Connect with us

BIG STORY

Road To 2023: APC May Lose If… – Rotimi Akeredolu

Published

on

Ondo State Governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN, has warned the All Progressives Congress against giving its presidential ticket to a northern candidate.

Akeredolu in a post on Facebook on Thursday, charged the party to work hard to retain power by rotating the Presidency to the South.

It was earlier reported that APC governors are divided over the zoning of the 2023 presidential ticket.

“APC must work to retain power. We must rotate power to retain power !!! Rotate to the South. …Shikena (That’s all),” he said.

Apart from Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and former Lagos State Governor, Bola Tinubu, other APC presidential aspirants are the Senate President Ahmad Lawan and former ministers Rotimi Amaechi, Ogbonnaya Onu, Godswill Akpabio, and Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba.

Serving governors who are also aspiring to be president are Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti), Yahaya Bello (Kogi), Dave Umahi (Ebonyi), and Ben Ayade (Cross River), and Badaru Abubakar (Jigawa).

Others are former Senate President Ken Nnamani, former House of Representatives Speaker, Dimeji Bankole, and serving senators Ibikunle Amosun, Ajayi Boroffice, and Rochas Okorocha.

President Muhammadu Buhari’s running mate in 2011, Pastor Tunde Bakare, Uju Ken-Ohanenye, Nicholas Felix, Ahmad Rufai Sani, Tein Jack-Rich, and Ikeobasi Mokelu are also in the presidential race.

Akeredolu had also in May warned the All Progressives Congress against zoning the 2023 presidential slot to the northern part of the country, saying that would lead to a crisis.

According to him, it is the turn of the southern part of the country to produce the next president.

Akeredolu said the agreement reached when APC micro-zoned party’s offices during its National Convention must be adhered to.

The statement read, “Our party, the All Progressives Congress, has started the process which will eventually culminate in the presentation of elected political leaders, who must steer the affairs of the country for another term. We have been able to hold the party’s Convention successfully. New officers of the party have emerged in a process that is widely acknowledged as rancor-free. The level of understanding and maturity displayed by all and sundry has been commendable. Known adversaries have been forced to accept the emerging fact that our party is formidable and ready for the next general elections.

“The current socio-economic crises are surmountable. It is commendable that the Government is addressing these issues without drama. The Federal Government and leadership of our great party will come out stronger. We cannot, therefore, afford any internal bickering which holds the potential promise of causing distrust and militating against cohesion, harmony, and the zeal to achieve set objectives.

“The current democratic dispensation is anchored on the unwritten convention driven by a principle of Equity. Political expediency dictates, more appealingly, that while adhering to the spirit and letters of the laws guiding the conduct of elections and succession to political offices, we must do nothing capable of tilting the delicate balance against the established arrangement which guarantees peace and promotes trust.

“Our party just elected officers on the established principle of giving every part of the country an important stake in the political calculus. The focus has now shifted to the process which will culminate in the participation of our party in the general elections scheduled for next year. All lovers of peace and freedom must do everything to eschew tendencies that may predispose them to make decisions that promote distrust and lead to a crisis, the end of which nobody may be able to predict.

“The leadership of the party ensured that the principle of rotational representation guided its decision at the just-concluded Convention. The party Chairmanship position has gone to the North. All other offices have been filled on this understanding. This is the time the leaders of the party must make a categorical statement, devoid of equivocation, on the pattern of succession.

“The party Executive Committee has fixed a fee for the purchase of the nomination form for the office. It is expected, fervently, that it will proceed to complete the process by limiting the propensities for disagreement to a region for possible micro-management. It is very expedient that we avoid self-inflicted crises before the general elections.

“It is the turn of the Southern part of the country to produce the next President. The party leadership should have no difficulty in making pronouncements on this very important issue, just as it has fixed various fees for the purchase of forms. This must be done without delay. The principle of Federal Character is enshrined in the 1999 Constitution, as amended. It will be disingenuous for anyone to argue against rotation at this period.

“We must not keep our party men and women guessing about the position of the leadership of the party. This is the time to weigh in and take control of the process. No statement must suggest, even remotely, that the party harbors certain sentiments which may predispose it to consider throwing the contest open. This is certainly not the time for equivocation.”

BIG STORY

STUDENT LOAN: NELFUND Postpones Application For State Universities Over “Low Data Submissions”

Published

on

The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) management, on Tuesday, announced a 14-day postponement of the application process for student loans for state institutions.

This development was due to “low data submissions,” according to a statement by the agency in Abuja.

NELFUND said the decision was necessitated by the failure of several state-owned institutions to upload the required student data and fee information to its Student Verification System.

“To date, only a limited number of state-owned institutions have successfully completed the data submission process. These include 20 state universities out of 48; 12 state colleges out of 54 and two state polytechnics out of 49.

“While we acknowledge the efforts of these institutions, the failure to submit data from the remaining state institutions poses significant challenges to ensuring a seamless and accurate verification process for student loan applicants.

“The application window, initially set to open on June 25, 2024, will now commence on July 10, 2024,” the statement read.

The NELFUND said the extension would provide additional time for state institutions to comply with the data submission requirements and ensure their students benefitted from the Federal Government’s student loan scheme.

To facilitate an efficient and error-free application process, the Fund said all state institutions needed to provide complete and accurate information.

The information required included the Joint Admissions Matriculation Board numbers, matriculation numbers, admission numbers, full names, level, faculties and departments, duration of programme, fees and gender of all eligible students.

It said incomplete or incorrect data submissions would result in application delays and potential disqualification for affected students.

The fund urged all state institutions to expedite their data submission processes and ensure the accuracy of the information provided.

Continue Reading

BIG STORY

Kenya Protests Hijacked By Criminals, We’ll Respond Fully — President Ruto

Published

on

William Ruto, Kenyan President, has described the escalating protests gripping the East African country as “treasonable”.

Since last week, a contentious finance measure has prompted youth-led rallies around the country. On Tuesday, the protests took a sharp turn when demonstrators broke through the barricade and gained entry to parliament.

Once inside, they threw aside flags, knocked over tables and chairs, grabbed the ceremonial mace, and set fire to a portion of the assembly.

There was an underground tunnel that lawmakers in the parliament building had to escape through. Next, the demonstrators would plunder MP-affiliated stores and nightclubs.

In an effort to put an end to the protests, police in Nairobi shot live ammunition and threw tear gas at the protestors.

Kenyan police were also seen beating and later arresting some paramedics who were helping injured protesters.

During a nationwide address after parliament was invaded, Ruto said Tuesday’s turn of events was a grave threat to “national security” and that the conversation around the bill had been “hijacked by dangerous people”.

“It is not in order, or even conceivable, that criminals pretending to be peaceful protesters can rain terror against the people, their elected representatives, and the institutions established under our constitution and expect to go scot-free,” the president said.

Ruto said democratic expression and crime must be isolated and vowed that the state would respond fully to the situation, reiterating his commitment to protect citizens.

Shortly after his speech, Aden Duale, cabinet secretary for defence and chairperson of the defence council, said the Kenyan Defence Forces (KDF) has been deployed to “support” the police on the streets.

Continue Reading

BIG STORY

FEC Approves N1.99bn For Purchase Of 33 CNG Vehicles To Boost NDLEA’s Operations

Published

on

33 compressed natural gas (CNG)-powered vehicles will be purchased for N1.99 billion by the federal executive council (FEC) in order to improve the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency’s (NDLEA) activities.

The sanction was granted by the council on Tuesday at an Abuja meeting chaired by President Bola Tinubu.

After the meeting, Lateef Fagbemi, the minister of justice and attorney general of the federation (AGF), spoke with State House media and said that the council also approved the purchase of weapons and ammunition valued at $1.442 billion to support the NDLEA’s efforts to combat drug trafficking.

Fagbemi said the FEC approved N985 million to purchase body scanners at all the country’s international airports.

“We submitted three items to the council on NDLEA,” he said.

“FEC approved the procurement of 33 Mikano motor vehicles CNG to boost the operation of NDLEA.

“Approval for NDLEA for procurement of firearms, ammunition, and counter-narcotics for the sum of $1.442 billion.

“The procurement of two units of body scanners for use both at Abuja and International Airports at N985 million.”

Continue Reading

Most Popular