National News
APC chieftain urges party to adopt consensus to avoid dollar rain,
APC chieftain urges party to adopt consensus to avoid dollar rain,
A founding member of the All Progressives Congress and Director-General of the Voice of Nigeria, Osita Okechukwu, on Sunday, urged the governing APC to adopt the consensus route in electing its presidential candidate in its forthcoming primary election.
This, he said, would prevent what he described as the “dollar rain” allegedly witnessed at Saturday’s presidential primary of the Peoples Democratic Party and save the naira from further depreciation.
“…if that could happen in a party with about 731 (767) delegates, imagine what will happen if the APC with about 2,322 delegates is allowed to indulge in Dollar Rain,” he stated.
According to him, Atiku Abubakar’s “opportunistic victory” will have little or no impact on the APC’s election of a presidential candidate from the South-East.
Okechukwu made these known in a statement he signed on Sunday titled ‘Mr President, save Naira from obscene Dollar-monetised presidential primaries, Okechukwu pleads.’
The reports gathered that, ahead of the primaries of the governing party and the main opposition, aspirants engaged in a frantic dollar buy-out nationwide, leading to the further depreciation of the naira.
Citing the withdrawal speech of one of the PDP presidential aspirants, Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, who said the primaries have been “obscenely monetised,” Okechukwu said the consensus route would ensure that the forthcoming APC presidential primary does not follow the PDP’s highest-bidder dollar rain.
In his speech before withdrawing from the PDP primary, the former banker, Hayatu-Deen, said, “it is, therefore, based on personal principles and with great humility that I have decided to withdraw from this contest, which has been obscenely monetised.”
According to Okechukwu: “Albeit, our sister opposition political party has every constitutional right to elect whoever they want as their flagbearer; the dollar rain is worrisome as noted by Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, who dubbed it obscenely monetised presidential primary.
“If the naira is already bleeding because of dollar rain on 731 (767) delegates; please, better imagine the degree of depreciation of the naira if another blitz of dollar rain is allowed to be splashed on 2,322 delegates.
He, therefore, called on the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), to consider the consensus option in the APC presidential primary.
He explained, “All the three (modes of primary) are democratic and are in our law books. Please, is it not paradoxical that the governors and ex-governors who oppose consensus had adopted the same consensus and even outright imposition to select their successors?
“To me, they have lost the moral high ground to oppose Mr President from adopting such a legal mode of primary election. One’s appeal is that a politically correct aspirant should be consensually presented.”
The party chieftain, who congratulated the newly elected PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, dismissed insinuations that with Atiku at the helm, the APC would not adhere to the rotation convention of electing a presidential candidate of the Igbo extraction or a southerner.
“Methinks His Excellency Atiku Abubakar’s opportunistic victory will have little or no impact on (the) APC’s election of a presidential candidate from among Ndigbo aspirants or by extension the southern belt aspirants. I don’t think Mr President I know even going by consensus will deny the south their turn.
“Most importantly, one, northern voters are sophisticated, having voted for Chiefs MKO Abiola and Olusegun Obasanjo, with all indicators they will vote southerner this time around so as to shame the PDP for breaching the rotation convention in their constitution.
“Second, there are a number of northern voters who are patriots, who believe sincerely in the ancient doctrine of equity, natural justice and the imperative of unity of our dear country. Going south is the best solution to smoothen the polarisation in the land.
“Thirdly, the dormant Igbo voters in Kano, Lagos and other towns plus core non-Igbo APC voters will be woken up to trounce Waziri Adamawa at the polls,” he said.
National News
President Tinubu Storms Jos Today To Commiserate With Residents Of Angwa Rukuba Massacre
President Tinubu Storms Jos Today To Commiserate With Residents Of Angwa Rukuba Massacre
By: Bodunrin Kayode
President Bola Tinubu will today visit the Plateau state capital Jos to commiserate with residents who lost loved ones during the Palm Sunday shooting spree by criminals that took place at Angwa rukuba area of the city.
The President who was scheduled to visit Ogun state postponed his scheduled trip to Iperu, meant to flag off operations at the Gateway International Cargo Airport.
From the Plateau, the President is expected to travel to Lagos to observe Good Friday public holiday which ushers the beginning of the Easter public holiday which rounds up the lent period.
A state house release signed yesterday by the Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga noted that President Tinubu will travel to Ogun State for the commissioning of the Cargo Airport and the inauguration of two commercial aircrafts for the export and import of goods, aimed at boosting the state’s economic growth on Saturday April 4th.
“He will also inaugurate the new edifice of the Federal Operations Unit of the Nigerian Customs Service and its operational vehicles.
“He will return to Lagos to continue the Easter holiday, during which he is also expected to commission infrastructural projects undertaken by the administration of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
“These projects include: the iconic Ojota/Opebi Link Bridge; the Lagos State Geographic Information System Building; the Multi-Agency Complex named after the President, and a school Complex.
“Before returning to Abuja, President Tinubu will visit Bayelsa State on April 10 to commission some of Governor Duoye Diri’s completed projects.” Said the release.
Sadly several residents lost their lives during the black Palm Sunday shooting spree which is suspected to have been carried out by auto bike riding bandits following after their patterns in the hinterlands of the state.
These bandits who had tormented, killed and destroyed homes of residences of the Jos north axis of the state for several years after September 7th 2001
This damnation let loose on innocent residents is resurfacing after hundreds of killings had occurred in the Jos North council area of the state from September 7th 2001 till date.
And because of the myriad of challenges creeping into the federal security system sub regionals have geared up to manage their on police and Intel services which would assist greatly because they are masters of their territories.
The Federal government is fast tracking the process of state police to ensure that each sub nationals take charge of their environment to ensure that they support the center in the maintenance of internal security.
President Tinubu Storms Jos Today To Commiserate With Residents Of Angwa Rukuba Massacre
National News
NiMet predicts 107 to 138 days of rainfall in Gombe
NiMet predicts 107 to 138 days of rainfall in Gombe
The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has said that in 2026, the length of the rainy season in Gombe State is expected to be between 107 and 138 days.
This is contained in the Agency’s 2026 Seasonal Climate Prediction (SCP) document, which Gayus Musa, the meteorological manager for Gombe State, made available to Our Correspondent in Gombe on Tuesday.
The total amount of rainfall across Gombe State in 2026 is predicted to be between 701 mm in the northern part of the state (Nafada) and 1089 mm in the South (Shongom).
The onset of the rainfall is expected to commence in the state on May 29 (Shongom) and cease by October 22 (Yamaltu/Deba).
Similarly, in the prediction, four local government areas of the state, namely: Nafada, Yamaltu/Deba, Dukku and Funakaye were likely to be impacted by a severe dry spell (21 days and above) between June and August.
Musa while speaking to Our Correspondent on the first rainfall experienced in some communities in Akko, Gombe and Yamaltu/Deba Local Government Areas of the state on Monday urged farmers to resist the temptation of early planting of crops.
He described the first rain as false onset, explaining that the rainfall was false because it would not support any germination as seeds planted with such rain would not survive.
“This (first rain) is a false onset because the precipitation cannot carry any germination and so any seed planted would not survive.
“So farmers should not engage themselves in planting but to prepare their farmlands while getting their seeds and other inputs ready,” he said.
Musa advised farmers in the state, to make use of the prediction in carrying out farming activities towards avoiding losses in view of the impact of climate change on agriculture.
He further urged relevant authorities in the state to take proactive measures towards tackling environmental issues associated with the rainy season.
NiMet predicts 107 to 138 days of rainfall in Gombe
National News
Tuggar Resigns from Tinubu’s Cabinet, Sets for Bauchi Governorship
Tuggar Resigns from Tinubu’s Cabinet, Sets for Bauchi Governorship
By: Michael Mike
The rumoured interest of Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar in becoming the governor of Bauchi State come 2027 may have been confirmed he resigned on Monday to prepared ground for actualization of his political ambition.
The resignation was ahead of the deadline set for political appointees seeking elective positions in the forthcoming general elections.
In a resignation letter submitted to the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Tuggar expressed profound gratitude to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the opportunity to serve the country and contribute to the implementation of the administration’s Four-D foreign policy strategy.
The former minister also appreciated the management and staff of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and members of the diplomatic community for their cooperation and support throughout his tenure.
During his time in office, Tuggar was credited with advancing Nigeria’s foreign policy objectives through initiatives focused on people-centred diplomacy. These included humanitarian evacuations, facilitation of scholarships for Nigerians abroad, and sustained support for citizens in the diaspora.
His tenure also witnessed increased diaspora engagement, including efforts to develop a structured database of Nigerians living abroad aimed at strengthening their participation in national development.
In addition, Tuggar strengthened bilateral and multilateral relations through strategic engagements with traditional partners and regional alliances, particularly across the Global South. His leadership also promoted regional security cooperation and supported the formation of the Regional Partnership for Democracy initiative.
He also prioritised economic diplomacy, positioning Nigeria as an attractive destination for foreign investment, especially in the energy sector, while facilitating diplomatic interventions that secured the release of detained Nigerians in foreign countries and improved bilateral relations.
The resignation letter was received on behalf of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation by Dr. Abubakar Kana, Permanent Secretary, General Services Office, ahead of the March thirty-first deadline directed by President Tinubu in line with provisions of the Electoral Act.
Tuggar’s resignation was conveyed in a statement issued by his Special Assistant on Media and Communications Strategy, Alkasim Abdulkadir.
Tuggar Resigns from Tinubu’s Cabinet, Sets for Bauchi Governorship
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