The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Osinbajo’s

  • Distressed Ogun, Ondo APC candidates seek Osinbajo’s, Tinubu’s intervention

    Candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ogun and Ondo states have scheduled a meeting for the weekend to discuss their fate.

    This followed their alleged neglect by Governors Ibikunle Amosun and Oluwarotimi Akeredolu.

    The meeting, a source close to one of the National Assembly candidates in Ogun State said, will appraise the defections of some aggrieved aspirants to other parties on the prompting of the two governors following irreconcilable differences arising from the last APC primaries.

    Although a position paper is expected from the planned meeting scheduled for Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, the source told our correspondent that the candidates have sent emissaries to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo as well as APC National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, over their plight.

    “From the look of things, the two governors do not believe in the party but seem to be interested in their ego trips. There is nowhere interests will not be bruised after such political battles, but we have to come together and resolve all issues and forge ahead.

    “The governors should not forget that even when they erred as candidates, there were issues and the people, I mean members of the party, who still stood by them. Today, they are using same leverage against us.

    “So, we have decided to seek the intervention of Vice President Osinbajo, Asiwaju Tinubu and even Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi so that we can make the party come afloat in these two states because all indications point to the fact that they have dumped us as party candidates and are rather facing their non-APC candidates at our expense.

    “That is why our Abeokuta meeting will examine all issues around our ordeal, whether we will continue to pursue our aspirations or we should just give up because the governors appear to be adamant.

    “For instance, in Ogun, 26 lawmakers from the House of Assembly dumped the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the Allied Peoples Movement (APM). The lawmakers’ defections came just a week after Governor Amosun’s governorship candidate, Adekunle Akinlade, defected to APM.”

    There have been reports that in Ondo, all the National Assembly candidates who were promoted by the governor are currently stranded as a result of lack of a robust reconciliation process.

    This came as two of Governor Akeredolu’s men, Dr Tunji Abayomi and Adetunji Felder, have picked the senatorial tickets of the Action Alliance (AA) for Ondo North and South senatorial districts.

  • ‘Osinbajo’s, Fayemi’s intervention restored peace to Ondo House’

    Fifteen lawmakers of the Ondo State House of Assembly who fled the state following the purported impeachment of Speaker Bamidele Oleyelogun and his deputy, Ogundeji Iroju, yesterday said the intervention of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi led to their return to the Assembly to perform their oversight functions.

    A statement by Majority Leader Olugbenga Araoyinbo said: “We wish to place it on record that following Vice President Osinbajo’s and Governor Fayemi’s intervention, we have decided to return to parliament and have a final resolution to the issues.

    “However, at no time did we agree that Oleyelogun and Ogundeji will continue to preside as Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the Assembly.

    “It is instructive that the duo of Olajide and Oluyede, who had claimed that their signatures were forged, admitted that the signatures on the Impeachment Notice were theirs. Needless to say that we shall approach a court of law for appropriate redress for the defamation of our character.”

    Araoyinbo said at the meeting with Fayemi, the lawmakers canvassed many positions, all of which seemed abhorrent to Ondo State Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu.

    Read also: Ondo lifts suspension on 15 lawmakers

    According to him, they made it clear that the erstwhile Speaker and Deputy Speaker had lost the confidence of majority members.

    He said it is morally indefensible for them to remain in office.

    Araoyinbo said they suggested that they be given a chance to resign honourably in the interest of the state.

    He added: “Contrary to all democratic ethos, ethics and practices, we suggested that the governor should nominate from among us a new leadership with whom he can be comfortable, as most of us had expressed our unwillingness to be led by the duo, but he again refused…”

  • Osinbajo’s message of love

    At a time when the federal government has come under attack from Christian leaders in the country for allegedly being insensitive to the plight of Christians in the north, one would have imagined that the Acting President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, would not have found it easy to address members of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) who gathered for their annual convention last Tuesday.

    Instead of being apologetic about the federal government’s inability to stem the tide of persecution faced by the northern Christians, Professor Osinbajo opted to preach the message of love in the season of hate.

    Against the background of reports of revenge message being preached by some Christian leaders, Osinbajo’s address should be real food for thought for not only Christian leaders, but all religious leaders in the interest of the peaceful co-existence of people of all faiths in the country.

    I found an account of Osinbajo’s address at the convention by Gbenga Osinaike, publisher of Church Times, very thought provoking and wish to republish for the benefit of many who may not have seen the facebook post.

    I am glad that the message rekindled Osinaike’s faith that Osinbajo is indeed a man who had encountered God in the real sense. The Acting President despite not being a politician is occupying his present exalted position for the kind of time we are going through now.

    Like Osinaike, I hope that the essence of the message was not lost on the audience. Love will always conquer hate.

    “Osinbajo’s voice pierced through the crowd as he noted that the greatest problem with Nigeria is “hate”. He chronicled various cases of religious riots in Nigeria from 1979 up to the present time; giving statistics of the attendant carnage and wondering why successive governments have not been able to put a stop to the menace.

    “He, however, told the large gathering of pastors that it is only the church that can solve the problem; noting that if the church could adhere to the message of Jesus and respond with love to the many instances of hate in the country, Nigeria would be a better place.

    “He called on church leaders to look again at the gospel of Jesus noting that the gospel of Jesus is contrary to human point of view. Quoting extensively from Jesus’ messages on love, he said: ‘in response to hate, we are to love. Jesus, in fact, asked us to pray for our enemies. He said if we want to be great we have to be the servant. He said if we want to save our lives we have to lose it. He said if somebody asks you to go with him one mile go with him two miles. If they strike the right cheek turn the left. He said vengeance belongs to him. So you see that the message of Jesus is contrary to human philosophy.’

    “Osinbajo wondered why God had to pick Apostle Paul, a former murderer and the leading “Boko Haram” figure of his time, to be the one who was greatly used to bring salvation to many souls who eventually wrote 2/3 of the New Testament bible.

    “But, then, he asked a probing question: ‘how will it be possible to love somebody who killed your pregnant wife and ripped her womb open in your presence?’ That question was left hanging, but he insisted as he rounded off his homily that the greatest weapon against hate is to respond with love. “He told the audience that Christians will not react when a Bible is torn into shreds and burnt because they know that the word of God is not the letter but the Spirit behind it.

    “While stressing that there is no other faith like the Christian faith, he urged the leaders to begin to preach a message of love and watch how the forces of darkness that specialise in terminating lives are brought to their knees…..it was one message for a lifetime….Just thinking, I hope that message registered!”

  • CCB: We have verified Buhari’s, Osinbajo’s, Saraki’s, others’ assets

    CCB: We have verified Buhari’s, Osinbajo’s, Saraki’s, others’ assets

    The Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) said yesterday that it has completed the verification of assets declared by President Muhammadu Buhari, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Senate President, Bukola Saraki and other top officials of the current administration.

    The agency said in a statement yesterday, that it was not true, as reported by a newspaper, that it was yet to conclude the verification of assets declared by Buhari, Osinbajo, Saraki and others.

    CCB’s Head, Press and Protocol Unit, Mohammad Idris said in the statement, that more than ever before, the rate of compliance to assets declaration requirement by public officers has increased since the inception of this administration.

    “The said publication is another trick to misinform the public so as to undermine the on-going trials of cases of false declaration of assets before the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT).

    “Since the inception of the present administration under President Muhammadu Buhari, the rate of compliance by public officials in responding to assets declaration has greatly increased.

     “The Bureau will like to use this medium to appeal to those who are yet to declare their assets to visit the Asokoro Head office of No 23, Halle Salasi Street Asokoro, Abuja to collect, fill and submit same to the office,” Idris said.