Senator Iyiola Omisore has dumped the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the Social Democratic Party (SDP) where he intends to contest the governorship election of Osun State in September.
”Our quest for an alternative political platform is basically in pursuit of a credible political structure that would guarantee that our people enjoy the benefits of accountable leadership at the state level from now, he said on Sunday.
“Notwithstanding my enormous contributions over the past years or so to building the PDP, after very deep thought and the widest consultations with my God, my family, my supporters in and outside Osun state, It is with great concern that I have made a very expedient decision today, to withdraw my membership from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and join the Social Democratic Party (SDP); a party that believed in a balanced, equitable and truly functional Nigeria.”
Director-General of the Omisore Faction, Bade Falade claimed that the election which saw the emergence of Soji Adagunodo as the state chairman was conducted illegally as there was a court injunction restraining the conduct of the congresses.
Falade said that the aggrieved members decided to burn the PDP flag at the Ogooluwa secretariat to show their grouse towards the National working committee.
Omisore was Deputy Governor of Osun State from 1999–2003. He previously served as a member of the Nigerian Senate for Osun East from 2003 to 2011.
The National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has hailed the Congress of the parry held in Lagos state on Saturday, saying that it was held in line with the guidelines and laws of the party.
Asiwaju Tinubu, who formally received in audience, members of the newly-elected Lagos State executives of the party at his Bourdilion, Ikoyi residence, emphasised that the congress as conducted in line with the guiding laws of the party.
“The people who own the party have spoken and chosen their leaders. The success of the congress held confirms the tradition of robust democracy and consensus-building that has brought progressive development to our state.”
Tinubu said the new chairman of the party in the state, Alhaji Tunde Balogun, is no stranger to him and no stranger to responsibility, adding that as Commissioner under his administration, he performed well.
The APC National Leader expressed confidence in his ability to lead the party and to deliver the good.
Asiwaju Tinubu charged members of the new executive to rededicate themselves to the party and work to take it to the new level, adding that winning all political contests is a hallmark of the party in Lagos.
He thanked the outgoing executives, led by Chief Henry Ajomale for their unparallel stewardship that saw the party grow stronger, broader and more relevant.
He commended them for steady way they led the party maintaining party discipline and cohesion through the years.
“The outgoing executives led by Chief Ajomale did a wonderful job. He led the party with a unity of purpose underpinned by the spirit of inclusiveness and purpose. Under them we never lost any election. We will not lose any election but this depends on how you handle your new responsibilities.”
The new chairman thanked the APC national leader and pledged to work hard to take the party to the next level.
He commended the Senator Uche Ekwunife, who led the state Congress Organising Committee, and her team for conducting a free, fair and transparent exercise and for demonstrating commitment to the progress and success of the party.
One Division of the Nigerian Army has asked the Kaduna State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to immediate retract the allegation that the General Officer Commanding (GOC), 1 Division of the Nigerian Army, Major General M Mohammed was involved in the recently concluded Local Councils elections in Kaduna State.
The Army, in a statement, insisted that the PDP must also render an apology to the gallant officers and men who are daily paying supreme sacrifice to ensure peaceful atmosphere in Kaduna State, and that the party should issue retraction of this unfounded allegation on or before Saturday 26 May 2018, “otherwise, an appropriate legal action will be taken against them.” In the statement, which was issued today, Saturday, by the Deputy Director of the Army Public Relations, Colonel Muhammad Dole, the Army observed with dismay that stalwarts of either political party faction or an opposition party are resorting to desperate blackmail and outright falsehood with intent to drag the military into party politics.
“Previously it was false allegation of demolition of a party Secretariat and now direct involvement of the GOC. This allegation is totally baseless and irresponsibly conceived with ill motive of tarnishing the image and personality of the GOC. “The fact of the matter is that, on Friday 11 May 2018, General Mohammed was dutifully engaged in Kano, where he attended the burial rites of the late Sheikh Isyaka Rabiu and turbaning ceremony of Lieutenant General Abdulrahman Danbazau (rtd) (Minister of Interior) as BARADEN KANO. On Saturday 12 May 2018, General Mohammed accompanied the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Liuetenant General TY Buratai to pay condolence visit to the families of late Sheikh Isyaka Rabiu in Kano and thereafter visited Depot NA in Zaria before returnimg to Kaduna in the evening after the conduct of the local Councils elections. “The military personnel are conscious of their roles in the conduct of any election exercise and strictly abide by the Nigerian Army Code of Conduct on elections exercise. Likewise, military hierarchy always emphasizes apolitical stance of its troops in all the occasions. “The perpetrators of this falsehood are expected to back up their allegations with pictorial views or visual evidence of the scenes of the event to prove the involvement of the GOC or troops of the 1 Division NA in any part of Kaduna State. “The general public is requested to disregard the publication in its entirety and regard the perpetrators as mischief makers and enemies of progress who are bent on pitching the military against the peace loving people of Kaduna State.”
Senate President Bikola Saraki and Kwara State Governor, Ahmaed Abdulfatai
The Kwara State Ministry of Justice has denied allegation that suspected cultists who were recently arrested and interrogated by the Police in Ilorin ever mentioned the names of Senate President, Bukola Saraki and Kwara State Governor, Abdulgfatah Ahmed as their sponsors.
The ministry expressed surprise that after the State Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) recommended the suspects for trial, they were “suddenly transferred to Police Headquarters, Abuja.”
In a statement, the DPP, Jimoh Mumini himself stressed with emphasis that there is no iota of truth in the said story, saying: “our belief that the said story is false arose from the fact that the summary of the statement voluntarily made by the suspects and on the basis of which they were recommended for trial in Ilorin is contained in the press statement read by the Police Commissioner on May 10, 2018. We maintain that there was no portion of the press statement where the suspects were said to have indicted any top personality. “For emphasis, let us restate the fact that on the basis of the statement obtained from the accused, the Police had issued a statement read publicly at the May 10 press conference in the state capital and there was no mention of their naming or implicating any top government official at the state or federal level. “The State Ministry of Justice had in fact filed charges in the High Court against the accused persons and we stand by the pending charges and the trial process already lawfully initiated in Ilorin.” The DPP made it clear that at no time was any influence, whatsoever, exerted to pervert the course of justice, nor monetary transaction or any exchange of pecuniary benefit made between him and the Commissioner of Police with respect to this particular case or any other case for that matter. “We boldly state that at no time ever since the resumption of duties of the Commissioner of Police in charge of the Kwara State Police Command has there been any opportunity, for the learned DPP to have any discussion, whatsoever, with him. “Therefore, all insinuations relating to undue influence through offer of gratifications or any other means are mere figment of the imagination and misguided attempt by the sponsor of the online medium aimed at tarnishing the image of the learned DPP, Mr. JIMOH ADEBIMPE MUMINI Esq. This campaign of calumny against the DPP by the sponsor(s) of the online publication is politically motivated and will definitely fail. “The Commissioner of police or the authors of the defamatory article aimed at tarnishing the image of the learned DPP are hereby challenged to make public any evidence of any discussion or transaction, whatsoever, between the Commissioner of Police and the learned DPP, MR. J.A MUMINI aimed at influencing or subverting the course of justice in this direction.”
President Muhammadu Buhari has said that he respects the Lagos based human rights activist and erudite lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN) for his steadfastness in the pursuit of good governance in Nigeria.
The President, in a message by his special adviser on media and publicity, Femi Adesina, at the 60th birthday of Falana, said acknowledged Femi Falana’s sense of patriotism over the years, and his advisory roles to leaders, institutions and governments, especially on the value of good governance.
President Buhari who described the lawyer, celebrating the milestone, as a man of forthrightness, said that he has been in the forefront advocating good life for poor and underprivileged Nigerians.
The President prayed to God tol grant the human rights lawyer longer life, good health and more wisdom to keep serving the country.
The Belgian side, Chelsea Football Club has lifted this year, 2018 FA cup by beating Manchester United Football Club one goal to nothing via penalty.
Eden Hazard’s first-half penalty proved enough for Chelsea to beat Man-U in the final, played at Wembley Stadium before a record crowd of 87,647. The Belgian converted in the 22nd minute having been brought down by Phil Jones in the area.
The result saw the Blues condemn former manager, Jose Mourinho to a season without a trophy – although the result was unlikely to end speculation surrounding the future of current Chelsea boss Antonio Conte.
The former caretaker committee chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Ahmed Mohammed Makarfi has warned former President, Olusegun Obasanjo not to jeopardise plans of the opposition in Nigeria to defeat President Muhammadu Buhari in the 2019 election.Makarfi, who spoke to news men in Kaduna further warned Obasanjo not to oppose PDP and other opposition parties in the country, as it may only pave way for President Buhari to easily win the 2019 election.
He emphasized that unless the former president joined political forces with other opposition elements in Nigeria to form a formidable platform against Buhari in 2019, “what we fear most about the APC perpetuating itself in power will only be facilitated by his (Obasanjo) actions.
“So, I want everybody to think twice and assess individual’s actions towards opposition parties. If APC hadn’t come together as a coalition of interests in 2015 APC, it won’t have pushed PDP out of power. And if we don’t do the same, what he may be fearing, with others like him they will just facilitate it.”
Former Nigeria Finance Minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has said that majority of Nigerians are honest and hardworking people but are being held hostage by tiny powerful cabals, especially those in the oil sector of the economy. Okonjo-Iweala, who spoke to a correspondent of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) against the background of her new book, titled: “Fighting Corruption Is Dangerous,” said: “one thing you need to know is that majority of Nigerians are honest and hardworking people. But Nigeria is held hostage by small minority of people.” He narrated how her mother was kidnapped and held for five days by four men that advised her mother to tell her (Okonjo-Iweala) to pay oil marketers their accumulated debts as condition for releasing her (her mother). The former minister said that the kidnappers held her mother for five days and: “I got a call from them. They did not ask for money, contrary to what many people thought. They said I should go to the television and radio (houses) and publicly announce my resignation and go back to the US where I was working and from where I came. But the key thing was that when my mother asked the four men why they took her, they said because your daughter did not pay the oil marketers their money. And that’s where we found out it had to do with oil marketers.” Okonjo Iweala, who was once Managing Director of the World Bank, insisted that the fight against corruption must be sustained, adding that it is dangerous to back out. She said that there is no need for the leadership to give up the fight against corruption, asking: “why should we give up? That is what they (corrupt people) want; they want everybody to give up. “When you try to fight corruption, they attack you viciously and then get away with it. Like what I said in my book, we mustn’t give up.” [myad]
The Chief of Army Staff, General Tukur Buratai, has described as a total lie allegation by the former chief of Army Staff, retired General Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma, that the Nigerian Army colluded with bandits to kill people in Taraba State and that they refused to protect the people.
The Army Chief, who spoke to news men at a briefing today, Friday, based on the findings of a 10-member panel which the Army constituted to probe the allegations, stressed that there was no single truth in General T. Y Danjuma’s allegations.
General Buratai, who was represented by the Chief of Military/Civil Affairs, Nuhu Angbazo, said: “With respect to the statement by Lt.-Gen. T.Y. Danjuma, it is clear that the allegations were not true. There is a need to urge for caution on the part of the elder statesman in view of the security implication of such comments.”
He insisted that there was no collusion between the army and bandits in Taraba as alleged by Danjuma, blaming it on what he called “sustained media campaign” to belittle Nigerian army and other security agencies’ operation in the state.
He said that the panel found that Taraba governor made several attempts to remove the Commanding Officer of 9 Battalion, I.B. Gambari, a Lt. Col., for “his refusal to be dragged into the state politics.”
General Buratai also alleged that the chairman of Takum Local Government Area attempted to undermine the authority of the commanding officer even as he commended the officer and troops on operation in the state for their conduct.
According to the army chief, most of the crises over the years in Taraba were particularly in Takum, Wukari, Ussa, Donga and Sardauna Local Government Areas.
“There was absence of Nigerian army deployments in some crisis-prone areas in the hinterland in Taraba state” he said, even as he blamed it partly on the porous Nigeria-Cameroon borders and arms proliferation in the state.
“There was a massive proliferation of small arms and light weapons in Taraba, some of which have been recovered from warring parties, criminals and unauthorised persons.”
The Army Chief blamed the unending clashes in the state on its “highly heterogeneous and division along ethno-religious lines.
“It is apparent that the clashes in Taraba are as a result of clan and communal crisis that predates this present government.
“Most of the crises in the state are politically-motivated and some persons are deliberately escalating the situation for selfish gains.
“The army is also of the view that the situation in Taraba has steadily deteriorated largely due to distrust, intolerance, lack of inclusion and accommodation of different ethnic groups in the state.”
According to him, this has made it difficult for the army to carry out its constitutional role in the state without being tainted.
He commended the panel for doing a thorough job.
The panel, which comprised serving and retired army personnel, representatives of National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), was set up on April 10. It submitted its report on April 25.
Retired General T. Y Danjuma, had on March 24 at the convocation of Taraba State University in Jalingo, said that some troops on internal operation in Taraba colluded with killers and herdsmen who attacked communities in the state.
He said that the troops failed to protect the residents against the attacks and advised the people in the state to “rise to protect yourselves from these people; if you depend on the armed forces to protect you, you will all die. I ask all of you to be on the alert and defend your country, defend your state,” he admonished.
The former defence chief said that the unnecessary killings, which were akin to an act of ethnic cleansing being perpetuated against the people of Taraba, specifically and Nigeria at large, must stop even as he accused the military of being part of the killings.
Embattled Senator Dino Melaye, representing Kogi State West Senatorial area has alleged that the Nigeria police is still indebted to him to the tune of N10 million which was awarded him by court about four years ago.
Dino Melaye, who had just come out of detention following bail granted him by Kogi State High Court, took to his Instagram page, saying that his being arrested and detained by the police started about four years ago.
“The Police illegal arrest and harassment did not start now. This was four years ago. Where Court awarded 10 million Naira damage to me that police is yet to pay.
“Fear not him that can destroy or damage the body, fear only Him that can destroy both the body and the Spirit. My Spirit and resolve is unshakeable.”
The Kogi State Chief Judge, Justice Nasiru Ajana had granted Senator Dino Melaye bail in the sum of N10 million with one surety. The bail was granted on health grounds.
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Senator Iyiola Omisore has dumped the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the Social Democratic Party (SDP) where he intends to contest the governorship election of Osun State in September.
