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Tag: alleges

  • APGA candidate alleges plot to rig poll

    APGA candidate alleges plot to rig poll

    The Ebonyi State governorship candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Senator Anthony Agbo, yesterday alleged that a major party was plotting to rig the election.

    He said no amount of conspiracy and intimidation would change the divine plan for the state.

    Agbo, addressing reporters at his country home, Ngbo, in Ohaukwu Local Government, condemned the omission of his name from the list of governorship candidates released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    He said there was a malicious rumour by the top echelon of a party that he would not run for the governorship poll.

    His words: “There is plot to rig the election. No amount of conspiracy and intimidation will change the divine purpose. They also spread rumour that I would not vie for the election, as my name was missing from the initial list of governorship candidates sent to the INEC office in Abakaliki.”

    Agbo said he resisted the move to remove his name from INEC’s list, which led to it being published later.

    “Besides removing my file from INEC, these agents of destabilisation attacked and destroyed our party’s office in Mgbo.

    “They burnt documents at our party’s office and destroyed items, such as furniture and posters.”

    He warned those involved to desist, as he knew their identities.

    Agbo noted: “It is clear that the forces of good and evil are competing for the soul of Ebonyi, but I assure the indigenes that no amount of conspiracy and intimidation will change the divine plan for the state.”

    He urged the INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, to tighten loose ends and ensure the conduct of credible elections, as the top echelon of a particular party boasted that it would influence INEC, the police and  military.

    According to him, the APGA state chairman was in Abuja following the attack on the party.

    “We will officially report the matter to the police when he returns.

    “Those, whose houses were attacked, have reported to the police. I assure the people that we will not be intimidated. We will go about our campaign according to the law.”

    The governorship candidate enjoined the people to resist intimidation and financial inducement and vote for him and other APGA candidates, arguing that no other governorship candidates had the kind of positive records and vision he had for Ebonyi State.

  • Man alleges police cover-up in ear biting case

    Man alleges police cover-up in ear biting case

    A man whose right ear was bitten off by a trader at the Ladipo and parts market in Lagos has petitioned the Commissioner of Police, Kayode Aderanti, over attempts to cover up the case.

    Sunday Nwali is alleging that the police are conniving with the trader whose name was simply given as Nzube to kill the case.

    Nwali claimed that Nzube and his friend Samuel attacked him at the market last month.

    The matter was earlier reported at the Area ‘D’ Police Station in Mushin, but the suspects allegedly sent a petition on the matter to the State Criminal investigations Department (SCID) at Panti, Yaba, Lagos Mainland.

    Since the petition was sent, the petitioners have not appeared at the SCID, The Nation learnt yesterday.

    In his petition to the Commissioner of Police (SCID), which was copied Aderanti, Nwali said: “I am facing intimidation in the hands of persons who want to deny me justice by claiming that my case has been transferred to SCID, Panti, whereas they wanted to use it to escape justice. Sir, I wish to bring to your knowledge that the persons named Nzube and Samuel (their surnames unknown) can be easily identified and located at the Conference Warehouse, Toyota Area of Ladipo Market. Nzube who bit off my right ear with mouth has been dribbling me with the policemen at Olosan Division and Area ‘D’ in Mushin.

    “They said that my case had been transferred to SCID, yet from December 22 2014, when I went to the SCID with my IPO (Investigating Police Officer) from the Area ‘D’, the suspects had not surfaced up till now. It shows that they want to evade justice by lying and refusing to come to the SCID. I want them to be invited there to explain why they chopped off my right ear without offending them.”

    The Lagos Command spokesman, Kenneth Nwosu, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), said both reports would be looked into.

  • Group alleges marginalisation of women in politics

    A group, ‘Young Women for Global Peace and Rural Development (YWGPARD),’has called for equal gender representation in democracy, stressing that women are still marginalised in politics.

    The group called on politicians to eschew violence in the next year’s elections.

    Its President, Ambassador  Fortune Nworisa, who spoke at an enlightment programme in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), urged the  Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) organise and educate women on the electoral process.

    Nworisa said: “We have a lot of women in politics. The Federal Government has tried by offering appointments to women. But, we are asking for more. We expect equal representation in the legislature. The place of women is no longer in the kitchen. Women are agents of change. They are kind hearted. They are lovers of peace.”

    She added: “Our objective for the next three years is to empower young women on peace building and create awareness because of what is happening. We want peace to return to the country.We will also assist in educating voters in the rural areas.”

    Also speaking, a women activist, Mrs. Aisha Abubakar, said that the Northeast is ravaged by poverty, urging the government to set up empowerment programmes for the region.

    She said:  “We need peace in the Northeast . I am from the area. I know what my people have being going through. The people are hungry, and they are yearning for a peaceful and secure environment.The President and soldiers are doing their best to restore peace.  The insurgents however continue to frustrate their efforts. But for the soldiers, the insurgents would have taken over.”

  • Ekiti Tribunal begins sitting as APC alleges plot to burn INEC office

    Ekiti Tribunal begins sitting as APC alleges plot to burn INEC office

    The Election Petitions Tribunal set up to hear grievances relating to the June 21 Governorship Election in Ekiti State yesterday began sitting in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital.

    The Chairman of the three-man panel, Justice Mohammad Siraj of the Federal High Court, Jos Division, was the only Judge who appeared  at the inaugural sitting on the premises of the High Court complex.

    A motion ex-parte filed by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to allow it (the APC) inspect the materials used for the conduct of the election was struck out by Justice Siraj on the party’s request.

    APC’s counsel said it withdrew the petition because events had overtaken the demand, adding that the parties joined in the application were different from the parties in the substantive petition filed against the respondents’ action for the withdrawal.

    Although the APC lead counsel, Alhaji Lateef Fagbemi, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) was absent at the inaugural sitting, he was represented by Kabir Akingbolu.

    Security was  strengthened around the premises of the High Court. Armed policemen barricaded the courts entrances including the dual carriageway facing the court.

    The state APC said  it has uncovered a plot to burn the INEC office in Ado-Ekiti.

    The party, in a statement, said: “We have it from reliable source that plans are being hatched to have ‘strange fire’ occurrence at the INEC office in Ado Ekiti and all the materials relating to the just concluded election will get burnt. The fire incidence would be blamed on some faulty power surge. But why would any person or persons want to set the ballot papers of a ‘free and fair’ election on fire, especially now that the APC has decided to test the result with the tribunal? Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom.”

  • Osun APC alleges violence plans by PDP

    THE All Progressives Congress (APC) has alleged plans by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to unleash terror in Osun State.

    In a statement by its Publicity Director, Mr. Kunle Oyatomi, the APC alleged that plans for the terror attack were concluded a few weeks ago at a meeting at the Ibadan home of a former senator from Oyo State.

    A notorious road transport union kingpin in Ibadan and some Osun PDP chieftains were said to be in attendance.

    APC alleged that the PDP plans to clothe thugs that will be assembled by the transport union kingpin in the uniforms of the Osun State Governor’s Monitoring Team (GTM) and the traffic section of the Osun Youth Empowerment Scheme (OYES) to give the impression that they were state sponsored thugs.

    These uniforms were said to have been sewn by Osun PDP.

    According to the APC, the alleged terror would begin after an Osun PDP chieftain travels out of the country, “so that he would not be associated with it”.

    It said the PDP chieftain is scheduled to travel this week.

    The APC urged security agencies to be at alert and prevent the “planned violence”.

    It urged residents to alert security agencies of suspicious movements in their areas.

    PDP Chairman Alhaji Ganiyu Ola-Oluwa said: “If the APC is alleging that, it is a blatant lie. Since I became PDP chairman, no crisis has been attributed to us. The PDP is a disciplined party that does not joke with peace.”

  • Kwara South PDP alleges neglect

    There is no end to the crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kwara State. Members from the southern senatorial district are accusing an Abuja business woman of hijacking the party structure.

    Last week, PDP stalwarts from the central senatorial district threatened to support the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2015, if Senator Gbemisola Saraki is appointed minister.

    It was gathered that PDP chieftains from Kwara South met at the weekend in Isapa, Ekiti Local Government Area and resolved to protest the alleged neglect and domineering influence of the business woman, who hails from Kwara Central.

    A source said the meeting frowned at the alleged ambitious moves of the woman believed to be a confidant of President Goodluck Jonathan’s wife, Patience.

    The parley was held at the home of the senator representing the district in the National Assembly, Simeon Ajibola.

    The source said: “The party stalwarts resolved to address the issue in the interest of the party. A situation where Kwara South PDP would be stampeded into supporting any selfish intention against the collective interest of the party would not be tolerated.”

    But a source at the meeting denied any accusation of neglect against the Abuja businesswoman.

    The source added that a delegation of the party chieftains from the state would meet with the President soon.

  • NUPENG alleges drop in fuel loading

    The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), has said the last few days have witnessed significant drop in fuel loading at various depots in the country.

    It said petroleum products loading dropped by more than 95 per cent. Its members said they used to load more than 100 trucks daily, but now barely load 10 trucks at various depots.

    The union’s Southwest Zonal Chairman, Mr. Tokunbo Korodo attributed the development to scarcity of products at the depots and not any action by oil and gas workers.

    Korodo alleged that the scarcity has forced some marketers to adjust their dispensing pumps in order to accommodate the extra efforts made and resources spent in getting products from the depots.

    He attributed the scarcity to the recent pipeline fire at Ijegun area of Lagos State and the non-availability of first quarter allocation to marketers, adding that the situation will soon return to normal.

    The scarcity, he said, is still being witnessed in some parts of the country, adding that many filling stations failed to dispense fuel to customers. He explained that the few stations that dispensed products had long queues, which rendered most of the roads in the areas impassable.

  • Ajimobi alleges violence plan

    Ajimobi alleges violence plan

    Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi has alleged plans by the opposition to cause violence in the state from next month.

    The governor spoke yesterday at the 2014 Eid-El-Maulud celebration, organised by the state government at the Remembrance Arcade, Government House, Ibadan.

    He said his administration would frustrate efforts to disrupt the peace, adding: “Violence, brigandage and the destruction of life and property have been nipped in the bud.

    “Whatever it will take, we will not allow anybody, no matter his status in the society, to take Oyo State back to the era of violence. The era is gone for good. What we are doing in Oyo State now is playing the politics of development.

    “Whoever thinks the only strategy he can use to get to power is to cause crises and disaffection should have a rethink, as such a person will be dealt with in accordance with the law.”

    Kano State Governor Rabiu Kwakwanso, who was at the event, said Ajimobi has improved the state.

    He said: “On my arrival in Ibadan, we missed our way to the Government House. This made us to go round the city before arriving at this programme. I saw a new flyover, clean environment and the positive effects of your urban renewal programme. I saw projects springing up everywhere around Ibadan and I have decided to replicate some of these projects when I get back. I see your determination to make Oyo State better and I urge you not relent in your efforts.”

    In his lecture, a renowned Islamic cleric, Sheikh Muideen Bello, said the people need to be united to ensure the state’s growth.

    He urged affluent individuals to assist the less-privileged.

    The Chairman of the occasion, Prof. Babatunde Salako, said the support being enjoyed by the governor, particularly from the elite, was “an attestation to the touch of excellence he has brought to governance.”

  • Keyamo alleges plot to kill detained Okah

    Lagos lawyer, Mr. Festus Keyamo, has alleged a plot by prison officials to kill detained Charles Okah in jail by denying him appropriate medication.

    Keyamo, who is counsel to Okah, said in a petition to the Comptroller-General of Prisons that a drug prescribed for his client was seized by a prison official, thus exposing Okah’s life to danger.

    The drug, Amlodipine 10mg, according to Keyamo, was prescribed for Okah on January 7, 2014 by the Kuje Prisons Clinic for the treatment of his high blood pressure.

    He said: “On the 9th January, 2014 when the wife, Mrs. Okah, visited our client in prison, she was informed that the said drugs had not been bought due to lack of finance, and as such, she was requested to purchase them for our client.”

    Mrs. Okah was said to have purchased the said drugs and handed same over to a prisons officer who “seized them and refused to administer same to our client, thereby denying him medication till date, despite his critical health condition.”

    The prison officer was said to have declared that his action was on account of the press release by the Okah family on January 13, 2014 in which they raised the alarm about his health condition, and that no one could do anything about it.

    Keyamo described the conduct of the prison officer as “very worrisome, in addition to several other inhuman treatments meted to our client in Kuje Prisons. Several events, which are calculated attempts to sniff out his life, have repeatedly occurred, which include intentional denial of medication, refusal to administer the correct and appropriate drugs when prescribed by the prison’s clinic, the initial refusal to fumigate the cell and the subsequent fumigation while our client was inside, the discovery of a scorpion in the cell and various other life-threatening events.

    “The foregoing suggest beyond doubt that there is a plot to kill our client in Kuje Prisons. This is more so because our client, who has only one kidney, is hypertensive and also suffers high blood pressure regularly.

    “It is noteworthy that it was circumstances of this nature that led to the death of Tiemkemfa Osovwo (alias General Gbokos) sometime in 2012. It is likely that similar fate may befall our client if urgent action is not taken about our complaint.”

  • Ex-NIMASA boss alleges sabotage of Cabotage Act

    Ex-NIMASA boss alleges sabotage of Cabotage Act

    The Federal High Court in Lagos issued yesterday a fresh hearing notice in a suit filed by the former Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Temisan Omatseye.

    He is challenging the alleged deliberate sabotage of the Cabotage Act by the government by allowing foreign vessel owners to operate on Nigeria’s coastal waters fraudulently.

    Omatseye, who sued through his company, Polmaz Nigeria Limited, joined the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the Pipelines and Product Marketing Company (PPMC) in the suit.

    He claimed that government agencies have been undermining the provisions of the Cabotage Act to the detriment of Nigerian ship owners, arguing that foreign shipping companies have been operating on Nigeria’s coastal waters without obtaining licence or waivers from the Minister of Transport as required by the Cabotage Law.

    He said the Coastal and Inland Shipping Act 2003, otherwise known as the Cabotage Act, was enacted to make trading on Nigeria’s territorial waters the exclusive preserve of Nigerian-flagged vessels.

    The law, however, provided for waivers for foreign vessels, but for a about a decade of the law’s existence, indigenous ship owners are yet to benefit from it as government agencies in the oil and gas industries have continued to “fraudulently” engage foreign companies in Nigerian waters under the disguise of the waivers.

    When the matter came up yesterday before Justice Ibrahim Buba, the defendants were not represented in court, but Omatseye, a lawyer, represented his company.

    The judge adjourned till February 18 for hearing after fresh hearing notices must have been issued to parties.