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Tag: slams

  • APC slams Metuh over alleged plan to destabilise PDP

    APC slams Metuh over alleged plan to destabilise PDP

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) said yesterday that it would not allow itself to be polluted by defectors from the Peoples Demecratic Party (PDP).

    The APC National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said in a statement in Abuja that the party already has its hands full as it seeks to “clear the mess that the PDP has made of Nigeria and the state of hopelessness to which its 16-year rule has plunged the citizens.”

    It also dismissed allegation by the PDP National Publicity Secretary Olisa Metuh that the APC was behind the crumbling of the PDP.

    It offered Mr. Metuh a free, six-week crash course on his new role as the opposition spokesman.

    “During the training, Metuh will be given free lessons by his APC counterpart, in the spirit of cooperation and for the advancement of the nation’s democracy,” the APC said, adding that he “will need the training to effectively carry out his new, tough task. It is now obvious that he needs to understand that for him to succeed in his new role, he must be credible, empirical, more sophisticated in language use and very passionate, in addition to being able to operate on a lean or zero budget.’’

    APC said it was ludicrous for anyone to suggest that the APC “is seeking to destabilize the PDP when the ruling party has done such a great job of crumbling under its own weight, having gorged on the commonwealth.

    ‘’Really, it beggars belief to say that the APC is seeking to lure away members of the PDP’s NEC with ‘phantom promises and threats’, with a view to destabilising the party, when everyone knows the rate at which PDP stalwarts have been rushing to jump off the sinking ship called the PDP before it finally tips over.

    ‘’Our National Chairman and our President-elect have even spoken out publicly on this issue, encouraging the eager PDP defectors to stay back in their party so they can provide a formidable opposition to the new ruling party. How then can anyone accuse the APC of either luring away PDP members or seeking to destabilise a party that has done itself in?’’

    The APC advised Metuh to “take a little time off so he can engage in some introspection, against the backdrop of the total repudiation by Nigerians of the brand of politics that his party, the PDP, played in its days as the ruling party.

    ‘’There is no doubt that Metuh is in a hurry to do his work as an opposition spokesman. He should not worry. He should save his energy, because he would need it, in addition to the crash course which has been offered to him freely, if he is to function effectively in his new role. Having been in opposition for so long, we can tell Metuh that it is not a cakewalk.

    ‘’Lies by themselves never travel far enough for the truth not to catch up with them, as the PDP must have now realised when its strategy of muckraking, distortion of facts and blatant falsehood – under the guise of electioneering campaign – failed to turn the tide in its favour during the last elections. But it seems the lead actors in that failed strategy, Metuh included, have not yet learnt their lessons, hence they have continued to engage in their despicable pastime.”

  • Ojukwu’s son slams PDP for electoral fraud

    The son of the late Biafran warlord, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, Emeka (jnr.), has blasted the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Anambra State for malpractices during last Saturday’s Presidential and National Assembly elections.

    He described what happened as a daylight robbery.

    According to him, for the PDP to have claimed victory in the poll with 44,747 votes allotted to its candidate, Mr. Chris Emeka Azubogu and 30,994 given to him, as “purportedly announced” by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), was a shame.

    Emeka (Jnr.) said he rejected the result, adding that INEC should not issue a Certificate of Return to the purported winner, “because I will challenge his so-called victory at the tribunal.”

    The former Nnewi North Local Government administrator said perpetrators of electoral malpractices disrespected his late father.

    He noted that the fraud  lent credence to the saying that “the Igbo don’t respect their leaders.”

    Emeka (Jnr.) said it would have been a different thing if he had been defeated at the polls, which he added was impossible, accusing the PDP of electoral fraud.

    His words: “We have enough evidence to prove that we won the Nnewi North/Nnewi South and Ekwusigo Federal Constituency seat.

    “We campaigned vigorously to deserve victory and our people voted en masse to ensure our victory. At the appropriate time, we shall reclaim our stolen mandate.”

    Emeka (Jnr.) alleged that PDP bigwigs stormed the collation centre at the INEC office in Nnewi South Local Government headquarters with written results when collation was on.

    He said they chased away INEC officials and ad-hoc workers and scattered INEC’s sensitive materials,

    adding: “It was in the course of that action that the fraud was committed in a commando style.”

  • Ezekwesili slams senate for confirming nominee

    Former Minister of Education Dr.Oby Ezekwesili criticised the Senate for confirming Senator Musiliu Obanikoro.  Reacting on his twitter handle, she said: “So despite #Ekitigate, our Senate confirmed the morally repugnant nomination of @MObanikoro as a Minister by our President? Shameless lot

    “The issue of @MObanikoro ‘s nomination&confirmation has no political context for Citizens for it is ENTIRELY about our VALUES as a people

    “Habitual acts of impunity by our political class IS NOT sustainable. A journey through world History is all they need to help them know so,” she posted on her Twitter page.

    But Ekiti State Governor Ayo fayose tweeted: “Congratulations to @MObanikoro as he is confirmed as a Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria by the National Assembly,” he wrote via his @GovAyoFayose handle.

    Obanikoro on his twitter handle said: “I want to use this medium to express my profound gratitude to my distinguished colleagues in the Senate for their kind support,” he said. “I am particularly grateful to the President of the Senate and other principal officers representing the Senate majority and minority.

    “I have no ill-feelings towards the Senators from Lagos who stood against me. Their position has amplified the strength of our democracy.

    “In times like these, we learn that there is no winner or loser and that our shared hopes are greater than the politics that divide us.”

  • Tinubu slams N150bn suit against AIT

    Tinubu slams N150bn suit against AIT

    •Olanipekun leads legal team

    National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) ,Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, yesterday filed a N150 billion libel suit at the Ikeja High Court  against DAAR Communications, owners of African Independent Television (AIT).

    Tinubu complained  to the court about  the contents of  a documentary aired by AIT which, according to him, is defamatory of his person.

    In the suit filed by Chief Wole Olanipekun,the plaintiff is praying the court to stop AIT from further broadcast of the documentary.

    Olanipekun said of  the plaintiff in the suit: “Tinubu  is  a leading  public figure in Nigeria and has served the country in various public offices,  including as Senator of the Federal Republic  of Nigeria and Governor of Lagos State for two terms.

    “Before venturing into politics and public service, the applicant had a very successful and unblemished  professional life and career and is a role model  to many people across the world.”

    Of  the contentious documentary, he said: “On Sunday, 1st March, 2015, the respondents  published and aired a documentary on the applicant titled ‘Lion of Bourdilion’ and has been producing it on a daily basis since then.

    “The said documentary is  libellous in the extreme, calculated and also sponsored to lower the esteem of the applicant and damage his hard-earned reputation.

    “The respondent  is unrelenting in its continuous broadcast of the derogatory  documentary  and will continue to broadcast same and further damage the towering  of the applicant if unrestrained.

    “The broadcast of the documentary by the respondnent has caused and is still causing the contents to be disseminated by various electronic,print and social media.”

    Also in Tinubu’s legal team is Dr.Tunji Abayomi.

  • Buhari at Chatham House: APC slams PDP, Presidency

    Buhari at Chatham House: APC slams PDP, Presidency

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday  condemned what it called   the needless resort to sheer hysteria by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)  and the Jonathan administration over the  appearance of the APC’s presidential candidate, General  Muhammadu Buhari, at the Chatham House in London on Thursday.

    National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said in a statement in London that  the PDP and the Jonathan administration were  “so stunned and stung by Gen. Buhari’s well-accepted presentation,” adding that  they “could have saved themselves from further disgrace by simply keeping quiet, instead of exposing their inanities.”

    ”For the spokesmen of the PDP and the Jonathan Campaign Organization to have rushed to the press to denounce what was a patriotic presentation by a high-regarded Nigerian is not only absurd but a new low, even for those who have lost every sense of propriety in their public actions and pronouncements,” APC stressed, pointing out that  “the  level of paranoia of the PDP and the Jonathan administration was so high, even before the General’s presentation, that they went to hire some poor folks to protest at the Chatham House over an issue they knew nothing about.”

    The party said it was just as well that the rent-a-crowd show boomeranged on the PDP/Jonathan administration, when those among the scanty protesters who were interviewed said they did not even know why they had come there, with some of them hiding behind their placards.

    ”The fact that the Jonathan administration wasted public funds in hiring people to protest against Gen. Buhari’s appearance is another indication of how the commonwealth has been consistently frittered away under the  clueless and incompetent Jonathan administration.”

    The APC wondered  who appropriated the funds that were “wasted on the uninformed and disinterested band of protesters.”

    It also described as the worst case of double standard for  spokesmen of the PDP and the Jonathan administration to question the basis for Gen. Buhari’s appearance at the Chatham House, when the same platform was used a few weeks back by the administration, which sent National Security Adviser Sambo Dasuki there to push for the postponement of the 2015 general elections.

    It said: “So it is OK for Dasuki to speak at the Chatham House, one of the most important platforms for any statesman, but forbidden for the APC presidential candidate to use the same platform? The needless vituperations of the PDP and the Jonathan megaphones against our candidate is precisely the reason the sinking ruling party and the  failed administration it sired have become the butt of jokes around the world.

    ”Instead of apologising for seeking to pull the wool over the eyes of Nigerians by saying that General Buhari went to London for medical treatment, these band of poor propagandists persisted in dancing naked in the public square. What a pity?”

    The APC hailed General Buhari for  his  “well-crafted, well-delivered and patriotic presentation, and his deft handling of the subsequent question-and-answer session at such a big-league platform as the Chatham House,” saying  that despite the barrage of personal attacks and death wishes by the PDP and its agents, the General’s stock has continued to rise both within and outside Nigeria.

  • Ex-envoy slams U.S. on arms purchase

    Former Nigerian Consul-General in the United States Joe Keshi has slammed the U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr James Entwistle’s statement on the country’s arms purchase blockade by America.

    Keshi described Entwistle’s excuse for blocking Nigeria’s arms purchase as “tactless and undiplomatic”.

    In a statement, titled: “America-Nigeria troubled relations”, he said it was unfortunate that Entwistle did not understand the seriousness of Nigeria’s security challenges.

    Blaming some politicians for trying to discredit the President Goodluck Jonathan administration and create a gulf between Nigeria and America, Keshi said the security challenges make it imperative for Nigerians to protect their country, regardless of their differences.

    The former permanent secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the American government, which failed in its promise to help Nigeria rescue the kidnapped Chibok girls, should not take a position that could demoralise the Nigerian military or denigrate the Nigerian government.

    Describing the American policy as “double faced”, the diplomat said: “No Nigerian should be impressed, misled or fooled by America’s excuses. There are credible evidence from official U.S. records indicating that America has, over the years, executed some of the biggest arms shipments, running into several billions of dollars to countries with abysmal human rights records, including brutal suppression of democratic dissents.

    “A number of countries in the Middle East, Latin America and Africa, including one whose recent history we all know too well, are beneficiaries of American military support.”

    Keshi wondered if America’s refusal to sell arms to Nigeria and its subtle blockade of same by other countries was an indirect way of hastening the fulfillment of a prediction that Nigeria would break up by 2015.

    He said: “In comparison, the United States is mobilising global support and spending billions of tax payers’ money in humanitarian and military support to prevent the total disintegration of a region it helped to destabilise.”

    On allegations of human rights abuses by Nigerian soldiers, Keshi said the U.S. government has also been accused of gross human rights violations by the Amnesty International. He queried whether “the definition of right and wrong is solely determined by what suits the narrow interest of the American government”.

    Keshi hoped that Nigeria would overcome the insecurity in the Northeast.

  • Buhari group slams Babatope

    Buhari group slams Babatope

    A political group, the Grassroots for Muhammadu Buhari, has condemned comments by a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain and former Minister of Transport, Chief Ebenezer Babatope, that “Ekiti people rejected Governor Kayode Fayemi and that the Ekiti State election was the beginning of the recapture of the Southwest by his party”.

    In a statement by its National Chairman, Remi Oyebamiji, the group also faulted Babatope’s claim that Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola lacks the character of the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo.

    It said the claims betray the integrity of a man once known as a progressive.

    The group said the truth about the June 21 Ekiti State governorship election would soon be unveiled.

    It said Ekiti people could not have voted against the All Progressives Congress (APC) in view of Fayemi’s “transformation of the state”.

    According to the group, Babatope no longer has a progressive mind since he joined the conservatives during the late General Sanni Abacha’s regime.

    It said: “Babatope has eaten the pie of untruth from the days of his romance with the late Gen. Abacha’s regime. He identified himself with the PDP, a place where he sits comfortably as a member of the Board of Trustees and Chairman, Governing Council of Yaba College of Technology – a reward for his betrayal of what he made people to believe he stood for many years ago.

    “Babatope belongs to Osun State where Aregbesola has recorded great achievements that have placed the state on the global mention and acclaim.”

    The group urged Babatope to have a rethink and return to “a position of equity, truthfulness, strong character and courage”.

  • Ladipo slams Eagles

    Ladipo slams Eagles

    President-General of the Nigeria Football Supporters Club (NFSC), Rafiu Ladipo, has slammed the Super Eagles for losing a “winnable match” against France in the last-16 of the 2014 World Cup.

    Ladipo stated that prior to the tournament, he was confident that Nigeria would surpass their previous performances in the competition, but he was left disappointed by their defeat to Les Bleus.

    “I was one of those who came here confident that we will surpass our previous World Cup record. Crashing out in the second round was to me not good enough,” Ladipo fumed.

    “We were there before 16 years ago and attaining that same feat here is really no big deal. Keshi and his boys had the opportunity to make history but they blew it.”

    Ladipo was also critical of the players who staged protests over bonuses prior to the game, accusing them of putting their personal interests ahead of the nation’s.

    “The match against France was winnable if only the team had remained focused before the game. But rather than look at the bigger picture and putting national interest first, the boys were more interested in money, which they got before the game. And with money in their pocket they felt whatever result they get in the game against France won’t be a big deal.”

    Ladipo insists Nigeria’s cause was not helped by what he described as coach Stephen Keshi’s poor selection of players for the mundial.

    “Keshi did not help himself by coming to Brazil with a good number of players who had no business being in the Eagles squad and leaving out players like Ike Uche and Haruna Lukman,” he added.

  • Islamic scholar slams Fed Govt’s inaction on Boko Haram

    A renowned Islamic scholar, Sheikh Sofyullahi M. K. Al-Adabiyy, has condemned the Boko Haram insurgency and Federal Government’s powerlessness to stop mindless killings in the land.

    Al-Adabiyy, who is also the Grand Mufti of Ilorin (Fadheelat Sheikh), spoke at the weekend in Oro, Irepodun Local Government Area of Kwara State, during the 30th coronation anniversary of the Chief Imam of Ijomu Oro, Alhaji Abdulquadri Al-Adabiyy.

    The grand mufti decried the abandonment of good governance for wealth and power.

    He said Boko Haram was not killing for Islam.

    According to him, the Federal Government’s failure to check the activities of the murderous sect is regrettable.

    Al-Adabiyy said: “There is wanton killing over worldly positions and power. But the government is yet to get Boko Haram despite all its power.”

    The Islamic scholar, who is the son of the late foremost Islamic scholar and founder of Ansarul Islam Society, Sheikh Kamalddeen El-Adabiyy, traced the nation’s current bloody travails to the abandonment of godliness and good virtues.

    The grand mufti noted that “from a nation of wealth and prosperity, we have become a nation of debts”.

    He said the governed should take part of the blame for the nation’s misfortunes, like the leaders.

    Al-Adabiyy said: “The government is bad; the leaders are bad. But are we, the followers, too good? You get the types of leadership you deserve. If you are good, you get good leaders.”

    The Islamic scholar noted that the solution to the nation’s crises is for Nigerians should seek God’s forgiveness.

    “We are paying for too many sins. We must stop the pursuit of worldly things and tread the path of Allah,” he said.

    The event was attended by several dignitaries, including Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed, who was represented by his Special Adviser on Special Duties, Alhaji Muhammed Aliyu Lade; the Oloro of Oro Kingdom, Oba Abdulrafiu Ajiboye Oyealaran1 and his Oloro-in-Council; the Chairman of Irepodun Local Government Area, Lukman Owolewa; the Special Adviser to the Governor on Communication Strategy and Oloriewe of Oroland, Alhaji Abdulraheem Adedoyin; the Senior Special Assistant on Land Matters, Alhaji Muyideen Abdulkadir and the Imam Agba (Chief Imam) of Oro kingdom, Alhaji Sanusi Taofeeq Abdul-Salam.

    Others included imams in Oroland, traditional leaders in Ijomu Oro, the Chairman of Kwara Professionals in Lagos, Prince Victor Kolade; its Secretary, Alhaji Wasiu odewale; the former Chairman of Irepodun Local Government Area, Alhaji Tajudeen Bada; the Chairman of Kwara State Mass Literacy Board, Chief Olabode Adekanye; religious and community leaders from parts the state and beyond.

  • NECA slams at regulatory agencies

    The Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA) has frowned at the activities  of some regulatory agencies, describing their operation as inimical to wealth creation.

    Speaking at a press conference in Lagos, the Director General, NECA, Dr. SegunOshinowo lamented the behaviour of federal regulatory agencies, which allegedly extort money from telecommunications companies, among others, before carrying out their official duties.

    He said the regulatory bodies should be open to dialogue with stakeholders at all times, stressing that dialogue is key to the development of any country. “It is only in this environment that regulatory agencies that have been set up to protect the interest of Nigerians would be adverse to dialogue, he said.

    He explained that the purpose of dialogue is to promote development and to give stakeholders the opportunity to make inputs in the way you do your job.

    He said the ultimate reason for creating the regulatory agencies was to ensure that products consumed by Nigerians were of good quality.

    “It is pretty difficult for me to connect to the way some of these regulatory agencies are slamming fines on companies and we do not see any changes in what they are trying to correct.’’

    Oshinowo, who also spoke on the security situation in the country, said that insecurity is a big problem that has affected businesses.

    On the privatisation of the nation’s four refineries, Oshinowo, said  the interest of Nigerians and what the country stood to gain in the long run should be paramount.

    He said privatization of the refineries would stop importation of petroleum products .

    “It is of no  benefit having  four refineries in the country  that are not working and so, the policy  would stop the importation of petroleum products,” he said.

    He urged government to be decisive and put the interest of the masses first and not the resistance of one labour union.

    “If privatisation of the refineries will promote efficiency in the downstream sub-sector by avoiding wastages through subsidy on kerosene and petrol,it should be encouraged,” he said.

    “There is nothing wrong in privatising the refineries if it will help save the huge money spent on their turnaround maintenance without any results.

    “If the refineries are not privatised, how can we stop the importation of fuel and get more Nigerians to invest in building refineries and creating jobs?, he asked.