₦airaland Forum

Abdullahi Adamu, national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has warned Bashir Machina, a party member from Yobe north, over his comments on the party’s senatorial ticket for the district.

The APC Yobe north senatorial ticket sparked controversy after Machina, who won the primary, insisted that he would not step down for Senate President Ahmad Lawan.

Lawan had, in May, contested for the APC presidential ticket, but lost.

Amid the controversy over the ticket, the senate president, who currently represents Yobe north district, was eventually listed as the APC senatorial candidate for the 2023 general election.

Speaking in an interview published by BBC Hausa on Thursday, the APC chairman said the issues affecting the party on primaries are not unusual, adding that they will be resolved.

“There is no leader who doesn’t receive complaints from the people he is leading and no leader would leave his position because of what the people say,” Adamu said.

“In my position as the leader, whatever has happened in the APC since the day I became chairman of the party, I, Abdullahi Adamu, should be blamed.

“If you don’t take the blame as a leader, then who should be blamed? As a leader, you are trying to resolve problems, not increase them.

“If you don’t know how to set a trap for a thief, the thief will set the trap for you. Machina should be careful; his issue is getting out of hand. As far I am concerned as chairman, my party did not violate any law.

“Is there any law that says you cannot contest for a position after contesting for another one. No law prohibits anyone from doing so.”

Speaking on the recent defection of members, Adamu said people can’t be forced to stay in the APC.

“If I say there haven’t been people who have left our party, then I have lied,” he said.

“No doubt, there are some who after they lost the primaries decided to leave the party and join another one.

“Politics is not by force. This is not how we wanted it to be and it is not only our party that its members are leaving.”

Two of the remaining Chibok girls abducted over eight years ago, have returned home.

Two of the remaining Chibok girls abducted over eight years ago, have returned hhom.

Hauwa Dauda and Mary Joseph were rescued by the military troops of Operation Hadin Kai after their escape from Boko Haram camp.

Both ladies; now in their late 20s, now have sons.

On April 14, 2014, over 200 schoolgirls were abducted when insurgents attacked the Government Girls’ Secondary School (GGSS) in Chibok, Borno State.

The abduction of the girls in 2014 was followed by a global outcry that birthed the #BringBackOurGirls movement.

Hauwa, who hails from Mbalala in Askira Uba LGA of Borno State, was rescued alongside her one-year-old child at Ngazua village in Bama LGA of the state.

It was learnt that Hauwa was forcefully married to one Munzur, six years ago.

According to Hauwa, she escaped when the Nigerian Army raided a camp where she was kept with Munzur, who died during the military operation.

For Mary Dauda, she was rescued by troops with her one-year-old son, Ayuba, in the general area of Gava in Gwoza LGA, Borno.

Mary, who is said to hail from Rumingo in Chibok LGA of Borno State, was about 19 years old at the time of her abduction.

According to Mary, the father of her child was killed alongside about 40 others in May 2022, in an air strike by troops of operation Hadin Kai at Sabil Huda camp in Sambisa forest.

The two rescued victims were numbered 18 and 46 on the list of the abducted Chibok students published by the state government.

The two rescued victims and their babies are currently at a military medical facility in Maiduguri.

21st June, 2022

PRESS RELEASE:

IMPEACHMENT: VOTE OUT MAKINDE IN 2023 – MURIC


The Oyo State House of Assembly has served an impeachment notice on the deputy governor of the state, Engr Rauf Olaniyan. However, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has picked holes in the move. The human rights organization has also called on Muslims in the state to vote out the governor for his anti-Muslim activities.

This was contained in a statement circulated among the media by the director of MURIC, Professor Ishaq Akintola, on Tuesday, 21st June, 2022.

The statement reads in full:

“The Oyo State House of Assembly last week served an impeachment notice on the deputy governor of the state, Engr Rauf Olaniyan. We reject this move. We are aware that there has been no love lost between Governor Makinde and his deputy. But the governor himself knows the true motive of wanting his deputy out of the way.

“We put it to Makinde that his desire to remove his deputy is religiously motivated. He wants his deputy removed because the latter is not on the same page with him in his Christianization agenda in Oyo State. Impeachment is therefore a ruse, Christianization is the agenda.

“The new Muslim running mate will also be used and dumped like Olaniyan. Makinde cannot stomach the company of a deputy who does not share his vision of exclusionism targeted at Muslims. The new running mate will also be benched

He will also be benched when the governor is done with him and it is the same feeding-bottle lawmakers that will be used to get rid of him.

“Makinde intends to run an Alpha and Omega system where Muslim deputies will be changed at will. This is his own way of protecting his anti-Muslim policy where the evangelisation of the school system will continue unchallenged with undue preference given to Kollendar crusaders to access the state schools and students indiscriminately

“It is also his own way of continuing the unjust, unlawful, illegal, illegitimate and unconstitutional denial of Allah-given fundamental human rights of Muslims to timely promotion for Muslim judges in the state despite merit and due qualifications.

“Equally noteworthy is Makinde’s deliberate cancellation of the Muslim Hijrah holiday ab initio without due consultation and the imbalance in appointments of commissioners at the inception of the administration.

“In the education sector, the imports of Makinde’s deliberate exclusion of teachers of Arabic and Islamic studies in the teachers recruitment exercise, deliberate inclusion of CRS content in employment interview questions to put Muslim candidates at a disadvantage, deliberate selection of missionary-named schools for rehabilitation in the special school remodeling project have not been lost on Oyo State Muslims.

“But it is in the discrimination against, harassment and intimidation of Muslim girls in hijab by recalcitrant principals in some schools in the state that Makinde has out-Heroded King Herod.

“Makinde’s anti-Muslim policies, actions and inactions are too many to mention. But he is not done yet. After impoverishing the Muslim population in the state by robbing them of political offices, after denying Muslim children of their much loved Arabic and Islamic education, after exposing female Muslim students to intimidation and coercion and their parents to pain and anguish, he wants to bring down the sledge-hammer on his Muslim deputy.

“It was Ian Flemming, author of the James Bond series, who once wrote, ‘Once is happenstance, twice is a coincidence, the third time is enemy action’. The governor’s anti-Muslim antics have long become enemy action against Muslims of Oyo State.

“This is why the Muslims of Oyo State have only one option left and that is to ensure that their oppressor does not return in 2023 for a second term of injustice, a second term of oppression and a second term of downpression of Muslims under him. Makinde must be voted out. He has misused and outlived his mandate. Oyo State Muslims will speak to him in the only language understood by oppressive governors.”

Professor Ishaq Akintola,

Director,

Muslim Rights Concern,

(MURIC)

Embattled Nigerian Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, and some other legislative candidates of the All Progressives Congress are in big trouble as the ruling party failed to meet the deadline to upload their names on the portal of the Independent National Electoral Commission.

SaharaReporters learnt on Monday evening that the APC could not upload its National Assembly candidates on the portal before Friday, June 17 deadline. As a result, it is now relying on using the “back door” to pressurise the electoral body to extend the deadline.

SaharaReporters was further told that APC leaders would meet with INEC officials on Tuesday to “secretly resolve” the ruling party’s inability to upload the names before the deadline.

“The APC could not upload its NASS candidates before the deadline. They are trying to use the back door to do it. INEC must not give them an extension.

“They are trying to meet with INEC tomorrow (Tuesday) to see how they can resolve it quietly,” a top source revealed.

SaharaReporters learnt that the inability of the ruling party to meet the deadline was a sequel to the controversies surrounding the party’s plot to manipulate and replace the names of some of the candidates who won the National Assembly primaries with the names of favoured individuals, some of whom did not even participate in the primaries.

Chief among those in the centre of such controversies is the Senate President, Lawan, who is hell-bent on making the list despite not participating in the Senatorial primary election in his state – Yobe State.

Barely two months after Alaafin of Oyo, Lamidi Adeyemi III passed, his wives, Queen Opeyemi Omobola and Abbey, have shown off their new houses.

The grateful Queens eulogised him, praying for his eternal rest in peace.

Sharing photos of her new house and photos with her late husband, Queen Opeyemi said her love for him is ‘limitless’.

She thanked him for the many gifts she’s been privileged to enjoy.

She wrote: “Appreciation: being a token of my heartfelt gratitude to His Imperial Majesty!!!

“Everyday, I wake up to the immense thought of my husband and his impactful life on me before his demise, I give gratitude to Allah.

“This is one of the numerous gifts His Imperial Majesty Iku Baba Yeye gifted me. A gift of a befitting house was least expected, but my late husband made it happen.

“Once again, my appreciation knows no limit. Even in eternity, my love for you is limitless. May you find peace wherever your soul is, my dear husband.

Congratulating herself on her new home, she added: “A big congratulations to me. New home, New adventure, New memories. Thank you oko mi Atanda, May your soul continue to rest in perfect peace.”

Queen Opeyemi Omobola, sharing photos with the late monarch along her house recounted arriving at the palace a nobody to becoming a queen eventually.

She thanked the late Alaafin for transforming her life and gifting her a home when it mattered the most.

“It is difficult to describe just how much your gesture of support in our time of need means to us. To have a reminder from the people that care for us that we are not alone in our grief is immeasurable.”

“This has reminded me a day I breezed into your kingdom as a nobody not knowing lot of good things is attainable when a woman finally found her missing ribs.

You’ve made me a noble person when you was alive and you even planned a notable gift that every living and meaningful soul always prays to owns, which is a house, and this is not just a house but a mini Paris located in Africa Continent.”

“This is my heartfelt appreciation for everything you have done for me. Continue to Rest on ATANDA!!! The house you gave to me is the Happiness but as you’re no more alive to keep on rest on your shoulders it a tragic to me,” she wrote.

PRESS RELEASE

Presidential Nomination Forms

As stipulated by the electoral law and Independent National Electoral Commission guidelines and timetable, the standard bearer of the All Progressives Congress, HE Asíwájú Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has returned his duly completed nomination forms to INEC.

The forms were returned on Wednesday June 15, two days ahead of schedule.

We wish to reiterate that HE Asíwájú Tinubu stands ready to contest the February 25, 2023 presidential election to deliver progressive good governance to our people.

Tinubu Media Office,
Tunde Rahman
June 17, 2022.
Lagos.

“The Supreme Court of Nigeria in its judgement yesterday, Thursday, 16th June, 2022, approved the use of hijab by Muslim students. The apex court dismissed the appeal by the Lagos State Government and upheld the earlier judgement of the Court of Appeal which held that the ban on hijab was discriminatory against Muslim students.

“The court upheld that the ban violated the Muslim students’ rights to freedom of thought, conscience, religion, the dignity of human persons and freedom from discrimination guaranteed by the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (https://punchng.com/breaking-supreme-court-upholds-use-of-hijab-in-lagos-schools/).

“Seven justices of the Supreme Court sat on the matter. Five of them supported the judgement while two opposed it. The lead judgement was read by Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun. Other justices on the panel were Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, Justice John Inyang Okoro, Justice Uwani Aji, Justice Mohammed Garba, Justice Tijjani Abubakar and Justice Emmanuel Agim.

“This is the moment of truth. Divine truth has overwhelmed social truth. No matter how long, truth will prevail in the end. MURIC hails this judgement. We salute the courage of the honourable justices who stood by the sanctity of the Constitution and the inviolability of our font et origo.

“Once again, this pronouncement has infused hope in the Nigerian judiciary. The justices have refused to be swayed by religious sentiment. They stuck to the facts of the case and relied on the supremacy of the Nigerian Constitution. This is evident in the constitution of the panel: only three of them are Muslims while the remaining four are Christians. Yet five of them were in favour.

“We call on the Lagos State Government (LASG) to immediately implement the letter and spirit of this judgement. It becomes imperative for LASG to issue a circular on the approval of hijab in all its public schools without any delay. MURIC had earlier demanded the issuance of this circular but LASG ignored our demand to date.

“But the highest court in the land has now spoken and LASG cannot afford to delay it because this is a constitutional matter and an issue of great public interest. Had it been freely given had been good, but it has been delayed until the victims of oppression and persecution can no longer express gratitude to LASG for having their Allah-given fundamental human rights restored by the Supreme Court.

“Let this serve as an eye-opener and a warning to religious fanatics and Muslim-haters wherever they may be, particularly those who often snatch the hijab from the heads of female Muslim students in public, those who have been humiliating our daughters and those who have been beating them mercilessly. Judgement day is here.

"We can see the doors of South West prisons opening to admit culprits of contempt of this Supreme Court pronouncement. Afterall, it is well known that there is no appeal for Supreme Court judgement. It is the last bus stop. All public school authorities, hardliner principals, classroom teachers in Kwara, Oyo, Osun, Ogun, Ondo, Ekiti, Edo, etc, are advised to take note.

“We give thanks to Almighty Allah, the Most Powerful, the Wisest, the Greatest, the Inimitable, the Indefatigable, the Invincible, the Judge of all judges, King of all kings and Master of all masters. We reaffirm our faith in the oneness of Allah and the prophethood of Muhammad (Peace and Mercy of Allah be upon him).

“MURIC congratulates Nigerian Muslims, particularly all Islamic organisations in the country. Special encomiums go to the team of Muslim lawyers who fought the case. They are our frontline soldiers. We salute their tenacity. We pray that Allah will reward them in this world and in the Hereafter. It has been a hard-won victory and a long road to triumph.

“Before we lift our fingers from the keyboard, we dedicate this victory to the undisputed leader of Nigerian Muslims, the Sultan of Sokoto and the President General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, Alhaji Muhammadu Sa’d Abubakar for his wise counsel and his unwavering belief in peaceful approach at all times. We thank Allah that this victory came in his lifetime.”

Professor Ishaq Akintola,

Director,

Muslim Rights Concern,

(MURIC)

Senate Chief Whip and Senator representing Abia North Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, has been disowned by his constituents for asking the All Progressive Congress, APC, presidential candidate, Alhaji Ahmed Bola Tinubu, a Muslim, to pick a fellow Muslim as his running mate.

Kalu who insisted that there was nothing wrong if Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, runs a Muslim-Muslim ticket, said that it would be politically naive for Tinubu, a minority Muslim from the South-West to choose a minority Christian from the North as his running mate.

But in a swift response, his constituents dismissed Kalu’s remarks as “shameful and disappointing”, saying he only spoke for himself and his pocket.

Responding, the paramount traditional ruler of Abiriba ancient kingdom, HRM Eze Kalu Kalu Ogbu (Enachoken), said the comment by the former Governor if truly he made such a remark was “strange, unbelievable and illogical”.

He argued that the religious plurality of Nigeria did not favour a joint ticket of same religion, hence, anybody suggesting otherwise should be disregarded.

” The ideas is strange. I don’t think he made such advocacy but if he did, he didn’t speak for Abia North, he didn’t speak for Ndigbo because such a comment doesn’t make sense at all. It’s very inappropriate.”

Similarly, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party in Abia North, Dr Isaac Nkole, said that Kalu had since, lost political steam and was only trying to warm his way to Tinubu’s camp after opposing his presidential ambition.

Dr Nkole said “it is very embarrassing for a supposed Senator in Kalu’s ranking to advocate Muslim/Muslim or even Christian/Christian ticket in a religious sensitive and plural state like Nigeria.”

He argued that “religion and ethnicity have unfortunately remained Nigeria’s fault lines which must not be dismissed with a wave of the hand in the interest of peace and national cohesion.”

The PDP chieftain reminded Kalu that “no amount of hypocritical remarks” would make Tinubu and his camp to forget that he supported and worked for Ahmed Lawan against Tinubu before and during the APC presidential primary.

He dismissed Kalu as “a disappointment and enemy” to Abia North, Christianity and Ndigbo, vowing that “the 2019 mistake” that brought him to power would never be repeated.

”Abia North will never again be represented by a political rolling stone ready to sell our future for a pot of porridge. The other time somebody said he brought RUGA to Lokpanta which is today a source of constant sorrow to the state. Today, somebody is championing Muslim/Muslim ticket. Is this part of lawmaking? How many bills has he sponsorsed? Must he always be in the news for the wrong reason?

”How did Abia North get to this point? Should Kalu not be ashamed that Tinubu who was Governor same time with him is today miles ahead of him politically? Should he keep advertising greed and shortsightedness?

”When Tinubu was busy building people Kalu was building Camp Neya. Both of them were in the presidential race but Kalu suddenly pulled out and began to shout Lawan and Northern presidency even against his fellow Igbo aspirants.

” Today, because he saw that his Lawan has been swept away by the Jagaban force that is why he has become Tinubu’s self-appointed adviser. What is he afraid of? Could that be a smart way of stopping a possible re-opening of his EFCC case by an eventual Tinubu administation?

“At the time he was supporting Lawan ,his party was saying that power should shift to South. How many of his Northern colleagues can do same for the South the way he is shamelessly doing?”

Speaking also the former Chairman, Umuahia North Council of Traditional Rulers and the monarch of Oriendu Autonomous community, HRM Eze Philip Ajomuiwe, said that the opinion of the former Governor on the matter was fault, and and invitation to anarchy.

He asked him to withdraw the position which, according to him is unbefitting of a Senator like him.

The monarch who described Kalu as a personal friend expressed disappointment over the suggestion, saying he would call him to tell him how he felt.

“I lack adjectives to qualify Senator Kalu for what he said. How can that work in Nigeria? Muslim/Muslim ticket is an invitation to anarchy. We can’t even suggest Christian/Christian ticket. There has to be a balance because Nigeria is highly sensitive to religion.”

There's a kite being flown that Ganduje will be Tinubu's VP. Seriously? �That'd be the absolute worst, most easily destroyable presidential ticket in Nigeria's electoral history. All opponents need do to destroy the ticket is simply say, "Bullion Van+ Gandollar=empty treasury."

Elegushi Appeals to Supporters to Respect the Decision of the Party

The APC candidate for the House of Representatives in Eti-Osa federal constituency, Oyekanmi Elegushi, has announced his withdrawal ahead of the 2023 parliamentary election, citing deference to APC’s preference for Ibrahim Obanikoro.

His spokesman Tobi Etti disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday in Lagos.

Mr Etti said Mr Elegushi had conveyed his withdrawal from the contest in a letter addressed to the party’s national chairman Abdullahi Adamu.

Though Mr Elegushi won the party’s primary election, he relinquished the ticket in obedience to the party and its leadership, said the statement.

While pledging his loyalty to the party, he (Elegushi) appealed to his supporters to respect the decision of the party and ensure all the candidates of the party are returned elected in the 2023 elections,” the statement explained.

Mr Elegushi won the May 27 primary election of the APC for Eti-Osa federal constituency after polling 25 votes to defeat incumbent Obanikoro, who had 23 votes.

President Muhammadu Buhari met with governors of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to discuss the choice of running mate of Bola Tinubu, the party’s presidential candidate, on Tuesday.

The meeting was held at the presidential villa in the federal capital territory (FCT).

Atiku Bagudu, Kebbi governor and chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF), led his colleagues into the meeting with the president.

Ibrahim Gambari, chief of staff to the president; Nasir el-Rufai, governor of Kaduna, and Babagana Zulum, governor of Borno, were among those present at the meeting.

Last week, Bola Tinubu campaign organisation said the APC governors are at liberty to pick a running mate for Tinubu.

Bayo Onanuga, spokesman of the campaign organisation, said Tinubu’s running mate can come from any geo-political zone and religion.

“The vice-president can come from any region and religion. But the PGF is at liberty to pick. Up till now, we are all aware that Atiku has not chosen a VP,” Onanuga had said.

“Yet, he was elected before him. But in our own case, it is a party affair.

“The party leaders will look at the chances and decide how they will balance a Muslim from the south, maybe with somebody that comes from north-east, north-central or from north-west.

“That is how it is done. I cannot circumvent the party.”

Kwara State Muslim Community yesterday recommended a change of names for all schools formerly owned by Muslim and Christian proprietors as an enduring solution to the lingering hijab crisis in the state.

The Muslim body also demanded adequate compensation for the family of the late Habeeb Idris killed on February 3 during the hijab crisis that rocked Ijagbo, Oyun Local Government Area of the state.

In a June 7 letter addressed to the state governor, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, the group gave six recommendations for resolving the vexed issue of hijab wearing by female Muslim students in all public schools in the state.

Copies of the letter signed by Alhaji Ishaq AbdulKareem (chairman) and Prof. AbdulKadir Ibrahim Abikan (secretary) were made available to newsmen in Ilorin, the state capital, yesterday.

The letter read in part, “The Kwara State government should change the names of all schools formerly owned by both the Muslim and Christian proprietors by adding ‘Government’ to them to reflect Ansarul Islam Government Secondary School, Ilorin; Bishop Smith Memorial Government College, Ilorin,” the community stated in the letter.

“The Kwara State government should build a new school mosque for Muslim students/ teachers of Bishop Smith Memorial College, Ilorin, to replace the one demolished by Kwara CAN thugs.

“The Kwara State government should appoint a new commissioner for education and human capital development, while the permanent secretary in the ministry should be moved to another ministry.

“The Kwara State government must enforce freedom of worship in our schools by ensuring that separate devotions are held for Muslim and Christian students at the school assembly, and no external imam or pastor should be allowed to participate in morning devotion aside from the school teachers.

“The Kwara State government should ensure, henceforth, that appointments and postings of principals into all schools are based on merit and seniority and should be the sole responsibility of Kwara State Teaching Service Commission instead of former proprietors as it’s being done now.”

Power Outage In Our Franchise Due To Grid Collapse.

Dear Esteemed Customers,

We regret to inform you that the power outage being experienced in our franchise states is due to System Collapse of the National Grid. The collapse occured at about 18:47 pm this evening hence the loss of supply on all our outgoing feeders.

Power supply shall be restored as soon as the National Grid is powered back.

Our sincere apologies for any inconvenience.

Signed
Abdulazeez Abdullahi
Head, Corporate Communication.
12/06/2022

*NOTICE OF SYSTEM COLLAPSE*

The Enugu Electricity Distribution Company PLC (EEDC) wishes to inform her esteemed customers of a system collapse which occurred at 6.49pm this evening, Sunday, 12th June, 2022...

As a result of this development, all our outgoing feeders are out and this has *affected supply to our customers in Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo States*.

We are on standby, awaiting further information on restoration of supply from the National Control Centre (NCC)...

Thank you.

Signed:

Emeka Ezeh
Head, Corporate Communications, EEDC

Dear Esteemed Customers, we regret to inform you of the on going system collapse on the National grid. This has affected our entire network and impacted our ability to deliver optimum service.
Please bear with us as we are working with our TCN partners on a swift resolution.

The disruption marked the 17th time the grid would collapse this year. While some collapses were not made public because they lasted for a short period, many others were made public and lasted days in some cases.

PRESS RELEASE!

*Akwa Ibom North West Senatorial District APC ticket: Matters Arising*

The 2023 DIG Udom Udo Ekpoudom (Rtd) Senatorial Campaign Organization has observed an absurd, ridiculous and highly provocative conspiracy with respect to the APC Akwa Ibom North West Senatorial District Senate Primary election, validly won by Udom Udo Ekpoudom. We vehemently wish to reiterate and state as follows:

1. That DIG Udom Udo Ekpoudom (Rtd), the Standard Bearer is a very disciplined, cultured and law abiding citizen with the national toga of Officer of Niger (OON), hence, he has a high regards for extant laws of any establishment.

2. Recall that Ekpoudom duly participated in the Akwa Ibom North West APC Senatorial District Primary Election held on Friday, May 27, 2022, in line with the 2023 Election Timetable and Guideline of our Party.

3. Succinctly, the primary election was properly monitored by INEC as constitutionally required and Udom Ekpoudom, was victorious and declared the winner and the party's flagbearer.

4. Sequel to the aforementioned, we want to state categorically and without any ambiguity, that at no time did our Party, the APC put our candidate, on notice of any cancellation of the Primary Election or that of conducting another Senatorial primary for the Akwa Ibom North West Senatorial seat.

5. We want to put it on record that the MANDATE given to Udom Ekpoudom by the good people of Akwa Ibom North West Senatorial District remains sacrosanct and is judiciously guarded and protected.

6. We hereby assure our party men and women and the good people of the Senatorial district that DIG Udom Udo Ekpoudom (Rtd), will under no circumstance, relinquish, withdraw or be substituted no matter the degree of pressure and inducement dangled by anyone.

He believes in the mandate, and in the mandate, he shall stand to provide leadership and accelerate development for the Senatorial district.

7. Most importantly, the purported "scam election' held on Thursday, 8th June, 2022 at the Skills Acquisition Centre in Ikot Ekpene is nothing but illegal, deceitful, unconstitutional, and legally defective.

8. We hereby appeal to our supporters to remain calm and steadfast as the Standard Bearer is prepared to defend his mandate freely given to him by the good people of Akwa Ibom North West Senatorial District.

Signed:

HON. UWEM UDOMA
Director General

OBONG GODWIN ETOKAKPAN
Secretary General

PETER O. UDIONG
Director, Media & Publicity

Dear Asiwaju, what matter the most is the competency of the person you are going to choose as your deputy, if he/she is a Nigerian with the capacity to help you achieve your great plans for this country, I am sure majority won’t bother whether he/she is a Christian or Muslim.

I am not blindly supporting or pushing for a Muslim/Muslim or Christian/Christian tickets, but consciously know that either of the two will definitely help us to reduce or even get rid of the politics that is solely based on religious prejudice in this country. It helped Kaduna

Former Minister of Aviation and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Femi Fani-Kayode, has said that the APC will be working against the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, in a very forceful and decisive way.

Fani-Kayode made this known when he appeared on Channels Television’s programme, Politics Today.

“We’ll be working against Atiku in a very forceful and decisive way, and I absolutely have no regrets about that.

“If you look back in 2019, I wasn’t really involved in his campaign at the presidential level. I didn’t really get involved in the campaign itself.

“It was in 2015 I was involved in the campaign for (former) President Jonathan but this time around, we are on oppposite sides to the PDP and I’m on the opposite side to (former) vice president Atiku and I’m supporting president to be, Bola Tinubu and we are going to win. Believe me, it’s going to be a very tough fight.”

Fani-Kayode noted that Atiku’s capabilities cannot be underestimated but still believed that Tinubu would defeat him.

“Atiku cannot be underestimated. Those that say walk over, I always look at them and say, ‘look, obviously you don’t know politics, you dont know Atiku.’

“He is a formidable candidate, he’s a very strong man, very focused man, an experienced man and you need to respect that and he has an excellent team of people around him but I beleive with the tenacious nature of Asiwaju, the people around him and with the party, the governors, the president and everybody else behind him in unity, strength and power, I believe we will be able to defeat him. It wont be easy, it will be a tough fight but I believe we will prevail in the end.”

The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has warned the leading political parties to avoid the thought of Christian/Christian or Muslim/Muslim presidential ticket in 2023.

CAN’s National Secretary, Barrister Joseph Bade Daramola, said on Friday in Abuja that such development is a threat to the fragile peace and unity of Nigeria.

He, however congratulated the presidential candidates of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the Labour Party (LP), Mr. Peter Obi and those of other parties participating in the forthcoming presidential election.

He said, “CAN urges that a balance of both religious practitioners be considered in the choice of running mates of the presidential candidates. We do not subscribe to Christian/Christian ticket or Muslim/Muslim ticket.

“Politicians can talk politics but we have stated our view long before now. Any party that tries same religion ticket will fail. This is not 1993. Even when we have joint Muslim/Christian ticket, the church still goes through hell.

“Imagine how bad it will be if we have two Muslims in power? The extant Nigerian constitution promotes religious balance. So, if any political party wants to try Muslim/Muslim ticket, it is at its own peril. CAN is only forewarning, but will make a categorical statement in the event our warning is not heeded.”

He urged that Tinubu’s running mate should be a Christian from the North; Atiku’s running mate should be a Christian from the South while Obi should choose his own among the Muslims from the North.

He said, “Anything contrary to the above means that the leadership of these political parties do not bother about the unity of Nigeria. Those who are planning Muslim/Muslim ticket should also find out what was the outcome of MKO Abiola and Kingibe ticket in 1993. If they try Muslim/Muslim ticket this time around, the outcome will be worse because our fault lines are very visible.

“In the ongoing dispensation, CAN leadership cried in vain to ask President Muhammadu Buhari to break the monopoly or dominance of the security architecture with people of same faith. We are all seeing the outcome now.

“It is obvious that the Nigeria of today is different from that of 1993. Our politicians should stop flouting the constitution by respecting the North and South dichotomy and religious factor.

“To those arguing that people do not care about the religions of their leaders once they are competent and credible, we dare APC to pick its Presidential running mate from the south and PDP pick its own from the north and see what follows.

“When the late sage, Papa Obafemi Awolowo picked Chief Mrs Oyibo Odinamadu, a fellow Christian and Southerner, as his running mate in 1979, we all know the consequences of his performance in the north. Our politicians should be doing what will unite us instead of what will further polarise the country.”

The Ondo State Police Command has denied the arrest of the attackers of St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo, where no fewer than 40 people were killed and many injured last Sunday.

A social media report said the suspected terrorists were arrested by a joint team of men of the Nigerian Army, Amotekun Corps and other security agencies as well as the local hunters, on Thursday.

The report said the suspects were taken to the palace of Olowo. It was gathered that when people heard about the news, they started besieging the palace to catch the glimpse of the suspects.

But the Olowo of Owo, Oba Ajibade Ogunoye, denied the report saying no suspect was arrested and taken to the palace. He had told the people that besieged the palace, in Owo dialect, that the attackers would soon be arrested.

Speaking with our correspondent on the telephone, the first class monarch said, “They said some people were arrested in the bush by the security but said they were not sure that the suspects were the ones that carried out the attack.

“The report was not true; people have been trooping to the palace to see them but Olowo has addressed them that no suspect was brought to the palace,” he explained.

A source said some criminals were arrested by the police in the bush but the people who saw the suspects in the police van thought they were the attackers and they had been taken to the palace, hence the besieging of the palace by the people.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, Mrs Funmilayo Odunlami, said the report was untrue, noting that nobody had been arrested in connection with the attack.

She said, “There is nothing like that. We have called the police divisions there, they said there was nothing like that. We have called the Kabiyesi, Olowo of Owo, he said he was not aware of any arrest. So, it is the handiwork of some social media but it is just rumour.”

If any of these two jabagantis win, I go just leave una walker go Ghana, go beg dem for citizenship.
Buhari, will look like a saint.

It is NOT for the Northern Governors to singlehandedly ZONE or DETERMINE the Presidential candidate of our party. It is for the President, the Nat. Chairman, the NWC & the delegates to decide. A challenge to the authority of the Chairman & supremacy of the party is unacceptable.

Members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Progressives Governors’ Forum (PGF) are currently in a closed-door meeting with the national leadership of the party.

The meeting is taking place at the national secretariat of the ruling party.

In attendance were Governors of Lagos, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Kaduna, Nasir El-Rufai, Kano, Umar Ganduje, Plateau, Simon Lalong, Niger, Sani Bello, Nasarawa, Abdullahi Sule, Borno, Babagana Zulum, Gombe, Mohammad Inuwa Yahaya, among others.

The governors arrived at the party’s national secretariat around 8pm.

They headed to the NEC Hall of the party to meet with the members of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC).

The meeting is not unconnected with the controversy rocking the party over the choice of the party’s presidential candidate for the 2023 presidential election.

President Muhammadu Buhari will deny that he endorsed Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, as the ruling All Progressives Congress consensus candidate as part of the gimmicks being played by his government, presidency sources have told SaharaReporters.

SaharaReporters learnt that Buahri indeed confided in the APC National Chairman, Abdullahi Adamu, that Lawan was his choice but never instructed him to make it public.

“Buhari will deny that he anointed Senate President, Lawan as consensus candidate. Although Buhari confided in Adamu, that he prefers Lawan, he didn’t tell him to announce it.

“Governors had pigeon-holed Buhari by asking the presidency to go to the South and Kaduna Governor, (Nasir) El- Rufai got wind of it and leaked their position to the press to pressurise Buhari not to endorse Lawan,” one of the top sources revealed.

Earlier, the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) announced Senate President Lawan as the consensus presidential candidate of the party.

Adamu made the announcement at the meeting of National Working Committee (NWC) on Monday in Abuja.

His adoption of Lawan as the consensus candidate is against the position of 11 APC northern governors, who had said that power must shift to the South after President Buhari’s tenure.

Adamu told the National Working Committee that he arrived at the choice of the Senate President after consultation with President Muhammadu Buhari.

Earlier, Buhari was reported to have held a closed-door meeting with governors of the All Progressives Congress, APC, from the north at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

This comes amid preparations for the party’s convention to elect its presidential candidate for the 2023 general elections.

Although President Buhari has maintained his position on the consensus arrangement, there has not been any agreement among the 23 presidential aspirants.

The governors in attendance were Chairman of Progressive Governors Forum and governor of Kebbi State, Atiku Bagudu, chairman of Northern governors Forum and governors of Plateau State, Simeon Lalong, Abubakar Baduru (Jigawa) and Babagana Zulum (Borno).

Others were; Aminu Bello Masari (Katsina), Abdullahi Sule (Nasarawa), Bello Matawale (Zamfara), Mallam Nasir el-Rufai (Kaduna), Abdullahi Ganduje (Kano), Yahaya Inuwa (Gombe), Abubakar Bello (Niger), and the Yobe State governor, Mai Mala Buni.

A consensus candidate will emerge from the APC presidential primary election, says APC presidential aspirant Dave Umahi

A consensus candidate will emerge from the APC presidential primary election, says APC presidential aspirant Dave Umahi#SunriseDailyNow#CTVTweets pic.twitter.com/WvMxCjhgM1

— Channels Television (@channelstv) June 6, 2022

“Consensus building has been part of the APC…I believe strongly that the APC is not going to do what the Peoples Democratic Party did.

“If the APC goes the way of the PDP in their last convention then I’ll say there’s a very serious problem for our country Nigeria.

“The way we came out from the convention for the National Chairman is the same way we’ll come out with the choice of our presidential candidate for 2023.

Abubakar Badaru, governor of Jigawa state, says the decision of northern governors in the All Progressives Congress (APC) to back power shift to the south is subject to the approval of President Muhammadu Buhari.

After a meeting on Saturday, governors from the region asked Buhari to look toward the southern presidential hopefuls when considering his successor in the ruling party.

They asked the northern presidential hopefuls in the APC to withdraw from the race in national interest.

A statement issued after the meeting also stated that Badaru has withdrawn from the race “to contribute to this patriotic quest”.

Speaking to BBC Hausa on Sunday, Badaru said the discussion among the northern governors during the meeting is still a proposal to be sent to the president for approval.

The governor added that he will only withdraw from the presidential race if Buhari gives his consent for power to be shifted to the south.

“It is true, northern governers, about 11 of them, myself included, discussed the issue and looked at the situation. We concluded to advise Buhari that given the situation, it will be better to cede the candidature to the south,” Badaru said.

“That was the reason why three people were nominated; the governors of Kebbi, Plateau and Nassarawa states to go and meet Buhari to discuss the issue. If he agrees with it, it will be implemented. Otherwise, if he has a better proposal, he should give it to us in his capacity as our father and we as his children.

“So I was surprised to hear that a communique has been issued with the signature of people, which in all honesty was a proposal meant to be taken to Baba. If he agrees with it, it will be implemented and if doesn’t agree, we will continue with any proposal he puts forward since all of us, the northern governors are loyal to Buhari and whatever he says, God willing we will do it. All of us who were present in that meeting, none of us will disagree with Buhari if he says anything. But we discussed among ourselves, seeing the situation the country, and agreed to present that proposal.

“I am not in a position to withdraw until I hear what Buhari says. If he says we should go ahead with a contest, we will go ahead. If he says we should withdraw and take the candidature to the south, we will do so and be in the vanguard to convince others from the north to drop their ambition because Baba says it should go to the south. However, if Baba said we should continue we will continue.”

The APC presidential primary is slated for June 6 to June 8.

Tinubu is in HOT Water

BAT’s Abeokuta rant has extremely angered APC that it could be his singular undoing. APC chair Abdullahi Adamu had a scathing condemnation for BAT on BBC Hausa this morning, “An ethical person won’t do what he did”, “Even someone who’s drunk won’t do this unless he intended it”… “We won’t let it go unpunished”… “it is the height of lack of etiquette”… “We must teach him a lesson”… “if this damages his ambition, he should have himself to blame”...

Signs of Things To Come

“An ethical person won’t do what he did. Even someone who’s drunk won’t do this unless he intended it. We won’t let it go unpunished…it is the height of lack of etiquette. We must teach him a lesson, if this damages his ambition, he should have himself to blame...”

--- APC national chairman, Abdullahi Adamu, speaking on Tinubu on BBC Hausa on Sunday morning.

The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), is currently meeting with Presidential aspirants of the All Progressives Congress, at the State House, Abuja.

Buhari, who returned from an ECOWAS extraordinary summit hours ago, will be meeting at least 23 recognised Presidential hopefuls.

They include Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Bola Tinubu, Governors Yahaya Bello (Kogi), Dave Umahi (Ebonyi), Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti), former Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Goodwill Akpabio, former transport minister, Rotimi Amaechi, amongst others.

With barely 48 hours until the Presidential Primary elections of the APC, the meeting would, among other things, centre on the choice of a consensus candidate.

The PUNCH reports that the Screening Committee Chairman, Dr John Oyegun, on Friday told journalists that 99 per cent of the aspirants are in support of consensus.

IN his address to governors of the All Progressives Congress (APC) before his departure to Spain on a state visit, President Muhammadu Buhari stressed the need for him to give stronger leadership to the party at this time to help enhance party cohesion as well as strengthen the APC’s chances of winning not just the next presidential elections but a majority of state governorships as well as national and state legislative seats. To achieve this, he reportedly solicited the support of the governors in allowing him to choose the party’s next presidential flag bearer just as incumbent first term governors have been given the opportunity of contesting for a second term in office and those in their second term to influence those who succeed them in the interest of continuity. It is instructive that the President sought the cooperation of governors and promised to consult all stakeholders in the unfolding process. This implies that he is not necessarily demanding that he unilaterally determine the choice of the party’s presidential candidate as it has been widely interpreted.

For one, the stakes in the contest for the party’s presidential ticket and the country’s presidency are much higher than those in the bid either for party executive positions at national or state levels or even for governorship tickets at state level. There is thus likely to be open or subtle resistance to perceived imposition at this level. For the choice of the presidential candidate to be credible and thus acceptable to the losers so that the party can face the election as a cohesive whole, the process must be seen to be open and transparent. At least 23 persons have fulfilled the party’s conditions for picking its nomination and expression of interest forms, paid the humongous stipulated fees and some of these have been crisis-crossing the country aggressively wooing delegates who will vote in what is believed will be free, fair and credible primaries. The game has already started; trying to change the rules midstream will prove costly and combustible.

While it is true that incumbent governors have considerable influence in determining either their emergence as candidates for re-election for a second term or favored aspirants who will succeed governors in their last tenure, this cannot be done arbitrarily or in violation of stipulated party and constitutional regulations. The APC is supposed to have learnt this lesson the hard way when it lost some states to the opposition in the past through judicial pronouncements that it had violated its own constitutionally stipulated processes for picking candidates. It cannot afford to gamble with the presidency.

I am unaware of any state either in the APC or PDP where governorship candidates emerged without primaries no matter how contrived the latter may be perceived to be. Trying to foist a consensus presidential candidate on the APC and avoiding interested aspirants testing their electoral strength and acceptability in intra -party primaries will be counter-productive especially as the PDP has set the example of conducting open and competitive primaries.

Yes, the PDP primaries had its own challenges and shortcomings. But at least no attempt was made to shut any aspirant out or contrive the emergence of a candidate without competition. The point has been made that the PDP primaries was excessively monetized with a surfeit of dollars expended on delegates by aspirants with huge war chests. But has the ongoing APC process not also been unduly monetized with the nomination and expression of interest fees for various offices demanded by the party [/b]far in excess of that of the PDP? The central and unhealthy role of money in the country’s political and electoral processes is a function of the pervasive poverty in the country as well as the errancy of the political elite and will gradually decline as the democratic culture is strengthened and the political consciousness of the people develops.

Others contend that the PDP violated its own canon of zoning which demands that its presidential candidate comes from the South rather than the North which has been in control of the presidency since 2015 with the expectation that power will shift to the South after Buhari’s tenure in 2023. But the greater burden in this respect lies with the [b]APC. The party will have to justify why its next presidential candidate should come from the north immediately after the tenure of a northern President who has spent eight years in power on its platform. It will be easy for the PDP to rationalize that the last occupant of the office on its platform was from the South. In any case, the PDP did not screen out any candidate for ridiculous reasons or preclude aspirants from any region from participating in its primaries.

It is instructive that governor Nyesom Wike, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar’s closest challenger, has claimed that he was betrayed by governors from the South. An analysis of the outcome of the results indicate that a good number of delegates from the South actually voted for Atiku rather than Wike. But the important thing is that the PDP primaries were openly and transparently conducted and no aspirant unjustly excluded setting a standard for the APC to emulate.

Some tendencies within the APC contend that with the emergence of Atiku as the PDP presidential candidate, the party’s flag bearer must also be picked from the North in order to prevent the PDP’s monopoly of votes in the region. Others insist that the APC must respect the principle of zoning as the choice of an astute presidential candidate from the South with national acceptance and network can triumph over Atiku at the polls. Supporters of some of the aspirants promote their choice as the best to fly the party’s flag in terms of competence, track record and ability to effectively tackle the country’s challenges. Arguments can be made either for against these propositions. The critical thing is to allow the elected delegates to make a final choice for the party in free, fair and transparent primaries conducted in accordance with stipulated rules and regulations.

President Buhari no doubt has the right to have a preferred aspirant in mind to emerge as the party’s flag bearer and succeed him in office if he wins the general elections. Such a person will certainly enjoy whatever advantages the President’s incumbency confers. However, what, from all indications, critical party stakeholders and majority of members will oppose is the imposition of a presidential candidate under any disguise. Any aspirant must subject himself to the decision of delegates in a competitive contest. Unfortunately, this is exactly what a powerful clique in the party is obviously trying to avoid by all means. Thus, the inexplicable delays in the commencement of the process of nominating a presidential flag bearer that ultimately led to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) shifting the deadline for the conduct of primaries and submission of candidates obviously to the benefit of the APC.

The air has been thick with rumors and speculations of subterranean plots by a clique to exclude some aspirants who it is believed will be difficult to defeat in primaries as well as manipulate the process to facilitate the emergence of a preordained candidate. That would be gravely injurious not only to the cohesion and continued existence of the party but its electoral fortunes in 2023.