₦airaland Forum

Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has made his first promise to Nigeria of what he will do if elected president.

Mr Abubakar widely known as Atiku was a former vice president. He recently choosed his running mate for the 2019 presidential race.

Atiku, a former vice president, is expected to slug it out with incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari who is seeking a second term in office.

His former principal, Olusegun Obasanjo recently endorsed his candidacy.



For Atiku, his first promise is to appoint ministers immediately if he emerge the country’s leader.

He stated this on Friday in a tweet on his twitter handle.

“If Nigerians elect me as their President, I will NOT take 6 months before naming my cabinet,” Mr Atiku said.

“My cabinet will be ready before May 29, 2019, if by the grace of God, you elect me.

“Our country needs a decisive leader to Get Nigeria Working Again,” he added.

Mr Buhari when elected president appointed his minister six months after he took oath of office.

His action severally battered the nation’s economy and plunged the country into recession.

Bukola Saraki, Senate President, says the All Progressive Congress (APC) is always confused and disorganised at the mention of his name.

Mr Saraki stated this while reacting to claims by the APC that his loss at the presidential primary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) shows that the delegates of the opposition party “were fed up with his political style.”

The APC in a statement on Tuesday by its publicity secretary, Yekini Nabena, said the failure of Mr Saraki at the PDP elective convention is a befitting end to the ambition of a “greedy, untrustworthy and double-dealing politician.

The top lawmaker lost the primary to former vice president, Atiku Abubakar who came first. Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal, trailed Abubakar to come second while Saraki came third in a contest of 12 aspirants.



Reacting, Saraki in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Yusuph Olaniyonu, said the ruling party is always being disturbed at the mention of his name.

“We have noted the irresponsible statement issued by the APC spokesman, Yekinni Nabena,” Mr Olaniyonu said.

“We know that he and the leadership of the APC are always incensed and disturbed at the mere hearing of the name, Saraki.

“It is also notable that Nabena and the APC are always concerned about the developments in the opposition party, the PDP.



“However, we believe that with the ‘civil war’ that Adams Oshiomhole and Yekinni Nabena have ignited in the APC and the very low level that they have dragged the party, in such manner that the ruling party is wallowing in confusion and disorganization, they have too much to pre-occupy them than to be poking their noses in what happens to Saraki or the APC (sic PDP),” he added.

Also, Mr Abubakar has also stated how his emergence as the candidate of the PDP threw the APC into confusion.

The All Progressive Congress (APC) has reeled out reasons why Nigerians should not elect Atiku Abubakar, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2019 presidential election.

Mr Abubakar, widely known as Atiku, emerged the flag bearer of the PDP at the weekend.

His emergence has drawn reaction from Nigerians.

Reacting in a statement by its acting National Publicity Secretary, Yekini Nabena, the ruling party urged Nigerians not to elect the former vice president because of some alleged corruption allegations hanging on his neck.



While welcoming Atiku into the presidential race, the APC told the former number two citizen that the presidency is not for sale, given his antecedents wherein he is allegedly known for buying his way into whatsoever he desires.

Atiku has severally defected from the PDP while pursuing his ambition of becoming Nigeria’s President.

The party also alleged that the former vice president monetarily influenced his emergence in the PDP having failed to achieved same in the APC.

READ THE STATEMENT BELOW:

Senator Ben Murray-Bruce, has reacted to the police invitation extended to him and his colleagues who protested against the recently concluded Osun State governorship re-run election.

Mr Bruce, who joined other protesters including Bukola Saraki, Senate President; Aminu Tambuwal, Sokoto State Governor, Sule Lamido, former governor of Jigawa State; Uche Secondus, the national chairman of the opposition party; Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso and Senator Dino Melaye, was summoned to appear at the police headquarter on Monday, October 8, 2018.

The invitation was also extended to messrs Saraki and Melaye.

Reacting, the Bayelsa lawmaker said the police were inviting him after manhandling him.



Bruce who did not state if he was going to honour the invitation or not, queried the police on when the force would conclude investigation on the issue of the stolen mace at the Senate.

“After being tear gassed by the @PoliceNG, I have been summoned along with @NGRSenate President @bukolasaraki and Senator @dino_melaye to appear at Force Headquarters,” Bruce tweeted Friday evening.

“By the way, let me ask the Police when they would conclude investigation into the attempted mace theft?” he queried.

Political thugs had in April invaded the upper legislative chamber in broad day light carting away the mace which symbolises the authority of the red chamber.

This happened in the full glare of the security agencies including the police who had its men guarding the legislative arm of government.

It was reported to be one of the strategic plans of the All Progressive Congress (APC) to effect a change of leadership at the Senate.

The mace was later found under a bridge in Abuja and was returned to the law making arm with some arrest made with the Police promising to unravel the mystery. As at press time, nothing has been heard of the story again.

A senator who allegedly aided thugs to cart away the mace was recently suspended by his political party for anti-party activities.

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The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has summoned Senate President, Bukola Saraki , Senator Ben Murray Bruce and others who participated in protesting against the recently concluded Osun re-run governorship election.

NGPOLITICS had reported how Mr Saraki, on Friday, led chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to protest against the Osun re-run election which the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Gboyega Oyetola, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner.

The re-run was marred by irregularities, with local and international observers condemning it as having failed to meet the minimum acceptable standards in election conduct.

Notable among the protesters are: Aminu Tambuwal, Sokoto State Governor; Sule Lamido, former governor of Jigawa State; Uche Secondus, the national chairman of the opposition party; Senator Ben Murray-Bruce, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso and Senator Dino Melaye.



While Mr Bruce alleged he was teargassed during the demonstration, Mr Melaye had a physical combat with the force officers.

Summoning the protesters to turn in themselves on Monday 8th of October 2018, the Police in a statement by its spokesman, Jimoh Moshood, alleged that the protesters attempted to break into the Force Headquarters in an unruly conduct to disturb the peace of Abuja residents.

Rabiu Kwankwaso, a presidential aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has stated how the party can retrieve the power it lost to the All Progressive Congress, (APC).

Mr Kwankwaso, is a former governor of Kano State. Although now representing Kano Central at the Senate he is one of the lawmakers who recently defected from the APC to the PDP.

The lawmaker, while he was governor of Kano State, was among rebel governors who pulled out of the PDP and pitch tent with APC at the time. He came second in the presidential primary of the now ruling party.

Kwankwaso has not been in good terms with his longtime political ally and incumbent governor of the state, Abdullahi Ganduje.

His political machinery is named Kwankwasiya. They are widely known for donning a red cap.

In an interview with Premium Times, the Kano lawmaker said the only option left for the PDP to grab back power is to make him the party’s presidential candidate for the 2019 general election.

He said going by his years of experience as a civil servant and a politician, he was the only one in the opposition party capable of defeating President Muhammadu Buhari who is also in the race. Mr Buhari is seeking re-election under the platform of the APC.

Kwankwaso also said the president was politically afraid of him because of his wide coverage in the country mostly in Northern Nigeria.

“Today, in every house, especially here in Northern Nigeria, you get at least one person who is a member of the Kwankwasiya Movement. Whether he or she is putting our colour, the red cap or not, you have one, maybe the driver or the cook, the cleaner, or the son, or the wife or the man the leader of the house himself,” he said.

“So, we are very strong and I think I am the only person with that strength. If I get ticket, I will come with millions of people into the contest for the support of my candidature as members of Kwankwasiya.

“But – others will only wait for PDP to mobilise and give them members of the PDP. You also know that I come from Kano, the most populous state in this country, going by 2006 census and the most popular zone and also the zone of this sitting president.”

When asked if this was what it will take to unseat the president, Kwankwaso affirmed positively.

“Certainly. Everybody knows it, including the president himself. He knows if I get the ticket, I will defeat them.

“…but I can tell you if I get the ticket, the job is done and PDP will take the seat and come back to power with better determination, with better experience so that all these division we have today in this country, can be cemented.”

The PDP has 12 aspirants including Kwankwaso and the former Kano governor believes he is better than 11 other contestants.

He described Kwankwasiya as an ideology with is also growing in the southern part of the country with over 700,000 membership from the protectorate.

Festus Keyamo, the official spokesperson for President Muhammadu Buhari’s re-election campaign, has opined why some leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) protested at the headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The PDP protesters led by Senate President, Bukola Saraki, are demanding the cancellation of the recently concluded re-run governorship election in Osun State.

The PDP members are also demanding the declaration of their party’s candidate, Ademola Adeleke, as winner of the election.

Mr Adeleke lost to Gboyega Oyetola of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the Osun election after a controversial rerun exercise in seven polling units.

Mr Saraki until recently was a member of the APC. He was appointed head of the PDP National Campaign Council for the Osun guber poll.

Among the protesters are: Aminu Tambuwal, Sokoto State Governor; Sule Lamido, former governor of Jigawa State; Uche Secondus, the national chairman of the opposition party and Senator Ben Murray-Bruce.

Reacting, Mr Keyamo said the PDP leaders were protesting because they were not given the chance to “practice their trade.”

The presidential spokesman said Nigerians were mocking the protesters while they were demonstrating at INEC Headquarters.

“Some Nigerians I saw were laughing out so loud today when they saw pictures of some known masters of rigging ‘protesting’ at INEC office against ‘rigging’ in Osun State,” Mr Keyamo said on Friday.

“I therefore concluded that the protest was more about the refusal of INEC to allow them practice their trade,” he added.

However, NGPOLITICS gathered that while the protesters were protesting, the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) allegedly fired teargas in a bid to disperse them.

There has not been a formal reason for the Police action from the force headquarters.

Ovie Omo-Agege, the senator representing Delta Central Senatorial District at the Senate has been expelled from the All Progressive Congress, (APC).

Mr Omo-Agege featured in the news when he allegedly led thugs who invaded the Senate in a bid to effect a change of leadership at the upper legislative chamber.

The reportedly thugs manoeuvred their way into the National Assembly amidst tight security at the legislative arm of government and carted away the Mace of the red chamber.

The Delta State lawmaker was alleged to have led the thugs into the chamber because the invaders came in shortly after the lawmaker resurfaced at the Senate from the suspension earlier slammed on him for being part of those who opposed the electoral amendment bill. The suspension was later nullified by a federal high court.



Months later, his party has suspended him for alleged anti-party activities mandating some security outfit to pick up the lawmaker for prosecution.

Announcing his suspension, the Delta State chapter of the APC on Wednesday said the decision was the outcome of an emergency meeting of the State Working Committee (SWC) in Asaba, the state capital.

In a statement titled ‘Delta APC Expels Senator Ovie Omo-Agege’, signed by the party’s Legal Adviser, Dennis Nwanokwai Esq, the lawmaker is accused of thuggery as his expulsion takes effect immediately.

“The latest of such activities relates to the hijack of primaries panel members and materials sent from the national secretariat to conduct primaries in the state and deploying same to conduct unauthorised parallel primaries,” the statement read.

“Others are the manipulation and tampering of delegates’ lists and the use of thugs to harass and deprive authentic delegates from access to primaries venues, all that in conjunction with Prophet Jones Erue and others who have earlier been expelled from our party.



“The expulsion of Senator Ovie Omo-Agege is with immediate effect. The SWC also resolved to petition the security services, including the Police and DSS to arrest and prosecute Senator Omo-Agege, Prophet Jones Erue and others for impersonation and others actions calculated to breach public peace,” the statement partly read.

Efforts by NGPOLITICS to get the lawmaker react to his suspension was unsuccessful as he did not return or reply calls and text messages sent to him.

The All Progressive Congress (APC) may have concluded plans to oust the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, from his position over his defection to the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP).

The plan was made known a lawmaker of the ruling party, Peter Akpatason, representing Akoko-Edo at the lower legislative chamber.

Mr Akpatason stated this on Wednesday in Benin while addressing reporters. The lawmaker said himself and his party colleagues at the lower house were out to ensure that the wish of the party on Mr Dogara is carried on resumption of the house.

According to him, it is an aberration for a member of a minority political party to continue to be speaker of the House of Representatives.

“We, as party loyalists, will carry out any instruction we get from the party. We will study the situation when we get back. Whatever the situation is will be what we will react to,” Akpatason said.

“We cannot be happy to have a speaker that belongs to another party. It is an aberration and has to be treated as such,” he added.

The lawmaker noted that when the house reconvened, “the needful” would be done regarding the leadership of both chambers of the National Assembly, refusing to elucidate more on his comment.

While the Senate is led by Bukola Saraki, the House of Reps has Dogara as its leader. The duo formerly members of the APC recently pitched their tents with the PDP.

Several attempts to oust Mr Saraki since his emergence as Senate President have often met brick wall. The most recent is the siege laid at the National Assembly.

Efforts by the APC to get the top lawmaker to relinquish his position fell on deaf ears as he has maintained that those who elected him were the only ones with the power to remove him.

The legislative arm of government which is supposed to have resumed on September 25 shifted its resumption date to October 9, citing timetables of primary elections of political parties.

The Social Democratic Party (SDP) has distanced itself from the coalition that Iyiola Omisore, its candidate in the Osun State governorship election, entered with the All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of Thursday’s rerun.

In a terse statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Alfa Mohammed, SDP said it was not part of the conclusions reached Omisore and the APC.

"The Social Democratic Party (SDP) would like to make it categorically clear that the National Leadership of the party was not part of the recent developments involving our party's gubernatorial candidate, Senator Iyiola Omisore of Osun State, and the conclusions arrived at,” read the statement.

"We remain irrevocably committed to serving the Nigerian people on the basis of the vision, principles and goals of social democracy which underlie the philosophy of our great party, the SDP.”

Earlier on Wednesday, Omisore had announced his readiness to work with the APC ahead of the rerun, saying the decision was made “after due consultations with the party leadership and members in all the 30 local government areas of Osun State”.
He said APC had agreed to adopt SDP’s manifestos in “forming a coalition government with SDP in Osun State”.

Godwin Obaseki, Edo State Governor, has stated why he was busy sleeping why President Muhammadu Buhari was delivering his speech at the United Nation’s conference in New York.

Pictures of Mr Obaseki sleeping at the occasion had flooded the internet early Wednesday morning.

But reacting to the development, the governor in a statement signed by his special adviser on media and communication strategy, Crusoe Osagie, said he was not the only one that has slept at an international gathering.

He said the internet is awash with photographs of outstanding world leaders who have at one time or the other yielded to fatigue at meetings.



“Our attention has been drawn to a mischievous campaign designed to smear the image of the Edo State Governor, Mr. Governor Obaseki.

“The disparagers have populated the internet with photographs of the governor when he momentarily succumbed to fatigue after a long flight, preceded by a chaotic itinerary in Edo State before heading to New York for the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly, in the United States of America.

“The idle hands and mischievous minds behind the smear campaign against governor Obaseki are clearly not people to be taken seriously.”

Femi Fani-Kayode, former Aviation Minister has warned Iyiola Omisore, the Osun State governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) to be mindful of Adams Oshiomhole, the national chairman of the All Progressive Congress, (APC).

Mr Fani-Kayode gave the warning on Wednesday while reacting to reports of Mr Oshiomhole who led a high powered delegation to visit Mr Omisore who has no chances of emerging governor from the votes of the election realised so far.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had defeated the ruling party with 353 votes in the Saturday Poll. However, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared the election inconclusive citing that cancelled votes was greater than the winning margin.

INEC therefore ordered for a supplementary election in seven polling units located in four local governments – Osogbo, Orolu, Ife North and Ife South. Mr Omisore is believed to yield influence in the last two LGAs given his position as a prince in these areas as he came third in the gubernatorial poll. Formerly of the PDP, he left the party to contest under the SDP when he failed to secured the ticket of the PDP.

If any of the two major political parties must emerge victorious, Omisore must not underrated. This is why the PDP delegation led by Bukola Saraki, Senate President, also visited the lawmaker urging him to help the opposition party come out victorious. Omisore promised the both parties his support.

While warning Omisore, Fani-Kayode alleged that the lawmaker was been offered a huge amount of money and a senatorial ticket.

“On sat. Adams Oshiomole called Iyiola Omisore a murderer and by wed. he offered him 480 million and the APC senatorial ticket,” the former minister said in a tweet.

“I trust that Iyiola will remember that dining with the devil is a risky business:the bible says what profiteth a man to gain the world and lose his soul,” Fani-Kayode added.

He thereafter said it was only God who could decide the fate of the people of the the state.

“The fate of the people of Osun and the outcome of tomorrow’s rerun are in the hands of God and not in the hands of any man.

“No matter what the APC does and no matter who chooses to work for them, God’s counsel shall stand, His will shall be done and His name shall be glorified.”

The ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) might win the governorship re-run election in Osun State on Thursday.

The APC might emerge victorious having successfully secured the endorsement of Senator Iyiola Omisore, the candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), in the election.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had defeated the ruling party with 353 votes in the Saturday Poll. However, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared the election inconclusive citing that cancelled votes was greater than the winning margin.

INEC therefore ordered for a supplementary election in seven polling units located in four local governments – Osogbo, Orolu, Ife North and Ife South. Mr Omisore is believed to yield influence in the last two LGAs given his position as a prince in these areas as he came third in the gubernatorial poll. Formerly of the PDP, he left the party to contest under the SDP when he failed to secured the ticket of the PDP.

There are about 3, 498 registered voters in the polling units where the elections were cancelled although the battle is between the APC candidate, Gboyega Oyetola and the candidate of PDP, Ademola Adeleke, other contestants are also going to participate.

When the SDP candidate met with the delegation of the PDP who had sought his support to win votes in the area since his chances of making it in the election was slim, Omisore told the opposition party that he was going to support any of them who will be willing to implement his election manifesto.

“I have given my programmes to both APC and PDP. My programme is like this; payment of salaries and pensions. Good governance is what is important to me,” Mr Omisore told journalists after the meeting with the delegation led by Senate President Bukola Saraki on Monday.

“Anyone between the two that will do that will get my support. I am passionate about Osun and my interest is the welfare of the people of this state. I have told those sent to me. At the appropriate time, we will tell you where we are going,” he added.

Mr Saraki also spoke to reporters after the meeting, saying the PDP has agreed in principle with Mr Omisore’s conditions to get his support for the rerun election.

While the outgoing administration in the state headed by Rauf Aregbesola, has reportedly owed workers for over 2 years, Omisore in a tweet on Tuesday night suggests he has stroke a deal with the APC’s delegation led by governor-elect of Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi.

“With @OfficialAPCNg Ekiti state governor elect @kfayemi during his visit today. #goodgovernanceinosunstate #OsunDecides2018,” he tweeted.

The camp of the PDP seems to have gotten the message.

“Omisore I’m told caved in to pressure from APC,” a tweet from Doyin Okupe, the spokesman of Saraki Presidential Campaign Council, partly read.