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Tag: candidate

  • ‘No room for anointed candidate’

    Edo State All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate Prof. Amadasun Ebegue has said that there is no room for an anointed candidate in the chapter.

    The oldest aspirant urged Governor Adams Oshiomhole to and the party leadership to provide a level playing ground for contenders during the shadow poll.

    Ebegue, who spoke with reporters in Benin-City, the state capital, said the outcome of the primary will determine the fate of the party at the poll.

    Reflecting on the alleged endorsement of a particular aspirant by the governor, he said: “I think the governor has given copious reasons for his action. The governor is entitled to his choice. As the party leader and governor, he should have an interest as to whom succeeds him. But, that does not trample on the right of any other member of the party to aspire. It is going to be a free and fair primary and if the governor’s candidate wins, we will all join in working for him to make sure that we win the election and I guess if it is other wise,  all the members will also join to make sure that whoever emerges is assisted to become the governor of the state.”The university don described himself as the most experienced and competent aspirant to succeed the governor/

    He stressed: “I am the oldest politician among the aspirants. Twenty five years ago, I was a gubernatorial aspirant and since then, I have been in politics, although I have not been contesting elections. I am a consultant at the UBTH, but I have been the leader of my people all this while and I think it is time to go back to what I left behind in 1991.

    “So, as far as political experience and knowing what the people want, I am the most competent. If it is so, who do you think is better qualified than me? Is it grassroots ability, orientation or in whatever area you think any other person on the field is qualified more than I? I believe I am the best.”

    Ebegue said that a credible primary is the answer to the selection challenge, urging the party to brace up for it.

    He said: “There is no reason why the right thing will not be done. From experience,e since the advent of the present political dispensation, primary elections are usually free and fair. They are usually done in the open, especially for primaries like this, we go to the stadium where people come out in the open, take their ballot papers, vote whoever they want, drop it in the box and thereafter, the ballot papers are sorted and counted. So, whoever is a democratic should be able to accept who emerges from such an exercise, if it is free and fair.”

    The scholar said asking other aspirants to step down their ambition to work for another aspirant is undemocratic, adding that he will not participate in that arrangement. Unfolding his ambition, he said all the sectors will be transformed, if elected as governor.

    Ebegue said: “It is generally acclaimed that Adams Oshiomhole has done well whoever comes after him must strive to improve on what he is leaving behind. The most important aspect of that will be the economic because every other facets of development will drive from the economic. If the economic is poor, revenue will be dwindled, services will not be maintained, and salaries may no longer be paid among others. It becomes a vicious circle. Whoever wants to succeed Oshiomhole must aim to expand the economic base of the state beyond what he or she meet. That is exactly what I intend to do.

    “ Oshiomhole is acclaimed to have improved on the internally generated revenue of the state more than a 1000 percent than what he met. Taxation means giving a part of your earning to government for its services because those services are what make you to earn the money in the first place.

  • Council candidate wins court case

    A high Court has ruled in favour of the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) chairmanship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Hon. Abdullahi Candido, striking out the case instituted by Amanda Pam over her disqualification from contesting the party’s December 16 chairmanship primaries.

    The court verdict also favoured the party and seven others.

    The party’s legal adviser and counsel to Candido, APC and the others, Mr. Yakubu Haruna said during a press conference that the court ruling has allayed fears that the party might not present a candidate during the forthcoming polls.

    In the case, the APC, INEC and eight aspirants were joined as defendants in a suit filed by Barrister Pam who was disqualified before the primary election, challenging the process that led to her disqualification.

    Haruna explained that the court struck out the case for lack of jurisdiction, adding that it was purely a domestic affair which the court does have the power to entertain.

    “Except she decides to go further we are ready for that, as we are, we are ready for election, no more distraction,” he said.

    He explained that the ruling will be pivotal to the success of the party’s candidate, Abdullahi Candido at the March 19 polls, adding that the court case was a calculated attempt to disturb the teeming party supporters.

    On his part, the Deputy Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in AMAC, Hon. Hashimu Angama, Barr. Amanda Pam still a party member and will always be treated as such.

    “We were never disturbed despite the case was in court, we went about our campaign because we believe in justice. With this ruling in our favour, that will give us more strength to go about the election process. We are ready to accept her in our fold at any time for us to work together for the success of our party, because she was trying to protect her interest,” he said.

  •  PDP’s council chairmanship candidate, others defect to APC in Ekiti

    The ranks of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ekiti State have been depleted with the defection of Ado Ekiti Local Government chairmanship candidate, Ayodeji Babatola and scores of his supporters to the All Progressive Congress (APC).

    Babatola had won the PDP chairmanship ticket in a primary conducted by the Makanjuola Ogundipe-led State Working Committee (SWC) before Governor Ayo Fayose was sworn into office.

    But Fayose after consolidating his hold on power masterminded the conduct of another primary which produced new candidates.

    Addressing a rally in Ado Ekiti Ward 9, yesterday, during which he was received into the APC and presented with the broom, the party’s symbol and the party card, Babatola said the leadership style of Fayose has been driving many strong PDP members out of the ruling party.

    Others who defected with him were his personal assistant, Abiodun Ogunleye; Adeyemo Femi and Ogundele Ariyo who were described as “aggressive party mobilizers.”

    Babatola said the APC should be ready to receive more members from PDP which he said has become more “rudderless, anti-people, insensitive and deaf to the cries of Ekiti people suffering under its leadership.”

    He described his former party (PDP)  as “a dead party that can never win any election in the nearest future.”

    According to him, the situation in Ekiti PDP is now bad to the extent that “the party has institutionalized giving of tickets to the highest bidder.” Babatola alleged that his former party had converted tickets for all elections to avenue to make money and reward loyalty to Fayose.

    He expressed optimism that the APC will soon be back in power urging members of his new party to remain steadfast and keep hope alive.

    At another rally held in Ado Ekiti Ward 7, Babatola commended President Muhammadu Buhari for his fight against corruption, describing criticisms against the lofty policy as another attempt to derail the country after the 16 years of PDP misrule .

    Babatola urged Fayose to concentrate on how to improve the standard of living of Ekiti people, rather than engaging in supremacy battle with Buhari.

    He also advised the governor to pay Ekiti civil servants their two- month salaries owed the workers.

    The former PDP stalwart, promised to abide by the APC rules and regulations, while he advised his supporters not to engage in unnecessary competition in their new party.

    The Ward 7 APC Chairman, Otunba Ilesanmi Obafemi, said: “The joining of Babatola in the APC will further boost the chances of the party at the ward level and in turn, boost the chances of the party in the state and I want to assure you that you will not be treated as a new member, but as people who reunite with their family”.

    The ward chairman charged members of the party not to see the decampees as new entrants, to prevent internal strife that could frustrate efforts to mend fences over already existing divisions in Ekiti APC.

  • Aspirant urges APC to pick candidate from Akoko North

    A governorship aspirant of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo State, Prince Foluso Adefemi, has appealed to the leadership of the party to pick its governorship candidate from Akoko North East/Akoko North West Federal Constituency.

    Adefemi spoke with reporters on his preparations for the party primary, ahead of the poll, at his campaign office in Akure, the state capital.

    The aspirant, who is from Afin Akoko in Akoko North West local government, lamented that the constituency has been marginalised in the distribution of political offices.

    Ondo North Senatorial District has three federal constituencies; Owo/Ose, Akoko South West/Akoko South East and Akoko North East/ Akoko North West.

    It is believed that the party candidate may likely come from Ondo North Senatorial District.

    Adefemi said: “Looking at other constituencies, they always have the larger part when political positions are to be shared in the district.

    “For instance, Owo and Akoko South West have produced governors before.

  • APC governorship candidate denies ‘video clip’

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Taraba State, Senator Aisha Alhassan, has distanced herself from a purported ‘video clip’ circulated by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    In the video clip, it was alleged that the APC candidate, who is also the Minister of Women Affairs, boasted that she would influence the outcome of the Appeal Court’s judgment at the Supreme Court.

    The Election Petition Tribunal in Abuja had annulled the election of Darius Ishaku as the governor and declared Alhassan as the winner of the April 12, 2015 governorship election.

    In a twist, the Appeal Court last month nullified the victory awarded the APC candidate by the tribunal.

    Alhassan, dismissing the purported ‘video clip’, denied any attempt, either by herself or aides to influence the apex court’s judgment in her favour.

    A statement by the Aisha Media Office signed by John Ali-Mararaba in Kaduna yesterday said the PDP was jittery over her approaching the Supreme Court.

    This, she said, was responsible for the so-called video clip, adding that the party was confused, desperate and trying to whip up judiciary’s sympathy (Supreme Court).

    “Why are they worrying and trying to whip up sentiments if they say they have a good case and I have no case?”  Senator Alhassan asked.

    She said rather than wasting tax payers’ money on campaigns in the media, PDP should prepare to meet her at the Supreme Court.

    Acknowledging that power comes from God and only Him gives, the APC standard- bearer said if she had the power or influence as alleged by the PDP, she would have got the Appeal Court judgment in her favour.

    She said: “The Court of Appeal has decided that I have no locus standi to question Ishaku’s qualification and eligibility to contest the election. Although with due respect to the Court of Appeal, I don’t agree with that because that is not the position of the law and the proper place to prove that is before the Supreme Court and not the media. This why I am going to the Supreme Court.

    “So, the PDP should keep cool, stop wasting Taraba State’s funds on media campaign and let us meet at the Supreme Court.

    “As I have always said, I believe in God and the judiciary which I was part of for 20 years before I joined politics.

    “I have always said only God gives power and not man. Therefore, nobody, no matter how rich or influential he or she may be, can change the will of God or my destiny.

    “If I had that kind of power or influence as alleged by the PDP, I would have used it to get the judgment of the Court of Appeal.

    “The edited video clip the PDP in Taraba State are making an issue of is nothing but a contradiction of the message they are trying to send or my image they are trying to portray.”

  • Oshiomhole cautioned against imposing candidate

    Oshiomhole cautioned against imposing candidate

    •Group roots for credible governorship candidate 

    A group, Ikpoba Okha Grassroots Mobilisation Network (IGMN), has cautioned Governor Adams Oshiomhole against imposing any candidate on the people ahead of this year’s governorship election.

    The group noted that such move could cause confusion and derail the electoral process.

    IGMN was reacting to speculation that the governor was planning to endorse the Chairman of Edo State Economic Team, Chief Godwin Obaseki.

    The group urged All Progressive Congress (APC) national leadership to ensure a free, fair and credible conduct of primaries in Edo State to choose its candidate.

    In a statement at the weekend in Benin, the state capital, by its Coordinator, Osakpamwan Osa-Uto, IGMN

    said it was imperative for it to speak on the election to avoid a crisis within APC.

    The statement reads: “We strongly condemn this attitude of the Comrade Governor and we are using this medium to advise him to desist from such behaviour. We can still recall when Comrade Oshiomhole was coming to power and his slogan was: ‘No godfatherism and let the people lead’. But the reverse is the case as the Comrade governor has put himself as the godfather of APC politics in Edo State…”

    Also, a social-political group, Edo Accord Initiative (EAI), has pledged to support a competent and credible candidate as Governor Adams Oshiomhole’s successor.

    EAI’s President Dennis Idahosa, who spoke after receiving an award as the Grassroots Mobiliser of the Year from the Edo Football Association, noted that the residents would continue to benefit from the political process, only if the right person was voted into power.

    He said: “If there is a projected candidate for the governorship election, we would sit down and discuss it within our organisation and see if the person is competent, if the person has the interest of the people of Edo State at heart. After all the deliberation, we will be able to know if the person is a suitable candidate for the people of Edo State. Then, we will support him aggressively.

    “So, we will look at the competence of that person, and if the person is well established to make sure his work is being felt among the people, then we will support him. This is because Edo Accord is a bridge between the people and the government.”

    Idahosa, a former Commissioner for Foreign Investment, said ‘Edo Accord’ was a God-driven pressure group which stood for the right things.

    He said: “All we are after is a competent candidate who will deliver dividends of democracy.”

  • Akeredolu to APC: pick ‘sellable’ candidate

    Akeredolu to APC: pick ‘sellable’ candidate

    The governorship candidate of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in the 2012  election in Ondo State, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, has urged the party to pick a “sellable” candidate.

    He said the party’s choice would either make or mar its chances in the 2016 election.

    Akeredolu spoke with reporters in Owo Local Government Area while celebrating the Yuletide with APC members.

    He said the party is well positioned to win elections in the state.

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain said: “I have no doubt that APC will win the election.

    “We are going to win. The important thing really is what I have said to members that our choice for governor must be well thought out.

    “We must pick a round peg to fit a round hole. The moment we are able to do that, we are home and dry.

    “Pick a sellable candidate.  Pick a candidate who is recognised, a candidate who is a household name in Ondo State, then I can assure you, we are good to win.”

    He also declared that he is giving the governorship race another shot again, saying having contested in 2012, the ambition remains an unfinished matter.

    “I have said it over and over again. It is an unfinished matter.

    “I ran in 2012, I will surely by the grace of God,  go for it again this time.”

  • APC mourns governorship candidate

    APC mourns governorship candidate

    •Party restates faith in rule of law

    THE All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday mourned its governorship candidate in Kogi State, Prince Abubakar Audu.

    The party’s National Secretary, Maimala Buni, in a statement yesterday, described the late Audu as one of APC’s “stars, a democrat par excellence, a development-oriented leader and a beacon for the liberation of Kogi State from its apparent decay”.

    “He was a prince of hope, a symbol of peace and an apostle of unity and reintegration of Kogi State,” the statement quoted Buni as saying.

    The APC commiserated with the family and the people of Kogi State for believing strongly in Audu’s capacity to redeem the state.

    The demise of the governorship candidate, the party said, no doubt created a big vacuum in Kogi State and APC.

    The statement added that the APC took solace in the fact that God gives, God takes.

    It added: “He might have physically transited, but he will forever be spiritually and politically be relevant not only in Kogi State but in Nigeria.

    “We appeal to the people of the state to see Audu’s death as an act of God. There should be no recourse to lawlessness or vindictiveness in whatever form. The only honour we can do Prince Abubakar Audu is to remain peaceful and resolve to be undaunted in preserving the adorable ideals he lived for. It was evident to all that he ran a good race, he played his part well and he earned a rare rating as an exemplary leader.

    “We will not abandon Prince Abubakar Audu even in death because his legacies are timeless,  his virtues can withstand all seasons and his vision remains immortal.”

    The party urged its members and supporters not to allow their spirit to be dampened by the sudden passage of Audu.

    “Rather, the party should be united in mourning and be encouraged to effect the desired change in Kogi State through the ballot anytime, any day,” the statement added.

    On INEC’s position that the poll was inconclusive, APC said it was studying the declaration of the Returning Officer, Prof. Emmanuel Kucha, who is the vice-chancellor of the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, based on Section M, Paragraph 4 (Page 22)  of INEC Approved Guidelines and Regulations for the conduct of the 2015 general election.

    “APC believes in the rule of law, strict adherence to the 1999 Constitution and Electoral Act 2010 (as amended).

    “Our government was a product of the rule of law, we have absolute faith in the nation’s law and we will not, in any manner, undermine the law. Our observations and position will be within the laws of the land.

    “The situation in Kogi State is a test case for the rule of law and our growing democracy.  APC is committed to its pledge to ensure a sustainable democracy in the country,” the party said.

     

     

  • ‘The right candidate will be king’

    ‘The right candidate will be king’

    Alor, home of former Anambra State Governor Dr Chris Ngige and other illustrious indigenes, has been without a traditional ruler for some time. In this interview with NWANOSIKE ONU, one of the claimants to the stool, Chief Chukwuemeka Ikegwuogu, sheds light on the tussle, adding that the people’s choice will be crowned. Excerpts:

     

    Since last year when you granted an interview saying your people had chosen you as their king, not much has happened, and the community has been apparently calm without much being heard about the chieftaincy crisis.

    No. The community has not been calm. What we have in Alor can be described as an uneasy calm, but so many people are not happy with the direction things are going. For example, Ndi Ichie, Ndi Ozo, Ndi Idi, etc who are the custodians of culture and tradition of Alor community have made their position very clear that the throne be taken to where it currently belongs and that is Uruezeani village where I come from.

    Where is Senator Chris Ngige in this whole episode, being from the community?

    Senator Chris Nwabueze Ngige has been a man of the people in Alor and indeed the whole of Idemili race and beyond, even before he became the governor of Anambra State. He is highly respected and influential in the community. When the crisis started, he was a sitting Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He once told the community that the throne should be taken to where it belongs and that is Uruezeani village.

    Are you concerned that those who oppose your kingship may use their weight and all necessary means to stop you?

    I am not afraid of anybody. I only fear the Almighty God the maker of the universe and all therein. I most sincerely believe that nothing will happen to me because I am on the path of truth and honour as far as Alor community is concerned.

    You complained last year to law enforcement agents that your life was being threatened. What is the situation now?

    You remember I granted an interview last year. That interview was published on Wednesday, 23rd July, 2014. Immediately, the interview was published, my life came under fire because I refused to accept…Chinedu Okonkwo as the Igwe of Alor as Chinedu Okonkwo was never elected as such. He is not even qualified to contest because he is not from Umuezeani Village. I am the popular candidate. My popularity cuts across the community. [Someone] called my mother on the phone that fateful Wednesday morning when the interview was out and told her to warn me to stop challenging the governor’s position.

    What happened thereafter?

    At about 1pm on 1st August, 2014, when I was discussing on the phone with my lawyer to brief him on the security developments around me, some four hefty men swooped on me and told me that they were security men and that the Commissioner of Police and the governor wanted to see me and that they were detailed to bring me. When I resisted their mission, they bundled me into their vehicle. When we got to Amawbia Roundabout by Express, instead of going towards the Police Headquarters or Governor’s Lodge, they faced Enugwu-Agidi along NTA Road. When I realised that their mission was sinister and that they might kill me, I jumped out of their vehicle and dashed into the bush.

    What action did the law enforcement agents take thereafter?

    The state police command at the time said they never sent anybody to bring me to the CP or anybody in the command. Even the Special Adviser to the Governor on Security Matters, Chief Chikodi Anara told me that the governor never sent anybody to me as claimed by the assailants. That was when it became clearer to me that those people were assassins. I did not recognise any of the faces that bundled me into the vehicle and I cannot tell you now that I suspect anybody on that issue, but one is being careful.

    What was the reaction of Alor Community to the incident?

    Immediately, the news hit Alor, Onowu (traditional prime minister) and Ndi Ichie (Elders) summoned an emergency meeting of the elders’ council and the town union caretaker committee. Onowu told them point black that if anything happened to me, the community would not accept it, that you don’t take somebody’s right and kill him at the same time. That was when the Town Union Caretaker Chairman, Mr. Sylvester Ilogbaka shouted that he was never part of any plot against me and that any petition written by anybody in any quarter against me would never have his blessing and support.

    We learnt that the other of your opponents, Mr. Chinedu Okonkwo was crowned on June 14.

     (Laughs) That is not true. He has been telling people that he would be crowned since last year, but all to no avail. He can’t even do it. There is an order of court from the High Court of Anambra State, Ogidi Division hanging on his neck. If he does anything like that, he will go to prison. Besides, Ndi Ichie, Ndi Idi and Ndi Ozo who are responsible for coronation have since expressly rejected him. So I wonder who is going to coronate him. He is just deceiving himself and some people.

    What advice do you give your people of Alor in the present circumstance?

    I advise my people particularly the youths to keep calm since the matter is in court. I believe that truth shall eventually prevail and whoever is the candidate of the people will surely mount the saddle as the traditional ruler of the community.

     

  • Kogi poll: APC candidate names campaign council

    Kogi State All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in the November 21 election, Prince Abubakar Audu, has said the party will defeat the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    Comrade Isa Daniel, from Dekina Local Government Area, has been named the director-general of Audu’s campaign council.

    Alhaji Ibrahim Isah Atodo (aka YISAB) was appointed the youth coordinator.

    Other members of the council include former PDP Board of Trustees (BoT) member, Hajia Halimat Alfa, Alhaji Linco Ocheje and past and serving senators as well as House of Representatives and House of Assembly members.

    At the inauguration of the campaign council at the weekend in Lokoja, the state capital, Audu said PDP was dead in the state.

    The former governor noted that the party’s funeral rites would be performed on the day of the governorship poll.

    He urged APC loyalists and supporters to return to their wards and polling units and ensure the party’s clear victory in the election.

    Audu said APC was poised for victory.

    The former governor hailed APC leadership for conducting free, fair, credible and transparent primary.

    He described the primary as the best ever organised by any party in the country.

    Audu praised his co-aspirants for the courage and maturity they displayed during the primary.

    The APC candidate said the primary was a family contest, adding that there was no victor and no vanquished.

    He assured that if given the mandate, he would restore the state’s lost glory.

    Audu pledged that Kogi under an APC government would witness accelerated development.

    APC Chairman Haddy Ametuo congratulated Audu on his victory.

    He urged him to carry everybody along.