According to Naij.com Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has announced his defection from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
This was contained in a statement released on Friday, November 24.
There has been speculation that the former vice president will dump the ruling party for the PDP and he has finally confirmed this via a statement.
Atiku said the promised change of the APC failed to manifest which was why he was returning to the PDP.
Read full statement below:
Statement of resignation of His Excellency Atiku Abubakar (Waziri Adamawa) Vice President of Nigeria, 1999-2007 from the All Progressives Congress
On the 19th of December, 2013, I received members of the All Progressives Congress at my house in Abuja. They had come to appeal to me to join their party after my party, the Peoples Democratic Party, had become factionalized as a result of the special convention of August 31, 2013.
The fractionalization of the Peoples Democratic Party on August 31, 2013 had left me in a situation where I was, with several other loyal party members, in limbo, not knowing which of the parallel executives of the party was the legitimate leadership.
It was under this cloud that members of the APC made the appeal to me to join their party, with the promise that the injustices and failure to abide by its own constitution which had dogged the then PDP, would not be replicated in the APC and with the assurance that the vision other founding fathers and I had for the PDP could be actualized through the All Progressives Congress.
It was on the basis of this invitation and the assurances made to me that I, being party-less at that time, due to the fractionalization of my party, accepted on February 2, 2014, the hand of fellowship given to me by the All Progressives Congress.
On that day, I said “it is the struggle for democracy and constitutionalism and service to my country and my people that are driving my choice and my decision” to accept the invitation to join the All Progressives Congress.
Like you, I said that because I believed that we had finally seen the beginnings of the rebirth of the new Nigeria of our dreams which would work for all of us, old and young.
However, events of the intervening years have shown that like any other human and like many other Nigerians, I was fallible.
While other parties have purged themselves of the arbitrariness and unconstitutionality that led to fractionalization, the All Progressives Congress has adopted those same practices and even gone beyond them to institute a regime of a draconian clampdown on all forms of democracy within the party and the government it produced.
Only last year, a governor produced by the party wrote a secret memorandum to the president which ended up being leaked. In that memo, he admitted that the All Progressives Congress had ‘not only failed to manage expectations of a populace that expected overnight ‘change’ but has failed to deliver even mundane matters of governance’.
Of the party itself, that same governor said ‘Mr. President, Sir Your relationship with the national leadership of the party, both the formal (NWC) and informal (Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Atiku Abubakar, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso), and former Governors of ANPP, PDP (that joined us) and ACN, is perceived by most observers to be at best frosty. Many of them are aggrieved due to what they consider total absence of consultations with them on your part and those you have assigned such duties.’
Since that memorandum was written up until today, nothing has been done to reverse the treatment meted out to those of us invited to join the All Progressives Congress on the strength of a promise that has proven to be false. If anything, those behaviours have actually worsened.
But more importantly, the party we put in place has failed and continues to fail our people, especially our young people. How can we have a federal cabinet without even one single youth.
A party that does not take the youth into account is a dying party. The future belongs to young people.
I admit that I and others who accepted the invitation to join the APC were eager to make positive changes for our country that we fell for a mirage. Can you blame us for wanting to put a speedy end to the sufferings of the masses of our people?
Be that as it may be, after due consultation with my God, my family, my supporters and the Nigerian people whom I meet in all walks of life, I, Atiku Abubakar, Waziri Adamawa, hereby tender my resignation from the All Progressives Congress while I take time to ponder my future.
May God bless you and may God bless Nigeria.
According to Naij.com Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has announced his defection from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Peoples Demo...
Nollywood actress cum filmmaker, Funke Akindele-Bello (Jenifa) has refuted giving birth to twins in a London hospital. She added it’s a figment of people’s imagination.
Speaking with encomium.ng on Thursday, November 23, 2017, via her publicist, Mr Biodun Kupoluyi, the Ikorodu, Lagos born thespian said,
“Don’t mind those people. They’re only imagining. You can not hide a pregnancy for long. And when you deliver, people must surely know. So, delivering a set of twins in London is not something one can hide at all.”
The pregnant actress left the shores of Nigeria for the United Kingdom a few days ago which fueled speculations that the fantastic role interpreter has gone to deliver her expected set of twins in London. Some reports flooded social media on Wednesday, November 22, 2017, that the Nollywood star has welcomed her set of twins.
This has since been generating reactions from her fans home and abroad.
Nollywood actress cum filmmaker, Funke Akindele-Bello (Jenifa) has refuted giving birth to twins in a London hospital. She added it’s a figm...
According to Daily Trust, Two former bosses of Nigeria’s intelligence agencies who resisted their arrest lately will be picked up in the coming days, the head of the anti-graft agency, Ibrahim Magu vowed yesterday.
Former Director-General of the Department of State Services, Ita Ekpeyong and a former Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency, Ayo Oke had refused to report for questioning over corruption allegations, the anti-graft agency said.
Ekpeyong who headed the DSS from 2010 to 2015, was alleged by the EFCC to be involved in the billions of naira arms scam in the office of former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd).
The EFCC said other service chiefs from that period had since been charged to court for the same offence but that Mr. Ekpeyong has refused to turn himself in for questioning.
Similarly, Mr. Oke who was recently sacked by President Muhammadu Buhari for allegedly stashing away N13bn in a house in Ikoyi, had for over three weeks failed to respond to EFCC summons, the anti-graft agency said.
Efforts to arrest them at their highbrow residences in Asokoro by EFCC agents were blocked by DSS guards. After a standoff that lasted for over ten hours yesterday the EFCC agents withdrew from Mr. Ekpeyong’s house.
However, the acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ibrahim Magu, told reporters yesterday that the former top intelligence officers will be arrested as planned.
He spoke at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa in Abuja on Wednesday after attending the inauguration of the audit committee on the recovery and management of stolen assets by President Buhari.
Magu said the anti-corruption agency had concrete evidence against Ekpeyong and Oke, and that there is no going back on the plan to apprehend them.
“There must be reasons, strong reasons before we go for an arrest.”
Asked if he was discouraged by the failure to arrest them, he said “Never, Never; I am not discouraged at all; rather, it energises me to do more and I am telling you, nobody is above the law.
“We are not discouraged at all. The law must take its course, nobody is above the law.
Senate orders investigation
The Senate yesterday resolved to set up an ad-hoc committee to probe the incidents.
This was sequel to a point of order raised by Senator Dino Melaye (APC,Kogi).
Melaye described the clash as a national embarrassment and a recipe for disaster and called on the President to intervene.
“We have been embarrassed before the international community. That two sister agencies will engage in a fisticuff; arrest and stoppage of arrests. Mr. President, this is a recipe for national disaster,” he said.
Contributing, the Deputy Minority Whip, Biodun Olujimi(Ekiti PDP) called on President Buhari to be up and doing.
“Right now, we have a situation whereby nobody is in charge of anything and we cannot honestly blame anyone for what is happening. The truth is that you cannot go to the house of a security agent, a man who had kept the secrets of Nigeria for so long and just try to arrest him like chicken.
“Mr. President, there has to be someone that we can hold responsible when two brothers are fighting. The person that is supposed to be held responsible has not done anything, is not doing his work.
“This is the first time we’ll see gross irresponsibility in government whereby there is no arbiter; no one to come in between two agencies that belong to only one person. The two agencies report to one person, the Presidency and now we find them fighting on the pages of the newspapers, it’s a shame,” he said.
But the Senate Leader, Ahmad Lawan cautioned his colleagues against apportioning blames and called for a thorough investigation of the matter.
“It is one rare motion brought by Sen. Dino Melaye. I support that position. But let me say this, President Muhamadu Buhari is in full control of the government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
”Even when Mr. President was away to attend to his health, the acting president, Yemi Osinbajo was in full control. The statement by our colleague is unacceptable.
“This senate is highest lawmaking body in Nigeria. I would urge us to calm down especially the opposition, as it appears rather here nor there. Let there be an investigation before we apportion any blame,” he said.
In his remark, the Senate President, Bukola Saraki aligned himself to the position of the Senate leader on the matter.
“Leader has said it all. Anything we are adding now is just assumption. Let us take the prayer. The ad-hoc committee will report back in two weeks,” he said.
Members of the committee would be named today.
According to Daily Trust, Two former bosses of Nigeria’s intelligence agencies who resisted their arrest lately will be picked up in th...
Former President, Goodluck Jonathan has urged youth in Nigeria to use their opportuned positions to make sacrifices for the country.
Jonathan made the remarks when students and youth groups including the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN), and Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), among others, paid him a birthday solidarity visit in his country home, Otuoke in Ogbia local government area, Bayelsa.
- The former president, who said though some persons are undergoing trials and others are suffering because of the decisions and sacrifices he made, however, pointed out that it was for peace and collective interest of the country that he made his decision.
- The former President said he never celebrated birthdays before his foray into politics as he was not used to the luxury of life having come from a humble place.
According to Jonathan, “Sometimes things could be so challenging that we begin to think that that is over but what I have seen today I am convinced that we still have a country.
“All of your speeches centre on the position I took especially when I surrendered in a way and made sure there was peace in the country because the tension was quite high.
“You also made mentioned of some of the few things we did when I was in office especially relating to education and that is an area I can say we tried.
“My happiness is that this is a very enlightened youth group that are here today, more than fifty percent of you are graduates and others undergraduates.
“So, I am speaking to the future of this country, whatever sacrifices I have made as an individual or I discussed with my political party and others because elections are not only about one person. We know a number of persons that are in court, not even me yet who are suffering because of me.
“Politics is all about the people, so the decision I took, though I made the pronouncement, it affected everybody. So if we have made this kind of sacrifice and people are still sacrificing now, my plea with you is that you know that this country is in your hands, the hands of the young people, forget about those who are contesting or not contesting elections.
“Whatever sacrifices I have made be willing and ready to make similar sacrifices whenever it is your turn, make similar sacrifices for the collective interest of our nation.
“If one of the superpowers and G5 nation like France can elect a 39 years old as president, then almost all of you here are very qualified to be president. And to add to what France did, I think Austria elected a thirty-one year old as president. So, don’t consider yourself too young and even in our country Gowon became a president at thirty-two and my governor then, the governor of Old Rivers State who is now the King of Twon Brass he was made the military governor at the age of twenty-eight and they all worked very well.
“I enjoin all of you who are making efforts to ensure that this age barrier is either eliminated completely or reduced in our laws I think that you are advocating for that and I join you and I have always been on that track that we don’t really need age barriers.
“I also agree that there is no need for age barriers; because age barriers that have been introduced reduced to the body politics in this country it has reduced the local government councils to only where you will get young people and they are running the councils anyhow think that they do not have responsibilities that it is when you grow old that you grow up, no.”
Speaking on behalf of the youth groups, the President of Ijaw Youth Council, Worldwide, Oweilaemi Pereotubo, described the former president as a colossus and an inspiration to the youth and younger generation.
He called on the Federal Government to stop the continued persecution of the former first family noting that Ijaw youth will no longer watch one of their own being harassed.
A one minute silence was offered in honour of the country’s former Vice President, Dr Alex Ekwueme who passed away on Sunday.
Former President, Goodluck Jonathan has urged youth in Nigeria to use their opportuned positions to make sacrifices for the country. ...
According to The Whistler, the United States Government has said it would not meddle in Nigeria’s choice of leader in the 2019 presidential elections.
John Sullivan, the U.S Deputy Secretary of State, said at the end of the US-Nigeria Bi-national Commission in Abuja, that the U.S will neither endorse President Muhammadu Buhari nor any presidential candidate in the elections.
“What we want to do, is to ensure to the extent that we can assist, free and fair elections and we won’t pick those candidates,” Sullivan said.
“We won’t pick any candidate, we won’t endorse any candidate, we want to support the Nigerian people and democracy in Nigeria,
“Any statement by the United States, in the events of the 2019 elections, would be in support of the Nigerian people and democracy in Nigeria and not in support of any particular candidate.
“We want free and fair elections, we are not picking candidates, the Nigerian people should pick their candidates and choose among them and make the final choice for themselves,” he said.
According to The Whistler, the United States Government has said it would not meddle in Nigeria’s choice of leader in the 2019 presidential...
The harmattan period is that time of the year (between November – middle of March) , when leaves on tree begins to fall off, when the grass becomes dry and strong like an iron sponge, when the weather just becomes quite unfriendly, leaving our skin and body with mixed feelings.
As sometimes it’s pretty cold, {this helps ladies preserve their makeup without a sweat} while other times it’s extremely hot and dusty. I call it the Nigerian summer.
This has an agonizing effect on individuals with dry skin. But here’s the good news, in the midst of the harsh weather, we could still make it a refreshing one without the skin breaking out. Want to know how?, here’s how:
- Make use of mild moisturizing soap on the body while bathing
- After bath, moderately apply oil, in order to sustain moisture on the skin and feet. Do not totally dry up the body after shower.
- You could as well add little drops of oil into water before having your bath {this is optional}.
- This season, hydrating creams and lotion are the best to be used for all skin types. So get yourself one.
- Remember not to forget to apply hand cream both at night, before bedtime and during the day.
- Now this is for the lovers and users of face toners and cleansers. Ensure you put a stop to the use of those contained with alcohol or astringents, and be sure to go for those with PH of 5.5
- After cleansing, do moisturize your face.
- So much has been said about the body, now looking at the lips, it also needs to be taken care of, to prevent lip breakage. For the ladies, before applying lipstick, apply lip balm and for the men, do not opt out in investing in a lip balm.
Follow this judiciously and be sure to end the season having an awesome skin. (Pulse.ng)
The harmattan period is that time of the year (between November – middle of March) , when leaves on tree begins to fall off, when the grass ...