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Tag: All Progressive Congress (APC)

  • A’Ibom Assembly splits as factional speaker emerges

    The Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly has split into two factions following the sack of five All Progressive Congress (APC) lawmakers in controversial circumstances Monday.

    The Speaker of the AKHA, Onofiok Luke had declared the seats of the lawmakers vacant for defecting from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to the APC.

    As a result of the development, some members of the Assembly Monday elected the member representing Essien Udim state constituency, Mr. Nse Ntuen as their new Speaker.

    The factional speaker is among those whose seats were declared vacant by Speaker Luke earlier in the day.

    Speaking with journalists in Uyo Monday night, Ntuen said that, their decision to change the Speaker followed members’ lack of confidence on the ability of Mr. Luke to lead the Assembly.

    He described the process that led to their purported sack as illegal, null and void as there were subsisting court orders even as the House rules and procedures were not duly and legally followed.

    “In the first place no such action as declaring our seat vacant took place because there was no mace, the former Speaker did not follow due legislative procedure of being announced into the chamber by the Sergeant at Arms rather he came in through the back door.

    “What happened in the House today was a normal legislative thing. We were supposed to sit on Tuesday, but on Sunday we got notices that the sitting had been rescheduled for today because of the public holiday on Tuesday and nobody objected to that. Unfortunately this
    morning when I came to the house, the gate was barricaded and we were not allowed to go into the premises.

    “Moreover, the purported action was not in the order paper for today’s plenary. The two items in the order paper were the consideration of the appropriation bill sent to the House by Governor Udom Emmanuel and a commemorative sitting for former Governor Victor Attah.

    “So in the light of these anomalies, members sat and elected me as the new Speaker. We will reconvene on Wednesday when other positions will be filled.

    “This will not be the first time a minority member will be elected a head of a legislature. The Senate President of the Nigerian Senate is a minority member.” He explained.

    Ntuen wondered why Mr. Luke would unilaterally declare their seat vacant when that of a member who defected to the PDP from APC last year was not given the same treatment.

    “So we elected a new Speaker because Luke is not good enough to be Speaker. He is incompetent and is been teleguided by the Executive against our quest to be independent and not to be labeled a rubber stamp Assembly.”

    He called on the people of the state not to see their action as confrontational but that which would make the legislature stronger in the discharged of its responsibility to the people of Akwa Ibom state.

     

  • Hope Party drags INEC, APC to court over “tradermoni” scheme

    The Hope Democratic Party (HDP) has dragged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to court over the short period given to parties to campaign in preparation for the 2019 general election.
    The Presidential candidate of Hope Party, Ambrose Owuru, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the party approached the court on Nov. 13 (Tuesday) to compel INEC to elongate the time for campaign to enable it propagate its message of “welfarism” to Nigerians.
    Owuru said that the party also wants the court to punish INEC for allowing the All Progressive Congress (APC) to indirectly lobby voters with N10,000 through the “tradermoni” programme supervised by the Vice-President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo.
    He said the action of Osinbajo through the scheme was ill-timed and should not be allowed to continue.
    “We want the court to declare the Federal Government’s tradermoni scheme illegal and breech of electoral act because it is a gimmick to financially induce voters ahead of the 2019 general election.
    “The court should reprimand INEC for failing to check the act of Osinbajo (Chairman National Economic Council) in openly giving out physical cash of N10,000 to market women.

    Read Also: INEC to close case today in Ekiti governorship poll dispute

    “The court should determine whether the disguise of tradermoni during this period of election is not a plan by the APC and Osinbajo to up-stage and disrupt Hope Party’s welfarism and wealth redistribution of N2 million grants to Nigerian families to end poverty.
    The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) and Newspapers Proprietors Association are also defendants in the suit.
    Owuru said NBC and Newspapers Proprietors Association were joined in the suit for not giving the party and its candidates due coverage of their events.
    “This could be targeted at denying the party rights to equal treatment and could deny Nigerians the right to informed choices at the 2019 presidential election,” Owuru added.
    No date has been fixed for the matter.

  • I won’t mortgage my conscience over APC crisis – Oshiomhole

    The National Chairman of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole, on Wednesday said that he would not bow to pressure that will make him act against his conscience over the crisis in the party.

    He made the declaration after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    Speaking with State House corespondents at the end of the meeting, he said that only three APC governors were unhappy with his running of the party while the majority are confident that he is doing his best.

    According to him, he  would rather obey his conscience than succumb to pressures that will make him do what is wrong.

    He said: “Let me say that if there is a choice between my conscience-what I believe is right and mortgaging that conscience in order to keep the job, I will have no difficulty resolving it in favour of my conscience.

    “And those who know me know that at my age I cannot learn new tricks. I am absolutely committed to justice, fairness, I am a stickler to enforcement of rules; because the source of relevance is derived from rules. I have lived my life fighting for justice and fairness.”

    The problem he has with the aggrieved governors, he said, is a family matters which he is confident will be resolved.

    He added “Three governors are not particularly pleased with the outcome of the primaries in their states.

    Change is easy, we all want change but the process of change can be traumatizing.

    “These are internal family issues; they are my friends, and that is important , even in moment of distress, that friendship is I want to believe is enough to help us to build a reconciliation.

    “There is no running away from the fact that we are the governing party who has a higher stake; we are the one in the news; if we were in the stock market, our shares would have increased considerably.

    “So, it is not surprising that there is some disquiet but I remain a friend to this governors, I respect them; I appreciate them for the fact that but for their support, I will not be chairman and you don’t go stepping on toes of those who helped you to get into position..

    “But however, I thought I was clear and I remain clear that helping me to get to the position, it was to help APC to return to its core values of progressive politics, of fairness, of justice, of adherence to rule of law and total submission to the extant provisions of our party constitution.

    “In doing that, you don’t look at power; you look at what is; what is just.

    I think that with time, we will reconcile all these; (Ibikunle) Amosun is my good friend; we have known each other for a very long time; we exchange personal visits in addition to official visits; Zamfara governor has been the  Chairman of NGF and I was an active member of that forum; we have wonderful time together and I believe in the future, we are still going to have wonderful time together; Rochas Okorocha was one of those who had issues with my predecessor and I did my best to try and resolve those issues in a way that has been given him a new platform.

    “And I am happy that God used us to do that not by cheating in his favour but by doing what is right.” he said

    Oshiomhole went on “It is just that once you stick to the goal, sometimes, you either get caught on the right side or the wrong side.

    I will say it is the tree that bears fruits that attracts stones; the tree that doesn’t bear fruits doesn’t attract any stones.

    “I have no illusions; this job I am doing is not a pensionable job; but I did promise myself that if I am going to be on this job for one day, I will do according to the rules and according to my conscience; I will be fair and just to all and God will give me the courage and the wisdom to to do his will. How far that can take me is exclusively in the hands of God.

    “The truth is we have 36 states and FCT and we do have 36 state organs and FCT and as far as I know, we have 23 governors; to be exact.

    Read Also: Anti-Oshiomole protest rocks Imo

    “I believe three governors are not particularly pleased with the outcome of the primaries in their states and you cannot grudge anyone for not being happy if a particular outcome does not coincide with his expectations.

    “I don’t  have power to appoint and I don’t have power to change particularly when things have been properly done.

    “Now if this makes one, two or three people unhappy, it is unfortunate but they are my friends. If things are to be reduced to who is my friend, who I can do favour to, obviously having been a governor for eight years, I have more friends and more governors than any other group within the party whether these are Senators, House of Reps members or other aspirants within the party.

    “If there was any temptation in Nigeria, it is temptation towards power not temptation towards the powerless.

    “So, all I have tired is to find some courage to enforce the rules and I think an overwhelming majority of the governors appreciate that I have done my best because change is not easy.

    “We all want change but the process of change can be quite traumatising, because it is not painless. People have been used to a particular way of doing things; to encourge them to do them differently can be a challenge.

    “We have a political system where it seems to the observer and even the analyst, that we have run a political system over the years where of you are very powerful, you simply can’t

    “So, here I am as national chairman conducting primaries, the outcome of which some very powerful people did not see their preferred candidate emerging.” he said

    He regretted that it is only in Nigeria that one can have 10 aspirants competing for one seat and one person emerges and the remaining nine will wonder why they didn’t win.

  • APC lambasts Ikpeazu’s car gifts to LG chairmen, Monarchs

    The Abia State Chapter of the All Progressive Congress (APC) has condemned the donation of Sports Utility Vehicles (SUV) car gifts to the chairmen of the 17 Local Government chairmen of the state and the state Traditional Rulers’ Council, by the governor of the state, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu on his 54th birthday.

    The Publicity Secretary of APC, Comrade Benedict Godson in a release on Friday afternoon described as not only inhuman, but an administrative recklessness and wrong placement of priority by the government whom he said is yet to pay workers and pensioners several months of salary and pension arrears to Abia workers and retirees.

    Read Also:S’East govs never against Peter Obi’s candidacy – Ikpeazu

    The APC spokesman who said that he is not against anyone giving a birthday gift to friends and well-wishers, but stressed that it must not be at the detriment of the already impoverished workers in the state who have shown commitment to duties but ended up being owed several arrears of salaries.

    Drawing reference to the Biblical injunction that every worker deserves his wage, the APC spokesman said that it was wrong for the governor of the state to choose buying of brand new cars to LG chairmen that has nothing to point to as what they have achieved in their localities instead of paying the people who have ensured that the state is machinery of the state is up and running.

    He called on the people of the state to rally round the Donatus Nwankpa led APC and give them full support by voting for the party’s candidate, Dr. Uche Ogah whom he said has what it takes to liberate the state from stagnancy in governance.

    Part of the release reads: “The Holy Bible made it clear that a leopard cannot change its skin and the wise words of our elders sounded it aloud that a snake must beget something that’s long. With this in mind, the administrative recklessness and wrong placement of priority exhibited by Governor Okezie Ikpeazu yesterday during his birthday never came as a shock to us, but as a true manifestation of what he has to offer.

    “For a man whose administration owes workers of different positions, especially teachers and doctors of several backlog of salary arrears to consciously without any duress lavish vehicles worth hundreds of millions of naira to the 17 LGA Chairmen, their Deputies and the Traditional Rulers Council are not only anti-people, but an administrative sacrilege.

    “What the PDP under Ikpeazu is doing in Abia now is a government of few, for few and by few who care less about the people. This is a man who demolished peoples’ buildings all over the city of Aba in the name of road expansion and left those roads unattended to with excuse that there’s no money.

    “With the litany of abandoned projects steering him in the face, he has callously abandoned the people of Abia State and ran to few person’s he thinks will bring him back into the government house come 2019 regardless of the people’s feelings.

    “With due respect to whoever participated in the car sharing, the Abia APC led by Donatus Nwankpa wishes to say without mincing words that it is a shame and a managerial taboo in public administration to leave workers hungry just to satisfy cronies who add nothing to the state revenue.

    “It is obvious that Abia people have been mourning the demise of good governance for several years now. The APC Abia is not left out of the situation our state is into. We commiserate with everyone and assure you that come 2019 as you help us sack charlatans who are currently occupying our government house, positive change will take over

    “We therefore call on all well-meaning Abians to vote out this recklessness. Vote out people who have PhD in project abandonment and elect Dr. Uche Sampson Ogah as governor who can help in creating jobs and execute projects without punishing and impoverishing the people.”

  • Senate in rowdy session over sitting arrangement

    …APC, PDP Senators square up for a fight

     

    For over 30 minutes Wednesday common sense took flight in the Senate.

    Tempers rose. Political party affiliation rather than national interest took better part of senators.

    It all started with a Point of Order raised by the Senator representing Akwa Ibom North East, Senator Bassey Albert Akpan.

    Akpan (PDP) specifically raised Order 43 which deals with personal explanation under which a senator is allowed to speak about himself and his constituents.

    The Akwa Ibom North East lawmaker informed his colleagues about alleged looming crisis in Akwa Ibom State.

    He claimed that the All Progressive Congress (APC) in the state was allegedly plotting to unleash mayhem in the state that would possibly lead to the cancellation of the governorship election in 2019.

    He further alleged that the aim of APC in the state was to instigate the cancellation of the governorship election in the state in order to deploy federal might to cause challenge of leadership in the state.

    Senate President, Abubakar Bukola Saraki, ruled that the information given by Akpan was “well noted.”

    Senator Godswill Akpabio (APC Akwa Ibom North West) who appeared to be agitated by Akpan’s information was angling where he sat to respond to what Akpan said.

    Saraki asked Akpabio to go to his seat before he could be recognised to speak.

    The Senate President said that Akpabio cannot speak from a seat that is not his.

    Saraki added that there was no microphone were Akpabio sat.

    Senate Leader, Senator Ahmed Lawan reminded Saraki that there was no formal sitting arrangement in the chamber.

    He said that Akpabio has the right to speak from where he was since the leadership of the chamber has failed to ensure formal sitting arrangement.

    Lawan noted that he has raised the issue of a formal sitting arrangement with the Senate President without the expected result.

    The Senate Leader who insisted that the chamber must be guided by its rules added that “we must have sitting arrangement.”

    Lawan said that there had been movement across party lines with the possibility that more people would still move as they deem fit.

    Saraki said that the Clerk to the Senate, Nelson Ayewo, was directed to allocate seats to senator.

    The Senate President said that he believed that the new sitting arrangement would be completed next week.

    As the exchange of words between Saraki and Lawan continued, Akpabio was visibly boiling where he sat.

    He insisted on being allowed to speak. Saraki stood his ground that Akpabio should go to his seat before he could be allowed to speak.

    Senator Dino Melaye came into the picture.

    The Kogi West Senator attempted to shout Akpabio down.

    Akpabio got irritated and was also shouting on top of his voice.

    Confusion descended in the chamber as other senators joined the fray.

    Chamber decorum momentarily became casualty.

    Attempt to restore decorum was made by Senator Emmanuel Paulker who reminded his colleagues that Akpan raised Order 43 (personal explanation) which did not give room for contribution or discussion by other senators.

    The Bayelsa State senator added that by relying on Order 43, Akpabio was not entitled to respond to what Akpan said.

    Attempts to calm frayed nerves failed.

    Lawan moved to confer with Saraki apparently about the way forward.

    Saraki explained that his position was that Akpabio should go to a seat where there is a microphone.

    He said that Lawan was not fair to him by insinuating that he did not want Akpabio to speak.

    Lawan said that APC must not be discriminated against on the floor of the Senate.

    Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, raised Order 11(1)(2).

    Ekweremadu said that every senator has the right to speak for himself and the people he represents.

    Senates Mohammed Ali Ndume (APC) and Kabiru Marafa (APC) began to shout on top of their voices.

    Ekweremadu was forced to sit down. He later explained that the rules of the chamber made provision for sitting arrangement.

    Akpabio took the floor and said that the seat he sat was allocated to him by the Senate Clerk.

    He added that the embarrassment he received was uncalled for.

    Saraki disagreed and asked the Clerk to confirm if he allocated the seat to Akpabio.

    The Clerk said that when Akpabio requested to sit on the seat, he informed him that there was no microphone on the seat.

    Ayewo said that Akpabio insisted on sitting on the seat.

    He said that he had no choice than to allow Akpabio to sit where he wanted.

    After Ayewo’s explanation, Saraki gave Akpabio the floor to speak.

    The former governor of Akwa Ibom State promptly demanded for an apology “for the unwarranted embarrassment I received today.”

    He added that even the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) apologized to Nigerians.

    He concluded that “until the Senate sitting arrangement is properly constituted I rest my case.”

    That appeared to be the end of the matter until Ndume revived it by tendering apology for preventing Ekweremadu from speaking.

    Ndume said that he has nothing against anybody.

    Lawan also apologized for the altercation on the floor.

    He said that his position should not be misinterpreted as if he took side with APC senators on the issue.

    Lawan noted that they should always see themselves as one body working for the good of the country.

  • Zamfara: Nothing has changed, says INEC boss

    ..says no extension for submission of candidates list

    The possibility of the All Progressive Congress (APC) fielding candidates in the forthcoming 2019 general elections in Zamfara state may have been sealed.

    The Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu on Monday said nothing has changed on the issue.

    INEC had barred the Zamfara State chapter of the APC from fielding candidates to contest in the 2019 general elections after failing to conduct primary elections.

    The commission had set October 7, 2018 deadline for parties to conclude their primary elections to elect candidates, but divisions within the state chapter of the APC prevented an INEC-supervised election from taking place for the governorship and legislative positions.

    Consequently, in a letter signed by INEC’s acting secretary, Okechukwu Ndeche, and addressed to APC’s national chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, the party can no longer conduct any primary elections outside of the originally-stated window and will not be allowed to participate in the governorship, National Assembly and State Assembly elections in Zamfara next year.

    But the party would not want to hear any of this, vowing to participate in the election.

    INEC boss however stuck to his gun, saying that the commission stands by its earlier statement on the issue.

    Yakubu spoke Monday in Abuja at the end of the opening of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Network of Electoral Commission (ECONEC) meeting in Abuja.

    The INEC boss who was responding to questions from newsmen said the commission stands by its earlier statement.

    He said, “We have issued a statement on Zamfara and nothing has changed. We stand by the statement that we issued.”

    He also revealed that the October 18th date for the submission of list of candidates by all the political parties. There are 91 but only 89 notify the commission of their intension to conduct primaries.

    On the submission date for list of candidates for the general elections, Yakubu said, ” I am sure we have made some progress, but the deadline as we say is on October 18.”

    He ruled out any possibility of extension as he declared, “we will give a full report after the 18th October. No extension.”

    On Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), Yakubu said that INEC has printing the PVCs of all those who registered in the second and third quarters of 2018.

    He also revealed that the PVCs for those who registered in the first quarter of 2018 have been printed.

    He said: ” We have printed the PVCs for those who registered in the first quarters of 2018. We are right now simultaneously printing for those who registered in the second and third quarters.

    ” We are looking at the end of November 2018 for all the PVCs to be printed including request for transfer and relocation.”

    He also reiterated the commission’s assurance to ensure that all the outstanding PVCs are ready for collection before the 2019 general elections.

    In his earlier remark at the opening of the ECONEC meeting, Yakubu said that two day meeting which kicked off yesterday is expected to validate the study carried out on the issue of cost of conducting elections.

    Read Also: Zamfara: APC kicks as INEC bars candidates

    The body has been disturbed by the ever rising cost of conducting elections and handling of pre and post election litigation. It was this concern that gave rise to the setting up of a study group among member countries.

    He added that the study is part of ECONEC’s two-year Work Plan (2016-2018). 

    The objective he said is for Election Management Bodies (EMBs) within the region to share experience, expertise and even pool resources not only with a view to ensuring best practice through peer review but also in order to reduce the cost of conducting elections among our member States.

    “It is borne out of the serious concern by all Electoral Commissions in the sub-region about the spiraling cost of conducting elections. With every cycle, the cost of elections keeps rising, making many countries unable fund critical aspects of the electoral process as a sovereign responsibility.”

    He also added that the “ ever rising cost of voter registration and the compilation of a credible voters’ register, recruitment and training of electoral officials, provision of electoral logistics, election security, civic and voter education, procurement of sensitive and non-sensitive materials, deployment of electoral technology, undertaking regular engagement with stakeholders and handling of pre-election and post-election litigations are enormous. The task of meeting such extensive expenditure has increasingly challenged the national resources of many countries in our region. It is against this background that Governing Board of ECONEC inaugurated this study to explore what we can do as Election Managers, working together with national stakeholders and development partners, to find ways to reduce the cost of elections without jettisoning new innovations or compromising the quality, transparency and credibility of elections. “

  • APC: Contestant petition Appeal committee

    A contestant to the Vandeikya/ Konshisha federal constituency seat on the platform of All Progressive Congress ( APC)  Idyar Garba  has filed a petition before the Appeal Committee .

    Mr. Idyar Garba is calling for the cancellation of the APC primaries for Vandeikya/ Konshisha Federal constituency saying it was fraught with illegalities and intimidation of delegates.

    In his petition, Idyar Garba said delegates from five council wards were not allowed to participate in the primaries.

    Read Also: Fayose not wanted in our party, says Ekiti APC

    He said the exercise was characterized by intimidation of delegates, disappearance of delegates list from the register and diversion of materials to unknown designation .

    Mr. Idyar said materials were diverted before his opponent Hon .Dorothy Mato was declared  winner.

    He called for fresh election saying APC  Primaries did not take place anyway in Vandeikya/ Konshisha federal constituency.

  • Omo-Agege says Saraki must quit Senate Presidency

    As the National Assembly prepare to resume plenary session tomorrow, Tuesday, Sen Ovie Omo-Agege (APC), has said that Dr Bukola Saraki should be ready to vacate the seat as Nigeria’s Senate President.

    Omo-Agege, who is representing Delta State Central Senatorial District, spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Abuja.

    Saraki had, on July 31, defected from the All Progressive Congress (APC) to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), hinging his defection on unsuccessful efforts to ensure a harmonious existence in the APC.

    Read Also:PDP govs split over support for Tambuwal, Atiku, Saraki

    The APC National Working Committee (NWC) had queried Saraki, asking him to respond within 48 hours why disciplinary action should not to be taken against him for breaching Article 21 of the party’s convention.

    The allegations raised against him by the party included that ‘’you encouraged and facilitated by providing an enabling environment for the defection of some senators who are members of the APC to the other opposition parties”.

    The party called on Saraki to resign his position as the Senate President, insisting that he lacked the moral ground to retain the position after defecting to the PDP.

    However, the Senate president had stood his ground even as the National Assembly declared its annual recess which began July 24.

    Although the federal lawmakers were initially expected to resume Sept. 25, the resumption was postponed to Oct. 9.

    Mohammed Sani-Omolori, the Clerk of the Assembly, who announced the postponement in a statement on Sunday, Sept. 23, attributed the development to the primary elections of political parties.

    Sani-Omolori said members of the National Assembly were expected to resume by 10am on the new date.

    Meanwhile, Omo-Agege told NAN that the demand of the APC’s senators for Saraki’s removal was still standing.

    ‘’Our demand has not changed, in fact, that demand has been accentuated by the directive of the APC national leadership.

    ‘’We have all been enjoined as APC senators at a slightest opportunity to remove Saraki and once we are provided with that slightest opportunity, we will remove him and he knows that,” he said.

    According to him, the moment Saraki left the party, APC, to join the minority PDP, he lost the right, legal and moral, to occupy the office of the Senate President.

    ‘’Absolutely, he knows he cannot be; we are not shying away from that. Our position has always been consistent.

    ‘’This is not new neither is it news. We have made that clear, very clearly in the past.

    “Therefore, the position of Ovie Omo-Agege has the position of APC as a party,” he remarked.

    On whether the members, who were aggrieved by the outcome of the primaries at various states might affect their plan, the senator said: ‘’Well, that is something that we will need to address when we return on Tuesday.

    ‘’We will take an audit of where we are in terms of the numbers, in terms of those who are happy and those who are not happy.

    ‘’But you should understand one thing, just as you have people who are disgruntled in APC, you also have others who are disgruntled in PDP.”

    When asked if the aggrieved group had the number to remove Saraki, Omo-Agege said: ‘’of course, we have always had the number. We have the number.”

    On whether defection of members could affect their plan, he responded thus: ‘’Like I am telling you, as people are leaving APC to PDP, people are leaving PDP to APC.’’

    He said as soon as the APC lawmakers in the red chamber have the number, the deed would be done.

    ‘’I mean once the environment is conducive; that is, once we have the number, we take him out, as simple as that,” he said.

  • Shettima picks APC senatorial ticket

     Governor Kashim Shettima has picked the senatorial ticket of the All Progressive Congress (APC) to represent Borno Central at the red chambers.
    Shettima scored  a total of 2735 votes as against his closest and only opponent Alhaji Wurge with five votes.
    Chairman of the APC Borno central senatorial electoral committee Ahmed Elmaduzu who declared  the result in Maiduguri on Thursday morning, said  Shettima scored a total of 2,735 to defeat his only rival in the race, Alhaji Wurge with 05 votes.

    Read Also: Shettima dissolves Cabinet

    Governor Shettima in brief acceptance speech shortly after the official declaration, thanked his co-contestants including his supporters for the confidence reposed on him.
    The Nation observed that Sen. Babakaka Garbai, the current senator representing  Borno Central at National Assembly was Gov. Shettima’s agent at the elections.

  • APC primaries: Bello of Niger calls for calm

    Gov. Abubakar Bello of Niger has called for calm among residents of the state during and after the ongoing All Progressive Congress primaries in the state.

    Bello made the appealed on Thursday when he addressed youths from two political parties who blocked the road around Maje and some parts of Suleja.

    The youth were protesting the alleged kidnapping of Suleja Council Chairman, Alhaji Abdullahi Maje by unknown gunmen.

    The News Agency of Nigeria report that the governor, who met with the aggrieved youths to address them at the Emir palace in Suleja, appealed to them to be calm.

    Bello said that the government would not condone any act of lawlessness capable of disrupting the peace of the state and called on all political actors to caution their supporters.

    Read Also: Bello gets Adamawa SDP governorship ticket

    “The situation we are seeing today is not part of the ways of our people; the state has been known to be a peaceful state. We will not tolerate any individual or group of persons who want to cause confusion in the state.

    “So far, we have had peaceful primary elections in the state without issues. I called on all political aspirants to caution and guard their supporters to play politics in accordance with the rules,” he said.

    He directed the security agencies to ensure that normalcy was returned in the area and advised residents to go about their daily businesses without fear.

    News Agency of Nigeria report that the alleged kidnapped council chairman also met with the governor to address the youth.