Politics

YPP Reps candidate urges religious leaders to reject NGO Bill in NASS

By Abubakar Yunus

The candidates of the house of Representatives of the Young Progressive Party (YPP) for Ifako-Ijaye federal constituency, Lagos State, Buraimoh Peter Folajimi has called on the various religious leaders, Civil Society Organisation, Non- Governmental Organizations, and other critical stakeholders to reject NGO Bill in the National Assembly.

NGO Bill which is officially entitled ‘Bill for an Act To Provide For The Establishment Of The Non-Governmental Organizations Regulatory Commission For The Supervision, Coordination And Monitoring Of Non-Governmental Organizations).

The bill was introduced in the House of Representatives in June 2016, and after two readings it was referred to the House Committee on Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and Development Partners in July. Its approval is still pending in the current eighth National Assembly.

Buraimoh made them at the new year get-together organized by the Folajimi campaign organization and the party in Lagos, yesterday.

He specifically called on the founder of the Living Faith Church Worldwide, David Olaniyi Oyedepo, and the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, (RCCG,) Enoch Adeboye, to use their position to call on the relevant stakeholders to reject the bill.

According to him, when the bill is passed into Law, there would be no right for Church, Mosque, or CSOs activities in Nigeria, and it shows that everybody must be Reporting to Federal Government.

He noted that the main objective of the bill is to establish a federal agency in charge of supervising, coordinating, and monitoring CSOs in Nigeria. If passed, it will give the government sweeping powers over civil society, to the point of threatening its very existence.

“The bill would make it compulsory for all CSOs operating in Nigeria to register with the government every two years and would require them to include details such as the location and duration of proposed activities as well as information on all sources of funding.

“The requirement of frequent re-registration would increase the administrative burden on CSOs; it will also be possible for the registration of CSOs that are critical of the government to be denied or delayed if the government wants to restrict their activities in reprisal.”

Tinubu assures Muslim leaders of fair, just leadership

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu has assured Muslim leaders in the country that he will offer fair and just leadership to all Nigerians if elected president.

Tinubu gave the assurance in a town hall meeting with Muslim leaders from the North West geopolitical zone in Kano on Tuesday.

The APC candidate urged the religious leaders to ensure that they preach unity and harmony among their followers rather than division and disunity, saying that is the only way the nation could experience development.

He said “Religious leaders like you are agents of harmony and hope, not division and disunity. All well-meaning Nigerians, regardless of political affiliation, must join hands against violence, hunger, ignorance and bigotry.

“We all must live together. No one has the right to try to lord over the other. Allah stands against such injustice. And where Allah stands, all bad things must fall. Mean-spirited politicians – those thinking only of themselves or those who think they mean more than the nation itself - will go to great lengths to deceive or recruit eminent persons to unknowingly preach division and hatred.

“They cannot win with the truth. So, they will try to win with a lie. But a lie never wins in the end. Those they cannot beat with honesty, they seek to beat them with untruth and falsity. They want to turn servants of God into preachers of division and hateful sentiment.”

Speaking further, Tinubu told the Muslim leaders that he had demonstrated a sense of unity and oneness in all his campaigns and would continue to do so.

Tinubu pledged to conduct himself in public office on the values and ideals of fairness and justice, adding that he would always speak about facts and truths, policies and programs.

On expectations from him if elected president, he reminded the faith leaders of his record as Lagos State governor.

Tinubu said: “I promise to be a fair and just leader. This pledge is based on the Islamic teachings on leadership. A leader in a plural society is enjoined to be a leader for all. If elected, I shall govern in harmony with our nation’s democratic Constitution.

“More than that. I shall tackle this nation’s problems with a commitment to solving them. I say this not as a boast. I say it based on my record. As Lagos governor, I assembled perhaps the most diverse team by any state government. That team was based on competence, not tribal this or regional that. It was not based on the attire one wore or the accent one spoke with, but on the quality of one’s ideas and contributions to society.

“If given the chance by Almighty Allah, I will operate in the same spirit of inclusiveness and innovation in order to renew the hope of our people. My highest priorities shall be the protection of our land and prosperity of its people.”

Group hails Obasanjo’s endorsement of Peter Obi, asks Atiku, Tinubu to withdraw

By Christiana Ekpa

The South East Revival Group (SERG) has said that the endorsement of Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, by former President Olusegun Obasanjo “is a welcome development”, urging “the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar and that of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu to quit the race and step down for the people’s choice.”

This was contained in a statement signed by the national Coordinator of SERG, Willy Ezugwu, in which he said “in the first place, long before the presidential primary elections, all lovers of equity, fairness, and justice advised Nigerian political parties to zone their 2023 presidential tickets to the South East.

“The late second Republic Governor of Kaduna State, Alhaji Abulkadir Balarabe Musa, in an interview with Channels Television on September 19, 2019, unambiguously proposed that the South East region should produce the next president come 2023, arguing that zoning the next presidency to the region will not only give the Igbos a sense of belonging in Nigeria but will also promote national unity and cohesion.

“In his interview with Vanguard of July 25, 2020, the late statesman insisted that for the sake of peace, justice and national unity, the presidency should go to the South East region of the country in 2023.

“According to the former governor, since the North, South West and South-South have all had a shot at the presidency, it will be morally wrong if any of the zones contest the presidency in 2023 against the South East that has not tasted power since the return to democracy in 1999.

“On its part, the Yoruba sociocultural organisation, Afenifere, also called for a Nigerian of South East extraction to lead the country come 2023.

“Afenifere leader and elder statesman, Pa Ayo Adebanjo observed that based on morality the South East region should produce the next president in the spirit of fairness and unity.

“The elder statesman also reasoned further that since his South-West region has had its turn with former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, the South-South with ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, political parties should not hesitate to see the South East as the next in line.

“On April 26, the Leadership newspaper reported that the Southern and Middle Belt Leaders urging all political parties to zone their presidential tickets to the South East to cement unity and fairness in the country.

“The regional leaders reiterated that most of the zones in the country have had their people occupy the presidential villa, adding that the South East has qualified candidates in all political parties that can be president in 2023.

“These Nigerian elders and statesmen, who have seen it all, cannot be wrong in their unanimous calls.

“With peace eluding the country, not just because of agitations in most parts of the country but also in view of the increasing insecurity and poverty, rotation of the Presidency remains the panacea for attaining national unity and transformational development.

“From the words of our elders, rotational Presidency is the most viable option for nation building and in the quest to evolve a country where all citizens have equal rights to positions of authority, rather than the skewed political leadership practiced in the country since the post-civil war politics in Nigeria.

Peter Obi gets more boost as Gov Ortom backs Obasanjo’s endorsement

By Musa Baba Adamu

Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, has commended a former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, over his endorsement of the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi as the right person to win this year’s presidential election and provide the leadership that Nigerians desire.

The Governor, in a statement issued by his Special Adviser, Media and Publicity, Terver Akase, on Tuesday, insisted that if he were not a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), he would have personally led Obi’s campaign across the country.

Governor Ortom strongly recommended Peter Obi to Nigerians as the man who can effectively tackle the economic, security and other challenges facing the country.

According to the statement, Ortom is convinced that Obi possesses the qualities of a leader who will be a true President of this country by guaranteeing justice, equity and fairness for all Nigerians.

The Governor stressed that for some years, the country has been on the verge of collapse, owing to leadership failure and its attendant consequences of poverty, heightened insecurity with banditry, kidnappings and other acts of terrorism threatening the very foundations of the nation.

He said the President that Nigeria needs at this challenging time in the country’s history is one who understands the urgent need to unite the people and speedily initiate policies and actions to redirect the ship of the nation on the path of growth and development, emphasising that Peter Obi has all such qualities.

Governor Ortom lauded Obasanjo for demonstrating objectivity, truth and patriotism as a statesman whose views on national issues must be taken seriously.

2023: Why we suspended our party chairman -Taraba PRP

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

The leadership of the Taraba State chapter of Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) has broken their silence on why the party’s chairman, Abdullahi Maikasuwa, was suspended from office.

In an interactive session with newsmen on Tuesday in Jalingo, the party alleged that the chairman had on many occasions been involved in “corrupt practices”, hence the collective decision to relieve him of his appointment.

The aggrieved executive who spoke through one of their colleagues, Samuel Emmanuel, also alleged anti-party activities by the suspended Chairman.

Stressing that “the sacked chairman has been harassing and extorting money from members at the local government levels” a state executive, Emmanuel, said the party unanimously appointed Idris Umar, the State Treasurer, as the Acting Chairman of PRP Taraba State pending the decision of the National Working Committee regarding the suspension.”

The executive also alleged that Maikasuwa had also breached the party’s Constitution by operating the party as a sole business.

“Maikasuwa has breached the party constitution and fundamental principles of our party by not operating on the people’s based interest but personal interest,” They said.

His alleged action of holding meetings with the governorship candidates of PDP and APC, according to them, did not only violate the party’s constitution but also placed an embarrassing image on the party and the people.

In a swift reaction, the embattled chairman who not only denied all the allegations levelled against him, urged the party’s faithful and Tarabans at large to discard the allegations which he described as “false”. ”The acclaimed executive lacks the constitutional powers to suspend me as the party’s state Chairman”, he said.

Appeal Court reverses judgment sacking Rivers NNPP State Assembly candidates

By Christiana Ekpa

The Court of Appeal, Port Harcourt, on Tuesday set aside the judgment of the Federal High Court sacking 14 House of Assembly candidates of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in Rivers State.

Justice Turaki Mohammed of Federal High Court, Port Harcourt, had sacked the NNPP House of Assembly candidates in a suit filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which alleged that the NNPP candidates did not comply with the Electoral Act in the conduct of their primaries.

But the three-man panel of appeal in a unanimous judgment held that the PDP has no locus standi to challenge another political party on the issue of party primaries.

The Appeal Court panel also ruled that the Federal High Court lacked the jurisdiction to hear the matter in the first place and directed the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to enlist the 14 House of Assembly candidates of the NNPP.

Counsel to the NNPP, Lanson Igwe who is also a House of Assembly candidate for Emohua Constituency in the state said the judgment is a sign of victory for his party and a failure for the ruling party in the state.

APC victory in 2023 will throw Nigeria into stone age – ExMinister, Oyelese

By Musa Baba Adamu

Aformer Minister of Mines and Steel, Wole Oyelese, has claimed that another four years of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in government would throw Nigeria into the stone age.

Oyelese made this disclosure when prominent members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Oyo State addressed a press conference to herald the forthcoming road walk for the Presidential candidate of the party, Abubakar Atiku.

Some of the leaders of the party who were at the press conference held at the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) secretariat in Ibadan on Tuesday included a former Minister (State) Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Oloye Jumoke Akinjide, former Deputy Governor of the state, Hazeem Gbolarumi, Femi Babalola and Professor Abiodun Raufu.

Oyelese while addressing journalists on behalf of other PDP leaders said during the tenure of former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, the Nigerian economy was much better than what it is currently experiencing.

The former Minister added that Nigerians go to bed hungry every night.

He disclosed that Nigerians still have to sleep with only one eye closed because of insecurity across the country.

Oyelese insisted that prices of goods and services have skyrocketed and become unaffordable for a majority of the people.

He then cautioned that another four years of APC in government will throw Nigeria into the stone age.

He advised the citizens of the state to vote for all candidates of the party in the general elections.

Oyelese said, “During the Obasanjo and Jonathan years when PDP was in power at the centre, the Nigerian economy was much better than what it is now Nigerians never had to suffer like this. Now that Nigerians have experienced the APC government and what they got was unimaginable suffering, the difference is clear.

“Our people are going to bed hungry every night and they still have to sleep with only one eye closed because of insecurity as bandits, terrorists and common criminals prowl the land in search of victims. Prices of goods and services have skyrocketed and become unaffordable for the majority of our people.

“The Buhari administration has piled up debt. The infrastructural deficit can be seen in the absence of the most basic amenities. Most of our people are unemployed. Young Nigerians have no choice