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Tag: 2019 election

  • Deliberate falsehood won’t win you 2019 – APC tells PDP

    Deliberate falsehood won’t win you 2019 – APC tells PDP

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) on Sunday told the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that it should rethink its strategies of returning to power in 2019 as deliberate falsehood will not help it attain its mission.

    The party said that Nigerians are not gullible and can differentiate between a party that  brought the country to where it is today and the Party clearing the rot and rebuilding the country.

    Reacting to a statement credited to the PDP about the President’s request borrow about $5.5 billion loan, the party in a statement signed by the National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi said the PDP must wake up to new the realities that the days of borrowing to pay salaries and fund bogus projects are long gone.

    It reminded the PDP that the loan being requested by the President was to fund specific projects that will boast the nation’s infrastructural development, adding that the loan is meant to be used to fund the budget deficit in the 2017 budget.

    The statement reads: “In reacting to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) recent statement on the plan by the President Muhammadu Buhari administration to obtain a $5.5 billion foreign loan, the All Progressives Congress (APC) urges the PDP to wake up to new realities that the days of borrowing to pay salaries and fund bogus projects are long gone.

    “In developing economies, governments typically resort to borrowing to finance economic development projects because taxation and other revenue streams may not necessarily provide sufficient funds for economic development.

    “The recent borrowing plans proposed by the President Buhari administration is no different as the President has clearly stated in his request to the National Assembly that the loan will be used to finance the 2017 budget deficit and invest in critical and verifiable infrastructure project which will ultimately grow the economy.

    “The PDP in its statement unapologetically claimed that it “meritoriously” governed the country for 16 years and “handed over a buoyant economy to the APC in 2015’’. Really, what could be further from the truth? The APC considers the claim a new height of PDP’s insensitivity to the populace and has further exposed the PDP as a Party unrepentant for the rot it left the country after its 16 years rule.

    “Even when crude sold above $100, the immediate past PDP-led administration struggled to build savings. In addition, the excess crude account was misspent. Poor capital expenditure meant badly-needed infrastructural development was put on hold. This forced construction companies with government contracts to cut back and sack thousands of workers.

    “Nigerians will sadly recall how in the leadup to President Buhari’s assumption of office, former finance minister and coordinating minister of the economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala in May 2015, revealed that Nigeria was borrowing to pay government salaries.

    The former Minister had said that “Out of the N882 billion budgetary provision for borrowing, the government has borrowed 473 billion naira to meet up with recurrent expenditure, including salaries and overheads.”

    “On April 2016, Okonjo-Iweala who served as finance minister under President Olusegun Obasanjo between 2003 and 2006 and again under President Goodluck Jonathan between 2011 and 2015 also blamed the country’s present economic situation on the zero political will of the immediate past government to save for the rainy day.

    “Today, successive national budgets of the APC administration has prioritised and increased budgetary allocation for capital projects as one of the strategic ways to stimulate economic growth in the country.

    “The economy has started responding to policy initiatives of the government as evidenced in the improvement and stability of the naira exchange rate; increase in the country’s foreign reserves and the recent announcement by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) that the country has officially come out of recession.

    “The borrowing plan of the President Buhari-led administration is inevitable in view of the current economic realities in the country. As stated in the president’s loan request to the National Assembly, the loan will be invested in infrastructure projects such as the Mambilla Hydropower Project, Construction of a Second Runway at the Nnamdi Azikiwe international Airport, counterpart funding for Rail projects and the construction of the Bodo-Bonny Road, with a Bridge across the Opobo Channel.

    “If the PDP thinks that by spewing falsehood and unsubstantiated claims, the party will return to power in 2019, then the PDP needs to seriously rethink its strategies.

    Nigerians are not gullible and can differentiate between a Party who brought the country to where it is today and the Party clearing the rot and rebuilding the country.

    “As the National Assembly considers the proposed borrowing plan submitted by the President, the APC calls on members of the Senate and House of Representatives to rise above sundry sentiments and approve the request which is pro-people and in the overall best interest of the country.”

  • We’ll get Buhari to seek re-election in 2019 – Minister

    We’ll get Buhari to seek re-election in 2019 – Minister

    The Minister of Communication, Barr. Adebayo Shittu, said on Wednesday that top supporters of President Muhammadu Buhari are trying to convince him to seek re-election in 2019.

    Shittu stated this while featuring as a guest on the Breakfast Chat with South West Group of Online Publishers (SWEGOP) in Ibadan, Oyo State.

    The minister argued that Buhari has delivered on his campaign promise of tackling insurgency and other forms of criminal violence in the country, corruption and reviving the economy.

    According to him, Buhari has recorded success in the three key areas, particularly with Acting President Yemi Osinbajo sustaining the legacies in his absence.

    Buhari is currently on a medical vacation in the United Kingdom.

    Shittu said there is no need for Buhari to stop the good work he is doing, stressing that a four-year tenure is not enough to completely overhaul the Nigerian system.

    The minister said: “It is for the interest of Nigeria. We have had in this country series of administrations in the last 18 years. But what did we have to show for it? We know that Nigeria was brought to its knees by corruption. It is also because governance has not been focused on value added services. It has been an era of impunity. Impunity leads to disorderliness, lawlessness and cheating of the masses. But we have a President who committed himself to a three-point agenda of fighting corruption, insecurity and to repair the economy. “Everybody will agree that the fight against corruption has been sustained and the era of impunity has been banished under President Buhari. Again, he has succeeded in routing out of Nigeria the element of violence, not only in the North East where Boko Haram held sway but also in the Niger Delta where militants had been restive.

    “On the economy, President Buhari has blocked all loopholes through the Treasury Single Account (TSA) where corruption and funds due to Nigeria were siphoned. He has also introduced so many economic measures to try to stabilize the local currency, encourage Foreign Direct Investment (FID) into the country and get the economy on its feet.”

    When asked if the President’s ill-health makes the efforts reasonable, Shittu said anybody can fall sick at anytime.

    He expressed the confidence that Buhari would return to the country to continue his work.

     

  • 2019 election: 15 political parties form coalition

    FIFTEEN political parties yesterday met to inaugurate a new coalition with the aim of winning the 2019 general election.

    The group, Coalition for a New Nigeria (CNN), is made up of Chairmen of Labour Party (LP) Abdulkadir Abdulsalam, National Conscience Party (NCP) Dr. Yinusa Tanko, Democratic Peoples Congress (DPC) Rev. Olusegun Peters and 12 other political parties.

    Others are African Democratic Congress (ADC), National Action Council (NAC), Progressive People Alliance (PPA), People for Democratic Change (PDC), Democratic Alternative (DA), Better Nigeria Peoples Party (BNPP), Action Alliance (AA), United Democratic Party (UDP), Peoples Party of Nigeria (PPN), Alliance for Democracy (AD), Youth Democratic Party (YDP) and Mega Progressives Peoples Party (MPPP).

    Addressing reporters in Abuja, Peters condemned what he called poor leadership and several socio-economic challenges confronting the country.

    He said it was inappropriate for the citizens to continue to endure hardship in the midst of plenty.

    Peters explained that the challenges facing the people necessitated the need to advocate for a new system that would lead to a new Nigeria.

    He said: “What is happening now and before since our democracy started is not right. The coalition is to recreate the system that will work. That is why it’s for us and for everybody. We want to recreate the system that will work. So, we will talk about where we want to go and how to build the new Nigeria we want.

    “So let’s focus on the new Nigeria we want to build because we need Nigerians to know.”

    Abdulsalam said CNN is committed to collectively support a new government in the next general election.

    He stated that the coalition would help address incompetence in government to overcome challenges of education, security and power.

    According to him, the coalition would first prioritise reconciliation of agitating groups and de-emphasise money politics.

    He emphasised that the coalition would not work with any other political party whether All Progressives Congress (APC) or Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) but present a credible candidate for 2019 general election.

    “We have not contemplated merger and we are not contemplating it yet. Each one remains independent of its own political parties. But our effort is to collectively support a new government for 2019 at the centre.”

    He restated that the party will remain independent while maintaining its followership across the country.

    On ideologies of the respective parties, he said the parties had the same fundamental ideologies, stressing that the coalition already made lot of consultations and meetings before its final decision.

    “We have the capacity that we can do it. We have the effrontery and the courage,” he added.

  • Ogun Central APC chair endorse Adeola’s guber bid

    Ogun Central APC chair endorse Adeola’s guber bid

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) Chairman in Ogun Central Senatorial District, Hon. Kunle Adesina, on Monday threw his weight behind Senator Solomon Adeola 2019 governorship ambition.

    Addressing a huge crowd at the residence of another APC chieftain in the state, Hon. Segun Osibote, in Ijebu Ife, at the weekend, Adesina said it is important that Ogun West aspirant gets the state governorship ticket.

    He said: “We cannot continue to rotate the governorship slot between Ogun Central and Ogun East. As our governor has said, it is only fair and just to support the aspiration of Ogun West this time around.”

    Other politicians who spoke at the event are former Commissioner for Chieftaincy Affairs in Ogun, Aare Tunde Alabi; former chairman of the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Hon. Mufutau Ajibola; a former commissioner in the state, Chief Samuel Aiyedogbon and the host.

    Adeola thanked those at the gathering for supporting his 2019 governorship ambition.

     

  • I will defeat Buhari in 2019 – Fayose

    I will defeat Buhari in 2019 – Fayose

    Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, said on Friday he would defeat President Muhammadu Buhari in the 2019 presidential election.

    The governor, who spoke at a meeting with political office holders at the Government’s House, Ado Ekiti, claimed he has the attributes to unseat Buhari in two years time.

    Fayose boasted he would become Nigeria’s next president in 2019.

    He said: “I have penchant for taking powers; that one in Buhari’s hand. I would take it. I’m going straight to that Villa. I’m the next president.

    “I want to be the next president of Nigeria. My own won’t be this change that has brought nothing. We are going to represent the people well and tell them the truth.”

    Fayose insisted that two former governors of Ekiti – Segun Oni and Kayode Fayemi – would fail if they contest the 2018 governorship election in the state.

    He added: “Just because Ayo Fayose has won a second term to become governor of Ekiti, some people also think they can come back now. But I want to tell them that it is not possible. I am the man wholeheartedly loved by Ekiti people because of the many developmental projects that have brought great infrastructural and developmental advancement to Ekiti.

    “If you go around Ekiti, you will see my handiwork dotting various parts of the state. This is why I am the man who every Ekiti people will follow in 2018.”

     

     

  • It is unfair to start 2019 campaign for Buhari – Idahosa

    It is unfair to start 2019 campaign for Buhari – Idahosa

    A former Commissioner for Information and Orientation in Edo State, Hon. Charles Idahosa, has said it was unfair for some politicians to start 2019 re-election campaign for President Muhammadu Buhari.

    Idahosa said he feared for the country because President Buhari was yet to complete two years in office and people were already talking about second term campaign.

    Speaking with journalists in Benin City, the ex-commissioner stated that the country is gradually drifting with the manner some All Progressive Congress (APC) leaders and members of the government were handling President Buhari’s health issue.

    Idahosa said he felt sorry for President Buhari because he is surrounded by sycophants and people that tell the President only what he wants to hear.

    He said it was worrisome that the APC is having problems just like the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) when the APC leaders could have used the problems in the PDP to strengthen the party.

    He said, “I feel very worried and I fear for the APC, I thought the party would take advantage of the confusion in the main opposition party that is the PDP but from all indication, the APC is having problems just the same way PDP is having problems. The way some of the top leaders and those powerful people at the national level are talking, it frightens me and I fear for Nigeria.

    “Nobody is telling President Buhari the truth and the country is just drifting. I fear that we are going back to 2010 over the issue of his health and what happened to late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, a situation where top members of the party and top persons in government will be talking about a President running for a second term when we are all aware that the man needs to take care of his health. It has nothing to do Buhari, anybody can fall sick at any time.”

    “I am not quite happy at the way things are going at the national level and the feud between the National Assembly and the Presidency might lead us to where we started from. We might just erode the gains since 1999 if we are not careful. I am using this opportunity to call on those at the top to forget about their self -interest and forget about what they stand to gain. The National Assembly, the Presidency, the confusion in the hierarchy of the party over to run or not to run, we shouldn’t be talking about that, we should be talking about the welfare of the President because when the President is not well, Nigeria is not well. It is because the party is not in control of its members in the National Assembly.”

     

  • INEC will not disappoint Nigeria in 2019 – Yakubu

    INEC will not disappoint Nigeria in 2019 – Yakubu

    The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, on Tuesday said the electoral body will never let the nation down in the conduct of all elections including the 2019 poll.

    He assured Nigerians that INEC will never take instruction from anybody.

    Yakubu said while over 40 electoral offenders have been prosecuted, the commission has outstanding 100 case files with it for consideration.

    He also said the 23 INEC staff indicted during the rerun legislative election in Rivers State had been placed on suspension.

    The INEC chief regretted that political parties had been presenting criminals and certificate forgers as candidates.

    He said a similar disciplinary action might be taken against 202 staff being investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over the N29billion poll bribery recorded during 2015 general last elections.

    Yakubu made the disclosures at a Stakeholder Validation Conference on the 2017-2021 INEC Strategic Plan held in Abuja.

    He said: “We will never take instruction from anybody. We will take our own decision and stand by the consequences of the decisions we take.

    “We have been learning lessons from the past elections and we will continue to do what we have been doing courageously while we learn from the past.

    “We will continue to approach the conduct of election with honor and credibility. We will never, never let the country down.”

    He defended INEC’s decision on Kogi State governorship election after the death of the preferred candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Prince Abubakar Audu.

    Yakubu said the commission did not take any instruction from the Attorney General of the Federation, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN), as speculated.

    He said, “I have explained this over and over. Kogi was the first governorship election conducted by this new commission. It came less than two weeks after we were sworn in. It came with its own complication that challenged our own electoral jurisprudence.

    “What happened in Kogi was not provided for in the constitution and in the Electoral Act and our guidelines. But we managed to do very well, specifically with our response, which some said came late (as it only came after a pronouncement by the Attorney General of the Federation) suggesting also the implication of the coincidence.

    “The election was held on Saturday and was declared inconclusive on Sunday and the candidate also died on Sunday.”

     

  • Jonathan disowns comment on 2019 elections

    Jonathan disowns comment on 2019 elections

    Former President Goodluck Jonathan has debunked an online report which claimed that he spoke about 2019 elections during a meeting with his kinsmen in Otuoke, Bayelsa State.

    A statement issued by Jonathan’s media aide, Mr.Ikechukwu Eze, dismissed the claim as lies, stressing  that the former President was neither in his home state on the stated date nor met with his “kinsmen who paid him an end of year visit” as claimed in the report.

    It reads: “Our attention has just been drawn to a fabricated online publication alleging that the former President Goodluck Jonathan made comments on the 2019 elections, while hosting his kinsmen in Otuoke last Tuesday.

    “Those reports are false and bear no truth whatsoever. The former President was not in Otuoke on Tuesday, neither did he make the comments attributed to him. In fact, he has only just returned to his community to spend Christmas having been away for two weeks. So he could not have been hosting anyone there last Tuesday.

    “Of what good is it to our national development efforts if some people spend so much energy spreading falsehood about fellow citizens and our nation?

    “The former President wishes his fellow compatriots a merry Christmas and prosperous New Year in advance, and advises all to always channel their efforts towards working to attain the nation of our collective dreams.”

  • ‘We’ll bounce back aheading 2019 election’

    ‘We’ll bounce back aheading 2019 election’

    The Deputy Senate Whip, Hosea Ayoola Agboola weekend at the expressed optimism that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will soon bounce back ahead of 2019 general elections, saying the recent loss of the Federal Government to the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) is a temporary setback for the ruling party.

    The senator while addressing hundreds of supporters of the party from across the 13local governments of Oyo North senatorial district who stormed his country home? in Igbojaye, Itesiwaju local government area of Oyo State, following his loss in the national assembly election, told the bewildered supporters to put the past behind them and remain resolute saying “tough time never last but tough people do”.

    Agboola who preached calmness and peaceful conduct of supporters in the face of glaring irregularities that marred the election culminating in the party losing the state to the APC, assured them that all hands are on deck to deliver the governorship election for the PDP.

    He said the party’s candidate, Senator Teslim Folarin would win the governorship as the party had identified grey areas that contributed to the loss of the senatorial district and other areas in the state, stressing that, “INEC partiality, malfunctioning of the card readers and inability of our people to vote accordingly and inclement atmosphere with which our party agents and supporters alike were subjected to, are being looked into with a view to forestalling reoccurrence of such on April 11.”

    He told them that there was no alliance between the PDP and any of other political parties, stressing that, “Senator Folarin is still our candidate for the office of the governor while other candidates for the state house of assembly remained across the 32constituencies in the state.”

    Agboola said the PDP would gladly welcome those angling to join it before April 11.

    He thereafter thanked the people of the senatorial district for their support for him in the last four years, assuring them that there will be light at the end of the tunnel sooner than envisaged.The meeting which was held in Igbojaye in Itesiwaju local government area of the state had in attendance all PDP  leaders, party excutives from all the 13 local government areas that make up Oyo North district among others.