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  • Over 3,500 PDP members defect to APC in Delta

    …as Ogboru storms Udu/Ughelli South

     

    No fewer than 3,500 members of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, Thursday, defected to the All Progressive Congress, APC, during Chief Great Ogboru campaign train to Udu and Ughelli South local government areas.

    Ogboru and the senator representing Delta Central senatorial District at the National Assembly, Ovie Omo-Agege also said that the party will not be intimidated in the forthcoming elections by the PDP rigging tactics.

    Speaking at Ughelli south stadium in Otu-Jeremi and Otor-Udu while on governorship campaigns they said, “Members of the APC and Deltans will resist any intimidation from the PDP because APC is poise to liberate Delta State from the hand of PDP monopolistic rule.

    According to Ogboru, “The PDP is a party of darkness and it is only in APC Deltans can see light and development and he appealed to those who have sold the Permanent Voters Card to go and retrieve them back because votes will count in the coming elections.

    “Deltans should give the same support to President Muhammadu Buhari and the APC administration as they are supporting us because if he fails we fail.

    “Do not worry about Delta liberation because if you vote me and APC, Delta state will move forward”.

    Also, Senator Agege said, “Buhari sent us message and we are speaking under his authority because we have his mandate.

    “President Muhammadu Buhari has done well for the Urhobos and Deltans in general and the only way to pay him back is to vote for him for the second tenure.

    “Almost every road in Delta State are been constructed by the NDDC under Buhari administration and the APC”.

    At Otu-Jerem and Udu, over 3,500 former PDP faithful and leaders led by Chief Freeborn Ayoma and Hon Alfred Urhukpe defected to the APC.

  • APC to Atiku/Obi: You told Nigerians bare faced lies

    The APC Presidential Campaign Council said on Thursday that the PDP Presidential, Atiku Abubakar and his running mate, Peter Obi were engaged in what it described as bare face lies and dishonest claims when they appeared on a national television programme, “The Candidate” on Wednesday night.

    Spokesman of the Campaign, Barrister Festus Keyamo said in a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja that simple fact checks revealed that several claims by the PDP candidate and his running mate were nothing but a tissue of lies.

    Keyamo said Nigerians should take note of “Alhaji Atiku Abubakar defined Corruption as “the use of your privileged position to either enrich yourself or enrich your relatives or even your friends”, adding that “when this is juxtaposed with his earlier statement in Lagos, that he will enrich his friends if he becomes President, we can safely conclude that he will be fully in the business of corruption if he becomes President.

    “Atiku/Obi made it clear to Nigerians that conflict of interests as a public servant should be the norm as, during their tenures, they found absolutely nothing wrong then and today, with investing public funds in enterprises they own or their families own. For instance, Kadaria ran Peter Obi into a ditch when she asked him if his family was not enriched as a result of using public funds for his family business ‘NEXT’.

    “Their claim on experience in running anything public or private cannot stand any act of scrutiny. The Presidential candidate, who is easily a major contributor to our huge unemployment problem today as a result of his corrupt privatisation programme, counts this failure as a huge experience and wants to repeat same if elected.

    “Their proposed Agriculture Programme which they claim to have put together to lift majority of the people out of poverty is a version of what is already being implemented by the present government under the Anchors Borrowers Programme and the Government Enterprises and Empowerment Programmes.

    “After watching Atiku/Obi on that programme, it has become clear to all Nigerians that our public institutions and commonwealth would be in grave danger if left in the hands of these dodgy and questionable characters who have no morals and no scruples about using and misusing public funds for private gains.”

    Keyamo listed some of the lies he claimed were told by the PDP candidate and his running mate to include:

    *Lie Number 1: Alhaji Atiku Abubakar claimed that at handover in May 2019, our GDP growth rate was 6%. Fact Checked Truth: It is a well-documented fact that at handover, the GDP growth rate was 2.35%. The economy was on a free fall as the GDP growth rate had dropped for three consecutive quarters.

    *Lie Number 2: Alhaji Atiku Abubakar claims recession was caused by the APC Government. Fact Checked Truth: With a consistent and rapid drop of our GDP, their Coordinating Minister of the Economy at that time, Okonjo Iweala, former Central Bank Governor Prof. Charles Soludo and the Central Bank Governor at the time, now Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, warned the PDP Government and Nigerians that we were headed for a recession.

    *Lie Number 3: Alhaji Atiku Abubakar claimed that security challenges were restricted to the North East during their time. Truth: Nigerians will recall that the Boko Haram activities had spread all over the North East, North West and North Central. For instance, UN Headquarters, Police Headquarters, a Bus stop in Nyanya, a prominent Plaza in Wuse II were all bombed during the era of the last government in Abuja. A church or Mosque was bombed every week in 2013/2014. The herders-farmers’ clashes were the deadliest in 2014, claiming over 1,300 lives in a short period across the North. Boko Haram occupied over 17 Local Government Areas and hoisted their flags, effectively establishing a caliphate in the North East. All these happened before the coming of this administration.

    *Lie Number 4: Peter Obi claimed that out-of-school children grew to 13.5 million under this administration. Truth: The figure of 13.2 million out-of-school children was a 2015 survey by UNICEF. An alarm was raised by several global bodies then because the figure had grown from 10.5 million in 2010 to 13.2 million in 2015, despite record earnings of the Government at that time. In other words, Peter Obi’s claim is self-indicting.

    *Lie Number 5: That Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, as a Customs officer, said there was nothing wrong at that time with setting up a company that had dealings in the Ports that were under customs supervision.
    Truth: The Code of Conduct for Public Officers was first enshrined in the 1979 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Atiku Abubakar co-founded the company, as a serving customs officer, three years after the 1979 constitution came into operation. According to Section 1 of the 5th Schedule to the 1979 Constitution, a public officer shall not put himself in a position where his personal interest conflicts with his duties and responsibilities. By establishing a company involved in Port-related business at a time when he was an officer in the Nigeria Customs Service charge with managing the Ports, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar definitely put himself in a position where his personal (business) interest conflicted with his duties as a public officer.

    *Lie Number 6: Peter Obi claims Nigeria has record poverty now. Truth: Despite high oil revenue, according to the World Bank, extreme poverty under PDP grew to 112 million in 2013 through 2014, compared to 86 million today. India pulled their citizens out of poverty for over two decades by using the same methods Nigeria is now using today.

    He said further that “In summary one would have thought that in the course of the programme, ‘The Candidates’, Atiku/Obi would have modified the lies they told earlier in their campaigns and make it consistent with reality as most of them were already fact-checked by independent bodies and proven to be lies. Alas, they have continued on the same path, believing that ‘If you tell a big enough lie and tell it frequently enough, it will be believed”.

  • Video: Buhari leaves for Kano

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday departs Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport, Abuja for Kano, to attend APC Presidential campaign rally at the Sani Abacha Stadium.

  • Updated: APC chairman kidnapped in Adamawa

    The All Progressives Congress ( APC ) chairman in Demsa Local Government Area of Adamawa State, Mijinyawa Hamisu, has been kidnapped.

    The Commissioner for Information, Ahmed Sajoh, who confirmed the development, said it happened around 3am on Wednesday.

    He stated the kidnappers have been in contact and were demanding N20 million for Hamisu’s release.

    The Adamawa State Public Relations Officer of APC, Muhammed Abdullahi, said he had just been told of the incident.

    Abdullahi said: “I have been informed that some people took the chairman of our party in Demsa but we don’t know their motives as to whether it is political or other things but I am on my way to the place to confirm the true state of things.”

    Read Also: I’m for all APC candidates, says Buhari

    The incident happened hours before a scheduled campaign visit to the Demsa LGA by Governor Mohammed Bindow.

    The Adamawa State Police Command confirmed the incident but assured that it was working to redeem the situation.
    The Police Public Relations Officer, Othman Abubakar, told The Nation in a telephone interview that the state Police Commissioner, Sabo Ibrahim, had directed the command technical team to search out the kidnappers and get Mijinyawa back to his family.

  • Primary election: Court adjourns Sen. Na’Allah’s case

    The Federal High Court Birnin Kebbi, has adjourned Sen. Bala Na’Allah’s case challenging the validity of All Progressives Congress (APC’s) primary election conducted in October 2018 to Feb.20.

    The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the validity of Na’Allah ‘s primary election that brought his candidacy to contest for Kebbi South Senatorial District for second term was challenged before the court by Alhaji Sule Sami through his counsel, Aliyu Usman.

    The presiding judge, Justice Basse Onu, adjourned the matter in line with the prayers submitted by the counsel to the plaintiff and defendant.

    In an interview after the sitting, the plaintiff counsel, Usman, said the case was on pre-election matter challenging the validity and constitutionality of the primary election that brought Na’Allah as the APC senatorial candidate.

    “The matter was filed earlier at the Federal High Court 4, Abuja Division.”

    Read Also: Boycott directive stalls Onnoghen’s case in Industrial Court

    The judge then transferred the case to Birnin Kebbi Federal High Court, after considering a new law directing that all pre-election matters must be concluded from the date of filing the case within 180 days.

    “Now there are so many applications challenging the jurisdictions and competency of the case as well as amendment processes and substitution of the counsel,” the counsel said.

    Also, the defence counsel, Mr Afraimu Jingi, said the pre-election matter had time limit by the alteration of the constitution.

    He said the case was filed by the plaintiff on Nov. 1, 2018.

    He said the case had only 180 days within which it would be heard and determined by the court.

    “As at this time, we have not started the hearing of the matter.

    ” They prayed that the primary election be set aside and the claimant should be declared as the winner of the primary,” Jingi said.

    He added that a preliminary objection had been filed, stating that the case was not brought within time.

    “But we are watching to see what will be the fate of the case by the court,” he said.

  • Non-indigenes in Alimosho vow to deliver 100 percent votes to APC

    The Non-indigenes Forum in Alimosho has vowed to ensure all its members vote for the candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the general elections.

    The forum is made up of artisans, community leaders, royal fathers and clergies. It cuts across the six local council development areas in the old Alimosho

    A statement by the Chairman of the Elders Council, Eze Lawrence Eze, who is the Ezendigbo Alimosho, and the chief co-ordinator, Hon. Paul Eze, said it would ensure a landslide victory of APC candidates. It said the decision was taken after an evaluation of the candidates.

    Eze Lawrence urged APC party faithful to put their house in order, mind their local governments, according to him saying ‘your strength or relevance in the party depends on your ability to deliver your local government to the party’. He warned the party leaders to beware of “some of the acclaimed Igbo leaders floating everywhere. They are neither here nor there to avoid the repeat of the 2015”.

    He also advised APC leaders to back the group to deliver on its promise.

    The Seriki Hausa General Alimosho and the deputy chairman elders council of the group, Alhaji Ahmed Haruna, advised the party and the campaign managers of some of the candidates to adopt politics of inclusiveness. He added that some campaign managers were not carrying along. He observed that the party’s governorship candidate, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, and the Senator representing his constituency, Senator Solomon Olamilekan, visited Alimosho without acknowledging leaders of non-indigenes.

    The forum announced its proposed rally to showcase its strength and to campaign for APC. All APC candidates in the old Alimosho will be adopted at the rally.

     

  • APC meets traditional rulers in Ojo

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) Ojo Federal Constituency Campaign Committee has visited all traditional rulers within the constituency.

    They used the opportunity to present all the party’s candidates to the traditional rulers.

    The visit was meant to intimate the monarchs with the party’s manifestoes.

    According to them, the move was part of efforts towards a ensuring resounding victory for the party.

    The group also met with the Council of Baales, League of Imams, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Community Development Committee (CDC), market men and women, among others.

    Read also: Agbaje doesn’t have anything to offer Lagos, says Sanwo-Olu

    Former Lagos State Commissioner for Rural Development Cornelius Ojelabi, who is the Chairman of the campaign committee, described the visit as worthwhile.

    His deputy and Commissioner for Agric Toyin Suarau thanked the groups for receiving them.

    The committee will still meet with the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN), the students, ethnic groups and host of others before the elections.

  • Ortom has no business seeking second term – APC

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) Governorship candidate in BenueMr Emmanuel Jime, has berated Gov. Samuel Ortom for allegedly failing to pay workers’ salaries or execute meaningful projects in the state since assuming office in 2015.

    Jime said on Tuesday in Katsina-Ala while addressing APC supporters during his campaign, that though the state had received more than N402 billion from the federation account, there was nothing tangible to show that was of immense benefit to the people.

    Jime noted that the governor had not only failed to pay the salary arrears of workers, but also failed to create jobs or address the poverty level of people in Benue.

    Jime pledged that if elected, he would provide jobs, build industries and ensure that the Katsina-Ala Yam Flour Mill commence production.

    Also, APC senatorial candidate for Benue North East, Mrs Mimi Orubibi, said any governor that executed no projects within the first term of office has no business seeking a second term.

    The APC House of Representatives candidate for Ukum, Logo and Katsina-Ala Federal Constituency, Mr Solomon Wombo, said the incumbent administration in the state has not done enough to improve the wellbeing of the people.

    Read also: Oil theft: Navy hands over 19 suspects, 21 Boats to EFCC

    Wombo, a former Special Adviser to ex-Governor Gabriel Suswam, noted that in spite of the support the people of  Sankera gave to the PDP, they gained nothing in return.

    He therefore urged them to vote APC in the upcoming elections in order to benefit from the dividends of democracy.

    Also addressing the party supporters, the APC state chairman, Mr Abba Yaro, urged the electorates in the state to vote President Muhammadu Buhari and all APC candidates during the forthcoming polls.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that party flags were presented to APC candidates in the area by the chairman. (NAN)

  • Buhari to Imo voters on guber contest: vote your choice

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday spoke on the lingering crisis rocking the Imo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) over the emergence of its governorship candidate.

    The President urged members of the APC to vote for any candidate of their choice irrespective of intra or inter party affairs.

    It will be recalled Governor Rochas Okorocha is supporting his former Chief of Staff, Uche Nwosu while the National Chairman of the party Adams Oshiomhole backs Senator Hope Uzodinma, who emerged the APC candidate under controversial circumstances.

    Nwosu, however, picked the governorship ticket of the Action Alliance (AA) with the state chapter of the APC has been polarised on who to vote.

    The Imo state chapter of AA endorsed Buhari after the emergence of Nwosu and promised to secure one million votes for him.

    But President, in his speech at the Dan Anyiam Stadium during his campaign rally, countered the APC National Chairman who has mandated APC members to vote for Uzodinma.

    He said: “You can vote for whosoever you want, do not allow intra or inter party affairs stop you from voting for the candidate of your choice”.

    But Oshiomhole had boasted that the APC does not need the support of the AA to deliver President Buhari in the state.

    He said: “Let me make it clear that the APC is not in alliance with any party, we have the power to deliver the President.

    “You should vote for Uzodinma as our governorship candidate, don’t be deceived by anybody”.

  • Tension in Niger Delta over plot against new NDDC boss

    There was tension in the Niger Delta region following moves by a section of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in Bayelsa State to force replacement of the newly-appointed acting Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Prof. Nelson Brambaifa.

    It was gathered the appointment of Brambaifa shocked the Bayelsa APC leadership and altered the calculation of the party’s camp loyal to the state leader of APC and former Governor Timipre Sylva.

    The camp was said to have expected Sylva or someone loyal to him to clinch the coveted position in NDDC ahead of the forthcoming general and governorship elections in the state.

    But the camp was said to have been thrown into crisis after the Presidency opted for Brambaifa, whose recommendation reportedly came from the Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi.

    A member of Sylva’s camp, who spoke in confidence, told The Nation that the appointment would not stand insisting Brambaifa’s role as the managing director was temporary.

    “We were sure that either Sylva or a candidate he rcommended would be announced as the new boss of the NDDC. We were surprised when Brambaifa was announced. But for us this is one appointment that will not stand. He will surely be replaced,” he said.

    But the Central Zone of the Ijaw Youths Council (IYC) Worldwide, Coalition of Niger Delta Youth Bodies (CNDYB), Ijaw Unity and Peace Committee (IUPC) and ex-militants commended President Muhammadu Buhari for the appointment and urged persons against Braimbaifa to sheathe their swords.

    Speaking at the Ijaw House, Yenagoa, the Chairman, IYC Central Zone, Tare Porri, said the new boss of the NDDC, being an Ijaw man, deserved the support of all Ijaw people.

    He urged persons from Bayelsa making moves against the new managing director to desist and mobilise support for him to succeed in his assignment.

    He said: “We have just been told that some persons are not satisfied with his appointment.

    “We want to say that the Ijaw cannot be more blessed than now. God has given us an Ijaw man to head the commission.

    “So, l call on Ijaw leaders to mobilise support for Prof. Brambaifa as the MD. When a man from Akwa Ibom was the MD, the entire state and people of Akwa Ibom mobilised support for him. That should be our own case”.

    Also ex-militants, under the auspices of the Third Phase Ex-Agitators, warned persons planning to protest against the appointment of Brambaifa to desist from it.

    Read Also: I’ll pay Niger Delta more attention – Buhari

    The Chairman of the group, Osaanya B. Osaanya, described such persons as devilish and urged people in Bayelsa to stay away from them.

    He said: “We thank President Muhammadu Buhari for appointing Prof. Brambaifa from Bayelsa state as the head of the NDDC. He is more than qualified to occupy the position.

    “We want to warn those, who are planning any form of protest against the appointment of Professor Nelson Brambaifa as enemies of Bayelsa State

    “It is on this note that we as ex-agitators call on all Bayelsa to be wary and run away from devilish people who don’t mean well for our state. We will stand against any for of oppression against the will of the people”.

    Similarly, the CNDYB, in a statement by its coordinator, Ayebakuro Igbeta, described Brambaifa as an astute professional with the ability to administer the affairs of the commission.

    Igbeta said: “The coalition wishes to on behalf of the people of the region commend President Muhammadu Buhari, the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and the Federal Government of Nigeria for laying to rest the disturbing issue of the NDDC tenure.

    “It cannot be overemphasised that the issue was at some time beginning to brew disaffection and accrimony amongst the people of the region.

    “This appointment has most certainly laid to rest the burning questions bothering even on the integrity and sincerity of the President Buhari-led Federal Government”.

    Convener of the IUPC, Justin Ogboma, said the appointment of Brambaifa showed the sincerity and commitment of President Buhari to develop the region.

    “The decision of Brambaifa in particular is worth commending, as he is one man, with virtue of honesty, commitment and all-embracing.

    “We are confident that instead of causing disaffection, Brambaifa is one man that will build bridges and utilise the position to advance your good work in our region,” he said,

    Aggrieved by the move against Brambaifa, militants, who identified themselves as the Strike Force of MEND, threatened resistance from it’s ranks, if the Presidency, yields to selfish demands by replacing or removing Brambaifa.

    They said Brambaifa’s appointment was a product of the cries, protests, agitations and sacrifices of Ijaws, who refused to be cowed by fear, death or intimidation.

    Speaking through their spokesperson, Capt. Jhoto Koankiri, the group advised the Presidency to jettison desperate moves capable destabilising peace in the region.