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Kwara gov warns PDP against misleading public
From Romoke W. Ahmad, Ilorin
The Kwara State government has advised the state chapter of the
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to properly educate itself about
government programmes instead of misleading the public.
In a statement issued in Ilorin, the state government described as
misleading, a claim by the state publicity secretary of the PDP, Mr.
Rex Olawoye, that the PDP-led government took up to five bonds in the
last five years.
The state government said the previous administration of Dr. Bukola
Saraki obtained N17 billion bond in 2009 to fund major infrastructure
projects in the state which was paid off in August 2013.
Therefore, the state government wondered where the PDP got the figures
of N23 billion and N30 billion bonds referred to and advised the
opposition party to seek clarification, instead of misleading the
public with phantom figures.
?Accordingly, the state government said its proposed N20 billion
bond, when approved, will be utilised for reviving ongoing projects on
road, education, health, energy, water and sports as well as new ones
that were stalled following the drop in allocation from the federal
government from N3.2 billion monthly to N1.8 billion monthly.
Kogi election must not be militarized -Fayose
From Itodo Daniel Sule, Lokoja
Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose yesterday warned the All Progressives
Congress (APC) led federal government not to militarize the November
21 governorship election in the state.
Fayose, who spoke in Lokoja, at the grand finale of the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) campaign for the Kogi election, alleged that
APC was plotting to rig the election in its quest to turn Nigeria to a
one-party state.
He said the PDP will resist any attempt to rig the election, stressing
that they are optimistic of winning under free and fair atmosphere
without ‘extraneous influences’.
On his part, Chairman of PDP Governors’ Forum and Ondo governor,
Olusegun Mimiko, urged the people of Kogi to vote for Idris Wada to
enable him complete all the ongoing projects in the state.
Governor Wada expressed happiness for the turnout of a mammoth crowd
of supporters at the rally, saying it was a sign of his victory in the
November 21 election.
He urged the people to continue to mobilise more support for him and
turnout to cast their votes without fear of intimidation.
Daily Trust reports that Lokoja, the state capital was locked up
following the large crowd of supporters that trooped out for the rally
from across the state.
Delta gov candidate, APC head to appeal court
By Adelanwa Bamgboye
Olorogun O’tega Emerhor, a governorship candidate in Delta State in
the April 11 general elections has, alongside his party, the APC filed
a joint petition at the appeal court in the Benin Judicial Division.
Emerhor and his party are appealing the judgment of the governorship
election tribunal that sat in Asaba, which on October 26th ruled
against their petition challenging the declaration of Dr Ifeanyi Okowa
as governor of Delta State.
In the appeal no CA/B/EPT / 2015 filed on 13/11/15, by their legal
counsel, Chief TJ Okpoko SAN, the appellants stated that they were
dissatisfied with the decision of the tribunal.
The appeal went further to establish 11 grounds of dissatisfaction
with the judgment of the tribunal among which were: That the learned
justices erred in law in resolving against the appellants that the
petition was incompetent on the ground of non-compliance with the
procedural rule in paragraph 4 (3)(b) of the 1st schedule to the
Electoral Act 2010 (as amended ).
It added that the learned justices misdirected themselves in law in
holding that the petitioners have not been able to displace the
presumption that the figure of the voters accredited for the
governorship election conducted in Delta State on April 11, 2015 as
stated in the election results declared by INEC are less than the
total number of votes returned in the election.
Kogi PDP aspirant, 14 LG chairmen defect to APC
By Ojoma Akor
Comrade Mohammed Ali, a former gubernatorial aspirant of the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) in Kogi State, and national chairman of the
Northern Local Government Chairmen Forum (NLGCF) has defected to the
All Progressives Congress (APC).
He defected along with 14 former local government council chairmen in
the state, their ward councilors, five special advisers, 11 senior
special assistants and 25 special assistants.
The Court of Appeal, Abuja has ordered Kogi State governor, Captain
Idris Wada, to re-instate the 21 local government chairmen of the
state or be found guilty of contempt of court.
The same court had on 23rd October, this year set aside the judgment
of the High Court of Justice, Koton Karfe, Kogi State which had
removed all the 21 Local Government Council chairmen along with the
entire democratic structures from office on December 8, 2014.
However, Captain Idris Wada did not obey the court order to reinstate
the chairman and their ward councilors.
In a statement announcing their defection yesterday, Ali said the
move was an outcome of soul searching and consultations with
stakeholders.
According to him, their aspiration of serving their people and
Nigerians can only be realized in the APC.
He said it was their belief that the current leadership of the PDP in
Kogi State under Captain Idris Ichalla Wada has regrettably destroyed
the ideals developed by the founding fathers of the party.
N11bn virement: Court stops suspension of Adamawa lawmaker
From Kabiru R. Anwar, Yola
A Yola High Court presided over by Justice Ambrose Mamadi, has
granted an interim injunction restraining the state assembly from
suspending the chairman, House Committee on Finance, Budget and
Appropriation, Abubakar Abdulrahman, from the House as well as
dissolution of his committee.
This followed a suit filed by the lawmaker, challenging the three
months’ suspension slammed on him and the dissolution of his
committee, after he criticized the manner in which the House approved
N11 billion virement request from the executive.
The lawmaker had granted interviews to journalists where he accused
the assembly of bypassing his committee to grant the approval.
Delivering the ruling, Justice Mamadi said “from my reading of these
processes, I am of the opinion that the applicant has made a case for
the grant of the application herein. Consequently I grant the
application as prayed.
“I make the following orders: An interim injunction restraining the
defendants from carrying into effect, the pronouncement of the 1st
defendant dissolving the House Committee on Finance, Budget and
Appropriation made on 10th November, 2015 pending the hearing and
determination of motion on notice.”
TSA: Buhari won’t divert public funds – Minister
By Muideen Olaniyi
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has
dismissed as a contrived distraction the alleged fraud in the Treasury
Single Account (TSA) and the rumoured diversion of the TSA funds to
bankroll elections in Bayelsa and Kogi states.
Mohammed’s reactions followed the allegations raised by the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) and Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti State that the
TSA was a fraudulent policy from the federal government.
The minister, in a statement issued in Abuja yesterday through his
Special Adviser, Mr Segun Adeyemi, said if those behind the accusation
had allowed themselves some measure of honesty, they would have
realized that there has not and there will be no such impunity under
the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.
“It is understandable that the psyche of those who are making the
frivolous allegations concerning the TSA has been badly affected by
the impunity that permeated the country under the immediate past
administration, when unappropriated funds were freely used to finance
elections and the public till was seen as an extension of personal
piggy banks.
“But the lies that have been wilfully disseminated by scandalmongers
over the TSA cannot and will not fly, because it was precisely to put
an end to such impunity that Nigerians voted massively for President
Buhari, who has an unblemished reputation for integrity, due process,
transparency and the rule of law,” he said.