No rift between Agbaje and I — Bode George

Chief Olabode George, a former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party,  on Monday said there was no rift between him and Mr Jimi Agbaje, the party’s governorship candidate in Lagos.

Speaking at a colloquium titled: “2019: South West speaks” in Lagos, George said the belief in some quarters that he and Agbaje were not in good terms was untrue.

He, however, admitted that they had differences in the past on certain political issues, but that they had since risen above that and made up.

George said he had since forgotten whatever happened between the two of them as an elder in the party and in the interest of PDP.

The former PDP Deputy Chairman said Agbaje and his running mate, Mrs Haleemat Busari, had visited him in his residence where he particularly advised Busari on how to navigate the murky waters of politics successfully.

“There is no rift between Agbaje and me. All that happened in the past is gone. The Yorubas say if you continue to nurse grudges with people, you will not have anybody to call your friend. The issues of the past belong to the past, there is no rift between us,” he said.

(NAN)

2019 presidency: Your governors stealing public funds for campaigns – Sowore attacks APC, PDP

The presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, has accused governors serving under the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of stealing money from their states to fund 2019 campaigns.

Sowore also alleged that the main political parties have already spent beyond the threshold for presidential election during primaries.

Sowore made the allegation during his appearance on Channels Television political programme on Sunday.

“They have already spent a billion naira during primaries, or more.

“What they spent in Port Harcourt alone was $25 million in one day. All the Bureau de Change operators in Lagos, Port Harcourt, Abuja all relocated to Port Harcourt.

“I am an investigative reporter before I came into this job of running for office and I can tell you that they are not allegations. They are proven, we have evidence of them doing it (and) they haven’t disputed them by the way.”

“You know that governors are stealing from their states to buy campaign vehicles; otherwise, let them tell us – the APC and PDP how they are raising funds for the election because none of them has done any funder raiser known to anybody since we started the election circle,” Sowore said.

He, thereafter, called for transparency on the part of the political parties and asked Nigerians to hold them to account.

On the other hand, Sowore explained that his campaign group was raising funds to finance his ambition of becoming president in 2019.

He further challenged other presidential candidates to come forward and explain to Nigerians how they have been raising funds for their campaigns.

2019: APC will win PDP-controlled states - Ohikere

Dr Tom Ohikere, the national coordinator, APC Broom Platform has predicted that the All Progressives Congress (APC) would have strong a showing in the states controlled by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

He identified the states as: Delta, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Rivers, Abia, Enugu and Ebonyi in the 2019 general elections; all in south-east and south-south region of the country, NAN reports.

We gathered that Ohikere, who made the prediction in a statement he signed in Abuja on Tuesday, December 4, attributed his calculation to the personality of President Muhammadu Buhari, who he described as a blessing and an asset to the APC.

“President Muhammadu Buhari has successfully been able to keep himself above the fray of corrosive internal politics in his party, serving as a rallying point and guiding the party toward unity and fidelity to its laws.

“This has helped to strengthen cohesion and confidence in the party and puts it in a strong position as a united front as the election approaches.

“Also counting in favour of APC are the gains made in curbing insurgency in the north-east, especially recovering of 18 local government areas in that region from insurgents, minimising terrorists’ bombing and destroying many terrorists’ camps.

“The milestones recorded in the anti-graft war, through blockage of financial leakages, complete automation of the financial system of government, prosecution and convictions of corrupt persons and recovery of huge sums by EFCC are also noteworthy achievements.

“Stabilisation of the economy by pulling it out of recession and the social programmes with direct connection and benefit to the poor all put the party on a strong platform toward an expected landslide in the forthcoming elections,“ he said

He added that APC had all the potential to convincingly win the 2019 presidential election with its credibility, unifying leadership and tangible records of performance, in addition to nationwide acceptability and spread.

He said: “However, the party must shed off complacency, buckle up its managerial and organisational capacity, generate an inclusive campaign and promote with vigour, its programme to take Nigeria to the next level.

“History of elections and competitive endeavors show that a very interesting and promising campaign can be ruined by complacency and lack of proper appreciation of the magnitude of internal challenges."

Ohikere noted that APC might also face a herculean task in surmounting its challenges, and called on it to overcome “serious antiparty activities” in its ranks and focus on public interest rather than the wishes of members.

He said: “Meeting these challenges, however, requires that the National Working Committee (NWC) would have to work really fast to conclude its reconciliation efforts.

“It must fill up the vacuum existing in the heart of its organization, position itself quickly for the busy campaigns for which available time is fast diminishing.

“The NWC must appoint a substantive secretary as a matter of urgent importance; improve its organisational and managerial capacity as well as work to boost its public communication and response machinery in the media.”

According to Ohikere, the absence of a substantive and capable secretary, which may deprive the party of the needed administrative backbone, should be quickly filled by one of the capable hands.

He noted that some members were screened and found capable for elections in the last APC National Convention in June 2018, adding that one of them could be appointed for such an important position.

Ohikere, a two-time commissioner for information in Kogi, who suggested Waziri Bulama for the position, described him as a politician with a wide reach of professional disposition, deep knowledge of party management and a very engaging personality.

Meanwhile, We previously reported that ahead of the 2019 general election, a Facebook page associated with the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) released its prediction for the election.

In its prediction, the APC newspaper predicted that the ruling party will win in 30 states of the federation, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja, while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will win only in 4 states.

Lagos 2019: Jimi Agbaje launches campaign, unveils exciting plans for Lagosians

The race to the Lagos State government house took an interesting turn yesterday as the unrelenting gubernatorial candidate of the leading opposition party in the country, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Mr. Jimi Agbaje, popularly known as JK, officially launched his campaign at a well-attended event.

Recall that Agbaje has always been a prominent rival against the popular party in the state and has contested twice pulling handful percentages against the winners as first runners up.

While speaking to the audience at the declaration, he stated many reasons Lagos State as a commercial hub and business capital of Nigeria shouldn’t be in a comatose as it is presently.

He argued that despite the state taking a forefront in Nigeria, it would be a lazy assumption for any government to benchmark its leadership position by comparing Lagos with any state in the country which drew its allocation from the federal government.

“The size of Lagos State alone is the sizes of two African countries put together,” he said, “So while making comparison on how developed our Lagos State should be now, then it should be put side by side with countries like Kenya and Ghana.”

JK noted that ever since Lagos has been in the hands of the Alliance for Democracy (AD) since the return to democracy in the country, there has been no notable landmark achievement to show for the huge revenues the state generates.

“Anyone claiming that four years is not enough to get the state to being a truly megacity is not telling you the truth,” Agbaje told the listening crowd, “We have had a true leader in the state with enviable track record, who had set a precedent all willing governors should have followed.

“Baba Jakande was a governor of the state for just four years and yet, all today’s ruling party’s achievements can’t stand shoulder to shoulder despite the little revenue he had to work with.

“His achievements are still existing. He was a true progressive as compared to those that parade themselves as such today.”

The PDP governorship candidate stated that for those claiming he only has a pharmacy shop at a road corner to show for himself, he responded that it is the small entrepreneurs that drive the engine of commerce in the state.

“Look around, you would notice that without small scale entrepreneurs, the economic label of Lagos is nothing.

“And I, being one of them, indicates that I know where the shoe pitches and would definitely make Lagos State the land of small scale stakeholders’ dreams in terms of power, good access roads and breaking traffic bottlenecks that have become a huge albatross on time management.”

While also officially announcing his running mate, Mrs Haleemat Busari, a versatile lawyer and also from Kosoko royal family lineage, Jimi Agbaje has this to say to those who tagged him ‘a political customer’ which means someone who wastes his resources every election year as used in local parlance that ‘Customer is king and always right’.

And when asked why he is still running despite failing twice, Jimi Agbaje stated like a man on a mission, “When you truly believe in something, you stand firm.”

Boko Haram kills three soldiers, overrun Nigerian army base

Boko Haram jihadists have killed three soldiers in an attack on a military base in northeast Nigeria's Borno state near Lake Chad, military and civilian sources said.
Fighters from Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) driving in several trucks attacked the base in Cross-Kauwa village on Tuesday and engaged troops in an hours-long gunfight, the sources told AFP late Wednesday

The seizure by National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, of 581 million tablets of tramadol in an ongoing search operation at Apapa Sea Port in Lagos came as cheering news to all Nigerians. This seizure came on the heels of a similar exercise late last year during which the Agency seized 160 million tablets of the Tramadol at the same Apapa Port. The Agency has since charged the clearing agent behind the shipment of the 160 million tablets of Tramadol to court. The Agency is also on the trail of those behind the shipment of the recent seizure.

GERMANY DONATES SIX SNIFFER DOGS AND A BUS TO NDLEA

The German Government has donated six trained sniffer dogs and a Mercedes bus to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) to boost the country’s capacity to detect concealed drugs. German Deputy Consul General, Alexandra Herr made the presentation in Lagos to the director of Operations and General Investigation of the Agency Mr Olugbenga Mabo.