POLITICS Punish, not reward anti party elements in Bauchi 2023 elections -APC Youth group

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

The Youths of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in Bauchi State has enjoined the party not to reward but sanction those it alleged were involved in gross anti party activities during the 2023 general election in the State.

A petition signed by Mohammed Maikano Abdullahi, who is Bauchi State APC secretary, and addressed to the National Chairman of the party, Abdullahi Adamu, the Youth group said during the 2023 election in Bauchi, the party stakeholders whom they said were supposed to work for the APC candidates, stayed away and worked against the party.

The petition tiled ‘Shameful Display of Greed by some APC anti-party bigots in Bauchi State’, said it saw a shocking pictures of the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu and a group of people claiming to be stakeholders of the party in the state visiting the APC National Chairman, Sen. Abdullahi Adamu.

Debt: Shehu Sani asks Tinubu to probe Buhari’s govt

By Musa Baba Adamu

Former Kaduna senator, Shehu Sani, has asked President-elect, Bola Tinubu to probe the outgoing government led by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Sani said this while expressing worries over the local and foreign debts the Buhari administration incurred in its eight years.

The nation’s rising debt profile is currently hovering around N77 trillion if the N23 trillion loans from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) are securitised, the Debt Management Office (DMO) disclosed.

Recall that Nigerians are currently expressing concerns that the outgoing administration is still requesting an $800 million loan from the World Bank a few weeks before the end of its tenure.

But, Sani said the first step in servicing the nation’s debt is to conduct a full investigation of the cost of the projects they were purportedly used for.

In a post on Twitter, he asked the incoming government to probe all federal ministries, departments, and agencies under the Buhari regime.

His words: “The first step towards servicing our billions of dollars of local and foreign debt is a full investigation of the cost of the projects they were purportedly used for.

“The incoming government must probe all the MDAs under this regime.”

“This group of people, in collaboration with the Honorable Minister, were the ones that clearly worked against our party’s interests during the last Presidential and Governorship elections and they are seen receiving red carpet reception in Abuja.

“These are weighty allegations, but we have proof of them and are ready to present them when the time comes.

Among these people are the Chairman and other members of the Executive of the Party in the state, for which the National Executive has already been approached to dissolve the State Exco and establish an interim committee to run the affairs of the Party until a substantive Executive committee is elected”, the petition reads in part.

The Youths of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in Bauchi State said it wrote the petition to the National Working Committee of APC based on what it considered a very unfortunate situation that is unraveling in the state.

“In Bauchi state, we believe that there were people who were supposed to either be physically on ground or at least be remotely but directly involved in protecting the interest of the party and those of its candidates during the elections, but alas, neither of these happened.

“They were not on ground, nor did they even remotely contributed to the conduct of the elections in the state, instead they were (in our opinion) busy working against the interest of the party and its candidates in the state”, the group claimed

It therefore expressed the belief that the current leadership has been compromised and they engaged in anti-party activities during the elections that led to the disappointing results recorded at the elections.

“The activities of these people gave the opposition the opportunity to engage in many election frauds including but not limited to rigging, ballot box snatching and stuffing and over voting in almost all PUs in the state.

“Mr. Chairman Sir, we would like to bring to your notice that these men who are today lobbying for positions in the next government of our great Party leader Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu, are the same people who refused to release the logistics funds allocated to the state by National for the elections.

“They are the same people who worked with the opposition PDP to frustrate our Presidential and Governorship candidates because of their selfish ambitions. We have it on good authority that they worked against our governorship candidate based on a twisted believe that another four years of PDP in Bauchi is preferable (for them) because of the plan for one of them to become the next governor after this last tenure of the current administration, rather than having the possibility of an APC win which may last the next 8 years.

“We also have proof of one of them who removed our party’s branding from two vehicles sent for campaigns and donated the vehicles to a PDP Senatorial candidate in the state.

“Anti-Party activities are a crime to the Party, and should not be condoned especially when it is coming from people who are supposed to be the managers of the affairs of the Party, who have been entrusted with its leadership. We urge the National leadership to take this matter with all the seriousness it deserves and not to set a bad precedence by allowing state party leaders to engage in anti-party activities and get away with it or worse still get rewarded for it.

“We call on the National leadership to set a good example by meting out appropriate sanctions on those found to be involved so as to deter others from engaging in similar activities in future in Bauchi or any other state for that matter. Not doing anything about it at this time will mean entrenching anti-party activities as acceptable which will definitely come back to haunt the party in the nearest future.”

By Christiana Ekpa

One of the leading aspirants for Speaker of the House of Representatives, Muktar

Betara Aliyu has said his group holds the ace on who emerges as the next Speaker of the lower legislative chamber.

Speaking during the unveiling ceremony of the Speakership bid by a member of the coalition, Ahmed Wase, he expressed optimism that their group would arrive at a consensus on who is best suited to preside over the proceedings of the House.

Betara, a fifth term member who chairs the House committee on Appropriation describes Wase as a brother and a comrade who is equally qualified to preside over the House.

Reiterating his opposition to the move to impose a Speaker on the House of Representatives, he noted: “For us, we formed this group because we are opposed to the zoning arrangement of the party. We are not fighting and we would not fight. We are in support of a consensus candidate.

“We can pick the candidate from among ourselves but if we all sit down and decide on it. I assure all of you it is only one person that God would choose to be Speaker. I assure you we are not going to have any issue. We are going to agree to support one of us as the Speaker.”

For Sada Soli, there is need for fairness, inclusivity and respect for diversity in arriving at the choice of the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

The Katsina born lawmaker called on members elect to strive to protect the sanctity and freedom of the institution of the legislature.

“Anything short of that, the consequences would be dire. We must drop all personal interest geared towards producing a Speaker who would not take directive for some personal aggrandisement, a Speaker who would tell you as it is. Lawmaking is a very serious business. It is beyond personal interests.”

Gagdi, who spoke in the same vein, warned against a rubber stamp National Assembly that would take directive from forces outside the hallowed chamber of the National Assembly.

“We are determined to protect democracy. The House of Representatives is the House of the Nigerian people. By the time we are working, no leadership of the party will be there. Only we and we would be doing the serious business of lawmaking.”

Miriam Onuoha, one of the members of the coalition, reiterated her opposition to injustice in the polity, while calling for inclusivity of women and other vulnerable groups that form over half the population of the country.

“I stand with the coalition, indivisibility of Nigeria. Legislature is independent. Member elect would rise up to the challenge to ensure the independence of the legislature,” she added.

Wase said it behooves on the leadership of the party to cede the seat to him, having served the interest of the APC, the parliament and the nation over the years.

Shettima rejects Akpabio, says South East can produce competent senate president

By Musa Baba Adamu

The Arewa Youth Consultative Forum, AYCF, has kicked against the nomination of Godswill Akpabio as the next Senate President.

AYCF National President, Yerima Shettima, said the South East can produce a competent senate president.

Shettima urged the APC to encourage national unity by reviewing Akpabio’s nomination.

”The APC brought a zoning formula and came up with someone from Akwa Ibom and this character, we know him very well. Because it is a party politics, they want to put it to be superior, it is not done anywhere.

”APC needs to encourage national unity by demonstrating it. Let them look and their position and review it clearly. They should look at the issue of bankruptcy, debt and agitation from every part of the country and insecurity. We are in a fragile situation, we cannot afford to collect more debt if not we are finished.

”Although, I am of the view that the APC should reconsider positions. The South East is not helping themselves to be part of the national bureau. They need to be nationalistic in their approach.

”I am of the view that the government should encourage unity, we should carry our brother in the South East together,” he said.

Seven months after LG poll, electoral body refuses to issue certificates –Niger SDP

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

The Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Niger State has called on Governor Abubakar Sani Bello to direct the chairman of the Niger State Independent Electoral Commission, NSIEC, Aminu Baba, to issue certificates of return to its eight elected councillors who won the November 10 council election in Katcha Local Government Area.

A letter of protest, signed on behalf of the party by Barrister Mohammed Tsado Mohammed in Minna and forwarded to the governor, claimed the local government election was contested by candidates of both the All Progressives Congress, APC, and SDP.

According to the letter: “Seven months after the conduct of the local government election, the state electoral umpire, under the leadership of Alhaji Aminu Baba, refused to issue the elected councillors their certificates of return.”

The letter noted that any attempt by the chairman and staff of NSIEC to perpetuate illegality “or unconstitutional act will be met with the full wrath of the law.