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Buhari Not Interested In Credible Polls -Atiku …As PDP Alleges Presidency, APC Hawking With 2023 …Says Buhari Lied To Nigerians On Budget
The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has said President Muhammadu Buhari, who is also the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, is not interested in ensuring free, fair and credible elections in 2019.
Atiku’s party, the PDP, also accused the President of planning to extend the service of the Inspector General of Police , Ibrahim Idris, in order to use him to manipulate the presidential elections in favour of the APC.
Atiku said this while speaking through the spokesperson for the PDP Presidential Campaign Council, Umar Sani, at a press briefing in Lagos, yesterday.
Also, the PDP’s rejection of the IGP’s service extension was stated at the same briefing which had the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Mr Kola Ologbondiyan in attendance.
Atiku said it was evident that Buhari was not interested in credible elections because his refusal to sign the Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2018 despite the provisions in the bill to address election manipulations was a manifestation of his intention.
The PDP Presidential Campaign Council’s spokesperson said, “ Elections are usually manipulated at coalition centres and the amendments in the Electoral Bill is trying to prevent this but the President has refused to sign it.
“ When former President Goodluck Jonathan was in office, he was pressurised to extend the service of the then IGP, MD Abubakar but he did not succumb. Election was also close then and he refused to succumb to the pressure to extend his service.
“ We will not accept this now, we won’t accept anything less than what was done then. A precedent has been set, so we won’t accept anything less.”
Sani said Atiku had continued to say that he would engage younger persons with brilliant ideas and energy to drive the economy of the nation, saying an enabling environment would be created for businesses to thrive.
This, he said, would translate to job creation while stressing that Atiku, who was an entrepreneur and a good manager of humans and resources would unite the nation and reposition its economy to make life better for the people.
He explained that Atiku would also initiate the process of restructuring of the country which he had been promising in his electioneering while urging the electorate to discountenance the alleged lie of the ruling party that the PDP candidate said he would restructure the country in six months.
Sani said it was not enough to have integrity, saying Buhari had brought disaster to the economy and other aspects of the nation because he lacked the required competence to govern Nigeria.
Ologbondiyan stated that no administration in Nigeria has been found to be as corrupt as the Buhari administration. He said Buhari’s lieutenants had stolen so much from the public treasury but said the most painful thing was that the President had kept looking at another direction each time his aides were fingered in corrupt practices.
He said, “ We reject the any extension of service for the IGP. We in PDP reject this. We know what the President is planning to do by the extension of service is to use the IG to perpetrate his rigging plan.
“ We want to appeal to the IGP to insulate Nigeria Police from partisan politics. From the body language of Mr President, it is evident that he is not ready for free and fair elections in 2019.”
Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party Presidential Campaign Organization (PDPPCO) has accused the Presidency and the All Progressive Congress (APC) of hawking the 2023 presidency to secure votes for next year’s election.
This followed the promised by different key officials of the administration including Vice President Yemi Osinbajo asking different regions to vote for President Muhammadu Buhari so that they may have the 2023 presidential slot.
But in a statement issued by the spokesman of the campaign organization, Kassim Afegbua in Abuja on Sunday, the PDPPCO said the move was in desperation to hang on to power despite its abysmal failure so far.
It noted that the ruling party has “resorted to trading with the lure of 2023 presidency, promising both the South East and South West respectively of the 2023 presidency in exchange for votes.”
The statement said giving out two promises has exposed the insincerity and dubious intention of the Buhari-led Federal Government with the people of the South-East and South-West geopolitical zones with empty promises of bequeathing power to the two zones at the same time in 2023.
According to the campaign spokesman, this is why Nigerians cannot take the APC and the Buhari presidency serious any longer, as we prepare for the 2019 election.
The statement recalled that speaking on behalf of President Buhari in Owerri last week, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, told the APC campaign that the President would hand over the reins of power to a South-Easterner while calling on the people to support Mr President.
It pointed out that meanwhile, the Vice President also told leaders of the South-West to support the re-election of President Buhari so as to get the presidency in 2023.
The statement added: “Two principal officers of the same government cannot be fooling Nigerians with vainglorious promises all in the name of re-election.
“Such discordant tunes by the first and second citizens of our dear country have exposed lack of synergy and display of double standard and double-speak by chieftains of a government that has continued to display wanton desperation to hold on to power at all cost in the face of monumental failure.
“How can the president be promising South-Easterners the Presidency when his Vice President is also promising the South-Westerners same position in 2023, all in the name of 2019 re-election?.
“This is a clear show of deceit, desperation, crass insincerity and hypocrisy of the highest order. This is a clarion call on the South-Easterners not to trust such carrot being dangled before them as it has become obvious that this government neither fulfils promises nor keeps any covenant.
“The same government cannot promise the Igbos and Yorubas at the same time if it were sincere about the shape of politics of 2023 presidency.
“This government has an uncommon reputation for deceit, lies, insincerity and hypocrisy especially when it has to do with its 2019 re-election bid.
“Nigerians are beginning to see through the pretensions and dubiety of purpose of the Buhari-led Federal Government; a government that has shown its incapacitation and leadership atrophy in the last three years and crippled the fabric of our collegiate solidarity and unity through nepotism and cronyism.
“The president cannot, on the one hand, be playing God by decreeing which zone it intends to bequeath the reins of power, while his Vice President, on the other hand, is also promising his South-West zone of the same position.
“This is a typical feature of power hawkers, in their desperation to hoodwink buyers to patronise their morbid products.
“The Nigerian public must wake up to this double-speak and vote out this inconsistent government in 2019.
“It is a responsibility that every Nigerian must buy into in order to save the country from further maladies and misgovernance.”
Also, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential Campaign Organisation (PPCO) has demanded for apology from President Muhammadu Buhari for allegedly making false claims in his Wednesday’s budget presentation to the National Assembly.
The Director, Media and Publicity of PPCO, Kola Ologbondiyan, said in a statement issued in Abuja last Saturday that the organisation noted with consternation, “the deliberate reliance on falsehood” by President Buhari in the 2019 budget presentation.
The campaign spokesman said Nigerians and the international community were shocked as fact-checks revealed that a large part of the claims made by Mr. President, particularly on projects he claimed to have completed, were outright falsehood, apparently designed by the Buhari Presidency to mislead the nation and the world.
He observed that the fact-checks showed that most of the projects which Mr President claimed to have been completed did not have the least attention of his administration, if they existed at all.
He added: “Of particular reference is President Buhari’s claim that he had completed the Ugwashi-Uku Dam in Delta State, a claim which casts a long shadow on his assertions, as the project had been abandoned since 2015.
“In fact, the dam, which President Buhari barefacedly said he had completed, is overgrown with weeds, while the road leading to the complex has collapsed.
“The scenario is mostly the same in other capital projects, particularly those in remote parts of the country, which, perhaps, our dear President thought Nigerians would not fact-check on.
“This explained why federal lawmakers booed him during his budget presentation, a development that is unprecedented in our national history.
“In his desperate plot to nudge up a trajectory of dismal performance, President Buhari resorted to falsification of achievements, thereby violating his oath of office, the oath of allegiance to the people of Nigeria and corrupted our national performance indices.
“This elevation of lies to a standard practice of governance is embarrassing and the PPCO completely condemns it.
“All over the world, leaders of nations are expected to be truthful in their dealings, but this is no longer the case as it concerns our dear nation.
“While we do not want to call Mr. President a liar, we urge him to tell Nigerians, in his own words, what he would call a person who claims to have done what he did not do, particularly, given his perception by a minority few as Mr. Integrity.”
The PPCO invited Nigerians to note that since fact-checks exposed the myriads of false claims in Mr. President’s budget speech, the Presidency had not offered any form of explanation.
“This goes to show that the claims were deliberate and intended to mislead,” he stated further, adding that “Nigerians will recall that the PDP had always alerted that the Buhari Presidency had nothing to offer Nigerians except lies, falsehood, deception, beguilement, intimidation, harassment, hunger, starvation and disobedience of court orders.”
The PPCO, therefore, charged President Buhari to apologise to Nigerians and get his handlers to turn a new leaf “and save his reputation from further nose-diving within the few months he has left in office as the President.”
Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has commended workers in the State for their resilience, dedication, and invaluable contributions to development in the State.
Fubara gave the commendation during the 2026 Workers’ Day celebration at Isaac Boro Park in Port Harcourt, last Friday.
Represented by his deputy, Prof. Ngozi Nma Odu, the governor noted that Workers’ Day, which originated from the struggle for an eight-hour workday in the United States, has evolved into a global event recognising the contributions of workers to national growth and development.
He described workers as the backbone of sustainable development, saying no society can thrive without their efforts.
Fubara commended Rivers workers for their loyalty and commitment to service, noting that workers play vital roles across key sectors, including education, healthcare, infrastructure and industry.
He noted that their contributions have enhanced access to quality education and healthcare, supported job creation, and stimulated economic activities across the State.
While acknowledging the economic challenges faced by many workers, including the rising cost of living, Fubara assured that the the State Government remains committed to implementing policies that will enhance workers’ welfare and overall well-being.
The governor also hailed the bold and daring economic reforms of President Bola Tinubu which, he said, have stabilized the economy, enhanced foreign exchange liquidity, lowered inflation, and achieved significant growth in the nation’s gross domestic product.
He noted that, in addition to raising the minimum wage, the President recently approved new welfare incentives for federal civil servants.
“Our economy is on an unstoppable positive path under our President, and it can only improve further for the nation and everyone. Let us continue supporting the policies and programmes of Mr President,” he said.
Fubara highlighted the importance of workers in revenue generation and governance, noting that taxes paid by workers enable government to provide security and essential social services.
He reaffirmed the State Government’s recognition of labour as a critical partner in achieving its development blueprint, appreciating workers’ daily contributions to building a peaceful, secure, and prosperous Rivers State.
The governor urged the organised labour to use the occasion to reaffirm its commitment to the progress of the State, while continuing to advocate for democracy, social justice, and improved welfare for workers.
He also expressed gratitude to workers for their service to the State and the nation, encouraging them to remain steadfast in their contributions to development.
In his address, the State Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Comrade Alex Agwanwor, commended Fubara for his steadfastness, genuine commitment, and passion for workers in the State.
He highlighted key achievements of the administration, including the implementation of the National Minimum Wage Act, the renovation of the State Secretariat, the reopening of the Rivers State Transport Company (RTC), and the consistent payment of end-of-year bonuses to public workers.
Comrade Agwanwor noted that workers, as drivers of productivity, understand the challenges involved in building a prosperous Rivers State, stressing that they are well-equipped to contribute meaningfully to the growth and development of the State.
“We have resolved not to continue complaining and lamenting while challenges persist. Instead, we must take the initiative, step out of relative obscurity, and rediscover the mission and destiny of our dear state,” he said.
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Fubara Pledges Support For Corporate Organisations In Rivers …Says PPP Business Model Responsible For NLNG’s Success
Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has pledged the continued support of his administration for the Nigeria Liquified Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited.
Fubara gave the assurance while receiving the new Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the NLNG, Mr Adeleye Falade, who paid him a courtesy visit at Government House, Port Harcourt.
He assured that his administration would continue to contribute its own quota in support of the NLNG.
According to him, the success of the organisation is equally the success of the government of Rivers State and the success of the Federal Government.
“Our duty is to make sure that we support whoever is operating in our state. We are the ones here. If we don’t support you and you don’t succeed, we also will not succeed and Mr President will also not succeed.
“So, the success of your establishment is the success of our state, and overall success of Nigeria. So you can count on our support. Wherever you think we need to come in to support you, please do not hesitate to call upon us.
“You just mentioned here that your predecessor left a handover note showcasing the level of support that he got from the state. It is not going to be different in your own case. I can assure you that. I will also ensure that other units of the government will liaise with you when necessary. So even if you can’t get to me, you can always get to them and if there is anything we can do to help your establishment succeed, we will do it for you,” he said.
The governor attributed the success of the NLNG to the Public Private Partnership ( PPP) business model adopted by the Federal Government and the multinational oil companies.
The NLNG is jointly owned by Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) with 49%, Shell Gas B.V. with 25.6%, Total LNG Nigeria Ltd with 15%, and Eni International with 10.4%.
The partnership model allows for shared risks, costs, and expertise in the LNG sector.
The governor noted that the NLNG has not only survived the difficult business environment but has made sustained progress in the nearly three decades of its existence.
According to him, the decision of the Federal Government to allow the multinational oil companies who have the needed expertise to run the establishment while government plays a supervisory role over it has largely been responsible for its success.
“I’m very proud to say that if there is one establishment that has shown resilience, that has survived in the face of all the political issues prevalent in this country, it is the NLNG. And what is the reason? The reason is very simple. Government has no business in business. That is the truth. Leave the business for those people who can operate it. Let the government play its supervisory role to ensure that there is compliance with the laws; ensure that standards are maintained and also ensure that the right people with the needed expertise are at the helm of affairs. That’s all. I think that is the reason why we still record a lot of successes in NLNG,” he said.
In his opening remark, the new NLNG boss, Mr Adeleye Falade, who led other top officials of the company on the visit, expressed appreciation to the governor for granting them audience, and appealed to the State Government to continue to support the organisation.
“We appreciate the opportunity to meet with you and deepen this important relationship.We deeply value the support the Rivers State Government continues to extend in fostering an enabling operating environment for businesses. NLNG remains deliberate in its contribution to Nigeria’s development, and Rivers State, our primary host, continues to be central to that commitment,” he said.
Falade said the company has continued to work with its host communities to strengthen their capacity to identify, prioritise, and deliver sustainable development initiatives that create lasting impact.
According to him, communities including Amadi-ama, Abua, Ekpeye, Okrika, Kalabari, and Emohua have continued to benefit from this model.
He said that beyond community infrastructure, the NLNG has sustained investments in economic empowerment through initiatives such as Vocational Innovation and Business Empowerment Scheme (VIBES) and Micro Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) schemes.
These, he said, were designed to support small businesses, build capacity, and stimulate local enterprise across the state.
Among officials of the company who accompanied the Managing Director were General Manager, External Relations and Sustainable Development, Dr Sophia Horsfall; Manager, Government Relations, Mr Abdul Umar; Manager, Community Relations, Dr. Yemi Adeyemi; Head of Government Relations, Mr Mike Igoni; Head of Community Liaison and Engagement, Chief Ifeanyi Umeh.
Others are Technical Assistant to Executive Leadership, Mr Hassan Saleh; Senior Media and Publicity Advisor, Mr Emma Nwatu; Government Relations Advisor, Miss Homa Nmegbu; Senior Government Relations Advisor, Mrs Kate Allison, and Audio -Visual Advisor, Mr Dawood Ahmed.
The Federal Government has reassured Nigerians and the international community of the country’s stability following a recent advisory by the United States authorising the departure of non-emergency personnel from its embassy in Abuja.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, stated this in a statement issued yesterday by his media aide, Rabiu Ibrahim.
According to the minister, public institutions across the country remain fully operational, with no disruption to governance, economic activities, or daily life.
This followed the decision of the United States Mission in Nigeria to suspend visa appointments at its Embassy in Abuja.
The mission’s decision was contained in a post shared on its official X handle, yesterday.
It stated, “U.S. Embassy Abuja is closed for visa appointments. Applicants should check their email for details on rescheduled appointments.”
The mission, however, clarified that visa operations at the U.S. Consulate General in Lagos remain ongoing.
The development comes amid a broader security advisory issued by the United States, which authorised the departure of non-emergency staff from its Abuja embassy and expanded its Nigeria travel blacklist to 23 states.
The State Department issued the authorised departure order on Tuesday, alongside an updated travel advisory that added Plateau, Jigawa, Kwara, Niger and Taraba to its highest warning category, “Do Not Travel.”
While the overall advisory rating for Nigeria remains at Level 3, “Reconsider Travel,” the department warned that some areas face increased risks due to crime, terrorism, unrest, kidnapping and limited healthcare availability.
According to the advisory, Americans are often targeted for kidnapping and robbery, while terrorist attacks continue to pose a threat across multiple locations, including markets, religious centres, hotels and public gatherings.
It also raised concerns about the state of emergency healthcare in the country, noting that hospitals often require immediate cash payments, ambulance services are unreliable and poorly equipped, and blood supply systems are inconsistent.
Medical facilities in Nigeria, the advisory said, generally do not meet United States or European standards, adding that evacuation may be necessary in medical emergencies.
The advisory further urged US citizens in Nigeria to enrol in the Smart Traveller Enrollment Programme, avoid large gatherings, vary their routines and maintain evacuation plans that do not depend on US government assistance.
It also recommended that individuals establish “proof of life” protocols with family members in the event of kidnapping.
The blacklist is divided into regional clusters. Borno, Kogi, Yobe and northern Adamawa remain under the terrorism, crime and kidnapping category, with the State Department warning that terrorist groups continue to plan and carry out attacks, sometimes in collaboration with local gangs.
For Bauchi, Gombe, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Sokoto and Zamfara, the advisory points to widespread banditry, communal clashes and kidnapping, while noting that security operations may occur without warning.
In the South-East and Niger Delta, states including Abia, Anambra, Bayelsa, Delta, Enugu, Imo and Rivers (excluding Port Harcourt) are flagged for crime, kidnapping and civil unrest, with armed gangs and violent protests posing significant risks.
The latest update added Plateau, Jigawa, Kwara, Niger and Taraba to the “Do Not Travel” list, citing the spread of insecurity into new regions, particularly in the Middle Belt where farmer-herder conflicts have intensified.
The advisory described the security situation in these newly added states as unstable and unpredictable, with counter-operations by security forces likely to occur without prior notice.
Idris, however, described the US advisory as a routine precaution based on internal protocols, stressing that it does not reflect the overall security situation in the country.
“While we acknowledge isolated security challenges in some areas, there is no general breakdown of law and order, and the vast majority of the country remains stable,” Idris said.
He noted that ongoing security operations have recorded measurable gains across several regions, attributing the progress to coordinated military efforts, intelligence-led interventions, and strengthened inter-agency collaboration.
“Our security agencies remain actively engaged in protecting lives and property, and the results of these efforts are increasingly evident,” he added.
According to the minister, recent operations have disrupted criminal networks, curtailed the activities of armed groups, and improved safety in vulnerable communities.
Idris also maintained that Nigeria remains open for business, travel, and investment, adding that ongoing economic reforms are strengthening investor confidence and enhancing the country’s global standing.
He said, “International partners and investors continue to engage actively with Nigeria, reflecting confidence in the country’s stability and long-term prospects.”
The minister urged foreign governments to ensure that their advisories reflect current realities and ongoing progress in the country.
“We encourage our international partners to continuously engage with Nigerian authorities to obtain a more comprehensive and current understanding of the situation on the ground,” he said.
The Federal Government reiterated its commitment to sustaining security improvements and ensuring the safety of citizens and visitors, assuring that Nigeria remains a safe and welcoming destination.
