society

Stand Down Or Face Impeachment, Tinubu’s Camp Threatens Ambode

Published

4 years ago

September 30, 2018

As high-wired intrigues continue to play out in Lagos State over the incumbent governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode’s re-election bid, competent sources saturday revealed that a key segment of the party led by the National Leader of All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has asked the governor to stand down his second term bid or face impeachment. The threat to impeach the governor is an escalation of pressure being piled on him to drop his quest for second term.
A competent party source sympathetic to the governor, who demanded annonimity since he was not authorised to speak on the intrigues and power play currently playing out informed THISDAY yesterday, “they are threatening to impeach him should he refused to bow to their demand to withdraw. The incumbent governor, who is traditionally entitled to another term is being harassed and intimidated by Tinubu’s political machine to withdraw for their new man, even though the governor had agreed to subject himself to primary. They are boasting that they will direct the State House of Assembly to immediatly begin impeachment proceedings against him.”

The APC had initially insisted on conducting direct primary election to select its governorship candidate in the spirit of democracy. But it suddenly reversed itself, directing Ambode to withdraw from the contest to enable the party present Sanwo-Olu as the consensus candidate.

It also emerged yesterday via a statement from the Vice President’s office denying endorsing Sanwo-Olu. “It was while he was coming out of the GAC meeting that Mr. Sanwo-Olu and Mr. Hamzat took advantage of the VP’S presence to take the photos which are now being falsely paraded as proof of endorsement.

“The VP did not go there to endorse Sanwo-Olu., they only took advantage of his presence,” a source at the meeting confirmed last night.”

Rather, sources at the GAC meetings hinted that Prof Osinbajo, who is believed to be supportive of a second term bid for Ambode, conveyed the view of the Buhari presidency that there should be a level playing field in the overall conduct of the primaries.

Party chieftains spoke with THISDAY yesterday in confidence on the drama that took place at the meeting of the Governor’s Advisory Council (GAC) held Friday night. They disclosed that the APC leader threatened to impeach Ambode if the governor refused “to step down for Sanwo-Olu.” Ambode was said to have looked him squarely in the face and refused.

But Ambode Mandate Support Group condemned the call for the governor’s withdrawal as undemocratic. The group also reacted to the postponement of the APC governorship primary in the state, which has now been scheduled for October 1, saying they were confident that Ambode would fly the party’s flag in 2019 election as it has received overwhelming support from several quarters for him.

There has been uncertainty about governor’s re-election after Sanwo-Olu, currently the managing director of Lagos State Development and Property Corporation (LSDPC), and former commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, declared their intention to challenge the governor in a primary contest.

As a result, the Mandate Movement, a powerful political machine of Tinubu, endorsed Sanwo-Olu for the governorship contest, heating up the state’s political climate ahead of the primary election.

Ambode’s travails had attracted the intervention of President Muhammadu Buhari; former Ogun State Governor, Chief Olusegun Osoba; Oyo State Governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi; the Progressives Governors Forum (PGF); and the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF). They all tried to persuade Tinubu to make up with Ambode.

With the presidential intervention, Tinubu decided to consult the Governor’s Advisory Council (GAC), the state’s highest advisory political organ, comprising 22 APC chieftains across the three senatorial districts. But in its resolution, the GAC directed Ambode and two other aspirants to face the direct primary election.

At the GAC meeting held at Tinubu’s residence, Bourdillion, Ikoyi, Friday night, one of the party chieftains explained how Ambode addressed the leaders of the GAC, justifying point by point the reasons he decided to seek re-election in 2019.

Specifically, according to the chieftain, Ambode hinged his re-election bid on the need to complete various infrastructure projects and urban renewal programmes that his administration initiated in the last three years.

Despite his justifying his re-election bid, the party chieftain stated that Lagos Central APC leader, Prince Tajudeen Olusi, asked the governor “to step down for Sanwo-Olu. He claimed that the GAC had already endorsed Sanwo-Olu as the party’s consensus candidate.”

Another party chieftain revealed that a member of the GAC, Prof. Tunde Samuel, interrupted Olusi while he was telling Ambode to withdraw from the race, observing that Olusi’s statement did not reflect a common position of all GAC members that all aspirants should face primary contest.

In response to Olusi, however, the party chieftain claimed that Ambode simply told the meeting that he “will not step down for any governorship aspirants on the ground that it is undemocratic. He also said he stood by the earlier position of the GAC that all aspirants should face direct primary contest to foster democracy in the country.

The source stated, at this point, Tinubu, who chaired the GAC meeting, became angry and quickly interjected, threatening Ambode with impeachment, if he failed to stand down for Sanwo-Olu before the primary election earlier scheduled to hold today which was later postponed till tomorrow by the APC national secretariat.

THISDAY learnt that it was resolved at the meeting that a stakeholders’ meeting should be held on Saturday at the party secretariat, Acme road, Ogba. It was expected that Tinubu would come to the meeting to endorse Sanwo-Olu. To their surprise however, thousands of Ambode’s supporters thronged the venue chanting Ambode solidarity songs and raining curses on national leader: Tinubu ole Tinubu ole.

Eventually, Tinubu was forced to stay away.

When THISDAY contacted Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Media, Mr. Tunde Rahman, for his reaction to the threat to impeach the governor by Tinubu’s camp, he responded, saying he did not “have any comment to make.”

Rather than attending as originally planned, Tinubu delegated a GAC leader, Senator Anthony Adefuye, to represent him.

At the stakeholders’ meeting, Adefuye acknowledged that there was another GAC meeting, which held by 10 am on Saturday,

society

2023 general* elections is a shame, a nationaldisgrace – Dr Akinyemi Bolaji

Published

2 days ago

March 19, 2023

Sahara Weekly

***2023 general* elections is a shame, a national disgrace - Dr Akinyemi Bolaji**

By Ifeoma Ikem

The recent 2023 presidential and governorship general elections have been described as very shameful and disgraceful to a country like Nigeria!

The convener Apostolic Round Table (ART), Dr Bolaji Akinyemi, who made the assertion in an online interview with the Sahara weekly correspondent on Sunday said the elections were marred by violence experienced across the nation.

“I am deeply pained by the event leading to the general elections in Nigeria, the level of violence that we witnessed!

“My pain is not on those who are not believers but those who are in Christ and join in perpetrating this level of ignorance of bigotry!

Akinyemi said that the outstanding scripture when he first got born again was the teaching of Apostle Paul in Ephesians 2 from verse 11 which talked about the oneness that we have in Christ!

“This one new man was lost in the church! We saw Yoruba Christians and igbo Christians divided along the line of unbelievable political hatred!

“Whatever resurrected the enmity that Christ slew I cannot explain!
Whatever took over our minds to fail to understand that we were made to be one in Christ is unexplainable!

“I saw sons and daughters of God calling each other unprintable names in the name of politics!

“I remember when I first got saved and went to join a church verse 19 of that scripture was sang as a song which is always emotional whenever it is being sang”!

Akinyemi said that he saw Nigerian citizens and saints who took back strange identities and failed to see what God needed to do through the oneness of the church in Nigeria!

“I can only pray that God will bring them to the understanding that a child of God is beyond politics! It is all about the kingdom of God.
All the same, we still have steps to take to bring about healing and champion oneness that is needed at this time for nation building, he therefore advice all Nigerians to look out for ATS- After The Storm.

“I presume democracy supposed to be free, fair, and transparent but it is the other way round and when elections are not fair, open, and transparent, it is disenfranchising and shatters citizens’ faith for nation building.

society

Police Officers Lament Over Unpaid salary Arrears,6 Years After Promotion

Published

2 days ago

March 19, 2023

Sahara Weekly

Police Officers Lament Over Unpaid salary Arrears,6 Years After Promotion

By Ifeoma Ikem

EXCLUSIVE: Some Junior officers of the Nigerian Police are lamenting over the inhumane and unfair treatment meted out to them that got promoted since 2017 from Sergeant to Inspector ranks without paid arrears.

They claimed that they are yet to receive their arrears while some of their mates were selected and paid.

Some of these selected officers earlier received thirty eight thousand naira as part payment and later on, another over hundred thousand within one month while many of them have not received any thing.

One of the officers affected(nameheld) told our correspondent that they were confused because some of them confirmed that they have gotten their arrears while majority of us had received nothing .

“We cannot continue like this, we are dying seriously, some officers who were promoted died due to health challenges while waiting to get the arrears to support their medication.

“Our salary is poor, with the hardship across the nation what we get at the end of month is not enough to take care of the family”.

According to another source, ‘some of us have contacted IPPIS which is in charge for the arrears both in Abuja and Lagos yet it has not resulted to anything good.

“In fact sometimes, when you call IPPIS no-one will pick your calls for the money we are supposed to benefit from while serving our Father’s land: We are tired of the whole process and situations”, he added.

The officers added that presently they don’t know what to do over the arrears as the authorities claimed that no body is having issues with arrears.

“So now we no longer know who is lying or who will answer us, this is our rights, everyone of us has a family to care of, we go to work everyday without pay”.

They said that sometime in January 2023, there was a circular on committee set up for any complaints on the above subject with the chairman as DCP Umar M. Hadeji.

They were also referred to the complaints unit for police account and budget office with a mandate to find a lasting solution but till date nothing has been done.

society

NAUB Holds Send-Off Dinner in Honour of Former Pro-Chancellor, Exiting Principal Staff

Published

2 days ago

March 19, 2023

Sahara Weekly

NAUB Holds Send-Off Dinner in Honour of Former Pro-Chancellor, Exiting Principal Staff

The Nigerian Army University Biu organized a send-off dinner in honour of the former Pro-Chancellor and Chairman University Governing Council Lt Gen TY Buratai (Rtd) along with exiting principal staff officers who have served the university in different capacities.
The Vice Chancellor of the university Prof Kyari Mohammed in his opening remarks said that the event was put together to “honour the honourables”, describing the honourees as distinguished Nigerians who have served the University and are still contributing their quota to the progress of the nation at large.

The Vice Chancellor went on to eulogise Lt Gen TY Buratai (Rtd) the shining star from Biu who is now a household name across the nation. “We are honouring him for establishing a model university among many other very commendable achievements” Prof Mohammed said. Indeed, it is common sentiment that the former Pro-Chancellor of the University and out gone Chief of Army Staff deserves every adulation and recognition given to him for the mammoth impressions and legacies he has etched in the minds and hearts of many.

The Vice Chancellor also described the exiting Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic) Professor Fatima Jafar Tahir as an uncommon kind of woman who has served the university from its early times. He disclosed that even at the time when the university underwent a turbulent patch, Prof Tahir rose to the occasion as the University Ag Vice Chancellor and steadied the ship. While commenting on her recent appointment as the Vice Chancellor of Bauchi State University Gadau, Prof Mohammed with a confident demeanour attested to her capacity to deliver as she is a more than capable hand.

The Vice Chancellor went on to describe the exiting Deputy Vice Chancellor (Administration) Prof Lawan Bala Buratai as an incredibly supportive hand to the university management. He added that Prof Buratai never shy away from responsibilities and has being an effective “filler” in the university.
Prof Mohammed also applauded the tremendous efforts of the exiting University Registrar Maj General SS Ibrahim and the exiting Director of Academic Planning Brig Gen PC Obilor in the just concluded accreditation exercise. The university underwent accreditation for over 30 courses and after a thorough and rigorous process, all courses submitted were given accreditation. In fact, at least 28 courses received full accreditation by the National Universities Commission (NUC). This is a feat never seen before in the history of accreditations in the country.

Earlier in his welcome address the Chairman Organizing committee Maj Gen MM Bunza appreciated the Special Guest of Honour HRH, Emir of Biu Alh Dr Mustapha Umar Mustapha II con and all invited guests for honouring the invitation. Maj Gen Bunza went on to appreciate the Emir for his fatherly advice, hospitality and commitment to the peace enjoyed in Biu and its environs.
Gen Bunza said, the University is also blessed with serene learning environment, guaranteed security as well as outstanding place of character moulding, these led to a continuous rise in enrolment rate of perspective candidates that desire to study in the university.

Speaking on behalf of the honourees Prof Tahir expressed gratitude to the University management for the honour. She attested that starting a new university an easy task, but they drew inspiration from the founding father of the university Lt Gen TY Buratai. Prof Tahir added that they are willing and open to serve the university in whatever capacity in the future.
Highlights of the event include presentation of award to the honourees, dinner, and group photographs.