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‘No Certificate’ Plea: Resign Now, PDP Tells Buhari
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Sunday urged President Muhammadu Buhari to resign from office since the Information Minister, Lai Mohammed, allegedly admitted that the president was not in possession of the required certificate and begged Nigerians to pardon him.
The opposition party gave the advice ahead of the judgement of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal in its case against the declaration of Buhari as winner of the 2019 presidential poll.
But it was learnt that the Ministry of Information had clarified that the video on the matter was taken from the interview granted by the minister as far back as 2015.
“While it is true that Lai Mohammed made the comment when he appeared on Channels Television’s breakfast programme, Sunrise Daily, the impression being given that it is recent is misleading. The minister made the comment as far back as 2015,” a source in the ministry said.
However, addressing a press conference in Abuja yesterday, the PDP’s National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, urged the judiciary to resist what he called attempts to blackmail it from doing justice to the pending petition.
At the press conference which was tagged “Plea For Pardon: Vacate Office Now”, the PDP said it had reviewed the video of the media interview by Mohammed and had come to the conclusion that “President Buhari should save the judiciary and the nation further troubles by immediately throwing in the towel and vacating the presidential seat following the official admission that he (Buhari) does not possess a WAEC certificate, contrary to his claims and disposition before the law.
“Our party mocks the Buhari presidency for pushing out the video wherein the minister pleaded with Nigerians to pardon President Buhari over his false WAEC certificate claims.”
PDP alleged that the pushing out of the video was “the deliberate ploy of Alhaji Lai Mohammed to appeal to sentiments, seeing that Mr. President had failed to defend himself before the Presidential petition tribunal.”
The party berated the Buhari presidency “for believing that in pushing the video into the public space, it could influence the mind of the tribunal to bend the law after solid evidence has been presented before it against President Buhari.”
The PDP further claimed that “the pronouncement and appeal for pardon issued by the government’s spokesperson, who is also a lawyer, is a direct guilt plea, which cannot save President Buhari from the course of justice in this matter.”
The opposition party further said:”From the official pronouncement by the minister on a national television, it is no longer in dispute before all Nigerians that President Buhari does not possess the educational certificate he claimed in the affidavit he deposed to in his presidential nomination form.
“In this latest shenanigan, President Buhari and his handlers ought to have known that the law, which the judiciary is bound to uphold, is a respecter of no man.”
The party reminded Buhari of how his presidency vehemently applied the law in a similar circumstance to remove a head of an arm of government; a situation, which the PDP noted has rendered Buhari’s plea for pardon a complete nullity before the law.
The PDP further submitted that if President Buhari indeed sought pardon from Nigerians, he should do the needful by toeing the path of honour and vacating the presidential seat without further delay.
“It is disheartening that Buhari and his All Progressives Congress (APC) would put our nation through the troubles of legal hassles when they knew all the while that they were building something on nothing.”
A former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Timi Frank, faulted media reports attributed to the APC portraying Buhari as having a West African School Certificate (WASC).
Frank, in a statement, described the report as an attempt to deceive Nigerians and sway the tribunal to rule in favour of President Buhari.
“The APC should stop spreading falsehood as the world knows that Buhari has no secondary school certificate anywhere”.
According to him, the report titled “Buhari cambridge certificate verification; PDP agent disappointed” is fake news from the pit of hell.
The report quoting an unnamed source had claimed, among other things, that as the tribunal kicked off a few months ago, the PDP sent a delegation to the University of Cambridge to confirm the authenticity of the WASC of President Buhari, but was stunned to discover that the president did write and pass the examination.
Frank alleged that the APC descended so low in trying to fraudulently rewrite history by claiming that the Cambridge University confirmed that “a self-confessed certificate-less General Buhari now has a certificate.”
He said: “It is a shame that Buhari and his lackeys now churn out blatant lies to confuse Nigerians. The question is: does Gen. Buhari have a WAEC certificate? If yes, where is it? Lai Mohammed had admitted that Buhari did not have a WAEC certificate and asked Nigerians to forgive him for not knowing where his (Buhari) certificate was 53 years after leaving secondary school.
“Nigerians can now see why the APC’s government is clueless. This so-called Cambridge source, who is he? What is his name? Nigerians will love to get in touch with him to ascertain the veracity of the information.”
Meanwhile, a group of eminent personalities in the polity are to deliberate on how to sustain Buhari’s legacies at the end of his tenure in office in 2023.
Among those slated to discuss the issue in Abuja tomorrow are the Deputy Senate President, Omo Agege; Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila; and his Deputy, Ahmed Wase.
The Spokesman of the Muhammadu Buhari Enduring Leagacy Network (MBEL), Mr. Suleman Mustapha, who briefed reporters yesterday expressed concern that the president remained one of the least appreciated leaders ever to administer the country.
He said the mere fact that President Buhari did not bother to dip his hands into public funds to live a lavish lifestyle after serving as head of state, petroleum minister, governor and as a retired military general was worth emulating by future generations of Nigeria’s leaders.
“Today we are talking about the Next Level agenda. For us, we are looking beyond the person of Buhari. This brings to the fore the need to sustain his legacies for Nigeria’s political future.
“Nigerians don’t appreciate what he is doing and this is not good. What this president is doing we must not let it go into the dustbin of history. We need to begin to propagate and imbibe it. Somebody who does not believe in amazing wealth, he doesn’t own an oil well. People should imbibe the concept of service to Nigeria and not to family and pursuit of self-aggrandizement,” Mustapha said.
The Guardian
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Aftermath of Visa Revocation: Trump, a Petty-minded Dictator, Soyinka Knocks U.S President
Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, has sensationally described U.S. President Donald Trump as a “petty-minded dictator” whose rise to power fuelled hate-driven violence and worsened racial tensions in the United States.
Speaking in an interview with BBC News Pidgin on Facebook on Wednesday, Soyinka said Trump’s presidency exposed the “dark side” of America and emboldened acts of hatred, particularly against minorities.
“This is a petty-minded dictator. You see how he deals with his objects of hate,” Soyinka said, barely two weeks after the Trump administration announced permanent revocation of his entry visa to the country.
“We saw that dark side of the American side. There were more killings, extrajudicial killings by the police of black people, of minorities, during that build-up, during the campaign, and on account of hate rhetoric, the hate rhetoric of this individual,” he added.
The Nobel Laureate noted that Trump’s campaign rhetoric normalised hate speech and created a climate of intolerance that had lasting consequences.
Soyinka recalled that he had earlier warned about Trump’s leadership style, predicting that one of his first actions as president would be to target immigrants.
“I saw it and I said, listen very carefully, and you can go and check this, I said, ‘When that man comes to power, the first thing he will do is cancel even the green cards’,” he said.
The literary icon, who has often criticised authoritarian tendencies in global politics, maintained that Trump’s administration reflected a deep moral and cultural decline within American society, particularly in its treatment of minorities.
Headlines
Alleged Genocide: Approach Nigeria’s Security Situation with Understanding, FG Tells Trump
The Federal government has again urged United States President, Donald Trump, to demonstrate understanding in his approach to Nigeria’s security challenges.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, made the call during a press briefing on Wednesday in Abuja, days after Trump threatened military action against Nigeria over what he claimed is a genocide against Christians in the country.
“We call on our American friends and partners to approach the Nigerian situation with an understanding of its complex realities. Nigeria is a vast, multi-ethnic, multi-religious nation, making significant strides in economic reforms and strengthening its security architecture.
“We believe constructive engagement is the surest and most effective way to achieve peace and stability not only in Nigeria but in any part of the world.
“Nigeria welcomes dialogue, we welcome cooperation, and we also welcome support from foreign nations, including the United States of America, in addressing our shared security concerns,” the minister said.
Idris reiterated the current administration’s commitment to tackling the menace of terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, and other violent crimes in the country.
The minister maintained that the Federal government was winning the war against terrorism with major achievements recorded in the North-Eastern part of the country.
“In March this year, a report by the Global Terrorism Index indicated that terrorist attacks were at their lowest in over a decade in Nigeria. The Nigerian government did not say this; it is the international community that has given out this information,” he stated.
“In the last eight months, the Nigerian military has neutralised over 592 terrorists in Borno State alone. Many of them have been sent to their onward beyond.
“Over 11,200 hostages have been freed, and this is still going on. More importantly, over 124 insurgents and their families have surrendered. They have handed over more than 11,000 weapons to the security agencies,” Idris added.
According to the minister, the current administration has made multi-million dollar investments in modernised equipment for security agencies.
Noting that President Bola Tinubu has always supported the nation’s armed forces, Idris said the Commander-in-Chief has increased the budgetary allocation for the military.
He explained that Tinubu has demonstrated the political will to root out terrorism, rampaging bandits, and other criminal elements terrorising Nigerians.
The minister also highlighted military operations in the North-West region of the country, saying that the onslaught against criminals had led to the surrender of bandits in the region.
Idris cited cases where notorious bandit leaders had been eliminated by military strikes in Niger and Zamfara states.
“In the North-West, especially in Zamfara and Kaduna, 11,250 hostages have been freed, and some of the terror leaders that have made life very unbearable for people there have been neutralised.
“They include Ali Kachalla, Boderi, Halilu Sububu, and many others. All these have been sent to where they belong. Only this August, the military intercepted and killed in one operation over 400 armed bandits who had converged to attack a village in Zamfara State,” he stated.
Last Friday, Trump said Christianity faces an existential threat in Nigeria, describing the alleged killing as a “mass slaughter”.
“Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria. Thousands of Christians are being killed. Radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter,” he wrote.
The US president added that the United States “cannot stand by while such atrocities are happening” and directed Congressman Riley Moore and House Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole to investigate the matter.
“I am hereby making Nigeria a ‘country of particular concern.’ But that is the least of it. When Christians, or any such group, is slaughtered like is happening in Nigeria (3,100 versus 4,476 Worldwide), something must be done!
“I am asking Congressman Riley Moore, together with Chairman Tom Cole and the House Appropriations Committee, to immediately look into this matter and report back to me.
“The United States cannot stand by while such atrocities are happening in Nigeria and numerous other Countries. We stand ready, willing, and able to save our Great Christian population around the World!” Trump wrote.
Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, is putting Nigeria back on the watchlist, reversing a Joe Biden-era policy due to the extermination of Christians, Fox News reports.
The US President, Donald Trump, on Friday, ordered the designation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern, saying that Christians in Nigeria are facing an existential threat. He also called on American lawmakers to investigate the mass slaughter.
A day later, Trump revealed that he had ordered the Pentagon to prepare for possible action in Nigeria as he continued accusing the Federal Government of violence against Christians.
Trump, who posted a statement on his social media handle, said that if the Nigerian government continues to allow the killing of Christians, US troops will be ordered to enter Nigeria and wipe out terrorists.
He said: “If the Nigerian Government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the U.S.A. will immediately stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria, and may very well go into that now disgraced country, “guns-a-blazing,” to completely wipe out the Islamic Terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities.
”I am hereby instructing our Department of War to prepare for possible action. If we attack, it will be fast, vicious, and sweet, just like the terrorist thugs attack our cherished Christians! Warning: The Nigerian government better move fast!”
However, Fox News is now reporting that Trump’s directive has been carried out as Rubio is putting Nigeria back on the watchlist.
Source: Fox News
