The Nation Newspaper

Tag: baseless

  • Ohaneze’s adoption of Atiku baseless – Okorocha

    Imo State governor,  Rochas Okorocha, has described the endorsement of the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar by the apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation,  Ohaneze Ndigbo, as null and void and of no effect.

    The Imo governor in a statement insisted that “Ohaneze is a socio-cultural organisation and not a registered political party and there is no voting unit or polling booth called Ohaneze. So, its adoption of Atiku PDP is a folklore and should not give anybody concern”.

    Okorocha also pointed out that the action of the Igbo group, has no electoral value. “The adoption is neither here nor there, since it has no electoral value. This is also not the first time Ohaneze has adopted a PDP presidential candidate.

    It did that in 2015, yet, PDP failed with its Presidential candidate, while APC won with its Presidential candidate. And one would have expected Ohaneze to exercise caution this time following what happened in 2015.

    “Indeed, the organisation should have done things differently especially when it remembers that all Igbo whether in PDP, APC, APGA, ADC or SDP are presumed to be members of Ohaneze.

    He noted further that, “not minding the adoption, President Muhammadu Buhari will win in the South-East and the general election proper. So, Igbo in APC should remain focused and not to make the adoption an issue, when it is not an issue in all ramifications”.

  • Boroh: rumour of sack untrue, baseless

    Boroh: rumour of sack untrue, baseless

    The Coordinator, Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), retired Brig-Gen. Paul Boroh, has described the news of his sack as untrue.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Boroh was sighted performing his duties  when a News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Correspondent visited his office yesterday in Abuja.

    Gen. Boroh said he was neither sacked nor suspended from office by President Mohammadu Buhari.

    He said: “This story about my suspension and even sack has been off and on in the media but the truth is that I have not been sacked and no one should disrupt the relative prevailing peace in the Niger Delta region with such fake news. What is happening is the handiwork of political enemies and those who do not want the region to be peaceful. The rumour they are peddling is just rubbish and unfounded. Under my watch, the programme, candid speaking, has helped greatly to stabilise the region.”

    Gen. Boroh urged Niger Delta citizens to task themselves and take responsibilities of the region.

    “Every Niger Delta person in the nationhood of Nigeria, is that of brotherhood. Henceforth, we must refuse to accept despair as the final response to the ambiguities of our history.

    “Rather, let’s embrace our heritage which defines our identities and values, ” he added.

  • PDP’s petition baseless, says Magnus Abe

    Senator Magnus Abe has described as baseless and a cheap attempt to mislead President Muhammadu Buhari and the public, a petition by the Rivers State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on the National Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal in the state.

    Abe said the petition was calculated to ridicule the Army and paint it in bad light the office of the Director-General of the Department of State Security (DSS).

    In a counter-petition to President Buhari, the senator said the tribunal hearing his petition and other All Progressives Congress (APC) candidates issued a subpoena directing the Chief of Army Staff (or any of his designated officers) and the director of the DSS (or any of his designated worker) to appear before the tribunal and give evidence on what they witnessed during the National Assembly election, as the agencies that provided security during the election.

    This, he said, was against the impression created by the PDP in a petition to President Buhari that the Army and the DSS had been politicised and was used in favour of the APC candidates in the election tribunal.

    Abe said it was mischievous and unreasonable for anybody, to “cast baseless aspersion on these gallant officers of the Army and the DSS”.

    The senator noted that it would have been foolhardy for the Chief of Army Staff and the director of the DSS to refuse to comply with the orders of the tribunal.

    He said such a refusal would have been a crime because it is punishable with criminal contempt against the culprit.

    Abe wondered why the PDP did not show in its petition that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Rivers State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Mrs. Gesila Khan, was also subpoenaed.

    The senator said this showed an unholy alliance between the PDP and the REC.

    He said: “It is on record that despite numerous applications and solicitation to the REC for the release of election materials purportedly used by INEC, she has consistently refused to release the documents to us in order to frustrate and jeopardise our chances to prove our cases before the election tribunal.”

  • ‘LP’s allegation of ACN disbursing N2.5m for voter’s cards baseless’

    ‘LP’s allegation of ACN disbursing N2.5m for voter’s cards baseless’

    The Akeredolu Campaign Organisation (ACO) has described as baseless and fallacious, a statement credited to the Labour Party (LP) that the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has disbursed N2.5 million to each ward to buy voter’s cards.

    According to a statement by the Director of Media, Publicity and Strategy of the ACO, Mr. Idowu Ajanaku, the ACN would not spend such an amount to buy voter’s cards because the party enjoys the support of the people.

    He said the party would instead spend money to provide logistics for members for the house-to-house campaign to sensitise the people to reject the LP administration that is out to pauperise them.

    “If it is true, according to the LP, to buy an indigene with N5,000 to N10,000, it shows how bad the level of poverty the LP government has subjected the people to and how much value they place on the people.

    “For us at ACO, we believe that it is the Mimiko administration that has such money to throw around. Having received over N600 billion in the past three years with nothing to show for it but cosmetic projects, with the N65 billion fraud at the Ondo State Oil Producing Area Development Area Commission (OSOPADEC), N1.5 billion doom-dome, N1.5 billion tomato paste industry, which were all abandoned, they must have siphoned the money with the aim of using it to prosecute elections.

    “ACN did not buy voter’s cards in Oyo, Ogun and Edo states to win elections. We will win in Ondo State by the grace of God and the resolve of the people to reject unemployment, deception and tokenism which are the stock in trade of the LP administration led by Dr. Olusegun Mimiko.

    “We appeal to the indigenes to vote Mimiko out on October 20 to pave the way for genuine and sustainable development, which Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN) will give,” ACO said.