Author Archives: News All Around

Atiku: Northerners are Not Stupid!

Atiku Abubakar, Waziri Adamawa, the 77-year old presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party, (PDP), in the 25th February, 2023, elections maybe an household name in the North but he cannot lay claim to the 14 million followers of President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC),  in the region. If anything, he symbolizes the sort of savagely self-serving professional politicians that Northerners and indeed all Nigerians have since started to shun. 

After a comfortable career in the ‘plum’ Nigeria Customs Service and more than three decades in politics, Atiku’s only legacies are lucrative private enterprises such as the American University of Nigeria Yola, Intels Logistics and Adama Beverages Limited, makers of Faro drinks.

To start with, the North-east geopolitical zone of the country would not vote for Atiku Abubakar because the former vice-president neglected the region when he was in office between 1999 and 2007. He could not record eight projects in his home zone in those eight years to the extent that even the road to his village, Ganye in Jada Local Government Area of Adamawa State, was recently constructed by the APC government of President Buhari. 

Between 2009 and 2019 when Boko Haram terrorists held sway especially in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states, Atiku lived more abroad than at home and could not orchestrate any coordinated assistance using his celebrated clout at the national and international arenas.

Atiku Abubakar’s sixth and hopefully last shot at Nigeria’s presidency does not also enjoy the sympathy of the other geopolitical zones in the region. Perennial political peregrination has never been a respected practice in Northern politics. In 1993, he contested the Social Democratic Party presidential primaries losing to M.K.O. Abiola and Babagana Kingibe.

 He was a presidential candidate of the Action Congress in the 2007 presidential election coming in third to Umaru Yar’Adua of the PDP and Muhammadu Buhari of the ANPP. He contested the presidential primaries of the PDP during the 2011 presidential election losing out to President Goodluck Jonathan. 

In 2014, he joined APC ahead of the 2015 presidential election and contested the presidential primaries losing to Buhari. In 2017, he returned to the PDP and was the party’s presidential candidate during the 2019 presidential election, again losing to incumbent President Buhari.To win this time, the former vice-president has tried to define himself as the northern candidate in the coming presidential elections.

 At the start of the campaigns in October 2022, he told the Arewa Town-hall Policy Dialogue in Kaduna that Northerners do not need an Igbo or Yoruba as president but “someone from the north.” According to him, “I think what the average northerner needs is somebody who is from the north and who also understands the other parts of Nigeria and who has been able to build bridges across the rest of the country. This is what the northerner needs. He doesn’t need a Yoruba candidate or an Igbo candidate.” 

The era of divide-and-rule politics is over. How can someone campaigning as a unifier utter such anti-north and anti-unity claims?Thus, while the Waziri Adamawa believes his path to power lies in the north, winning majority of the votes in the region would not be possible for the PDP candidate. He would have to contend not only against his two main opponents, Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the APC and Peter Obi of the Labour Party, he would also have to tame the rising profile of Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso-led New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP). 

His worst weakness, however, is the terrible track-record in delivering the dividends of democracy to the people.

Voters in the northwest region are still groaning and mourning over the multiple tragedies including the debilitating economic situation and devastating security condition traced back to the PDP’s 16 locust years in power.

 Their embittered disposition is unlikely to translate into votes for the former vice-president. In particular, the populous states of Kano, Kaduna, Sokoto, Kebbi, Zamfara, Niger and Jigawa are all APC aficionados.Any candidate who sees nothing wrong with the awful and pathetic state of affairs in the north is not worth voting for.

 The underdevelopment in the north was foisted by such northern leaders. In other words, the north undeveloped the north. Over the decades, the north has been held down by leaders of northern extraction who presided over Nigeria and saw nothing wrong with endemic poverty and misery culture.

 The coming polls promise to put paid to that.Atiku’s condemnation of the APC’s Muslim-Muslim ticket is clearly a case of sour grapes because it makes Tinubu a strong candidate in the Muslim north. In contrast, the PDP’s religiously diverse ticket hasn’t earned him the same robust political mileage in Christian-dominated parts of the north. 

Rather, the Labour Party’s Peter Obi is more favourably looked upon among some northern Christians.The North is the most backward in Nigeria judging from any developmental index. Based on the three Human Development Indexes, (HDI), namely life expectancy, education and per capita income, it is obvious that virtually all the states in the North fall below the HDI of 0.539 as of 2019.

 How would the region develop with a mass of illiterate citizenry? How do we turn this ugly scenario around other than by electing dedicated, progressive, visionary and committed leaders at both the federal and state levels?The North is re-thinking and seeking a way out of the underdevelopment quagmire. It is no longer clinging onto the old attitudes that have failed the people. 

The 2023 general elections provide a historic opportunity for it to seek to change the unenviable narrative. The North is ready for a political paradigm shift. It intends to inject a new life into the leadership of the region and nation.Like the leopard and its stubborn spots, Atiku cannot change his character of callous disregard for ordinary citizens. Only recently, he called on the Federal Government to not extend the deadline for the transition to the newly designed currency notes despite the outcry especially among the unbanked rural dwellers that constitute the bulk of the population of the North.

 This call is reminiscent of his appeal for the repeal of Sharia law introduced after public demand by some Northern states with overwhelming Muslim majorities. It is also a flagrant violation of the religious and cultural rights of citizens as contained in the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and extant universal conventions.

However, Atiku’s most pathetic political promise is the release of Nnamdi Kanu, founder of the IPOB and a worse perpetrator of atrocities against Northerners than even Chukwuemeka Ojukwu during his 30-months civil war. What manner of justice rewards aggressors and fails to even acknowledge the deaths and destruction meted on the victims? Would he offer the same treatment to Boko Haram’s Abubakar Shekau and similar terrorists or is this just a depraved pitch by a desperate do-or-die politician?

As if these travesties are not evil enough, the PDP contender also promised to do a single term in the presidency and hand-over to an Igbo candidate in 2027. This is the most undemocratic declaration ever made by a contestant in any democracy.

 How can a single candidate speak for the whole North and declare where his own successor would emerge even before his own election?In the final days to voting, Atiku plans to unleash all manners of religious and tribal sentiments to sway voters in the North.

 Unfortunately for him, the North has since written him off as an untrustworthy and dishonest person not worthy of their bulk support.  As an observer put it “Atiku thinks Buhari just woke up to get 14 million votes in the kitty from a section of the country because of ethnicity? 

No. Buhari built a legacy of honesty and forthrightness over the years while Atiku’s legacies are direct opposites of these.”In 1999 at the launching of a book on Sa’adu Zungur written by Prof. M.A. Yakubu, the current Chairman of INEC at Arewa House in Kaduna, Atiku as the Vice President of Nigeria and the most senior political office holder from the North in the Federal Government at that time publicly pilloried all Northern leaders. 

He told his bewildered audience that the Northern leaders and elders were the people who failed the North and the nation. He said they were the ones who had caused the problems.

The Northern Elders Forum (NEF) in its recent statement declared that Atiku has no credentials to be a sole Northern presidential candidate. Their reason is that he has not been seen as somebody who is close to the North because he has not been fair to us. He is somebody having his base outside the North. 

According to Alhaji Seidu Baba, a founding member of the NEF, Northerners commonly view Atiku as an untrustworthy and dishonest person who does not deserve their massive votes during the 2023 poll.

The National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN), the umbrella body of all the Youth organizations/groups in Nigeria, under the leadership of Ambassador Sokubo Sara-Igbe Sokubo has declared support for all NYCN members and current cum past leaders who are contesting for any elective position in the forthcoming general elections, especially Bishop Sunday Onuoha who was the pioneer state Chairman of NYCN Abia State Chapter.

This was disclosed to the media at the celebration of the African/National Youth Day held in Port Harcourt. At the event, the NYCN led by Amb. Sokubo Sara-Igbe Sokubo, in the company of all the State Chairmen and all the National Executive Council (NEC) members of NYCN present, publicly endorsed Bishop Sunday Onuoha as the Youth’s Candidate in the Abia State 2023 gubernatorial election. According to Amb. Sokubo Sara-Igbe Sokubo;

“Bishop Sunday Onuoha is one of our own. He was the pioneer Chairman of NYCN Abia State Chapter and laid a very solid foundation for NYCN in Abia State. It is worthy to mention that during his tenure, as the Chairman of NYCN, the Youth of Abia State gained uncountable scholarships and received several empowerment packages and bursary awards from the State Government. He was selfless and worked for the overall interest of the entire Abia Youth, as the State Chairman of NYCN.

“Today, he is contesting for the Number One Seat in Abia State, under the platform of African Democratic Party (ADC). He is a Gubernatorial Candidate who has demonstrated his passion and love for the Youth constituency. He has unmatched records in Youth empowerment and sustainable development amongst all the Gubernatorial Candidates in Abia state. His manifesto is a Youth-oriented manifesto.

“Owing to his antecedents and being one of us, as the pioneer Chairman of NYCN Abia State Chapter, we are going to support him to win the gubernatorial election come 11th March 2023. In the Company of all the State Chairmen and the NEC members present today, I hereby declare him as our choice come 11th March 2023.

“NYCN is not known for political awards, not under my leadership. However, today we are giving out an outstanding Award to Bishop Sunday Onuoha as a sign of our support and solidarity for his gubernatorial ambition. It is a way of showing him that we are solidly behind him and will walk the talk with him during the elections.

“I hereby call on all the Youth, especially the Youth of Abia state and all NYCN structures in Abia State, to rally around him and throw our heavy support behind him to ensure that he emerges as the next Governor of Abia State. We shall be in Abia state to support his campaign and canvass for massive votes for him.

“I wish to use this opportunity to call on all the Youth across the federation to support any credible Young Person contesting for any elective position in the forthcoming elections, across all the political parties. Aside credible Young Persons in the contest, I enjoin us all to support any candidate who has championed Youth cause or has worked as a Youth leader in the past. It is time to repay those who have us at heart and those who have worked for our good; it is time for us to lend them our unalloyed support.

“Your Excellency, Bishop Sunday Onuoha, I say congratulations to you in advance. Receive this award as a sign of our unalloyed support to you. We believe you will run a Youth-oriented government when you win on the 11th of March 2023. Once again, congratulations in advance”.

The President of NYCN, Amb. Sokubo Sara-Igbe Sokubo, also admonished the Nigerian Youth not to get involved in any form of electoral violence. He encouraged all the Youth with PVC to go out vote peacefully on the days of election as it a civic responsibility.

I will Prioritised Security and Welfare of My Constituents

– Hawwa Gambo 

House of Representative Candidate for  African Democratic Congress Party ADC, Chikun and Kajuru Federal Constituency Hawwa Abdullahi Gambo says  fresh crop of politicians must be voted into power  for Nigeria Economic and political Systems to function effectively and to compete favorably in linr with global practices.

Honorable Hawwa Abdullahi Gambo who stated this while on a tour of all the wards in Chikun Local Government Area of the state described herself as a new comer into politics and was out to change the political narratives and bring lasting peace and development to the area.

The ADC candidate argued that all the other faces vying for the seat have  been very active in the polity in the past years and have always been a part of the problem..

She continued that she is vying for this seat because she knew the problem and can provide the solution.

Honorable Hawwa Abdullahi contended that the overwhelming acceptance  and support she continued to get from the electorate has given her hope and confidence of winning the election by next Saturday.

According to her she embarked on the rally because the people need to know who they are voting for and she also needs to visit every community for face to face interaction. 

“I specifically wanted the people to feel the connection with us, to understand that we are not here for jokes or for play…we really want to connect with them because we want to provide solutions to the problems affecting all of us”

Honorable Hawwa promised to priorotized security of the constituency and ensure the  to resettlement of those that are in Internally Displaced IDPs camps 

Another area of focus according to her is Women and Youth Empowerment with skills, businesses and educational opportunities.

The candidate also spoke on inclusion where she said People with disabilities are capable of doing everything you and I are capable of doing. The only problem is that the society fails to include them in some certain ways.

“For example a cripple cannot enter a tall building without an escalator that would take them up and you know most of our tall buildings have no escalators A cripple that is poor cannot afford a wheelchair and they need a wheelchair to move around.”

She therefore appeared on the voters to come out in their numbers and exercise their franchise by voting her and other candidates that will change Nigeria to a better country.

Governors on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), are currently mounting intense pressure on President Muhammadu Buhari and the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, to settle the cases over Naira redesign policy out of the Supreme Court, it has been learnt.

Former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Timi Frank, gave this indication in a statement in Abuja.

Frank revealed that the AGF has allegedly acceded to the request of the APC and its governors to settle the case out of court.

He said the meeting between the leadership of the APC and its governors with Malami was aimed at pressurizing the President and Malami to agree for the out of court settlement request.

He said the Governors and the leadership of the APC have succeeded in blackmailing both the President and Malami to consider the reintroduction of the N1,000 and N500 notes before the Presidential and National Assembly elections on Saturday.

He insisted that the governors and the leadership of the APC are not working to protect the interest of Nigerians but to be able to deploy their looted funds to compromise the elections through massive vote buying.

He urged Buhari to be mindful of his promise to bequeath free, fair and credible elections to Nigerians as his parting legacy, saying any attempt to yield to the antics of the governors and APC’s national leadership would defeat that noble goal.

He further urged Malami to be resolute and to stand by the people by not succumbing to the overwhelming pressure of the governors now calling for out of court settlement.

He said the APC and its governors have become increasingly desperate to reverse the Naira redesign policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in order to fraudulently swing the results of the presidential election in favour of their unpopular candidate who cannot win if the elections are free, fair and credible and devoid of monetary inducement of voters.

He called on Nigerians to know that if Malami and the Governors withdraw their suits at the Supreme Court tomorrow (Wednesday) to settle out of court, then they should not expect the elections to be credible, free and fair.

He said: “Buhari must keep to his words by not bowing to the unholy pressure of APC’s Governors to settle out of court and to have N1,000 and N500 notes reintroduced.

“APC governors don’t have the interest of Nigerians at heart. We have seen how they have serially blackmailed the President to do their bidding in recent past.

“Now they are trying to blackmail the AGF to withdraw his suit challenging their own suit for an out of court settlement during the sitting of the apex court tomorrow.”

According to Frank, who is the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) Ambassador to East Africa and Middle East, part of the tactics of the Governors have been to consistently drum into the ears of Nigerians that Buhari has so far failed in administering Nigeria.

He said they have also told Buhari and the AGF that the Naira redesign policy and attendant scarcity of new notes would lead to the defeat of the APC during the general elections.

He said: “The APC Governors have told Buhari and Malami that the Party cannot win with the Naira redesign policy in place.

“So they have continued to blackmail them. They know their presidential candidate is unpopular and cannot win the forthcoming election if one-man-one-vote prevails.

“Buhari and Malami should know that the forthcoming election is not all about APC and its governors alone.

“Rather, it’s for the generality of Nigerians who desperately need succour from their present hardship through a new and purposeful leadership in the country.”

He insisted that if there is any need to reconsider the reintroduction of the old N1,000 and N500 notes, it should wait till after the elections.

“Nigerians should know that we have only three days to go. Let us bear the pains for the next three days.

“Otherwise, the elections would be compromised through massive vote buying by the APC and its governors and the present order of cluelessness and hardship would continue,” he said.

By Ibrahim Mada. 

For the three and quarter years of Governor Ahmadu Fintiri, Adamawa state through strategic and tactical handling of the state security affairs of the state ensured that lives and the property are maximally protected and guaranteed. 

Today in Adamawa, people living in remote rural communities are spared from feeling insecure and vulnerable to indicators of insecurity as seen other parts of the country or inherited by the previous failed APC government. On the other hand, those living in Adamawa urban communities are not better placed than their counterpart in rural communities. They are all secured with proportion or parity. 

On assuming office in 2019, Governor Ahmadu Fintiri accorded primacy to protection of lives and property of the good people of Adamawa state, knowing fully well that Adamawa is the heart of northeastern states, a region where insurgency and terrorism held sway for decade now. 

Without wasting time, the governor ensured the timely release of funds to security operatives working in the state to support their work. This way, he was able to create an enabling playing field for all security personnel in the state to carry out their chores with the feeling of being at home. 

He doled out millions of naira for the purchase of Jac Hilux numerous vehicles   for security formation s in the state in 2020 amid falling revenue earnings brought about COVID1 19 Monster as well as glut of oil prices, Nigeria’s prime income giver, at the international market. 

The distributed Jac Hilux vehicle were equipped with the latest information and communication technology gadgets to facilitate sending and receiving security information for prompt response to exigencies that may arise in a while. 

Certainly, this is a robust move aimed to harness resources to stage a united front to tackle insecurity, especially at the grass root level. Another commendable drive is the house to house watch dogs initiate by the governor a s a deliberate means of securing and safeguarding lives and properties in the state. this has now brought meaniful peaceful coexistence and feelings for one another and above all TRUST among diverse ethnic groups in the state

Governor Finitiri, went extra mile to support volunteer Yan komiti and local vigilantes to be carrying out a peaceful harmonious relationship while partnering with the national security bodies

Former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Timi Frank, on Thursday, accused the APC of fueling agitations and riots over the scarcity of new Naira notes to heat up the polity, make the country insecure and cause election postponement.

Frank who made this assertion in a statement in Abuja, however called on President Muhammadu Buhari, not to bow to APC’s pressure and blackmail through ongoing sponsorship of riots to trigger election shift.

He insisted that the ruling party is fueling the crisis to enable them perfect their vote buying and rigging strategies ahead of the elections.

He said: “It is unfortunate that the APC has chosen a dangerous route to retain power by instigating killings and destruction of property by paid irate mob protesting scarcity of new Naira notes.

“I dare say that the country is bigger than any political party or party candidates. Instigating crisis to provoke a postponement of the elections is least expected of the APC.”

Frank, who is the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) Ambassador to East Africa and Middle East, called on President Buhari and INEC to be resolute in their commitment to conduct the elections notwithstanding the evil machinations of the APC to get the polls shifted.

He called on the international community especially election observers already deployed by statutory bodies to monitor the elections to put pressure on the nation’s election management body to hold the election as scheduled.

He insisted that if elections are being held in countries in worse security situations or experiencing full blown war, there is no justification to postpone the forthcoming elections on the basis of protests over scarcity of new Naira notes.

He added: “Even though the riots seem localized in the southern parts of the country, we have information that very soon APC will cause it to spread to states in the North.

“This to enable them sustain their blackmail and pressure on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Buhari to postpone the elections under the guise of widespread violence.

“We condemn this resort to violence being masterminded by the APC and we call on all well meaning Nigerians and international development partners not only to condemn this shenanigans by the ruling party but to hold it responsible for all deaths and properties being destroyed at this time as well as any postponement of the election.”