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Tag: APC

  • Saraki: APC ‘ll emerge stronger after primaries

    Saraki: APC ‘ll emerge stronger after primaries

    Former Kwara State governor Senator Bukola Saraki is confident that the All Progressives Congress (APC) will emerge stronger after the December 2 presidential primaries.

    He responded yesterday to insinuations in some quarters that the ambition of the APC presidential aspirants would tear the party apart after the primary election.

    Saraki, the lawmaker representing Kwara Central and a chieftain of the APC, briefed reporters in Ilorin, the state capital.

    Said he: “This is a propaganda by the opposition. I assure Nigerians that the fact that we are going to have primaries should not disintegrate the party. I believe the primaries will even help unify the party. We saw it during the era of the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP). After the primary election, the party did not disintegrate. Rather, it made it stronger.

    “Even in the early days of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and Dr. Alex Ekwueme went for primaries and the party did not disintegrate.

    “I have had the opportunity to sit with Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso and there are assurances from them that whichever way the primaries go, they will support the party. When we merged with the legacy parties, the opposition said the party would disintegrate after the merger. Later, they said by the time we organised the national convention, the party would disintegrate.

    “APC will not disintegrate because we are making sacrifices everyday. It is not easy to come together and take on a government with this level of impunity. We are doing this because we believe this is the best way for the country. I have confidence that whoever emerges as the presidential standard bearer of the APC, we will support the person.”

    On whether he has a presidential ambition, the Senate Committee Chairman on Environment and Ecology said: “Very soon I will make my position on the presidential poll known. I appreciate people’s concern on this issue.

    “I believe 2015, for a lot of us, is about Nigeria. It is about the sacrifices we will have to make and we will take the decisions based on the sacrifices.

    “The key thing is that we must rescue Nigeria. We must put the country in the right direction. Nigeria is not in the right direction and I think nobody’s personal ambition is too big for that.”

     

  • My Agenda for Ijebu Central, by aspirant

    My Agenda for Ijebu Central, by aspirant

    All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain Mr. Lanre Kuku, is an aspirant for the House of Representatives in Ijebu Central Constituency, Ogun State. He spoke with reporters on his agenda the constituency. Excerpts:

    As an aspirant for the House of Representatives, what is your agenda?

    Education is the cornerstone for any country’s development. A nation’s   progress, national security, economic, cultural, social and political prosperity is anchored in an educated citizenry. Consequently, I will introduce legislation that provides avenues that ensure that education is available to all irrespective of a persons’ family background or situation.

    Is the security of the people not your concern?

    Nigeria needs to take care of its citizens as they go through the vicissitudes of life; the jobless, the elderly, and especially, the pensioners deserve better social accommodation than they currently have. Legislation that offers assistance to Nigerians at various stages of life’s needs will be introduced. For pensioners, legislation compelling payments of their monthly entitlements one week before current employees get paid will be presented.

    Ijebu is noted for commerce. What do you want to do in this regard?

    Nigerian employees are yet to be properly recognised and compensated adequately for their labour, especially if they work in the private sector where they may not get paid for months nor have their monthly salaries paid in bits and pieces by sometimes unscrupulous employers. Laws enforcing minimum wage payments on time will be initiated and those in violation will be promptly sanctioned. Other salient benefits; health, family, retirement, vacation, etc., will be proposed. Also, businesses, especially those managed/owned by women will receive significant attention in legislations that will be proposed.

    What other programmes do you have?

    A nation’s wealth and progress depends very critically on the availability of a healthy citizenry. Consequently, every segment of the population would be provided for in legislations that will be proposed. The idea of visiting doctors and nurses will be proposed and healthcare facilities will be established based on a designated population figure.

    A nation’s youth are its future. Programmes that match manpower needs to the education process will be presented for legislation so that human capacity development can proceed in a way that ensures their employment. Creativity, in abundance in the youth, will be encouraged.

     

     

  • ‘My agenda for Ede Constituency’

    ‘My agenda for Ede Constituency’

    All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain Prince Saheed Lasisi has joined  the House of Representatives race in Ede Constituency, Osun State.

    The politician from the rustic town, Sekona, told reporters in  Ede that he was motivated by the desire to serve the people.

    He said stakeholders, including royal fathers, party leaders, women and youths are rooting for his candidature because of their yearning for change.

    Lasisi, who was at the palace of the Timi of Ede, Oba Munirudeen Lawal, for roayal blessing, promised not to let the people down, if elected as a legislator.

    The monarch advised him to conduct his campaigns peacefully and avoid politics of bitterness.

    Addressing the people of his ward, Lasisi, who is an associate of the Institute of Chartered Accountant of Nigeria (ICAN), unfolded a four-point agenda encompassing youth empowerment, education, rural development and legislation.

    He promised to initiate laws that would boost small scale industries in Ede Constituency. He also promised to give scholarship to indigent students in tertiary institutions.

    The Chairman of the APC in his ward, Kadiri Adeola,  commended Lasisi  for his vision. He urged him not to renege on his promises, if elected as a lawmaker.

    Lasisi is a financial expert with over 14 years experience. He has served as the director of the Nigerian Wire and Cable Plc, Guardian Health Care Ltd, True bond Capital and Asset Management Ltd. He was a member of the Transition Management  Team of Skyway Aviation Handling Company (SAHCOL).

     

  • ‘APC’ll enthrone true democracy’

    ‘APC’ll enthrone true democracy’

    ALL Progressives Congress (APC) will set a template for true democracy in Nigeria, former Kogi State Governor Prince Abubakar Audu said yesterday.

    Audu spoke in his Ogbonicha country home in Ofu Local Government Area while receiving some Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members from Kogi East into the APC.

    He criticised the adoption of President Goodluck Jonathan by the PDP leadership as the party’s sole candidate, describing it as a mockery of democracy.

    Audu said recent events in the state showed that the APC was on its way to power and urged members to work harder.

    He condemned the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for “turning a blind eye to electioneering campaigns by the PDP”.

    Addressing the defectors, he said: “I welcome you all into the APC. We in the APC will conduct ourselves in a democratic manner and continue to set the template for a better Nigeria. We are almost there and recent events have shown that the APC is the preferred party in Kogi State.

    “Our major preoccupation at the moment is to consolidate on the gains recorded by the APC in the state. The defection of some prominent PDP members and yours too is heartwarming.

    “In the APC, we follow the rules. We will make Nigerians proud by setting democratic standards and ensuring that the political space is open to all. From the ward level to the state and national levels, we will do things the right way. The APC’s presidential candidate will emerge at the Eagle Square through a democratic process. Between November and December, the APC’s presidential candidate will emerge. It will be decided in the public and seen clearly by the people.”

    One of the defectors, a PDP youth leader from Ankpa, Ilyasu Abdulkarim, said they dumped “PDP because it is a poverty development party”.

     

  • Ekiti APC accuses PDP of planning fresh mayhem

    Ekiti APC accuses PDP of planning fresh mayhem

    •‘Our focus is on Fayose’s inauguration’

    EKITI State All Progressives Congress (APC) has accused the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of planning another round of mayhem, with the aim of intimidating the state into submission towards the October 16 inauguration of the Governor-elect, Mr. Ayodele Fayose.

    The APC called on security agencies “to be vigilant and beam their searchlights on those beating the drums of war.”

    The party’s Publicity Secretary, Taiwo Olatubosun, in a statement alleged that the PDP, fearing the legal hurdle to be crossed by its candidate before he could be sworn in, was mobilising for another showdown against the state’s innocent people, the government and the judiciary.

    In a counter-statement yesterday, the state PDP Spokesperson, Kola Oluwawole, debunked the allegation, saying: “Nothing could be farther from the truth than such wanton fabrication.”

    He said what the APC was planning was what it was accusing the opposition for.

    Oluwawole, who noted that the PDP was already preoccupied with preparations towards the inauguration of the state governor-elect, queried: “What will be the basis for such insurrection?”

    But the APC’s statement reads: “We have our facts that beginning from tomorrow, Wednesday October 8, 2014, Fayose and the PDP leadership will take to the streets again to foment trouble, using some thugs brought in from the neighboring state and Ibadan.

    “The plan was hatched in a meeting held at the Spotless Hotel belonging to the governor-elect. Barring a last-minute change of heart, they will start another round of protest and attacks on opposition leaders in the state capital to prevent the judiciary of smooth dispensation of the cases before it following the resolution of the National Judicial Council (NJC).

    “This clandestine and anti-democratic move is actually showing that Fayose is above the law. There are provisions in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria that qualifies one to vote and be voted for. The issue of election is not complete until the Election Tribunal dispenses all the cases or petitions emanating from such election or electoral process.

    “We remain unperturbed by the threat. Our only worry is that their usual resorting to causing mayhem in the bid to take over the state by force and by fire is giving the entire state a bad name. We may be heading for another season of one week, one trouble.”

    The APC said it gathered that anytime from now, Fayose and PDP thugs would start causing civil unrest.

    It added: “We have it on good authority that they have been importing new set of thugs into the state to harass innocent people. We have it on good authority that they have been inciting some people to start protesting against the system.”

    “If indeed Fayose is duly elected and has the legitimate right to the position, why is he afraid of crossing the legal hurdles as required by the statute? Why thus he want to ride on the back of chaos to the seat of government?

    “We are seizing this opportunity to warn our peace-loving Ekiti sons and daughters to allow things to be done legally and orderly. Even Fayose should realise that whatever action he is taking today will become a sword in the hands of his perceived followers tomorrow when they are tired of his usual high-handedness. The earlier he follows the path of honour to power, the better.

    “On our part, we will continue to follow the peaceful legal path.”

    But the PDP’s counter-statement reads: “People across our dear state already know the style of the APC. It would cry wolf where there is none. People are seeking peace now and such an allegation has no basis. It is entirely unfounded.

    “As far as PDP is concerned, we are planning the installation of Ekiti’s next governor. We are too busy in the preparations towards the inauguration and shall not be distracted a bit.”

  • Odigie-Oyegun: why I shunned national awards

    The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, has said the silence by the Federal Government on the attacks on judges in Ekiti State was the reason he did not attend the national awards.

    He said he was too shocked on the desecration of the judiciary “for me to wear agbada and shake the hands of the Federal Government officials.”

    Odigie-Oyegun said he could not comport himself and receive an award in a country where its halls of justice had been desecrated and there was no reaction from the Federal Government.

    The APC national chairman spoke in Benin City after he received members of the Ijaw Youth Group, who gave him a copy of their resolution not to vote for President Goodluck Jonathan.

    He said the judiciary was on trial and that the world was watching what the judges would do.

    Odigie-Oyegun noted: “How seriously will they react? Will they get cowed again by the power structure of the nation or will they stand up for themselves and say we cannot have this? It must not happen. I was traumatised.

    “This is a very unprecedented happening, the humiliation of the judiciary. Thuggery in the sacred halls of the judiciary. Has this country degenerated to that extent?

    “What does it portend for the nation that somebody, who we thought was going to be the governor to lead a team that will manhandle judicial officers in those sacred chambers. It has never happened before. I urge the press to unravel what happened and ensure severe punishment is meted out to the culprits.”

    He debunked the allegation that the APC planned to stop the inauguration of governor-elect Ayodele Fayose, but said the party would seek interpretations of the law on the matter.

    Odigie-Oyegun warned aspirants in Edo State not to drop his name that he had endorsed them for elections.

     

  • Oni urges police to find Aderiye’s killers

    Former Ekiti State Governor, Chief Segun Oni, has urged the police to widen its investigation on the murder of a former National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) Chairman Omolafe Aderiye.

    He was killed while eating with friends on September 25 in his Ado-Ekiti office by gunmen who were dressed in police uniform and wore bullet-proof vests.

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) Deputy National Chairman (South) said it was sad that Aderiye was cut down in his prime when he was striving to provide meaningful livelihood to many through his transportation company.

    “I am still at a loss whether the killing had to do with politics. I am not comfortable with the idea of looking in the direction of politics alone for perpetrators of the dastard murder of Omolafe.

    “I appeal very strongly to the police and other law enforcement agencies to spread the dragnets, without borders, to find out the angle from which the deadly arrow came from,” Oni said in a statement.

    He prayed against a return to the state’s “dark days” when many professionals fled for fear of being murdered.

    “The days when people like us in a political rally at Falegan Estate in 2005 were bombarded and shot at severally, dragged on the road and ended up at Igbobi Orthopaedic Hospital; the days when I lost my good friend, Dr. Ayo Daramola and I narrowly missed death along with him.

    “We are now at the point that we should see the state as a common destiny we have to take in our hands to preserve, protect and shield from a slide back into those dark ages”.

  • Court adjourns APC member’s suit

    The Federal High Court in Lagos will on November 20 hear a motion for substituted service in a suit by an All Progressives Congress (APC) member Mr Bamidele Avoseh against the party.

    The plaintiff is praying the court to nullify the party’s state congress held in May for allegedly being irregular.

    The APC, Mr Joseph Ayodeji, Mr Tayo Sanyaolu, Hon. Tunde Balogun, Chairman APC Lagos, APC National Chairman and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) are the respondents.

    Earlier, Avoseh’s lawyer Mr Omoniyi Aruwayo, had sought to move his motion ex-parte, but Justice James Tsoho directed that the defendants be put on notice, adding that it would be tidier to do so before it is moved.

    At the resumed hearing, the lawyer said he was unable to serve Sanyaolu and Chairman of APC in Lagos, alleging they evaded service.

    Aruwayo, therefore, sought to serve them by alternative means, such as by pasting the suit on the walls of their offices or publishing it in a newspaper.

    The plaintiff is seeking a declaration that the alleged refusal to submit his name as a delegate duly listed to contest the state Delegates’ Congress was contrary to the Electoral Act.

    In a supporting affidavit, Avoseh said the APC guidelines required the state congress committee to display the names of candidates vying for party positions in wards, local government and state congresses.

    He said that the committee was to announce aspirants’ names within 48 hours before the election, and forward them to INEC, informing it of the congress venue.

    The plaintiff said his name and those of four others were listed as state congress aspirants from Apapa Ward C on a harmonised list, signed by Ayodeji, the council chairman.

    Avoseh said Sanyaolu was listed as an aspirant for the Local Government Area (LGA) Election in Apapa Ward C

    According to the plaintiff, on April 25, the list of all Wards in Apapa LGA was published and delegates’ tags released to aspirants, but Apapa Ward’s list was missing.

    The delegates’ tags, he said, were not given to him and others who were listed on the harmonised ward list, and so he was not allowed into the APC state’s secretariat, venue of the congress on April 26, on the basis that he was not accredited.

    Avoseh said Sanyaolu was then hand-picked as an aspirant for the state congress election without vying for the position, and was eventually elected APC youth leader.

    The plaintiff is, therefore, seeking a declaration that the non-accreditation of aspirants and the exclusion of his name is unconstitutional, and constituted an affront on due electoral process.

    He is seeking an order nullifying results of the APC local government and state congresses for irregularities, and for not complying with electoral guidelines.

  • APC to PDP, Jonathan: stop taking credit for Ebola control

    APC to PDP, Jonathan: stop taking credit for Ebola control

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday told President Goodluck Jonathan and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to stop taking credit for the country’s successful containment of the Ebola Disease Virus (EVD).

    It said it would amount to dishonesty for the President and his party to turn what was a collective effort to a campaign issue.

    But the PDP fired back, saying the APC preferred that “the Ebola scourge continued unabated in Nigeria so as to have what to blame the PDP-led government for”.

    The PDP made its position known in a response to a statement by the APC National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.

    The APC said President Jonathan and his party were wrong to have appropriated the credit for the successful containment of the EVD without giving due credit to the real heroes of the successful battle: Dr. Stella Adadevoh and her colleagues at the First Consultant Hospital; officials of the ministries of Health in Lagos and Rivers states and the patriotic Nigerian volunteers, among others.

    It described as a cheap shot and a shameless venture the President’s decision to make the Ebola success story a campaign issue during a PDP rally in Benin, giving the impression that only the PDP deserves the credit for the successful containment of the disease.

    The APC said while indeed Health Minister Onyebuchi Chukwu exhibited the kind of professionalism and purposefulness that are not common with the Jonathan Administration during the battle against Ebola, it will be uncharitable for the PDP-led Federal Government to pretend as if the governments of the two affected states did nothing.

    The party reminded President Jonathan that the two states hit by Ebola, Lagos and Rivers, are APC states, and that the promptness, purposefulness, doggedness and determination shown by the governors contributed largely to the successful containment of the virulent disease.

    ‘’The cities of Lagos and Port Harcourt are perhaps the largest metropolis to have ever been hit by the EVD since the first outbreak was recorded in the Democratic Republic of Congo almost 40 years ago, and any mishandling of the disease could have spelt disaster not just for the cities but for the country as a whole.

    ‘’But the ever-dogged and determined Governors Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State and Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers states employed the same winning strategies that have stood their states out of the pack and quickly rose to the occasion, putting in place measures that ensured a quick curtailing of the EVD spread. The measures include painstaking contact-tracing, unrelenting follow-up and creative treatment of infected patients even without access to the experimental drug Zmapp.

    ‘’There is no doubt that Nigeria is fortunate that the EVD outbreaks were recorded in those two states. It is a measure of the high premium that the Chief Executives of the states place on human life, a testimony to the strong health systems they are building and an indication of their purposeful approach to governance that they successfully contained the disease, thus earning Nigeria a rare accolade from the global community.

    ‘’Unlike the President and the PDP, we will also like to give credit to the Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, for acting out of character with the do-nothing Jonathan Administration. We hope President Jonathan and his party will stop making the Ebola success story in which opposition states were the main actors a fulcrum of their campaign for the 2015 general elections. They cannot and should not take credit for the containment of Ebola in Nigeria,’’ APC said.

    The party also advised President Jonathan not to use the Ebola containment effort as another tool to divide Nigerians along party lines.

    ‘’President Jonathan is the most divisive President in Nigeria’s history. He inherited a united Nigeria, but has divided the country along ethnic and religious lines on the altar of selfish personal ambition and short-term opportunism. It will amount to a monumental tragedy if the President will again use the Ebola success story, which has earned Nigeria a rare acclamation from the global community, as a tool to further divide Nigerians,’’ it said.

     

  • ‘APC frustrated by Nigeria’s success’

    ‘APC frustrated by Nigeria’s success’

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday lambasted the APC for what it called yet another failed attempt to discredit the PDP-led Federal Government and relegate its efforts in the containment of the Ebola Virus Disease.

    PDP National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, in a statement said the APC is frustrated and unhappy because Nigerians are happy with the PDP-led Federal Government for “the speed and energy with which it tackled the scourge and brought it under control.”

    “We know that the APC prefers that the Ebola scourge continued unabated in Nigeria so as to have what to blame the PDP-led government for. Now that it has been contained, the APC is frustrated because the people are happy with President Goodluck Jonathan and the PDP-led Federal Government for the proactive manner with which the disease was confronted and overcame”, the party said.

    The PDP insisted that the national success recorded on Ebola was because President Goodluck Jonathan refused to politicise the issue but took the bull by the horns through an aggressive multi-sectoral approach for treatment, awareness and control to the admiration of all Nigerians and the international community.

    “The PDP makes bold to state that the multi-sectoral approach deployed by the Federal Government with the concerted collaboration of the Federal Ministries of Health, Aviation, Information, Education, Transport and other relevant agencies such as the Nigerian Immigration Service for intensive screening, quarantine and treatment efforts as well as the massive awareness which ended the spread of the disease and resulted in its containment in our country.

    “We are also amused by the contradictions in the APC’s statement in which it also commended the roles played by the Minister of Health, Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu in the containment effort. We ask, is the minister not appointed and supervised by President Goodluck Jonathan? Is he not of the PDP? Or is the APC now trying to appropriate him?

    “Apart from concerted collaborations using the Federal Ministry of Health, it is on record that President Jonathan released N200 million each to Lagos and Rivers States to help in fighting the disease, including improvement of health facilities and public enlightenment across board.

    “The President acknowledged the Nigerian Spirit which made the citizens to put their religious, political and ethnic differences aside in fighting this common enemy. This includes PDP national officers who personally and collectively engaged in various activities in containing the scourge including creating awareness through the #EBOLAIceBucketChallenge and personal financial donations while the

    APC was busy seeking political capital out of the unfortunate situation.

    “However, what the APC must understand is that Nigerians and indeed the international community are happy with the President Goodluck Jonathan-led PDP administration on the rapid response and eventual containment of the Ebola Virus Disease, and no amount of propaganda and blackmail will take this away”, the PDP said.