The Nation Newspaper

Tag: 2019 election

  • 2019: Labour Party pledges 16m votes for Buhari

    National Chairman of the Labour Party Dr Mike Omotoso on Thursday said the party will deliver about 16 million votes to President Muhammadu Buhari in the 2019 elections.
    Dr Omotoso, 2015 governorship candidate of the party said this on Thursday in Ilorin, the Kwara state capital at the launch of canvassers for President Buhari’s reelection in next year presidential election.
    Earlier, Minister of Information and Culture Lai Mohammed hinted that the president’s reelection would be boosted by no less than 16 million votes through the administration’s feeding programme for school pupils.
    The Labour Party chairman said the party was on discussion with the All progressives Congress (APC).
    He added that the time to salvage the time from one man’s rule is now, assuring that the party would deliver workers’ votes to the president.
    He added that “no man is God. This is the time to bail our people out of the political bondage.”
    “However, our terms with APC must align with the ideals of the workers, as the party is that of the downtrodden and the masses,” he said.
    Also speaking interim Caretaker chair of APC in the state Hon Bashir Bolarinwa urged all to sincerely queue behind Alhaji Lai Mohammed as he is the current leader of the party in the state.
    He added that “with that we capture power from a hegemony that had over the years held us hostage.
    “We must not allowed ourselves to be deceived by the blackmails and lies against President Muhammadu Buhari against his reelection.
    Prophets are not respected in their homes. What happened in 1985 when he was overthrown must not happen in 2019.”

  • PDP: Saraki calls for unity to win 2019 elections

    Senate President Bukola Saraki on Wednesday urged members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to work together for the victory of the party at all levels.

    Saraki made the appeal  in Ilorin, the Kwara state capital at a meeting with PDP members in the state.

    The PDP members came from all the wards and 16 local government areas of the state.

    He said the victories of PDP at both federal and state levels would be beneficial to all the members in the state.

    The Senate president said that the future of PDP is now bigger and brighter than what it used to be.

    “If we emerge victorious at the federal level all of us will be the beneficiaries. In the state, with your support we will win the state. All of you here are the key players in Kwara politics. With unity of purpose no party can contest with you.

    “We are here to unite all of us under the party we belong to today. I amassuring all members that there will be equity, internal democracy and justice. It is not going to be winners take all. As far as I am concerned everybody here today belongs to our political structure.

    “There is nothing like old or new Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). We have all become one PDP. There is nobody here that will not say one way or the other we have not been together before. I am very sure that the future is bigger and brighter than the past. I want all of us to be united for the progress and development of Kwara state.

    “As par the politics of the state, nobody can wrest the power from us if we are united. By the grace of all of us in the forthcoming elections, we will emerge victorious both at the federal and state levels.

    “We will ensure that we work as one party, because we have always worked together before. We will see that all the wards and local governments popular candidates emerge based on their popularity and acceptability. I want to emphasis it that I don’t have any anointed candidate at all levels. I don’t have candidates for state Assembly, it is the person you want in your constituency that I will okay. Don’t allow anybody to deceive you that I have endorsed any candidate.

    Read Also: Saraki : PDP calls for immediate arrest of Miyetti Allah leader

    “I implore party leaders and elders not to drop my name to impose unpopular candidates. I don’t have candidate for the National Assembly. All of us will collectively choose who becomes the next governor. We will ensure that there is no faction but one PDP. We will ensure that meetings in the local government areas take place in one venue. And we will all work together for the interest of the party.

    “I want to assure you all that as far as I am concerned everybody belongs to one PDP family and there is no favouritism of one man over the other.

    “Please go back home to start the work. I am sure many more will come back and join us because those that left left under the wrong assumption that it will be different from what it used to be.

    “They were misled that those coming are out to move them away. Nobody is moving you away because this place belongs to you too. Let us go back and start work closely together and by the grace of God we will all be victorious.”

    “I urge both old and new members of the party to ensure peace and harmony in your wards and local government areas.”

  • 2019: Use PVC to elect leaders not weapons – Sultan

    The Sultan of Sokoto and President General, Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs ( NSCIA) Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar on Tuesday urged Nigerian youths to use their PVCs not weapons to choose their leaders.

    According to the reverred leader, is the only sure way to ensure the success of their parties and candidates in the forthcoming elections.

    ‎”I urge you to obtain your PVCs. Without which you cannot not vote for your favourite party and candidates in the forthcoming elections in 2019.

    “We should see our PVCs as religious and weapons not the kind of weapons given to our youths by unscrupulous politicians to cause mayhem in our societies.

    ” If you love Buhari, the only way you can ensure his success is obtaining your PVCs and same thing with Governor Tambuwal and other aspirants,” he said

    Sultan made the call in his message to Muslims on the occasion of Ed-el-Adhan.

    The religious monarch also reiterated his call on them to shun acts of thuggery or violence, saying no election worth a precious life of any Nigerian.

    He maintained that traditional rulers have no favourite party or candidate other than the choices of their subjects.

    Read Also: 2019: Fight for political offices, Youths urged

    However, the royal father appealed to politicians and political parties not to take politics as do or die affairs, stressing that only God gives power to whoever He wishes and at the time He wishes so.

    “We should therefore play the game by its rules. We should avoid making inflammatory and divisive statements in our politicking. And after the election whoever God gives the office we should support him to succeed,” he said

    He further urged Nigerians to continue supporting their leaders with prayers and advices in order to deliver on their mandates successfully while reminding them of the need‎ to also pray fervently for a sustained peace across the country as according to him, no country would progress without a permanent peace and tranquility.

    In the same vein, the religious leader commended the efforts and resilience of security agencies in their drive towards securing the country.

  • NASS committed to credible elections in 2019 – Dogara

    Speaker of House of Representatives, Mr Yakubu Dogara, has said that the Legislature is committed to ensuring that Nigeria gets credible elections in 2019.

    Dogara expressed the commitment at a meeting of the leadership of the National Assembly with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu.

    He acknowledged the gains recorded in the 2015 elections and urged INEC to ensure that standards were improved upon.

    “I want to reiterate that we are committed to an electoral process that will better our experiences of our 2015 general elections.

    “We already set a standard where the world has avowed our electoral process to be fair to a certain degree and we must not go below that standard,” Dogara said.

    He pledged the commitment of the lawmakers to enabling INEC to achieve the goal of credible polls through appropriation.

    The speaker expressed concerns about what he described “an emergency approach’’ being taken towards the 2019 elections.

    “As leaders of the National Assembly, we are committed to appropriating whatever is needed within the confines of the resources of the nation for INEC to be able to actualise this and that is why this meeting is important.

    “However, personally, I have some questions that I intend to raise, but I will raise these in the process of discussion because it appears that we are treating this 2019 election as an emergency.

    “It ought not to be, so that is just my concern,” he added.

    On his part, INEC chairman thanked the leadership of the National Assembly for its continued support.

    He stressed the need to act quickly, especially as elections were exactly a hundred and ninety-one days away.

    “Let me, on behalf of the commission, thank your Excellency and the leadership of the National Assembly for this meeting.

    “We are now re-energised and more reassured that our plans for the 2019 general elections are absolutely on course as far as funding is concerned,” Yakubu said. (NAN)

  • Insecurity, fake news and 2019 election

    SIR: The persistence of insecurity and political tensions in the country have become a matter of concern as the country heads to 2019 general election in few months’ time. From Boko Haram, kidnapping, cattle rustling, ethnic militias and killer herdsmen, Nigeria is swimming in the tide of uncertainties. Nigerians are living in fear. The wanton destruction of lives and property continue to take a dangerous dimension. In some Northern states, blood-thirsty bandits are having a field day, sacking villages and killing defenceless masses.

    These killings have defied lasting solution in spite of numerous operations launched by the president and chief of army staff. These includes Harbin Kunama in Zamfara State, strategically launched to contain the menace of cattle rustling and to secure the affected communities, Ayem Akpatuma (cat race) – Benue State to forestall strike from dangerous herdsmen; Operation Crocodile Smile (Southeast) to stem the tide of violent agitations by members of IPOB. Unfortunately, the presence of these security agencies has failed to restore lasting peace in the affected states. Instead, security continues to deteriorate on daily basis.

    The abysmal failure of the security agencies to bring to an end the continuing carnage in troubled states of Benue, Taraba, Adamawa, Plateau, Zamfara and now Sokoto indicates that something is absolutely wrong with our security network.

    Of course, the insecurity predates Buhari administration. It has however, worsened under its watch. The questions begging for answers are: why has the spate of killings increased under this administration? Is there any correlation between the abject poverty, unemployment and the present general insecurity? Is the insecurity closely related to desperation by some politicians to be in power as we approach the 2019 elections?

    While the country continues to grapple with numerous security challenges, the purveyors of hate speech and fake news are not helping matters. They have become cog in the wheels of finding lasting peace to the insecurity bedevilling the country. Their actions continue to ignite or fuel more crises than solving them. The proliferation of fake news in our social media has become matter of great concern. Nowadays, social media have become an avenue of spreading false, unverified and fabricated news among Nigerians. One can just wake up and receive video clips of horrific killings in other countries but attributed to some ethnic or religion victims in Nigeria. Sadly, without verifying the sources, they are shared among friends or colleagues. By so doing, gullible minds are fed with wrong information. Even educated people have become victims of the fake news.

    The federal government recently launched a war against fake news. This is a good initiative and should be vigorously pursued. There is the need for aggressive campaign to halt the menace as insecurity, hate speech and fake news may make or mar the success of the forthcoming 2019 election.

     

    • Ibrahim Mustapha,

    Pambegua, Kaduna State.

  • 2019 election: 8 PDP governorship aspirants opt for consensus in Kaduna

    No fewer than eight governorship aspirants of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kaduna State have agreed adopt  a consensus candidate for next year’s  election.

    One of the aspirants, Dr Ja’afaru Sa’ad, told the  News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kaduna yesterday that the  idea was for the PDP to form a united front capable of defeating whoever the ruling APC fields as its candidate.

    “Eight of us seeking for the party ticket have been urged by our party to go, discuss among ourselves and come out with a consensus candidate,” he said.

    “We are all qualified and capable, but as members of the same family we do not have room for internal crisis usually associated with primary elections.

    “To me, this is unity of purpose. All we want is victory come 2019 elections, not only for our party but primarily for the people of Kaduna State.

    He said that the measure would enable the party channel all its resources, expertise and energy into ensuring that it put up a good fight and wrestle power from the APC.

    He identified the other aspirants as Malam Isah Ashiru, Mohammed Sani Bello; Bello Kagarko; Sani Sidi; Jonathan Kish; Ramalan Yero the immediate past governor of the state; and Shuaibu Mikati.

    “Our central goal is to beat the APC and its candidate, as such, the need for PDP, being a one united family to work together for the interest of the party and the people of the state.

    “Eight of us were at the meeting on Tuesday, except for Ashiru who sent a representative.

    “We embraced the idea with all our heart. We will commence sitting hopefully this week to bring out one candidate that will beat the APC come 2019 elections,” he said.

  • 2019: Cleric urges Muslims to obtain PVCs

    As the nation warms for the 2019 general elections, the Chief Immam of Area 10,Mosque in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Alhaji Yahaya Al-Yolawi has urged Muslims in the territory to obtain their Permanent Voter cards (PVCs) .

    The cleric, who gave the advice on Friday in Abuja his Jumat sermon to the congregation, said this was to enable them elect leaders of their choice during the exercise.

    He noted that barely one yer to the general elections, some Muslims were yet to obtain PVCs as part of their efforts to perform their civic responsibility toward enhancing democracy and ensure political development of the country.

    The chief imam, whose sermon dwelt on “Commanding good and forbidding evil is a collective responsibility“, also called on Muslims to shun evil and continue to cherish in their deeds.

    “The act of commanding what is right and forbidding what is wrong is one of the most important Islamic teachings stressed in the Holy Quran.

    “If Muslims fail to do their duty of enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil, wrong doing and corruption will spread throughout the ummah (society),“he said.

    He also called on Muslims to see hating evil as part of their responsibilities toward sanitising the country of corruption and other negative tendencies capable of retarding the progress of the country.

    Al-Yolawi, who called on the security agents in the country to check the activities of some sects in their fledgling stage in some parts of the country to guard against crisis, prayed for the peace and development of the country.

  • U.S.-based woman declares for presidency under PDP

    A U.S.-based woman, Princess Oyenike Oyedele Roberts, has declared for the presidency of Nigeria on the platform of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the 2019 presidential election.

    Nike Roberts, as she is called, while addressing supporters in New York, also dissociated herself from corruption, vowing never to accept any donation from corrupt Nigerians to fund her campaign.

    She said her aspiration was built on five-cardinal plans: Uninterrupted power supply, quality healthcare for all, creation of one million jobs annually, quality affordable education and security of lives and property.

    The PDP presidential aspirant, whose campaign slogan is ‘Hope 2019’, is the Vice Chair of Nigerian-American Public Affairs Committee and the President, Association of African Media Practitioners in the U.S.

    She blamed the problems of Nigeria on what she termed the current faulty structure, saying the Nigerian president in the next political dispensation must have the will to restructure the country to realise its potential.

    Notwithstanding the allegation of corruption levelled against PDP when it was in power, she urged Nigerians to trust her integrity as she had not been tainted by any act of corruption having not held political positions.

    Roberts said PDP was poised for a major shift ahead of 2019, claiming it was the party to beat and a viable platform because it had national appeal and spread.

    “Our political system is driven by money and that’s why we have the kind of leadership. The system should be driven by meritocracy – what you know to do, how to do it and the will to do it.

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    “That is what should drive people; it’s not how much money you have or how much money you can invest in a person that you can control at the end of the day.

    “That’s what gave rise to the God-fatherism notion that it is who you know that gets you to the top. That system has continued for so long.

    “But I’m seeing a new breed of leaders coming; a change that’s going to cause a shift in how we do politics in Nigeria. We don’t allow meritocracy to rule; we allow money to rule,” she said.

    She called for more determination in the fight against corruption so as to secure notable convictions with commensurate consequences through the executive, legislative and Judicial commitments.

    The Osun-born presidential aspirant, in her 50s, said at the centre of her heart is the security of lives and property, saying: “We must secure the borders to prevent illegal infiltration and activities”.

    “As a matter of urgency, the National Identity system must be concluded in order to account for every individual in the national database.

    “This will put face to crime and assist law enforcement agencies to deliver efficient services. I will also move for the professionalism of law enforcement agencies through inter-agency cooperation and improve their welfare.”

    She said apart from creating at least one million jobs annually, there would be an urgent review of the minimum wage to living wage to match current trends as well as a relief package for the extremely poor.

    The politician said she would advocate for an expansion of the health insurance scheme to include all citizens while there would be incentives to encourage regular health checks.

    Roberts promised to allocate minimum of 15 per cent of the annual budget to education as well as the total overhaul of the system to allow for early instruction in science, mathematics, engineering and technology.

    She said: “There must be continuous training and certification for teachers and instructors at all levels. The public school infrastructure must be upgraded as a matter of urgency”.

    The politician pledged to overhaul the power infrastructure and tackle the ineffective model of operations to increase power generation to at least 20,000 megawatts using renewable sources to support the fossil sources.

    Roberts said she had support base in all the 774 Local Government Areas and expressed confidence in the ability of the Independent National Electoral Commission to conduct credible poll in 2019.

    Nike Roberts attended Reagan Memorial Baptist Girls’ Secondary School, Lagos(1975-81) before leaving for the United Kingdom to study hotel management in Oxford. According to her website, www.nikeroberts.org, Nike returned to Nigeria to work in the hospitality industry by developing her own brand of lunch delivery services to corporate clients, and event catering.

    She later left for the US where she attended Gwinnett Technical College in Georgia.

    She then started the first multi-cultural television station in Atlanta area, which showcases the experience of Africans in Diaspora. She also produced and hosted her own talk show.

    Nike has degrees in Office Administration & Technology, Information Security, and Technical communications.

  • 2019 election: Cleric counsels youth against political thuggery

    Ahead of the 2019 general elections, a non-governmental organisation, Humanitarian Voluntary Association for Community Development (HUVACOD), has advised Nigerian youths not to allow themselves to be used as weapons in the hands of politicians.  Speaking at a lecture put together by HUVACOD in Lagos on Friday, the guest speaker Dr AbdulHakeem Lateef, who is the Lagos State Commissioner for Home Affairs, enjoined youths to be agents of good change while giving support to constituted authority.

    Delivering his talk on the theme, ‘Politics and Islam’, to commemorate the Ramadam period, Lateef noted that youths have a role to play towards establishing good governance and leadership. “I want to enjoin all to support the leadership of the day because leaders are made only by God and come 2019, come out and participate fully in the electioneering process not as thugs but as peaceful change agents.

    “We see the youth as leaders of tomorrow, hence the reason this organisation always targets them in our programmes. They are an integral part of governance at all levels. Before the 2015 general elections, we organised a similar forum, where youths were taught how to be a part of excellent electoral conduct devoid of violence and malpractices,” Kareem added.

    The well-attended programme had in attendance representatives of Surulere LG chairman, Hon. Tajudeen Ajide, House Leader, House of Representatives, Hon Femi Gbajabiamila, and Lagos House of Assembly Surulere Constituency 1 rep, Hon. Desmond Eliot, market leaders, religions leaders and prominent politicians in Surulere. The organisation organises voluntary work camp, environmental management, youth volunteer corps training, community development, traffic control volunteer, disaster rescue management and good governance training.

     

  • Ajimobi, Shittu in war of words

    MINISTER of Communications Adebayo Shittu yesterday accused Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi of being afraid of him (Shittu).

    He said Ajimobi was afraid because of going to jail if he succeeds him in office, owing to mismanagement of the state’s resources.

    But the governor said it was the minister, who should be afraid because of the allegations against him.

    Shittu, who spoke to reporters during his visit to the All Progressives Congress (APC) national secretariat in Abuja on the outcome of the party’s ward congresses, said: “I want to say that if anybody is desperate in the Oyo political firmament, it should be Governor Ajimobi, who believes that if Barrister Shittu succeeds him, he will be in jail. That is what he is reported to have always told people who mentioned me to him.

    “He thinks that I am too principled, firm, unbendable and uncompromising when it comes to the issues of morality. It is he who is desperate to stop me, not me being desperate to become governor.

    “The rules are clearly there and like somebody who believes in the rule as a lawyer and man of law and order, if I follow the rules to contest the primaries in a free, fair and credible poll and did not win, I will take up something else.

    “I am not desperate to become the governor of Oyo State. It is the other way round because the governor is desperate to stop me for whatever reason.”

    On whether he had taken advantage of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu’s APC Reconciliation Panel to bring about a solution to the disagreement between him and the governor,  the minister said: “I can say straight away that I am like any other Nigerian that heard that a committee was constituted. No invitation was extended to me for any purpose of discussions, negotiations, reconciliations or whatever. Nobody can blame me for that.”

    Shittu said Ajimobi had failed in so many things “including human relations and others I cannot say openly in the media”.

    He queried: Why is he afraid of going to jail if another Buhari like me comes to power in Oyo State? Why is he afraid of primaries?”

    However, a statement issued by Ajimobi’s Special Adviser, Communication and Strategy, Mr. Bolaji Tunji, quoted him as saying that the minister should be the one to be afraid of going to jail in view of the damaging allegations made against him by all his aides, who resigned en mass following his refusal to pay their emoluments.

    “In any case, Shittu should be the one that should be afraid of going to jail in view of many allegations made against him as minister. Few of these are his alleged illegally-acquired property in Ibadan and Abuja and sudden unexplainable and stupendous wealth not commensurate with his emoluments.

    “In addition, his recent attempt to covert and appropriate a parcel of land belonging to Saki community, which was stoutly resisted by his own people, has shown his level of greed, avarice and penchant for appropriating what does not belong to him.

    “Governor Ajimobi remains a distinguished senator of the country who had successfully traversed the corporate world and got to the peak of his career as the Managing Director and Chief Executive of a multinational; a position that requires a high degree of integrity, ability and capability.

    “All these attributes have reflected in the way he has successfully managed the affairs of the state in the last seven years, which has transformed the face and fortunes of the state and had attracted unmatched number of investors to the state.”

    The governor advised aggrieved stakeholders in the just concluded ward congresses to explore the party’s internal organs for seeking redress rather than engaging in actions capable of further sowing the seed of discord within the party.

    As leaders and stakeholders in the party, the governor said it would be counter-productive to engage in actions and utterances that tend to further divide the party, adding that he would on his own part keep doing the best for Oyo State.