APC group urge Buhari to stop corrupt politicians

A Transparency Group (TG), with affiliation to the  All Progressives Congress (APC), has urged the leadership of the party to ensure that only corrupt free politician will be allow to contest for the governorship primary election come August 29 this year. The group coordinator, Mallam Ibrahim Gimba Ocholi, at a Press conference yesterday in Lokoja, said the APC won the previous election because of the integrity it portrayed  to Nigerians, saying such tempo be maintained by stopping corrupt politicians particularly those already facing EFCC over alleged stolen funds. The Coordinator continued that President Muhammadu Buhari, is known by Nigerians as an incorruptible individual and eventually occupying the presidency with clean hands, "It is therefore sacrosanct for any one who will fly the party's governorship flag must not be corrupt or linked with corrupt acts. "Kogi will be the first state where our party will test it ground, suffice is to say that the party must only allow people who are both political, intellectually mobile with high level of intergrity. This state have for been backward because of corrupt leadership. If the APC at the top is busy fighting corruption, then we must ensure that our party flag bearer must be corrupt free irrespective of where he or she comes from in the state," he added. Reacting on the fact that no one has been indicted of corruption in the state, Ocholi, said, "Yes the law says accused person is always innocent until proven guilty. Now tell me what if the accused person eventually become a governor with immunity, can he continue to be on trial to know if he or she is guity or not? I leave that for you to answer." Ocholi equally urged the party to ensure primary election for all qualify aspirants and avoid the act of imposition and favoratism. No fewer than twenty governorship aspirants  will be participating in the coming APC  governorship election in the state. While aspirants are already picking their nomination forms for the battle ahead.

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PMB states why he won’t appoint ministers till September

Nigeria's President, Muhammadu Buhari has stated that his government's ministers will not be appointed until September, adding that the delay in naming members of the yet-to-be constituted Federal Executive Council (FEC) is to allow for critical reforms which will guide the conduct of the ministers when they are appointed. Buharimade this konwn in an article published by the Washington Post on the occasion of his visit to the United States of America. According to him, it would neither be prudent, nor serve the interest of sound government to have hastily made ministerial appointments immediately after coming into office without the necessary reforms. Buhari, who criticised recent calls in some quarters about the slow pace of his administration said the task cannot be rushed, insisting that Nigeria must put new rules of conduct and good governance in place before making key appointments. Buhari said: “When cabinet ministers are appointed in September, it will be some months after I took the oath of office. It is worth noting that Obama himself did not have his full cabinet in place for several months after first taking office; the United States (U.S.) did not cease to function in the interim. “In Nigeria’s case, it would neither be prudent nor serve the interests of sound government to have made these appointments immediately on my elevation to the presidency; instead, Nigeria must first put new rules of conduct and good governance in place.” The President who met with the U.S. President Barack Obama yesterday, stressed the importance of carrying out the critical reforms correctly before appointing ministers. He said it was also crucial to install correct leadership in the military and security services before fully taking the battle to Boko Haram. He said: “There are too few examples in the history of Nigeria since independence where it can be said that good management and governance were instituted at a national level. This lack of a governance framework has allowed many of those in charge, devoid of any real checks and balances, to plunder.” In the article which was published ahead of Buhari’s meeting with the U.S. President yesterday, Buhari said he would be seeking President Obama’s help in locating and returning about $150 billion looted funds. “The fact that I now seek Obama’s assistance in locating and returning $150 billion in funds stolen in the past decade and held in foreign bank accounts on behalf of former corrupt officials is testament to how badly Nigeria has been run. This way of conducting our affairs cannot continue.” He also blamed the inability of the previous government to defeat Boko haram on what he called the failure of governance. He insisted that rules and good governance must be instilled in government, “installing officials who are experience and capable of managing state agencies and ministries; and third, seek to recover funds stolen under previous regimes so that this money can be invested in Nigeria for the benefit of all of our citizens.” The President also revealed that Nigeria would seek the help of the U.S. in the fight against terrorism and corruption through the provision of the much-needed military training and intelligence. He spoke of plans to seek the increased investments from the US in the areas of energy and electricity. While addressing issues around reforms and change, the President acknowledged that reforming Nigeria after many years of abuse cannot be achieved overnight, and therefore called for patience and support. “I was elected on a platform of change. I know this is what the people of Nigeria desire more than anything else. I realise the world waits to see evidence that my administration will be different from all those that came before. “Yet reforming my country after so many years of abuse cannot be achieved overnight. In our campaigns against both Boko Haram and corruption, we should remain steadfast and remember, as it is said ‘have patience. All things become difficult before they become easy.’

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PDP delegates kick against another congress in Kogi

A coalition of elected delegates and local government executives of the Peoples Democratic Party on Saturday protested against the conduct of fresh ad hoc delegates’ ward election in Kogi State. Ibrahim Abdullahi, an elected delegate from Igalamela/Odolu Local Government Area of Kogi State, expressed the group’s disapproval at a news conference in Abuja on Friday. Abdullahi said it was necessary to reject the plans to conduct a fresh congress by the party’s National Working Committee, if the party must produce credible candidates for the November 21 governorship election in the state. He said: “You will recall that after the expiration of the tenure of the members of the last state executive council, efforts have been put in place to elect new executives as provided for by our constitution. “The NWC, as empowered by the constitution, wrote a letter to Independent National Electoral Commission notifying them of the date for election of ad hoc delegates and state executives. “The election was conducted as planned on June 27 at the various wards across the state by the electoral committee constituted by the NWC of the party. “The election, which was well attended, was conducted without any record of violence, malpractice or rigging. “The committee that supervised the election also collated all the results and adjudged the process free, fair and transparent.” Abdullahi, however, expressed dismay that the NWC, through the National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, announced the “unconstitutional and undemocratic cancellation” of the election without any substantive reason. Abdullahi said they were also surprised that a new committee headed by Metuh was set up to conduct a fresh congress in the state. He explained that the new committee was set up even after the elected delegates had sent delegations to the national secretariat demanding to know the reason for the cancellation. Abdullahi described the NWC’s action as “a gross abuse of power, wanton perpetration of illegality and undue interference” on the activities leading to the state congress. He added: “We state categorically at this juncture that we totally reject the purported cancellation and plot to conduct a fresh election for the ad hoc delegates. “Information available to us suggests that certain elements in the NWC of the party have colluded with some undemocratic party members to deny the state a transparent process leading to the election of state executives. “We therefore wish to warn any of such members of the NWC against any undue vested interest they are showing in the matters of our state.” Abdullahi added that the entire members and leaders of the PDP in Kogi State would resist any “undue interference” to subvert the interest of party members in the state. “We therefore call on our national leaders, Board of Trustees members, state governors and opinion leaders in the party to call the misguided NWC members to order in the general interest of our party,” he said. Abdullahi, who reaffirmed the delegates’ loyalty, commitment and support to the PDP, said all efforts to hijack the party structure through unpopular and undemocratic means would be resisted.

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APC Women Leader describes President Buhari as gender friendly

By Yabagi Mohammed THOUGH in its early days with little already done in terms of appointments, the horizon is pregnant with great prospect for Nigerian women in the present administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, we have been authoritatively told. This is against the backdrop of the recent appointment of a woman, Mrs. Amina Zakari as the acting Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), first woman appointee to hold the position in the nation’s history. The National Women Leader of the party, Hajiya Ramatu Tijani Aliyu, made this known in an exclusive chat with our reporter, saying that the party would fulfill all its electoral promises to Nigerian women. According to her, the appointment of the acting INEC chairman was a testament to the fact that there is huge possibility for women to be adequately represented in the forthcoming Federal Executive Council (FEC). She was of the opinion that the President is a man who sees empowerment of the womenfolk as one of the cornerstones of his administration, saying that in due course, President Buhari will prove to his critics that he is a friendly leader. She says: “The President has proven to his critics that he is a gender-sensitive leader through the appointment of Hajiya Amina Zakari as the Acting Chairman of INEC. He sees in her the integrity required of anyone handling such position. “There is no doubt that women would play a pivotal role when the Federal Executive Council (FEC) is formed. The critics of the administration may not admit, but those who have voiced their opposition to the appointment are the ones that can be said to anti-gender equality.” She therefore called on the people of the state to continue to support the ruling (All Progressives Congress APC) to deliver dividends of democracy to the people.

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Group desdcribes Sen Dino Melaye in derogatory terms over Tinubu comment

Senator Smart Adeyemi (SSA) Continuity, an umbrella body that agitates for the return of the PDP candidate to the upper chamber of the National Assembly in place of Senator Dino Melaye, has described Senator Melaye as an alarmist and blackmailer who should not be taken seriously. The group was reacting to Melaye's allegation that the National leader of APC and former Governor of Lagos State, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu is working in collaboration with the former attorney general of the federation Mohamed Adoke to influence the outcome of the appeal court judgement in a suit filed by Senator Adeyemi challenging the ruling of the tribunal which struck out his petition on technical ground. The group say: “We want to bring to the notice of the general public that Senator Dino’s allegation is a mere fiction of his imagination and loud cry of a drowning man. Recall that, at the inauguration of the tribunal, there was a strict instruction that petition should not be strike out on technicality ground. This is not the case in the petition of Senator Smart Adeyemi” the group said. The fraud perpetrated during the election was exposed at the election petition tribunal with the recounting of votes in 21 units where about 3 thousand votes was invalidated against Senator Smart Adeyemi and same counted for Dino Melaye before the case was struck out. "Haven strucken out Senator Adeyemi's petition on technical grounds not minding the merit of the case and it’s overwhelming evidence, Smart Adeyemi immediately filed an appeal, a brief of which Dino Melaye was duly served and it is in the public domain. It will be a sheer hypocrisy for anyone to treat document of an appeal already served as a secret because anyone can have access to it. The claim that an electronic mail was sent to Adoke by an unnamed Abuja based senior editor close to Tinubu to compromise and influence judges is a blatant lie which Dino Melaye has been known for. Has anybody bother to ask why Asiwaju Tinubu will want to work against the interest of his party to favour Senator Adeyemi who is not a member of APC? "We advice the general public to disregard his claim as Senator Adeyemi is busy through his lawyer in pursuit of justice and what can be described as stolen mandate, Senator Smart will never be distracted by the antics of a man widely known to blackmail top Nigerians for monetary and political gain".

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