Tag: APC

18Nov

APC, PDP AND LP Gubernatorial Candidates Call for Cancellation of Anambra Gubernatorial Polls

The three governorship candidates of PDP, APC and LP, Tony Nwoye, Chris Ngige and Ifeanyi Ubah vowed on Saturday November 16, 2013 night to reject whatever result that would be announced by INEC from Saturday and proposed Sunday gubernatorial elections in Anambra State, Nigeria.

At a joint news conference addressed at 8:00 p.m. at Finotel Hotel, Awka, Senator Ngige presented the official position of the three contestants on the election. The three candidates had earlier in the day expressed their dissatisfaction with the conduct of the election.

Senator Chris Ngige said: “Our stand is that Saturday election was characterized by fraud, malpractices and massive irregularities and we call on INEC to put in place another process to conduct a fresh election to enable the people of Anambra elect their governor that will take over from the present governor on March 17 next year. The irregularities clearly noticed included the omission of the names of many voters in the registers presented for the election in the over 4,000 polling units.”

Continuing, Senator Ngige said: “We were assured that the process will be free and fair during the stake holder’s meeting with the INEC Chairman, Prof Attahiru Jega, but little did we know that they had planned to disenfranchise many of our supporters by deleting their names from the register everywhere in the local government areas. It was so massive and we hereby reject the voters registers used for this election. We were assured by the INEC chairman that the electoral process would be transparent but we experienced was the contrary.”

INEC Declares Anambra Guber Poll Inconclusive

THE Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) has declared Saturday’s governorship election in Anambra State inconclusive. To this end, a supplementary election is to held in the state before a winner is eventually declared.

The Returning Officer , James Okueke, who released results for the 21 councils of the state, said the front runner and candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Willy Obiano could not be pronounced outright winner as the margin between him the first runner-up, Tony Nwoye of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), was less than the total number of registered voters in the areas where voting never took place on Saturday.

According to available results, APGA polled 174,710 votes, PDP has 94,956 votes, APC 92,300 votes and Labour Party 37,446 votes to emerge first, second, third and fourth positions in that order. According to Okueke, a total of 429,554 votes were cast, out of which 113,013 ballots were rejected, noting that the margin between the APGA and PDP candidates was 79,774 votes, thereby making it impossible for anyone to be declared winner at this stage pending when supplementary election holds in the affected wards and units across the state .

Meanwhile, Ubah (LP), Ngige (APC) and Nwoye (PDP) have reiterated calls for the outright cancellation of the entire exercise, alleging gross electoral irregularities and inducement of voters on the election day. They are also asking for the sack of the state’s Resident Electoral Commissioner, Prof. Chukwuemeka Onukaogu.

You Do Not Need Court Order to cancel Anambra Polls – APC Tells INEC Chairman Jega

Meanwhile, the Interim National Publicity Secretary of APC, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, reminded INEC Chairman, Attahiru Jega, that about 1.3 million of the 1.7 million registered voters in Anambra were unable to exercise their franchise and could not vote because of the late arrival or non-delivery of voting materials. “In announcing the cancellation of the National Assembly election in 2011, INEC Chairman Attahiru Jega said, among others, that it was to ‘maintain the integrity of the elections and retain effective overall control of the process,” Lai Mohammed said. APC said the situation in Anambra last Saturday was even more serious because in addition to the fact that voting materials were either late or not delivered at all, most voters were disenfranchised by an INEC official who apparently tampered with the 2011 voters’ register for the state. Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is therefore wrong to say that only the courts can order the cancellation of last Saturday’s governorship election in Anambra State

“Therefore, there are more compelling reasons now to cancel the Anambra governorship election than what led to the cancellation and rescheduling of the National Assembly election in 2011.” It also said since the integrity of the 2011 voters’ register has been compromised by tampering, that register can no longer be relied upon by INEC to organise any election in Nigeria. “The emerging allegations are very serious. First, the voters’ register for Anambra has been allegedly tampered with by an INEC official to disenfranchise a huge number of voters, to such an extent that only 451,826 voters were accredited out of the 1,763,751 registered voters in Anambra State.

“Secondly, the disenfranchisement started from the data capturing stage, when the machine was apparently manipulated not to capture those whose names start with ‘O’ or ‘U’ and that is a whole lot of people. Against this background, it is obvious to all fair-minded people, that INEC ‘s computer data-base must have been fraudulently, irreparably and totally adulterated such that no credible voters’ register can anymore be produced from the 2011 voters’ registration data.” APC therefore calls for not just for the cancellation of the Anambra governorship election, but also insists that a fresh election cannot and must not be conducted on the basis of the 2011 voters’ register.

APC also calls on Prof. Jega not to withhold the names of the main saboteurs in Saturday’s Anambra Gubernatorial poll and to also investigate the level to which the voters’ register has been compromised, fish out all those involved, find out who their sponsors are and make all of them to face justice.

07Nov

Buhari, Tinubu, Akande beg Amaechi to join APC

Port-Harcourt, Rivers State, November 6, 2013

The leaders of All Progressives Congress – Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, General Muhammadu Buhari, rtd., and the National Chairman of the APC Chief Bisi Akande among others – visited Port-Harcourt Rivers State to invite Governor Rotimi Amaechi to cross over and join APC. Asiwaju Bola TinuR-L Gen Mohamadu Buhari, Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State; Asiwaju Bola Tinubu Former Governor of Lagos State/APC Leader; Engr Tele Ikuru, Rivers State Deputy Governor and Chief Tom Ikimi, Interim National Vice Chairman, APC South South yesterday during a visit of the APC Leadership to Rivers State. Photo: Nwankpa Chijiokebu said: “We did not come here to campaign but to see and invite. Amaechi has performed well. This country can’t progress on lies.” In his speech, the National Chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Bisi Akande said: “Today, the unstoppable APC train, which has made important stops in Kano, Jigawa and Adamawa, has arrived in Rivers State.”

Chibuike Amaechi, a courageous governor

Bola Tinubu and Governor Amaechi Continuing, Chief Akande said: “This is another important stop, because it allows us, the APC leaders, not only to invite Chibuike Amaechi, the courageous governor of Rivers, to join the growing APC family, but to show our solidarity with a man who has succeeded in battling anti-democratic forces to a standstill…. Our party has stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Governor Amaechi since the beginning of his travails. We have been unrelenting in our support because our party stands for justice, fairness and unfettered freedom. We abhor dictatorship clad in fake democratic garments.”
“We believe that the system of government that we operate does not make provision for an imperial presidency, who can neither be criticized nor opposed. That is why we told those who said the APC is crying more than the bereaved on the Rivers State issue, that we are indeed the bereaved anytime the rule of law is supplanted with the rule of the jungle; and we are the bereaved anytime a democratically-elected President thumbs his nose at the Nigerian Constitution. Or how else do we explain a situation in which a duly elected Governor, who is known to the Constitution as the Chief Security Officer of his state, is now being made to run his state side by side with the State Police Commissioner, who has been elevated to the de facto Governor by the presidency?”

Asiwaju Bola Tinubu Former Governor of Lagos State/APC Leader and Engr Tele Ikuru, Rivers State Deputy Governor yesterday at the Rivers State Government House during a visit of the APC Leadership to Rivers State. Photo: Nwankpa Chijioke“How do we explain a situation in which a state governor is being prevented from accessing his official residence by the police who should take orders from him? Where is it done that a state governor cannot receive visitors, including fellow state governors, without being tear-gassed and humiliated by the police? Or how does one justify a situation in which armed thugs backed by the police attack lawmakers in the hallowed chambers of the State House of Assembly?

Gov. Amaechi has been enduring these and other indignities, without wilting under fire! His plane has been grounded under flimsy, cooked-up excuses! They felt they have clipped his wings, but he is soaring even higher.

In defense of democracy and the Constitution

What is his offence? Standing up for the defence of democracy and the Constitution, leading his fellow Governors under the aegis of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum to reject creeping dictatorship. But because he provided good leadership, because he has the support of his colleagues in the NGF and because his cause is just, he has prevailed over his adversaries, and he stands taller than his physique.
Because he stands as a bulwark against those who wanted to annihilate democracy and cripple governance, the plan to extend the anarchy in Rivers State to other states of the Federation has failed. That is why we called him an epitome of courage.

Amaechi, an epitome of courage.

It was Maya Angelou, the African-American author and poet, who said courage is the most important of all the virtues, because without courage, you can’t practice any other virtue consistently. Perhaps that was why another American poet, Robert Frost, said that freedom lies in being bold. Thanks to Gov. Amaechi’s courage, Nigeria’s democracy is stronger, and our country is better. We salute your courage under fire, your tenacity under an endless assault and your commitment to unfettered freedom for all citizens. Since the leaking umbrella can no longer protect you from the vagaries of harsh weather, we ask you to jump on the APC train that will take Nigeria to the promised land!

Asiwaju Bola Tinubu Former Governor of Lagos State/APC Leader; Engr Tele Ikuru, Rivers State Deputy Governor and Chief Tom Ikimi, Interim National Vice Chairman, APC South South yesterday during a visit of the APC Leadership to Rivers State. Photo: Nwankpa Chijioke

Resist Acts of Impunity.

Amaechi and Gen. BuhariIn his speech, Governor Amaechi who spoke to the crowd at the Government House Port-Harcourt who came to receive the Interim national leadership of the APC. He sang: “There is nobody greater than God, there is no one greater than Jehovah Lord Divine.” He mentioned that his administration has done its best to construct roads, build health centers and schools and empower the youth of the state. Governor Amaechi further called on the people to resist acts of impunity. “I came down to march with you when I heard that they locked the gate at the airport against you. We walked five kilometres to the airport. We forced the gate open and I walked with you. We must prepare ourselves from now on.” Governor Amaechi referred to his unique position among the G-7 Governors in the new PDP since he came from the same South-South zone with President Goodluck Jonathan. “I am peculiar in the group of the seven governors. The President comes from our zone. I will consult our leaders, the President; I will consult you, I will consult all consultables. I will come back to you. The day we shall take a decision it will be at the new stadium that can take 40,000 persons. If we are staying (in PDP), we shall call the President to the stadium to address us, but if we are going we shall call Tinubu and Buhari to come and address us.” When Bola Tinubu moved a motion calling on the governor to cross over to the APC, it was endorsed by the large crowd in front of the Government House, Port-Harcourt. The occasion was witnessed by representatives of the 23 local governments in the state, 26 loyal State House of Assembly lawmakers (out of 33), led by the Speaker, Hon Otelemaba Amachree and Rivers State members of the National Assembly loyal to Governor Amaechi.

05Sep

APC choses Senator Chris Ngige as APC Governorship Candidate for Anambra State

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has chosen Senator Chris Ngige to fly its flag at the November 16 governorship election in Anambra.

This was as a result of the APC governorship primary election in Anambra state on September 2, 2013. There were three contestants, Senator Chris Ngige, Senator Annie Okonkwo, Deputy National Chairman South APC and Godwin Ezeemo. In a deal brokered by the Imo State Governor, Chief Rochas Okorocha, Senator Okonkwo had stepped down for Chief Ngige as a consensus candidate. Because Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) does not recognize consensus arrangements, APC insisted that there must be primaries for the aspirants running on the platform of the APC in Anambra State.

In the primary elections, Senator Ngige Chris Ngige won the direct primaries election conducted in 21 local council areas of Anambra State for the governorship ticket of All Progressives Congress (APC) with 63,255 votes against 9,564 for Engineer Godwin Ezeemo. Meanwhile, Senator Annie Okonkwo has agreed to lead the APC gubernatorial campaign in Anambra State.

21Aug

APC Launches its Manifesto

Chief Bisi Akande, the Interim Chairman, All Progressives Congress (APC) on Wednesday August 21, 2013 in Abuja presented the Manifesto of APC with a seven point cardinal program covering the areas of electricity generation, war against corruption, food security, integrated transport network and free education, devolution of power, accelerated economic growth and affordable health care. The program envisions a progressive state anchored on social democracy. The chairman projected electricity generation and distribution of 40,000 megawatts up from the current 3,311 MW by making power available from renewable energy sources such as coal, solar and wind.

The APC Interim Chairman stated that as a change agent, APC would halt the dangerous drift of Nigeria into a failed state; with a conscious plan for a post-oil-economy. “The country can only succeed when all of us have equal rights, where no one is above the law; where the culture of impunity is abolished and where there is a level playing field.” APC would restructure the country and devolve powers to the units with the best practices of federalism and wage a stringent war against corruption. On agriculture, the APC noted that Nigeria, which used to be a leading exporter of agricultural produce, had become import dependent. The future lies in embarking on a massive and progressive re-organization and revolution of the agricultural industry. APC envisions a national infrastructural development program through a private-public sector partnership involving the construction of 4,000 kilometers of “super highways,” revitalization of the railway system, with a projected building of 200 kilometers of rail lines annually. Ten percent of the country’s annual budget will be devoted to education. On Health, it will reduce infant mortality rate by 2019 to three per cent and reduce maternal mortality by more than 70 per cent while providing free ante-natal care for pregnant women and free health care for babies and children up to school going age. Free health care would also be provided for the aged and people living with HIV/AIDS. APC will conduct a census of ailing industries in the states and create an industrial resuscitation fund and new development banks that would make affordable credits available for industrial growth. APC would maintain “a sound macro-economic policy environment, run an efficient government and preserve the independence of the Central Bank of Nigeria.” APC promised to amend the 1999 Constitution and the Land Use Act “to create freehold/leasehold interest in land matching grants.”

Chief Akande remarked that during the past over 50 years of its Nigeria’s independence, the country had suffered seven coups d’état and endured 28 years of military rule. “Trapped in a vicious cycle of political crises, social upheavals and economic under-development, Nigeria has become, not only one of the most unstable countries in the world, it is also, regrettably, one of the poorest despite its huge human and material resources.” APC would therefore confront the seven major challenges facing the country which include: national unity and integration; perennial threats to security, law and order; ensuring rapid economic growth with equity people-centered economic management, consolidating Nigeria’s emerging democratic tradition; human development; and instituting a sustainable management of the environment. “The philosophy underpinning the coming into being of the APC,” Chief Akande continued, “therefore is the determination to bring the country back from the brink of collapse, despair, and possible disintegration; reposition it decisively on the route to emerging into a modern stable democratic nation, with a productive economy that is based on equity and justice for all citizens.” APC would further harness the abundant energies, enterprise and intellect of all Nigerians, particularly the Nigerian youth and women, to move the country forward so that Nigeria can assume its proper place in world affairs commensurate with its size and status as the leading black nation in the world.

Click here for APC Manifesto

08Aug

APC sets up committee on structure and mobilization

All Progressives Congress Interim National Executive Committee on Tuesday, August 6, 2013, met in Abuja, Nigeria and set up a committee, headed by former House of Representatives Speaker Aminu Bello Masari to build a structure for the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The National Chairman of the party’s Interim National Executive Committee, Chief Bisi Akande stated that APC was ready to draw members from all groups, including the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and that even President Goodluck Jonathan was free to join APC whenever he is fed up with the crisis-ridden PDP.

Chief Akande observed that Nigeria was politically heading towards a two-party system. “Our major preoccupation is to set up the structure of our party – the All Progressives Congress.
“It is after that, maybe in November or December when we hold our national convention where our national executives will be elected. There is no idea about who becomes president or who becomes a governor. But the only exemption is Anambra State where the committee is already working on that.” “We are going to register our members in Anambra State, we are going to conduct congresses and we are going to elect a candidate that will contest on the platform of the All Progressives Congress. I think these are the very few things I have to tell you that we did at today’s meeting,” he continued.

Chief Akande indicated that several committees were set up to advise the party on how to go about the elections in some states, such as Anambra and Delta as well as some local government elections in Kwara, Anambra, Cross River, Enugu and other places. “If you know the INEC timetable, you will appreciate that we are going to work within that frame work and we are going to be ready, before INEC closes their door to nomination in Anambra State.”

The APC Interim National Chairman said the party has banned those arrogating to themselves some political offices or positions when the APC structure is yet to be erected. “But because the party has not been given the directive,” he added, “some people are just talking on behalf of the party. We are putting a stop to that. Any statement about the party should emanate from the Publicity Secretary of APC and that is Alhaji Lai Mohammed. And whatever he tells you, you should know it is the mind and decision of the All Progressives Congress.”

“We are warning people that are arrogating to themselves chairmanship of APC in the state or in the local government, they are all unauthorized. All those who are printing papers, printing forms, calling rallies in the states in the name of APC, are not yet authorized. The authority will soon begin to flow down from the national level to the state level, and to the local government. And when it is going to be done, the National Publicity Secretary will keep you informed.”

He said the mobilization of members into the new party will begin from the bottom to the top and the membership would be thrown open to all Nigerians, including President Goodluck Jonathan. “If Jonathan is tired of the crisis in the PDP, he is welcome in the APC.”

He said: “We have just finished the first meeting after the INEC registration of the merger of the five committees that came together. And we know our duty as the Interim Leadership of the APC is to mobilize people into APC. Our duty is to register members into the party. “Our duty is to stage congresses, from ward level to local government level, at state level and at the national level. It is to hold a convention to establish a proper structure for the All Progressives Congress. And until that is done, we are having the party in the interim. I hope you will understand that.” Former House of Representatives Speaker Aminu Bello Masari has been chosen to head the committee to advise the party on its structure.

31Jul

INEC Registers APC

PRESS STATEMENT

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has approved the application by three political parties – the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) – to merge into one, to be known as the All Progressives Congress.

On considering the application, the Commission found that the applicant-parties have met all statutory requirements for the merger, and has accordingly granted their request.

Consequently, the Commission has approved the withdrawal of the individual certificates of the applicant-parties, and the issuance of a single certificate to the All Progressives Congress.

Abdullahi A. Kaugama
Secretary to the Commission