APC disowns ministerial list

                                       

The All Progressives Congress on Sunday dismissed as mere fiction, a list of ministers being circulated by some online journalists.
According to the APC, the party has nothing to do with the said list and urged Nigerians to wait for the authentic one which would be made public through the appropriate channels.
This was contained in a statement signed by the National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, in Abuja.
Mohammed said, “Nigerians should disregard these lists and await the authentic list which will be communicated through the appropriate channels at the right time.”
The APC also cautioned the media against using statements attributing actions to the President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, without clarification.
The party urged the media to clarify with the authentic officials of the party and the Buhari Campaign Organisation any issue having to do with the actions of the President-elect, in order to avoid presenting falsehood as facts.
APC said, “The appeal becomes necessary following recent media reports on the actions which the President-elect will purportedly embark upon once he is sworn into office.
“Various people have been quoted in the media on what the President-elect will do or will not do once he assumes office.
“The truth is that these people do not speak for the President-elect, hence the need for the media to clarify such issues with the Chairman of the party, its National Publicity Secretary or the spokesman for the Buhari Campaign Organisation. These officials are always available to clarify issues.”
The party noted that the ongoing transition is a delicate period that fifth columnists could capitalise on to cause disaffection or overheat the polity, hence the need for all stakeholders to be extra-cautious and to put the national interest above all other interests.

APC Crisis: Northern Leaders Move To Cut Tinubu To Size

If not handled properly, a brewing supremacy battle between the dominant Hausa-Fulani bloc of the incoming ruling party, All Progressives Congress (APC) and the South-West bloc of the party will snow-ball into a major crisis.
A source within the APC, told Western Post that immediately after the conclusion of the presidential election, the Northern elements in the party began covert moves to checkmate the overwhelming influence of Tinubu.
They were said to be perturbed by Tinubu’s domineering attitude and started moves to cut him to size before he hijacks the party. Tinubu played a prominent role in the merger that led to the formation of the APC and the eventual emergence of Buhari as the party’s presidential flag bearer.
The subtle moves to whittle down Tinubu’s influence was a carefully crafted plot by one of the staunch Buahari loyalists, who was recently elected governor in one of the Northern states.
The architects of the plot are justifying their actions to sideline Tinubu because they see him as a threat and an obstacle to their plans of fostering a Northern agenda on the party.
Recently, the Convener, Majeobaje Movement, a Yoruba socio-cultural group that supported Buhari in the last election, Chief Akintayo Akin-Deko, spoke of the growing discomfort of the North with Tinubu’s influence.
Akin-Deko said: “Already, we are getting complaints from the Federal level that there is a threat to Yorubalize National politics”.
Political watchers have before now predicted a clash of interests between the two factions in the party, saying the Buhari-led northern faction, which is historically conservative and believes in maintaining the present old order, which favours them, while the South-west bloc, led by Tinubu, has always been progressive-minded.
Others say Buhari’s silence on the need to restructure the country speaks volumes about his resolve to carry on promoting the Northern agenda in running the country.
There are insinuations that Tinubu and the Yoruba APC leaders may have played into the hands of Buhari and the Northern ‘hawks’, who had never hidden their desire to capture power by all means. They are now set to scheme out the Tinubu group and ultimately incapacitate them politically.
Meanwhile, there are strong indications that the South-East geopolitical zone might be sidelined in the zoning formula of the APC as regards the position of Secretary to the Government (SGF) of the Federation because of Tinubu’s endorsement of Chief Audu Ogbeh for the position.

PDP leaders and members not welcome to APC – Lai Mohammed

                                    

APC Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed says the era of defection of PDP members to APC has ended as the APC will not welcome them again into its party. Mr Lai Mohammed stated this in a statement he released today April 22nd.
“PDP leaders and members are falling over themselves shamelessly and swearing undying allegiance to the APC. Well, in case they did not get the message of the president-elect and our national chairman, we want to repeat it in very blunt terms: PDP leaders and members, you are not welcome in APC. Please stay in your party, but if as we suspect you cannot survive in opposition, then, take a walk, quit politics.

The result of the National Assembly election declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission on Tuesday has pushed the opposition All Progressives Congress to the majority status in the 109 membership Senate.
Before the election, the Peoples Democratic Party enjoyed the majority status in the red chamber with 64 members while the APC has 41. Other parties, like the Labour Party, the Accord Party and the Social Democratic Party, shared the remaining five seats.
The APC will now have 64 senators; the PDP, 45; and the Labour Party, one.
The development, our correspondent observed, will obviously alter the configuration of the Senate leadership in the 8th Senate which would be inaugurated in June this year, because the opposition APC which is currently in the minority, would constitute the principal officers.
For instance, the current Senate President, David Mark who is returning to the Senate for the fifth time, will lose his seat to an APC member while the change in gear will also affect other principal officers like the Deputy Senate President, Senate Leader, Deputy Senate Leader, Chief Whip; and Deputy Chief Whip.
Apart from Mark and his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu who won the election to return to the Senate, other principal officers like the Senate Leader, Victor Ndoma -Egba; his deputy, Abdul Ningi; Chief Whip, Bello Gwarzo; and his deputy, Hosea Agboola, all lost their bid to return.
The current configuration is set to automatically transform the status of the APC members, especially the principal officers from minority to the majority.
For instance, the Minority Leader, Senator George Akume, according to sources, may likely emerge the new senate president, although some of his colleagues believed that another ranking senator should be elected since Mark, his kinsman from Benue man, would be relinquishing the seat after eight years.

Prof. Jega officially declares Buhari winner of the 2015 presidential election

INEC chairman Prof. Jega just declared Gen Muhammed Buhari winner of the 2015 presidential election having scored the highest number of votes in the election. Congrats Nigeria for a peaceful 2015 election. God bless President Jonathan for conceding defeat. God bless Nigeria!

Imo State University students(IMSU) claim they received toy laptops from Gov. Okorocha

                   

Some Imo state University students (IMSU) are claiming on Facebook that their Governor, Rochas Okorocha distributed fake laptops to them while politicking. Pictures of the laptop and the governor handing them out as seen on twitter above. One person said he eventually sold his laptop for N7k as that was the value

Corrupt govt worse than armed robbery – Buhari

                                       

The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), has said that a currupt government is worse than armed robbery.
“I believe that a bad and corrupt government is a much danger to national security as armed robbers, kidnappers and terrorists. I want to commend our armed forces for their recent successes over the Boko Haram.” Buhari said.
He spoke at an APC’s Town Hall meeting on security, held at the Barcelona Hotel, Abuja, on Wednesday.
He explained that by his training and experience, the concept of security must be holistic.
According to him, it goes beyond having the best Police Force and the military; it involves sound economic management which includes zero tolerance for corruption as well as leadership by example.
The ex-military ruler stressed that the safety and welfare of all citizens which he said was the primary purpose of government anywhere in the world, could be better pursued and achieved when the right government is in place.
Buhari said, “The total security concept reflects directly on improving the quality of the lives of our people and rebuilding the economy.
“Even if we have the best police, we will not be able to guarantee total security as long as 53 per cent of our youths remain unemployed and 70 per cent of our people are living below the poverty line.
“These are all the issues that my party and myself are committed to. It is along this line that we have promised a regretting plan for the North East of Nigeria. It is based on ensuring that never again will our country experience the type of human tragedy currently going on in that part of the country.”
He explained that during his short stint as military head of state, he increased Nigeria’s refineries from one with a capacity to refine 50,000 barrel per day to four with refining capacity of 450,000 barrel per day without borrowing a single kobo from anywhere.
The APC presidential candidate also explained how he resisted foreign and domestic pressures to devalue the Naira and remove subsidy on petroleum products in December 1983.
He challenged anybody who had contrary information about this to come out and tell Nigerians.

APC to drag President Jonathan before ICC

                                      

The All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Organisation   has said that it will send a petition against President Goodluck Jonathan to the International Criminal Court at The Hague, The Netherlands.
The crux of the petition   is the protest by armed pro-Jonathan groups in Lagos on Monday, which the APCPCO, considers “a foretaste of the violence they plan to unleash on election days.”
Members of the groups – Oodua Peoples Congress and the Coalition of Concerned Nigerians – had taken to the streets, demanding the sack of the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Attahiru Jega.
Wielding guns, broken bottles and knives as they moved from the   old Lagos Toll Gate on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway   to Ikorodu and Funsho Williams(Western) Avenue in Surulere, they destroyed outdoor adverts of APC   candidates   in sight.
The APCPCO said in a statement on Wednesday   by its Director of Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, that “the machete-wielding and gun-bearing armed pro-Jonathan groups”   harassed and intimidated motorists “in a manner that gave them away as acting the carefully-prepared script for the truncation of the general elections.
It added, “There was such disruption to the tranquillity of the city that warranted the citizens scampering for safety in all directions.
“Our investigations have confirmed that Monday’s   show was a dress-rehearsal for the main disruption planned for the general elections.
“Lagos, and the entire South-West, being a stronghold of the APC has been marked for massive dishevelling commotion that would involve killings, maiming and kidnapping.

I am a former military ruler, now a converted democrat – Buhari

                                        

Below is the text of address by APC presidential candidate Gen. Buhari at an Interactive Session with the Nigerian Press Organisation, NPO in Abuja today Tuesday 17th March…
Thank you for honoring me with your presence here today. Thank you for heeding my invitation to this special meeting with key stakeholders in the Nigerian media. Our country is on the verge of something new. The tide has turned and the world can sense the wave of change that is about to flood this nation. In less than two weeks, the Nigerian electorate will head to the polls to make their voices heard.
Through the ballot, without a single shot fired, a change revolution will likely take place. There are two specific reasons why I have invited you here today.
The first is to use the opportunity to say a special thank you to the Nigerian media for the role you have played in advancing our country’s democracy thus far, and especially for being a platform through which Nigerians’ cry for CHANGE was articulated all around the world.
On newspaper pages, TV screens and radio waves, the alarming depth of corruption and impunity in our country, the terrifying level of insecurity, and the grim state of our economy were kept constantly before the world’s eyes, making it impossible for the current government to doctor the truth, despite their meanest efforts. I urge you to not relent in your role as watchdogs, to continue to be the voice of the people. The health of Nigeria’s democracy rests partly on you.
Without a robust and thriving media, the masses would have no voice. The electorate would also not have sufficient information to make sound decisions, such as deciding to vote out a clueless government and vote in CHANGE. Secondly, I want to give you my full assurances that in this democratic dispensation, I will ensure that the Nigerian constitution is upheld. This includes respect for the media, respect for the right to free expression and freedom of speech. Page 1 of 2 any of you are aware of Decree 4 of 1984, which was heavily criticised. I have said elsewhere that I cannot change the past. But I can change the present and the future.
Dictatorship goes with military rule as do edicts such as Decree 4. However, I am a former–former, note the emphasis on the word ‘former’–military ruler and now a converted democrat, who is ready to operate under democratic norms. I am not only subjecting myself to the rigours of democratic elections for the fourth time, but even after being elected, I will continue to promote the consolidation of democracy in our great country, Nigeria, by guaranteeing that the media’s freedom is not compromised in any way.
I give you my full assurances that the Nigerian media will be free under our APC government. I also want to use this opportunity to appeal to you to use your media outlets in shaping positive public discourse and eschew hate speech mongering and slanderous political rhetorics which heat up the polity for the sake of peace and stability of our dear nation.
Thank you, once again, for being here this afternoon. I look forward to working with you in future, and to similar meetings which shall take place on a regular basis to keep the Nigerian people constantly informed about the activities of the government that they will have elected to serve them. General Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR

David Mark defends Obanikoro’s ministerial confirmation, says due process was followed

                                       

Senate President David Mark has defended last Wednesday’s confirmation of Sen. Musiliu Obanikoro as a minister amidst protest from APC lawmakers. According to the Senate president, due process was followed during Obanikoro’s confirmation and the reasons put forward by those against his confirmation were mere accusations. Davido Mark gave this explanation in a statement released by his media aide Kola Ologbondiyan, yesterday March 16th.
The statement reads in part;
“The President of the Senate, Senator David Mark, will not trample on the rules to satisfy the yearnings of any interest, no matter how vociferous and violent. We will like to state without any form of ambiguity that the President of the Senate complied with all the legislative practices and procedures in the confirmation of all the ministerial nominees that appeared before the Senate. It is important to state that the Senate found herself in a situation where two of its traditions were in conflict.
There exists a tradition of permitting nominees that had served as Senators or member of the House of Representatives of the Federal Republic to take a bow and go without being questioned. The Senate also has a tradition of stopping any nominee that fails to secure at least two of the three Senators. Where the Senate was faced with this conflict, the option available to the President of the Senate, as the presiding officer was to put the question to the floor and rule applicably.
The President of the Senate, Senator David Mark, did just that. He put the question through voice vote, and ayes won resoundingly and he so ruled. On the issue of courts, Rules 53 (5) of the Senate Standing Rules did state; ‘if in the opinion of the President of the Senate, the matter will be subjudice.’ Senator Mark made it clear that he has not been served any court order neither has he received any injunction restraining him from processing the confirmation of the ministerial nominees. Besides, it is a known fact that an accused is presumed innocent until proven otherwise by a court of competent jurisdiction. The processes and decisions reached on the screening and confirmation of the ministerial nominees were in line with the rules guiding the activities of the Senate”