The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Abdullahi Umar

  • INEC braces up for Katsina bye-election

    The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, on Wednesday in Kankia, Katsina state, declared its readiness to conduct the bye election for Kankia/Kusada/Ingawa federal constituency slated for Saturday, November 17th, in the three affected local government areas.

    The Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, for the state, Alhaji Jibrin Ibrahim Zaraewa told a stakeholder’s electoral forum called to assess the state of preparedness of the commission to conduct the bye-election that every necessary arrangement has been made to ensure a hitch free election.

    He said “We are set to conduct the best bye election ever. INEC is committed to upholding the highest tenets of integrity, openness, laying level playing ground for a free, transparent, credible and acceptable election. We will live up to our vision, mission, and core values of integrity and impartiality’’

    Read Also: INEC list: I am not distracted, says Nwosu

    The REC further announced that four candidates including Abubakar Yahaya Kusada of the APC, Abdusalam Yusuf Abdullahi of PDP, Nasiru Lawal Aminu of PRP and Abdullahi Umar of YES party, shall contest the bye election in the federal constituency

    Zarewa further disclosed that about 193,915 registered voters from the three local government areas that make up the constituency including Kusada, Inagawa and Kankia, are expected to turn out to vote in the designated 425 polling units on Saturday, with the final results expected to be collated at Kankia local government headquarters.

    On the recruitment of ad-hoc staff, he said that the commission has already recruited 1874 number of adhoc staff from NYSC, adding that the commission has also accelerated the collection of PVC cards through area registration ward levels

    On the distribution of sensitive materials, the REC maintained that they are to be collected from the central bank and distributed through the electoral officers of the affected local government areas, in the presence of all political parties, agents, security agencies and, NGOs and observers

    He said “The presiding officers will sleep at the RACs and very earlier in the morning leave to the various poling units to commence the election process at 8.am’’

  • INEC releases names of nominated candidates for by-elections

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has released names of political parties and their nominated candidates for by-elections in Kastina, Bauchi, Kwara and Cross River, scheduled for Nov. 17.

    The list was released in a statement signed by INEC National Commissioner, and Chairman, Information and Voter Education, Festus Okoye on Thursday in Abuja.

    The by-elections are for Kankia/Kusada/lngawa Federal Constituency of Katsina State, Toro Federal Constituency of Bauchi State, Ekiti/lrepodun/Isin/Oke-Ero Federal Constituency of Kwara, and lkom ll State Constituency of Cross River State.
    According to INEC, four political parties submitted nominations for the Kankia/Kusada/lngawa Federal Constituency of Katsina State by-election, as at Nov. 6, which was the last day for the submission of Forms CF001 and CF002.
    The parties and their nominated candidates are Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), Nasiru Kankia; Yes Electorate Solidarity (YES), Abdullahi Umar; Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) , Abdussamad Abdullahi; and the All Progressives Congress (APC), Abubakar Kusada.

    Read Also: INEC begins display of voters’ register in Borno

     

    The Commission also disclosed that two political parties submitted nominations for Toro Federal Constituency of Bauchi State by-election.

    These are PDP with Shehu Umar as its candidates, as well as the APC with Yusuf Nuhu as its candidate.

    For Ekiti/lrepodun/Isin/Oke-Ero Federal Constituency of Kwara, the Commission said five political parties nominated candidates including the Labour Party, Femi Ana-Ara; and the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN), Olaniyan Ayorinde.

    Others are PDP, Jimoh Damilare; Peoples Party of Nigeria (PPN) Ajayi Bidemi; and the APC, Olawuyi Tunji.

    Okoye also disclosed that only the PDP nominated candidate, Egbong Nkoro, for the by-election in the lkom ll State Constituency of Cross River State.
    “The by-elections will hold as scheduled on Nov. 17. To this end, all arrangements have been made for the successful conduct of the elections.
    “The Commission implores all participating political parties and their candidates to cooperate with it to ensure peaceful and successful elections,” he said.

  • Who gets Gombe APC ticket?

    Four aspirants-Habiu Muazu, Inuwa Yahaya, Abdullahi Umar and Ahmed Mailantarki–are struggling for the governorship ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Gombe State. Who gets the ticket? Group Political Editor EMMANUEL OLADESU examines the chances of the contenders at the shadow poll.

    THE governorship primary is gathering momentum in Gombe State. The All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are warming up for the exercise.

    PDP has four aspirants. They include Jamil Ishyaka, Bello Bala Azare, Alhjaji Ahmed Walama,Hassan Mohammed,and Bello Bala Tinka. They are pushing for a government of continuity.

    APC has five aspirants. For them, the race is not a do or die affair. According to the party, they have resolved to work with the winner at the primary. The resolution is important because during the 2015 primary, some aspirants worked against the APC.

     

    Umar Bamusa.

    A young and dynamic politician, Bamusa is popular. His nick name is “moving train.” He is a defector from the PDP. When he left the PDP, many of his followers also called it quits with the platform. His generosity is well known. He is perceived as a croud puller. A section of the party believes that he has the backing of former Governor Danjuma Goje.

    Bamusa has visited  114 electoral wards across  11 Local Government Areas. During the recent Sallah celebrations, he allegedly dolled out N40 million to party faithful.

    Exuding confidence, he has described himself as the candidate to beat. But, he urged the contenders to maintain a bond of unity so that APC can be victorious at the poll. “I am a founding member of the PDP. Also, I was a strong financier of the CPC in Gombe State. I have built   political bridges within and outside my party.”

    “Our primary focus now is to ensure that we go to the primary successfully and we go to the field. I enjoy a lot of public support and I am very confident that if the APC can trust me with their mandate, Gombe people will trust me with their mandate to govern the state.,” he said.

    The weakness of the aspirant is that he he has not held any public office before.

     

     Inuwa Yahaya:

    Yahaya was the APC flag bearer in 2015. His acceptability cuts across the three senatorial districts. Many believe he has the financial clout to wrestle power from the PDP.But his greatest challenge is that most people consider his family as”settlers” in Gombe State, and they are attributed his defeat to the “settler”status. Also, he does not seem to enjoy the support of the traditional institution.

    But, Yahaya, a former Commissioner for Finance, is determined. He is a courageous politican. He recently donated 15 vehicles to top party leaders. He also gave out 125 motorcycles to local government  chairmen and secretaries of the party across 114 wards.

     

    Habu Muazu:

    Habu Muazu, popularly known as Yeriman Kashere, (Prince of Kashere) ,is a strong and powerful politician. He is a former  influential youth leader of the PDP and campaign coordinator of former President Goodluck Jonathan in the Northeast. His bid is being supported by many party leaders.

    Analysts belive that understands the political terrain, having lived all his life in Gombe and contributed immensely to the electoral victories og the PDp in the past.

     

    Idris  Umar

    Senator Idris Abdullahi Umar represented Gombe Central in the Senate between 2007 and 2011. He is a former Minister of Transport. He s President Jonathan.

    Many believe that he has ben operating on the fringe in the APC. He has the financial muscle. But, he is not influential in the party. However, he is close to Senator Goje.

     

    Khamisu Mailantarki

    Mailantarki, a former member of the National Assembly, represented Gombe/Kwami/Funakaye Constituency, is a promising politician.

    He is perceived as a light weight. He does not have a formidable structure. To the PDP, he is not a threat.

    But, some observers have said that other contenders can only underrate him to their peril. He is a loyalist of President Mohammadu Buhari. He has the record of not defecting from the opposition since the days of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC). He led Gombe opposition parties into merger talks to form the APC.

     

  • 30, 000 Borno IDPs return from Cameroon

    The Borno State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) says 30,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) who fled the state at the peak of the Boko Haram insurgency have returned home.

    Malam Abdullahi Umar, the Spokesman of the agency, said in a statement issued in Maiduguri on Wednesday that the figure was part of the 78,000 IDPs that fled the state to Cameroon during the period.

    Umar said that the returnees were part of the 43,000 of the IDPs that signified interest to return home.

    He said the IDPs were being kept in a camp at Banki in Bama Local Government Area of the state.

    He said that a team of SEMA officials had already visited the camp to assess their condition.

    “The SEMA Executive Secretary, Malam Alkali Goni, has led a delegation of the agency to Banki to assess the conditions of the IDPs,” he said.

    The spokesman also said that the IDPs had been assured that the State Government had made adequate provisions for their welfare.

    He quoted Alhaji Baba Shehu, the Caretaker Chairman of the local government, as thanking the state government for the gesture and promising judicious use of the items donated.

     

  • Two arrested for killing, selling human parts

    The Police Command in Plateau on Monday arrested two men for allegedly killing a nine-year-old girl, Ummi Abdullahi.

    The command said the suspects were also alleged to have sold the girl’s parts to another person for N400, 000.

    The Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr. Chris Olakpe, who briefed journalists in Jos, said the suspects got late Ummi on her way to buy massa, a local food, for her father, Abdullahi Umar.

    “On November 14, one Mr. Abdullahi Umar of Dauda Area, Nasarawa Gwong, reported at the Nasarawa Gwong Police Station that his daughter was missing.

    “The next day the corpse of late Ummi Abdullahi was found at the back of an uncompleted building in Fillin Sukuwa area, Jos, with her mouth, tongue and private part removed.’’

    The commissioner said that when the woman selling the food was invited by the police, she fingered one Auwalu Sani.

    “The police later arrested Sani and during interrogation, he confessed to have conspired with one Nafiu Usman to sell the girl to one Alhaji Aminu Sale at of N400, 000.”

    Olakpe said the suspects confessed that they had earlier sold one Hajara Abubakar, 12, to the same person, who paid them N300, 000.

    “The evidence of the suspects against Alhaji Aminu Sale is overwhelming and he is also in our net,’’ he added.

    He said the police had also arrested two women, Mrs. Chundun Jugu and Mrs. Elizabeth Zakari, both of Angwan Takai in the Bokkos Local Government Area, for conspiring to steal a one-week-old child.

    Olakpe said the suspects deceived the mother of the boy, Mrs. Zainab Zakari, while on admission at Godiya Clinic, Bokkos, after she delivered her child through caesarian.

    “The women deceived the mother that the wife of the Plateau Governor was visiting Bokkos to provide assistance to women that delivered babies through caesarian.

    “They took away the baby to an unknown destination but were later arrested in Bukuru, Jos South Local Government,’’ the News Agency of Nigeria quoted the police commissioner as saying to journalists.

    Olakpe said that Chindun had earlier deceived her husband that she was seven months pregnant, adding that she stole the child to show her husband that she had delivered.