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Tag: Mr. Adams Oshiomhole

  • Oshiomhole concern over disruption of polls in Edo

    The National Chairman of  the All Progressives Congress (APC),  Mr  Adams Oshiomhole has expressed concern over alleged invasion of some polling units by suspected thugs in Edo.

    The polling units,  according to him are at Uluoke and Ogbido both in Etsako West Local Government Area of the state.

    Oshiomhole disclosed this shorty after casting his vote at about 2:20pm in his polling Unit 1, Ward 10 in Iyamoh in Etsako West Local Government Area on Saturday.

    He alledged that leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) brought thugs to distrupt the voting process in the area, adding that security officers had to restore normalcy before voting could continue.

    “we have some few reported incidents. you know last week it was clear that the whole of this area was 99 per cent APC.

    “” So I believe PDP leaders sent thugs to cause distruption in the next vilage where we got 99 per cent during last elections.

    “They brought thugs and they started shooting to distrupt the process, unfortunately, the people are determined to vote, and  I understand that voting has resumed.

    “PDP leaders led the thugs to distrupt election at Uluoke and Ogbido with the same partern trying to cart away election materials again.

    “But the youths in the area stopped  them, I understand that the situation is under control in those locations, ” he said.

    The national chairman said there was need for the military to be involved in election monitoring due to frequent snatching of ballot boxes and distruption of election processes by political thugs.

    “That is why when some people are talking against or disputing the idea of deploying the military for elections, only enemies of democracy and enemies of peace will support that kind of campaign.

    “Imagine when just  two police men not armed in a polling unit, what can they do when thugs invade the polling centres with sophisticated weapons, they will watch helplessly.

    “If not that we have the army that are on patrol, things would have gotten out of hands.

    He, however, commended the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)  for a peaceful process, adding that the commission did a perfect arrangement in ensuring that the was hitch-free.

  • PDP accuses Buhari of shielding Oshiomhole from investigation

    The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has described as reprehensible, revelations that President Muhammadu Buhari was shielding the national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Adams Oshiomhole from being investigated by the Department of State Service (DSS).

    An online medium, The Cable, had reported that Oshiomhole was on Sunday, arrested by the DSS in Abuja and grilled for about nine hours for alleged involvement in bribery and other corrupt practices.

    A statement Wednesday by the spokesman for the PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan, said the party was privy to the pressure being mounted on the DSS by President Buhari to let the party chair off the hook.

    The opposition party attributed the President’s alleged intervention to fears that the DSS investigation would unearth the complicity of the Presidency and other key APC members in the alleged scam.

    The statement said, “Information available to the PDP reveals that apart from the billions of naira, he allegedly stole from the coffers of Edo State when he was governor.

    “Oshiomhole is facing charges of allegedly collecting billions of naira from some ministers and other APC sources in Adamawa, Rivers, Kano and Imo states to manipulate the 2019 electoral process.

    “This is in addition to allegedly collecting billions of naira from Presidency sources to influence electoral officers, independent observers and certain polling organizations ahead of the 2019 election, part of which was allegedly diverted for personal use of some APC leaders.

    “The PDP had always alerted Nigerians to the corruption allegation burden on the APC Chairman and the continued official cover provided him by the Buhari Presidency, including stalling his investigation and prosecution by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over alleged stealing of billions of naira from Edo State coffers.

    “If the Buhari Presidency has nothing to hide; if it is not complicit in the alleged scam, it should allow the DSS and EFCC a free hand to investigate and prosecute his party’s factional chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, particularly now that all issues are laid bare before Nigerians.

    “As long as the DSS and the EFCC are not allowed to put Oshiomhole into the dock, the Buhari Presidency does not have the moral rectitude to speak on corruption.

    “This is especially as the involvement of the DSS shows that the corruption burden of the APC Chairman has already become a security risk to our nation.

    “Finally, the PDP cautions that in no circumstance should the Presidency escort Adams Oshiomhole out of the country, just like it did for the disgraced Buhari’s former Minister of Finance”.

  • Oshiomhole in Kano as Shekarau joins APC

    The National Chairman of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Mr. Adams Oshiomhole on Friday paid a special visit to former Governor of Kano state, Malam Ibrahim Shekarau, describing him as one of the progressives that is much needed in the All Progressive Congress (APC).

    Oshiomhole who was accompanied by Kano state Governor, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje and some members of APC National Working Committee (NWC), visited Shekarau at his Kano residence, insisting that his coming back to APC remains a reunion that have been long awaited.

    Read Also:APC shift sale of nomination form by 24 hours

    According to him, “for me, it is a rare opportunity to be in your home and reunite with you. I know from your lifestyle, your background, from what you did as the Governor of Kano state, nobody can claim to be more progressive than you.

    “I am also fully aware that you are one of the founding fathers of the APC. You may not have expected the amount of efforts you invested in the formation of the All Progressive Congress which you did not enjoy.

    “I have always said that we should be going forward, in progressive we unite, with conservative, we move our ways. This meeting has offered us the opportunity to reunite once again as progressives.

    “I have come to pay my respect to His Excellency (Shekarau). I have spoken to my brother, the Executive Governor of Kano state, for the need for all of us to work together for the development of Kano state and the development of our nation, Nigeria.

    “I want to believe that this is a happy reunion and we shall continue to play progressive politics for the good of the Nigerian people.”

    Governor Ganduje in his remarks thanked Oshiomhole for sparring time to reunite him and Shekarau who he described as, “a brother and friend,” adding that, “we are very grateful for this honour that you (Oshiomhole) have done to us in order to concretize the relationship between Malam Ibrahim Shekarau and our great party; and to also acknowledge and ensure that this relationship has come to stay.”

    He pointed out that, “I and Malam Ibrahim Shekarau belong to the same constituency even though we were never in the same political party. The reason why I said we are from the same constituency is that Malam Ibrahim Shekarau is a bureaucrat and I am a bureaucrat. When I was Commissioner for Works, Housing and Transport, some 20 years ago, Malam Ibrahim Shekarau was Permanent Secretary.

    “When we came in 1999, myself as the Deputy Governor, the former Governor of Kano state, Kwankwaso was the Governor and Malam Ibrahim Shekarau was a Permanent Secretary in the Cabinet Office.

    “I could recall because of a statement by sycophants of former Governor Kwankwaso, Malam Ibrahim Shekarau was given a query. He came to my house at 7 a.m. to tell me that he was given a query, I said go and make photocopy of that query. He made a photocopy and brought to me.

    “I met with Governor Kwankwaso and asked him what is happening? The Permanent Secretary in the Cabinet Office said he was given a query, what is the problem? He (Kwankwaso) said he learnt Malam Shekarau was holding meetings with some Ulamas in order to contest election.

    “I said what is wrong for him to hold meetings with Ulamas? Even myself through my Ganduje Foundation, I hold meeting with Ulamas. What is the problem, please withdraw that query, but the Governor refused to withdraw that query, and he had the right to do that.

    “What later happened was that Malam Shekarau was posted out to the Ministry of Education. I called the Commissioner of Education at that time and said Malam Ibrahim Shekarau has been posted to your ministry, I asked him to discuss with Malam Shekarau what type of job he would want to do in the Ministry of Education.

    “Then, the Honourable Commissioner asked Malam Shekarau what he would want to be, and Malam Shekarau said he wanted to be a classroom teacher, and Malam Ibrahim Shekarau was posted out as a classroom teacher.

    “As God would have it, in less than two months, Malam Ibrahim Shekarau became the Governor of Kano state. He defeated the incumbent Governor, he defeated Kwankwaso and myself. He sent us out of Government House.

    “One important thing is that, Malam Ibrahim Shekarau and myself have always been good associates, we have always been good friends, in fact, we are like minds; and for him to be in APC, I am the happiest person in this state today.

    “Before, a friend, a brother in different political party, now our dreams have come true; now, we are together in the same political party, we understand ourselves, we believe in the same ideology, we believe in commitment—the development of our people, the development of our state.

    “I think there is no better time to have a brother, to come together and serve the people of Kano state. I tell you today that all other things would be sorted out between Malam Ibrahim Shekarau and I, between Malam Ibrahim Shekarau and our government, between the followers of Malam Ibrahim Shekarau and our government, everything will be sorted out peacefully.

    “So, Malam Ibrahim Shekarau, we welcome you to this very important party, the APC. You are one of the founding fathers of APC. The same Hyena that drove you out of APC is the same Hyena that drove you out of PDP. We are happy that you will soon make your pronouncement. Let us come together and fight that Lion.”

    Malam Shekarau who said his position for membership of APC would be made known in few hours said that: “I am happy today for you (Oshiomhole) and His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Kano state to pay me this special visit. I feel highly honoured, I feel highly respected.

    “I am not totally surprised because the National Chairman has been a long-standing friend, a long-standing colleague and a long-standing comrade.

    “I am not surprised also when he emerged the chairman of the APC. I want to assure you that those of us here in Kano are aware of all that has been happening because history is repeating itself.

    “All along, I have been beating my chest with pride that anybody writing the history of APC and the name of Ibrahim Shekarau is not there, that history is incomplete. I had the singular honour of being the Chief mid-wife of APC.

    “For me and Governor Ganduje, regardless of any political party we find ourselves, our mission is always one sincerity of purpose to move Kano and Nigeria forward. Our consultations are in full gear, in the next couple of hours, we will make it known to the world our stand as far as membership of APC is concerned.”

    Other dignitaries in Ganduje’s entourage include Senator Ibrahim Kabiru Gaya (Kano South), Senator Barau Jubrin (Kano North), Speaker of Kano state House of Assembly, Kabiru Alhassan Rurum, Chief Whip of Kano state House of Assembly, Bappa Babba Dan Agundi, Senator Mohammed Bello, Senior Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on National Assembly Matters, Abdulraman Kawu Sumaila, Private Secretary to Ganduje, Ibrahim Kankorofi, members of Kano state executive council, among others.

    However, plans have been concluded to officially receive Shekarau to APC in a grand rally to be held today.

     

  • Oshiomhole dismisses members of R-APC

    Mr Adams Oshiomhole, the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Chairman, has said that the APC leadership will rather ignore members of the Reformed-APC than be bothered by their action.

    He stated this on Friday in Abuja when Chairmen of the defunct Congress for Progressives Congress (CPC) paid him a visit at the party`s national secretariat.

    He, however, added that the party`s leadership would only attend to its members with genuine grievances with a view to addressing them.

    Oshiomhole who is just two-week-old in office, was rattled on Wednesday when some members of the party pulled out to form the Reformed All Progressives Congress (R-APC), a parallel structure.

    The group, which has all members of defunct nPDP and some APC members in its fold, is led by former National Secretary of defunct CPC, Alhaji Buba Galadima.

    Galadima claimed that the APC Constitution had been eroded and its recent congresses and National Convention were not transparent.

    “We listerned to Buba Galadima. It is as if a very hungry bird is dancing at the centre of the road and a disgruntled drummer not far away in the bush is drumming for him.

    “But this is not to say that we are not aware that there are challenges here and there, but anything about APC is considered more, much more than the sum total of all the challenges we have in many of the states.

    “And by the special grace of God, we shall overcome them and we are already overcoming them, I am very confident that we can afford to ignore Buba Galadima, “ Oshiomhole   said.

    He re-emphasised that he was ready to go to any length to talk to people who meant well and who had genuine grievances against the party.

    Such grievances, he noted, may have arisen from communication gaps or misunderstanding or even from error of judgment on the part of anyone or even from the way the party managed things.

    “Protests like these are acknowledged and we are working to resolve them, when we see people who have genius grievances, we are not ashamed to talk to them.

    “We recognise that democracy is an equaliser and only people who are humble enough to engage can survive and we have been engaging, “ the APC national chairman said.

    He added that the party`s leadership had been meeting with various individuals and groups who had genuine concerns on certain matters.

    He hinted that progress was being made, but said that the party`s leadership knew those who do not mean well for the party, when such persons were seen.

    “There are a lot of idle people who don’t have any other thing to do and once they don’t have access to national honey pot, they begin to complain.

    “For me, there is no cause for alarm, nobody should panic over one Buba Galadima, whose group, I believe cannot define us in the next election in 2019.

    “Nigerians are wiser. They know that corruption is fighting back and that President Muhammadu Buhari’s resolve to fight corruption must elicit a counter force and that force must find attraction in some people,“ he said.

    Oshiomhole maintained that the APC would however, not be distracted by such persons, adding that President Buhari should not be distracted too.

    He stressed that the President must remain focused and sustain the fight against corruption.

    “I believe the rebellion will be crushed using the superior power of argument and persuading our people not to forget in a hurry where we are coming from,“ he said.

    Leader of the defunct CPC state chairmen, Alhaji Umar Shuaibu said they were at the party secretariat to pledge their support to the Oshiomhole-led newly elected National Working Committee (NWC) of the APC.

    He maintained that President Buhari has done enough for the country to deserve re-election in 2019, adding that Nigerians should keep faith with the Federal Government and refuse to be distracted

  • Oshiomhole’s election will strengthen APC –NDDC boss

    Mr Nsima Ekere, the Managing Director of the  Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), says  the election of  Mr Adams Oshiomhole as National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) will  strengthen  the party.

    Ekere, who said this  in a statement in Port Harcourt on Tuesday, also expressed optimism that the former governor of Edo would  unify the party to achieve victory in the 2019 polls.

    “With less than eight months to 2019 elections, Oshiomhole is poised to bring his wealth of experience and ingenuity in governance, politics and organisation to bear.

    “I urge Oshiomhole to work closely with President Muhammadu Buhari, other party officials, stakeholders and the party faithful to consolidate on the gains of his predecessor.

    Read also: Oshiomhole set for coronation as Ebri quits

    “Doing this will lead the party to greater success in governance at different levels and ensure bigger win in the 2019 elections than we had in 2015,” he said.

    Ekere felicitated with other members of the newly elected APC National Executive Committee including the South-South Women Leader, Mrs Rachel Akpabio, who was re-elected for a second term in office.

    According to him, the party has been vindicated with the successful conduct of its national convention contrary to prediction that the party may disintegrate.

    “I call on the people of the nine Niger Delta states to support Buhari and the APC in the 2019 elections to enjoy more democratic dividends,” he said.

  • In search of APC’s next National chair

    In search of APC’s next National chair

    If the plans work, former governor of Edo State, Mr. Adams Oshiomhole, will displace Chief John Odigie Oyegun as the chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC. Doubters and quibbler can now be content that Oshiomhole might soon be saddled with the responsibility of piloting the affairs of the ruling party in Nigeria.

    The repulsive news broke last weekend that Mr. Oshiomhole is currently favoured by 17 APC Governors in a plot to remove Odigie Oyegun as the APC national chairman. In the report, a source was quoted thus: “Ahead of the NEC meeting of APC next week, there is tension in the party. About 17 of the 24 governors are unhappy with the national chairman. They are plotting to withdraw their support for him, unless he carries all of them along”.

    The Governors are reportedly angry, that Oyegun has been running the party with only 7 of their colleagues. The news posits that the dissatisfied governors are expected to table their grievances at the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting on October 31 and pass a vote of no confidence in Oyegun.

     

    The report went ahead to say that the Governors are believed to have spoken to President Muhammadu Buhari on their decision to reject Oyegun’s leadership, while Oyegun’s supporters have fingered former Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole’s backers as part of the plot.

    It also hinted that the 17 governors believe that Oyegun is romancing their 7 colleagues because the APC National Chairman is of the opinion that they are close to the President. Those purportedly on the side of Chief Oyegun are Governors Nasir El-Rufai (Kaduna); Abdullahi Ganduje (Kano); Mohammed Abubakar (Bauchi); Rochas Okorocha (Imo); Solomon Lalong (Plateau); Yahaya Bello (Kogi) and Samuel Ortom (Benue).

    The report also quoted an APC NEC member thus: “…the issues the 17 governors are raising are part of the conspiracy against the National Chairman. “And what you are likely to see is the direction where things will go at the NEC session. As regards Oyegun’s preference for some governors, I do not think it is true. If the chairman has personal relationship with some governors, I think it is by virtue of their position or performance”.

    Interestingly, Oyegun and Oshiomhole are both from Edo State and are former governor of the state. While Chief Oyegun retired as a Federal Permanent Secretary, Mr. Oshiomhole had his days at the helm of affairs of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC. However, there are lot of questions begging for answers as Oyegun’s four-year of APC leadership draw to a close.

    Nigerians would like to know whether Oyegun demonstrated desire leadership at the saddle all through the four-year as the chairman of the APC? Has there been stability in the party and the polity? Was there conscious effort by Chief Oyegun at developing party policy that will differentiate the APC from the PDP in the eyes of the general public? You’re wont to ask also, what might Oshiomhole bring aboard the leadership of APC, different to what Chief Oyegun has been offering the ruling party presently? Is Oshiomhole ambition about fulfilling all righteousness? What is Oshiomhole’s contribution to the APC before now?

    The problem with political party development in Nigeria arises from the ruling elite unwritten rule/law that whoever is the president or governor, even local government chairman automatically becomes the leader of the political party in their domain. This primitive and/or backward-looking winner-takes-all disposition is the albatross of political party growth in the country’s democratic evolution. Political parties which ought to be vehicles for formulating and propagating national economic development has been reduced to mere praise singing platforms for elected government officials, regardless of their woeful performance in office. This, apart from Oyegun’s personal weaknesses, may have accounted for Oyegun’s languid performance in the last four-year.

    Looking at Chief Oyegun’s past as the first executive governor of Edo State for less than two years, it is evidence he demonstrated copious leadership endowment by ensuring that everyone, including non-indigene of the state benefited from his free education program. Accountability and astute leadership wre enthroned. Ditto every other aspects of governance. Edo would have been better for it but for the rude military incursion that brought the administration to abrupt end.

    The story of the APC as a political party would not be complete without the previous alliance between the defunct ACN and CPC. In 2011 when Acton Congrass of Nigeria, ACN, and the Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, made futile efforts at merging into an alliance, Mr. Oshiomhole was the first to truncate that alliance by preventing President Muhammadu Buhari to enter Edo State to campaign for his (Oshiomhole’s) reelection bid in 2012.

    The same Oshiomhole is currently clowning as President Buhari’s man Friday! Oshiomhole, against the ethics of political party development, canvassed vigorously for President Goodluck election in 2011, while Mallam Nuhu Ribadu was a candidate in Oshiomhole’s  political party.

    Mr. Oshiomhole has been laying claims to President Muhammadu Buhari’s presidency, even though the APC lost the 2015 Presidential election in the state. Before we forget, the Peoples Democratic Party won the 2015 presidential election with 52% of total vote cast in Edo State.

    Before Mr. President would consider Oshiomhole for any Federal appointment or before the so-called 17 friendly governors would support Chief Oyegun’s replacement with Oshiomhole, it will please Edo people for an inquest to be conducted on the fiv-star hospital that was commissioned by Buhari 12 months ago. The Benin Central Hospital has remained under lock and key, without equipment and personnel.

     

    • Ikhide, a Public Affairs Analyst, writes from Lagos.