Fayose Chides Buhari Over Appointment Of Northerner As NIA DG

The Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, has chided President Muhammadu Buhari for replacing the sacked National Intelligence Agency’s Director General, Ambassador Ayo Oke, with Ahmed Rufai Abubakar, a northerner.

Fayose in a statement by his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, said, seeing what President Buhari had turned the country to, the forefathers of Nigeria, who laid the foundation of the country on equity, justice, and fairness, would be lamenting wherever they were.

“The President has further demonstrated to Nigerians that he is an unrepentant sectional leader, who does not care about the feelings of people from other parts of the country.

“With the appointment of Ahmed Rufai Abubakar as the NIA Director General, all the heads of security agencies are now northerners and the question is, is this what those who enshrined the federal character principle in our constitution envisaged?”

“Ambassador Ayo Oke was removed from office the same day Babachir Lawal was removed as the Secretary to the Government of the Federation. While Lawal’s replacement came from his home state, Oke’s replacement came from the North. That is unacceptable,” he said.

Fayose reminded Nigerians of the President’s directive that the World Bank should shift its focus to the northern region of Nigeria for its developmental initiatives.

“Because of the President’s nepotism, religious bigotry and favoritism, Nigeria are now more divided than ever before.

“President Buhari has consistently demonstrated that he is an ethnic champion, a religious bigot and the number one promoter of disunity in Nigeria. This he has done again with the appointment of yet another northerner as the NIA Director-General.

“Even at a point, the National Chairman of the President’s party, the All Progressives Congress, John Odigie-Oyegun, had to openly fault the appointments made by the President, saying that as many as three people were appointed from one ward in a local government in the North.

“The implication of what the President has done is that, when the Security Council meeting is held today, apart from one or two insignificant people, those in the meeting will be people from one section of the country.

“Even para-military agencies are headed by people from President Buhari’s section of the country. This is unfair.”

2019: Buhari May Lose In Kogi - Faleke

resident Muhammadu Buhari’s former Campaign Coordinator for Lagos State, Abiodun Faleke, has advised the All Progressives Congress leadership to ignore the pledge by the Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, that he will deliver the state for the party in the 2019 presidential election.

Bello had during his recent visit to the Presidential Villa, assured the party’s leadership that he would ensure that Kogi delivers more votes for the President in 2019 than Katsina, his home state.

But Faleke, who was the deputy governorship candidate of the APC in Kogi State during the 2015 election, alleged that Bello had no such capacity because of his poor record of performance in the state.

Faleke, in a statement on Wednesday, said, “It is the height of deceit for a governor who owe several months’ salaries and pensions, and who cannot provide basic infrastructure, to boast of delivering Kogi for President Buhari in 2019.

“Mr. President, how can a governor who has been indicted by the Independent National Electoral Commission for engaging in double registration lead your campaign train in Kogi with such a moral stain hanging on his neck?

“The question is, will President Buhari contest? If yes, will he win Kogi with Yahaya Bello as the chief campaigner? The answer is No. This is because he has killed the APC in the state, thereby stripping us of critical campaign issues in the state.”

INEC Removes 190 Non-nigerians From Voter Register 

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said it has ordered the removal of the names of 190 non-Nigerians from the country’s Voter Register as part of measures to clean up the register.

The commission disclosed this in a statement issued by its Director of Voter Education and Publicity, Mr Oluwole Osaze-Uzzi yesterday in Abuja.

The Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) recently retrieved several Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) and National Identity cards from foreigners who were alleged to have registered as voters.

Osaze-Uzzi reiterated INEC commitment in ensuring that the Voter Register was free from unqualified registrations. (NAN)

Winning Anambra Elections Will End Marginalization Of South-east - Oyegun

The National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress(APC), Chief John Oyegun has stated that his party wants to win the upcoming Anambra state Guber elections because it wants to change a narrative in the south-east.

PoliticsNGR learnt that Oyegun, who spoke at the inauguration of a 48-member campaign council for the party's candidate in the November elections, Tony Nwoye, disclosed that the party needed to win the elections to end the cries of marginalization by the south-east.

We must change the narrative in the South-East and we must start with Anambra because the APC represents the most viable route for any South-East person to the presidency of this country.”

Oyegun also described Anambra as the 'Gateway to the south-east'. In his words;

"It is important that we do everything we can, fair and square, to bring Anambra State into the fold of the progressives for a lot of reasons.Until we manage to bring a few states into the mainstream of progressives’ politics, we may not see the end of this continued cry of marginalisation.

It is important that we work and work very hard to win Anambra being a critical state in the South-East. It is not going to be a small political struggle. We must work hard with unity of purpose to break through to the South-East in a major way to win Anambra.

It is very important, essential and vital that we manage to hammer together not just a patchwork of peace or make-believe kind of camaraderie but a very serious unity of purpose between all those who aspired to that office to act as a serious guarantee that we are indeed also serious in winning the Anambra governorship seat."