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Tag: Zamfara governor

  • Marafa to contest for Zamfara governor

    Senator Kabiru Garba Marafa (Zamfara Central) has declared his intent to contest for Zamfara State governor.

    Marafa declared his intention to when the state executive of the All Progressives Congress (APC) paid him a sallah visit at his Yandoton-daji residence in Tsafe Local Government Area.

    The lawmaker, in a statement, said he would officially declare his intention later, adding that he was contesting following calls to do so.

    If elected, Marafa promised to fight corruption, injustice and provide the needed leadership to stimulate growth and development.

    He lauded Governor AbdulAziz Yari for admitting his failure to provide the needed leadership to tackle security challenges.

    He said: “If we provide security, our people will return to their homes and farmlands to do what they know best – farming. If given the needed support, we, in Zamfara, can feed the country with the enormous resources Allah has blessed us with.”

  • I’m not building hotel in Abuja, says Zamfara governor

    I’m not building hotel in Abuja, says Zamfara governor

    Zamfara state governor and Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum, Abdulaziz Abubakar Yari has denied reports that he was building a $3 million dollars hotel in Abuja with money stolen from the state shares of the Paris Club refund.

    The governor who said he neither owns a plot of land in the Abuja, nor is building a hotel in the city, described reports that he embezzled another N2.2 billion from the N19billion set aside illegally to pay “consultants”, as wrong, harmful, libelous and misleading.

    In a statement signed by the Head of Media and Public Affairs of the Nigeria Governors Forum, Abulrazque B. Barkindo, the governor expressed concern about reports by an online media quoting an unnamed source from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

    The governor condemned the resort to media trial of people by the commission, stressing that such attitude has led to the commission losing many high profile cases of corruption. 

    He said while the media is entitled to perform its duties as watchdog of society, which is enshrined in the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, it is not, however, entitled to make unfair attacks, based on unfounded, false and unsubstantiated allegations against responsible public office holders.

    The statement reads: “Reports on Governor Abdulaziz Yari Abubakar of Zamfara State, and Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum making the rounds in some online media which claimed that the “governor is building a $3m hotel from monies stolen from the Paris-London Club refunds to states” give cause for worry.

    “The reports contain harmful, damaging and libelous insinuations which remain largely unsubstantiated despite the fact that it attributes the leaks to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), officials in Lagos.

    “Governor Abdulaziz Yari Abubakar has said emphatically that he does not even own a plot of land in Lagos not to talk of a hotel. But the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission officials in Lagos claimed as follows: that “they have found a hotel being constructed by Governor Yari of Zamfara state with $3m he stole from London-Paris Club loan refund to Nigerian states.

    “That “apart from the $3million, Governor Yari also diverted N500 million from the Paris Club refund to pay off a loan”, an Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) source revealed to an online medium.

    “The medium also added that EFCC officials in Lagos revealed that “overall the governor embezzled the sum of N2.2 billion from the N19billion set aside illegally to pay “consultants”, all of which are wrong, harmful, libelous and misleading disclosures.

    “Governor Abdulaziz Yari is not building any hotel in Lagos nor were any monies stolen or embezzled from the Paris-London Club refunds to states or from any other source.

     “The online medium quoted the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) extensively as its source and the Nigeria Governors’ Forum is alarmed that the EFCC continues to feed the media fibs at the expense of its hard-earned reputation as the anti- graft agency that Nigerians used to respect.

    “This is perhaps why the EFCC has lost most of the high-profile corruption cases at the law courts after it had unfairly stage-managed media trials and caused their victims personal pain and public umbrage.

    “This report, typical of most of the exclusive leaks that are becoming characteristic of the sources that court some sections of the media, lacks detail and compelling evidence to be fit to print.

    “The sources were courageous enough to mentioned a hotel in Lekki area of Lagos but gave neither a street name nor any specific information on the property to give credibility to the allegations. This does no service to any investigation nor does it help the development of our country Nigeria.

    “The media, we all know, is entitled to perform its duties as watchdog of society, which is enshrined in the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It is not, however, entitled to make unfair attacks, based on unfounded, false and unsubstantiated allegations against responsible public office holders.

    “The media should support the EFCC in ensuring that convicting people on the pages of newspapers shouldn’t be the focus of the EFCC in its war against corruption. Instead, EFCC should channel its energies to comprehensive, thorough and credible investigation that can stand the scrutiny of legal examination in court.

    “There can be no claim to any semblance of due process when individuals are convicted on the pages of newspapers before they are arraigned only to be declared innocent at the end, all at the expense of their reputation and that of their immediate family, through such media hype.

    “The newspaper is not an alternative court, as far as our constitution is concerned, and all responsible journalists are obliged by the ethics of their profession to ensure that whatever goes into publication is verified and adjudged to be accurate.

     “I therefore urge, in the spirit of responsible journalism, balance and fairness, that journalists desist from absorbing hook, line and sinker scoops from fifth columnists whose actions are tantamount to dragging the reputation of the EFCC in the mud,” the governor said. 

  • Zamfara gov denies link with Buhari’s daughter

    Zamfara gov denies link with Buhari’s daughter

    Zamafara State governor, Abdulazieez Yari has denied report that he is romantically involved with a daughter of President Muhammad Buhari, Zarah.

    He also faulted media reports that he gave the President’s daughter $200million as gift and that he divorced one of his wives, Hadiza Umaru Shinkafi to accommodate Zarah.

    The governor said the reports published in two weekly publications – City People magazine and The Polity – were false.

    Yari’s position is contained in his letters to the publishers of the publications, accusing them of casting him in bad light and requesting them to retract the defamatory publications.

    The letters, dated 18 and 19 January, were written for the governor by his lawyer, Mahmud Magaji (SAN).

    Yari threatens to sue the publications for defamation, in which he would demand N100billion (in the case of The Polity) and N10b (against City People) should they fail to retract the publication and tender apology with seven days.

    Part of the letters read: ” The above publication, no doubt, is false and defamatory, and it is intended to bring the reputation of our client to ridicule and cause odium or malignity to our client.

    “Since the above publication, our client has received countless phone calls and text messages from family, friends, colleagues and associates, who incessantly call to enquire about the said publication.

    “Consequent upon the above, it is our client’s instruction that we demand from you published retraction of the said defamatory piece in three national newspapers inclusive of your own – City People, The Polity,” Yari said.

     

  • Supreme Court affirms election of Yari as Zamfara governor

    Supreme Court affirms election of Yari as Zamfara governor

    The Supreme Court on Friday affirmed the election of Malam Abdulazeez Yari of All Progressives Congress (APC) as governor of Zamfara.

    Delivering the judgment, the Justice John Okoro-led panel of six justices held that the petition lacked substance.

    “The grouse of the appellants in this issue, basically, is that there was over-voting and that because of that there was substantial non-compliance with the Electoral Act.

    “To prove over-voting, the law is trite that the petitioner must tender the voters’ register.

    “The court must also see the statement of result in the appropriate forms which would show the number of registered accredited voters and number of actual voters,’’ the court said.

    Okoro said the appellant must also relate each of the documents to the specific area of the case in respect of which documents were tendered.

    He added that the appellant ought to have shown that figures, representing over-voting, if removed, would result in victory for the petitioner.

    “From the finding above, I agree with the court below that the appellants failed woefully to prove over-voting in accordance with the principles laid down by law.

    “The reliance on the evidence of one of the witnesses through a document he did not make has not made any difference.

    “There is no doubt that a petitioner is entitled to contend that an election or return in an election be invalidated by reason of corrupt practice or non-compliance,’’ he said.

    Okoro, however, said that for a petitioner to succeed on the ground of corruption, he must prove that corrupt practices or non-compliance actually took place.

    He said the appellant must also prove that the alleged infraction substantially affected the result of the election.

    “There is need for a petitioner who alleges over-voting to lead concrete evidence to show that there was indeed over-voting and that it benefitted the winner of the contest.

    “Without doubt, over-voting in an election can be in favour of the appellant, the respondent or other contestants who participated and lost at the election but are not parties to the petition.

    “Therefore, the onus is on the petitioner to show that the over-voting was in favour of the respondent and that it was as a result of the over-voting that Yari won the election,’’ he said.

    Okoro said: “in this case, the appellants alleged that there was over-voting by 86,045 votes.

    “Assuming that the appellants were able to prove over-voting by that figure, a reduction of that number from the score of the first respondent (Yari) put at 716,964 votes will not make any difference.

    “It means that the appellant would attract a total of 201,938 votes which would not have changed the position of the result of the election and that Yari would still be left with 630,919 votes.

    “Having resolved all the issues adopted for determination of this appeal against the appellants, it is crystal clear that this appeal is devoid of any scintilla of merit and is accordingly dismissed.

    “I uphold the decision of the Court of Appeal delivered on Nov. 12, 2015, which upheld the judgment of the trial tribunal.

    “I therefore, award costs of N100, 000 against the appellants in favour of the first and second respondents,’’ Okoro ruled.

    Alhaji Mahmud Shinkafi, the candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the election, had approached the apex court to challenge the decision of the Appeal Court in Sokoto that upheld Yari’s victory.

    The petition was anchored on the grounds that there was want of the 21 days statutory notice given to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) before the conduct of the APC governorship primary election.

  • Leadership is ANPP’s biggest problem – Zamfara governor

    Leadership is ANPP’s biggest problem – Zamfara governor

    Zamfara State Governor, Abdulaziz Yari, on Thursday said lack of pragmatic leadership was responsible for the dwindling performance of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) since the 1999 general elections.

    Yari, elected under the ANPP platform, made the remark in Gusau when he received a committee set up by the Board of Trustees to determine the party’s support base nationwide.

    “Since the beginning of this democratic dispensation in 1999, only the ruling Peoples Democratic Party and our party, have national spread and acceptability, but because of leadership problem, the party is dwindling by the day.“

    The governor said considerable number of “high braw personalities” within the ruling PDP cross carpeted from the ANPP, adding that it was an indication that something was wrong with the past leadership.

    “The problem of ANPP is not that of lack of membership but how the leadership could mobilise the followership to attain electoral victory, “the News Agency of Nigeria quoted the governor as saying at the meeting.

    He, however, said that in spite of the challenges, the party has a bright electoral future and remains the only viable opposition strong enough to wrestle power from the ruling party.

    He called on the ANPP national leadership to come up with strategies to rejuvenate the party and fast track its electoral fortunes as a frontline political party in the country.