TheNewsGuru

Tag: Bola Ahmed Tinubu

  • Knocks, indifference in Kogi, Abuja over APC Muslim – Muslim ticket

    Knocks, indifference in Kogi, Abuja over APC Muslim – Muslim ticket

    The raging discussion and controversies among Nigerians about the decision of the ruling APC to field two Muslims as Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates have continued with many respondents interviewed in both Abuja and Kogi stating their dismay, while others remain indifferent to the decision. Few APC loyalists however justified the pairing.

    A political commentator, Samuel Obadiah told TheNewsGuru that the decision was not thought through by the APC, saying it was a dead combination which has isolated the opinion of Christians in the country.

    To him, “What this means is that the APC does not respect how the christians feel. They feel a religious balance would not have any impact on the outcome of the polls in a secular but religiously sensitive environment that we have found ourselves.”

    He said the party should have scanned through the North before arriving at the decision because, “Regional balance is as important as religious balance. I don’t think any right thinking christian would vote for the ruling party, considering their record since they took over power.

    “Are you telling me there are no christian politicians that would help pacify the already tense christian population in the region? Of course there are. It is just an attempt to circumvent them.”

    On her part, Njideka Onwonwu who is a Civil Society Activist said the nation is already teetering towards division and that there was no need to continue to beat the drum of division or emphasizing factors that further set the people against each other.

    According to her, it does not matter if a political party decides to pair two Christians or Muslims, as long as they can sustain the peace and improve the social and economic well being of the people while providing accountable, transparent and corruption – free government.

    Related Story

    “I have always been interested in who would speak about lack of ability to deliver the democratic goods to the citizens since these whole argument began about Muslim – Muslim and whatnot,” she said.

    “What an average Nigerian needs now is good governance. A government that can create opportunities for citizens to live in peace, have access to quality education, provide infrastructure and make life comfortable.

    “The noise about religion and belief system of candidates is to me, a distraction. Whether they are idol worshippers, atheists, and whatnot, should be of little significance, compared to the task of getting the country working again.

    “Nigeria’s worsening insecurity is not making the people to want evolve a national discuss that would address the issue head-on. It is sad that people have become disillusioned with the situation. In the face of alarming poverty, people are paying through their noses to free their kidnapped loved ones. Some of these things go unreported with, in fact, security agencies not wanting many of the hush payments to come to public knowledge.

    “I think it is the religious leaders feeding fat on the people’s ignorance that are instigating the public to overblow the issue of Muslim – Muslim ticket. It should not be this much of an issue, as far as I am concerned.”

    Joseph Akwu on the other hand, thinks that Nigeria would gain more with the experience sof the APC candidates, Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his running mate, Kashim Shettima.

    Mr Akwu noted that the duo have a combined 16 years experience between them as Governors having served eight years each as Lagos and Borno State Governors.

    To that effect, he said Tinubu understands the complexities of the south and that Shettima understands the North very well, hence the belief they are a combination capable of taking the country to a great height.

    Sunday Dada does not care, he said the only thing that would give him joy would be for him to see a leader that would begin to change situation across the country for the better.

    Umar Yahuza, John Usman, Shuaibu Audu, Mohammed Abubakar and others also spoke on the issue and said they would pray for it if that would be best for the country and that they would also pray against it if at the end, it would be a disaster.

    Shuaibu Audu, in particular, told our reporter, “Do you know what the country has been through in the last couple of years? What we need now is prayers for the Almighty God to select the best leader for us, not some issue about the religion they practice.”

  • 2023: Group of lawyers declare support for Tinubu

    2023: Group of lawyers declare support for Tinubu

    A group of Nigerian lawyers under the Lawyers Network for Bola Ahmed Tinubu 2023 has expressed its readiness to canvass votes for the APC candidate in next year’s presidential election, Bola Ahmed Tinubu (BAT).

    The group stated this in Lagos at a press conference on Tuesday.

    Coordinator and convener of the group, Dotun Ajulo, the group’s position was borne out of the discovery that lawyers wield so much influence on the society and that they were determined to see a better Nigeria.

    The group noted that harnessing the enormous influence and transferring it into a national agenda to promote, integrate and achieve national goals and development via the engagement, mobilisation and conscientization of all Nigerians to vote en masse for a Nationalist, Patriotic, selfless and astute socio-political engineer in the person Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2023 is their agenda.

    Related Story: 

    In the words of Ajulo, “In arriving at the choice of Bola Ahmed Tinubu, we have considered and evaluated him with other major contenders for presidency and we realized that his mien, disposition and patriotism placed him above others. Based on his antecedents, which his opponents admits.

    “BAT has seen it all, worked through the processes of nation building in Nigeria and know where it hurts deeply. As a city boy, he has seen both sides of leadership and governance.

    “We must remind Nigerians that BAT in governance as Governor in Lagos state, the Federal allocation of Lagos State was withheld for about four years but infrastructural development never ceased, the State IGR improved and till date, the state of Lagos state economy is on a steady rise based on his templates.

    “More importantly, Bola Ahmed Tinubu ran an inclusive government devoid of tribe, religion and belief, his ability to shop for good hands for effective governance is the high point of his leadership. We have no doubt that he will recruit best hands to manage the current Nigerian Challenge which he has stated severally at various for as surmountable.”

    The convener stressed that the lawyers’ affiliation is not linked to any political party, religion or belief other than the yearning for a better Nigeria.

  • Aspiring Nigerian President, Tinubu tells INEC how his academic certificates were stolen by unknown persons

    Aspiring Nigerian President and presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has failed to present his primary and secondary certificates to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, saying that his certificates were stolen by unknown persons.

     

    The former Lagos State Governor (Tinubu) said the incident happened when he was on self exile.

     

    Recall that Tinubu, alongside other chieftains of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) fled the country to evade the persecution of the military government headed by the late General Sani Abacha.

     

    Abacha had deployed gruesome tactics in clamping down on activists, including students and technocrats opposed to his regime.

     

    In the affidavit he sworn to support his nomination form for the office of the president, Tinubu said he “went on self exile from October 1994 to October 1999 (and) when I returned and discovered that my property including all the documents relating to my qualification and my certificates in respect of paragraph 3 above were looted by unknown persons.”

     

    The ruling party presidential candidate, who failed to provide information regarding his primary and secondary education in the INEC form, stated that he attended University of Chicago between 1972 and 1976, where he obtained B.Sc in Economics.

    Tinubu

     

    The form also showed that he obtained B.Sc in Business and Administration, as well as certificate in Public Account.

     

    Tinubu’s latest claims appear to be in contradiction with the submission he made to INEC when he ran and won the Lagos State governorship election in 1999.

     

    The former governor had stated that he attended St Paul Children’s Home School, Ibadan, between 1958 and 1964 before proceeding to Government College Ibadan (GCI), between 1965 and 1968 for his secondary education.

     

    The ensuing backlash forced Tinubu to withdraw his primary and secondary schools academic records during his second term bid in 2003.

     

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) recalls that Tinubu won the APC presidential primary at a special convention held in Eagle Square, Abuja.

     

    He won the election by a landslide after beating the likes of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, and the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan.

  • MC Oluomo, actress Laide Bakare, others show off dance moves as Tinubu wins APC primaries (VIDEO)

    Actress Laide Bakare and the former Lagos NURTW chairman, Musiliu Ayinde Akinsanya, also known as MC Oluomo, on Wednesday, showed off some dance moves as the former Lagos State Governor and All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential aspirant, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, took lead at the party’s primary.

     

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) sighted other loyalists of Tinubu in excitement as they danced ecstatically after it became apparent that he (Tinubu) has emerged the winner, with 955 votes ahead of the former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, who came second.

    MC Oluomo

     

    Following the victory, MC Oluomo and his league of supporters were seen dancing as they envisaged a better appointment if Tinubu becomes the next president of Nigeria.

     

    Tinubu, who was dozed off as his results were counted, comfortably emerged winner in the APC primaries atter 6 aspirants stepped down and declared their support for him.

     

    Watch the video below:

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports that Tinubu accomplished a major feat towards realizing his ambition to become Nigeria’s next president, by emerging first among 23 contenders for the APC presidential ticket.

     

    Tinubu scored 1, 271 from the total 2, 102 votes cast by delegates in the APC’s keenly contested primaries, as announced by the chairman and returning officer of the election committee Abubakar Bagudu, during a special convention held in Abuja on Wednesday June 8. Thirteen votes form the election were void.

     

    Despite Tinubu’s seeming track record of relentless commitment to the democracy and mentorship to new generation and future leaders, the party found it extremely difficult to project him as a consensus candidate and eventually opted for the ballot.

    MC Oluomo
    Bola Tinubu

     

    Presenting himself to delegates prior to the commencement of voting, the former governor insisted he was the most qualified person to succeed incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari.

    Justifying his claim, Tinubu noted how he transformed of Lagos “from a dangerous, unwelcoming” place in 1999 to “a clean, safe and vibrant place” and the sixth-largest economy in Africa today.

     

    “I’m a unifying leader. I have constructed a formidable political structure, one that has delivered electoral victory after electoral victory. I do not put myself forward because I think this is a nomination; I step forward because I believe I can lead our party toward the brightest future.

     

    “I have expertise. My record of corporate leadership, my financial expertise, and my experience as an executive governor of Lagos makes me unique among other aspirants,” the former governor said.

  • Owo killing: Yoruba Ronu commends Tinubu’s N75m donation to victims of attack

    The Yoruba Ronu, a socio-political group on Tuesday lauded Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his N75 million donation to victims of Sunday’s attack at a worship centre in Owo, Ondo State.

    Newsmen reports that Tinubu, a leading presidential aspirant of the All Progressives Congress (APC) left the party’s convention in Abuja on Monday and arrived in Owo to condole with victims.

    Yoruba Ronu’s commendation is contained in a statement issued on Tuesday in Akure by its chairman, Prince Diran Iyantan.

    Iyantan said the donation would serve as succour for the victims in moving forward from the ugly, unprovoked and unwarranted experience.

    The chairman also commended Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, some governors and political leaders who also came to commiserate with the victims.

    Iyantan, who condemned the mindless killing of innocent worshippers, said it was an attack too many, saying such assaults must stop.

    According to him, the group is extremely saddened after seeing the footages of the gruesome killing of slain children and women in pools of their blood.

    “The major concern is to ensure the survival of those injured in the reckless attack by providing for their adequate medical care.

    “There should also be adequate follow-up on post-trauma experience that many of them will suffer later, especially, the children who survived the killing,’’ he stated.

    Iyantan sympathised with the victims of the shooting and prayed for the repose of their souls and forgiveness of their sins as they all died in the service and worship of Almighty God.

    He stressed that all hands must be on deck to ensure that all perpetrators of the hideous killing did not go unpunished.

    He called on all the security apparatuses in the country to go after the murderers and ensure they were brought to justice for their callous behaviour.

    Iyantan also sympathised with Gov. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu and the people of Ondo State over the loss.

    He commended the governor for acting swiftly by returning to the state from Abuja where he had gone for the national convention of the APC when the incident occurred.

    “Akeredolu is a great leader who is very conscious of the welfare and security of his people.

    “We are convinced that the attack was carried out to deter Gov. Akeredolu from his security consciousness.

    “Ondo State is known to be a very secure and peaceful haven to do business, live and sleep with your two eyes closed”.

    “We are convinced also that the murderers have failed as their attack will only make the governor to be more determined in his fight against bandits, criminals, and all forms of terrorism,’’ Iyantan stressed.

  • Why I stopped Tinubu from being Buhari’s running mate – Saraki

    Former Kwara state Governor and Senator  Abubakar Bukola Saraki has denied that he opposed the ambition of the former Lagos state governor and the national leader of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu to become President Muhammadu Buhari’s running mate in 2014 .

    Saraki said he opposed the muslim-muslim ticket as at then.

    Saraki made this revelation while reacting to accusations by Tinubu that he stopped his ambition to become president Buhari’s running mate.

    Recall that Tinubu had during a meeting with delegates in Ogun State, claimed that Saraki and others opposed his desire to be Buhari’s running mate in the 2015 elections because he was a Muslim.

    Saraki,  who spoke through  a statement signed and released  by the head of his Media Office, Yusuph Olaniyonu, stated that he would always oppose any plan that is capable of causing a religious crisis in a multi-religious country like Nigeria.

    According to Saraki, President Buhari was a Muslim and shouldn’t have another Muslim man as his running mate.

    “When I and other leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2014 stood against having a Muslim-Muslim ticket, it was not a decision targeted at any individual or group but one taken in the national interest.

    “Let me make it clear that the decision to oppose the plans by some people to make APC present a Muslim-Muslim ticket in 2015 was in the national interest and I will take the same stand today, tomorrow, and any other day.

    “My stance is based on the fact that such a ticket is not good for the unity of the country and will further accentuate one of our fault lines.

    “The opposition to a Muslim- Muslim ticket was not targeted at Tinubu or any other person. It was a decision that even all party leaders know helped the victory of the party and also worked for the unity of the country”, he said.

    Saraki was a member of the ruling party when President Buhari won the 2015 presidential election.

  • BREAKING: I made Buhari, Osinbajo President, VP – Tinubu

    APC strongman, Bola Ahmed Tinubu says he he made Muhammadu Buhari Nigeria’s President and nominated Prof Yemi Osinbajo as his Vice President.

    This is coming few days to the ruling party’s special National Convention.

    He stated this at the Presidential Lodge in Abeokuta, the state capital, while addressing the APC delegates ahead of the party’s primary.

    Tinubu also claimed that the Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, would not have been the governor in 2019 without his support.

    He went down memory lane to narrate what led to the emergence of Osinbajo as vice president, saying Buhari had offered him a running mate ticket, but some blocs rose against it, on the excuse of a Muslim-Muslim ticket.

    Tinubu used the opportunity to state that when he was asked to submit three names for running mate, he penciled down Yemi Kadoso, Wale Edun, and Yemi Osinbajo and later settled for Osinbajo.

    In his words, “You have not heard this from me before. This is the first place I am saying this,” the former Lagos Governor stated.

    ALSO READ:Tinubu, Sanwo-olu, others converge in Ibadan to meet delegates

    On Buhari’s emergence, he said “If not for me that led the war front, Buhari won’t have emerged. He contested first, second and third times, but lost. He even said on television that he won’t contest again.

    “But I went to his home in Katsina, I told him you would contest and win, but you won’t joke with the matters of the Yorubas.
    “Since he has emerged I have not been appointed Minister. I didn’t get nor request a contract. This time; it’s Yoruba turn and in Yorubaland, it’s my tenure.”

    Tinubu also said without God and him, The Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, would not have emerged as APC candidate and the eventual winner of the 2019 governorship election in the state.

    Referring to Abiodun in his remarks, Tinubu said, “this one sitting behind me here could not have become governor without me. We were at the stadium, they tore all his posters. Even the party flag, they didn’t want to hand it over to him.

    “If he wants to meet God at the right place, he must know that without God and me, he would not have become governor.”
    He added, “since the time we started with the Action Congress, Action Congress of Nigeria, and now the All Progressives Congress, I wanted to contest for president that time.

    “This is me telling you between me and God Almighty, Buhari called me to be his Vice President. He said because the first time he contested, he picked Okadigbo, flamboyant, catholic, but Nigerians didn’t vote for him.

    “The second time, he picked another Igbo, Umezeoke, Nigerians didn’t vote for him; that if he goes to bring the Pope to run as his vice, Nigerians won’t vote for him. But you, Bola Tinubu, you have six governors, you have never lost an election before, come and be my vice”.

    “He knew all the calculations then favoured us, that is why he wanted me as his vice, but I told him to let us build the party first. And when we finished building the party after we brought in people from the PDP, Saraki now saw that those from the PDP will not get anything if Buhari, a Muslim becomes the president and me, also a Muslim becomes his vice, he won’t get the senate president and the senate president cannot also be a Muslim. That was how they started the campaign of calumny against me.

    “And I told them that I have a candidate that is a Christan that I can nominate so that the party will not break. That was how I nominated Vice President Yemi Osinbajo. I surrendered my right to him (Osinbajo).

    “I was asked to submit three names, Yemi Cardozo, Wale Edun, and Yemi Osinbajo, but I told them if I submit three names, they will play a game, they may make it four and pick the fourth one. I gave them one name and that was Osinbajo.”

    Speaking on why he is the best choice among other aspirants in South West, he said, “it is my time, I’m educated, I’m experienced. I have been serving people for a long time. Bring me the presidency, it is my turn.
    “When Atiku was being dragged out of PDP by Obasanjo, he ran to me for help. I let him have the ticket. Nuhu Ribadu came to me and I backed him.

    “It has been over 25 years now that I have been serving them. This one sitting behind me, Dapo, can he say he can be the governor without me? We were together at the MKO Abiola Stadium, he was intimidated. They didn’t want to give him the party’s flag. I was the one that handed the flag to him. He knows that he cannot be the governor without the help of God and my support.

    “If not for me that stood behind Buhari he wouldn’t have become the president. He tried the first time, he failed. The second time, he failed. The third, he failed. He even wept on national television and vowed never to contest again but I went to meet him in Kaduna and told him he will run again: I will stand by you and you will win, but you must not joke with Yorubas and he agreed.

    “Since he became the president, I have never got ministerial slots; I didn’t collect any contract, I have never begged for anything from him. It is the turn of Yoruba; it is my turn.”

    In his remarks, Governor Abiodun who had earlier declared his support for Osinbajo’s candidature refused to endorse Tinubu.

    He told Tinubu that delegates from the state would do “the right thing” at the convention.

    Abiodun described Tinubu as a political warrior, serial winner, and strategist.

  • Northern muslims have resolved to support Tinubu – Fmr Kogi Assembly speaker

    A former speaker of the Kogi State House of Assembly, Abdullahi Bello, has revealed that Muslims in the North are determined to support the presidential ambitions of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.

    He stated this in a recent interview on TVC News.

    Bello spoke about being grateful to Tinubu for the good he has done for the north over the years.

    Bello said, “I do not believe that imposing any presidential candidate on the party will work out, as such, an individual needs to have worked for himself around the country to be suitable to take over from President Muhammadu Buhari.

    “Such a person has to be marketable, acceptable, and have modern knowledge of the economy.

    “That is actually what Nigeria currently needs. Someone whose pedigree speak for him.

    “Bola Tinubu is the symbol of a leader who can unite the country and ensure the prosperity of the country. We who are Muslims from the Northern part of Nigeria believe that this man has given many of us the opportunity to fulfil our political aspirations on multiple occasions.

    “Bola Tinubu gave his platform for Atiku to run for president, and he did the same for Nuhu Ribadu. Even when the current president came with a “weak party” that had just a governor, and Bola Tinubu’s party had many governors, Tinubu conceded and gave him the platform to run.

    “It is our turn to thank him for all the good he has done for the people in the north. You can see great men from the north supporting him today. Those who believe that Muslims should not be ungrateful to those who have been good to us have resolved to give Bola Tinubu the needed support. We see the next presidential election as an opportunity to thank Bola Tinubu.”

    TheNewsGuru.com recalls that four parties, including the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) came together to form the ruling APC and wrestle power from the current major opposition in the country, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2013.

    Bola Tinubu was seen as the major financier of the then ACN with Buhari as the major force behind CPC and ANPP which were the super powers of what became the APC.

  • 2023 presidency: Tinubu can’t preside over Nigeria – Prof. Adeyeye

    2023 presidency: Tinubu can’t preside over Nigeria – Prof. Adeyeye

    Professor Olusola Adeyeye has disclosed that former Lagos state Governor and current national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Bola Ahmed Tinubu does not have the capacity to preside over the country.

    The two-term senator who represented Osun Central Senatorial District between 2011 to 2019 under the auspices of All Progressive Congress (APC) made his position known while being featured on a radio programme in Ibadan on Saturday.

    Adeyeye, who was the chairman of the Rauf Aregbesola second term re-election campaign in 2014, posited that anyone seeing Tinubu as a messiah is missing it.

    “I am making bold to say anyone still looking at Tinubu as the candidate to beat isn’t reading the tea leaves properly.

    “Tinubu is already unravelling publicly and even a lot of those who ordinarily would have loved to support him are right now having a rethink the more of him they see. He has proved to be gaffe-prone and certainly unhealthy.

    “The Southern electorate is very sophisticated and none more so than the section of the electorate in the South-West. There is a reason he has been christened ‘Baba Alagbado’ and it is not for political sagacity!

    “Time catches up with everybody and it has caught up with Tinubu. It takes those who truly love him, not sycophants, to tell him that it’s time to go stretch out on some lush lawns and play with his grandchildren.

    “The Presidency of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is not for his type.

  • 2023 Elections:Ohaneze youth wing denies Endorsing Tinubu

    2023 Elections:Ohaneze youth wing denies Endorsing Tinubu

    The Ohanaeze Youth Council, OYC, has denied endorsing Bola Tinubu, National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, (APC0 and aspirant for 2023 presidency.

    OYC National President, Igboayaka O. Igboayaka, issues a note of warning to the APC National leader not to disparage and malign the aspirations of the aspirants of Igbo extraction.

    Igboayaka warned the APC presidential aspirant to keep his money because OYC would not compromise its stance on Igbo presidency.

    Recall that one Miracle Nwosu said to be a member of OYC was reported to have endorsed Tinubu’s candidacy for 2023 presidency.

    However, OYC distanced itself from the purported endorsement of Tinubu’s candidacy.

    A statement by Igboayaka reads partly: “If Mr. Miracle Nwosu is a man, let him identify who he is, tell us where he’s living, tell us his village if he is a man. We are using this opportunity to warn any politician that wants to use Ohanaeze Youth Council’s name to cajole Ohanaeze Youth Council in the name of endorsing any political presidential aspirants in 2023 that is not from South East Zone.

    “It’s better that Tinubu keeps his money because his money cannot change the minds of the Igbo youths thereby compromising this project.

    “Mr. Bola Tinubu should be very careful; we are warning Ahmed Bola Tinubu and his presidential team to be very very careful in trying to do anything that will malign the interest of Southeast in the 2023 presidential project.

    “The Ohanaeze Youth Council, under the leadership of Comrade Igboayaka O. Igboayaka is 100% determined to actualize the Nigerian president of Southeast extraction by 2023. This project is timely and cannot be equated, sub-changed, or changed with anything, either it is South East presidency 2023 or Southeast ceases to be part of Nigeria.”