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Tag: PDP

  • NASS bye-election peaceful in Kwara

    …Lai Mohammed, REC, others hail poll conduct
    The National Assembly bye-election took place in Kwara state under a
    peaceful atmosphere as votes conducted themselves in an orderly
    mannner.
    Security personnel were stationed at various polling units and
    strategic locations to monitor the conduct of the poll.
    The seat of the Ekiti/Oke-Ero/Isin/Irepodun Federal Constituency of Kwara state became vacant late September this year following the death
    of Princess Funke Adedoyin who represented the constituency.
    There was massive turn out of voters in most polling units in communities in Oke-Ero Local Government Area.
    Voters who came to polling centres with temporary voter’s cards could not however vote as card readers did not authenticate their cards.
    Speaking with reporters after casting his vote at Oro ward II, Onikoyi polling unit, Oro town, minister of information and culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, hailed the conduct of the election, saying that he was impressed with massive turn out.
    The minister, who expressed the APC to win the election, said that people of the area were mobilized before the poll.
    Also speaking at Ajase Ipo ward 1, in front of Olupo palace, the PDP stalwart and commissioner for Finance, Alhaji Demola Banu, who said that the election witnessed impressive turn out of voters,  however said that people complained of malfunctioning of card readers in some
    areas.
    Traditional ruler of Odo-Owa in Ekiti local government area of the
    state, Oba Joshua Akinyemi Adimula, condemned use of only card reader
    machine, saying that alternative of manual accreditation ought to be
    allowed.
    He said insistence on the card reader alone denied many people of the
    right to vote. Chairman of the local government, Joseph Oni, who voted in his Idofin-Igbana community expressed satisfaction with turn out of voters
    and the conduct of the election.
    Oni, who said that there was no vote buying or any other malpractice
    in the exercise, explained that replacement of the machines were made
    by INEC officials where card readers were not functioning properly.
    There was however a clash among party supporters in Ekan-meje community but security agents quickly came in to douse tension.
    Also speaking, the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Kwara
    State, Alhaji Attahiru Madami, commended voters in the ongoing
    by-election into the Irepodun/Isin/Oke Ero federal constituency of
    federal House of Representatives for their peaceful conduct.
    Madami, who spoke with reportes at Osi 07 Unit 0001, S.D.A school,
    Osi in Ekiti local government area of the state noted that “The electoral process as been so peaceful, perfect and encouraging. In fact, I am highly impressed and it is my hope that Nigerians will emulate Kwara State in future elections.
    “Card readers are functioning well and security agents are in full charge. It is my advice that politicians are to accept the outcome of the polls humbly and with the spirit of sportsmanship.”
    Alsi, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), in Kwara State, Senator Simeon Ajibola, has disclosed that the outcome of the ongoing by-election in Ekiti/Irepodun/Eke Ero/Isin federal
    constituency would determine its credibility.
    Ajibola, a former senator representing Kwara South senatorial district in Abuja stated this while speaking journalists in Ìsapá town, Ekiti Local government area of the state.
    He noted that “there was massive turnout of voters, INEC officials
    arrived with the voting materials and security agencies have really
    performed excellently well” even as he expressed optimism that APC will the poll.

  • Adamawa: Bindow, SDP deny adopting PDP candidate

    The media team of Governor Mohammed Jibrilla Bindow of Adamawa State and the state chapter of the Social Democratic party (SDP) have dismissed claims of the adoption of the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the joint unity candidate for the 2019 general election.

    In a reaction to the report Friday, Bindow’s spokesman, Macauley Hunohashi, said the claim that chieftains of both APC and SDP had adopted the Adamawa State candidate of the PDP, Umar Fintiri, as a unity candidate is false and malicious.

    “In as much as we do not want to be drawn into the foray of mischief makers, we are however compelled to react because of the misleading undercurrent of the said story,” Hunohashi said, adding that the story was aimed at blurring the vision of incumbent governor and candidate of the party for the 2019 election, Mohammed Bindow.

    In its own reaction earlier Friday morning, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) said its governorship candidate for the state, Chief Emmanuel Bello, will contest in the general election next year as the party has no intention to support the candidate of any other party.

    The state chairman of the SDP, Mr John K. Muva, said, “I state emphatically that there is no truth in that claim and media report… The SDP has no plan of joining any other party in a joint campaign for the 2019 governorship election.”

    He said a ‘self-appointed spokesman for a non-existent’ Coalition of Political Parties that the media report in question quoted was not known to the SDP and so could not speak for the SDP.

    “At best this claim has no place in the contemplation of the SDP in Adamawa State and should be consigned to the political dustbin of the state,” he added, urging members of the party and supporters to regard the ‘fictitious and malicious’ publication as a desperate move by ‘rejected politicians and parties’ to cause confusion,” he stated.

  • 2019: PDP in dilemma over presidential campaign in S/West

    The leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) appears to be in a dilemma on how to design the appropriate campaign message to woo voters in the Southwest geopolitical zone for its presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.

    Starting from tomorrow, the various political parties will commence their presidential campaigns in line with the campaign timeline released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    Presently, the PDP cannot boast of any of its key positions occupied by members from the Southwest at the national level within the party hierarchy.

    The highest position held by the Southwest in the party’s hierarchy is that of Deputy National Chairman (Southwest) which is being occupied by Elder Yemi Akinwonmi from Ogun State.

    Investigation conducted by our correspondent at the weekend revealed that it was one of the key issues that dominated discussions in a meeting held by the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, with key party stakeholders in Abuja Wednesday night.

    Those that attended the Wednesday meeting included the PDP National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus; President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki; governors elected on the platform of the party, among others.

    Our correspondent gathered that some stakeholders have pointed out that the All Progressives Congress (APC) having Vice President Yemi Osinbajo as running mate to President Muhammadu Buhari may constitute an uphill task for the PDP campaign in the Southwest.

    On the other hand, the PDP has picked Atiku’s running mate, Mr. Peter Obi, from Anambra State in the Southeast geopolitical zone while the party’s National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus is from Rivers State in the South-South geopolitical zone.

    This, according to some of strategists, has stripped the Southwest of any representation in key positions within the PDP.

    In their submission, this makes the situation more difficult for the opposition party, considering the fact that the entire six states in the Southwest are being controlled by the APC.

    Moreover, the fact that the Buhari administration also parades a number of South Westerners in key positions in his cabinet and other key federal agencies may also give the ruling party an edge in the zone.

    They cited the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing manned by one of the prominent sons of the Southwest, Mr. Babatunde Fashola.

    There is also the case of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) which is being headed by another South Westerner, Mr. Babatunde Fowler from Lagos State.

    Similarly, some analysts have argued that restructuring the country, which the PDP has projected as one of its key campaign points, is an elitist concept that does not strike any chord with the voting masses in the zone.

    “For instance, what is the Yoruba word for restructuring and how do you pass the message across to the market women, artisans and the masses that form the bulk of the voting population?” a PDP chieftain who spoke on condition of anonymity asked.

    The source also described the positions of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SFG) and that of the Speaker of House of Representatives which the PDP promised the Southwest as uncertain, stressing that it is only if the PDP wins the Presidency that that can be fulfilled.

    In a swift reaction, however, the spokesman for the PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan, disagreed with the postulations, saying that prevailing circumstances have changed voting dynamics in the country

    Speaking with our correspondent on the telephone yesterday, Ologbondiyan said: “Nigerians are not talking about who occupies certain positions. They are interested in who can give them power and make ease of doing business available.

    “Nigerians are interested in who can save them from hunger, starvation, killings, bloodletting and all the pain that the Buhari government has imposed on them.

    “The issue is not about who occupies what positions; it is about that candidate that understands the nuances of our nation. That candidate that can turn our economy around and make life better for Nigerians.

    “Having said that, it’s important to state that the PDP is interested in the value of life. The PDP is interested in the equitable distribution of wealth in the nation. The PDP is interested in making life better for the average Nigerian.

    “As such, every group and every geopolitical zone will be well captured and well represented when we form government.

    “This is the type of division that the Buhari administration has continued to set Nigerians against one another with all manner of ethnic crises. But Nigerians have come to resent this approach.

    “It is unfortunate that even the President is so insensitive to the plight of Nigerians that he does not realise that this is not the time Nigerians will be thinking about who comes from where.

    For now, Nigerian are only keen on good governance.”

  • 2019: APC, PDP prepare for epic battle in Kwara

    The Kwara State chapters of both the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have put behind them the initial hitches that trailed their governorship primaries. They are preparing for a major showdown next year. Correspondent AdeKunle Jimoh reports.

    As the 2019 governorship election draws closer, candidates of all the major parties are dotting their ‘i’s and crossing their ‘t’s for the epic battle. Indeed, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are set for the battle that would decide who will dominate Kwara politics in the coming dispensation.

    Both the APC and the PDP have put behind them the initial hitches that trailed the governorship primaries that produced their candidates: Mallam Abulrahman Abdulrasaq and Abdulrazak Atunwa respectively.

    The two candidates hail from Ilorin, the Kwara State capital. While Atunwa, a current member of the House of Representatives belongs to the political dynasty of Senate President Bukola Saraki, Mallam Abdulrasaq is an oil magnate and a scion of the famous Abdulganiyu Folorunsho Abdulrasaq family. The older Abdulrasaq is the first Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) of northern extraction.

    The emergence of Abdulrasaq as the governorship candidate of the APC has sent jitters into the camp of the PDP. The reasons are not far-fetched. First, the APC candidate has been a key figure in Kwara politics for some time. He was the 2011 Kwara State governorship candidate of the defunct Congress for Progressives Change (CPC). In 2015, he emerged as the Kwara Central senatorial candidate of the PDP.

    Besides, being a man of stupendous wealth, he has the wherewithal to battle the Saraki oligarchy naira for naira in the election, a source has said.

    More importantly, the general disenchantment of the electorate, particularly the Ilorin emirate, against the Bukola Saraki-led PDP might be a plus for the business tycoon.

    Also, being a member of the ruling party at the centre, the APC candidate stands a good chance of defeating his PDP counterpart.

    But, other observers believe the family of the APC candidate is too detached from stakeholders in the Ilorin emirate, where the family hails from. But, the older Abdulrasaq is said to have paid his dues in the emirate. For instance, he single-handedly built the first private secondary school, now known as Government High School, Ilorin. The school celebrated its 50 anniversary last year.

    The PDP candidate, Atunwa, also has what it takes to give his APC counterpart a run for his money. Under the leadership of Senator Saraki, he is believed to have garnered an intimidating political profile. For instance, the 49-year old Atunwa is a member of the House of Representatives. He represents Asa/Ilorin West Federal Constituency.

    He is the Chairman of the House Committee on Justice. He is also currently heading the House Committee investigating corruption in the award of Oil Prospecting License (OPL) 245.

    Born on the October 17, 1969 in Ilorin, Kwara State, he attended Immaculate Heart Secondary School, where he obtained Ordinary Level Certificate in 1986.

    Thereafter, Atunwa studied law at the University Of East London, graduating in 1992. He further obtained his Masters Degree (LLM) in International Law from the University of London in 1993. He was called to the Bar of England and Wales in October 1994 by the Inner Temple Inns of Court.

    After 11 successful years as a Barrister at law in London, where he specialised in criminal and international law, Atunwa returned to Nigeria in 2005.

    The 36-year old PDP candidate has served the state in various capacities since 2005. He served in the following capacities: Commissioner for Land and Housing from August 2005; Commissioner for Information and Home Affairs between 2006 and 2007; Commissioner for Works and Transport between 2007 and 2009; and Commissioner for Finance from 2009 to 2010. So, he has governance experience, working four different ministries.

    In 2011, he was elected into the Kwara State House of Assembly to represent Owode/Onire Constituency on the platform of the PDP and was later unanimously elected Speaker of the assembly.

    During the next political dispensation, in 2015, Atunwa became a federal lawmaker, following his election the House of Representatives, to represent Asa/Ilorin West Federal Constituency.

    The PDP flag bearer has a broad worldview; he is an avid reader and a licensed pilot certified in Nigeria and the United Kingdom.

    He is running a ‘Kwara First’ campaign that focuses on human capacity development, local content development to drive inclusive growth and create employment for the youth, as well as massive investment on health and education infrastructure.

    Shortly, after his emergence as the PDP candidate, Atunwa was enmeshed in a National Youth Service Corp (NYSC) certificate saga. Whether that will affect his chances at the poll or not remains to be seen.

    But, his constituents have accused him of poor representation; a fact Atunwa himself attested to in one of his outings. His words: “They say I am too far away from our people. Whenever they tell me that my first reaction is to say please pardon me for that.”

    Both the APC and the PDP candidates are confident that they will win next year’s governorship convincingly. The PDP is banking on the political sagacity and solidity of the Saraki dynasty, while the APC is depending on the general disillusionment and disenchantment against the Saraki-led PDP and the unity of purpose amongst the opposition. Hitherto, they had been in disarray.

    The following words of Senator Saraki summarises the confidence of the PDP: “Seasonal politicians think they can come three-to-six months to elections and think they can wrest power from us. We are with the people through thick and thin. Our people know us and they know we love them. On the day of election, we will know who is the paper weight and who is the heavy weight.”

    Echoing the determination to win the elections, Kwara APC Chairman, Bashir Bolarinwa, said during the party’s primary for the Ekiti/Oke-Ero/Isin/Irepodun Federal Constituency by-election: “We are very confident, because we are more united than before. It is always said that a house divided against itself will never stand. What we have attained is to see that we are one indivisible party; because we realise that it is in that unity that our strength actually lies. I want to tell you that as things are now we will be able to move mountains come February 2019.”

    Bolarinwa added: “So far, so good. As a matter of fact, our detractors had thought that we would not be able to put our acts together. But God has assisted us to put the detractors to same. We had 12 governorship aspirants and as tough as it was to produce a candidate, we thank God we were able to do that. I make bold to tell you that the remaining governorship aspirants have surrendered and are ready to queue behind our candidate. This is to tell you that our house is a very united one. We have been able to have a formidable house that will face the 2019 elections.

    “What happened today is an indication of how orderly our party has been that we are able to come up with a consensus candidate for the by-election for Ekiti/Oke-Ero, Isin/Irepodun Federal Constituency. It has been rancour-free. All the party leaders are represented, members of the party across all the wards have come together to endorse Abdulraheem Olawuyi to represent us in the by-election come November 17.”

    To demonstrate their support for the APC candidate and their determination to win the 2019 governorship election, some elders and stakeholders of the party frowned at the destruction of their candidate’s billboards by supporters of an aggrieved aspirant

    The elders and stakeholders therefore viewed the utterances of Prof. Shuaib Abdulraheem and the action of his supporters as an affront to President Muhammadu Buhari and the APC National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole.

    APC leader from the Kwara North, Senator Ahmed Mohammed, described the action as supportive of the opposition. He said: “It is on record that supporters of Prof. Abdulraheem destroyed the billboards of Mallam Abdulrasaq. We view these actions as disrespectful to both the party and the President. We call on the state chairman of the APC to take disciplinary action against such untoward behavior, which could be interpreted as supportive of the opposition.

    “At this critical period, we urged Kwarans to neglect the distractions and commit themselves to a purposeful and united APC. We need integration and not separation.”

    He added that Prof Abdulraheem’s utterances and engagement with reporters recently at the Ilorin International Airport negated the spirit of the Abuja accord with President Buhari and Information and Culture Minister, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.

    Senator Mohammed added: “The action the engagement did not represent the resolutions of aspirants with Comrade Oshiomhole. It further embarrassed the decent meeting of Kwara APC and the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Despite the hiccups that initially characterized the October 6 governorship primary, the exercise went on smoothly and credibly. Finally, Mallam Abdulrahman Abdulrasaq emerged as the winner as the duly elected party flag bearer of the APC. Some aspirants protested against the result.

    “These were properly looked into by the appeal panel duly constituted by the party. This platform to ventilate grievances dismissed complaints for lack of merit and affirmed Abulrasaq as the candidate of the party for the 2019 governorship election in the state.

    “Afterwards, President Buhari hosted a delegation of Kwara APC members with Comrade Oshiohmole, Alhaji Lai Mohammed and all governorship aspirants in attendance. This gesture was appreciated by party men and women across the nation as a demonstration of solidarity with Kwara chapter of the APC.

    “The highlight of the meeting was the presentation of Mallam Abdulrahman Abdulrasaq as the APC governorship candidate for Kwara 2019 election. Party members felt relieved by the fact that the candidate reached out to each of the aspirants, as well as efforts of the party leadership to get the party in unison.”

    Though electioneering campaign is yet to begin in full throttle, both Abdulrasaq and Atunwa have started consultations; meetings and horse-trading across the length and breadth of the state.

    What is interesting this time around is that, the people of Kwara North senatorial district, who were hitherto political associates and supporters of the Saraki dynasty have all resolved to support the APC candidate. They claim that their support for the Saraki dynasty over the years had not been of any help to the zone.

     

  • PDP: Buhari, APC jittery over our candidate’s acceptance

    THE People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has said that the spontaneous and overwhelming acceptance accorded its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, in the Southeast is a manifestation of the trajectory that awaits him in all the geo-political zones across the country.

    The opposition party said the acceptance demonstrated the settled resolve of Nigerians across board to vote out the President Muhammadu Buhari administration because of what it described as its manifest failures in governance.

    A statement yesterday by PDP spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan, said the PDP was aware of how the acceptance of its candidate has sent jitters to the APC and President Muhammadu Buhari.

    He added that the acceptance of Atiku belied claims that the President and the APC were making inroads into the Southeast.

    The statement said: “With the assemblage of all leaders of note in every sector from all the five states of the Southeast receiving our candidate, it is settled that President Buhari and the APC do not have any support in the zone.

    “This acceptance could not have been less significant because the Buhari-led APC administration has no achievement, of any sort, in the entire zone.

    “The PDP commends the people of the Southeast and Nigerians in general for their courage in collectively resolving to rally with Atiku and our other candidates to rescue our nation from shackles of the Buhari administration and return her to the path of good governance, national cohesion and economic prosperity.”

     

     

     

     

  • PDP, APC clash over fresh violence, killings in Rivers

    The Rivers State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has called for the immediate arrest and prosecution of the Minister for Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi; the Rivers governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Pastor Tonye Cole; and an APC chieftain, Chukwudi Dimkpa; over Wednesday’s violence and killing of two PDP members in Ipo, Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers state.

    Rivers PDP, through its new Publicity Secretary, Darlington Orji, yesterday alleged that Amaechi, a former Governor of Rivers state; Cole, a billionaire businessman/co-founder of Sahara Group; and Dimkpa, who recently resigned in the Nyesom Wike’s administration as the Managing Director of Rivers State Signage and Advertising Agency (RISAA); sponsored a deadly cultist, Kenjika Jonathan, aka School Boy, to unleash mayhem on innocent and peace-loving PDP members at Ipo.

    PDP in Rivers also condemned the unprovoked violence during the voters’ sensitisation in Ipo, while alleging that the APC leaders were backed by two other chieftains of the party in the state: Chibuike Ikenga and Ezemonye Ezekiel Amadi, who is the APC’s candidate for Emohua/Ikwerre constituency in the House of Representatives for the 2019 elections.

    Rivers APC, through its Publicity Secretary, Chris Finebone, however, stated that members of the main opposition party knew nothing about the violence and killings, declaring that from credible information, the attackers were PDP’s thugs, militants and cultists who leaders of the party (PDP) used to kill and maim APC members during the 2015 elections and subsequent reruns in the state, but were abandoned.

    APC in Rivers said: “If they (PDP leaders in Rivers) truly had credible information about complicity of anyone, why didn’t they approach security agencies for arrests and investigation? The PDP members simply made up the story to divert attention from the real incident.

    “Our worry is that PDP members in Rivers State know that they brought the violence and killings on themselves. They only want to use the incident to lay a foundation for a fresh narrative that will kick-start fresh round of violence, as the 2019 elections approach. They thrive on violence.

    “Unfortunately, PDP leaders in Rivers State are fixated in their archaic and time-forgotten style of raising wild accusations and name-calling, instead of tackling serious issues with all the seriousness they deserve. Of course, they find it difficult to followup on unsubstantiated claims that do not go beyond the washy attention they often crave.

    “Assuming without conceding that they know anyone or persons working in cahoot with a criminal to attack them, should their first port of call be the media? Of course, the security agencies are there, but they will not go to them, because they know that diligent investigations will lead back to PDP. Someone should let PDP members know that Rivers people and Nigerians have since moved into modern times; the train has since left the station.

    “Our concern is that, as it is typical with PDP, this is a clear foundation that they are laying to commence the next orgy of killings, maiming and violence that characterise their politics, as 2019 elections approach.”

    Rivers APC also called on security agencies to arrest PDP members and officials of the state government who mentioned names of persons, to assist them in the thorough investigation of the violence.

    The main opposition party in Rivers noted that it believed the diligent investigation would expose what the PDP members in Rivers were doing to themselves, asking them to stop calling APC members names in vain, just to cover up their evil deeds.

    Rivers PDP, however, said: “Scores (of PDP members) were also injured in the unwarranted attacks, while many vehicles were damaged in the rain of bullets by the assassins, hired by the Rivers APC agents of violence.

    “The premeditated attack on the PDP’s voter sensitisation at Ipo was a plot by the Transportation Minister and other APC leaders to assassinate the Chairman of Ikwerre Local Government Council, Hon. Samuel Nwanosike (a former Rivers Publicity Secretary of PDP). Credible intelligence on the plot by the APC members was passed to the security agencies (unnamed) by the authorities of Ikwerre Local Government Council.

    “While condoling with the family members of Uche Nnana and the woman murdered by the plot of Amaechi, Cole, Dimkpa and others, members of PDP in Rivers State will not be cowed by the mindless use of violence by the APC and its agents.

    “APC remains rejected across Rivers State, because it is a party that promotes deaths, underdevelopment and bitterness. The re-election of Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, is a fait accompli. A thousand Amaechis, Coles and Dimkpas sponsoring criminal gangs will not change it.”

    PDP in Rivers also called on the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, to as a matter of urgency, arrest the “indicted” APC chieftains for prosecution, in the interest  of peace and justice, alleging that their direct links with the “failed” APC-led Federal Government was not a licence to kill and unleash violence on unarmed PDP members.

  • 2019: Five PDP defectors get return tickets, two lose out

    With the release of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, list of candidates for the various elective positions in 2019, it is confirmed that two out of the seven Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, lawmakers at the Lagos State House of Assembly who defected to the All Progressives Congress, APC, could not secure return ticket to the Assembly for 2019.

    Also three out of the 19 first term lawmakers in the 8th Assembly lost their bid to come back for a second term in 2019 having lost out in the party primaries.
    The two PDP defectors who could not make it are: the former Minority Leader, Mr. Akeem Bello representing Amuwo Odofin 2 constituency and Mr. Adedayo Famakinwa representing Ajeromi/Ifelodun 1 constituency.

    The three first termers who also lost out at the primaries are: Mr. Sola Giwa representing Lagos Mainland 2 constituency, Bello and Famakinwa.

    Read Also: PDP blasts senator for poor project execution

    Although reliable sources at the Assembly said that all the defectors were promised automatic return ticket the party’s decision to subject all the aspirants to direct primaries seem to have worked against that promise for Bello and Famakinwa who could not pull their weight at the primaries.
    Although Bello’s name was in the first list released by INEC, his name is however not in the latest list released by the electoral body Friday last week.
    It would be recalled that the 8th Lagos Assembly started with eight opposition lawmakers from PDP and seven of them later defected to the ruling APC and only five out the seven were able to secure return ticket to the Assembly that is if they win the election in 2019.

  • 2019: PDP in ‘serious difficulties’ to fund Atiku campaign, APC alleges

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday alllged that opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar is finding it difficult to raise cash to fund his campaign.

    It urged anti-graft agencies to closely monitor the inflow of money so that illegal money is not channeled into the campaign.

    Also yesterday, the Buhari Media Organisation (BMO) described the Strategy meeting of the PDP in Dubai as a jamboree, which is lacking in logic, and commitment to solving Nigeria’s problems.

    APC Deputy National Publicity Secretary Yekini Nabena, in a statement, said: ”The presidential candidate expects the party to provide funds for his campaign. This is the Buhari Era, an era of strict accountability and transparency in the use and application of public funds and not the Jonathan Era in 2015 when the national treasury was opened to PDP leaders to prosecute the presidential campaign.”

    “The party leaders are therefore in serious difficulties and dilemma on how to source funds to run the Atiku Presidential Campaign. Some financers of the party expect that the candidate…, should have the financial capacity to run his campaign. With the candidate’s expectation that it is the party that will fund his campaign it is now clear that they are at a crossroads and the chickens have come home to roost.

    “The anti-corruption agencies should gird their loins and ensure that all sources of campaign fund by the political parties are closely monitored and recover the funds looted during the Jonathan Era. Such recovered funds should be applied for the benefits of the poor masses who were denied democracy benefits during the 16years misrule of the PDP.

    “It is now clear to the members of the PDP who were deceived into believing that their presidential candidate is a man of stupendous wealth that it is all a mirage, a 419 packaging and that they entered a ‘one chance’ bus.

    “As we approach February 2019 when elections will be held in Nigeria, the electorate are becoming more conscious and aware of the deceitful nature of their so-called leaders. Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the PDP, is nationally known as a man of immense wealth. Apart from his being a retired officer of the Department of Customs & Excise not above the rank of Deputy Director, and not known to have been an exceptionally successful businessman, his claims to stupendous wealth and source are questionable and lack credibility.

    “During the “dollar rain” at the Port Harcourt convention of the Party, he outspent all the other aspirants and easily clinched the party’s presidential candidacy ticket.

    “Having emerged without the support of the “Governor General” of the party, who had earlier produced the party’s National Chairman and ordered the party to hold the convention in Port Harcourt, Alhaji Atiku is now on ‘his own’ in bankrolling his campaign.

    “The Nigerian electorate has a better alternative— to stick to the clean, honest and transparent leadership of Muhammadu Buhari GCFR who has done so much to ensure better future for them after the 16 years misrule of the PDP.”

    But the Atiku Media Office dismissed the insinuations, saying no amount of propaganda and lies would stop the former Vice President from being elected president in 2019. It said the elections would not be determined by money power.

    BMO Chairman Niyi Akinsiju and Secretary Cassidy Madueke, said the content of the Dubai resolution was unpatriotic and meaningless and succeeds only in projecting the PDP leaders as being uneasy with patriotism.

    The resolution, according to them, “proposes using religious & ethnic sentiments, lies and propaganda as its major campaign tool against the performing administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.

    “But, of course, this has not come to us as a surprise as the party (PDP) used the same method in the run-up to the 2015 presidential election. What is surprising however is that despite PDP’s pretences about being a rebranded party that has learned its lessons, it indeed has learned nothing from the past.”

    While calling on the PDP and its presidential candidate to desist from what is described as its usual campaign strategy of calumny, hatred, division and base sentiments, the organisation said “this style of campaign will never lead them to victory”.

    “All that this PDP strategy can achieve is further destabilisation of this nation. It emphasises where we are different as a people, rather than how united we can be; or the things that make us more similar as a people. We advise the opposition party to find better strategy of selling its defective product, a strategy that does not threaten the unity of this country.

    “We say without equivocation that the Buhari Campaign strategy will not descend that low, nor will it be targeted at smearing personalities. Rather, it will focus on the various achievements of President Muhammadu Buhari’s three and a half years in the office, achievements which are too numerous to mention here; from the successful fight against insurgency in the North East, restoring to glory a bastardised economy, growing a decayed, dilapidated and abandoned infrastructure and finally to creating, for the first time, a sustainable social welfare programme that is truly sustainable and for the people that need it the most-  the poorest of the poor and the most vulnerable of our society.

    “This track record of performances and many more that the administration of the President has done, and still doing, with little resources, in just three years and a half and not 16 years of nothing, is what a campaign strategy should be about; certainly not some overpriced cooked-up alien ideas full of sound and fury, hate and bigotry, signifying nothing but divisive sentiments that are unwarranted and surely doomed to fall.

    The Media Adviser to the former Vice President, Paul Ibe, dismissed the APC’s insinuation, saying the 2019 presidential election will not be about money but the supreme will of the people.

    Ibe said: “Nothing can stop an idea whose time has come. Nothing can stop the zeal of Nigerians to elect the President of their choice. This election will not be won by money or lies or propaganda or intimidation but by the supreme will of the Nigerian people as expressed in their vote.

    “Atiku Abubakar will be elected as President by Nigerians in February 2019 notwithstanding the machinations of the APC-led administration.”

  • PDP blasts senator for poor project execution

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State has scored Senator Francis Alimekhena lów in constituency project execution.

    It described Alimekhena as an ‘Oracle of under-development’

    State Chairman of PDP Chief Dan Orbih, who spoke in Auchi and Agenebode while receiving 500 members of APC, said the only project of Alimekhena was erection of campaign billboard, sign-posts and posters.

    Orbih noted that he didn’t see any constituency project executed by Alimekhena in the six local governments making up Edo North.

    Orbih said: “In any political office you hold, let your development speaks for you. I traveled through Afuze to Agenebode to see what Senator Alimenkhena has done, there is no tangle projects on ground but his billboards everywhere.

    “What we see is Oracle billboard of under-development. I have looked at all the records of his performance in the Senate. I can tell you categorically that, even the late Senator John Umolu did better than Senator Francis Alimenkhena.”

    Edo North senatorial candidate of PDP Abubakar Momoh challenged Senator Alimenkhena to a media debate to showcase their achievements.

    ‘’There is only thing I want to say, let me use this opportunity to send a message to Senator Alimekhena. I want Alimekhena to face me in media debate and let us tell Etasko people what he has done. Whoever that knows him should tell him I want to face him in a debate. What has he able to achieve for the past three years?”

     

     

  • PDP accuses Buhari, APC of plots to liquidate party’s stakeholders’ accounts

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has  alleged plots by the Presidency and the All Progressives Congress (APC) to procure frivolous court orders from “compromised” judicial officers to garnishee accounts belonging to PDP and critical stakeholders, perceived to be against the President’s re-election bid.

    The opposition party said it’s already aware of how instructions have been given to certain agencies of government to trail and throw up fabrications in order to create an impression of financial infractions around the said accounts.

    A statement last night by the spokesman for the PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan, said already, accounts belonging to critical stakeholders were being frisked with a view to having them liquidated ahead of the general elections.

    The statement said, “It is clear that the only reason for this is to ensure that our party and candidates are deprived of access to funds for campaigns, but the APC and the Buhari Presidency fail to realise that the 2019 election is now a battle between them and Nigerians, who are the bastion of the PDP.

    “Nigerians have since taken over the saddle for the quest to rid the nation of this incompetent, vicious and vengeful administration, for which they are now freely making contributions and sacrifices.

    “They have collectively resolved to vote out President Buhari and not even the APC’s on-going vote-buying strategy and intimidation can scuttle that resolve”.