All Progressives Congress (APC): APC to Boko Haram: Lay down your arms, embrace dia...

All Progressives Congress (APC): APC to Boko Haram: Lay down your arms, embrace dia...: APC to Boko Haram: Lay down your arms, embrace dialogue The All Progressives Congress (APC) has called on Boko Haram to immediately c...

APC to Boko Haram: Lay down your arms, embrace dialogue

APC to Boko Haram: Lay down your arms, embrace dialogue

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has called on Boko Haram to immediately cease all attacks and
embrace dialogue in the interest of national peace and security, following what is undoubtedly a resurgence
of deadly attacks believed to be perpetrated by the sect.

In a statement issued in Warri on Monday by its Interim National Publicity, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party
strongly condemned the latest of such attacks that left many students of the College of Agriculture in Yobe dead and injured on Sunday, calling the killings dastardly, senseless and indefensible.

It called on traditional, religious, political and opinion leaders in the affected areas to intervene urgently to end the cycle of violence being perpetrated by the sect.

''It is clear that this Boko Haram menace cannot be resolved by the government alone, hence all stakeholders must urgently intervene to complement government's efforts to end the insurgency and get those behind it to embrace dialogue.

''There can be no justification for Boko Haram to continue to kill and maim innocent citizens, especially because the victims are not just fellow Nigerians like them, but most are actually their kith and kin,'' APC said.

The party described the continued violence by the sect as inexcusable, especially at a time that the government has offered an Olive Branch by setting up a committee to dialogue with the sect.

''We in the APC have been unrelenting in our advocacy for dialogue as a way of ending the insurgency. Fortunately, the government has also embraced dialogue, after initially resisting it as an option.

''Boko Haram should remember that they are not fighting an external war, and that their grievances, whatever they are, can never be resolved by continued killing, maiming and plundering. They must therefore put an immediate end to their cycle of violence and opt for dialogue. The longer this violence continues, the more difficult it becomes to resolve. Enough is enough!'' it said.

All Progressives Congress (APC): APC uncovers plot by PDP to rig 2015 polls, destab...

All Progressives Congress (APC): APC uncovers plot by PDP to rig 2015 polls, destab...: APC uncovers plot by PDP to rig 2015 polls, destabilize Nigeria The All Progressives Congress (APC) has uncovered a grand and serpent...

APC uncovers plot by PDP to rig 2015 polls, destabilise Nigeria.

APC uncovers plot by PDP to rig 2015 polls, destabilize Nigeria

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has uncovered a grand and serpentine plot by the PDP and the Presidency to rig the
2015 general elections, especially the presidential poll, and also to destabilize Nigeria.

In a statement issued in Lagos on Sunday by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said the
multi-faceted strategy that is being employed by the diabolical duo of the PDP and the Presidency, in their unbridled desperation to win the 2015 elections at all cost, include suppression of votes in areas where the President's chances are slim, using the police and the military .

They also plan to use what they have tagged a Third Force to bamboozle Nigerians and project the image of a performing Presidency, even when they admit that the current public perception of government is less than salutary because of its weakness and lack of vision; Engage in the destabilization of the APC using moles and fifth columnists; Instigate chaos in the South-West using what they called the ''Old Afenifere Guards'' as well as infiltrate and weaken socio-cultural and socio-political organizations in areas they deemed to be unfavourable to the President.

Shockingly, the party said, the PDP/Presidency's grand plot also did not exclude even the PDP itself, as they are pursuing a strategy of decisively and ruthlessly purging from the ranks of the party's inner decision-making caucus all recalcitrant members, including governors and House of Representatives members.

''The dogged pursuit of this action of dealing with supposed recalcitrant members has led to suspensions, expulsions and alienation of some PDP members, and it was the immediate trigger of the collapse of the party of tattered umbrella,'' APC said. ''After all, it is said that a house divided against itself cannot stand.''

Elaborating on the satanic plot, the party said the North-East and the North-West have been singled out as areas where votes must be suppressed in 2015, by creating an enabling environment for the deployment of ''special forces'' in the run-up to the 2015 elections. Simply put, they intend to launch police/military actions in the run-up to 2015, to ensure most of the registered voters in the zones are disenfranchised.

''The reason these two geo-political zones have been singled out for 'vote suppression' is because of what the PDP/Presidency called the 'voting demographics' in the zones in 2011. The North West had 18,900, 543 registered voters in 2011 while the North-East had 10,038,119. By contrast, the President's 'safe support base' of South-South and South-East had 8,937,057 and 7,028,560 respectively, the total of which was less than that of the North-West alone!

''The PDP/Presidency therefore believe that unless the votes in these two zones are suppressed, and those of the South-West (14,298,356) stifled one way or the other, the chances of the President winning re-election are very poor. Needless to say that these three zones (NE, NW and SW) are considered to be hostile to the President, hence must be tamed,'' APC said.

On the Third Force, APC said it involves railroading unsuspecting credible and independent-minded Nigerians with deep knowledge of, and extensive penetration of the media, civil society, labour, youth, women and ethnic nationalities into the plan, in which they will be given scripts written by the government and sent out to inundate the airwaves and the print media, posing as experts and public analysts to peddle lies and reel out statistics that have no bearing on the standard of living of the average Nigerian.

The party said perhaps the most dangerous aspect of the plot is the determined attempt by the PDP/Presidency to constrict the democratic space by moving against the main opposition party which they regard as a ''real threat'' to the President if it (party) does not implode or forced to break up before 2015.

The strategy to achieve this is multi-pronged: The PDP/Presidency will use those they called fifth columnists, disillusioned party members and 'deep cover plants' to fracture the APC; Play up clash of ambitions among its leaders, as well as create and empower a new anti-APC political force in the South-West, comprising the old Afenifere guards whom they described as spent and disillusioned forces, but who can be manipulated to achieve the desired objective of neutralizing the APC; And to revive some dormant political forces.

APC said while it is not bothered by the desperation of the PDP/Presidency to engage in unfair and foul means to win elections, it is astounded that a democratically-elected President will resort to actions that are far from democratic just to retain power at all cost.

''The PDP/Presidency should know that no power in the world can stop an idea whose time has come. For Nigeria, this is the time for change, and change will come in spite of the shenanigans of the devilish duo. Our hope is that these desperadoes do not destroy the country in their rabid ambition,'' the party said.

It called on Nigerians to be vigilant in the days, weeks and months ahead as the PDP/Presidency begin to roll out their grand plot.

All Progressives Congress (APC): APC condemns attack on members in Abia by PDP thug...

All Progressives Congress (APC): APC condemns attack on members in Abia by PDP thug...: APC condemns attack on members in Abia by PDP thugs, calls it assault on democracy The All Progressives Congress (APC) has condemned ...

All Progressives Congress (APC): APC calls Kenya terrorist attack sadistic, seeks g...

All Progressives Congress (APC): APC calls Kenya terrorist attack sadistic, seeks g...: APC calls Kenya terrorist attack sadistic, seeks global action against terrorism The All Progressives Congress (APC) has strongly co...

All Progressives Congress (APC): APC calls Kenya terrorist attack sadistic, seeks g...

All Progressives Congress (APC): APC calls Kenya terrorist attack sadistic, seeks g...: APC calls Kenya terrorist attack sadistic, seeks global action against terrorism The All Progressives Congress (APC) has strongly co...

APC calls Kenya terrorist attack sadistic, seeks global action against terrorism.

APC calls Kenya terrorist attack sadistic, seeks global action against terrorism

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has strongly condemned the terrorist attack in Kenya that left at least 67 people dead
and many more injured or missing, describing the attack as barbarous and an incredible act of cruelty.

In a statement issued in Awka on Wednesday by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said
nothing in the world justifies such an inhuman and sadistic attack.

''No cause can be good enough to allow the senseless killing of innocent people, especially women and children. No religion tolerates such a sadistic inclination. Therefore, groups like al-Shabaab which hide behind the facade of religion to kill and maim are on their own. They do not live for any higher values beyond their own selfish motives,'' it said.

APC said since terrorism is an assault on global peace, the world must come together as one to fight the scourge, because it neither respects borders nor recognizes race, gender or nationality.

''Whether it is Boko Haram which is rampaging in northern Nigeria where it has continued to kill and plunder, especially in recent times when the sect has overreached itself in atrocious and wanton killings, or the Ombatse cult that has been unleashing terror on innocent citizens in Nasarawa State in the name of tribal solidarity, terrorism in any form must be vehemently condemned.

''Since Africa seems to have become a playground for terrorists, going by events in Algeria, Kenya, Libya, Mali, Nigeria and Somalia, just to name a few, the African Union must urgently forge a platform to rally continental consensus, backed by the international community, to launch an onslaught against terrorism,'' it said

APC extends its sincere condolences to the Government and people of Kenya, urging the country to stay strong and not to allow itself to be intimidated by dead-enders masquerading as defenders of some great cause

''In this regard, we hail the courageous leadership of Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta who, in rallying his hurting nation, virtually spat in the face of the terrorists who attacked his country by saying Kenya has shamed and defeated its attackers and vowing that 'as long as Kenyan remains our home, we are indomitable','' the party said.

Alhaji Lai Mohammed
Interim National Publicity Secretary
All Progressives Congress (APC)
Awka, Sept. 25th 2013

APC condemns attack on members in Abia by PDP thugs, calls it assault on democracy

APC condemns attack on members in Abia by PDP thugs, calls it assault
on democracy

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has condemned the attack by PDP thugs on its members in Abia State and the disruption of their meeting on Sept. 17th 2013, saying the kind of intolerance and brigandage demonstrated by the PDP government in the state negate the very essence of democracy.

In a statement issued in Lagos on Monday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party described such an unprovoked attack, carried out by 10 young men armed with guns, machetes and wooden sticks as very dangerous and a manifestation of misdirected aggression.

It said if parties that hold sway in a certain state would not allow other parties in that state to meet, then a direct arrow would have been fired at the very heart of democracy and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

''Freedom of association is guaranteed by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The intolerance demonstrated by the PDP government in Abia state, which unleashed hired party thugs on a
peaceful gathering of the APC in Abia Central Senatorial District on Sept. 17th  2013, is undoubtedly a violation of the Constitution and an attack on democracy itself.

''It is the same intolerance that has driven the larger PDP to the brink of extinction, the same anti-democratic acts that have seen one faction of the ruling party unleash the security agencies against the other, and the same impunity that has turned a ruling party to an agent of destabilization of the polity,'' APC said.

The party commended its members in Abia for being law abiding and for refusing to descend to the same level of brigandage as the PDP, considering the scale of the attacks that left several APC members
injured and 10 vehicles, 15 motorcycles, 500 plastic chairs, public address system and others destroyed.

''We are particularly impressed by the maturity of the APC leaders in Abia who, instead of engaging the PDP thugs in a fire-for-fire stance, showed utmost restraint and then reported the incident to the State
Commissioner of Police.

''We hereby call on the police and other security agencies in the state to prevent a recurrence of such attacks. We urge the PDP-run government in the state to allow democracy to thrive, while appealing to our members in Abia to remain peaceful,'' APC said.

Press Release: Violence in Nasarawa: APC wants Defence portfolio taken from Maku

Violence in Nasarawa: APC wants Defence portfolio taken from Maku

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has demanded that Information Minister Labaran Maku be relieved of his new assignment as the Supervising Minister of Defence, because he is an interested party in the spiralling crisis ravaging Nasarawa, where the FG has ordered the deployment of troops to help end the violence.

In a statement issued in Lagos on Thursday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said the fact that Mr. Maku is of the Eggon ethnic stock, to which the Ombatse cult/militia group behind the Nasarawa crisis has been linked, has made his new role as the Supervising Minister of Defence untenable.

It said even if the Minister has no sympathy for the rampaging Ombatse, whatever action he takes in his new capacity - as far as the Nasarawa violence is concerned - will be open to misinterpretation and allegation of bias, which can in turn aggravate the crisis.

''This is why we believe that the most prudent thing to do is for President Goodluck Jonathan to immediately take the Defence Ministry portfolio from Mr. Maku. This is in line with international best practice,'' APC said.

The party said the Minister himself has not helped matters by the comments he made in an interview he granted the BBC on Thursday, in which he insinuated that the State Government had not initiated dialogue with stakeholders as a way of ending the crisis, and in which he tried to downplay the critical role that the State Government has played in curtailing the activities of the Ombatse cult/ethnic militia that has been engaged in senseless killings and plundering in the state.

''In both instances, the Minister has been economical with the truth. In the first instance, Minister Maku was invited to several meetings in the wake of the Ombatse attacks on Assakio and Agyaragu last year and the Alakyo massacre of security agents this year. He neither attended nor sent his apologies despite the invitations extended to him to be part of the meetings with traditional rulers, national and state legislators, as well as political and public office holders at federal and state levels, among others.

''At the instance of the State Government, several meetings have also been held with Eggon leaders and the Eggon Cultural and Development Association (ECDA), to no avail. It is therefore blatantly wrong for the Minister, or anyone for that matter, to say the State Government has not initiated dialogue as a means of resolving the crisis.

''Also, the State Governor has been briefing the President, on a regular basis, over the crisis. He has requested for the deployment to the state of a Mobile Police Squadron as well as troops. While the requests were granted, the deployments are just about being carried out, yet Minister Maku gave an erroneous impression concerning the role of the State Government in curtailing the crisis.

''Thirdly, the State Government has compiled and sent to the Federal Government the names and addresses of the suspected leaders and major players in Ombatse, the perpetrator of the violence. The State
Government has also instituted a judicial commission of inquiry into the violence, while assisting the victims of the violence state-wide. It is therefore an act of blatant mischief to try to belittle the role of the State Government in ending the needless crisis,'' APC said

The party said the fact that the Minister and indeed any prominent Eggon citizen has yet to condemn Ombatse's endless attacks on innocent citizens as well as security operatives is enough evidence of where
their sympathy lies.

Rivers State Govt. House blockade: APC accuses Pres. Jonathan of promoting impunity, unconstitutionality

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has put the blame for last week's blockade of the Rivers State Government House squarely on President Goodluck Jonathan, saying his unbridled disposition
toward cheap political vendetta has pushed him to commit impunity and unconstitutionality perhaps more than any other President in the country's history.

In a statement issued in Lagos on Sunday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party also said the police could not have had the temerity to act the way they did in blocking Gov. Chibuike Amaechi and his guests from his residence if they were not assured of support from higher authorities.

It however warned that giving presidential backing to the police - or any national institution at all - to commit impunity and violate the nation's Constitution is the fastest means to destroy such institutions and erode public confidence in them.

''In the case of the police, what is happening in Rivers is sending a wrong signal to the polity concerning the role of the force in 2015. How can a malleable police be trusted to be neutral and to help ensure the conduct of a free and fair election - with the President as a candidate - in 2015?'' APC queried.

The party said the Nigeria Police Force under President Jonathan has increasingly become a lawless Police Force whose allegiance is only to the President and not to the Constitution of the Federal Republic
of Nigeria, a Police Force that has become a tool in the hands of the President to harass, intimidate, arrest and persecute all his real and perceived political enemies.

''Since the onset of the President Jonathan-inspired political logjam in Rivers State and the implosion of his party, the PDP, the President has been depending on the Nigeria Police to shore up his dwindling political fortune. The insubordination of the Rivers State Super Police Commissioner Mbu; The police-sponsored fracas in the Rivers State House of Assembly; The assault on the five visiting governors by thugs working under the direction and protection of the State Commissioner of Police and the unlawful occupation of the new PDP Secretariats at Abuja and Lagos are clear examples.

''President Jonathan however should be told in clear and unambiguous language that Nigerians will resist all machinations by him to turn Nigeria into a police state,'' it said.

APC also said those who have been struggling to distance the President from the crisis in Rivers are being clever by half, since it is clear to all Nigerians that the President is the puppeteer in the crisis from day one, hence it has festered despite all efforts to end it.

''As far as the crisis in Rivers is concerned, the buck stops on the President's desk. Here is a President who decided, unwisely, to make the election of the Nigerian Governors' Forum a referendum on his administration's credibility. Even after he lost woefully, he has failed to learn his lessons, as he has continued in his hot pursuit of a fellow-elected political leader.

''Today, no thanks partly to his political vendetta in Rivers and elsewhere, the President's political empire has collapsed completely and no amount of police repression, subversion of the constitution or reign of impunity can savage it.

''President Jonathan has proven himself to be incapable of managing success. A President who presumably won a pan Nigerian mandate, whose party controls 23 out of 36 states and has an overwhelming majority in the National Assembly has, in a period of less than 30 months, frittered all away and is today left with less than 16 state governors and lost control of the National Assembly.

''President Jonathan today holds the unenviable record of being the first sitting President of the country to suffer the indignity of being walked out upon by governors and federal legislators elected under the platform of his own party; as well as senior members of the same party at its National Convention in the full glare of local and international media.

''Under his watch, his party which at the height of its self delusion prided itself as the biggest party in Africa that is destined to rule the country for the next 60 years has now imploded and the fallout of this implosion is threatening the fragile unity of the country. President Jonathan, more than any other President in the history of the country, has promoted and encouraged impunity and unconstitutionality, encouraged divisive policies and exploited religious and ethnic differences - all in his attempts to cling to power till 2015 and beyond,'' the party said.

APC therefore said President Jonathan should be held responsible for the current climate of impunity, unconstitutionality and overheating of the polity that is threatening the peace and stability of the country.

APC SLAMS FG OVER CONTINUING ASUU STRIKE

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has condemned the Federal Government's insincere and amateurish handling of the strike that has paralyzed academic work in public universities in the country for the third month running.

In a statement issued in Abuja on Wednesday by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said the tepid and half-hearted way the government has handled the strike has shown that it does not place much premium on education, which is the path to national development.

It said there is no better indication of the government's disdain for education than the fact that the Jonathan Administration has continued in its profligate ways even as students caught in the web of the strike remained at home when they should be engaged in serious academic work.

APC said since the strike started, the Jonathan Administration has thrown at least two mega, money-guzzling dinners in Abuja, perhaps the best example of the aphorism 'Nero fiddling while Rome burns'. In one of such frivolities, the President and his party folks feasted joyously at a post-PDP convention dinner even as hapless students were bemoaning their fate over the strike.

The party said it was also in the midst of the strike that the First Lady organized the so-called peace rally that brought hundreds of unsuspecting women to Abuja in what later turned out to be a march of shame. The Abuja gathering must have guzzled millions of naira.

''Yet, some ministers had the temerity to insult the sensibilities of Nigerians by saying the government will shut down if it meets ASUU's demand. What an affront! They did not say Nigeria will shut down when the country paid out 3 trillion naira in non-existent fuel subsidies; they did not say Nigeria will shut down over the 1 trillion spent in the last eight years on less than 500 people; they did not say Nigeria will shut down due to FG's monumental profligacy, which includes spending billions of naira to pamper ex-militants, some of whom are now so overfed that they are threatening the country's very existence!

''It is particularly shocking that the government has carried on as if everything is normal, without bothering about the fate of the students who have been marooned at home since the strike started. Perhaps this is because the children and wards of those at the helm of affairs are luxuriating in schools abroad, or because they are too comfortable to worry about their less-fortunate compatriots,'' it said.

APC also said the fact that the strike has persisted despite President Goodluck Jonathan's directive, widely reported by the media, to the FG's negotiating team to do everything possible to end the strike, says a lot about the Administration's credibility.

''In fact, the negotiations between ASUU and the Federal Government were called off two days after the President issued his directive. So much for credibility!'' the party said.

APC reiterated its earlier call on the FG, in a statement it issued on Aug. 20th, to immediately implement the agreement it willingly reached with ASUU in 2009 and stop wasting its energy on why the agreement cannot be implemented, saying: ''Agreements are meant to be respected, not repudiated.''

Alhaji Lai Mohammed
National Publicity Secretary
All Progressives Congress (APC)
Abuja, Sept. 11th 2013