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Tag: 2019 polls

  • 2019 polls between thieves, trustworthy politicians, says El-Rufai

    Kaduna State Governor Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai has said next year’s general elections are between thieves and trustworthy politicians.

    The governor spoke yesterday in Kaduna at the inauguration of 69-member Campaign Council of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

    He said the main opposition, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has nothing to offer Nigeria as its ideology is for “looting”.

    El-Rufai, who delivered keynote address at the launch of the campaign council at Murtala Mohammed Square in Kaduna, described Monday’s kick-off of PDP’s campaign in Sokoto as a gang-up of “thieves” who rented crowd from a foreign country.

    He said: “The 2019 general elections are between trustworthy people and thieves; between patriotic leaders and those who went to Abuja to loot our treasury. So, we have to stand up and show them that Kaduna is not a state that will allow them to cheat the people and the masses.

    “What we have done in Kaduna State in the last three years has shown that APC is the one that loves the masses and assists the masses, not a party that will take public funds and share them among the rich. That is why we want you to go out and tell the people to vote for President Muhammadu Buhari again.

    “Thieves have ganged up against President Buhari. They were in Sokoto yesterday and they rented crowd from Niger Republic, just to show people that they have supporters, because Sokoto people refused to come out. So, when it is time to launch President Buhari’s campaign in Kaduna, people should come for the whole world to see that Niger Republic people are not the ones disguising as Nigerians.

    “We must show that we are in support of President Buhari. And when is time to cast our votes, we should vote for President Buhari and all APC candidates. In Kaduna, we will support APC from top to bottom.

    “With the hard work of our members and the votes of our people, APC won a sterling victory in 2015. The government we produced has anchored its agenda on putting the people first…”

     

  • Yoruba colloquium, George and 2019 polls

    THE statement announcing a Yoruba colloquium for December 3, 2018 was carefully crafted. It would involve Yoruba leaders across party lines, said the announcer who is an adviser to Bode George, a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain. Some of those expected at the occasion include Chief George himself as the keynote speaker, Afenifere leaders like Ayo Adebanjo and Femi Okurounmu, and Bode Olajumoke and Ebenezer Babatope, both PDP leaders. How that eminent list constitutes Yoruba leaders across party lines is hard to say. The list is doubtless longer, but the attendance will likely be one-sided.

    The objective of the colloquium, it must be conceded, may be salutary, if a little idealistic in view of the contemporary political developments upending structures and processes in Nigeria. The meeting hopes to examine the position of the Yoruba yesterday, today and in regards to the 2019 polls. They hope to find ways of engendering unity of purpose and preparing the race for leadership now and in the future. They also worried that the Yoruba seem to have declined so badly as to become rudderless.

    It is not clear what Chief George is going to say in his address, considering that he seems to have inspired the colloquium, or whether what he has to say will be earthshaking and definitive. As the inspirer of the meeting, Chief George will dominate the gathering, use it as a sounding board for his pet ideas, and, given his temper and worldview, hope to mould discussions along his political and social makeup. Nor is it clear what he hopes to say that he has not said before. He is domineering and opinionated, and he will leave no one in doubt that he and others like him truly represent the Yoruba worldview, particularly politically and ethically.

    Chief George’s bona fides cannot be questioned. He earnestly desires a prominent role for the Yoruba, and wants them in leadership positions because he believes that they possess the robust ideas and philosophies which Nigeria requires to forge ahead in the world. The problem, however, is that regardless of his sometimes noble intentions, Chief George lacks the discipline to accommodate other points of view, tolerate dissent, and is quite unable to see all sides of a story, especially when that story wars against his preferences and senses.

    The colloquium is unlikely to end as loftily as Chief George hopes. The list of attendees is in fact likely to be one-sided, as news clips already indicate. And having reinforced one another in the PDP, particularly their support for former president Goodluck Jonathan, and having suggested at various fora that the Southwest’s endorsement of President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015 was a mistake, the possibility of suddenly being open-minded, as the colloquium would require to make it successful, is very slim. In short, despite their noble intentions, the meeting may sadly end up as a gathering of PDP or pro-Jonathan supporters.

    What is in fact questionable about the colloquium is the method deployed by Chief George and his group. In view of current political realities, there is also nothing to suggest that his fundamental assumptions about Yoruba unity, the kind that existed during the Awolowo era, are both relevant now and even required. As Chief George must have found out, seeing that his meeting will unavoidably be one-sided, it will take much more than he is willing to give to call a meeting that will be truly representative of the Yoruba. It is no longer even desirable.

    Instead, Chief George and other Yoruba leaders should focus their search on aggregating, disseminating and marketing the principles and values that have ennobled the Yoruba over the centuries. This is a more difficult route to traverse, but it takes care of present existential realities and transcends the political divisions and schisms that now inundate the Yoruba and obviously agitate Chief George. Yoruba politics is bifurcated; there is little Chief George can do to ameliorate or heal those divisions. But there is much more he and others can do to sell those seemingly abstract realities that occupy the subconscious of every Yoruba person and politician.

    The Yoruba may be facing collective threats even now; but those threats will need to concretise in unmistakeably alarming way to engender the kind of unity of purpose shown under Chief Awolowo, Michael Ajasin and Abraham Adesanya. However, once that threat is neutralised, the Yoruba always return to their factionalised and regicidal default setting. In calling the meeting, Chief George spoke of notable achievements recorded by eminent Yoruba people, hoping that when the race comes together and speaks with one voice, such feats could be re-enacted. He must however understand that those feats, nearly all springing from individual enterprise, did not owe anything to Yoruba unity or common purpose. There is a limit to how the Yoruba can return to the past; and there is an even greater limit to how partisan political leaders, some of them quite undisciplined and uninspiring in their personal lives and philosophies, can midwife that ethnic utopia.

  • 2019: We will never tolerate any breach of the law, INEC warns

    As the Independent National Electoral Commission wind up activities on the submission and withdrawal of candidates for the 2019 general polls, the commission has warned that it would not tolerate any breach of the timelines provided for in the timetable for the elections.

    The warning is coming at the heel of the closing date for the substitution of candidates for the governorship, states Assembly and council polls. 

    Political parties have till midnight today 1st December 2018 for any substitution or withdrawal of candidates ahead of the 2nd March, 2019 states elections.

    INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu who disclosed this yesterday in Abuja noted that the commission has religiously followed the timelines and has so far executed seven of its fourteen scheduled activities.

    Read Also: 2019: Sokoto youths endorse Tambuwal, Atiku’s bid

    He said: “We did not, and will never, tolerate any breach of the strict timelines provided for in the timetable for the elections.

    “You would recall that on 9th January 2018, the Commission released the timetable and schedule of activities for the 2019 General Elections. For the first time in our history, the date for General Election was announced over a year in advance.

    More specifically, the timetable lists fourteen (14) step-by-step constitutional and other legal and other statutory activities required of the Commission ahead of the elections beginning with the formal Publication of Notice and ending with the election day.

    So far, INEC has successfully implemented seven (7) out of the fourteen (14) activities strictly on schedule, including the conduct of party primaries for all elections and the processes of nomination of candidates.” 

  • 2019 polls: Customs tightens security at borders against smuggling of firearms

    •10, 498 officers sit for promotion examination

    THE Nigeria Customs Services said yesterday it has tightened security across Nigeria borders to tackle the proliferation and smuggling of firearms, ahead of next year’s general elections.

    Its Comptroller – General, Hameed Ali, said the service has also put the seaports under surveillance since most firearms and ammunitions are smuggled into the country through the areas.

    He spoke with reporters during the conduct of promotion exercise for Customs Service personnel at the Computer-Based Test Centre of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) in Abuja.

    Ali said: “Most of the arms and ammunition coming into the country come through the seaports. Those ones that we discovered coming through the border stations, we have already tightened security. Although, there are some areas in the North, which are porous.

    “We are doing the best we can and we work on information because intelligence information helps a lot. Anywhere we discover that illegal arms are about to enter the country, we go there and get it locked down.”

    Ali, who was represented by ACG Olapolu Fatade of Customs’ Human Resource Department, explained that 10, 498 officers took part in the promotion examination for different ranks across the country.

    He added that the agency chose to conduct the exercise in JAMB CBT centres because of its credibility and timely release of results.

    JAMB’s Head of Media, Dr. Fabian Benjamin, explained the board’s readiness to continuously give the public the desired impact to enhance institutions through conducting transparent and credible examinations at its CBT centres nationwide.

    Read also: Customs confiscates N572m goods, arrests 11

    He explained that organisations and agencies chose to conduct their exercises at JAMB because of the trust and confidence they had for the board to deliver.

    “Before each examination, we charge the candidates to conduct themselves in the best way because once you breach the examination’s code of conduct, you will be immediately sent out of the hall.

    “We are very firm, determined and irrespective of whoever is involved, our benchmark is that you must behave accordingly as expected of you,” Benjamin said.

    He added that the board would soon begin registration for 2019/2020 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination in December as scheduled.

    According to Benjamin, no specific date has been fixed for the beginning of the registration yet.

     

  • CAN to President: restrain security agencies from interfering in 2019 polls

    With the 2019 general elections  approaching, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) yesterday urged President Muhammadu Buhari to issue a presidential order to the army, the police and other security agencies to be non-partisan, neutral and apolitical in the elections.

    The CAN leadership met with the President at the State House, Abuja, stressing that the non-interference of the security agencies would secure international respect and honour for the country in the comity of nations.

    According to the association, what was paramount to the association was the survival and peace of Nigeria rather than the ambition of any politician.

    It also told President Buhari to uphold the principle of rule of law by obeying court bails, especially on the release of former National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd), and the leader of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), Ibrahim El-Zakzaky.

    The other demands made to the President included the overhauling of the security architecture of the country and the sack of the service chiefs, the resolution of the minimum wage controversy, the release of Leah Sharibu still in the captivity of Boko Haram.

    President Buhari told the group that his vision and objectives for Nigeria were very clear and that he was on course to achieving them.

    According to him, he was doing his best to fulfil his electoral promises of securing the country, fighting corruption and resuscitating the economy.

    Fighting corruption, he said, took a long time, especially with the need to adhere to the rule of law.

    Buhari said: “It is on record that some cases initiated by the anti-graft bodies since 2003 are yet to be concluded.

    “We will, however, not be discouraged. Where monies have been recovered, such monies will not find their way back to the looters as I have directed the EFCC to account for  money it has recovered and put it in a dedicated account.”

    While responding to the request of the CAN for an overhaul of the intelligence gathering system, President Buhari said the burden of intelligence gathering involved everyone, especially  district heads, traditional rulers, opinion leaders and religious leaders.

    He said bandits operating in various communities lived among the people and enjoined leaders of thought in various communities to avail security agencies of information about the criminals.

    President Buhari told the visitors that he had assurances from the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, that the 2019 elections would be free and fair as he had been a  victim of  fraudulent elections and a  beneficiary of a free and fair election in the past.

    The CAN President, Dr. Samson Ayokunle, said: “The degree of desperation we saw in the politicians during the intra-party elections that took place recently do not give many people hope concerning 2019 unless serious steps are taken to let decency prevail.”

    The group commended  the President on some of the strides his administration has recorded.

    CAN President said: “CAN acknowledges some of the relative changes that your leadership has brought into being since the emergence of your Presidency, especially the creation of the awareness that corruption is a cancer in our nation which all of us must join hands together to exterminate before it exterminates us.

    “We are aware of the job opportunities being created through the office of the Vice President. This initiative has reduced the number of jobless teeming youths, especially graduates in the country. It is our hope that very soon, the economy will be totally recovered and all our closed industries and factories would be reopened to provide gainful employment opportunities to the teeming unemployed Nigerians.

    “In reality sir, despite the efforts of government in the area of security, Boko Haram terrorists are still attacking some soft targets. However, we are grateful to God that their audacity of hoisting flags where they had captured has become history. We commend Your Excellency over your determination, commitment and courage in bringing out the best out of our military.”

  • 2019 Polls : PFN preaches peace, ask Nigerians to shun vote buying

    THE Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), Ogun State chapter, on Friday, prayed for peaceful general elections in 2019, with calls on Nigerians to embrace peace and vote according to their conscience. The PFN also urged Nigerians to desist from politicising everything happening in the country, and shun vote selling and buying as well. The State chairman of PFN, Apostle David Otaru, who made this known in Sagamu, Ogun State, while addressing reporters at the anniversary of the first 100 days of the new executive of the Christian body, also advised that whoever commits a crime should be treated as a criminal, without politicising it along ethnic, religious and party lines. He warned that Nigerians risk making the country unsafe, if they continue

    to politicise suspects of “crimes or play politics with people’s lives.” Otaru, who disclosed that the new executives of PFN in the state, will focus on evangelism and charity to the needy in the next four years, said that, Nigeria is greater than one individual and his dream. “Nigeria is a collective project and not one man’s project. In an election, there will be winners and losers, that is how it is and we saw that in the just concluded mid term election in the US, where the Democrats won more seats at the House of Representatives than the Republicans. “There should be religious tolerance in Nigeria. I came from a Muslim background. In my family, my eldest sister is a Muslim and she is in my house. One of my brothers recently called to say he is now a Christian.

    “Everybody should be free to practice what he deemed fit as his faith. Ninety eight per cent of my family members are Muslims, and we still live peacefully and happily together and the constitution allows it. “We should allow peace to reign, this is very important as we approach another election year. We

    should not play politics with everything. One of our problems in this country is that we play politics with everything. I won’t play politics with people’s lives. “Whoever commits crime should be treated as criminal. If you play politics with that, it means we are not ready for a safe Nigeria,” he said.

  • I’ll campaign for Buhari, Sanwo-Olu, says Ambode

    •Governor accompanies Buhari to Seme

    Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has assured Nigerians, especially Lagosians, that he will lead a strong campaign to ensure victory for President Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, in next year’s general elections.

    Ambode made the promise when he addressed reporters at the Presidential Wing of the Muritala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja, after receiving and accompanying President Buhari to the inauguration of the new Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) border posts at Seme-Krake in Badagry.

    The governor said it was important for the APC to retain its leadership positions at the federal and the state levels.

    He said: “I have just accompanied Mr. President to the Nigerian-Benin Border Post. So, what we have inaugurated today is a joint border patrol post between Nigeria and the Republic of Benin; it is called Seme-Krake Border Post.

    “But again, just to also use this opportunity to let Lagosians know that we are heavily committed to the re-election of Mr. President, you can see that his continuous visits to Lagos reiterate the fact that he is actually a lover of Lagos State. I am committed to ensuring his re-election.

    “We are going to campaign heavily for him. I am also committed to ensuring that the APC wins the governorship election come 2019. We support the candidacy of Babajide Sanwo-Olu and we will make sure that APC retains Lagos State and the centre.”

    The governor earlier received President Buhari at the airport before they proceeded to Seme where the President joined his Republic of Benin counterpart, Patrice Talon, to inaugurate the border post.

     

  • 2019 polls ‘ ll usher in maturity, peace, says Buhari

    PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has assured Nigerians and the international community that the 2019 general elections will be free and fair as well as usher the country into another clime of maturity, peace and unity.

    He spoke yesterday while receiving Letters of Credence from four ambassadors, including Ambassador of the Peoples’ Republic of Japan, Mr. Yutaka Kikuta, at the State House, Abuja.

    In a statement by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, the President said the country’s political and electoral institutions have continued to evolve in strength, skill and experience after each election.

    He said: “We are currently at the threshold of another general election and after five general elections since 1999, we expect that the 2019 elections will be free and fair.

    “The political system is good and if people work hard they will succeed.”

    Buhari also said the increase in number of political parties that will field candidates in 2019 elections indicates more democratic consciousness among Nigerians and willingness to serve the country.

    Receiving Letter of Credence from Ambassador of the Russian Federation Alexey Shebarshin, the President noted that discussions on reviving the Ajaokuta Steel Complex, partnerships in agriculture and other bilateral interests in trade and economic development will be sustained.

    He hailed the country for always standing by Nigeria.

    The President told Ambassador of the Federative Republic of Brazil Richardo Guerra De Araujo that the historical ties between both countries and the shared potentials for growth will be further explored, with strong emphasis on economic and social development.

    He said the number of Nigerians in Brazil already provided a strong reason for deeper and richer discussions for both countries.

    Buhari assured Ambassador of United Arab Emirates (UAE) Fahad Al Taffaq that Nigeria remained committed to strengthening the bilateral relationship that has existed between both countries for many years.

    He said the courtesies extended to Nigerians in the United Arab Emirates was commendable, assuring the envoy that his administration would keep strengthening business and trade relations between both countries.

    Ambassador of Japan said his country remained grateful for Nigeria’s concern and support during the flooding that devastated the country, promising to work hard to further enhance relations in technology, agriculture and trade.

    The Ambassadors of Russia, Brazil and United Arab Emirates assured the president that they would work hard to ensure improved relations in key sectors of the economy.

    They wished Nigeria the best in the forthcoming elections.

  • 2019 Polls: Afenifere group in closed-door meeting with Obasanjo

    Members of the Pan Yoruba Socio-cultural group, Afenifere, on Tuesday held a closed-door meeting with former President Olusegun Obasanjo in Abeokuta, Ogun, over the 2019 polls.

    The meeting which started around 3.30 p.m lasted about two hours.

    Mr Yinka Odumakin, who addressed newsmen on behalf of the group after the meeting, said the group was in Abeokuta to pay a return visit to Obasanjo.

    The former president had recently visited Chief Ayo Adebanjo, one of the leaders of the group, in Lagos.

    He said the meeting, which centred around the 2019 polls, was meant to harmonise the position of the Yorubas in Nigeria concerning the 2019 general elections.

    ” Few weeks back, Obasanjo came to Lagos to visit Pa Ayo Adebanjo and we are here again today to return the visit in order to further strengthen the friendship with the group.

    “The meeting also aims at creating an harmonious position in Yorubaland over the leadership of the country in respect of the 2019 general elections.

    “The general elections are around the corner and leaders across Nigeria are coming together to discuss the event, which is so crucial to the life of the nation.

    ” All hands must be on deck to get the country re-established and all grey areas must be ironed out,” he said.

    Odumakin described the 2019 presidential race as “exciting” in the light of the candidates, who have emerged from the two major political parties.

    He, however, said “the most important thing to the Afenifere group is the issue of restructuring.”

    According to him, the group will support any candidate, who prioritises restructuring, because Nigeria cannot realise its dream without restructuring.

    He said the group would soon adopt its preferred presidential candidate, saying “an official pronouncement would be made on the decision.

    ” The pendulum is swinging and we will let you know where it finally settles,” he said.

    Members of the group, who attended the meeting are a former governor of Osun state, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, a former Minister of State for Defence, Mrs. Dupe Adelaja, Chief Ayo Adebanjo and Hon.Oladipo Olaitan.

    Others are former Nigerian Ambassador to the Netherlands, Dr Tokunbo Awolowo- Dosunmu, Sen. Femi Okurounmu, Prof.Banjo Akintoye, Mr. Yinka Odumakin and Mr. Supo Sonibare
    (NAN)

  • 2019 polls: I’m waiting to see my challengers, says Taraba governor

    Taraba State Governor, Darius Ishaku, has picked  nomination form from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to contest next year’s governorship election.

    He said he was waiting to see the candidates to challenge him from the other political parties.

    The governor’s special adviser on political matters, Abubakar Bawa who spoke in a press conference in Jalingo on behalf of the governor, said  there was nothing   to worry about.

    He said: “The governor is ready for whoever the oppositions will nominate to challenge him at the election. In 2015, the election was a two-horse race between the PDP and the APC. In the end, PDP won with a landslide.

    “PDP won because it presented the right candidate (Darius Ishaku). The same scenario seems to be playing out. We are only waiting to see the candidate APC will field this time around.”

    Bawa said although PDP is very democratic enough to welcome any governorship aspirant who may want to contest on the PDP’s platform, members however, have unanimously agreed that Ishaku should fly the party’s banner.