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The bubble finally seems to have burst for the ruling All Progressive Congress national chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, and Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki. After several weeks of controversies, it is now crystal clear that the relationship between Mr Oshiomhole, and his protégé, Mr Obaseki, has broken down. Mr Oshiomhole, a former governor of Edo, helped Mr Obaseki to succeed him as the state governor in 2016, against all the odds. The governor is likely going to seek re-election next year. The first clear evidence of the rift between the two was a recent call from Edo State for the resignation of Mr Oshiomhole as the APC national chairman. The call, made by a chieftain of the APC in Edo and a former political adviser to Mr Oshiomhole, Charles Idahosa, was forwarded, Thursday, to media houses, including PREMIUM TIMES, by Governor Obaseki’s spokesperson, Crusoe Osagie. Mr Idahosa accused Mr Oshiomhole of instigating crisis within the APC in Edo. “We are all not very happy with what is happening in Edo State today, especially with the political division and the confusion,” the email from the Governor Obaseki’s spokesperson quoted Mr Idahosa to have said. “This is a situation in which we ought to be very happy; it is so strange. It is like a tragi-comedy with what is happening. We have a governor who was brought up by a political party and the people out there are very happy and commending this governor for working so hard. He is very popular and you will attest to that but the problem is with the leadership of the party. “While the voters are very excited, the people who brought him into power are not happy with him because, according to them, he is not carrying them along,” Mr Idahosa said. Loud silence Three weeks ago, when PREMIUM TIMES called Governor Obaseki’s spokesperson, Mr Osagie, to ask about the rift between the governor and Mr Oshiomhole, he refused to answer questions. He referred the newspaper instead to an earlier statement by the Secretary to the Edo State Government, Osarodion Ogie, on the issue. Mr Ogie, in the statement, described media reports on the rift as “unfounded speculations and fake news”. He said, “The robust relationship between Governor Obaseki and his brother, friend, predecessor, and National Chairman of the APC, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, is waxing stronger daily. “No amount of speculations, hate statements and fake news can erode the friendship built over the years on mutual trust and respect, which has translated to good governance in Edo State.” Mr Obaseki himself helped to fuel the speculations when he cried out recently that some “greedy” politicians were putting pressure on him to share state funds to them. Mr Obaseki did not say who the “greedy” politicians were, but many thought he may have referred to the APC national chairman and his supporters. Controversial inauguration The controversy over the ‘inauguration’ and the ‘election’ of a new Speaker for the Edo State House of Assembly has also lent credence to the existence of a rift between Mr Oshiomhole and Mr Obaseki. All the 24 members of the state assembly belong to the APC. But nine of them, allegedly prompted by the state governor, hurriedly met at night to ‘inaugurate’ the House and also ‘elect’ a speaker. The other lawmakers-elect were excluded in order to prevent Mr Oshiomhole’s loyalists from taking control of the legislature, PREMIUM TIMES learnt. But the new speaker, Frank Okiye, said the remaining lawmakers-elect would be inaugurated when they “complete their documentation”. After the ‘inauguration’, Mr Okiye adjourned sitting to July 17. Governor Obaseki has since congratulated Mr Okiye and pledged to work with the new leadership of the assembly. But Vincent Uwaidia, a barrister and one of the lawmakers-elect who was excluded from the ‘inauguration’, told PREMIUM TIMES he does not accept the assembly leadership “so long as the proper thing has not been done”. Mr Uwaidia’s comment may very well be the thinking of the lawmakers-elect who were excluded from the ‘inauguration’. “As I speak to you, I have not been invited to the inauguration of the House, I have not been sworn in as a lawmaker,” Mr Uwaidia said. Samson Osagie, a former state and federal lawmaker, said: “strictly speaking, there is no House of Assembly for now in Edo State”. “You can only have a House when it is properly constituted,” Mr Osagie said. “The only way forward is for the right thing to be done; the House must be properly constituted, nothing more, nothing less.” The national leadership of APC, led by Mr Oshiomhole, has rejected the ‘inauguration’ of the Edo assembly, calling for a fresh exercise. “It needs restating that every elected lawmaker has a legitimate right to participate unhindered in the inauguration of the legislative arm in which he belongs. “The plot to arm-twist the majority in favour of the minority in the legislative arm died with the defeat of the PDP in 2015,” the party stated on Friday, through its national spokesperson, Lanre Issa-Onilu. Mr Oshiomhole has personally described the ‘inauguration’ of the Edo assembly as “illegal and embarrassing”. But the Edo government in its response said the national chairman of APC was being biased to have accused Governor Obaseki of having a hand in the affairs of the assembly. “For the avoidance of doubt, all the decisions relating to the leadership of the Edo State House of Assembly recently elected by the House were taken by the State Working Committee and leaders of the party from across the State,” Mr Osagie, the governor’s spokesperson, said in a statement on Saturday. “In deference to the rule of party supremacy, which the National chairman so eloquently professes, the governor and all party members are obliged to respect the party’s decision, as we expect the national chairman to also do,” Mr Osagie said. The Speaker of the Edo assembly, Mr Okiye, has also responded by saying “the APC lacks the powers to adjudicate on constitutional functions of the legislature.” Rodsimeon Idaewor, a journalist in Benin City, Edo, told PREMIUM TIMES there was no need to pretend about it, “Mr Oshiomhole and Governor Obaseki are at war against each other”. He said Mr Oshiomhole should be held responsible for the political crisis in the state. “Nobody knew of Obaseki in Edo State politics, Oshiomhole singlehandedly brought him and rigged the election to make him governor. “Obaseki is a gentleman, and highly educated. He came on board and decided to change the way things were done. Oshiomhole’s administration did things anyhow, they threw money about carelessly. But in Obaseki’s administration, people must follow due process. “If you visit Edo State, you will see that Obaseki has done excellently well, even with the little resources available to his administration. “Oshiomhole wants to sit in Abuja and be dictating things to Obaseki, but the governor does not want to take it,” Mr Idaewor said. PREMIUM TIMES again contacted Mr Osagie, the governor’s spokesperson, Saturday night, and asked him if it was not clear enough that there was a rift between the governor and the APC national chairman, going by the events of the past few days. “The governor has said he does not have any issue with the national chairman,” Mr Osagie responded. Mr Oshiomhole’s spokesperson, Simon Ebegbulem, did not respond to phone calls and a text message to his phone on Saturday. https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/336510-its-no-longer-secret-oshiomhole-governor-obaseki-at-war.html
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SHILIINZ101:I know tho |
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Oshiomhole fighting his brothers from the same state... Oyegun n Obaseki |
The All Progressives Congress has attacked its former national chairman, John Odigie-Oyegun, accusing him of contributing largely to the misfortune the party has suffered recently. The party recorded major losses in the last governorship elections, the latest being its loss of all positions in Zamfara State. The APC said Mr Oyegun who left office in 2018 was responsible for indicipline in the party and failed to harmonise the party ahead of the polls. The comment came after Mr Oyegun said that Mr Oshiomhole was incapable of administering a political party. “Oshiomhole fails because he lacks the temperament that is required to run a political party. He lacks the capacity to manage the different interests and tendencies that constitute a political party,” The Punch newspaper quoted Mr Odigie-Oyegun to have said on Sunday. “He acts in direct opposite of decisions taken by NWC. No minutes of NWC meetings which, in any event, take place outside the party secretariat. “How would you not have crises in states with the confusion that Oshiomhole created when he gave the states freedom to choose their methods of choosing candidates for elections? “Much of the crisis in states arose out of sheer incapacity on the part of the current chairman. How does this Oshiomhole’s incapacity become traps by Oyegun? “He (Oshiomhole) engages his mouth before engaging his mind, so he offends party members,” he said. APC reacts to losses The APC National Publicity Secretary, Lanre Issa-Onilu, in an interview with journalists said if Oyo, Imo, Bauchi, Adamawa, and Zamfara States were taken one by one, it will be discovered that there were peculiar issues in the respective states that accounted for how the APC lost them rather than the voters preferring the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). “I would put the painful outcomes broadly under two reasons. One is indiscipline on the part of some members of our party in most of the states. The second reason is that the party leadership did not do much between 2015 and 2018 to move the party from being an amalgam of different political parties to become a truly blended progressive political party,” Mr Issa-Onilu stated. He said the next three years are very important as the APC under the leadership of the National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, will continue to strengthen compliance with the rules, build support structures for democracy, ensures discipline across board, and deliver good governance for the benefits of all Nigerians. “We expect members who have different agenda to join their kind in PDP. We will welcome with open arms, those who share our progressive ideals, so that by 2022, we will have a party whose members are truly progressives,” the APC spokesman said. ‘Oyegun-led NWC accommodated impunity, certain members were superior to the party’ The APC spokesperson said the immediate-past National Working Committee led by John Odigie-Oyegun as National Chairman lacked the courage required to confront the pockets of political despots who could not operate by the party’s rules. The effect, he said, was widespread indiscipline across party ranks, lack of respect for party supremacy as witnessed in the 8th National Assembly leadership and its overall inability to align the varying interests of the legacy parties that came together to form the APC in 2014. “Let me agree that the NWC that led the party into the 2015 elections and continued till June 2018 did nothing different from what you would find in PDP. It was a period the party was seen as a mere vehicle to attain political office. The system accommodated impunity as certain members appeared to be superior to the party. Their interests were far more important than the collective interests of the APC, even when most times such interests are at variance with the ideals the party stand for. “You would recall that it was under that leadership that some impudent members of APC called the bluff of the party by imposing themselves on the National Assembly as leaders contrary to the position of the party. Where was the party? Where was the discipline when this happened? It would be difficult to calculate what lack of courage to assert the party supremacy cost APC over that period. The consequences of the inaction of the party were unimaginable. We all saw the consequences on governance as the National assembly practically held our government to ransom. The impunity, which President Muhammadu Buhari has rightly described as lack of patriotism, constituted an unfortunate hindrance to the smooth running of government. “The leadership under Chief Oyegun, with due respect to him, condoned all sorts of acts of indiscipline from certain members. It is not surprising that the current National Working Committee inherited such a huge mess, where the party was struggling to differentiate itself from the delinquent PDP. We all know that PDP was practically dead following the devastating defeat of 2015. The PDP bounced back not because the party has changed its insidious way or did anything different, but because APC did not live up to expectations. “It goes without saying that when an organisation is unable to enforce its own rules, it would suffer the consequences sooner than later. We should not be ashamed to say that our party’s leadership under Chief Oyegun lacked the courage required to confront the pockets of political despots who could not operate by the party’s rules,” Mr Issa-Onilu said. Letter by Party’s Deputy National Chairman (North), Lawal Shuaib The APC spokesperson said assertions made by a senator, Lawal Shuaib, in a letter to Mr Oshiomhole portrayed the NWC as a bunch of cowards looking for a scapegoat to pass on the blame following undesired results in his home Zamfara State. Mr Shuaib in his letter had blamed Mr Oshiomhole for the party’s losses in Zamfara State, and called for his resignation. “When he [Senator Lawal Shuaib] alleged that the National Chairman is running the party like a sole administrator, does that mean the rest of us are incompetent? I doubt if he would have many members of the NWC supporting him in this. The ability to face up to the challenges and to take responsibility for mistakes are important qualities of a leader. If the NWC had taken any action that did not produce the desired result, it would be plain cowardice to look for a scapegoat or pass on the blame to another person. “Since the Comrade Oshiomhole-led NWC came to office, we have been doing our best to institutionalise the best ideals of progressive politics. We understand that we must bring everyone under the fold of the party, where all of us would be subject to our party’s rules and conventions. We understand that impunity can provide temporary advantage and even successes. But ultimately, those successes would be short-lived. PDP is a living example of the inherent calamity of impunity. The PDP era brought calamity to the country and ultimately led to the loss of power. What I read from that letter is a call to continue along that trend. With due respect, that is not what APC stands for,” Mr Issa-Onilu said. Under Oshiomhole, APC improved significantly on 2015 results Despite some 2019 election losses recorded in some states, Mr Issa-onilu said the APC has improved significantly on the result of 2015 under the leadership of Mr Oshiomhole. He said the National Chairman cannot be blamed for the avoidable losses recorded in some states as some stakeholders failed to follow the party’s directives and ensure internal democracy. Mr Issa-Onilu said: “Since we are comparing 2015 to what has happened now, we should remember that our President was elected in 2015 with over 15 million votes as against the PDP’s 13 million plus. There was about 2.5 million votes difference. Under Oshiomhole, we have over 15 million votes as against PDPs 11 million plus. There you have nearly four million votes difference. So for the Presidential election, our party has improved significantly on the result of 2015. “The situation was expectedly different at the state level. The state players have the foremost responsibility to win elections in their states. What we can do at the national level is to provide the necessary support. The support starts from conducting transparent primaries that ensure the party produces popular candidates. Of course, certain state players in our party expected business as usual where other players are subjugated for them so that their wishes are imposed on other APC members in their states. This we could not do and I dont think we need to apologise for doing the right thing. By now, the states that failed to follow the partys directives are the ones that may be regretting. “We have examples of Governors who are true progressives who worked with the NWC to ensure things were done right. Look at Kaduna, Plateau, Niger, Kano, Nasarawa, Katsina, Jigawa, Borno, Yobe, etc. The Governors and leaders of APC in these states worked according to the rules in conjunction with the NWC and we all can see that the sweetest victory is the one achieved under a free and fair engagement with the opposition. “This is what our party wants to showcase. This is the example President Buhari has shown by ensuring that we had a presidential election in this country without seeking to award himself any advantage over his opponents. The President has the instruments to use under him, but he rather subjected himself to the rules of the contest. If the President did not expect the party to manipulate his own election, why should anyone else expect that from the party? “These people who are looking for who to blame are not talking about Kwara and Gombe. These were PDP states that we won landslide. We won in these two states because the local players adjusted to the change agenda of the party. I am from Kwara, we won 100 percent in such a transparent manner that the PDP had nothing to complain about. Do not forget that the Senate President, Bukola Saraki is from Kwara. Kwara presented us the evidence that if we shun impunity and play by the rules, Nigerians would reward us with votes. The same is the situation in Gombe. Do these people want to give Oshiomhole credit for our victories in Kwara and Gombe states? Or they just believe APC must win by all means everywhere?”
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Difference between Celestial Church and Cherubim and Seraphim Churches ![]() |
The battle continues |
Senate Presidency: I expect support of all PDP senators-elect – Lawan June 2, 2019Kemi Busari A contender for the position of Senate President in the 9th Senate, Ahmed Lawan, has expressed confidence that senators of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will endorse him. Speaking with journalists in Abuja on Saturday, Mr Lawan said he expects all senators of the opposition party to support his bid. Details of the briefing were shared with PREMIUM TIMES by journalists present. The lawmaker’s comment came as a reaction to his endorsement by Peter Nwaboshi, a PDP senator. Mr Lawan, who is currently the Senate Leader, said Nigerians only care about the betterment of their lives and not the political parties lawmakers represent. He noted that what Mr Nwaboshi did is not a crack in the fence of PDP but a display of patriotism. The senator also praised Ifeanyi Uba, a senator of the Young People’s Party (YPP) for his support. “We are expecting the PDP senator-elects to – all of them – have an understanding with us and endorse me as a caucus,” he said. “Let me first pay tribute first to Senator Ifeanyi Uba of the YPP. Senator Ifeanyi Uba identified with our aspirations the first day the idea of running for this office and he has been with us all through. We are campaigning together and sometimes he goes alone to spread our vision for the ninth assembly. “Particularly to the endorsement by Senator Peter Nwoboshi who is a serving senator and also a PDP senator. What the endorsement means is not a crack in the fence of the PDP but in the Senate. What the endorsement means is that feeling of patriotism, that feeling of the necessity of all of us that will be in the ninth Senate to work together in the national interest. “That feeling that Nigerians don’t care what platform you represent in the Senate. What Nigerians care for will be what the ninth is able to do to better their lives. “What Nigerians care for is the improvement in the security of their lives and properties. What Nigerians care about is how the economy will be improved and enhanced and revitalised so that it is an all-inclusive economy. “An economy that will work for those at the lowest level of the ladder and those at the highest level. Those who will great the businesses and those who will need to be employed.” Mr Lawan said although the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari brought the country out of recession, a lot more needs to be done in collaboration with the National Assembly. “We know that this administration has done a lot in the last four years, getting out recession to a growth per cent of between two and three per cent of the GDP today. But we are still faced with that challenge if expanding the economy, diversifying the economy or providing employment for our teeming youth who need to have accommodation in the economy. “That is what Nigerians expect the National Assembly to do with the executive arm of government.” “So our platforms are simply vehicles that will convey everybody [to parliament]. We have our belief and whatever our beliefs are and whatever your political party is, it must be central in looking at one thing – how do I work with my colleagues to making Nigeria better,” he said. Mr Lawan is a major contender for the position having emerged as candidate favoured by the All Progressives Congress (APC). Senators Ali Ndume and Danjuma Goje are other APC aspirants, even though the latter has not publicly declared intention. As experienced in 2015, the vote of opposition lawmakers is very crucial in the emergence of presiding officers of the Senate. Even though Mr Lawan was the favoured candidate of APC in 2015, another party man, Bukola Saraki, was able to lobby the PDP lawmakers and eventually won. Election of presiding officers of the 9th Senate is expected to hold on June 11. |
Appeal Court rules against firm linked to Saraki, orders forfeiture of N1.4bn Paris Club refund May 31, 2019Press Release The Court of Appeal in Lagos on Friday okayed the request of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for the final forfeiture of N1.4 billion which a firm, Melrose General Services Limited, obtained from the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) through false claims. Melrose is allegedly linked to outgoing Senate President, Bukola Saraki, whose two aides – Gbenga Makanjuola and Kolawole Shittu – are being prosecuted by the EFCC in respect of the matter. Justice Cecilia Olatoregun of the Federal High Court in Lagos had on April 27, 2018, ordered the final forfeiture of the said N1.4 billion to the federal government. Dissatisfied with the verdict of Justice Olatoregun, Melrose General Services approached the appellate court for redress, asking it to set aside the pronouncement of the lower court. But in its judgement on the matter on Friday, the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal of Melrose (the appellant) and resolved the four contentious issues in favour of the EFCC (the first respondent). The appellate court further held that Melrose’s appeal lacked merit and ordered the firm to pay N100,000 cost to the EFCC. The appellate court also held that Melrose could not show that the said funds were lawfully earned by it. It added that section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud Act, 2006, which the EFCC relied on to seek for the forfeiture of the said funds, was constitutional. According to the Court of Appeal, Melrose was not denied fair hearing in the matter. Justice of the Court of Appeal, Tijjani Abubakar, wrote the lead judgement; E. Tobi delivered the judgment while O. A. Obaseki-Adejumo concurred with the verdict. Lawyer to the Melrose, Olawale Akoni, argued the appeal while the lawyer to the EFCC, Ekele Iheanacho, appeared for the commission. More in Home SPECIAL REPORT: How Buhari administration’s Tradermoni, CCT programmes could increase financial inclusion Lagos debt hits N1 trillion in 2018; Rivers, Delta follow – Investigation Insecurity: 35 killed, six kidnapped in different attacks across Nigeria last week Buhari administration to scale up Tradermoni, N-Power, others – Official Buhari hails fresh push for independent Palestinian state The EFCC had claimed that Melrose obtained N3.5 billion from the Nigeria Governors’ Forum by making false claims. Listed as defendants in the final forfeiture application filed before the Federal High Court were Melrose General Services Limited, WASP Networks Limited and Thebe Wellness Services. The firms were accused of impersonating a consortium of consulting firms engaged by the NGF for the “verification, reconciliation and recovery of over-deductions on Paris and London Club Loans on the accounts of states and local governments between 1995 and 2002.” But the EFCC insisted that the original firms engaged by the Governors’ Forum were GSCL Consulting and Bizplus Consulting Services Limited. Usman Zakari, the alter ego of Melrose General Services Limited, Robert Mbonu, made a false representation to the Governors’ Forum, causing the forum to pay N3.5 billion to his company on December 14, 2016. Mr Zakari said the money was credited into the Access Bank account of Melrose General Services Limited, adding that Melrose and others dissipated and laundered about N2.3 billion out of the money between December 15, 2016, and January 20, 2017, leaving a balance of N1.2 billion. Mr Zakari said the anti-graft agency had also recovered N220 million out of the laundered sum from WASP Networks Limited and Thebe Wellness Services. The EFCC had on October 13, 2017, obtained an interim order from Justice Mojisola Olatoregun, placing a “Post No Debit” order on the accounts containing the N1.2bn and N220m. The judge had made the order following plea by the lawyer to the EFCC, Ekene Iheanacho, that it would best serve the interest of justice for Melrose and others to forfeit the N1.4 billion temporarily to prevent them from dissipating same. The judge, after granting the interim freezing order in 2018, directed the EFCC to publish the order in a national daily giving anyone interested in the funds 14 days to appear before the court to show cause why the funds should not be forfeited permanently. Subsequently, one Godwin Maduka and Linas International Limited showed up before the court, praying separately that the funds should be forfeited to them. Mr Maduka claimed that his firm, Udemgaba Maduka & Associates, had been engaged in 2011 as a consultant by Zamfara State Government to help the state recover some hanging funds, with an agreement that it would be paid 20 per cent of the recovered funds. He urged the court to forfeit the N1.4 billion to his company to cover Zamfara State’s alleged indebtedness to him. But the EFCC opposed Mr Maduka, contending that the suit was not a debt recovery suit and that Zamfara State was not a party to the suit. In her verdict on the matter, Ms Olatoregun upheld the EFCC’s argument and dismissed MrMaduka’s claims. On its own part, Linas International Limited said it was entitled to the payment of $6 millio. from Nigeria Governors’ Forum. But Ms Olatoregun also dismissed its claim, holding that the suit was not a debt recovery suit. Having dismissed both claims, the judge ordered the permanent forfeiture of the N1.4 billiin to the federal government. |
Their business, not mine |
Was there in 2016. Nice place to visit |
Uzoho shd continue as number one |
AfoltundeOG:U don't have sense |
Alright |
Lol |
Alright |
Manbryto:Spot on! I voted for Buhari in 2015... A mistake I'm still regretting |
Made4naijablog:How did u get this video? We gonna sue u for this. It didn't happen at Ikeja. Get ur facts correct lol |
iamrammy:Wtz ur four digits let's see if it's same for everyone |
post=72834731:Ur stupidity aches... Which Osun?? |
Too long an epistle |
She's been off d limelight for some time now. Beautiful lady |
MassLegend:Can u buzz me ur WhatsApp digits? |
The worst DISCO in Nigeria |
OK |
MassLegend:Hv u done second interview? |
MassLegend:I went to their Head Office n heard all the invites are based on availability of spaces close to ur address on d CV. But how did u know tomorrow is d last day for interviews? |
MassLegend:How u take dey get all these infos? |
MassLegend:And u ain't aware of anyone that has gotten medical invite? |
MassLegend:Ooh! So 2nd stage interview was conducted today!!! |
haybeyneezah:Honestly, I dont know |
Theophelat:I really don't know |
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