The Nation Newspaper

Tag: African Action Congress (AAC)

  • Ondo monarch pleads for Sowore’s release

    The Kalasewe of Apoi in Ilaje local government area of Ondo State, Prof. Sunday Amuseghan,  has pleaded with the Federal Government to release the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, from detention.

    The monarch said Sowore, who is a worthy son of Apoi, should be released unconditionally because his arrest and detention portends grave danger for democracy.

    The publisher of Sahara Reporters and convener of Global Coalition for Security and Democracy in Nigeria was arrested by the operatives of the Department of State Services over a planned protest tagged: RevolutionaryNow.

    He was accused of a plot to forcefully change the government.

    In a statement, the Kalasuwe said the arrest was a violation of Sowore’s fundamental human right, adding that , he did not commit treasonable offence because the protest has not been held.

    Kalasuwe, who faulted the rationale behind the arrest, said it was unfortunate that Nigerians usually forgot past events.

    He said Nigeria’s problems emanated from the military’s dictatorship and the tendency to gag the press and prevent freedom of speech and expression.

    The monarch said the planned protest would have presented to Nigerians and opportunity to express their feelings to President Muhammadu Buhari.

    Amuseghan said Nigerians were entitled to express their feelings, provided the protest was peaceful and violent-free.

    He said: “Not everybody can have access to the presidency in Abuja. This is democracy, not militarism, where people are cowed and jailed over issues relating to their welfare.

    “Sowore is an activist, and he was part of the struggle for this democracy. Therefore, he is entitled to express his feelings and that of Nigerians in a democratic setting”.

  • Rivers AAC governorship candidate alleges threat to life

    Barely one week to the April 2 collation of results of the March 9 governorship and House of Assembly elections in Rivers State, the governorship candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Biokpomabo Awara is complaining that his life is in danger. His running mate, Chief Akpo Bomba Yeeh, resigned yesterday morning and defected to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    Yeeh, 67, an Ogoni, was yesterday afternoon received in the Government House, Port Harcourt, by Governor Nyesom Wike and other PDP leaders.

    Awara, 38, an engineer, in a telephone interview yesterday, was surprised on the resignation of his running mate. He said he spoke with him at 7 pm on Sunday, but Yeeh did not inform him of his plan to resign and defect to the PDP. The candidate said gunmen were after him and members of his family.

    AAC’s governorship candidate said: “I saw my running mate’s resignation online. I have not received the resignation letter he claimed to have addressed to me. I do not know about Yeeh’s resignation.”

    One of the leaders of AAC in Rivers, who spoke in confidence in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, yesterday afternoon, declared that the motivation for Yeeh’s resignation from the party (AAC) and his defection to PDP was the N200 million cash he received from Wike.

    Commissioner for Information and Communications Emma Okah, who doubles as the Director of Information and Communications of the PDP Campaign Council, described the N200 million accusation as untrue.

    Okah said: “The allegation that Governor Wike gave AAC’s deputy governorship candidate (Yeeh) N200 million is not correct; it is untrue and it is absolute nonsense.

    “Chief Yeeh is a respected elder from Ogoni Kingdom and his action by removing himself from being used to destabilise Rivers State and cause pain to the people is commendable. Everything is not about money, as there are lots of good people around.

    “We should commend him (Yeeh) for taking the bold and historic step, instead of calling him names. Future generations of our people will remember the moral lesson of his present actions.”

    Awara, in a statement yesterday evening, hailed the God-fearing people of Rivers State for voting for him and other candidates of AAC on March 9, stressing that they had taken ownership of the crude oil and gas-rich state.

    He also lauded Rivers people for hitting Port Harcourt streets yesterday morning to protest the plan by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on the mandate of the people.

    The AAC’s candidate said: “The peace-loving people of Rivers State have taken over ownership of the struggle to liberate their state from reactionary forces. It is despicable that Wike is ready to do nasty things, in order to stay in power. Wike luring my deputy with N200 million is evidence of his level of desperation.

    “I have not received any resignation letter from my deputy. Christians the world over believe in fair play, but Wike’s actions and reactions cast serious doubts on his sense of morality. Wike had earlier said the AAC was not a  party to reckon with. It is shocking he could shamelessly use public funds meant for the development of Rivers State to shop for deputy governorship candidates of opposition parties.

    “The same Rivers governor had earlier bought off the deputy governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Rivers State, despite existing provisions, which clearly show that deputies are part owners of joint tickets, who cannot be easily separated from their candidates, once they have appeared on the ballot.

    “Despite the antics of Wike, Rivers people have obviously taken the position that the outgoing governor can no longer lead them. I won the March 9 governorship election. Whatever INEC plans to do, the Rivers people will resist attempts to steal their mandate.”

    Amaechi’s media aide, David Iyofor, was contacted yesterday evening through the telephone from Abuja, but he declined to react to Yeeh’s allegations.

    Read also: Rivers: Controversy over poll result collation

    Awara’s running mate, yesterday afternoon, visited Wike in the Government House, Port Harcourt. The governor and leaders of PDP received him.

    Wike, while receiving Yeeh, said that no one man’s interest was bigger than the state, stressing that all leaders must unite to develop the state.

    Wike said history would be kind to Yeeh for placing Rivers’ interest above personal consideration.

    With Wike while receiving Yeeh were the National Chairman of PDP, Prince Uche Secondus, who hails from Andoni LGA of Rivers: the state’s Chairman of the party, Chief Felix Obuah; a former Rivers governor, Sir Celestine Omehia; Senator-elect Barry Mpigi, an Ogoni, who facilitated the resignation and defection of the running mate; and other PDP leaders.

    Rivers governor said: “History will be on your side. You have shown that the interest of the state is above personal consideration.  God will not only protect you, He will reward you for this decision.

    “Rivers State is the only state we have. Everyone must work together to move this state forward. It is important to take this state to greater heights.

    “It is not everyone that can take this kind of decision. It requires maturity to take this kind of decision.”

    Wike also stated that all leaders of Rivers, irrespective of their political affiliations, must work in unity to develop the state.

    He said: “All of us must work together, in order to forge ahead. No one man’s interest is bigger than that of the state.”

    The governor also welcomed Yeeh into PDP, noting that he would be part of the group to consolidate the development of the state.

    He said: “You are welcome to the party that will move the state forward. Those on the other side must understand that you cannot kill people, just to be in power.  With this bold decision, our brothers on the other side know that the end has come.”

    Wike thanked the running mate for refusing to allow himself to be a tool in what he described as the state’s destabilisation.

    Secondus described Yeeh ’s defection as a welcome development, which, he said, would help the state to grow.

    Secondus said: “This is a welcome development. This is what a normal situation is supposed to be. The people will see the reason why we must work together. This is an uncommon  decision. You have taken a wise decision, because you have the interest of the people at heart.”

    PDP’s national chairman also called on INEC to bring the Rivers governorship and House of Assembly elections to a logical conclusion, so that the people could continue with their lives.

    Secondus also called on Amaechi and other persons working with him (Transportation minister) to see reason why they should stop destabilising Rivers State and causing confusion.

    Yeeh had earlier stated that Rivers state developed by the founding fathers should be sustained by the efforts of all patriots.

    The running mate said: “Today (yesterday), I am in your midst to declare my defection to the PDP.  Governor Wike is a man of vision. He is a man of compassion. It is his compassion that endears him to the people of Rivers State. I choose to identify with him to move the state forward.”

    Yeeh also stated that as a retired security officer, he would work with Wike to promote the security of Rivers state.

    The running mate informed  Rivers governor that he had officially withdrawn his candidacy of AAC.

    Yeeh said: “I officially announce the withdrawal of my candidacy for the AAC. My loyalty is with the PDP. I cannot afford to leave the fast lane and go to the slow lane.”

    Rivers chairman of PDP, while also speaking, claimed that the running mate had searched his conscience and decided to work with the PDP to develop the state.

  • AAC governorship candidate’s allegations baseless, lacking merit – Wike

    The Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, has stated that the allegations leveled against him by the governorship candidate of African Action Congress (AAC) in Rivers, Biokpomabo Awara, are baseless and lacking in merit.

    Wike spoke on Monday through Rivers Commissioner for Information and Communications, Emma Okah, who doubles as the Director of Information and Communications of the Campaign Council of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state.

    He told Awara that governorship position is for mature people, tested and experienced persons and not for school boys with no record of public service.

    Rivers governor said: “I have seen and read a copy of the press conference and our conclusion is that the entire content is as worthless as the piece of paper bearing the speech and it would be worthless to offer him (Awara) a response.

    “However, allegations of wrongdoing against Governor Wike and the PDP in the press conference are false, baseless and lacking in merit.”

    The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Rivers state, Mr. Obo Effanga, also denied the allegation by the governorship candidate of AAC that Wike bought a house for him in Maitama, Abuja to support the governor’s re-election.

    Effanga said through the telephone last night: “It is laughable. I do not know anything about it.”

    Awara also alleged that Wike induced the Rivers Administrative Secretary of INEC, Elder Etim John, with N300 million, to deploy ad hoc staff that would support PDP during the March 9 governorship and House of Assembly elections, but John’s mobile line was not available as at press time, for his reaction.

  • Why we settled for AAC candidate in Rivers – APC

    Director, Strategic Communications of the Tonye Cole Campaign Organization, Prince Tonye T.J.T Princewill has said that the determination to vote out the Rivers state governor, Nyelson Wike necessitated the decision by leaders of the APC in the state to back the candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) for Saturday’s governorship election.

    In a statement made available to The Nation in Abuja, Princewill frowned at the exclusion of the APC and its candidate from the election even though the Supreme Court was yet to make any pronouncement on the faith of the party.

    He believed that Governor Wike’s overbearing influence has ensured that the APC is denied justice, adding that only the exit of Wike from the state will guarantee justice for the APC.

    He said: “Even though I can not hide my disappointment at the non-inclusion of APC Rivers state candidates on the ballot come Saturday, I too must approve the decision reached by our leadership to support Sowore’s AAC in our upcoming Governorship election. With the way things are hot in Rivers state, a double AC may just be what we need.

    “Seriously though, “Wike must go” and “Power must rotate”, were what attracted me to this cause. It was not candidate-specific then and it is not candidate-specific now. Tonye Cole and the other APC candidates will still have their day in court. The apex court has not yet spoken and since we’re advised not to speak while eating, Rivers state without Wike will allow the judges to speak even more freely.

    “The injustice of exclusion like this will be written about for years to come and the actors and the role each one played will be dissected by law professionals and the rest of us, the world over. It’s nothing short of a disgrace. Justice for me is the annulling of this election, I still stand by that. But since justice has been denied us for far too long, we have opted to do what is available to us now; Vote out Wike. For as long as we all await justice, let us do it with a different person sitting in Brick House.

    “That is where Biokpo Awara comes in. I urge all those who love us to vote for him and all those who despise Wike’s politics to do same. I must advise you all to do so peacefully. Election Violence is not our friend. He is Wike’s brother. And this Saturday, both Wike and his brother will meet their match when the security agencies ensure your votes count, free from harassment and free from intimidation.

    Oyibo man talk say; “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. Let us hold this one first before all our candidates come out from that bush.

    Vote Biokpo Awara. Vote AAC. Remember the motto and also the logo. Hands up. Let’s take it back from those who want to keep taking us back.

     

  • ‘We have confidence in INEC to conduct polls’

    Despite the barrage of allegations and mudsling on the nation’s electoral umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), one of the newly registered political parties, African Action Congress (AAC) on Thursday said the party has a firm belief in the integrity and competence of the electoral body to conduct free, fair and credible elections.

    The assurance came on the heels of allegation and counter allegations from both the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) and the leading opposition party, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) with both of them accusing the electoral commission to be working for the other.

    Speaking in Ibadan, the Oyo State Governorship candidate of AAC, Engineer Akinwale Laosun flayed the ruling and opposition parties as well as two other leading opposition parties saying the fears of what they had both done in the past is affecting their conscience and making them suspicious of one outsmarting the other.

    While expressing confidence that INEC will be fair to all the parties, Laosun noted that the top four parties in the country, including the ruling party are just a mere duplication of the leading and main opposition party.

    He noted that the membership of the parties comprises people who have traversed and moved from one of the parties to another since the current political dispensation and the level of poverty across the country is an indication of lack of visionary leadership for the country.

    Read Also: INEC and our suicidal political elite

    He urged Nigerians not to be weary or discouraged by what he described as unpalatable situations across the country but turn out in mass to exercise their voting right in electing a new set of “visionary, youthful and focused leaders for both the country in the person of Omoyele Sowore and himself at the state level.

    He was accompanied at the briefing by the Deputy State Party Chairman, Mr Ola Olaniyan, Director General, Akinwale Omololu Laosun (AOL) Campaign Team, Mr Olukayode Oluwaremi, candidates for the house of assembly elections and other members of the Campaign team.

    Charging the electorate, the AAC governorship candidate said the forthcoming election is about the future of the country which must be done with all sense of responsibility if the experience of people in the last 20 years is anything to go by.

    “AAC believes in INEC to carry out a credible election. Both APC and PDP know themselves and know each other’s secrets and that is why they are attacking INEC.

    “One thing we know is that if the people will turn out to vote in the coming elections, it will be very difficult for the election to be rigged. We have trust and confidence in INEC to conduct a free and fair election. If Nigeria is to move forward, this is the time to vote in new sets of credible, youthful ad focus leaders.

    “This is the time to make a transformational change that our country needs and I know that with AAC in power, the future is better secure.”

  • 2019: No rational Nigerian will vote for APC,PDP – Sowore

     

    The presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) and publisher of Sahara Reporters Omoyele Sowore, has said that there is no rational human being in the country today that would willingly cast vote for the two major parties (APC and PDP) in the imminent elections.

    He said this while referencing past years of stagnation under the watchful eyes of the two parties, who are unrepentant masterminds of the country’s political and economic doldrums.

    He premised statement on their bad antecedents saying: “no Nigerian in the right frame of mind would vote an oppressor to power.”

    He further advised Nigerians to forget about the rented crowd at rallies of the major parties and rather focus on the need for courage in upstaging the horrible forces that have kept them in darkness. He counseled the citizens to brace up and take the bull by the horn, emphasizing the need to vote for conscience rather than allow votes to be swayed by pecuniary gains that have been consistently used to bait the electorates.

    “Every trick in the political world has been played and outplayed by the political class.” He began. “Nobody is carried away by money anymore; nobody is swayed by rented crowd out there, and there is the silent majority that has made a decision this time around to vote their conscience. If the elections are free and fair, there is no rational human being who will vote for the two major parties this time and what that means is that, we have the brightest chance.”

    Sowore spoke primarily to the young people of Nigeria. They consist of the largest demographic in the country and it is with them that the future rests.  He charged them with removing the old guard who have deprived them of basic amenities and made them residents of the poverty capital of the world. He encouraged young Nigerians not to give up in the face of hardship and despair but rather, they make vital efforts to reverse the status quo.

    “I understand there is a lot of anxiety and despondency” Sowore said while acknowledging that many people are acutely depressed about the country. “I mean– clinically depressed. That’s the truth, but, that is exactly why things must change because it is either we give in or brace ourselves up for a struggle like this in providing the liberation that we need. And the reason this must happen is because we have nowhere else to go. For those of us who are outside the country, we have seen other parts of the world and found out there is nothing as good as having a country that works and you come back so much energized considering you know that only less than one percent of the population is holding the country to ransom.”

    He said that the clarion call to redeem Nigeria must be heeded by all youths who intend having a thriving country they would be proud to call their own, and to have such a prosperous country, the youths that constitute major part of the electorates must speak in unity of purpose regarding voting his candidacy to power, adding that, he is poised to effect a seismic transformation to the country’s dwindling fortune.

    Speaking about his level of readiness to disrupt the political space, Sowore alluded his party’s monumental achievements since treading this path barely six months ago and issued sound warning to the old guard politicians that the 2019 elections won’t be business as usual. He said that, his party would use technology to demystify hitherto inscrutable election irregularities and table them as pieces of evidence to Nigerians and to the rest of the world.

    Read Also:Lagos is sure for APC, says Tinubu

     

    “The disruption has been done in the last nine months.” Sowore started. “I made a pronouncement in one of the first town hall meetings that, since I have disrupted the media I was going to disrupt the political space and, you can count the number of things that have happened since we started.”

    He reeled out both his personal achievements in the quest to effect transformation in  his environment beginning from when he was a student at the university of Lagos and what his party, the AAC, has attained within the short time of coming into existence.

    “You know the disruption has spread and is completed already.” He continued. “First, was that we wanted to demystify all the very powerful criminal institutions in politics and we have done that. We have demystified the power of money.  We have demystified the notion that Nigeria is complex and vague. We have demystified the notion of religion and ethnicity in the sense that, we have been able to travel round the country, get wide acceptance, under the same political party, young people from across all different ethnic groups and religious beliefs, nobody is thinking ethnicity and everybody is thinking humanity till now. We have disrupted the political process to the point that we are forcing conversations that ordinarily don’t happen to happen. We have disrupted it to the point that today; almost everybody is doing a townhall meeting, which had never been done before.”

    “Buhari was supposed to do one but he didnt. It was a townhall meeting, regardless.  Otherwise, it would have been their parachute rallies, dropping their wares and what have you but they are being forced to answer questions. We have created a narrative around the efficacy and efficiency of a vibrant youthful political class in the country.  We have disrupted the notion that only big parties can discuss elections.”

    “We created a party that is less than six months old. However, one of the most popular political parties in Nigeria today is AAC and it’s just six months old. So, a number of theories have been disrupted and the disruption process is complete. We are waiting to ensure it delivers victory to a disruptor in two weeks’ time.” He rounded off.

    Sowore’s emergence as the presidential candidate of the AAC few months ago seems to have given hope to many Nigerians about a third force that was consistently gossiped as viable alternative to the Peoples’ Democratic Party and the ruling All Peoples’ Congress, two parties that have been likened to the two sides of a coin. Perhaps, the long awaited revolution in the political firmament would take place if the candidacy of Omoyele Sowore is voted into powers.

     

  • Sowore faults exclusion in presidential debate

    The presidential candidate of African Action Congress (AAC), Mr. Omoyele Sowore has said that his non-inclusion in the planned Presidential debate organised by the Nigeria Elections Debate Group (NEDG) in collaboration with the Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (NBC) was the beginning of electoral fraud in the forthcoming general elections.

    This is as he insisted that Boko Haram was still in control of some Local Governments in the country, contrary to the position of the government that the sect had been decimated.

    Sowore stated this on Thursday at Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos during an interview with airport correspondents after he arrived from United States, aboard Delta Air Lines.

    Sowore insisted that President Muhammadu Buhari was already jittery over the outcome of the 2019 polls and would make attempts to rig the election in his favour, which he said would be severely kicked against by the people.

    He declared that he was ready for debates on the election, stressing that he and his followers would fight to ensure his inclusion on the list of debaters for the election.

    Read Also: Sowore’s party gets INEC nod

    He emphasized that he was the most prepared and popular of all the candidates and wondered why his name would not be included in list.

    He said: “What we know is that Mr. President and his party are already afraid about conducting free and fair polls in 2019. The beginning of the electoral fraud was the non-inclusion of my name among the presidential debaters.

    “We won’t allow this to deter us because for us, the debate has commenced. Apart from using Nigerian media, there are some other media where issues are already been discussed.”

    On the refusal of Buhari to give assent to the Electoral Act as passed by the National Assembly, Sowore said the president wanted to perpetuate fraud with his non-assent.

    He said that if assented to, the Act would reduce corruption in the system.

    On the resurgent Boko Haram, Sowore insisted that the sect had not been decimated by the government.

    He said the terrorist group was still in charge of about 14 local governments in the North East.