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  • Lagos APC: move is an ambush against democracy

    Lagos APC: move is an ambush against democracy

    The Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has described the postponement of general elections as an affront on Nigerians and a threat to democracy.

    In statement by its spokesman Joe Igbokwe, the party said it was laughable that a four-yearly general election was being postponed eight days to its due date because the military has chosen the date to clampdown on insurgents.

    “It is a cheap insult; an annoying blackmail on the sensibilities of Nigerians by a party and government that is desperate to remain in power when it is obvious that Nigerians don’t want it any longer,” the party said.

    According to the APC spokesman, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Dr. Goodluck Jonathan government had shown that it was desperate to manipulate every institution to remain in power.

    He said: “Nigerians must be more resolute in ensuring the party (PDP) is banished from our politics, if only to preserve our hallowed institutions from such abuse as the PDP is presently visiting on them.

    “We encourage Nigerians to remain strong and steadfast in ensuring that the country is saved from the illegalities and outright impunity the PDP has made part of the country’s governance.

    “We remember that what is turning out as a dangerous, cold blooded attack on democracy started as a hatchet call by President Jonathan’s National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd), in far away London for the postponement of an election fixed more than a year ago and which time-table had been religiously followed by all parties.

    “We remember that Dasuki hinged his call on the position that most Nigerians had not gotten their permanent voters card. We recall that the country rose in one demeaning crescendo to condemn the demand and we remember that both the PDP and the Jonathan government, tongue-in-cheek, denied being behind the plot, as most Nigerians alleged.

    “We recall that INEC not only showed its preparedness to conduct the election, but went extra miles to demonstrate that contrary to Dasuki’s allegation on PVCs, it had not only distributed the voter cards, but made provisions for all registered Nigerian voters to collect their voter cards before election day.

    “We recall that INEC had been studiously going about its duties while the PDP, the Jonathan government and the headship of the country’s security services had been in an intricate plot to scuttle an election, where every indications point to a crushing defeat of the Jonathan/PDP government.

    “We note that the decision of the hastily convoked National Security Council that the election must go on, having been satisfied with preparedness on INEC, was not enough to deter the desperate plot by these joint forces to sabotage democracy and force INEC to postpone an election that was to hold barely in a week.”

    Igbokwe said the postponement was the beginning of a grand design to scuttle Nigeria’s hard-earned democracy.

    The statement added: “Lagos APC agrees with a majority of Nigerians that the postponement of the election was an illegal ambush on democracy and follows an extensive plot by Jonathan and PDP to cling to power by all means when they have lost favour with Nigerians.

    “We warn that this is just the beginning of a thick anti-democratic plot to ensure that democracy is shackled and that Jonathan and PDP continue their corrupt wreckage of the country by every foul means.

    “We warn that these evil plots are being financed with the trillions of naira and billions of dollars that have been stolen from the treasury and involves an extensive recruitment of menservants and hirelings masquerading as ethnic, religious, regional and tribal warriors, who are being serviced to further lay ambush on democracy and tarnish the electoral process as conditions necessary for the continuation of the Jonathan/PDP government.

    “We alert Nigerians on these looming enemies of democracy who are richly patronised by the present regime to procure more years for this government and ensure the democratic process is scuttled.”

  • APC youths plan one-million-man march

    The Cross River State All Progressives Congress’ (APC) Youth Leader, Mr. Effiom Otu, has announced plans by the party’s youth wing to organise a one-million-man march in Calabar in solidarity with their presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, and other candidates ahead of the resheduled elections.

    Otu condemned postponement of the general elections, saying the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was only expressing fear of losing the polls.

    He said: “Cross Riverians should vote for the APC to justify their agitation for change and restoration of lost glory occasioned by long period of neglect and injustice meted on them by the PDP government.

    “The presidency has been caught in another web of cajoling by feigning insecurity as reason for the postponement, because it could not convincingly pull through the issue of PVCs collection as initial reason for the shift.

    “They forget that local government polls were successfully conducted in Yobe State last year even in the face of heightened insecurity, yet the same Presidency is saying the entire Nigerian Army need to be available for the elections to hold successfully.

    “Again, if INEC has achieved a substantial rate of readiness, what stops the presidency from going ahead with the polls and then fight the insurgency later on if all our soldiers must be put out there for the war at the same time?

    “The postponement, like our national secretariat has pointed out, is highly provocative because it not only dislodges the parties and candidates of their plans, but was also a way of delaying the berthing of goodwill to the masses, who had long been yearning for change that was already at their threshold.’’

  • Kogi PDP chieftain, others join APC

    Kogi PDP chieftain, others join APC

    Scores of ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members in Kogi State at the weekend defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    The defection took place at Ayangba in Dekina Local Government Area during APC’s Kogi Eastern zonal rally.

    Governor Idris Wada is from Odu-Ogboyaga, a distance of less than 30 kilometres from Ayangba.

    Among the defectors were two former PDP governorship aspirants, Air Vice Marshal Salihu Atawodi and Senator Nicholas Ugbane.

    They joined the progressives with their supporters. Other prominent PDP members who defected to the APC included former Accountant-General of the state, Elder Ubolo Okpanachi; former State PDP Chairman Emmanuel Dangana Ocheja; former Kogi State Teaching Service Commission Chairman Mallam Sani Ogu and former House of Representatives member Samson Abdul Ihiabe (aka Positive).

    The venue was filled to capacity.

    The crowd went into jubilation when former Governor Abubakar Audu drove into the venue in a long motorcade.

    Audu told the people that the defection of the “political gladiators into the APC” indicated that the reign of the PDP had ended.

    The former governor described the defection as a further boost for APC’s success in the March and April general elections.

    On behalf of the defectors, Atawodi said the decision to join the progressives followed wide consultations with major stakeholders.

    He described the PDP as a party of mediocre individuals who were not interested in the nation’s progress but their personal gains.

    Ugbane said the PDP’s ship was sinking, adding that he would not to be among its victims.

    He said: “Kogi State under the PDP government is the least developed state in Nigeria.”

  • APC, PDP in make or mar contest in Akwa Ibom

    APC, PDP in make or mar contest in Akwa Ibom

    The general elections in Akwa Ibom State will be a stiff competition between the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC), which is waxing stronger by the day. Deputy Political Editor RAYMOND MORDI examines the contest for relevance between the two parties. 

    There is a crack within the ranks of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Akwa Ibom State that has seriously whittled down the influence of the party. The party has governed the state since the return to civilian rule in 1999 and was hitherto considered to be entrenched in the state. But, seeds of distrust had been sowed in the party over time because of the leadership style of Governor Godswill Akpabio, who has governed the state like his personal estate. Many of the founding fathers of the party had borne the whole thing with equanimity, believing that everything would be over soon with the expiration of Akpabio’s second term in May.

    But, things began to fall apart as the December 8, 2014 governorship primary approached, when stakeholders realized that Akpabio was not ready to allow the contest to take place under a free and fair atmosphere. He turned deaf ear to entreaties by senior citizens from the state such as former Governor Victor Attah and Donald Etiebet, asking him to make the race open to all. Stakeholders in the state regard the candidature of Udom Emmanuel, the PDP governorship flag bearer, as a third term agenda on the part of the governor. As a result, things have moved from bad to worse since his emergence after the primary.

    Twenty-two of the 23 governorship aspirants under the auspices of the ‘Forum of Akwa Ibom State PDP Gubernatorial Aspirants’ otherwise known as the G-22, alleged gross irregularities in the conduct of the primary. The aspirants registered their grievances in a petition signed by all of them and appealed for fair play and justice from the national leadership of the party. The major grievance is that no primary took place, as everything was skewed towards returning the governor’s anointed candidate, Mr. Udom Emmanuel, as the party’s flag bearer.

    For instance, the aspirants said there was no accreditation of any delegate at the venue of the state congress. They insist that accreditation was done at the Government House, Uyo and that unqualified persons were smuggled into the venue with accreditation cards which was contrary to paragraph 19 (e) (f) and (g) of electoral guidelines, which stipulates that names of accredited delegates shall be announced to the hearing of all persons present. Though members of the G-22 have doggedly refused to leave the PDP, they are believed to be working underground to thwart Akpabio’s ‘third term agenda’.

    What really went wrong in Akwa Ibom? Observers say the problem could be traced President Goodluck Jonathan’s bid for a second term. PDP governors are believed to have entered into an arrangement to return Jonathan for a second term in exchange for a free hand to choose their successors. This explains why the party is having internal crisis in most of the states it controls. “Our people are fed-up with the insults, arrogance and provocative insensitivity of President Jonathan and the PDP to the wishes of the people and they will show to the world that there is no gain or pride in slavery and imposition,” a source who wants to remain anonymous said.

    Observers say in spite of the support President Jonathan enjoys from the state that there is no federal presence in terms of empowerment and projects and that Akwa Ibomites are totally disenchanted with the conspiratorial silence on and the obvious acquiescence of Mr. Jonathan with Akpabio’s dictatorial tendencies, especially the imposition of the party’s governorship flag bearer.

    Akpabio has been accused of treating the people of Akwa Ibom with contempt and disrespect. In spite of the amount of money that accrues to the state on a monthly basis, the Akpabio’s administration has been squandering it without planning for the future of the state. On average, Akwa Ibom’s share of federally allocated revenue is five times that of the average state and the state is acknowledged as the richest state in Nigeria. Today, there is a veneer of tranquility when one drives through the streets of Uyo, the state capital. But, beneath the glitter and tranquility on the surface lies a deep rancour. Critics say there is no long term planning and that the government is squandering the states resources on white elephant projects.

    Former Deputy Speaker of the state House of Assembly Uwem Udoma said healthcare is in shambles, agriculture remains at subsistence level and that government is paying lip service to education, but the environment is not conducive for learning and government has not provided facilities in the schools, especially in the hinterland. School pupils in the rural areas do not have access to laboratory equipment and a good number of them study in dilapidated structures. Udoma, who is now a chieftain of the APC said there is no functional hospital in the state, except the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital, which is owned by the Federal Government.

    Akpabio has no doubt constructed roads and put up some other physical infrastructures in the state. But, critics say what he has achieved is nothing, when compared with the amount of resources that accrues to the state. Indeed, some of the structures he has put in place is nothing but white elephant projects and critics say he has pocketed the “kickbacks” and the inflated costs from them, even though they are not yet operational. There are those who have been bought over by “Akpabiosm” and the “uncommon transformation” of the governor. To such persons, the PDP still remains the party of choice for the people of Akwa Ibom.

    But, there are a growing number of persons who are insisting that the party has run short of ideas and that the electorates should try the alternative provided by the APC. The second school of thought believes that Akpabio wants to extend his tenure through Emmanuel. Constitutionally, the governor would be concluding his second term as governor in May, but if he succeeds in imposing his candidate, the incumbent governor would continue to hold on to the reins of power through his protégé.

    Take the stadium for instance; he has refused to state the exact sum expended in putting up the structure. Yet, the stadium project has not been completed. The only unit that has been completed is the football arena. The swimming pool, the gymnasium and other components of the project are yet to be put in place. In spite of this, Akpabio went ahead to organise a extravagant opening ceremony believed to have gulped over N500 million.

    There is also a lot of hype about the number of flyovers in Uyo. But, as far as many Akwa Ibomites are concerned, there is no need for such flyovers at the moment. In December last year, Akpabio also organized a profligate Christmas carol believed to have gulped over a N1 billion. Well known personalities, including Reverend Jesse Jackson, were brought from different parts of the globe to Uyo for the carol.

    Yet, civil servants have not received their salaries since September last year. Workers in the local governments have been on strike since December and have vowed to remain on strike until all their demands are met. Chairmen of local governments owing salaries claim money released to them by Governor Akpabio could not cover their salary bills. Former chairman of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Akwa Ibom State chapter, Felix Udo, said apart from unpaid salaries and allowances of workers, retired NULGE members had not been paid gratuities since 2009. The former NULGE boss said another reason for the strike was the irregular computation of salaries and allowances of local government workers.

    Primary school teachers are also on indefinite strike over non-payment of salaries since last December. The schools are now ghost towns. The Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Akwa Ibom State chapter, said its members would not go back to classes until the state government fulfilled the agreement it reached with the teachers in concrete terms.

    The union’s secretary, Mike Ike-Ene, said its members proceeded on the strike following the breach of agreement earlier reached between the government and the union. Unpaid salaries aside, teachers in the state have not been paid promotion arrears since 2009. Ditto their leave grants since 2012. Besides, there is also a huge backlog of pensions and gratuities due to Akwa Ibom primary school teachers.

    For the first time since the return to civil rule in 1999, the opposition appears to have taken root in Akwa State politics. Umana’s defection to the APC has breathed life into the hitherto comatose opposition party. It has turned it into a viable alternative for the people, particularly for politicians who have crashed out of favour with the ruling PDP. With thousands of politicians who were hitherto the foot soldiers of the PDP in their respective political domains now in the APC, there are fears that the PDP has lost its steam in the state.

    Apart from the likelihood that the PDP may lose the governorship election, there are fears that President Jonathan may not receive the kind of overwhelming support he got there in 2011. Most of those who have decamped to the APC have vowed to ensure that the President does not win in Uyo Senatorial District and the state as a whole. But, Akpabio is not impressed by Umana’s threat to sweep the polls. He described the threat as “laughable and impossible.” According to the governor, Umana has never been a politician and as such does not have the political clout to win the governorship.

    Aside from the governorship election, the other contest generating interest in Akwa Ibom is the David versus Goliath senatorial election in Ikot Ekpene District, otherwise known as the Northwest Senatorial District. In the contest, Obong Inibehe Okori is challenging Governor Akpabio’s bid for the seat. Abak division, which is one of the two major components of the district, has turned against Akpabio and the PDP. After governing the state for eight years, Akpabio is bidding to retire to the Senate, against the subsisting agreement that the next senator from the district should come from the Abak division. As a result, there has been a frosty relationship between people from the area and Governor Akpabio. Okori, who is contesting on the APC platform, is one of the arrowheads of those protesting against the perceived injustice. Akpabio has tried to placate the people by choosing the running mate to Emmanuel from the area, but the people are saying it is not acceptable.

    Indications are that the election is going to be keenly contested. But, Akpabio is widely expected to use his huge financial war chest to try to influence the outcome of the contest.  However, Okori is of the view that the Lord will give him victory, in spite of Akpabio’s huge war chest. His words: “What type of money does Akpabio have? Is it not the peoples’ money that has been entrusted in his hands? Is it justifiable for him to use this money to oppress the people? The God I worship would not allow that. As I speak to you, I want you to look at me once again; I am that David that fought Goliath; I am that Moses that confronted Pharaoh on behalf of the people of Israel. It shall come to pass.”

    For the first time, ethnicity is going to be a major factor in the forthcoming election in the state. The state is made up of three major ethnic nationalities: Ibibio, Anang and Oron. In the governorship election, the Uyo Senatorial District, which is predominantly an Ibibio enclave, is expected to back Umana, who is an Ibibio person from that district. Umana defected to the APC along with a large chunk of PDP faithful and notable chieftains, who are opposed to the decision of Governor Akpabio and the PDP to exclusively zone the governorship slot to Eket and the governor’s insistence ticket, against the logic of zoning.

    The entire Oron ethnic nationality (in Eket District) has resolved to back the APC. A group known as Oro Think Tank, an umbrella group of Oron stakeholders, made the above declaration last Thursday. It says that with the way are, an Oron person may not be able to govern the state in the next 24 years. The position of the group was articulated by its chairman, Comrade Okon Osung and secretary, Prof. Eminue. So, from all indications, the five local government areas that make up the Oron nation is likely to vote APC. Naturally, the three Ibibio local governments in Eket District, where Emmanuel comes from, may back the PDP flag bearer.

    The Ibibios in the two local governments in Ikot Ekpene district are also likely to vote APC. Ikot Ekpene district has 10 local governments. Three of the local governments are from the axis where Akpabio comes from, while five belong to the Abak division where Okori hails from. Based on this calculation, Okori is very confident of victory in the senatorial race. He said: “To be honest with you, I am not aware of any prominent citizen of Ikot Ekpene Senatorial district that is supporting Akpabio’s ambition. The people that are adopting Akpabio are his commissioners, his special advisers, in short, his aides. Those are not political leaders. Besides, his performance in the state has no bearing on the legislative matter.” For the first time in 16 years of civil rule, the opposition held a rally in Ikot Ekpene last week Monday, which attracted a mammoth crowd.

  • ‘PDP vandalising APC billboards in Lagos’

    ‘PDP vandalising APC billboards in Lagos’

    Lagos State All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday accused the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of defacing and vandalising billboards, posters and banners of its candidates across the local governments.

    The ruling party said suspected thugs masquerading as members of the illegal Federal Task Force in Lagos were instigated by the PDP to cause mayhem and  provoke APC leaders and followers.

    The Publicity Secretary, Comrade Joe Igbokwe, who raised the alarm that the PDP was inciting war, said the evidence of vandalisation of campaign materials are visible in Gbagada, Third Mainkand, Osborn and Victoria Island, where vandalised APC banners were replaced with those of the PDP.

    He lamented that suspected thugs and hoodlums instigated by the PDP invaded Osborn with dangerous weapons removed the posters of the APC governorship candidate, Mr. Akinwumi Ambode, and the presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, adding that the police deliberately refused to stop the brigandage.

    Igbokwe added: “Last wednesday, the PDP mobilised its members and thugs and held road users and traffic on Ikorodu Road for eight hours in the pretext of holding rallies. In the process, they targeted all APC posters, billboards and posters on the road for destruction and removal. We are yet to see any police action against such act of recklessness and rascality. This was the same police that threatened to arrest LASAA officials for regulating indiscriminate defacement of Lagos with posters and handbills.”

    The party official said that the PDP is planning to instigate violence because it has been rejected by Nigerians. He added: “The PDP thinks it can overwhelm Lagos with brute force and state sponsored criminality and, if it is so sure that it will win Lagos, as it has been boasting, why is it precipitating a war in Lagos?

    “Does it also have the capacity to manage the war in the unlikely event that it wins a state where it is not welcome? Our members are running out of patience in this continued provocation. While we are trying our utmost best to restrain our members from being drawn into any war that will undermine our well oiled wheel of change, we warn that there is a limit to tolerance and that our members may be forced to react, if to defend themselves and their interests.

    “Our silence should not be mistaken for submission and docility. We may be forced to react, if pushed to the wall and the perpetrators of this on-going deliberate brigandage will be held responsible for this. We call on the Lagos State Police Commissioner and his command to act quickly and decisively to stop this brigandage. We cannot continue to complain while the PDP is deliberately allowed to breach the security and peace of Lagos. Lagosians will not tolerate this criminality any longer.”

  • Nigerians believe APC is right vehicle for change’

    Nigerians believe APC is right vehicle for change’

    A leading chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State, Prince Tolu Onishile, has explained why the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari (Rtd) may win more votes than President Goodluck Jonathan in the state during the February 14 presidential election. In this interview with Assistant Editor, Dare Odufowokan, the Ijero-Ekiti-born Metallurgical Engineer, who is part of the presidential campaign team of the APC, said the growing popularity of the Buhari/Osinbajo ticket in the South-West is a serious threat to the re-election bid of President Jonathan. Excerpts:

    HOW would you describe the growth rate of your party, the APC, since its formation barely a year ago?

    You are seeing things for yourself and you have been seeing the massive turnout at our rallies everywhere we go. That shows the people’s enthusiasm for our party. Also, the Buhari candidacy is an acceptable one to most Nigerians. This has further helped our party. The people are enthusiastic about change. They believe APC is the right vehicle for the much needed change.

    Since we started, our campaign and strategies have all been going on well. The party is waxing stronger by the day. Even in my state Ekiti, we have not just put behind us the unfortunate event of last June in a remarkable way; we have fully recovered. And I can state without mincing words that our party is enjoying overwhelming goodwill ahead of all others in the entire state.

    Let me use this opportunity to praise our leaders, especially former governors Niyi Adebayo, Segun Oni, Kayode Fayemi and Chief Jide Awe, amongst many others who are too numerous to mention, for their tireless efforts to see that the party is re-positioned for the general elections.

    Are you saying Buhari will do better than Jonathan in Ekiti with Governor Fayose of PDP in office?

    Yes. That is what I am saying loudly and boldly. Let me tell you, Ekiti people are fed up with Jonathan. They have seen that his six years in office have made their situation worse and they are set to join the majority of the Nigerian electorate to send him packing on 14 February.

    But how possible is this with Governor Ayodele Fayose of the PDP in office?

    Our people are fed up with Fayose himself. You know that I am not only a politician but also a community and opinion leader, so I know how our people feel. Just go round the major towns and sample the opinion of the people. You will find out that the people have seen through Fayose’s deceit. I do not want to go into how he won the election because the matter is still before the court.

    One thing though that I can assure you is Ekiti people have seen that Fayose has nothing to offer them. That is why he has suddenly become jittery. He has seen the hand-writing on the wall. Or how else can you explain his panicky actions such as the arrest of student leaders or attacks on leading members of the APC in Ekiti?

    Buhari will defeat Jonathan hands down in Ekiti come 14 February. And the election will also return the majority of our representatives in the National Assembly and the state’s House of Assembly. Mark my words.

    And why do you think the people of Ekiti will suddenly prefer the APC to the PDP they voted for last June?

    Beyond party politics, they know that Buhari is better. Don’t underrate our people’s ability to make choices irrespective of party politics. We tried Jonathan for four years and the results are everywhere to be seen. All the federal roads in the state and those connecting Ekiti with neighbouring states are in deplorable conditions.

    If not the efforts of Fayemi to rehabilitate some of the roads, Ekiti would have been inaccessible today. Or, can you point to any meaningful federal presence in Ekiti? Besides, you know we Ekitis are passionate about honesty and uprightness. We can lay down our lives in defence and pursuant of anything that is truthful and untainted; hence we know the value and in essence will embrace anyone that embodies such virtues. He is a man of integrity. There is no way he will allow the kind of massive looting of the Nigerian treasury that is going on right now under Jonathan. You know that never before in the history of Nigeria has there been such a deliberate and systematic plundering of the country’s resources with the full connivance of the president.

    Two, being a retired general and coming from the North, Buhari understands what needs to be done and will therefore solve the Boko Haram problem by reorganizing and adequately equipping the military, in addition to adopting other measures that would be necessary to bring the murderous insurgency to an end. Too many Nigerians have been slaughtered with President Jonathan not being able to protect them. Don’t forget General Buhari was instrumental to the quashing of the then Maitatsine sect riots in the 1980s.

    Beyond honesty and Boko Haram, do you think Buhari can address the economic problems of the country if elected?

    I can tell you that if the massive looting through unreported national earnings is stopped, more money will be available to governments at all levels to carry out their duties. Governments will be able to pay salaries as and when due. Contractors will also be able to work as governments will be able to pay them. That will give the economy a big boost.

    If peace is restored in the North by defeating Boko Haram, money that is going to security will be freed for development. Please note that we currently spend more than 4 Trillion Naira on security annually without getting security.

    And if all these attacks stop, investors will start coming back to the country in droves. Even though Boko Haram has concentrated its evil activities in the North-East, the whole country suffers because people outside Nigeria consider the country unsafe for investment.

    And our party, the APC, has explained how it will create jobs through massive public works projects, such as the rehabilitation or reconstruction of roads, especially of federal roads which are in terrible conditions all over the country. Look at federal roads all over the South-West, for example, they are in a terrible state. If you fix these roads, economic activities will be rejuvenated.

    And the APC is determined to finally solve the electricity riddle upon which successive PDP-led federal governments have expended more than 15 Billion Dollars in the last 16 years.

    As we prepare for the elections, what are your fears?

    I hope that no attempts will be made to tamper with the process. Nigerians are fed up with Jonathan and there is no way he will not lose the election massively. My sincere hope is that the president will hand over peacefully. That is the only way Nigerians can forgive him for the mismanagement of the country and he will even be remembered for deepening democracy in Nigeria.

  • APC disagrees with PDP over achievements in health, education sectors

    APC disagrees with PDP over achievements in health, education sectors

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday disagreed with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on the achievements recorded in both the education and health sectors by the Federal Government.

    The National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Lai Mohammed, and its Director, Planning and Research, Bolaji Abdullahi, at a debate organised for Nigerian political parties in Abuja by the Centre for Democracy and Development, argued that “the Jonathan government has failed to deliver health care to rural people.

     Mohammed said the APC, if voted into power, would establish a mobile health care network.

    He also said more health care centres would be established in the rural areas in order to make health care delivery accessible.

     Mohammed said “it is better to prevent diseases than spending huge resources to cure them.”

    He said “most Nigerians do not have health insurance policies despite the achievements claimed by the present government in the sector.”

    Mohammed said: “We are going to build our health care system by providing more health care centres and more midwives.”

    But the PDP’s Head of Publicity, National Secretariat, Mrs. Chinwe Nnorom, and a chieftain of the party, Dr. Katchi Onunaju, said the Federal Government had refurbished 1,500 health centres.

    They said their party had a five-year health care plan which it had begun to implement.

    They said: “It is very expensive to deliver health care. Health sector is very expensive.”

    On education, the APC said those in the primary schools were not learning anything.

     “Our programme will focus on improving the quality of education. The curriculum of colleges of education has nothing on primary education,” they said.

    The PDP said “the quality of education is being improved nationally”.

  • At 72, Buhari still fit, capable to lead Nigeria —APC

    At 72, Buhari still fit, capable to lead Nigeria —APC

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) has said its presidential candidate, General  Muhammadu Buhari, is very fit and capable of leading the country at the age of 72.

    The Chairman of the  Mobilisation Committee of the APC’s flagbearer, Senator Muhammadu Magoro, made the assertion during a press briefing held at the North-West Secretariat of the party in Kaduna yesterday.

    Senator Magoro said “age is about numbers and performance is about the right mindset.”

    He said: “We all know that the President of Zimbabwe, Mr. Robert Mugabe, is in his early 90s, and just about two weeks ago, he was elected the Chairman of the African Union (AU).

    “If all Zimbabweans are wrong, all Africans cannot be wrong. They find an attribute in him that will help in moving the country forward, and he was given the opportunity and the same applies to General Muhammadu Buhari  because of his incorruptible status and his concern for the downtrodden. Nigerians  want to give him chance to make a change and his age can never be a barrier,” he said.

    Speaking on violence in the electioneering, Senator Magoro said: “It is very sad that the ruling party is pointing all its five fingers at us.The APC is a party of peace.”

    He called on APC’s supporters to desist from violence because the change they are looking for will not come through cutlasses, knives or guns.  I advise all our supporters to collect their PVCs before the set deadline.

    “As a member of the mobilization committee, we thank all Nigerians for support they gave to our flagbearer during his tour around the country. The real task is on February 14  when they must  come out   to vote for the change they want,” he said.

  • NNPC report cooked – APC

    NNPC report cooked – APC

    The audit PriceWaterhouseCoppers (PWC) report which indicted the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) was cooked from the beginning, the National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said on Friday.

    He insisted that whether the missing money from the treasury was $1.48bn or not, the NNPC was corrupt.

    Mohammed, who spoke to reporters in Abuja at the weekend before a debate organized for political parties by Centre for Democracy and Development, accused the NNPC of lack of transparency.

    He said: “You see, the thing we have always been saying about NNPC accounting is that it is not transparent. There is nobody that can probe NNPC account because they receive, they spend, they keep.

    “And one of the things we have been advocating in unbundling the NNPC is that the corporation should restrict itself solely to one thing: operation. We should have another body for regulation.

    “But in a situation whereby the same person take receipt, field licenses and spend, what do you want to audit? You audit the book that I gave you so the book has been cooked from the beginning.

    “But even if it has been cooked and they couldn’t uncook it and they are saying now it is $4billion or $1.6billion and $1.6billion is more than what the Osun State government receives a year. It is more than that because $1.6billion is almost N300bn. Osun doesn’t receive that in two years.”

    “But what we want is a root and branch of NNPC where we have checks and balances. They cannot be issuing licenses, collecting taxes royalties, they cannot be keeping the money. It is not done anywhere in the world.”

    He said that Nigeria needs public sector reform to fight corruption.

     

  • APC faults Jonathan’s campaign promises

    APC faults Jonathan’s campaign promises

    THE All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Organisation (APCPCO) has said President Goodluck Jonathan is not a man who can be taken seriously, having failed to deliver on his promises.

    Jonathan’s administration, the organisation said, has been making bogus claims with regards to its achievements in the railway sector and failed to fulfill the promises made to Nigerians four years ago to transform the power sector.

    In a statement yesterday, its Director of Media and Publicity, Mallam Shehu, stressed that the President had repeatedly stated while campaigning for re-election that he had resuscitated the country’s railways, which has been moribund for over 20 years, a claim that the APC described as a hoax.

     Shehu added: “The Director General of his campaign, Senator Ahmadu Ali, even stretches this moribund hyperbole to 35 years. On the campaign trail, the railway lies just seem to keep tumbling out.”

    He said among the claims of the president, which, he added, are not true, include the President’s statement during his campaign rallies that his government rehabilitated and built about 3,500 kilometres (km) of railways, pointing out that “only about 2,000 km had  been rehabilitated and less than 250km of new track built”.

    The APC presidential campaign spokesman queried the quality of work done on these rehabilitations, stressing that the government gave  contracts to its cronies, regardless of whether they had the essential skills or experience.

    He said: “A railway expert advises that the real test of the integrity of the more recently rehabilitated track infrastructure is when the rainy season arrives.”

    Shehu noted that the huge railway contracts awarded by the  Jonathan government did not include most of the railway sidings and passing loops, effectively limiting the capacity of the lines in terms of the number of trains that could run on them at any time, thus “making an unviable rail service even more unviable”.

     “They also do not say why the railway track rehabilitations, which were supposed to take 10 months, have taken four years and counting,”Shehu said, adding that the claim by the President that work has commenced on the Lagos-Calabar coastal railway line was “another big fat lie.”

     He said: “How can they commence work on a project that has no appropriation? How can they commence construction on a project without a signed contract? Or is a memorandum of understanding now a contract?

     “In any case, why is the scope of work being described as Lagos to Calabar, when the Lagos-Ibadan part of the route is in another contract (i.e. the Obasanjo Lagos-Kano contract)? Will he pay twice for Lagos-Ibadan? With the addition of Benin-Onitsha to the coastal line, what is the new cost and how is he going to pay for it all? With more loans, why is the nation bleeding financially?

     “One railway project Mr. President and his media personnel have been silent about is the Abuja Rail Mass Transit.  What Mr. President will not tell the people is how many Nigerians truly benefit from the hundreds of billions purportedly spent on the rehabilitation of rail lines and whether value for money has been achieved. What he will not tell Nigerians, is that it costs about N10,000 per passenger to produce that Lagos-Kano service, which his railway corporation sells at N1,930 per passenger.

     “What he will not tell Nigerians is the number of derailments that have taken place on the Lagos-Kano line as a result of poor quality track work.”

     Shehu said while campaigning for the 2011 presidential elections, Jonathan made more promises to Nigerians, which were unfulfilled.

     He listed such unfulfilled promises as rehabilitation of existing power generation, distribution and transmission assets to give a minimum of 6,000 megawatts (mw) of electricity; the harnessing of alternative sources of energy, such as coal, wind and solar to generate an initial 13,000mw, and the unbundling of PHCN into 18 successor companies.

    He said: “Four years after he made those promises, the President is still making more promises to Nigerians, when he clearly has no intention of fulfilling them the same way he has not fulfilled those regarding power.”

    The APC presidential spokesman said initial moves craftily aimed at convincing the nation that he was true to his word, the PDP candidate went on to create the Nigeria Bank Bulk Electricity Trading Plc and undertook an MoU with the General Electric mostly to add up to 15 per cent in power projects to achieve 10,000mw  by 2020.

     “However, till date, unacceptable lapses are still seen in the power sector. All over Nigeria, from Yola to Port Harcourt to Ibadan, Nigerians are complaining about the poor supply of electricity to their offices and homes,” he said.

     He lamented that despite the huge resources on the power sector, Nigeria’s current capacity is still under 4,400MW, despite the PDP government’s promise to complete all National Integrated Power Projects (NIPP) to deliver at least 4,000 MW by 2012.