The Nation Newspaper

Tag: trade words

  • Atiku, minister trade words over use of state resources for campaign

    People’s Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar has accused President Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressives Congress (APC) of using state resources for electioneering campaign.

    It is all lies, Information and Culture Minister Lai Mohammed said.

    Besides, the president has said he would not open the treasury for campaign funding

    Atiku said Buhari and the APC had been acting contrary to claims by the President that he would not use state resources for election.

    In a statement yesterday by his Media Adviser, Mr. Paul Ibe, the PDP presidential candidate called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to sanction the President and the APC for violating the constitution and the Electoral Act.

    The statement said: “Recall that the National Chairman of INEC, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, had in December of last year warned incumbent office holders against using state resources or apparatuses for their campaigns, or deploying same against their opponents.

    “Prof. Yakubu, who issued the warning at a lecture titled: “Political corruption and other emerging issues for the 2019 elections” in Abuja, noted that the commission has the power to monitor campaign financing and sources of funds according to the Constitution and the Electoral Act 2010 as amended.

    “However, in negation of the constitution and the Electoral Act 2010 as amended, the Buhari administration and the APC have taken to the illegal deployment of state resources to its advantage for the election.

    “We wish to remind President Buhari and the APC that the use of state videos released by the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture is illegal under the Electoral Act 2010 as amended.

    “The media is awash with advertisements with the hashtag #PMBDIDIT and signed by the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture and referencing so-called achievements of the APC administration in the states of Abia, Kwara, Lagos, Ebonyi, Delta and Kano, among others.”

    These, Atiku said, were without doubt, 2019 presidential campaign materials produced by the Ministry of Information and Culture using state resources and apparatuses to benefit President Buhari.

    “This appalling conduct, which is clearly in violation of Section 100 of the Electoral Act, is even more shocking when it is recalled that the state resources being used to the illegal advantage of President Buhari are being drawn from agencies which for over three years, prior to this election, failed to perform their duties to the benefit of Nigerian citizens. The Ministry of Information and Culture must stop this illegality immediately.

    “We demand that INEC issues an immediate cease and desist order to both the Ministry of Information and Culture and to the broadcast channels running it.

    “We also insist that INEC register the media spend behind it as part of the APC’s total N1 billion campaign spend limit.”

    It urged INEC to warn the ruling party to refrain from such conduct.

    “Now that the party has clearly flouted the law in negation of the electoral umpire’s warning, we urge that INEC sanctions them accordingly,” the PDP said.

    Atiku, also yesterday in Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital, in continuation of his campaign for the forthcoming presidential election, pledged that women and youths will constitute 70 per cent of his cabinet, if elected president on February 16.

    He said youths will constitute 40 per cent of his cabinet while women will have 30 per cent, noting specifically that the Minister of Sports will not be more than 30 years of age.

    The former vice president, however, cautioned the ruling APC and security agencies over any plot to rig the forthcoming general elections, even as he called on electorates to shun religious politics.

    Atiku has also restated his commitment to the total defeat of the Boko Haram insurgents in Borno, Yobe and other parts of the Northeast geopolitical zone.

    Mohammed, last night, denied that Buhari’s administration is using state resources to fund the President’s re-election.

    He said the allegation by Atiku Campaign Organisation and the PDP amounted to suffering from acute paranoia.

    He said the massive achievements of the Buhari administration have rattled PDP and the Atiku Campaign Organisation.

    The minister said: “It is up to those who made the accusation on the use of state resources for electioneering campaign to prove it, in line with the maxim that he who alleges must prove.”

    In a statement through his Special Adviser on Media, Mr. Segun Adeyemi, the minister said the PDP candidate’s action was  an acknowledgement of the administration’s impressive achievements.

    The minister said: “In publicising the activities and achievements of the Federal

    Government, the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture is only carrying out its statutory role. Long before the elections, the ministry has used various platforms, including Town Hall Meetings, to publicise the activities and achievements of the administration.

    ”We understand that the PDP and the Atiku Campaign Organisation have been rattled by the achievements as well as the effectiveness of the campaign to publicise them. We are sorry we can’t help them.”

    He, however, expressed surprise that the PDP that said the Buhari government has not achieved anything has now turned around to admit that the media is awash with video testimonies from Nigerians on the administration’s achievements.

  • Ajimobi, Shittu in war of words

    MINISTER of Communications Adebayo Shittu yesterday accused Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi of being afraid of him (Shittu).

    He said Ajimobi was afraid because of going to jail if he succeeds him in office, owing to mismanagement of the state’s resources.

    But the governor said it was the minister, who should be afraid because of the allegations against him.

    Shittu, who spoke to reporters during his visit to the All Progressives Congress (APC) national secretariat in Abuja on the outcome of the party’s ward congresses, said: “I want to say that if anybody is desperate in the Oyo political firmament, it should be Governor Ajimobi, who believes that if Barrister Shittu succeeds him, he will be in jail. That is what he is reported to have always told people who mentioned me to him.

    “He thinks that I am too principled, firm, unbendable and uncompromising when it comes to the issues of morality. It is he who is desperate to stop me, not me being desperate to become governor.

    “The rules are clearly there and like somebody who believes in the rule as a lawyer and man of law and order, if I follow the rules to contest the primaries in a free, fair and credible poll and did not win, I will take up something else.

    “I am not desperate to become the governor of Oyo State. It is the other way round because the governor is desperate to stop me for whatever reason.”

    On whether he had taken advantage of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu’s APC Reconciliation Panel to bring about a solution to the disagreement between him and the governor,  the minister said: “I can say straight away that I am like any other Nigerian that heard that a committee was constituted. No invitation was extended to me for any purpose of discussions, negotiations, reconciliations or whatever. Nobody can blame me for that.”

    Shittu said Ajimobi had failed in so many things “including human relations and others I cannot say openly in the media”.

    He queried: Why is he afraid of going to jail if another Buhari like me comes to power in Oyo State? Why is he afraid of primaries?”

    However, a statement issued by Ajimobi’s Special Adviser, Communication and Strategy, Mr. Bolaji Tunji, quoted him as saying that the minister should be the one to be afraid of going to jail in view of the damaging allegations made against him by all his aides, who resigned en mass following his refusal to pay their emoluments.

    “In any case, Shittu should be the one that should be afraid of going to jail in view of many allegations made against him as minister. Few of these are his alleged illegally-acquired property in Ibadan and Abuja and sudden unexplainable and stupendous wealth not commensurate with his emoluments.

    “In addition, his recent attempt to covert and appropriate a parcel of land belonging to Saki community, which was stoutly resisted by his own people, has shown his level of greed, avarice and penchant for appropriating what does not belong to him.

    “Governor Ajimobi remains a distinguished senator of the country who had successfully traversed the corporate world and got to the peak of his career as the Managing Director and Chief Executive of a multinational; a position that requires a high degree of integrity, ability and capability.

    “All these attributes have reflected in the way he has successfully managed the affairs of the state in the last seven years, which has transformed the face and fortunes of the state and had attracted unmatched number of investors to the state.”

    The governor advised aggrieved stakeholders in the just concluded ward congresses to explore the party’s internal organs for seeking redress rather than engaging in actions capable of further sowing the seed of discord within the party.

    As leaders and stakeholders in the party, the governor said it would be counter-productive to engage in actions and utterances that tend to further divide the party, adding that he would on his own part keep doing the best for Oyo State.

     

     

     

  • APC, PDP trade words over state of the nation

    APC, PDP trade words over state of the nation

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday traded words over the state of the nation.

    The chairman of PDP’s Caretaker Committee  described  March 28, 2015 as a day Nigerians voted scam as change.

    Referring to the presidential election that brought in President Muhammadu Buhari , Makarfi said Nigerians were deceived and lied to by the ruling party.

    A statement by the spokesman of the Caretaker Committee, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, said Buhari’s election has left a scar in the lives of Nigerians.

    The statement said:  “Two years after, Nigeria is worse off than the APC met her in 2015. Our economy hibernated; the institutions are bastardized and reduced to personal estates of some officials in government; prices of most basic commodities sky rocketed beyond 200%; electricity is scarce and no concrete plans to improve on the structures left behind by the PDP administrations.

    “Insecurity is on the rise though with constant grandstanding that it has ‘technically defeated boko haram’; unbearable and confusing high foreign exchange market; increase in petroleum products against static income; INEC acting as one of the departments of the APC; constant misuse of most security agencies against citizens; the dilemma of herdsmen attacks and daily displacements of communities unhindered; lack of transparency and accountability in government business; harassments of high ranking judicial officers, etc.

    “The list indeed is endless! Nigerians are witnessing the most cruel, insensitive and clueless government in the history of this country. It is obvious that the promise of ‘change’ by the APC before 2015 elections was misunderstood by Nigerians.

    “We believe that the electorate who voted the APC on this fateful day misunderstood its ‘change’ promise to mean positive change but unknowingly, the APC actually promised negative ‘change’.

    “No doubt, it’s a reversal of all the achievements of the PDP administrations, and the squandering of our collective destinies through pursuit of shadows. Disastrous!

    “For the record, Nigerians have been scammed and we want to use this opportunity once again to remind Nigerians of the Mid-Term Report of the former President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, GCFR, in May 2013 to compare the two years of this APC led governmnet since May 29, 2015.

    “Finally, we wish to commiserate with all the families of those that the APC’s induced hardship and challenges led their loved ones to commit suicide in the last couple of weeks. May their souls rest in peace. As a party, we believe in prosperity for all, good governance and the well-being of all citizens of this great country, Nigeria”.

    But the APC reminded the PDP that even though Nigerians have forgiven the years of misrule and mismanagement of the nation’s resources, they have not forgotten how they party left the country in ruin, leaving the people in a state of insecurity.

    APC National Publicity Secretary of the APC Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi said Nigerians have not forgotten how corruption was practically legalised under the PDP government.

    Abdullahi said the APC decided not to dwell on the plethora of PDP sins, but to pick up the pieces and build a country that every Nigerians will be proud of, pointing out that while Nigerians are always ready to forgive the PDP for what they did to the nation, they will Abdullahi said: “All Progressives Congress (APC) finds Wednesday’s statement attributed to Mr. Dayo Adeyeye, the purported spokesperson of a rump of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) quite regrettable.

    “As a Party that was formerly in the opposition, the APC is aware of the role a thriving opposition can play in sustaining democracy. However, it appears that the marginal group that Adeyeye belongs believe that it is only by attacking the APC that it can find its relevance or gain the upper hand in the PDP’s internecine war.

    “We need to remind Adeyeye’s group however that although Nigerians may have forgiven the PDP, two years after the Party left the country in ruins, but we have not forgotten.

    “Nigerians have not forgotten that it was under the PDP-led administration that the terrorist group, Boko Haram seized a sizable portion of Nigeria’s territory, created a Caliphate and hoisted its own flags.

    “It took the APC-led government of President Muhammadu Buhari to reclaim our territory and pride. Today, Boko Haram insurgents are virtually defeated and are on the run, and no millimetre of Nigerian territory is currently held by the insurgents. We have forgiven, but we have not forgotten.

    “Under the PDP, a Party that does not consider corruption to be stealing, corruption enjoyed an unprecedented prosperity. Nigeria recorded some of the most unimaginable, shocking and astounding cases of corruption ever experienced in our history, or in the history of any country.

    “Funds meant for the procurement of arms and ammunition required to fight the Boko Haram insurgency were stolen by agents of government and shared among themselves. It was a classic case of kleptocracy.

    “The PDP-led administration was sending soldiers to battle without weapons and sharing the money. Worse still, when soldiers protested the lack of weaponry, the PDP-led administration added wickedness to weakness and court-martialled them, sentencing some of them to death, and others to long terms of imprisonment.

    “If Nigerians have gracious enough to forgive the PDP for the wanton corruption, we will not forget.

    “Nigerians also remember that it was under the nose and watchful eyes of the PDP that over 250 Nigerian girls were abducted.  It took the Party more than a month to even make a statement. PDP went about bandying conspiracy theories while innocent Nigerian girls were being held in captivity.

    “Again, it took the APC-led administration to rescue some of the girls, while efforts are ongoing to free the rest. Yet, PDP had the audacity to counter the globally acclaimed hashtag, #BringBackOurGirls with their terribly insensitive #BringBackJonathan. We are willing to forgive even this; but we cannot forget.

    “Nigerians will not forget that under the PDP, over 20 Nigerian youths died and thousands were seriously injured while looking for jobs. the PDP-led administration organised a fraudulent Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) recruitment exercise and lured young people desperate for jobs to various stadiums across the country after extorting them.

    “In the end, the exercise ended in tears, sorrows and blood. None of those who survived got the job and, worse still; the officials responsible for the calamity were protected by the PDP. We cannot forget.

    “Nigerians remember that under the PDP, whistle-blowing was a crime.  When a former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor exposed the stealing of $20 billion from the national treasury, he was suspended and hounded out of the government. We have not forgotten.

    “If we have not been talking about this plethora of PDP iniquities, it is not because we have forgotten. Instead, we have chosen to pick up the pieces of the PDP wreckage and move the country forward. This, we have endeavoured to do in the last two years since Nigerians unanimously rejected the PDP for their wanton profligacy and misrule.

    “Nigerians are a forgiving people, and that is why a self-appointed spokesman of what is left of the PDP could have the effrontery to make the kind of statements attributed to Adeyeye. But Nigerians will not forget in a hurry, the years of the locust.”

  • Rivers PDP, APC trade words over Odili, wife

    Rivers PDP, APC trade words over Odili, wife

    The Rivers State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and All Progressives Congress (APC) are trading words over Dr. Dakuku Peterside’s comments on the Supreme Court judgment affirming Governor Nyesom Wike’s election.

    PDP Chairman Felix Obuah said Peterside’s claim  that Wike had foreknowledge of the Supreme Court judgment affirming his election was “absolutely false and misleading”. He berated Peterside for his comment on former Governor Peter Odili and his wife, Justice Mary Odili.

    APC’s Publicity Secretary Chris Finebone said Obuah lacked the moral fibre to raise his voice against Dr. Peterside.

    Obuah, who spoke yesterday in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, said Sir Peter Odili and his wife, a Justice of the Supreme Court, had nothing to do with Wike’s victory.

    He said: “Dr. Peter Odili and his wife, Justice Odili are worthy citizens of Rivers State, who deserve the respect and regard of Rivers people, having worked tirelessly to etch their names on the marble.  The generality of Rivers people owed the couple a duty to protect and guide their name jealously.

    “The people of the state remain eternally grateful to the Supreme Court for foreclosing Dakuku’s ambition to continue to cause crisis in Rivers State. The judgment of the apex court was indeed an act of God.”

    Finebone said Peterside and Rivers people would only take notice of Obuah and what he had to say after he addressed the allegations against him.

    The Rivers APC chairman, through his Senior Special Assistant (SSA) on Media and Public Affairs, Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, said Peterside never insulted the Odilis.

    Ikanya said: “Rivers PDP chairman is totally wrong. Dr. Dakuku Adol Peterside never insulted the Odilis. Obuah could not interpret correctly the statement by a credible doctoral degree holder and respected gentleman from Rivers State, who has proved himself as a better leader.

    “Dr Peterside only reacted to the insinuation by Wike that the Odilis were the forces behind his Supreme Court victory. Obuah, who is also the helmsman of the Rivers State Waste Management Agency, should try and busy himself with how to clean the dirty environment Wike’s administration has bestowed on Rivers State as a legacy.”

    The APC yesterday said the PDP was planning to scuttle the March 19 rerun, with a faceless group to be used to file a case in court.

    Finebone, in a statement, said: “We have confirmed that the intention of Governor Nyesom Wike is to employ an unknown group to scuttle the elections, to further create chaos in the polity.

    “The unnamed faceless group being activated by Governor Wike to embark on the exercise is expected to file a suit asking the court to declare as illegal, the March 19 elections, claiming that the date was outside the mandatory 60 days pronounced by the Courts of Appeal.

    “The APC condemns this wanton act of political misbehaviour by the governor. The party believes that the ripple effects of his planned action may become his waterloo, despite the gains he may be envisaging.”

    The state PDP’s Publicity Secretary, Samuel Nwanosike, could not be reached, while the Special Assistant to Wike on  Electronic Media, Simeon Nwakaudu, did not respond to calls or messages.

    The election petitions tribunals and Courts of Appeal ordered rerun in the three Senatorial, 12 of 13 House of Representatives and 22 of 32 House of Assembly seats.

    The elections, initially fixed for February 6,  were shifted to March 19.

  • Govt, group trade words over Chime’s picture

    The Enugu State Government has described as lamentable, efforts by a group in the state to create doubts over the authenticity of a picture of Governor Sullivan Chime and three other governors that was published in most national dailies last Wednesday.

    Governors Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom), Gabriel Suswam (Benue) and Chibuike Amaechi (Rivers) were shown in the picture standing and chatting with Governor Chime in London on Tuesday, last week.

    But a group, which called itself Save Enugu Group said the picture was fake.

    Although two members of the 5-man group agreed that the picture was real, three others, Maxi Okwu, Willy Ezeugwu and Eneh signed a statement that the picture was fake.

    But in a statement signed by Chief Press Secretary to Governor Chime, Chukwudi Achife, the government dismissed the claims made by the group.

    It said that the group insisting that the picture was fake was “another desperate and futile effort to deceive the public.”

    He said that though the government, ordinarily would not have wished to take issues with anyone on such a clear matter, it was appalled by what he described as the group’s regrettable effort to impugn the integrity of the governors who had appeared with Chime in the picture as well as that of the newspapers that published it.

    The statement reads: “The claim by the so called Save Enugu Group, that a picture of Governor Chime and his Akwa Ibom, Benue and Rivers counterparts in London was fake can only be described as lamentable.”

    A member of the group, Ray Nnaji had praised the government in releasing the picture.

    Nnaji described the development as a good omen because “we can now heave a sigh of relief that at least we know where our governor is.

    Nnaji, however, condemned the earlier media hype that the governor was on vacation.

    “Now that we know his whereabouts, our concern has been assuaged.”

    The debate in Enugu has now shifted from the whereabouts of the governor to when he will return.