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Tag: Oshiomhole

  • Ninth Assembly: Oshiomhole speaks on sharing power with PDP

    …says party will not repeat 2015 mistakes

    National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole on Monday gave indication of what to expect from the 9th National Assembly, insisting that the party will not allow the mistakes of 2015 to reoccur when the new national assembly is inaugurated in June.

    Addressing newly elected members of the House of Representatives at the Shehu Yar’adua Centre in Abuja, Oshiomhole said the APC was not prepared to share offices of principal officers of the House and headship of critical committees with the opposition, Peoples Democratic Party, except for position reserved for minority members.

    Oshiomhole told the lawmaker that Nigerians have reposed confidence in the APC, giving it overwhelming majority in the House and will use the numerical strength to its advantage, and sought the collaboration of the legislators for the party programmes.

    He said: “The first is the challenge of ensuring that this time around we ensure that we have a leadership of the National Assembly that shares the vision of the executive. Although we speak to separation of power but there is only one government and unless the various arms pursue the same agenda it is difficult for the executive to realise it purpose because legislative backing is often required for the executive actions.

    “So I will expect that you bear in mind that we are one family joined together as shown in our broom, with a share commitment to bail Nigeria out of the condition in which we find it in 2015.

    “And that you have the numbers and we will use those numbers to ensure that we have a leadership that command the trust and the respect of all the members of the House of Representatives. There will be contestation, that is why we are in democracy but after the contestation and debate we have to agree, and once you have agree you move forward.

    “We have the numbers to produce the Speaker and we will produce the Speaker, who must be a member of the APC. We have the numbers to produce the Deputy Speaker and we will use the numbers to produce the Deputy Speaker, who must be a member of the APC. We have the number and we must use the numbers to elect a House Leader who must be a member of APC.

    “We have the numbers and we will use the numbers to produce a Chief Whip and a Deputy Whip who must be members of the APC. I think the only position that we are not interested in is the Minority Leader. Let it remain minor in the hands of the minors in the opposition.

    “We will not share power in the House of the Representatives and the leadership must ensure that critical committees that drive government are chaired only by APC members. If the Nigeria people wanted to be chairmen of committees they would have voted for them.

    “So all the chairmen of committees, except one that is statutory reserve for opposition, which is Public Account, they can have that. So, we would not do the kind of thing that happened the last time in which some APC members as members of the leading party became distance spectators in the management of committees, when PDP had majority of the strategic committees in the House that will not happen in the next Assembly.

    “We are aware that they believe they can use the divide and rule by sponsoring many people within our ranks to contest for which of the position so that they then become the king maker and in return the person will offer them some chairmanship seats.

    “Hon members and comrades I’m sure are not going to do business with them. We will see them as partners in progress but in democracy the rule is, and it is a universal rule, majority must have their way but minority must be allowed to have their say.

    “So PDP and other minority can have their say but working together APC must have it way in legislative agenda, in the leadership of the National Assembly and the leadership of the committees in the National Assembly. I thought we should make this thing clear so that those who may not understand what is happening don’t fall into the trap.”

    While calling on the new federal lawmakers not to allow anybody to divide that, Oshiomhole assure that his leadership will carry out an extensive consultations with President Muhammadu Buhari and all the leaders of the APC.

    “We will work out a sensible zoning formula that sees to carry everybody along and give people chances to demonstrate their capacities and their capabilities. We are working on that.

    “Somebody told me the opposition party people are already doing something, raising money to bribe people and I said no we are anti-corruption, we cannot be corrupted. If they bring One Billion Naira to each member, PDP person will not be Speaker, a PDP person will not be Deputy Speaker, a PDP person will not be Whip, a PDP person will not be Leader and a PDP person will not take any of the Committee that are meant for the ruling party. We are determining to achieve that and be rest assured that the party will stand by you.”

    While congratulating them for their success, he said “We are proud that Nigerians in your various constituencies have reposed confidence in the APC. I was looking at the number this morning and I realised that at the level of the House of Representatives, the Nigerian people gave the APC a resounding vote of confidence.

    “Before the election, we had about 190 members. The Nigerian people elected and re-elected 223 members off the House of Representatives on the platform of the APC. This has given us overwhelming majority, almost two third that we need even if we can’t to amend the constitution.

    “I like to, on your behalf to thank the Nigerian people for reposing confidence in our party. I would like to say that by the same token, the Nigerian people has reposed less confidence in the major opposition who went into the election with more members and returned with 111 members.

    “It is easy the first time to ask people to give you the benefit of the doubt. But when you have occupied an office for four years, and the people choose to favour your party to the extent to which they have favoured the APC, it is a thing of joy. We are grateful to the Nigerian people for giving us the number we need to carry through our legislative agenda.”

    Alluding to party supremacy, Oshiomhole said “for us to be able to enjoy our numerical strength in the House of Representative, we must recognise that we were elected on a party platform. Over the last couple of weeks, I have been invited by INEC to forward names rising from court decisions to the effect that APC has won in a certain constituency even when there is dispute about who is the candidate.

    “I am sure that when you went to vote, you did not see the portrait of any candidate, but the logo of the APC which is the broom. Something unique about the broom is that when you pick a stick of broom, you can easily break it. But when it is together as it is in our logo, it will be difficult to break.

    “The essence of that broom is to remind us that when you are together, we share ideas together, make decisions on the basis of inclusion and we carry everybody along, we encourage debate, contestations and agree that at the end of the day, agreement reached are binding on all, then we will be as strong as the broom in our logo.

    “We have called this meeting to remind us that we have a huge task ahead of us. Nigerians have voted the way they did and they expect new vigor and have injected new blood into the House of Representative and I am sure that you have all come determined to make a difference in the way the National Assembly is run.

    “As people, who are active, you are very familiar with the issues that bogged down the National Assembly between 2015 and 2019 arising from a unique concussion and I pray that this time around, we have all learnt a lesson from our immediate past and allow the positive lessons of our immediate past to shape our future.

    “You have been elected at a very challenging time to provide legislative backing for APC agenda and manifesto. Our President who has been reelected reminded us that the three critical issues on which we canvassed for votes in 2015 are still valid even now in 2019. The President is doing everything possible to turn the economy around and to ensure that we work and create job led growth and not jobless growth where we celebrate abstract statistics that does not reflect the quality of life of the Nigerian people.

    “We must work hard to rebuild the economy, strengthen the private sector, create job, make the business environment friendly and expanding the capacity of our current investors. If Nigerians consume what we produce, our economy will grow in double digits and that growth will reflect on the quality of lives of our people. What has been missing has been leadership and that President Buhari has brought.

    “We need to sustain and deepen these policies and I sure that some aspect of it will require legislative intervention. We will need to reinvent the manufacturing sector. If we have sensible and sustainable industrial policy in place with appropriate legislative backing to give people the confidence of policy stability, even to cloth half of our population will generate more than ten million jobs in the textile sector alone.

    “There is no reason while Michelin should not return to Nigeria especially if we have sensible industrial and trade policy that discourage the importation of these items which we were producing before. All these need a collaborative national assembly. We need to pursue sensible monetary policies and should not price the funds out of the reach of the ordinary person. There must be coherence in all our policies so that we can witness sustainable growth and get our young people busy.

    “President Buhari has a rear opportunity to now think of what legacies to leave behind for Nigerians. He has spoken about corruption and we all know that it is one factor that has destroyed the country. What we owe the Nigerian people is to create an environment for people to work and earn a living and for investors to have decent results for their investment and this also require legislative action.”

  • Election rerun: We can’t afford to slack up — Osinbajo

    Election rerun: We can’t afford to slack up — Osinbajo

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has urged All Progressives Congress (APC) members not to relax or take anything for granted ahead of the March 23 governorship election rerun in some states.

    Osinbajo communicated this while addressing party faithful at the PMB/PYO Volunteers Appreciation Dinner at the State House Banquet Hall on Thursday in Abuja.

    INEC has fixed March 23 for supplementary elections in Adamawa, Bauchi, Benue, Kano, Plateau and Sokoto states where governorship elections were declared inconclusive.

    He thanked the volunteers for their commitment and trust, saying that with the re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria was on course for greatest.

    “ believe that with your support our country will continue to move forward; everything we want for our country will be done, and by the grace of God, every one of the President’s projects will be done.

    `Our economy will turn around and we will see prosperity in this great nation.

    “Let me just say that we are still not done with elections.

    “On March 23, we still have some outstanding states; as you know, there are rerun elections in about six states.

    “ And we still need to put efforts in those six states. We cannot afford to slack up and say the job is done; we still have some things to be done,’’ he said.

    Osinbajo expressed APC’s condolences to the families of those who lost their lives during the process, and asked for a minute silence in their honour.

    He said that the campaign was about the Nigerian people whom he said were very trusting and supportive of their leaders without asking for much.

    The vice president said that the Buhari-led government had achieved much in four years in spite of earning less—a feat which was achieved because of Mr President’s honesty and integrity.

    Mr Ade Ipaye, Deputy Chief of Staff to the President, said that Nigerians had demonstrated their confidence in the ability of Buhari and Osinbajo to pilot the nation.

    He said that Nigerians not only voted but made sure that their votes counted.

    Ipaye commended the President and vice president over their energetic campaign that saw them going round the country.

    The deputy chief of staff also thanked God for securing the President, vice president and the campaign team throughout the campaign.

    Retired Brig-Gen. Buba Marwa, Director, Women and Youths, APC Campaign Team, expressed appreciation to Osinbajo for arranging a platform to thank the volunteers.

    He thanked God for protecting the vice president in the helicopter crash as he and the crew all came out unscathed.

    Marwa said that Osinbajo exhibited uncommon commitment and courage by proceeding with his schedule shortly after the crash.

    “Something told me we will be victorious after the vice president survived the crash.

    “Why else should the vice president survive if not that God has prepared him for another four years.

    “He continued with his campaign immediately after the crash; he deserves applause.

    “We thank God for the president who was able to visit all the states; he went to each and every state.

    “This is the first time we are seeing a vice president mingling with the downtrodden in the markets and everywhere.”

    There were also goodwill messages from some other party functionaries.

    The gathering was thrilled by a cultural troupe and comedy rendition.

  • Hoodlums set electoral materials ablaze at Oshiomhole’s ward

    Masked hoodlums on Saturday disrupted electoral process, when they reportedly set ablaze electoral materials at Usagbe Primary School, Ogbido, Etsako West local government area of Edo State.

    The incident happened at ward 10, unit 6, a suburb of Iyahmo, the country home of the National Chairman of APC, Adams Oshiomhole.

    The arsonists who were said to be five in number, allegedly emerged from the nearby bush, shot sporadically into the air to scare voters away from the polling unit, before carrying out their nefarious activity.

    INEC’s ad-hoc officer, presiding over in the unit, Elechi Chimenumevere, who spoke with journalists, said the incident happened at about 11.30 am.

    Chimenumevere described the incident as shocking to them and the electorate, adding that some of their personal belongings were also burnt while they ran away with ballot papers and result sheets.

    “About five masked hoodlums suddenly came out from the bush and shot sporadically into the air to scare voters away.

    “Some unused ballot papers were burnt by the hoodlums, including our personal belongings. At the moment I don’t have NYSC uniform as my khaki got burnt inside my bag. I was yet to put on the khaki and others INEC apron before the hoodlums struck.

    “With the help of the electorate we were able to secure the other ballot papers and result sheets. Mobile phones of one of the ad-hoc staff is missing,” he said.

    He, however, said that the incident led to the beefing up of security at the centre with military operatives.

    A voter and resident of the community, Peter Aleobua, described the incident as unfortunate.

    He noted that it was by the grace of God that no life was lost.

    “We are very happy that they didn’t kill anybody. The youths of the community were very active that they helped in ensuring that ballot papers and result sheets were safe,” he stated.

    Meanwhile, the national chairman of APC, Adams Oshiomhole, has decried the burning of electoral materials in his ward, as “condemnable.”

    He, however, commended INEC for the major improvement in the area of card reader, logistics and arrival of electoral materials and personnel.

  • Suspension: Oshiomhole has outlived his usefulness in our party – Imo APC

    …demands his immediate resignation

    The Imo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress on Saturday called on the National Chairman of the party, Adams Oshiomhole, to tender his resignation letter for suspending the governors of Imo and Ogun states.

    At a press conference in Owerri, the APC chairman in the state, Daniel Nwafor, said that the suspension of Governors Rochas Okorocha and Ibikunle Amosun was null and void.

    Nwafor said that since Oshiomhole emerged the national chairman of the ruling party, he had been disregarding the constitution of the ruling party.

    Saying that the state chapter of the APC would not honour the “purported suspension” of Okorocha from APC, Nwafor said that the former governor of Edo state had outlived his usefulness in APC.

    Describing Oshiomhole as a man who had no respect for the rule of law, Nwafor said that the APC national chairman was known for not obeying court orders and judgments.

    According to Nwafor, the suspension of Okorocha did not follow due process.

    He said that according to the APC constitution, the suspension of any member starts from the ward level and not from the National working committee.

    Nwafor said “I am here with the APC chairman from Ogboko ward where the governor hails from. There was no letter from the NWC to him to query the governor for any offence. The truth is that Oshiomhole is a man who has no respect for rule of law. He has a penchant for disobeying valid court judgments and orders.

    “We demand his immediate resignation from APC. Adams Oshiomhole has outlived his usefulness in APC. As a party, we will not honour that purported suspension. It is null and void and of no effect. Governor Rochas Okorocha remains the leader of APC in Imo state.”

    The state chairman said that APC in the state had no governorship candidate, even as he maintained that the APC governorship candidate in the state, Senator Hope Uzodinma, was not known by the party.

    He said that available records by the party showed that Uzodinma was not a registered member of APC in his ward in Oru East Local Government Area of the state.

     

  • Guber poll: Suspension of Amosun, Okorocha’ll not affect our victory – APC

    Guber poll: Suspension of Amosun, Okorocha’ll not affect our victory – APC

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) says the suspension of governors Rochas Okorocha and Ibekunle Amosun of Imo and Ogun respectively, will not affect the party’s victory in the March 9, Governorship and State House of Assembly election.

    Malam Lanre Issa-Onilu, the APC National Publicity Secretary, gave the assurance while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the development on Friday in Abuja.

    NAN recalls that the APC National Working Committee (NWC) at its Friday meeting, suspended Okorocha and Amosun, alongside the Director General of Voice of Nigeria (VON) Osita Okechukwu and the Minister of Niger Delta Usani Usani.

    “As to the effect it will have in the coming Governorship and State House of Assembly elections, the real negative effect will come when we allow our members who are in position of influence to undermine our candidates.

    “We need to get it clear to every member who supports such actions that the party is watching them, and similar fate may befall them,” Issa-Onilu said.

    He added that the suspension of the governors would not have come to the public as a surprise following their anti party activities over a period of time.

    He recalled that the two governors had been sponsoring candidates against those recognised by the party.

    This, he said, had been ongoing and so the party had to follow the right procedures; taking steps to first get them to see reason why they needed to retract their steps.

    NAN recalls that in Ogun, Amosun is said to be backing AbdulKadir Akinlade, the governorship candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) against APC’s Prince Dapo Abiodun.

    In Imo, Okorocha is supporting his son-in-law Uche Nwosu, the candidate of the Action Alliance, against Senator Hope Uzodinma, the APC candidate.

    “They occupy the position they are in today, courtesy of the ticket given to them by this party, to now use that opportunity to work against the interest of the party, you do not expect the party to look the other way.

    “More so when you realise that APC is a party of discipline that has come to establish the fact that to deepen democracy, you must subject everybody to the rule of law, and that there must be equality for all before the law,” he said.

    Issa-Onilu stressed that as far as the APC was concerned, no matter what position an individual held, the party would not give him any leverage when he flaunted the rules or the Constitution of the party.

    He added that the party’s leadership had at a point, issued queries to the two governors and cautioned them against their anti party activities.

    He recalled that when the APC presidential campaign train was led by President Muhammadu Buhari to Ogun, they were thoroughly embarrassed by a different party.

    Issa-Onilu said this was done with the support of the governor, who he said, brought in certain elements who were not APC members to the campaign venue to create problems.

    “This actually embarrassed our President, but we thought at that period, we were facing the Presidential and National Assembly Election and that it was not the appropriate time for us to do anything that might be destructive to our course, so we waited,” he said.

    He added that though there was a window for the governors to show remorse and act appropriately to convince the party’s leadership that they would play by the rules, they never did.

    He said rather Okorocha and Amosun came out openly to endorse their choice candidates against the party’s candidates.

    “Which ever way you look at it, that is anti-party activity, it is beyond the limit, and tolerating such, will mean that our change mantra is just a mantra without meaning,” the APC spokesman said.

    He further explained that the VON DG was suspended also, because of his anti party activities in the recent past, which he said had been documented.

    The APC spokesman said that Okechukwu had also engaged in actions that undermined the party’s performance in Enugu, his home state.

    He also explained that the Minister of Niger Delta was also found to have committed the same offence as the others.

    He maintained that it would be injurious for the party to allow such actions to continue, adding that the suspension still stood.

    He, however, said that the duration of their suspension would be determined by the time the report of the investigative committee on the matter was submitted to the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC).

    “I have forwarded the report to NEC, recommending their expulsion, the limit of the powers of the party’s NWC is to suspend; it does not have the power to expel.

    “It is only NEC that can take that action, so we have exercised what the Constitution of the party allows us to do, the report of our investigation will be put in place and passed on to NEC for further action,” he said.

    He added that the APC NWC had also decided to issue a query to Gov. Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State for anti party activities, adding that the party already had video evidence against him.

    NAN reports that Akeredolu had earlier been accused by the Ondo Mandate Group, an APC support group, of working against the party and the presidency.

    On the Minister of Communications Adebayo Shittu, Issa-Onilu said the party had noted his comments, but had not seen him working against the party.

    He said the minister had his grievance and had the right to express same within the law, but added that the APC, for now, did not have any evidence that Shittu was involved in any anti-party activity.

  • Why Atiku can never be Nigeria’s president – Oshiomhole

    The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Comrade Adams Oshiomhole on Thursday said former Vice President Atiku Abubakar was destined never to be President.

    He also said the APC was prepared to meet the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in court.

    Addressing a news conference on the outcome of the Presidential and National Assembly elections and the decision of the PDP candidate to reject the results, Oshiomhole said Atiku was desperate to be President of Nigeria and has been jumping from one party to the other to actualise his ambition.

    He said it smacks of arrogance for the former Vice President to believe that the destiny of Nigerians is tied to his being President.

    He stressed that Atiku and the PDP were never committed to the peace accord, accusing them of only being interested in being winners.

    According to him: “I think it is arrogance for Atiku to think that our future is tied to his Presidency. Atiku is destined never to be President of Nigeria and I ask you to review his character. Leadership is about character.

    “Atiku’s desperation is so obvious. He is so desperate that in 2003, he challenged his own boss, Obasanjo. He decamped to join ACN and we offered him the ticket and he lost the election and returned to PDP.

    “He contested again and lost the nomination and because he has only his interest at heart, he decamped again from PDP.

    “He joined us in Lagos and rolled out the dollars but we voted for Buhari as our candidate. He knew that he cannot defeat Buhari in the primary and went back to the PDP.

    “Do you think that such a political rolling stone, does he think that Nigerians are so insincere as to think that a man who is not stable and whose interest is about himself will be a possible candidate to be elected?

    “What makes him have that sense of entitlement that he must be President of Nigeria? You cannot deny anyone the right to dispute the outcome of an election however free and fair.

    “So, we hope and we are looking forward to meeting Atiku Abubakar in court. We might also choose to also cross petition because there were many areas we can dispute.

    “In Adamawa state, he had already lost the election before he did some magic that gave him that narrow victory in Adamawa state.”

    Oshiomhole said the turnout of voters in the north east especially in Borno state was a reflection of the substantial peace that has returned to the area.

    He argued if the former Vice President does not know about the peace in the area, it could be because he does not go home regularly.

     

  • Buhari’s minister blasts Oshiomhole for attacking INEC chairman

    Adams Oshiomhole is a terrible electoral umpire and has no moral pedigree to call for the resignation of the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), a minister has said.

    The Minister of Communications, Adebayo Shittu, stated this at his home in Ibadan on Monday while addressing journalists.

    Mr Shittu sought to be the governor of Oyo State on the platform of the ruling party, APC. He was disqualified from contesting the primaries by an APC screening committee set up by the leadership of the party. Mr Oshiomhole, the APC national chairman, had questioned Mr Shittu’s governorship ambition after the minister was exposed by PREMIUM TIMES for skipping the mandatory National Youth Service Corps.

    On Monday, Mr Shittu also rejected calls for the removal of Mahmood Yakubu as the INEC chairman.

    He said the removal of Mr Yakubu due to INEC’s postponement of the general elections may cause more havoc to the commission.

    INEC under Mr Yakubu had in the early hours of Saturday announced the postponement of the presidential and National Assembly elections to February 23 from February 16. It also announced the postponement of the governorship and state assembly elections from March 2 to March 9.

    Mr Yakubu has been criticised by many Nigerians including Mr Oshiomhole with some calling for his resignation.

    But Mr Shittu, while addressing journalists at his Ibadan residence on Monday, said even if the INEC chairman leaves office now, the election may need to be postponed for the incoming chairman to prepare for fresh elections that would be credible, free and fair.

    He then attacked Mr Oshiomhole saying he had no moral right to attack the INEC chairman.

    “When Oshiomhole supervised those party primaries elections, which can be described as most horrible and corrupt in the history of the party, who called for his resignation?

    “I will not support such call for resignation of the INEC chairman. To err is human. We have not seen any political motivation as to what has happened in INEC.

    “If Oshiomhole calls for resignation of the INEC chairman, he should also be preparing to resign as chairman of APC for conducting primaries marred by irregularities, and even accused of corruption in its conduct. Did anybody ask him to resign for the horrible management of primary elections under his watch?”

    Mr Oshiomhole was criticised by many leaders of the APC including first lady Aisha Buhari for his handling of the APC primaries across the country. Many of the primaries were marred by allegations of fraud, manipulation, improper interference and violence. The APC chairman was also questioned by the State Security Service after some members of his party accused him of receiving bribes during the primaries.

    In defending Mr Yakubu, Mr Shittu argued that this was the first general election to be supervised by the lecturer.

    “This is the first election that Professor Yakubu would be conducting, so we need to give him the benefit of doubt and I will advise that all the political parties should be vigilant.

    “If you bring in another chairman, when does such person begin to learn the process? Or will you on the basis of that call for another rescheduling of the elections? Certainly, it is unacceptable for anyone to ask for resignation of INEC chairman.”

    Mr Shittu also said political parties should be allowed to continue campaigns till 24 hours before the elections based on the electoral law. INEC had initially said campaigns remain suspended despite the postponement of the elections. The electoral body, however, reversed itself on Monday evening.

  • Death Threats: Nigeria still running a democratic government, Dogara tells Buhari, Oshiomhole

    The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, has said President Muhammadu Buhari’s statement that whoever rigged the 2019 general elections should be ready to die was a violation of Nigerian laws.

    Dogara, who addressed a press conference on Monday in Abuja, argued that Nigerian laws have provided sanctions for electoral offenders, adding that Buhari’s speech was a call for extra-judicial killings in the country.

    Read full text of the speaker’s speech below:

    BEING THE TEXT OF A PRESS BRIEFING BY RT. HON. YAKUBU DOGARA, SPEAKER, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ON ISSUES ARISING FROM THE POSTPONEMENT OF THE PRESIDENTIAL AND NATIONAL ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS BY THE INEC ON FEBRUARY 18, 2019.

    1. This press briefing is to call the attention of well meaning Nigerians and the international community to the incendiary statements made by President Muhammadu Buhari, and Mr. Adams Oshiomhole, national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the national caucus of their party, earlier today.

    2. At the meeting the President said: “Anybody who decides to snatch boxes or lead thugs to disturb the election, may be that would be the last unlawful action you would take. I have given the military and police the order to be ruthless. I am going to warn anybody who thinks he would lead a body of thugs in his locality to snatch boxes or to disturb the voting system; he would do it at the expense of his/her own life.”

    3. Mr. Oshiomole also claims that the PDP was given prior notice of the postponement of the elections.

    4. In this context, we categorically deny these false claims and unnecessary blackmail and regard the President’s statement as a call for extra-judicial killings considering the fact that there are adequate provisions in our laws to address electoral offenses.

    5. These statements clearly indicate that our democracy has become the victim of a full blown dictatorship, when one considers that a democratically elected President would give a directive that is in clear violation of the laws of the land which by his oath of office he is to defend and protect.

    6. Inview of this statement by the president, it is obvious that the military has been given a central role and coopted into the conduct of the election despite the fact that they have no constitutional role in our electoral process.

    7. It should be noted that our party chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, was the first to call for an inquiry into why the elections were postponed last Saturday. In reality, we support a genuine and transparent probe into why the presidential and National Assembly elections could not hold. We also hope that the president’s inflammatory statement is not a threat aimed at intimidating the electoral commission.

    8. We also strongly condemn Mr. Oshiomole’s false, mischievous and inflammatory claims against our party, when he said INEC colluded with PDP to abort last week’s elections. This is a very surprising statement considering the fact that the Federal government controls every institution and agency involved in the electoral process, including the CBN, Nigerian Airforce, Aviation authorities amongst others.

    9. From our position, we strongly believe that the deliberate delivery of election materials to the wrong electoral centers, cancellation of flights, and other actions that undermined the logistics arrangement of INEC were deliberately done to sabotage and manipulate the process.

    10. We are also very familiar with the pressure brought on INEC by top government officials and APC leaders to go ahead with the elections despite not being adequately prepared for the election. We are also aware the APC wanted the INEC chairman to conduct elections in some states and postpone in other states so as to have staggered elections. It should also be noted that the areas that would have been affected by inadequate delivery of materials were PDP strongholds

    11. It is important to note that the APC in its usual manipulative style is now shifting the blame on INEC leadership while absolving itself and the other institutions of government under its control of any blame.That is the common strategy that super villains always employ.

    12. Obvioulsy, we know they are doing everything humanly possible to discredit INEC, remove the chairman and stall the process conscious of the fact that they cannot win this election.

    13. Embarrasingly, this is the first time that we have witnessed a ruling party play victim, which is a clear indication that they have lost the plot. Evidently, their recent actions and statements clearly show they are panicking and desperate to cling onto power, even when the people have rejected them.

    14. Also, opinion polls conducted by the APC, and other international agencies clearly indicate that the APC will lose this election, anytime it is conducted; we believe that is why they are resorting to desperate measures of arm-twisting the electoral commission, undermining the entire process and planning to unleash terror on the country.

    15. Finally, let it be known that the PDP, with the support of every well meaning Nigerian, will employ every legitimate means to resist attempts by the APC and the Federal government to undermine and compromise the electoral process and truncate our democracy.

    16. The PDP believes in a united and democratic Nigeria and will continue to do all within its means to protect the country, her people and constitution from undemocratic elements.

    17. We call on all Nigerians not to despair, but turn out en mass on Saturday to vote and defend their votes. We also urge the international community and their observers that are in the country to monitor the election and be vigilant because their presence as impartial arbiters is important in ensuring we have peaceful, credible, free, fair and transparent elections. The security agencies are also enjoined to be impartial and remain loquat to the constitution of the Federal Republic.

    Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara
    Speaker, House of Representives
    Federal Republic of Nigeria

  • Oshiomhole blasts INEC chairman on National TV, demands apologies for election postponement

    The National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole on Saturday expressed his disgust at the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for waiting till 2 am on Saturday to postpone the elections when it was obvious that the commission ‘was experiencing logistical challenges since Wednesday.’

    Recall that the chairman of the commission, Prof. Yakub Mahmood earlier announced the commission’s decision to postpone the elections initially scheduled to hold on Saturday, February 16.

    The commission had since been under fire nationally and internationally for postponing the elections on the very day it was scheduled to hold.

    At a press briefing with the stakeholders on Saturday, the national chairman of the commission insisted that as at 2 am on Saturday, the commission was confident that the elections will hold as scheduled.

    While voicing his anger, Oshiomhole said the commission under Mahmood had embarrassed the nation with the postponement. “I don’t understand why others are commending you but I think you owe us, particularly the players and Nigerians in general some apologies and more detailed explanation on why this postponement had to wait till 2 am on the scheduled date before postponement. This is an embarrassment to us a nation. We have spent a lot of funds mobilising agents across the over 176,000 polling units across the country. How do we explain the expenditure of such huge cost for a failed election. This about Nigeria. I came into this hall this afternoon to discover that some seats in front were reserved for foreign observers. This election is about Nigerians first and not our friends. Mr. Chairman, you owe us more explanation on why the postponement was not done at least forty hours to the elections,” a visibly angered Oshiomhole said.

    Other participants at the stakeholders press briefing also expressed their disappointment at the commission but advocated for support for a successful poll.

    The INEC chairman however reiterated that the campaigns are closed and so is the PVC collection.

  • 2019: INEC working for PDP – Oshiomhole

    The National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole, has alleged that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is working to the advantage of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    He said signals from Rivers and Zamfara States where the APC has been barred from presenting candidates by the commission are giving the party serious concerns.

    “If anything, INEC has been very unfair on APC. The commission seems to be working for the PDP,” he said at a press briefing in Abuja on Wednesday.

    Details later…