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  • Cross River 2019: PDP, APC trade tackles over vandalised billboards

    TENSION is brewing in Cross River State following the destruction of billboards belonging to the governorship candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC), John Owan-Enoh, and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), incumbent governor, Prof Ben Ayade. Owan-Enoh in a press briefing last week had alleged that agents PDP led state government, were pulling down his billboards even after making required payments, warning that there will be reprisals if the destruction of his billboards is not stopped.  However, after the complaint, a billboard put up in along the popular Ndidem Iso Road in Calabar on Friday was pulled down by unknown persons. Since then, destruction of billboards of both parties by unknown persons became the order of the day. Reacting to the development, Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Christian Ita, denied the allegation that th PDP was responsible for destroying Owan-Enoh’s billboards.

    Ita inferred that the destruction of APC billboards was due to the APC’s internal issues as there is a faction insisting that Owan-Enoh is not the candidate of the party. He said the state government will not condone any form of violence and they will ensure that those perpetuating it would be dealt with according to the law. The governor’s media aide said it was unfortunate that the destruction of PDP billboards started after the APC candidate threatened reprisals.

    “Governor Ayade, as it is known to the good people of Cross River, abhors all forms of violence. He has insisted that the ongoing campaigns must be issues based. So, it is not in our place to vandalize billboards or engage in violent reprisal attacks of any sort. We urge those who threatened violence to help us end this chain of vandalization in the interest of peace,” he said.

    But the Public Relations Officer of the APC in the state, Bassey Ita, said the denial was spurious and a cheap attempt by the PDP to exonerate itself from the evil and criminal agenda it is already known to perpetrate. “We will not accept such spurious claims and insinuations that a faction of our party is responsible for this criminal and evil exploit as currently made by the PDP.

    “We wish to emphasize here that much as this inglorious practice is inconsistent with the existing laws guiding the freedom of parties to campaign using paid advert spaces, we will as a law abiding party resist such attempt to further pull down our billboards and posters by hired agents of the PDP.

    “Such insinuations, we note, is inexcusable and further speaks of the antecedents of a conquered army trying to shy away from an evil attack on a winning team just to play safe. For the umpteenth time, we warn that we will resist any further attempt by anyone or group of persons in whatever guise who perpetrate such an obnoxious practice of pulling down our campaign materials,” he said.

    Worried by the disturbing developments, the Police in the state has called on politicians and political parties to shun all acts of vandalism as the campaigns contintue. Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Irene Ugbo, said anybody caught puling down billboards, irrespective of any political party, would be arrested and would be charged according to the law, and warned those perpetrating such to desist.

  • PDP shopping for excuses for failure, says VON DG

    Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Director General of the Voice f Nigeria (VON) Osita Okechukwu,  has said that the main opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) should stop shopping for excuses they will tell Nigerians when they lose the 2019 election and concentrate on going about their campaign in a decent manner.

    Reacting to Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) outrage over the appointment of Amina Zakari as chairperson of Election Collation Center, Okechukwu said the PDP should leave propaganda and concentrate more on what he described as real campaign.

    He said: “One is constrained to advice the PDP to leave propaganda, stop shopping for excuses and concentrate more on real campaign. For the truth of the matter is that the electoral machine , card reader is one of the greatest antidotes to rigging invention. There is no way Hajia Amina Zakari can manipulate the card reader process. How can she alter or stop the results from Enugu, Ekiti, Bayelsa or even Jigawa or any other State for that matter?

    “I laughed when I saw my friend Kola, spokesman of the PDP banging the table that Amina will manipulate the results. How? Is she going to be the Returning Officer? Is PDP agent going to sleep? Is there fear that he will be compromised by Amina?

    My understanding is that Amina’s role is more administrative than electoral result management, pure and simple.”

    Read also: Kings Cup: Musa excited to start 2019 with a bang for Al-Nassr

    Speaking on the none signing of the Electoral Act by President Muhammadu Buhari, Okechukwu retorted, “President Buhari is a fan and beneficiary of the card reader and was even the one who reminded the National Assembly of the omission of the card reader. The card reader process which starts with immeasurable accreditation mechanism has plugged up to 98% of the traditional method of rigging.

    “Please ask yourself why politicians resorted to Vote-Buying? Vote-Buying is now the main vice of our electoral process, not ballot box snatching or other rigging methods. Card reader technology has plugged big loopholes of election rigging.”

    On why he believes that the PDP will lose, he said, “the day His Excellency, Atiku Abubakar emerged in the primary, we celebrated it. We could have been more worried if Governor Tambuwal of Sokoto had won.

    ”Atiku’s baggage is heavy, integrity deficit huge and falls within the same age grade bracket in Igbo parlance with Mr President.” He didn’t present any major choice-wall to block Buhari. Even those who ordinarily don’t want Buhari cannot sincerely take Atiku as an alternative.

  • Oshiomhole, Amaechi, Akume to Nigerians: shun PDP, Atiku

    National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, yesterday advised  Nigerians, especially  youths, to keep their distance  from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its presidential flag bearer, Alhaji Atiku  Abubakar, in their own interest and that of Nigeria.

    Oshiomhole with whom were Transportation Minister Rotimi Ameachi and former governor of Benue State, Senator  George Akume, told the people of  Plateau State to be wary of empty promises from the PDP in the build-up to this year’s elections.

    They spoke at the flag-off of the campaign for the re-election of Governor Simeon Lalong of Plateau State at Rwang Pam Township Stadium, Jos.

    Oshiomole, who received hundreds of defectors from the PDP and other political parties at the rally, urged Nigerians to reject Alhaji Atiku.

    The PDP, according to him, is out to sell Nigeria and urged the people to say “no to Atiku.”

    Amaechi described Lalong as a humble person who has lived up to his campaign promises.

    He blasted the PDP for anchoring its campaign on alleged hunger in Nigeria.

    He said if PDP leaders who ruled Nigeria in the past had not milked Nigeria dry, Nigeria would have been better off today.

    He said:”The next election is not about Buhari and Atiku, but it should be about what the PDP has done in 16 years and what the APC has done in three years. Buhari is addressing the problems of Nigeria and very soon we will overcome the present challenges.”

    Wife of the President,  Aisha Buhari, who was represented by former Deputy Governor of Plateau State, Dame Pauline Tallen, said a vote for Buhari and Lalong is a vote for the development of Nigeria and Plateau State.

    She admonished women and youths in Plateau to mobilize massive votes for the President and all APC candidates during the 2019 general elections.

    Senator Akume said Buhari is far better than Atiku in meeting the yearnings and aspirations of Nigerians.

    Governor Lalong described Buhari as his political godfather.

    He said:”When I was elected in 2015, I never knew where to start, but when I went to Mr President, he extended his support.

    “He has given us peace on the Plateau and anytime I ask him for anything, he never hesitates in granting my request.

    “So, Buhari is my political godfather.’’

    The defectors, who formally joined the APC yesterday, were led by ex-factional Chairman of National Football Association (NFA), Chris Giwa, while chairmen of 45 political parties in the state endorsed Buhari and Lalong for the 2019 elections.

    Oshiomole urged the defectors to join the re-enforcement of the power of the broom in providing quality and purposeful leadership in the country.

  • Sack Amina Zakari from INEC, PDP tells NASS

    The Peoples Democratic Party Presidential Campaign Organization (PPCO) yesterday charged  the National Assembly to immediately commence the process of removing  Mrs Amina Zakari from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    Zakari was on Thursday named the chairman of the Presidential Election Collation Centre Committee for the 2019 election, a development the main opposition party vehemently rejected.

    Spokesman for the PDP Campaign Organisation, Kola Ologbondiyan, told reporters in Abuja that the National Assembly should step in to save the nation from imminent political crisis.

    Ologbondiyan said the party’s position  is predicated on the fact that President Muhammadu Buhari is an uncle to Mrs Zakari.

    The Presidency has dismissed the claim as a lie.

    The PDP added that the Buhari presidency has been using Amina Zakari to bear pressure on INEC even to the extent of brazenly foisting her as the collation officer for the presidential election, to enable President Buhari announce himself as winner.

    Ologbondiyan further said, “The PPCO holds that a credible electoral commission must be completely impartial, transparent, totally independent and immune from external control by interested entities. These are qualities INEC can no longer lay claim to as long as Amina Zakari remains a member of the commission.

    “By foisting Mrs. Amina Zakari to lead the final process of the election, President Buhari is seeking a way to annex INEC, practically, take over the collation of results, and announce himself the winner.

    “This is a clear invitation to anarchy and a huge political crisis capable of derailing our democracy because Nigerians, across the board, are already in vehement rejection of this self-succession plot and are now, more than ever before, ready to use every necessary means available and accessible to them in a democracy to protect our democratic process”.

    The main opposition party said as long as Amina Zakari remained in INEC, the commission cannot be trusted.

    “It will interest Nigerians to know that following public outcry against her nomination, Amina Zakari’s agents, last night, surreptitiously attempted to compromise the media by sending secret messages to emails of editors with the view to watering down and swaying the direction of information on her provocative appointment to lead the collation of presidential election results.

    “Also, we have been informed of how Mrs. Zakari led other top INEC officials to a secret meeting with some top officials of the Buhari Campaign Organization (BCO) in Abuja on ways to introduce the controversial Incidence Form under a new name and use such to manipulate the collation of results.

    “We therefore urge Nigerians and lovers of democracy all over the world to unite in condemning this scheme by the Buhari presidency to use Amina Zakari to enmesh our election into unnecessary controversy and trigger a political crisis in our country, just because they have realised that President Buhari cannot win the presidential election.

    “President Buhari and Amina Zakari should know that Nigerians have made up their minds in rallying behind our presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, as their next president and no amount of machination, shenanigans and scheming will stop this resolve.

    It added that the Buhari presidency will never have its way in rigging the coming elections through a self-succession strategy, vowing that the PDP would insist that votes must count and that only the will of Nigerians, as expressed at the ballot will prevail.

  • Election Tribunal strikes out PDP petition challenging LG results in Langtang North

    The Justice Jovita Binjin-led Plateau Election Tribunal on Friday, struck out a PDP Langtang North petition that was challenging the results of the Oct. 10 Local Government elections.

    Binjin, in a ruling delivered on resumption from Vocation, said the petition was filed out of time and so lacked the loco standi to be heard. Prof. Fabian Ntung, Chairman, Plateau State Independent Electoral Commission (PLASIEC), had on Oct.16 declared APC candidates winners of the 13 LGAs that took part in the council polls. Mr Ubandoma Joshua, PDP candidate, through his Counsels, led by Mr Harrison Uguala, challenged the decision of PLASIEC before the threeman election tribunal, inaugurated by Gov, Simon Lalong.

    Joshua had prayed the court to declare the action of PLASIEC null and void for declaring Mr Kparunim Nanchin of APC, winner and declare him winner of the election. He claimed that he scored 24,183 votes against 18, 018 votes of APC candidate. Chief Garba Pwul (SAN), counsel to  APC candidate had told the court that Joshua’s petition was filed out of the 21 days as provided by the state electoral laws. He,therefore, urged the court to strike out the case. He argued that no result of the elections was announced by any returning officer to warrant the petitioner challenging it at the tribunal.

    Upholding Pwul’s arguments, the tribunal chairman ruled that it was wrong for the petitioners to have challenged the results not declared by any returning officer. “The tribunal concluded, “The petitioners have failed to meet up with mandatory 21 days filing of their petition according to law and therefore the petition is struck out.” Speaking shortly after the ruling, Uguala said that the party would appeal the tribunal’s decision after studying it.

  • Presidency: Zakari, not Buhari’s blood relation

    Reacting to allegations by the main opposition party, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), the Presidency on Friday said that the party is clutching at straws.

    A statement by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and publicity, Garba Shehu, reads “In another mendacious press release, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has continued their baseless accusations regarding Hajiya Amina Zakari, a commissioner in the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) accusing her of partiality and casting doubts about her integrity as an electoral commissioner.

    “In their desperation, they forget that it was the PDP government that appointed her in the first place and they keep lying, as they have been caught doing on so many issues, by imputing a blood relationship between her and President Muhammadu Buhari.”

    He said that President Buhari and Commissioner Amina Zakari don’t share a family relationship.

    Read Also: Buhari: We’ve put a stop to pensioners’ dehumanization

    He said “An inter-marriage occurred in their extended families, so the imputation of blood relationship between the President and the electoral commissioner is a simple lie.

    “What is even more curious about all the fuss coming from the PDP is that they, as a ruling party picked Mrs Zakari, judging her by her own merit and made her an electoral commissioner.

    “She served so well with distinction as can be verified from the records that President Buhari approved the recommendation that she be reappointed, as he did other PDP nominees for second-term of four years.

    “PDP, therefore, has no moral right to keep harassing this hardworking mother unless they have a hidden agenda.

    “By this statement, the PDP is guilty of scoring an own goal and two, of harassing an innocent citizen on the basis of a lie, pure and simple.” he stated

  • PDP seeking excuses for impending defeat, says VON DG

    The main opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) should stop shopping for excuses to give Nigerians when its loses the 2019 elections, Director General of the Voice of Nigeria(VON) Osita Okechukwu has stated.

    He said the PDP should instead concentrate on having a decent campaign in the run-off to the election.

    The chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) was reacting

    Reacting to the PDP’s outrage over appointment of Amina Zakari as chairperson of Election Collation Centre, Okechukwu said the party should leave propaganda and concentrate on real campaign.

    He said: “One is constrained to advise the PDP to leave propaganda, stop shopping for excuses and concentrate more on real campaign.

    “For the truth of the matter is that the electoral machine under the state of the art Card Reader, one of the greatest antidotes to rigging invention, is impeccable.

    “There is no way Hajia Amina Zakari can manipulate the Card Reader process. How can she alter or stop the results from Enugu, Ekiti, Bayelsa or even Jigawa or any other State for that matter?

    “I laughed when I saw my friend Kola, spokesman of the PDP banging the table that Amina will manipulate the results. How?

    “Is she going to be the Returning Officer? Is PDP Agent going to sleep? Is there fear that he will be compromised by Amina?

    “My understanding is that Amina’s role is more administrative than electoral result management, pure and simple.”

    Speaking on the non- signing of the Electoral Act by President Muhammadu Buhari, Okechukwu said: “President Buhari is a fan and beneficiary of the Card Reader and was even the one who reminded the National Assembly of the omission of the Card Reader.

    “The Card Reader process which starts with immeasurable accreditation mechanism has plugged up to 98 percent of the traditional method of rigging.

    “Please ask yourself why politicians resorted to vote-buying? Vote-Buying is now the main vice of our electoral process, not ballot box snatching or other rigging methods.

    “Card Reader technology has plugged big loopholes of election rigging.”

    On why he believes the PDP will lose, he said: “The day His Excellency, Atiku Abubakar emerged in the primary, we celebrated it. We could have been more worried if Governor Tambuwal of Sokoto had won.

    “Atiku’s baggage is heavy, integrity deficit huge and falls within the same age grade bracket in Igbo parlance with Mr President.”

    “He didn’t present any major choice-wall to block Buhari. Even those who ordinarily don’t want Buhari cannot sincerely take Atiku as an alternative. That’s the main issue.

    “My submission is that PDP is shopping for excuses to cover the impending failure in the presidential election.

    “They should examine the main reason why PDP stakeholders are covertly both North and South supporting Buhari. It happened to Goodluck Jonathan in 2015.”

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • ‘Use your PVCs to end dismal PDP in Sokoto’

    AHEAD of the soon to be conducted 2019 polls, Chairman of the Northern Senators Forum, Senator Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko, has urged electorates in the state to wisely use their Permanent Voter Cards ( PVCs), to end the administration of sitting Peoples Democratic Party ( PDP) in the state for its dismal performance in the last four years .

    Wamakko made the call in Sokoto at the formal inauguration of the APC state campaign committees for the Sokoto North Senatorial District, as well as the eight Local Governments in the zone.

    They are Sokoto North, Sokoto South, Wamakko, Kware, Silame, Binji, Gudu and Tangaza according to a statement issued to reporters Thursday night by Bashir Rabe Mani, Special Assistant to the Senator on Media and Publicity.

    Read Also: PDP not a threat to Buhari’s re-election — Keyamo

    Represented by the Zonal Campaign Coordinator, Alhaji Tsalhatu Sidi Mamman, a former Commissioner in the State, Senator Wamakko, who represents Sokoto North Senatorial District, sermoned ‘” The people of the state should judge for themselves and vote out the current administration in the state.

    ” This is because the confidence, trust and respect in it had for long been eroded as the people have not gotten the much expected dividends of democracy like they happily and tangibly did between 2007 and 2015.

    ” Consequently, we should be the judges for ourselves and come out on February 16 and March 2, 2019, to massively vote for President Muhammadu Buhari and all Candidates of the APC, at all levels. ”

    The APC lawmaker and immediate past Governor in the state said the party holds the sanctity of the people in high esteem, while it has mapped out myriad of people-oriented programmes and policies, for all Nigerians.

  • Attack on TraderMoni: PDP, Fayose rehashing falsehood, says Presidency

    THE Presidency says it is mischievous, but not entirely out of character, for former Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose to attack TraderMoni.

    TraderMoni is an interest-free N10,000 loans given to petty traders under the Federal Government Social Investment Programme.

    Fayose was quoted to have recently described the TraderMoni scheme as a direct “re-looting of the Abacha loots”.

    The Social Investment Programme (SIP) Response Team in Presidency, in a statement yesterday in Abuja, said the issue of TraderMoni had been addressed several times in the public space.

    It said the disbursement of TraderMoni was transparent and direct, while the enumeration was technology-driven.

    “It is infantile for the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and Fayose to keep rehashing outright falsehood.

    “It is clear from their actions that Fayose and his cronies are bereft of workable ideas and do not have any clear-cut agenda for their campaigns, so they have no choice but to resort to regurgitating spurious allegations like this.

    “Their resort to the unending generation of fake news as a campaign strategy is not shocking, coming especially from Fayose, but it is nonetheless pitiful.”

    The presidency noted that the TraderMoni scheme was helping the lives and businesses of ordinary Nigerians like petty traders at the bottom of the economic ladder.

    It said the scheme was another proof that the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration was irretrievably focused on improving the lives of the common man.

    The presidency said Fayose ought to be reminded that under Buhari administration’s, N2.7 trillion had been spent in two budget cycles on capital projects, the highest in the nation’s history.

    It added that expenses on capital projects would not have been possible if not for the prudent management of resources and the absence of grand corruption for which his party PDP was well-known.

    “This government has been able to do far more with less resources, than what was obtained under past administrations, where profligacy; gross mismanagement of the country’s resources were rife.

    “Thus, Fayose’s feeble attempt to lump the Vice President or the Buhari administration into the sordid happenings under the PDP in past administration through spreading falsehood is not only mischievous, but a disrespect to hardworking Nigerians in their millions who are now enjoying the impact of the Social Investment Programmes of this administration.”

  • APC blasts Atiku, PDP over probe demand

    The President Muhammadu Buhari Campaign Organisation (PMBCO) yesterday slammed the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its presidential candidate for insisting that the president’s relations used his influence to acquire Etisalat and Keystone Bank shares.

    In a statement yesterday, the campaign organisation said it was baffling that despite refutal by Etisalat and Keystone Bank  investors, the PDP was  still demanding for a probe.

    The statement signed by the Council’s spokesman,  Festus Keyamo (SAN) reads: “The widely published refutal by investors in Etisalat and Keystone Bank that the family members of President Muhammadu Buhari have nothing to do with both companies is another indication of the fast-collapsing campaign of the Presidential candidate of the PDP, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and that of the PDP.

    “The result of the fact-check which was published in some news outlets clearly shows the depth of desperation, deceit and debauchery to which the Atiku campaign has sunk. They have no moral compass, no scruples, no direction in their present attempt to smear just everyone in sight in order to run a campaign of ‘we are all corrupt’.

    “Rather than respect the feelings of Nigerians by offering clear-cut responses to straightforward allegations of tax evasion, ‘alleged’ grand corruption in and out of office, ‘alleged’ impending sealed indictment waiting for him in the United States (U.S.), Atiku Abubakar has decided to drag the world down with him as he goes down in a blaze of infamy.

    “He has decided to go wild with wild and unsubstantiated allegations against the President and the vice president throwing caution in to the wind in the process. We alerted the public about this impending avalanche of fake news a few days ago. This is the classic hallmark of a sinking campaign boat, clutching at straws,  as Nigerians have woken up to the realisation that these are deceitful  people who have nothing to offer.

    “That is how its vice presidential candidate, Mr Peter Obi, was reeling out false statistics with a straight face throughout the vice presidential debate. Till today, he has not apologised to Nigeria for taking them for a ride. It is a real shame.”

    Keyamo urged Atiku and the PDP to apologise to Nigerians, especially the family of the President for adopting the unwholesome tactics and telling tales by moonlight that have clearly backfired.

    He said: “The public space is now full of jokes about President Buhari  buying the whole of Dubai, Abu Dhabi, the National Stadium and even the Presidential Villa.”

    Read also: Emmanuel: 2019 elections will mark the end of godfatherism

    He advised the PDP and its flag bearer thus: “instead  of making a mockery of a serious campaign with such infantile lies, Atiku should admit it is all over for him and the PDP, throw in the towel and endorse the candidacy of President Buhari.

    “We would be sad to see that happen because democracy desires a healthy contest, a serious challenger and a competent opposition.

    “But as it is, with nothing more to campaign about, it is the only way for him and his party to save face and sill retain some modicum of honour before the Nigerian people for future engagements –that is if they survive this massive rejection by the Nigerian people as a result of their bare-faced lies.”