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PDP, APC Disagree over Makinde’s 100 Days in Office Achievements
The ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State have come against each regarding the achievements and otherwise of Governor Seyi Makinde after 100 days in office.
In a statement made available to journalists in Ibadan by its Publicity Secretary, Dr. AbdulAzeez Olatunde, APC said: “There is no award for anyone to guess which state in Nigeria is being governed by an accidentally unprepared governor, because anyone who guesses would certainly guess right as Oyo State.
“Imagine Oyo State governor who, within himself, knows that he has added nothing to what he met on ground, in the last 100 days, to still be bold enough to come to the public with blatant falsehood and lies that only 10 per cent of contract sum is actually used to service contracts by his predecessor and the remaining 90 per cent goes back to the awarder of the contracts.
“Thank God, Governor Seyi Makinde, you have set up Oyo State Anti-Graft Agency and you are now in power. Please, you are challenged to do the needful as we are giving it to you that, this is white lies which are not tenable anywhere in the world.“We are not surprised to hear that from you because you have penchant for contradicting yourself.
“Three of such cases are ample evidence to your oscillating words. During your campaign, you said that Oyo State’s workers deserve more than N30,000 minimum wage, which you have refused to pay and even refused to revisit with your 100 days in office. Your promise to make LAUTECH, solely owned by Oyo State institution within your first 100 days has fallen flat like your other promises. Imagine the blatant 360 turnaround to your promise of reduction of tuition fees, pleading with Ibadan Polytechnic’s student that reduction is not feasible for now.
“What has Governor Seyi Makinde done to justify his governance in 100 days? Perhaps, Governor Seyi Makinde may want to commission the Model Schools built and completed by Sen. Abiola Ajimobi which Ajimobi’s loaded schedule denied him of commissioning.
“Permit me to remind His Excellency, Engr. Makinde that Oyo State’s people were promised that their maize would be exported to Botswana, and thank God, this is the season of maize. We deserve to know how many tons of maize has been exported? And how has this been impacting on the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR)?”
In its response, the PDP, accused the state’s chapter of the APC of being desperate to blackmail the laudable achievements of the state governor, Mr. Seyi Makinde and the ruling party in the state. The PDP, in a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Mr. Akeem Olatunji, accused APC of sponsoring all manners of falsehood against PDP and the Makinde government aimed at belittling the successful clearing of the rot left behind by APC in Oyo State and the positive turnaround the state has begun to experience since Makinde assumed office.
According to Olatunji, “We are greatly appalled at the desperation of APC to publicise all manners of lies and falsehood against our government. There is a permissible level of decency in politics and we expect everyone to follow that cause.“Rather than wish our state well after the eight years of disastrous rule and bad governance APC foisted on Oyo State, that party is standing alone as a rotten apple in the basket, seeking to negatively affect others.
“Let us assure the lie merchants in APC that our party, PDP, stands firm with Governor Seyi Makinde, and the laudable achievements he has recorded in 100 days. No member of PDP is angry with the governor and no one is expressing any such frustration as contained in the lies being marketed by APC.”
The statement indicated that PDP is solidly behind Makinde, as he continues laying the foundation for the accelerated development of the state. The PDP’s Publicity Secretary added that PDP is more than ever before united as a family, saying: “We are impressed at the globally acclaimed good works of our governor. No one abandons a good product, not even the blind.
“Let us place on record that purveyors of such stories are either deluded, suffering from acute amnesia, or just trying to make a nuisance of themselves. It is not only unfounded, frivolous and malicious but also a great lie that stands no reason. Governor Makinde is no longer about Oyo State; he is already a nationally acclaimed deliverer of good dividends of democracy and good governance.
“We as a party are more than ever before proud of our God-sent ‘Mr. Talk and Do Governor,’ who works more and talks less, and this willpower of Governor Makinde has rekindled our hope and faith in the actualisation of the Oyo project embarked upon by our governor.
“We are 100 per cent satisfied with his every move and decision, because he treats every member of PDP as members of the family. We therefore enjoin all members of the public to disregard in totality the distractive publications, falsehood and unbridled lies being peddled against the service-delivering governor.”
The Guardian
Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has announced his withdrawal from the All Progressives Congress governorship primary election in the state.
Fubara made this known in a statement personally signed on Wednesday, saying he would support whoever emerges as the party’s candidate, The Nations reported.
The governor said his decision followed extensive consultations with his family, friends, and political associates.
“After deep reflection and extensive consultations with my family, friends, and associates, I have taken the difficult but necessary decision to withdraw from the APC governorship primaries. I do so with a full heart and with a firm commitment to support whoever emerges as the candidate of our great party,” Fubara said.
Fubara said although the decision was difficult, he remained committed to supporting whoever would emerge as the APC governorship candidate.
According to him, leadership demands sacrifice and personal ambition must sometimes give way to the collective interest of the people.
Meanwhile, the embattled governor expressed appreciation to his supporters for their loyalty, prayers and sacrifices throughout the political process, acknowledging that many would feel disappointed by his withdrawal.
He said his silence in recent weeks was “deliberate and strategic,” adding that it was guided by the higher interest of the state.
Tone Cole, APC chieftain and 2027 governorship aspirant in Rivers State, also announced his withdrawal from the race, saying his decision was, among other reasons, in the interest of the party’s unity.
Arsenal ended their 22-year wait to be crowned Premier League champions on Tuesday after Manchester City were held 1-1 by Bournemouth.
City had to win to take the title fight to the final day, but the Cherries extended their unbeaten streak to 17 league games, a run which has secured European football for the first time in the club’s history.
After finishing second for the past three seasons, Mikel Arteta’s Gunners have finally made it over the line to end a six-year trophy drought.
Arsenal edged to the brink of the title with an unconvincing 1-0 win over already relegated Burnley on Monday, which took them five points clear of City.
The Gunners, who have set the pace for most of the season, have bounced back impressively since losing to City last month, winning four straight league matches without conceding a goal.
On Monday, just 48 hours after completing a domestic cup double with victory over Chelsea in the FA Cup final, City were rocked by widespread reports that manager Pep Guardiola will depart after a decade in charge at the end of the season.
Victory at Wembley on Saturday secured a 20th trophy of Guardiola’s glorious reign.
But he cannot add to his six Premier League titles when Aston Villa visit the Etihad on Sunday for what is expected to be his final match in charge.
Guardiola had warned that fatigue could cost City against a highly motivated Bournemouth, who still have Champions League qualification in their sights for next season.
As it stands, Bournemouth will be in the Europa League after ensuring they will finish no lower than seventh.
Sixth could be good enough for a place in the Champions League if Aston Villa finish fifth and win Wednesday’s Europa League final.
City fans forlornly chanted “One more year, Guardiola” in the early stages at the Vitality Stadium in a bid to convince their decorated coach to see out the final season of his contract.
But if the travelling fans hoped City’s players would be inspired to give Guardiola a glorious goodbye, they were left sorely disappointed.
Antoine Semenyo had the ball in the net on his return to Bournemouth but was flagged offside in City’s best moment of a flat first half.
The home side suddenly sprang to life to open the scoring in the 39th minute.
Eli Junior Kroupi curled a brilliant strike into the top corner to set a new record of 13 goals in a debut Premier League season for a teenager.
Nico O’Reilly wasted City’s best chance of a lifeline when he was denied by Djordje Petrovic just seconds into the second half.
Guardiola watched on pensively as his side’s title challenge fizzled out with a whimper.
After winning what was billed a title decider against Arsenal last month, City put the destiny of the title back in their rivals’ hands by drawing 3-3 at Everton.
Guardiola looks set to depart having failed to win the league for two consecutive seasons for the first time in his coaching career.
Rayan and David Brooks hit the post as Bournemouth should have secured victory in Andoni Iraola’s final home game in charge.
Erling Haaland’s equaliser deep into stoppage time came too little, too late to save City’s title challenge.
But it was a big goal for Liverpool, who now have a three-point cushion over Bournemouth and a goal difference advantage of six heading into the final day battle to secure a top-five finish and Champions League football.
AFP
The Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday granted bail to former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, in the sum of N100m over charges bordering on alleged breach of national security.
Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, while ruling on the bail application, imposed stringent conditions for the former governor’s release.
The court held that the surety must reside in either the Maitama or Asokoro districts of Abuja and must deposit the original Certificate of Occupancy of a landed property with the court registry.
The judge further ruled that the surety must be a federal civil servant not below Grade Level 17 and must provide evidence of salary payments for at least three months, authenticated by a bank manager within the court’s jurisdiction.
As part of the conditions, El-Rufai was ordered to deposit all valid international passports with the court.
The court also directed the submission of a verification letter from the surety’s department, along with a tax clearance certificate covering the last six months.
In addition, the judge ordered the former governor to report to the Department of State Services headquarters on the last Friday of each month by 10 am to sign the attendance register, pending the determination of the case.
The court warned that any breach of the conditions would result in the bail being automatically revoked.
Justice Abdulmalik further ordered El-Rufai to submit a letter of attestation from the Chairman of the Kaduna Traditional Council.
The bail ruling followed the arraignment of the former governor by the Department of State Services on an amended five-count charge bordering on alleged breach of national security.
The DSS had, on April 23, arraigned El-Rufai before the same court, where he pleaded not guilty to all counts.
At the proceedings, counsel for the DSS, Oluwole Aladedoye (SAN), informed the court that the prosecution had filed a further amended five-count charge on April 13 and sought to substitute the earlier three-count charge.
Count four of the amended charges marked marked FHC/ABJ/CR/99/2026, reads “That you, Mallam Nasir El Rufai, adult, male, intentionally and without authorization, intercepted the communications of the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, as admitted by you on 13″ February, 2026, while appearing as a guest on Arise TV Station’s Prime Time Programme in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 12(1) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Amendment Act, 2024.”
Counsel to the defendant, Oluwole Iyamu (SAN), confirmed receipt of the amended charge and did not oppose the application.
The court subsequently struck out the earlier three-count charge and read the amended counts to El-Rufai, who again pleaded not guilty.
The defence had drawn the court’s attention to a pending bail application filed on February 17, noting that a further affidavit initially missing from the court file was later located during proceedings.
The DSS, however, told the court that it was not opposing the bail request.
The defence also filed an application seeking to quash the amended charge, which the prosecution urged the court to dismiss for lacking merit.
After hearing arguments from both parties, Justice Abdulmalik adjourned the matter for hearing before delivering the bail ruling on Monday.
