The Nation Newspaper

Tag: APC

  • Murder of member: Lagos APC warns against witch hunt

    Murder of member: Lagos APC warns against witch hunt

    The Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress has alerted Nigerians a plan by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its enforcers to use the police to clamp down on APC members.

    The party said the killing of an APC Leader, Alhaji Azeez Asake by a notorious thug group known as Abija has become a weapon with which the PDP is turning around and hunting APC members on Lagos Island.

    The Party urged the police to restrain their men from being used to foment trouble in Lagos.

    In a statement yesterday, Lagos APC spokesman  Joe Igbokwe, said that the police, in a curious manner, released the main suspect in the gruesome murder, one Rafiu Bashorun a.k.a Abija and instead declared wanted three APC members; Mustapha Adekunle, Fatai Ali and Fatai Olori.

    The party warned that nothing should be done to further provoke the members of APC in Lagos because of the implication of such provocation in the face of the impunity and lawlessness the PDP is perpetrating.

     “It is on record that we demanded for justice for the murder of Asake by thugs who work with Minister of State for Defence Musliu Obanikoro. We are demanding that the well-known real perpetrators of the crime against our member be brought to justice. We were under the impression that having arrested the perpetrator of the murder of Asake, the Police was determined to do a good job and bring the sponsors of that cruel act to justice.

     “We were alarmed that the Police in a curious way not only mocks justice, released the prime suspect and escorted him home. In a bizarre twist, it rather declared wanted three members of our party in a move that we suspect is dictated by the very people that ordered the killing of Asake.

    “This is a rehash of the cruel ear of military despotism when our patriots who were fighting for democracy and justice were attacked and blamed as the real perpetrators of these attacks. We are shocked that the police did not even care to be guided by little decency in freeing the suspect but using the same act as excuse to hunt and frame up his political associates.

    “Lagos APC is saying that this is unacceptable even as we have been inundated by gory spectacles of PDP’s lawlessness, brigandage  and impunity in seeking to overwhelm and conquer the badly governed country in 2015. We warn that we will never tolerate such act of brazen intimidation by a party that should be apologizing to Nigerians for taking it from a medium height to the very nadirs of development in sixteen bizarre years of corruption and rudderless gangsterism.

    “We want to warn the police that it should not continue rubbing in on its not so good image. We warn that the Police risks being seen as the enemies of Lagosians should it allow itself to be used by desperate political way farers to perpetrate and cover crimes against Lagosians. We warn the police to restrain itself against the rampaging political greed of the PDP and fish out both the perpetrators and sponsors of the killing of Alhaji Asake as that remains the only path of truth and justice in this case.

    “While we urge our teeming supporters and members to remain calm in the face of the increasing provocation from the PDP and its masters in Lagos, we warn that nothing should be done to challenge the readiness and competence of Lagosians to defend themselves against the annoying petulance of the greedy, desperate political invaders and their masters. The police should call off this annoying siege to our members right now and move in to arrest and prosecute both the perpetrators and sponsors of the killing of Alhaji Asake.”

  • APC Reps thwart attempt to reverse INEC’s power to deploy troops

    APC Reps thwart attempt to reverse INEC’s power to deploy troops

    •Lawmakers begin voting on proposed amendments to 1999 constitution

    All Progressives Congress (APC) members in the House of Representatives yesterday thwarted an attempt to reverse the House decision granting the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) the power to deploy troops during elections.

    The opposition members stood resolutely against the motion for the reversal.

    The lawmakers, in the latest proposed amendments to the 2010 Electoral Act, voted in support of Clause 29(1), which empowers INEC to request the deployment of troops, only when it considers same necessary during elections.

    The amendment reads: “Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law and for purposes of securing the vote, the commission (INEC) shall be responsible for requesting the deployment of relevant security personnel necessary for elections or registration of voters and shall assign them in the manner determined by the commission in consultation with the relevant security agencies.

    “Provided that the commission shall only request the deployment of the Nigerian Armed Forces only for the purpose of securing the distribution and delivery of election materials and protection of election officials.”

    But House Deputy Leader Leo Ogor sought to compel the House to reverse itself on the power granted to INEC as the sole authority to request deployment of military during elections.

    The motion, titled: “Rescission Pursuant to Order 9, Rule 57 (6) of the Standing Orders of the House of Representatives on the Decision taken in the Committee of the Whole to Retain Clause 28 (1) (b) in the Proposed Amendment to Section 29(1) of the Principal Act (Electoral Act, 2010).”

    Ogor said the provisions of Section 217 (1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) states that there shall be the Armed Forces for the federation, which functions by virtue of Section 217 (2c).

    The lawmaker said this includes suppressing insurrection and acting in aid of civil authorities to restore order when called upon to do so by the President, but subject to such conditions as may be prescribed by an Act of the National Assembly.

    He noted that the provisions of Section 218 (1) of the Constitution give the President the powers, as the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces, for the operational use of the Armed Forces.

    But House Minority Leader Femi Gbajabiamila, citing Order 8(50 and 51) and 9(57, sub (6), argued that the motion by Ogor was baseless because it had been passed previously by members.

    According to him, Ogor’s motion did not meet the conditions needed for a decision of the House to be rescinded.

    Speaker Aminu Tambuwal ruled Gbajabiamila out of order, saying the order he cited was inapplicable and that Ogor should proceed with his argument because he met the conditions needed to move his motion.

    When the issue was put to vote, it was negated with the opposition coming from members of the APC.

    Also, members will today, in the Committee of the Whole, begin a clause-by-clause voting on 71 harmonised proposed amendments to the 1999 Constitution.

    Tambuwal announced the decision of the House at plenary yesterday after Deputy Speaker Emeka Ihedioha and Chairman of the House committee on the Ad Hoc Committee on the Review of the Constitution, presented the report of the conference committee on the bill for an act to further alter the provisions of the 1999 constitution (as amended).

    The Speaker advised state caucus leaders in the House to mobilise their members for the voting on the amendments.

    He said the lawmakers should begin to lobby their counterpart in state Assemblies to approve the National Assembly’s proposed amendments to the 1999 constitution.

     

     

     

     

    Tambuwal said: “I, therefore, ask that all of us should act as advocates and lobbyists to the Houses of Assembly to approve what we have passed here.

    “I will also plead with all of us to be here tomorrow for the voting. I also plead with state caucus leaders to get across to their members to be here tomorrow so that they can vote on the amendments.”

    Yesterday’s plenary also saw a member, Mohammed Bashir Galadanchi, representing Gwale Federal Constituency in Kano State, defecting from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the APC.

    The Speaker read his letter of defection on the floor of the House.

     

     

  • I’m not prepared for consensus candidate, says Atiku

    I’m not prepared for consensus candidate, says Atiku

    Former Vice-President and All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential aspirant Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has said he is not prepared for a consensus in choosing the party’s candidate for next year’s elections.

    He also said unless the nation’s leadership breaks what he called the mafias in the energy sector, the nation may not get the two vital areas to function well.

    Addressing reporters in Abuja ahead of a policy review summit to be held in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, the APC chieftain said the party’s leadership had met at various fora and decided to go for the primaries.

    Atiku said: “When we came in (in 1999), I told my boss, the then President (Olusegun Obasanjo) that there were two mafias in this country: the National Electric Power Authority (NEPA) and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) mafias, and that unless you break those mafias, you would never get those two institutions to work.

    “Unfortunately, up till now, we have not been able to break those mafias. So, one thing you must do is to be prepared to dismantle the mafia in NEPA, now Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) which, up till now, has not allowed us to have sufficient power supply and the mafia in the NNPC.”

    The former vice-president noted that “running government is business today”.

    He added: “If you don’t know how to run a business, please, don’t try to run a government. Some people think that a government can do everything but government does not have the money to do everything.

    “The jobs that are being created in developed economies are being created by the private sector and not by the government. But we continue to make the mistake that a government can create the jobs we want.”

    The former vice-president said the nation had “recorded very impressive gross domestic product (GDP) growth and very impressive macro-economic stability over the years, starting from our administration”.

    According to him, the impressive growth had not trickled down to the ordinary man.

    Atiku said: “This is because the way government is so structured is such that the wealth will continue to remain in the hands of a few people in the top echelon of the population. In order words, we have been stunted and our job creation record has been very bad. So, it is only when the job creation effort is good that the growth in GDP can be translated because, at the moment, we have the highest rate of unemployment, which is not good.

    “One of the ways I have proposed to go about this is to say the major creators of jobs, I would like to work with each of them and give them a tax rebate. But they must create, say, half a million jobs for me.

    “But people have said I would lose a lot of tax from that. But my response is that those young men and women who will be employed are also going to pay tax. So, from giving a tax rebate, I am also going to recover a larger taxable base.

    “We need to be careful. Running a government is like running a business nowadays. If you do not know how to run a business, please don’t venture into running a government; don’t think government can do everything. Government does not have the money to do everything. Jobs that are being created in developed economies are being developed by the private sector. But we continue to make the mistake in this country that the government can create all the jobs we need.”

    On consensus, the aspirant said: “We have met as a caucus, as a Board of Trustees (BOT), as a National Executive Council (NEC), but we have decided to go the primaries.”

    On job creation, Atiku said: “You don’t have to reduce the ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) to create jobs. MDAs are good but they are mostly government-funded. Right now, our revenue is on the decline. Before, we were exporting 2.3 million barrels of oil per day. But today, we are exporting 1.8 million per day and the price is falling.

    “I can bet you: if you are relying on MDAs to create employment, the government will be faced with ‘how do we close this or streamline this?’ But if you encourage the private sector to bring foreign investors, they will come and create jobs 10 times more than what the MDAs can create.

    “Stop looking at employment creation solely as a government responsibility; it is government’s responsibility to see that jobs are created and those jobs can be created if the private sector is stimulated with unrestricted direct funding and make it easy for investors to come on board.

    “I didn’t privatise the refineries, neither did I privatise the Nigerian Telecommunications Limited (NITEL). What is the problem if I call Aliko Dangote and say, ‘Aliko, I am going to give you a 10 per cent tax rebate but can you give me a million jobs?’

    “If he says he can, fine. I will have one million jobs created and out of those one million jobs, of course, they will pay tax. So, why do you say that I don’t have the will? I want to challenge anybody to give me the opportunity to see whether I have the will or not.”

    On the summit, Atiku said: “As you know, over the years, anytime I tried to run for the Presidency, I always made sure that I prepared myself to be President. It is up to Nigerians to elect whoever they want to elect. But the point is that he should not be found wanting and he should not learn on the job. He must be on the job well prepared.

    “Again, this is another opportunity that God and Nigerians have given me to make another attempt. Therefore, I am aware that the gentlemen of the press constitute an important partner in our effort to establish the APC as an enduring alternative political platform with a sustainable legitimacy.

    “The APC is envisaged by the founding fathers to develop the capacity to provide this nation with a leadership that will be committed to the welfare of the people, whose choice will be determined by the common good and the popular will of all Nigerians. My declaration on September 24 to present myself for nomination as an aspirant of the APC for the 2015 election was our first major outing.

    “It was a deliberate policy to make the event an interactive session with the youths. We made it clear to the leadership of the party that it was not going to be a rally or a campaign because it was not yet time for that.

    “We thank the over 30 youth groups that participated in the event. It was clear from their contributions that it is their future that is at stake. Their submissions with respect to their pains, needs and wants constitute a major input in our draft policy.

    “The purpose of this press conference is to announce that we will be hosting a policy review summit on October 27 at the Obasanjo Presidential Library, Abeokuta.

    “The summit will host a panel of experts who will fine-tune the elements needed for the Atiku 2015 policy document. The draft policy to be reviewed was drawn up within the context of the manifesto of the APC. Nothing was done outside the manifesto.

    “The main thrust is the exclusive bid to modify the way the machinery of government works by providing the political base, vision and capacity to lead this great nation with a great population, plan and streamline the MDAs with a view to removing overlaps and operational redundancy, systematically devolving and delegating operational responsibilities to states and local government and private sector organisations, addressing habits and practices that hinder policy implementations.”

     

  • APC: everything about cash-for-arms deal in South Africa is shady

    APC: everything about cash-for-arms deal in South Africa is shady

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) has slammed the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) led Federal Government, for its insult and disingenuous explanation aimed at deceiving Nigerians on the US$9.3 million cash-for-arms deal that went awry in South Africa.

    The party said everything about the deal was shady.

    In a statement in Abuja yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said the deal violates the foreign currency laws of Nigeria and South Africa, violates Nigeria’s Money Laundering law as well as the Public Procurement Act and makes a mess of the Federal Government’s cashless policy.

    Besides, it said, the circumstances surrounding the transaction were umbrageous, including the fact that the funds involved, though in cash, were neither declared before departure in Nigeria nor declared on arrival in South Africa.

    APC said: “Based on these shady circumstances, one can safely conclude that the arms to be procured, if at all, were not meant for any Boko Haram fight, as claimed by the government, but perhaps a ploy to stockpile arms for the private militia of the PDP ahead of next year’s general elections.

    “As we said in our earlier statements on this issue, the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) cannot and does not procure arms for the armed services. These services procure their own weapons. Therefore, it baffles that the Office of the NSA issued the end-user certificate for the transactions. This is a shady deal.”

    The party said to buttress its assertion that the deal was shady, there are questions the Federal Government has bluntly refused to answer in connection with the ill-fated deal, including why a private plane was used for a supposedly official deal when there are over 10 aircraft in the presidential fleet.

    It noted that Nigerians are also eager to know why the money for the purchase of the arms was not transferred to the country’s Embassy in South Africa for transfer to the contractor, if indeed a contractor was used, as claimed by the minister of Foreign Affairs, or the money transferred directly to the contractor, and why the Nigerian government chose to deal with an arms contractor with questionable registration in South Africa.

    “If indeed the transaction was clean and official, which representatives of the Office of the NSA and the chief of Defence staff were on the dollar-ferrying plane? Who indeed were the arms meant for? And perhaps the most important information of all: Who and who were on the plane?” APC queried.

    The party said Nigerians are more interested in who was on the plane rather than who was not on it, hence the government should stop hiding behind “national security” and come out to identify those on the plane.

    The party said irrespective of the feverish moves by the Federal Government, using less-than-sincere officials, to spin the whole shady deal and make it look clean and official, the truth is that even terrorists could not have been engaged in a shadier and more crooked deal to obtain weapons.

     

  • Buhari: APC will solve Nigeria’s problems

    Buhari: APC will solve Nigeria’s problems

    •Aspirant to declare presidential bid today

    •Meets APC governors for support

    Former Head of State and All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential aspirant, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, has said the party will solve the nation’s problems when it wins the presidential election next year.

    The former Head of State will today declare his intension to contest for the party’s ticket in the 2015 election.

    Buhari addressed a crowd of party members yesterday in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, on his presidential plan.

    The huge crowd thronged the Government House to welcome him to the state, when he met with Governor Chibuike Amaechi and party leaders for their votes in the party’s primaries next month.

    The General has been on the tour of APC states to solicit their supports to clinch the party’s ticket.

    Gen. Buhari said: “I was in Imo State last Saturday; then Lagos, Abeokuta, Ibadan, Ogbomoso and Ilorin before going back to Abuja. Now, I am in Rivers State.

    “The APC is in its strategic part of our development as a party. We are about to go to the primary elections, where all those who are interested in the elective offices, from counsellor to the Presidency, will submit themselves during the primaries. I happen to be one of those who are interested to be given the ticket by our great party.

    “I intend to make that declaration tomorrow (today), in Abuja, God willing. That is why I have been going round to see the governors and the leaders of our great party across the country, to ask for understanding and support.”

    The former Head of State said the reasons for the merger of three major opposition parties to form the APC were to end the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP’s) misrule and impunity.

    He said APC is committed to the nation’s transformation by creating jobs for youths and secure their feature.

    Gen. Buhari promised to crush insurgency and kidnapping in the Northeast and the Niger Delta when he takes over power from the PDP next year.

    The former Head of State solicited the support of the people to make the change a reality.

    He hailed Amaechi for his leadership style, adding that his massive transformation projects had changed the state.

    Gen. Buhari noted that Amaechi had written his name in the annals of history of Nigeria.

    He said: “We have come a long way from the All Peoples Party (APP), the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and now APC. The APC is a merger of relevant opposition parties that have representations in the Houses of Assembly and Representatives who came together to take power from the PDP.

    “We have the intension to stabilise the system because we have no other country but Nigeria. So, the APC is decently in a hurry to secure and manage the country efficiently. These are the two fundamental things that must be done urgently for this nation because without security nothing works.

    “Look at the killings and maiming in the Northeast and kidnappings here in the Southsouth, I want Nigeria delivered and, God willing, APC will ensure that Nigerians can go to bed with both eyes closed and wake up and go out confidently to pursue their legitimate businesses.

    “We will make sure we set up industries and develop agriculture. We will help solid minerals to make sure most youths here have good jobs so that whether you finished your school or not, the government will get a job for you, so that you can live a respectable life.

    “I will like to assure you that APC will come together to salvage this country from mis-governance and impunity. We want your understanding and cooperation. Every Nigerian is very important to us, wherever he or she is. We are concerned about his personal and job security. I assure you that we will do our best.

    “I most sincerely congratulate your governor. Port Harcourt is one of the places I served when I was in uniform. When we drove round, I saw the quality infrastructure he put on ground. He has secured a place in history for himself that no matter what happened, from now till the end of time, people will know and say what Amaechi has done for Rivers State and Nigeria.

    “I hope to come back in a couple of months to see you in a larger place and audience to unravel the APC manifesto for the next year’s election.”

     

  • APC supporters protest manipulation of congress election result

    APC supporters protest manipulation of congress election result

    Members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Somolu yesterday stormed the Lagos state House of Assembly to protest what they termed “gross manipulation” of the last party congress.

    The accused  the state Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Aliyu Ademorin Kuye and Otunba Henry Ajomale as masterminding the manipulation.

    The protesters were led by Olusegun Fehintola, chanting war songs and carrying w placards with various inscriptions.

    They said the congress of last April in the eight wards in Somolu LGA, showed that the Kuye group tagged: ‘Muslims and Christians in Politics,” was routed in all wards, the protesters lamented that the party leadership later manipulated the result in Kuye’s favour.

    According to them, the party leadership gave the Kuye group three wards against their wish, saying that such decision was never agreed upon in the negotiation the party advised they should hold with the commissioner in the interest of the APC.

    Fehintola, who read out the group’s petition titled, ‘Red Alert’ to the Speaker, Hon. Adeyemi Ikuforiji stated that the protesters were coming to the Assembly for the second time on the same issue “as a result of the lukewarm attitude towards our earlier complaint and plight over the undemocratic handling of the last local government congress election in Somolu Local Government.”

    He insisted that the manipulation cannot stand, demanded that the party chapter in Somolu was no longer prepared to concede a single ward not to even talk of three wards to the Kuye group.

    The Leader of the House, Hon. Ajibayo Adeyeye, who represented the speaker, assured the protesters that the House would do everything possible to get their complaints to the APC secretariat.

     

  • ‘APC ‘ll wax stronger in Ekiti’

    ‘APC ‘ll wax stronger in Ekiti’

    All Progressives Congress (APC) senatorial aspirant in Ekiti South District Mr. Ayoleke Adu has said that the party will wax stronger, despite the change of baton. He urged party members to unite and focus on the future, which he said, is bright.

    The politician spoke at Omuo Ekiti, where he declared his ambition for the Senate. Party leaders six local governments-Ekiti East, Gbonyin, Ise/Orun, Ikere, Ekiti Southwest and Emure-witnessed the ceremony. The National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, was represented by Dr. Bunmi Omoseyindemi.

    At the carnival-like rally, stakeholders, including the members of the Market Women Association, the Iyaloja of Omuo Ekiti, road transport workers, party representatives from  the 64 wards and members of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) were also on hand to cheer the aspirant.  Traditional rulers from the district were also represented.  from Kota, Omuo Oke and High Chiefs from Omuo representing the Olomuo in Council were also present at the occasion.

    Omoseindemi hailed the banker-turned politician, describing him as a courageous person and grassrrots person bubbling patriotism and with passion for service. He said Adu will use his wealth of experience and connection to attract development to the district.

    Lagos APC chieftains Afolabi Tinubu and Tayo Adeleke urged constituents to give the ticket to Adu, saying that he would not let them down in the Senate.

    Adu unfolded his plans for the district, assuring that he would attract federal government projects to the area. He also promised to assist in solving the problems of unemployment and industrialisation.

    The Commissioner for Special Duties, Apalara Wole-Adewumi and the House of Assembly member from Ekiti East Constituency, Hon. Ogunrinde Olaseinde, said Adu would live up to expectation.

    At the event, the aspirant was endorsed by the Omuo Students Union and other groups.

     

  • APC: attack on Edo lawmakers worsens impunity under Jonathan

    APC: attack on Edo lawmakers worsens impunity under Jonathan

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) has condemned what it called the “apparently-orchestrated attack” on Edo State legislative quarters last Saturday.

    The party said the attack raised the level of impunity under the Goodluck Jonathan administration to a level not even contemplated in the days of military rule.

    In a statement yesterday in Abuja by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party noted that based on the ease with which thugs invaded a facility that should be well secured and the ample time they had to damage over 30 cars and injure lawmakers and their families, “there is no question that the attack was carried out with the collusion of the lawless Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the increasingly-partisan police.

    “Governor Adams Oshiomhole said the government got intelligence report on the attack and informed the State Police Commissioner. Instead of sending in reinforcement to prevent the attack, the few policemen attached to the quarters were withdrawn before the attack. This is another indication of a police force that is being bankrolled by taxpayers becoming shamelessly partisan and engaging in selective implementation of its constitutional role of protecting the life and property of the citizenry,” it said.

    APC stressed that the atmosphere for the attack was created by a President, whose body language encourages impunity; a president, who has converted the police and the army to his party’s militia; a President who presides over a government that is incapable of maintaining law and order, let alone protecting the citizens.

    The party said whether it was in Rivers State, where the police allegedly harassed the opposition, including the governor; Ekiti State, where the police stood by while thugs, led by a governor-elect Ayodele Fayose, were beating up judges and sacking courts; the same Ekiti, where the PDP-led Federal Government used the police and other security agents to prevent courts from re-opening, as ordered by the National Judicial Council (NJC); or in Edo State, where the police protected renegade lawmakers at the expense of the majority, the Jonathan administration has given a free rein to impunity as never before in the history of Nigeria.

    It added: “The inspector-general of police (IGP) takes orders only from the President. Therefore, where the President decides to turn the police into his personal militia for vindictive and vendetta attacks, the IGP is not only required to comply, he is also expected to pass the same orders down the hierarchy. This is what is happening across the country.

    “The danger, however, is that when a society descends into anarchy, the same police will not escape the consequences, and will also not be able to handle the outcome of their collusion, as professionalism would have deserted them and discipline compromised. By becoming partisan, the police force is destroying itself.”

    APC said the attack on the Edo State legislative quarters on Saturday would have been prevented, if the PDP thugs, who molested Governor Oshiomhole and top officials of his administration – when they went to the airport to receive President Jonathan a few days earlier – had been censured for their barbaric action.

    “By failing to sanction them, the powers that be-have simply given a seal of approval to their actions and empowered them to do more, hence they became emboldened to attack the legislative quarters,” the party said.

    It reminded President Jonathan that attacks as the one in Edo, which the conniving police apparently allowed to happen, form part of the reasons some foreign governments, concerned about the way the Nigerian security agencies have used the weapons supplied to them to violate the human rights of citizens, have refused to sell arms to Nigeria.

    APC said: “Which human rights violation could be more egregious than the police-sanctioned attacks on defenceless citizens in Edo State on Saturday?”

    The party urged the international community to pay a close attention to the impunity in Nigeria, especially ahead of next year’s general elections.

    “It can only be imagined what role the police and other security agencies, which have been heavily compromised, will play during the elections. It is, therefore, imperative for the international observers, who will be coming for the elections, to take this into consideration in their report on the processes before, during and after the elections,” it said.

    APC warned those engaging in impunity today, just because they are in power, to realise that they would not be in power forever.

    The party added that one day they would account for their misdeeds.

     

  • Aspirant donates cars, bikes to APC

    Aspirant donates cars, bikes to APC

    A governorship aspirant in Jigawa State, Alhaji Badaru Abubakar, has donated 27 cars and 287 motorcycles to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    Presenting them to the party’s state Chairman, Alhaji Ado Sani, in Dutse, the state capital, Abubakar said they would ease the movement of members to party programmes.

    The cars would be given to the 27 local government chairmen and the motorcycles to the 287 ward chairmen.

    Abubakar pledged to support whoever emerges the party’s flagbearer, if he is not chosen.

    Sani thanked him for the gesture and urged the beneficiaries to maintain the cars and motorcycles.

  • 4, 000 PDP members defect to APC in Edo

    FOUR thousand members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have defected to the Edo State All Progressives Congress (APC) at a rally in Ikhobha-Okha Local Government Area.

    The defectors were led by a former secretary to the local government and ex-secretary of the PDP, Onaiwu Ugbogbo, eight PDP ward chairmen and over 300 executive committee members.

    The new APC members said they were deceived in PDP for long, adding that “the time has come for a change that will benefit all of us and the change and comfort we have found in the APC”.

    The defectors noted that the government came to their rescue when their areas were ravaged by erosion.

    Governor Adams Oshiomhole, who received the defectors, assured party faithful that the APC leadership would not impose any candidate on the party.

    He said candidates would emerge through transparent and credible primaries.

    The governor said no leader, including himself, would impose any candidate in the party’s primaries.

    “Whoever you choose, we will support the persons and ensure victory for the party. I want to assure you that it will be one man, one vote”.

    On the Saturday’s attack in the House of Assembly quarters, the governor said the PDP and its leaders could be likened to a snake that had been cut and which would eventually die.

    “They got police support and went to the legislative quarters with firearms and wanted to kill our Assembly men. What is their anger? They went to collect money with a promise that they will take over the House of Assembly. They got here and they got stuck, contrary to their calculations. We have shown that we are totally in charge.

    “We have got our budget for 2016 signed while other PDP governors are still struggling to get their budgets together. Having seen that they cannot achieve what they wanted, they started making trouble. We moved our people from Ring Road and so, out of frustration, they decided to resort to killing. While they do things in the name of people, we do things in the name of God”.