Category: Politics

All Progressives Congress Presidential Candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, said the fifth columnists behind the current nationwide fuel and new Naira notes scarcity want to foist a political crisis on the country.

Speaking at Ekiti Parapo Pavilion in Ado-Ekiti, venue of the presidential campaign rally on Friday, Asiwaju Tinubu said the people behind the crisis that is causing nationwide frustration and hardship to Nigerians want to spark turmoil that can lead to postponement of the general elections.

“They are hoarding Naira so that you can be angry and fight. They want confusion so that the election can be postponed. What they want is an interim government. But we are wiser than them. We will not fight. Any rat that eats the rat poison will end up killing itself.”

The former Lagos State Governor told the people that he is in the presidential race to better their lives.

“I am in the race for the betterment of the people. If it is what I will eat and what I need personally, God has provided for me. I am in this race to make life good and better for you too.

“Ekiti people are well educated people. They are well read; they don’t joke with education. But it is not good to finish schooling and not get a job. So, we shall provide jobs for you.

“On that day, we will trek to the polling booths to cast our votes. Your polling booths are not far from where you live. So, you should walk down to cast your votes,” Tinubu told his supporters.

Rallying the people of Ekiti to hope for better and happy life in his prepared speech, Tinubu said he believes every Nigerian is entitled to live a life of dignity.

“I believe each and every Nigerian is entitled to a life of dignity and happiness free from the fear of hunger, poverty, violence and hopelessness. I believe we can do better as a nation. I believe we must do better. History calls. Destiny Calls. Greatness calls.

“I came here today to offer you my best and assure you that I will always work for you. Take a look at my plan and ideas for the nation. You will like them because they were developed out of concern and hope for your welfare and for your future.

“Parents, don’t you want your children to enjoy a better life. Young people, don’t you want a nation where you can realize your dreams and also be able to care for your parents, yet nurture and have children of your own.

“Join us, elect us so that the government will work to ensure that you have decent jobs, that farmers make a good living, that enough schools and clinics exist. We will expand industry, assure your peace and safety, make sure that our nation is well fed and without hunger and we shall renew your hope in Nigeria and in your future.”

Speaking on his plans for Ekiti State, Tinubu promised to focus on development of the agricultural sector, employing modern and mechanized farming.

He also promised to make the state an exportation hub for its agricultural products, bringing more revenue to the state.

“My farm policy will establish commodity exchange boards guaranteeing prices for important crops so that you are ensured a decent living for your hard work. Our Agricultural Plan calls for agricultural hubs and improves access to finance.

“Both these will enable you to modernise farm operations, improve productivity while reducing the harshness of physical labour through mechanised equipment and modern technology.

“Your cocoa will supply users in Europe, Asia and beyond. More than that, through our plans to promote agro-allied processing, local companies will begin to turn cocoa into finished products. Ultimately, you will export chocolate candy and other fine things to the rest of the world.

“Implementing this plan in Ekiti and the rest of the nation means progress for you and the entire economy. For we shall grow more food, with less strain and effort. Increased food security means you will be able to visit the market to buy the food you need yet still have money left in your hand for other life necessities,” he added.

Citing the Ikogosi Warm Spring, Tinubu said the state will be a befitting tourist site for the country, attracting foreigners from in and out of the country and boosting the state’s resources.

“You are an industrious people living in a scenic and fertile land. Tourism will thrive under a government that prioritises security, development, commerce and creativity.

“Your beautiful warm springs and waterfalls will welcome tourists from across Nigeria and all over the world. The Ikogosi Tourist Centre will become known as a shining beacon of what Nigeria can achieve,” he added.

Just like in everywhere else, Tinubu emphasised his industrialisation plans, creating jobs and developing infrastructure across the country.

On security, he said, “Rest assured, my security strategy will be tough on kidnappers, killers, terrorists and bandits.

“My national security plan invests heavily on ensuring we have enough active, well trained and well-equipped security personnel to defeat threats wherever and whenever they emerge. We shall significantly augment the number of active duty personnel.

“Moreover, we shall invest in enhanced ground and air surveillance technology so that we can identify, track, outmaneuver and ultimately defeat those who seek to defeat our democratic and good way of life. They will witness and end their evil doings and terrible ways.

“I vow to mobilise the totality of our national security assets to protect all Nigerians from danger and from even the fear of that danger.”

In his address at the rally, Ekiti State Governor, Abiodun Oyebanji introduced Asiwaju Tinubu as an in-law who gave his daughter as wife to Ekiti people and the people of the state must reciprocate with 100% votes for him and all APC candidates.

The governor assured the people of a better Ekiti State with Tinubu as president, the same point he made during the meeting of the APC candidate with Ekiti State Council of Traditional rulers.

Among APC National Leaders and governors who attended the rally were former Interim National Chairman of the party Chief Bisi Akande, former governor Kayode Fayemi, Minister of Trade and Industry Niyi Adebayo, APC National Women Leader, Betta Edu, Ondo State Deputy Governor, Lucky Ayedatiwa, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, Senator Olamilekan Adeola and other Federal and State lawmakers from Ondo and Ekiti States.

The angry youths protesting against the scarcity of Naira in Ibadan have stormed both state and federal secretariat to express their grievances on the economic crisis brought about by the Naira redesign.

The angry youths who fiercely invaded the state secretariat were coming from Agodi Gate where WEMA Bank located in that axis was destroyed while the Police Station was set on fire.

It was learnt that a security officer detailed to the office of the State Governor was injured while trying to prevent the burning fire from further spread.

The police officer has since been taken to an undisclosed hospital for immediate medical attention.

The lingering crisis of Naira scarcity brought by the money redesign has taken its toll on Nigerians as many are left with no option other than to continue storming the banks nearest to them in search of the unavailable money.

There were burning of yres in front of the state Secretariat by the angry mob to register their anger.

As at the time of filing this report, men of the Joint Security Taskforce have been stationed to strategic places in Ibadan to forestall further breakdown of laws and orders.

Governor Abiodun Oyebanji of Ekiti disclosed this on Thursday in a press statement obtained by Peoples Gazette.

President Muhammadu Buhari’s regime has re-awarded the Ado-Akure road which has been in deplorable condition for close to ten years.

Governor Abiodun Oyebanji of Ekiti disclosed this on Thursday in a press statement obtained by Peoples Gazette.

Mr Oyebanji, in the statement signed by his spokesman, Yinka Oyebode, revealed that the approval for the reconstruction of the deplorable road was made by the Federal Executive Council (FEC).

He disclosed that the road would now be fixed through the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Tax Credit Scheme with the mobilisation of contractors to the site imminent.

Mr Oyebanji stressed that re-awarding the road for construction was a big relief for motorists and commuters who have been transiting the route facing nightmares.

“The Government of Ekiti State welcomes with excitement and gratitude news of the re-award of the Ado-Ekiti- Akure Road contract by the Federal Government.

“It is also a vindication of the struggle of the Government and people of the state in the last one year,” the Ekiti governor hinted in the statement.

He added that with the resumption of work on the road, motorists would have to show a level of understanding for some inconveniences they might experience in the course of the construction.

Both residents of Ado Ekiti and Ondo States including vehicle owners and commuters plying the road in its deplorable condition had experienced excruciating pains.

Following its bad condition, the journey of forty minutes drive from Akure to Ado is now over an hour just as transporters continued to groan on a daily basis over the condition of the road.

The road was first awarded to Dantata and Sawoe in 2022 for reconstruction but the regime failed to mobilise the contractors to the site.

Last August, the Minister of State for Transportation, Ademola Adegoroye, pleaded with the Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, to expedite action on the commencement of the reconstruction of the road.

Mr Adegoroye told Mr Fashola during a visit to his office in Abuja that both the people of Ondo and Ekiti States have continued to experience too much pain on the bad road and therefore needed a respite.

But in his reply, Mr Fashola noted that lack of funds had made it difficult for the Buhari regime to begin the project, stressing that the road has not been abandoned.

The Lagos State Police Command has declared one Tajudeen Olanrewaju Bakare wanted after one viral video showed him disturbing public peace with pump action rifle.

Bakare identifier himself as Oba Ogboni Agbalaiye and the president of the Supreme Body of Ogboni Association Worldwide.

“The spokesperson for the Lagos State Police Command Benjamin Hundeyin said police raided the man’s house in Surulere and found one Beretta pistol magazine, one expended 9mm ammunition, one expended and three live cartridges and one photo frame of the suspect.

The suspect, Tajudeen Olanrewaju Bakare, narrowly escaped arrest and is hereby declared wanted. Any useful information leading to his arrest would be highly appreciated and treated with utmost confidentiality.

“While appreciating Lagosians for their vigilance and prompt information to security agencies, the Lagos State Police Command once again warns all trouble makers to steer clear of the state as anyone found wanting would be dealt with in accordance with the law,” the spokesperson said.

The Federal Government on Wednesday said it is not “officially aware” of cabals in the Presidential Villa plotting the failure of the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate for the 2023 election, Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the February 25 election.

ODUDUWA NEWS reports that Governor Nasir El Rufai of Kaduna State had during an interview on Channels TV’s Sunrise Daily, this morning (Wednesday), alleged that ‘some elements’ close to President Buhari are working against Tinubu considering their candidate didn’t win the APC primary election in 2022.

But reacting to those claims while speaking to newsmen at the Aso Rock Villa in Abuja, Lai Mohammed, the Minister of Information, stated that the Buhari-led government has been fair to all candidates regardless of party affiliations.

“If there’s anybody who is working against any candidate, we don’t know officially,” Mohammed said.

He added: “On a more serious note, one thing I can assure you is that, no matter who, this administration is focused and determined to ensure a free and fair election. And I think this administration, and for that matter now, the most important person in this regard is Mr. President.

“I think he has shown by words and deed that he is committed to a free, fair and credible election. And fair, free and credible elections mean not favouring or disfavouring anybody.

“Everywhere he goes, he makes that very clear, even as recently as Friday, when he was in Daura. He said the same thing. So if there’s anybody who’s working against any candidate, we don’t know officially.”

Senator Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun Central) on Thursday led chieftains of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) to flag off the party’s governorship campaign.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) Senator, who openly campaigned for ADC and its governorship candidate, Barr. Biyi Otegbeye, lamented that the State has derailed under the watch of Governor Dapo Abiodun.

He said Otegbeye, an insurance guru, will continue the laudable legacies he left behind in the State.

Amosun said campaigning for ADC was not about him but the future of Ogun State, urging the people to vote Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu for President and Biyi Otegbeye for Governor in Ogun state.

On arrival at the campaign at the Ake Palace ground, Amosun led the ADC party chieftains to pay homage to Alake of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Gbadebo.

The All Progressives Congress APC presidential campaign Council has debunked the news flying around that its presidential candidate, Asiwaju Tinubu attacked President Muhammad Buhari in Calabar.

This was contained in a statement made available today by the Media Director of the campaign Council, Bayo Onanuga as read in part:

“We find it important to correct the misrepresentation of the statement of our candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the campaign rally in Calabar yesterday by a section of the media especially Thisday Newspaper and its broadcast arm, Arise News.

“While addressing the mammoth crowd of party supporters and people of Cross Rivers State that came to listen to his message of Renewed Hope at U.J Esuene Stadium, Asiwaju Tinubu urged the people not to vote for Peoples Democratic Party and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar because of their litany of failures while in power for 16 years.

“The reference to exchange rate was not in any way an attack on the Muhammadu Buhari-led All Progressives Congress administration but an attempt to capture how the economic mismanagement of the PDP created forex crisis in the country since 2015.

“Anyone who followed the entire sequence and context of what Asiwaju said at the rally in Calabar will know he directed his missiles against PDP and Atiku. Let’s we forget, the PDP left the forex reserve at $28 billion by May 2015, when Buhari took over.

“Despite the massive oil theft and low price of crude, until recently, President Buhari had built up the reserve to about $38 billion. The PDP in 1999 met the exchange rate at N85 to one US dollar in 1999 and left it at N230 in 2015.

“What Asiwaju could be faulted for doing in Calabar was that he cited the wrong figures. And this, except for the mischievous PDP media did not detract from his central message.

“Our candidate explicitly said the people should not follow PDP and Atiku because they don’t know the road.

“Asiwaju Tinubu could not have meant President Buhari does not know road, having celebrated numerous times the achievements of the Buhari administration. Tinubu had also said at campaign fora he would build on the achievements, when elected on 25 February.

“It is simply illogical that the same Asiwaju would attack the Buhari administration of not knowing the road.

I”n contrast, throughout this campaign up till now, Asiwaju Tinubu has consistently said PDP and all the opposition parties put together do not know the road to prosperity for Nigeria. He also said the competing candidates do not have the track record the amassed as governor of Lagos.

“As the frontrunner in the race, he has promised to implement his robust Action Plan that will bring socio-economic prosperity to our country.

“We are not unmindful of the antics of Thisday and Arise News to deliberately misrepresent our candidate and accentuate anything they think will project Asiwaju Tinubu in a bad light since the beginning of this electioneering circle.

“We want to state categorically that all the machinations of the opposition elements to put a wedge between President Muhammadu Buhari and Asiwaju Tinubu will fail.

“APC, its leadership and President Buhari are strongly united behind our presidential candidate.

“All the sponsored innuendos, invented and imaginary discord in APC which the failed PDP and their media organs in Arise and ThisDay hope to cash on to win the coming election will blow up in their faces”.

Kaduna Governor Mallam Nasir El-Rufai has said alleged some elements in Aso Rock are working against the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

He spoke on Wednesday while fielding questions on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme.

Tinubu, during his rally in Ogun State, alleged some fifth columnists in government using the fuel and new naira notes crisis to sabotage the party’s electoral chances.

Few days after his outburst, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele extended the deadline of phasing out the old naira notes.

El-Rufai said the saboteurs in Aso Rock were those whose candidates lost at the party’s presidential primary and are still bitter.

He said they were ganging up against Tinubu’s victory at the February 25 poll.

He said: ”I believe there are elements in the Villa that want us to lose the election because they didn’t get their way; they had their candidate. Their candidate did not win the primaries.

“They are trying to get us to lose the election and they are hiding behind the president’s desire to do what he thinks is right.

“I will give two examples: this petroleum subsidy, which is costing the country trillions of Naira, was something that we all agreed would be removed. In fact, I had a discussion with the President and showed him why it had to go. Because how can you have a capital budget of N200b for federal roads and then spend N2 Trillion on petroleum subsidy? This was a conversation I had with the President in 2021 when the subsidy thing started rising. He was convinced. We left. It changed. Everyone in the government agreed, and it changed.

“The second example I will give is this currency redesign. You have to understand the President. People are blaming the Governor of the Central Bank for the currency redesign, but No. You have to go back and look at the first outing of Buhari as President. He did this; the Buhari, Idiagbon regime changed our currency and did it in secrecy with a view to catching those that are stashing away illicit funds. It is a very good intention. The President has his right. But doing it at this time within the allotted time does not make any political or economic sense.”

The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo state has condemned the reported murder of an unspecified number of persons in Igangan town of Ibarapa North Local Government Area by some political thugs who were said to have accompanied Governor Seyi Makinde to the community on a reelection campaign tour.

Feelers have it that one Ojebisi Matthew and others whose identities were yet to be known lost their lives in the hands of gunmen who have established to be members of the Park Management System headed by Mr. Mukaila Lamidi (Auxiliary). The same hoodlums who were part of the governor’s campaign team which visited the community also inflicted various of gunshot and matchet wounds on scores of youths in the course of the violence.

Reacting to the ugly development through a statement issued on Tuesday and made available to journalists in Ibadan by its Publicity Secretary, Olawale Sadare, Oyo APC queried why Gov. Makinde and his party (PDP) did not have any good projects or plans for the people of the state, particularly citizens in Ibarapaland, except tears and agony.

“It is quite regrettable that a governor elected to function as the Chief Security Officer of the state has turned out to be a harbinger sadness and sorrow to the people in view of incessant reports of mindless attacks and invasion by known faces who work for the government of the day. Just as reprieve was coming to the people who have suffered a lot from suspected killer herdsmen, another set of hoodlums who form the militant wing of the ruling party in the state would not allow residents to enjoy their deserved peace.

“The Tuesday violence in Igangan town which claimed the lives and properties of some hapless citizens stands condemned and we urge the global community to speak out in the interest of justice and humanity. How can a governor be moving round with murderous characters in the name of campaign tour which usually involves sporadic shooting of guns, open display of dangerous weapons and harassment of innocent residents?

“We have it on good authority that Gov. Makinde visited Igangan on Tuesday and few minutes after he had left, his political thugs began to shoot sporadically into the thin air to register their presence and also show off their strength of violence. While this was going on, some harmless youth protested by voicing out their displeasure and this angered the leader of the invading thugs who ordered that the youths should be made to suffer for their subtle protest.

“Consequently, the youths were directly shot at and many of them sustained bullet wounds. Matthew Ojebisi and others not yet identified were killed in the.process while over twenty people sustained various degrees of injury as a result of gunshot and matchet attacks. The hoodlums also went as far as invading houses to fish out residents in their hiding while they also set fire on some motorcycles and other belonging of some fleeing victims of the attacks. Reports also have it that the PMS boys removed about ten motorcycles from the streets and went away with them.

“It is on this note that we call on Gov. Makinde to be considerate on the people of the state and halt the violent activities of the PMS thugs who have operating in all parts of the state to cause chaos and panic among the residents. It is a height of wickedness for a leader to always cause his people tears and regret all the time and therefore, Gov. Makinde owes the people of the state a duty not only to protect them but also to be a source of joy and happiness to them.’ APC submitted.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has noted its reason for staying silent on the ruling of the Osun State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal in Osogbo, which nullified Ademola Adeleke’s victory in the governorship elections held on July 16, 2022.

What INEC said: Addressing questions from news men, on Monday, January 30, 2023, Barr. Festus Okoye, national commissioner and chairman of INEC’s Information and Voter Education Committee, said the court process must be allowed to take its full course.

“The governorship election tribunal is the court of first instance in election petition proceedings. The aggrieved party in this instance has signalled a wish to appeal against the ruling. It will be harmful to prejudge the outcome of the appeal.”

About Adeleke v Oyetola: Adegboyega Oyetola, a candidate for the All Progressives Congress (APC), had challenged Adeleke, a candidate for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), claiming that the latter had won due to overvoting and certificate fraud.

The tribunal acknowledged that APC’s claim of overvoting was incomplete. Still, it found evidence of overvoting in the guber election held on July 16.

The tribunal concluded that “after deducting invalid votes due to overvoting, Adegboyega Oyetola scored 314, 931 while Governor Ademola Adeleke scored 290, 666.”

What you should know: This issue has created doubts on the newly adopted BVAS.

Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) is an electronic device designed to read Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) and authenticate voters at every polling unit either through facial recognition or fingerprint capture.

By this, it means under normal circumstances, anybody who is not verified by BVAS should not be able to vote.