APC has been terrifying right from 2015 still now by the grace of God come 2019 we will defeat APC
SteveAde123: OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT MUHAMMADU BUHARI
A CALL TO STOP ATROCITIES AGAINST POLITICAL OPPONENTS BY SECURITY AGENCIES
Dear Sir,
Our democracy is once again imperiled by the high level of impunity and illegality being exhibited by the leadership of the All Progressives Congress in connivance with willing collaborators in the Executive. What is telling is not what is happening but the dead silence of the President and Commander in Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, General Muhammadu Buhari. The aloofness of the President in the face of injustice, intimidation, harassment, open attacks, persecutions and police and security siege against innocent citizens ought to warrant the President’s response with the aim of righting the wrongs being perpetrated by the top echelon of the party using security and anti-graft agencies to fight and cow political opponents.
Mr, President, as the Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, you cannot feign ignorance about the atrocities being perpetrated by agencies under the Presidency. You cannot claim not to have known of the illegal deployment of the police to supplant the leadership of the Senate - which is an arm of government, constituted to make laws for the order and good governance of the country. Democracy which is the only thing going for this country at the moment is being brutally assaulted and subverted by direct agents of your administration. I dare say that democracy and its survival in Nigeria today is squarely in the hands of General Buhari. Your aides may deny your direct and indirect involvement in the ongoing reign of terror, injustice, harassment, torture, intimidation, attacks against perceived political enemies under your government, but I doubt if history will toe the lines of your aides when the time of reckoning comes.
I must say that it is General Buhari’s duty, as President and C-In-C of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, to ensure that the laws of the land are not obeyed in breach. To ensure that the police and EFCC treat political opponents - now turned accused persons - as innocent until they are proven guilty by a court of competent jurisdiction.
Sir, you cannot claim ignorance of the rising inferno of impunity and tyranny in the country as we approach the 2019 general elections. You cannot claim not to know that his agents are muzzling the opposition through physical and psychological attacks, trumped up criminal charges and kangaroo trials and imprisonments in order to forcefully procure their support and loyalty for your reelection bid. Your aides may deny your involvement in the ignominious saga, but Nigerians know the truth. Nigerians know that the state security architecture has been sufficiently mobilized to ensure that you stand the next election unopposed just like Adams Oshiomhole was recently coronated as the National Chairman of the APC without contest.
For instance, the police and EFCC had unsuccessfully ambushed and blocked the two presiding officers of the Senate just to prevent a switch by some APC lawmakers to other political parties in the Red Chamber. The police invaded and blocked APC lawmakers in the state House of Assembly that defected to PDP alongside Governor Samuel Ortom only in order to pave way for renegade members to sit and purportedly issue an impeachment notice on the governor. Barely few minutes after Governor was purportedly served an impeachment notice, the EFCC suddenly realized that it had allegations of fraud against him and 21 members of the House loyal to him. Haba! Is anybody still in doubt where the country under General Buhari is headed?
What you must know, Mr. President, is that by virtue of your position, you are custodian and protector of the Nigerian nation and whatever evil is done under your administration will be directly credited to you in history. The more reason you must of necessity rise to the occasion and ensure respect for human rights, due process, rule of law, freedom of speech and association as enshrined and guaranteed by the nation’s Constitution. Besides, a few members in the Imo State House of Assembly have purportedly removed the Deputy Governor of the State, Eze Madumere. Ekiti State was invaded by the army and security operatives deployed from Abuja just to ensure that Kayode Fayemi won the governorship of the state. Today Nigerians openly condemn Police highhandedness against the President of the Senate, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, the EFCC’s siege and intransigence against the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, Police Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) treatment of Nigerians, police and EFCC attacks on Ortom and 21 members of the Benue State House of Assembly loyal to him Police and Senator Dino Melaye, the list goes on and on.
I dare say that now that the police have been converted into a gestapo organization, where lies the safety and protection of innocent citizens? The APC is killing our democracy in connivance with elements in your administration and therefore I want to call on you to urgently put a stop to these undemocratic activities of the police and all partisanship tendencies by security agencies purportedly acting at your behest. The security agencies must stop meddling in purely political affairs and face their constitutionally assigned roles. Let them face their security jobs and let politicians face their politicking. The use of the police to commit illegality under your watch is detrimental to the to the peace and security we all crave in this country.
The desperation and the penchant to crush political opponents with a sledgehammer under the guise of security operatives is a complete negation of accepted democratic principles across the world. This is why I cannot but call on you to save our country and democracy by calling the police and other security agencies to order or in the alternative, risk Nigerians rising to defend our country and democracy from annihilation. Mr. President, let me inform you that the cabal in your administration dragging Nigeria’s democracy into the gutters don’t broach any opposition. They are arrayed against Nigeria and her people. They preach change but perpetuate evil. They mouth democracy, but in reality they are autocrats, tyrants and dictators. They are true and living disciples of Machiavelli. The nation’s democracy is of certainty heading for the rocks unless good and patriotic men rise to save her from the iron claws of these buccaneers and ravenous wolfs in sheep clothing, starting with you sir.
With best regards.
Yours sincerely,
Comrade Timi Frank Former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the APC timifrank40@gmail.com 07033555555
since 2015 till date Nigerians have experienced the worst administration ever so many killings civilians lack access to democracy brutality of the officers on individual, lack of jobs etc.
emmysa1212: I would have been silent over the used of federal power as demonstrated by PMB, which was used to subjugate and induced the people of Ekiti to support his political party that lacks leadership skills, full of propaganda and obscurantism. I weep for Nigeria, I cry for Nigeria, I am sorry for Nigeria and I see Nigeria falling gradually if our leaders continue to use power in such manner. Power should be exercise in developing the country, it should be use in making the people of Nigeria see reasons to support government, it should be use in making Nigeria a great nation. In Nigeria power is rather used to oppressed the poor masses, to crushed enemies, to fight those who fight for the masses, to fight those who stand against government evils, to steal from government treasury and all forms of maladjustment. All these things are reasons why Nigeria will fall, Nigeria will crumble if power is not been used for the good of all. Buhari and APC are happy for using security agents and Nigeria's 2018 budget to rig Ekiti election, while hundreds of innocent Nigerians are killed daily by herdsmen and Boko Haram, upon all these, many Nigerians are happy with PMB's injustices. How can Nigeria be better? How can Nigeria develop? why won't Nigeria be rated a country with the highest number of people living under extreme poverty rate when the money budgeted to solve problems are used for personal aggrandizement. Daily, APC government will say they are generating a lot of money from taxation, recovering looters money, etc, yet Nigerians are still suffering, No jobs, no light, no good water, no good roads, no security and so on and on. I just want all Nigerians to see this message as reality of the hitherto events that need to be readdress, if not Nigeria may find herself in an inescapable delima. We must as a nation, stand against any government, that do not have the interest of the general masses and the nation at large in its agenda. Nigeria is our country, Nigeria is a great nation but if we do not protect it from the hands of diabolical leaders, then we should be ready to face our doom.
it unfair and ungodly to remove political figure an aspirant for 2019 presidential election, this is democracy not a one man ruling rights and law must be obeyed
SteveAde123: There are many undemocratic events going on in this country under this Buhari led administration, what is baffling me is what is going on in Adamawa state right now, concerning the bill-board of Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo who many groups have been promoting to become the next president of Nigeria, which his gigantic performance as the governor of Gombe state kept everyone silent.
To dive to the nitty-gritty of the event that triggers this write up, the executive governor of Adamawa, His Excellency Bindo Jibrilla has given an order for the bill-board of Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo to be removed, even after demanding the sum of one million naira (#1million) which was paid. This act of political hatred is done to ingratiate himself with Buhari.
The governor of Adamawa state is forgotten too quickly that; the president whom he is trying to ingratiate had his (Buhari) bill-board been placed in all the states of the federation before he was elected the president of Nigeria. PDP was ruling vitally in all the country both in federal and state level before Buhari became the president of Nigeria, no one removed his bill-board, no one destroyed his pictures, so it is expected for every states to show that same democratic maturity to anyone who is vying for any political position as guaranteed by the federal republic of Nigerian constitution to be allowed to place their political advert in any state they feel like, whether is their state of origin or not, or political party or not.
The Buhari led administration should not be afraid of someone else coming to take over power from them if they believe they have delivered the promises made to the people cum delivered the dividend of democracy to the people of Nigeria. Democracy is like a free market; where traders bring their market goods to the market for people to make a choice of the kind of goods they want to buy, if one trader is feeling that he alone have the monopoly to sell his/her goods in the market its then become restricted area no longer a market, therefore, if democracy is a government that allows freedom of expression and a government that gives leverages to all qualified candidates to context for any elective position in the country no one have the right to stop such a person, especially when the person has fulfilled all the necessary demands.
Governor Bindo Jibrilla should not allow himself to be seen as an enemy of democracy just as the world is watching sensitively all the democratic deviances of this government, Dankwambo bill-board has been paid for the space which is mounted it should be allowed till the time which it was agreed before it should be removed, giving order for it to be remove will not be the only way to please the president but doing what he was elected for should be his focus. If he continue to push for the removal of Governor Dankwambo’s bill-board it means he is indirectly telling Nigerians that Dankwambo will win Buhari so he is scared of that not to happen.
Good work Bayelsa state government developing beyond imagination
BayelsaLegacy: Irish Ambassador Visits Bayelsa, Attributes High Oil Output To Stability In Niger Delta; Restates Preparedness To Partner Int’l Community On Oil & Gas
Bayelsa State Government is to sign a Global Memorandum of Understanding with Shell Petroleum Development Company, (SPDC) on the Gbarain/Ubie Gas plant, a multi-billion dollar project, which is the largest investment in Africa.
Speaking while receiving the Irish Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Sean Hoy in Government House, Yenagoa, the State Deputy Governor, Rear Admiral Gboribiogha John Jonah (Rtd), expressed the Government’s preparedness to partner the international community, in seeking ways the state can benefit maximally from the oil and gas industry.
A statement issued on Wednesday by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr. Francis Ottah Agbo, quoted the Deputy Governor as lamenting the non-participation of Bayelsans in the oil and gas industry, which he said was a major cause of agitations in the Niger Delta area.
Rear Admiral John Jonah, who noted that, "we are not carried along in the oil and gas industry, emphasized that, the Niger Delta peoples’ participation in the industry is almost zero."
The Deputy Governor, who lauded the Irish envoy’s efforts to prevail on oil companies towards giving the Niger Delta people a fair share of the oil proceeds, said the state government would liaise with them, in resolving issues with the multinational oil firms.
Describing the devastation to the environment caused by the activities of oil companies as enormous and unquantifiable, Rear Admiral John Jonah said, a study is being carried out by experts on the extent of damage to the environment and the people.
The Deputy Governor, who sought the collaboration of Ireland in the development of the Agge Deep sea port, education and Eco-Industrial park to build an economy beyond oil, also urged the international community to monitor the forthcoming general elections nationwide.
In his remarks, the Irish Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Sean Hoy, said they were in Bayelsa to interact with the state government and its people at the grassroots, as regards security issues.
Mr. Hoy, who commended the state government for its efforts at sustaining peace, attributed the high oil production level to the current stability in the Niger Delta.
"I was here in August, 2016. My predecessor never came to this area because he was afraid of insecurity and I believe that, if you are afraid insecurity, you will never learn.
"It is important for us to understand the dynamics of the Niger Delta. This is the economic heart of Nigeria. I want to congratulate all those involved in stabilizing that situation because Nigeria is now almost at peak production in terms of oil production on a daily basis.
On next year’s general elections, Mr Hoy said a team of international observers would be involved in monitoring the elections as well as provide support to promote a free, fair and peaceful polls.
In his contribution, an official the Missionary Attaché in the Irish Embassy, Father Kevin O'Hara, stressed the need for oil companies to adopt international standards in their operations in the Niger Delta.
Father O'Hara said he has been interfacing with communities in the Niger Delta, called on oil companies to improve their relations with host communities to bring about lasting peace and stability.
"Very soon SPDC is going to sign a GMoU with Gbarain/Ekpetiama cluster communities. This is the biggest multi-million dollar project in Africa in your backyard. Therefore your people should be benefitting very well."
APC administration has always been steps backward trying to jeopardized PDP officials, this shows how incompetent the cabal is instead of accepting their failures as a lost aged men who can't handle the lives and property the citizen they are here running after a lost case.
UcheSecondus: FOLLOWING what he perceived as a clampdown on opposition by the President Muhammadu Buhari-led All Progressive Congress (APC) federal government, the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus, has expressed the readiness of all the party leaders to go to jail and has therefore challenged the president to come for them.
His declaration came at the heels of the arrest and detention of former Benue State governor, Gabriel Suswam by the Department of State Security (DSS).
Secondus, who was speaking while leading the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) to play host to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar at the national secretariat of the party in Abuja on Friday, revealed that the party has dispatched its governors to interface with the DSS over Suswam’s detention.
The party boss declared President Buhari a failure, saying that Nigerians were yearning for a return of the former ruling party. He, therefore, said the only way to meet the expectations of the citizens was for the party to ensure free, fair and transparent primary elections at all levels to regain the confidence of the people.
from the reign of APC administration it has always been from one blame to another,A party full of unqualified leaders always throwing shades at PDP just to trigger unwanted party and individual conflict,Instead of trying to stop the blood spree of the innocent citizen.
UcheSecondus: …plans NEC meeting over arrest, intimidation
…cautions FG on cattle ranches
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is to hold an enlarged National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting over the intimidation and arrest of its members by the Federal Government.
It said the safety, personal freedom and well-being of Nigerians, particularly, opposition members, are no longer guaranteed. The party also advised the Federal Government to hold consultations with stakeholders over plan to establish cattle ranches in some parts of the country.
PDP National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, at a press conference yesterday, alleged clampdown on opposition leaders and perceived opponents of the President Muhammadu Buhari by the Federal Government. According to him, the All Progressives Congress (APC) is now deploying every machination to cause confusion, heighten political tension by hounding and arresting of opposition leaders on spurious allegations.
“There are fears and trepidation everywhere. The safety, personal freedom and well-being of Nigerians, particularly, opposition members, are no longer guaranteed,” Ologbondiyan stated.
The PDP spokesperson noted that part of the plot is to link opposition leaders and dissenting voices with the widespread killings in various parts of the country, forgetting that President Buhari had earlier blamed the attacks on invaders from late Muammar Gaddafi’s Libya, while Director General of Department of State Services (DSS), Lawal Daura, blamed it on herdsmen from neighbouring countries.
“Having failed in their corruption smear campaign against the PDP and many notable Nigerians, the APC and the presidency cabal have now devised a devious machination to rope in, frame up, implicate and ultimately incarcerate marked opposition leaders and other dissenting voices over fabricated security charges.
“The wicked clampdown has started. Only on Wednesday, we were made aware of the arrest and detention of former Benue State governor, Hon. Gabriel Suswam, who has been kept incommunicado without access to his lawyers, while the Federal Government is not forthcoming with the details of the reasons behind the arrest and detention.
“However, we know that his arrest and detention is intended to put him out of circulation, so that he will not take part in the mega meetings of our party planned for the North Central states,” Ologbondiyan said.
He expressed the fears that other opposition leaders and dissenting voices have been placed under watch and would be dragged in and framed up on security charges, so as to keep them out of circulation ahead of the elections. Ologbondiyan recalled that former President Olusegun Obasanjo had earlier raised alarm of alleged plots by the Buhari administration to frame, arrest and detain him indefinitely on trumped up charges, attributing it to his criticisms and open rejection of the administration for its failures and manifest misrule.
“The world is also aware of the numerous alleged plots by the APC and its Federal Government to frame up and humiliate Senate President Bukola Saraki, Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremmadu, Senators Dino Melaye and Shehu Sani, as well as Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike and his Ekiti counterpart, Governor Ayodele Fayose. “Also, there are concerns about the safety of former Chief of Army Staff and former Defence Minister, Gen. Theophilus Y. Danjuma (rtd), following the fear expressed by Wike that Gen. Danjuma’s life might be in danger after his comments in March, this year, on possible complicity of the State in the killings in Taraba State. “Only on Wednesday, an explosive device was discovered at the Ebonyi State PDP secretariat, either planted to blow up our secretariat and kill our members or to set up our leaders.
“These attacks, threats and intimidation targeted at influential Nigerians, particularly, past leaders, show clearly that the APC and the Buhari presidency are very scared of their inevitable defeat in the 2019 general elections and now seek to apply all machinations to overheat the polity and ostensibly frustrate the process,” he added. He disclosed that the PDP NEC meeting would take “far-reaching decision on the next line of action, within the ambit and the provisions of the law, regarding the harassments and intimidations of citizens under the Buhari administration.”
On ranches, PDP noted that the situation has already generated discordant tunes and acrimony among major stakeholders, groups and states across the country, particularly relating to issues of funding and land ownership.
“The PDP is particularly worried by the lack of adequate consultations by the Federal Government resulting in the disagreements that have trailed the plan, especially along ethnic divides,” he said.
He called on the Federal Government to get its acts together and follow all due processes, as stipulated by the laws and 1999 Constitution (as amended) regarding this issue, in order to eliminate the current disagreements being generated, adding that the nation has witnessed enough disagreements, violence and bloodletting.
transparency has been a key figure to his Governance, and he has kept to that we cant thank him enough for a job well done since becoming Governor of Bayelsa state.
BayelsaLegacy: .......As Traditional Ruler Exposes late Level 10 Health Worker Who Earned N600,000 per Month.
Bayelsa state government has called for active participation of whistle blowers to support its efforts at sanitizing the public service.
This is coming on the heels of the revelation by traditional ruler from the Ekeremor local government area that a grade level ten health worker was earning as much as N600,000 monthly.
The traditional ruler revealed further that after his demise, fictitious names were fixed on the payroll to make up until the atrocity was discovered by the staff verification committee.
Speaking at a town hall meeting at Ekeremor Town on Tuesday, the State Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Hon. Daniel Iworiso-Markson said the present administration would not relent in its efforts to sanitize the Public service and make it one of the best in the Country.
He expressed the present administration readiness to partner with individuals, especially those that have useful information on the activities of the pay roll fraudsters in the state public service.
The Information Commissioner expressed confidence that the ongoing public sector reforms would enable government to save funds to commence the payment of gratuities and other welfare packages before the end of the present administration.
Mr Iworiso-Markson said funds that were hitherto spent on the payment of non-existent workers would be prudently managed to ensure that all genuine workers and retirees receive their earnings as and when due.
According to him, the reforms were helping to cut the wagebills of both state and local councils and therefore expressed hope that the process would strengthen government to embark on more infrastructural development.
Mr Iworiso-Markson who thanked the Chiefs and people of Ekeremor for cooperating with government in maintaining peace in the area, urged them to sustain the kind gesture to enable government take the Sagbama-Ekeremor Road to Ekeremor main town by December this year.
Recounting the gains recorded from the reforms, the Caretaker Chairman of Ekeremor Local Government Council, Mr Tolu Amatu, noted that the Council wagebill has been reduced from over N90billion in 2016 to its current N64billion.
While appreciating Governor Seriake Dickson and the Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Mr Iworiso-Markson, for initiating the interactive meeting, Mr Amatu assured government of the people's readiness to support the reforms.
Speaking on behalf of traditional rulers from the area, the Paramount Ruler and Amapere of Ekeremor, Chief Agbodo Gbaseimo, endorsed the public sector restructuring exercise, describing the continued stay of over-aged workers as unpatriotic.
On his part, the member representing Ekeremor Constituency 1 at the State House of Assembly said the bill seeking to give a legal backing to the reforms has reached advanced stage, noting that once signed into law those who commit fraud in the public service would be punished accordingly.
In his remarks, Special Adviser to the Governor on Political Matters Two, Hon. Ayiba Duba, reassured the people that the reforms would free up space for more employment opportunities.
While restating that no genuine worker would be adversely affected by the exercise, Hon. Duba decried a situation where workers attend verification exercises without their original higher school certificates several years after graduation
Also speaking, the Chairman, Ijaw Youths Council, Central Zone, Comrade Tari Porri, and Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Ijaw Language Development, Chief Mitini Tamaraumieyefa cited developmental projects in the area particularly the Sagbama-Ekeremor Road as reason the people would continue to support the reforms.
Others who endorsed the reforms include the Chairperson, Bayelsa State Scholarship Board, Mrs Rebecca Suowari, the Governor's Special Representative in Ekeremor Council Area, Mr Japan Udoji, a youth leader, Mr Chris Ebi Etolor and a representative of the Bayelsa Graduates Forum, Mr Kennedy Olorogun.
Dickson Henry Governor of Bayelsa state has been extraordinary,inordinate, in transforming Bayelsa into Habitable system with this amazing project it has created more jobs opportunities for the youths and for the nations as well,Also attracting more foreign investors and the means of export and importation.
BayelsaLegacy: The Bayelsa Government on Saturday said its ongoing multi-billion naira Cargo Airport Project would be finished before the finish of August.
Mrs Josphine Akpama, the Director of the State Airlines, unveiled this during an inspection tour of facilities at the airport by the elders from Amassoma Community in Southern-Ijaw nearby government territory of the state.
Akpama said the airport project sited in Amassoma was a part of the state government's efforts to reposition it for a stronger economy as one of the oil rich states in the country.
She said that the contractors were working hard to guarantee that they met with the finishing date of the project by August.
A portion of the airplane terminal offices that were examined incorporate the 3.5km runway, the cook's garment, the fire bay, the control tower, the terminal building, the power station among others.
“The governor has given a date, which is August and that is the target; as you can see that every facility here is almost ready; the runway is 75 per cent completed, the terminal building is 85 per cent and the fire bay is also getting set,” the director said.
king Oweipa Jones-Ere, the Ebenanaowei of Ogboin Clan, in Southern-Ijaw Area described the project as inspiring and promised to help and ensure the offices.
Jones-Ere said that the economic important of the airport to thepeople could not be over-emphasised.
“I am happy that this project is sited in our community and I believe it will empower our people when it is completed because there will be jobs for the youths.
“I urge the youths to desist from disturbance and support the progress work in the project,” he said.
Mr Joseph Douyie, the youth president in the area said he would mobilize his people to keep up peace and serenity in the area.
"The youth are ready to work with the government to secure and preserve the airport facilities; we, the entire youths commend our dear governor, Seriake Dickson on project," Douyie said. (NAN)
we are of the same skin colour,we are of the same believe,we are Africans, we are blacks, no matter the differences lets allow love and peace to rain happy #Eidmubarak to all the Muslims all over the world.
BayelsaLegacy: The Bayelsa State Government has congratulated Muslim faithful in the state and across the country on the successful completion of the Ramadan.
A statement by the State Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Daniel Iworiso-Markson enjoined Muslims to live in peace with one another irrespective of any differences.
He said as they celebrate Eid-el-Fitri, they should uphold the vital lessons of love, peace and perseverance which the holy month teaches and also called for more prayers for Nigeria.
Iworiso-Markson equally urged Muslims to pray for the nation's leaders to remain focus in the discharge of their duties for the overall interest of Nigerians.
The Commissioner stressed the need for religious tolerance which he noted will engender peaceful co-existence, unity and a prosperous Nigeria even as the 2019 general elections draws near.
the APC administration is busy running after PDP over unseen case of corruption,why the real corruption is within them self, instead of tackling the serious insecurity issues going on in the country under there failed Administration.Obviously the lives and properties of this great country is never the APC obligation or interest. APC MUST GO
UcheSecondus: ........says the Commission now APC tool for 2019
National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Prince Uche Secondus has berated the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission EfCC for their unconcealed bias in their execution of the anti corruption war in the country.
Prince Secondus said that the recent arrest and harassment of contractors handling projects in only PDP states has clearly exposed the anti graft agency as doing the bidding of the ruling party ahead of 2019.
The PDP leader said in a statement from his media office and signed by his media adviser Ike Abonyi that the EFCC has deployed its operatives to intimidate and harass contractors handling various projects in some PDP states with the motive of frustrating their project goals which have visibly placed them far ahead of the colleagues in APC states.
Prince Secondus expressed regrets that the Commission has remained beclouded in their bias and has refused to heed the advisories from well meaning Nigerians and international watchers including the recent one from the British High Commissioner to Nigeria Mr. Paul Arkwright for them not to take sides with any political party ahead of the 2019 general election.
According to the High Commissioner, "INEC and EFCC should be there to preserve the integrity of the political process, including taking investigations without prejudice on one side or the other"
PDP boss noted that the Commission rather than listen to such counsel, has instead made themselves a willing tool to assist the drowning APC ahead of 2019 general elections.
Rather than encourage states who are seriously involved in the delivery of democracy dividend to their people, the envious ruling APC has been conniving with the relevant agencies to be harassing contractors ostensibly to frustrate and slow them down in their development strides.
"Contractors in Taraba and Rivers states as well as other PDP states are being harassed by EFCC operatives and are being arm twisted to implicate PDp leaders"
" Intelligence is available to the party that the ruling party and the federal government have resolved to ensure that PDP states are permanently put on their toes so as not to get their bearing ahead of 2019.
It would be clear to the world and discerning minds that PDP governors are doing fantastic jobs executing projects that touch the lives of their people unlike their APC counterparts
In some states like Taraba where projects have been halted as a result of EFCC meddlesomeness, the unemployment situation has worsened.
Prince Secondus reiterated the position of the PDP that corruption should be confronted frontally in our system but warned that meaningful result would never be achieved in this regard in an atmosphere of bias and double standards from anti corruption agencies.
Secondus regretted that the anti graft agencies which was indeed set up by the PDP administration to tackle the corruption vice in our system independent of the ruling government has made themselves a willing tool in the hands of the APC"
He charged PDP state governors to remain undaunted and refuse to be intimidated in the service of their people.
Finally, Prince Secondus called on the international communities to note the growing impunity where anti graft agencies now usurp the over sight functions of the state Houses of Assembly.
Honorable Dickson has almost fulfilled all promises made by him since emerging as Bayelsa state Governor since 2011.
BayelsaLegacy: The Governor of Bayelsa, H.E Dickson is inspecting ongoing housing & market Projects and Pledges to build more to decongest Yenagoa. He also assures workers on timely completion of housing projects.
Bayelsa State Governor, Honorable Henry Seriake Dickson has guaranteed workers on the timely finish of the ongoing low cost housing units in Ayama and Agbura in Southern Ijaw Local Government and Yenagoa Local Government Areas of the state.
He said on completion, the projects will decongest Yenagoa, the state capital and also bear the cost of low salary workers the chance to claim moderate and better than average homes.
Governor Dickson expressed this subsequent to examining the progressing development of lodging units in Ayama, Kpansia market and the site for the proposed showcase at Igbogene, Yenagoa, calling attention to that, when finished, it would manage the cost of low wage workers the chance to possess reasonable and decent homes.
In an announcement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr. Francis Ottah-Agbo, the Governor, who communicated fulfillment with the level and nature of work done, noticed that the tasks are extremely special to government as they are targeted at the common man.
As indicated by the governor, the housing units would be subsidized to empower government workers procure them.
He commended the Commissioner for Housing and Urban Development, Mr. Julius Otele and his group for an occupation well done, guaranteeing that, more finances would be made accessible for the working of additionally housing units.
He stressed that, the housing estate in Ayama would be one of the greatest, in Bayelsa state, as well as around the South-South district, promising that the units would be finished and put to use soon.
Governor Dickson likewise expressed that more markets would be built, while others under construction would be finished, to empower Bayelsans claim shops, to promote entrepreneurship, which is vital to the development of the state.
He additionally praised the Chiefs, women and youth of Ayama community, who turned out in their numbers to welcome him amid the inspection, for their show of solidarity and for giving the required security to the government's investments in their general vicinity and urged different community to emulate them.
His word ”I’m here on a working visit to projects that are very dear to our hearts. We believe in delivering services for our people. The market that we inspected as well as the low cost housing estate are projects that are very special to us because they are targeted at the common people. These are the people we are working to serve. I’m quite satisfied what I have seen on ground as it is an encouragement to do more”.
“You will see more markets being built, those already started will be completed and put to use. We want our market women who have been very supportive to own shops so that they can trade and by that way promote entrepreneurship which is key to the development of our state”
“This housing estate will be one of the biggest, not only in our state but around the south-south. This project and the one we are building at Agbura will go a long way when completed, in decongesting our crowded state capital. But importantly, it provides an opportunity for low income earner to not only live in an affordable, decent home but also have an opportunity to own them”.
“This houses are going to be sold at subsidize rate, to the common people of Bayelsa, those who may not be able to buy land and build good houses in our very own challenging terrain”.
“Let me thank and appreciate the Chiefs, women and youths of Ayama community for their show of solidarity and for protecting government’s investment in their area. I urge other communities in this state to emulate Ayama community”
Honorable Henry Dickson has really done extremely well for the people bayelsa state
BayelsaLegacy: The road when completed will serve several communities in Nembe Local Government Area Council which will aid movement of Farmers,Market Women and it will also make it easier for the government to bring developmental innovation to the community.
keep up the good work sir, you are laying a legacy not to forget.
BayelsaLegacy: As part of his campaign promise and also having a son of the soil in the person of Rear Admiral Gboribiogha Jonah as the deputy Governor of the state, the construction of the road is dear to H.E heart.
The Roundabout and road construction in Nembe town is a fulfilment of promise made by the joint ticket of Dickson/Jonah.
Dankwambo is simply a man of methodology,modus operandi, he is a patriotic Nigerian also a patriotic leader,with what he has accomplished within his tenure as Governor of Gombe state he is surely a knowledgeable candidate come 2019
Dankwambo42019: This video is making the rounds that I called on my supporters to vote for President Buhari’s re-election. This video was my Democracy Day 2015 speech where I asked the people of Gombe to support the then newly elected President.
Dankwambo administration on assumption of office ensured that he restored peace and orderliness in Gombe State. Today, the hitherto restive state is enjoying unparalled peace and unity among its many diverse ethnic groups. People now walk along the streets without any fear of molestation, intimidation or harassment. which such individual our country is in a safe hand.
Dankwambo42019: ALHAJI IBRAHIM HASSAN DANKWAMBO: A BETTER CHOICE BEFORE NIGERIANS?
It is true that a golden fish has no hiding place. The professional, political and public service career of national and global leaders are always in public domain. Their performance or lack of it stands them out as the populace, public affairs analysts and social affairs commentators are wont to publicly and vocally assess their varied contributions to the socio-economic wellbeing of the citizenry at large.
The above musing aptly describes the dynamic and highly resourceful Governor of Gombe state, Dr Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo, FCIB, FCA, OON, (Talban-Gombe) within the backdrop of a higher calling that is currently tolling its bell on him ahead of 2019. For the consummate technocrat, cerebral chartered accountant and super-achieving administrative helmsman par excellence, much has been written and chronicled on his superb and superlative infrastructural and developmental exploit as well as his groundbreaking reforms both in Gombe state as the incumbent chief executive officer and the office of the Accountant General of the Federation that have repositioned and recalibrated the said offices for a more credible, responsive and efficient service delivery to the people and the nation at large.
Much of the publicity has been unsolicited as the unassuming and largely self-effacing Talban Gombe believes in silent and unheeded achievements, with solid and indelible administrative reforms and infrastructural projects on ground to speak for themselves rather than engaging in undue media hype or sensational headlines that are the province of many a politician.
However, much as Dankwambo might want to avoid the public limelight, his tremendous and all-encompassing performance at various levels of governance and administration has attracted unprecedented adulation and encomiums to the extent that no less an influential and prescient man of God, the famed Catholic prelate, Father Ejike Camilus Mbaka, has predicted that the 2019 presidential mandate rests squarely on the broad shoulders of the highly respected Gombe state helmsman. The revered cleric did not mince words while prophesying that Dankwambo has the wherewithal to take Nigeria decisively and unerringly out of the woods of despair, despondency and decay that the APC-led federal government has plunged it since coming to power on May 29, 2015.
In an unequivocal and straightforward celestial pontification, Father Mbaka predicted that the savvy and articulate Dankwambo will inherit the presidential crown in order to repeat the magic that he has performed in Gombe state and at the federal level in order to bring the country closer to the standard of living and economic attainment of advanced countries in the global comity of nations; no more, no less. With the pronouncement of the Catholic priest who is renowned for the authenticity and fecundity of his prophecies and who has never for once met Dankwambo in person, the whole political configuration, calculation and permutations for 2019 has been inexorably altered.
At the moment, the vast majority of the nation’s citizenry are lining up, locked in step behind the fortuitous and auspicious candidacy of the Gombe political wonder who defied all imaginable odds to emerge the only re-elected PDP governor in the whole of the North despite the fact that the rival APC swept the region in a massive tsunami during the 2015 general election.
Indeed, the Peoples Democratic Party leadership seems galvanized by Father Mbaka’s earth-shaking prediction affirming that Dankwambo is eminently qualified to assume the mantle of presidential leadership at any time and that his candidacy must come as a huge relief for legions of the party’s faithful as well as millions of ordinary Nigerians who are craving for a credible alternative to the directionless leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari and his fellow travelers in APC. Without doubt, the last man standing, as Talban is affectionately referred to, won in Gombe on the basis of merit, hardwork, competence and exemplary performance.
He touched the lives of the people of the state in all material spheres, be it in road infrastructure, health, education, power, water supply, rural development, agriculture, manpower development and women or youth empowerment. All these sectors have been decisively and positively affected by Dankwambo’s No-Citizen-Left-Behind policy. All the eleven local government areas of the state have felt the impact of the visionary leadership of the governor. For instance, immediately after the 2015 elections, the first set of roads that were constructed Dankwambo where in the enclave of his defeated APC gubernatorial rival, Alhaji Inuwa Yahaya This was in consonance with admirable mantra of Politics Without Bitterness of the Talban Gombe.
Indeed, the infrastructural revolution embarked upon by the indefatigable governor has been unprecedented throughout the nation, dwarfing those of Lagos, Rivers, Akwa Ibom among others, on an income per capital ratio, given the fact that Gombe State receives a paltry N2 billion per annum as federal allocation compared to the over N15-N30 billion naira received annually by the aforementioned oil-producing states.
Tens of thousands of kilometers of urban and rural roads have been completed while a lot more are under construction. Hundreds of hospitals, maternity and health centres, primary, secondary and Arabic schools have been either constructed or rehabilitated with adequate supply of hospital equipment, drugs, desks, chairs and laboratory equipment respectively. In the agriculture sector, tremendous progress has been attained with fertilizer, seedlings, farm implements, tractors, harvesters, planters, sprayers and many more supplied or leased to agrarian farmers at highly subsidized rates to boost agricultural production in the Jewel of the Savannah.
Dankwambo’s youth and women empowerment programme is also a complement to his development agenda for the state as tens of thousands of women and youths have been trained in fish farming, rabbit and poultry production, bee keeping, hair dressing, barbing, sewing, tying and dying, soap making, as well as confectionary skills.
All these are geared towards enhancing their income-generating and self-sustenance status. Thousands of graduates and other categories of staff have been employed in the Gombe State public service ever since the Talban Gombe assumed office on May 29, 2011.
Indeed, to catalogue the length, breadth and scope of the landmark administrative, infrastructural and developmental exploits of the Last Man Standing is beyond the breadth of this treatise, but it is fair to surmise that the nation needs, as a matter of urgency, the leadership sagacity of Governor Dankwambo, as well as his depth of experience, vision, vigour and fortitude to pilot the ship of the Nigerian State to safer and calmer shores come 2019.
Highbrow: I have seen a lot of people make this statement "vote Buhari out and vote who in?" and I wonder over their senselessness and lack of love for this country.
One of the implications of this statement is that Buhari is the ONLY one who can rule Nigeria well. Well, I think it is stupid to assume that it is only Buhari that can rule this country well when we have over 160 million Nigerians.
Another implication of this is that since the assumption is Buhari is the only one who can rule this country well, he should rule forever. This is too emotional and stupid! We are not at Buhari's mercy.
Remember that Buhari won the election just because Nigerians as a people got tired of Jonathan even though Nigerians were head over heels in love with him in the beginning!
Governor Dickson is really doing a superman job in Bayelsa state,who could believe Bayelsa state would one day have planes take off and land more grace to the Governor of Bayelsa state
BayelsaLegacy: The Bayelsa State International Airport Project along Amassoma/Tombia Road in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area.
The Project which started in 2012 by HE Henry Seriake Dickson with a 3.5 kilometers runway which is said to be amongst the best in the country Once completed, the airport will provide connections between the rapidly-growing state and the rest of Nigeria, and neighbouring regions.
Dickson said the airport project which was the brainchild of his administration has now been scheduled for completion by the second quarter of this year as the earlier date for completion (2019) is too late.
Obviously the dark days are coming to an end 2019 is definitely the year of positive change
UcheSecondus: Address of the PDP National Chairman Prince Uche Secondus at the inauguration of the Ekiti State Governorship Campaign Council at the Party Hqs Wadata Plaza, Abuja on Monday' JUNE 4, 2018.
Protocols.
May I in the name of God, the omnipotent welcome you all to this very important gathering marking the inauguration of our party's campaign council for the July, 14, 2018 gubernatorial election in Ekiti state.
The caliber of names drawn up as members of this council shows in an unmistaken terms the importance the party attaches to this exercise.
Ekiti state means so much to our party because of the strategic position it occupies in that geopolitical region and the fact that it's a test run election ahead of Osun state governorship election in September and the general elections in less than one year from now.
Ordinarily given the enviable achievements of our party in the state in the area of delivering democracy dividend to the people in the last three years under the leadership of our able irrepressible Chairman of PDP Governors Forum, Chief Peter Ayodele Fayose, Ekiti should be a smooth contest for us, but intelligence available to the party shows that the All Progressives Congress, APC is planning in their own words to "capture Ekiti at all cost"
Part of the costs has started manifesting with the shooting carried out at their own rally on Thursday last week which happened to be a continuation of the violence they launched on themselves and the state since their primaries last month.
Because of their desperation, a hitherto peaceful state of Ekiti has been turned into a war zone for a party whose electoral presence in the state is very negligible if any at all. Your Excellences, this campaign council has a gigantic task of achieving one thing, to ensure that the electoral desires of Ekiti people are realized.
Your work basically is to harness the aspirations of Ekiti people and ensure that their will prevail.
Recently I have had to challenge President Muhammadu Buhari to be at the forefront for the campaign for one-man-one vote ahead of 2019 because the indicators out there are not palatable.
The signs are there for all to see that the attitude of the ruling party is that of a drowning man desperate to survive and whose posture is 'if I cannot make it let me go down with others'
The heightened heat in the polity right now in the country is unnecessary if the APC administration is willing and equipped to face the electorates, but where it's obvious that they have nothing to offer to get the votes of Nigerians, they are resorting to all devious means to undermine the democratic process.
Information available to us shows that in Ekiti, they are trying to use all skillful underhand means to achieve goals but the people are well charged to not only come out to cast their votes on July 14 but that they are ready to defend it. At this juncture, let me warn that if there is any attempt to thwart the will of the people in Ekiti state, there may be no general election and the entire democratic process will be in endangered.
I recall drawing the attention of APC recently to the negative aspect of our history associated with trying to obstruct the will of the people as willingly expressed through the ballot box. I tried to let them know that Ekiti state shares in that history when the then second republic ruling National Party of Nigeria NPN attempted to use their federal controlled might to hijack power from the then Unity Party of Nigeria UPN that was on ground in the old Ondo state for which Ekiti was part.
Men of wisdom had long told us that the easy way to repeat history is to refuse to learn from it. I charge APC leadership to take time and read our political history and know that the route they are headed are akin to that of the NPN days if not worse. APC has no positive record in Ekiti state to warrant their thinking that they could win election and they know this as a fact.
We are aware of the scheming going by the ruling party to connive with the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC, to rig election and the commission should brace up for the consequences that accompany such despicable act.
I wish therefore to call on the international community and all lovers of democracy to show more than passing interest in what is going on in Nigeria today and watch as our democracy is being violated and ambushed.
In this country now, the opposition and anybody holding dissenting views from that of the small clique of persons hanging on to power today have been marked either to be framed up for criminal offenses or for corruption.
A sitting Governor in Rivers state, Nyesom Wike had cried out recently that there is attempt to assassinate him but his case was treated with levity only for Nigerians to witness a high profiled failed assassination attempt in Ekiti last week at a rally.
PDP is also privy to a very strong rumour of a secret grand plan of the APC government where a special killer squad is being trained and armed to kill opponents and disperse rallies especially in the area where they expect PDP rallies to intimidate their own.
The motive of all these deliberate Police state being established by the ruling party is obvious; to distract and disorganize the opponent to enable them hold on to power and establish one party state.
Never, not even in the draconian days of the military rule was number three citizen of the country and an incumbent governor framed up for armed robbery. This government has become a frame up administration. Senator Rabiu Kwakwaso's aide was locked for weeks where they were searching for things to frame him up; Senators Dino Melaye and Shehu Sani have all been framed up for being vocal against unjust system being perpetuated by this administration government.
The deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu has had his guest house ransacked where they were looking for something to frame him up.
Despite their immunities, Governor Wike has had to seek court protection to halt search in his house. Governor Fayose has just alerted the nation of plans to frame him up in the APC rally shooting. Nigerians should watch and be ready for the sacrifice to save not just our democracy but the country. What is however certain is that victory is ours in the end because Nigeria cannot afford this APC journey any longer.
We hear that they want to know where we are deriving our confidence and our response to them is that our power comes from God the giver and taker of all things and to the people of Nigeria who are distraught with the underwhelming level of governance in the country in the last three years.
Your Excellences, I wish you result filled exercise and I therefore inaugurate the council. Prince Uche Secondus National Chairman of PDP
He realized his mistake early enough to return to his parents home which is PDP
emmysa1212: Senator Dino Melaye resume the red chamber today with a shocking cross carpeting to the side of the PDP. This move is considered by many political analyst as a gargantuan plus to the People's Democratic Party the major opposition party. It is becoming more glaring and conspicuous that the APC are liable of loosing the 2019 general election, as many many other top former PDP members who ran to the APC in 2014 are purportedly making plans of coming back to PDP before the end of June.
APC is nothing but scam bunch of old grandfathers who want to die in power
emmysa1212: NO MORE LIES! NIGERIANS ARE NOT FOOLS. – By comrade Johnson
As the general election in Nigeria is fast approaching, many political parties like the All Progressive Party (APC), will be thinking on another method of enticing Nigerians especially the susceptible ones and those who are unable to face the reality of political intrigues, to support them and some new manifestos that may be introduced by the party. With the reality on the level of awareness Nigerians are climbing daily on social media and other socializing platforms like television, radio, churches, mosque etc, it is obvious that the APC government will find it very difficult to convince many Nigerians that they will do better in their second term when voted. The minister of information Mr. Lai Mohammed in one of his comment on Channels Television has said that; “It will be very easy for APC to win the 2019 election because they have fulfilled their campaign promises”. In a critical analytical terms, there is nothing hidden nor nebulous for Nigerians to know that virtually all the promises made by the APC government has not been fulfilled. Many Nigerians that advocated for change are now being regretting that; they would have all supported the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) government who was in power to continue in the light of development which the country was already toing. Even the suspended National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressive Congress Comrade Timi Frank in his copious letter to President Mohammadu Buhari, stated his apology to the former President GoodLuck Ebele Jonathan for his misconception towards Jonathan’s simplicity and liberalness in a glaring terms. It was like a shock to many Nigerians for the first time, to experience an economic term called ‘recession’. The people of Nigeria witnessed the worst starvation in the APC government, herdsmen killings, abduction of innocent Nigerians, etc. It should not be too astonishing to the All Progressive Congress (APC); that they may not get more than 30% votes from Nigerians, due to the fact that Nigerians have now test both The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the APC, they have their tested fact result on ground. Nigerians are not fools, they will use facts on the promises the APC government promised Nigerians in 2015 to know if they have been able to fulfill just 30% in their first tenure to vote in 2019. I don’t even expect Nigerians to be talking of another political party apart from the PDP to come back to power considering the fact that; PDP government was able to lay physical legacies which even the APC government is enjoying today, because the same way the APC came and convinced Nigerians jettison with the PDP so also other Parties are planning to do, but the only Party that has been tested and can do better is the PDP. Below are enlisted promises of the APC which are unfulfilled. 1. Public declaration of assets and liabilities 2. State and community policing 3. Ban on all government officials from seeking medical care abroad
4. Implementation of the National Gender Policy, including 35% of appointive positions for women
5. Revival of Ajaokuta steel company
6. Generation, transmission and distribution of at least 20,000 MW of electricity within four years and increasing to 50,000 MW with a view to achieving 24/7 uninterrupted power supply within 10 years. 7. Empowerment scheme to employ 740,000 graduates across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory. 8. Establishment of a free-tuition and scholarship scheme for pupils who have shown exceptional aptitude in science subjects at O/Levels to study ICT-related courses 9. 720,000 jobs by the 36 states in the federation per annum (20,000 per state) 10. Three million Jobs per year 11. [In another policy document by the APC] we will embark on vocational training, entrepreneurial and skills acquisition schemes for graduates along with the creation of a Small Business Loan Guarantee Scheme to create at least 5 million new jobs by 2019. 12. Churches and Mosques would not pay taxes under national laws, but if they engage in businesses, the businesses would pay tax. 13. Provision of allowances to the discharged but unemployed Youth Corps members for Twelve (12) months while in the skills and entrepreneurial development programme 14. Making our economy one of the fastest-growing emerging economies in the world with a real GDP growth averaging 10% annually. [In another instance, the APC promised 10-12% annual GDP growth] 15. Creation of a Social Welfare Programme of at least Five Thousand Naira (N5000) that will cater for the 25 million poorest and most vulnerable citizens upon the demonstration of children’s enrollment in school and evidence of immunization to help promote family stability 16. Recruitment and training of at least 100,000 officers into the Nigerian police force and establish a Federal anti-terrorism agency. 17. One free meal (to include fruits) daily, for public primary school pupils 18. Building an airport in Ekiti state 19. Eradication of state of origin, replacing that with state of residence to ensure Nigerians are Nigerians first, before anything else. 20. Establishment of Crime Squad to combat terrorism, kidnapping, armed robbery, militants, ethno-religious and communal clashes nationwide 21. Working with the National Assembly towards the immediate enactment of a Whistle Blower Act 22. Economic stability for the ECOWAS nations and maintaining a strong, close and frank relationship with West Africa, South Africa, UK, USA, Canada, and other African countries 23. Establishing a conflict resolution commission to help prevent, mitigate and resolve civil conflicts within the polity. 24. All political officer holders earn only the salaries and emoluments determined and approved by the Revenue Mobilization and Fiscal Commission RMFAC. 25. Permanent peace in the Niger Delta and other conflict prone areas such as Plateau, Taraba, Bauchi, Borno and Abia. 26. As against fears in some quarters, Buhari while speaking with catholic bishops in Abuja back in February, promised not to Islamise Nigeria. 27. Nationwide sanitation plans to keep Nigeria clean 28. Preserving the independence of the Central Bank 29. Simplifying immigration process to foster faster visa processing at points of entry. 30. Special incentives to facilitate the education of the girl child 31. Full implementation of the National Identification Scheme to generate the relevant data. 32. Making Information Technology, Manufacturing, Agriculture and Entertainment key drivers of our economy 33. Balancing the economy across regions by the creation of 6 new Regional Economic Development Agencies (REDAs) to act as champions of sub-regional competitiveness 34. Putting in place a N300bn regional growth fund (average of N50bn in each geo-political region) to be managed by the REDAs. 35. Amending the Constitution and the Land Use Act to create freehold/leasehold interests in land along with matching grants for states to create a nationwide electronic land title register on a state by state basis 36. Reviving and reactivating our minimally performing Refineries to optimum capacity 37. Creating additional middle-class of at least 2 million new home owners in our first year in government and 1 million annually thereafter. 38. [In another policy document] Creating an additional middle class of at least 4 million new home owners by 2019 by enacting national mortgage single digit interest rates for purchase of owner occupier houses as well as reviewing the collateral qualification to make funding for home ownership easier, with 15 to 30 year mortgage terms. 39. Enacting a national mortgage system that will lend at single digit interest rates for purchase of owner occupier houses. 40. Injecting extra N30bn to the Agricultural sector to create more agro-allied jobs by way of loans at nominal interest rates for capital investment on medium and commercial scale cash crops. 41. You farm, government buys, guaranteeing a minimum price for selected crops and facilitate storage of agricultural products as and when necessary. 42. Creating a national infrastructural development bank to provide loans at nominal interest rates exclusively for this sector. 43. Construction of 3,000km of Superhighway including service trunks 44. Building of up to 4,800km of modern railway lines – one third to be completed by 2019 45. At least one functioning airport is available in each of the 36 states. 46. Ending gas flaring and ensuring sales of at least half of gas produce, within Nigeria 47. Speedily passing the much-delayed Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) and ensuring that local content issues are fully addressed. 48. Establishing at least six new universities of science and technology with satellite campuses in various states. 49. Establishing six centres of excellence to address the needs of special education 50. Prioritizing the reduction of the infant mortality rate by 2019 to 3% 51. Reducing maternal mortality by more than 70% 52. Reducing HIV/AIDs infection rate by 50% and other infectious diseases by 75% 53. Improving life expectancy by additional 10 years on average. 54. Increasing the number of physicians from 19 per 1000 population to 50 per 1000 55. Increasing national health expenditure per person per annum to about N50,000 (from less than N10,000 currently) 56. Increasing the quality of all federal government-owned hospitals to world class standard within five years 57. Ensuring timely payment of retirement benefits for all pensioned senior citizens and creating a poverty safety net for all aged citizens above the age of 65. 58. Amending the Constitution to require Local Governments to publish their meeting minutes, service performance data, and items of spending over N10M. 59. Requiring full disclosure in media outlets, of all government contracts over N100m prior to award and during implementation at regular interval 60. Amending the Constitution to remove immunity from prosecution for elected officers in criminal case 61. Initiating action to amend the Nigerian Constitution with a view to devolving powers, duties, and responsibilities to states in order to entrench true Federalism and the Federal spirit 62. Reforming and Strengthening the Justice System for efficient administration and dispensation of justice with the creation of special courts for accelerated hearing of corruption, drug trafficking, terrorism and similar cases of national importance 63. Establishing world-class sports academy and training institutes and ensure that Nigeria occupies a place of pride in global sports and athletics 64. Reviving the Nigerian football league and putting incentives in place to make it as competitive as other national leagues. 65. Putting in place measures to identify talents early and ensuring their participation in local and international games to enable them become professionals 66. Assisting Nollywood to fully develop into world class movie industry that can compete effectively with Hollywood and Bollywood in due course. 67. Ensuring the rights of women are protected as enshrined in our Constitution 68. Guaranteeing that women are adequately represented in government appointments and providing greater opportunities in education, job creation and economic empowerment 69. Promoting the concept of reserving a minimum number of seats in the National Assembly for women. 70. Free maternal and children healthcare services 71. Stabilizing the naira 72. Targeting up to 20% of our annual budget for this critical sector whilst making substantial investments in training quality teachers at all levels of the educational system (Some other APC policy documents had 15%) 73. Ensuring compliance with policies and measures to halt the pollution of rivers and waterways in the Niger Delta and other parts of the country 74. Adopting a holistic approach to erosion and shoreline protection across the country 75. ECOWAS currency by 2020 under Nigeria’s guidance and leadership 76. Maintaining strong, close and frank relationships within the Gulf of Guinea, the Commonwealth, South Africa and the rest of the world 77. Establishing a new special relationship with the leading emerging markets like Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) and other strategic partners around the world. 78. [On Boko Haram] Government intends to commission a sociological study to determine its origins, remote and immediate causes of the movement, its sponsors, the international connexions to ensure that measures are taken to prevent a recurrence of this evil.
79. Strengthening INEC to reduce, if possible, eliminate electoral malpractices in Nigerian’s political life 80. Improving operational and legal mechanisms so that disciplinary steps are taken against proven human rights violations by the Armed Forces. 81. Free Education at primary, secondary and tertiary institutions for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and Education. Writer’s Note: These promises were collated from the APC policy document and manifesto, Buhari’s 100 days covenant, speeches at campaign rallies and town hall meetings nationwide.
we are moving forward for a better Nigeria and for a better leadership Dankwambo is a man that understands the circumstances of the country and with what he has done in Gombe state it shows his capable of handling the down fall of this country .i fully support him come 2019
ameerasule: This is a welcome Development. ,Dankwambo is Young and Vibrant leader ,Nigeria il be great again if you emerged as president 2019 .
i am not surprised with the way things are going in this country. first we have a sick president,second very old president,thirdly a man who don:t understand how to handle leadership and a country started from fuel price, to devaluation of Naira, cost of leaving,lack of job creation . so mean things are just too wrong under APC leadership #VoteAPCOut
I write this letter to you, Mr. President, with all sincerity and humility, as it is my very first letter to you since your emergence as President and Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces of our great country, Nigeria.
I would first of all like to use this opportunity to formally apologise to the immediate past President of Nigeria, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, for all the tantrums and mistreatment orchestrated by me against his person while he held sway at the helm of affairs of our great country.
Indeed, I and many others may have misunderstood Jonathan's silence for weakness and thus pushed harder to malign his person and portray him as a weak leader. Having achieved the Change Agenda, it is now crystal clear, that the change we had clamoured for is not the change we got.
While this may have come as a rude shock to some of us who preached the change mantra assiduously, particularly the youth, I am consoled by the fact that, Nigeria shall get to the promise land someday and our generations yet unborn will appreciate the genuine efforts made by those of us who stood on the path of truth, rather than being praise singers sycophants.
Mr. President, I am sure that the current state of our dear country should be a cause of genuine concern, as the symptoms of the ailment you had come to cure seem to have morphed into a killer virus waiting to consume its patient (Nigeria) as the clock ticks away.
The damning assessment of Nigeria under your leadership as released by the United States Department of State in its 2017 country reports on Human Rights, cited impunity as being widespread at all levels of government and lack of transparency by your administration. The report noted that massive corruption by government officials and security agencies is on the rise with most perpetrators being shielded from trial, thus giving room for reckless practices with impunity. The report stated that, “although the law provides for criminal penalties for conviction of official corruption, the government did not implement the law effectively, and officials frequently engaged in corrupt practices with impunity...massive, widespread and pervasive corruption affected all levels of government and the security services."
Today there is hardship everywhere with the price of fuel now N145 per as against the N85 that it was being sold when you assumed office - the over N1.4trillion already paid by your government as fuel subsidy notwithstanding. You will agree with me, Mr. President, that a report of this magnitude coming from a foreign government should be a cause for serious concern as it posits that your Anti-Corruption Agenda is merely a hoax. Furthermore, your famous slogan of “belonging to everybody and belonging to nobody” has turned out to be a mere Public Relations gimmick, meant to soothe the egos of the spectators that were present at your historic swearing-in-ceremony.
Other assessment cited by the report include the extra judicial killing of IPOB members, Col. Sambo Dasuki’s continuous incarceration, widespread human rights abuses and flagrant disregard for the Rule of Law, under this administration.
You will recall, Mr. President, that a similar report from the Transparency International (TI) was rubbished by your Ministers who claimed the global body was biased in its assessment. Surely, both agencies could not have conspired to tarnish the reputation of your government, as Nigerians can also decipher the high partiality and nepotism being practised by your government, which represents a new low in the history of governance in Nigeria.
I would therefore recommend that your Special Adviser on Media and Publicity should grab a copy of THISDAY Newspaper of Tuesday, 24 April 2018 and perhaps brief you further on the report, in the event that the content of the report has not been brought to your attention.Mr. President, it may also interest you to know that the economy under your watch has been terribly battered, with all the economic indices indicating that we are yet to recover from the recession of 2016, owing to your ill conceived policies as against the rhetoric of the erstwhile administration being responsible for our woes.
The GDP growth before you took over government and three years after being in the saddle of governance attests to woeful failure of government policies while gambling with the nation’s economic gains. The high unemployment and poverty rate as released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) should be a cause of concern to any well-meaning Nigerian, as the masses can barely survive with their current meagre income which leaves them with little or no savings to embark on other meaningful economic ventures to better their lot.
Furthermore sir, I am sure that you’re aware that the level of insecurity in the country now has reached an all time high with an average of at least 50 deaths weekly to the bewilderment of the an already wearied population, whose hopes are dashed on a daily basis. Only last week over 120 persons were kidnapped along the Birnin-Gwari Road in Kaduna State. The farmers/herders crises has continued to claim precious lives as if the nation is in a state of war. Moreover, the statement credited to you that the killer herdsmen were trained by the late Moumar Gadaffi of Libya is most unfortunate as nothing is being done to police the borders in order to prevent them from coming in as well as declaring a state of emergency on these murderous killers.
More so, the statement credited to former Minister of Defence, Gen. T.Y. Danjuma came as another rude shock to Nigerians on the state of our security architecture in the nation, not also forgetting the statements attributed to former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, reemphasising, that the government under your watch has failed Nigerians.
Surely, the opinions of your comrades cannot all be a farce, but rather a wakeup call to your administration that all is indeed not well with the nation. This is why I dare say that a re-election bid in the wake of this wanton killings and widespread sacrilege in the land, is definitely not the right thing to do at this time in a country engulfed with so much bloodletting. Permit me to say that as things stand today, Nigeria, under your government, has become increasingly autocratic.
Instead of enhancing freedom and rule of law, our democratic gains are being frittered away under the pretext of fighting corruption. The rights to freedom of speech and association are increasingly being denied. People can no longer freely express themselves without security agencies harassing, accusing, arresting, parading, and prosecuting them like common criminals over spurious allegations.
I dare say that I am by this letter offering myself to pay whatever price it will take for Nigeria to be free once again. I know your goons will soon come after me but I am not bothered a bit. I will continue to speak the truth. I spoke the truth when Jonathan, my kinsman, was in power and I will continue to speak the truth. Be that as it may, the truth is that you have destroyed our democracy so much so that Nigerians are now living in fear.
Under your tenure the rule of law has been replaced with the rule of force. You have injected fear into the society. People who voted for you to save them from corruption and ineptitude have been barred from speaking up against the myriads of evil and wicked acts being perpetrated by officials in your government.
Unfortunately, corruption is in the upward swing under your watch. This is why I had to apologize to Jonathan since events of the last three years have shown the former President was a better leader. People freely expressed themselves under Jonathan's administration without fear of being branded cultists' sponsors, gunrunners or aiding murderers. But not so under this administration.
Under Jonathan, Nigerians enjoyed freedom of speech, association and right to hold dissenting views including organizing and partaking in protests against unwelcome government policies. All these are no go areas today. Does it mean Jonathan was a better democrat? It is a fact that no member of the APC which was then in the opposition before 2015 was jailed or harassed for expressing dissent.
However, under this administration, the Senate President is being persecuted, Senator Dino Melaye has been arrested and detained like a common criminal, Senator Matthew Urhroghide had been attached for telling Nigerians that the Federal Government breached the Constitution by paying the sum of $496million for 12 Tucano fighter jets without National Assembly approval; the trial of Senator Isa Misau by the AGF over his face-off with the Inspector General of Police, the persecution of most members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the name of fighting corruption are all examples of intolerance under this administration.
Mr. President, while your fight against corruption is being promoted as gathering steam leading to an award given to you by the African Union (AU) recently, the allegation of illegal award of $25billion contracts leveled against the GMD of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), has not been investigated but rather the malfeasance and shoddy dealing in the NNPC has been swept under the carpet because as the substantive Minister of Petroleum Resources any probe of the agency will require that you make some explanations.
This government has shown total disdain for court pronouncements and the enforcement of fundamental human rights of citizens. El-Zakzaky and Dasuki will not be in jail today but for the present rule of force under this government. It is a pity that today democracy and freedom have become scarce. Insecurity continues unabated. Killings take place on a daily basis across the country either by kidnappers, Boko Haram insurgents, herdsmen, and other criminal elements having a free reign around the country. Life has become worthless and uncertain and people cannot speak out for fear of being labeled anti-government by your regime. Besides, instead of heeding the wise counsel of leaders like Obasanjo, IBB, TY. Danjuma, General Gowon, and religious leaders like Bakare and Oyedepo, you have again declared to seek reelection as President. You even boasted in Bauchi that you will be reelected which was akin to saying you will rig yourself back into office. The worse acts of corruption are being perpetuated under your regime, but people are keeping quiet because of fear of reprisals. This cannot continue. You met Democracy and freedom in 2015, when you leave office, there will still be democracy and freedom for the people. Nigeria will not end with you. Before you, others came, but today where are they? Under this regime, the homes of Honourabe Justices were forcefully broken into and ransacked. Many of them were suspended and are currently being prosecuted by agents of the executive. If this is not intimidation of the highest order what is it? Despite immunity conferred in him by the Constitution, the home of the Governor of Akwa Ibom State was raided. The Governor of Rivers State had to approach the courts for an injunction to forestall a similar treatment being meted on him. Is it not curious that Senator Shehu Sani and Dino Melaye have been framed up as being connected to criminal murder suspects just because they politically differ with their state governors? It is not also true that Saraki and the Governor of Kwara State are now being roped into the case of alleged cultists and murder suspects arrested in Ilorin? If this is not harassment, intimidation and humiliation of perceived opponents of your administration, then what is it?
Don't forget that the Senate led by Saraki has been in a ding-dong with the Inspector General of Police for refusing to honour the legitimate summons of the upper chamber. The plot to once again implicate Saraki in murder activities using alleged cult members earlier arrested in Kwara State is a new low in the antics of this administration to harass, intimidate and humiliate members of the opposition especially those of the defunct New PDP arm of the APC.
The recent attack on the Rivers State Judiciary, the invasion of the Senate and forceful theft of its mace without arrests or word of condemnation by you make the security situation worse and worrisome.
The vehemence with which members of the opposition and the New PDP arm of the APC are being persecuted makes one to wonder why close aides of yours and other high officials in this administration with criminals allegations against them are not equally being prosecuted.
Are you no longer for everybody and belong to nobody? What is good for PDP and New PDP members ought to be good for members of the CPC, ACN, ANPP and a faction of APGA in the APC as well. The reality is that members of the APC are sacred cows that can do no wrong.This growing intolerance, repression and coercion against innocent citizens has led me to the painful resolve to once again offer myself as a sacrificial lamb to pay the price for Nigeria's total emancipation from the shackles of tyranny being perpetuated by your government.
I therefore, urge all Nigerians to wake up and face the current realities and save Nigeria from total collapse under the jackboots of impunity by this administration. History will not be fair to me if I had championed the campaigns against former President Jonathan and now remain silent in the face of anti-democratic tendencies and sheer impunity.
It is my sincere hope that this letter meets you well. I also hope that my outburst will not be seen from the angle of disrespect, but rather of despair and urgency. I believe it is high time for you, as the President and Commander-In-Chief to arrest the situation and restore peace, security and rule of law in the country and confidence in the people once more.
God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
With best regards
Comrade Timi Frank
Deputy National Publicity Secretary All Progressives Congress 07033555555
mr president is not just a failure. but has failed beyond imagination all what he has done as president is just to travel up and down and stealing our money all in the name of fighting corruption #VoteAPCOut
I write this letter to you, Mr. President, with all sincerity and humility, as it is my very first letter to you since your emergence as President and Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces of our great country, Nigeria.
I would first of all like to use this opportunity to formally apologise to the immediate past President of Nigeria, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, for all the tantrums and mistreatment orchestrated by me against his person while he held sway at the helm of affairs of our great country.
Indeed, I and many others may have misunderstood Jonathan's silence for weakness and thus pushed harder to malign his person and portray him as a weak leader. Having achieved the Change Agenda, it is now crystal clear, that the change we had clamoured for is not the change we got.
While this may have come as a rude shock to some of us who preached the change mantra assiduously, particularly the youth, I am consoled by the fact that, Nigeria shall get to the promise land someday and our generations yet unborn will appreciate the genuine efforts made by those of us who stood on the path of truth, rather than being praise singers sycophants.
Mr. President, I am sure that the current state of our dear country should be a cause of genuine concern, as the symptoms of the ailment you had come to cure seem to have morphed into a killer virus waiting to consume its patient (Nigeria) as the clock ticks away.
The damning assessment of Nigeria under your leadership as released by the United States Department of State in its 2017 country reports on Human Rights, cited impunity as being widespread at all levels of government and lack of transparency by your administration. The report noted that massive corruption by government officials and security agencies is on the rise with most perpetrators being shielded from trial, thus giving room for reckless practices with impunity. The report stated that, “although the law provides for criminal penalties for conviction of official corruption, the government did not implement the law effectively, and officials frequently engaged in corrupt practices with impunity...massive, widespread and pervasive corruption affected all levels of government and the security services."
Today there is hardship everywhere with the price of fuel now N145 per as against the N85 that it was being sold when you assumed office - the over N1.4trillion already paid by your government as fuel subsidy notwithstanding. You will agree with me, Mr. President, that a report of this magnitude coming from a foreign government should be a cause for serious concern as it posits that your Anti-Corruption Agenda is merely a hoax. Furthermore, your famous slogan of “belonging to everybody and belonging to nobody” has turned out to be a mere Public Relations gimmick, meant to soothe the egos of the spectators that were present at your historic swearing-in-ceremony.
Other assessment cited by the report include the extra judicial killing of IPOB members, Col. Sambo Dasuki’s continuous incarceration, widespread human rights abuses and flagrant disregard for the Rule of Law, under this administration.
You will recall, Mr. President, that a similar report from the Transparency International (TI) was rubbished by your Ministers who claimed the global body was biased in its assessment. Surely, both agencies could not have conspired to tarnish the reputation of your government, as Nigerians can also decipher the high partiality and nepotism being practised by your government, which represents a new low in the history of governance in Nigeria.
I would therefore recommend that your Special Adviser on Media and Publicity should grab a copy of THISDAY Newspaper of Tuesday, 24 April 2018 and perhaps brief you further on the report, in the event that the content of the report has not been brought to your attention.Mr. President, it may also interest you to know that the economy under your watch has been terribly battered, with all the economic indices indicating that we are yet to recover from the recession of 2016, owing to your ill conceived policies as against the rhetoric of the erstwhile administration being responsible for our woes.
The GDP growth before you took over government and three years after being in the saddle of governance attests to woeful failure of government policies while gambling with the nation’s economic gains. The high unemployment and poverty rate as released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) should be a cause of concern to any well-meaning Nigerian, as the masses can barely survive with their current meagre income which leaves them with little or no savings to embark on other meaningful economic ventures to better their lot.
Furthermore sir, I am sure that you’re aware that the level of insecurity in the country now has reached an all time high with an average of at least 50 deaths weekly to the bewilderment of the an already wearied population, whose hopes are dashed on a daily basis. Only last week over 120 persons were kidnapped along the Birnin-Gwari Road in Kaduna State. The farmers/herders crises has continued to claim precious lives as if the nation is in a state of war. Moreover, the statement credited to you that the killer herdsmen were trained by the late Moumar Gadaffi of Libya is most unfortunate as nothing is being done to police the borders in order to prevent them from coming in as well as declaring a state of emergency on these murderous killers.
More so, the statement credited to former Minister of Defence, Gen. T.Y. Danjuma came as another rude shock to Nigerians on the state of our security architecture in the nation, not also forgetting the statements attributed to former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, reemphasising, that the government under your watch has failed Nigerians.
Surely, the opinions of your comrades cannot all be a farce, but rather a wakeup call to your administration that all is indeed not well with the nation. This is why I dare say that a re-election bid in the wake of this wanton killings and widespread sacrilege in the land, is definitely not the right thing to do at this time in a country engulfed with so much bloodletting. Permit me to say that as things stand today, Nigeria, under your government, has become increasingly autocratic.
Instead of enhancing freedom and rule of law, our democratic gains are being frittered away under the pretext of fighting corruption. The rights to freedom of speech and association are increasingly being denied. People can no longer freely express themselves without security agencies harassing, accusing, arresting, parading, and prosecuting them like common criminals over spurious allegations.
I dare say that I am by this letter offering myself to pay whatever price it will take for Nigeria to be free once again. I know your goons will soon come after me but I am not bothered a bit. I will continue to speak the truth. I spoke the truth when Jonathan, my kinsman, was in power and I will continue to speak the truth. Be that as it may, the truth is that you have destroyed our democracy so much so that Nigerians are now living in fear.
Under your tenure the rule of law has been replaced with the rule of force. You have injected fear into the society. People who voted for you to save them from corruption and ineptitude have been barred from speaking up against the myriads of evil and wicked acts being perpetrated by officials in your government.
Unfortunately, corruption is in the upward swing under your watch. This is why I had to apologize to Jonathan since events of the last three years have shown the former President was a better leader. People freely expressed themselves under Jonathan's administration without fear of being branded cultists' sponsors, gunrunners or aiding murderers. But not so under this administration.
Under Jonathan, Nigerians enjoyed freedom of speech, association and right to hold dissenting views including organizing and partaking in protests against unwelcome government policies. All these are no go areas today. Does it mean Jonathan was a better democrat? It is a fact that no member of the APC which was then in the opposition before 2015 was jailed or harassed for expressing dissent.
However, under this administration, the Senate President is being persecuted, Senator Dino Melaye has been arrested and detained like a common criminal, Senator Matthew Urhroghide had been attached for telling Nigerians that the Federal Government breached the Constitution by paying the sum of $496million for 12 Tucano fighter jets without National Assembly approval; the trial of Senator Isa Misau by the AGF over his face-off with the Inspector General of Police, the persecution of most members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the name of fighting corruption are all examples of intolerance under this administration.
Mr. President, while your fight against corruption is being promoted as gathering steam leading to an award given to you by the African Union (AU) recently, the allegation of illegal award of $25billion contracts leveled against the GMD of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), has not been investigated but rather the malfeasance and shoddy dealing in the NNPC has been swept under the carpet because as the substantive Minister of Petroleum Resources any probe of the agency will require that you make some explanations.
This government has shown total disdain for court pronouncements and the enforcement of fundamental human rights of citizens. El-Zakzaky and Dasuki will not be in jail today but for the present rule of force under this government. It is a pity that today democracy and freedom have become scarce. Insecurity continues unabated. Killings take place on a daily basis across the country either by kidnappers, Boko Haram insurgents, herdsmen, and other criminal elements having a free reign around the country. Life has become worthless and uncertain and people cannot speak out for fear of being labeled anti-government by your regime. Besides, instead of heeding the wise counsel of leaders like Obasanjo, IBB, TY. Danjuma, General Gowon, and religious leaders like Bakare and Oyedepo, you have again declared to seek reelection as President. You even boasted in Bauchi that you will be reelected which was akin to saying you will rig yourself back into office. The worse acts of corruption are being perpetuated under your regime, but people are keeping quiet because of fear of reprisals. This cannot continue. You met Democracy and freedom in 2015, when you leave office, there will still be democracy and freedom for the people. Nigeria will not end with you. Before you, others came, but today where are they? Under this regime, the homes of Honourabe Justices were forcefully broken into and ransacked. Many of them were suspended and are currently being prosecuted by agents of the executive. If this is not intimidation of the highest order what is it? Despite immunity conferred in him by the Constitution, the home of the Governor of Akwa Ibom State was raided. The Governor of Rivers State had to approach the courts for an injunction to forestall a similar treatment being meted on him. Is it not curious that Senator Shehu Sani and Dino Melaye have been framed up as being connected to criminal murder suspects just because they politically differ with their state governors? It is not also true that Saraki and the Governor of Kwara State are now being roped into the case of alleged cultists and murder suspects arrested in Ilorin? If this is not harassment, intimidation and humiliation of perceived opponents of your administration, then what is it?
Don't forget that the Senate led by Saraki has been in a ding-dong with the Inspector General of Police for refusing to honour the legitimate summons of the upper chamber. The plot to once again implicate Saraki in murder activities using alleged cult members earlier arrested in Kwara State is a new low in the antics of this administration to harass, intimidate and humiliate members of the opposition especially those of the defunct New PDP arm of the APC.
The recent attack on the Rivers State Judiciary, the invasion of the Senate and forceful theft of its mace without arrests or word of condemnation by you make the security situation worse and worrisome.
The vehemence with which members of the opposition and the New PDP arm of the APC are being persecuted makes one to wonder why close aides of yours and other high officials in this administration with criminals allegations against them are not equally being prosecuted.
Are you no longer for everybody and belong to nobody? What is good for PDP and New PDP members ought to be good for members of the CPC, ACN, ANPP and a faction of APGA in the APC as well. The reality is that members of the APC are sacred cows that can do no wrong.This growing intolerance, repression and coercion against innocent citizens has led me to the painful resolve to once again offer myself as a sacrificial lamb to pay the price for Nigeria's total emancipation from the shackles of tyranny being perpetuated by your government.
I therefore, urge all Nigerians to wake up and face the current realities and save Nigeria from total collapse under the jackboots of impunity by this administration. History will not be fair to me if I had championed the campaigns against former President Jonathan and now remain silent in the face of anti-democratic tendencies and sheer impunity.
It is my sincere hope that this letter meets you well. I also hope that my outburst will not be seen from the angle of disrespect, but rather of despair and urgency. I believe it is high time for you, as the President and Commander-In-Chief to arrest the situation and restore peace, security and rule of law in the country and confidence in the people once more.
God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
With best regards
Comrade Timi Frank
Deputy National Publicity Secretary All Progressives Congress 07033555555
OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT MUHAMMADU BUHARI ON THE STATE OF THE NATION
Dear Sir,
I write this letter to you, Mr. President, with all sincerity and humility, as it is my very first letter to you since your emergence as President and Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces of our great country, Nigeria.
I would first of all like to use this opportunity to formally apologise to the immediate past President of Nigeria, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, for all the tantrums and mistreatment orchestrated by me against his person while he held sway at the helm of affairs of our great country.
Indeed, I and many others may have misunderstood Jonathan's silence for weakness and thus pushed harder to malign his person and portray him as a weak leader. Having achieved the Change Agenda, it is now crystal clear, that the change we had clamoured for is not the change we got.
While this may have come as a rude shock to some of us who preached the change mantra assiduously, particularly the youth, I am consoled by the fact that, Nigeria shall get to the promise land someday and our generations yet unborn will appreciate the genuine efforts made by those of us who stood on the path of truth, rather than being praise singers sycophants.
Mr. President, I am sure that the current state of our dear country should be a cause of genuine concern, as the symptoms of the ailment you had come to cure seem to have morphed into a killer virus waiting to consume its patient (Nigeria) as the clock ticks away.
The damning assessment of Nigeria under your leadership as released by the United States Department of State in its 2017 country reports on Human Rights, cited impunity as being widespread at all levels of government and lack of transparency by your administration. The report noted that massive corruption by government officials and security agencies is on the rise with most perpetrators being shielded from trial, thus giving room for reckless practices with impunity. The report stated that, “although the law provides for criminal penalties for conviction of official corruption, the government did not implement the law effectively, and officials frequently engaged in corrupt practices with impunity...massive, widespread and pervasive corruption affected all levels of government and the security services."
Today there is hardship everywhere with the price of fuel now N145 per as against the N85 that it was being sold when you assumed office - the over N1.4trillion already paid by your government as fuel subsidy notwithstanding. You will agree with me, Mr. President, that a report of this magnitude coming from a foreign government should be a cause for serious concern as it posits that your Anti-Corruption Agenda is merely a hoax. Furthermore, your famous slogan of “belonging to everybody and belonging to nobody” has turned out to be a mere Public Relations gimmick, meant to soothe the egos of the spectators that were present at your historic swearing-in-ceremony.
Other assessment cited by the report include the extra judicial killing of IPOB members, Col. Sambo Dasuki’s continuous incarceration, widespread human rights abuses and flagrant disregard for the Rule of Law, under this administration.
You will recall, Mr. President, that a similar report from the Transparency International (TI) was rubbished by your Ministers who claimed the global body was biased in its assessment. Surely, both agencies could not have conspired to tarnish the reputation of your government, as Nigerians can also decipher the high partiality and nepotism being practised by your government, which represents a new low in the history of governance in Nigeria.
I would therefore recommend that your Special Adviser on Media and Publicity should grab a copy of THISDAY Newspaper of Tuesday, 24 April 2018 and perhaps brief you further on the report, in the event that the content of the report has not been brought to your attention.Mr. President, it may also interest you to know that the economy under your watch has been terribly battered, with all the economic indices indicating that we are yet to recover from the recession of 2016, owing to your ill conceived policies as against the rhetoric of the erstwhile administration being responsible for our woes.
The GDP growth before you took over government and three years after being in the saddle of governance attests to woeful failure of government policies while gambling with the nation’s economic gains. The high unemployment and poverty rate as released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) should be a cause of concern to any well-meaning Nigerian, as the masses can barely survive with their current meagre income which leaves them with little or no savings to embark on other meaningful economic ventures to better their lot.
Furthermore sir, I am sure that you’re aware that the level of insecurity in the country now has reached an all time high with an average of at least 50 deaths weekly to the bewilderment of the an already wearied population, whose hopes are dashed on a daily basis. Only last week over 120 persons were kidnapped along the Birnin-Gwari Road in Kaduna State. The farmers/herders crises has continued to claim precious lives as if the nation is in a state of war. Moreover, the statement credited to you that the killer herdsmen were trained by the late Moumar Gadaffi of Libya is most unfortunate as nothing is being done to police the borders in order to prevent them from coming in as well as declaring a state of emergency on these murderous killers.
More so, the statement credited to former Minister of Defence, Gen. T.Y. Danjuma came as another rude shock to Nigerians on the state of our security architecture in the nation, not also forgetting the statements attributed to former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, reemphasising, that the government under your watch has failed Nigerians.
Surely, the opinions of your comrades cannot all be a farce, but rather a wakeup call to your administration that all is indeed not well with the nation. This is why I dare say that a re-election bid in the wake of this wanton killings and widespread sacrilege in the land, is definitely not the right thing to do at this time in a country engulfed with so much bloodletting. Permit me to say that as things stand today, Nigeria, under your government, has become increasingly autocratic.
Instead of enhancing freedom and rule of law, our democratic gains are being frittered away under the pretext of fighting corruption. The rights to freedom of speech and association are increasingly being denied. People can no longer freely express themselves without security agencies harassing, accusing, arresting, parading, and prosecuting them like common criminals over spurious allegations.
I dare say that I am by this letter offering myself to pay whatever price it will take for Nigeria to be free once again. I know your goons will soon come after me but I am not bothered a bit. I will continue to speak the truth. I spoke the truth when Jonathan, my kinsman, was in power and I will continue to speak the truth. Be that as it may, the truth is that you have destroyed our democracy so much so that Nigerians are now living in fear.
Under your tenure the rule of law has been replaced with the rule of force. You have injected fear into the society. People who voted for you to save them from corruption and ineptitude have been barred from speaking up against the myriads of evil and wicked acts being perpetrated by officials in your government.
Unfortunately, corruption is in the upward swing under your watch. This is why I had to apologize to Jonathan since events of the last three years have shown the former President was a better leader. People freely expressed themselves under Jonathan's administration without fear of being branded cultists' sponsors, gunrunners or aiding murderers. But not so under this administration.
Under Jonathan, Nigerians enjoyed freedom of speech, association and right to hold dissenting views including organizing and partaking in protests against unwelcome government policies. All these are no go areas today. Does it mean Jonathan was a better democrat? It is a fact that no member of the APC which was then in the opposition before 2015 was jailed or harassed for expressing dissent.
However, under this administration, the Senate President is being persecuted, Senator Dino Melaye has been arrested and detained like a common criminal, Senator Matthew Urhroghide had been attached for telling Nigerians that the Federal Government breached the Constitution by paying the sum of $496million for 12 Tucano fighter jets without National Assembly approval; the trial of Senator Isa Misau by the AGF over his face-off with the Inspector General of Police, the persecution of most members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the name of fighting corruption are all examples of intolerance under this administration.
Mr. President, while your fight against corruption is being promoted as gathering steam leading to an award given to you by the African Union (AU) recently, the allegation of illegal award of $25billion contracts leveled against the GMD of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), has not been investigated but rather the malfeasance and shoddy dealing in the NNPC has been swept under the carpet because as the substantive Minister of Petroleum Resources any probe of the agency will require that you make some explanations.
This government has shown total disdain for court pronouncements and the enforcement of fundamental human rights of citizens. El-Zakzaky and Dasuki will not be in jail today but for the present rule of force under this government. It is a pity that today democracy and freedom have become scarce. Insecurity continues unabated. Killings take place on a daily basis across the country either by kidnappers, Boko Haram insurgents, herdsmen, and other criminal elements having a free reign around the country. Life has become worthless and uncertain and people cannot speak out for fear of being labeled anti-government by your regime. Besides, instead of heeding the wise counsel of leaders like Obasanjo, IBB, TY. Danjuma, General Gowon, and religious leaders like Bakare and Oyedepo, you have again declared to seek reelection as President. You even boasted in Bauchi that you will be reelected which was akin to saying you will rig yourself back into office. The worse acts of corruption are being perpetuated under your regime, but people are keeping quiet because of fear of reprisals. This cannot continue. You met Democracy and freedom in 2015, when you leave office, there will still be democracy and freedom for the people. Nigeria will not end with you. Before you, others came, but today where are they? Under this regime, the homes of Honourabe Justices were forcefully broken into and ransacked. Many of them were suspended and are currently being prosecuted by agents of the executive. If this is not intimidation of the highest order what is it? Despite immunity conferred in him by the Constitution, the home of the Governor of Akwa Ibom State was raided. The Governor of Rivers State had to approach the courts for an injunction to forestall a similar treatment being meted on him. Is it not curious that Senator Shehu Sani and Dino Melaye have been framed up as being connected to criminal murder suspects just because they politically differ with their state governors? It is not also true that Saraki and the Governor of Kwara State are now being roped into the case of alleged cultists and murder suspects arrested in Ilorin? If this is not harassment, intimidation and humiliation of perceived opponents of your administration, then what is it?
Don't forget that the Senate led by Saraki has been in a ding-dong with the Inspector General of Police for refusing to honour the legitimate summons of the upper chamber. The plot to once again implicate Saraki in murder activities using alleged cult members earlier arrested in Kwara State is a new low in the antics of this administration to harass, intimidate and humiliate members of the opposition especially those of the defunct New PDP arm of the APC.
The recent attack on the Rivers State Judiciary, the invasion of the Senate and forceful theft of its mace without arrests or word of condemnation by you make the security situation worse and worrisome.
The vehemence with which members of the opposition and the New PDP arm of the APC are being persecuted makes one to wonder why close aides of yours and other high officials in this administration with criminals allegations against them are not equally being prosecuted.
Are you no longer for everybody and belong to nobody? What is good for PDP and New PDP members ought to be good for members of the CPC, ACN, ANPP and a faction of APGA in the APC as well. The reality is that members of the APC are sacred cows that can do no wrong.This growing intolerance, repression and coercion against innocent citizens has led me to the painful resolve to once again offer myself as a sacrificial lamb to pay the price for Nigeria's total emancipation from the shackles of tyranny being perpetuated by your government.
I therefore, urge all Nigerians to wake up and face the current realities and save Nigeria from total collapse under the jackboots of impunity by this administration. History will not be fair to me if I had championed the campaigns against former President Jonathan and now remain silent in the face of anti-democratic tendencies and sheer impunity.
It is my sincere hope that this letter meets you well. I also hope that my outburst will not be seen from the angle of disrespect, but rather of despair and urgency. I believe it is high time for you, as the President and Commander-In-Chief to arrest the situation and restore peace, security and rule of law in the country and confidence in the people once more.
God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
With best regards
Comrade Timi Frank
Deputy National Publicity Secretary All Progressives Congress 07033555555
He also established the School of Basic and Remedial studies in Kumo as well as the College of Education in Billiri. Besides, he established the Gombe State Polytechnic in Bajoga and the College of Legal and Islamic Studies in Nafada.
PDP don’t want to bring out a candidate who is not physically, mentally sound we want a candidate who is reliable and trust wordy of carrying the country forward, a candidate who will give voice to The masses and to the youths. PDP is looking for a candidate who is willing to give the youths a chance to run for some political positions
OkoNDOoBo: If you think PMB will loose 2019 election it means you are sleeping, you need to wake up to reality.
2019 elections with the way it is, will go down as the most easy election ever without no stiff competitions from opposition parties.
9 months to election in Nigeria is not always quiet like what we have today. If these aspirants Don't have skeleton in their cupboard what is stopping them from declaring the intentions ahead for the race of 2019 elections?
Nigeria needs at the moment is a financial expert who could turn around the nation’s fortunes by deploying sound skills to manage men and resources.
2 Our labour force must also speak out against harsh anti-people policies and the corruption ravaging the Buhari administration, leading to the collapse of our once robust economy with loss of over 24 million jobs and attendant acute hardship, poverty and destitution in our country today. Dankwambo42019 is that man who is capable accommodating every voice
3 Nigerians need a president that will be active physically, mentally and otherwise. That is what Dankwambo represents. He has been an experienced party man. The way he managed Gombe State through out the period of the APC tsunami of 2015 shows he is a rooted party man.
I quoted a post by Tonye on Friday (29/04) where he was campaigning for Makarfi wherein I presented Dankwambo as a better Candidate for the PDP, some of the reasons which I will list shortly but before I could say jack, I have seen Tonye's post on front page (29/04) listing Reasons why Makarfi is he best foot forward. Looking at the points he made as Makarfi being Honest, Enjoys the goodwill of Northern Nigeria, Sellable in the SW, acceptable in the SS/SE, campaigned for the resurgence of the PDP and possessing strong electoral value. As good as they are, they are not concrete enough to satisfy the yearnings of Nigeria come 2019, Moreso, Makarfi has some things not going for him which I will not state 'cos if he eventually emerges as the PDP candidate is still far better than Buhari.
Dankwambo comes far ahead for the following Reasons:
1. Youthfulness: At a time where the country is yearning for a youth to be at the helm of affairs in our country with modern leadership knowhow, he obviously comes out top. At just 55 years he has been through administration and Politics and fit to move us forward.
2. Education: Governor Dankwambo has a Ph.d. in Accounting (IUO), M.Sc Economics (UNILAG), B.Sc Accounting (ABU). What more can I say. We will have a President that is not only well Educated but will Push forward Bill Gates advise for Human Capital Development especially in the North where it is much needed.
3. Acceptability in the North: Inspite of the Influence of Buhari in the North in 2015, he was able to hold his state for the PDP which is a feat no one can down play, Makarfi (Sitting Senator) & Sambo (Sitting VP) and Yero (Sitting Governor) all from Kaduna couldn't hold the state for the PDP in 2015, same applies to many other states in the North. Dankwambo's "godfather" Danjuma Goje left the PDP and Dankwambo could have followed suit which will be an easier option to retain his seat as Governor just as Tambuwal did in Sokoto but he remained in PDP and kept the flag of the party flying in the Buhari infested North. We the PDP fans will not hesitate to reward him for that.
4. Extremism: We all know that Nigeria being a Multi-ethnic/tribal and Multi-Religious country needs a president whose views will be accommodated Nationwide and so far Governor Dankwambo's Educational background/institutions (Kaduna, Lagos & Edo) must have given him exposure to other regions of the country and his activities so far as Governor also his tweets (@HEDankwambo) hasn't shown as signs of extremism. In one of his tweets on 25 Feb. 2017, he wrote "Nigeria needs more work than prayers. The essence of leadership is to work for the people not to urge them to be praying", That to me is very significant for a region where one of its Governor said that the killings in his state is as a result of God's punishment for their sins.
5. Corruption: We all know that the APC has nothing to offer except pushing propaganda about their fictitious fight against corruption. Dankwambo was the former Accountant General of the Federation, Finance Commissioner and 7yrs Governor, If there is anything, we would have heard from Lai Moh'd. With Dankwambo, we will render the Arsenal of the APC useless.
6. North East: I wouldn't have loved to mention this point because I look forward to a time where our politics will be purely on merit and not the region the candidate is from but it is worth mentioning that IHDankwambo is from the North-East which has not produced the president before. Every region in this country has tasted the Presidency since independence (North Central - Gowon, South East - Azikiwe & Ironsi) except this Geo-political zone. Also considering the insurgency we face from that region, it is necessary for us to allow someone that bears the brunt to be at the helm of affairs.
I would love to go on and on but let me not exceed Tonye's 6 points and also allow Nairalanders make their input especially residents of Gombe that are directly under his administration. The elections is 9 Months away and we have many more to come.
We Nigerians gave APC the chance to bring the change that was promised to the country but right now revers is the case starting from fuel price Electricity tariff Herdsmen killings no free movement of some citizens in their own father land due to insecurity in some states and as a country apart from these little mentions the hardship in the country has drastically increased in this regime of leadership
sirlekzy: Nigerian lawyer, Festus Keyamo who was recently made the Director, Strategic Communication of the president’s campaign organization, in an interview on Channels TV on Sunday, said that 2019 election will be easier for President Buhari to win than even when he was elected in 2015.
Festus Keyamo who disclosed some ‘great’ feats President Buhari has achieved so far in his government like the second Niger bridge, also said it is 40% complete and has been expanded from a 2km to a 7km bridge. He also pointed out the railway tracks, which he said has been increased from single gage to standard gauge railway tracks. According to him the railway tracks between Lagos and Ibadan and Kano and Abuja is 80% complete.
“The 2019 election will be the easiest election for president Buhari despite what the nay sayers are saying, it will be the easier the president than 2015 and all the indices are there, because since that time the president had won over the heart of other sections of the country at that time that may not have voted for him, between then and now he has won their heart.”
Nigerians will see that despite all the negative talks here and there, that it will be the easiest election for the president more than that of 2015,” said the lawyer.
This is also coming after a group, known as One Destiny Organization, ODO, told newsmen that the appointment of Mr. Festus Keyamo, SAN, as spokesperson for the Buhari Campaign Organisation, BCO, would make President Muhammadu Buhari‘s re-election bid easier in the 2019 presidential election.
The National Coordinator of ODO, Ohiri O Lewis said in a statement yesterday, in Abuja, that the appointment of Keyamo was in recognition of his integrity, commitment and dedication to the cause of President Buhari’s re-election.
He said, “It is a well deserved appointment. Nigerians know that Festus Keyamo is a committed Buharist, an ardent supporter of the policies and programs of this administration and not a frivolous person.
“He has over time shown commitment in the president’s war on corruption, he has been steadfast in helping to drive home the new culture of transparency the president wants Nigerians to embrace through his numerous media interventions and has proven beyond any iota of doubt that he is ready to give his all for the re-election project of Mr President.”
You said pictures are questionable? If you are in Gombe state you will know is not just pictures but reality that you can see feel what so ever you see on the internet are what he has done in the state I stand for Dankwambo42019
Ajisebioyolaari: With the fraudulent campaign strategy I saw on that thread today, I have discarded the little thought I was nursing to vote Dankwambo in 2019. Even the quality of projects in the pictures he posted are questionable.
Dankwambo may have tried in Gombe state capital but the state workers do not speak so highly of him.
Politics / Re: Open Letter To President Muhammadu Buhari - By Timi Frank by Davidson7: 6:47pm On Jul 31, 2018 