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Tag: APC

  • Ekiti: APC lawmakers urge Fayose to stop stoking violence

    Ekiti: APC lawmakers urge Fayose to stop stoking violence

    The 19 All Progressives Congress (APC) lawmakers in Ekiti State House of Assembly have advised Governor Ayodele Fayose to stop stoking violence in the state over his impeachment notice.

    They said instigating crisis is not the way to go in defending the removal notice served him by the Assembly. The lawmakers said resorting to violence against Ekiti people was compounding his problems.

    In a statement by Special Adviser on Media to Speaker ‎Adewale Omirin, Wole Olujobi, the lawmakers said violence would not solve the burden of constitutional breaches that the governor had placed on himself.

    They frowned at the invasion of the Assembly by suspected PDP thugs, wondering why a governor that had questions to answer on legal matters would get himself involved in other illegal matters such as the invasion of the Assembly by thugs to cause public disorder.

    The statement said: “It is shocking that the governor would start any act of illegality bordering on public disorder when he is having a load of illegal acts on his head upon which he is facing removal from office.

    “‎Ekiti people were shocked when news spread that the governor had asked his thugs to invade the Assembly and occupy the place to prevent the lawmakers from performing their legal duties.

    “These PDP members were holding their meeting in their secretariat when instruction reached them that they must relocate to the Assembly premises where thugs were beating passersby and molesting motorists and residents. All these illegal acts ‎cannot save the governor.

    “This is the way he invaded the court with thugs to beat up the judges. They tore court records in the Chief Judge’s office and beat up his secretary. Now is the turn of the House of Assembly. What the governor is doing is a confirmation that he does not believe and cannot tolerate democratic practice. But democracy is what Ekiti people want and so we expect people of conscience and good will to support efforts to allow Ekiti people enjoy democratic governance,” the statement said.

    It advised the governor to defend the allegations against him in the impeachment notice instead of resorting to self-help that offers nothing but unnecessary venting of anger on the peaceful people of Ekiti State.

  • April 11 polls: Ogiemwonyi, Benin leaders canvass votes for APC

    April 11 polls: Ogiemwonyi, Benin leaders canvass votes for APC

    Former Minister of State for Works, Engr. Chris Ogiemwonyi, and members of the Benin Leaders of Thought have urged the people of Edo State to reject any monetary offer meant to induce them to vote for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) during Saturday’s House of Assembly elections.

    Ogiemwonyi alleged that the PDP wants to deploy money to hoodwink Edo people into an unrewarding opposition with the aim to destabilizing the state.

    Speaking at a press briefing Monday, Engr. Ogiemwonyi, noted that a legislature dominated ‘by a poisonous and vindictive opposition is a recipe for strife, instability and retrogression.’

    Ogiemwonyi warned Edo people not to forget how Oshiomhole’s first year in office was dogged by deliberate truncation of enabling laws for development including the non-release of ecological funds to tackle erosion problems in the state.

    According to him, “We cannot afford to be in opposition. The time has come for us to decide. We must have APC in Edo as we have in Abuja.”

    “The politics of inclusion as a panacea for attaining sustainable development is gaining acceptance globally and Nigeria is one being left out. The Yoruba nation, having realized the futility of opposition politics, has keyed into mainstream politicking at the centre.”

    “It is our firm belief that our interest in Edo will be better served within the framework of the APC under the leadership of Gen. Buhari at the centre with APC at the state level. Edo people must support this change.”

    “On April 11, Edo people must jettison the toga of opposition. We must reject the persuasions of those who seek to use an expected numerical edge in the House of Assembly to instigate instability and chaos in Edo State.”

    Prime Minister (Iyase) of Benin Kingdom, Chief Sam Igbe, said he was shocked at the results of March 28 general elections.

    Chief Igbe stated that whoever voted for the PDP was an enemy of the state and urged the people to vote for APC.

    Former Chief of Staff to Governor Oserheimen Osunbor, Isaiah Osifo, said Edo peoples must vote for APC in line with the voting pattern of the people of Katsina State.

    Other speakers at the press briefing included former Vice Chancellor of Ambrose Alli University, Prof. Dennis Agbonlahor, Col. Paul Ogbebor amongst others.

  • Ex-PDP guber candidate joins APC in Edo

    Ex-PDP guber candidate joins APC in Edo

    The governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2012 gubernatorial election in Edo State and national coordinator of the Goodluck Support Group and Goodluck Youth Initiative, Maj.Gen. Charles Arhiavbere (rtd) has become the first person in Edo State to leave the Peoples Democratic Party with over 10,000 of his supporters.

    General Arhiavbere who joined the All progressives Congress in Benin City, on Easter Sunday said “Since after the election of 2012 there has been heightened tension in Edo state which has made development slow and I believe my coming to meet with the Comrade Governor and APC which is now at the centre, speedy development will take place in Edo state.

    He said: “there will be peace, there will be stability and things can now happen faster.”

    Asked why he decided to jump ship just a few days after the PDP lost power at the federal level, Arhiavbere said; “I would not be one of the political leaders that would move Edo state backwards especially when the APC is now at the federal level.

    “Every well-meaning politician must come to the centre for rapid development. We can only do that if we give political stability to his Excellency the Comrade Governor of Edo state,” he continued “the party at the centre is All Progressives Congress and the party in Edo state is also APC why then should we be in opposition and I believe that I have the ground and the supporters to influence positively the election of April 11 for the State House of Assembly.”

    He assured Edo state people that with Comrade Oshiomhole, the gelegele seaport will be taken up by the APC-controlled Federal Government, maintaining that the dualization of the Benin –Lokoja road will be pursued to a logical conclusion.

    In his remark, Governor Oshiomhole said “it is great receiving Major-General Charles Arhiavbere who was my main opponent in the 2012 governorship election in Edo state and over the period he has seen through the political environment.

    “Even as he was in PDP, we have maintained a good relationship. That he has come to join us is in line with our tradition to try to consolidate democracy, open up the party to every genuine person who wants to join the party because politics is a game of numbers but this one is a quality number which makes it much more important for us.

    “It shows that our political contestation was nothing personal which is why we have no difficulties in embracing one another and welcoming him into the APC family’’.

    Oshiomhole continued: “I feel fulfilled because my mission in Edo state is to provide good governance by way of applying public funds in a way that will deliver happiness to the greatest number of our people but also to clean up the political space so that godfathers are permanently put out of business and very ordinary people with ideas can have a space to engage.’’

    Governor Oshiomhole who also received Hon Richard Lamai and Major Gen. Shaibu both from Edo North said “the more people that join us, the deeper the message that Edo electorates are the political leaders in APC.”

    He said “Richard has been a loud voice in PDP and he led a group called “PDP Reloaded” and everybody knows that he was very close to a chieftain of the PDP and he has worked there tirelessly over the years and  his coming to join us is to also enrich our party.’’

    While appreciating the supporters of the three former PDP supporters who also joined the APC, Oshiomhole enjoined them to come out en masse on Saturday, April 11 and vote for APC candidates for the Edo state House of Assembly in order to sustain development in the state.

  • APC seek support for Kogi Assembly candidates

    APC seek support for Kogi Assembly candidates

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) Chairman in Kogi State, Alhaji Hadddy Ametuo has called on the people of the state to vote massively for the candidates of the party in the April 11 governorship and state house of assembly election.

    Ametuo who spoke to newsmen Monday in Lokoja said the impressive conduct and support for the APC by the people of the state in the Presidential and National Assembly polls was clear indication of the peoples readiness for a total change.

    He stated that voting APC to victory on Saturday will enable the state fall into the mainstream national politics, adding that the state cannot afford to be in the opposition.

    He lamented the alleged non-payment of backlog of salaries of local government workers and teachers in the state.

  • APC wants Niger Govt. to account for N1.8bn loan

    APC wants Niger Govt. to account for N1.8bn loan

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Niger state has challenged the state government to account for the N1.8 billion facility assessed for the building of Madalla market in Suleja local government area of the state.

    Publicity Secretary of the party, Jonathan Vatsa in a statement in Minna Monday demanded an explanation from state government on why the project was yet to take off months after the loan has been assessed.

    According to the statement, “The Niger State Development Company has been the agency in charge of the project, the people of Niger state will want to know what is stopping the project even though the said fund has been assessed.”

    The party expressed concern about the lives of the market men and women at the Market who are exposed to danger every market days because the government remained insensitive to their plight.

    “We are worried that despite collecting N1.8 billion loan to build the extra modern market the government of Dr.  Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu in Niger state has refused to understand the danger of the market still being located along the highway of Abuja – Kaduna.

    “The party is indeed pained by this disturbing insensitivity of the government despite collecting such huge amount of money for the purpose of relocating the market for an extra modern design.

    “There is no gain saying that the market has severally witnessed fatal accidents ranging from tankers veering into the market and most times set the people and their wares ablaze.”

    The party then tasked the government to give the people of the state cogent reasons for this insensitivity and callous neglect of the people who daily try to keep the economy of the state going.

    Efforts to get the Commissioner for Commerce and Investment and the Managing Director of Niger State Development Company failed as none of the officers picked their calls nor returned the text message of our Correspondent.

  • Don’t repeat mistake of voting PDP in Kaduna -APC Chieftain

    Don’t repeat mistake of voting PDP in Kaduna -APC Chieftain

    Ahead of the April 11th governorship election, a chieftain of the All Progresives Congress (APC) from Southern Kaduna, Ibrahim Garaje Akut has called on the people of the area not to repeat the mistake of voting the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ‎ again.

    He therefore appealed to his kinsmen to rally round support for the APC’s candidate, Mallam Nasir El-rufai in the saturday polls.

    Mr. Akut who contested for the House of Representative for Kaura Federal constituency at the primaries on the platform of the APC and lost to a former ‎Secretary to the State Government of Kaduna State and also a former Permanent Secretary cabinet office in the presidency Charles Bonet, further appealed to the people of the zone support the APC candidate so as to form the same party in the state as it is presently at the national.

    Although he frowned at the way and manner ‎the election went during the presidential polls where the zone gave their support to President Goodluck Jonathan of the PDP despite his glaring inability to tackle challenges bedeviling the nation, such as insecurity, corruption, impunity’, he said, there is the need to retrace step and avoid another mistake in the governorship election.

    He called particularly on the elders and traditional‎ and religious leaders of the southern Kaduna extraction to use their good positions to unite the people of the area and the state and country in particular rather engaging in activities that will divide the people.

    According to Mr. Akut, the APC governorship candidate is a trusted man with proven experience which when brought to bear will help to transform the state positively, he therefore appealed for an overwhelming support for him in the forthcoming polls.

    “The Deputy Governorship candidate Barnabas Bala Bantex is our own who severally have proven himself as a man of integrity, their combination in the governance of the state will not only unite the people of the state, it will ‎further draw Federal Government attention to the state and the southern Kaduna area.

    He said, Mallam El-rufai has severally identified with the challenges of the southern Kaduna people, particularly the recurring killings in the area and has promised if elected to bring a permanent end to killings and ensure that justice prevail in the zone in all their areas of ‘oppression’.

    “We have suffered a lot of neglect in our area, our people ‎are killed at any given opportunity and so far nothing tangible seems to be done about it, we cannot continue that way, there must be a change which the APC government has promised to provide.

    “I want to call on our people to come out en-mass and vote for Mallam Nasir El-rufai of the APC as the governor of the state, by that we will have a bargaining power at the end, let us not be deceived with empty promises that may not see the reality of the day,” he stressed.

  • Buhari leads APC’s battle for Lagos, Ekiti, Oyo, others

    Buhari leads APC’s battle for Lagos, Ekiti, Oyo, others

    President-elect for Imo, Rivers, others

    President-elect Muhammadu Buhari has a packed schedule this week. He is leading the All Progressives Congress (APC) campaigns in some “battleground” states to lend his popularity to the push by APC candidates.

    He is scheduled to visit Lagos, Delta, Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Imo, Nasarawa and Benue states.

    Others on the programme are Oyo, Ekiti, Ondo and Adamawa, a source told The Nation last night.

    Ahead of his campaign trips, which will likely be in town hall format, Gen. Buhari has already called on Nigerians to vote APC candidates all the way.

    The president-elect will be in Owerri, the Imo State capital, on Tuesday. Governor Rochas Okorocha, who is seeking reelection on the platform of the APC, in a statement signed by his Media Adviser Sam Onwuemeodo, said Gen. Buhari will be given a “heroic” reception at the Heroes’ Square, where he will address residents.

    The governor, who held a thank-you rally in the state, to appreciate the people for their unalloyed support, noted that Imo people contributed significantly to the resounding victory.

    The governor urged the people to turn out  en masse to receive Gen. Buhari irrespective of their political affiliations, adding that “in the new emerging order, everybody will be carried along and people will not be discriminated against on grounds of their political leaning”.

    The Coalition for a Better Nigeria, in a statement at the weekend, said Gen. Buhari will visit the commercial capital on Wednesday and hold “a town hall meeting titled Change 2015”.

    It will be the 5th national discourse of the Coalition to review Nigeria’s political history and progressives as well as Nigeria’s march to freedom with the 2015 polls.

    Leaders of the party, including National Chairman Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Chief Bisi Akande and Senator Biyi Durojaiye, will be joined by Governors  Babatunde Fashola (Lagos) and Rauf Aregbesola (Osun) for the meeting at the Airport Hotel in Ikeja, the state capital.

    “We expect some outings, possibly town hall meetings in some critically challening states but nothing has been finalised by way of programming,” spokesman of the APC Presidential Campaign Council Mallam Garba Shehu said yesterday.

    Director of Organisation of  the APC Campaign Council Boss Mustapha said the full campaign programme will be out today.

    Mustapha, who said he was in his home state of Adamawa campaigning for governorship candidate Jubrilla Bindow, said: “You know Gen. Buhari is no longer a candidate but president-elect.

    “His programes are no longer completely in our hands. You know many countries are making contacts with him, among other engagements. By Monday, we will be able to give you a final programme.”

    Elections into the governorship seats will be held in 29 states. Ondo, Edo, Ekiti, Kogi, Osun and Bayelsa states are excluded.

  • APC ‘ll learn from PDP’s mistakes, says Kwankwaso

    APC ‘ll learn from PDP’s mistakes, says Kwankwaso

    •Governor flays Lamido, Aliyu for returning to PDP

    Kano State Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso yesterday said the All Progressives Congress (APC) will not commit the mistake of abandoning its members as allegedly done by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    Kwankwaso, who spoke to reporters in his office, said the APC would avoid mistakes that led to the fall of the PDP in the presidential elections

    The APC, he said, must learn not to be like the PDP, which, he added, disrespected those members that defected to the APC through constant insults.

    He said the party should recognise that “everybody is somebody in the quest to succeed”.

    The governor added: “We need to have a solid government, come together, work as a family and learn from the mistakes of the PDP”.

    Kwankwaso attributed the mistakes of President Goodluck Jonathan to lack of exposure to identify “who is who in the party and the country” and preferring to listen to roadside gossips against those who struggled for the success of the party.

    He, however, said it was a show of statesmanship for President Jonathan to concede defeat and went ahead to congratulate the President-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari.

    Kwankwaso urged security agencies to shun partisan politics, praising them for their role in the last election.

    The governor maintained that the APC as a government would not oppose vibrant opposition, but would want objective criticisms devoid of blackmail, propaganda and hate campaign.

    But, he said Governors Sule Lamido (Jigawa) and Babagida Aliyu of (Niger) got it wrong for deciding to return to PDP.

    Kwankwaso, who is the senator-elect for Kano Central, explained that he was surprised for their return to “PDP despite the fact that the party was not in good shape”.

    He noted that both Lamido and Aliyu were the brain behind the Group of Seven PDP Governors’ (G-7) struggle by virtue of their positions as elders and most experienced politically.

    Kwankwaso alleged that Lamido was instrumental to the design and the draft of what would be required by the G-7 to float a brand new party, which was vehemently rejected.

    The governor added that Lamido’s document provided options of establishing a new party or joining an established party like the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    According to him, there was no option of G-7 members going back to PDP in Lamido’s document.

    “G-5 were embarrassed by what Lamido and Aliyu did in returning to PDP and what they are now doing in the party could hardly be entrusted with anything,” he said.

    Kwankwaso said the big blow Aliyu received from Nigerlites would have taught him a good lesson.

    He predicted that Lamido and Aliyu would in future defect to APC to enable all of them work as one family for the betterment of the nation.

  • APC: Osun must vote out PDP

    APC: Osun must vote out PDP

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State yesterday warned that the state will halt its development, if any candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is elected into the House of Assembly.

    In a statement by its spokesperson, Kunle Oyatomi, the APC said: “Any PDP candidate in the House of Assembly will have only one mission – to frustrate and stall whatever project Governor Rauf Aregbesola plans to implement.

    “Since 2011, the PDP had been boasting that it would reverse all the gains the people have made within the last four years under APC governance, if it won the governorship election. But PDP lost.

    “Every vote for the PDP will not only be wasted, it will be seen as a rejection of the economic and special progress, and the development which the APC has effected in the last four years.

    “Osun cannot afford to lose the Aregbesola-inspired development, which has put the state on the world map,” the party said.

  • ‘APC will win in Lagos’

    ‘APC will win in Lagos’

    A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State, Lateef Raji, is sure that the party will win Saturday’s governorship and House of Assembly elections.

    Raji, who is the Special Adviser to the Governor on Information and Strategy, attributed the party’s “slim” victory during the presidential election to low turnout of voters, violence and the police who turned back APC party agents at the polling booths.

    “All these factors we have taken note of. The leadership of the APC in Lagos has been brainstorming on the outcome of the presidential election in the state to ensure massive turn-out of our supporters on Saturday for the governorship and House of Assembly elections.

    “We underestimated the desperation of the PDP and overconfidence was our undoing. They have shown their hands, we will amputate them. We cannot allow them to destroy the state we have been building since.

    “Now that APC has won the seat of power at the centre, we will never allow an opposition party to take over Lagos State. This is the finest hour for us in Lagos. A Federal Government under Muhammadu Buhari will bring a lot of fortune to Lagos State.”