NEWS
2022: Oyetola re-election Campaign Council urges EFCC to investigate Adeleke, PDP over voters’ inducement
…warns opposition party against billboard vandalization
The reelection Campaign Council of the Osun governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, has urged the anti-graft agency, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to investigate the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Ademola Adeleke, over his comment that he will induce voters before and during the forthcoming gubernatorial election in the State.
Governor Oyetola Campaign Council said it is pertinent to draw the attention of the anti-graft agency to the unguarded comment in order to challenge Adeleke and his party, the PDP, to explain what he meant by his comments that he had arrived with hard currencies to prosecute the election and to approach the election “fire for fire”.
Addressing a Press Conference, at the Ilerioluwa Campaign Office, the Director-General of the Osun APC Campaign Council, Senator Ajibola Basiru argued that for an individual to have declared publicly his uncontrolled and insatiable appetite for power to the extent of boasting to financially induce the electorate, he needed to be investigated and prosecuted by the anti-graft body to stop him from compromising the electoral process and fledgling democracy.
He called on the EFCC and other anti-graft agencies to beam their searchlight on the matter and summon the PDP candidate in the state for a thorough investigation and questioning to unravel what he meant that he has brought pounds, dollars, euros and other hard currencies to buy a vote.
“I expected the EFCC to have invited Senator Ademola Adeleke to give account of what he meant by coming to the state with hard currencies for the Osun State guber election.
“Certainly, inducement of voters is a great offence. So, for Senator Adeleke to manifestly declare an intention to induce voters, it warrants criminal investigation by EFCC.
“EFCC should summon him for investigation for questioning by what he meant that he has brought pounds, dollars, euros and other hard currencies to buy a vote.
“That clearly is a manifest intention to commit the offence of inducement of voters which is clearly an electoral offence under the Nigerian law”, Basiru added.
The APC Campaign Council sent a strong warning to the PDP and its candidate to desist from the campaign of acrimony that had degenerated into a violent attacks on the members and loyalists of the ruling party since Ademola Adeleke publicly declared his readiness to engage in a fire-for-fire approach.
Senator Basiru, who recalled some of the violent attacks on the party’s loyalists, said it has become imperative to intimate the general public with the clandestine move by the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to kill, maim and harass leading figures in the Osun Government and the All Progressives Congress, APC, using political thugs, and then turn round to accuse the APC, its government and sympathisers as the brain behind the wicked act.
“You will recall that on Friday, May 16, 2022, the candidate of the party, Sen. Jackson Ademola Adeleke, at a rally in Osogbo, publicly proclaimed, among other things, that he had arrived with Pounds Sterling, Dollars and other hard currencies to bribe the good people of Osun in the days leading to the election and on the election day. He went further to say that this time around, he would unleash violence and terror on the State. He insisted that this time around, it is “Fire-for-Fire.”
“We promptly reacted by cautioning him and letting him know that Osun people are not commodities waiting to be purchased off the shelf of any supermarket. These exchanges are well documented by both the conventional and digital media. We had thought he would heed our advice to play by the rule and call off the demons he intended to unleash on our people. But alas, a leopard will never change its spot.
“Rather than heed our call, what followed was large-scale destruction of our campaign billboards and those of our candidate across the State, especially in the State capital. We have both the video and pictorial documentation of the large-scale destruction carried out by the PDP and its agents.
“In the early hours of June 9, 2022, we got an intelligence that a certain known political thug in the State, by the name Olamilekan Oyeyemi Ajagungbade, otherwise known as ‘Emir’, had been contracted by the PDP to carry out the destruction as part of the conditions to sign him on for further destructive operations in the State ahead of the elections.
“And by the next day, the destruction began. By Sunday, June 12, 2022, Emir moved to the PDP secretariat to dislodge another set of hoodlums that had been working for the PDP before his arrival. This led to a shootout between the two groups, as guns, machetes and other dangerous weapons were freely used. Again, we have video documentary evidence of what transpired. In the end, several other passers-by, including some visiting investigative journalists, who were in Osun for an assignment, fell victim of the attack”, he said.
Basiru who reiterated the commitment of Governor Adegboyega Oyetola to continue to maintain peace and sustain the status of Osun as the most peaceful State in Nigeria regardless of any form of security threat from any quarter, said, “For the avoidance of doubt, our candidate does not believe in violence and you journalists seated here this evening can attest to that fact.”
He stated further: “The Osun APC remains law-abiding, responsible, peace-loving and we will never resort to violence or engage in any act capable of disrupting the peace of the State, more so when it is obvious that the overwhelming majority of the people of Osun are with us and are ready to re-elect their Governor for a second term of office.
“Unlike the PDP, we have been preaching peace and conducting ourselves peacefully since the campaigns began, and this is what we shall continue to do till the day of the election and beyond. We shall remain law-abiding, responsible, and will never resort to violence or engage in any act capable of disrupting the peace of the State.
“Our candidate has proved in the last three and half years that he has the capacity to lead Osun. We shall campaign on what we have done, and they speak for themselves. Our candidate remains the candidate to beat come July 16, 2022.
“However, the PDP in Osun is reputed for thuggery and brigandage and have always exhibited violent tendencies even among themselves. They must be cautioned.”
Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar has criticized the federal government’s plan to secure an additional N1.7 trillion loan through Eurobonds to cover a shortfall in the 2024 budget, describing the borrowing as unsustainable and harmful to Nigeria’s economy.
In a statement shared on Thursday via his X (formerly Twitter) handle, Atiku accused the Bola Tinubu-led administration of burdening Nigerians with debt while failing to provide clear answers about the country’s fiscal challenges.
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He also faulted the National Assembly for enabling what he called a “voracious appetite” for loans.
The former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate expressed alarm over a recent World Bank report ranking Nigeria as the third most indebted country to the International Development Association (IDA), calling the development troubling.
“The recent report released by the World Bank, showing Nigeria as the third most indebted country to the International Development Association (IDA), is very concerning,” Atiku stated.
He raised further concerns about the government’s decision to benchmark the proposed loan at an exchange rate of 1 USD to N800, despite the Central Bank of Nigeria’s official rate being over N1,600.
“What makes this particular loan proposal even more concerning is that it is benchmarked at the exchange rate of 1 USD to N800, whereas the current exchange rate from the Central Bank of Nigeria stands at over N1,600 to 1 USD,” he said.
Atiku questioned the need for additional borrowing, given the government’s earlier claims of record-high revenue collection.
“In July this year, Tinubu boasted that the FIRS and Customs under his watch had collected all-time high revenues to finance the budget. Why are they still borrowing?” he said
He accused the government of a lack of transparency, describing the borrowing spree as detrimental to Nigerians already struggling under economic hardship.
“There is something that they are not telling Nigerians, even as they are being crushed by a combination of their failed trial-and-error policies and loan rackets.”
Atiku also referenced a report by BudgIT, a budget monitoring group, which criticized the 2024 budget for its inefficiencies.
He alleged that corruption, rather than infrastructure or development needs, was driving the government’s borrowing decisions.
“These loans are powered by corruption and not for infrastructure and development needs. This voracious appetite for humongous loans is deeply concerning,” he said.
Reflecting on Nigeria’s financial history, Atiku lamented the return to significant foreign indebtedness just years after former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration cleared the country’s debt.
“It is agonizing to see that just a few years after the Obasanjo administration took us out of foreign indebtedness, we are today back at the top spot in the same conundrum,” he stated.
He called for a more cautious approach to borrowing, urging the government to prioritize fiscal responsibility and transparency to avoid worsening Nigeria’s economic challenges.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has taken a historic step, issuing arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
The charges include crimes against humanity and war crimes allegedly committed during Israel’s recent assault on Gaza.
In a detailed statement, the ICC accused the Israeli leaders of “intentionally and knowingly depriving the civilian population in Gaza of objects indispensable to their survival, including food, water, and medicine and medical supplies, as well as fuel and electricity.”
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The ICC’s move marks a significant escalation in international scrutiny of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Netanyahu and Gallant are alleged to have orchestrated policies that caused severe harm to the civilian population in Gaza, leading to widespread condemnation from human rights organizations.
Alongside the charges against Israeli officials, the ICC also issued an arrest warrant for Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif. Deif has long been a central figure in Hamas’s military operations. Israel’s military claims to have killed him in a July airstrike, although this has not been independently verified.
The warrants highlight growing calls for accountability amid the ongoing conflict in the region. The ICC’s actions are likely to provoke heated debate and may complicate diplomatic efforts aimed at resolving the crisis.
With the warrants issued, global attention now turns to how the international community will respond and whether any practical steps will be taken to enforce them.
Governor Monday Okpebholo of Edo State has inaugurated a 12-member committee tasked with recovering government vehicles reportedly in private hands.
The committee, led by Kelly Okungbowa, has been given a two-week mandate to retrieve the vehicles and ensure their return to the state government.
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Speaking during the inauguration ceremony in Benin City, Governor Okpebholo emphasized the importance of accountability in the management of public resources.
He urged the committee to carry out its assignment thoroughly and within the bounds of the law.
In his response, Okungbowa expressed gratitude to the governor for entrusting the team with the assignment, vowing to deliver results within the stipulated timeframe.
“A lot of vehicles used by the past administration are missing, as those in custody of the vehicles have refused to return them,” Okungbowa said.
“The governor deemed it fit to inaugurate us today with a mandate to recover all government vehicles in private hands.”
The committee, which includes representatives from Edo’s three senatorial districts, is set to investigate and recover the vehicles based on credible intelligence already at their disposal.
“We already have vital information regarding some persons still holding government vehicles,” Okungbowa stated. “We will do the job according to the law, and both the government and the people will be satisfied with the outcome.”
He also called on members of the public to assist the committee by providing information about any government vehicles that may still be in private possession.
“We want to appeal to members of the public who might be aware of anyone still keeping government vehicles in their houses to please inform us to enable the committee to recover such for the Edo State Government,” Okungbowa said.
The committee’s vice chairman, Rt. Hon. Victor Edoror, a former Speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly, will work alongside other members to ensure the success of the initiative. The public can reach the committee at 08110165121.
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