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Fayose’s Advert On Buhari, Inciting – APC …PDP Dissociates Self From Advert

Published

12 years ago

January 21, 2015

Rivers State APC governorship running mate, Honourable Asita (right) in a handshake with Barr Pedro Akpala, during a meeting with lawyers at their Fourth General Meeting in Port Harcourt, last Monday. With them is Barr Eric Robinson.

The All Progressives Congress (APC), has accused President Goodluck Jonathan of violating the non-violence pact, signed by him and other presidential candidates in Abuja on January 14th 2015, by acceding to the incendiary, insensitive, reckless and provocative death-wish-for-Buhari advert sponsored in his name by the zany Governor of Ekiti State, Ayo Fayose, on Monday.
“But for our party’s ceaseless enlightenment of our members and supporters to shun violence of any kind even when provoked, and the peaceful disposition of the APC as a party, one can only imagine what could have happened in the wake of this demonic advert, laced with ethnic put down and a morally-repugnant death wish for a fellow being,” the party said in a statement issued in Lagos yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed.
“We are therefore calling on all those who witnessed the signing of the pact, especially former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and former Commonwealth Secretary-General, Emeka Anyaoku, to take note of this very serious breach of the agreement and urgently call President Jonathan and his party to order.
”We are also calling on all Nigerians, as well as security agencies, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON) to take note of the political desperation of the PDP and its supporters, while warning that we will hold President Jonathan and his party responsible if anything untoward should happen to the APC Presidential Candidate,” it said.
APC said for the avoidance of doubt, the unprecedentedly-provocative advert was not the first time that the President and his supporters have broken the Abuja Peace Accord.
“Two days after the pact was signed, our party’s office at Ngo community in Andoni Local Government Area of Rivers was bombed, the second of such incident in the state, by PDP thugs. Then our party members were attacked severally in Sokoto by PDP thugs aided and abetted by the police, while the PDP Governor of Kaduna State, Mukhtar Yero, has been inciting violence against the opposition in his state,” the party said.
It said the fact that the perpetrators of those incidents got away with their actions without any censure from the President emboldened another die-hard supporter of the President to throw caution to the wind and embark on a course of action that has now exposed, for the world to see, the level of desperation by the President and his party ahead of next month’s polls.
“Never in the history of our nation has there been a more egregious act of desperation by a politician who would wish death to his opponent, with the action aided and abetted by otherwise respectable media organizations that chose to put financial consideration over professional ethics, morality and even national unity,” APC said.
The party urged the media, which has always been in the forefront of the fight for democracy in Nigeria, to exercise the utmost restraint at this difficult period, calling its attention to the inciting role played by the hate radio, called Radio-Television Libre des Mille Collines (RTLMC), in the Rwandan genocide in 1993.
It said President Jonathan, who has been saying his political ambition is not worth the blood of anyone, could have had the blood of many Nigerians on his hands had the APC supporters not been peaceful and cool in the face of this egregious act of provocation.
“When we saw the advert on the front page in certain papers, we were taken aback not because we had any grand expectation of civil conduct from the indecorous and immoral Governor Fayose, but because no one could have imagined that PDP’s desperation would descend to the level of publicly expressing death wish for political opponents.
“That this is coming from the Governor of a State is appalling and highly distasteful. No doubt Gov. Fayose is the poster boy for what the PDP stands for: insensitivity, desperation and deception. Otherwise, how could any well-bred person, whether or not he is a state Governor, attempt to incite a whole section of the country against another in such brazen manner?
“PDP can choose to disrespect Nigerians, old, young and even past leaders. It has the prerogative to determine what issues are important to it and how it intends to run its campaign. But for us, this election is about security, employment for our youths, war against corruption, a buoyant economy and shared prosperity for Nigerians.
We will not shift focus from these issues that affect Nigerians. We will continue to spread the message of hope to our people,” APC said.
The party thanked Nigerians for their collective condemnation of such abominable publication, adding: ”Nigerians have shown that despite their different political affiliation, religion and ethnicity, they are humane and reasonable people who cannot be set against themselves by the trivial-mindedness of some desperate politicians.
“While appealing to all our members to remain peaceful, we must continue to stay focused on our common goal which is to have a Nigeria that works. We must resist the ploy to instigate violence in order to force a postponement of next month’s election, which is the grand plan of the PDP and its supporters.
”To those who are incredulous and affronted by the acts of desperation by the PDP, we say use the most potent ‘weapon’ at your disposal, your vote, to express your outrage during the forthcoming polls.
Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential campaign organisation has distanced itself from the controversial death-wish advertorial authored by the Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose.
Fayose in the said advertisement, published in two national newspapers, warned Nigerians against voting for the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, predicting that if elected, Buhari too would die in office.
Director of Media and Publicity of the PDP presidential campaign organisation, Femi Fani-Kayode on Tuesday said the views expressed in the publication were personal to Fayose.
According to him, the message in the said advertorial did not in any way reflect the views of the PDP presidential campaign organisation, adding that questions regarding the advertisement should be directed to the Ekiti State Governor.
Fani-Kayode said: “Governor Ayo Fayose is a distinguished leader of our party. A democratically elected governor and someone we have immense respect and affection for, but he released this advert in his own name.
“That represents his own personal opinion which he is entitled to. What I can tell you on our part as the presidential campaign organisation is that does not represent the opinion of the campaign organisation or indeed that of the President.
“It is his opinion which he is entitled to and he is somebody that we have immense respect for, he is a leading member of the party. I have spoken with him and we respect him, but for anybody to suggest that this is the position of the presidential campaign organisation or President Goodluck Jonathan that will be most unfair.
“If we wanted to say something like that we will say it without any kind of apology but of course we will never say that because we believe in the sanctity of life. Age is not a function of how long you will live. It is important that we recognize the fact that age is not an indication of how long somebody will live,” the party said.

News

NDLEA Intercepts 1.63m Tramadol Pills, Arrests 80-Year-Old Suspect

Published

3 days ago

July 20, 2026

The Tide

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted 1.63 million pills of tramadol concealed in two long trailers heading for Kano as it intensified efforts to dismantle a transnational drug trafficking syndicate operating along the Togo-Benin Republic-Nigeria corridor.

The agency also arrested an 80-year-old suspected drug dealer in Rivers State, a businesswoman linked to cannabis shipments from Canada, a Chadian woman, a couple and other suspects in coordinated operations across Lagos, Edo, Kogi and Rivers states.

The NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this in a statement, yesterday.

According to the statement, the latest intelligence-led operation came barely one week after NDLEA operatives recovered 558,900 pills of tramadol concealed in the false-bottom compartment of a truck that entered Lagos through the Togo-Benin Republic route.

Babafemi said, “Ongoing efforts to dismantle a transnational drug trafficking syndicate smuggling tramadol from Togo, through Benin Republic into Nigeria have yielded another success with the interception of two long trailers used to move One Million Six Hundred and Thirty (1,630,000) pills of tramadol 250mg concealed in fabricated compartments of the trucks across multiple borders into Lagos.”

He added that one of the two trailers was intercepted on July 2 along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, where operatives recovered 853,000 pills of tramadol 250mg concealed in a fabricated compartment beneath the cargo floor.

Babafemi said, “One of the two trucks already heading to Kano was tracked and located on 2nd July 2026 along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway where NDLEA officers recovered 853,000 pills of tramadol 250mg concealed in a fabricated compartment beneath the cargo floor of the trailer and arrested the 22-year-old driver Jabir Kabiru.”

He further disclosed that another trailer was intercepted two days later on the same route.

“Two days later, 4th July, NDLEA operatives acting on processed intelligence successfully tracked and recovered the second trailer from the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway while heading to Kano. A total of 777,000 pills of tramadol 250mg concealed in a fabricated compartment beneath the cargo floor of the truck were evacuated and the 22-year-old driver Muhammed Nuhu arrested,” the statement read.

According to Babafemi, investigations established a link between the three intercepted consignments.

He said, “Investigations revealed that all three trucks and consignments intercepted on 21st June, 2nd July and 4th July belong to the same transnational drug trafficking syndicate operating along the Togo-Benin Republic-Nigeria axis.”

The agency also intercepted 4.70 kilograms of Canadian Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, at the import shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos.

Babafemi said, “Two consignments of Canadian Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, with a combined weight of 4.70 kilograms have been intercepted at the import shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos. The cargoes, which arrived the Lagos airport from Canada in cartons with ‘Odugwu’ boldly written on them, came aboard British Airways and Ethiopian Airlines flights on 24th June and 3rd July respectively.”

He said two cargo agents, Ali Rotimi Samson and Orimolade Oluwagbenga, were initially arrested in connection with the shipments, while another suspect, Edeh Onyeamachi Stanislus, was apprehended after arriving at a logistics company to take delivery of the consignments.

News

FG Alerts Nigerians Of N50,000 Allowance Registration Scam

Published

3 days ago

July 20, 2026

The Tide

The Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction has denied claims that it has commenced registration for a purported ?50,000 National Support Allowance.

The ministry, in a public notice posted on its official X handle, yesterday, described messages, links and websites advertising the alleged programme as fraudulent.

It urged Nigerians to disregard such claims and verify information only through official government channels.

“The Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction has NOT commenced registration for any ?50,000 National Support Allowance,” the ministry said.

It added, “Disregard fraudulent messages, links and websites claiming otherwise. Verify any info only through official govt channels.”

The alert is in response to a circulating scam flyer that falsely claims the program is ongoing under President Bola Tinubu’s directives.

The fake advertisement, which includes text in Hausa and English, directs victims to a suspicious website (kluspz.com) for applications.

The ministry’s warning comes amid heightened concerns over digital fraud targeting vulnerable populations seeking social support.

Similar scams have previously surfaced around programs like N-Power, prompting questions from citizens in replies to the official post.

News

Minimum Wage Review: We’re Battle Ready For Major National Struggle -NLC

Published

3 days ago

July 20, 2026

The Tide

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has expressed its preparedness for a major national struggle for a comprehensive review of the national minimum wage.

NLC President, Comrade Joe Ajaero, hinted at this while making his remarks at the commissioning of the Comrade Godwin Abumisi Pensioners Legacy House and Multipurpose Hall in Abuja.

Ajaero said it is no longer acceptable to discuss the welfare of workers without also discussing the welfare of those who have completed their active years of service.

He advised workers and pensioners to get prepared for the ideological and economic battles that lie ahead.

According to the NLC president, “The Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP) is one of the proud affiliates of the Nigeria Labour Congress. Therefore, your struggle is our struggle, and your welfare remains a priority for the organised labour movement.

“We are currently in the preparatory stages for a major national struggle for a comprehensive review of the national minimum wage.

“However, let me state unequivocally that it is no longer acceptable to discuss the welfare of workers without also discussing the welfare of those who have completed their active years of service.

“Accordingly, the Nigeria Labour Congress will not only push for a new national minimum wage but will also demand the establishment of a national minimum pension. It is a historical injustice that men and women who devoted their youth, strength and productive years to the service of this nation should be condemned to live below the poverty line after retirement.”

Ajaero noted that the cost of living has risen astronomically as food, healthcare and transportation have become increasingly unaffordable.

“We cannot continue to allow our senior citizens to survive on pensions that have become poverty wages. Every retiree deserves to live with dignity after decades of faithful service to the nation,” he said.

He urged pensioners across the country to remain united and prepared as the process begins, adding: “This Legacy House should not merely be seen as a physical structure; it should become a centre for mobilisation, strategic engagement and solidarity as we prepare for the struggles ahead.”

The NLC president pointed out that the working class has always understood that “those who exploit workers are united in advancing their interests. We too must remain united in defending our collective interests and ensuring that government fulfils its obligations to both serving workers and retirees.”

He said the completion of the project should serve as a clarion call to all workers and lovers of the masses.

“We must not only build physical structures but also build a strong movement capable of compelling government to honour its commitments,” he said.

Ajaero further stated: “We will continue to demand the immediate payment of all outstanding pension arrears and the implementation of a pension regime that guarantees every retiree a life of dignity and security.

“Together, we shall continue to fight until every Nigerian worker and pensioner receives the justice, respect and welfare they deserve.”