The Nation Newspaper

Tag: All Progressives Congress (APC)

  • Ex-governors in political wilderness after 2019 polls

    The 2019 elections have come and gone. So also is the nomination of candidates for ministerial slots in President Muhammadu Buhari’s cabinet. But it has been different strokes for different folks with respect to the political class. While many are savouring the joy of victory, others are writhing in the agony of defeat. The latter is particularly the case with former governors who either lost their re-election bids or lost their bids to move to the Senate after spending their mandatory two terms. Below are some of the former governors who may have to remain in political wilderness in the next few years because they were also not lucky enough to secure places in the new Buhari cabinet.

    Akinwunmi Ambode

    His is a classic instance of the instability of human conditions. Until late last year when words filtered out that former Lagos State governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, had stepped on the banana peel, the conclusion of every pundit was that he was good for a second term as governor, based on the physical structures he had built in the state.

    But all that changed with the news that some influential members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state were not happy with the manner he handled the matter of refuse disposal and the alleged poor treatment he meted out to them. The reality of the issue, which began like a piece of unfounded rumour, dawned on his admirers when the party conducted its governorship primaries on October 2 last year and the incumbent governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, emerged as the party’s flag bearer for the 2019 governorship election.

    With the party’s ticket lost and Sanwo-Olu emerging victorious at the governorship poll, the grapevine began to buzz with the rumour that President Muhammadu Buhari was considering Ambode as a replacement for the governor of Central Bank, Godwin Emefiele, whose tenure was drawing to a close. The rumour became stronger when Ambode successfully brought President Buhari to Lagos in April for the commissioning of some of his administration’s projects. But any hope of Ambode becoming the governor of the apex bank vanished like vapour when President Buhari announced the renewal of Emefiele’s tenure as CBN governor on May 2.

    With the dream of Ambode becoming the governor of Central Bank also gone, members of his political camp hinged their hope on his appointment into Buhari’s cabinet as Nigerians waited with bated breath for the release of the President’s ministerial list. Admirers of the former governor just could not contemplate the possibility of Ambode not making the list after the initial disappointments, particularly with the ministerial slots increased from the usual 36 to 42. It turned out a huge shock, however, that the list was released without Ambode’s name on it.

    Thus the former governor was edged out of a second term, denied the chance to become the governor of the Central Bank and skipped on Buhari’s list of ministers. The question on the lips of his admirers now is where does he go from here?

    Abiola Ajimobi

    If he had his way, Senator Abiola Ajimobi would by now be wearing the tag of the senator representing Oyo South after two terms as Oyo State governor. That, however, was not to be as Ajimobi who contested the senatorial district’s election on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), was defeated by the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Kola Balogun.

    It was one of the shocking outcomes of the 2019 general elections that a sitting governor who had spent eight years in office could not muster the needed influence to win election into the same Senate seat he had occupied before he became governor. His undoing, many people believed, was his face-off with the Olubadan of Ibadan, Oba Saliu Adetunji, whose chiefs Ajimobi upgraded to Obas in a move interpreted by many as a deliberate ploy to whittle down the power and influence of the monarch.

    The move appeared not to have gone down well with many prominent sons and daughters of Ibadan who saw it as a direct invitation to anarchy in the traditional set up of Africa’s second largest city. The PDP in the state did not only make a political capital of the anger the move provoked in the city to win the governorship election, it also saw the candidate of the opposition party winning the senatorial election at Ajimobi’s expense.

    Many admirers of the former governor who had thought that President Muhammadu Buhari would compensate him with a ministerial appointment were disappointed to see that his name was conspicuously missing from the list. But Ajimobi himself has said that reclaiming his senatorial mandate through the courts is more important to him than a ministerial appointment. While his admirers are hoping for a positive outcome of the legal battle, Ajimobi will remain in political wilderness until the deed is done.

    Abdulaziz Yari

    Former Zamfara State governor, Abdulaziz Yari’s case was that of a beautiful dream on the verge of reality truncated by a gang of brutal misadventures. He had contested election into the Senate during the 2019 National Assembly elections and won by a wide margin, only for the Supreme Court to declare his election and those of other candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state void.

    In the unprecedented judicial pronouncement, the apex court awarded the governorship, National Assembly and state assembly elections held in the state to the candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) because the primaries that produced the candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who actually won the highest number of votes at the polls, were deemed a nullity.

    The Supreme Court decision affected Governor Yari who had earlier been declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the winner of the Zamfara West Senatorial election. Yari had polled 153,626 votes while Lawal Hassan of the PDP scored 69,293 votes. But with the apex court’s ruling, Hassan took over as the senator-elect for Zamfara West Senatorial District.

    The development has since truncated Yari’s dream of joining the upper chamber of the National Assembly while he also missed out on President Muhammadu Buhari’s ministerial list.

    Muhammed Abubakar

    For the immediate past governor of Bauchi State, Alhaji Muhammed Abubakar, the recent governorship election in the state ended in a triple loss. Abubakar did not only lose the first round of the governorship election in the state, he also lost the supplementary election while his bid to secure victory through the courts also ended in a loss.

    The governor, who sought re-election on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), had been defeated by the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Bala Mohammed, who polled 469,512 votes in the March 9 election against his own 465,453 votes.

    Abubakar had got a reprieve from the ruling of a federal high court in Abuja which granted his request for suspension of the collation of the remaining results. But that could only delay the reality for a short spell as the court later struck out the governor’s application with the result that in the results that were later announced, the PDP candidate polled 6,376 votes while the governor followed closely with 5,117 votes.

    Abubakar had ridden on the back of the Buhari tsunami that swept through the north during the 2015 elections to become the governor of the state, but he was said to have fallen out with many of the state’s stakeholders soon after he assumed office. Many APC stalwarts in the state were also believed to have worked against his re-election because they were aggrieved by the process through which Abubakar emerged as the party’s flag bearer. His failure to pay the pensions and gratuities of retired civil servants in the state was also believed to have contributed to his failure at the poll.

    Unfortunately, he was not one of the APC members nominated by President Muhammadu Buhari for ministerial appointment, leaving his supporters to wonder what is next for the former Bauchi governor.

    Abdulfatah Ahmed

    Before the 2019 elections, the immediate past governor of Kwara State, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed, had his sight set on the Senate seat for Kwara South. Long before the elections, Ahmed’s senatorial election had received the blessings of his political godfather and former Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, but the loss of a supplementary election in Ahmed’s own Ekiti/Oke Ero/Isin/Irepodun federal constituency by the PDP candidate he backed as governor changed the equation.

    The defeat, coming at the height of intense political rivalry between the Saraki-led PDP and former Information Minister Lai Muhammed-led APC in the state, naturally moved Saraki to high dudgeon. Enraged by the defeat of Ahmed’s candidate in the supplementary election and fearing that Ahmed himself might not have the clout to win the senatorial election against the rampaging political machinery of the APC in the state, Saraki withdrew the former governor’s senatorial ticket and gave it to a candidate he felt could win the election and save him and PDP further embarrassment.

    Although Ahmed said the decision to withdraw his senatorial ticket had nothing to do with the loss of the by-election, its import is that Ahmed, who was already on the verge of completing his second term as governor, could not retire into the Senate as he had planned to. That coupled with the fact that he has a very little chance of being offered a federal appointment means he is in for a long spell in political wilderness.

    Jibrila Bindow

    Given the manner the All Progressives Congress (APC) swept the polls in Adamawa State in the 2015 general elections, not many people would imagine that the then governor, Jibrila Bindow, would lose his re-election bid in 2019. But by time the 2019 governorship election ended, Bindow was roundly defeated by Umar Fintiri, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    His major undoing, analysts believed, was his concentration of efforts on urban renewal while the rural populace accused the governor of abandoning them as their farm produce were regularly destroyed by criminals. This coupled with Fintiri’s popularity and the internal wrangling within the APC in the state spelt doom for Bindow and APC in the state.

    Signs of trouble had emerged a few days to the governorship election when 10 political parties who had earlier entered into a pact with Bindow announced the withdrawal of their support for his re-election bid.

    The governorship candidates of the 10 political parties under the auspices of New Generation Governorship Forum (NGGF) told reporters in Yola that they were withdrawing their support for Bindow over his failure to work with their advice and ensure good governance in the state.

    At the end of the election, which had to go into a rerun, Fintiri got 9,081 votes to raise his 367,471 in the main election to 375,552, while Bindow could only get 1,391 in the rerun to raise his initial 334,995 votes to 336,386.

    Ibrahim Dankwambo

    After two terms in office as the governor of Gombe State, having won the elections on the ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ibrahim Dankwambo sought to push his luck further in the 2019 elections for a seat in the Senate to represent Gombe North. His ambition was, however, halted by the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Saidu Alkali.

    The candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lost in four of the local government areas in the senatorial district in the National Assembly elections conducted on February 23, with Alkali scoring 152,546 votes while Dankwambo garnered 88,016.

    Dankwambo was first elected Gombe governor in 2011 and won re-election in 2015. He contested in the primary election for the PDP’s presidential ticket in 2018 but finished in the fifth position as Atiku Abubakar, the candidate of the PDP in the last presidential election clinched the ticket.

    With his fine run of form halted by Alkali, Dankwambo is guaranteed a place in political wilderness in the next few years.

  • KAB Olowu gave his all to Nigeria, says Tinubu

    ALL Progressives Congress (APC) National Stalwart Asiwaju Bola Tinubu has described Alhaji Karim Ayinla Babalola ‘KAB’ Olowu who died on Wednesday in Lagos as a foremost athlete and Nigeria’s nationalist who gave his all to the country.

    He said the late Olowu represented Nigeria in many international sporting tournaments, winning important laurels including being a ”Nigerian sprinter and long jumper who was part of Nigeria’s first delegation to the 1950 British Empire Games in Auckland, New Zealand (now Commonwealth Games).”

    In a tribute yesterday to the late Oloriebi (patriarch) of the Tinubu family that he personally signed, Tinubu also said the late KAB Olowu’s life exemplified the goodness in the Tinubu family name.

    “Many of us in the family grew up under his watch and mentoring for which we remain eternally grateful. I particularly drank from his fountain of knowledge and wisdom,” Tinubu said.

    The emotional tribute titled ”Alhaji Karim Ayinla Babalola ‘KAB’ Olowu (OON) Foremost Athlete, Philanthropist and Nigeria’s Nationalist,” reads: “Alhaji Karim Ayinla Babalola (KAB) Olowu (OON) gave his all to Lagos, to Nigeria and to humanity. He was a foremost athlete who represented the country in many international sporting competitions and came back home with many important laurels. On Wednesday August 14 when he passed on to eternal glory, he was one of Africa’s oldest, if not the oldest Olympians.

    “Baba KAB was a philanthropist, committed nationalist and devout Muslim. He worshipped Allah with all his heart. From what he had, he pleasurably gave to mankind. He was the (Oloriebi) patriarch of the Tinubu family, taking over from his parents B.M.S. Olowu and R.A. Olowu (nee Tinubu). He was the first grandson of Madam Tinubu and Saka Tinubu. As the Oloriebe of the family, Alhaji KAB’s life exemplified the goodness in the Tinubu family name. He appreciably lived that name. Many of us in the family grew up under his watch and mentoring for which we remain eternally grateful. I particularly drank from his fountain of knowledge and wisdom.

    “KAB made immense contributions to Lagos. He served as the Chairman, Lagos State Sports Council. He was also the Chief Starter at the 1973 All-Africa Games held in Lagos, Nigeria. Papa served the country through athletics and in many other capacities. His sporting career began at St Paul’s Primary School, Breadfruit, Lagos where in 1936 he represented the school at the Empire Day Athletics in commemoration of the British Empire Day celebrated in Britain and her colonies before Nigeria’s independence in 1960. At CMS Grammar School in Lagos, he was the Sports Prefect during his time.

    Read Also: Tinubu greets Williams at 100

    “After his athletics career, he worked in the Nigerian Prisons Service. But he never left his love for sports. He was already working as a civil servant before he won a Federal Government scholarship to study Physical Education in Loughborough College Leicestershire, England in 1952 from where he graduated in 1955. To give back to society, he set up the sports complex at the Nigerian Prison in Kirikiri, Lagos where he worked for some years. He also set up the then Prisons Athletics club, which produced many athletes for Nigeria. He was for several years a prominent member of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN).

    “He believed in Nigeria and was irrevocably committed to her greatness. Even in his old age, he spoke and dreamt of Nigeria’s enduring greatness. The many laurels he won for the country and the honours he brought to Nigeria from many international tournaments are apt testimony to this immutable commitment to Nigeria.

    “Papa’s laudable contributions in sports are worth recalling.  He was that Nigerian sprinter and long jumper who was part of Nigeria’s first delegation to the 1950 British Empire Games in Auckland, New Zealand (now Commonwealth Games). He was among the first group of Nigerians to participate in the Olympic Games and was particularly at the 1952 Summer Olympics Games. At the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games held in Canada, he won silver medals in long jump and the 4 x 110 yards relay, becoming the first Nigerian athlete to win two medals at the Commonwealth Games.

    “It was no surprise that as a result of these international sporting accomplishments, he became the first Nigerian to officiate at the 1966 Commonwealth Games in Kingston, Jamaica. He was Nigerian team manager to the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Canada. Later in 1992 at the Barcelona Olympics, he emerged the first Nigerian Olympic torch-bearer.

    “Baba KAB would be sorely missed by family, friends, associates and all those who encountered him. My prayer is that Almighty Allah accept his soul and grant him Aljanna Fridaus. May He also imbue all of us in the Tinubu and Olowu families and indeed all those he left behind the strength to continue in his absence.”

  • Stakeholders to Osinbajo: Kogi fast degenerating into violence

    KOGI State All Progressives Congress (APC) stakeholders have the Federal Government to address the challenges facing the state.

    In a five-page letter to the Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, titled: “Request for urgent intervention in the governance and security of lives and property in Kogi State”, signed by Chief Alex Kadiri, the APC Stakeholders Forum & Oppressed Citizens of Kogi State, warned of an impending doom in the state, if the Federal Government fail to intervene in the matter.

    Kadiri said the state was fast degenerating into a situation far worse than Ekiti State when former President Olusegun Obasanjo declared a state of emergency and removed the governor.

    The letter reads: “When a people are under siege or attack, it is the time for their leaders to step up to defend and protect them. But when the imposed leaders are the ones, who lay siege or attack the people, where will defence, protection or help come from?

    “This is the story of Kogi today.  The affliction the state is suffering is from the duo of the state governor, Governor Yahaya Bello, and his Chief of Staff, who doubles as his deputy governor and many times the de facto governor, whose name is Edward Onoja.

    Read Also: Kogi 2019: I’ll lead Kogi to promise land, says Audu

    Anyone, who is perceived not to be in their support dares not cross boundary lines into Kogi State…

    “There are so many cases and examples that it will take too much time to itemise in this letter.  Thuggery, banditry, violence and killings have become normal in Kogi State.

    “Citizens of Kogi outside Kogi State don’t fare better.  They are under constant threat from the state government and their militias and violent gangs and thugs.  They are also becoming poorer because of the unbearable poverty in the state because they constantly receive SOS messages daily for help or death from back home.”

    They told the vice president that the resistance suffered during the presidential campaign was purely a fear of endorsement and assurance of second term for Yahaya Bello by the Presidency and APC, not a lack of love or appreciation for President Buhari, and the APC administration and what it had done for this country.

    Kadiri added: “The people of Kogi State feel left out of the Presidency’s kind attention to citizen problems across the states. Not for appointment or project or programmes reason, but solely because of a silence in the face of how the state government continues to inflict poverty pain and death on Kogites, who are Nigerians too.”

  • Kogi: Court restrains APC, others from taking final decision on method of primary

    A Federal High Court in Abuja has restrained parties, in the suit challenging the planned adoption of the indirect primary mode by the Kogi State All Progressives Congress (APC), from proceedings with plans to reach final decision on the issue pending the determination of the suit.

    Justice Taiwo Taiwo issued the order on Friday, while ruling on an ex-parte motion filed in the suit, marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/833/2019 by some members of the APC in Kogi –  Destiny Eneojoh Aromeh, Isah Abubakar, Noah Aku and Mrs. Joy Onu. The suit has only the APC as defendant.

    The judge said: “I have gone through the processes filed and digested the written address. I am of the view that, in view of the urgency of the matter and the pending motion for interlocutory injunction, it will be better to give accelerated hearing to the motion and the originating summons filed by the plaintiffs.

    “In the interest of justice, I will abridge the time within, which the defendant will respond to the main suit and the motion for interlocutory injunction, to 10 days, in view of the fact that, from the processes before me, the defendant’s primary is scheduled to hold on the 29th of August 2019.

    “Meanwhile, this court, in order for any of the parties, especially the defendant, not to foist a fait accompli on the court, hereby orders that nothing must be done with regard to the res (subject of the dispute) of this suit until the hearing of the originating summons and motion on notice for interlocutory injunction on the 19th of August 2019.”

    The plaintiffs had, in their ex-parte motion, prayed the court for an order of interim injunction, restraining the defendant by itself, its organs, agents or any person  from adopting the indirect mode of primaries for the nomination of the governorship candidate in the forthcoming governorship primaries of 2019 in Kogi, pending the determination of the motion on notice.

    The judge took arguments on Thursday on the ex-parte motion and fixed ruling for Friday.

    Before the ruling, Damian Dodo (SAN) announced appearance for the defendant (APC) and said his client was challenging the propriety of the proceedings conducted by the court the previous day, on the grounds that they were conducted in its absence, even when the relief sought by the plaintiffs was directed at it (the party).

    The judge however told Dodo that he would not allow his ruling to be arrested by anyone. He only recorded Dodo’s appearance for the APC and another lawyer, A. M. Adoyi (for party seeking to be joined) and then, proceeded to read the ruling.

    At the conclusion of the ruling, the judge directed parties to file all necessary documents before the next date, because he was willing to hear and determine the case on time.

    Read Also: Kogi APC suspends Deputy Governor Achuba

    The plaintiffs are, by the suit, seeking to, among others, stop the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) from adopting the indirect primary model to select candidate for the August 29 primary ahead of the November 16, 2019 governorship election in the state.

    They also argued that, in view of a pending case before another judge of the same Federal High Court, Abuja (Justice Okon Abang) in relation to the dispute over the leadership of the party in the state, it was wrong for a faction to take decision that will affect the entire party while the case was still undecided.

    Plaintiffs’ lawyer, Oluwole Aladedoye told claimed that his clients are elected State Executive (SEC) members of the defendant (APC) in 2018. “They emerged as elected. After the election, the governor (of Kogi State) set up a parallel exco, excluding the plaintiffs from participating in the nomination and the matter is still pending before Justice Okon Abang of this same court.”

    The plaintiffs want the court to determine whether the APC can adopt the indirect primaries with regard to the pendency of the suit filed by Haddy Ametuo, Salam Adejoh (suing for themselves and on behalf of other members) of the State Executive Council (SEC) elected on May 19, 2018.

    They are also praying the court to determine whether the involvement of persons claiming to be members of the Kogi SEC, during the pendency of the suit, in the nomination of the governorship candidate would not amount to interference with the judicial process and run against the principle of subjudice, which would render the outcome of such primary illegal, null and void.

    The plaintiffs are equally praying the court to determine whether the defendant can ignore the suit which seeks to determine the authentic members of the Kogi SEC, who constitute the delegates by adopting the indirect mode of the primary.

    Meanwhile, the APC has reacted to the suit and prayed the court to either strike the suit out or dismiss it on the grounds that, not only do the plaintiffs lacked the locusstandi to initiate the suit, the court also lacked the jurisdiction to hear it.

    In a notice of preliminary objection filed for the APC by Dodo, it was argued that the dispute as to the appropriate mode for the conduct of a political party’s primary election is an internal decision of a political party over which the court cannot exercise jurisdiction.

    The party added: “the plaintiffs filed this suit to challenge the decision of the National Working Committee of the defendant to adopt indirect mode of conduct of primary election in the nomination of its candidate for the governorship election in Kogi State.

    “The dispute as to the appropriate mode for the conduct of a political party’s primary election is an internal decision of the defendant’s National Working Committee. The plaintiffs do not have the requisite locus standi to commence and maintain this suit against the defendant.

    “The plaintiffs are not parties to the suit No: FHC/ABJ/CS/581/2018 between Haddy Ametuo &1other v. All Progressives Congress & two others, which they hinged this suit on. The plaintiffs do not have the requisite locus standi to commence and maintain this suit.

    “The present suit is incompetent and rids this court of the requisite jurisdiction to entertain the suit. The plaintiff’s originating summons filed on 18th July2019 is an abuse of court process, having been accompanied by four different affidavits deposed to by four different deponents,” the APC said.

  • APC: revolution call treasonable

    THOSE promoting #RevolutionNow protests are enemies of the country, the All Progressives Congress (APC) has said.

    It also insists that the call for a revolution by the arrowhead of the coalition, Mr. Omoyele Sowore, is a trasonable offence which no government will declare as a non- issue.

    In a statement on Thursday by its National Publicity Secretary, Malam Lanre Issa-Onilu, the APC described all those collaborating with the candidate of the Allinace for African Congress (AAC) candidate in the February 23 presidential election, as cowards.

    Issa-Onilu said while the right to peaceful protest was a given under the Nigerian laws, a call for a revolution was no doubt a call for a forceful takeover of a legitimate government which no government will accept.

    The statement reads: “All Progressives Congress (APC) calls on Nigerians to reject the toxic messages and criminal antics of some individuals and partisans who have embarked on a campaign of calumny against the government and are calling for a forceful takeover of government. They are cowards and enemies of Nigeria.

    “The recent arrest of Mr. Omoyele Sowore by the Department of State Services (DSS) must be seen for what it is — a legal and timely action by our security services to protect our democracy and protect the country and its citizens against any action that threatens our collective peace and safety.

    “Predictably, some desperate individuals, sore losers, and their sympathisers are acting in vain trying to pull wool over the eyes of Nigerians.”

    He berated the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Abubakar Atiku, for allegedly backing “unpatriotic elements who would rather bring our country down for being rejected at the polls.”

    The APC spokesman went further: “The desperate attempt to politicise a legitimate action by the security agencies and futile effort to spread falsehood to create chaos in the country are clearly irresponsible actions. We call on Nigerians to look at the issue of Sowore’s arrest dispassionately, devoid of the skewed narratives and sentiments being propagated by these individuals.

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    “Sowore arrived the country recently and openly threatened a revolution against a constitutionally recognised and legitimate government. Should the DSS and other security services have dismissed the declaration and the underlying implications as a non- issue? No intelligence/security agency worth its calling takes issues like this with levity.

    “From elections to governance and general conduct, the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration has demonstrated its adherence and defence of the rule of law over politics and sundry interests.

    “Again, on the safety of Nigerians, the current government has been decisive in addressing any action that threatens the country’s unity, peace and our democracy. Sowore’s arrest is another testament to our unshaken resolve in this regard.

    “The right to a civil protest is a given. However, it should not be construed to mean the same thing as a revolution to forcibly take over government.

    “This makes it necessary to put the act of a revolution in context, at least by the proclamation made by Sowore and his co-travelers. Revolution means to forcibly overthrow a government through rebellion, revolt, insurrection, mutiny, uprising, insurgency, coup.

    “Nigeria is not a banana republic. We are a country with a democratically-elected government, governed by laws. Our laws are clear on Sowore’s actions. It is treason. No one should be allowed to get away with any attempt to destabilise this country.

    “We must remind ourselves that the same Sowore who attempts to lead a revolution had a legal opportunity during the 2019 Presidential election as a candidate to sell his governace ideas, if any, to the electorate. He failed woefully in that attempt, coming a distant sixth with 33,953 votes compared to the winner, President Muhammadu Buhari, who polled over 15 million votes.

    “Sowore and some of his co-losers have now resorted to an illegal and misguided plot to destabilise the country. Their plan is dead on arrival.

    “We reiterate that our laws are clear on all criminalities and Nigerians expect that the enforcement of relevant laws should apply to every Nigerian, irrespective of class and status. This government would not be found wanting where it is required to take decisive actions.

    “Finally, the effects of instability being championed by these cowards and enemies of Nigeria are disastrous. The same proponents of a forceful takeover will be the first to flee the country with their loved ones while the ordinary Nigerian suffers the disastrous consequences. Nigerians beware.”

  • Presidency, PDP clash over economy, security

    The Presidency on Wednesday clashed with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) over the latter’s claim that the country was collapsing under the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led government.

    It (the Presidency) referred the opposition to the President Muhammadu Buhari administration’s economic scorecard in the past four years to show how it has taken the economy out of the woods.

    “Nigeria’s economy is not in trouble,” presidential spokesman Garba Shehu said in a statement last night. It was a reply to a claim by the PDP leadership that the government has scored below average in tackling insecurity, political uncertainties and poor economy.

    PDP spokesman Kola Ologbodiyan said the opposition political party decided to raise the red flag because the country was collapsing under the APC.

    But Shehu insisted that the economy had grown under President Buhari.

    He said: “In keeping with historical trends, there is less economic activity during the electoral cycle.  For instance, the economy grew by 2.35 per cent in Q2 of 2015 and 3.96 per cent in Q1 of 2015 as compared to 5.94 per cent in Q4 of 2014

    “While foreign direct investment can help, it is not the only source of investment in the economy. There is also domestic investment, which is either undertaken by the government or by the private sector.

    “It is also noteworthy that capital importation into Nigeria grew by 21.6 per cent in the first quarter of 2019 as compared to the last quarter of 2018.  Indeed, foreign portfolio investment (which is still foreign investment) was $7.14 billion in the first quarter of the year.

    “A look at business pages in newspapers shows that there is a lot of business activity going on in the country.

    “Two stories in today’s paper point to increasing economic activity.

    “First is that the profit of UACN grew in the first half of this year by 61 per cent (pg 12 The Nation).

    “Second is that Business Day (pg1) states that cargo imports jumped by 21 per cent in the first half of 2019.”

    Increasing imports, Shehu noted, is a pointer to greater economic activity and the availability of foreign exchange with which to conduct business in the country.

    He went on: “A major constraint to business was the Apapa gridlock which a number of companies had listed as the major impediment to doing business.  This situation has improved tremendously (see pg 23 of The Nation)”

    He said that President Buhari improved relations with China, the United States (U.S.) and Europe and won their support for the administration’s development agenda in his first four years.

    According to Shehu, President Buhari has channelled unprecedented sums of money into infrastructure development.

    Read Also: Presidency says Buhari remains best hope for Nigerian economy

    He said: “Capital spending has been kept at about 30 percent of annual budgets. Construction of roads, highways, public transport and airports has sharply increased. The government is spending heavily on power.

    “This, combined with private sector investment, has grown power generation capacity.

    “All said and done, President Buhari remains the best hope for the Nigerian economy. The country needs change and this remains the person with the will and determination to deliver.”

    The PDP leadership had expressed a deep concern that the nation, which it said was hitherto a prosperity hub and a reference point for democracy, personal freedom and good governance, was becoming a failed state.

    It lamented that the Buhari administration could not has been unable to guarantee any of its fundamental duties, thus making citizens “now desperate to take their destinies in their hands”.

    According to Ologbodiyan, the PDP leadership took the decision to flash the red flag after a crucial meeting in Abuja yesterday.

    The PDP statement reads: “The red flag has become urgent following the manifest total loss of faith by Nigerians across the board, in the ability of the Buhari Presidency to provide a democratic leadership that can engender a peaceful and secure nation.

    “It is clear that the APC and the Buhari Presidency have held Nigerians hostage. Nigerians are now being treated like a conquered people. They can no longer freely exercise their constitutionally guaranteed rights; executive high-handedness has become a state policy just as the APC government, burdened by challenges of illegitimacy, has lost direction and only thriving in vindictiveness.”

    The PDP alleged that the government opted to breathe down on perceived opponents following what it called the collapse of the APC’s defence at the tribunal.

    It said: “Our party has also noticed that since the defence of the APC and President Buhari collapsed at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, the APC and its government have taken to harassment and repression of Nigerians by surreptitiously suspending constitutional provisions of freedom of speech and association in our country.

    “Many compatriots are being taken in as political prisoners all in a bid to foist a siege mentality and suppress public opinion.

    “Today, the Buhari Presidency cannot guarantee the security and safety of citizens. Bloodletting and violence have become the order of the day. Invaders, insurgents, kidnappers and killers have taken over major highways and communities; our nation’s security machinery have become overstretched; Nigerians now live in palpable fear; they cannot freely travel within their country and the government has no answers.

    “On the economic front, President Buhari has ruined our economy and led our nation to become the world’s capital of poverty, while condoning the humongous corruption that has become the hallmark of his failed administration.

    “Sadly, President Buhari’s anti-development policies, the corruption in his government as well as its failure to provide security have scared away foreign investors from our nation”.

    PDP observed that only recently, the United Nations declared that “43 per cent of Nigeria’s Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) has taken flight to other countries, adding that unemployment has gone out of proportion and there is no hope in sight.”

    The party called on Nigerians of good faith as well as the international community to speak out against the prevailing situation before it is too late.

    It urged Nigerians not to despair, assuring them that the PDP candidate in the February 23 presidential election would get judicial victory at the Presidential Election Petitions’ Court (PEPC).

    When contacted for reaction, the APC said it would not glorify the PDP with a response.

    Its spokesman Lanre Issa-Onilu told The Nation last night: “My response is that when the PDP starts making sense, we’ll respond to them. We have issues of governance to deal with an attempt to respond to their senseless talk will be a distraction.”

  • Court reserves ruling in HDP’s petition against Buhari, others

    THE Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) has reserved judgment in the petition by the Hope Democratic Party (HDP) and its candidate, Ambrose Owuru, against the outcome of the February 23 presidential election won by President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    Respondents to the petition are Buhari, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the APC.

    The parties on Monday adopted their final written addresses, following which panel Chairman Justice Mohammed Garba announced that the date for judgment will be communicated to parties by the court’s registry.

    It is the petitioners’ core contention that they deserved to be announced winners having won, with 50 million votes, a referendum allegedly conducted by a civil society group after INEC unlawfully postponed the presidential election earlier scheduled for February16, 2019.

    Adopting his address, petitioners’ lawyer Chukwunoyerem Njoku, urged the court to void the presidential election on the grounds that INEC did not comply with the relevant provisions of the Electoral Act before postponing the election earlier scheduled for February 16, 2019.

    Njoku stated that Nigerian citizens participated, as required by law, in the said referendum held on February 16, 2019.

    Read Also: Help Buhari fight unemployment, Nwosu tells incoming Ministers

    The petitioners’ lawyer urged the court to void INEC’s decision to declare President Buhari as the winner of the last presidential election and replace him Owuru as the authentic winner.

    On his part, President Buhari’s lead lawyer, Wole Olanipekun (SAN), noted that the petitioners have no case against his client.

    Olanipekun said he has carefully scrutinised the petitioners’ final written address and found that there was nowhere in the address that they made out any case against his client, noting that the petitioners have also failed to prove their claim that a referendum was indeed held.

    Olanipekun submitted that the petitioners did not in any way supply evidence on how the so-called referendum was conducted and who conducted it. He urged the court to dismiss the petition, describing it as frivolous, baseless and without merit.

    INEC’s lead lawyer Yunus Usman (SAN) was of the view that the petition lacked merit. He argued that INEC only conducted an election that is known to law,  not a referendum as claim by the petitioners.

    Describing the petitioners’ claims as strange to INEC and the law, Usman urged the court to uphold INEC’s decision to declare President Buhari and the APC as winners of the lawfully-held presidential election.

    He equally prayed the court to dismiss the petition with substantial cost to serve as a deterrent to those who may wish to waste the court’s time by filing frivolous and baseless petitions in future election.

    Arguing in similar vein, APC’s lead lawyer, Akin Olujinmi (SAN) prayed the court to dismiss the petition for being unmeritorious.

    At the hearing of the petition on July 22, 2019 the petitioners called a witness, Yusuf Ibrahim, who adopted his written statement on oath as his evidence in the case, following which the witness was cross-examined by Yusuf Ali (SAN) for Buhari; Olujimi and Usman (for INEC.

    While being cross-examined by Ali, Ibrahim said he voted in the February 16 referendum and that he was in the country on February 23 and voted during the presidential and National Assembly elections of that day.

    He agreed that Buhari was elected and declared the winner of the presidential election of February, 23.

    The witness added that he had no document attached to his witness’s statement on oath as evidence for the 50 million votes allegedly polled by his party’s candidate at the alleged presidential referendum.

  • Who becomes next Lagos APC secretary?

    In few weeks’ time, the position of the Lagos State All Progressives Congress (APC) will be vacant. The out-going secretary, Dr Wale Ahmed, has been re-appointed as commissioner by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

    Ahmed, a former member of House of Assembly, is from Agege Constituency.

    Will his successor come from the constituency, or the Assistant Secretary, Femi Saheed , will become the acting secretary?

    Since 1999, the ruling progressive block has been served by seven secretaries under the Alliance for Democracy (AD), the Action Congress (AC), the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and the APC.

    Former House of Assembly member Lanre Ogunyemi (Ojo Constituency) succeeded the pioneer interim secretary who was selected by the AD chairman, the late Chief Ganiyu Dawodu.

    He functioned under Chairman Abiodun Ogunleye before he was appointed as Political Adviser to former Deputy Governor Olufemi Pedro. When Pedro defected to the Labour Party (LP) and later, the People Democratic Party (PDP), Ogunyemi reiterated his loyalty to the ruling party.

    His successor was the late Lateef Raji (Oshodi/Isolo) who also served under Prince Ogunleye. In 2007, he became a Special Adviser under former Governor Bola Tinubu.

    Raji was succeeded by Primate Charles Odugbesi from Ikorodu. He served for one term. After he left, Former Itire Ikate Council boss Hakeem Bamagbala became the acting secretary. Later, he was succeded by Wasiu Eshinlokun Sanni, who in 2015, returned to the House of Assembly.

    During the last party congress, which threw up Alhaji Tunde Balogun as Chairman, Ahmed became the secretary.

    Now that Ahmed will be commissioner, who succeeds him?

  • APC lauds police over quick rescue of kidnap victims

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) has commended men and officers of Ogun State command for their swift rescue of the five kidnap victims at Ogbere-Sagamu section of Benin-Lagos express road.

    The commendation was made in a statement issued on Sunday in Lagos by the Ogun State chapter of the APC.

    The party was full of praises for officers and men of the Anti-Kidnapping and Cultism Unit of the command for their bravery and doggedness which led to the rescue of the victims.

    It would be recalled that five members of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) who were on their way to the headquarters of the church for a ministers’ conference were kidnapped on the road late night of August 1.

    The state Publicity Secretary, Tunde Oladunjoye, who signed the statement praised the courage, quick intervention and professionalism of the policemen, personally led by the State Police Commissioner, Mr Bashir Makama.

    He said that all these made the victims to be quickly rescued unhurt.

    Read Also: ‘We ‘ll not tolerate division in Oyo APC’

    The party also commended the State governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, for his commitment and determination to rid the state of crime and ensure peace and normalcy in all nook and crannies.

    “His swift intervention and plea to President Muhammadu Buhari to which the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) responded by providing a helicopter that had since remained in Ogun and had helped in rescuing the victims at Ogunmakin and Ogbere,” the statement said.

    The party also commended the IGP for his decision to set up a Special Task Force in Ogun.

    “Security is the responsibility of all, rather than rivalry, their should be increased sharing of intelligence and synergy between security and paramilitary agencies, as only this would ensure efficient and effective combat of crimes in our society.

    “We endorse the recently expressed intention of the governor, to relaunch, reactivate and reenergise the Ogun Security Trust Fund and urge him not to leave any stone unturned in order to make the state very safe for residents and travelers.

    “We urge the police and other security agencies not to rest on their oars. Security of lives and property  demands eternal vigilance,” it added.

     

  • Power Probe: APC, PDP Reps may clash over Obasanjo

    THERE are indications that the All Progressives Congress (APC) members in the House of Representatives and their counterparts in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) may soon be on warpath over the decision of the lower house to probe the country’s power sector.

    Sources claimed that while the APC lawmakers are ready for a no-holes-bar probe that will investigate projects and funding in the sector since the country’s return to democracy, their PDP counterparts would want the House to tread cautiously in handling some of the people being mentioned in relations to the sector.

    A member of the House from Katsina State, Sada Soli, representing Jibia/Kaita Federal Constituency, had moved a motion which he tagged ‘Need to review government expenditure on the power sector’ had said the probe is necessary to ensure sustenance of the power reform programme. The lawmaker urged the national assembly to revisit spending and yearly allocations to the sector as a way of unraveling the reason for the nation’s unending power problems.

    Following debate on the floor of the House, Sada’s motion was unanimously adopted by the House and it was resolved that an ad hoc committee should be promptly constituted to “carry out a comprehensive investigative hearing on how much money was spent on the power sector reform programme over the years. It is also saddled with the task of finding out reasons why there are no commensurate results for the funds expended in the sector. The committee is to report back within six weeks for further legislative action.

    Read Also: ACF hits Obasanjo over letter to Buhari

    Findings by The Nation revealed that following allegations in some quarters that the planned power probe may be targeted at some individuals, some members of the PDP in the green chamber are battle ready to ensure that the committee does not summon certain people, especially former President Olusegun Obasanjo and others who served in the previous regimes, to come and appear before it in the discharge of its assignment. This is however just as prominent APC lawmakers have vowed that the committee’s assignment must be thorough; not minding whose ox is gored.

    While it is unclear if the committee has commenced its assignment, The Nation gathered that moves are already on by the two sides to ensure that thing go their ways when the lawmakers return from their current break. A member of the House from Edo State, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said interested members are already reaching out to their colleagues over the matter. According to him, some members of the House committee on power confirmed to have been contacted by the two divides.

    “What is happening should not come to anybody as a surprise. The issue of probes in the power sector in this country is not a new thing. And each time we talk about it, politics creeps in. That is what is happening again. To further compound the issue, some people are making it appear as if this is about a particular political party and its members. Not at all. This is about Nigeria and the need to know what happened in the past. It is an attempt to know why the power sector is not working and what can be done to make it work.

    “In the process, if there are people we need to ask to appear before the committee or any other body involved in the process, why should that be a problem? Is anybody greater than the country? Those who have nothing to hide should not fear. I will say it is those with hidden secrets that are whipping up these sentiments. Unfortunately, some of our members are being too partisan about the whole issue. The committee has a job to do and it will be supported to do it. That is what the whole House resolved when Sada moved the motion,” he said.

    But another legislator from Oyo State warned that the said probe should not be allowed to create bad blood in the 9th assembly. According to him, some members of the ruling party are carrying on as if they already have the people they are expecting to be invited in mind. “If we said we will probe a sector and some people out there are saying don’t use it to embarrass some people, I think we as lawmakers, should listen and reassess our plans. A situation where we don’t want to listen to other opinions will not augur well. Don’t forget we are first politicians before we got into the House and we belong to different political parties with different political interests and allies,” he said.