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  • Kogi APC needs reconciliation before poll, says Ohikere

    Kogi APC needs reconciliation before poll, says Ohikere

    Two-time Commissioner for Information in Kogi State and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Dr Tom Ohikere says  the chances of the political parties during the November 11 governorship election in the Confluence State is a 50-50. The Managing Director, APC News Online and Chairman of Taeeiai Media Company also believes that the winner will bear the imprimatur of the ruling party. He spoke with reporters in Abuja. Excerpts by EMMANUEL OLADESU

    You were quoted as saying that with the APC structure in Kogi State, Alhaji Usman Ododo will win the November 11 governorship election. Why are you so confident?

    Yes, as of then, but with the recent dynamics, it’s 50-50.

     What has changed?

    Currently, I am expecting the leadership of the party in the state and the administration to articulate the collective interests of stakeholders and shareholders, aggregate preferences and channel maximum energy into the campaigns, but the prevailing circumstance is that we are seemingly losing touch with the realities. Typically, the governor rejects honest critics who hold up a mirror to him and speak the truth to power. Instead the governor surrounds himself with sycophants who tell him what he wants to hear. Over time, the governor loses the capacity for honest dialogues as others learn not to confront him with the realities or truth.

    You once made a case for coordinated campaign and inclusivity devoid of disjointed campaign. Did the composition of the APC campaign council meet your expectations?

    I faulted the manner of uncoordinated and disjointed campaigns but I think strongly that with the campaign council already in place, the disconnection and anomalies could be corrected. The party urgently needs to intensify its effort to use the modest achievements of the outgoing APC administration of Governor Yahaya Bello to campaign.

    The governor has actually recorded some success stories in some key areas. The campaign council should also be aware that the Kogi election is about APC versus APC as the other major contenders were major players in the APC before they were forced to take other platforms to contest. For example, Muri Ajaka was the Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the party and a major contributor to the election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, while Hon. Leke Abejide was a founding member of APC who was also forced to ADC for his ambition for the House of representatives but today, he is still very interested in APC as his significant contributions to Asiwaju’s presidential campaign. Or is it Admiral Jibril Usman (Accord Party’s candidate) who worked closely with Hon. James Faleke in the Tinubu Support Group and the APC presidential campaign council.

    So the forthcoming election in the state is mainly about APC lords. 

    This is demonstrated by the followership of these titans who are all APC members. We can hardly blame anybody for anti-party activities today. This high level of political distrust and reduced party identification suggest that APC is still in crisis in Kogi state. Political parties are prisoners of their history, that is, when you look at the present status of APC in Kogi State from the historical events, what we witness today are coming from the accumulated errors. The present is therefore a function of the past. 

    For example, the foundation of APC in Kogi Central was laid at my residence in Adavi by Prince Abubakar Audu. He mandated me to lead the inaugural membership drive of the party and I have consistently worked for the party in the 2015 campaigns where I was the head of media and publicity and in 2019 when I served as the Secretary of the media and publicity of the campaign council. Regrettably, I have been ostracized by the administration. So many stakeholders are also affected in the same manner.

    So, APC over the past eight years, in the state has been faced with the challenges of increasing popular disenchantment, and falling trust in leadership among other factors.

    So, the leadership must be able to look into these problems to ensure maximum participation in the forthcoming election.

    Read Also: Exposed: How vested interests hijacked Fed Govt’s E-customs initiative

     What would you advise the APC leadership to do about the case at the Supreme Court filed by Senator Smart Adeyemi against Ododo’s nomination?

    The case of Senator Smart Adeyemi at the Supreme Court is a very serious case that the party was supposed to use its internal mechanism to resolve earlier and should not have been allowed to reach this level. It is a case I followed very keenly as someone in Adeyemi’s camp. In the course of Ododo’s visit to me, I advised his team to seek every legal alternative to reconcile with Adeyemi and a member of Ododo’s team who happens to be the present Commissioner for Local Governments and Chieftaincy, Hon  Deedat Ozigi became confrontational and even challenged me. To my understanding, Senator Smart Adeyemi is a very responsive party man and a good listener but they did not approach him sufficiently.

    Senator Smart Adeyemi is a frontline political player in this country and I don’t advise any leader to make him your enemy, as it’s always better for Adeyemi to be on the same page with you to enjoy his support and goodwill. 

    I can confidently say Smart Adeyemi is one of the most honest players I have met. He must have been mishandled by some younger players. So, APC needs his support for. 

    Isn’t it a little too late for any proactive reconciliation now that the supreme court has fixed October 23 date for judgment?

    The party hierarchy and Governor Yahaya Bello can do it in less than 24 hours. They should approach Adeyemi in the spirit of peace and survival of the party in the state. Senator Smart holds the four aces, he owns the case and he can manage it.

    You were a major voice in the agitation for power shift to Kogi West and close ally of Senator Smart Adeyemi. What is your stand now as a supporter of Ododo?

    I was in the vanguard for power rotation to Kogi West because that is how it is supposed to be, for fairness and justice. Kogi East and Kogi Central must give Kogi West a sense of belonging in the Kogi project. I was in the camp of Senator Smart Adeyemi because he is from Kogi West, he is very competent and prepared to serve, but after the primary election, I had no choice than to support Usman Ododo. And I don’t regret my support for Kogi West and Adeyemi. My advice to the leadership of the APC in the state is that we should do the needful to avoid witnessing a vote of anger against the system as voters are approaching the polls with fatigue and discontent. This is because it seems that citizens may be using the election to express their discontent, a phenomenon referred to as the “anger vote” which can be defined as the rejection of political parties,traditional elites and central institutions as people may be voting for newer political platforms created around political personalities and not party choice.

    At this juncture, the health of APC in Kogi state should be serious concern to the president and the APC headquarter if we must emerge victorious in the November election.

    What in your opinion should form the mainstay of the 2023 Kogi governorship election campaigns across party lines; the fundamental issues?

    One, power rotation: Today, the candidates of APC, SDP and others are calling for Kogi Agenda, but forgetting that the agenda is incomplete without Kogi West, thinking that Kogi West must enjoy the benefits of it’s share of place in Lugard house. For equity, fairness and a sense of belonging, the issue of power rotation must be articulated and brought to the front burner. I expected that Governor Yahaya Bello would put a deliberate effort in place, like legislating it and putting the framework in place. This will further facilitate the acceptance of Ododo. Two, the achievement of GYB: This will be a major campaign point, for or against him. I am expecting that Ododo will X-ray this as a campaign lobby, while the opposition is expected to use this factor too. To me, the governor has recorded modest achievements. Added to the issue of power rotation is the factor of contention. That, for example, after 19 years in Lugard’s house, are the Igalas supposed to be in contention? That should the Ebiras continue in the government house after eight years as legalized? Three, the position of Kogi in the national poverty index: Has life improved under APC? In the areas of feeding, illnesses, and deaths? Four, the staff screening exercise and its results. Five, the relationship between the government and the people. Six, the Greater Lokoja Waterworks established by former Governor Ibrahim Idris. Seven, what is the state of public infrastructures?

    The untapped mineral potentialities in the state; the state of education, health and rural development?

    These are the fundamental issues in this election.

  • Rivers APC rejects tribunal rulings against Cole, Assembly candidates 

    Rivers APC rejects tribunal rulings against Cole, Assembly candidates 

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State has rejected the decisions of the Governorship, National, and State Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal that dismissed the petitions of its governorship candidate, Tonye Cole and all its national and state assembly candidates. 

    The APC in a statement signed on Thursday, October 5, by its Spokesman, Darlington Nwauju, said considered the reason for dismissing the petition of Cole as hypothetical and inconsistent with the positions of the Supreme Court.

    Nwauju recalled that the apex court  had on the 14th of November 2003 in the case of Buhari & 2 Others Vs Obasanjo & 2 Others (Suit No. SC/194/2003 (Buhari Vs Obasanjo), held that a candidate in an election could not be one and the same person with the political party that sponsored him and that the law gave them independent and distinct personality and rights. 

    Read Also: PDP, APC and battle for Edo Government House

    He said the supreme court also held that they could file election petition together in their individual capacities insisting that the law did not make them one and the same for the purposes of the petition. 

    Nwauju said: “This is even made clearer by the construction of Section 133 subsection 1 of the amended Electoral Act (2022) where the Act unambiguously mentions those qualified to institute/file an election petition.

    “We make haste to say that the three-man panel headed by Justice Cletus Emifonye allowed itself to be ambushed by purely political innuendos rather than speaking to the law which is abundantly clear as enumerated in the paragraph above.

    “This judgement of the Tribunal delivered on Monday 2nd October 2023 amounts to a mockery of the judiciary as a lower court disdainly trashed the position of the highest Court in the land as it is common knowledge that whatever the position of the Supreme Court is on a matter, becomes law.

    “The 2nd of October ruling confirmed the fears of Rivers APC about getting justice in the face of iron cast evidences presented by our team of lawyers at the Tribunal which includes the fact that the PDP Governorship candidate was as at the time he became candidate of his political party, still a serving Accountant General of Rivers State. 

    “It goes without saying that the preponderance of arguments and evidences our legal team marshalled out in the other petitions involving our National Assembly and House of Assembly candidates were equally dismissed by brother judges who presided over the other Tribunals hearing our cases”.

    Nwauju said the APC condemned what it described as the series of “copy and paste” rulings aimed at weakening its base in Rivers state and called on the judiciary in the country not to jeopardize the democratic process by delivering rulings that had no foundation in law.

    He said: “Not challenging and dismantling these hypothetical rulings against our candidates amounts to disservice to the memories of hundreds of members lost to the orgy of violence that has trailed political activities in Rivers State.

    “We wish to also clarify that at no time did the National Working Committee (NWC) of our party under H.E Abdullahi Adamu meet to discuss/ratify the withdrawal of our petitions from the Election Petitions Tribunal, as neither the State Chapter nor our candidate(s) was(were) ever consulted on this vexatious topic.”

  • Guard your utterances, APC group warns Imo politicians

    Guard your utterances, APC group warns Imo politicians

    Ahead of the November 11 governorship election in Imo State, a support group of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), the Progressives League of Youth Voters, has cautioned some senior citizens to desist from making inflammatory statements that are capable of undermining the electoral process.

    The group complained that tension is being heightened in the state following unguarded statements, especially by the highly placed individuals.

    The group’s National Coordinator, Audu Shuaibu,  gave the warning yesterday while addressing a news conference in Abuja ahead of the off-circle election.

    Shuaibu argued that it would be wrong for the group to fold its arms and watch a senior citizen from another state cause chaos in Imo State.

    The group alleged that it was aware that the future of Imo State was being toyed with by highly placed politicians who want to use the influence of their offices to force a regime change in Imo.

    Read Also: Kogi APC suspends campaign as Ododo visits family, community of slain member

    “As we are aware, the Imo State governorship election is fast approaching alongside Kogi and Bayelsa States. In most parts of the country, elections are made to be a do-or-die affair with political actors willing to do anything to secure their seats but men of good conscience always stand to advocate for peaceful elections. Such are leaders of thought who believe in Nigeria.

    “In Imo State, some senior citizens are calling for war with their unguarded statements which is already building up tension ahead of the poll.”

    The group alleged that an unnamed governor in the southeast was planning to invade Imo State with some members of the Labour Party during the governorship election.

    The group warned that the people of Imo State should be allowed to choose their governor in the coming elections.

    Shuaibu said: “Our people must not be intimidated or coerced into accepting a governorship candidate imposed on them by enemies of isolates.

    “We will resist any form of imposition or plot to cause political instability in Imo state. We would resist with equal vigor any attempt to influence the gubernatorial elections to favour the Labour Party.”

  • Nasarawa APC rejects tribunal verdict sacking Governor Sule

    Nasarawa APC rejects tribunal verdict sacking Governor Sule

    Nasarawa state chapter of the All Progressive Congress (APC) has rejected the verdict of the election petition tribunal sacking Governor Abdullahi Sule and declaring David Umbugadu of the PDP winner of the March 18th governorship election.

    The chairman of the party, Aliyu Bello in a press conference on Wednesday, October 4, in Lafia backed Governor Sule’s decision to appeal the judgment at the Court of Appeal.

    He said: “It is the candid and considered opinion of our great party, the APC that the election tribunal erred in arriving at its decision.

    “Our great party therefore, unequivocally, and categorically reject the split judgment of the tribunal of two to one annulling the re-election of Governor Abdullahi Sule for a second term as the executive Governor of Nasarawa state.

    Read Also: Kogi Gov: APC suspends campaign to mourn slain member

    “The APC believes that the tribunal also committed a monumental error in declaring the PDP candidate as winner of the gubernatorial election in Nasarawa state.

    “We identify ourselves with the dissenting judgment which is firmly rooted in Law, facts, and logic. This further strengthened our resolve to pursue the appeal, the facts and arguments presented by our legal team and that of the INEC against the petition of the PDP and its candidate David Umbugadu overwhelming and incontrovertible, we are therefore in awe as to how the tribunal arrived at its puzzling decision.”

    He appealed to the people of Nasarawa state especially “our teeming supporters, well-wishers to remain calm, and await the pursuit by our hard-working Governor, Abdullahi Sule to take its course.”

  • Kogi Gov: APC suspends campaign to mourn slain member

    Kogi Gov: APC suspends campaign to mourn slain member

    The governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kogi State, Usman Ododo has paid a condolence visit to the family of the female member of the party, Khadijat Yahaya, who was allegedly killed by political thugs in Kotonkarfe. 

    The first port of call of the candidate was the Palace of the Ohimege of Kotonkarfe, HRM Alh. Abdulrazak Isa Koto, where the candidate expressed sadness over the death of Yahaya.

     He described the deceased as a “a woman of peace who was desirous of seeing development in Kotonkarfe”. 

    He vowed to ensure justice for the deceased and her family. 

     Spokesman of the Kogi State APC Campaign Council, Kingsley Fanwo, said the party suspended all campaign activities in honour of the slain Khadijat. 

    At the residence of the late Khadijat, Ododo expressed shock at what happened and sympathised with the family, saying the entire APC family was mourning the death of Khadijat. 

    Read Also: Call Kogi politicians to order, CLO urges Tinubu

    A leader of the party from the Local Government, Hon. Saliu Akawu, thanked the Governorship candidate for the visit. 

    Speaking on behalf of the family, Hon. Angulu said the conduct of Ododo showed he is a compassionate leader who will always identify with his people. 

    Angulu said the late Khadijat was a very peace-loving person whose life was cut short by evil men. 

    The Ohimege of Kotonkarfe also used the opportunity to thank Governor Yahaya Bello for restoring electricity to Kogi Local Government Area.

  • Demolition: APC will restore sanity to Kano, Ganduje tells business community

    Demolition: APC will restore sanity to Kano, Ganduje tells business community

    The National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdullahi Ganduje yesterday assured the business community that sanity would return to Kano state politics when the party takes over the state.

    Speaking on the backdrop of the sufferings inflicted on the people in the state following the demolition of properties and business ventures by the Abba Yusuf-led New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP).

    Ganduje, who was the immediate governor of the state, expressed this optimism when he hosted youth leaders of various markets in Kano State in his office at the National Secretariat of the party in Abuja.

    The chairman of the market leaders, Alhaji Umar Ladiyo, lamented the untold hardship the business community in the state now faced in the last four months following the destruction of properties, business centres and hostile NNPP-led government policies, adding that many business ventures have crashed and sent many businessmen and women into bankruptcy.

    Commiserating with the business community, Ganduje assured them that under the incoming APC government sanity and business will be restored.

    He said: “It is unfortunate for the other issue that you raised. The issue of senseless demolition was unfortunate.  That was very unfortunate. They destroyed the economy of Kano. They destroyed the business and trading in Kano.

    “Many people are now sceptical about going to Kano for business. Even banks don’t accept certificates of occupancy, because they are not sure whether the certificate will be revoked tomorrow. Or even when you build, it will be demolished.

    Read Also: Senate bars new members from top posts

    “You can see the extent of demolition of businesses in Kano. It is very unfortunate. But I have to congratulate you for taking the right steps. People who lost their properties in Kano have taken the issue to court. And the court has already started giving verdicts for compensation. It is just a starting point for people who take them to court. The answer to Kano politics is for the return of APC and we are pursuing that.”

    Ladiyo said the business community in the state was happy at the September 20 judgement of the Kano State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal that sacked the NNPP-led administration following the establishment of irregularities in the conduct of the March governorship election.

    He said: “With the outgoing government in Kano, everybody knows what happened was a tragedy. The destruction of properties, businesses and many people that have been thrown into crises. Some even lost their lives.

     “The amount of money lost in Kano during the destruction was huge. The turnover that is being done is more than 2 billion naira every day. Sadly, we have lost all that now.”

    The market leader then reminded the APC governorship candidate in the state, Nasiru Gawuna of the promises he made to reallocate properties to the victims of the NNPP administration destruction.

    “We are happy, during the trial at the tribunal, the APC candidate promised that when the APC government comes, all properties destroyed will be reallocated and some people will be helped with some token to start up their businesses. So many people have been thrown into debt and some have even lost their lives.

  • Ajaka, SDP can’t escape justice, says Kogi APC

    Ajaka, SDP can’t escape justice, says Kogi APC

    The Kogi State All Progressives Congress Campaign Council has reiterated its call on security agencies to bring the killers of a female APC supporter to book while also calling the attention of the public to what it described as the latest lies that had been concocted by the Social Democratic Party on the matter. 

    The Council said, after being exposed by the Police, and after the APC Campaign’s Conference on Monday, it was not out of place for the SDP candidate to defend himself with all manner of lies. 

    The Director, Media and Publicity/Spokesman of the Campaign, Kingsley Fanwo, however, said the SDP has chosen the wrong platform to do that, showing  the tactless, lackluster approach of the ill-prepared and desperate candidate.

    Fanwo said: “It is natural that killers get confused after killing because of the sacred nature of human life. We can understand Muritala Yakubu Ajaka’s confusion and delusion right now. But he must pay for his sins.”

    He said, after causing the death of an innocent woman with his alleged political brigandage, that he could still “heartlessly mock the dead with his lies is unfortunate.” 

    Fanwo stated: “We reported to the Police and other security agencies. And we have reported to the world and given a graphic narrative of how the SDP thugs killed a member of our party. 

    “Thankfully, the Police have released their preliminary reports and the SDP candidate should honour the invitation of security agencies to explain why his thugs killed the innocent Kotonkarfe woman and left the entire community mourning. 

    “While explaining the blood on his hands, he can as well give evidence of his recent claims to the Police and other law enforcement agencies. 

    Read Also: Demolition: APC will restore sanity to Kano, Ganduje tells business community

    “It is natural that killers get confused after killing because of the sacred nature of human life. We can understand Muritala Yakubu Ajaka’s confusion and delusion right now. But he must pay for his sins. 

    “His macabre dance on the grave of an innocent woman won’t save him. He has murdered sleep and has a date with the rule of law. We won’t glorify him with any serious response. 

    “Kogites now know him better and they know who is arming thugs and giving them uniforms.

    “After killing a soul with his political brigandage, that he could still heartlessly mock the dead with his lies is unfortunate. Our member won’t die in vain.”

  • Demolition: APC will restore sanity to Kano, Ganduje tells business community

    Demolition: APC will restore sanity to Kano, Ganduje tells business community

    The national chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdullahi Ganduje on Tuesday, October 3, assured the business community that sanity would return to Kano state politics when the party takes over the state.

    Speaking on the backdrop of the sufferings inflicted on the people in the state following the demolition of properties and business ventures by the Abba Yusuf-led New Nigeria Peoples Party.

    Ganduje, who was the immediate governor of the state, expressed this optimism when he hosted youth leaders of various markets in Kano State in his office at the National Secretariat of the party in Abuja.

    The chairman of the market leaders, Alhaji Umar Ladiyo lamented the untold hardship the business community in the state now faced in the last four months following the destruction of properties, business centres and hostile NNPP-led government policies, adding that many business ventures have crashed and sent many businessmen and women into bankruptcy.

    Read Also: Ganduje, APC NWC, visits Buhari in Daura

    Commiserating with the business community, Ganduje assured them that under the incoming APC government sanity and business will be restored.

    He said: “It is unfortunate for the other issue that you raised. The issue of senseless demolition was unfortunate.  That was very unfortunate. They destroyed the economy of Kano. They destroyed the business and trading in Kano.

    “Many people are now sceptical about going to Kano for business. Even banks don’t accept certificates of occupancy, because they are not sure whether the certificate will be revoked tomorrow. Or even when you build, it will be demolished.

    “You can see the extent of demolition of businesses in Kano. It is very unfortunate. But I have to congratulate you for taking the right steps. People who lost their properties in Kano have taken the issue to court. And the court has already started giving verdicts for compensation. It is just a starting point for people who take them to court. The answer to Kano politics is for the return of APC and we are pursuing that.”

    Earlier the leader of the group, Umar Ladiyo said the business community in the state was happy at the September 20 judgement of the Kano State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal that sacked the NNPP-led administration following the establishment of irregularities in the conduct of the March governorship election.

    Lamenting the development, Ladiyo said, “With the outgoing government in Kano, everybody knows what happened was a tragedy. The destruction of properties, businesses and many people that have been thrown into crises. Some even lost their lives.

     “The amount of money lost in Kano during the destruction was huge. The turnover that is being done is more than 2 billion naira every day. Sadly, we have lost all that now.”

    The market leader then reminded the APC governorship candidate in the state, Nasiru Gawuna of the promises he made to reallocate properties to the victims of the NNPP administration destruction.

    “We are happy, during the trial at the tribunal, the APC candidate promised that when the APC government comes, all properties destroyed will be reallocated and some people will be helped with some token to start up their businesses. So many people have been thrown into debt and some have even lost their lives.

    “We came here to express our sadness on that. And we pray that when a new government comes, that promise should be fulfilled because it is going to be the first agenda of our government when the time comes.”

  • Kogi APC to security agents: arrest killers of our female supporter

    Kogi APC to security agents: arrest killers of our female supporter

    The Kogi State All Progressives Congress (APC) Governorship Campaign Council has called on security agencies to fish out those responsible for what it described as the unfortunate killing of a harmless female supporter  in Kotonkarfe Local Government Area.   They should be brought  to book to serve as deterrent to other criminals, the party added.

    Commiserating with the family of the deceased, the people of Kotonkarfe and Kogites in general, the Campaign Council said the Social Democratic Party rally, in which the woman was allegedly murdered by thugs loyal to the governorship candidate, was a satanic ambush on the peace-loving people of Kotonkarfe.

    The Director, Media and Publicity/Spokesman of the Campaign Council, Kingsley Fanwo, who spoke at the  council’s inaugural news conference yesterday,  noted that those “who threatened to kill and went ahead to kill have undoubtedly declared war on the Nigerian state”, and must face the law.

    He said while the APC candidate, Usman Ododo, had remained uncompromisingly committed to an issue-based campaign, devoid of violence, ethnocentric narratives or divisive tendencies, the campaign of the SDP candidate, Muritala Yakubu, had been divisive and inciting.

    According to the Campaign Council, Yakubu’s statements have been unguarded, inflammatory and acidic, and even the security agencies and well meaning Nigerians have taken note of this.

    The Council, however, called on APC supporters to remain calm, noting that it was sure that the security agencies would not allow killers of the woman to walk freely without consequences.

    The Kogi APC Campaign Council urged the public to do independent surveys on the strength of candidates jostling for the governorship seat in the state, saying an objective poll would reveal that the SDP candidate, even among those contesting from Igala land, was nowhere near the top contenders.

    Read Also: Kano guber: APC slams NNPP over 8-man London protest

    “The reason is that the good people of Igala land, having followed his activities over the years, and knowing that he lacks the intellectual capacity to represent them, would rather go with responsible candidates,” the Council said.

    Fanwo said the SDP candidate would be thoroughly defeated at the polls and would still have to account for his alleged “sins against humanity.”

    The Council stated, “The initial statement of the Police authorities have been reassuring. There must be justice for the murdered soul. It is high time Kogites called the blood-sucking campaign of the SDP to order. Elections are won on the ballot and not via the bullet. Even in the face of glaring provocation, our party and our campaign will remain peaceful and play according to the rules of the game.

    “The unguarded, inflammatory and acidic statements of the SDP candidate, Alh. Muritala Yakubu Ajaka on national television have not gone unnoticed. What is of surprise to us is how he gets away after calling a whole ethnic group “a common enemy”. He also said they were ready for violence.

    “His utterances and actions are not supported by the electoral law. And we are sure INEC and relevant authorities have taken note of this.

    “His campaign has been divisive and inciting, yet he walks around spreading the propaganda of him being hunted. They commit visible crimes and turn around to play the victims.

    “The quietness of the law enforcement agencies has emboldened him to spill the blood of an innocent woman. His desperation in the face of looming humiliation at the polls has undoubtedly put him in a very dangerous corner. Only Muritala Yakubu and the thugs he moves around with think he has a chance.

    “Conduct your poll in Kogi State today, even in Igaland, you will find that he is not even near the top two contenders in the forthcoming governorship election. The reason is that the good people of Igaland, having followed his activities over the years, and knowing that he lacks the intellectual capacity to represent them, would rather go with responsible candidates.

    “He is not even near the list of hopeful contenders. He will be roundly defeated at the Poll and he will still account for his sins against humanity.”

    Fanwo also pointed out that the attention of the Council had been drawn to calls, by those he described as hired guns, on the Director General of the Campaign Council to resign his appointment, citing divisive reasons.

    He said the Campaign Council DG, Prince Shaibu Abubakar Audu, had already made clear, his commitment to executing a campaign that would usher in the Ododo era of consolidation and continuity.

    “No amount of ethnic parroting can distract the politically sagacious Minister of Steel Development, HM Prince Shuaibu Abubakar Audu, from the historic task ahead. His late father, Prince Abubakar Audu, was committed to a united, prosperous and peaceful Kogi State. The Director General is only following his footsteps,” he said.

  • Kano guber: APC slams NNPP over 8-man London protest

    Kano guber: APC slams NNPP over 8-man London protest

    National Coalition of the All Progressives Congress (APC) stakeholders has berated the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) for staging an 8-man demonstration in London on Sunday, October 1, over the Kano State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal judgement.

    The group described the demonstration as a show of shame and a deliberate plot to discredit the judiciary, and the federal government and drag the image of APC in the mud.

    The Kano state governorship election petition tribunal judgement had sacked Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf of the NNPP due to irregularities where over 165,000 votes were imprinted and stuffed into the ballot boxes unlawfully without the official stamp nor signature of the presiding officers,

    The tribunal then upturned Yusuf’s victory during the March 2023 governorship election and returned Nasir Gawuna of APC as the winner of the election.

    Addressing newsmen in Abuja on Monday, October 2, the national secretary of the coalition, Isabella Odunayo condemned the desperation of the opposition NNPP at distorting facts and blackmailing the judiciary, the federal government and the APC.

    The group noted that since the judgement the NNPP-led Kano State Government has been peddling lies against the judiciary, and the Federal government and indeed dragging the image of our great Party, APC daily

    The coalition further observed that after failed attempts to discredit the tribunal’s ruling, “the NNPP desperation took them to London where it sponsored a protest to blackmail the Federal Government and discredit the tribunal judgement, unknowingly to the organizers, Nigerians in the diaspora had watch clips of the jubilation that trailed the APC victory at the tribunal thereby Nigerians in London ignored the sponsored protest.

    “It is shameful that Engr. Abba Kabir Yusuf and the Kwankwasiyya Movement only got eight (8)persons for a protest which targeted about one thousand (1000) people, a sign that Nigerians both home and in diaspora accepted the judgement in good faith.”

    The APC group then warned the leadership of the NNPP that, “the judiciary cannot be intimidated by its threat as security agencies in Nigeria are fully prepared to secure the country.

    “The eight people led by Dr Aminu Bello who embarrassed themselves yesterday in London do not represent the interest of Nigerians.

    Read Also: Independence Day: Protesters storm High Commission over Kano tribunal ruling

    “It is barbaric and indeed archaic for the NNPP to toll the part of blackmail calling for justice in faraway London when justice has already been served with the judgment of the tribunal.

    “It is unpalatable to speak ill of the judiciary because your stealing antics were uncovered. Engr Abba Kabir Yusuf has no shame which is why he is still sponsoring the campaign against the judiciary.

    “We call on the Inspector General of Police and the Department of State Service to commence an investigation of the out-going Kano State Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf and the leadership of the NNPP ahead of their prosecution.

    “It is by such actions that some desperate politicians may desist from rigging and instilling violence during the election.”