Nigerian Newspapers
APC will aid two-party system, says IBB
Reactions continued to trail Wednesday’s registration of the All Progressives Congress, APC, by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, with stakeholders, including former military president, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi and the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, describing it as a welcome development for the polity.
Babangida, in an interview with journalists in Minna, Niger State, yesterday, said the APC’s registration would open a stronger and vibrant political front in the country, adding that he would remain a strong supporter of the two-party system.
He said that though there were other political parties before the coming of the APC, the country now has two strong political forces in the build-up toward 2015.
He said: “I will continue to be a strong believer in twoparty system. And like the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, said, it is a welcome development because we will now have a strong and vibrant political association.
“You have the choice to either take this or take that. It is an opportunity for them now to try and talk to us, the ordinary people, and tell us what they are going to do for us and as a nation. But there are still other parties like the Labour Party, but then, we now have two strong parties.”
On the likely effects of the registration for the PDP’s dominance of political landscape, Babangida said: “Well, I am a person who God has not given the power to predict the future. I will wait for God. And we have a lot of time to see how it unfolds.”
He also noted that the registration of the new party would introduce vibrancy in political activities as each party would try to outdo the other in selling their respective candidates to Nigerians. The ex-military president, however, urged the people to ensure that they elect good leaders.
“We have a lot of time. We will see vibrant political activity. Now, every party will like to sell its candidates to us. But we should keep insisting that the votes should count. People must be allowed to make their choice and I have only one vote out of the 60 million votes of the people.”
Some chieftains of the APC were at Babangida’s Minna Hilltop residence for consultation yesterday.
They include former Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon. Aminu Masari, who is the Deputy National Chairman of the APC; former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai and Senator Nasir Nasif. Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi, said the new mega party will provide succour to Nigeria’s political pain, even as he gave kudos to patriots involved in the merger and Nigerians in general who stood by the proponents to ensure APC’s eventual registration.
The governor, who spoke in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media, Dr. Festus Adedayo, said with the development, the progressives were now set to rescue the country “from the abyss which it had been plunged into by the reactionary elements.”
The Maxi Okwu-led faction of APGA in a statement made available to National Mirror by Victor Eneh, said: “The All Progressives Grand Alliance congratulates the All Progressives Congress on its registration by the Independent National Electoral Commission. It is democracy in action. “Given the palpable tension prior to this registration (on the suspicion) that INEC was working on a script to deny the party registration, we also commend INEC for living up to its billing as an independent electoral management body.
“As a mass movement, APGA has been in the vanguard for the opening of the nation’s political horizon. We have always been of the view that a minimum of two or three major political platforms contending is the much needed elixir for our democratic exercise to be viable. Our neighbours on the African continent like Ghana, Kenya, etc have all achieved this.
“Right from independence, our nation, while operating a multi-party democracy invariably gravitates towards a two-party dominance with a third leg holding the balance – The UPGA/NNA scenario by 1966 and the NPN/PPA by 1983 and the formidable tripod from NCNC-NPCAG of the First Republic to NPN-UPN-NPP of the Second Republic. We predict a three cornered race in 2015 of APGA/APC/PDP as of the old days.”
The Osun State government also commended the INEC for registering the APC, describing it as courageous and valiant.
A statement by the state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Sunday Akere, said: “The new party becomes a necessity because of the torment the Peoples Democratic Party threw Nigeria into since the inception of the Fifth Republic and the eventual registration of the party is a victory for democracy and a victory for the masses, who have long sought an alternative to the PDP.
“This development has shown that if Nigerians demand changes, nothing can stop them from ing it. Many detractors have stood on the way of APC trying to stop its registration, but now their bid has failed. INEC has shown courage and a new party is born. Similarly, the lawmaker representing Lagos East Senatorial District in the National Assembly, Senator Gbenga Ashafa, gave kudos to the leadership of the new party for its steadfastness, saying that the emergence the APC was the beginning of great things to come in the polity. “A lot of kudos should be given to the leadership of the merging parties, particularly the executives and the entire membership of APC for the perseverance and tenacity in the course of getting the APC registered and approved by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
“Surely, this is the beginning of a new dawn in the political history of Nigeria, I enjoin all Nigerians to support the party in achieving the true democracy we deserve.”
The governorship candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, in last year’s governorship election in Ondo State, Chief Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN, described the registration of APC as a good omen for Nigeria’s democracy.
The former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, in a statement, said: “The news of the registration of All Progressives Congress, coming after several months of apprehension and suspicion, is soothing indeed.
“Amidst the continual socio-political occurrences of disquieting proportions, this singular adherence to constitutional provision by INEC is capable of deepening our democratic experiment in spite of its progression in fits and starts. Second Republic Presidential Adviser and northern leader, Alhaji Tanko Yakassai, said the registration of the APC would promote healthy competition in the polity.
Yakassi insisted that the country needed a viable opposition party that would attract support from Nigerians irrespective of ethnic and religious background. “Getting an opposition party that would attract the support from all parts of Nigeria is a positive development for our nascent democracy as that will go a long way in promoting national unity and integration.
Deputy Senate President in the Second Republic, Alhaji Abubakar Dan-Musa, also commended INEC for approving the registration of the APC, saying: “INEC has done the right thing; it is now left for the managers to also do what is right.
The ball is now in their court as the destiny of this party is in their hands.” Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola yesterday hoisted the flag of the new party at the state secretariat of the defunct ACN.
Fashola said Nigerians must commend the party leaders, who shifted their grounds to provide alternative platform that would enable good citizens achieve the desired change.
He hailed the INEC for taking the bold step by registering the party against all odds. The governor said: “I salute their sacrifice; we all must learn an enduring lesson from their sacrifice done to get this party.
We must remember their efforts and sacrifice anytime we do anything with the APC. We must always remember that because for us to have a very bigger merger party, it would require many more sacrifices.
“This is not about the individual, it is about the nation. Individuals will come and go, but the nation will remain. For me, this is not just a merger, but history. In Nigeria’s political history, this has never happened before.
“For every Goliath, there is a stone; the new party is the stone that will bring down the Goliath. This is now a choice to articulate the better change. The most I can say is congratulations for the job well done so far. As you know, the only reward that you can get for job well done is more work.
The registration of APC also elicited ovation in Imo State where a faction of APGA led by Governor Owelle Rocha Okorocha had been breathlessly awaiting the verdict of INEC on the new party. Members of the governor- led APGA were yesterday seen dancing and rejoicing on hearing the news that the party had finally been registered.
At the Government House, some political appointees from the Deputy Governor’s Office sang for many hours, praising God that the new party had been registered after prolonged delay.
They said with the registration of APC, the PDP “is now in trouble” as the new party would sweep the state and the entire South-East in 2015 elections.
“We can now begin serious campaign in the state. Some members of APGA thought that the party would not be registered and that it would be a miscalculation on the part of the current administration to have taken the plunge to drag the people to APC” one appointee said.
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Posted in Nigerian Newspapers. A DisNaija.Com network.
Source: National Mirror Newspaper
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•Deploy more personnel as army chief vows to wipe out terror group
•Security beefed up at N’Assembly
Deji Elumoye and Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja
Abuja, Nigeria’s seat of power, is under a massive security cordon following threats of attacks by insurgents and the increasing wave of banditry in the contiguous states of Kaduna, Kogi, Nasarawa and Niger States, THISDAY’s investigation has revealed.
There has been a wave of kidnappings in the outskirts of the federal capital, notably Pegi, Tuganmaje and Kuje among others, which the police have battled in recent times.
The security situation in and around the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) was heightened by the pronouncement of the Niger State Governor, Mr. Sani Bello, that Boko Haram fighters who he said sacked 50 villages in the state and hoisted the terror group’s flag, were about two hours drive away from the FCT.
Security has also been beefed up at the National Assembly as operatives, yesterday, thoroughly screened every vehicle approaching the National Assembly complex in Abuja.
The deteriorating security situation nationwide prompted the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus, to warn that the 2023 general election may not hold, demanding the declaration of a state of emergency as well as the convocation of a national conference.
However, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, yesterday restated the Nigerian Army’s determination to annihilate Boko Haram.
But the Governor of Katsina State, Hon. Bello Masari, cautioned against declaring a state of emergency, saying doing so isn’t the solution to combat the security challenges facing the country.
The security of the nation’s airports was also in focus yesterday as the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) said there was no threat to them.
THISDAY’s investigations showed increased presence of troops, police, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) personnel and intelligence operatives at the three strategic entrances to the city notably, Keffi, Zuba and Gwagwalada.
More checkpoints were also mounted around Gwagwalada and Keffi.
THISDAY also observed increased intelligence deployment at the entrance and the borders of FCT with contiguous states.
Beyond the borders, there were more deployments and police patrols inside the city and increased intelligence deployments as well.
Security sources told THISDAY: “There are deployments here and there but they are routine. Alertness is key to a secure environment.”
It was also learnt that security agencies were involved in frenzied meetings throughout yesterday.
The meetings, coordinated by the office of the Chief of Defence Staff under the new joint operational strategy of the armed forces, were aimed at coordinating a joint response to possible threats of attack to the FCT.
“I understand the security teams have been meeting for some days now and if you look around you, you will notice that there are increasing patrols and numbers of security personnel. The threats are not been taken lightly,” a source said.
National Assembly workers, lawmakers and visitors also had a harrowing experience accessing the legislative complex due to heightened security in the area.
Security operatives thoroughly screened every vehicle approaching the National Assembly complex in Abuja, impeding both human and vehicular traffic.
The Sergeant-at-arm of the National Assembly and other security agencies supervised the operations, leading to huge traffic build-up inside the complex.
Legislative staff, visitors and lawmakers were seen patiently waiting for their cars to be searched so that they could go ahead with the business of the day.
Some staff and visitors at some point got tired of waiting and were seen alighting from their cars to trek from the gate to the complex.
Meanwhile, the ONSA has said there is no threat to the nation’s airports.
A statement by the Head of Strategic Communication, Mr. Zachari Usman, said the reports of threats to the airports were an internal correspondence of security threat assessment misconstrued as security threat to the airports.
PDP Demands State of Emergency
In a related development, the PDP National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, yesterday demanded the declaration of a state of emergency, warning that the 2023 general election might not hold if the federal government failed to tackle insecurity.
He called on the federal government to summon a national conference to address the spike in insecurity.
Secondus added that the national caucus of the party will meet today to discuss the state of the nation.
Addressing members of the National Executive Committee (NEC) in Abuja, Secondus said: “We are worried Abuja is not even safe. It is no longer politics. We got alert of plots to bomb and burn down our airports.
“We urge the federal government to declare a national state of emergency in security. There is the need to call a national conference to discuss the insecurity in the country.
“There may not be any election in 2023 in Nigeria due to insecurity. This government must listen to the people. The Buhari government should call a national confab to discuss security and state of the nation. It is no longer politics. This time we are not playing politics. Let’s keep politics aside and move the nation forward.”
He said the country had been grounded, regretting that there had been no matching response from the federal government.
Secondus said in the past, terrorism in the North was confined to the North-east, but with the report of Boko Haram occupying villages in Niger State, terrorism had spread to the North-central
“Herdsmen are also menacing in the West; gunmen causing havoc in the East; and the militants in the South; all killing, looting, raping, maiming and burning down homes. The situation is bad; Nigerians all over are living in fear,” he said.
The Senate Minority Leader, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, said the problem of Nigeria was outside of the PDP headquarters, while pledging the support of the Senate to the declaration of state of emergency in security.
Abaribe said he deliberately decided not to speak on the floor of the Senate but to allow the APC senators to speak so as to avoid being accused of giving a partisan colouration to the issue of insecurity.
He stated that only electoral reforms would give victory to the opposition party in the 2023 general election and ensure a democratic defeat of the APC-led federal government.
Also, the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Hon. Ndudi Elumelu, commended the NEC and the PDP leadership for their collective efforts at resolving the House leadership crisis.
The NEC meeting adopted the position of Secondus, calling on the federal government to convoke a national conference to discuss the state of insecurity in the country, according to a communiqué read by the National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan.
Army Chief Vows to Wipe Out Boko Haram
The army yesterday reiterated its commitment to wipe out Boko Haram.
Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, told reporters in Maiduguri, Borno State that Boko Haram had been defeated in many encounters and would continue to be defeated until it’s annihilated from Nigeria.
“We will take on Boko Haram decisively, and we are committed to the focus of the operations, which is the total annihilation of Boko Haram from Nigeria,” he said.
The COAS, who was visiting the headquarters of Operation Lafiya Dole in Maiduguri for the fifth time since his appointment four months ago, said the visit was to boost the morale of the troops, reassure them and listen to any issues affecting them.
Earlier, the Theatre Commander of Operation Lafiya Dole, Maj. Gen. Farouq Yahaya, lauded the visit, which he said had continued to boost the morale of the troops.
“We are honoured, we are grateful, we are encouraged by those visits. You provided us guidance, logistics and other things we required. We are most grateful for those visits,” Yahaya said.
State of Emergency Won’t Solve Security Challenges, Says Masari
Katsina State Governor, Hon. Aminu Masari, has, however, said declaration of a state of emergency won’t solve the security challenges facing the nation.
Masari, who spoke yesterday with journalists after meeting with the Chief of Staff to the President, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari at the State House, Abuja stated that he was against the recent call by the House of Representatives for the declaration of a state of emergency in the security sector as it would not solve the problem.
According to him, declaring a state of emergency will not achieve the desired effect as the security structure and personnel to be used to execute the emergency are already overstretched in a bid to safeguard lives and property.
Sourced From: THISDAYLIVE
Tribune Online
Nigeria records 55 new COVID-19 infections, total now 165,110
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has recorded 62 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 165,110. The NCDC disclosed this on its official Twitter handle on Friday. “55 new cases of #COVID19Nigeria; Lagos-21, Yobe-19, Ogun-6, Akwa Ibom-3, Kaduna-2, Plateau-2, FCT-1, Rivers-1.” YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE COVID-19: Nigeria Recorded […]
Nigeria records 55 new COVID-19 infections, total now 165,110
Tribune Online
Sourced From: Tribune Online
By Olasunkanmi Akoni
The people of the South East region have been urged to explore the power of negotiation and mutual settlement in the face of ongoing killings and security challenges in the zone because the east can not afford another war at present.
Stakeholders from the South-East geo-political zone made the remark on Thursday, at the unveiling of the book, “Igbo, 50 years after Biafra,” written by Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Drainage Services, Joe Igbokwe, held at Ikeja G.R.A.
Speaking at the unveiling of the book, the chairman of the occasion, Mr. Cutis Adigba,
urged the people of the South-East to learn to build bridges across the country, so that they can realise their ambition of producing the next president of Nigeria.
Adigba urged leaders from the zone to discourage the move and agitation by some youths in the South East to go to war and secede out of Nigeria.
Also read: Banditry: Disregard viral video, Niger State gov’t urges residents
He said that Igbo have always found it difficult to rule Nigeria because they refused to build bridges across the six geo-political zones that made up Nigeria.
While describing the agitation as uncalled for, Adigba noted that after two decades that Nigeria returned to civil rule, the Igbo has predominantly identified with only one political party.
He maintained that remaining in one party can not advance the cause of the people of South East and cannot make them realise their objective of producing an Igbo man as president.
He maintained that the publisher of the book, Igbokwe played politics outside his state, so that the Igbo race can be integrated with one another race.
Adigba said the failure of the Igbo to reintegrate with other ethnic nationalities politically was responsible for the retrogression of the race in Nigerian politics.
Igbokwe, also addressing guests on the occasion, maintained that the Igbo are not advancing politically because they refused to be integrated into National politics, lamenting that, despite their success in business, they are not successful in playing politics at the national level.
Corroborating Dimgba, Igbokwe noted that there was the need for the Igbo people to stand up and build bridges so that their objective of producing the next president of Nigeria could be realised.
According to him: “I have decided to raise my voice, I hope my people will hear me while trying to quell the effect of the war, our people are spoiling for another war, mayhem is being unleashed in Igbo land, and there is palpable fear.
“Those who could speak have lost their voice, mindful of the consequences of their actions, I am calling on all Igbo leaders to speak up because all actions carry consequences, consequences of the silence will be too dastardly to sustain.
“Those silently supporting the wild wind should be careful or else they hand over to their children,” he said.
Igbokwe urged those spoiling for war to jettison their plan and embrace dialogue, urging them to learn from the South West region that despite the challenges faced after the annulment of the June 12, 1993, election, they did not go to war, and the region had the opportunity of producing two of her sons for presidential position in 1999.
“You have to build bridges to become president of Nigeria, but it is unfortunate the Igbo are burning bridges.”
Speaking at the event, Chief Uche Dimgba who is the coordinator of Igbo in All Progressives Congress, APC in Lagos, described Igbokwe as “a Frank, fearless and reliable leader, who based his views on issues and stand by his opinions, and we the Igbo have confidence in him and believe he can lead us aright.”
“He is a leader we Igbo believe in and we will follow him. If he can serve all the governors produced in Lagos State since 1999, he is a better man to follow because he possesses all the experience that can be of benefit to Igbo both at home and in the diaspora.”
The post Attacks on S’East: We must explore all options of negotiation — Stakeholders urge Igbo appeared first on Vanguard News.
Sourced From: Vanguard News
The government said that no worker should stay back beyond 6:00 p.m. within premises of buildings undergoing construction.
The post Insecurity: Lagos bans occupation of abandoned buildings appeared first on Premium Times Nigeria.
Sourced From: Premium Times Nigeria
Nigeria records 55 new COVID-19 infections, total now 165,110
Military, Police Ring Abuja to Forestall Boko Haram Attack
UFC: Usman gets N584m after beating Masvidal
Insecurity: Lagos bans occupation of abandoned buildings
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