Senator Ovie Omo Agege the only Labour Party (LP) Senator in the Senate has defected to All Progressives Congress (APC).
The Senator represents Delta Central Senatorial district.
Tag: All Progressives Congress (APC)
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Gbajabiamila lights up Surulere communities
The Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila, on Sunday night inaugurated solar-powered streetlights in Rabiatu Thompson and Olufemi communities in his Surulere Constituency.
Residents of the benefitting communities and those from adjoining areas trooped out in their numbers to witness the switching-on of the lights.
Gbajabiamila, represented by Mr. Sherif Balogun, Sole Administrator, Surulere Local Government Area, said the provision of the streetlights was redemption of his electoral promise to always connect with his constituents and deliver dividends of democracy.
He said the delivery of the project was to enhance security in the affected areas and boost night business activities.
“These solar-powered streetlights lining both sides of Rabiatu Thompson and Olufemi Street are part of the projects I have delivered to make life more meaningful for our people in line with our electoral promise.
“Leadership is all about fulfilling the aspirations of the people and this is what this project demonstrates.
“I will continue to do my best to touch lives in this great constituency through the delivery of more projects,” he said.
Gbajabiamila said arrangements had been concluded to install more streetlights in other areas of Surulere, not only to boost security, but to promote night life.
The lawmaker urged his constituents to continue to give him support in order to enable him to render service to the nation and the constituency.
Mr. Shakirudeen Olusesan, All Progressives Congress (APC) Chairman, Surulere Local Government, urged the benefitting communities to take ownership of the project by protecting it from vandals.
“Our Majority Leader has given us the project. It is not for politicians, but for us the people. We should appreciate this gesture by taking ownership and protecting it,” he said.
Mr. Fatai Bakare, Chairman, Community Development Association of Rabiatu Thompson Street, thanked the lawmaker for the project and promised the association would do everything possible for its proper maintenance.
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Returning officers cannot fix elections – INEC
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Monday said that no returning officer could fix election Nigeria.
The Resident Electoral Commissioner in Rivers, Mr Ikoiwak Aniedi, said this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) while referring to the APC’s claims that the Saturday supplementary election in Etche was declared inconclusive by the returning officers.
NAN reports that the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers had urged the INEC not to declare the result or it would contradict itself.
The party claimed that the Etche State Constituency and Etche/Omuma Federal Constituency were formally declared inconclusive by Returning Officers, Prof. Olatunbosun Odusanya and Prof. Omotola respectively at the Okehi.
According to the party, they (the officers) subsequently announced that the conclusion of the process will take place on Sunday or Monday.
On this allegation, Ikoiwak said that the officers would not have said such.
”If the man (returning officer) had said it, it is a wrong one, he has no right; have you ever heard that a returning officer fixed a day for election?”
He said that the returning officer had never fixed a day for election, but to announce the result and report to INEC what happened.
Ikoiwak said there was no way the returning officer could have fixed election when he (the officer) had called the people to come to INEC headquarters by 9 O’Clock on Sunday for election result declaration.
He urged Nigerians to always try to know the kind of election they are voting in as all elections are different with different laws guiding them.
According to him, the law is very clear; a rerun election is quite different from a run-off election or a supplementary.
”So, what we did was the right thing by declaring,” Ikoiwak said.
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Ondo deputy governor promises dividends of democracy
The newly sworn-in Deputy Governor of Ondo State, Mr. Agboola Ajayi, has said that the people of the state will benefit from the new government’s dividends of democracy.
He said this at a reception held in his hometown, Kiribo, Ese-Odo Local Government Area of the state.
The new state government of All Progressives Congress (APC) headed by Gov. Rotimi Akeredolu and Ajayi were sworn-in as Governor and Deputy Governor respectively on Friday in Akure.
Ajayi said that there were enormous tasks ahead of the new government, coupled with high expectations of the people.
He advised people to exercise patience with the new administration in order to be fair to all.
“We are aware of the huge task ahead of us and the high expectations of the people of the state but we plead with the people to exercise patience for us to study what is on ground.
“We will make our people happy and we promise to be fair to all and not to disappoint all for the trust and confidence that have in us,” Ajayi said.
The deputy governor however gave thanks to the Almighty God for the opportunity to serve and also to the electorate that voted for the new government to steer the ship of the state for a four-year term.
He advised indigenes of the state to cooperate with the new government by renewing their support and prayers for the government to succeed in order to re-distribute the dividends of democracy.
“I am using this opportunity to thank God and the people of this state for voting us. We sought for their prayers and cooperation to be successful,” Ajayi said.
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Bribery allegation against Buhari malicious – Presidency
The Presidency on Wednesday described the bribery allegation against President Muhammadu Buhari as malicious, utterly ridiculous, and revolting.
A statement by the Special Adviser on media and publicity, Femi Adesina, disclosed that a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Kola Awodein, has reacted to news making the rounds that he gave Justice Niyi Ademola of the Federal High Court, currently standing trial for alleged corruption, the sum of N500, 000.00 at the behest of President Muhammadu Buhari, during the contrived certificate issue affecting the then presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
He said “Mr Awodein (SAN) describes the allegation as ‘malicious, utterly ridiculous, and revolting,’ in a statement released Wednesday.
He recalled that President Buhari challenged the elections of 2003, 2007, and 2011, up to the Supreme Court, and not once was he named as trying to compromise any Judge, even though some of them were his schoolmates, or contemporary, at one time or the other.
In keeping with the President’s time-tested reputation as a man of truth and integrity, he said that any attempt to sully that reputation is bound to fail, inexorably.
According to him, the President was in no way linked with Justice Ademola.
Awodein’s statement reads: “I am constrained to make in absolute good faith , in good conscience and in the interest of justice and fair play the following very short statement on account of the distorted news story currently being peddled as affecting the person of Mr. President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and my good and very noble self.
“The very simple and plain facts are as follows:
“I have known as a friend and for well over 35 years Mr. Justice Niyi Ademola, a notorious fact known to majority of lawyers who have practiced especially in Lagos for over that same period more or less and also to so many other professionals of other disciplines and other prominent and not so prominent Nigerians.
“It is a fact that the sum of money mentioned was personally paid by me as a friend to Mr. Justice Ademola as a personal gift, as our custom well recognizes and demands, on the occasion of his daughter’s High Society wedding solemnized at the Cathedral Church of Christ, Marina, Lagos, on the 9th of May 2015, which I attended in person.
“I was fully convinced then, as I remain today, that I could do no less as a friend of longstanding to fairly reasonably support him on that memorable occasion of his daughter’s wedding.
“Anyone and everyone who knows me would readily and unquestionably testify that I am and have always been a man of impeccable integrity on and off the Courts and that such a record speaks always loudly for itself.
“I would conclude by stating categorically and without any equivocation that ANY link whatsoever with Mr. President, or any court case or cases, of my personal gift from my personal resources delivered to Justice Niyi Ademola by myself on that occasion or any suggestion whatsoever that it was anything but such a gift or that it ever came from Mr. President or at his instance or that I was acting, under any circumstances, on his behalf is most malicious, utterly ridiculous and in very poor and revolting taste and most undeserving of any further comments,” he stated.
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Stop weeping for PDP, APC tells Ekwueme
Enugu State chapter of All Progressives Congress (APC) has urged former Vice President, Dr Alex Ekwueme to stop weeping for the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
Ekwueme who was Vice President in the Second Republic while receiving members of the party’s Strategy Committee at his house in Enugu, said anytime he remembered the story of the party, he felt like weeping.
Reacting to Dr Ekwueme’s statement that he felt like weeping for PDP, Enugu APC through its Publicity Secretary, Mrs. Kate Ofor said Ekwueme should instead of weeping for PDP, weep for Nigerians, who were depraved, bankrupted and deeply wounded by the unbridled corruption which was the trademark of the 16 years PDP’s rule.
According to Offor, Ekwueme should weep for millions of Nigerian youths whose future were punctured by the looting of our commonwealth, hence decayed infrastructure, poor quality education and gross unemployment.
“Or do we talk of thousands of mothers whose children go to bed hungry in the midst of plenty?
“Our empathy goes to His Excellency, on his regrets that, ‘In 1999, we ended up with 21 out of 36 governors; South East and South South were all PDP. It was a strong showing, we also had control of the National Assembly; with that showing, all we needed to do was to manage the party properly as envisaged by the founding fathers, making it a mass movement and expanding its power base’.
“The scenario envisaged by the founding fathers of the PDP floundered when billions of dollars were pocked and doled out by the high placed government officials, as exemplified by the former Managing Director of NNPC, Andrew Yakubu. We cannot forget as well how the $23 billion meant for three Greenfield Refineries grew wings, leading to the present stress on the national currency, due to daily importation of refined petroleum products,” Mrs Offor said.
The Enugu APC spokesperson appealed to Ekwueme to weep for Nigerians, not for PDP, which squandered our golden opportunity and nearly led Nigeria into a failed state.
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Katsina APC commends state government on dam expansion
Alhaji Sani Altine, the Chairman of the Daura Local Government chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), on Tuesday commended the Katsina State government for including in the 2017 budget the expansion of Dabiran water dam in the area.
According to him, the state government allocated N200 million for the general expansion of the dam, stressing this was a welcome development.
He said if expanded, the dam would serve as source of fishing and irrigation to about 25,000 people as well as promote self-reliance and economic sustainability.
Altine described the expansion of the dam as timely, adding: “we have been waiting for such a time when this work will be contemplated because previous governments never thought of it.
He said the Katsina state government had executed numerous development projects, including renovation of Daura general hospital, construction of 85km ring road and establishment of dental unit at the state owned school of health technology in Daura.
He called on the people of the area to support government policies and programmes by being obedient to the constituted authorities for peaceful coexistence.
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Group alleges plot to frustrate Buhari’s Government
The Northern Patriotic Assembly on Monday raised an alarm over what it said were plots by some individuals to exploit the President Muhammadu Buhari’s health saga through paid protests and media propaganda, and thereby undermine his PresidencyNational President, Hon Kwuanu Terrence, at a state of the nation world press conference in Abuja on Monday, said President Buhari’s health saga had been grossly exploited to further undermine the stability of the country.He said Buhari clearly, in keeping with the constitution, wrote to the National Assembly that he was proceeding on a medical leave, adding that the President further communicated with the National Assembly when he has to, upon the advice of his doctors, stay back longer than he initially anticipated.Terrence said tragically, since the first letter announcing President Buhari’s holiday there had been too much of efforts deployed to making him look incapable in staying on in office and to consequently edge him out.According to him, there have been suggestions that the undue attention is meant to overwhelm President Buhari with stress so that his health would be further compromised.He said: “We have reliably gathered that the inhumane rumours about the President’s health are calculated to cause a sense of uncertainty when he eventually returns to the country so that there would be apprehension about the veracity of any decision taken by him and for Nigerians to see him as someone whose body may not pull through the rigours of state functions.The plot in this instance is to trigger nationwide protests similar to the Yar’Adua’s era asking him to abdicate. Fortunately, no human being is God to be able to correctly predict the outcome of schemes undertaken in pursuit of inordinate ambitions.He however warned those he accused of being behind the harassment of Buhari to desist forthwith, adding that nothing must happen to the president.Terrance accused some individuals who he described as “disgruntled men” from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) who he said are still smarting from their loss of power at the federal level as being behind the sustained campaign against President BuhariHe also identified those he accused of playing ethnic card within the APC of plotting against the President.“Participants at a meeting recently held in Ibadan sometimes last year for political realignment of south west blocs against the northern bloc in the All Progressives Congress (APC) cannot absolve themselves of being culpable in driving the mass hysteria over the health of Mr President.“Their idea of burying the hatchet is to undo other ethnic nationalities with the reasoning that the Vice President, being of their own ethnic stock stands in line as the beneficiary if they can force President Buhari out of office on health grounds. Such treachery is not alien to this collection of two timing politicians.“We have been clearly informed that the Governor of Osun State has set up a secretariat in Osogbo for further meetings of elders from this region to harness their best brains and further such alliances in the event that President Buhari has to continue staying back on doctor’s recommendation.“For this purpose a refined model of the Save Nigeria Group (SNG) has been activated to be launched in the coming days. Financial mobilization for paid protesters is being concluded as we speak,” he said. -
Anambra: Supreme court dismisses Ekunife’s appeal
The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed an appeal by Senator Uche Ekunife challenging the nullification of her election to represent Anambra Central Senatorial District in the Senate.
The Anambra State Election Petition Tribunal and the Court of Appeal in Awka had nullified the election which she purportedly won in the 2015 general elections under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The Court of Appeal had affirmed the order of the tribunal for a fresh conduct of the election.
However, before the repeat of the election as ordered by the court, Ekwunife on Jan. 8, 2016, defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Her attempt to pick the ticket of her new political party to contest the re-run poll failed as older members of the party kicked against it, contending that she had to wait for her turn. Delivering judgment on the appeal, Justice Amina Augie held that the Supreme Court had no jurisdiction to entertain disputes emanating from the conduct of National Assembly elections.
Augie said that Section 246(3) of the 1999 Constitution empowered the Court of Appeal to be the terminal point of all disputes emanating from State and Federal legislative elections.
“The apex court lacks jurisdiction to hear and determine Ekunife’s appeal in the circumstance.
“Looking closely at the wordings of Section 246 (3), it is clear that the decision of the Court of Appeal is final. This court is completely bereft of jurisdiction to entertain the appeal.
“Once the court of appeal delivers its judgment on a National Assembly Election Petition appeal, the judgment becomes final.
“For the umpteenth time, the Constitution does not approve of the apex court to entertain this appeal no matter how cleverly it has been framed,’’ Augie held.
She said that the objections raised by Chief Victor Umeh of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), who was Ekunife’s challenger at the lower courts, were apt.
“Umeh’s preliminary objections to Ekunife’s appeal succeeded as this court lacks jurisdiction to hear this appeal on its merits. The appeal is struck out,’’ she said.
Earlier, Augie had in a ruling rejected an appeal by Ekwunife for reinstatement as PDP candidate to contest the senatorial election.
Augie held that the appellant lost the legitimacy to demand such benefit when she and the PDP were barred from participating in the election.
Dr Alex Izinyon (SAN), counsel to Ekunife, had urged the court to reinstate his client to her seat in the Senate.
He had also urged the court to hold that the decision of the tribunal amounted to nullity as it dealt with issues of nomination and sponsorship which were not within its jurisdiction to determine.
Chief Patrick Ikweato (SAN), counsel to Umeh and APGA, countered Izinyon’s submission, urging the court to dismiss the appeal as it lacked jurisdiction to entertain it.
Ikweato argued that the appeal was an abuse of court process, adding that Section 246 (3) of the Constitution made the Court of Appeal as the final court to handle the matter.
He said that Ekunife was no longer a member of the PDP after she defected to APC, where she contested the party primary and lost.
Ikweato also said that PDP had obtained the judgment of a Federal High Court where Ekunife’s membership of the party was stripped.
He maintained that the Court of Appeal’s decision which upheld the tribunal’s judgment stemmed from the fact that the appellant was not qualified.
Speaking to newsmen after the court session, Ekunife expressed displeasure over the decision of the court.
On his part, Umeh described the decision of the court as a victory for democracy and the rule of law.
He said that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) must immediately rise to the occasion and fix a date for the senatorial election.
Umeh further said the people of Anambra Central Senatorial District had suffered from a long period of non-representation at the senate.
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APC women plan national prayer summit for Buhari
The All Progressives Congress (APC) women will hold a national prayer summit for quick recovery of the President Muhammadu Buhari.
APC Deputy National Women leader Tina Ekwueme-Adike, who disclosed this to newsmen in Owerri on Friday, said they were worried by speculation over the heath of President Buhari.
She said that the Prayer Summit would be organised by the office of the APC deputy national women leader at Enugu and to be attended by mainly APC women from the entire Southern zone.
She said that the prayer which would be non-denominational cuts across all political parties.
“The prayer is specifically meant to implore God to re-enact back those values which Africans and Nigerians in particular are noted for, especially respecting human values and praying for our leaders,’’ she said.
Ekwueme-Adike condemned what she described as the unwarranted and unnecessary death wishes circulating in the social media on the health of the president.
The APC deputy national women leader reminded Nigerians that to die was never for the elderly only but also for the young and infants alike.
“Those speculating the death of someone, his or her business are rather putting their own life and business at risk because the law of nature will befall them,’’ she said.
She urged Nigerian women to demonstrate a sense of commitment, patriotism, and selflessness in their daily life, noting that it would surely be well for the nation in the near future.
She explained that the proposed prayer summit for the nation and its leadership was also for all Nigerians irrespective of their political parties, religion and tribal afflictions.