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2019: Tinubu, Ambode Commend Lagos APC’s Resolution to Elect Candidates Through Direct Primaries

Published

7 years ago

August 14, 2018

Eric

The Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Tuesday resolved to elect candidates who will fly the flag of the party at next year’s general elections through direct primaries which will involve all members of the party.

To this end, the party said it would immediately commence the process of registering new members, while the old members who have registered before now as well as the new members would all be issued membership cards.

Addressing members of the party at a stakeholders’ meeting held at the party’s secretariat on Acme Road, Ogba, APC National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, said it was gratifying to report that the party had resolved to register additional members, adding that membership register would be opened to facilitate the process, which eventually would be used for direct primaries.

He said: “We appeal to all our members to update the membership registration and embrace the direct primary that has just been introduced and adopted by our party. We are committed to our party; we are committed to the values of the party; we see direct primary as President Muhammadu Buhari’s anti-corruption and internal democracy revolution.

“We are going to embrace that in which the party is going back to the owners of the party and that is you the people. It is not we the few; it is we the people. We have embraced democracy and you have your decisions to be made but you have to be members of our party in the first place,” Tinubu said.

Tinubu also dismissed the insinuation that the party is divided in the state, saying there is nothing of such, and that the party is intact.

“We reiterate the fact that APC in Lagos State is intact. There is no division. I’ve heard some people conspiring to present a situation of division in the party in Lagos but let me assure you that it is just the coming together of adversaries which will have no effect on the party,” Tinubu said.

Besides, he said the party at the state level also passed a resolution commending the Acting President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo for taking decisive actions to save the party and the nation from any embarrassment, saying: “We commend his efforts; we stand with him; and we stand with all members of our party,” just as the party commended all the steps taken so far by APC National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole.

The party equally urged members to get their Permanent Voters Card (PVCs) before the expiration of registration deadline by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

In his remarks, the State Governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode commended Tinubu for kick-starting the revolution for direct primaries, saying the process would go a long way to deepen democracy in the country.

“There is no better time to appreciate our National Leader (Tinubu) than now. What we have just witnessed is the beginning of a revolution about the deepening of democracy in Nigeria. People might not understand what is going on but we are giving power to the people and it is starting from APC.

“So, we want to collectively say a big thank you to Asiwaju for championing this silent revolution and it is very simple; what we are saying is that if we know that Lagos State is truly controlled by APC, we would champion a revolution that has never been witnessed before in this country and that means each member of our great party will now determine who becomes the President of this country and by so doing, we create the championship that Lagos State has the votes and Lagos State has the numbers to make things happen in this country,” the Governor said

He said the party in the state, with the development, was laying a solid foundation, and that the onus was now on others to build on it and allow Nigeria arrive at its destined destination.

According to the Governor, “So, for us to say that all the people should go and get their membership, is going to now determine how many of us are really APC members. We want to determine what really controls political positions in this country and whoever has gone to defect, we are saying that there are no defectors in Lagos State and defection is a major loss to whoever has defected.

“By the time we count ourselves; by the time we count all the members of APC in Lagos State, other parties will understand where APC is going and that is the assignment for all of us. Each member will get a minimum of 100 new members and by the time we do our count, we should be so sure that that is what should happen in other States and we would deliver the next general presidential election to Muhammadu Buhari by the grace of God,” Governor Ambode said.

The meeting was well attended by chieftains and members of the party across the State.

Headline

Corruption Allegations: NMDPRA Boss Farouk Ahmed Meets Tinubu, Resigns

Published

23 minutes ago

December 17, 2025

Eric

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Farouk Ahmed, has resigned following a meeting with President Bola Tinubu amid corruption allegations.

Tinubu, on Wednesday, summoned Ahmed to the Presidential Villa in Abuja, following allegations of economic sabotage and corruption.

Also caught in the web of resignation was the CEO of the Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Gbenga Komolafe, according to a statement on Wednesday by Bayo Onanuga, special adviser to the president on information and strategy.

Tinubu was said to have nominated successors to the senate for approval.

“Tinubu has asked the Senate to approve the nominations of two new chief executives for the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC),” the statement reads.

“The requests followed the resignation of Engineer Farouk Ahmed of the NMDPRA and Gbenga Komolafe of the NUPRC.

“Both officials were appointed in 2021 by former President Buhari to lead the two regulatory agencies created by the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).

“To fill these positions, President Tinubu has written to the Senate, requesting expedited confirmation of Oritsemeyiwa Amanorisewo Eyesan as CEO of NUPRC and Engineer Saidu Aliyu Mohammed as CEO of NMDPRA.”

Onanuga said the two nominees are seasoned professionals in the oil and gas industry.

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Alleged Corrupt Practices: Dangote Petitions ICPC Against NMDPRA MD Farouk

Published

1 day ago

December 16, 2025

Eric

Chairman, Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, has formally submitted a petition to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) against the Managing Director of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Engr. Ahmed Farouk, over alleged corruption and financial impropriety.

The petition, dated December 16, 2025, was submitted through Dangote’s lawyer, Dr. Ogwu James Onoja, SAN, and received at the office of the ICPC Chairman, Dr. Musa Adamu Aliyu, SAN.

In the petition, Dangote called for the arrest, investigation and prosecution of the NMDPRA boss, alleging that Farouk has been living far above his legitimate means as a public servant.

Dangote specifically accused Ahmed Farouk of allegedly spending over seven million United States dollars on the education of his four children in Switzerland, paid upfront for a six-year period, without any lawful explanation for the source of the funds.

According to the petition, the four children and their respective schools in Switzerland were clearly identified, along with the amounts paid on their behalf, to enable the ICPC verify the allegations.

The industrialist further alleged that Farouk Ahmed had been using his position at the NMDPRA to embezzle and divert public funds for personal gain and private interests, actions which he claimed had recently triggered public protests and widespread criticism of the agency.

Dangote maintained that Ahmed Farouk has spent his adult life working in Nigeria’s public sector, adding that his cumulative earnings over the years could not reasonably account for the alleged seven million dollars reportedly spent on the overseas education of his children.

“It is without doubt that the above facts in relation to abuse of office, breach of the Code of Conduct for public officers, corrupt enrichment and embezzlement constitute gross acts of corruption, for which your Commission is statutorily empowered under Section 19 of the ICPC Act to investigate and prosecute,” the petition stated.

It further noted that under the same section of the ICPC Act, any person found guilty of such offences is liable to imprisonment for a term of five years without an option of fine.

Dangote urged the commission to act decisively, stressing that the ICPC, alongside other anti-graft agencies, is strategically positioned to investigate and prosecute corruption-related offences.

“In view of the foregoing, we call on the Commission under your leadership to investigate the complaint of abuse of office and corruption against Engr. Farouk Ahmed and to accordingly prosecute him if found wanting,” the petition added.

The Dangote Group Chairman also expressed confidence that the matter, being in the public domain, would not be ignored, urging the ICPC to act in the interest of justice and to protect the image of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration.

Dangote further pledged his readiness to provide additional evidence to substantiate his allegations of corrupt enrichment, abuse of office and impunity against the NMDPRA Managing Director.

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Tinubu Didn’t Win 2023 Election, Will Lose in 2027 – Abaribe

Published

2 days ago

December 16, 2025

Eric

The lawmaker representing Abia South Senatorial District, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, has predicted that it would be impossible for President Bola Tinubu to win second termn in the 2027 presidential election.

Abaribe, who claimed that the President never won the 2023 election, said the level of hardship Nigerians are currently facing has made them more determined to ensure that Tinubu does not return as president after 2027.

Reacting to suggestions that Tinubu has never lost an election, Abaribe, who appeared as a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday, said, “I do not think so. Everybody loses elections, and you will see when the time comes. He will lose in 2027 because I know what Nigerians are feeling outside.”

He added: “Tinubu never won the 2023 election, and everybody knows it. But we said fine, he has been declared the winner, no problem. We acknowledge him as president, but we are going to meet him in the field, and I will see how he is going to cobble together what will make him win again.

“It won’t work, because this time everybody will be ready. It will no longer be an announcement at 3am before people wake up in the morning. This time, people are ready; we are ready, and the masses are even more ready.”

The senator, who said the economy has collapsed under Tinubu and that the president has yet to solve the problem of insecurity, wondered where he would get the votes to win in 2027.

On the defection of some opposition leaders to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Abaribe vowed never to join the wave, saying he would be the last person to do so.

He said that rather than strengthening the APC as a party, the defections would deepen internal divisions and fuel leadership tussles.

“If there is anybody who is going to defect to the APC, I think I should be the very, very last one. By the time I defect, it would mean there are no parties left in Nigeria, including the APC,” he said.

“I have a very simple theory about defections. I think it is very good for us in the opposition that these defections are happening. All the APC is doing is absorbing all the problems it is going to face; they are right inside the party now. Ask yourself, in all the states where there are defections, what is going on there now?”

The lawmaker described the APC as a giant with feet of clay, saying the opposition would target its weak points during the election, leading to its collapse.

Abaribe, who reaffirmed his membership of the opposition coalition, said there is a consensus among opposition leaders to unite in order to dislodge the APC from power.

The coalition has adopted the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as the platform for the 2027 elections, but many have claimed the move is a strategy to enthrone Atiku Abubakar and compel all opposition members to support him.

However, Abaribe disagreed, saying the party has yet to release its guidelines and other arrangements ahead of the 2027 elections.