The Nation Newspaper

Tag: mandate

  • Mandate movement eyes 2027

    Mandate movement eyes 2027

    Pro-Tinubu group, The Mandate Movement (TMM), has set up 37 structures to widen its reach and membership.

    National Leader, James Odunmbaku, said it was necessary for ease of administration.

    He said the move is also a precursor to preparations for 2027 elections when TMM seeks to have strong dominance in every community and town.

    Read Also: Tinubu appoints new heads for NCC, NIGCOMSAT, Galaxy Backbone

    Odunmbaku noted TMM ‘has constituted screening structures as we set up state coordinators’.

    He advised coordinators to be effective in mobilising members into  All Progressives Congress (APC).

    The leader appealed to Nigerians to be patient with the President Bola Tinubu’s administration, especially present challenges.

  • Mandate all paint producers to register, PMA urges NAFDAC

    The Paint Manufacturers Association (PMA), an arm of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), has called on the National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to enforce the registration of all paint manufacturers in order to reduce quacks in the paint industry.

    The outgoing Chairman of the association, Mr. Rotimi Aluko, who made this call, during the association’s 30th Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Lagos, noted that when individual paint manufacturers are captured by NAFDAC, it will increase their involvement with standards for products and chemicals respectively.

    Aluko noted that the illicit activities of these fake producers has led to loss of revenues to majority of its big members, complaining that the act has adversely impacted on the reputations of companies whose products were adulterated while contributing to the nation’s high unemployment rate.

    He said; “The efforts of the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) to rid the industry of fake and substandard products via monitoring and enforcement of standards has not yielded the desired results. We are still collaborating with the agency on the way forward and it is hoped that with the coming into operation of the revised standards for paints, the organisation will be able to do more in reducing the level of adulteration and faking in the paints industry.”

    He maintained that the involvement of SON and NAFDAC would help in ascertaing who is doing what and where, adding that enforcement would will help in determining the correct location addresses on packaging, which will go a long way in solving the problem.

    He called on the three tiers of government to patronise made in Nigeria paints and other products, stressing that the crave for imported goods by most Nigerians should be stopped starting with government.

    The outgoing Chairman appeal to the government to formulate and enforce policies that would increase patronage of locally manufactured paints.

    He said: “Government can embark on urban renewal and modernisation in all cities. Such programmes can instigate regular painting and repainting of both government and individual properties thereby improving our maintenance culture. Painting is not a luxury unlike most Nigerians think. It is a necessity because it helps to maintain and even enhance the value of the property while at the same time adding beauty to it.”

  • I won’t take mandate for granted, says Sanwo-Olu

    Ambode concedes defeat as panel announces result

    Lagos State All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate Babajide Sanwo-Olu has promised not to take the mandate given to him for granted.

    Sanwo-Olu won the primary on Tuesday with 970,851 votes. His opponent, incumbent Governor Akinwunmi Ambode  scored 72,901 votes.

    Ambode accepted defeat and promised to cooperate with the candidate through the transition period.

    Sanwo-Olu, whose victory in the direct primary shadow poll was validated yesterday by the Electoral panel led by former Cross River State Governor Clement Ebri, said: “Lagosians, I think with what you have done for me, I cannot take you for granted, I cannot take this mandate and this confidence for granted, I’ll cherish it for the rest of my life but more importantly, like I’ve always said, I’ll remain committed, I’ll keep an inclusive government, I’ll be responsible, integrity will not run far from me and I will not do things that in any form would make you to begin to doubt my capacity or capability.”

    The political tension that gripped state in the last one week subsided yesterday, with Ambode’s conceding defeat in the All Progressives Congress (APC) primary election held on Tuesday.

    The Clement Ebri-led panel assigned to supervise the shadow poll failed initially to acknowledge the result.

    But yesterday’s ratification of the result and the acceptance of defeat by the governor dissipated the cloudy atmosphere.

    The APC candidate, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, pleaded for support and congratulated party members for the successful election.

    In a broadcast, Ambode said: “The last few days have witnessed intense political activities that have gripped the attention of the nation and created palpable tension in the polity. I strongly believe that the time has now come for the state to move forward in order that the gains of the last three and half years are not lost.

    ”APC is a great party and the interests of our beloved state must always supercede that of any person or group. It is in this regard that I wholeheartedly congratulate the winner of the Lagos State APC primaries, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu.”

    ”As Governor, I will do everything possible to ensure a smooth transition in the remaining period of this administration and ultimately to the new Governor, come May 2019.

    ”I therefore appeal to all our party members that we remain one family and unite behind the candidate of the party, so that we can continue to move this state forward.

    ”The progress of Lagos State is non-negotiable. It is a project that I have passionately worked for in the last three and half years as your Governor and one to which I will forever be devoted.”

    The governor thanked APC national leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and the party’s leadership at state and national levels as well as all party faithful and all Lagosians.

    There was jubilation yesterday in Lagos State APC, following the declaration of former Commissioner Babajide Sanwo-Olu as winner of Tuesday’s direct primary.

    Thanking party members for trooping out to participate in the exercise, the chairman of the party, Tunde Balogun, maintained that the conduct of the primary followed laid down regulations and due process.

    The supervisors of the primary, former Cross River State Governor Clement Ebri, and other committee members, retraced their steps yesterday, after initially dismissing the primary as a ruse.

    Around noon, Ebri announced the result and affirmed Sanwo-Olu as the governorship candidate for next year’s election after resolving what he described as the “hiccups”.

    Announcing the results, Ebri said: “The Lagos State All Progressives (APC) Governorship Primary was contested by two aspirants, namely: Governor Akinwunmi Ambiode and Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

    “After resolving some of the hiccups, the Lagos APC Governorship Primary Committee collated the results from the 245 wards in the 20 Local Government Areas (LGAs) from collating officers.

    “At the end of the exercise, these are the votes scored by the aspirants: Governor Akinwunmi Ambode 72,901 and Babajide Sanwo-Olu 970,851.

    “Following these results, I, Clement Ebri, the Chairman of the Lagos State APC Governorship Primary Committee, hereby declare Bbajide Sanwo-Olu as the winner.”

    Balogun told reporters at the APC secretariat that “the poll was conducted and concluded with the signing of the results by His Excellency, Clement Ebri. The poll took place across the 345 wards in 20 councils. I thank Lagosians and APC members for voting for the two aspirants. The election was free and fair.

    “I thank the members of our party for their peaceful conduct. There was no single case of violence. APC continues to be the leading party in Nigeria and it is a model.

    “The results were declared by the committee, led by Clement Ebri, duly signed by Clement Ebri. Babajide Sanwo-Olu is now the candidate of the APC in Lagos. “

    Balogun attributed the earlier stand of the committee to what he called communication problem, adding that the challenge was mutually resolved.

    He stressed: “There was communicatiob break up. The election was peaceful. It was conducted according to guidelines. The results were not initially honoured for no reason. Many of our party leaders viewed the exercise on television. They saw the crowd and discovered that it was a free and fair election. “

    The Babajide Olusola Sanwo-olu Campaign Organisation (BOSCO) yesterday thanked President Muhammadu Buhari, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, party faithful and others who contributed to the victory of the APC candidate.

    A statement by Olusesan Daini, Director Media and Publicity, BOSCO, said “BOSCO wishes to expresses our gratitude to all our faithful members for the loyalty, commitments and determination to our great party by participating in the direct gubernatorial primary election in Lagos State on the 2nd of October 2018. In the same vein, we also like to appreciate the overwhelming moral support received from non members of our great party during the exercise.”

    He also acknowledged the gallantry displayed by the security agencies, the cooperation of the press and exhibition of close observation by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) during the just concluded direct primary of the party.

    “Most importantly, we are grateful to members of the Lagos state chapter of our great party who voted for Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu en-masse during the gubernatorial primary election  making him emerge as the  flag-bearer of our great party for the general election in 2019.We urge our entire members to remain focused and work assiduously towards the general election in 2019,” he said.

    The APC is one untied family and we must keep the spirit in Lagos.

     

  • Anambra and Obiano’s second mandate

    SIR: GOVERNOR of Anambra State, Dr. Willie Obiano on March 17, renewed his oath of office for a second term following his landslide victory in the November 18, 2017 election.  A mammoth crowd from within and outside cheerfully witnessed the inauguration.

    In the first term, Obiano overwhelmingly consolidated, complemented the achievements of his two predecessors and took it to next level. All hitherto seemingly abandoned towns substantially received senses of belonging particularly through road rehabilitations. It is remarkable that Ndi-Anambra indeed have taken their destinies in their hands by untiringly ensuring that only adept leaders mount the podium as the governor of the state.

    From 1999, the state has experienced diverse political metamorphosis which to a large extent is providential. Dr. Chinwoke Mbadinuju’s administration was appraisingly, widely zeroed; however, a holistic evaluation may submit that Mbadinuju contributed correspondingly albeit in a different dimension. Inarguably, his tenure was the prime era of godfathers ruling by proxy. And like many other states, the anti-democratic elements invaded Anambra for control of state resources with strong backup from the Presidency then under Chief Olusegun Obasanjo. It was completely political bullying and supremacy combats between elected government officials and Abuja clique.

    Eventually, due to ceaseless squabbles, Mbadinuju wasn’t returned for a second term by the clique but replaced with Dr. Chris Ngige who by mission or omission dined with the clique, hence faced legitimacy crisis after emergence as the PDP’s candidate. In their usual overshadowing manner, Ngige was however declared a winner but immediately he was sworn-in, major crisis followed as he unpredictably, unwaveringly took full charge and sidelined the ‘godfathers’, above all, reneged on all hostile agreements over control of state machinery and treasury. Strategically, Ngige expeditiously cleared workers’ piled up arrears and energetically became workaholic; embarked on unprecedented massive road constructions despite their colossal distractions, possibly in anticipation of a rerun. It was indeed a positive drama. Suddenly, the Christian community that hitherto rejected him reversed, embraced him over his laudable performance especially on workers’ arrears alongside mega projects. On the other hand, Mr. Peter Obi that was massively voted for as APGA’s candidate and battling for redress at the tribunal began to face apathy with open demand that Ngige with a pilfered mandate should ride on.

    Along the line, the court’s gavel transferred the mantle to APGA and legitimacy crisis shifted to Obi on account of high standard Ngige set in motion. To worsen Obi’s situation, the clique conspiratorially, hurriedly impeached him. After Obi’s reinstatement by the apex court, he quintessentially espoused Ngige’s panache. However, to prevent stealing someone’s thunder, Obi had to painstakingly differentiate his projects with signposts like “this road was constructed by Peter Obi” for people to see. It critically became a battle of exploits and feats only.

    The most distinctive feat of Obi that cannot be overemphasized is that despite belonging to opposition, he maneuvered his way and became the then President, Goodluck Jonathan’s Mannesmann and advantageously added value to his state. Thus, from Mbadinuju’s predictive slogan, the state progressed to the “Light of the Nation” as sensitively renamed by Obi. Inarguably, the state under Peter Obi’s leadership was a desideratum. Willie Obiano’s first term equally glowed superbly. And by extension, the light shines around her adjacent particularly Asaba, capital of Delta through real-estate developments.  Last year, Obiano remarkably approved the proposal for construction of export processing facility estimated at $150million in Ogidi. Thus, it is indeed becoming well with Anambra State. As Obiano continues to navigate the state with clear blueprints and proficient workforce, the light, perceptively, will shine brighter and brighter. Congratulations Ndi-Anambra!

     

    • Carl Umegboro

    Abuja.

  • FUPRE needs N5b yearly to meet mandate, says VC

    Vice-Chancellor (VC) of the Federal University of Petroleum Resources Effurun (FUPRE), Prof Akaehome Ibhadode, has called on the Federal Government to adequately fund the university to help it fulfil its mandate.

    Speaking when he visited The Nation headquarters in Lagos with the registrar, Mr Ejilkeme Ichendu and the Public Relations Officer, Boniface Onyedi recently, Ibhadode said poor funding was undermining the institution’s potential.

    He said the institution would need about N5 billion annually to stock up on relevant equipment and infrastructure to train high-level manpower for Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.

    “We will be talking about not less than N5 billion yearly for a start.  We need some laboratories.

    If provided with the funds, the VC said the university would procure a drilling platform, “where students can traine using training simulators,” among others.

    Because the university does not have one, Ibhadode said its students have to travel all the way  to the Nigerian Naval College in Sapele to use theirs.

    Ibhadode said FUPRE would have surpassed its modest achievements and admitted more students had inadequate equipment not restricted the growth of the 11-year old university.

    The VC lamented the non-release of its take-off grant of N500million as well as the non recognition of the institution’s specialised status which would have granted it more funds from the Federal Government.

    He lamented that even if the N500 million take off grant were released now, it was a fraction of what more recently established universities got from the Federal Government to start operation.

    As the only university of petroleum resources in Sub-Saharan Africa and the sixth in the world, Ibhadode said the institution deserved more attention.

    However, despite its challenges, Ibhadode said the institution had achieved a lot in terms of innovations and research including robotic surveillance of pipelines; construction of a biogas digestersuccesses in international competitions and the like.

    Also, he said all 13 programmes the institution runs had full accreditation from the National Universities Commission (NUC) and the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN).

    Speaking about FUPRE’s achievements, the VC said: “In terms of things that we are doing and we’ve done, we have come out with quite a number of innovations. We have developed surveillance of pipelines.  Where there are leakages, a robot can detect it and get the location.

    “Our students participated in the Shell Eco-Marathon where students build cars and race it with one litre of fuel.  The car that goes the farthest wins.  So in 2015 we went to South Africa to race and came out the best with three awards.  Last ear, Shell started supporting the progarmme.

    “We also are making progress into building a mini-refinery.  We have come up with a design and we working towards bringing it to life.  We are ready to provide solution to fuel scarcity. We are challenging the government, stakeholders, investors to come and see what we are doing.  On our own we have reached out to investors, industry and expect to hear from them soon and see how we can contribute to the society. The idea is to make the refinery mobile to be shared by marginal oil fields and to reduce the cost of investment.”

    At FUPRE, Ibhadode said there was no mismatch of skills because students are trained to hit the ground running once employed and enjoyed close interaction with the oil industry.

    “There is a special interaction with the oil and gas firms such that on graduation they are work ready.  We have certain inputs that make our graduates fit for industry as they are leaving.  We may not have a lot but we make optimal use of what we have,” he said.

     

     

  • NIFOR and failure of palm oil mandate

    Sir, The mandate of the Nigerian Institute for Oil Palm Research (NIFOR) is to conduct research into the production and products of oil palm and other palms of economic importance and transfer its research findings to farmers. Nigeria has imported palm oil worth over $3.2billion in the last 10 years. NIFOR is totally disconnected from potentially small-scale and out-grower smallholder farmers of palm oil plantation and failed in its mandate.

    Today, there is no policy statement on how Nigeria can return to its status as the largest producer of palm oil in the world and the institute is always waiting for its annual subvention from Abuja. It lacks innovation. There is need to review the operations of NIFOR and reposition it to deliver on its mandate. Today, the institute has no record on the number of private individuals and organizations that have established palm oil plantations in the last 20 years in Nigeria. NIFOR is located in Benin City and he does not even know the number of palm oil estates in Edo State. Rather there is always struggle for managerial positions in the institute. How can the institute deliver on its mandate when it has no records or database of palm oil estates in Nigeria? Federal Government should as a matter of urgency review the operations of NIFOR.

    Some newspapers reported that Nigeria imported 450,000 tons of crude palm oil valued at N116.3 billion ($323.1 million) in the first 10 months of this year. The amount imported increased by 12 percent from July because of rising demand, thus pushing up the price from $663 per metric tonnes in July to $718 per tonne as at November.

    Before NIFOR, palm oil was among the first commodities of international trade, after the slave trade, between Nigeria and Europe. The world trade in palm oil at the turn of the 20th century and up to the Second World War, was dominated by countries of British West Africa (largely Nigeria), the Belgian Congo (later Zaire and now the Democratic Republic of Congo), and the Far-East Asia notably the Netherlands East Indies, (Sumatra and Java) now Indonesia.

    Palm oil, hitherto one of the nation’s major foreign exchange earners in the early 1960s is massively imported into the country from Malaysia and Indonesia. Recall that Nigeria was the largest producer of palm oil in the world with a market share of 43 per cent in the 1960s. But currently, it has a world share of 2.9 per cent, with Indonesia leading by 33 million metric tonnes, Malaysia, 19.8 million metric tonnes; Thailand, two million; Colombia, 1.108 million metric tons and Nigeria, 970,000 metric tonnes.

    The institute failed because it is presently managing only two oil palm estates namely the Federal Oil Palm Estate Obotme (525ha) and the Federal Oil Palm Project, Erei (720ha) on behalf of the federal government while many other palm oil estates have been taken over by forest. The institute also runs advisory services relating to palms management, analytical services and quality assurance and diagnostic services to the palms industry in Nigeria. In this respect most of the fertilizer recommendations and policies of some major oil palm companies in Nigeria are based on the yearly routine soil and foliar analysis carried out for them by the institute’s consultancy service.

    That Nigeria, just this year alone, has imported 450,000 tons of palm oil to the tune of N116.3billion, is as grim a reality as it is worrisome and failure of NIFOR to deliver on its mandate. With an ever increasing population, a steady decline in palm oil production, and a proliferation of the uses of various products from palm oil, it is an economic fact that there is high demand for palm oil in Nigeria. Therefore, it is a tragedy that Africa’s greatest potential is spending so much money on the importation of what it can produce.

     

    • Inwalomhe Donald,

     Benin City.

  • SON gets two months mandate on SMEs certification

    SON gets two months mandate on SMEs certification

    The Federal Government has mandated the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) to galvanise the standardisation of all Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the country.  This will include the process of certifying locally-made products and ensuring they meet established standards and competitive quality for exports by removing hurdles on their resolve to get certification for their products.

    SON’s Director-General, Mr. Osita Aboloma stated this in Lagos at a management retreat with a theme “Repositioning the Standards Organisation of Nigeria for optimal performance in a diversified economy.”

    Aboloma confirmed the receipt of the mandate from the Acting President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo. He said Osinbajo directed that SON should through their mandate ease the hurdles for business. He said SON is poised to bring its competencies and expertise in the implementation of the Nigeria Industrial Revolution Plan (NIRP) with measures to drive the economy. He pledged to reposition SMEs to be in the front burner in efforts to ensure effective implementation of the NIRP.

    The SON chief further said they would reposition standardization and quality assurance activities with a view to creating the enabling environment for investments and production of goods and services in the country to improve the ease of doing business and encourage exports.

    The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah said the current economic downturn necessitates the development of various initiatives by various arms of government, which include the recovery and growth plan by the ministry to resuscitate collapsed industries.

    He said the ministry is also poised to boosting trade, attracting responsible foreign direct investments, to reinvigorate Micro Small Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and enhance patronage for locally manufactured goods.

    He urged SON to reinvigorate her strategies in the fight against the influx and distribution of substandard products as part of measures to protect the local industries from unfair competition and reposition them for export trade to earn the most desired foreign exchange and check recession.

    Enelamah said: “The global collapse of commodity prices undoubtedly provides a golden opportunity for Nigeria to develop its endowed domestic capacity in terms of production and consumption. The implication of this is the increased demand for your organisation services nationwide. Your participation in the ongoing MSME clinic surely provides you the feel of Nigerians and the work that lies ahead in furtherance of the Ease of Doing Business Initiative.”

  • I ‘ll reclaim my mandate,says Abraham

    I ‘ll reclaim my mandate,says Abraham

    Dr Olusegun Abraham is a leading governorship aspirant of the All Progressives Congress(APC)in Ondo State.In this interview with DAMISI OJO, he decries the manner the National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, overuled the majority decision of the National Working Committee (NWC) on urgency of a fresh primary. He also speaks about other partisan issues.

    How would you retrieve your mandate, which you said was stolen?

    The mandate is the mandate of the good people of Ondo state given to me by the delegates. so, it is the mandate of these people that I’m representing that I want to claim. I have said it severally that we have some steps that we need to explore to restore this mandate and we have only explored one step and we are disappointed with the outcome. so, we are moving towards the two other steps to claim our mandate. Fortunately, the issue is now a public matter and the whole world had seen that a crime was committed by some people in the APC at the national level. This is a criminal offence by injecting names of non-delegates and non-party members into our voting list in Ondo state. We want to know who injected those names, and whose authority was the name injected. Are they superior to the congress of the party and the panel? We want to know what the National Chairman of the party, John Oyegun, did if they are not the one who put the names illegally? Has he informed the EFCC to investigate the matter? This is a very great criminal offence.  So, if the Buhari government truly represents change, and fighting corruption, this electoral fraud must be properly investigated and punish the culprits. If not, I don’t think this government has any right or moral justification to arrest anybody for fraud . This is one of the reasons that I said I’m not going to leave the party. we will be there to salvage the party. I support the Buhari government in fighting corruption and I’m sure this menace will be brought down to minimal level if not eradicated in our land, and therefore if there are any elements, either in government or party that is trying to encourage corruption, this should be part of the things we must fight and correct.

    In specific terms, are you asking the EFCC to investigate the matter?

    Yes. I thought the perpetrators of the fraud should have been arrested by now. I thought Oyegun and his group, if they knew nothing about the padded delegates list in Ondo State, should fish out those behind the illegal padding. It is absurd, disappointing and an embarrassment to the Buhari administration and to a party that is known for fighting corruption and we now found out this fraud within the same party. this is a disgrace.

    But, do you see the party reversing its decision after submitting the name of Akeredolu as the party’s candidate? 

    Those who did not support the candidacy of Akeredolu are more than those who supported him. It is high time to fight this corruption. That somebody single handedly dropped his name at INEC against the decision of the NWC, this is another illegality. I am very surprised to find Oyegun at the helms of affairs of APC because in a very civilized society, this man ought to have resigned. He has nothing doing again. The same fraud that was perpetrated in Ondo was perfected by the national body. A candidate that was not popular was picked above favourite aspirants in the election. I was sure of over 800 delegates before the election, but they went ahead by disenfranchising my delegates from the exercise by removing their names and replacing them with non-delegates. This is even a greater offence than people stealing billions of Naira, stealing somebody’s mandate through fraudulent  means and giving their votes to an unqualified aspirant. These are the issues we need to address and this is one of the reasons we are in this mess today in Nigeria because the PDP believed in rigging from the primary to even the general election and look at the situation we find ourselves today. but, we want to put a stop to this during Buhari’s administration, because Mr. President is known to be an honest man, a man of integrity and who is determined to flush out corruption in this country and that’s why we are in this party to correct these anomalies.

    You said you have three options that you are going to explore in getting back this mandate and explore one out of the three options, what are the two other options?

    The two options are still within the party machinery. but, I don’t want to pre-empt the results of these options. when we get to that stage, the whole world will understand and knowBut the

    The NWC members has said there was no going back on Akeredolu. do you think there’s any need for the options?

    The NWC members are not the people of Ondo state. They are the organs of the party. The organs of the party must listen to what the people are saying. This is not a military regime but a democratic regime and they must learn how to be democratic.

    Talking about fake delegates, how are you sure many of fake delegates did not vote for you during the primary?

    He who pays the piper dictates the tune. Those who put them there have an arrangement with them because they have predetermined the results, there’s no need mincing word, they all voted for Akeredolu. They’ve been discovered and as a patriotic democrat, I am so confident that anytime there is rerun, I will win again and again. That’s one of the reason they are afraid to go back to the field. If these perpetrators had been arrested by the EFCC, we would have known the truth and we won’t be talking of this now.

    Do you think you can get redress in court?

    We have not reached the option of court because we know there are mechanism within the party which we can explore to correct these anomalies and to restore my mandate.

    Do you suspect the involvement of the presidency in this fraud of padded delegates for the primary?

    We can’t  rule it out but, what I know is that Mr. President will not have hand in that fraud. But, I believe they cannot perpetrate this fraud without the connivance of the people at the party secretariat. That’s why they took our delegates list and injected the list with their own delegates. I was surprised that the legal adviser did not even tell them the implication of what they have done; that  they have no right to do that or tamper with the authentic delegate list.

    Do you see any nexus in the statement credited to Akeredolu before the election that the result of the election will shock Tinubu, and the alteration of the delegate list?

    The result of the election confirmed this. God has a way of exposing something ahead of time. Has he not shocked the whole world with the result? not only Tinubu, but the whole world and the shock was multi- dimensional. It shows people could be so daring to the extent of fraudulently inputing names illegally into the delegates list. He also shocked the whole world by calling some members of the opposition to come and vote for him during the primary, calling people on the street, non-members of the party, paying them to vote for him. We should be talking about this act in the 15th century and not 21st century. It is also shocking that even the apex body of the party kept quiet about the foreign names injected into the list; it’s a big embarrassment to the party. This might have an adverse effect on the foreign investors who are thinking of operating in Nigeria because they do not want an atmosphere where corruption thrives and they have been showing interest in investing in Nigeria because they’ve seen the seriousness of President Buhari in fighting corruption.

    In the face of this crisis, what do you think should be the position of the NWC of the party? would you advise them to resign or what?

    Well, that should be determined by the leaders of the party. As for me and my people, my mandate should be returned to me. Again, those who perpetrated that criminal fraud by bringing in a fake delegate list must be prosecuted so that it will serve as deterrent to others and there won’t be a repeat of such act in another state . But, once they allow the perpetrators to go scot-free, then, we are in problem in this country, because an enemy of the state can be pushed forward as a candidate and once they succeed, the general election will not count again and the INEC will be irrelevant in elections in the country because they will use the same power to prevail on the INEC and make it redundant.  This is what the NPN did in 1983 and that was the beginning of the end of the NPN then and President Buhari should not allow this fraud and irregularities to go on in the APC and appeal to him to look into this and reverse the decision to give me my mandate.

    If the leadership prevails on you and ask for your support, will you abide with this?

    I will only ask them to prevail on the people of the state because what has taken place was a fraud and a slap on the people of the state. They want to prevail on the people by producing fraudulent result and fraudulent candidate that emerged through fraud, the people have said it repeatedly that they will not support fraud and fraudulent person to rule them. So, I stand by them and I stand with them and calling me or prevailing on me is immaterial. The answer to their request is that what  have they done to those who perpetrated the initial fraud? We can’t continue this way in this country. We have a lot of young undergraduates and youths who have no job, women who are jobless, and elderly people who cannot afford to eat three square meals because of the corruption in our country. we must think and find a way of putting an end to this corruption and fraudulent act. I want the fraud in the Ondo APC primary to be investigated.

    In other words you are saying that selling the candidature of Akeredolu will be a very difficult task in the election. Do you see the APC winning the state with him as the party’s candidate?

    With Akeredolu as the APC candidate, it’s automatic loss. there’s no need wasting time on somebody that is not loved by the people. the party dislikes him, the electorate do not like him, and not the sellable to the electorate, because the moment his name was mentioned as the candidate for Ondo election, the party went into comatose. Members of the party in the state have started dumping the party for the PDP. that’s an indication that the candidate picked by the party is not popular and not acceptable to the majority of the APC members in the state. Some people have joined the Action Alliance (AA) too. we don’t need crystal ball to know that the party is finished in the state. If we are lucky in this coming governorship election in the state, we will be number five, unless the party reverse its decision.

    Despite denying you your mandate, the people of the state still love you. what is in Abraham that people are after?

    If you see my campaign concepts, I’ve not been campaigning like a typical politician. I campaign of facts and figures and not running anybody down. I tabled before people what I can offer, based on my experience, training, both here and abroad . My campaign was purely on content and issue-based and how to industrialised the state . I demonstrated wealth creation in a practical way. I basically hinged my campaign on people’s welfare, and I identified that we have the problem of value, virtues and our conscience and these are real thing and my campaign was like preaching the word of God to them and this makes me unique and acceptable because I don’t tell them what I cannot do.

  • ‘Uphold Audu/Faleke mandate’

    The Lagos State branch of the Kabba Development Union (KDU) in Kogi State has urged the judiciary to uphold the Audu/Faleke mandate.

    It said the late Abubakar Audu and his running mate, James Abiodun Faleke, traversed the state to canvass votes and having made promises, the people voted for them and the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    The group, which spoke through its President, Princess Oladepe Omonale, at the weekend at its annual get-together in Lagos, said in the absence of Audu, Faleke was accountable and it was logical that he should be declared and sworn-in as governor.

    An APC chieftain, Adeniyi Ayodele, said Faleke would eventually get the mandate.

    He said he had confidence in the judiciary to do the right thing.

    “Audu/Faleke got our votes. What we deserve is not what we are given, but with time, God will intervene. Even with the swearing-in on Wednesday, we are not disturbed because we know truth will prevail,” Ayodele said.

  • Ishaku: The devil cannot steal my mandate

    Ishaku: The devil cannot steal my mandate

    * Swears in commissioners  

    Taraba State Governor Darius Ishaku yesterday swore in 20 commissioners without announcing their portfolios.

    The commissioners are: Rebecca Manasseh (Takum local government area); AbubakarSuleNdeme (Sardauna); YhonnasNgemi (Sardauna); Atosuma James Gani (Wukari); Lois Emmanuel (Wukari); Jesse AdiAshumate (Wukari); GamboUdeEndafo (Donga);TafarkiAgbadu (Kurmi); IliyasuAjibu (Ibi) and Gowon Emmanuel (Karim-Lamido).

    Others are: Abba AkawuZagga (Karim-Lamido); Musa Karanty (Gashaka); AlhassanHamman (Gassol); AminuJika (Jalingo); Innocent Vakkai (Ardo-Kola); David Ishaya (Yorro); Musa Dakka (Bali); Anthony Danburam (Lau); Yusuf NyaAkirikwen (Ussa) and Alexander Senlo (Zing).

    The occasion took place at the JollyNyame Sports Complex, Jalingo, the state capital.

    Ishaku was penultimate Saturday sacked by the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal on the ground that he was not validly nominated and sponsored by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    But Ishaku, who said the tribunal, erred and fired an appeal, asked his commissioners to join hands with him to restore the lost glory of the state.

    He stressed that expectations were high from sons and daughters of Taraba for his cabinet members to collectively live up to the challenge of meeting the demands of the state.

    “Last Saturday’s judgement by the governorship election petition tribunal was not what the people of the state expected.

    “Tarabans unanimously agreed and gave me their free mandate to work for them and there is no way we will allow the devil to steal the mandate given to me.

    “Our God is not a partial God; we have faith that the Court of Appeal will reverse the tribunal’s bizarre ruling.

    “The tribunal that sacked me from office has no jurisdiction to a pre-election matter. This kind of judgement by the tribunal can lead to anarchy,” Ishaku said.