The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, on Tuesday reacted to the tirades against him by the Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom.
Atiku said it’s uncivil for Ortom to blame him for the armed Fulani attacks on the people of Benue State.
The PDP presidential candidate insisted that Benue is his home.
Ortom had vowed never to support Atiku’s presidential ambition due to the killings in Benue State.
Stressing that to “hell with Atiku,” the governor said he couldn’t support a Fulani man due to herders’ attacks on residents of the state.
Reacting, Atiku said the governor is entitled to support any candidate of his choice in 2023.
He spoke through the spokesperson of his presidential campaign team, Dino Melaye.
Appearing on Arise TV, Melaye said: “Ortom is entitled by right to support whichever candidate he wants; it’s not proper to place the blame of what is happening in Benue on Atiku; it is not fair. During the Shagari administration, he appointed four Benue indigenes as ministers, also the late Yar’Adua appointed a Benue indigene as AGF. These two presidents are Fulani by ethnicity, yet they appointed Benue citizens.”
Melaye avowed: “It’s uncivil to blame Fulani activities on Atiku, this is not right and not proper.”
He noted further: “In February this year, Atiku donated N50 million to IDPs; he shows love to the people of the state. Benue is a second home to Atiku.”
Governor of Anambra State, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, has approved the unbundling and renaming of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
The approval was said to have been given at the state executive council meeting on Monday.
A statement released by the Secretary to the State Government, Prof Solo Chukwulobelu on Tuesday said: “The Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Dr. Obinna Ngonadi will henceforth be addressed as the Commissioner for Industry.
“Executive Council Meeting of the State Government, approved the renaming of the Ministry yesterday.”
He said the decision was to enable the Ministry of Industry focus on the industrialization agenda of the Governor, and for greater performance, without bothering about trade and commerce, which used to be part of the ministry.
This is as trade and commerce aspect of the ministry will now be domiciled under the Governor’s Office.
Chukwulobelu said: “By implication, all activities relating to trade and commerce should be channeled to the Governor’s Office. This reorganization is with immediate effect.”
Some documents said to have indicted the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Bola Tinubu, on drug dealings and money laundering in the United States have resurfaced with reports that they were released by the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
The trending documents revealed details about Tinubu’s alleged indictment in drug deals and receipt of illegal money while in the U.S.
The 56-page document released by the district court’s headquarters confirmed the long-held view that Tinubu faced conviction on narcotics charges in the US especially with the revelation that he forfeited up to $460,000 to the U.S. authorities in 1993, reports Peoples Gazette.
Tinubu has denied any wrongdoing and his spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, blamed the media for “recycling the news even when it’s nothing new.
Bayo said “it’s dead as dodo (roasted plantain) wondering why you journalists will continue to do the story.
“It resurfaced before the primary (presidential) and now again. It is nothing new. It’s dead. It’s as dead as a dodo,” he said.
However, the fresh allegation especially the release of the complete documents to the public may further put pressure on Tinubu, who was Lagos State Governor for eight years to come clean on his alleged narcotic dealings and indictment for money laundering.
Although he was never convicted as he did not re-enter the US, the certified copies of the court case, which were released on August 10, revealed Tinubu and two others simply named as K.O. Tinubu and Alhaji Mogati were involved in banking proceeds of illicit drugs and money laundering with Heritage Bank and Citibank, all in the US.
The personality of who Alhaji Mogati remains shrouded as no trace could easily be made to such a person close to Tinubu except that Tinubu’s foster mother was known as Alhaja Abibatu Mogaji.
Tinubu who was resident in the US when these offences were committed returned to Nigeria and made his way into the upper political class in Nigeria to emerge as Lagos State Governor in 1999 to 2007.
However, his refusal to return to the US when the court case was held reportedly led to huge forfeiture of $460,000 in the Citibank account in the US.
The US authority never applied to Nigeria for his extradition, THE WHISTLER findings showed.
However, this paper gathered that since his accomplices in the US entered into a plea bargain to avoid a long drawn court case, the former Lagos West Senator also enjoyed that privilege as all assets and money were seized on September 21, 1993.
An Abuja-based lawyer, Benson Agada, said that “Tinubu can still face charges in Nigeria and can still be disqualified if appropriate findings are made and the case is made in court by the Nigerian government but that’s difficult because it will be impossible politically.
“His party will be shooting itself in the leg to embark on such a venture except if the president is against him.
“But the evidence is clear that someone who was indicted like this, to have forfeited such a huge amount of money can stand trial.
“If he had remained in the US, he would have been convicted. And plea bargain is an evidence of guilt, an acceptance that you are guilty,” he said.
A Coalition of civil society organizations, operating under the aegis of Secure Nation-Builders, yesterday, commended members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (better known as Shi’ites) for establishing a political forum.
The Coalition described the Forum as a positive step towards getting organised in order to change the fate of the country in 2023, given the fact that they (Shi’ites) have the numbers.
This was contained in a statement co-signed on behalf of the civil society groups by Ameh Christopher (National Coordinator), Halima Bukar, Mabel Abraham, Dr. Augustine Michael, Comrade E.K Gowin, and Prof. H.B Balarabe.
The Coalition, however, urged the Shi’ites under the supreme leaders of Sheikh Ibraheem El-Zakzaky to withhold support for candidates with bad records in human right protection, economic development and security provision.
The statement reads in part, “At this point, we will like to acknowledge the recent development coming from the Islamic movement in Nigeria with Shia majority adherents for creating a Political Forum.
With their solid structure, such a mass movement of millions of people have the capacity to change the equation of the Nigerian political activities as truthfulness, dedication, courage are among their characters.
“We believe that unity of the people is the foundation of every nation’s development as it fosters good governance, equality, selfless service and collaboration for the common good of all the people of Nigeria.
“There is the need for us to decide on a set of standard values that we will live by and nurture for many generations to come.
Having weak governing institutions where people largely and inappropriately rely on sub-optimal indices such as ethnic affiliation, religious links and family ties in the creation, allocation and distribution of resources and values, a country is bound to face disastrous challenges.
“In conclusion, we are calling on the Political Forum of the Islamic movement not to support any particular person or party with a bad human right record, bad economic record and bad security record.”
Gunmen have attacked a police checkpoint in Anambra State. At the time of filing this report,Our Reporter could not independently verify the number of people who killed during the unfortunate incident.
The incident occurred around 10:30 am between Ihiala-Uli axis in Ihiala local government area.
The attack forced commuters to run for their lives as the gunmen shot non-stop.
Five governors of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) known as G5 on Monday stormed Makurdi, the Benue State capital, to witness the inauguration of some projects started and completed by Governor Samuel Ortom.
With Ortom at the event are Governors Seyi Makinde (Oyo), Nyesom Wike (Rivers), Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia), and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu). The five governor have been consistent in their demand that Iyorchia Ayu step down as PDP national chairman.
One of the projects inaugurated on Monday was the 2.1km Township Road constructed by the Ortom administration and named the Nyesom Wike Road.
The road, which is behind the Commissioner’s Quarters in Makurdi and which leads to Ayu’s house, was inaugurated by a former governor of Banue, Gabriel Suswam.
Before the inauguration, the G5 took time to address PDP supporters at a rally organised to drum support for all PDP candidates in Benue including the peaker of the Benue State House of Assembly and PDP governorship candidate in the state, Titus Uba.
Last night, Wike said the PDP G5 are bonded to save Nigeria and nobody can break their ranks in their continued insistence Ayu should resign as the national chairman of the party.
“People have tried to see how they can break us, you cannot. We are bonded to save Nigeria.
“That is why when you see all of us, we are impenetrable. Nobody can divide us. They have tried everything in this world to divide us, but no way.
“The way we operate; I will talk, we have people who don’t talk. You may be underrating them. By the time they will shock you, you will think it is Wike, it is not Wike you are seeing,” he said.
For months, the G5 has demanded the resignation of Ayu, saying northerners should not be the PDP national chairman and presidential candidate.
However, Ayu a Benue indigene, has insisted that he won’t step down till the end of his four-year tenure, even as the G5 makes his resignation a precondition to support Adamawa-born Atiku Abubakar’s 2023 presidential ambition.
Doyin Okupe, the Director General of the Obi-Datti Campaign Organisation, has said that the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi will no longer show up for debates if his counterparts in other parties do not attend.
Okupe made this known at a press conference in Abuja on Monday.
Okupe also said Obi will no longer debate with surrogates or running mates and will back out of any debate even at the last minute should other presidential candidates fail to show up.
Obi is in the race for Aso Rock’s top job alongside frontline presidential candidates like Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria People’s Party.
Obi; Kwankwaso; and Kola Abiola of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) were present at a debate on Sunday. Though Delta State Governor and PDP vice-presidential candidate, Ifeanyi Okowa represented Atiku, Tinubu and his running mate, Kashim Shettima were absent.
If the investigation by SaharaReporters (SR) is anything to go by, the outcome of the 2023 election might not reflect the wish of voters as the newspaper says there’s a plot to compromise the outcome through the polling units.
According to the newspaper, “though the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and polling unit results will be uploaded to the INEC (Independent National Electoral Commission) Result Viewing Portal (IReV), the plan is that Nigerians will not be allowed to the results until after the ward collation officers have collated and validated all the clusters of polling units that constitute a ward.
Multiple and reliable sources in the lCT department of INEC have revealed that a powerful politician has successfully compromised key lCT staff members of INEC not to allow polling units results to be viewed by the public on the INEC result view portal
SaharaReporters has also observed that some provisions have been inserted into the INEC guidelines for the 2023 elections to serve the purpose. The impending threat stands despite the reassurances offered by Professor Mahmood Yakubu to Nigerians and the whole world regarding the BVAS and IReV, the two most important technology inputs to the election, backed by the new Electoral Act.
SaharaReporters has also observed that some provisions have been inserted into the INEC guidelines for the 2023 elections to serve the purpose. The impending threat stands despite the reassurances offered by Professor Mahmood Yakubu to Nigerians and the whole world regarding the BVAS and IReV, the two most important technology inputs to the election, backed by the new Electoral Act.
SaharaReporters learnt that the new twist is at the instance of an influential politician who is bent on making sure that the polling unit results uploaded to the IReV (results view porter) should not be open to the public to view them until a group of RATECHs, who are to assist ward collation officers validated the polling unit results
These RATECHs/collation officers, many of whom may be sponsored as ad hoc staff by political actors, have been compromised, hence if they are empowered to validate already declared polling unit results at collation centres before the public can view the results, it amounts to a return to the old way of keeping everyone in the dark while those who have leverage over INEC will fix the results to predetermined outcomes.
On the reason for the sudden change, sources in INEC revealed that it has to do with a compromise at the top level and the explanation to be used as justification is a flimsy claim that just in case there is a mistake on Form EC8A at the polling units, it could be corrected at ward levels that are to be manned by politically vulnerable RATECHs.
According to these sources, that reason is a deception. The source further revealed to SaharaReporters why Nigerians should not buy into the deceit for the following reasons: firstly, the possibility of error at a polling unit during the counting of votes where there are party agents, voters and election observers is highly unlikely and could be easily noted and corrected before all stakeholders than at ward collation centres with limited and reduced numbers of people present where manipulations are more likely?
“Secondly, ward collation centre is where RATECHs who are lCT experts work, and influential political actors can easily recruit them or their supervising officers to aggregate all polling unit results that could be easily altered. Thirdly, if polling unit results are not allowed to be viewed after they are uploaded at polling units, compromised RATECHs and collation officers at ward level could input additional figures at ward level to upturn the outcome of polling units election results.
Meanwhile, questions have been asked as to why the results from all polling units, the number of accredited voters and scanned (EC8A) can’t be viewed by Nigerians. Similarly, some people have asked why ward collated results and scanned (EC8B) are not uploaded to the public results view porter for transparency of the entire result collation value chain.
As part of the large-scale plan, SaharaReporters found some questionable provisions in INEC 2022 Regulations & Guidelines to be used by presiding officers for the 2023 election to create room for the court to determine the final outcome of the 2023 elections. Such questionable provisions are Rule 19. E(lV) which says a voter should ‘mark’ on the Ballot paper instead of using ‘thumbprint’. According to the source, marking a ballot paper instead of a thumbprint is a recipe for rigging.
“An individual recruited by political actors and given a ballot booklet can use a pen or pencil to mark as many ballot papers as possible.
The question is whether a thumbprint or any mark on the box of a party’s logo also represents the intention of a voter insofar as the mark is clearly on the party’s logo. Also, there is the additional provision of Rule 20, which provides for a voter that even failed to pass through the five methods of identification for accreditation to be ticked/marked on the same manual register with successful accredited voters.
For those who wonder why this additional leeway is provided by officials of INEC in the guidelines, it should be noted that it is a loophole created by influential politicians using their leverage in INEC to dilute the Electoral Act. This is a recipe to bypass BVAS and claim that it failed.
“The more troubling fact also is that, if this is allowed, it will be used to claim votes not recorded or to impute over-voting into the actual votes, thereby creating room for rigging.
“Based on SaharaReporters’ investigation, it is not for the ‘handgun’ of compromised politicians, Festus Okoye to deceptively tell Nigerians that BVAS and IReV have come to stay and will be used in the 2023 elections; Nigerians have been very assured of their promised usage.
“But according to sources, one of the pertinent and critical questions that INEC needs to publicly answer in light of the uncovered plot is: Will Nigerians be allowed to view real-time uploaded polling units results and the accredited number of voters on Form EC8A on the portal on Election Day as provided by section 60 (4) and (5)?
“Another point noted by sources is if it is not after being subjected to possible manipulated inputs at ward collation centres that the public, including stakeholders, can access the information.
“One of the sources also asked, Will INEC allow Nigerians to view scanned collated ward results on Form EC8B on the portal? Why should a voter who failed both biometric, facial, and other verification processes be marked on the hard copy of the Election Day register, thereby creating room for many unnecessary manipulations of the accredited voters’ figures?”
Following the absence of Atiku for the Arise TV Town Hall Presidential Debate, Okowa is being asked to give way. Great to see people speaking up.
The Governor of Delta State, Ifeanyi Okowa got disgraced out of the podium at Arise TV Town hall debate .
the likes of Labour Party and NNPP presidential candidates, Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso were present .
Nigerians were clear that they would no longer accept leadership by surrogates before the start of the Arise TV Presidential Town Hall.
They said Okowa must step down because he’s not a presidential candidate.
Dino Melaye said Okowa must speak. but they refused and started booing him
Nigerians in the video from the venue were seen shouting “only presidential candidates “ which Governor Ifeanyi Okowa is not .They refused to allow him speak on behalf of Atiku Abubakar the PDP Presidential candidate .
It would be recalled that the candidate of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu had withdrawn from the debate few hours before now.
The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, has explained why he did not attend the Presidential Debate organised by ARISE TV on Sunday
A statement by the spokesman for the campaign council, Festus Keyamo, said Mr Tinubu have earlier turned down similar invitations from other TV and radio stations, and therefore could not give preference to Arise TV.
“Firstly, many radio and TV networks in Nigeria have indicated interests to host such debates and out of deference to other TV and radio stations, our candidate will not be making selective appearances in some networks, whilst ignoring others. As President of Nigeria, by the Special Grace of God, he intends to treat all persons and businesses fairly and equally.
“Secondly, the busy and hectic campaign schedules of Asiwaju Tinubu will not permit him to honour all such invitations by different radio and TV networks, hence our decision for him not to start with one TV station and later ignore others.
“Thirdly, our candidate had long before now realized the importance of speaking directly to Nigerians and shortly after unfolding his Action Plan as President embarked on Town Hall meetings beginning with his interaction with the Business Community and other stakeholders in Kano followed by the Town Hall meeting and presentation by experts last week in Lagos.
“Tomorrow, he will be interacting with Agro and Commodity Groups in Minna, Niger State.
Whilst we thank Arise TV for the invitation, we want to assure Nigerians that we shall continue to hold these debate groups and Nigerians in high esteem. Nigerians will hear from our candidate loud and clear through other forums.
“Lastly, out of profound respect for Nigerians, we urge all our party structures and supporters at the grassroots to continue to organise town hall meetings to educate Nigerians on the Action Plan of our candidate as we believe a grassroots-approach to reach Nigerians will also be more profound,” Mr Keyamo said.
