Dr. John Kayode Fayemi, winner of the governorship primary of the All Progressives Congress in Ekiti state has apologised to the people for all the errors of omission or commission he made during his first term as governor, between 2010 and 2014.

He made the plea in his speech after being declared winner of the hotly contested primary election, which featured 33 contestants, with one of them withdrawing on Thursday.

Fayemi got 941 delegate votes, out of the 2,313 valid votes cast.

His nearest competitor was also a former governor, Segun Oni, who got 481 votes.

Governor Tanko Al-Makura, who chaired the election committee announced the result after 11pm today in Ado-Ekiti and thanked all the delegates and contestants for their show of maturity, patience and perseverance.

He reserved special praise for the security agents, who were able to maintain peace, unlike last week’s show that ended riotously.

He congratulated Dr Fayemi for winning the party’s primary election and charged him to work together with the other aspirants to enable him achieve his desired goals and objectives in the forthcoming July,14, gubernatorial election.

Fayemi, who was followed to the podium by all the other aspirants,  said he was delighted to emerge as the winner of the party’s primary election.

The APC flag bearer said his victory was not his alone, but belonged to all the contestants.

He announced the formation of a Candidate Advisory Committee, with all the contestants as members and said he  would be ready to work with all of them to achieve victory for the APC.

” I am delighted to have won the party’s primary election, and am also happy because the delegates voted for me. It shows they believe so much in my abilities to change the lives of the Ekiti people for the better compared to what they are currently experiencing.

” All other aspirants ‎are my friends and colleagues, am going to work with them to ensure that our great party emerges as the winner in the forthcoming gubernatorial election,” he said.

Read Fayemi’s Full Speech:

This is the day the Lord has made, and we rejoice and are glad in it.Today, the people have spoken and their voice has been heard resoundingly.

· What we have witnessed today, is one of the essential elements in the electoral cycle in any democracy – the exercise of the collective will over the aspirations of many – the emergence of the candidate of our great party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the July 14, 2018 gubernatorial election in Ekiti state, out of many eminently qualified aspirants.

· Indeed, it has been a hard fought contest, and I am extremely humbled that our delegates have counted me worthy of the honour of bearing the banner of our great party. This victory is not mine alone, it belongs to all Ekiti people who desire a greater tomorrow.

· The free, fair and transparent process we have witnessed today is a testament to our great party’s democratic credentials that guarantees a level playing field for everyone aspiring to high office. This is a feat we must all be proud of.

· But the battle has only just begun – the contest to Reclaim Our Land and Restore Our Values. The fight to ensure our great party comes out victorious in the July 14, 2018 general election.

· Your Excellences, Distinguished Party Leaders, Honourable Delegates, Members of the press, Observers, Distinguished ladies and gentlemen. Without a doubt, Ekiti is in critical need of rescue. It is imperative that we urgently commence the task of purging ourselves of the bad reputation we have earned in recent years and restore good governance to the state.

· In my valedictory address in 2014, I said that future administrations would be judged by the standards we set during our time in office. It should be clear to any observer that over the past four years, Ekiti has retreated from the progressive values that we espoused in office and our grand ideals of human development.

· We have seen a cynical approach to politics that exploits the penury of the poor and the vulnerability of the marginalised. We have seen the entrenchment of the disdain for elders, traditional institutions, and all forms of constituted authorities.

· Instead of continuing the quest for freedom from ignorance, disease and want, what we have seen is a paradigm that deepens captivity to these ills. In short, the last four years has called into question all that we stand for as a people. The timeless values of honour, dignity, nobility and civility encapsulated in the Omoluabi ethos have been eroded.

· We must resume the march to break the yoke of ignorance that keeps our people down; liberate them from ill-health and other limitations that restrain them from achieving their potentials; and break the stranglehold of poverty which keeps people from living full creative lives.

· In practical and policy terms, what this means is that the APC administration to be sworn in on October 15, 2018, by the grace of God, must resume good governance that was cut short four years ago, and once again prioritise social investments in education, healthcare and other social protection programmes that reduce the cost of living, while raising the quality of life.

· In all electoral contests, tempers often rise and nerves are frayed. I therefore humbly appeal to all my supporters, and to my co-contestants and their supporters, to let go of past differences as we forge ahead to a new dawn.

· I furthermore very respectfully request the support of my brothers and sisters – co-contestants in this primary election. I plead that we put our differences aside and work together as one strong and indivisible party for success in the upcoming general election.

· I would be counting on all my co-contestants to share their wealth of experience, ideas and knowledge in furtherance of our collective desire to make Ekiti great again.

· As I have said ever so often, all those who contested the primary election today are eminently qualified to be Governor. I salute your courage and congratulate you all for enriching the process. However, together we are greater and stronger than the sum of our individual parts, and no individual, myself inclusive, is bigger than our great party.

· As I conclude, I must seize this opportunity to express my gratitude to members of the National Working Committee of our great party, and all those that have contributed to the free, fair and transparent conduct of this exercise.

· I also thank our party’s national leaders, especially those from the southwest that have worked behind the scenes to ensure this process is as free of rancour and strife as possible. We count on them following through with their promise to reunite and strengthen the cohesion of all stakeholders in our great party in Ekiti state in the coming days.

· Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, I thank you, once again. Alale Ekiti a gbe a o.
H.E Dr. Kayode Fayemi,

IMO State Governor,  Rochas Okorocha has been tagged  a doomed and weeping governor. *Okorocha and Ohakim Former governor of  the state, Ikedi Ohakim, Okorocha’s predecessor said he would not  criticize his successor any more because the governor was directionless. In an article entitled “Why I wouldn’t attack Rochas any longer,” Ohakim said Okorocha had lost focus and was constantly punching the air as deadly blows were reined on his grandiose body. He wrote, “I concluded that Rochas has lost focus. He is not close to the target. He is punching the air as deadly blows are reined on his grandiose body. A fighter he is, an arrogant one for that matter, my hugely battered brother will never give up until murder is committed in the ring. I think, I wouldn’t be associated with this. At this point, I  sheathe my sword. I am withdrawing from this unbalanced duel. Count me out!!! I don’t want to commit fratricide. “This resolve no doubt would surprise my readers. I have remained one of the most consistent critics of the entertainer-governor. I take no prisoners! But today, I have resolved to go home. I wouldn’t attack Rochas any longer. I wouldn’t add more to his troubles. Imo state governor is weeping. He laments at every gathering. He cries his eyes out; telling whoever cares to listen, how those he brought into his personal house (APC) have conspired to eject him. He points his fingers to all directions: Madumere, Ararume, Izunaso, Uwajimogu, Ololo, Opiah, Mbanaso etc! Quite agonizing. My Christian mind is restless. “A captain of an ill-fated ship, Rochas is doomed. He has lost touch with the radar. Signals from Abuja have been tactfully blocked by his smart adversaries. He is flying blind. Those on board are likely his immediate family members. But Rochas is not giving up. He is making fast and questionable concessions at the moment. He is trading off everything, all in an attempt to maintain and retain his political status.”

member of the All Progressives Congress in Lagos has been shot dead at the party’s local government congress in Agege.

The member, identified as Nurudeen Olanose, was allegedly shot at Central School, Dopemu, during a fracas that ensued after voting had ended on Saturday.

Two others are in critical condition while nine people have been arrested and taken to Area G Police Division in Agege.

When contacted, Chike Oti, the Spokesperson of the Lagos State Police Command, said “I’ll get back to you.”

There are different accounts of what led to the shooting at the congress venue in Agege.

A witness told Newsmen that violence broke out after Mudashiru Obasa, the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, visited the venue.

“Obasa came to the venue at Dopemu, from nowhere a gunshot killed one of the party members. As he was going, his security men just dragged the guy that was shot, they dropped him on the other side of the road in order for him to pass and run away,” said the witness, who declined to be named for “political reasons”.

“Not quite 10 minutes later, another person was shot (dead) by Obasa’s boys again, and one other person was shot by the leg.”

Musibau Razak, the spokesperson for the Lagos Speaker, said his principal did not attend the congress at Dopemu.

“It is a lie,” Mr Razak told Journalists.

“From my investigation, it is the APC local government congress in Agege and those who were supposed to be at the congress venue were there, they did their congress and left. But you know in politics, there will always be disgruntled elements, I think that was what happened.

“What happened at Dopemo had nothing to do with my boss.

“Of course, as a member of APC and a Speaker, if anything happens he will be contacted and he will make necessary arrangement for peace to reign. Policemen were there, SSS were there, the INEC was there, so nobody should link that thing to the Speaker. The Speaker’s effort is to maintain peace.”

Rotimi Sulyman, Media Adviser to Ganiyu Egunjobi, the Chairman of Agege local government, said one person died from the violence.

He also said that Mr Obasa was “nowhere near” the congress venue.

“After the election has been concluded, some people who felt they are fast losing the grip of the party, they started fomenting trouble and in the course of it one of the persons loyal to our camp died,” Mr Sulyman told PREMIUM TIMES.

Mr Sulyman said those arrested by the police included one Bosun Adigun, a driver to Jubril Kareem, the former chairman of Agege local government.

Fourteen persons who gave useful tips that led to the recovery of several billions of Naira and some millions in hard currency from some corporate tax evaders were paid about N439.3 million this week, Finance minister, Kemi Adeosun, said.

The Minister did not name the offending companies. But, she told reporters in Abuja that about N14.8 billion, consisting N7.8 billion, $378 million and £27,800 were recovered.

She said the recovered monies paid to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) have since been shared.

Following tips by the whistleblowers in line with the whistleblower policy of the federal government, Mrs Adeosun said the companies were busted after years of either evading taxes or under-paying government as a deliberated policy.

“This is the first time we are having that number (of whistleblowers) where we have concluded either communications with the companies and they have actually paid the money to FIRS,” the minister said.

Since the whistleblower policy was introduced in December 2016, the minister said about 8,373 communications have so far been received from various persons willing to volunteer information on tax evaders.

Out of the number, she said about 1,231 were tips that triggered about 534 investigations so far from where ten accused persons were currently under prosecution, with four already convicted of the offence.

Apart from the changing narrative on tax by government in recent times, the minister said the extension of the deadline for the Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS) to June 30, 2018 has seen far more tips received from whistleblowers on tax evasion.

Besides, since the introduction of VAIDS in June 2017 to grant amnesty to tax defaulters, she said more tax payers have come under the tax net to boost revenue.

Also, over 130,000 high net worth individuals and companies that have potential tax underpayments issues against them have so far been identified.

She announced that the federal government was actively preparing cases for prosecution against tax evaders, assuring that very serious actions would commence by the end of June after the tax amnesty deadline.

Based on the experiences gathered by the whistleblowers’ policy unit of the Federal Ministry of Finance, following its study tour of the United Kingdom, the minister said the government was revising the strategy to accommodate more sophisticated mode of operations.

In addition, the minister said data were being compiled by Project Lighthouse in the Federal Ministry of Finance to combine data from federal, state agencies and foreign countries on tax matters.

So far, Mrs Adeosun said data have been received from a number of sources, including Lagos, Kaduna, Kano and Ogun States’ land registries as well as the Federal Capital Territory.

Nigeria, she said, has been able to equally request for data from a number of countries, including traditional tax havens and other foreign jurisdictions under the exchange of information protocols.

“Under the exchange of information protocols, this information relates to bank records and financial filings for tax purposes obtained from tax havens who are signatories to the information sharing agreements such as British Virgin Islands and Mauritius,” she said.

In line with the protocols governing the exchange of information, the minister said received data from overseas countries would only be used for taxation purposes.

Common violations by non-compliant tax payers include deliberate under-declaration or non-declaration of income earned, including income from government contracts and overseas trading, and collection of Value Added Tax (VAT) and refusing to duly remit to FIRS.

Others included charging of non-allowable personal expenses to company accounts, particularly with reference to overseas school fees; inconsistency between income declared for tax purposes and the value of assets owned.

On 2017 budget performance, Mrs Adeosun said she was optimistic that by the end of this month, about N1. 5 trillion would have been spent on capital projects.

The minister admitted there were still some irregularities in government payroll system, assuring that government would pay close attention to details to correct all anomalies in the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).

Although she could not clarify the controversy surrounding alleged over 80,000 ghost workers discovered on the payroll of the Nigeria police, the minister directed reporters’ question on the issue to the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation.

“We are investigating some cases where names on the payroll is different from those on the bank account. In some cases, it is as simple as some people got married and did not update their names. In other cases, it is a matter of fraud,” she explained

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says all issues raised by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, in respect of the party, have been extensively addressed by its newly refocused and repositioned leadership.

The party gave the assurance in a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, in Abuja on Friday.

Mr Ologbondiyan said that new reforms and rebranding efforts had returned PDP to the much-desired political platform that would represent aspirations of all Nigerians, ahead of the 2019 general elections.

These reforms, according to him, were particularly the full entrenchment of internal democracy, all-inclusiveness and re-engineered mechanisms for good governance.

“In the last five months, since the coming of the new leadership, under Prince Uche Secondus, the PDP had undergone extensive re-engineering in direct responses to suggestions, criticisms and wide-range of constructive counsels from Nigerians across board.

“The transparent processes, leading to the peaceful conduct of an open, credible, free and fair governorship primary in Ekiti State.

“This is at a time when other political parties are enmeshed in impunity-induced crisis and violence is a loud testimony of the democratic credentials and principles of the repositioned PDP.’’

He added that the reconciliatory efforts of the Governor Seriake Dickson-led committee, and other efforts at rebuilding the party, through its contact and integration committee, were already yielding results.

He also said that such efforts were manifested in the crowd that graced PDP rallies in Jigawa, Katsina and Osun states.

“Our party remains the only political platform with genuine followership and structure in all the electoral wards across the local government areas, states and the six geo-political zones in the country.

“It is also instructive to add that majority of Nigerians still identify with the PDP as the vehicle for national cohesion, unity, economic prosperity and personal freedom of our citizens.

Mr Ologbondiyan said the PDP’s initiative towards the nation’s economic recovery had commenced with the development of a robust and all-inclusive blueprint that would reopen the “currently locked-down economic space.’’

“Today, the repositioned PDP remains the best channel for the coalition of true democrats, who are desirous of removing the incompetent Buhari Presidency from Aso Rock, through the ballot, come 2019.

it will be recalls that Mr Obasanjo recently said that neither the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) nor the PDP, had the capacity to rescue Nigeria from the present political and socio-economic challenges.

Suspected loyalists of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Friday stormed the Rivers State High Court in Port-Harcourt, killing at least two persons and destroying court property estimated in millions of naira, The attackers breached the court security around 11 a.m. in violent bid to stop a judge from sitting on an interlocutory motion brought by a faction of the party in the state, witnesses told Newsmen. The injunction was sought by the faction said to be loyal to Magnus Abe, a serving APC senator from the state. Mr Abe’s faction has been sparring with the faction believed loyal to Rotimi Amaechi, the minister of transport and immediate-past governor of the state, for the control of the party’s political structure. Mr Amaechi’s faction is said to be in favour of allowing the party congresses proceed as scheduled for Saturday. But Mr Abe’s group was against this arrangement and sought a court order to overturn it. Preliminary hearing on the injunction was slated for Friday morning, and Mr Amaechi’s loyalists reportedly got wind of the proceeding and decided to take a protest to the court. Properties worth millions were believed to have been destroyed in a fracas that ensued after hoodlums from both sides clashed at the court’s premises.  Pictures circulated in the aftermath of the attack showed damaged vehicles and buildings. The violence, however, failed to stop Chiwendu Nworgu, the presiding judge, from granting the injunction forbidding the congress from holding tomorrow. Blame games

Chris Finebone, a spokesperson for the APC in the state, blamed Mr Abe’s faction for the violence and said the injunction would not stand. “It is legal untenable for anyone to stop an action that is ongoing,” Mr Finebone told PREMIUM TIMES Friday evening about the scheduled exercise. “On that basis, principally, that injunction cannot stand.”

 

“We’re going ahead with the local government congresses tomorrow,” he emphasised.

Mr Finebone said Mr Abe’s loyalists were supported by members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to maximise the damage inflicted on the court and its officials.

The members loyal to Mr Amaechi “were at the court to register their displeasure at the way and manner the case was being handled,” the spokesperson said.

“Someone who has been suspended from the state working committee went to employ lawyers for the party and took a matter to court without the consent of the party chairman.

“Our men later got wind of the plan and went the to court to protest the travesty of justice that happened.

“It was when our members were protesting that the loyalists of Magnus Abe and some PDP thugs went to cause fracas,” he said.

Mr Abe could not be immediately reached for comments Friday night.

Rivers police spokesperson, Omoni Nnamdi, told PREMIUM TIMES the attack was largely curbed by the police, and some of those responsible have been identified.

“Our men were alerted and the commissioner immediately send officers out to restore normalcy,” Mr Nnamdi, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, said. “Some persons have been identified in connection to the attack.”

He, however, told PREMIUM TIMES that “no arrest has been made” as at 6 p.m. Friday.

 

‘A complete coup’

Governor Nyesom Wike quickly categorised the incident as an attempt to subvert existing democratic system in the state when he visited the court premises Friday afternoon, saying the police were involved in the violence.

“This is very unfortunate,” the governor said in a statement his office sent to PREMIUM TIMES. “Do not trivialise this invasion by saying ‘it is just an attack by the APC on the judiciary.’”

“This is a complete coup by the Nigerian Police and the APC to overthrow the Rivers State Government,” he said. “We have said it before and we have been vindicated by this callous joint invasion of the Rivers State Judiciary.

“We cannot continue to rely on the police to defend us. We must all stand up to defend democracy. What has happened is a sign of what APC and Police have planned,” he added.

‘Unfounded, unrealistic’ — Police

Mr Nnamdi dismissed the governor’s comments as baseless and spurious when asked to respond to them by PREMIUM TIMES Friday evening.

“That is unfounded, unrealistic and not verifiable as a matter of fact,” Mr Nnamdi said.

He explained that the police were reluctant to use live ammunition against the hoodlums when they first stormed the court, but that the reinforcement took charge of the situation and brought it under control.

“Not that we were overwhelmed, but there are ways to handle this kind of situation instead of shooting to kill,” he said. “Use of firearms was a last resort and we were tactical in our response to the crisis.”

The spokesperson said many of the officers who responded to the attack would remain stationed at the court premises for the next few days until all threats have been neutralised.