TheNewsGuru

Tag: 2023

  • I can never retire to the senate like my colleague-governors – El-Rufai vows

    I can never retire to the senate like my colleague-governors – El-Rufai vows

    Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai, has vowed not to retire politically in seeking a legislative seat after leaving office.

    El-Rufai stated this on Monday while speaking at the second edition of the distinguished parliamentarian lecture series organised by the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS), in Abuja.

    He was elected as governor in 2015 and his second term will end in May 2023.

    Former governors currently in the red chamber include Ibrahim Geidam (Yobe), Rochas Okorocha (Imo), Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun), Kashim Shettima (Borno), Seriake Dickson (Bayelsa), Orji Kalu (Abia), Tanko Almakura (Nasarawa), and Abdulaziz Yari (Zamfara).

    El-Rufai, however, insisted he will not become a lawmaker.

    “I know many of my colleague-governors are retired to the senate. I can assure you I can never retire to the legislature because I do not think I can function there.

    “So, I really have great respect for those in the legislature and have managed to make it function. It is a great pleasure to be here,” he said.

  • ‘I battle Fulani herdsmen every year’ – Babachir Lawal gives reason for not supporting Atiku

    ‘I battle Fulani herdsmen every year’ – Babachir Lawal gives reason for not supporting Atiku

    A former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, (SGF) Babachir Lawal, has revealed why he will never support the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.

    Lawal reveals he battles with Fulani herdsmen every year after their animals invade his farms and eat up his crops.

    He also claimed that Atiku’s Presidential ambition would not fly because it will amount to the transition of government from one Muslim Fulani president to another Muslim Fulani president and would be the worst form of Muslim-Muslim ticket.

    The reaction of the former SGF was provoked by trending news that he has abandoned Peter Obi to work for Atiku.

    In a statement released on Monday in Abuja, Babachir Lawal dismissed the news insisting that he would not support any Fulani person that may undermine Nigeria’s unity through religion or ethnicity.

    The statement reads in part “I have just seen a trending news that I have abandoned Peter Obi to work for Atiku Abubakar.

    There is nothing far from the truth as this. I have never contemplated joining PDP since its formation as I view the PDP as the worst form of a collection of oligarchs and reactionaries.

    “Besides, I find myself every year battling Fulani herdsmen determined to have their animals invade my farms and eat up my crops every year. This is aside from their determination to take over the ancestral farmlands of my kinsmen as they do everywhere in the North. All these they do in a cavalier manner while their elite kinsmen dominant in the government keep mute.

    “Moreover, I view a transition of government from one Muslim Fulani President to another as the worst form of Muslim-Muslim ticket. It also represents ethnic domination by one ethnic group over others. I remain a Peter Obi diehard. Any news to the contrary is fake news.”

  • 2023: Tinubu’s spokesman, Bayo Onanuga reveals how Atiku’s convoy almost killed him

    2023: Tinubu’s spokesman, Bayo Onanuga reveals how Atiku’s convoy almost killed him

    Bayo Onanuga, the spokesperson of the Bola Tinubu Presidential Campaign Council, has revealed his near-death experience, saying he almost got killed by the convoy of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, flag bearer, Atiku Abubakar on Sunday.

    Onanuga explained that a vehicle in Atiku’s convoy almost killed him along the Shehu Shagari expressway in Abuja on Sunday evening.

    He added that he was returning from a visit to Senator, Tokunbo Afikuyomi, around 9pm when the accident happened.

    Continuing, Onanuga said the vehicle in Atiku’s convoy bashed his car, damaged his side mirror, dented, and scratched the two doors on its path , saying that the vehicle reversed and joined the convoy without showing any sign of being remorseful.

    A statement by Onanuga reads in part: “I had a close shave with death on Sunday night in Abuja as I was returning home at about 9 p.m. after a visit to Senator Tokunbo Afikuyomi. I was driving on the last lane of Shehu Shagari Way when I noticed a convoy emerging from one of the feeder roads.

    “My slowing down turned a mistake as a Toyota SUV emerged from the same road where the convoy had earlier emerged. It headed straight to my car. I was petrified as the driver rammed into my Toyota Camry, by the passenger side.

    “The convoy drove deep into Asokoro, into TY Danjuma Road and then entered one of the mansions.

    “I drove into the compound with the convoy. My adventure was certainly getting interesting. I, an APC and Tinubu campaigner inside the Atiku-Okowa den.”

     

  • PDP crisis: I am waiting for Wike, says Atiku

    PDP crisis: I am waiting for Wike, says Atiku

    Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, on Sunday said he’s waiting for River State Governor, Nyesom Wike to resolve the current crisis rocking the party ahead of the 2023 general elections.

    Wike is aggrieved with the leaders of PDP after he lost during the party’s presidential primaries.

    Atiku disclosed that he had met Wike five times in Abuja, Port Harcourt, and London but had no positive impact in resolving the party crisis.

    Speaking at The People’s Townhall meeting, Atiku said the meeting was aimed at resolving the crisis within PDP.

    “I have met Wike two times in Port Harcourt, two times in Abuja, one time in London, personally. It is not on my part; it is on the other side; I am waiting for him,” Atiku said.

    The governor was initially aggrieved that Atiku snubbed him for Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State as his running mate.

    Wike and his group, the G-5 integrity group also called for the resignation of Iyorchia Ayu as National Chairman of the party.

     

  • APC’s Muslim-Muslim ticket political calculation, says Group

    APC’s Muslim-Muslim ticket political calculation, says Group

    Mr. Realwan Okpanachi, the Director-General, Asiwaju Project Beyond 2023, has described the All Progressives Congress (APC) Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket as a political calculation for success.

    Okpanachi who explained this on Sunday in Lokoja, said it was never meant to insult Christians.

    He spoke at a reception organised in his honour following his appointment as Director-General, Asiwaju Project Beyond 2023, and Town Hall meeting on Asiwaju/Shettima policy document, tagged Renewed Hope 2023.

    The Abuja based legal practitioner said that there were many Christians of good faith and conscience supporting him, because Asiwaju cannot be pinned to a religion or ethnicity.

    “I am a Christian and the speakers that came for this programme are Christians.

    “Tinubu is a man that has lived above board, he is a man that has built a very solid bridge across the divide of religion or ethnicity.

    “He is a man that has been married for over 40 years to a Christian and Senior Pastor in the Redeemed Christian Church Of God (RCCG).

    “All his children are Christians and he is a man that has appointed many Christians into his cabinet as governor of Lagos State,” he said.

    Okpanachi also declared that Asiwaju “is a very good friend of the Christian community and because of that Nigerians don’t have any fear and those that are touting Muslim-Muslim ticket are mischief makers fighting for their own selfish and ugly interests”.

    According to him, majority of Nigerians appreciate the reasons behind the decision for Muslim-Muslim ticket and “we don’t see it as an affront on the Christian community”.

    Speaking in same vein, the Chairman of the occasion, retired Col. Suleiman Babanawa, said the choice of Shettima as Asiwaju’s running mate was a wise one and based purely on political consideration.

    He said that politics was a game of numbers and that there was a great difference between competence and political value.

    “Would you rather lose millions of votes from Borno for few thousands from certain states because of religion or ethnicity? It’s a pure political calculation and it has nothing to do with either despising or spiting Christians.

    He said that God would plant Sen. Oluremi Tinubu as “Queen Esther of our time”, to open doors of Aso Rock for the people of this country.

    “Asiwaju/Shettima ticket is the best for Nigeria because at the end of the day, if we are to emancipate Nigerians, the rich, the poor, the downtrodden, all we need is a man who has a capacity and a pair that is compatible and can win elections.

    “If you want good governance take Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Shettima; if you want good security, think Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Shettima.

    “If you want a complete emancipation and something to hand over to the next generation let us think about a man who has a capacity.”

    According to him, “Barrister Realwan Okpanachi is an exceptional young man who has caught a niche of excellence for himself.

    “He is not among the group of lazy Nigerian youths, he is one who has distinguished himself by pure dint of hard work and doggedness. I appreciate him. He’s an ideal son and I love him.”

    Prof. Adamu Usman, the Chairman of Universal Basic Education (UBE) Board and former SA to the President on Legal Matters, Research and Documentation, reviewed the policy documents of Asiwaju Project Beyond 2023.

    Usman urged youths not to take politics as a profession and diligently pursue their career or vocation and play politics as part time activity rather than taking it as a profession.

    He said that the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration would focus on security and deploy modern technologies to check activities of criminals, adding that “when the risk of apprehension is higher, people will be forced to behave themselves”.

    Various speakers at the occasion eulogised Okpanachi as a young man, who has distinguished himself through dint of hard work in his legal profession and political landscape.

  • 2023: Labour Party meets in Kano, fine tunes strategies for victory

    2023: Labour Party meets in Kano, fine tunes strategies for victory

    The Labour Party (LP), in Kano State, on Saturday, held a town hall meeting to fine-tune strategies towards achieving landslide electoral victory in the forthcoming 2023 general elections.

    The Chairman of the party, Alhaji Muhammad Raji, while addressing party members and support groups, said the meeting was organized by the House of Representatives and Assembly candidates forum of the party.

    According to him, the emergence of Mr. Peter Obi as a presidential candidate had brought a lot of goodwill and fortune to the party and by extension, other candidates vying for several political offices at various levels.

    He said that Obi was competent and had the credibility to lead and bring better governance to the country.

    Earlier, the chairman of the forum, Abubakar Ado, said that the meeting would grant them the opportunity to identify some of the problems to be encountered in the field, identify solutions, and set out an action plan for tackling the problems.

    Ado said that the meeting was targeted towards a landslide victory of the party at all levels.

    He described Obi as a candidate with credibility and character and commitment to salvage Nigeria.

    The chairman of the forum said that they translated Obi’s blueprint into Hausa for easy understanding by the locals

    Ado thanked the support groups for all that they had been doing to keep alive the hope of Nigerians and Kano people.

    Also, the Labour Party’s stalwart in the state, Pastor Christian Azuka, said that Obi had the capacity to liberate Nigeria from economic and security challenges.

    According to him, it has become imperative for Nigerians to see the candidacy of Peter Obi as the only way to rescue the nation from hardship

    “We want better governance, we want a change so that we have a country we call our own,” he explained.

    The women leader of the party, Hajiya Fati Muhammad, promised that women would work tirelessly for Peter Obi’s victory before and during the 2023 elections.

    Some of the supporters, candidates and party stakeholders who spoke at the occasion, promised to deliver the state to Obi and all other LP candidates in Kano.

  • Buhari promises to hand over Nigeria free of insecurity

    Buhari promises to hand over Nigeria free of insecurity

    President Muhammadu Buhari says he is ready to hand over Nigeria free of insecurity to the next administration.

    Buhari made the promise at the 46th Convocation ceremony of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, at Oduduwa Hall Amphitheatre of the University, on Saturday in Ile-Ife.

    Represented by Dr Biodun Saliu, the Director, Academic Planning at the National Universities Commission (NUC), Buhari reaffirmed his commitment to the security of lives and property.

    “We remain firmly committed to the security of lives, property and investment across the country.

    “This administration will continue to confront all forms of banditry, criminality, terorism ad insurgency in the land.

    “I promise to hand over a Nigeria that is free of insecurity to the next administration,” the president said.

    He, also reiterated his commitment to education, saying that his administration had pumped more funds into the nation’s tertiary education more than any previous government.

    According to him, the flagstaff of this regime remains the enhancement of higher educational institutions, as they are supportive of the efforts to promote training, research and community services in the universities.

    The president said he expected that the nation’s universities should be problem- solvers and impact heavily on the socioeconomic life of the nation.

    According to him, more premium has been placed on education and security and I have no intention of lowering the guard.

    “In our determined effort to resolve the incessant strikes in our higher institutions of learnings, we have provided a total sum of N470.00 billion in the 2023 budget from our constrained resources, for revitalisation and salary enhancement.

    “I want all of us to know and note that government alone cannot provide the resources required for funding tertiary education.

    “In fact, in most countries, the cost of education is jointly shared between the government and the people, especially at the tertiary level.

    “It is imperative, therefore, that we introduce a highly sustainable model of funding tertiary education.

    “This government remains committed to the implementation of agreement reached with staff unions within the available resources, and we are resolute that we will not sign any agreement that we cant truthfully implement.

    “Government is equally committed to improving the quality of education at other levels, ” Buhari said.

    Earlier, the Etsu Nupe, also the Chancellor of the university, Alhaji Yahaya Abubakar, commended the effort of the graduands to succeed through their persistence, resilience and determination, which singled them out for excellence, honour and recognition.

    Abubakar advised them to hold their head high as worthy ambassadors and explore the world around them and beyond with natural resources of great wealth, waiting to be tapped.

    Also, the university Pro-Chancellor, Owelle Udoji, congratulated the graduands and their relatives on their success academically.

    Udoji acknowledged the fatherly roles played by the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, to maintain peace and tranquility between the community and the university.

    He urged the graduands to utilise the knowledge gain from the university to make their lives better.

    Earlier, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Simeon Bamire, commended the university staff for their unflinching supports for stability and return of normalcy to the institution, in spite of the unresolved issues between them and the government.

    Bamire pledged to strengthen student/alumni relations, increase opportunities for internally generated revenue, while removing leakages and wastages.

    The vice-chancellor promised to improve the institution’s agricultural production initiatives, prioritise staff welfare through regular promotion with training and retraining programmes for achievement sustainability.

    “The university has continued to play a leading role of technology, while the African Centre of Excellence in Software Engineering Project of the school has tremendously advanced the frontiers of technological development in Nigeria and Africa.

    “The university is reconstituting the Town and Gown Committee to further strengthen the cordial relationship between the two entities to meet up with the social and communal challenges that may arise,” he said.

    Bamire assured them that the graduands have been academically equiped, urging them to utilise their gainful knowledge to provide solution to the nation’s economic challenges and be good ambassadors of the university.

    Newsmen reports that 130 bagged First Class out of 6,542 graduands.

  • Viral video: APC national chairman did not strip naked – Aide

    Viral video: APC national chairman did not strip naked – Aide

    Malam Nata’ala Mohammed, Personal Assistant on New Media to the National Chairman of APC, Sen. Abdullahi Adamu, has debunked insinuations making round that the viral video of a man stripped naked at Lafia Emir’s palace was suspected to be Adamu.

    In a telephone interview on Saturday in Keffi, Mohammed, said those making such allegations were not honest to themselves and were mischievous in character, adding, ”they are only seeking relevance.”

    ”A viral video of a man that was stripped naked on Thursday, Dec. 8 at the Emir of Lafia’s palace, which was also insinuated and suspected to be the APC National Chairman is false.

    ”It was the mere imagination of mischievous people who are unfamiliar with the physical looks of Sen.  Abdullahi Adamu.

    ”This unfortunate misplacement of the true physical look of the person of Adamu, is not in anyway to be linked to him,” Mohammed said.

    Also, a pro-democracy group, A .A Sule Progressives Forum, has vehemently condemned the dastardly act that occurred to their Grand Patron, Alhaji Abubakar Giza, who holds the traditional title of Ciroman Giza.

    The State Coordinator of the forum, Mr Jonathan Samuel described the incidence as barbaric and unbecoming.

    He stated that Giza was an elder statesman and an APC stalwart who has been a very strong pillar of support to the government of Nasarawa State.

    According to Samuel, Giza is a peace loving man, urging, ”the evil act done to him by some unscrupulous elements should not be played down.

    ”The perpetrators of such dastardly act should be identified and brought to book to serve as a deterrent to others.”

    He emphasized the need for all and sundry to be security conscious at all times, saying, ”these bad eggs are lurking everywhere.”

    Samuel also urged the security agencies to intensify efforts in apprehending the culprits.

  • 2023: I saw a nation going down the drain – Bishop Oyedepo warns

    2023: I saw a nation going down the drain – Bishop Oyedepo warns

    The Founder of the Living Faith Church Worldwide, Bishop David Oyedepo has warned Nigerians ahead of the 2023 general elections after revealing he was against voting for the current government in 2015.

    Oyedepo said this at the ongoing Shiloh program at the church’s headquarters in Ota, Ogun State.

    He said, “I think I am prompted by the spirit we need to pray for this nation. I warned this nation in 2015 that we were heading for crisis and trauma, many were washing their mouth. They are off today.

    “God does not require consensus to raise a prophet. I saw a nation going down the drain, I cried. There are many prophets of politicians who speak what they want to hear.

    “I have been very silent, what we need now is not a leader, it is a deliverer. Almost nothing remains except the church that can be called a nation”.

     

  • APC set to counter falsehood against Tinubu

    APC set to counter falsehood against Tinubu

    The All Progressives Congress (APC), Canada Chapter, has declared its readiness to counter false claims directed at the party and its presidential candidate, Sen. Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

    The party revealed this in a statement by the chapter’s Chairman, Mr Omololu Apata, on Tuesday in Akure.

    Omololu explained that, apart from contributing financially and materially to the party, the APC, Canada chapter, would confront issues of maligning the character of APC’s presidential candidate.

    “There’s so much at stake in the forthcoming elections. It is not surprising therefore that in desperation, some people have turned social media to the harbinger of slander and blackmail.

    “A committee will be set up to counter any lies or misinformation toward our principal candidate with facts that will invalidate their tissue of lies,” he said.

    He said that the party would harness roles that technology would play in ensuring victory for the APC candidate.

    “We know our candidate is very keen on the use of technology as a vehicle for economic and social transformation of society.

    “We are very hopeful that he will be able to join us for this very important presentation,” he stated.

    Omololu lauded the party’s members in Canada for their dedication and steadfastness over the years.

    According to him, it is time to come together to support the party and its presidential candidate who has what it takes to take Nigeria to where it truly belongs in the comity of nations.

    “Luckily, our chapter can boast of diverse but dedicated members who are also very resourceful.

    “After the 2023 elections and with our principal as the president, APC Canada hopes to play a significant role in deepening the existing bilateral relationship between Nigeria and Canada.

    “Canada is a world powerhouse economically. It is a country to which nature has been so kind and generous.

    “Canadians have also utilised those natural resources to an enviable global success,” he stated.

    Omololu said that there were a lot that both countries could  share in critical economic areas such as agriculture, extractive resources, engineering and technology.