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APC claims 40 million membership

Published

3 years ago

May 4, 2021

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Following the recent registration and membership revalidation exercise, the Secretary of the Caretaker/ Extra-Ordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) Senator John Akpanudoedehe, has said that the party’s membership figure has hit over 40 million.

He stated this when the chairman of the party’s caretaker committee, Governor Mai Mala Buni, hosted some non-career ambassadors at the party’s secretariat in Abuja.

Akpanudoedehe said before the caretaker committee began the just concluded party membership registration, revalidation and update exercise, the membership strength was about 12 million.

According to him, the party now has over 40 million members.

Addressing the new diplomats, Akpanudoedehe said: “We are blessed to have a focused and gentle party chairman. When he came on board, we lost ground. Under his leadership we have regained what we lost and gained more. We had membership strength of 12 million. I want to inform your excellencies, under his (Buni) leadership, the APC has moved to over 40 million today.”

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Governor Buni urged the ambassadors to project the country positively wherever they are posted.

The diplomats visited the governor ahead of resumption in their respective countries of assignment. He also said Nigeria was determined to sustain warm relationship with other nations.

The leader of the team, High Commissioner-designate to Republic of Zambia, Ambassador Nwanne Ominyi, thanked President Muhammadu Buhari and the party leadership for their appointment.

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JUST IN: Obaseki increases minimum wage to N70k in Edo

Published

4 mins ago

April 29, 2024

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Godwin Obaseki, governor of Edo, has approved a new minimum wage of N70,000 for civil servants in the state.

The governor made the declaration on Monday while inaugurating the Labour House.

Obaseki named the Labour House after Adams Oshiomhole, senator representing Edo north and immediate-past governor of Edo.

Details later…

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‘Breach of law’ — Oshiomhole condemns Ododo for ‘rescuing’ Yahaya Bello during EFCC siege

Published

2 hours ago

April 29, 2024

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Adams Oshiomhole, senator representing Edo north, has faulted Usman Ododo, governor of Kogi, for his interference in the saga involving Yahaya Bello and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The EFCC is accusing Bello, immediate-past governor of Kogi, of money laundering and corruption to the tune of N80.2 billion.

BACKGROUND

On April 17, EFCC operatives laid siege to Bello’s Abuja residence in a bid to arrest him for grilling.

While the operatives were at Bello’s residence, Ododo arrived at the scene.

Shortly after Ododo left the residence, the EFCC operatives ended their siege. There were reports that Ododo had surreptitiously whisked Bello away in one of the cars in his convoy.

Amid the drama, the Kogi high court delivered judgment in a fundamental rights enforcement suit, restraining the commission from “harassing, threatening to arrest or detaining” the former governor.

On the same day, the EFCC obtained a warrant of arrest against Bello from a federal high court in Abuja.

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Subsequently, the anti-graft agency declthe former governor wanted, while the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) placed Bello on a watchlist.

Bello was also absent for an arraignment that was initially scheduled for April 18, citing fear of arrest.

‘WRONG USE OF IMMUNITY’

Speaking on Saturday at the national integration conference, Oshiomhole said Ododo’s “rescue” of Bello and the former governor’s refusal to show up in court constitutes a breach of the law.

The conference which had ‘Revisiting the national question: Nigeria’s elusive search for national integration’ as its theme, was organised by the Kukah Centre.

The senator also urged citizens to speak up against breaches of the law — irrespective of who is involved.

“If you are afraid, given the fact that you are very vocal, you are independent, you cannot be dismissed, you cannot be promoted or demoted… if you are afraid to mention the name of a former governor who breached the law and a sitting governor who used his immunity to cover a governor that lost immunity, where will the courage come from?” Oshiomhole said.

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“This sophistry of saying we can name the child of a poor man who steal(s) a goat but we are afraid to mention the name of a big man who breached the law, that for me is at the root of our problems.”

‘ALL CHILDREN MUST HAVE ACCESS TO EDUCATION’

Bello had also allegedly paid $760,910 in advance fees to the American International School Abuja (AISA), for five of his children from the coffers of the Kogi state government.

The children are in grade levels 2 to 8 at the school.

Oshiomhole said during his spell as Edo governor, his colleagues denied children of the poor access to education.

“As a former governor, I was a member of the national economic council (NEC) where some state governors argued that they did not have the resources to pay 50 percent subsidy in order to ensure that the children of the poor go to school even when those governors are sending their own children abroad,” Oshiomhole added.

READ Total war: Biafra National Guard members loot shop, filling station, declare war from October 30

The former Edo governor said leaders must possess the political will to implement laws they enact.

“What I consider to be the most important investment, namely, that never should a child be born in this country and be denied access to go to school,” he said.

Kogi ranked 27th across states in Nigeria with the highest number of out-of-school children (ages 6–15).

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PHOTOS: Lagos commuters stranded as fares spike by 50% amid petrol scarcity

Published

2 hours ago

April 29, 2024

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Commuters in many parts of Lagos were on Monday left stranded at different bus stops in the metropolis, amid the lingering petrol scarcity.

Fares were hiked by 50 percent as motorists filled up dispensing stations for the scarce commodity.

Some filling stations were shuttered, while others still selling petrol were encircled by long queues.

Some motorists said they bought petrol at N700 and N800 per litre at filling stations. Roadside dealers now sell the product for N1000 and N1200 per litre.

The petrol scarcity triggered a 50 percent increase in fares across Lagos.

From Abule Egba roundabout to Agege, commuters were asked to pay N300, which was previously N150 or N200. From Agege to Alausa in Ikeja is now N400, which cost N300 last week.

From Berger to Ikeja, commuters pay as high as N1000 in fares.

In most of the bus stops visited by TheCable on Monday morning, survival of the fittest was the prevailing philosophy as hordes of commuters were seen running after a few commercial buses

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