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Tag: All Progressives Congress

  • APC leads Kano Assembly with 27 members, PDP 12

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said that the All Progressives Congress (APC) is leading the Kano State House of Assembly with 27 members.

    The electoral ombudsman also said the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has 12 members.

    The INEC Public Relations Officer in the state, Alhaji Garba Lawal, confirmed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Kano.

    According to him, the PDP has won the assembly seats in Ungoggo, Gezawa, Bebeji, Kibiya, Kumbotso, Rogo and Dawakin Kudu Local Government Areas.

    He added that other constituencies won by the PDP candidates included Kano Municipal, Gwale, Tarauni, Dala and Fagge.

    Lawal said that the APC won at Kunchi/Tsanyawa, Doguwa, Kiru, Sumaila, Wudil, Makoda, Tudun Wada, Minjibir, Ajingi, Dawakin Tofa and Kabo state constituencies.

    The INEC spokesperson said the ruling APC also won in Bichi, Warawa, Karaye, Rano, Gabasawa, Danbatta, Garko, Gwarzo, Albasu, Tofa/Rimin Gado and Gaya Local Government Areas.

    According to him, Takai, Bagwai, Shanono, Bunkure, Madobi and Kura Local Government Areas were also won by the APC, while that of the Nasarawa Local Government Area was declared inconclusive.

    According to him, that of the Nasarawa constituency would be conducted together with that of the governorship supplementary poll on March 23.

  • APC applauds creation of LCDAs

    The Ondo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has described as laudable the decision of the state government to create Local Council Development Authority (LCDA).

    According to the party, the importance of bringing government closer to the people, particularly in a developing setting, can not be over-emphasised.

    Speaking on behalf of the party, the State Chairman, Engr. Ade Adetimehin said with that singular decision, the Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu-led government has once again demonstrated its unquenchable thirst  for rural development, and unrivalled concern about the welfare of the people.

    He said the Ondo APC wholeheartedly supports the idea that will facilitate rapid development, generates employment opportunities, and boost the economy of the new development areas that will be created.

    “We congratulate members of the LCDA committee and urge them to be thoroughly committed to the onerous task, and be guided by a deep sense of patriotism to justify the confidence reposed in them,” he advised.

    The party also commended Governor Akeredolu, for his patriotic and unbiased approach to decision making, particularly in renaming the State University of Science and Technology after Dr. Olusegun Agagu.

    The party noted that only those few administrators who have outgrown “politics of sentiments and bitterness’” could exhibit such level of political behaviour.

    The party also salutes the courage of the government and urged the people to further encourage it by supporting the administration and promoting peace in their various domains.

  • Ebonyi APC candidate joins PDP hours to assembly supplementary poll

    Mr. Innocent Nomeh, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for the Ezza North West state constituency, has withdrawn from the supplementary election contest slated for March 23, 2019.

    The election originally scheduled for March 9 was cancelled because unidentified hoodlums burnt the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Registration Area Centre (RAC) at Umuoghara, Ezza North LGA of the state.

    Nomeh, while briefing newsmen in Abakaliki, said that he withdrew after considering salient issues confronting APC members and candidates after its loss in the presidential and gubernatorial polls in the state.

    “It was my genuine intention to represent my people at the House of Assembly after consulting with my family, friends and political associates.

    “At the borderline of the whole issue is the unserious disposition of the APC in the state towards the election which it ultimately lost to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    “The APC was unserious during the electioneering campaigns and elections as its gubernatorial candidate even lost in his polling unit to the PDP.

    “APC received serious electoral battering by the PDP as it substituted genuine candidates from its primaries until the courts reinstated some of them, including myself,” he said.

    He remarked that it was clear that the APC was never serious in the election and ultimately its candidates still in the electoral race, engaging in a ‘wild goose chase.

    Read also: Appeal Court affirms Lulu-Briggs as Accord gov candidate in Rivers

    “We have been made vulnerable and politically incapacitated to win elections as the party leadership mismanaged funds and other logistics that could have enhanced our performances,” he said.

    Nomeh said that after consulting his family and political associates, he decided to withdraw his membership of the APC, withdraw from the contest on March 23 and join the PDP.

    “This decision is entirely mine, made out of my own volition without any coercion as I urge my supporters to take it with great courage.

    “I also enjoin them to support me in this new quest to contribute to the state’s development as present members of the PDP,” he said.

    Mr Eze Nwachukwu, the APC state Chairman however, told NAN that the party did not recognise Nomeh as its candidate for the election.

    “We only recognise Mr Emeka Nnoko as our candidate as Nomeh is on his own.

    “We have not received any court order reinstating him as the candidate of the party and we stand on our decision,” he said. (NAN)

  • PDP accuses APC chiefs of mobilising 125 soldiers to constituency

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has raised the alarm ahead of the rerun election on Saturday that All Progressives Congress (APC) stalwarts have moved into Otuokpoti in Ogbia Local Government Area with over 125 soldiers.

    The State Chairman of the PDP, Chief Moses Cleopas, accused them of making surreptitious moves to perfect vote buying and voter intimidation ahead of the election.

    Cleopas called on the authorities of the Army to monitor the activities of its men on deployment in large numbers purportedly to protect APC politicians in the state.

    He urged the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, to be conscious of the allegations of murder and rights violation against troops of the Army during the Presidential/National Assembly elections of March 9, 2019.

    Cleopas said that a leader of the PDP, Mr. Seidougha Taribi and a Government House Photographer, Reginald Dei, were killed by soldiers while waiting for results of the election in Oweikorogha, Southern Ijaw Local Government Area òf the state.

    He added that while it was a cheering development the Army authorities had taken a decision to probe the soldiers’ complicity in the brazen acts of violence during the elections in Bayelsa, it was important that the ugly trend was not repeated.

    Cleopas also called on the Indepedent National Electoral Commission to ensure that its guidelines for the conduct of elections in the country are not violated by unscrupulous politicians.

    He said: “The PDP in Bayelsa cannot forget in hurry the complicity of soldiers in the brazen acts of violence, murder, kidnap of electoral officers which marred the elections in Nembe Bassambiri, Brass and part of Southern Ijaw Local Government Area.

    “The murder of our ward leader  Mr. Seidougha Taribi and the Government House Photographer, Reginald Dei, in Oweikorogha by soldiers is still fresh in our memory.

    “We therefore condemn without equivocation the militarisation of the election in Bayelsa.

    “We are using this medium to call on the Chief òf Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, to ensure that the brazen act of rights violation and intimidation by soldiers is not repeated in the rerun elections.

    “Bayelsans are making preparations to elect their representatives and not representatives of the Army and should be allowed to exercise their civil responsibility.

    “The PDP in Bayelsa is also calling on the Independent National Electoral Commission to guide its guidelines from violations by unscrupulous politicians in collusion with security agents.”

  • APC, PDP disagree on INEC’s new timelines for Rivers

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have disagreed over the new timelines by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Rivers State Governorship and House of Assembly elections.

    Rivers APC, through its Publicity Secretary, Chris Finebone, on Thursday in Port Harcourt, declared INEC’s announcement was suspect and received with mixed feelings, alleging the electoral commission had not shown good faith.

    But Rivers chairman of PDP, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Jerry Needam, however, said members of the party received the INEC’s news with optimism.

    Rivers APC said: “As a major stakeholder in the Rivers State political space, APC received with mixed feelings, INEC’s timeline for concluding the governorship and House of Assembly elections that started on March 9.

    “INEC has not shown sufficient good faith in the way it brought the collation to an abrupt stop (on March 10), without cogent, verifiable and convincing reasons.

    “The supposed umpire (INEC) went ahead to announce that collation for 17 local government areas (out of 23 LGAs in Rivers) had been concluded, as against the records provided by our situation room. And to make matters worse, INEC refused, failed or neglected to name the said 17 LGAs where it claimed collation had been concluded.

    “INEC curiously announced that it had dropped four LGAs’ collation officers confirmed to be PDP card-carrying members, without the umpire clearing the air about the status of the LGAs’ results the four ad hoc personnel supposedly collated.”

    The main opposition APC, which backed the African Action Congress (AAC), since court order did not allow it to present candidates for the elections, also wondered why the four indicted collation officers of INEC would be unfit for the job, while the collations they conducted were acceptable.

    APC in Rivers said: “Why is INEC jittery to name the 17 LGAs, if not for the simple reason that some underhand dealings might have taken place, for which it is covering up?

    “With the violation of the collation process by Governor Nyesom Wike when he stormed the Obio/Akpor LGA Collation Centre (at the council’s secretariat in Rumuodomaya, Port Harcourt in the night of March 9), where his Chief Security Officer (CSO) and security detail that shot an army captain and other soldiers in the process, why does it seem that INEC’s body language is suggesting that Obio/Akpor LGA’s collation has been completed?

    “To the APC, INEC is up to some mischief, clearly pointing to a clear determination to rig the overall results of the March 9 elections in favour of Wike and the PDP. The signs are visible enough to the blind and loud enough to the deaf. All the shenanigans so far exhibited by INEC only go to confirm that fear.”

    But the PDP chair said: “Even though we frown at the length of the timeline issued by INEC for the collation, declaration and conclusion of the election process in Rivers State, we received the news with optimism.

    “Rivers State PDP is waiting patiently for the process to be concluded, because the people of Rivers State overwhelmingly voted for our party.

    “We urge Rivers people to remain calm, as the mandate they freely gave to Governor Wike and the PDP on March 9 will be affirmed at the end of the collation process.

    “Victory for the PDP will come at the end of the exercise. Rivers State is PDP. The people massively voted for the PDP, as all the figures indicate.”

  • PDP alleges plot by military to hijack supplementary polls

    The Peoples Democratic Party ( PDP ) has alerted of a clandestine plot by the military in cahoots with officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to hijack the March 23 governorship supplementary elections coming up in six states.

    At a media briefing in Abuja on Thursday, the spokesman for the PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan, said the alleged plot was hatched at a meeting the Presidency held with security agencies and officials of INEC.

    Describing the alleged plot as obnoxious, the PDP said its candidates were already leading and coasting to inevitable victory in all the states where the supplementary elections are billed to hold, vowing that nothing can alter this reality.

    INEC has listed Kano, Bauchi, Benue, Plateau and Sokoto states for the supplementary elections.

    The PDP cautioned the governing All Progressives Congress (APC) and “agents” of the Presidency to know that Nigerians will never be intimidated.

    Ologbondiyan vowed the electorate in the affected states will confront and crush any oppressive force that attempts to defy and subvert their will in the supplementary polls.

    The party spokesman said the PDP has full information on every move by the APC to manipulate the electoral process, stressing that not all Nigerians in the present government subscribe to their cruelty, resort to violence as well as suppression of votes.

    The PDP alleged that part of the plot was a directive by a top military chief to the INEC chairman of INEC, Prof Mahmood Yakubu not to declare the Rivers State Governor, Mr Nyesom Wike as winner of the March 9 election, even though he won the poll.

    INEC had suspended the collation of results of the Rivers State governorship election but had announced on Thursday that the exercise will resume on April 2.

    The PDP continued: “Our party is informed of how a top Army officer, at the meeting, directed the INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, not to ever declare Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike as winner of the Rivers governorship election, even when it is clear to all that he won the election.

    “We also have details how a top military officer, who is from Bauchi state, at the meeting, directed INEC Chairman not to declare our victorious Bauchi state governorship candidate, Sen. Bala Mohammed, as the winner of the Bauchi state governorship election.

    “The PDP is also privy to how a Director of one of our security agencies, who was at the meeting, undertook to use his agency to deliver Kano state to the APC.”

    The party further alleged it was also decided at the meeting that 30 Department of State Service (DSS) operatives and 300 mobile policemen be deployed to each of the states where the supplementary elections are billed to hold.

    According to the PDP, the security operatives to be so deployed have been given standing instruction to take over those states and make effort to ambush the process, seeing that the PDP is bound to win.

    “In spite of all, the PDP wants the Buhari Presidency and the APC to come to terms with the fact that their conspiracies will be of no avail as our candidates are marching to unassailable victory with the people.

    “The PDP reminds our military that Nigerians will not hesitate to treat individuals in military uniform, who illegally involved in the supplementary election, as fake soldiers. After all, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, has declared that uniformed personnel, who helped APC to rig presidential election, were fake.

    “It is imperative to state that under President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, elections have been turned into warfare against the people but Nigerians will never allow a situation where states are forcefully taken over like spoils of war.

    “It is also highly provocative that the INEC Chairman, Prof. Yakubu, is now taking orders from the military to cancel elections and alter results for the APC, instead of asserting the independence and impartiality of INEC under our laws.

    “Such annexation of the Prof. Yakubu-led INEC by the Buhari Presidency is the only reason the governorship elections in Bauchi, Plateau, Kano, Sokoto, Adamawa, Benue and Rivers states, which were won by the PDP are declared inconclusive.

    “It is obvious that the elections were stalled in these states just because the PDP was in the lead. If the APC had been in the lead as in Ogun, INEC would not have batted an eyelid before pronouncing the results in favor of APC.

    “In all, the PDP wants the APC, INEC and their compromised security officials to be informed that the states, where supplementary elections have been scheduled, are home to the PDP and that our votes can never be stolen.

    “The PDP cautions INEC to note that the people already know the number of voters with Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) in these states and will never accept any padding of the voter register to favour the APC.

    “The PDP therefore charges all our members, teeming supporters and all lovers of democracy in these states to remain steadfast in resisting the APC and marching out en-mass to their polling units this Saturday to consolidate their victory against oppressive forces in our land,” the party added.

  • APC chieftain, hoteliers hail Sanwo-Olu, others

    A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), in Ayobo Ipaja Local Council Development Area (LCDA), Otunba Ladi Olo, has congratulated Lagos State Governor-elect Babajide Sanwo-Olu, his deputy, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat and all lawmakers-elect on APC platform on their success at the polls.

    He hailed the party’s National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for his political sagacity and praised the leadership of APC in Alimosho, particularly Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, Mrs. Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire and Alhaji Abdulahi Enilolobo for their efforts in ensuring victory for the party.

    He told The Nation yesterday that he had confidence in the representation of Kehinde Joseph, Bisi Yusuf and others from Alimosho in the National Assembly and House of Assembly.

    Olo said: “I believe in the representation of our elected members in Alimosho Constituency. All we need to do is continue to support them and pray for their success. I am sure Alimosho will experience more progress in the next dispensation because of the calibre and quality of lawmakers we are sending to the field.

    “I am very sure the same will be reflected at the state level. You can’t take it away from the governor-elect and his deputy. They are astute leaders, who have been proved and tested. They cannot fail, but they need our prayers and support.”

    Olo, a finance and property expert, urged Alimosho people and other Lagosians to pray for good health for Asiwaju Tinubu to enable him lead the Southwest to a greater height.

    “We need him to deliver more than the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo. We need him to continue to lead us aright. So we must pray for his good health and prosperity,” he said.

    Members of the Lagos Hoteliers Association (LHA) yesterday congratulated Governor-elect Sanwo-Olu on his victory at the polls.

    The association also congratulated the newly elected members of House of Assembly.

    The President, Prince Waheed Akilo, said the election of Sanwo-Olu and the lawmakers on APC platform was a proof that Lagosians believed in the programmes of the party.

    He hailed APC National Leader Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and other leaders of the party for the success recorded at the polls during the elections.

    Akilo implored the governor-elect to work with stakeholders in order to move Lagos to the next level.

    He advised Sanwo-Olu to see to the issue of multiple taxation , which has become an issue of litigation between the association and the government.

    “We promise to contribute our quotas and partner the incoming administration in ensuring that the state moves to the next level,” he said.

  • Saraki, PDP ploting to hijack Ninth National Assembly, Nabena alleges

    A Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Yekini Nabena has revealed plots by Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki and the leadership of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to hijack the leadership of the 9th session of the National Assembly by influencing who emerges leaders of both chambers.

    Nabena said in a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja that the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) must move fast to nip such moves in the bud by coming out with a zoning formular for the emergence of leaders of the legislature.

    Nebena who is also the Deputy National Publicity Secretary said the Senate President is working in tandem with what he called “Otta farm”, warning that the APC must move quickly and urgently rollout the zoning arrangements to avoid a repeat of what happened in 2015.

    Both incumbent Senate President Bukola Saraki and Speaker Yakubu Dogara emerged Senate President and Speaker against the party’s wish in the outgoing 8th National Assembly.

    Speaking with newsmen in Abuja, Nabena said the outgoing Senate President and his party (PDP) have devised plans to ensure that there loyalists take control of the legislative arm of government.

    He said: “The outgoing Senate President and the PDP caucus have begun surreptitious move to lure some new APC lawmakers with juicy committee position in return for their support for the PDP choice for the leadership of the Senate and House of Representatives.

    “Already, Saraki’s henchman, Dino Melaye and some other returning PDP federal lawmakers have scheduled meetings with some APC lawmakers from Wednesday to Sunday in a yet-to-be announced venue.”

    He stressed that “It is important that the APC leadership meet and urgently rollout a fair zoning arrangement to ensure that we produce our preferred candidates for all leadership positions in the incoming National Assembly.

    “Since Saraki lost his bid to return to the Senate and control of his home state, Kwara, he has devised a plan to ensure that he influences the choice of the incoming National Assembly Leadership. This is Saraki’s last-ditch effort to remain politically relevant.

     

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) described the allegation as diversionary and baseless, saying however, that the governing party has every right to enjoy its delusion of persecution.

    In a chat with our correspondent in Abuja yesterday, the spokesman for the PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan said the PDP has more pressing issues to engage it’s time.

    Ologbondiyan said, “Let Yekini Nabena and the All Progressives Progressives Congress (APC) be told in clear terms that the National Assembly is a political environment.

    “So if crying and whining over National Assembly leadership positions will help their cause, let them continue to indulge themselves.

    “Do they expect the PDP with about 42 members in the Senate, which may increase before June, to sit on the fence and be watching events?

    “For now, we are in court to retrieve our stolen presidential mandate and preparing for supplementary election in states where the INEC declared the March 9 governorship and state assembly elections inconclusive. That is our focus for now.

    “Let them wait till June for the election of leadership of the National Assembly and see how things play out. We believe that when we get to the bridge we will cross it”.

    The PDP however said in a statement yesterday that Nigerians will not vote in vain, assuring that the votes they freely gave to its candidates in the 2019 general elections will never be in vain.

    The statement, signed by Ologbondiyan, expressed optimism that the party will surely recover the presidential mandate given to its candidate, Atiku Abubakar, and ensure that none of the states where it is in the lead ahead of the March 23 supplementary election will be hijacked by the APC.

    Ologbondiyan quoted the National Chairman of the PDP, Prince Uche Secondus, as stating the party’s position during a solidarity visit by the leadership of the party on Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, on Tuesday, ahead of Saturday’s supplementary election.

    He further quoted Secondus as stating that Nigerians are extremely hurting over the “rigging” of the presidential and other elections by the APC, as well as alleged schemes to forcefully take over states already won by the PDP, leading to the supplementary elections.

    “Elections are about the will of the people. When you force yourself on the people; that is not democracy. Today, Nigerians are unhappy with the way elections were rigged without allowing the will of the people to prevail”, Secondus said.

    Tambuwal was reported to have assured that the PDP and the people of Sokoto state were upbeat and fully mobilized to ensure that their will is not subverted.

    “We are upbeat as Sokoto state has never been this mobilised. People are praying and fasting by themselves and they are ready once again to ensure that their will is not subverted.

    “What happened in the last elections was unimaginable as security agents took over the state. Ballot papers were found with APC members on the streets. The staff of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission stormed the residences of our members, harassing and intimidating them.

    “Even on the day of election, they were going round the polling units and picking up our members. There were open rigging in about six of the local government areas.

    “They brought their federal might to bear but the will of the people prevailed against them and we won, yet they declared the election inconclusive.

    “So, in Sokoto, they have the will of the people to contend with and given the prayers that our people are offering everyday and their decision to checkmate the rigging of APC, victory is sure to be for us and the PDP”, Tambuwal was quoted to have said.

    The main opposition party urged all its members and supporters to remain steadfast and march out on March 23 to consolidate on the victory already won by the party in the states where supplementary elections have been scheduled.

     

  • Tinubu: I’m not in Kano

    All Progressives Congress (APC) stalwart Asiwaju Bola Tinubu yesterday denied meddling in the proposed Kano State supplementary elections.

    He also refuted the unfounded reports that he relocated to Kano, the state capital, for the polls.

    The former Lagos State governor described those insinuating that he is involved in the preparations for the supplementary elections as liars.

    “Asiwaju is not in Kano and has not been in Kano at any point during the conduct of these elections. The picture that these liars are circulating of Asiwaju and Governor Ganduje is one that was taken last year when the governor visited Lagos,” his Media Adviser, Tunde Rahman, said in a statement last night.

    He said those peddling the rumour know the picture is not true, but “they still use it because their relationship to the truth is an adversarial one.”

    Rahman said Asiwaju has nothing but utmost  admiration and respect the people of Kano and Kano’s brand of progressives politics.

    The statement reads: “Weak and mean politicians turn to rumour and fear mongering because their true appeal to the people is limited and uncertain. These desperate operatives stir resentment of others as a way to get the support of the people. Politicians of this ilk are afraid to stand before the people on their own two feet. They use lies and deception as their crutch. Such is the case with the false stories of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu being in Kano, casting him as a one-man political invasion intending to unduly influence the governorship election.

    “For the record, Asiwaju is not in Kano and has not been in Kano at any point during the conduct of these elections. The picture that these liars are circulating of Asiwaju and Governor Ganduje is one that was taken last year when the governor visited Lagos. The fear-mongers know the picture is old and was taken in Lagos. They still use it because their relationship to the truth is an adversarial one. Scratch a liar and you will find a hypocrite as well.  These people encouraged and cheered when former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and outgoing Senate President Bukola Saraki led a posse of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) figures into Lagos, boasting they were going to “capture Lagos” during the governorship elections.

    “These people did not call Atiku and others to order for interfering in Lagos. Instead, they urged Atiku and others to undertake this misadventure. The All Progressives Congress did not cry and lament that Atiku came to Lagos to swing an election that did not concern him. Instead, we rose to the occasion and relied on our organic and positive relationship to the people. With regard to the impact these PDP operatives had in the Lagos election, let it be said that they came, they saw, they lost and they left with nothing in hand but another defeat.

    “Regarding the people of Kano, Asiwaju has nothing but the utmost respect and admiration. Kano has historically stood as a bastion of progressive politics. Its brand of politics helped inspire the establishment of the APC. Kano has an enlightened electorate that will vote as they believe. Asiwaju hopes that they will disregard the lies and rumors about him and remain faithful to their progressive tradition.

    If the people do so, then they would have voted in their best interests and that is for the APC, the party of President Muhammadu Buhari.

    “It is curious that these fear-mongers devote so much attention trying to disparage one man who is not even a candidate, holds no public office and who has not even set foot on Kano’s soil during this election. These politicians are so shameless that they must demonise Asiwaju Tinubu to attract support. Theirs is but a blatant attempt to stoke regional and ethnic resentment and division to accomplish their selfish aims. Such tactics are harmful to the democracy Nigeria seeks to enshrine and goes against the progressive tradition that describes Kano’s politics and that has made Kano a beacon of hope and advancement in our nation.

    “It is expected that a party leader of Asiwaju Tinubu’s standing will encourage his party’s candidates. PDP’s attempt to make something nefarious of this normal pattern is disingenuous. If they truly believed what they were saying, they would discourage PDP members from other states from visiting Kano or offering any form of support. Of course, they do no such thing. But, what is proper for the PDP to do, they say it is a dangerous affront for the APC’s Tinubu to do. We believe their attack against Tinubu is not so much that they fear what he might do but that they fear they lack the support of the people. Thus, they try to portray Tinubu as an interloper as the best way to gain support.

    “Asiwaju will not play this game with them. He believes in a free and fair electoral process, a project to which he has devoted the majority of his adult life to achieve. Let this election be decided on the relative merits of the competing candidates. Do not cast Asiwaju Tinubu as some villain in a plot you have contrived in a feeble attempt to cloak your political weaknesses and uncertainties.

    “Asiwaju is a committed democrat and advocate of free and fair electoral processes. He will neither support nor work to promote anything that will undermine or weaken the electoral system.  He has been at the forefront of the struggle for electoral reforms, justice and equity over the years. He will never do anything that will detract from these fine ideals for which he has strenuously worked. Any reports to the contrary are just the lies and mongering of those whose love and support for democracy are much less than his”.

  • My accusers are real enemies of APC, says Usani

    Minister for Niger Delta Affairs Pastor Usani Uguru Usani has described those accusing him of engaging in anti-party activities as the real enemies of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    Usani, who addressed reporters yesterday in Abuja, said  having rejected PDP overtures for 16 years, when he was just a party man, he has no reason now to work for the same PDP.

    The National Vice Chairman in charge of the Southsouth, Ntufam Hillard Eta, and other party stakeholders in Cross River, accused Usani of working with the PDP government against the APC in the general elections.

    Usani said: “For 16 years, I rejected offers from the PDP. If I could refuse offers when I was vulnerable, what do I stand to gain by supporting them now that I am a Minister? To be the President?”

    The minister also dismissed his suspension by the party’s national leadership, saying he was never informed of allegations against him or called to defend himself.

    According to him, the process of discipline outlined by the party has not been exhausted and therefore his suspension cannot stand.

    “I am not aware that the party has ever invited me to any meeting by any means. That I urged people not to vote for APC at any election is not true. My evidence is in the result which I produced. In each of the elections of the President, Senate and House of Representatives, I delivered the two council wards of my community with more than 4,000 votes against PDP which scored less than 1,000 votes.

    “Even in 2015, I delivered similar results. The claim in this petition is a defence mechanism to placate them and divert attention from their untoward activities. Hilliard Eta, the party’s Vice Chairman for Southsouth, won no unit in his Ward 5 in Calabar Municipality.

    “Some of these signatories subscribed to supporting the PDP presidential candidate and their personal ambitions, which created confusion. The selection of Abuja residents, who pose as owners of the party by gaining patronage of the National Chairman, has some shameful undercurrents that I cannot pronounce in this document.

    “That I am working for PDP’s Ben Ayade is laughable. Cross River State indigenes know us by character. When I was politically fallow, I shunned every overture from PDP. It sounds ridiculous that anyone would allege that I am a PDP ally. Some of these signatories have gained from Ayade by proxy in contractual engagements,” he added.