Oshiomhole: Tinubu won’t be interested in a rubber stamp National Assembly

By Lateef Ibrahim, Abuja

Former Governor of Edo State and Senator-elect, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole has said that the President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu will not be interested in a rubber stamp National Assembly.

Rather, Oshiomhole pointedly declared that Tinubu’s interest will be in a National Assembly that can help to contribute to knowledge, working together and negotiating to have a win-win formula that will contribute to the dividend of democracy.

The immediate past Edo State Governor and erstwhile National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, stated these yesterday shortly after receiving his certificate of returns as Senator-elect from the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, in Abuja.

Oshiomhole, who has been elected to represent Edo North Senatorial district in the National Assembly, promised to be part of the Senate that will legislate for the good people of the country and not for the powerful.

He assured that the 10th National Assembly will handle the issue of appropriation in a meticulous manner so that Nigerians can get value for money.

Answering questions from Journalists after collecting his certificate of returns, Oshiomhole said, “I have been the voice of the people as a textile union activist, NLC President, and Governor of Edo. “Even my choice of projects (as Governor) was done where the mass population resides.

“I will be part of the Senate that legislates for the good people of our countrymen, not for the powerful, by making sure that what we do in appropriation will be such that Nigerians get value for money.

“It is expected that the executive is powerful, but does not have absolute power, so it will be subjected to legislative check.

“We are not there (Senate) for the allowance, there are couple of things that can be done differently so that the renewed hope of our party can be translated into reality.

“Even the president-elect will not look forward to a rubber stamp Assembly, but the one that can help to contribute to knowledge as nobody has absolute knowledge, by working together and negotiating to have a win-win formula that will contribute to the dividend of democracy.

“Those issues are well captured in the APC action plan which forms the basis of our election.

“We are going to revisit the power sector. For example, because that is something that we must do to have economic growth and have a robust GDP.

“The current problem we face in the power sector was because it

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

The Kwara State chapter of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) on Tuesday officially announced its withdrawal from the ongoing negotiations with other opposition political parties on the possibility of forging a united front ahead of the fast-approaching March 11 gubernatorial and state House of Assembly elections against the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC in the state.

A statement by the state chairman of the party, Abdulazeez Afolabi, in Ilorin on Tuesday said: “The decision to pull out

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

With barely four days to the governorship election across the country, Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau State on Tuesday boasted that the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, in the state will retain power in the state.

“By afternoon on Sunday, APC will be declared winner of

By Musa Baba Adamu

Comrade Timi Frank, a former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, APC, has urged the Appeal Court to discard a request by the National Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, for an order of court to reconfigure the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) was meant to favour friends and relatives who know nothing about power.

“Now we have to find the courage to deal with a system that makes citizens pay bills for power they did not consume, which for me is fraud.

“Government must protect of discussions was taken at an enlarged stakeholders meeting of the party, involving the candidates, state executive members of the party among others, which held at the party’s secretariat on Monday, March 6th, 2023.

“Our decision is borne out of the founding principles of our party in the state, which was purely based on our ideological inclination, unflinching alignment and dedication to the exclusive yearnings of the Kwara masses.”

The SDP said further: “While we are not averse to all other opposition parties joining hands with our party, the SDP and the governorship election,” he boasted.

Lalong stated this while speaking with journalists at the NUJ Secretariat in Jos, the state capital, after inspecting the remodelled NUJ Council Secretariat.

He said: “My candidate (Nentawe Yilwatda) will emerge victorious in the governorship election come Saturday.

“Even the presidential polls, machines.

Last Friday, the court in its ruling granted permission to the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, his Labour Party, LP, counterpart to inspect the sensitive materials used for the conduct of last month’s presidential election.

Yakubu had, in his motion before the court, said the order needed variation to allow it its citizens, and customers must be protected, otherwise all the energy spent to vote for Nigerians to enjoy, will not be worthwhile.

“There are couple of things we have to do differently. We still see long queues and each time I see the queues I feel agitated because I fought against these obnoxious gubernatorial candidate, Alhaji Hakeem Oladimeji Lawal, we undoubtedly believe our party is the only bridge that can connect and actualize our shared aspirations of changing the trajectory of poor governance for good in our state.

“We, therefore, charge members of our party across the 193 wards of the state, to intensify efforts towards ensuring that SDP emerges victorious [in the] Saturday, March 11 elections.”

There have been reports of planned realignment by the opposition parties in the state to challenge the ruling APC which is seeking to clinch a second

I had said everywhere I go, that Bola Tinubu will win, and it came to fruition. I’m not a prophet, but some prophets came here and prophesied, those ones are false prophets.” to deploy the machines for this weekend’s governorship and State House of Assembly elections.

He continued: “From what I had seen on ground, and the campaigns that traversed the 36 states and the FCT, I said Asiwaju will be the next president of Nigeria, and today he is the president.

However, Frank, in a statement in Abuja on Tuesday, urged the Appeal Court not to change its orders nor grant INEC’s request to reconfigure the BVAS machines, insisting that it is ungodly.

Frank’s statement partly read: “I hereby urge the Appeal Court not to vary its orders policies when I was the President of NLC. term for Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq in the March 11 gubernatorial and state assembly elections.

“We must take a radical action to ensure that the petrol we consume is refined in Nigeria.

“I will not go to the senate to lament but make a law that will be enforced. I don’t want to be in a Senate where Nigerian Police arrest someone and turn him to a criminal, while the real criminal are freed”, he declared.

The realignment plan was mooted after the dismal performance by the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the state in the presidential and National Assembly elections of February 25 which was cleared by the ruling APC government.

It was learnt that a series of meetings, consultations and discussions were held with a view to presenting a formidable front to tackle the ruling APC in the next round of elections.

“So, for Plateau, by afternoon on Sunday, APC will bring [in] another government in Plateau State.” nor accede to the request of INEC to reconfigure the BIVAS machines.

Lalong also assured that in the next two to three weeks, President Buhari will be in Plateau to commission some of the projects executed by his administration amongst which is the remodelling of the NUJ, Plateau Council.

“The request of INEC in all its ramifications is anti-people, ungodly, preposterous, jejune and beyond imagination.

“It is a ploy by INEC to hide and bury germane evidence that would enable the various opposition parties to prove their election petition cases before the courts.”