POLICE ARREST 10 AKUME THUGS WITH KILLER WEAPONS IN TARKA

Police in Tarka local government area of Benue State have arrested 10 thugs allegedly sponsored by defeated Senator George Akume.

The thugs who were nabbed after a surprise raid led by the DPO in Tarka were caught with sophisticated weapons believed to be used by the killer thugs during the just concluded elections.

 Sen. Akume is said to be preparing the armed thugs to unleash terror on voters during the supplementary governorship election scheduled for 23rd March. 

The 10 thugs are being taken to Police Headquarters in Makurdi this morning.

By Johnson Arubi 

APC PLANNING TO THUMB-PRINT BALLOT PAPERS AHEAD OF BENUE RE-RUN

Our reliable sources at INEC have disclosed that the All Progressives Congress, (APC) leadership has ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to immediately release to it ballot papers and result sheets for all the polling units where the re-run governorship election is to hold in Benue State. 

This is to help the party to thumb-print the ballot papers and fill the result sheets before the 23rd March supplementary election. 

APC Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole secretly arrived Makurdi on Sunday night and was still in town Tuesday morning to supervise the evil plot. Bola Tinubu is expected in Makurdi tomorrow to add to the pressure already mounted on the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Benue State to release the sensitive election materials to APC. 

APC has recruited many Fulani militia members who will be given military uniform to wear and go to polling units where they will arrest PDP agents and leaders of the party who will want to prove stubborn on the day of the election. 

As youths of the state, we find this plot by APC as devilish and anti-people and we will resist it with the last drop of our blood. 

Benue people took a decision on the 9th of March to renew the mandate they gave Governor Samuel Ortom in 2015. The people overwhelmingly voted for the Governor who now has 81,000 lead against his closest opponent. 

We advise INEC to be firm and resist the pressure to deny Benue people their right to decide who governs them. INEC must say NO to APC's maneuvers to truncate democracy through rigging of the supplementary election in Benue State. 

We are aware that all uncollected Permanent Voter's Cards, PVCs were returned and kept at Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN in Makurdi. We also have the statistics of the number of PVCs collected in all the polling units where the re-run election is billed to hold.

Our eagle eyes are firmly fixed on CBN and INEC. Any attempt to illegally release the uncollected PVCs or any other sensitive election material will be exposed and the particular culprit, whether he is INEC or CBN staff will be made to suffer lawful consequences of his action. 

We want the Benue State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Dr. Nentawe Yilwatda to remember that the whole world is watching him! He should remember that history will also note the role he is playing in Benue State electoral process and will judge him accordingly. He has the option to do what is right and write his name in gold or obey those who want to pervert the process and rig the election despite the wide margin between the party in the lead and the closest opponent. 

Lastly, we caution Oshiomhole, Tinubu, Akume and all other enemies of Benue State to shelve their plan to rig the re-run election. It is a waste of engery and time! 

APC has lost Benue!

Signed:

Comrade Terrence Kuanum

President, Benue Youth Forum, BYF

12/03/2019

“We’ll improve security, businesses in Zamfara” – Atiku

Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential candidate, has promised to improve security in Zamfara if voted into office in the Feb. 16 presidential election.

Atiku, who was in Zamfara on Monday for his presidential campaign, also promised to revamp the Bakolori Dam and put it to effective use.

“Without peace, there won’t be farming activities, no businesses and people cannot even practice their religious beliefs.

“Even though agriculture is the mainstay of the people of the state, farming has virtually been banned by bandits in the state and this situation needs to be put to an end.

“When this is fully taken care of, we will then support the farmers with modern tools and seeds so that businesses can resume in full force.”

He urged the people to vote for the PDP governorship candidate, Alhaji Bello Matawalle.

The presidential candidate recalled that since the APC was yet to resolve its internal problems which made it impossible to have candidates, urged people in the state to vote for the APC.

In his remarks, the party’s National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, cautioned the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Inspector-General of Police to be impartial throughout the elections.

News men report that the presidential candidate was accompanied by the party’s national and state leaders as well as Gov. Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State.

Atiku to Buhari: World watching you

The Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Atiku Abubakar, has, in what he described as a warning to both President Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressives Congress, APC, said that there would be no room for rigging on February 16th especially as he said that the world is watching the developments in the country.

In a statement issued in Abuja on Sunday by his Special Assistant on Public Communication, Mr. Phrank Shaibu, in response to the Federal Government’s reaction to the US, UK and EU over the suspension of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Walter Onnoghen, the former Vice President warned that anyone planning to rig the 2019 election may as well be toying with the very foundation of the nation’s democracy.

According to the statement, “Buhari’s cabal is unhappy  with the statements from the US, the British and the EU because they know that these world powers have agreed  to re-route their latest and most technologically sophisticated spy satellites, including the NAOL-47 satellite, to provide comprehensive coverage over Nigeria on February 16.  The photographs which these satellites will deliver can not only show someone reading a newspaper but also which newspaper they are reading.”

He said “the Federal Government had in statement through Garba Shehu stated that, ‘the nation’s security forces will confront any attempt to interfere with the process by elements from outside the country.’”

The PDP candidate expressed concerns over what he described as “the desperation of the APC to rig the forthcoming elections.”

He however, advised the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the military and the police not to allow themselves to be used by those he said are interested in turning Nigeria’s democracy on its head.

According to him, “The truth is that, there is no country in the world where a president with this appalling record could ever be re-elected.  Over 100 million Nigerians cannot afford even one decent meal a day, yet their president is seeking re-election.

“The world powers, as well as Nigerians, also have intelligence that Buhari will decisively lose the elections since the people are angry because they are hungry and have no jobs.

“There is no level of rigging that this vile government could ever do to overturn the millions of Nigerians who will turn up at the polls to vote him out.

“We ask our dearest young population who got a job under Buhari in the last four (4)years, to vote for Buhari.  But all those who lost their jobs and whose relations lost their jobs and businesses to his maladministration should please come out in large numbers to elect Atiku Abubabar who is a harbinger of job creation,” the statement said.

State of the Nation Address by Atiku Abubakar at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre

STATE OF THE NATION ADDRESS BY ATIKU ABUBAKAR, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE OF THE PEOPLE’S DEMOCRATIC PARTY (PDP) AT THE SHEHU MUSA YAR’ADUA CENTRE, MONDAY, JANUARY 28TH, 2019

Yet again, our dear country is passing through a difficult moment. How we react to this challenge in the following days will determine the fate of our democracy, which has been brought to great peril by this needless crisis engineered by a government that is unwilling to subject its conducts to the requirements of our constitution.

Meanwhile, I commend all Nigerians and friends of Nigeria who have expressed outrage over the unlawful removal of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen, an action, which constitutes a flagrant breach of our constitution and a frontal assault on our democracy. I want to note the universal condemnation of this unlawful act by all Nigerians, as well as the international community.

I need to state that this latest action by General Muhammadu Buhari falls squarely within the pattern of executive lawlessness that has now been firmly turned into statecraft by the APC government.

The serial disregard of court orders, and consequent violation of constitutionally guaranteed human rights of our citizens confirms beyond all doubt that General Buhari and his government would rather obey their own whims and operate by separate rules outside the well-established constitutional order and the rule of law. It scarcely requires emphasis that this behaviour is alien to democratic rule and more in line with that of a military dictator.

Without doubt, the fight against corruption is crucial to good governance and the progress of our country. In this context, the issue of corruption as it relates to the institution of the judiciary is even more crucial. As the last refuge of the common man, our judiciary must not only be above suspicion but must also be seen to be manifestly above board. The issue at stake is not whether the Chief Justice is guilty or not, but whether his removal from office has been done in accordance with the process specified in our constitution.

As a democrat, I must say, without equivocation, that no mission or goal, no matter how noble or well intended, should be used as a pretext for the subversion of our democracy and our democratic institutions. To create a condition that allows the constitution and the rule of law to become secondary to any other agenda is to pave the way for tyranny. History is replete with odious dictators whose path to dictatorship started with statements of good intentions. We must therefore remain vigilant in defense of our democracy.

We are all witnesses to how this government has serially assaulted the National Assembly, a separate arm of government that represents the bastion of our democracy. However, with this attack on the judiciary, General Buhari has set a new precedent in our democracy that has no equivalence in our history, not even in the darkest days of military dictatorship. This cannot be allowed to stand.

At this juncture, I must warn the APC government to desist from taking actions that may push us further down the slippery slope towards a major constitutional crisis that could derail the electoral process. General Muhammadu Buhari must remember that he is a beneficiary of a free and fair election. It is therefore a matter of honour for him to allow a political environment and process that gives confidence to everyone.

All my life, I have been a democrat and a defender of democracy. Like all men of good conscience and patriots, I believe this present challenge has imposed on us yet again, the duty to rise in peaceful defense of democracy, for which so many have laid down their lives. I also know that the surest weapon against tyranny is the democratic will of the people. Nigerians have consistently demonstrated their preference for democracy, and I am, and will always remain, on the side of the people of Nigeria.

I conclude by expressing, once again, my gratitude to the international community for standing by our country in this challenging time. However, the primary responsibility to resist tyranny and protect democracy in Nigeria ultimately lies with Nigerians. It is on this note that I call on all Nigerians to seize the opportunity of the coming general elections to vote in defense of democracy and the rule of law.

We must vote out this anti-democratic government and restore our country to the path of true democracy, which is the surest way to ensure progress and prosperity for our people.

God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria. God bless you all.

#PDPKadunaRally: Sea of heads in Kaduna for Atiku

Hurricane Atiku Abubakar in Kaduna.. Thank you good people of Kaduna for turning out in massive numbers. You have shown you want a #BetterNigeria and want to #GetNigeriaWorkingAgain. Pics story:

#Buhari’sHallofShame: Atiku Names 30 Corrupt People Working With Buhari

Former Vice President and presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar on Sunday stated his position on the performance of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led All Progressives Congress (APC) government.

Atiku, who spoke through his Special Assistant on Public Communications, Mr. Phrank Shaibu, said Buhari’s first term in office is a sad reminder of Nigeria’s arrested development since 2015 when his clueless party, the APC came to power.

Shaibu called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the ruling APC, which, according to him, has metamorphosed from a political party to a ”nest of corrupt politicians’’.

“This was attested to by the party’s National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole who was recently said that once any politician defects to the APC, he or she becomes a saint even if such a person were an armed robber”, the aide said in a statement.

Shaibu said that the most compelling reason for the APC to be de-registered is that it has driven millions of Nigerians deeper into poverty since 2015, when it took over leadership of the country, and spent trillions of naira procuring hunger, darkness and insecurity.

“It is the view of the Presidential Candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar that Nigerians from all walks of life call on the APC to apologize to all Nigerians for bringing them nothing but suffering of unquantifiable proportion since 2015, and to make a solemn pledge not to have anything to do with governance, especially with the February 16, election that is fast approaching,” Shaibu said.

He added that the Buhari administration was only chasing shadows by trying to drag Atiku Abubakar into the mud, which according to him, has now become the natural habitat of APC top leaders.

“President Buhari and his APC are criminal enablers and harborers of looters of our collective patrimony and this document “Buhari’s Hall Of Shame” is a scorecard of failure, incompetence, nepotism and a President’s proclivity to harbouring indicted and other famed thieves of our patrimony.

“Recall that, the former acting Director General of the National Intelligence Agency, Ambassador Mohammed Dauda, in a sworn testimony to the House of Representatives Committee on National Security and Intelligence, revealed that President Buhari’s kitchen cabinet comprising Abba Kyari and former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babagana Kingibe, had pressured him to share the $44 million Ikoyi millions.

“After giving his sworn evidence, Ambassador Dauda was dismissed and has now gone underground. This is President Buhari’s style of fighting corruption.

“The hawks seem to have finally convinced Buhari to frame Atiku in some bogus N156million alleged scam, which they claimed is responsible for the collapse of Bank PHB. Assuming but not conceding that this allegation is correct, can N156million Naira collapse a bank with a reserve portfolio in excess of N25bn? But Nigerians are wiser and I am sure, would resist any devilish plot by some APC crooks who believe that it is either the President wins reelection or our democracy is truncated”.

Continuing, the Special Assistant said, “Nigerians are intelligent enough to know that the allegation of Atiku being responsible for the collapse of BankPHB is balderdash! They also know that the said BankPHB metamorphosed into Keystone Bank which was said to have been acquired by Buhari’s cronies through AMCON last year.

“By this latest allegation of the Federal Government through the office of the Minister Of Information, it is clear that the responsibility of AMCON has been appropriated. In appropriating the responsibility of AMCON. It is therefore no more a matter of speculation that Buhari and his family members are the new owners of Keystone Bank (Former BankPHB)”.

The former Vice President then asked what the Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) was doing before now when it refused to name Atiku as one of those behind the collapse until now that the leaders of APC see that he is just a few days from becoming Nigeria’s president, and wondered whether the revelation is at the instance of the new owners.

“Why was Atiku’s name not mentioned when Bank PHB collapsed? Is it because the APC and its goons know that they will be defeated in next month’s election? Or is the APC government acting on behalf of Buhari’s family who are reportedly the new owners of the bank?” he asked.

The former VP described the Bank PHB story as diversionary and a calculated attempt to divert the attention of Nigerians from the failure of the APC government to deliver dividends of democracy.

”Today, millions of Nigerians, most of them youths, are unemployed, forcing them to become professional beggars who wait with bated breath for FG’s monthly N5,000 handout aimed at bribing them to re-elect the party in the forthcoming elections.

”Talking of infrastructure, despite an ‘investment’ of over N1trillion by the Buhari-led APC administration in infrastructure, the nation’s roads have become death traps and power generation has actually dipped from 4,949 mega watts PDP left in 2015 to less than 3,500 megawatts even though Buhari’s handlers consistently claim that 7,000 mega watts is what is currently being generated,” he said.

Shaibu said the exchange rate of the Naira to the US dollar when the APC assumed office in 2015 was about 170 (official rate) to the dollar. “Today it is 360 to the dollar. What more evidence do we need to know that the APC has been a curse rather than a blessing to our country?”

He said Atiku Abubakar’s policy document focuses on job creation, ensuring security, growing businesses, developing power, and water infrastructure, agriculture and education and how ‘Nigeria’s next president will empower women.

” Unlike Buhari’s policy proposals, our policies outline the goals and methods for developing and revitalizing Nigeria and getting the country to work again,” Shaibu concluded.

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