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Tag: All Progressives Congress

  • Edo APC dismisses non-performance allegation

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo State has dismissed comments by a former Attorney-General, Henry Idahagbon, that the party has not been well managed in the state.

    It said Idahagbon is one of the leaders in the state who contributes to how the party is run in the state.

    Idahagbon told reporters that the APC in Edo had not been well-managed in the last two years.

    Idahagbon noted that APC chieftains in Edo have been demonised as thieves, liars and people that liked money.

    He said they would queue behind Governor Godwin Obaseki next year to defeat PDP but would ventilate whatever issues they have in 2020 during the governorship election.

    His words: “I sympathise with those who are defecting in Edo. Many of them have reasons to defect. The truth is that the party has not been well-managed in the last two years. I make bold to say so without apology.

    “This is a state where politicians have been demonised as thieves, liars and people that like money. That is not correct. The politicians worked for the government. After working for a governor to come in, he cannot call us thieves. We are not thieves, we are not liars.

    “There are good, bad and ugly politicians. You cannot cover everybody with the same blanket. I believe that the intervention of Oshiomhole stopped many from defecting.”

    But APC’s state’s spokesman Mr. Chris Azebamwan said he was shocked to hear such comments from a party leader.

    Azebamwan said he had not heard from anyone that APC chieftains were thieves, liars and people that liked money.

    He said: “He ranks as one of the leaders and makes contribution on how the party is run.

    “The APC has never had it so good in the last two years. We successfully conducted congresses and our model was adjudged a template for other states across the country. The congresses were peaceful, credible, free and fair.

    “I don’t know on what bases he is saying the APC is not well-managed.”

     

  • Why Rivers APC picked Cole, by Princewill

    The Convener of Riverine Leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Prince Tonye J.T. Princewill, said yesterday that many stakeholders of the party in Rivers State settled for Mr. Tonye Cole because his track record of success could give Governor Nyesom Wike a good fight.

    Cole has stepped down from the board of Sahara Enrgy Group to prepare for the race and a career in politics.

    Princewill described Cole as a man who could speak the language of business and how to create jobs.

    Princewill in a statement said: “Being one of the few privileged to be in the room when the decision was taken, one would have expected me to speak a little sooner. After all, I have been known to shoot from the hip, speak my mind plus my thoughts on the decision right from the moment it was made.

    “I confess that I had played out a series of scenarios in my head beforehand and to each one, an appropriate set of responses was measured out and kept waiting. But I thought it wise to let the likely political gladiators for governor have their say first, before doing my own justice to the moment. That time has come.

    “I want to start by thanking God for his grace and blessings to let me see this day. Having decided to sit this 2019 contest out, I had repeatedly told my supporters and my associates that my role in this process was to be a facilitator, to help the leader and his leaders achieve victory in 2019.

    “I joined the APC to help ease Wike out of the Government House, not to run for the position of governor. The fact that I saw Rotimi Amaechi as head and shoulders above Wike and saw the Buhari/Osinbajo collabo as better than our recent past, did not hurt either.

    “APC members were warm and welcoming to me and it felt real good coming home. I never hid my preference for a Riverine governor, preferably of Kalabari origin, but in the end I said, power must rotate by negotiation.

    “Now in just under two years of being in APC, our work in Rivers State is no longer business as usual, a more formidable team has been assembled and with new direction, our fortunes have been given sound assurance. So the question that was before Amaechi, before us, was “Who would bell the wicked cat?” If it was an easy decision it would have been made earlier.

    “I was a witness to at least two caucus meetings on the issue and several one-on-one meetings that spanned many months. Chief Dumo Lulu Briggs and Dr. Dakuku Peterside had put up a good case for their consideration, Bekinbo Dagogo Jack, an engineer, had also made himself available and to be honest, either of them could have done us proud if given the chance. But alas they weren’t. Our preference rested on the shoulders of Tonye Cole.

    “I say our preference because it was not imposed on us.

    “This was hard for me to swallow because I am used to being my own boss, being the candidate, but I opted to be a team player by choice. So my word to my team is my bond.”

    Princewill asked others who are aspiring to be APC candidate to accept the preference for Cole.

    The statement added: “Good leaders must also be good followers. Independence is growth, but interdependence, when independent people join hands, is maturity. Some people will encourage rebellion, some will prod us into exercising our independent streak. Many for valid reasons, some to further deplete our resources. What is a cause for some of us, is a job for others. I hope we will resist that temptation.

    “So Tonye Cole is my choice and I urge us all to support him. Why? Because it’s either him or Wike, he has a track record of success, not failure. He puts his friends above profits, he’s not materialistic and he represents a total departure from the status quo or business as usual.

    “Let’s actually try something truly new. We may get different results. It will take some getting used to. For all of us. Both for him, the party and for the state.”

  • Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu urges Nigerians to help one another

    The National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has urged Nigerians to assist one another.

    He said: “I would like to enjoin us to provide service for fellow Nigerians and come to one another’s assistance where and when necessary.”

    Tinubu spoke yesterday in Ikeja, Lagos during the luncheon and award ceremony, as part of activities to mark the 70th anniversary of Anwar-Ul-Islam College Agege (formerly Ahmadiyya College) Old Students Association (ACAOSA) international convention.

    Represented by the Chairman of APC in Lagos State, Alhaji Tunde Balogun, he said the occasion called for service.

    “This moment calls for service to our people, selfless service, the type that birthed this great institution. As Muslims, our religion enjoins us to engage in service. In fact, service to Allah and mankind is the essence of Islam. Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) said and I quote: “The teachings of the Holy Quran can be divided into two major categories. The first being unity of God, love and obedience to Him. The second is to treat kindly your brothers and fellow beings… be kind and merciful to humanity…always work for the good of mankind.” This injunction to do good to mankind is also true of other religions.  It therefore gives me great joy to be part of this occasion, which is part of activities marking the 70 years’ anniversary of Anwar-ul-Islam College, Agege, the first Muslim College in West Africa.”

    He said the institution was established by the Muslim group, Anwar-ul-Islam Movement of Nigeria, formerly Ahmadiyya Movement, in a bid to achieve a twin-objective: promotion of Islamic religious beliefs and provision of quality education to our people-.

    “This responsibility set for themselves by the founding fathers of this institution was a difficult and daunting one, given the prevailing situation at the time. At that time in the 1940s, Islam was under severe strain in Lagos as the Christian missionaries were reportedly putting pressure on Muslim students to renounce their religion before they could gain admission to secondary schools. This group of thinkers then got together to bail their children and wards out of this situation by not just creating an educational platform for its teeming religious populace, but also using the same means to expand the frontiers of Islam. Thank God both were amazingly accomplished.

    “For me, however, the inception of this historic institution and the excellent achievement of its founders is a thing of pride and pleasure. For among those forefathers of this institution is our own Saka Tinubu.  As a matter of fact, Anwar-ul- Islam College was established as Saka Tinubu High School, Olushi, in 1948.

    “By establishing a clear vision and sharing that vision with others, so they followed willingly and realised these our fathers had demonstrated good leadership. We must therefore salute the courage and sagacity of the founding fathers of this institution. We must commend them for their selfless service. Our own task is to continue to build on this legacy by ensuring that this institution and all that it stands for is maintained and sustained. Their legacy must not be allowed to die,” he said.

    ACAOSA President-General Lawal Pedro, SAN, said the school, which was established to satisfy the yearnings of Muslims for higher western education, was also opened to non-Muslims without fear of losing their identities or religion in line with the injunction of the Holy Qur’an that there is no compulsion in religion.

    “This is a happy occasion for ACAOSA, old students of the ace, who know what is meant by being loyal, honest, hardworking, dedicated and prayerful to God as being taught everyday in the college. It is these values and ideals merged with the education we got from the great college that snapped and moulded us to who we are today,” he said.

     

  • APC more united after defections, says senatorial aspirant

    An All Progressives Congress (APC) aspirant for Ekiti North senatorial seat, Sir Kayode Otitoju, has said the fortunes of the party will not be affected by the defections of its erstwhile chieftains and their supporters.

    Otitoju, a former Commissioner for Information, Youth, Sports and Social Development, said the APC is poised for another landslide victory in next year’s general elections.

    He said the party had become more united following the recent exit of those he called “dissidents” at the national and state levels.

    Otitoju addressed reporters at the weekend during an interface with party leaders and members in the five local government areas in Ekiti North Senatorial District as part of consultations ahead of the party’s National Assembly primaryin the state.

    The politician, who also served as Commissioner on the board of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), stressed that Ikole Local Government Area had not produced a senator for Ekiti North since the return to democracy in 1999.

    According to him, while the other four local government areas – Moba, Ido/Osi, Ilejemeje and Oye – have produced senators, his home base, Ikole, had not produced a senator since.

    Otitoju said he would want to realise the dream for his senatorial district in next year’s poll.

    The aspirant said he has the integrity, exposure, experience, visibility, name and pedigree to represent Ekiti North in the Ninth National Assembly to be inaugurated next June.

    He added that the next set of lawmakers to be produced by the APC will be loyal to the party and will not work against the interest of President Muhammadu Buhari, who he said will be re-elected in the 2019 presidential poll.

    Otitoju said: “The Ninth National Assembly will be different; the Eighth National Assembly was an amalgam of four or five parties that came together just to seize power from the Poeples Democratic Party (PDP).

    “They never blended well, and that transcends all tiers of government; and party affiliation was diverse.

    “APC is now united; the dissidents are already out. Once the election is conducted and our party coasts home to a bigger landslide, there will be a sort of stability in the next National Assembly.”

  • ‘Saraki’s ambition will expose his years as governor’

    All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kwara state has said that the decision of the Senate President Bukola Saraki to run for the highest office of the land will allow a peep into his tenure as the governor of the state between 2003 and 2011.

    In a statement, the state Caretaker Committee Chair, Bashir Bolarinwa said “it is also an inalienable right of the people of the state he once governed to bring the past before him.

    “Dr. Saraki is a Nigerian, and one of his rights is to vote and be voted for. However, he had, had an opportunity in the past to be elected as the Chief Executive of Kwara State, whose sojourn attracted more stunted growth, unproductive ventures and large scale fraud to the good people of the State.

    “Shonga farm was an initiative of Dr. Saraki which repatriated Zimbabwean white farmers here, who were hitherto sent away from their former settlement at the expense of the original land owners. As we speak, young, energetic and promising farmers who knew nothing than planting of rice are currently in Ilorin riding Okada after they were forcefully ejected from their natural homes and places of usefulness.

    “That the Shonga farm venture is a fraud is an understatement because until now no traces of the farm produce can be found in our local market. Last time we had a trace of the dairy farm -everyone who consumed it ran uncontrollable stool.

    “We have seen the rice that came out of Lagos/Kebbi joint venture called Lake rice, we have seen Coscharis rice venture in Anambra and Abakaliki rice from Ebonyi among other credible and profitable ventures.

    “If a man has so much defrauded a state by using state assets to secure bank facility for ejected white farmers from other places in Africa at the expense of young, energetic and promising farmers and he now profess to seek to represent such youths; he must be living in the utopian world.

    Read Also: Saraki’s ambition almost destroyed APC — Oshiomhole

    “We will ask him too, what has become of the the Ilorin airport cargo terminal which he so much hyped as a means of lifting agricultural produce from the state?”

    Bolarinwa said the new bid of Dr. Saraki will rather be an exposee that will bring out, rot perpetuated and coordinated by Dr. Saraki’s rule in our dear state than the exploits he seeks through the unrealistic and wild dream of becoming Nigerian President.

    “Every sector in Kwara State today is laying flat -education is under threat with massive infrastructural deficits and lack of motivation for teachers. There is no policy on rural integration, not to talk of accessible roads. There is a total neglect and lack of capacity for urban renewal. Life expectancy has reduced and our people wallowing in untold hardship occasioned by inhuman tax regime.

    “Those are the legacies of Saraki’s eight year rule in Kwara State and carried to the next level by his godson, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed, whose government is running on “legacy continues”.

    “These are some of the profound legacies of Dr. Saraki in Kwara State and he feels Nigerians will need a taste of it, even at the national level. God forbid!” Bolarinwa asserted.

     

  • ‘Lack of Committed, Idea-driven Leadership, bane of Delta’s development’

    Renowned Economist, Professor Pat Utomi, has identified lack of idea-driven and committed leadership as the bane of development in his home state of Delta.

    Professor Utomi, a front runner in the race to the Delta state governorship on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), disclosed this while speaking with journalists at the end of a consultative interaction with the leadership of the Ijaw elements within the party in Warri.

    The academic, who also noted that the crisis rocking the party in the state would not impede its chances of claiming the state from the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), said it would only take two years to make development sustainable, noting the first step to be its public ownership.

    “The development process is such that if you get it right, you get ownership of it and people owned the process. Two years is enough to make it irreversible. If it belongs to the people, nobody will be able to take it and that is what is important.  That we create a sustainable process which can take place within two years. There are a number of cities that are famous in the world for unbelievable development.

    Read Also: Delta communities get transformers after years in darkness

    “When I first passed through Dubai several years ago, it was desert village, but today the progress happened so fast that it is not reversible. Singapore was just a fishing village that no where near Burutu and today is the highest per capital income in the world. It takes a committed leader that people realized that self-sacrificing to do this

    “My political life is about ideas, commitment towards serving the people with passion because anything we can dream, we can make up. It’s the absence of a clear dream and passionate commitment that has kept us back. People who are not as smart as us have made so much progress. So, what we need is smart political leaders and this kind of engagement provide us such opportunity for that”, he said.

    Speaking on his reason for consorting with the Ijaw elements in the party, Utomi said he is very much a part of the Ijaw movement, recalling his contributions to the Ijaw struggle over the years.

    “I have been at the center of the Ijaw struggle for about twenty years.  I don’t come to you as an outsider but as one of you. One of the things that brought me into the governorship race is the pain of the Ijaw. If we were a serious people Burutu would have been what Lagos is today, its location encourages global economy “, he said.

    Speaking on behalf of his group, the leader of Ijaw in APC, Delta state, Pastor Aginighan commended Utomi for the visit , saying the Ijaw nation would want him to meet with them again in the riverine village so he would be very acquainted with the challenges of their area.

  • Osun 2018: APC has laid good foundation to remain in govt — Tinubu

    The National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, on Thursday night declared that the APC government  in Osun State led by the outgoing Osun State Governor, Rauf Aragbesola, has laid  a good foundation for the party to retain the seat in the forthcoming governorship election.

    The election comes up on the 22nd of September, 2018.

    Tinubu spoke with State House correspondents at the end of the meeting of APC South West stakeholders with President Muhammadu Buhari  at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    According to him, the APC is also fielding a qualified technocrat in the forthcoming election.

    He said: “We expect victory. We have a progressive government there where the incumbent and the outgoing governor has worked and laid a good foundation. Therefore, we have successes to build upon.

    ”We equally are bringing in one of the most competent and qualified technocrat in the person of Isiaka Adegboyega Oyetola. He is eminently qualified.” he said

    Asked if the Osun election is going to be a hard battle like the Ekiti governorship election, he said: “You don’t predict the activity of elections. It can always be unique from one state to the other.

    “But we believe that with our leadership in Osun from the state chairman down to the lowest level and the way they conducted the direct primary and the way people had turned out, are signals to the opposing parties that they have no way of beating us.”

    The Osun State governorship candidate for APC, Isiaka Adegboyega Oyetola, thanked  President Buhari for the opportunity of the visit.

    He said: “It shows that he is the father of all. He is committed to APC winning the Osun election come 22nd September this year.

    “He is committed to our party retaining the government, he is committed to free and fair elections. And I want to say categorically, that by the grace of God, we are winning that election on the 22nd of September.” he said

    The victory, he said, would be a foundation for the election of President Buhari in 2019.

    He added: “We are committed to it and I belong to Buhari Support Group. We have done very well as a party, we have done very well as a government, the governor has done very well. The state has changed from what it used to be. Huge development projects have been taking place.”

    While thanking the former APC aspirants for their love and understanding, he said that there was absolute reconciliation of all the aspirants.

    “We are all now working together, except for the few people that decided to defect. But that will not have any serious consequence on the outcome of the election.” he said

    Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Gamduje, who is the chairman of the Osun Governorship Campaign Council, said that the purpose of the meeting was to create an inclusive atmosphere so that they would face the election squarely.

    He said: “From what has transpired, all those who contested, the aspirants that lost the election, they have pledged their loyalty, commitment and that they are part and parcel of the election campaign.

    “So, that is very encouraging. And also other stakeholders have made their commitments in order to win this very important election.

    “And most importantly is that Mr President has blessed the Campaign Council. He has appreciated those aspirants who lost the election and he appreciated also the commitment of all those who matter in the South West geopolitical zone APC politics. I think that is very encouraging for us.” he added.

  • Ekiti APC elders urge Oni to withdraw suit against Fayemi

    The Elders’ Forum of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State has called on former Governor Segun Oni to withdraw the suit challenging the eligibility of the Governor-elect, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, to stand as candidate in the last governorship election.

    The body made the appeal at a meeting held on Wednesday in Igbara Odo, Ekiti Southwest Local Government Area, presided over by its Chairman, Chief George Akosile.

    The issue formed the major topic of discussion at the APC Elders’ Forum meeting with members resolving that withdrawal of the case by Oni would be in interest of the party and Ekiti State.

    According to a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting, a copy of which was made available to reporters in Ado-Ekiti on Friday, the APC chieftains said the withdrawal of the case by Oni and his group will facilitate an out-of-court settlement.

    In the communiqué signed by Akosile and the Forum’s secretary, Chief Abiodun Ajayi, the group resolved to send a five-man delegation to Oni with a letter appealing for the withdrawal of the case.

    The Ekiti APC Elders’ Forum also resolved to send a memo to Fayemi to reconcile wish the aggrieved (Oni) group with a view to withdrawing the case from court and their inclusion in the forthcoming administration.

  • Hajj 2018 tragedy: Three APC chieftains die in auto crash

    Tragedy struck the Zamfara State chapter of the ruling party, All Progressives Congress (APC), yesterday , when the  party lost three council chairmen in Makkah, Saudi Arabia.

    Killed were  Jafaru Gidan Sambo of Kaura Namoda Local Government Area, Mudi Mallamawa of Shinkafi LGA and Abdullahi Shugaba Ruwan Dorowa of Maru LGA.

    The trio died in a bus crash 120 kilometres from Madina while travelling from the holy city to Makkah.

    But Nasiru Anka of Anka LGA, Tafa Nasarawa Bukkuyum of Bukkuyum LGA and Garba Ziti of Gummi LGA survived the crash.

    Commissioner in Charge of Health Matters, the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), Dr. Ibrahim Kana, confirmed the development.

    He said the Saudi authorities called to inform  Nigerian officials  of the accident.

    The corpses were immediately moved to the King Fahd Hospital, Madina while the survivors were rushed to a hospital near the scene of the accident, on the outskirts of Madina.

    Kana said that a team of Nigerian medical team had been dispatched to Madina, on the orders of NAHCON chairman, Abdullah Mukhtar Muhammad, to liaise with the Saudi authorities for necessary documentation and burial arrangements.

    The recent incident brings the number of pilgrim deaths in the holy land to 10 this year.

     

  • Saraki’s ambition almost destroyed APC — Oshiomhole

    National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, has said that he has been vindicated on his comments that Senate President Bukola Saraki left the party because of his personal ambition and not because he had the interest of the nation at heart.

    He said that Saraki’s personal ambition almost destroyed the APC, adding that it is a good thing that the Senate President has moved on.

    Oshiomhole, in a meeting with APC leaders from Kwara State, said the declaration of the Senate President’s decision to contest the presidential ticket on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) had vindicated him, charging APC members in the state to jettison their personal ambitions and work towards ending the reign of Saraki in Kwara politics.

    The Chief Press Secretary to Oshiomhole, Simon Ebegbulem, quoted the APC Chairman as saying, “When I was saying that all these defections is not about APC but the personal ambition of these people, they took hired writers to say I was being too hard. But Saraki’s declaration has vindicated me.

    “Thank God he has moved on, because his inordinate ambition was almost destroying our party, but he has failed.

    “These are not principled politicians but bread-and-butter politicians who can go the extra mile to pursue their selfish ambitions and never think about the well-being of Nigerians.

    “As things stands today, APC remains the darling of the Nigerian people because PDP is the vomit of yesterday and our people will not chew it back today; not under three and half years. People have not forgotten and people will never forget.

    “In fact, a senior palace chief in Nigeria said this generation of Nigerians will not forgive the PDP in a hurry. Even to say you want to forgive, you must do reparation.

    “The damage they did to our economy, the damage they did to our electoral process, even the culture of rigging was institutionalised by them. They introduced do or die politics.

    “They are the ones buying weapons for young people to go into thuggery while their own children are schooling abroad. They introduced all these vices.”

    He said that reclaiming Kwara state from the grip of Saraki is a task that must be done, and asked APC leaders to ensure they conclude the election of executives from the wards to the state this weekend.

    He said: “The last time I spoke with the Minister, he told me we have accomplished 80 or 85 per cent. That, for me, is not good enough, because we don’t have more time. So this week, we must achieve 100 per cent by whatever means. If you can’t do it, we have to help you get it done.

    “The two Deputy National chairmen working with the National Organising Secretary and the North Central Vice Chairman constitute a committee to complete whatever is left. It will not exceed Sunday this week.

    “I also want to appeal very strongly that at this hour, we don’t want a situation where because of what is happening in Kwara, people who ordinarily will be quite happy to be a strong pillar of support, everybody wants to be a governor, everybody wants to be a senator or in the House of Reps.

    “Our party is a party of change and we want to discourage people from putting their personal interests over and above the interest of the people of Kwara State.