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Tag: APC

  • APC granted leave to inspect election materials

    The Lagos State Governorship Election Tribunal yesterday granted leave to the All Progressives Congress (APC) to inspect documents used for the April 11 governorship election.

    Justice Muhammad Sirajo issued the order after taking the party’s submission through its counsel, Charles Uwensuyi-Edosomwan.

    The tribunal directed APC, its counsel and/or its agents to inspect and make copies of all polling documents or packets relating or pertaining to the conduct of the election.

    Justice Sirajo ordered the first respondent, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to make available to the applicant (APC), its counsel and/or agents, Certified True Copies (CTC) of polling documents or packets in the prescribed form used and/or purportedly used for the election.

    The tribunal also gave an order, allowing the third respondent and/or its agents to inspect, “by way of machine/electronic scanning, all ballot papers and other electoral materials”.

    Earlier, Uwensuyi-Edosomwan told the tribunal of the motion on notice, dated May 19.

    He urged the tribunal to grant the prayer in the application.

    Counsel to the applicant/petitioner Clement Onwenwunor and other counsel were not opposed to the application.

    The tribunal consequently granted the prayers of the party.

  • APC chieftain drums support for Ambode

    APC chieftain drums support for Ambode

    A Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State, Hon. Dipo Okeyomi, has enjoined Lagos residents to support the incoming administration of the governor-elect, Mr. Akinwumi Ambode, adding that the society would be better off if individuals support government efforts.

    He urged privileged members of the society not to abandon the task of nation-building to the government alone.

    The President and founder of Change Agent International, made the remark during while presenting empowerment items for residents of Ojokoro community in Ijaiye Local Government Area.

    He gave a boost to tourism in the community when he provided visas to some of the residents to travel to Dubai. The beneficiaries were to understudy how the oil-rich area became a global tourist centre after which they would return to the country to open up the tourism potential in the community. The beneficiaries cut across tribal groups in the country.

    “It is imperative for every resident of Lagos State to support the incoming administration of Mr. Ambode because the task of taking the state to the next level should not be left to the government alone. It is important that privileged members of the society should support the efforts of government by coming up with creative ideas that will bring development to their various communities. This is what we are doing in Ojokoro to improve the living standard of the residents.

    “The beneficiaries are expected to serve as change agents when they return. They will retrain and broaden the minds of the people of the communities and fashion out ways of replicating some of the ideas they garnered in Dubai in the communities.

    “The aim is to open up the community towards opportunities that are capable of enhancing the living standard of the residents. We have outlined different programmes that we would be carrying out from time to time to improve the lives of the people. The aspect of tourism is just one of these plans,” he said.

    The beneficiaries expressed their gratitude to Hon. Okeyomi for the gesture, even as they promised not to abuse the opportunity.

    “I am delighted to be among the beneficiaries. I never imagined that I would have the opportunity to travel outside the country to acquire knowledge that would improve my life and the community.

    “The future of Ojokoro is certainly bright with somebody such as Hon. Okeyomi, Dora Ifeyinwa said.

  • APC denies zoning Senate President’s, Speaker’s seats

    •Gbajabiamila reacts 

    THE All Progressives Congress (APC) has denied a report that

    its National Working Committee (NWC) met on Monday night and decided to zone the Senate Presidency to the Northcentral and the Speaker of the House of Representatives to the Southwest.

    In a statement in Abuja yesterday, its National Secretary, Mai Mala Buni, said the party was deeply embarrassed by the story, which, he said, was apparently planted in the media to sow the seeds of instability in the party.

    ‘’The NWC never discussed the issue of zoning at its meeting.

    Therefore, the report of its decision on zoning is a figment of the imagination of whoever concocted the story,” the statement said.

    APC said nothing has changed since the President-elect said he is ready to work with anyone from any part of the country, who occupies any of the principal offices of the incoming National Assembly, including those of the Senate Presidency and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

    But Rufai Chachangi of Gbajabiamila’s Speakership Campaign Secretariat said any decision reached by the party would be abided by.

    “We are convinced that our candidate, Femi Gbajabiamila has fulfilled all meritorious requirements to emerge as the next Speaker. Gbajabiamila’s acceptance is broad-based and still popular among members,” Chachangi said.

     

     

  • Resolve arson puzzle, APC tells Fayose

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State has challenged Governor Ayo Fayose to explain how hoodlums defied his dusk-to-dawn curfew to raze the Oja-Oba Market in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital.

    The party said it was baffling how hoodlums could evade security check-points in Ado-Ekiti to burn down the state’s largest market.

    APC’s Publicity Secretary Taiwo Olatubosun said in a statement that the puzzle must be resolved, following insinuations that the arson was government-sponsored.

    “We want to know how the market and the surrounding area could be attacked without security agents lifting a finger.

    “More shocking is the scale of damage done to the market, which suggests that the operation was not a lone effort  as it was carried out in a hurry.

    “Also suspicious is the fact that streetlights on major roads leading to the market, went off as early as 8pm that night.

    “We have noticed that whenever streetlights go off early like that, an untoward event would follow just as it happened when our secretariat at Ajilosun was attacked.

    “The inability of the Fayose administration to service the streetlights on major roads in the capital is a deliberate ploy to create an atmosphere for government sponsored hoodlums to operate.”

    Olatunbosun added that the party was vindicated by the alarm it raised earlier that thugs were being lodged in the Government House.

    He explained that linking the Ado-Ekiti jail break escapees with the kidnappings  was a confirmation of the party’s earlier claim that the government was complicit in the jail break.

    The APC sympathises with the Hausa community and we also commiserate with the hapless traders and other victims.

    “We commend former Governor Kayode Fayemi for visiting the burnt market, commiserating with the monarch and the victims.”

    Speaking through his Chief Press Secretary, Idowu Adelusi, the governor said his concern was how to provide good governance.

    Fayose said: “We are not prepared to respond to every senseless outburst.

    “We are much concerned with providing good governance to Ekiti people. This is our focus.

    “How can we be responding to utterances of idle minds.

    “Let them go and assist their colleagues in other states.”

     

  • Council Polls: Rivers APC satisfied with outcome

    Council Polls: Rivers APC satisfied with outcome

    The Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers, Mr. Chris Finebone, said on Monday that the party was satisfied with the outcome of council polls held in the state.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the APC won the 22 chairmanship seats, 297 of the 302 wards in the council election held on May 23.

    The remaining wards were won by ADC in Etche ward 3, PPA in Ahoada West Ward 2 while SDP won in Ahoada East ward 4.

    Finebone told NAN in Port Harcourt that the election was credible, free and fair.

    ‘’ A total of 26 political parties took part in the election and we believe that the people have spoken through their votes,’’ he said.

    The Publicity Secretary said the turnout of people on election day was an indication that the people wanted a change to elect their representatives at the grassroot level.

    ‘’ The APC is satisfied with the outcome of the council polls in the state and we look forward to getting good governance from the elected officials,’’ he said

  • Jonathan handing over nation in deep crises, says APC

    Jonathan handing over nation in deep crises, says APC

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) has said President Goodluck Jonathan is handing over a nation in a deep crisis. It alleged that the administration continues to contrive more crises without making any effort to solve any of them.

    In a statement yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party urged Nigerians not to lose hope, despite the daunting challenges they are facing in this atmosphere of contrived chaos, saying “help is on the way”.

    ‘’In a few days’ time, President Jonathan will hand over to President-elect Muhammadu Buhari. Never in the history of our country has any government handed over to another a more distressed country: No electricity, no fuel, workers are on strike, billions are owed to state and federal workers, 60 billion dollars are owed in national debt and the economy is virtually grounded.

    ‘’Today, Nigerians are roaming the streets, jerry cans in hand, searching for everything from kerosene to fuel to diesel to power their homes, keep their vehicles on the road and keep their businesses going. They are paying as much as N300 per litre for fuel, if at all they can get it. Yet their government is not saying a word about the situation,’’ it said.

    APC said while the Jonathan Administration had arrogantly told Nigerians that it remains in office and in power till May 29, all it has been doing is sacking people and making new appointments as if it had been deprived of the opportunity to do so in the past six years.

    ‘’They are not interested in how to end the fuel scarcity that has paralysed the socio-economic lives of Nigerians, they are not interested in how to raise electricity production from its unprecedentedly-low level of 1,327 megawatts, they are not doing anything to end the strike by blue and while collar oil workers, or to stop the impending one.

    ‘’They say they are in office till May 29th, but they do not care how workers in 18 states, who are owed a total of N300 billion in salaries under their watch, or federal workers who are owed N400 billion, will be paid. Yet they are running a budget of N1 trillion deficit.

    ‘’They have deliberately stopped meeting their obligations to oil marketers, which is now around 200 billion Naira, hence no one is lifting petroleum products anymore. If the current energy crisis is not solved soonest, the telecommunications sector could even be grounded in a matter of days as service providers will have neither electricity nor fuel to power their base stations. Of course the aviation sector has already been left comatose by the fuel crisis. The whole scenario reeks of sabotage!,’’ the party said.

    APC said before PDP’s and Jonathan Administration’s spin doctors distort its message, it is important to let Nigerians know that the party (APC) is not engaging in lamentations but simply keeping the citizenry informed of the situation on the ground, with just five days to handover date.

    ‘’If we thought the nation was being well managed and there was no problem, we would not have embarked on a campaign of change. While we are ready, willing and able to begin to address the mammoth challenges facing us as a nation as soon as we assume office at the centre in a few days’ time, we will not hesitate for a second to keep Nigerians informed of how we have been brought to this sorry pass, with a view to avoiding such a tragic turn in the future,’’ the party said.

    It expressed sadness that the nation has been on auto pilot for the past several weeks, as the outgoing administration has shown neither the capacity nor the willingness to resolve any of the crises it has contrived and foisted on the nation.

    ‘’This is the most vivid manifestation of the old saying that literally translates to a departing office holder defecating on the chair he is vacating,’’ APC said.

  • APC lawmakers for retreat

    APC lawmakers for retreat

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) will hold a two-day retreat for all its House of Representatives’ members-elect in Abuja today and tomorrow.

    In a statement in Abuja yesterday, its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said the retreat will be held at the Rockview Hotel Wuse 2 area of the city.

    It urged the members-elect to arrive at the venue where accommodation arrangement has been made for them, by 6 p.m. today, adding that there will be a cocktail in their honour and party leaders at 8 p.m. same day.

    “The two-day retreat is part of efforts being undertaken by the party to ensure that the legislators hit the ground running for the benefit of Nigerians,” APC said.

  • Giving me conditions to join APC hypocritical, says Bamidele

    Giving me conditions to join APC hypocritical, says Bamidele

    House of Representatives member Opeyemi Bamidele has declared that he followed due process in joining the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    Bamidele in a statement yesterday by his media aide, Ahmed Salami, condemned the position of APC ward leaders in his hometown, Iyin-Ekiti, who listed some conditions to be fulfilled before he could be admitted into the party.

    He claimed that the ward party chiefs are being used by those he described as “unscrupulous leaders”, who are afraid of his astuteness and ingenuity in politics.

    The APC leaders in Iyin Wards A and B in a communique at the end of a meeting said they learnt of Bamidele’s defection in the media as the ward executives  were not carried along.

    In a 10-point communique, Ope Ogundele and Folorunso Adeuyi listed certain conditions for Bamidele before he could be admitted into the party.

    Bamidele described the stand of the Iyin APC leaders as “not only antithetical to democratic norms and ethos but also hypocritical smacking of ignorance about the party’s modus operandi”.

    He argued that Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution vested on individual citizens, the right to join or exit any party without hindrance, once such person has not been expelled or suspended from such  party.

    Bamidele, who represents Ado-Ekiti/Irepodun Ifelodun Federal Constituency, said he told the National Chairman, John Odigie-Oyegun and the Deputy National Chairman (South), Segun Oni, and he got their blessings.

    He wondered where ward executives got the affrontery to act in such a “brazen manner” saying such an action suggests that they are ignorant of the constitution and party operations.

    “How on earth“would the ward executive have more powers than Odigie-Oyegun and Oni, who gave me the green light to cross over to the APC?

    The lawmaker advised the ward chairmen against committing what  he described as “insubordination  and flagrant violation of the party supremacy”  in their  disastrous quests  to massage the egos of some politically irrelevant party leaders, whose political prowess had plummeted by their  haughty and cunning actions.”

    He said: “If these ward leaders had not  displayed naivety, they ought to know that going by the normal party practice and conventions, somebody of  my  political standing must contact the national leaders of the party and effect the defection after getting the go-ahead, before thinking of contacting my ward for registration.”

    Bamidele urged the  ward  leaders to concentrate their energies on how to redirect the nosediving fortunes of the party, rather than  allowing some egocentric leaders to mislead them .

    He said: “Where were these  people and their so- called  leaders when Bamidele was heralded in to APC rally with a standing ovation in Ado Ekiti when he came at the instance of the national leaders of the party to become part of Buhari/Osinbajo presidential campaign project in Ekiti State?

    “Why did they not reject the massive contribution of Bamidele and his group between January and March 28 that led to Buhari securing 41per cent of votes in Ekiti State?

    “Genuine APC leaders   in Ekiti State are happy that Bamidele is  back within the fold because they are confident that with his coming things can not be the same in Ekiti State.

    “I am sure the national leaders of APC know what to do to abate this political nuisance.”

  • APC wins 22 council seats in Rivers polls

    APC wins 22 council seats in Rivers polls

    •Protest in Khana as DPP candidate calls for cancellation

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) won 22 of the 23 chairmanship seats in last Saturday’s local government election in Rivers State.

    The State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) Chief Returning Officer, Prof Austin Ahiauzu, declared the results last night.

    He said APC won 22 of the 23 local government areas.

    The Returning Officer said the election was peaceful because it was transparent.

    Prof Ahiauzu said APC won 297 councillorship seats in the 302 wards while other political parties won the rest.

    In Ahoada East’s wards 8 and 10, the People for Democratic Change (PDC) was declared winners of the councillorship seats.

    The PDC councilor–elect in Ahoada East’s Ward 10, Mrs. Royal Onukwube, told our reporter that the time had come for people to be elected into positions of power without sentiments about their political parties.

    She thanked RSIEC and APC leadership for not being biased against other political parties that participated in the election.

    She noted that her victory was an indication that RSIEC conducted a transparent election.

    At Khana Local Government Area, the Democratic People Party (DPP) candidate, Comrade Fredick Gogorobari James, urged RSIEC to nullify the chairmanship election in the area for alleged lack of transparency.

    He alleged that APC’s chairmanship-elect, Celestine Akpobari, won with the collaboration of “thugs”.

  • APC senators-elect for retreat

    APC senators-elect for retreat

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) will hold a two-day retreat for its senators-elect in Abuja  today and tomorrow.

    In a statement in Abuja yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said the retreat will be held at the Ibeto Hotel in Apo area of the city.

    It urged the senators-elect to arrive at the venue where accommodation arrangements have been provided for them by 6p.m. today, “as there will be a closed door meeting between all senators-elect and party leaders  at 8p.m. on the same day”.

    ‘’The two-day retreat is part of efforts being undertaken by the party to ensure that the legislators hit the ground running for the benefit of Nigerians,’’ APC said.