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  • Army deserves better welfare, says Atiku

    PEOPLE’S Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has promised that his administration will improve the welfare of military personnel, if elected the next President.

    At a news conference at the PDP Secretariat in Akure, the Ondo State capital, the former vice president hailed the contributions of men of the Army to the country’s growth and survival.

    According to him,  men of the Army deserved better welfare, considering their services to the nation.

    He noted that many of them have sacrificed their lives for the country’s survival.

    Read also: Governors shower encomiums on soldiers, ex-servicemen, fallen heroes’ families

    Atiku particularly hailed the military for waging serious war against Boko Haram, stressing that the war against insurgency was fought majorly by the Army.

     

  • 2019: Atiku promises youths, women 70% appointments

    Presidential candidate of People’s Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar on Monday promised to run an inclusive government with 40 percent of youth and 30% of women accommodated in his cabinet if elected.

    He also stated his commitment to provide create jobs, security and resuscitate the weak economy to a vibrant one.

    He spoke at the PDP campaign rally in Ado Ekiti, the state capital, assuring Ekiti people he would not abandon them like the ruling party has allegedly done.

    Atiku said: “The good people of Ekiti state, APC has stolen all your jobs, now they want to steal your votes.

    “They did it in Ekiti and Osun, Ogun, Bauchi, they even stole in Kastina where they come from. I don’t know why they have to steal in their home.

    “This state has always been a PDP. When we paid a courtesy call to Ewi of Ado, he said he wants us to build the roads. We will complete all federal projects not completed, we will restore standard and quality education, so we can give you jobs.

    Read Also: Army recovers locally-made pistol after foiled robbery

    “APC don’t know how to create jobs and don’t know how to give you 40 percent of our portfolios will go to youths while 30 percent will go to women and that is 70 for youths and women.

    “We know how to do it and we have done it before we will do it again”.

    The Director General of Atiku Campaign Council, Dr. Bukola Saraki urged youths to vote Atiku, saying he will give you jobs as he has given millions through his private business.”

    “There is no story, youths are the future, a leader has to make fulfilled promises but Buhari promised you jobs, security and to fight corruption, has he fulfilled his promises?

    “No! Atiku is a man who knows how to create jobs, secure the country and also fight corruption.”

    Speaking at the campaign rally, the former governor Ayo Fayose urged Nigerians to reject the APC, saying the party has ruined the economy and made life difficult for the downtrodden masses to live.

    “In Ekiti we will deliver, he that the gods will destroy, he will first make to run mad. That is the case of the current Federal Government but PDP will deliver Nigeria from their poverty and misrule”, Fayose said.

    The National chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Prince Uche Secondus warned the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Idris Ibrahim, to desist from actions that can plunge the nation into unnecessary chaos by attempting to subvert the mandate of the people in the forthcoming general elections.

    Secondus, who expressed optimism his party would win the presidential poll on February 16, added President Mohammadu Buhari has failed to fulfill his promises of job creation, fighting insecurity and surmounting the challenge of corruption because he is too weak to rule a complex country like Nigeria.

    He added that Nigeria needs a president that is energetic and ready to work 24 hours a day and not the one that would work for three hours.

  • Release of ‘repentant’ B/Haram members: Atiku hails Borno elders

    The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has commended Borno elders for calling on President Muhammadu Buhari to stop the practice of releasing ‘repentant’ Boko Haram members.

    Describing the action of the elders as patriotic and commonsensical, Atiku said he fully aligned with the elders’ position, adding that he made the same call to the president severally in 2018 but that the call was not heeded.

    In a statement yesterday by his media adviser, Paul Ibe, the former vice president said the latest call by the Borno elders has vindicated him. He described them as courageous and sagacious.

    “It makes no military or practical sense to release hardened terrorists, who have taken the very precious lives of members of the Nigerian Armed Forces, on the flimsy excuse that they have been deradicalised or repentant.

    “As Atiku Abubakar said last year, and says again, any right thinking person can see that escalation of the war on Nigeria by Boko Haram/ISWAP, coincides with the introduction of this repugnant policy by the Muhammadu Buhari administration,” the statement added.

    Atiku urged Buhari to cast his mind back to the testimony of Abba Umar, a Boko Haram commander, who, after his arrest, boasted that he would return to join the sect in Sambisa if he was ever released.

    He advised the president to show single minded resolve and commitment to defeating the common enemies of the nation and to do so without betraying any weakness, as this will only embolden the terrorists.

    “Finally, Atiku Abubakar serves notice to Boko Haram/ISWAP that if he is elected president of Nigeria, there will be no release of any captured terrorist. Instead, they must expect the harshest punishment the law allows. Under Atiku Abubakar, criminals will not profit from their criminality,” the statement said.

  • Trial of CJN: Atiku faults CCB, warns Buhari

    The Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), AlhajiAtikuAbubakar yesterday faulted the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) for filing charges against the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Samuel Nkanu Onnoghen at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT).

    He said even if the allegations against Onnoghenwere  true, the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) was wrong to have referred the petition to the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT).

    He said since judicial officers are disciplined by the National Judicial Council (NJC), it was out of place for the CCB to have referred the matter to the CCT.

    He warned President Muhammadu Buhari and the governing All Progressives Congress (APC) against throwing Nigeria into an avoidable crisis in what he called  their desperation to sack the CJN.

    Atiku, who made his position known in a statement through his Special Assistant on Public Communication, Mr. PhrankShaibu, described plans to arraign Onnoghen in court as a brazen day light assault on the judiciary.

    He said the principle of separation of powers remains sacrosanct in a democracy and should be respected by the Federal Government.

    Atiku said the plot to sack Justice Onnoghen is a “preemptive move against the bench in the face of imminent defeat and knowing the role that the judiciary plays in the final outcome of elections.”

    He said: “We have just been made aware of the plot by President Muhammadu Buhari the All Progressives Congress (APC) to sack Justice Walter Samuel NkanuOnnoghen using flimsy assets declaration issues as a pretext.

    “We are aware that there are plans to arraign Justice Onnoghen before the Justice DanladiYakubu Umar led- Code of Conduct Tribunal on Monday, January, 14, 2019. The  charges against Onnoghen, we understand have already been filed and served on him last Friday at his official residence in Abuja preparatory to his appearance at the Tribunal.

    “The Code of Conduct Bureau, according to Section 3 (e) of the third schedule (part 1) of the 1999 constitution, “shall receive complaints about the non-compliance with or breach of the provisions of the Code of Conduct or any law in relation thereto, investigate the complaint and, where appropriate, refer such matter to the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT).”

    “Since judicial officers are disciplined by the National Judicial Council (NJC), the CCB was wrong to have referred the matter to the CCT even if the allegations have been found to have any substance.

    “The proper procedure would have been for the petition to be referred to the JSC of which Onnoghen is the Chairman, but he would have to excuse himself from the process.

    “If found guilty, he could be asked to vacate his office as CJN, in addition to other punishments.”

    Continuing, Atiku said:”Buhari and his APC led government should not emasculate the judiciary as they tried to do the National Assembly and was resisted by the President of the Senate, AbubakarBukolaSaraki.

    “This is a brazen day light assault on the judiciary because he (Buhari wants) a pliable acting Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) to sit on his election petition because he has seen the signal that he will lose the February 16 presidential election.

    Atiku  alleged that Mr. Dennis Aghanya, the Executive Secretary of the Anti-Corruption and Research Based Data Initiative (ARDI), the author of the purported petition seeking Onnoghen’s removal was the National Publicity Secretary of President Buhari’s defunct political party, the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC).

    The PDP candidate warned however that if Buhari and the APC succeeded in the current plot, it then should be ready for an epic battle, the end of which no one can predict, and the consequences of which can only be imagined.

    He added: ”We have the strength of character, the courage and the conviction to mount a sustained campaign in defence of justice, and in defence of separation of powers as enshrined in the constitution, which is the ground norm of our democracy.

    ”But we warn that despite the clandestine meetings in the highest echelon of the APC and also involving some top officials of the federal government which include the Code of Conduct Tribunal, neither Buhari nor the APC can re-write the Nigerian Constitution just because of its impending defeat at the February 16, presidential election. Heavens did not fall when PDP lost to the APC in 2015.

    “And heavens will not fall now that the APC is sure to lose to the PDP, seeing that the APC’s plan to rig in the forthcoming elections will not pull through.”

     

  • Buhari/Osibajo supporters urge Atiku to step down

    Hundreds of supporters of President Muhammadu Buhari/ Osibajo re-election converged on the city of Ibadan on Saturday in a mass rally, calling on Nigerians not to allow the People’s Democratic Party ( PDP) to come back in 2019 after 16 years of squander and wastefulness and  plugging the country into pains and untold hardship. They also called on the PDP presidential candidate, and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to throw in the towel in view of the intimidating credentials of the current administration of President Buhari.

    Present at the event were politicians, members of the academics, political groups from the 33 local government areas of Oyo state including the Unity group, Atunbi, Progressive Group, Professional Forum, Solidarity Group, Bayo Shittu Forum, Amuni Group, Mass Mobilization Group, Fulani Group, Lagelu Group, and  Elders Forum, Idi-Ayunre , Ibadan amongst others. The Chairman and the facilitator  of the coalition, Comrade Ibrahim Bolomope and Barrister Adebayo Shittu respectively at the press conference, said only President Buhari can lead the country into the promised land.

    Bolomope, a former Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Teachers ( NUT), Oyo state chapter said in the areas of workers welfare, agriculture, social investment programmes , education, public utility projects,  and fight against corruption, the current administration of President Buhari surpassed past administrations with unequal records. He said “though faced with the rage of powerful looters, the administration is winning. Recall the millions of dollars that some past looting rulers have been caught with and exposed . Never in the history of fighting corruption in the country have victories been won .

    “I want to assure you that Buhari has already fulfill his promises to Nigerians  . In the area of fighting corruption , about  N400billion has been recovered which the former President Goodluck  Jonathan event attested to , in his  determination to fight corruption from corrupt elements from PDP and others “, he said. He added that  Buhari , within a year of his administration has reclaimed 11 local governments from Book Haram  in the campaign against  insurgency, stating that the battle against insurgents  has been won effectively .

    On the economy , the Minister said , through the diversification  program of Buhari , over 8 million jobs have been created through agriculture , while  over 500,000 new jobs through N-Power have been created.”Apart from that, 9million children are been fed every day . ..Because they eat egg everyday , all those who produce eggs are now having big jobs . And on infrastructure, the current administration has paid over N275billion to contractors on roads in 2017 for abandoned road projects , whose money were pocketed by PDP elements ,” he said.

  • Onnoghen:  PDP, Atiku, Secondus slam Buhari

    The opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), its national chairman Prince Uche Secondus and presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, have condemned moves by the Presidency to prosecute the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen.

    Media reports on Saturday indicated that Justice Onnoghen will on Monday, be arraigned at the Code of Conduct Tribunal for asset declaration infractions.

    But in a statement by its spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan, the PDP accused the Buhari Presidency of plotting to destabilise and annex the Judiciary ahead of the 2019 general elections.

    The party also alerted that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and a cabal at the Presidency were hounding Justice Onnoghen.

    The plot, according to the PDP, was to get the CJN removed so as to cause a constitutional crisis, instill fear in judicial officers and pave the way for the foisting of a pliable CJN that will do their bidding on electoral matters.

    The PDP said: “This is particularly following allegations that the APC seeks a new CJN that will aid its rigging schemes as well as execute the plot to use the court to detain and put opposition members and outspoken members of Civil Society Organizations out of circulation during the general elections.

    READ ALSO:Breaking: FG charges CJN with non-declaration of asset

    “This development is a clear recipe for anarchy and a huge crisis that is capable of fracturing our justice system and derail our democracy as it portends a prelude to a total clamp down on institutions of democracy and rule of law in our country.

    “The PDP therefore urges all Nigerians, the United Nations and all international bodies to unite in the defence of our democracy, especially at this very critical time in our political development”.

    Secondus accused the ruling party of attempts to destroy the nation’s judiciary, barely 30 days to the general election, adding it’s a desperate move to manipulate and thwart the will of Nigerians.

    Addressing a mammoth crowd of party supporters at a rally in Jos, Plateau State on Saturday, Secondus said the APC is afraid of an independent judiciary because of its agenda to rig the elections.

    The party chair stated Nigerians were ready and determined to throw the APC out of power, adding that no amount of threats and harassment will deter the people from effecting what he called inevitable change.

    Atiku warned the President and his party against throwing the country into an avoidable crisis over their desperation to sack Justice Onnoghen.

    In a statement in Abuja by his Special Assistant on Public Communication, Mr. Phrank Shaibu, the PDP presidential candidate said the principle of separation of powers must be respected.

    Atiku described the plot to sack the CJN as a preemptive move against the Bench, in the face of imminent defeat and knowing the role that the judiciary plays in the final outcome of elections.

    The statement reads: “We have just been made aware of the plot by President Buhari and the APC to sack Justice Walter Samuel Nkanu Onnoghen using flimsy assets declaration issues as a pretext.

    “We are aware that there are plans to arraign Justice Onnoghen before the Justice Danladi Yakubu Umar led- Code of Conduct Tribunal on Monday, January, 14, 2019.

    “The  charge against Onnoghen, we understand has already been filed and served on him last Friday at his official residence in Abuja preparatory to his appearance at the Tribunal.

    ”But we warn that despite the clandestine meetings in the highest echelon of the APC and also involving some top officials of the federal government which include the Code of Conduct Tribunal, neither Buhari nor the APC can re-write the Nigerian Constitution just because of its impending defeat at the February 16, presidential election.

    “Heavens did not fall when PDP lost to the APC in 2015.  And heavens will not fall now that the APC is sure to lose to the PDP, seeing that the APC’s plan to rig in the forthcoming elections will not pull through”.

    Atiku identified M. Dennis Aghanya who authored the petition against the CJN as the National Publicity Secretary of President Buhari’s defunct political party, the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC).

    Aghanya filed the petition in his capacity as the Executive Secretary of the Anti-Corruption and Research Based Data Initiative (ARDI).

    Atiku promised President Buhari and the APC an epic constitutional battle, the consequences of which can only be imagined should they succeed in the plot to remove the CJN

    He called on Nigerians to resist the current move to silence the judiciary, saying Nigeria’s democracy and not the judiciary is on trial.

     

     

     

     

  • Group exposes how Obasanjo, PDP, others manipulated INEC to pre-write result

    Fresh facts have emerged over what led to the postponement of the Presidential and National Assembly elections, earlier slated for Saturday, February 16, 2019.
    Recall that the Independent National Electoral Commission had shifted the poll, based on logistics.
    However, indications have emerged that leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, had earlier manipulated the electoral umpire, who had written a result in favour of the party’s candidate, Atiku Abubakar.
    Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike and some top shots of the PDP were fingered in the foiled move.
    The National Front of Nigeria [NFN], which made this shocking revelation at a world press conference on Monday, claimed that the compromise of INEC was so bad that results have been written in favour of the PDP before the Election Day while sensitive election materials were delivered to PDP chieftains in several areas hence the failure of the materials to be delivered to the right destinations and officials at a few hours to the elections
    According to the group led by Alhaji Abubakar B Tsav CP rtd, former Public Complaints Commissioner of the Federation, INEC decided to shift the polls after its plan with the PDP failed to materialize Friday night.
    The group, therefore, called on the federal government and the relevant authorities not to relent as the manipulators were hell bent of achieving their aim at the rescheduled polls.
    It also asked the Commission to identify, sack and hand over its compromised staff to the police for prosecution before proceeding with the election
    Full text of his speech below.
    In recent hours, events that were previously taken in isolation of each other have now been confirmed to not only be interconnected but they are also pieces in one big puzzle, a grand plan to force regime change on Nigeria while masking the crime as part of the democratic process, viz the general election that has now been postponed by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Because most Nigerians had innocently taken events in isolation, the natural reaction has been one of condemnation of INEC, with several persons and groups accusing the electoral body of working for whatever political party they suspect. We shall come to heaping our criticism on INEC but not before we attempt to alert Nigerians to the real dangers facing them as a people.
    Whatever shortcoming has been observed with INEC, its state of readiness, its troubled election logistics and battle with credibility crisis amongst others are nothing but symptoms. It is like an individual having a high fever, pale skin tone, vomiting and a host of other manifestations; the manifestations themselves are not the ailment they are merely symptoms of a deeper infection or life threatening organ damage that the body is dealing with. All efforts can be put into managing or treating the symptoms but they will amount to nought if the root causes of the problems are not addressed. Painfully, INEC is today a microcosm of Nigeria, a country grappling with contrived problems that are nowhere in the region of natural.
    It is on record that the period preceding elections, prior to the postponement, witnessed unprecedented spike in the number of Boko Haram attacks that the Nigerian Army repeatedly repelled, often inflicting heavy casualty on the insurgents. In the security circle, intelligence report confirmed that these attacks were intended to produce a situation when it would become glaring that it was impossible to conduct elections.
    The objective was such that in the absence of elections there would be widespread uprisings and protests that would have eventually produced an interim government. The repeated defeat of the terrorists made the opposition, in this case the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), to be faced with the prospect of going into an election it is guaranteed to lose to the incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari, who is seeking re-election on the platform of his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC).
    Recall that prior to this, a former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, cobbled together several alliances and coalitions that failed woefully like every other thing he has ever laid hands on. Even though Chief Obasanjo had in the past invoked God’s wrath on himself if he ever returns to the PDP (he tore his membership card to seal the curse) he has since fully returned to the PDP and is now its most popular gladiator, save the party’s presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. Obasanjo had made it appear as if certain clerics captured in photo op with him and Atiku were instrumental to brokering peace between him and his former deputy but events have proven otherwise. What they did in Otta on the day they purportedly made peace was to further perfect their scheme against democracy in Nigeria. As we speak, the denomination lead by one of the clerics at that meeting continues to abuse and desecrate the name of God by converting sermons into political campaigns.
    In the aftermath of that meeting, Chief Obasanjo initiated contact with his neocon masters. The objective of that contact was to handpick the enforcers that were sent to Nigeria as election observers. Tragically, this is the one area where INEC got it wrong. They accredited these international enforcers without adequate background checks. What has now happened is that a lot of them from western country are in reality in the country to manipulate the presidential election in favour of Atiku Abubakar and the PDP.
    The compromised and pre-determined position of these so called observers has been confirmed by several actions they have taken. Instead of working as independent countries, they coordinate to issue statements that are solely intended to erode the public perception INEC, criminalize the federal government and to canonize Atiku Abubakar as a president in waiting even when elections have not held. They have also taken on a belligerent attitude, in which they dictate what they want to happen and expect INEC to frog-march to their tune. All these abhorrent behaviours on the part of the foreign intruders were encouraged by Atiku and his party who wrote several letters upon which they are basing the legitimacy of their interference. Of course they continue to cite the invitation that INEC, because of the naivety of its Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, extended to them to monitor the elections.
    This naivety of Professor Yakubu has hurt the country in no small measure. Right under his nose staff of the Commission were compromised by the opposition to the extent that even the final list of candidates were presented for his signature only after Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Chief Obasanjo and Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike have approved it. The compromise of INEC was so bad that results have been written in favour of the PDP before the Election Day while sensitive election materials were delivered to PDP chieftains in several areas hence the failure of the materials to be delivered to the right destinations and officials at a few hours to the elections. The logistics failure that prompted the postponement was therefore contrived by these people and not a natural occurrence.
    The evil that was planned against Nigeria by Chief Obasanjo and his protégés – Atku, Wike and others is beyond imagination. It was as if he has sensed that Nigerians will vote in a way that will disgrace him with his failed alliances and lying letter so he decided the only way to save face is to manipulate the elections by compromising the umpire. A last minute realization of the crimes that have been committed in INEC is what jolted its Chairman out of his lethargy to postpone the polls in the hope that remedial actions can still be taken to reverse the damage that the PDP, Obasanjo and Atiku have done to its credibility.
    Before now, there have been several calls on these men to desist from their acts that are capable of plunging the country into crisis but it is now apparent that they are not amenable to reason. Instead of retracing their steps they have approached their western allies to mount undue pressure on INEC while unfairly accusing the government of the country. They are activating their international enforcers to declare the elections as fraudulent while ignoring the capacity of this irresponsible move to cause widespread unrest. The media is also replete with fake news they are pushing to the effect that the elections would be rigged by the ruling party while in reality they, the PDP, are the ones that are desperate to win in the Obasanjo do or die style.
    We call on Nigerians to shift from their indifference to become more assertive in declaring the kind of country they want, a country that faces its challenges headlong under a patriotic leaders or a colony governed by the appointee(s) of western countries. This is why citizens must rise up to the challenge of subduing unpatriotic, corrupt and selfish past political office holders if they must save Nigeria from collapse.  If the progress being made under President Buhari must be reversed for any reason then it must be a decision that Nigerians make with their votes that must be cast without manipulation. Citizens should exercise their right to insist that the progress and national development under a patriotic nationalist like President Buhari is a must.
    Our demand to Professor Yakubu and INEC as an institution is simple. The Commission must identify, sack and hand over its compromised staff to the police for prosecution before proceeding with the election. A failure to do this would imply that INEC has no intention of doing the right thing which would greatly undermine its credibility like the western coalition and the opposition has been trying to do. Where INEC fails to yield those indicted for prosecution, we encourage the police to arrest them before the election.
    We remind the foreign observers that have been going beyond the terms of their accreditation to retrace their steps. A failure to retrace their steps will guarantee some sort of retribution in the short term and they can be guaranteed that a blend of the internet and the social media will make it possible for aggrieved parties to meddle in their own internal affairs in damaging ways. It is expected that they will not have cause to lament should matters come to that.
    We warn that the postponement of the election has not discouraged these mischief makers. They will exploit their other fall back options as they continue to try to hijack power without winning election, which would cause crisis in the country. Nigerians and the Federal Government must therefore not let down their guards as the danger has not passed but has only retreated to mutate into something more evil than its previous option.

  • Atiku’s campaign office in Ebonyi attacked

    The campaign office belonging to one of the support groups to Presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital was attacked by unknown hoodlums on Friday with its billboards destroyed.

    The campaign office which is located along the Mile 50 axis of the old Enugu Road belongs to Friends of Atiku, a support group in the state powered by A House of Representatives member, Linus Okorie.

    One of the double-faced billboards mounted near its fence was torn to shreds.

    This came barely 24 hours after the leadership of the group informed that over 100 women in its fold have left Ebonyi to Abuja to attend a conference being organised by Atiku’s wives for women across the 36 states of the federation.

    Read Also: Quit Presidential race to avoid embarrassment, BMO tells Atiku

    Reacting to the ugly incident, the state Coordinator of the group, Chief Linus Okorie, at a press briefing, condemned the attack describing it as a ‘wicked act.’

    He disclosed that he was alerted about the incident on phone at about 5:30am.

    Okorie, who is currently representing Ohaozara/Onicha/Ivo federal constituency in the House of Representatives, spoke through the organisation’s coordinator in Onicha Local Government Area, Nnamdi Onu.

    Onu said, “As early as 5:30am we began to get calls from people that our office has been attacked by some hoodlums.

    “We rushed here and discovered that some of our billboards have been badly damaged.

    “We have made a formal report to the security agencies. Yesterday, we noticed some unusual movements around here. We condemn this act in its entirety.

    “It is despicable for anybody to think that destroying billboards is a way of enhancing his or her political popularity.

    “We appeal to all Ebonyians and Nigerians to be steadfast in their support to our presidential candidate”, he added.

  • Quit Presidential race to avoid embarrassment, BMO tells Atiku

    The Buhari Media Organisation ( BMO ) on Friday alleged that the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar was losing ground in the forthcoming and should therefore humbly quit the race t9 avoid an embarrassing defeat.

    Reacting to the recent defection of the deputy National Chairman of the PDP and member of the Presidential Campaign Council, Babayo Garba Gamawa to the APC, the group said the exit was “shocking and a big slap to the PDP ahead of the 2019 polls.”

    They also said the defection of former National Chairman of the PDP, Adamu Muazu whom they described as an in-law to the former Vice President was also another big blow to the PDP and the Atiku campaign.

    In a statement signed by its Chairman Niyi Akinsiju and Secretary Cassidy Madueke, the group said the way and manner Atiku Abubakar, as well as his party PDP, is daily losing support from prominent members of the party to the opposition is absolutely unbecoming.

    They said further that even the party cannot deny that the loss of its Deputy Chairman amongst others, to the All Progressives Congress (APC) is quite massive.

    They said “We have nothing but sympathy for Atiku at this time that he has lost some of his trusted supporters who have abandoned him to team up with President Buhari.

    “Nothing could be more demoralising than losing the number two man of your party with few days to what is almost certain to be his last attempt to clinch a seat that he had coveted since the 1990s.

    “Babayo Gamawa is not only PDP’s deputy National Chairman but also a member of the party’s Presidential Campaign Council from the same North-East geo-political zone as the former Vice President.

    “So we at BMO believe that it may be ideal for the PDP candidate to pull out of the Presidential race to save himself from what is almost certain to be a crushing defeat that would end up demystifying him as a political force”, it said.

    The group also noted the defection of the former PDP National Chairman Adamu Muazu who is known in the opposition ranks as the ‘game changer’.

    “If there is any defection that is bound to hit Atiku hard it is that of the former Bauchi governor whose election as the PDP chairman just before the 2015 election was a popular choice.

    Read Also: Buhari condoles with CAN over death of Archbishop Atilade

    “Here is a man whose daughter is married to the former Vice President’s son but opted to ignore family ties to support President Buhari’s re-election bid because he clearly knows the difference between the two.

    “If there are people who know Atiku well, Muazu certainly would be numbered among them and now that he has joined the governing party, there is no clearer message to undecided voters across the country that President Buhari is the better choice.

    “With Muazu’s decision to dump PDP, it is safe to say that the little chance the PDP has to improve on the 86,085 votes it had in 2015 when APC polled 931,598 votes in one of the President’s traditional strongholds has virtually disappeared.”

    BMO added that contrary to the impression created by PDP elements to water down their loss, none of the politicians who may have joined the ruling party to escape the glare of anti graft agencies would be spared if found to have pending corruption cases.

  • Atiku not our candidate, says Ohanaeze Ndigbo

    A major disagreement has broken out among Igbo leaders on former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s presidential ambition.

    Some Igbo leaders met on November 14, last year to “adopt” Atiku, who is running on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) platform.

    But the apex Igbo socio-political organisation,  Ohanaeze Ndigbo,  has distanced itself from the alleged endorsement of Atiku for the February 16 election.

    The one-day summit on November 14, last year, in Enugu, endorsed Atiku because of what it called his disposition to restructuring the country if voted into office.

    At the one-day summit, elder statesman Prof. Ben Nwabueze, 86, called on them to “do me the honour of achieving the success of the (Atiku/Peter Obi) ticket before I am gone”.

    “We must ensure the survival of the Igbo race in Nigeria and it is only through the success of that ticket that we can get it”, the law professor said.

    Nwabueze, who chaired the meeting, explained that the ticket would “ensure our survival”.

    At the meeting were: Ambassador George Obiozor, Senator Ike Nwachukwu, Ohanaeze President Chief Nnia Nwodo, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, Prof ABC Nwosu, Senator Chris Anyanwu, Senator Theodore Orji, Senator Ben Obi and Chief Achike Udenwa.

    Also there were Prof. Uche Azikiwe, Chief Onyema Ugochukwu, Chief Emeka Ugwu-Oju, Chief Garry Igariwey, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, Ambassador Frank Ogbuewu, Prof Osita Ogbu, Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo, Chief Lawrence Nwuruku, Prof Walter Ofonagoro and Archbishop Maxwell Anikwenwa.

    There were also Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), Commodore James Aneke (retd), Prof Elochukwu Amucheazi, Prof Uzodinma Nwala, Senator Adolphus Wabara, Air Comdr Allison Madueke (retd), Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Nnaemeka Achebe, Prof. Anya O. Anya and Prof Chudi Uwazurike, among others.

    In a five-point resolution issued at the end of the summit, with the theme “Ndigbo 2019 and Beyond”, read by Agbakoba, the leaders said the position was based on the restructuring agenda put on the table by Atiku/Obi, which four zones of the country had agreed on.

    The resolution states in part:  “We identify with the Atiku/Peter Obi ticket on the restructuring agenda as has been reiterated by four zones of the country, namely: Southsouth, Southwest, Northcentral and Southeast. We believe that as long as the federating units remain weak the centre will continue to be weak. We equally move to appreciate the position of the Atiku/Obi ticket in promoting national unity.”

    In its reaction to the purported endorsement, the All Progressives Congress (APC) said Atiku and his co-travellers in the PDP have become shameless by trying to fool an entire nation to support her in spite of her several years of misrule.

    National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu said the ruling party remained confident that a discredited party like the PDP would be confined to the dustbin of history by the Igbo’s.

    “The APC considers Atiku and his PDP co-travellers as people who have lost any sense of shame. The purported endorsement of Atiku and PDP by some leaders of the South East for the 2019 general elections is an affront on the Igbo people who were frontline victims of the 16 years of the PDP misrule.

    “It will be interesting to know what the PDP will be telling the Igbo people during the campaign. The South East people have three and half years of visible progress in terms of massive infrastructure and the thousands of common people who are benefiting from the social investment programmes under APC to compare to the PDP’s 16 years of retrogression.

    “We in APC are confident that the Igbo won’t be fooled by any group, by whatever name, to sell a thoroughly discredited party like the PDP to the very discerning Igbo people”, he said.

    The meeting was attended by the PDP leadership, including Atiku, his running mate Peter Obi, Senate President Bukola Saraki and others.

    But the group clarified its position yesterday through its Deputy National Publicity Secretary Chuks Ibegbu at a news conference in Enugu.

    It was at the second anniversary of the incumbent Ohanaeze executive led by Chief John Nnia Nwodo.

    Ibegbu said the clarification became necessary following misconceptions of the event, adding that the said endorsement was done by the friends of Atiku, insisting that the organisation had not endorsed any particular candidate.

    He said that Ohanaeze needed to be circumspect, “as our children are in all the political parties”.

    Ibegbu said: “It is erroneous to say that we endorsed Atiku. Ohanaeze Ndigbo did not endorse anybody. That meeting at Nike Lake Resort was organised by friends of Atiku.

    The group’s spokesman said: “Ohanaeze Ndigbo has been canvassing for our people to identify with candidates that will restructure Nigeria if voted into power.

    “We still stand on that and in the next few days, we shall meet to take a holistic position on the elections. However, due to our peculiar circumstance in the country, we will identify with candidates that will restructure Nigeria if voted into power.”

    On the achievements of the group in office, he said: “Within these two years, we have given our modest contribution to the re-jigging of Igbo leadership and leveraging of Igbo issues in Nigeria.

    “Some of our modest achievements serially include: The restoration of the dignity of the Igbo race in Nigeria and across the globe, the building of bridges with other ethnic nationalities in Nigeria.

    “The initiation and pursuit of the restructuring of Nigeria, a position that has now become a national mantra; the promotion of Igbo language culture and heritage

    “The establishment and promotion of Ohanaeze Ndigbo activities at local, state, national and diaspora levels.

    “The diplomatic and deft handling of such explosive issues as ‘Quit Notice’ to Ndigbo by Northern Youths, the pro-Biafra agitation, the Fulani Herdsmen/Farmers crisis in Igbo land, the Operation Python Dance issue and many other threatening issues that would have snowballed to a national disaster.

    “This leadership was able to build synergy with its affiliate groups like IDA, IWA, WIC, Aka Ikenga, Izu-Umunna, Njiko Umunna, Igbo Media Forum and other Igbo organisations to leverage Igbo Unity and development.

    “This leadership encouraged unity and synergy among Igbo Governors and political actors for the overall interest of Ndigbo.

    “This regime has put in place a formidable Youth and Women Wings for the organisation.

    “We want to thank the media for your support and assure Ndigbo that we shall in the rest of our remaining two years, do our best to give Ndigbo a committed leadership.

    “The President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Barr. John Nnia Nwodo, thank the media, our fraternal brothers, associations and organisations, our affiliate bodies, youths, women, students, governors, political leaders and all Nigerians and wish all a happy New Year and hitch-free election 2019.”

    Ibegbu noted that within the two years in office of the Nwodo led Ohanaeze Ndigbo, “we have given our modest contribution by re-jigging Igbo leadership and issues concerning our people”

    He said the leadership of the organisation had built synergy with its affiliate groups with a view to achieving unity in among the neighbours.