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Tag: APC

  • Foundation chief supports Aregbesola’s campaign

    Foundation chief supports Aregbesola’s campaign

    The Secretary of the Oranmiyan Foundation, Republic of Ireland chapter, Dr. Gbenga Salawu, has donated public address systems to all wards in Iwo, Ayedire and Ola-Oluwa Federal Constituency of Osun State to support Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s re-election campaign.

    He also gave N50,000 to each of the local government areas in the constituency for mobilisation to meetings.

    Handing over the items to the chairmen of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 10 wards in Ayedire Local Government, Ayedire urged them to put his donation to good use.

    The dentist turned politician said the Oranmiyan Foundation was determined to sustain the peace, economic growth and social rebirth in the state.

    He said alleged rigging by the PDP, “which ousted former Governor Bisi Akande from power in 2003, must not be allowed this time”.

    Salawu, who described Aregbesola as “God sent”, urged the people to see their voter cards as the key to their future and the future of unborn generations.

    He said the alleged threat of violence by the PDP should not discourage the people from defending their tomorrow, adding: “The same force of logic deployed to reclaim the party’s stolen mandate in the 2007 election would be used to return the governor for another four-year term of responsible and responsive governance.

    “We were in this country when free education, free health, food abundance and accountability were the hallmarks of governance and we were here when things began to deteriorate, especially when the military took over power. “The return to democracy in 1999 has not really shown any difference, particularly at the federal level, because the marauders in the garb of the PDP have continued to lord it over us.”

    The APC Chairman in the council, Prince Adesoye Adedapo, hailed Salawu for the gesture, urging party members to eschew violence, no matter the level of provocation from the opposition.

  • APC condemns Ojukwu’s son’s appointment

    APC condemns Ojukwu’s son’s appointment

    •Consoles traders in Onitsha

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Anambra State has called on Governor Willie Obiano to rescind its decision to appoint Chief Emeka Ojukwu (Jnr) as sole administrator of Nnewi North Local Government Council.

    The party described the action as illegal and undemocratic.

    This was contained in a statement yesterday in Awka signed by APC’s Interim Publicity Secretary Mr. Chukwuma Agufugo.

    He said APC condemned the use of persons as ad hoc leadership for councils.

    “We recall that despite the illegality of not displaying the voter register before the January 11 council elections, Nnewi North showed support for Labour Party (LP ) in the ill-fated election, which was sabotaged by some people”.

    “We will not condone any attempt by the APGA-led government to impose an illegal person on Nnewi North.”

    ‘’Moreover, the title of a sole administrator, who was not cleared by a democratic institution, reminds us of the military era.”

    The party has consoled traders of the Ose Okwudo Market in Onitsha, which was razed by fire.

    Goods worth hundreds of millions of naira were lost in the inferno.

    In a letter to the market chairman, Agufugo said the disaster was sad, and called on the government rehabilitate the traders, who had lost their means of livelihood.

  • PDP blames APC for Abuja blasts 

    PDP blames APC for Abuja blasts 

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has blamed the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) for the bomb blasts that rocked Abuja on Monday in which over 71 persons were killed and 124 injured. In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, the PDP condemned as barbaric, monstrous and extremely wicked, the blasts which occurred at Nyanya, on the outskirts of the Federal Capital Territory. The party said the blasts could not be justified under any guise, maintaining  the they are politically motivated and can be traced to the utterances and comments of desperate persons who seek to undermine and discredit the present administration and make the nation ungovernable for President Goodluck Jonathan by instituting a reign of terror against the people.

    The statement said: “We stand by our earlier statements that these attacks on our people are politically motivated by unpatriotic persons, especially those in the All Progressives Congress (APC) who have been making utterances and comments, promoting violence and blood-letting as a means of achieving political control. Nigerians are also aware of utterances by certain APC governors which have been aimed at undermining our security forces and emboldening insurgents against the people.

    “Those who have been promoting violence through their utterances can now see the monster they have created. They can now see the end product of their comments; a country flowing daily with the blood of the innocent. The question is: how do they feel when they see the mangled and blood-soaked bodies of their victims? How do they feel when they hear the voices of the dying and the injured? Of course they feel nothing. Their hearts have been hardened and they are embittered by the fact that they have been rejected by the people. They are bitter because the people have chosen to rally round the government they love and voted for; but must they choose the path of violence and bloodletting as a response to the wishes and aspirations of the people?”

    The ruling party said it was shocked and grief-stricken when it received the news of the gruesome attacks that led to killing of Nigerians pursuing their legitimate endeavors. “The PDP weeps. We are indeed grief-stricken. Our hearts go out to the bereaved, especially those who have been orphaned and widowed and those now deprived of their bread winners by this evil act. We share in their pain, their anguish and their loss and pray that those behind their grief must not escape justice”, the PDP added. The party urged well-meaning Nigerians to stand up and join President Jonathan in his efforts to check terrorism in the country. It also cautioned those allegedly fueling the attacks to retrace their steps, rid themselves of bitterness and desperation and seek forgiveness from God.

     

  • It is an indictment on Jonathan’s administration, says Tinubu

    It is an indictment on Jonathan’s administration, says Tinubu

    National leader of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has expressed his condolences and grief to the families who lost their loved ones to the deadly blasts in Abuja, saying the killing of innocent citizens must stop. In a statement by his media office, he said the shedding of blood has continued because the Jonathan administration has not devised a grand strategy against this menace, either locally or internationally. While commiserating with bereaved families, Tinubu urged the PDP-led administration to stop treating security of life and property of Nigerians with levity. “It is another gloomy chapter not only for families, but it reinforces the fear and vulnerability of Nigerians.  I condemn in the strongest terms the Nyanya bombings and the violent attacks perpetrated by Boko Haram. The killings are detestable, especially those of students and other innocent Nigerians. All peace loving Nigerians must condemn this mindless slaughter in the strongest of terms. No religion, Islam or Christianity, condones the killings of innocent lives for which there can be no justification.

    I call upon the law enforcement agencies and the President to spare no effort in bringing the perpetrators to book. The Jonathan Presidency must do all in its powers and within the ambit of the law to halt the Boko Haram nightmare,” he said. Lamenting that thousands of lives have been needlessly lost to the escalating violence, Tinubu said the tempo and consistency of attacks suggest that this government’s approach is not only wrong, but also wrongheaded. “For how long shall we cry over the failure of intelligence and misuse of military deployments? For how long shall we weep over the avoidable deaths, loss of talents and gloom in Nigerian homes? When the story of this generation is told, who shall escape responsibility for the mammoth human lives and resources lost to the slaughter?” he asked.

    Reacting further on his twitter handle in the aftermath of the bloody violence that claimed scores of lives, Tinubu said that President Jonathan must be prepared to accept the blame over the deadly attacks by the Boko Haram. He said: “This morning’s bomb blast in Yanyan, Abuja, and the mindless deaths is dastardly. It is an indictment of the Jonathan government. My heart bleeds for our people and the country over the deaths in Yanyan. A government (that is) unable to protect its citizens deserves to be queried.” The opposition leader also said Nigerians must rise up to demand better security from the government, adding that “As a country, we are united in grief over the Nyanya attacks, but as a people, we must rise up to demand this government provides better security. Nigeria’s security outlook is depressing; the unending attacks suggest a failure of intelligence. Government must rethink its strategy now. On matters of security, the bulk stops at the President’s table. Like in other countries, Jonathan is the Chief Security Officer. Just as Jonathan laps up praises, he must bear responsibility and accept blame over Boko Haram’s deadly attacks.” He upbraided the government for its attitude towards the death of its citizens, saying while too many lives are being shed, too many limbs severed, “this government carries on with its cavalier attitude.”

     

     

  • APC governors urge Fed Govt to convene emergency meeting

    APC governors urge Fed Govt to convene emergency meeting

    Governors under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), also called Progressive Governors’ Forum (PGF), urged the Federal Government yesterday to convene an emergency meeting of the National Council of State to discuss the recurrent killings of Nigerians.

    In a statement titled: Abuja Blasts: Enough of the Killings, the forum chairman and Imo State Governor Owelle Rochas Okorocha advised that the government put in place a new strategy to protect the lives and property of Nigerians from attacks.

    He said: “The Progressive Governors’ Forum hereby calls on the Federal Government to immediately convene an emergency meeting of the National Council of State to discuss the recurrent killings of Nigerians and to put in place new strategy to protect lives and property …from such barbaric attacks.”

    Okorocha said the forum was not making a political but a patriotic statement to save the nation from incessant killings of innocent people.

    The governor stressed that it was glaring the government had run out of ideas in the fight against insurgency, ethnic and communal clashes as well as armed robbery and kidnappings across Nigeria.

    He added: “It appears that the Federal Government and security agencies need some new initiatives to boost their capacity to carry out the fundamental goal of government, which is the security of lifes and property of citizens.”

    The statement reads: “The Progressive Governors’ Forum (PGF) hereby condemns the explosions in Nyanya, Abuja, and extends its sincere and heartfelt condolences to the families of commuters and all those who died or were injured in the carnage.

    “It is regrettable that the deaths of innocent Nigerians have become a daily occurrence with little respite. In the last two weeks alone, about 1,000 Nigerians have perished.

    “We also wish to commiserate with the parents and families of the candidates who were killed over the weekend while trying to sit for the Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board (JAMB) in Maiduguri, Borno State. The tragic deaths indicate major failure of government.

    “As if failing to tackle the Boko Haram insurgency is not bad enough, the security situation has deteriorated to a level where so-called gunmen are now on the rampage across Nigeria, killing and maiming at will with no response from our poorly equipped and ill-informed security operatives. Is it too much for the government to, at the very least, identify the perpetuators of these terrible crimes?”

  • ‘Fed Govt has marginalised Borno’

    ‘Fed Govt has marginalised Borno’

    Borno StateAll Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain Mohammed Bukar has decried the lack of federal projects in the state.

    Bukar lamented that the insurgency has affected the infrastrutural development, adding that federal institutions in the state are now limited to the teaching hospital, the University of Maiduguri and the military formation.

    He called on the Federal government to provide security and social amenties for the people to alleviate their suffering.

    Bukar, who is eyeing a seat in the House of Representatives, said that the indigenes looked forward to another era of peace and transquility. He said the pains of terrorism are visible the Maiduguri metropolitan Constituency.

    Bukar added: “Most of us have been on ground, since the inception of this insurgency. We cry and laugh with the people. We share what we have with them and still ensure that we are ready pillars for them to lean on. However, it is worrisome that most of the grassroots people are not being carried along by the members of the House now. I am worried at the acute poverty affecting our people.

    “The Central Bank of Nigeria recently classified Borno as an extremely poor state with a low development index. This is disturbing, in spite of the fact that we have members in the National Assembly with so much instruments at their disposal to alleviate poverty by empowering these suffering people.

    “These people in the House promised heaven and earth. Yet, they have not been able to fulfill most of their promises”

    Bukar said that he would abandon his job at the First City Monument Bank to answer the people call to duty, assuring that he would articulate their interest, if elected as a legislator.

    He supported the suggestion by the Northeast governors that the state of emergency should end so that the electoral commission can conduct elections in the zone next year.

    The politician submitted that elections can hold in the zone, if the commission is ready for the exercise.

    He said that, if Yobe State could conduct council polls during the emergency, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) can successfully conduct the general election in the area.

    Bukar added: “What the Federal Government needs to do is to intensify its efforts to make sure that the insurgents are completely eliminated from the region so that normal life can resume.

    “I do not believe that elections cannot hold because of insurgency. After all, Yobe did it successfully and their democratic structures are in place now.”

     

     

  • Forget about winning, APC youths tell Fayose

    Forget about winning, APC youths tell Fayose

    The National Youth Vanguard of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has told the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP’s) flag bearer in the June 21 governorship election in Ekiti State, former Governor Ayo Fayose, to forget about winning the poll.

    The youths and the Director-General of Governor Kayode Fayemi’s campaign organisation, Mr. Daramola Abimbola, were at Fayose’s stronghold in Ado-Ekiti – Falegan Abekoko, which consists of three communities, on Sunday, to campaign for Fayemi.

    Coordinator of the Youth Vanguard in Ekiti State Dare Ajayi said by coming out en masse, residents were telling Fayose to forget about winning the election.

    Southwest Coordinator of the Youth Vanguard Majeed Yahaya said: “Fayose should hands of, as the APC is ready to win Ekiti with an unprecedented margin in the history of elections in Nigeria. The APC National Youth Vanguard will put in place strategies to prevent rigging in the election.”

     

  • Our prayers’ll give you victory, senior citizens assure Fayemi

    Our prayers’ll give you victory, senior citizens assure Fayemi

    Senior citizens in Ekiti West Local Government Area trooped out yesterday to the campaign grounds of the All Progressives Congress (APC), where they assured Governor Kayode Fayemi of their votes in the June 21 election.

    The elders, all above 65 years, are beneficiaries of the Fayemi administration’s Social Security Scheme for the Elderly.

    They pledged their votes for the governor, saying: “We have been more than protected by your large heart. While wishing you God’s protection, we pledge to vote for you and work for your victory in the election.”

    Communities visited by the campaign train were Ipole-Iloro, Ikogosi and Erijiyan, where the governor urged the people to be vigilant on the election day and protect their votes from being stolen.

    He expressed confidence that projects executed in the communities would motivate the electorate to re-elect him and ensure continuity of the development witnessed across the state.

    Fayemi said besides the transformation of the Ikogosi Warm Spring Resort, his administration built the palace of the town’s monarch and its indigenes benefitted from job opportunities created by the government.

    He said the community benefitted from the construction of five-kilometer roads in each council.

    The governor said his administration was ready to commence work on the second phase of the Ikogosi Warm Spring Resort, which would include a hotel, golf course and game reserve.

    At Ipole-Iloro, Fayemi pledged to transform the Arinta Waterfall into an international tourist centre and begin the reconstruction of the Ipole-Ogotun road in six months.

    He said the Ikogosi-Ipole road, which was abandoned by previous Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) administrations, was fixed by his administration.

    According to him, a vote for the APC would ensure continuity of good policies, good governance and more dividends of democracy.

    Fayemi pledged to reconstruct the Aramoko-Erijiyan-Ikogosi road and roads leading to farmsteads.

    He said soldiers would be brought to protect the people and tighten security at the Ikogosi Warm Spring Resort, adding that a police station is being built at the resort.

    Members of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) in Ekiti West Local Government, under the chairmanship of Mr. Fatai Oluyede, said teachers were behind Fayemi because of the various incentives they have enjoyed under his administration.

    Oluyede listed special allowances for teachers in rural areas and those teaching core subjects; distribution of laptops to teachers and regular payment of leave bonuses and salaries as some of the incentives.

    He also hailed Fayemi for giving new cars to teachers.

    At Ikogosi, Mrs. Beatrice Kolawole, who spoke for beneficiaries of the Social Security Scheme for the elderly, said: “It is only if Fayemi withdraws from the race that he will not come back to office because old people are praying for his success in the election.

    “We shall all vote for you. If the law of the land permits you, we want you to be there for as long as possible. We appreciate you and pray that God will keep you there for us.”

    A student leader in the community, Oluwatosin Ogunkuade, hailed Fayemi for transforming the Ikogosi Warm Spring into an international tourist centre, assuring him of not less than 90 per cent of votes in the community.

    At Erijiyan, a student leader in the community, Damilare Bewaji, said Fayemi deserves to be re-elected because he renovated the town’s secondary school, gave laptops to students and youths benefited from his administration’s empowerment schemes.

    He warned the people to be wary of one of the governorship candidates, who brutalised students about 10 years ago, saying Fayemi has empowered students to be 21st Century compliant.

    A member of the House of Representatives, who hails from the community, Mr. Oyetunde Ojo, said Ekiti is lucky to have Fayemi at the helm of affairs, noting that the governor has fulfilled his promises to the people.

    The lawmaker, who represents Ekiti Central II, said Erijiyan is wearing a new look owing to various projects executed by the Fayemi administration and urged the people to vote for the governor on June 21.

    Fayemi said the construction of the Erijiyan-Aramoko road has been incorporated in the 2014 Budget and work would soon start.

    He said the Erijiyan water project would be commissioned soon and water would flow in every home, adding that the court complex in the community had been completed.

    The governor warned the people against selling their voter cards to desperate politicians.

     

     

  • It’s despicable, says APC

    It’s despicable, says APC

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) has condemned the atrocious bomb blast that left 71 people dead in Abuja on Monday, and urged the Federal Government to urgently convene a national stakeholders’ security summit to help find a lasting solution to the spate of mindless killings in the country. In a statement by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party expressed its shock and sadness at the savagery of the attack, while condoling with the families of those killed and praying for a quick recovery for the injured.

    It said it is now obvious that all efforts so far to tackle the insurgency in the country have not yielded much fruits, meaning that this PDP-led Federal Government lacks the capacity and has clearly run out of ideas on how to tackle the violence. ‘’It is time for new thinking, new ideas, to stop this insurgency before it consumes all of us. The attack, right on the outskirts of Abuja, which has been spared this kind of spectacular strike since 2011, means those behind it are getting bolder and bolder, and it’s time to stop them,’’ it said. APC said, in the national interest and in the spirit of bipartisanship, it is willing and ready to be part of any positive efforts to end the daily loss of lives and the damage to property that seem to have hit a new high since the beginning of this year.

    Meanwhile, the party has described as despicable the PDP’s attempt to trivialize a very serious issue and make the opposition the fall guy for its own egregious failure. “‘The PDP and the government it leads at the centre should realize that this issue is beyond politics and partisanship, and should reach out to other stakeholders to help find a way to end the insurgency that has now defied all measures, including a state of emergency. Trying to blame the opposition for the attack, as the PDP has irresponsibly done, even when the bodies of the victims are still lying in the morgue, cannot advance a genuine push to end the insurgency,’’ the party said. The APC wondered whether the PDP’s ignoble accusation is part of a sinister motive to call the dog a bad name just to hang it. ‘’PDP is so desperate that it will stop at nothing to plunge Nigeria into chaos just to achieve its objective of clinging to power at all costs. Its baseless and infantile accusation, at a time of great national pain, may be a ploy to instigate a clampdown against the opposition. We are therefore calling on all our members, and indeed all the good people of Nigeria, to be vigilant in the days ahead,’’ the party said.

  • Ogun APC Ward Congress: Beacon of hope

    Ogun APC Ward Congress: Beacon of hope

    SIR: Permit me to use this medium to congratulate the Ogun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for holding a successful Ward Congress on Saturday, April 5. That exercise, by all accounts, ranks among the best in the annals of party politics in Nigeria. It was not only peaceful but inclusive and the turn-out impressive.

    Both the leader of the party, Chief Olusegun Osoba and the state governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, jointly monitored the exercise, thus giving the lie to the rumour of division within the state APC. Of course, no one expected a 100 per cent success in any election – without one or two hitches. And I believe the governor underscored the essence of sincerity after last Saturday’s Local Government Congress in explaining this human phenomenon.

    Amosun was reported in the papers to have said thus: “Whatever minor hitches witnessed in the conduct of the poll could only be “because we are human, not angels. The good thing is that there was no deliberate action on the part of the officials to disenfranchise anyone. All tendencies in the party were fully represented. Either as winners or losers in the Congress of today, we are all one in APC.  Our goal is one, so is our aspiration in Ogun APC.”

    It is however sad to read of deliberate distortion of  the Ward Congress in one or two papers. It is one thing to understate or exaggerate an event that happened but when some writers manufacture an event that never took place, then they act against public interest. Such amounts to gross misconduct and the public should be wary of accepting hook, line and sinker reports they themselves know could be improbable or fly in the face of realities and accounts of other sources.

    Just like the governor, I was shocked to read in two papers “that parallel congresses were held in all the 236 wards in Ogun State.” This is comprehensive falsehood. It never happened. Not one parallel ward congress was held throughout Ogun on that fateful day.

    Let me quote the reaction of Amosun to this lie:  “How can this be true? We are all witnesses to what happened last Saturday. Except in a few wards where unavoidable change of venue led to some justifiable complaints, which were immediately redressed by our party leader, Chief Osoba, after which the exercise went on smoothly, where on earth did we witness parallel congresses, as reported in some papers?” the governor had asked rhetorically.

    I declare that the APC Ward Congress held on Saturday, April 5, remains a landmark in the annals of Nigeria and is therefore a beacon of hope for all lovers of democracy. The ward congress is the foundation of all other congresses. It is like the foundation of a house. Once the foundation is strong, the house will be strong.

    Congratulations to Ogun APC, its leaders at the state and national levels and all lovers of democracy in Nigeria.

    • Soyombo Opeyemi

    Abeokuta