and political flirts jumping from one party to another.

He said: “They are not bothered, but those of us who since 1998 joined this party, contributed to the survival of this party until now, we keep shouting always when we see danger coming.

“Abuses upon abuses, it will not change anything, rather it will spoil more things. What you don’t know, ask people, seek advice, people will help you to solve the problem.”

Wike flayed former PDP National Chairman Prince Uche Secondus, alleging that the companies that bided and got the contract awards for projects sited in Andoni were introduced by him.

According to the governor, the companies were paid but those projects were never executed and Secondus could not extricate himself from the firms that got those jobs.

Wike also argued that the soul and strength of the Rivers chapter of All Progressives Congress (APC) had departed, leaving the carcass, adding that it could not get any electoral support from the Rivers electorate.

The governor urged the Rivers State PDP governorship candidate, Sir Siminalayi Fubara to consider constructing a bridge to link Rumuolumeni to Eagle Island in Port Harcourt when he eventually assumes office.

Providing a description of the project, Rivers State Commissioner for Works, Dr. George-Kelly Dakorinima Alabo said the 5.1-kilometre Mgbuodohia Road will be 7.3- metre wide with offshoot drain of 6.5- kilometre long.

All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, on Tuesday promised to run an inclusive government if elected.

He spoke at a town hall in Kano with Muslim leaders from the Northwest.

Tinubu said: “I promise to be a fair and just leader. This pledge is based on the Islamic teachings of leadership.

“A leader in a plural society is enjoined to be a leader for all.

“If elected, I shall govern in harmony with our nation’s democratic Constitution.

“More than that. I shall tackle this nation’s problems with a commitment to solving them. I say this not as a boast. I say it based on my record.

“As Lagos governor, I assembled perhaps the most diverse team in any state government. That team was based on competence, not tribal this or regional that.

“It was not based on the attire one wore or the accent one spoke with but on the quality of one’s ideas and contributions to society.

“If given the chance by Almighty Allah, I will operate in the same spirit of inclusiveness and innovation to renew the hope of our people.

“My highest priorities shall be the protection of our land and the prosperity of its people.”

Unveiling his security plans, the APC standard bearer said: “Regarding security, my policy is not an artificial created to sound good for this campaign.

“My security policy is based on dedicated study and long conversations with experts in this field.

“This is the same approach I used to tackle the bad security situation that faced me when I became governor of Lagos.

“I created programs and institutions to solve the real and dangerous challenges Lagos faced.

“We shall increase security personnel and better equip them. Advanced air and ground surveillance technology will identify, track and attack the criminals until they are utterly defeated.

“As we fight terror and crime, we shall also attack poverty, hunger and the despair they cause.”

On the economy, he said; “I plan to turn this economy into a more robust and broad economy where those who want work can find a good job.

“We will revive the manufacturing and textile sectors in Kano and elsewhere by reforming tax and import policies to create jobs for our people.

“These policies will also produce the goods and services that improve the daily lives of the average person.

“We all should find it unacceptable that Kano is no longer the manufacturing hub it once was.

“My policies will do more than revive it. It will expand it beyond what it once was to make it what it should be.

“As I said during the commissioning of the Kolmani oil wells, we will invest in that project and indeed all vital infrastructural projects such as the Mambilla Power Project, and the AKK gas pipeline projects.

“We shall revive our inland waterways through the dredging of the River Niger and make sure we cut down on our steel import bill by making the Ajaokuta Steel Company work.

“Regarding agriculture, we will increase food security through enhanced productivity and improved farm incomes. Farming will be adequately returned to its prominent position.

“To strengthen our social fabric and guarantee the future, massive investment in education will ensure that we nourish and guide our youth toward better lives.”

Read Also: Fuel subsidy not fair to poor, says Tinubu

The former Lagos also promised to provide a lasting solution to the almajiri challenge by appointing a special commission on it.

This, he said, is expedient because “every child has the right to an education”.

“It is a social wrong to see them roam the streets or drop out due to poverty,” he added.

The presidential candidate urged the religious leaders to ensure that they preach unity and harmony among their followers rather than division and disunity, saying that is the only way the nation could experience development.

“Religious leaders like you are agents of harmony and hope, not division and disunity.

“All well-meaning Nigerians, regardless of political affiliation, must join hands against violence, hunger, ignorance and bigotry.

“We all must live together. No one has the right to try to lord over the other. Allah stands against such injustice.

“And where Allah stands, all bad things must fall. Mean-spirited politicians – those thinking only of themselves or those who think they mean more than the nation itself – will go to great lengths to deceive or recruit eminent persons to unknowingly preach division and hatred.

“They cannot win with the truth. So, they will try to win with a lie. But a lie never wins in the end. Those they cannot beat with honesty, they seek to beat them with untruth and falsity. They want to turn servants of God into preachers of division and hateful sentiment.”

The APC standard bearer further told the Muslim leaders that he had demonstrated a sense of unity and oneness in all his campaigns and would continue to do so.

He pledged to conduct himself in public office on the values and ideals of fairness and justice, adding that he would always speak about facts and truths, policies and programmes.

Jigawa and Kano state governors Muhammad Badaru Abubakar and Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, described Asiwaju Tinubu as a visionary person who is trustworthy.

Badaru said Tinubu was physically and mentally healthy, contrary to mischievous insinuations.

“People spread fake news about his health status. We that are with him know that he is very healthy. Aside from bodily health, he has very high mental alertness,” he said.

The Jigawa governor recounted how he joined Tinubu on a recent trip to London and Saudi Arabia where they had the stressful lesser hajj ritual and came back to Nigeria without having any rest.

He said Asiwaju “has a deep respect for our people and we have found in him a dependable friend who will not shame us, by the grace of God”.

Ganduje said religious leaders have a role to play in choosing political leadership in the light of their role as guardians of society.

“As people who are after the wellbeing of the society, you have every reason to be interested in who leads the people to greater prosperity,” he said.

He added that Tinubu had over the years demonstrated that he is a fair leader who is not driven by ethnic sentiments.

Some Muslim leaders who spoke at the occasion, including Ustaz Aminu Aliyu Gusau, Sheikh Dr Khalid Aliyu Abubakar, and Malam Tijani Imam Kano, among others, declared support for Tinubu.

As part of efforts to combat insecurity in the Southeast, President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the deployment of advanced technological devices to secure the region.

Imo State governor, Hope Uzodimma, told reporters at the Villa, Abuja that he came to thank the President for all he has done for the region.

The governor expressed optimism that the people of his state would have a better year than they did in 2022.

He also said he was at the sit of power to ask for more federal support.

According to him, with the President’s approval, advanced surveillance equipment will soon be delivered to the region that will enhance the fight against insecurity without collateral damage.

Uzodimma said he thanked President Buhari for the conversion of the Federal Medical Center, Owerri, to a university teaching hospital for the Federal University of Technology, and the approval that converted Alvan Ikoku College of Education to a federal college of education.

Noting that he came to visit the president on behalf of his people, Uzodinma said it was “also thank him for the various supports he gave to us during this our period of security challenges and the support he’s also given to us in terms of the various approvals”.

Read Also: Buhari to inaugurate Blue Line Rail January 24

He added: “The approval to convert Federal Medical Center Owerri to a university teaching hospital for the Federal University of Technology, the approval that converted Alvan Ikoku College of Education to a federal college of education.

“Only two weeks ago, Igbos that came home from Lagos and outside Southeast enjoyed the benefit of the second Niger Bridge, something that is worthy of commendation.

“I also appealed to him for further support, to support us with some technological deployments.

“We have planned an advanced security control in the Southeast and he has also given his approval to that.

“In a moment from now, we’ll be getting some surveillance equipment and some modern technologies that will help us manage security so that we can fight crime with little or no collateral damage to the environment.”

Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike has warned Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leaders mulling the expulsion of the G-5 governors to perish the thought.

Wike said nobody in the party could drive members of the Integrity Group out of the house they spent many years building.

The governor warned that abusing members of the Integrity Group by PDP leaders would only complicate the lingering crisis in the party. 

The governor said: “Nobody can drive us from this house we have built. All of us will fight here. 

“So, if anybody thinks that you can just sit in your house and dish out orders, it will not work. 

“The house will collapse on you. So, you better think twice.”

Wike spoke at the Mgbuodohia Community Primary School premises where he kicked off venue the construction of Mgbuodohia Road in Rumuolumene Town of Obio-Akpor Local Government Area on Tuesday.

The governor clarified that his comment on the endorsement of Peter Obi by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, instead of his former Vice-President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, was motivated by his concern for the PDP.

He said Obasanjo had served as President on the platform of the PDP with Alhaji Atiku Abubakar as his Vice-President for eight years and was in a better position to solicit support from Nigerians on his behalf with confidence.

He said if Obasanjo could not endorse his former deputy, it only showed that something was fundamentally wrong that should elicit concern from members of the PDP.

Wike said: “I meant no bad. I’m only worried as a prominent PDP member. A man who loves PDP should be worried. I was not mocking anybody. I was merely worried. 

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“My prayer was, look, let Obasanjo remain quiet and not say anything. That was all my prayer, but my prayer didn’t work.  

“My prayer was that if this man makes any statement, it will indict us because he was president under the PDP for eight years, and he worked with our presidential candidate. 

“And the campaign of our presidential council is that our presidential candidate during the eight years did very well, with experience.”

He insisted that for Obasanjo to have gone ahead to endorse Obi instead of his former deputy meant that something must be fundamentally wrong.