The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)

  • Osun 2018: Saraki, Fayose accuse INEC, police of compromise 

    Senate President, Bukola Saraki and Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose, have accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Nigerian police of colluding with the Federal Government to rig elections in states.

    The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) chieftains made the accusation while addressing reporters in Ede, Osun State after the party’s mega rally for its governorship candidate, Sen. Ademola Adeleke.

    Read Also:Oyetola: why Osun deserves govt of continuity

    Saraki said he has observed a trend in recent elections where results declared by INEC shows a huge invalidated number of votes with a narrow margin with which candidates win.

    He said the trend showed in the Bauchi National Assembly bye-election and Ekiti State governorship election.

    Saraki warned INEC and the Federal Government to desist from the trend, saying it is the latest style of rigging the elections in favour of All Progressives Congress (APC) candidates.

    He said the trend must not repeat itself in tomorrow’s governorship election in Osun State.

    He faulted the declaration of Sen. Adeleke wanted by the police two days before the election.

    His words: “There is a pattern that we have seen and we hope that in this election of Osun we will not see that. When you look at the margin of victory between the party that wins and that party that loses, and you look at the amount of cancellation, you tend to see that the difference is almost the same. We are seeing that trend here, we saw it in Bauchi bye- election and to me, there’s something fishy going on.

    “And so it’s important in a credible election, there should not be that amount of cancellation. And I think INEC needs to step up. In the 2015 election, we never saw this level of cancellation. This is a new trend that is very disturbing and I hope that in this election INEC will show how credible it is and ensure invalid votes should not be like that. When cancellation is more than the margin of victory, then that election carries a big question mark.

    When asked about the level of confidence with which PDP was going into the Osun election, Fayose said the process was already compromised.

    He said: “It is not about level of confidence. We are talking about the process, the process leading to an election. INEC has been compromised, police have been compromised. When they want to arrest they will arrest PDP. When they are doing vote buying it is PDP that will be arrested, not APC. It is whoever police call a criminal that is a criminal. When already police are taking sides, what do we say to that? When you are telling us what level of confidence?  It is about the system, the process. If I come here and arrest you with gun what will you do? If they have the effrontery to say they are declaring the candidate of PDP in an election that is 48 hours away as the criminal to create a perception, you can imagine.”

    He added: “They are taking this state one after the other and they forget that nothing will last forever. We must all condemn this unnecessary, unwarranted assault on democracy…

    “For APC to come here and start talking about corruption, we have had enough of that. I wrote to EFCC that I will be coming on the 16th. I am still a sitting governor, you are declaring me wanted. You said they should be looking for me. I am here today. When I was passing the airport I had to look for Customs officers to tell them ‘I am here if you need someone to arrest.’

    “This is not the country of our dream; this is not the democracy of our dream. For anybody to say PDP wants to rig this election it’s exactly what they want to do that they are now laying on others. You saw what happened in Ekiti. Have you ever seen a governorship election won by under 20,000 votes? They won with 19,000 votes and voided votes were 18,000. The one the Senate President was talking about, their strategy is to invalidate most of the votes when they know that it is not adding up for them. This is not the spirit at all.

    “And I want to say to them if they like they should set Nigeria ablaze. They must remember the children yet unborn. Those who are benefiting from this wickedness should remember that if the last administration were to be like this they would never have got there.”

  • Why I want to be president — Bafarawa

    A presidential aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Attahiru Bafawara, on Wednesday said the he was seeking to be president not for personal interests, but to serve the nation.

    Bafawara, a former governor of Sokoto State, made the statement while addressing party members in Lagos.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Bafarawa’s visit to the party secretariat was in continuation of his nationwide tour of state chapters to seek support for his aspiration.

    He said the nation needed somebody with a good understanding of governance and track record of performance to address the country’s challenges.

    The former governor said the All Progressives Congress (APC) had failed to deliver of its promises and a change was needed to salvage the country.

    “I am coming for damage control; I am coming to right so many things that are wrong with governance in the country.

    “I am contesting not for personal interests but to genuinely serve the country and put it on the path of prosperity.

    “The APC government has failed to deliver on its promises: it is time to kick them out and put a responsible government in place,” he said.

    The aspirant said his time as governor of Sokoto was the golden era in the state in terms of democratic dividends delivered.

    Bafarawa said he did not only uplift the state economically, but also built human capacities both in the health and the education sectors.

    He said it was on record that he never borrowed to run the state and even left N13billion in the coffers of the state when leaving.

     

    Read Also: Buhari should campaign by road, says Bafarawa

     

    Bafarawa said Nigerians could trust him to run the country efficiently if elected.

    He appealed to Nigerians to beware of politicians who decieve with fake promises,  as they would abandon them at the end of the day.

    The former governor urged party delegates in the state to vote for him at the convention , promising not to abandon the people if elected.

    He assured them that the party’s presidential primary would be rancour-free, as all aspirants had agreed to unite after the primary.

    “I don’t think there would be any problem after the primary. We (aspirants) have all agreed to unite and work with whoever emerges,” he said.

    On the allegation by Gov. Nyesom Wike of Rivers State that some aspirants are being sponsored by APC in PDP, he said he did not have a definite answer to the claim.

    He, however,urged Wike to expose the moles among the aspirants in the interest of the party.

    Responding, Secretary of PDP in the state, Prince Muiz Dosunmu, thanked Bafarawa and his team for the visit.

    He said the chapter was in support of his agenda to move the country forward.

  • BREAKING: WAEC confirms Adeleke sat for 1981 exams

    The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has confirmed that the candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) for Saturday’s governorship election in Osun State, Ademola Adeleke sat for its examination in 1981.

    Read Also:WAEC to ‘do the needful’ on Adeleke

    WAEC made the confirmation in its response to an order made on September 11 this year by a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), in Bwari, Abuja, directiing the examination body to produce Adeleke’s result.

    In its affidavit sworn to by Henry Sunday Adewunmi Osindeinde a Deputy Registrar G Head of School Examination Department, WAEC said sat for the May/April 1981 at Ede Muslim High School, Yidi Road, Ede, with Centre Number: 19645 and Candidate Number 149.

     

    Details later…

  • Bafarawa backs call for restructuring

    ……Says reasonable northerners will support it

     

    Former governor of Sokoto State, Attahiru Bafarawa, on Monday joined those calling for the restructuring of the country.

    The ex-governor said no reasonable person from the north would oppose the call to restructure the country.

    He stated this after a meeting with elders of the Southern and Middle-Belt Leaders Forum, in Abuja.

    Bafarawa, who is a People’s  Democratic Party (PDP) presidential aspirant, in a statement signed by the Director Media and Publicity, Bafarawa Campaign Organization, Mal Yusuf Abubakar, on Monday, in Abuja, stated that nigerians would enjoy the full dividends of democracy through restructuring.

    He said: “No reasonable northerner will oppose restructuring for national unity. The only way to develop and move the nation forward is through the restructuring, political unity and respect among Nigerians for the success of the polity.”

    Read Also: I will support any PDP presidential aspirant – Bafarawa

    Bafarawa said if elected president, he will be a detribalized leader without bias.

    “I will never in my life tolerate nepotism or impunity under my leadership, as a governor of Sokoto state for eight years, I did not allow my family to interfere or participates in any of the government running so as not to be coerced to issues that are not in my oath to office,” Bafarawa said.

    Those present at the meeting include: Chief Edwin Clark; Afenifere chieftain, Chief Ayo Adebanjo; President-General of Ohanaeze, Chief John Nwodo; and Middle Belt Forum President, Dr Bitrus Pogu.

  • Bafarawa pays homage to Afenifere leaders

    …vows to transform Nigeria

     

     

    A Presidential aspirant of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2019 general elections, Attahiru Bafarawa Monday visited the leaders of the Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere in Akure, Ondo state capital.

    The former Sokoto State Governor vowed to overhaul the ailing Nigeria’s economy, if voted into power.

    Read Also:Bafarawa: I left N13bn in Sokoto State Government’s treasury

    According to him, Nigeria economic policies would be diversified in such a way that alternative sources of driving the economy shall be explored.

    The former governor said the Nigeria’s economy had been traumatised, stressing that it was only PDP that could correct the mistakes made by the ruling APC’s administration.

    He said, “When we come in power we are going to take our time to do the damage control, all our ideas is to correct where mistake had been done, we are not going to winch out anybody.

    “We shall de-emphasize over dependence on oil and look towards, agriculture, tourism, mining and manufacturing as potential drivers of our economy”.

    On restructuring, Bafarawa promised to implement the 2014 national conference report saying “when we are talking on restructuring we are talking about development”.

    “We are going to laisse with the National Assembly and the judiciary to work on the outcome of past national conference and discourse, with a view to restructuring our nation to meet the yearnings and aspirations of the citizenry.

    “We shall strength the principles of separation of power and ensuring strict adherence to the rule of law,” he said.

    The former Sokoto state governor also promised to create enabling environment for efficient and sustained security within the shortest time if voted into power.

    Bafarawa however called on Nigerians to join in his vision towards rescuing Nigeria and placing her on a robust path of development.

  • Oyetola, Omisore, others pledge to solve LAUTECH crisis

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Alh. Gboyega Oyetola, Friday pledged to sustain the commitment of the state to the jointly owned Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso.

    He also said a vote for him will translate to sustenance of the achievements of the outgoing governor, Rauf Aregbesola.

    Read Also:LAUTECH crisis: ASUU resists ‘commercialization’ of education

    The APC candidate said this during the first live debate by four of the leading candidates in the September 22 governorship election in Osogbo, the state capital.

    The governorship hopefuls slugged it out at the debate organized by the Yoruba service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) at the Osogbo campus of Osun State University.

    Only four candidates participated in the debate. They are Oyetola (APC), Sen. Iyiola Omisore (Social Democratic Party, SDP), Moshood Adeoti (African Democratic Party, ADP), and Fatai Akinbade of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

    The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Sen. Nurudeen Adeleke, was absent.

    The five are the leading candidates in the election.

    When asked how he planned to address the LAUTECH problem, Oyetola said the state was performing its obligations to the institution, recalling that it recently released N1 billion to the university as part of the state’s obligation.

    He promised to sustain the culture of meeting Osun State’s obligation if elected.

    Omisore said he would facilitate a round table with the Oyo State Government and the management of the institution to take decisions on the way forward. He said he would not just lead Osun State out of the university but ensure that all thorny issues are addressed properly to allow the institution function maximally. Pulling out of joint ownership of LAUTECH would only be the last resort, he said. The institution is jointly owned by Osun and Oyo states.

    Oyetola said the state needs continuity of Aregbesola’s legacies to be able to replicate the Lagos example of development in Osun.

    In his own contributions, Adeoti promised to introduce incentives to attract teachers to rural areas. This, he said, would address migration of teachers from rural to urban areas which leaves rural schools struggling.

    To encourage transparency and prevent corruption, Akinbade promised to introduce due process in government dealings.

    All of them promised to clear salary arrears of workers if voted on September, 22.

  • Shocking defeat awaits you if you contest, APC tells Dogara

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) has asked Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara not to re-contest the House of Representative seat on the platform of the opposition party as “a humiliating defeat” awaits him.

    Reacting to the purported defection of the Speaker to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Acting National Organising Secretary, Yekini Nabena said it was not a surprise if the Speaker decide to join the opposition in view of his anti-party activities in the National Assembly.

    Read Also:Soldiers kill 10 kidnappers, bandits in Kaduna

    He said the anti-party activities became more glaring when the PDP won his local government of Bogoro during the recently concluded Senatorial election in Bauchi state.

    Nabena said “We have received several media requests for a reaction to the purported defection of the Speaker, House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to one of the opposition political parties, as reported in the media.

    “In reacting, a recent comment by President Muhammadu Buhari aptly sums Dogara’s reported defection: “The weakest people whose senses of expectation do not align with our vision have exited our Party”.

    “Dogara’s reported defection has not come to us as a surprise. It was only a matter of time judging by Dogara’s anti-party antics in the National Assembly where in connivance with the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, he exploited all available avenues to sabotage and undermine the APC-led executive.

    “Dogara’s anti-party activities which enabled one of the opposition Party’s sole victory in Bogoro Local Government Area (Dogara’s council) during the recent Bauchi South Senatorial bye-election won by the APC is another pointer, among several others.

    “Indeed, all politics is local. As a Party, we empathise with Dogara on his confusion and despair over his bleak political future given the fact that he is not on ground and a political paperweight in his home Bauchi state.

    “In his emergence as Speaker, Dogara was merely used by his political master to achieve their selfish political ends at the time. They have since moved on to pursue their individual political aspirations and left Dogara in the cold.

    “We would advise Dogara against his ill-advised decision to recontest his House of Representatives seat under the opposition Party he is linked with because a crushing and humiliating defeat surely awaits him.

    “As a Party, we remain united and committed to our Progressives ideologies. We urge Party faithful to consolidate on our strengths and collectively go into the 2019 general elections as a united and strong political fighting force to sustain the Change Agenda we are implementing for the benefit of Nigerians.”

  • A shocking defeat awaits you if you contest, APC tells Dogara

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) has asked Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara not to recontest the House of Represent seat on the platform of the opposition party as “a humiliating defeat” awaits him.

    Reacting to the purported defection of the Speaker to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Acting National Organizing Secretary, Yekini Nabena said it was surprised if the Speaker decide to join the opposition in view of his anti-party activities in the National Assembly.

    He said the anti-party activities became more glaring when the PDP won his local government of Bogoro during the recently concluded Senatorial election in Bauchi state.

    Nabena said “We have received several media requests for a reaction to the purported defection of the Speaker, House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to one of the opposition political parties, as reported in the media.

    “In reacting, a recent comment by President Muhammadu Buhari, aptly sums Dogara’s reported defection: “The weakest people whose senses of expectation do not align with our vision have exited our Party”.

    “Dogara’s reported defection has not come to us as a surprise. It was only a matter of time judging by Dogara’s anti-party antics in the National Assembly where in connivance with the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, he exploited all available avenues to sabotage and undermine the APC-led executive.

    “Dogara’s anti-party activities which enabled one of the opposition Party’s sole victory in Bogoro Local Government Area (Dogara’s council) during the recent Bauchi South Senatorial bye-election won by the APC is another pointer, among several others.

    Read Also: Dogara: I have not endorsed anyone for political office

    “Indeed, all politics is local. As a Party, we empathise with Dogara on his confusion and despair over his bleak political future given the fact that he is not on ground and a political paperweight in his home Bauchi state.

    “In his emergence as Speaker, Dogara was merely used by his political master to achieve their selfish political ends at the time. They have since moved on to pursue their individual political aspirations and left Dogara in the cold.

    “We would advise Dogara against his ill-advised decision to recontest his House of Representatives seat under the opposition Party he is linked with because a crushing and humiliating defeat surely awaits him.

    “As a Party, we remain united and committed to our Progressives ideologies. We urge Party faithful to consolidate on our strengths and collectively go into the 2019 general elections as a united and strong political fighting force to sustain the Change Agenda we are implementing for the benefit of Nigerians.”

     

  • Kogi PDP stakeholders reject offer of automatic ticket for Melaye

    The latest round of meeting, this time, between the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) stakeholders from the Lokoja/Kogi Federal constituency and the party’s National Working Committee has ended in a stalemate over granting of automatic ticket to Senator Dino Melaye (Kogi West).

    Read Also:2019: Buhari’s candidacy has narrowed APC’s chances -PDP

    The meeting which held at Legacy House Abuja had Prince Uche Secondus, PDP National Chairman and members of the National Working Committee in attendance.

    The delegation from Lokoja/Kogi federal constituency was led by Senator Tunde Ogbeha, who said that the PDP in the Kogi West Senatorial district already has its arrangement on issues regarding to the Senate seat for the district.

    Ogbeha who spoke on behalf of the delegation, said that the federal constituency would ask that a level playing field be allowed for a free and fair primaries, rather than an automatic ticket.

    He however requested for more time from the National Executive for further consultation with the party executives in the Senatorial district.

    The leaders from Lokoja/Kogi Federal constituency  warned against imposition, saying it would affect the rebuilding process currently ongoing by the party in the state, consequently affect the chances of the party.

    Earlier, in a remarks, Prince Uche Secondus, National Chairman of the PDP said the meeting is an ongoing consultation with stakeholders from Kogi west on it plans to give automatic ticket to Sen. Dino Melaye, following the MoU signed by the PDP and rAPC.

    The National Chairman begged the stakeholders from the district to have an understanding and yield to the request of the NWC in the spirit of give and take, and the agreement reached before the National Assembly members returned to the PDP.

  • 2019: Buhari’s candidacy has narrowed APC’s chances -PDP

    The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has said that the All Progressives Congress (APC) has narrowed its chances of winning the 2019 presidential election with President Muhammadu Buhari as its sole presidential candidate.

    In a statement Thursday by the spokesman of the PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan, the main opposition party observed that President Buhari has become grossly unpopular among Nigerians.

    Read Also:Buhari hiding under democracy to hold on to power – Atiku

    The party predicted crushing defeat for Buhari and the APC in the 2019 general elections, adding that the President and the APC avoided competitive primary election with high nomination fees.

    This, according to the PDP, has scared away good candidates within the APC for the 2019 presidential contest.

    The statement said, “Had President Buhari shed his desperation for power and allowed for internal democracy within the APC, particularly when it became clear that Nigerians across board have become averse to his re-election, due to his incompetence and insensitivity to the plight of the citizens, there would have been little hope for the APC.

    “In muzzling contest in APC and gleefully emerging a sole candidate, President Buhari has merely won a pyrrhic victory; a General without a troop, with no capacity to face a general election, as the army of stakeholders and the masses that supported him in 2015 have since left him because of his unfulfilled promises and many failures in governance.

    “Now that Mr. President has confirmed by his body language that he had no chance in a party he leads, how then can he stand a chance in the general elections where millions of Nigerians, who are suffering untold hardship because of his misrule are only waiting to deal him a blow with their votes?

    “Owing to Buhari’s incompetence, Nigerians’ purchasing power has become abysmally low, industries have wound up with attendant mass job losses, foreign direct investments have hit all time low, international partners have totally lost confidence in doing business with our compatriots, while this administration has no economic blueprint except borrowing.

    “Since President Buhari’s declaration to contest the 2019 election, true democrats and other well-meaning citizens have continued to leave the APC in droves to the repositioned PDP, which has now become the rallying platform for all Nigerians, in their collective quest for a new President among the array of very credible aspirants in the PDP.

    “Moreover, while it is settled that President Buhari is no match to any of our presidential aspirants, all indices points to his imminent defeat as the PDP remain committed to a credible, free, fair and transparent Presidential primary, where Nigerians will freely participate to throw up that President that will lead our nation to the path of unity, peace, good governance and economic prosperity for our people”.