Politics
PWDs visit APC headquarter to appreciate party, Buhari for free nomination forms
Persons with Disabilities (PWD) on Friday stormed the National headquarters of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to thank the party for making nomination forms to contest for positions under the party’s platform free for PWDs.
They also said they came to the party headquarters to thank President Muhammad Buhari for giving them a voice by creating a Commission for them as well as the disability law that makes it compulsory for 5% of PWDs to be employed in any government agency.
The group who gathered in their numbers at the entrance gate of the party also drummed support for Governor Yahaya Bello’s ambition to contest for the presidency.
They said the Governor had domesticated the disability law in Kogi State hence they expressed the confidence that if he wins the Presidency, PWDs matter would be his priority.
The chairman Kogi State disability board, Hon Ibrahim Daniel Arome, said the board he chairs was established by Kogi State Governor
“We want to let everybody know that the inclusion we have been yearning for can only be found in the party APC under the watch of President Muhammadu Buhari who made it possible for us to have a voice.
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“Also in Kogi State, Governor Yahaya Bello has domesticated the disability law and today though on a wheel chair I live a free and fulfiled life like any other person.
“So many of us that have been so neglected by the society, APC has given us a voice, Gov Yahaya Bello who we are expecting to take over from President Muhammadu Buhari has also given us the same voice in Kogi State.
“You are seeing us in our numbers to attest to the fact that Bello believes in people like us. He is the only man who has PWD as the national coordinator of his campaign council in the history of all those aspiring to be President.
“This is the only Governor who has given automatic ticket for Ankpa 1 State Constituency to a PWD after pleading with able bodied men that were contending with him and they understood why the PWD should be in the law making business and today we have a PWD who will fly the APC flag during the next election.
The deputy speaker, Kogi State House of Assembly Rt Honorable Ahmed Muhammed commended governor Bello for making the issues of People With Disabilities a priority. He also thanked the party for giving an opportunity to a PWD to represent Ankpa 1.
“It is a great joy for myself as a member representing Ankpa 1, he is going to take over from me in 2023. I want Nigerians to know that the Kogi Governor Yahaya Bello is for all. A man that is practical about the inclusion of PWDs “Look at Arome though on a wheelchair but Bello made him the State chairman of the board on PWDs.
“I proposed this disability bill sometimes two years ago and because of the Love Bello has for PWDs, what I labored for has come to reality.
“I have been doing a lot in my constituency, I have built houses for PWDs and I am so happy today that my constituency is going to be the first to benefit from my Labour, I appreciate APC and Yahaya Bello.
The executive secretary of the Kogi State Office for Disability Affairs
Barr. Zacchaus Dare Martin said they came to the APC party headquarters to appreciate the leadership of the party for harkening to their agitation to make nomination forms for People Living With Disability, PWD free of charge.
“We made a national protest asking for APC to declare forms free for PWDs and as a listening party they obliged us the request.
“Today, that has in no small measure brought major PWDs who are highly educated and politically agile to showcase their leadership capacity across the states.
“They are contesting for Senate, House of Reps and State Assembly seats because the forms are free.
“We want them to succeed. Nigeria will never go back to Egypt. Under His Excellency, Dr. Abdullahi Adamu as the National Chairman, APC will coast home to victory in all our elections.
“Another reason why we are here this morning is to appreciate the man I will describe as an angel sent to us for a special mission, His Excellency, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, the governor who over the years has given listening ears to the voice of PWDs.
“He gave them appointments as special advisers, senior special advisers, board members and more importantly, he gave them assignments, not in area of disability.
“There is a visually impaired person who is Special Adviser on Media. He does this to show that he believes in their capacity to showcase their potentials.
“More importantly, His Excellency recently established Kogi State Office for Disability Affairs. It is the first of its kind, in the history of Kogi State no agency, no commission, no board has been in charge of PWDs for inclusiveness, but Bello has changed the narrative.
“He gave an agency today that is saddled with the responsibility of taking care of PWDs in Kogi state.
He said Bello has directed that 39% should be reserved for PWDs in the forthcoming employment of teachers in the State.
He said there are many of the PWDs are graduates in different fields, but because of stigmatisation, they are not given jobs.
“As we speak, the only PWD who aspired to go to Kogi State House of Assembly was given automatic ticket by Governor Yahaya Bello to run.
“He has also promised to give him all the support he needs to ensure he wins.
“It is a good omen.
Among all the presidential aspirants, Yahaya Bello is the only one that has a directorate for PWD. It means if he is finally elected Nigerian president, a new chapter will be opened in the lives of this vulnerable people with potentials. “He believes there is ability in disability.
We are here today to thank him and appreciate him for all he has done and what he is yet to do for us.
“We want to use this window to endorse him for President. We are calling on President Muhammadu Buhari to help us garner support for him because if he is elected Nigerian president he will give attention to the needy in society as he has demonstrated as a governor.
A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Olatunbosun Oyintiloye, has dismissed fears that recent defections from the ruling party will affect President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s chances of securing re-election in 2027.
Speaking in Osogbo on Sunday, Oyintiloye described the ongoing political realignments as inconsequential, insisting that Tinubu has a “winning strategy” to counter any opposition at the right time.
His comments come amid reports that former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has defected to the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and is reaching out to former APC stalwarts, including Rauf Aregbesola, to join him.
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Despite this, Oyintiloye maintained that defections are a normal part of politics and would not derail the president’s re-election bid.
“Take it or leave it, no amount of political gang-up can stop the re-election of President Tinubu in 2027. Those who are gathering against him should study the kind of person he is,” Oyintiloye said.
He further argued that Tinubu’s achievements, political acumen, and goodwill across the country would secure him victory in the next election. According to him, the president is making deliberate efforts to put Nigeria on the path of greatness, and these efforts are already yielding positive results.
“The president will succeed, and his political enemies will soon realise their mistake in opposing him,” he added.
While expressing confidence in Tinubu’s chances, Oyintiloye urged the president to intensify public engagement and sensitisation efforts to showcase his administration’s achievements and future projections.
With political tensions rising ahead of the 2027 elections, Tinubu’s camp remains optimistic about his chances, despite defections and emerging opposition alliances.
Party loyalty and personal leanings on the political gbas-gbos rocking the Nigerian Senate have echoed in Edo State with women groups moving publicly against Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.
These turn of events, which appeared to have the blessing of the Edo State Government was detailed in a government house statement in Benin City, under the signature of the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Fred Itua.
According to the statement, the All Progressives Congress (APC) Senatorial Woman Leader for Edo South, Hon. Barr. Itohan Osahon, led protest demanding that Sen Akpoti-Uduaghan should apologise to Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
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Itua made clear on which side the Edo State was standing, when the Secretary to the State Government, Barr. Musa Ikhilor, received the pro-Akpabio demonstrators, on behalf of the governor, Senator Monday Okpebholo.
He cited the President, Senior Citizens of Edo State, Rosemary Elawure, as having made it clear that the women embarked on the peaceful protest in support of Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
The statement reads, “A group of concerned women from Edo State has called on Senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan to humble herself and apologize to Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Nigerians for dragging the name of the nation in the mud.
The women gave the charge during a peaceful protest to the Edo State Government House.
Led by the All Progressives Congress (APC) Senatorial Woman Leader for Edo South, Hon. Barr. Itohan Osahon, the women were received by the Secretary to the State Government, Barr. Musa Ikhilor on behalf of the governor, Senator Monday Okpebholo who was out of the State on an official assignment.
Speaking, Osahon said: “We are concerned women of Edo State and we are not comfortable with what is going on at the red chamber. Natasha is not the only woman in the Senate and the Senate is not about sexual harassment.
“She was suspended because she violated the rules of the Senate and she is manipulating the whole issue against the Senate President, Sen. Godswill Akpabio. Senator Natasha has been suspended for six months for disobeying the Senate Rules, not for sexual harassment.
“We don’t want her to abuse the opportunity given to her to serve her people. Our First Lady was once a senator and was there for years and such issue was not experienced. We have had many women in the Senate and House of Representatives and we have not had issues like this.
“Traveling all around the world, disgracing the country, making us the laughing stock and making a whole lot of noise about the issue. She should just apologize to the Senate. Edo State women are women who respect tradition and respect our men. She should not drag us to the mud.
“Our demand is that Natasha should be called to order and sentiments should not come to play and she should respect the rules of the Senate.”
The President, Senior Citizens of Edo State, Mrs. Rosemary Elawure said the women embarked on the peaceful protest in support of Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
She said Sen. Natasha lied against Senator Akpabio and that she was not the only senator whose seat was changed in the red chambers.
“Senior citizens don’t support things that will not bring progress and development to the country. Edo women are in support of the Senate President who has a very beautiful and intelligent wife who is humble and respectful. We urge Senator Natasha to be respectful and obey the rules of the Senate,” she counselled.
The women asked her to apologize to the Senate, House of Representatives as well as State Houses of Assembly in the country.
Receiving the women, Barr. Ikhilor commended them for a peaceful protest and expressing themselves freely, noting that women are very big stakeholders in Edo State.
He noted that the National Assembly is for all Nigerians and thanked the women for adding their voices to the issues concerning Sen. Natasha and the President of the Senate.
“You are here to make a very strong point regarding what is going on as it is now disturbing. It is wrong for facts to be distorted and manipulated. Nigerians are beginning to become conscious.
“Nigerians are aware of what happened in the Senate. The issue is all about the rules and regulations and anyone who disobeys them should face the consequences. Women are fighting for bigger issues facing them and Sen. Natasha can’t serve as the stumbling block stopping women from progressing.
“Sen. Akpabio has made a distinguished career in public service and we have confidence in him and his ability to manage the red chamber. The Senate is not a place for content creation and distractions but for serious minded people. Information should not be manipulated or distorted as Nigerians know what is happening in the Senate and can’t be deceived again.
“The governor is a senator and knows what happened in the chamber. He has confidence in the Senate President Godswill Akpabio. He will carry this message to different levels as we all have to protect our institutions.”
The House of Representatives has adopted the report on the four tax reform bills of the President Bola Ahmend Tinubu administration.
The house made the adoption on Thursday at plenary in Abuja.
Having scaled the lower house, the tax reform bills now await the endorsement of the Senate.
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Notably, the adopted bills include the Nigerian Tax Bill, the Tax Administration Bill, the Revenue Tax Board Bill, and the Nigerian Revenue Service Establishment Bill.
The chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Finance, Hon James Abiodun Faleke, said, “These bills underwent three full days of public hearings, with input from over 80 key stakeholders. Afterwards, we held an eight-day retreat to debate each clause.”
He assured Nigerians that the tax reform bills would produce widely acceptable laws.
“I am glad that House members recognised our thorough work and approved all our recommendations,” Faleke said.
He thanked fellow lawmakers and the House leadership for entrusting his committee with processing the tax bills and presenting them for consideration.
He commended President Tinubu for prioritising tax law reforms, noting that some existing tax laws date back to 1959.
“We cannot continue using outdated tax laws that no longer meet our business, survival, and revenue needs,” he stressed.
On his part, the Deputy Committee Chairman, Hon Saidu Abdullahi (APC-Niger), noted that no bill in the 10th Assembly had generated as much debate as the tax reform bills.
He praised Speaker Tajudeen Abbas for fostering consensus among stakeholders, ensuring broad-based input into the legislative process.
Hon Abdullahi highlighted that representatives from all geopolitical zones and regional thought leaders were involved, easing public concerns.
“The committee’s recommendations reflect the contributions of various stakeholders.
“These were never seen as perfect documents. The Executive made proposals, and the public hearing allowed Nigerians to refine them. Lawmakers have now endorsed the final version,” he added.
In the same vein, Hon Ikeagwuonu Ugochinyere (PDP-Imo) described the process as transparent, with consultants and the Executive making adjustments to reflect public interest.
“In spite of being in the opposition, we are proud of this historic moment. It will expand the tax net and increase government revenue.
“This reform will enhance tax collection efficiency while protecting small businesses. That is why we worked together to ensure its passage,” Hon Ugochinyere said.
In the views of Hon Benson Babajimi (APC-Lagos), all stakeholder concerns, including inheritance tax, derivation, and VAT, were carefully considered.
“This is a great day for Nigeria. The House has approved the necessary reforms, and we now await Senate concurrence,” he said.
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