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Tinubu’s Muslim-Muslim Ticket Disastrous – Babachir

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Aides Have Hijacked Leadership From Buhari- - Babachir Lawal

A former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, has condemned the decision of the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate Bola Ahmed Tinubu to have a Muslim as a running mate.

In a note he personally signed on Tuesday, Lawal described the decision as a “disastrous error.”

Tinubu on Sunday announced former Borno State Governor, Kassim Shettima, as his running mate in the 2023 presidential election.

Both men are Muslims. Lawal, who backed Tinubu during the APC presidential primaries, said the choice of Mr Shettima was a sign that the APC presidential candidate had “been cornered by self-serving, hero-worshiping, lapdogs.”

“The northern governors and some northern Muslim elites must have persuaded him that they will never vote for a ticket that has a northern Christian on it. And he has agreed with them,” Lawal said.

“But if he thinks a Muslim-Muslim ticket will win him the northern Muslim votes, he should have a rethink. They will massively vote for one of their sons because it is in their nature to do so. Buhari, their first son will not be on the ballot in 2023. Atiku their second son will be.”

READ ALSO: Crisis In Kaduna APC Over Muslim-Muslim Governorship Ticket

Read Babachir’s full note below:

“I thought I will be able to avoid commenting on the disastrous error by my very good friend, Sen Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in his choice of a running mate.

“I will be the very last person to stand in the way of my very good friend Tinubu’s path to the presidency. This is because since 2011 my consuming passion has been for him to succeed Buhari as President of Nigeria.

“It will not be true if I say that I did not see it coming. I have often read his body language, picked up snippets from several discussions with his lapdogs (some of whom, sadly are Christians but most of whom are Muslims) and I have conveyed my reservations to them against the pitfalls of a Muslim-Muslim ticket towards which I sensed they were drifting.

“As part of my obligation to him, a close friend, I had on many occasions argued the merits and demerits of both ticket permutations to him.

“I have done so in both verbal and written form and I have likewise, done so with some of his close respectable associates and friends. In all instances I had left him with the sole responsibility for his final decision arguing that in the end the consequences of the outcome of any bad decision will be his to
bear.

“There might be some collateral damage though. I have also on several occasions passed on to him counsel and messages from some well- meaning Nigerians intended to alert him to the possible outcomes of the presidential ticket permutations.

“Tinubu is a very good man. He is a great listener. He has a very humble and friendly disposition to every one. He is very generous in both cash and kind, especially where it could advance his political interests. But I have realized that it is in the nature of power that sycophants and lapdogs have the most influence on leaders with such character traits.

“They will lie to him, malign and disparage others and generally do anything to curry his favor and to also put well-meaning associates in a bad light. I suspect this is what has happened to my friend. He has been cornered by self-serving, hero-worshiping, lapdogs.

“It never used to be like this. While in his hay-days in Lagos, he surrounded himself with smart, street-wise guys that could tell the truth to power. He had Rauf Aregbesola, Yemi Osinbajo, Babatunde Fashola, Dele Alake, Muiz Banire, etc.The Lagos days were the days of think-tanks, strategic planning, monitoring and evaluation, principles and ideologies. But these people have since grown up and moved up to establish their own systems leaving my friend stranded. Nature, they say, abhors vacuum.

“Welcome to the Abuja equivalents. But the Abuja equivalents are people inflicted with the modern Nigerian diseases – religious bigotry, sycophancy and morbid tribalism. They are mostly political jobbers who are most times not averse to the application of diabolical means. Gone are the days of think-tanks, and strategic planning.

“Gone are the days of principles and ideologies. Try and call a meeting; they will not attend. Try and make a plan; they will sabotage it. Everything is ad-hoc, everything is chaotic because they excel in such environments. The result is that they have played on his longterm ambition to be president and have built it into a sort of desperation and a crescendo that easily justifies this satanic resort to a Muslim-Muslim ticket. This is the calamity that has befallen my
friend.

“And why Kashim Shettima? He is an overambitious man who has a Machiavellian bent and has lots of money with which to procure a preferred-candidate status among Tinubu’s lapdogs. And as we are beginning to see, to also procure bogus supporters especially from among the Christian community to help launder his no-so-good image.

“But as a popular proverb goes: ‘Those whom the gods want to destroy they first make mad’. It appears that the gods want to destroy the APC and its presidential candidate and have chosen the instrumentality of the northern Muslim governors and their super ambitious tool and Kashim Ibrahim for this purpose. Alhaji Kashim Shettima is a Greek gift from the Northern governors to Tinubu. I advise Bola to make sure Kashima’s two hands are always in his plain sight and empty.

“True, based on the advice of his new friends, Bola Ahmed Tinubu has made his choice. And I am sure he thinks he is ready for the outcome of that choice. He has chosen to bring religion to the front burner of Nigerian politics. And being a Muslim he has chosen to take sides with his own religion. For all he cares, Christians can go to blazes with their votes. But he must also be told that there will be consequences for this choice. Some of them are that Christians all over the country will revolt against the APC to put the chances of his election in serious jeopardy. It will also put the election of all Christians standing for elections in Christian dominated areas in jeopardy. This could result in APC being a minority party in both the National and State Houses of Assembly.

READ ALSO: Rivers APC Ex-governorship Aspirant Resigns From Party Over Tinubu’s Muslim-Muslim Ticket

“Now tell me which Christian will vote for APC with the following contraption: Muslim presidential candidate (Lagos), Muslim vice presidential candidate (Borno), Muslim National Chairman (Nasarawa), Muslim Deputy National Chairman (Borno), Muslim President (Katsina); Muslim Senate President (Yobe); Muslim Speaker (Lagos); Muslim Deputy Speaker (Plateau) e.t.c. APC the great! Wu na de try woh!

“The northern governors and some northern Muslim elites must have persuaded him that they will never vote for a ticket that has a northern Christian on it. And he has agreed with them. But if he thinks a Muslim-Muslim ticket will win him the northern Muslim votes, he should have a rethink. They will massively vote for one of their sons because it is in their nature to do so. Buhari, their first son will not be on the ballot in 2023. Atiku their second son will be.

“Proof of a possible Islamic agenda was leaked when Governor Ganduje, the “Kadmul Islam”, gave advance notice that Tinubu had assured them he would be nominating a Muslim as his running mate. For those who might not know, Governor Ganduje has a foundation called “Ganduje Foundation” which purpose according to its website is to “provide selfless service to humanity and Islam” but whose primary purpose it appears is the conversion of Christians to Islam.

“So if my very good friend Tinubu, in a desperate bid to become president, allows himself to be made into a religious bigot or even a mujahideen, he is welcome. But it is a risk that will not play out positively for his presidential bid. But, were he to win and become president of Nigeria, it will be as a sectional president; an Islamic president. And he will surely face massive discontent and opposition even before taking off.

“Expecting Nigerians to ignore this crass insensitivity to the country’s diversity amounts to acceding to the perpetration of very grave injustice and discrimination against a huge segment of the society. No one who seeks to be president of Nigeria should ever deploy the tool of religious extremism and exclusivism as a tool to win elections. This is very, very dangerous. And this is very sad.

READ ALSO: Why I Won’t Lose Sleep Over Tinubu’s Muslim-Muslim Ticket – Kukah

“But, barring any last- minute change of mind, Bola has made his choice. He should be bluntly told that in this choice Nigerian Christians clearly see a pending Islamic Republic of Nigeria in its infancy and are right to be severely anxious.

“There is gloom among the Christian community all over the country since Tinubu announced Kashim Shettima as his running mate. Are the generality of the Muslim ummah happy with this? The answer is a resounding NO.

“How then do we respond? The decision as to how to respond to this deliberately senseless act of provocation is both corporate to each religious group and also personal to each voter that loves peace, and hates injustice.

“Christians want to continue to live peacefully with their Muslim neighbors at home, at school, at the workplace, in the markets and on the streets as we have always done or desired to do. And I am sure Muslims share this view too. No one person’s ambition to rule over us should be allowed to set us apart and at war with one another.

“Bola Ahmed Tinubu, should be compelled upon by whoever can do so to rescind this decision. President Muhammed Buhari should exercise his powers as the Commander-in-Chief and as the APC Leader to revoke this nomination of a VP by Tinubu. The APC National Chairman should refuse to sign the nomination forms if not rescinded.

READ ALSO: Court Rejects EFCC’s Evidence Against Babachir Lawal

“There is a story in the bible on how some people responded to similar provocation:

“And when all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered the king, ‘What portion do we have in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. To your tents, O Israel! Look now to your own house, David. So Israel went to their tents.’ (1 Kings 12:16).

” I will love for Bola to be our next president. But I am afraid a Muslim-Muslim ticket will be ‘Dead on Arrival’. And the arrival date according to INEC’s election time table is 25th February, 2023. This ticket will drag down the whole APC members to the pit. We all should reject it.”

 

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Black Saturday As 10 Confirmed Dead, Others Injured In Abuja Church Stampede

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By John Michael Ojo

No less than ten individuals have been confirmed dead following a stampede which took place in an event organized by Holy Trinity Catholic Church, situated in the Maitama area of Abuja on Saturday morning.

It was stated that the church had intended to distribute rice as palliative to the people during the event before the tragedic incident took place.

While confirming the development, in a statement signed by the Abuja Police Command Force Spokesperson, SP Josephine Adeh, the Command said ten individuals died, while eight others sustained varying degrees of injuries.

The statement reads: “This tragic event, which happened at about 6:30 am, led to a stampede that claimed the lives of ten (10) individuals, including four (4) children, and left eight (8) others with varying degrees of injuries. Four (4) of the injured have been treated and discharged, while the remaining victims are receiving medical care.

‘’To prevent such unfortunate incidents in the future, the Command hereby directs that all organizations, religious bodies, groups, or individuals planning any public event, charitable activity, or large gathering in the FCT must notify the Police Command in advance. This will allow the deployment of adequate security measures to ensure public safety and prevent avoidable tragedies.

“Failure to comply with this directive will result in the organizers being held liable for any incident or loss of life resulting from their negligence.

’The FCT Police Command remains committed to safeguarding lives and property in the Territory. Members of the public are encouraged to collaborate with the Police by adhering to these guidelines and promptly reporting emergencies through the FCT Control Room via 0803 200 3913 or 0806 032 1234”

In a similar vein, an unspecified number of people mostly woman have reportedly lost their lives in Okija community of Anambra state in a stampede.

New Times gathered that the stampede was said to have occurred on Saturday morning during an event for the distribution of rice organized by Obi Jackson Foundation.

Saturday’s stampede comes barely 72 hours after a similar occurrence took place in a funfair event organized by a former queen of Ooni of Ife in Ibadan, Oyo State capital where nearly 40 children have been confirmed dead by the state authorities.

The repeated stampede is a testament to the current economic hardship being faced by the masses as a result of the economic policies of President Tinubu in recent times.

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Ogun Information Ministry Defends N2b Budget Proposal, Pledges More Service 

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Kayode Akinmade at the defence of the budget proposal.

Ogun State Ministry of Information and Strategy says it will continue to deploy all communication strategies to serve all organs of government in the promotion of government policies and programmes through a two-way communication channel between the people and the government.

The Special Adviser to the State Governor on Media and Communications, Mr. Kayode Akinmade, gave the assurance on Friday, while defending the ministry’s budget proposal for next year before the members of the House Committee on Finance and Appropriation, led by Hon. Musefiu Lamidi at the Assembly Complex, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta.

Akinmade reassured the Assembly that the ministry was cognisant of the principles of separation of powers, and would continue to render the necessary assistance to all arms of government in publicising their activities.

He noted that the next fiscal year would see to the utilisation of more strategies to mobilize the people for positive development, stressing that more reawakening of the people towards embracing the State’s core values alongside branding to leverage the successes achieved by the Prince Dapo Abiodun-led administration’s development projects would also be explored.

To this end, the ministry proposed a total budget expenditure of N2.023 billion for the next fiscal year, out of which N328 million would go for capital, N1.23 billion for overhead and the remaining N461million would take care of personnel.

Responding, the House Committee members sought more collaborative efforts from the ministry in mobilising the people towards government laudable policies and programmes.

Other agencies that had their budget proposals defended before the State lawmakers were the State Television (OGTV) and its State Broadcasting Corporation counterpart (OGBC), as well as the State Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

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Yuletide: Abiodun Tasks New Police Commissioner On Security

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L-R: Deputy Commissioner of Police (Administration), Sagir Ismail; Ogun State Commissioner of Police, Lanre Ogunlowo; Governor Dapo Abiodun; Deputy Commissioner of Police (Operations), Bolanle Muritala, and the Deputy Commissioner of Police (CID), Bode Ojajuni, during the visit of Ogunlowo as the newly appointed Commissioner of Police to the Governor at his office, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, on Thursday.

Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun has called on security agencies to design and deploy workable strategies that would ensure adequate protection of life and property during this Christmas period.

The governor made the call when he received the new Commissioner of Police, Ogun State Command, Mr. Lanre Ogunlowo, who paid him a courtesy call in his office at Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta.

Abiodun commended the security agencies for ensuring peace and tranquillity, noting, however, that unscrupulous people are bound to take advantage of the period to cause security breaches in the state.

He said: “As we approach the yuletide period, we all know that this period comes with its challenges. Those who are bent on carrying out nefarious activities, the get-rich-quick schemes, will also get a bit desperate, so I want to admonish you to please develop or design strategies to ensure that this yuletide period is peaceful for everyone, allowing us to celebrate and enjoy with our eyes closed and not have to worry about the breakdown of law and order.

“I want to enjoin your colleagues to please join hands with you the way they had cooperated with your predecessor so that together we can continue to build the future of Ogun State to achieve the future of our dreams.”

According to Abiodun, the state is unique in terms of geographical location as it shares borders with four states and an international border, noting that this has brought about an influx of people to work and attend educational institutions, thereby raising numerous security concerns for the government.

The governor, while informing the new State police chief about the steps taken to secure the State and its people, said his administration reinvigorated the State Security Trust Fund to provide modern equipment and logistics to the security agencies, noting that this had helped make Ogun one of the most peaceful states in the country.

He emphasized the importance of inter-agency synergy, which he said had contributed to the peace being enjoyed in the state.

Prince Abiodun maintained that the State’s position as number three in Internally Generated Revenue would not have been possible in an atmosphere of insecurity.

“Like they say, you cannot have any socio-economic development in an atmosphere of insecurity. You can build all the roads, all the airports and seaports, but if there is an atmosphere of insecurity, or even if there is a perception of insecurity, nobody will come to that State,” the governor noted.

The governor pointed out the issue of cultism, which is prevalent in some parts of the state, urging the new police chief to liaise with his colleagues from other agencies to find a final solution to it.

Governor Abiodun commended the Inspector General of Police (IGP) for deploying a highly intelligent and professionally sound officer to the state and equipping him with two Armoured Personnel Carriers, adding that the new CP’s practical training and qualifications have prepared him for the position.

“I want to thank the Inspector General of Police who has found you worthy of this deployment. I want to thank him because he remains one of our proud illustrious sons who has not let us down. Ogun State is known for exporting such human capital, and he is one of those we exported to the federal government, and he is up to our expectations,” he added.

While pledging to do all it takes to keep the State peaceful, the State helmsman assured that his administration would continue to support the State Police Command and other security agencies to maintain peace and order across the State at all times.

Speaking earlier, the new Commissioner of Police, Mr. Lanre Ogunlowo, said he is in the State to add value to what he met on the ground, assuring that with the support of the state government, cooperation from sister security agencies, and the additional Armoured Personnel Carriers given by the Inspector General of Police, he would work to secure the people and gain their trust.

“I had the privilege of working in the tactical intelligence unit of the Nigeria Police Force in the past, and I have a good understanding of the situation regarding cultism. As I mentioned when the governor was speaking to me, the Inspector General of Police graciously approved logistics, including Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs), for Ogun State when I was coming. They would soon be here.

“I have a good team on the ground. As I said, I will improve on what I met on the ground. Before I left yesterday, I had a conversation with our anti-cultism unit, and we have some strategies in place.

“What I can assure you is that we will do all that is needed to address this issue, especially at a time like this. We will engage all stakeholders; we know we can’t do it alone, but we’ve got the wherewithal to deal with it,” he said.

Ogunlowo pleaded with the people to support the police and other security agencies in achieving their mandates, adding, “Let’s enjoy the season, let’s be careful, let’s respect the rights of others. We want peace; criminals should stay away and let the people of Ogun State enjoy the moment. We will be on the ground for that.”

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