Headlines
LP Threatens Protests over Alleged Plan to Manipulate Abia, Enugu Polls Results
National Chairman of Labour Party (LP), Comrade Julius Abure, has vowed that the party would resist what he described as ongoing attempts to manipulate the outcome of ongoing gubernatorial elections in Abia and Enugu states.
He also threatened to call out Obidients on a nationwide protest against the electoral fraud perpetrated against the party both at the presidential/National Assembly and governorship/State Assemblies elections.
Abure, who gave the declaration in a statement issued in Abuja yesterday, said: “We have come to day two of the ongoing governorship and state house assembly elections and what we have continued to witness across the country and reports from our party men on ground, are not in anyway different from the criminality orchestrated against our presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, during the February 25 presidential election.
“Today, we are again witnessing a situation where a sitting governor in Abia State is fully involved in an attempt to upturn the victory of the Labour Party candidate, Alex Otti, in the Abia State governorship election that has been clearly won by our candidate.
“The same scenario is currently playing out in Enugu State where Labour Party’s candidate Chijioke Edeoga is currently leading in virtually all the local governments so far announced.
“As we speak, INEC staff are held hostage at Obingwa Local Govt by Governor Ikpeazu and his cohorts to rewrite the results already compiled by INEC officials, despite order from the election body asking their staff to head to Umuahia to collate results of the election, which is in favour of Labour Party’s Alex Otti.
“This is one robbery too many. While Nigerians are yet to get over the ugly rape of a democratic process in last month presidential election by the ruling party at the centre, the PDP has been found engaged in the most shameless manner and disregard for the rights of the citizens.
“We, therefore, call on the Inspector General of Police to intervene and ensure the transfer of all electoral materials to Umuahia where the sanctity of the election and safety of the officials in charge can be guaranteed.
“Ikpeazu cannot rig election in his local government which he lost in the senatorial elections on the 25th.
“Similarly, Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi who lost woefully in the last election in Enugu North Senatorial zone is currently doctoring the results from the zone with the help of some compromised INEC staff and Police to ensure that PDP is returned elected in the state against the wishes of the electorate.
“We have endured what no other political party in the country has endured in the last few weeks because we believe in due process but it appears this is taken for granted. But we may not be patient for too long.
“Let me sound it for the first time that we will resist every attempt by the PDP in Abia and Enugu States to upturn our mandate.”
“It should be recalled that the PDP in both states had issued threat to opposition parties, which was specifically targeted at Labour Party after sweeping the states during the presidential election, this threat is already manifesting that the ruling party was only interested in rigging elections.
“The party chairman said Labour Party had thoroughly reviewed all infractions and has reached a decision that never again will it allow the use of foul means to usurp power as was done in the recent past where it was merely asked “to to go to court.”
He threatened that unless these attempt at broad daylight robbery was nipped in the bud, the party will be left with no option than to mobilise Obidients nationwide to occupy the streets.“He further said: “We have particularly reviewed the rigging of Edo state house assembly elections election, including other affected states and we are putting evidences of infractions in place to name and shame all democratic criminals.
“We have therefore, resolves that in as much as we remain a law-abiding political party, conducting our affairs strictly within the ambit of our nation’s electoral laws, the party will henceforth resist rigging and we will move to the streets to reclaim our stolen mandates.
“We will henceforth directly and physically confront and resist the election riggers from always having a field day in seizing our democratic institutions and circumventing the rules during elections.““ We have directed our supporters across the country to get ready for our signal to take over the streets.”
Vanguard
By Eric Elezuo
The Presidency has announce that President Bola Tinubu will be departing Abuja to (Wednesday) for Paris, France, on a ‘short working visit’.
A statement to the effect, signed and released by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, was however silent on the shape of international relationship the working visiting the president was embarking on will take, but noted that Tinubu will use the ‘retreat’ to review his administration’s mid-term performance and assess key milestones, as well as review progress of ongoing reforms.
While acknowledging that the president will spend ‘about a fortnight’ on the trip, the statement added he would supervise administration while away.
The statement in details
PRESIDENT TINUBU TO EMBARK ON WORKING VISIT TO PARIS
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will depart for Paris, France, today on a short working visit.
During the visit, the President will appraise his administration’s mid-term performance and assess key milestones.
He will also use the retreat to review the progress of ongoing reforms and engage in strategic planning ahead of his administration’s second anniversary.
This period of reflection will inform plans to deepen ongoing reforms and accelerate national development priorities in the coming year.
Recent economic strides reinforce the President’s commitment to these efforts, as evidenced by the Central Bank of Nigeria reporting a significant increase in net foreign exchange reserves to $23.11 billion—a testament to the administration’s fiscal reforms since 2023 when net reserves were $3.99 billion.
While away, President Tinubu will remain fully engaged with his team and continue to oversee governance activities.
He will return to Nigeria in about a fortnight.
President Bola Tinubu has sacked the Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, Mele Kyari.
Tinubu also dissolved its board, removing the Chairman, Chief Pius Akinyelure.
Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on information and strategy, announced this in a statement on Wednesday.
Onanuga said Tinubu invoked his powers under section 59(2) of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021 to carry out the sweeping reconstitution, citing the need for “enhanced operational efficiency, restored investor confidence, and a more commercially viable NNPC”.
He announced that Tinubu has now approved a new 11-man board, which has Engineer Bashir Bayo Ojulari as the Group CEO and Ahmadu Musa Kida as non-executive chairman.
According to the statement, “Adedapo Segun, who replaced Umaru Isa Ajiya as the chief financial officer last November, has been appointed to the new board by President Tinubu.
“Six board members, non-executive directors, represent the country’s geopolitical zones. They are Bello Rabiu, North West, Yusuf Usman, North East, and Babs Omotowa, a former managing director of the Nigerian Liquified Natural Gas( NLNG), who represents North Central.
“President Tinubu appointed Austin Avuru as a non-executive director from the South-South, David Ige as a Non-executive director from the South West, and Henry Obih as a non-executive director from the South East.
“Mrs Lydia Shehu Jafiya, permanent secretary of the Federal Ministry of Finance, will represent the ministry on the new board, while Aminu Said Ahmed will represent the Ministry of Petroleum Resources.”
He added said that all the appointments are effective today, April 2.
President Donald Trump claimed on Monday that Americans want him to run for another term, a step banned by the US constitution but which he continues describing as possible.
“People are asking me to run,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office when asked about the possibility of a third term.
“I don’t know. I never looked into it. They do say there’s a way you can do it, but I don’t know about that, but I have not looked into it,” Trump said.
Trump was asked about the prospect of a race pitting him against former president Barack Obama, who served two terms.
“That would be a good one, I’d like that,” Trump said.
“I’m not joking” about the idea of seeking a third term, Trump said Sunday in an interview with NBC News.
The 78-year-old Republican served from 2017 to 2021 and began his second term in the White House on January 20.
The first US president, George Washington, established a tradition by not seeking a third term after completing his second one in 1797.
But this tradition was not formally added to the US constitution until after World War II, with the ratification of the 22nd amendment in 1951.
It says no one can be elected president more than two times.
