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Tag: PDP

  • APC loses Two House of Reps members

    Two All Progressive Congress (APC) members of the House of Representatives have resigned their membership of the ruling  party with one defecting to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    The lawmakers announced their resignations in two separate letters to the green chambers, which were read on the floor of the house on Wednesday by the Speaker, Mr Yakubu Dogara.

    Rep. Babatubde Kolawale, representing Akoko North East/West Federal Constituency in Ondo, in his letter, announced that he was defecting to the PDP.

    Read Also: ‘Deceased Kwara APC members die for emancipation of state’

    However, Rep. Mukaila Kazzim, representing Abeokuta North/Obafemi-Owode/ Odeda Federal Constituency of Ogun, did not state the party he would join.

    In the letters, both lawmakers made references to irreconcilable issues relating to the party primaries as part of the reasons for the resignation and defection.

    Kazzim stated that “god-fatherism” played a vital role in the emergence of candidates to represent the party in the 2019 general elections.

    He said that the phenomenon was not only undemocratic but against relevant sections of the Constitution.

    The legislators said after due consultations with their constituents, it was time for them to part ways with the APC.

    NAN

  • 2019: Buhari Campaign Organization demands 90 per cent of votes in Ondo

    The Buhari Campaign Organisation (BCO) has urged its newly inaugurated executive members in Ondo State to work tirelessly to deliver 90 per cent of votes in the state to President Buhari in 2019.

    Alhaji Danladi Pasali, its National Coordinator, said this in Akure while inaugurating the Ondo State Chapter of the organization.

    Pasali said that President Muhammadu Buhari, being honest and sincere man, was what the country needed at this period.

    According to him, the current administration has reduced insurgency in the North East to the lowest level within the shortest period.

    “Buhari will come back in 2019; it has become history already. In those days people are afraid to go to their churches and mosques due to insurgency, but it has now become a thing of the past because we have stopped it tactically.

    “Imagine, the money meant for security was used for election under the PDP administration and many people also lost their lives to insurgency.

    “Buhari made insurgency to become history in Nigeria.

    Read Also: Buhari Campaign Group launched in Ondo

    “Those clamoring for former Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, to be released are not sincere.

    “We know the masses of this country are behind Buhari, there is no vacancy in Aso rock,” he said.

    Pasali said that the Buhari’s administration had improved the economy through empowerment programmes for youths and market women.

    He said that PDP made Nigerians to lose over 10 million jobs through the sale of government properties.

    Alhaji Gidado Ibrahim, the BCO Director of Communication and Strategic Planning, said that APC was not biased against any other political party, but wanted to engage in issue- based campaign.

    “We are not against any political party, we have taken up the presidential campaign here from Ondo.

    “We advised other political parties to campaign on issues and not to attack our president,” he said.

    NAN

  • Akwa Ibom: PDP should show restraint, says Eyiboh

    All Progressives Congress, APC chieftain, Eseme Eyiboh has called on the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in Akwa Ibom State not to further stoke the tension in the state through what he yesterday cited as the unnecessary tension in the state legislature.

    At a press conference in Lagos yesterday, Eyiboh, a former member of the House of Representatives lamented the recourse to lawlessness in the state House of Assembly saying that the expulsion of five members of the House by the PDP leadership was a violation of existing laws. He affirmed that only nine members sat in the House of 26 members to effect the expulsion of the five APC members.

    He thus appealed to Governor Udom Emmanuel and the PDP leadership in the state not to further stoke crisis in the state even as he claimed that the governor had not done enough to deserve a second term.

    “Last year, the only APC member in the State House of Assembly defected to the PDP and nothing happened and no seat was declared vacant. But just recently, five members of the PDP defected to the APC and attempt was made to declare their seats vacant,” Eyiboh alleged as he decried what he said was the double standard on the path of the state legislature.

    According to him the declaration of the seats of the five legislators was done against procedure as he said that only nine members of the House sat on a Monday which he said was not a normal sitting day. He further said that they sat without the mace and other needed legislative gears.

    “When the nine members did their own, the five APC members had to sit on their own to carry out their own expulsions,” he said.

    Affirming what he described as the superiority of the APC in the state, he said that Akwa Ibom which was once 100% PDP has now tilted towards the APC.

    He put the nation on notice that what he promised would be the victory of the APC in the state should not be ascribed to the use of the APC’s federal might.

    “Akwa Ibom State was before 100% PDP before now but if you have seen from the defections and all the things that have happened since, things have since changed. They are saying it is federal might, but the world should be put on notice that it is not federal might,” the former legislator said.

    Affirming that a second term is not a done deal for the governor, he said:

    “Second term is not a constitutional right, it is a privilege. There are legacies other governors have put on ground but as I speak to you same cannot be said for our governor.”

    Noting spurt of violence in some sections of the state particularly in Etim Ekpo, he said:

    “We want to appeal to the PDP in the state, want to appeal to the governor that until recently when the present government came in that the state used to be at peace.”

    Concluding, he said:

    “We don’t want PDP in the state and they are going. I expect the PDP to submit to the will of the people,” he said.

     

  • PDP condemns Buhari’s alleged attempt to ‘drag military into politics’

    THE People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has condemned what it described as attempts by President Muhammadu Buhari to politicise and compromise the nation’s military by dragging in Service Chiefs to attend and participate in his re-election campaign rally.

    A statement issued yesterday by PDP spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan, said the participation of the Service Chiefs in Buhari’s campaign rally, tagged: “Next Level”, was completely unacceptable and objectionable.

    Read also: APC members threatened in PDP states, says Oshiomhole

    The opposition party maintained that the action sent a very wrong signal to the public regarding the expected professionalism, neutrality and detachment of the institution of the military from partisan politics and cannot be justified under any guise.

    “Such participation in partisan politics is a dangerous dimension as it will not only erode the confidence which the citizens repose in the military ahead of the election, but also a recipe for discord and partisan disagreements within the rank and file of the military, result in mutual suspicion in the force and whittle its effectiveness in defending the nation.

    “The PDP knows that President Buhari, in the desperation to rig and foist himself on the nation in the 2019 election, will stop at nothing in his attempt to compromise and desecrate our institutions. But doing so on the military is a clear invitation to crisis and derailment of our democracy,” the party added.

    The PDP insisted that the state and particularly its apparatus of power must be separated from partisan politics and cautioned the President not to further divide the nation and set the people on collision course with security forces, as such will spell doom for the nation.

  • 400,000 PVCs unclaimed in Rivers – Senate Committee

    The Senate Committee on Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has expressed concern over more than 400,000 Permanent Voter’s Cards (PVCs) unclaimed in Rivers INEC office.

    Sen. Suleiman Nazif, Chairman, Senate Committee on INEC, made this known after an oversight function of the committee in Port Harcourt on Monday.

    Nazif is the PDP Senator representing Bauchi North Federal Constituency.

    He said that though INEC had shown readiness in terms of manpower and facility upgrade, low PVC collection rate in Rivers was a source of great concern in the forthcoming general elections.

    “We are here in Rivers to see first-hand how prepared INEC is ahead of the 2019 general elections.

    “We went round their offices and we saw the state of the card readers at the IT Department. We had a chart with the staff and they assured us that they were all geared up and ready for the 2019 elections.

    “We also requested to see the published register and we sought to know the response level toward PVC collection and we found out that over 400,000 PVCs had not yet been collected,’’ Nazif said.

    The lawmaker, however, said that the committee would cooperate with INEC toward ensuring that every person living and in the best state of health claimed his or her PVC before the election.

    Nazif said that though INEC was working very hard, it should do more in the area of distribution of PVCs across localities.

    Read Also: 238,309 PVCs still unclaimed in Nasarawa State – INEC

    He urged INEC to start pasting names of owners of unclaimed PVCs in affected localities to improve on collection response.

    Attributing high number of unclaimed PVCs in the state to relocation or death of some PVC owners, the lawmaker urged every eligible Nigerian voter to secure a Permanent Voter’s Card.

    “What surprised us most is that the recent PVCs produced a couple of months ago had been collected while the old ones remained unclaimed.

    “I think that owners of the unclaimed PVCs may have been posted out from the state. Some of them may be students, who got registered in their final year and may have graduated and left the area, while some owners may have passed on.

    “Whatever be the situation, 400,000 unclaimed PVCs in only one state is not a good sign of a progressive attitude toward election.

    “It is incumbent on all eligible Nigerian voters to secure their PVCs. It is a thing of pride to have a card that enables us exercise our franchise, ‘’ Nazif said.

    Concerning the status of the card readers, the lawmaker explained that he was satisfied with the storage and safety of the device in Rivers.

  • APC built Train stations in villages of PDP chieftains – Amaechi

    The Minister of Transportation, Mr Rotimi Amaechi, on Sunday said that in the course of executing the Warri-Itakpe Rail line, stations were built in the villages of Peoples’ Democratic Party(PDP)’s chieftains.

    Amaechi disclosed this at the `Next Level Presentation’ at Presidential Villa Banquet Hall to signal the commencement of the campaign of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the 2019 general elections.

    The minister who made a presentation titled `What We are Building ’  said that President Muhammadu Buhari, upon assumption of office, directed that old and abandoned projects be completed.

    “The truth is that the country is compelled to make a choice between good and bad. When I was appointed the Minister for Transportation, the president warned–do not start new contracts, go and complete old ones.

    “We met Itakpe –Warri Rail line which had been in existence for 34  years uncompleted; it would have been the first Standard Guage line in Africa if it was completed.

    “Based on the president’s instruction, I did a memo; I thought we will borrow money from China; but the president refused. He said we should use our internal funds to execute the project.

    “People saw me on social media on Train service from Warri to Itakpe. I got to Warri 8pm because I was going from one station to the other—almost all the villages and most  prominent members of PDP made sure that train stations were in their villages.

    “So, I am compelled to do those stations in villages of members of PDP; it is okay; it is the instruction of the president that you must go and finish the old work.’’

    He said that the tradition in the past was that once one was elected, one left the old things for the old people and awarded new contracts.

    According to Amaechi, the ministry will start commercial service from Itakpe to Warri.

    On PDP’s argument that it started the projects, Amaechi said that Buhari made it clear on commissioning the Abuja –Kaduna rail project that the project was started by the former government of President Goodluck Jonathan.

    “We completed it but two things are remarkable—we borrowed 500 million dollars to start that project at the time oil was selling at 114 dollars per barrel.

    “ We should not have borrowed; you mean this country could not have afforded 500 million dollars?

    “I will show that we can; when I wrote a memo to the president and to the cabinet requesting that he should allow me borrow 500 million dollars from China to buy locomotives and coaches for Lagos-Ibadan, the cabinet under the directive of the president refused.

    Read Also: PDP kicks as APC wins by-election for House of Reps

    “He(the president) said 500 million dollars; we can get from here and we are funding it from here; so we did and completed Kaduna to Abuja quickly.

    “We spend N56million per month and we get N16 million; so we are augmenting for both rich and poor—N40 million per month under the directive of the president because he fears that the poor might not be able to afford it. So, everybody is using it.’’

    According to him, Lagos to Ibadan railway is almost complete—a distance of 156kms.

    The minister said that application had also been made to construct Kano to Kaduna railway as approval for funds is being awaited.

    “We are about to award the central line from Abuja to Niger to Baru from Baru to Itakpe to Warri; the president had approved a new seaport in Warri. We are negotiating with a Chinese company which will build it.

    “Do not forget that N2.7 billion dollars is N1 trillion. So, we are looking for money to commence already awarded work on the coastal rail.

    “The coastal rail starts from Lagos, from Lagos; it passes through Ogun State, Ondo, Benin, Asaba, and Onitsha. From Benin again, it passes through Warri, Sapele, Ughelli, to Bayelsa, in fact, it goes to Utuoke. From Otuoke, it goes to Port Harcourt.

    “ Then from Port Harcourt, it goes to Aba, Uyo, and ends up in Cross River State.

    “We are almost ready to award Port Harcourt to Maidugiri. The difference between us and the last award is that the last award was 1500km but under the directive of Mr President, it was extended to 2000 km.

    “ The last award was Port Harcourt straight to Maidugiri but in order to satisfy everybody at the directive of the President, we must get to every state capital,’’ he said.

    On his part, Mr Babatunde Fashola, the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, said that it would require a long journey into Nigeria’s history to recall when last it had massive investment in infrastructure.

    “It is no coincidence that we look to the 1970s and the 1980s when we built new airports, new seaports, new refineries, new highways and bridges.

    “The closest you will have to that era is the 1990s when petrol-money was also being applied to upgrade infrastructure under the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF)incidentally chaired by Buhari.

    “We lost an enormous opportunity when recently oil money rose to $114 dollar per barrel and stayed there for almost a decade and we have no new airport, refinery, bridges, petrochemical plants,   no new seaports to show accountability to how all the money went,’’ he said.

    The event also witnessed the unveiling of Buhari-Osinbajo 2019—A Basic Guide-The Campaign Manual in Brief.

    NAN

  • APC built Train stations in villages of PDP chieftains—Amaechi

    The Minister of Transportation, Mr Rotimi Amaechi, on Sunday said that in the course of executing the Warri-Itakpe Rail line, stations were built in the villages of Peoples’ Democratic Party(PDP)’s chieftains.

    Amaechi disclosed this at the `Next Level Presentation’ at Presidential Villa Banquet Hall to signal the commencement of the campaign of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the 2019 general elections.

    The minister who made a presentation titled `What We are Building ’  said that President Muhammadu Buhari, upon assumption of office, directed that old and abandoned projects be completed.

    “The truth is that the country is compelled to make a choice between good and bad. When I was appointed the Minister for Transportation, the president warned–do not start new contracts, go and complete old ones.

    “We met Itakpe –Warri Rail line which had been in existence for 34  years uncompleted; it would have been the first Standard Guage line in Africa if it was completed.

    “ Based on the president’s instruction, I did a memo; I thought we will borrow money from China; but the president refused. He said we should use our internal funds to execute the project.

    “People saw me on social media on Train service from Warri to Itakpe. I got to Warri 8pm because I was going from one station to the other—almost all the villages and most  prominent members of PDP made sure that train stations were in their villages.

    “So, I am compelled to do those stations in villages of members of PDP; it is okay; it is the instruction of the president that you must go and finish the old work.’’

    He said that the tradition in the past was that once one was elected, one left the old things for the old people and awarded new contracts.

    According to Amaechi, the ministry will start commercial service from Itakpe to Warri.

    On PDP’s argument that it started the projects, Amaechi said that Buhari made it clear on commissioning the Abuja –Kaduna rail project that the project was started by the former government of President Goodluck Jonathan.

    “We completed it but two things are remarkable—we borrowed 500 million dollars to start that project at the time oil was selling at 114 dollars per barrel.

    “ We should not have borrowed; you mean this country could not have afforded 500 million dollars?

    “I will show that we can; when I wrote a memo to the president and to the cabinet requesting that he should allow me borrow 500 million dollars from China to buy locomotives and coaches for Lagos-Ibadan, the cabinet under the directive of the president refused.

    “He(the president) said 500 million dollars; we can get from here and we are funding it from here; so we did and completed Kaduna to Abuja quickly.

    “We spend N56million per month and we get N16 million; so we are augmenting for both rich and poor—N40 million per month under the directive of the president because he fears that the poor might not be able to afford it. So, everybody is using it.’’

    According to him, Lagos to Ibadan railway is almost complete—a distance of 156kms.

    The minister said that application had also been made to construct Kano to Kaduna railway as approval for funds is being awaited.

    “We are about to award the central line from Abuja to Niger to Baru from Baru to Itakpe to Warri; the president had approved a new seaport in Warri. We are negotiating with a Chinese company which will build it.

    “Do not forget that N2.7 billion dollars is N1 trillion. So, we are looking for money to commence already awarded work on the coastal rail.

    “The coastal rail starts from Lagos, from Lagos; it passes through Ogun State, Ondo, Benin, Asaba, and Onitsha. From Benin again, it passes through Warri, Sapele, Ughelli, to Bayelsa, in fact, it goes to Utuoke. From Otuoke, it goes to Port Harcourt.

    “ Then from Port Harcourt, it goes to Aba, Uyo, and ends up in Cross River State.

    “We are almost ready to award Port Harcourt to Maidugiri. The difference between us and the last award is that the last award was 1500km but under the directive of Mr President, it was extended to 2000 km.

    “ The last award was Port Harcourt straight to Maidugiri but in order to satisfy everybody at the directive of the President, we must get to every state capital,’’ he said.

    On his part, Mr Babatunde Fashola, the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, said that it would require a long journey into Nigeria’s history to recall when last it had massive investment in infrastructure.

    “It is no coincidence that we look to the 1970s and the 1980s when we built new airports, new seaports, new refineries, new highways and bridges.

    “The closest you will have to that era is the 1990s when petrol-money was also being applied to upgrade infrastructure under the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF )incidentally chaired by Buhari.

    “We lost an enormous opportunity when recently oil money rose to $114 dollar per barrel and stayed there for almost a decade and we have no new airport, refinery, bridges, petrochemical plants,   no new seaports to show accountability to how all the money went,’’ he said.

    The event also witnessed the unveiling of Buhari-Osinbajo 2019—A Basic Guide-The Campaign Manual in Brief. (NAN)

  • Risky to return power to PDP, Buhari should continue – Presidency

    President Muhammadu Buhari should be allowed to complete the good work he started and would be “too risky and dangerous” for power to return to the Peoples Democratic Power (PDP) in 2019.

    The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Garba Shehu, said at an event organised by Buhari Media Organisation in commencement of campaigns for the Feb. 16, 2019 Presidential Election.

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had on Jan. 9 released the timetable and schedules of activities for the 2019 general elections.

    According to him, the PDP has not shown remorse for what they had done and had not admitted their mistakes and has not taken steps to address those mistakes.

    “They want to compound matters for Nigeria. It is too dangerous and risky for power to return to PDP,” Garba said.

    He said President Muhammadu Buhari would win “clean and square” on the basis of the record that the administration had achieved.

    “In 2015, we ran on the basis of promises, majorly insecurity, anti-corruption and repositioning of the economy on all of these three counts, he has achieved 90 per cent.

    “The time has come that we are going to unfold to the nation, all achievements and Nigerians will not make the mistake of taking us back to where we were in 2015.

    “This election is going to be a tough one but Buhari is going to win.

    “Don’t mind the noise, don’t mind all the propaganda. Buhari will come back. He has done it before, he is doing it now. He is going to do it for the country again,” he said.

    The spokesman added that the president was rebuilding the country saying this was not a time to change a president.

    “He must be allowed to complete the good work he had started.

    “Whatever they say, he has minimally 12 to 14 million votes coming from masses in elections. This is not going to change in 2019.

    “This election will be a work-over for him,” he said.

    Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Sen. Sabi Abdullahi said 2019 would be about “truth and falsehood, reality and illusions.”

    “For me, these two choices are not difficult to choose from. Obviously, we know where we are coming from.

    “We are coming from a period in time which people just did anything they wanted to.

    “Today, we are having a different government under our President who is definitely taking things the way they should be.

    “We had a very serious infrastructural deficit and because of that our productivity is extremely low.

    “The most sensible thing for anybody to do and which this government is doing creditably is to focus on infrastructure,” Abdullahi said.

    On her part, the National Coordinator for Women for Buhari and Osinbajo, Fatima Adams said women must support the president for continuity.

    “Women must mobilise for President Buhari for the future of our children,” she added.

    Earlier, Chairman, Buhari Media Organisation, Mr Niyi Akinsiju said Buhari had built a new foundation for governance with the change mantra. (NAN)

  • APC bye-election victories have shattered PDP’s return myth – Says Presidency

    The Presidency on Sunday said that the All Progressives Congress ( APC ) electoral victories in the last 24 hours have shattered any assumptions of a People’s Democratic Party (PDP) return.

    According to a statement by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and publicity, Garba Shehu, the bye-elections victories in Katsina, Kwara and Bauchi states are signs of things to come in the 2019 elections.

    The statement reads “In the bye-elections conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Saturday, November 17, 2018, the APC swept the seats in three federal constituencies in Katsina State, three in Kwara State, and another in Bauchi State.

    “This victory should be a blow for the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) campaigners who have maintained that by merely claiming that they have rebranded, Nigerians will have forgotten all the mess they left behind in 2015.

    “By voting overwhelmingly for the ruling APC, Nigerians have shown their confidence in the Muhammadu Buhari administration, and their willingness for continuation of this government and its policies.

    “This clear show of support can only be a synopsis of what Nigerians should expect in the forthcoming elections, at all levels.

    “I would like to use this opportunity to remind Nigerians that there will always be a winner and a loser in every election, an individual and a party with the highest votes and another with the lowest.

    “That is what democracy is about. Therefore, all aspirants should approach elections with the mindset that they could either win or lose,” he said.

    He said that accepting results only when one wins and challenging results each time one loses, is not the right attitude.

    “It is certainly not what democracy is about,” he said .

    He added “On behalf of President Buhari, I thank the people of Katsina, Kwara and Bauchi States for their show of support over the weekend.

    “I thank Nigerians all over the country for believing in this government and in its determined effort to pull our nation out of the mess left behind by 16 years of PDP government, and into the greatness that is our destiny,” he said.

  • Kwara bye-election: Outcome daylight robbery -PDP

    The Peoples Democratic Party ( PDP ) in Kwara state has described the outcome of the House Representatives bye-election in Ekiti/Oke-Ero/Isin/Irepodun Fderal constituency as a daylight robbery.
    PDP added that the result did not reflect the will of the people as its members were harassed and intimidated during the poll.
    It rejected the results of the bye-election in which  the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC),Raheem Tunji Olawuyi, was declared winner .
    Addressing reporters in Ilorin, the state PDP Chairman, Engr. Kola Shittu, further described the election as a charade and direct assault on the nation’s democracy.
    Shittu noted that some of the concerns raised by the party prior to the conduct of the election, which included alleged importation of thugs and heavy deployment of security personnel later manifested during the poll.
    He lamented that the poll was characterised by ballot box snatching, widespread  irregularities and illegal arrest of members of the PDP before and  while the election was on going.
    Shittu, however, called for outright cancellation of the election because it fell short of the expectations of the people of the constituency.
    He added that the brazen subversion of the will of the people, which the outcome of the election represented was an indication that the APC led federal government was not ready to deliver free, fair and credible elections in 2019.
    “The PDP condemns in strong terms the conduct of the bye-election also rejects its outcome, as it does not reflect the will of the people of Ekiti, Oke-Ero, Isin and Irepodun Local Government Areas.
    “The announcement of the candidate of the APC, Raheem Olawuyi as the winner of the election by the Independent National Electoral Commission is a daylight robbery, subversion of the will of the people and direct assault on the nation’s democracy.
    “Indeed, the election was a contest between the PDP and the security agents, as they both collaborated with the enemies of democracy, APC, to manipulate the electoral process and stole the mandate of the people”, Shittu said.