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Tag: Saraki

  • Saraki: accountability is antidote to corruption

    Saraki: accountability is antidote to corruption

    A comprehensive and thorough policy of accountability, coupled with proper civil service training and monitoring, is the antidote against the nation’s corruption, former Kwara State Governor Senator Bukola Saraki has said.

    Saraki noted that asset declaration is an accepted protocol of statutory disclosure.

    But, the former governor said that alone could not reduce corruption.

    The senator representing Kwara Central, in a statement by his media aide, Bamikole Omishore, said: “Corruption has been one of the greatest challenges we face as a country in years past and all efforts, both personal commitment and systemic arrangements should be put in place to further cage this endemic in our society.”

    He called on all politicians as a matter of national importance to emulate the leadership of President-elect Muhammadu Buhari by declaring their asset and “also committing to transparency and accountability in every aspect of our lives as a nation so as to restore confidence of the citizenry in government”.

    Saraki, who said he has always declared his assets before and after every political office since 2003, assured Nigerians that he would continue to that.

  • Chibok girls: We must remain hopeful, says Saraki

    Chibok girls: We must remain hopeful, says Saraki

    Chairman, Senate Committee on Environment and Ecology, Senator Bukola Saraki, yesterday urged Nigerians to remain hopeful about the return of the kidnapped Chibok schoolgirls.

    Saraki, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media, Bamikole Omishore, urged Nigerians to continue to be mindful of the suffering of the girls in captivity.

    The statement reads: “Today we pause to remember the kidnapping of the Chibok schoolgirls. Our thoughts and prayers are with their families, friends, and communities.

    “A year may have passed since they were taken, but our sympathy and solidarity with their families, remain as strong as ever; and so does our revulsion at the acts of terror committed.

    “I have been emboldened by the character and courage that the families of the girls have shown over the last year.

    “I would like to take this opportunity to support the comments made by President-elect Muhammadu Buhari earlier today.

    “He is right to throw the full weight of the administration behind our efforts to find the missing girls.

    “But he is right too, not to make naive claims about the ability of any government to commit to find the girls.

    “We must remain hopeful of their return, and steadfast in our determination to find them, but not make the same mistakes of the previous administration in promising what we cannot guarantee to do.”

     

  • How presidency intimidated us, by Saraki

    KWARA State All Progressives Congress (APC) leader Senator Bukola Saraki yesterday described the period of his political differences with President Goodluck Jonathan as challenging.

    He said the period was fraught with blackmail, threat and intimidation against him and his supporters.

    Saraki relieved his experience to reporters in Ilorin, the state capital, while reacting to APC’s victory in the governorship and House of Assembly elections.

    The former governor added that in spite of the intimidation, Kwarans never wavered in their support for him.

    The Senate Committee Chairman on Environment and Ecology said: “Everybody knew how President Goodluck Jonathan told the world that they would take Kwara back to PDP.  Normally, under that kind of situation when people see almighty power, people tend to desert you. But the people of Kwara did not desert us and that is why I am entirely grateful to them. They stood by us despite the threat coming from the centre. The period was fraught with intimidation, blackmail and all sorts.

    “There was nothing they did not use to threaten people. But Kwarans said no and they gave us a result that is even better than 2011. In 2011, we did not have the whole 24 members’ state House of Assembly.  For Kwarans, all I can say is that this confidence they have reposed in our party under our leadership, that we will continue to do our best not to disappoint them. If there are areas that need improvement, we will do our best.”

    On governorship and House of Assembly elections in Rivers State, the senator said: “I don’t think anybody can deny the fact that compared to other states of the country that there was something wrong in the Rivers State election. That already raises a red flag that something has gone wrong and that need to be investigated. And I think it is only fair for the people of Rivers to have an election that is similar to what happened in other parts of the country.

    “I think more importantly, we must ensure that people that violated the electoral laws are punished. It is the only way in subsequent elections people will respect the law.”

    He said the challenges before the president-elect, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, and governors-elect are daunting, but surmountable.

    He urged Nigerians to be ready to make sacrifice to enable the new helmsmen succeed in their task.

    Saraki said Buhari and governors-elect have a “nest to clean” because of what he called alleged misrule by Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) administrations.

    He said the success recorded by the APC in the general elections in the state was possible because the people did not desert the party’s leadership in the face of intimidation from the presidency.

    He was confident that the general elections would open a new page for Nigeria.

     

  • Saraki: we need socio-political resurrection

    Saraki: we need socio-political resurrection

    Former Kwara State Governor Senator Bukola  Saraki has said the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ aptly applies to Nigeria’s political situation.

    Saraki, who is the leader of the state All Progressives Congress (APC), added that the nation needs socio-political resurrection to return hope to its people.

    The Senate Committee Chairman on Ecology and Environment, in his Easter message to Christians, said: “At this moment when Nigeria is globally celebrated on the emergence of its new democratic dispensation, I extend a hearty felicitation to our dear Christian families all across the country.

    “By historic effect, Easter corroborates quite well with the present situation of our country. Nigeria needs socio-political resurrection in order to return hope to its people. For this to come to life, we all need to make huge sacrifice and place this nation on a high priority.

    “As we share love and kind gestures this season, I urge us all to continue walking in the path of God in all endeavours during and after the period.”

  • Oshiomhole, Amosun, Saraki, Fayemi, others greet president-elect

    Oshiomhole, Amosun, Saraki, Fayemi, others greet president-elect

    Governors and other eminent citizens yesterday congratulated the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, on his victory.

    Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole said Buhari’s victory represents a new dawn in the nation’s polity.

    Oshiomhole, in a statement, said: “Let me congratulate you sir, on your historic victory at the presidential election, through a process which has been adjudged as free, fair and credible by both local and international observers. Indeed, your victory, on the basis of one man, one vote, represents a new dawn in the democratic governance of our great country

    “The spread of your victory across the length and breadth of the country shows your national acceptance as the man Nigeria needs at this critical stage to reposition her from the 16 years of misrule of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    “I have implicit confidence that, with you as president, Nigeria will no doubt get a true and selfless leadership needed to drive the much-desired change at the centre, which will start the process of reengineering the country and halt the drift, which the country had been plunged in the past 16 years.”

    Ogun State Governor Senator Ibikunle Amosun has also congratulated the president-elect.

    Amosun expressed the hope that Buhari’s government would bring about the much needed security, economic growth and development.

    Amosun, in a statement yesterday by his spokesperson, Mrs. Olufunmilayo Wakama, added that the victory was a demonstration of the Nigerian people’s confidence in Gen. Buhari’s strong leadership qualities.

    Amosun said: “The people have spoken and demonstrated with their votes, their confidence in the ability of the president-elect to pull the nation out of its present economic woes.

    “The trajectory of the president-elect, his principles and uprightness are some of the qualities that must have endeared him to the electorate.”

    To the former Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, Gen. Buhari’s victory signposts a new beginning for Nigeria and Nigerians.

    “History has just been made in our dear country”, declared Fayemi, who hailed Buhari’s victory over the incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan as a victory for democracy and the Nigerian citizenry.

    Fayemi, in the statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Olayinka Oyebode, said going by the outcome of the election, Nigerians have demonstrated to the entire world their ability and readiness to tow the path of greatness and oneness.

    “Nigerians have spoken. They have spoken clearly through their votes. They want a new direction and a new approach to governance and the APC government under the leadership of Gen. Buhari owes them this and more”, said Fayemi.

    He added that the APC, through the victory, is now saddled with the responsibility of making a meaningful change in the lives of the people as promised during the electioneering.

    Fayemi, who chaired the APC national convention that produced Gen. Buhari as the party’s candidate, said Nigerians were the actual winners in the keenly contested election, having demonstrated rare courage and determination to effect the change they desired.

    Chairman, Senate Committee on Environment and Ecology Senator Abubakar Bukola Saraki dedicated Gen, Buhari’s victory to the citizens.

    Saraki, in a statement by his Special Assistant on Media and Advocacy, Bamikole Omishore, in Abuja, called on the president-elect to be magnanimous in victory.

    He enjoined him to use his unique stature as a statesman to reunite the country and heal whatever crack that might be in the political demography due to the electioneering process.

    The Oyo Central senator-elect, Monsurat Sunmonu, congratulated Gen. Buhari on his victory at the polls.

    The House of Representatives members-elect for Oyo Federal Constituency, Prince Akeem Adeyemi and Waliu Ganiyu, greeted the president-elect, saying that his victory was well-deserved.

    The Secretary to the Oyo State Government (SSG), Mr. Ismail Ali, described the presidential and National Assembly elections as the best ever in the history of Nigeria.

    The APC chieftain congratulated the APC presidential candidate for the victory in the keenly contested polls.

  • Saraki dedicates Buhari’s victory to Nigerians

    The Chairman, Senate Committee on Environment and Ecology, Senator Abubakar Bukola Saraki, yesterday dedicated the victory of the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), General Muhammadu Buhari, to Nigerians.

    Saraki, in a statement by his Special Assistant on Media and Advocacy, Bamikole Omishore, in Abuja, however, urged the President-elect to be magnanimous in victory.

    He enjoined him to use his status as a statesman to reunite the country and heal whatever crack that might be in the political demography due to the electioneering process.

    The senator representing Kwara Central in the upper chamber advised Nigerians, irrespective of political leanings, to join Buhari and the APC in working to establish a stronger and more united country.

  • Buhari, Saraki win in Kwara

    Buhari, Saraki win in Kwara

    The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) has defeated his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) opponent, President Goodluck Jonathan in the Saturday presidential and parliamentary elections.
    Gen. Buhari polled 302,146 while President Jonathan got 132, 602 votes in the result announced by the Vice Chancellor of Federal University of Technology, Prof. Musbau Akanji.
    The results of the elections of the state senatorial and federal constituencies as contained in a bulletin released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) signed by the state Resident Electoral Commissioner, Emmanuel Onucheyo showed that the APC cleared all the three senatorial and the six House of Representatives seats while the candidates of the PDP emerged the first runners-up.
    The APC’s candidate in Kwara Central, Bukola Saraki polled 118, 879 to defeat PDP’s Abdurahman Abdurasaq who scored 66, 864 votes making Saraki who is former governor of the state be re-elected for a second term of office in the Senate.
    Another former governor of the state, Mohammed Shaaba Lafiagi won the Kwara north district with 87, 435 as against 39, 641 votes recorded by Yinusa Yahaya of the PDP.
    Rafiu Ibrahim the incumbent occupant of the seat of Ifelodun/Offa/Oyun federal constituency won the south district with 73, 329 votes while Lola Ashiru of PDP recorded 50, 348.
    The APC’s candidates that won the federal constituencies are Rasaq Atunwa, the Speaker of the state House of Assembly (Ilorin West/Asa), Abubakar Amuda-Kannike (Ilorin East/Ilorin South), Tope Olayonu (Ifelodun/Offa/Oyun), Muhammed Zakari (Baruten/Kaiama), Aliyu Ahman Patigi (Patigi/Edu/Moro) and Funke Adedoyin (Ekiti/Irepodun/Isin/Oke-Ero).

  • Oyegun, Tinubu, Amaechi, Saraki under security watch

    Oyegun, Tinubu, Amaechi, Saraki under security watch

    All Progressives Congress (APC) leaders are being intimidated by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-led Federal Government, the party alleged yesterday.

    Its proof – security agents have placed some of its leading lights on surveillance. Besides, their phones are bugged.

    But, said the party, it will never bow to intimidation. APC spokesman Alhaji Lai Mohammed said in a statement:

    “We will not be intimidated by the latest antics of the Jonathan Administration to harass and intimidate the opposition, especially in the run-up to next month’s general elections.”

    A security source last night declined comments on the matter “because the APC did not name the specific security organisation putting its leaders under watch”.

    The APC said: ‘’As the elections approach, we know the harassment and intimidation will be stepped up. We know our leaders, including the National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, National Leader Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi, former Bayelsa State Governor Timipre Sylva, Senator Bukola Saraki and National Publicity Secretary Alhaji Lai Mohammed, are under surveillance and their phones being bugged.

    ‘’We are aware that several of them, especially the National Publicity Secretary, have been marked down for arrest in the days to come. We know there are evil plots to frame some of them on trumped-up charges. We know our lives are in danger. But these and more will not deter us from continuing to act in the national interest or from seeking to effect change through the ballot box.

    ‘’Yes, we are alerting Nigerians that if anything happens to us they should know where it is coming from, but for us there is no going back because we are resolute.’’

    Tinubu’s Lagos home has been under siege by soldiers for four days though the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 81 Division, Major-Gen. Tunmi Dibi has said the military deployment is “routine” and part of a joint security measure to secure Lagos.

    The Imo State Government House in Owerri was also violated when a military armoured tank manned by some soldiers was deployed in front of it on Tuesday after security men prevented a group of women, led by Minister of State (Education) Prof. Violet Onwuliri, from marching on the facility.

    Also yesterday, policemen were deployed in the Abuja home of APC’s Presidential Campaign spokesman Garba Shehu – an action which the party said “fits perfectly into this emerging pattern”.

    In a statement issued in Abuja, the party said Shehu’s residence at the NNPC Quarters, Area 11, Abuja, had been surrounded by armed policemen since 3 a.m. on yesterday, making it impossible for him to even go to the mosque for prayers.

    ‘’Going after the spokesman of our party’s Presidential Campaign Organisation is aimed at muffling the organisation’s voice and abridging the constitutionally-guaranteed rights of the spokesman himself. This is antithetic to democracy and totally unacceptable,’’ it said.

    APC called on those who sent the armed security personnel to Shehu’s residence to immediately order their withdrawal and tell Nigerians what he has done to warrant such harassment.

    The party said “coming after the siege by armed troops to Tinubu’s home in Lagos and a similar siege to the Imo State Government House in Owerri, it was clear that the Jonathan Administration has finally launched its much-anticipated clampdown on the opposition ahead of the general elections.

    The elections are slated for March 28 and April 11.

    ‘’The PDP and the Jonathan Administration are bent on badgering the opposition through the harassment, intimidation and arrest of its leaders as well as the circulation of unfounded rumours against the party. These actions are all aimed at fomenting a crisis and scuttling the forthcoming elections,” APC said, adding:

    ‘’We are, therefore, calling on all Nigerians as well as the international community to take note of this growing pattern of harassment and intimidation of the opposition, and the effect such action will have on the conduct of the elections,’’ it said.

    APC thanked Nigerians for their immense and unwaring support, especially since the postponement of the elections which was aimed at dampening the enthusiasm of the citizens, and urged them not to relent.

    The presidential and assembly elections will were slated for tomorrow and the governorship elections February 28.

    ‘’We are glad that instead of weakening the resolve and enthusiasm of Nigerians, the Presidency-orchestated postponement has further galvanised them to be more determined not only to vote but also to defend their votes,” APC said, adding:

    ‘’Nigerians must demand and insist that the elections be held as rescheduled, that there will be no interim government or tenure elongation. Nigerians have the power to forge change with their voter’s cards and no one must deny them that right.’’

    The APC urged President Jonathan to remember the verdict of history and put his dogs of war on a leash, realising that history will judge no one but him even for the actions of his supporters, who are all acting in his name.

  • Soldiers lay siege to Tinubu’s home, Imo Govt House

    Soldiers lay siege to Tinubu’s home, Imo Govt House

    It’s routine, says GOC

    Fashola, Junaid, Saraki  deplore action

    Soldiers relaxed yesterday a three-day siege to the Ikoyi, Lagos home of All Progressives Congress (APC) National Leader Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, his Media Office said.

    Also yesterday, a military team stormed the Imo State Government House in Owerri, deploying an armoured tank.

    The two incidents raised the fear of a crackdown on some opposition figures.

    There has been a major disagreement between the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-led Federal Government and the APC over the shift of the February 14 and 28 general elections to March 28 and April 11.

    The APC has raised the alarm of a likely compromise of the military by the PDP to rig the elections. The PDP and the military have, however, denied the allegation.

    In a statement yesterday, the Tinubu Media Office said: “For three straight days, the private residence of the national leader of the APC, Bola Tinubu, has been under surveillance by battle-ready and helmet wearing soldiers. Numbering close to 30 and riding in three patrol vans and an army truck stationed close to the entrance of the gate to Tinubu’s house on Bourdillon Road in Ikoyi, they have become a permanent feature. Their obvious target, Tinubu himself and perhaps the hordes of politicians and visitors that visit his Bourdillon residence.

    “The soldiers were first noticed on Sunday, a few minutes to 11pm in an army truck. They were stationed about 500 meters away from Tinubu’s gate. Later, they moved close to his gate as if making efforts to enter. The stern looking soldiers were around for hours on Sunday and returned on Monday to continue their surveillance. Monday night about 10.45pm, they returned to the residence in two army vans and were there throughout the night. Some of the soldiers discharged from the van and walked back and forth in front of the house and around the house in what is clearly some casing effort.

    “This morning (Tuesday), two vans from the army were stationed on both sides of the house along Bourdillon Road, their missions shrouded in secrecy.”

    But Tinubu said he will not be intimidated by the show of strength, intimidation and possible harassment. “I remain resolute in my advocacy and support for the rule of law. Jonathan’s government has through the service chiefs staged a coup against Nigerians and the Constitution and now wants to silence his critics. I will not be muzzled through the barrel of the gun. The guns and bullets they should use to defeat Boko Haram are now being turned against the opposition and innocent Nigerians,” he said.

    Tinubu has been an unrelenting critic of the Jonathan-led PDP government. He played a pivotal role in the re-building of the Nigerian opposition and the formation of the APC.

    The statement added: “The exact mission of the soldiers is not known but it fits clearly into a new pattern of intimidation of leaders of the APC and the opposition.

    “It might be part of a broader plan by the Jonathan presidency to intimidate Tinubu and his political associates and scare him from making statements or building a broad coalition against the government as he did during the NADECO days.

    “As the scaremongering by the army continues, Nigerians must come to the realisation that the military has abandoned its statutory role and have now been dragged into partisan politics. Nigerians and the South West should hold the Jonathan-led military responsible if any harm or danger comes to Tinubu and his family. The case of the ‘Unknown Soldier’ is too recent in our memory.”

    At about 3pm yesterday, the soldiers were not on the long stretch of Bourdillon Road and its adjourning streets.

    There were three Police Rapid Response Squad (RRS) vans on the road.

    A security guard at Tinubu’s home said he saw the army soldiers in a truck for two consecutive nights opposite the APC leader’s private residence.

    He said: “They were about 50 and came in a truck.  I saw them between 11pm and 12am Saturday night and Sunday night.

    “They parked at the other side of the road and spent about 30 minutes on each day.

    “I don’t know what they were up to. On the second day, they left after Governor Babatunde Fashola saw them and made a call. I have not seen them again since then,” he said.

    The General Officer Commanding (GOC) 81 Division,  Major – General Tanmi Dibi, said his men were on regular patrol across the state.

    He said the Army at the weekend began its routine “show of force”, which is an exercise embarked on whenever there is election.

    He debunked the allegation that soldiers laid siege to Tinubu’s residence, arguing that Governor Fashola was aware of the ongoing patrol across the state.

    He said: “How can anyone accuse the army of laying a siege to Bourdillon or Asiwaju Tinubu’s place? That is most untrue. Soldiers attached to the security outfit Operation MESA and other task forces have been on general patrol across the state.

    “The entire Ikoyi, Victoria Island and Lekki are being patrolled. Even on the Mainland, my men have been patrolling. They have been keeping awake while the masses are asleep to ensure that we continue to enjoy the peace and security we have in Lagos.

    “Even the governor is aware of these patrols or is he now saying he does not like the efforts being made by security agencies in the state? Is he saying they don’t like the peace and security we have been working hard to sustain?

    “Politicians must endeavour to leave the army out of politics. It is not good when soldiers are doing their best and different meanings are read into their action.

    “I am not saying it is not possible my men stopped at Bourdillon. There is the possibility they must have stopped there in the course of their patrol but that does not mean they have been deployed there or have invaded the place.”

  • Fashola, Saraki, Junaid Mohammed deplore siege

    Fashola, Saraki, Junaid Mohammed deplore siege

    Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola, Social Commentator Alhaji Junaid Mohammed and Lagos State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday condemned the military siege to Asiwaju Bola Tinubu’s Lagos home.

    Senator Bukola Saraki said the opposition party’s leaders were ready for the assault from the Presidency and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-led Federal Government.

    Speaking at a political rally in Ejigbo, Lagos yesterday, Fashola said: “See what they are doing now, they are removing security from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). In the last 24 hours, they are deploying soldiers in Asiwaju’s house.

    “Every night now, they take truck-load of soldiers to Asiwaju’s house. But, I have news for them, we will not be intimidated. When President Goodluck Jonathan was looking for our votes in 2011, he did not use soldiers, he was begging us. He told us that he had no shoes.

    After collecting our votes, he has been inflicting pains on us,” he said.

    Mohammed said: “If Tinubu has committed any offence, the Federal Government should take him to court. Nigerians are today confronted with a creeping coup detat. Those marked for rejection by the people want to retain power by all means.

    “The Army has a responsibility not to keep vigil in the house of a perceived enemy of the Federal Government but to protect all Nigerians equally, irrespective of party affiliation or religious inclination.

    “They have no business harrassing any political leader. The Nigeria Army is not a political party. They are maintained by tax payers money and should discharge their respoinsibilities as well-spelt and stated in the country’s constitution.

    “They should be warned that if our democracy is scuttled, there will be a price to pay by all responsible for it. They have failed to protect Nigerians in the much-troubled Northeast where the Boko Haram insurgents have routinely asserted their supremacy over an enclave supposedly under their concern. They have no business harrassing innocent Nigerians. If anything happens to Tinubu, so many people will pay the price.

    “I support the calls emanating from General Muhammadu Buhari and Senator Tinubu that this country should be wrestled from the stranglehold of the rudderless overlords of the Peoples Democratic Party who have done nothing to show proof of competence to bring joy and needful change to the country and its people in 16 years.

    “The people must be forever vigilant to protect themselves and this democracy for it to endure.

    “Those who are putting him under surveillance should explain why. Given the track record of killings of notable leaders in the country, since the 1966 coup to date, we have every cause to exercise fears regarding the latest assault on Tinubu.”

    Saraki said:  “We have heard of plans to clampdown on us; we are prepared, I learnt the other day military trucks were moving around and I asked what for? But the truth is that this issue is now beyond the APC leaders and so the message is that they should not take the calmness of the people for granted. People want change and anything that will stop that, they won’t accept.

    “My concern is that we don’t plunge this country into a constitutional crisis, so we must ensure that May 29 is sacrosanct. I want Nigerians to stand up and hold both the National Security Adviser (NSA) and the President to account to ensure that they stick to the handover date. It is up to the government to now assure us that there is no hidden agenda.

    “The nation needs not only political stability but economic stability; President Jonathan should give commitment that there will be no further elections postponement.”

    Asked about the spate of political violence in the state, the former governor said it would be the product of “new people” just coming into the politics of the state but asked that security agencies should hold leaders of the parties accountable.

    Saying the violence, was targeted against his party, to incite his followers, he urged APC members to maintain the peace. “I have told them that you don’t win elections by destroying billboards,” Saraki said, adding: “My view is that political leaders should be held responsible as is the practice all over the world; the leaders must be made to know that the International Court is there for such cases.”