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No Law Compels Presidential Candidates To Attend Your Town Hall — Tinubu Campaign Team To Arise TV

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The Bola Tinubu campaign organisation says its presidential candidate has the constitutional right to choose which platform to share his views.

In a statement issued on Saturday, Bayo Onanuga, spokesperson of the campaign organisation, reiterated that Tinubu would not be attending Arise TV town hall meeting.

On November 25, the broadcast media announced that its third presidential town hall series would hold on December 4, with four presidential candidates expected to attend.

Tinubu campaign organisation reacted to the announcement with fierce criticism and accused the media house of failing to communicate before broadcasting the invite.

The campaign organisation also warned Arise TV against using its candidate’s photograph in advertisements for the town hall.

In response, Arise TV refused to pull down the image and name of the APC candidate while adding that all public office aspirants must “respond to questions from independent journalists”.

The media house quoted section 22 of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria.

Reacting to the development, the Tinubu campaign described Arise TV’s persistence as “blackmail, intimidation and media bullying”.

It added that Tinubu has headed to the UK, where he would be speaking on security, economy and foreign policy at Chatham House.

“We find it shocking and downright anomalous that Arise News continues to broadcast the participation of All Progressives Congress Presidential Candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu in its Presidential Town Hall meeting scheduled to hold on 4 December, 2022 despite our earlier statement that our candidate will not be available,” the statement reads.

“We noticed that Arise News has also been running a campaign on the so-called constitutional duty of the presidential candidates to participate in its debate by dubiously citing section 22 of the Constitution of Nigeria on the obligation of the Mass Media.

“While it is trite that the media has a clear constitutional duty to hold public office holders accountable to the citizens and its role as the watchdog of the society, there is no part of the Constitution and the section 22 that says a presidential candidate of any political party and least of all, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu must participate in Arise News Town Hall event or any media organised event at all.

“The same Constitution grants all citizens of Nigeria including, Asiwaju Tinubu the right and freedom of choice and association. The APC presidential candidate has a right to decide where he goes and events to participate in as he seeks the mandate of Nigerians to be elected as the next President of our country.

“We want to make it abundantly clear again that Asiwaju Tinubu will not participate and will not attend the Arise News Town Hall meeting slated for Sunday, 4 December, 2022 and any other ones it may plan before the February 2023 presidential election.

“The APC presidential candidate has his own schedule of campaign activities and other engagements within and outside Nigeria. One of such events is his scheduled event for Monday, December 5, 2022, at Chatham House in London where he will speak on Security, Economy and Foreign Policy.

“Asiwaju Tinubu travelled to United Kingdom early today (Saturday) for this earlier scheduled engagement. We want to reiterate for the umpteenth time that no amount of blackmail, intimidation and media bully and innuendos by the owner and management of Arise News will change the position our campaign has taken on this matter.”

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Nike Unveils Super Eagles 2024/25 Jersey [PHOTOS]

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The new Super Eagles jerseys for the 2024–2025 football season have been unveiled by clothing powerhouse, Nike.

Nike’s Instagram page published a post on Monday with a launch video of the new jerseys.

“The 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒 𝑵𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝑻𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒌𝒊𝒕𝒔 disrupt convention with bold twists on icons.

“Featuring 𝑫𝒓𝒊-𝑭𝑰𝑻 𝑨𝑫𝑽 innovation, each kit is engineered for the needs of the modern footballer, from kick-off to the final whistle,” the post read.

Green hoops at the ends of the sleeves and shorts adorn the white home jersey. In a striking combination of colours, the word “Naija” is written in green across the kit’s breast.

In a stylistic nod to Nigeria’s national colours, the away uniform is patterned in a pastel version of the same colour, dark green.

For their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign, the Super Eagles are anticipated to wear the new jerseys.

The team’s third qualifying match is scheduled for June 3 at home against South Africa. Seven days later, they are scheduled to travel to Benin Republic.

Before that, the Eagles will visit Grand Stade de Marrakech in Morocco for friendly matches against Ghana and Mali on March 22 and 26, respectively.

 

See photos below;

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Renovated Government House: Osun PDP Mocks APC, Says Opposition Party Hallucinating

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The ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), encouraged by the recently reopened Government House in Osogbo, the capital city of Osun State, after a respectable renovation, has chastised a faction within the Osun APC over a statement attributed to its embattled chairman, Tajudeen Lawal, on the renovated Government House. The party has asked the disorganised opposition group to either apologise for its heinous looting of the state’s common patrimony or cease filling the airwaves with loud music.

It would be recalled that officials of the previous administration led by the then defeated Governor and now Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola, left the Government House virtually empty after callously bolting away with properties in the quarters– an act reminiscent of some mannerless unarmed robbers, who never wished the state well.

A statement released on Monday by the media office of the ruling party and signed by the State Chairman, Hon Sunday Bisi, described the statement credited to Lawal led APC faction as unbridled afront on the collective intelligence of the well enlightened people of Osun State, who are still spoiling for further punishments against the inglorious pilfering of public asset by stalwarts of the APC.

“Granted that Lawal and his conquered hirelings in the APC are in shock over the level of upgrade and innovations in the State Government House, we expected that it would have served the looters better if they had opted for the silence button, instead of classless grumblings over the patriotic efforts of His Excellency, Governor Ademola Adeleke in bringing the state assets up to speed of modernity and dignity befitting of cradle of Yoruba race.”

“APC as a regressive party populated by known thieves in the context of the renovated government asset was just bringing its shamelessness again to the fore by having the guts of any finger of objection to bringing the State House back to life after the edifice was set for desolate with reckless looting of almost all the interior fittings by APC officials, without any iota of consideration of the cost implications on the already mismanaged economy by the prodigal son in chief, Gboyega Oyetola.”

“APC statement about the Government House renovation has shown that Lawal and his faction of mourners are still grieving about the rejection of their discredited party by the Osun people. They have since their woeful loss resort to wailing and craving for attention and public sympathy they’ve lost long ago with no remedy in sight”

“Lawal and his factional members should be grateful for the maturity and exposure of the good people of Osun State by allowing the APC elements to still walk the streets without some pebbles on their heads considering the ungodly level of atrocities committed against humanity in Osun State. While you await your days with relevant security operatives for your sins, you should keep shut and lay low at least.”

“As a good manager of resources, Governor Adeleke, unlike Oyetola, will continue to inject life into all abandoned assets of the state left to rot away by the immediate past APC administration and this the governor has pursued without compromise”

“Lawal has not only shown unseriousness and confusion about governance but he has also reduced his group to ‘Paperweight, Jesting Desperados,’ merely hallucinating about the steadfast running of the state by the Governor Adeleke led administration.”

“Lawal should tell Osun people how he came about the N1b cost of renovation he quoted. He should be tapped out from his fallacious claim that there is nothing to show in the state in terms of physical infrastructure. Lawal should be reminded that the last time Osun State had a befitting infrastructural investment, like what is ongoing in the state, was under PDP administration, followed by Ogbeni Aregbesola, only for the opportunistic Oyetola to bring the expected progress to a criminal halt after he was spoonfed into office by his predecessor.”

“The only thing Oyetola did in his 4 years in terms of infrastructure was to give Osogbo a substandard, Mungo Park era bridge, which aggravated public anger against him and his acrimonious lieutenants. For Governor Ademola Adeleke, he is making good his promise to give the state a global standard facelift and we are glad the great of the state are right behind him to succeed”

“While the PDP government is open to constructive criticism as enshrined in a democratic society, the APC factional group is however expected to do better by engaging their thinking cap, away from frivolous ranting and wailing without borders,” Hon Sunday noted.

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Osun APC Berates Adeleke For Renovating Government House With N1b Amid Hardship

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The executive governor of Osun State, Ademola Adeleke, has been berated by All Progressives Congress (APC), for refurbishing Government House with alleged N1billion.

Governor Adeleke had last Saturday opened the newly-rehabilitated Government House in Osogbo with top officials and dignitaries joining him for inspection of the facilities.

A statement by Adeleke’s spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, said “the rehabilitation covers the main house, the completion of an abandoned multi-bedroom guest house, remodelling of many of the structures, refixing of many derelict facilities and facelift of the entire Government House.”

Reacting, APC through its state Chairman, Kola Olabisi, yesterday described the inauguration as a misplaced priority.

He said: “It is a shame that Governor Adeleke could be involved in flaunting the Government House rehabilitated with N1billion in this austere period and when Osun State has been declared the corporate headquarters of poverty in Yorubaland.”

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