Governor Ibikunle Amosun

POLITICS

BMO Hails Buhari’s Open-Mindedness

The Buhari Media Organisation (BMO) has described President Muhammadu Buhari meeting the Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun alongside the gubernatorial candidate of the opposition Allied Peoples Movement (APM) Adekunle Akinlade, as a positive development.

BMO said in a statement signed by its Chairman Niyi Akinsiju and Secretary Cassidy Madueke that it is not necessarily a sign of President Buhari’s endorsement of the APM candidate.

This, it said, is especially as he had before now raised the hand of the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate Dapo Abiodun as his preferred candidate during a recent visit alongside former Ogun State Governor, Olusegun Osoba.

“We are aware of some disquiet among APC members on seeing the picture of the President with Governor Amosun and the APM candidate on the front page of national dailies after the weekend meeting at the Presidential villa.

“But just as the Presidency has made it clear that the President would only back APC candidates, we don’t see the meeting as a contradiction of the stance.

“It in fact shows the acceptability that President Buhari enjoys across party lines as opposed to the recent stage-managed endorsement of the Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Atiku Abubakar by insignificant political parties and politicians with no real electoral value”, the group said.

BMO noted that a sign of the President’s wide acceptability is the fact that PDP governorship and National Assembly candidates in several parts of the country are running their campaign with posters bearing his image.

“It is a known fact that there is no living politician with the cult-like followership and support Buhari has in some parts of the country as a result of his legendary integrity, so it is not a surprise that several PDP candidates in Northern Nigeria have been openly canvassing for the President’s re-election.

“The question begging for answer is: why are these candidates not campaigning for Atiku Abubakar or put his image on their campaign posters?”

The pro-Buhari group pointed out that the trend of support for President Buhari among PDP leaders began a few weeks ago with the visit by governors elected on the platform of the opposition party in the South East geo-political zone and the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu.

“Although the meeting was meant to be one where the governors were to show appreciation for federal government projects in the region, especially the contract award for the second Niger Bridge, it came at a time the political figures were at odds with their parties.

“On individual basis, Ebonyi State Governor David Umahi, has publicly left no one in doubt about his positive relations with the President whom he has hailed on several occasions for the infrastructural strides in the region, and of late his Enugu counterpart Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi had been pictured wearing a lapel pin with President Buhari’s image.

“What is now left is for the governors and Senator Ekweremadu to be pictured with the viral 4 + 4 hand sign.”  

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POLITICS

President Buhari Will Campaign For All APC Candidates, Says Presidency

The Presidency says President Muhammadu Buhari, who is the leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its presidential candidate in the forthcoming general elections, will campaign for the party and all its candidates.

A presidential spokesman, Malam Garba Shehu, made this known in a statement while reacting to media enquiries over the hosting of Gov. Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun by President Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Sunday.

Amosun was accompanied by the Ogun state governorship candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Abdulkadir Adekunle Akinlade, during the visit.

The statement read: “Following repeated media enquiries on the matter, the Presidency wishes to state in clear and unmistakable terms that as a party leader and a candidate on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the coming elections, President Muhammadu Buhari will campaign for the party and all its candidates.

“This, however, does not mean that he, as the nation’s leader, will decline courtesy calls or offers of support from citizens including candidates flying the flags of other parties.

“There is no doubt that the President has no competition here in terms of popularity in the coming elections. But the more support he gets, the wider the margin of victory there will be.

“So please let there be no confusion about this. President Buhari is APC. He will campaign for all APC candidates, but he welcomes support and endorsements.’’

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NEWS

APC Dissolves State, LG, Ward Excos In Ogun, Imo

The All Progressives Congress has dissolved the executive committees in Imo and Ogun states.

Also dissolved were the local government and ward executives in the two states.

In their place, the NWC would inaugurate caretaker committees that would superintend over the affairs of the party in the two states ahead of the general elections.

Their dissolution formed part of the resolutions reached during the National Working Committee meeting presided over by the National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, in Abuja on Tuesday.

Recall that Governor Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun) and his counterpart in Imo State, Rochas Okorocha, and Minister of Communication, Adebayo Shittu, had vowed to work against governorship candidates in their states.

A member of the NWC told Punch newspaper correspondent that the meeting decided to dissolve all the party structures in Ogun and Imo states to stem the conflict of ideas being promoted by the two governors.

He said, “The two governors have sponsored their preferred candidates on the platform of other political parties while they are holding on to the APC’s senatorial tickets.

“We see this as a conflict of interest which could jeopardise the party’s efforts to win the two states.”

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POLITICS

Amosun Shuns APC Reconciliation Meeting

Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun and his loyalists were reportedly absent at the reconciliation meeting in Lagos to pacify aggrieved members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), in order to pave way for the party’s victory in next year’s general elections.

It would be recalled that Amosun has been aggrieved that his preferred candidate, Abdulkabir Akinlade was dropped by the APC in favour of Prince Dapo Abiodun. This development led to Amosun’s supporters defecting to the Allied People’s Movement (APM), where Akinlade is now the governorship candidate.

Amosun had made it clear that he would work against Dapo Abiodun and the APC in the governorship election, but that he would work for President Muhammadu Buhari’s re-election.

However, at the meeting held at the State House, Marina, on Wednesday, APC members in Lagos, Ogun and some other states were present.

At the meeting, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode and his Borno State counterpart, Alhaji Kashim Shettima, called on aspirants from Lagos and Ogun States to unite and work for the party’s victory at all levels during the 2019 elections.

Ambode and Shettima, who had earlier met with aggrieved aspirants in Osun, Ondo, Ekiti and Oyo States, said it was important for members of the party in the Southwest to accept the outcome of the primaries and the party’s supremacy in order to approach the general elections with a united front.

The two Governors, who are both members of the National Peace and Reconciliation Committee set up by the APC to pacify aggrieved party members in the Southwest, said those aggrieved should consider making the necessary sacrifice no matter how difficult it is, in the overall interest of the party.

Speaking at the meeting held at Lagos House, Marina, Ambode said while it was gratifying that there was no issue in Lagos largely due to the personal sacrifice made, the same could not be said of Ogun, and thereby urged concerned party members to do the needful to ensure peace.

“More significantly, we can see from the reflection of those here and I can declare that we do not have any issue in Lagos State and that we are one family. But again that is not to say that there is no platform for reconciliation; we do not know whether there are some aspirants in the crowd who are aggrieved but we can say affirmatively as a party that we are one family in Lagos State.

“This is not, however, to create any prejudice to whatever is happening in Ogun State. Without the setting up of this Committee, it is very clear that things are not the same in Ogun State like we have in Lagos State and we do recognise that. That is why this Committee is more or less anxious to see whatever it is that we can use as ingredients in creating peace in Ogun State.

“Whatever happens in Ogun is a reflection of what is happening in the whole of the Southwest and we are ready to make sure that this our Committee brings everybody back into one family fold. So, we have come with open mind and even when closures have been made, the feelings and input here is what we are taking to Abuja tomorrow and also making sure that NWC (National Working Committee) get a very clear picture of how you feel and ultimately if there is a need to let the highest organ of the party intervene in a way that everything that is happening in Ogun State reflects what is happening in Lagos State, we would be very happy to do it and we are committed to making sure that every representation is taken to party headquarters for redress and whatever it is that can be done,” Ambode said.

While emphasising the need for the party to forge a common ground to prosecute the next year’s elections, Governor Ambode encouraged aggrieved members to embrace genuine reconciliation, saying only such could bring about compensation at the end of the day when the party emerge victorious.

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NEWS

2019: Ogun APC Guber Candidate Vows To Resolve Crisis
Ahead of the 2019 general elections, the Ogun State All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Prince Dapo Abiodun has expressed optimism that the internal crisis rocking the state chapter of the party would be resolved before the election.
Prince Abiodun also expressed the confidence that the incumbent governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun would also be part of the APC campaign in the state.
The APC governorship candidate who made these known in Iperu Remo during the unveiling of his deputy, Mrs. Noimot Salako Oyedele maintained that Governor Amosun would be part of the APC campaign in the state.
He explained that the state leadership of the party still has days to resolve whatever crisis that is bedeviling the party to approach the election as a united political family.
According to Prince Abiodun, transparency and accountability would form the fulcrum of his administration assuring that he would assist towards restoring the citizens’ confidence and trust in government.
He explained that APC ‘s administration under him would work towards providing 24-hour uninterrupted electricity supply for the state through an Independent Power Project (IPP).
Prince Abiodun said his government would provide an enabling environment for ease of doing businesses in the state.
Others programme highlighted include, development of rural roads, agricultural system that would aim at feeding Ogun and its neighbouring states, as well as a comprehensive and qualitative healthcare system that would licence the traditional health care givers to practice unhindered.
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POLITICS

2019: APC Will Win Ogun, Deliver Hope Uzodinma In Imo State, Oshiomole Vows

National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomole, has assured party supporters that the ruling party will win all elective positions in Imo and Ogun State.

Oshiomole stated this while receiving APC women leaders from Edo State and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), at his office in Abuja.

Oshiomhole was, however, confident that the APC remains stronger in Imo and Ogun states, despite the grievances of their governors as a result of the outcome of the party’s primaries where their preferred candidates lost.

He said: “The real headline today is that we will win in Ogun State and we will deliver Hope Uzodinma in Imo State.  Our popularity in Imo today is increasing. What we don’t know and Nigerians always make this mistake that once you are a governor, you have electoral value.

“Yes, we have overwhelming majority of APC governors who have electoral values and we also have some few electoral liabilities. I can tell that in Imo State today we will have more votes.

“Politics is about numbers and I am looking at the average Imo voters because on that the governor will have one vote and his son-in-law will also have one vote. Those market women, artisans, mechanics and farmers will also have their vote.

“Those who think our political future is tied to them; they are poor students of their own political history. Some of these people who talk as if they are invincible, they have forgotten that they have run elections in the past and lost until they abandoned their parties and joined us. So if they return back, history will repeat itself.

“In Imo State today, APC will win more votes. My focus is on ordinary Imo voters because on that day, the governor would have only one vote, his son-in-law would have only one vote while his Commissioner for Happiness would have only one vote.

“But artisans, traders, teachers and workers whose salaries are not being paid have the same weight of vote and they are excited about the renewed possibility of a new government coming with fresh ideas free of all the encumbrances of the present system. So, in Imo I’m very confident.

“Vice President Yemi Osinbajo is from Ogun State. The state is one of the most enlightened states in Nigeria. They have a huge history; they are not in a political kingdom headed by one person.

“If they were looking for true reconciliation, they wouldn’t have done what they did (defection of aides). That is not how democracy works. Nigeria must grow beyond this syndrome –  ‘I’m the governor, I will decide.’ You have only one vote. With due respect, I was once a governor. Overall, APC is much stronger now.”

Recall that the primaries in Imo and Ogun states had pitted Governors Ibikunle Amosun and Rochas Okorocha of Ogun and Imo State respectively against the National Chairman as their anointed governorship choices failed to secure the party’s gubernatorial ticket.

While both governors have promised to support President Muhammadu Buhari’s re-election bid, they also vowed that they would stop at nothing to ensure the victories of their choice candidates in other parties.

Okorocha’s supporters  have defected to the Action Alliance (AA). Amosun’s have joined the Allied Peoples Movement (APM).

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NEWS

2019: Don’t Work Against APC, Chieftain Urges Amosun

A Chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ogun State, Dr. Femi Majekodunmi, has urged Governor Ibikunle Amosun not to work against the interest of the party in the 2019 general elections.

Majekodunmi, who is the Baagbile of Egba land, addressed reporters at the weekend in Abeokuta, the state capital.

Ogun is among the states where the APC is having a crisis over its governorship candidate with Amosun insisting on his preferred choice, Adekunle Akinlade, to be the party’s candidate while the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) submitted the name of Prince Dapo Abiodun.

The APC chieftain urged the governor to avoid taking a political decision that would consign his name into political oblivion.

According to him, Majekodunmi said the governor cannot afford to let the party down by playing a spoiler game.

The APC chieftain warned that doing so would be counter-productive with grave implications on his good name, which he had built over the years.

He noted that the governor had served the people diligently for over seven years with landmark achievements.

According to him, history will be kind to him, if he allows reason to prevail and he works for the victory of the party at the state and federal levels.

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NEWS

Amosun Presents N402.6b Budget To Ogun Assembly

Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State yesterday presented the 2019 budget estimate of N402.63 billion to the House of Assembly. This represents 17 per cent increase of last year’s estimate, which was N345.4 billion.

Education got the lion’s share of N88.57 billion (22 per cent).A breakdown of the “Budget of Enduring Legacy” shows that N254.005 billion (63.1 per cent) was allocated to capital expenditure, while personnel cost, which consists of pension and gratuities, took N22.20 billion.

Salaries and allowances got N74.43 billion while recurrent expenditure got N148.57 billion.The overhead cost is fixed at N41.447 billion.

Amosun said that N161.24 billion of the budget would be sourced through internally-generated revenue (IGR), N42 billion from the federation account, while “N101.38 billion is expected from capital receipts, with other receipts providing N80 billion (19.8 per cent) of the total funding.”

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POLITICS

Count Me Out Of Oshiomhole’s Alleged Detention – Amosun

Gov. Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State has dismissed rumours that he and Gov. Rochas Okorocha of Imo are behind the alleged detention and grilling of All Progressives Congress(APC) National Chairman Adams Oshiomhole.

Oshiomhole was reportedly detained and questioned on Nov. 4 by the Department of State Services (DSS) over the fallout of the APC primaries.

Speaking with State House correspondents after a closed-door meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday at the Presidential Villa, Amosun said he did not have such capacity.

“I think you are giving me an oversight role.

“I am not a security person; so, clearly, that question will probably not be for me.

“I don’t hide under a finger and fight; if there is need for me to put my views across, you know by now, I will do it.”

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NEWS

2019: Oshiomhole And His Collaborators Will Fail In Ogun, Says Amosun

Executive Governor of Ogun State, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, on Saturday reacted to comments credited to National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, in which he said the governor was running the affairs of APC in his state as an emperor.

Amosun, in a statement by Information Commissioner Adedayo  Adeneye, said  Oshiomhole  “lacks respect for truth and decency.”

The governor alleged plot to hand the state over to what he called a gang of rapacious expansionists in the Southwest.

He said the plot would fail.

Adeneye, in the statement, restated “the contention of the APC leadership in Ogun State that the only gubernatorial primary held in the State was that of October 02, 2018 which produced Adekunle Akinlade as winner.”

He added: “the emergence of Akinlade was initially through a consensus arrangement as allowed by the party constitution but was nevertheless subjected to a primary election when some gubernatorial aspirants disagreed with the outcome of the consensus arrangement.

“This is, however, without prejudice to the sanctity of the consensus arrangement which Adams Oshiomhole hypocritically tries to demonise.

“Nigerians will recall that Oshiomhole himself was elected National Chairman of the APC by consensus arrangement which witnessed all other contestants to the office being prevailed upon to step down for him (Oshiomhole).

“The ground on which Oshiomhole disputes the gubernatorial primary in Ogun State is that the result was not announced by the State Electoral Committee from Abuja, therefore the governor resorted to self-help.

“We wonder why Oshiomhole accepted the result of the primary election in Lagos State whose result was also not announced by the State Electoral Panel. Why will the same scenario be acceptable in Lagos State but regarded as self-help in Ogun State?

“We wish to call the attention of Nigerians to another evil being perpetrated by Oshiomhole in Ogun State.

“As at today November 3, which is 24 hours after the deadline for submission of names of candidates for the House of Assembly, Oshiomhole has not given INEC Party Candidate Form (CF001) to any of the 26 candidates who won the primaries for the ticket to contest for the Ogun State House of Assembly.

“The primary was conducted on October 7 by the State Electoral Committee headed by Col. Ali Ciroma. This is despite the fact that the State Chairman of the party had kept vigil at the national secretariat of the APC in the last two weeks to collect the forms.

“If Oshiomhole is denying the outcome of the gubernatorial primaries because the State Electoral Committee shied away from announcing the result, what is the reason for denying all the 26 candidates for the House of Assembly freely elected by members of the APC in Ogun State?

“We want Nigerians to note the duplicity and meddlesomeness of Comrade Adams Oshiomhole and his gang in the affairs of the APC in Ogun State.

“It is also important to note that Oshiomhole unilaterally replaced four of the nine winners of the primary election into the House of Representatives.

“This includes Mikhail Kazzim, a serving member of the House who won the primaries by defeating Olumide, the son of Chief Olusegun Osoba, with 28,802 votes to Osoba’s 4,209. Oshiomhole removed Kazzim who won the primaries and replaced him with the man he had serially defeated, not only in the last primary election but also in the general election of 2015.

“In yet another instance in Ado Odo – Ota Federal Constituency, Oshiomhole substituted the winner of the primary for the House of Representatives, Rotimi Rahmon with the name of Jimoh Ojugbele, who did not even contest to go back to the House of Representatives but contested the primary for the Senate and was defeated.

“In his conduct, Oshiomhole is opening a new chapter in the history of elections in Nigeria- a situation where a gang of desperate politicians will sit somewhere in another state and write the result of an election that never took place; what our people creatively refer to as “Offshore Rigging”!.

“This is what Oshiomhole and his gang are trying to foist on Ogun State. Lawyers say “you cannot build something on nothing”. Oshiomhole and his gang are trying to build a storey building of fraud on nothing.”

The governor also dismissed the claims of Oshiomhole that he withdrew the security of the State Electoral Committee, saying Indabawa, Chairman of the panel and a retired Commissioner of Police came into Ogun State with a full complement of police team which he claimed was provided for him by a Deputy Inspector General of Police.

He added: “How could Amosun have withdrawn policemen he did not assign or over whom he had no control?

“All of these have clearly shown that the motive of Oshiomhole is not the rule of law which he proclaims on the roof top. It is rather, an evil plan with some collaborators, desperate to hijack the government of Ogun State and add it to the harem of states under their rapacious gang of exploiters.

“As we have stated before, this evil design will not succeed in Ogun State. Our people are too educated, exposed and sophisticated to come under such odious arrangement. On a general note, Oshiomhole, who became the APC Chairman barely three months ago, is already threatening to write the epitaph of the party in his 100 days of ignominy.

Governor Amosun concludes the statement with an advice for Oshiomhole: “To Oshiomhole and his motley crew of co-travellers in ignominy, be assured that the music has just begun and we hope that you will enjoy the macabre dance to the music of justice.”

“By the Grace of God and the support of the good people of Ogun State, Adekunle Abdulkadir Akinlade will be sworn in as the new governor of Ogun State on May 29, 2019.”

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NEWS

Ogun APC Primaries: I Will Not Take Up Issues With Amosun, Says Osoba

Former Governor of Ogun State and a leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), has said that he would not take up issues with the current Governor Ibikunle Amosun.

This is coming just as Governor Amosun had accused Osoba and National Chairman of the APC, Adams Oshiomhole of conniving with others to write a fake primary result which produced Mr. Dapo Abiodun as the state’s governorship candidate.

Amosun had reportedly said: “The President already knows there was no election in Ogun State. He knows that they just went to Lagos, wrote all results and that what they did is fraud. If the National Working Committee (NWC) or the National Chairman said there was any election in Ogun State, it was all fraud. That is what I said.”

Responding to the allegations, Mr. Osoba said he would rather maintain his silence than engage Amosun in the pages of newspapers.

His words: “It is an aberration that a father in Yoruba land should be engaging his child in a shouting match in the public.

“At 80, I cannot be answering a 60-year-old on the pages of newspapers. There is no comment,” Osoba said.

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