The Kogi State chapter of All Progressives Congress, APC, has informed the party’s national leadership and President elect, General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), of plans to hijack the party structure by selfish politicians in the state. The Chairman of APC Kogi Central Senatorial District Action Committee, Hon Suleiman Ibrahim, in a letter to the national leadership, described the call for former governor, Prince Abubakar Audu to “Step aside from the party’s leadership in the zone”, as unfortunate, misleading and ploy to hijack the party structure after its successful outing at the just concluded general election. He said Audu’s leadership of the…
Author: Wale Adebayo
A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party in Oyo State, ex-Senator Lekan Balogun, has said that the party can survive and bounce back after its defeat in the last general elections if leaders at the national level are prepared to embrace changes. Speaking in an exclusive interview with PUNCH newspapers in Ibadan, the state capital yesterday, Balogun said certain conditions must be established by the party elders even as he decried the display of arrogance by some prominent party members during the run-in to the elections. This behaviour, he said, contributed in part to the party’s dismal performance. He said,…
Secretary of the People’s Democratic Party’s Board of Trustees, Senator Walid Jibrin, Saturday said that no one, except God, could have stopped the All Progressives presidential candidate, Muhammadu Buhari’s victory at the March 28 presidential election. According to the BoT Scribe, Buhari’s victory came as a ‘Tsunami’ with such terrific strength that it rubbed off on many APC contestants for various positions, especially the northern parts of the country. He urged all PDP members to accept the will of God as both power and Tsunami come from God. Jibrin, however, said in order for PDP to emerge stronger from this…
The police in Nasarawa State on Saturday confirmed the killing of one Yusuf Salihu, 28, by another man in an apparent tussle over a girlfriend in Akwanga Local Government Area of the state. Ismaila Umar-Noman, the state Police Public Relations Officer, confirmed the incident when he spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lafia. “We received information on April 22, that some youths in Akwanga mobilised themselves with cutlasses, knives, among others, to revenge the death of Yusuf Salihu who was allegedly stabbed to death by Alias Sadam on misunderstanding over a girlfriend. “We quickly sent our officers…
The Commissioner for Water Resources in Sokoto state, Alhaji Shehu Tangaza, has assured that the out-going administration of Governor Aliyu Wamakko would complete some ongoing water projects, which stand N7.5 billion, before the handover date of May 29, 2015. Tangaza, who disclosed this to journalists in Sokoto on Saturday said: “Almost all the affected projects have reached between 80 to 90 per cent completion stage. They will be completed and inaugurated by the incumbent administration of Aliyu Wamakko for the benefit of the people of the state”. The projects include the Bi-water and the three old water works in the city, which…
The Ondo Government has banned the production and consumption of locally-made gin, commonly called ‘ogogoro’ in the state. The state Commissioner for Health, Dayo Akinyanju, announced this at a news conference in Akure on Saturday. The commissioner attributed the ban to the outbreak of an unknown disease two weeks ago in Irele Local Government Area of the state. “Our clinical analysis reveals the fact that there were no known viruses, while toxicology reports have confirmed our prime suspicion of methanol poisoning. “We have reviewed our strategies and embarked on sensitisation to let people know that locally-made gin is prohibited. “We…
The police in Katsina-Ala, Benue State, has arrested six persons in connection with the alleged rustling of over 500 cows at Tacha village, Yoyo Council ward of the state. The suspects are said to be cooling their heels in detention as they undergo interrogation at the State Criminal Investigation Department, at the Command Headquarters, Makurdi. It was learnt that the suspects were part of a larger gang that specialized in cow rustling and kidnapping of persons in that axis of the state. “They are a gang that is known for cow rustling and kidnapping in Katsina-Ala and environs,”a source said.…
The Zone 2 of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) on Saturday warned policemen that were usually in the habit of dressing shabbily to desist from such acts or face dire consequences. The warning was handed down by the spokesperson for the zone, Gbenga Adeoye, a Chief Superintendent of Police, who spoke on behalf of the Assistant Inspector General in charge of the zone, Joseph Mbu. Mr. Adeoye spoke during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos. He stressed that policemen that were not properly dressed was a sign of disrespect and a disgrace to the entire…
While it is no longer news that President Goodluck Jonathan lost and conceded defeat in the March 28 presidential election to President-elect, Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) of the All Progressives Congress, APC, what might come a bit surprising is the claim that he lost to international and domestic conspiracies. Chief among that domestic conspiracy is the purported over-bearing attitude of the president’s wife, Dame Patience Jonathan. This was the position of the Bayelsa State publicity secretary of Peoples Democratic Party, Mr. Osom Makbere. Makbere, who is also a lawyer, stated this in an exclusive interview in Yenagoa, the capital of…
The hope of All Progressives Congress producing Nigeria’s first female elected governor in the country appears to be a forlorn one as results trickling in from Taraba State indicate the Peoples Democratic Party’s candidate, Darius Ishaku, was coasting home to victory. The APC candidate, Senator Aisha Alhassan, hoped to turn the tide against the PDP following the declaration by the Independent National Electoral Commission that the April 11 governorship poll in the state was inconclusive. Going into the re-run polls yesterday, Mrs. Alhassan was trailing behind Mr. Ishaku with 54,812 votes. However, results of the election at the polling units…
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has declared incumbent governor of Imo state, Rochas Okorocha, winner of Saturday’s supplementary governorship election in the state. Mr. Okorocha, the candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC), won in 20 out of the 23 Local Government areas in the state where the supplementary election was held, polling a total of 31,326 votes. His main challenger, Deputy Speaker Emeka Ihedioha of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, scored 13,624 votes. With the outcome of Saturday’s supplementary election, Mr. Ihedioha’s hope of overtaking the governor and subsequently emerging winner have been dashed as he was trailing…
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has won re-run election in Kwami East state House of Assembly elections in Gombe state. Announcing the results on Saturday night in Malam-Sidi, the Returning Officer, Salisu Umar, said that Ahmed Abubakkar of the PDP was elected with 10, 326 votes while Shuaibu Haruna of the APC came second with 8,979 votes. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that during the April, 11 election in the constituency, there was no clear winner following the cancellation of the results of four polling units because of irregularities. NAN also reports that the election was conducted peacefully (NAN)
Youths of Niger Delta have warned the in-coming administration of Muhammadu Buhari against reducing the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to a parastatal under the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs. The warning came following the alleged plan by the next government to implement the recommendations of the Steve Oransaye Committee Report on the rationalization and merger of some Federal Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs. A coalition of 26 youth and ex-militant groups under the aegis of South-South Mandate, rising from a meeting in Warri, Delta State, vowed to resist any move that could impede the rapid transformation of the…
Chairperson of Ijaw Mothers Union, a group at the forefront of the campaign for a better Niger Delta, Doris MacDaniels has highlighted what the people of Niger Delta would be expecting the president-elect Muhammadu Buhari to do for them to ensure that peace reigns. “Our brother (President Jonathan) did a lot for the North regardless, if Buhari comes with such gestures of non-tribalistic rulership like Jonathan, then we may witness peace,” she told Vanguard in an interview. “The oil producing states must not be treated with disdain like it happened in the past. There is so much awareness in these…
After weeks of xenophobic attacks in South Africa where dozens of Nigerians have been affected, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Aminu Bashir Wali, has summoned Nigeria’s senior diplomats on tour of duty in South Africa for consultation over the xenophobic attacks on foreigners in the country. According to a statement from the Public Communications Division at the ministry, those summoned are the Acting High Commissioner in Pretoria, Ambassador Martin Cobham and the Deputy High Commissioner in Johannesburg, Ambassador Uche Ajulu – Okeke. It will be recalled that the current spate of attacks which began about three weeks ago, have so…
Explosion at the armoury section of the Maxwell Khobe Cantonment, 3rd Armored Division of the Nigerian Army, Rukuba in Bassa local government area of Plateau State, yesterday, led to the death of two soldiers, injuring one other. The barracks was thrown into confusion as the incident occurred around 11:21am when some expired ammunition were being separated from the functional ones by the soldiers. The incident fueled rumours that terrorists had attacked the military formation. However, the Deputy Director, Army Public Relations, Colonel Texas Chukwu, in a statement, confirmed the explosion and the deaths but debunked the insinuation that insurgents exploded…
Although he lost the March 28 National Assembly election in Plateau State and has vowed to contest the result in tribunal, General John Nanzip Shagaya of the All Progressives Congress (APC) said the 2015 elections were the best since 1993. “They can only be compared to the 1993 election which would have been the best election but for the annulment. I think so because, Abiola was from the South-west and he won many regions, likewise Buhari in this year’s elections,” he told Vanguard in an interview. He also eulogized the president-elect Muhammadu Buhari, whom he claimed was elected because of…
President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday prayed for the in-coming administration of General Muhammadu Buhari while he admonished Nigerian leaders at various levels of government to be ready to make sacrifices for the growth of the nation. The President spoke at the fifth presidential prayer breakfast held inside the old Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja. “We continue to pray for the country and of course, we pray for the incoming government and also pray for us who are leaving to have the opportunity to serve humanity in different phases. “I remember in 2009 when I visited the Nordic countries, they…
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Friday directed deposit money banks (DMBs) to publish the list of delinquent borrowers whose debts have remained non-performing in at least three national daily newspapers from the end of July this year. This, according to the CBN, will put a stop to the rising trend of non-performing loans (NPLs) in the industry and also ensure that the industry NPL ratio does not exceed the prudential limit of five percent (It currently stands at 3.3 percent). In a letter dated April 22, 2015 and addressed to all banks and discount houses, titled: “Recovery of…
Major Hamza Al Mustapha, former Chief Security Officer to the late Head of State, Sani Abacha, is safe with his family and was neither arrested nor involved in any $10 billion bribe as claimed by an online news platform. In a statement on behalf of the Al Mustapha family, Mallam Abdul-Azeez Suleiman said on Saturday refuted the allegations on behalf of the Al Mustapha family, said he “has been in personal contact with Al Mustapha all the while the allegations were being circulated. “On Saturday when the rumours of his arrest were rife, I was in personal contact with Al…