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Tag: APC

  • Ndigbo in Niger enlist 15,000 for APC

    The Chairman of Niger State Igbo in Diaspora Association, Chief Onyeka Ozuluoha, has said the association has enlisted 15,000 members in 18 of the 25 local governments in support of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    Ozoluoha, who addressed reporters yesterday in Minna, said contrary to rumours, the Igbo in Niger State endorsed the APC standard-bearer, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari and the governorship candidate,  Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello.

    He said: “As I’m talking to you now, we have convinced over 15,000 Igbo resident in the state to support the APC and vote for its candidates. We have advised those who left the state for fear of election violence to return and vote for the APC.”

    Ozoluoha described as untrue, the insinuation that all Igbo supported  President Goodluck Jonathan.

    He said the citizens need a change and Gen. Buhari represented that change for a better Nigeria.

    According to him, “our association is effective in Niger State. Our members are committed, working hard for the success of APC. We are already in 18 of the 25 local governments.”

    The Igbo leader cautioned against mass exodus of non-indigenes, especially the Igbo, from the state before the election.

    Ozoluoha said: “If you are running, you must know what is pursuing you. I am sure the fears of post-election violence are gone and we are staying to vote for Buhari and other APC candidates.”

    He urged the Igbo to join the movement for a change, for development and security of life and property, symbolised by the APC.

  • Attacks on campaign rallies: APC Senatorial candidate petitions IGP

    Attacks on campaign rallies: APC Senatorial candidate petitions IGP

    The Senatorial candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti Central Senatorial zone, Gbenga Olofin, has petitioned the Inspector General of Police, Abba Sulaiman, over weekend attack on his campaign convoy by suspected thugs allegedly working for Governor Ayodele Fayose.

    APC Publicity Secretary, Taiwo Olatubosun, said in a statement that in Olofin’s petition copied to the Commissioner of Police, Taiwo Lakanu, National Human Rights Commission and State Director of DSS, he alleged that the attack was carried out by suspected thugs working for the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) who built road blocks to waylay his campaign convoy at Afao-Ekiti, Fayose’s home town, after a rally in Igbemo-Ekiti. They attacked his party members and supporters.

    The APC candidate explained that the policemen on routine security patrol cleared the roadblocks mounted by PDP thugs, but in anger, the governor allegedly ordered the arrest of his personal security aides. He added that they were being detained at the police headquarters for onward transfer to Abuja.

    Those identified as allegedly participating in the attack included one Bashir Musa Ajagbemokeferi, Tosin alias Tosco, Folorunso, Niran, Ropo Akosile, and Dada Fagbolagun, among others.

    He noted that strings of violence allegedly orchestrated by members and thugs of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) were also reported in the state at the weekend, as thugs allegedly loyal to Fayose Sunday morning shot sporadically to the air where APC members had gathered at Ajepe area of Omisanjana in the state capital, destroying their vehicles while the musical instruments of a popular musician, Sese Alhaji, who was entertaining APC members there, were destroyed.

    He said that in the morning attack, APC’s candidate for the House of Assembly for Ado Ekiti Constituency Two, Sola Fatoba, had his vehicle damaged by the thugs. He escaped death by th‎e whiskers.

    His campaign vehicles were badly damaged and bullet pellets littered the scene after the dust settled.

    Elsewhere in Aramoko-Ekiti, APC members were attacked, but curiously, it was those who were attacked that were later arrested by the police.

    Attack on Olofin at the weekend followed recent attack by PDP thugs in Igede-Ekiti, his country home, where thugs suddenly emerged to disrupt his rally.

    “Earlier on January 23, 2015 Fayose’s thugs between 2 – 2.30pm disrupted APC ward meetings in Iyin and Igede-Ekiti while they moved from house to house to inflict machete cuts on APC members. The thugs, who were in Mr. Fayose’s convoy, wore masks and shot sporadically in the two towns while destroying billboards and posters.

    “In that incident, I narrowly escaped death in Igede-Ekiti when Fayose personally led thugs that invaded my home. This was reported in newspapers on January 25, 2015,” Olofin explained in the petition.‎

    He added that during this incident, thugs, after unleashing mayhem on his supporters, allegedly went after petty traders and shop owners, looting their wares in an orgy of violence that temporarily shut down the capital of Irepodu/Ifelodun Local Government of the state.

    Olofin also alleged that in a desperate bid to cause crisis in Ekiti State to enable him clamp down on the leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Fayose fixed the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) rallies for Monday through Wednesday, to coincide with APC ‘Walk For Change’ rally by APC vice presidential candidate, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, which had earlier been approved to take place by the police.

    This, he explained, was deliberately done to stoke violence and blame APC for it to enable the governor clamp down on the opposition leaders.

    He called on the Inspector General of Police and Commissioner of Police to call the governor to order to allow democracy to flourish.‎

    “I also call on the international community, especially election observers, to beam their searchlight on Fayose and call him to order to avoid violent clash that could mar Saturday elections,” Olofin concluded.

     

     

  • Ondo electorate’ll punish Jonathan with votes – APC

    Ondo electorate’ll punish Jonathan with votes – APC

    The Ondo State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress, (APC) has said that the people of the state would expresss their anger on President Goodluck Jonathan in the Saturday presidential election by voting against his re-election.

    The party said Governor Olusegun Mimiko’s claim that the people of the state preferred Jonathan to its candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, was a self-deceit.

    It challenged Mimiko to point to a single federal project or intervention executed by the Jonathan government in Ondo state to show the president’s commitment to the people of the state.

    A statement by Vice Chairman, APC Publicity Committee, Kunle Adebayo said instead of good life, the citizenry had suffered failed promises, poverty and gloom like other Nigerians under the PDP government.

    Adebayo noted that the failure of the PDP government to touch their lives accounted for the reason people had turned to the APC and Buhari to seek redemption.

    He said; “Mimiko, in trying to mobilise traditional rulers, teachers, workers and youths, boasted to them that Jonathan’s new tenure will bear an indelible imprint on the lives of the Yoruba people and that his monumental achievements in his first four years are confounding and comforting to the people of Ondo state.

    “The Point must be made again that Mimiko’s claims are not only an insult to the memory and intelligence of the people of the state, they are the antics of drowning men which all political opportunists are.

    “How can Mimiko hope anybody in Ondo state, particularly the insulted workers, frustrated youths, betrayed women and dehumanized traditional rulers, was listening to his tales by the moonlight?

    “In case he does not know, the people of Ondo state identify Jonathan as the President who treated them like a piece of trash in spite of the massive votes given to him in 2011 when he came whimpering as the then all begging, shoeless riverine boy.

    “From inheriting a cash surplus of over N58.4b and zero debt profile, it is no news that he has plunged Ondo state to an unprecedented level of indebtedness, retrogression, poverty and stagnation. As is customary with a bat pretending to be a bird, Mimiko’s empty boasts and politics of opportunism have by default exposed the futility of the PDP’s crave for permanent enslavement of Nigerians.

    “Just as Ondo PDP under him has become a symbol of crisis, confusion, betrayal and corruption, every parent who means well for the future of her offsprings has also decided to vote General Muhammadu Buhari who represent hope and rebirth.”

  • ‘Abia ‘ll be better under APC’

    ‘Abia ‘ll be better under APC’

    In this piece, Sam Oguegbu examines the struggle for power in Abia State and contends that the All Progressives Congress (APC) will restore the glory of the state.

    For nearly 16 years now, Abia State has been brutalized, battered and suffered sustained, deliberate and wicked neglect from her past leaders. This is a well known fact to Abians, indigenes and residents. Like the Jerusalem of old, Abia State has been ravaged and plundered by “enemies of the state”, who came under the guise of either successful and well known business men or technocrats.

    They left the state worst than they met it. This is inhuman and therefore, they (the past leaders of Abia State) do not deserve any accolade from Abians. The colossal damage inflicted on the state range from economic downturn (whereby it is known that Abia State has a gargantuan debt overhead from financial institutions – both private and public), infrastructural decay such as bad roads, poor health services, no pipe borne water, poor sanitation in the cities, falling educational standard, lack of agricultural programmes, endemic corruption to lack of transparency in government, etc.

    The list is endless. These past leaders were either clueless/rudderless or lack basic management skills. Research has however shown that most people occupying exalted position at the local, state orfederal levels are often times being misled by sycophants and bootlickers, who rather that tell their principals the truth about issues, resort to telling them lies or at best, half truths.

    Thankfully, just as Nehemiah offered to rebuild the walls and city of Jerusalem as recorded in the Holy Bible, one man from Abia State (of Ngwa extraction) has come to the rescue. Dr Nyerere Anyim, a highly cerebral fellow, chartered accountant, successful businessman and great philantropist has offered to carry the burden of Abians and vowed that ‘ABIA STATE MUST CHANGE FOR BETTER’. With the abundant resources (human and material) available in God’s own state – it only takes a man with sound managerial skills and acumen to put back the state to its rightful place of glory. I believe it is pertinent at this point to take a look at the background and antecedants of this man, Nyerere Anyim, for the public (especially Abians) to know his suitability and preparedness for the job.

    Born on April 25, 1960 in Jos to the family of Agburuike Isiugwu Obingwa, Abia State. Nyerere had his early education in Jos with excellent academic records, graduating in Accounting from the University of Jos. As a fellow of ICAN (Istitute of Chatered Accountants of Nigeria) and Certified public accountant, he is adequately equipped to fight corruption by plugging wastages in government and running a transparent government. During my interaction with him recently, Nyerere promised that as part of his pledge to run a transparent government, he will publish the monthly revenue received from federal allocation to states, FAT, and Abia’s IGR (Internally Generated Revenue) as well as expenditure, if voted as the governor of Abia State, come April 2015. A devout Christian, philantropist and prolific water, he has numerous Social Responsibility (SR) programmes to his credit, in a bid to serve humanity.

    Nyerere has worked in both private and public sectors of life for over two decades and until recently, sat atop a conglomerate of Business Empire, the Rochas group, as the Group managing Director (GMD).

    Some of his SR programmes include:

    Free Education and Scholarship programmes to thousands of students from Abia State.

    Youth and Women Empowerment Programmes.

    Community and Rural infrastructure Development projects tender this program – He has graded and rehabilitated road projects such as Itungwa – Osaa Ukwu Road, Umuopara-Ntigha/Unuaro Road, Abayi, Amaorji, Onicha Ngwa Christian Hospital Road. He has sunk boreholes in his water for life project at Agburuike-Isiugwu, Obegu-Ugirunagbo LGA, Aba Park, etc. Nyerere has also constructed village markets at Ahia Nkwo and other places.

    Home for the homeless, where he has built homes for people free of charge.

    Sports development scheme.

    Agricultural Support Initiative – supporting rural farmers with farm implements, improved seedlings, etc.

    With a humongous vision for the developemnt of Abia State, Nyerere has assured Abians that if voted in as governor of Abia State under APC (The All Progressives Congress) come April 11, 2015. he will urgently take steps to change the state for better by:

    Putting God first in all his programmes.

    Implementing Free Qualitative Education at all levels to Abians.

    Running a transparent government, fighting security and corruption.

    Developing tourist centres at – Arochukwu along Juju River, Creating Aba Water park along the Bank of Aba River, Developing the Azumiri Blue River, Abia Golf course development to International standard, Develp the colonial structures/site as war museum etc. this will no doubt boost te economu of Abians.

    Industrializing Abia State through reactivation of Golden Guinea Umuahia, Modern Ceramics Umuahia, Aba textile mills, Aba Glass Industry, Metallurgical centre etc.

    Providing health Care Development System.

    Agricultural Development

    Infrastructural development and Rural Transformation

    Wealth and Job creation.

    Housing Development

    Social welfare and security

    Entrepreneurial and Youth Development programmes.

    As laudable as these programmes are, it will only take a man who has such vision to implement it. That is why Abians should arise and vote enmass for Nyerere Chinenye Anyim and APC at the elections.

  • APC raises fresh alarm over planned clampdown on Tinubu, other leaders

    APC raises fresh alarm over planned clampdown on Tinubu, other leaders

    •Alleges plot by govt to unleash fake Shekau

     The All Progressives Congress (APC) alleged yesterday that the Peoples Democratic Party  (PDP) was bent on decimating the opposition in the build up to the coming elections due to start next Saturday with the  Presidential/National Assembly elections.

    The APC said the ruling party was proceeding with its  planned arrest of   its  National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu on trumped-up charges anytime from now.

    The plot, according to the APC National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, is for the PDP to gain an undue advantage ahead of the elections.

    The APC also alleged plot by the federal government and the PDP to unleash a fake leader of Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekau, on the opposition party.

    Alhaji Mohammed told reporters at a press conference in Lagos that also to be arrested by the authorities is   anyone who is suspected of being a financier of the APC “all in efforts to decapitate the main opposition party which is undoubtedly cruising to victory in the forthcoming elections.”

    Also on the PDP cards, APC said, “is a plan to freeze the accounts of companies, individuals and organisations believed to be financing the party, with the ultimate objective of crippling the party so it won’t be able to sustain its activities, like paying its agents on Election Day and other logistics.”

    Alhaji Mohammed said: “I am sure the question playing on your lips are: Why would anyone want to arrest APC leaders at this time? What have they done to warrant their arrest? Will there still be a level playing field for the elections if the main opposition party is decimated just days to the polls?

    “Well, we can tell you that this planned arrest is orchestrated by the same people who have sponsored a series of protests to the EFCC, on the basis of the same documentary against Asiwaju which they also masterminded. It may sound like an intrigue, but that is exactly what it is.”

    He recalled that the PDP had dismissed as a rumour the first alarm raised by the APC on March 9th  about a clampdown on APC leaders only for Governor Sule Lamido of Jigawa State to say a day later that  “all that needs to be done to break the APC is to ‘kidnap’ two of its leaders, apparently referring to Asiwaju and our presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari.”

    He added: “Definitely, the current move to arrest Asiwaju and anyone they suspect to be a financier of our party fits into the alarm we raised and the open threat by Gov. Lamido. How predictable can a government be?

    “It is clear that the momentum has swung to the side of our party, with just a little over a week before the Presidential and National Assembly elections. It is clear that Nigerians have rejected the PDP and have embraced our party, the APC, as the agent of the change that they (Nigerians) so much desire.

    “That explains the desperation being exhibited by the PDP-led Jonathan Administration to arrest Asiwaju, whom they see as the arrowhead of the opposition, believing that this will cripple our party and stop the momentum we have gained.

    “Of course it is no longer news that the six-week postponement of the elections, which the Jonathan Administration orchestrated with the objective of slowing down our party’s momentum and giving the Jonathan Administration time to regain lost ground, has failed to achieve that objective, hence the resort to more dirty tactics of framing up our leaders just to put them away.”

    The APC spokesman similarly denied that the party is sponsoring a pirate radio.

    His party, he declared, has “nothing to do with that radio station.”

    He said the radio could be “the handiwork of the same people who are accusing us of establishing it. Their main reason for setting up the station is simple: To use it as another excuse to clamp down on our leaders.

    “They are the ones who set up the station. They are the ones who announced its establishment to the whole country and now they are the ones who are trying to leverage it to arrest our leaders.”

    He accused the PDP-led Jonathan Administration of serially abusing federal institutions, including the police, the military and the regulatory agencies, to “harass and intimidate the opposition,” pointing out that  this  is “a  reflection of the desperation of the Jonathan government to make sure that Nigeria is plunged into chaos by sabotaging the elections.”

    He asked the international community to call President Goodluck Jonathan and the PDP to order and prevent them from leading Nigeria “ on the road to Kigali and Laurent Gbagbo’s post-election Ivory Coast in the days ahead.”

    “Election is not war, but a celebration of democracy. Nigeria must not be allowed to be plunged into crisis for whatever reason. This is because the consequences will be dire, not just for our country and her citizens but for the entire West African region and indeed all of Africa,” the party said.

    Nigeria’s estimated population of 170 million is over 56 per cent of the ECOWAS’ population of 300 million. Therefore, a destabilized Nigeria is a destabilized West Africa.

    And in a statement in Abuja, the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Organisation said the federal government and the PDP were in the process of unleashing a fake leader of Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekau on the opposition party.

    The APCPCO, however, urged Nigerians not to be deceived by “the dubious, wicked and desperate plans of the drowning PDP and its candidate, President Goodluck Jonathan to win the Presidential election.”

    Mallam Garba Shehu, Director of Media and Publicity of the APC Presidential Campaign, said in the statement that  any purported “capture” of Abubakar Shekau, would            conflict with three previous claims by the federal government and its operatives that the insurgent leader had been killed.

    He said: “President Jonathan and the PDP have concluded plans to release the fake Shekau as a final campaign gimmick to gain cheap votes and inadvertently subvert the will of Nigerians in the 28th of March 2015 Presidential election.

    “The drowning PDP and its presidential candidate who are looking for straws to hold unto will then claim to have arrested the leader of Boko Haram, who would be paraded before the media and induced to mention the names of some notable members of the opposition APC including our presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari as the sponsors of their murderous insurgency.”

    Shehu said it is shocking that the President and his party could resort to cheap and wicked blackmail against the opposition just to remain in office.

    He, however, enthused that “no evil plan fashioned by the PDP and its ruinous ruling government against the electoral wishes of the Nigerian people will prosper, because the people of Nigeria have resolved on their own accord to vote for change in 2015.”

    “This Party Deceiving People has wasted 16 precious years of the nation’s democratic life and therefore Nigerian people will not hesitate to give them a red card in next weekend’s election. So, manufacturing a Shekau whom they claimed to have killed three times previously will not help them in any way.”

  • Jonathan’s Abuja land grab violates FCT dream, says El-Rufai

    Jonathan’s Abuja land grab violates FCT dream, says El-Rufai

    Former Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Minister and All Progressives Congress (APC) gubernatorial candidate for Kaduna State, Malam Nasril El-Rufai, has taken a swipe at President Goodluck Jonathan on the Abuja land grab.

    El-Rufai insists that the allocation of 95.88 hectares of land to President Jonathan in the Aviation Village amounts to “another violation of the Abuja dream.”

    The vast expanse of land was approved by the current FCT Minister, Alhaji Bala Mohammed, on March 8, 2012 to President Jonathan’s company registered as Ebele Integrated Farms Limited.

    But there have been widespread condemnations regarding the propriety and otherwise of a sitting president using the instrumentality of his office to effect the allocation of vast expanse of land to himself through the FCT Minister at the Aviation Village, Abuja, for farming purposes.

    Responding to some questions from The Nation on the matter, the former FCT Minister described the issue of the Aviation Village as self-explanatory.

    El-Rufai through an e-mail from his media aide, Samuel Aruwan, said there were no such provisions for the land located at the Cadastral Zone to be converted to farm land in the original plan and design of the FCT.

    He said: “Aviation Village is self-explanatory….it is part of Phase 5 of the FCT, meant to accommodate aviation company needs – hangars, fueling and maintenance facilities, housing and hotels.

    “There were no provisions for agricultural land in the city’s blueprint. Farmlands are located outside the City in places like Gaube, Kuje and Kwali. I am surprised that agricultural land is being allocated in the footprint of the FCT. This may be another violation of the Abuja Dream…..God Save us.”

  • APC threatens to sue Fani-Kayode

    The All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Organisation (APCCO) has threatened to sue presidential spokesperson, Femi Fani-Kayode, for claiming that General Muhammadu Buhari’s campaign is funded by terrorist groups like Boko Haram, Al-Qaeda and ISIS.

    In a statement yesterday in Abuja, the Director of Media and Publicity of the APCPCO, Malam Garba Shehu, gave Fani-Kayode a week to retract the alleged defamatory statement or face the law.

    APCCO accused the Director of Media of the PDP’s presidential campaign of perpetuating the religious politics that President Goodluck Jonathan is well known for.

    It said: “Never before in Nigeria’s history has the issue of religion been applied to such sinister purposes as we have seen during the years of President Jonathan’s government.

    “When all fails, they whip out the religious card.”

    It added that Buhari has transcended all religious smears, and, together with his running mate, Yemi Osinbajo, has been able to show that growth and development is not about religion but genuine desire to change the lot of the citizens and move the entire nation forward.

    The statement went on: “A majority of the world’s Muslims, including Buhari, do not approve of the Al-Qaeda and being Muslim does not translate into being pro-ISIS.

    “Again and again, Buhari has shown commitment to ridding our country of these vermins who claim to be killing in the name of Allah, but who, in actual fact, are messengers of Satan.”

    The APCCO further warned that it would not extend the seven-day deadline given to Fani-Kayode to retract his false allegations.

  • Women mobilise for Buhari

    A vote for the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, next Saturday will guarantee a better future with stronger economy and security.

    This was the consensus last week during a town hall meeting by Pro-climate Federation for Buhari/Osinbajo Presidency 2015 in Surulere, Lagos.

    The founder of Women’s Pro-Climate Federation, Mrs. Ekaette Sanusi, said Buhari will restore the nation’s stolen glory and resources.

    She urged women to consider the election as a choice “that will determine how well or otherwise our children live in the future.”

    Sanusi, who lamented the parlous state of affairs in the nation, called on Nigerians, especially women to support the APC’s presidential candidate, assuring that he would make life better for them.

    According to her: “If it is about integrity, probity, transparency, job security and quality education, then Buhari is our man. He is the one that will take us to the Promised Land.

    “He will provide healthcare and security that will make us all proud and able to fend for bread.”

    She vowed to mobilise women and embark on door-to-door campaign to ensure the victory of Buhari at the poll.

    Speakers after speakers urged the women not to trade off their votes but ensure they acquire a better bargain for their offspring at the poll.

  • LVM declares support for APC candidates

    THE Lagosians Voice Movement (LVM) has declared their support for all candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    This decision was made known in Lagos by its National Chairman, Ambassador Ade Babalola, in a communique made available to The Nation.

    According to him, having closely watched the activities of the various political parties, the group believed the APC has all it takes to move the country forward.

    The statement added, “The present government promised a lot of things during the 2011 elections, including adequate power supply, job opportunities, good shipping lines, as well as peace in the country. But four years after, things are just the way they were.

  • Buhari, APC chart course for entertainment industry

    Buhari, APC chart course for entertainment industry

    Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), General Muhammadu Buhari, has assured practitioners of the creative industry of a new dawn, saying they will reap from their sweat once he becomes president.

    Fielding questions from an interactive session with women in Lagos, Buhari was asked by popular Nollywood actress, Foluke Daramola, how his government, if and when elected, would approach the issue of providing the appropriate structure for the entertainment industry to thrive, considering the activities of pirates.

    Buhari, however, deferred to Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola, the honour of addressing the question as, according to him, Lagos is the home base of the nation’s entertainment industry, purported hub of piracy, while Fashola himself is a SAN.

    Responding, Fashola said: “My honest view about the profession of the intellectual and creative rights of artistes is that government needs to enforce laws that affect us, the copyrights act and the copyrights commission. I think that if we all recall, this industry came really out of nothing. There was no government then. It was creativity. But they were losing what they were producing to pirates, people who were taking benefits of their God-given talents and reproducing them without rewards. So, the gap that government needs to fill really is law enforcement. Fight the pirates and protect the creative industry.”

    Adding his voice to the discussion, the former governor of Lagos State and National Leader of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu said it is important to have people with creativity in the economy but warned that “not every talent would be rewarded.”

    He, however, advised that the artistes should form co-operatives which would be stronger in ensuring collective agitations. In addition, Tinubu said a law to promote capital formation will help the creative industry grow.

    Tinubu also advocated for the entertainment industry, “a creative financing mechanism that will defer your profit, improve on it and give you tax holidays to the extent that you will be able to re-invest and re-invest those until you become profitable and contribute to the society’s development.”

    A similar question was asked President Goodluck Jonathan on Sunday by comedian Ali Baba when he hosted an interactive session with a section of practitioners in the entertainment industry, also in Lagos.