Singapore News Channel, Singapore News Network

President Muhammadu Buhari says there are at least a million displaced Nigerian children who do not know their parents and where they are from.

Buhari also requested for the assistance of the United Nations in rehabilitating the devastated internally displaced persons (IDPs) camps across the country.

The president spoke while hosting Maria Garces, president of the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), at the state house, Abuja, on Tuesday.

The president noted that the damage to the infrastructure, particularly in the northeast, has been “horrendous”, saying every help would be invaluable.

“The assistance of the United Nations and the international community will be invaluable in reversing the devastation visited on Nigeria by the Boko Haram insurgency,” Buhari said.

“The condition of internally displaced persons ((IDPs) in the country is pathetic. We have at least a million children who neither know their parents nor where they come from.

“Bridges have been blown up, schools, hospitals, churches, mosques, and other buildings have been destroyed. All these will be rehabilitated, and every form of international help is welcome.”

On the recharge of Lake Chad through inter-basin water transfer from Congo River, the president said climate change was quite real to the region, noting that no fewer than 30 million people are negatively affected by the shrinking lake, with at least half of them being Nigerians.

He stressed the role the international community needed to play in the endeavour, “since recharging the lake was beyond the financial power of the affected countries”.

Responding, Garces commended Nigeria for being a key part of the UN system, saying the country was well respected in the global body.

“Nigeria is a major troops’ contributor to peacekeeping operations, and a major part of the human rights architecture,” she said.

She commended Buhari’s leadership of the Economic Community of West African Countries (ECOWAS), and of the Lake Chad Basin commission, pledging to call the attention of the international community to the “hurting effects” of the Lake Chad problem, and other issues raised by the president.

The cable

The leadership of the current National Assembly may be sounding tough, but beneath their tough utterances are fear and trepidation over the fate that could befall them after May 29 when they would have vacated their seats.

Their main headache is Senator Ahmed Lawan, the Senate Majority Leader who has been adopted as the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and President Muhammadu Buhari in the jostle for the seat of the Senate President in the 9th National Assembly.

The current leaders are indeed not looking into the future with confidence because they fear that Lawan would go after them at the promptings of the executive once he becomes the Senate President.

According to The Nation, one issue that is really troubling them is the loans they took to run their affairs. They are looking at the figures and already know that they face a Herculean task. You may wonder why they need such loans when they don’t embark on executive projects and all they spend money on are recurrent things.

Already, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has vowed to make the two chambers of the National Assembly account for funds allocated to constituency projects, and the figures are scary.

Out of the 2,516 projects tracked between 2015 and 2017, 918 of them were not done, 395 are ongoing while 214 of the projects cannot even be located.

A further breakdown reads as follows: 2015: 436 projects tracked in 16 states, 145 completed, 77 ongoing and 211 not executed at all; 2016: 852 projects in 20 states, 350 completed, 118 ongoing, 41 locations not specified in the budget and 343 not done; 2017: 1,228 projects tracked as at June 2018, 478 completed, 173 in unspecified locations, 200 ongoing, 13 abandoned and 364 not started.

Little wonder the leaders of the two chambers are in desperate need of a candidate that will cover their tracks, and from what Sentry is gathering in Abuja, many of them want that assurance from APC that Lawan as Senate president will not look into the books.

They are indeed reaching out to people they believe to have an influence on both the Villa and Lawan, promising that once they are assured of their own safety, both Lawan and Hon. Femi Gbajabiala will have their ways as Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives respectively.

An Anglican Cleric in Charge of St. Peter’s Church, Enugwu –Ukwu, Mr Ubaka Ifeabunike, has said Nigeria needs a strong leader like President Muhammadu Buhari to tackle challenges facing the country. Ifeabunike said this during his homily on Sunday at St Peter’s Church Enugwu-Ukwu in Njikoka Local Government Area (LGA) of Anambra.

He emphasized the need for Nigerian citizens to be patriotic so as to grow the economic and social sectors of the country. Ifeabunike in his homily titled ‘the cause of our problem’, which was drawn from the Holy Book of the Bible Jonah 1 verse 1 to 8, said disobedience to God is the main cause of the present challenges facing the country. He said Nigerians have refused to diligently work in their various endeavours. “But they still want to get rich overnight without following the ladder of life.

“Taking up the core responsibility of doing the right thing at the right time has eluded most people and this has resulted in people engaging in non-productive activities which yield negative results as well as underdevelopment of the country,” he said. He said a leader that is hard in his mind with a well-focused ideology like Buhari would remedy various economic and social challenges facing the country.

He further urged learn to do the right things at all times without waiting for anybody to monitor them and also urged them to shun laziness and embrace hard work which would lead to development and growth of the nation’s economy. Ifeabunike called on the faithful to repent and return to the right track and work hard to follow the rule of the land so as to contribute to the country’s development. 

(TPM)

The Presidency on Sunday called on those it described as “ apostles of evil imaginings” to swallow their words and retract their ‘ tendentious stories ’ insinuating that President Muhammadu Buhari was to be hospitalised during his private visit to London.

The President ’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr . Femi Adesina , stated this in a statement in Abuja while reacting to the return of President Buhari from London on Sunday .

He further condemned those online media outfits that reported that the President would not return to Nigeria on May 5 as originally planned.

The statement read reads in part : “ President Muhammadu Buhari Sunday returned to Abuja, after a 10 -day private visit to the UK .

” Some reckless online media , irresponsible political opposition , and other bilious groups and individuals , had gone on overdrive since the President left the country on April 25 , insinuating that he was going for hospitalization , and would not return after 10 days as stated.

“ In their vain imaginations , they even stated that fictive doctors have advised President Buhari to stay longer for more intensive care.

“ Now that the President has returned , can these apostles of evil imaginings swallow their words ? Can they retract their tendentious stories as well as press statements, and apologise to millions of Nigerians both at home and in the Diaspora that they have fed with hogwash ?

“ Few days after the celebration of World Press Freedom Day , we dare say that this valuable freedom does not tantamount to liberty to mislead and hoodwink the populace through concocted and jejune publications. ”

The presidential aide , however , reiterated that the Buhari administration would continue to respect and uphold press freedom .

“ The Buhari administration will always respect and uphold press freedom , but the onus lies on those prone to passing off fiction as facts , to remember that freedom demands concomitant responsibility.

“ Those who further share and disseminate falsehood are also encouraged to embrace responsible conduct , ” he said .

( NAN)

President Muhammadu Buhari says he will not make any comment about those who will make his next cabinet.

Fielding questions from reporters after his 10-day trip to the United Kingdom, Buhari said he is ready to settle down and swear in the new cabinet.

A reporter had asked him, “What kind of people will make your next cabinet?” and he responded: “I won’t tell you.”

The president also refused to respond to the question on whether he compiled a ministerial list while in London.

On the widespread kidnappings in the country, Buhari said he noticed Mohammed Adamu, acting inspector-general of police, had lost weight, saying it is a sign that he is working hard.

The presidential aircraft which conveyed the president from London landed at the presidential wing of Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, at 6:24pm.

Those at the airport to welcome the president were Abba Kyari, his chief of staff; Muhammed Bello, minister of the federal capital territory (FCT); Tukur Buratai, chief of army staff; Ibrahim Magu, acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and some presidential aides.

Buhari proceeded to the UK on a “private visit” on April 25.

The cable

ABUJA – PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari said that the Acting Inspector-General was working hard to curtail insecurity in the country which has made him to lose weight.

President Buhari also said that as he was back from a 10-day private visit to London, the United Kingdom, UK, he hoped that Nigerians would allow him to settle down and set up his cabinet.

The President who spoke to the Nigeria Television Authority, NTA, oh his arrival at the presidential Ving of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Abuja also declined to disclose whether he would have an extended cabinet in his second tenure that starts from May 29.

While wishing Nigerians the best of luck as he returned from his trip, he appealed to Nigerians to allow him settle down to do the work he was elected to do
Asked on what kind of people expected to makeup his cabinet and whether he would have and whether there would be an expanded cabinet, he simply replied “I won’t tell you.”

Also asked to comment on the insinuation that he decided to travel out of the country to prepare the list of his cabinet for his second tenure, he said, “I didn’t discus it with anybody so I don’t know how they got the information”

On the plans to curtail insecurity ravaging the country, he said, “I have just seen the IGP (Inspector General of Police), he is losing weight so I think he is working hard”.

Vanguard

ABUJA-THE Presidency yesterday said that nobody can question the achievements of President Muhammadu Buhari as it posited that they are there for all to see.

Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, in a write up circulated to the media in Abuja, said that Buhari’s victory against former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015 was made possible by his promises to end Boko Haram terrorism, secure the country for efficient management, restructure the economy, halt its downward slide, create jobs and to fight corruption.

According to Shehu “His climactic victory against the then incumbent Goodluck Jonathan, his strong message on the three issues as listed above, his practical and serious approach helped to awaken a nation misled by characters who placed self above nation for sixteen years and more,” adding: “Nobody can question President Buhari’s achievements.

 They are there for all to see.”

He said that the Buhari administration has established for itself an anti-corruption reputation “and has been in office nearing four years without a major scandal.”

He said, “The Buhari administration can pat itself on the back for this achievement when it is viewed against the established culture in which corruption is the norm.”

Shehu recalled that to win the war against corruption and institute transparency in the affairs of government, the Buhari administration introduced a number of fiscal reforms and plugged several leakages.

He added: The administration has significantly curtailed corruption to the point of abolishing what is called “grand corruption.” Given Treasury Single Account ,TSA , the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information Scheme, IPPS, the Bank Verification Number, BVN number and Whistle Blower schemes, it is no longer possible for people in authority to, for instance, request the withdrawal of millions, or sometimes billions of Naira or US Dollars to be shared among party members as was the practice under the past administrations. To boot, the Buhari administration has signed onto the global Open Government Partnership, OGP.

“Reforms are being carried out in the justice sector with a number of domestic legislation and international agreements to facilitate the identification, tracing, freezing, recovery and forfeiture of ill-gotten assets.

“The administration’s primary sectors of agriculture and solid minerals have experienced growth of 180 and 565 percentage points respectively. Nigeria has today achieved near self-sufficiency in rice production.

“Government has launched a series of funding and capacity development initiatives to support Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. The work of the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), inaugurated by President Buhari in August 2016 has resulted in moving Nigeria up 24 places on the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business rankings and earning a place on the list of 10 most improved economies. In this regard, the administration has issued a number of Executive Orders on improving efficiency in the business environment and promoting local content.

“The Buhari administration has also demonstrated a single-minded commitment to upgrading and developing Nigeria’s transport, power, and health infrastructure. Road projects are ongoing across every state of the country, with many of these projects having been abandoned for many years.

“The country’s narrow-gauge rail network of 3,500 Kms is currently being upgraded; Abuja’s light rail system has been completed and commissioned with a link to the Abuja-Kaduna rail line, which has equally been completed and launched. The Ibadan-Lagos standard gauge rail is being a test run. Ibadan-Kano has been awarded.

“The administration has successfully reconstructed the Abuja Airport runway, completed and commissioned new terminal buildings in Port Harcourt and Abuja with Lagos, Kano, Enugu and the others soon to be inaugurated.
“Several water supply projects and dam/irrigation projects have been completed and many more on the way to being delivered. About 100 ecological projects have been awarded and completed in the six geopolitical zones.

“The Buhari administration has more than doubled power generation capacity. It has increased generation to 8,100 MW and expanded transmission to more than 7,000 MW capacity, and has successfully deployed thousands of solar power systems to rural and urban households.

“This is an administration that has been investing in people. It has introduced a social Investment Programme (SIP), which so far, has four components. These are the N-power employment scheme that is hitting 500,000 this year, the homegrown school feeding program that feeds more than nine million school children across the federation, the Government Enterprise and Empower Program, GEEP giving out interest-free loans to millions of market women, traders, artisans and farmers and the conditional cash transfer, CCT which pays N5,000 monthly to the poorest and most vulnerable households in the country.

“In dealing with security, one of the first major steps by the Buhari administration was the revitalisation of the Multi-national Joint Taskforce, MNJTF aimed at combating transborder crime and the Boko Haram insurgency. The MNJTF has the support and participation of neighboring countries Niger, Chad, Cameroon, and Benin, in addition to Nigeria.

“On the day of his inauguration, the President had directed the relocation of the command and control center of the Boko Haram war to Maiduguri, the epicenter of the insurgency.

“The military has since proclaimed victory over the Boko Haram terrorists, following the capture of their operational and spiritual headquarters, “Camp Zero” in Sambisa Forest.

“So far, more than one million displaced persons have returned to their homes and communities.

 About 20,000 hostages have been freed. One hundred and six (106) Chibok Girls, abducted in April 2014 and 105 Dapchi Girls abducted in February 2018 have been released and reunited with their families.

“In the area of diplomacy and international relations, the Buhari administration has re-established Nigeria’s position and influence in the regional and global arena.”

He said with the strides the government had recorded, it was little wonder that President Buhari was re-elected in the last presidential election.

Vanguard

President Muhammadu Buhari has dismissed the reports that his London trip was to compile the list of persons to be appointed as ministers during his second tenure.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the president stated this on Sunday in Abuja after a 10-day private visit to London.

Buhari stated that he did not discuss the issue of the appointment of new cabinet ministers with anybody.

The president said: “I didn’t discuss with anybody. So, I don’t know how they knew about it. I didn’t discuss it with anybody.’’

On possibility of introducing fresh approach in the fight against insurgency and banditry, the president maintained that the acting Inspector-General of Police was doing his best to curtail the menace.

“I have just seen the IG, I think he is losing weight; I think he is working very hard,’’ he said.

The president also declined comment on the kind of people that would constitute his next cabinet.

Pm.news

President Muhammadu Buhari, who came to office in a seismic political shift that swept out of office 16 years of continuous rule by the People’s Democratic Party, PDP recorded yet another resounding victory to win a second term in office, leading his closest rival by a record-setting four million votes.

His party, the All Progressives Congress, APC gained the highest parliamentary majority in the Fourth Republic in the Senate and the House of Representatives, giving the President an ample room to carry out reforms he wished to carry out, but was outmaneuvered and frustrated by the Eighth National Assembly.

While campaigning for the 2015 general elections, President Buhari’s All APC made promises to end Boko Haram terrorism and secure the country for it to be efficiently managed; to restructure the economy, halt its downward slide and create jobs and to fight corruption because, as the president repeatedly says, “if Nigeria doesn’t kill corruption, corruption will kill Nigeria.”

His climactic victory against the then incumbent Goodluck Jonathan, his strong message on the three issues as listed above, his practical and serious approach helped to awaken a nation misled by characters who placed self above nation for sixteen years and more.

The Buhari administration has established for itself an anti-corruption reputation and has been in office nearing four years without a major scandal.  The African Union has on account of this, selected the President as the continent’s anti-corruption champion.

The Buhari administration can pat itself on the back for this achievement when it is viewed against the established culture in which corruption is the norm.

To win the war against corruption and institute transparency in the affairs of government, the Buhari administration introduced a number of fiscal reforms and plugged several leakages.

In the firm belief that the party was not mistaken about the problems facing the country, Candidate Buhari went into the February, 2019 campaign on the same issue platforms. The President and his party looked certain of victory from the sea of crowds that attended his political rallies all over the 36 states of the federation. He was the only candidate to have campaigned at least once in each state and the Federal Capital Territory.

These rallies attracted large crowds, mostly of the poor who are trusting in his impeccable qualities of honesty and integrity, and have bought into the idea that he will quickly push their country onto the top by lifting up the economy, creating jobs, securing the nation and ending the nightmarish corruption which had become the order of the day. Some of the events were marked by incidents of road accident, podium or building collapse and stampede leading to tragic losses of life.

At many of those well-attended rallies, the venues fell short of the people gathered. Thousands of supporters outside tried to barge into the inner rings of the venues. Pleas were not heard by surging crowds which resorted sometimes to throwing chairs, sachet water and bottles into the no-man zones in front of the stage.

It was evident from the commencement of the campaign that President Buhari had a a two-pronged election strategy, one to showcase the achievements of his administration in its first term and two, to cash in on his popularity with the lower rungs of the population.

The party itself doubled down on President Buhari by zeroing in on his image as a diligent, coolheaded and incorruptible leader. In that enduring appeal, the APC saw a trump card going into the election.

Nobody can question President Buhari’s achievements. They are there for all to see.

The administration has significantly curtailed corruption to the point of abolishing what is called “grand corruption.” Given Treasury Single Account,TSA, the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information Scheme, IPPS, the Bank Verification Number, BVN number and Whistle Blower schemes, it is no longer possible for people in authority to, for instance, request the withdrawal of millions, or sometimes billions of Naira or US Dollars to be shared among party members as was the practice under the past administrations. To boot, the Buhari administration has signed onto the global Open Government Partnership, OGP.

Reforms are being carried out in the justice sector with a number of domestic legislations and international agreements to facilitate the identification, tracing, freezing, recovery and forfeiture of ill-gotten assets.

The administration’s primary sectors of agriculture and solid minerals have experienced growth of 180 and 565 percentage points respectively. Nigeria has today achieved near self-sufficiency in rice production.

Government has launched a series of funding and capacity development initiatives to support Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.  The work of the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), inaugurated by President Buhari in August 2016 has resulted in moving Nigeria up 24 places on the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business rankings, and earning a place on the list of 10 most improved economies.  In this regard, the administration has issued a number of Executive Orders on improving efficiency in the business environment and promoting local content.

The Buhari administration has also demonstrated a single-minded commitment to upgrading and developing Nigeria’s transport, power and health infrastructure.

Road projects are ongoing across every state of the country, with many of these projects having been abandoned for many years. 

The country’s narrow-gauge rail network of 3,500 Kms is currently being upgraded; Abuja’s light rail system has been completed and commissioned with a link to the Abuja-Kaduna rail line, which has equally been completed and launched.  The Ibadan-Lagos standard gauge rail is being test run.  Ibadan-Kano has been awarded.

The administration has successfully reconstructed the Abuja Airport runway, completed and commissioned new terminal buildings in Port Harcourt and Abuja with Lagos, Kano, Enugu and the others soon to be inaugurated.

Several water supply projects and dam/irrigation projects have been completed and many more on the way to being delivered.  About 100 ecological projects have been awarded and completed in the six geopolitical zones.

The Buhari administration has more than doubled power generation capacity.  It has increased generation to 8,100 MW and expanded transmission to more than 7,000 MW capacity, and has successfully deployed thousands of solar power systems to rural and urban households.

This is an administration that has been investing in people. It has introduced a social Investment Programme (SIP), which so far, has four components.  These are the N-power employment scheme that is hitting 500,000 this year, the home grown school feeding program that feeds more than nine million school children across the federation, the Government Enterprise and Empower Program, GEEP giving out interest-free loans to millions of market women, traders, artisans and farmers and the conditional cash transfer, CCT which pays N5,000 monthly to the poorest and most vulnerable households in the country.

In dealing with security, one of the first major steps by the Buhari administration was the revitalisation of the Multi-national Joint Task force, MNJTF aimed at combating transborder crime and the Boko Haram insurgency.  The MNJTF has the support and participation of neighbouring countries Niger, Chad, Cameroon and Benin, in addition to Nigeria.

On the day of his inauguration, the President had directed the relocation of the command and control centre of the Boko Haram war to Maiduguri, the epicentre of the insurgency.

The military has since proclaimed victory over the Boko Haram terrorists, following the capture of their operational and spiritual headquarters, “Camp Zero” in Sambisa Forest.

So far, more than one million displaced persons have returned to their homes and communities.  About 20,000 hostages have been freed. One hundred and six (106) Chibok Girls, abducted in April 2014 and 105 Dapchi Girls abducted in February 2018 have been released and reunited with their families

In the area of diplomacy and international relations, the Buhari administration has re-established Nigeria’s position and influence in regional and global arena.

As a political leader, Muhammadu Buhari enjoys three formidable assets– his record as a disciplined former Army General, his reputation as an honest leader who has not allowed corruption to flourish under his watch when he served as a state Military Governor, Minister of Petroleum and Military Head of State and the public perception of his record as one who stands for and by the truth, Mai Gaskiya.

The main opposition to President Buhari, the Peoples Democratic Party failed to realize how much these qualities meant to ordinary Nigerians; they did not reckon with the disillusionment of the citizens with their perceived acts of commission and omission for the 16 years they were in power.

They must by now, have realized with a with benefit of hindsight, that demonization and denigration of an individual does not bring in poll dividends. In their campaigns, they chose to demonise and denigrate Muhammadu Buhari as President. It did not pay.

Before and after this election, there is no face in the opposition who can match President Buhari’s inspiring character and personality. Many, including this reporter believe that it wasn’t the rail, road or achievements in the power sector that won this election for President Buhari. No doubt, these and many others are important. They may have added a bit here and a bit there. But what won it for him, was the focus by the voter on the single most important factor of Mai Gaskiya.

 Mallam Garba Shehu is the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity

Some leaders of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are reaching out to newly elected or re-elected federal legislators from the party and the All Progressives Congress (APC) to ensure a rancour free election of principal officers of the 9th National Assembly.

The concerned PDP leaders, according to sources, are keen on persuading their fellow party members to shelve any idea of opposing   the preferred choices of the majority APC during the election of Senate President and Speaker of House of Representatives.

Involved in the initiative are serving and newly elected governors, returning and outgoing senators as well as other chieftains of the opposition party.

“To many of them, it is time for the PDP to drop the toga of a party that is seen as disrupting governance through unnecessary opposition to the executive,” one of the sources told The Nation.

Also said to be working behind the scene for a peaceful take-off of the 9th national assembly are some non- political Nigerians.

Another well- placed source said: “I can tell you that the current leadership of the national assembly as well as the national leadership of the PDP, have at various times, played host to prominent Nigerians, traditional rulers and elder statesmen, as well as retired military top brass to talk on the need for a peaceful inauguration of the next assembly.”

The Nation reliably gathered that the decision of some PDP members-elect to openly endorse the candidacy of Femi Gabjabiamila as their preferred choice for the Speakership last week was a fall out of the efforts of the party leaders involved in the call for the party to play a more matured brand of opposition in the next dispensation.

Some of the PDP legislators who endorsed Gbajabiamila, it was learnt did so with the support of their political godfathers.

Continuing, the source said: “Currently, PDP leaders across the country are divided over how the party should approach the forthcoming dispensation. While we still have those who want our federal legislators to keep the APC government on its toes through very critical engagement in the chambers, there are now those who think otherwise, and the camp of the latter group is growing by the day.

“Their argument is that if the party is to return to its winning ways and be taken serious by Nigerians, it must not be seen as a party which delights in stalling governance.

“Many of them feel  it is undemocratic for the PDP to seek to prevent the majority party from forming the leadership of the national assembly through very unconventional methods like infiltrating the ranks of the ruling party and encouraging its members to disobey its directives.

“That way, we are also encouraging disloyal acts within our own party. So, those in this school of thought are talking to party leaders and federal legislators on the need for us to change our approach as a party, and I think their efforts are yielding fruits.

“I need not tell you about PDP lawmakers-elect who endorsed APC’s Gbajabiamila during the week. You can see that many of them are well known loyalists of prominent PDP leaders including serving and former governors as well as national leaders and Board of Trustee members.

“That is enough to tell you that the PDP is now open to truce. It is left to the ruling party to take the fullest advantage of the trend and do more to accommodate our members-elect in the scheme of thing as the 9th assembly opens.

“It is not a new or strange thing. Governments of national unity are formed all over the world. What should be important is the need for a better executive-legislature relationship nest time,” the source, a serving senator said.

The Nation also gathered that efforts are on for a possible open endorsement of Senator Ahmed Lawan by some PDP senators-elect in the coming weeks. According to our source, talks are currently on between the two camps on how the opposition party will be accommodated in the 9th assembly with juicy committee and other pecks to ensure that the next senate is more harmonious than in the outgoing 8th senate.

“Nobody is desirous of a rubber stamp senate but we all must own up that the nation lost more than it gained from the many face-offs we witnessed in this current dispensation,” the source argued.

Consequent upon these developments, both Lawan and Gbajabiamila are said to be enjoying the support of many PDP leaders ahead of the inauguration of the 9th national assembly.

“The laid out plan of those involved is to ensure that PDP members-elect do not stage any plot that will backfire and create fresh acrimony in the national assembly after the inauguration. They have been talking to all the stakeholders and I am sure they are supporting the APC choices for the positions. That is the more I can tell you,” another source said.

Efforts to reach the PDP spokesperson, Kola Ologbodiyan on the matter proved abortive as calls to his lines were not going through.

A text message sent to him remained un-replied till press time.

However, a member of the PDP National Working Committee (NWC) from the Southwest, who said he was not authorized to comment and sought anonymity, told our correspondent that the party’s leadership was  aware of the moves of the concerned chieftains and has expressed its opposition to their approach.

“We are aware and we have told them they are going about politics the wrong way,” he said.

“It is not for us to seek truce with the APC. It is the APC that should extend the olive branch.

“More so, we are still at the tribunal seeking the retrieval of our mandate. How can we then seek to work with them?

“The unfortunate part is that they are misleading some of our members-elect ahead of the inauguration of the next national assembly. I am sure we will soon make a public statement on this.”

The N