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Tag: All Progressives Congress (APC)

  • 24 ex-council bosses declare support for Adelabu

    NO fewer than 24 former local government chairmen, who dumped the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and left the party for the African Democratic Congress (ADC), and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Oyo State have returned to the ruling party.

    The former chairmen who served during the first tenure of Governor Abiola Ajimobi between 2011 and 2015, had last year dumped the APC due to what they termed as breach of agreement after working for the success of the governor’s re-election.

    The former council bosses, who explained that they had worked assiduously to ensure the governor’s second term bid, said they were surprised that they lost out when it was time for them to seek re-election to their respective local government council areas.

    They later moved to both ADC and PDP.

    But, the council bosses, among whom are Yekeen Popoola (Irepo), who served as Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) Chairman between 2011 and 2015, said they decided to dump their various political parties and work for APC considering the performance of the ruling party at the February 23, 2019 presidential and National Assembly elections.

    Other former chairmen at the meeting held in Ibadan, the state capital on Tuesday are: Olabiyi Niyi (Saki East), Trimisiyu Olayiwola (Kajola), Olarinre Adisa (Itesiwaju), Lord Stowel Balogun (Oorelope) and Ismail Oyetunde (Ona Ara).

    Also at the reconciliatory meeting, which had in attendance the gubernatorial candidate of the party, Mr. Adebayo Adelabu and other APC stalwarts were: Obisesan Kamoru (Egbeda), Abiodun  Olayiwola (Lagelu), Soji Ojoawo (Oyo (West) Olorode Oluade (Afijio), Mukthar Adekunle (Oyo East) and Aworinde Lasisi (Surulere).

    The rest were: Jacob Ogunmola (Atisbo), Fashola David (Ogbomoso South), Ope Salami (Akinyele), Omolewu Segun (Ibarapa North), Adelore Atànda (Ibarapa Central) and John Olaoye Ojedokun (Iwajowa).

    The 24 former chairmen added that they returned to APC to work for the success of Adelabu at the governorship poll billed to take place on Saturday.

    Ogunmola, who spoke on behalf of his colleagues, said they decided to jettison their new-found parties and bury the hatchet to ensure victory for Adelabu on Saturday.

    Also yesterday, a  social-political movement with interest in the Yoruba Omoluabi culture, the Renaissance Movement (Atunbi), has directed its Senatorial Coordinators, 33 local Government Coordinators, all cell leaders and entire members across Oyo State to unanimously work for the success of Adelabu.

    The facilitator of the movement, Comrade Ibrahim Bolomope, accompanied by other leaders, gave the directive yesterday in Ibadan following the adoption of the APC governorship candidate as the sole candidate at the forthcoming polls.

    Speaking at a news conference, which held at the Emmanuel Alayande Resource Centre, Samonda, Ibadan, the former NUT boss noted that the group arrived at the decision after thorough deliberations and interactive sessions with the major governorship candidates in the state.

  • Election: Residents urged to shun tribalism

    Ahead of Saturday’s elections, residents of Surulere area of Lagos state have been urged to shun tribalism.

    All Progressives Congress (APC) leaders in Surulere made this call yesterday at a rally held in support of the APC governorship candidate, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu and all assembly candidates.

    Leader of Ward G 1 Alhaji Olayiwola Niniola, urged them to disregard rumours that Minister of Works, Power and Housing, Mr Babatunde Raji Fashola, did not support the candidature of Sanwo-Olu.

    “This story is not true. That is why we come out to show people that Sanwo-Olu is our man. Our message for everyone is to ensure we vote for Sanwo-Olu and the House of Assembly candidates. We are begging our people to shun violence and vote because it’s obvious in the last election that our performance was poor,” he said.

    Also speaking, Alhaji Abdul-Waheed Abdul-Azeez,  urged the residents to vote for Sanwo-Olu and the assembly candidates.

    He said: “Other parties have nothing to offer. We should avoid tribalism and sentiments. It is unfair if you are living here (in Lagos), making money here, and you decide to work against a government that is doing well.

    “The best thing is to support that government. That is why we are telling all Surulere residents to say ‘No Discrimination.’ When the government is discharging services to the people, government doesn’t discriminate. So, people should not discriminate in this coming election. We want everyone to come out and vote for APC. That’s our message.”

  • Fayose’s kinsmen defect to APC in Ekiti

    No fewer than 100 kinsmen of former Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose and members of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Afao-Ekiti, Ifelodun/Irepodun Local Government Area have defeated from the party to the All Progressives Congress (PDP).

    The defectors were led by Special Assistant to Fayose on Local Government Affairs, Mr. Ayodeji Adu and other PDP’s chieftains in the council, barely three days to the House of Assembly election.

    They were received yesterday by APC leaders when campaign train of the party’s assembly candidate in Irepodun/ Ifelodun state constituency II, Hakeem Jamiu, hits the town.

    Speaking on behalf of the defectors, Adu said they were spurred to join APC because of Governor Kayode Fayemi’s sterling leadership qualities in taking decisions and the progressive policies he put in place.

    The former Special Assistant stated that Fayose’s abysmal performance and his hostile leadership style forced them out of the party.

    He added that PDP was narrow-minded and short-sighted in ensuring sustainable growth.

    “This decision to dump PDP for APC was borne out of patriotism and it is for the betterment of my state and the country at large.

    “Afao despite producing the governor of the state for eight years is still in shambles without meaningful development, hence the need to embrace the right ideas that can take the town out of the current economic and social despondency.

    “I pledge my commitment to the success of the APC candidate in Afao-Ekiti. I want to assure that the APC would have a block vote in the town come Saturday,” Adu said.

    Jamiu assured the people of the state that the next assembly won’t be a rubber stamp under Fayemi but provide a platform where people-oriented policies would be enacted.

  • 2019 elections: Shun electoral violence, Tinubu urges Lagos voters

    The National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Ashiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has called on voters in Lagos to shun violence at the upcoming governorship and State house of Assembly polls on Saturday.

    The former Lagos governor made the plea while addressing party members at the ACME’s party Secretariat, Ikeja on Wednesday, also noted that the party’s performance during the presidential election two weeks ago was less than satisfactory.

    “We must go out and vote. I beg you all to mobilise your members to come out and vote enmasse this coming Saturday. I beg you all not to fight. We want a peaceful election ad not violent”, he said.

    Read also: Cross River APC crisis: Stakeholders seek Buhari, Tinubu intervention

    Besides, he decried the attitude of youths who instead of voting, were playing football, saying such action is unbecoming of responsible youths, whose future should be dear to them.

  • Edo NLC, TUC pledge support for APC candidates

    The Edo State chapters of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) have pledged to sustain their support for the Governor Godwin Obaseki-led administration.

    Both unions made the pledge when members of its Administrative Council held an interactive session with the governor, at Government House in Benin City on Wednesday.

    They promised that they would vote candidates that would support the developmental strides of the governor in the March 9, House of Assembly Election.

    Chairman of the state chapter of NLC, Comrade Emmanuel Ademokun, thanked the governor for the several worker-friendly policies and programmes he has initiated and pledged the union’s total support for the government in order to ensure that candidates who will support Obaseki’s development agenda are elected come Saturday, March 9.

    “You have done enough for workers in the state and they cannot thank you enough. We get our salaries as and when due, you are paying salary arrears and we have gone around the local government councils in the state and we see your footprints,’’ Ademokun said.

    Addressing the workers, Obaseki assured that as long as he remains governor of the state, no worker in the state civil service would lose his or her job.

    He assured that his administration would continue to prioritise the welfare of workers and pay the new National Minimum Wage as soon as it is passed into law.

    The governor appealed to the workers to support candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in next Saturday’s House of Assembly election to enable him sustain the developmental initiatives he has started in the state.

    “We will not go back to the days when people worked in the local councils and were not paid salaries. I will not retrench any worker, instead I will train them just as I did with teachers in the Edo Basic Education Sector Transformation (Edo-BEST) programme,” the governor said.

    In his vote of thanks, the State Chairman of TUC, Comrade Marshal Ohue, thanked the governor and assured that workers in the state were solidly behind the governor.

    The unions also presented local government executives from the 18 Local Government Areas of the state to the governor.

  • APC, PDP ready for elections in Zamfara, as INEC distributes materials

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) and People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Zamfara said they are ready for Saturday’s governorship and state assembly elections.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the agents of the two parties disclosed this to newsmen in Gusau on Wednesday at the unveiling and distribution of election materials by the Independent National Electoral Commission.

    NAN further reports that the State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Dr Asma’u Maikudi led the distribution of sensitive election materials at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

    The APC Agent, Alhaji Umar Abbas said his party is satisfied with the arrangements by the INEC ahead of the elections.

    Abbas, who is the State APC Collation officer for the 2019 general elections, said, “We are here to witness the distribution of the materials by the INEC, we are satisfied with the arrangements, the REC is seated with us monitoring the exercise, security agencies are also present.”

    He debunked the allegations against his party by other political parties that the APC was conniving with INEC to divert some election materials.

    He said, “I don’t want to comment on this, let them prove the allegations.”

    The State PDP Secretary, Alhaji Abubukar Maradun said the party was set to participate in the governoship and state assembly elections in the state.

    “We have challenged the commission’s mode of distribution of election materials so that the happenings at the last Presidential and National Assembly elections would not be repeated in the state.

    Read also: Electoral materials in safe custody, INEC assures Lagosians

    “We have made adequate arrangements, we have qualified agents across the 14 local government areas of the state.

    “You know in the last Presidential and National Assembly elections, materials were not allocated appropriately, in Kaura there was a polling unit with 1000 voters but they were given 100 ballot papers.

    “We insisted that before any materials will be moved from here, we must know the number allocated to each of the local government areas, especially the ballot papers and broadsheet,” he said. (NAN)

  • Former reps defects to PDP in A’Ibom

    Former House of Representatives member and All Progressives Congress (APC) party candidate for Etinan Federal Constituency, Dan Akpan, who was defeated by the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Onofiok Luke in the just concluded elections has defected to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

    Akpan who defected with Etido Ibekwe, former majority leader in the State House of Assembly from Essien Udim local government area alongside others returned to the PDP during the PDP governorship grand rally in Uyo Township stadium.

    Speaking yesterday in Uyo, Governor Udom Emmanuel commended the people for casting their votes for the PDP on February 23, and welcomed the decampees, stating that the umbrella of the PDP is big enough to accommodate them.

    He advised the people not to be deceived by the blackmailed and lies of the people from Abuja noting that they don’t have followers.

    He challenged the opposition to an option A4 voting pattern, noting that if it was effected in Akwa Ibom State, the PDP will win overwhelmingly.

    He alleged that the electorates were harassed and brutalized on 23 February, that was why many people were not able to vote, adding that he has video proofs to that effect.

    He encouraged the people to go out and vote on Saturday, defend their votes and assured decampees of their political freedom.

    Emmanuel cautioned security agencies against working against the people on Saturday, noting that they were equipped and empowered with taxpayers money to defend the people and not fight them.

    “Akwa Ibom State is a peaceful land. Today I am here to appreciate the Akwa Ibom people. I am here today telling Akwa Ibom people that I salute you for standing firm, for your resilience in letting the world know the truth between light and darkness, God and man.

    “If Akwa Ibom is a land named after God, the wicked man will continue to fall; Akwa Ibom shall be liberated. Let me also thank all of you for voting PDP on the 23rd of February.

    “Let me thank all those who have completely collapsed their stature for the PDP. Let me also thank all those people who have defeated to PDP. I want to assure them that we have many mansions in PDP.

    “The PDP is big enough to cover them; PDP is the only party that can bring unity, development, bring infrastructure and preach righteousness.

    “I challenge the Abuja people, let them proof something to the centre, let them come down, let the Akwa Ibom people queue, if they have 20 percent, whenever we tell you that Akwa Ibom is PDP, don’t believe us,” he said.

    The Director-General, Divine Mandate Organisation, Commodore Idongesit Nkanga (rtd) called on Senator Godswill Akpabio to accept defeat and congratulate Chris Ekpenyong who defeated him at the elections, adding that it is the most honourable thing for him to do.

    He cautioned the APC National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, to be guarded on his statements on the state, stating that Akwa Ibom people have chosen PDP and will remain so.

    “I can only advise that once the people have spoken, the sign of liberty is that we go by the wishes of the people. We pay tax so that the security operatives will protect the people of Nigeria, please don’t turn their guns against the people of Nigeria.

    “The people of Akwa Ibom state want PDP. For anyone to bring violence into a peaceful community means that they don’t mean well for Nigeria,” he said.

     

  • Saboteurs won’t be allowed to lead 9th National Assembly, says Presidency

    The Presidency on Wednesday disclosed that President Muhammadu Buhari and his government will not allow the emergence of saboteurs in the leadership of the ninth National Assembly (NASS).

    This was disclosed by a senior aide to the President on a condition of anonymity.

    According to him, the President will ensure that only persons selected by the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Working Committee (NWC) emerge as President of the Senate and other presiding officers of both the red and green chambers.

    Even as he declared the President has no preferred candidates for the position of the principal officer of the parliament, he said that he is ready and willing to support the decision of the leadership of the party in line with worked out zoning arrangements.

    He said the presidency had never had it smooth with the relationship that existed between it and the leadership of the 8th National Assembly and will therefore not sit to fold its arms while another set of unfriendly characters emerge in the next dispensation.

    Read Also: Senate Presidency: Ex-governors plot upset

    He said: “Be rest assured that the President will not micro-manage the process electing the National Assembly leadership but he will not allow the lawlessness that happened in 2015 to repeat itself.

    “The President will allow the decision of the party to remain supreme. Once the party zones the positions, he will give maximum support to it.

    “It is not like before, now, the decision of the party is supreme. You see what has happened to the two governors. In the past, this won’t have been possible.

    “What I can tell you is that the President doesn’t have any preferred candidates,” he said.

    At the beginning of the eight parliament, both Senate President, Bukola Saraki, and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, had emerged against the arrangement of the APC leadership.

     

  • Ijaw youths to Buratai: call your men to order

    Ijaw youths of Egbema kingdom in Warri North council area of Delta state, have called on the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai to “call” his men to “order” so that they will not be used to cause disruptions in Saturday’s polls.

    They said this was because of reports the All Progressives Congress (APC) led-federal government plan to provide heavy security across the state to ensure free, fair, credible and violence-free elections.

    The youths, under the aegis of Egbema Youth Forum, made the call in a statement signed by its President, Mr. Ebipade Kari and circulated to newsmen in Warri on Wednesday.

    The statement, which noted the presence of military during electoral exercises in recent times is unconstitutional, pointed out that events resulting from the presidential and national assembly elections in the South-South go to show the desperation of the APC to take over the Niger Delta states.

    It also lamented the recorded deaths in the region during the last polls, adding that it will not take lightly a reoccurrence.

    Emphasizing the peaceful disposition of its kingdom even in the face of underdevelopment, the group stated that nothing should be done to disrupt the peace which the kingdom has “sacrificed so much” to achieve and sustain.

    The youths said: “We want to state clearly, without any iota of reservation that the involvement of the Nigerian Military in electoral process in recent times in Nigeria has gone beyond manageable dimension.

    This is a disservice to democratic principles and tenets as the military is statute barred from dabbling into politics.

    Read Also: Burutai visits planned Apple Island for Army

    “The shaky and flimsy excuses of providing security are mere gimmicks scripted to actualize the biddings of the ruling party.

    “From the events recorded in the South-South region of the country during the 23rd February, 2019 Presidential and National Assembly elections, it is crystal clear that the ruling party is bent on controlling the states in the oil-rich region and has resorted to violence, gross deprivation of electoral rights and brutal force because it has no structure in the states therein.

    “We are deeply pained and are still in a state of melancholy over the death of harmless and innocent citizens in the southern part of the country especially Rivers, Bayelsa and Delta States and as such we shall not treat with indifference if another ugly episode is reenacted during the forthcoming Gubernatorial and State Assembly elections.”

    Appealing to youths across Egbema kingdom and the Niger Delta at large to “be peaceful and law-abiding,” throughout the polls, the group said “violence will cause our region more harm than good”, just as it urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to stamp its foot against military effort to usurp its duties.

  • APC, PDP set for legal battle

    Atiku, PDP seek access to election materials

    We’ll prove our candidate won, says APC

    Secondus, others march on INEC to reverse verdict

    A legal battle is set to begin between the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) over the February 23 presidential election won by President Muhammadu Buhari.

    The PDP and its candidate, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar yesterday approached the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal (PEPT) for permission to inspect the materials used for the poll.

    They are seeking the tribunal’s order to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to grant them and their agents access to the materials.

    Also yesterday, the leadership of the PDP took its protest over the poll to INEC’s doorstep in Abuja.

    They were led by the party’s National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus.

    But the APC said its legal team would defend the ruling party’s victory at the tribunal with facts and figures.

    According to it, the PDP has taken the only democratic route to register its grievances by approaching the tribunal.

    The Director of Strategic Communication of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Festus Keyamo, (SAN, said the ruling party is prepared to prove that the election, won by its candidate President Buhari, was conducted in a free and fair atmosphere, deviod of rigging as being claimed by the opposition.

    In a statement in Abuja yesterday, Keyamo noted that resorting to court was the only democratic way for Atiku to ventilate his perceived grievances about the election, stressing that the council was not in any way prevailing on the former vice president not to seek judicial redress.

    Keyamo denied reports that the council had written to some international organisations and development partners to prevail on Atiku not to challenge the outcome of the election in court, adding that the body that wrote the letter was not known to the council and does not speak for it and the President.

    The statement reads: “Our attention has been drawn to some news item and posts on social media reporting that we wrote a letter to some international bodies to prevail on Alhaji Atiku Abubakar not to proceed to court to challenge the result of the 2019 Presidential Election.

    “Our investigation reveals that a letter to that effect was purportedly written by a certain ‘Buhari Campaign Organisation’. This is the second time we will be informing the public that the said ‘Buhari Campaign Organisation’ does not act at the behest of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, nor does it represent the Muhammadu Buhari Campaign Organisation in any way.

    “As a result, whatever it has released does not represent the position of the APC Presidential Campaign Council or President Muhammadu Buhari.

    “Our official position is that we believe that Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has a constitutional right to seek redress in court and we do not seek in any way to curtail that right. In fact, it is the resort to court that is the only democratic way to ventilate his perceived grievance and any attempt to restrict or discourage the exercise of such right would be an invitation to anarchy.

    “In addition, we are very anxious to meet Alhaji Atiku Abubakar in court in order to show the world in a conclusive manner the free and fair nature of the comprehensive defeat of Atiku at the polls. An election is not termed ‘rigged’ only by the mere claim of it by the loser.

    “That is what Atiku and the PDP want to ram down our throats. Unfortunately for them, international, continental and sub-regional observers (who can be seen as neutral by all standards) ALL declared the election to be free, fair and credible. No ego-massaging narrative can change that.

    “We therefore totally disassociate ourselves from the letter purportedly written by one of, perhaps, many support groups of President Buhari. They may have a right to their opinion, but it does not represent our official position.”

    In their application to the PEPT, Atiku and the PDP prayed that they be allowed to examine election materials

    Their prayers are contained in a motion ex-parte they filed before the tribunal in Abuja, in which they are seeking leave to inspect the voters register, the Smart Card Reader (SCR), ballot papers and other vital documents used in the conduct of the presidential election.

    They also want the tribunal to order INEC to allow their agents to scan and make photocopies of vital documents used for the election to enable them establish what they  alleged were irregularities in the exercise.

    In the motion filed by their lawyer, Chris Uche, (SAN), Atiku and the PDP said that the reliefs being sought against INEC were for the purpose of filing and maintaining an election petition, which they are preparing to file against the outcome of this year’s presidential election.

    The Director, Contact and Mobilisation of the Atiku Abubakar Presidential Campaign Council, Col. Austin Akobundu (rtd), deposed to a 12-paragraph supporting affidavit filed with the motion.

    INEC, President Muhammadu Buhari and his APC have been listed as respondents to the motion.

    No date has been fixed for the hearing of the motion.

    The Nation learnt yesterday that the motion, being one of the preliminary steps towards initiating an election petition, may not necessarily be heard in the open, but in the chambers of the tribunal.

    A member of the Atiku/PDP legal team confirmed to our reporter that the motion was filed to enable the team gather sufficient materials to prepare their petition.

    The member said that such a motion was one of the preliminary steps in filing election petitions.

    He said: “Since the petition was intended to challenge the outcome of the election, it was necessary to inspect vital materials used for the election to enable the intending petitioner source sufficient materials to prepare his/her petition.”

    He was optimistic that his team would file the petition before the end of this week.