'PDP is dying, you are just responsible for its funeral rites' - Obasanjo tells Sheriff

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Saturday warned a factional chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Modu Sheriff, that the party was “dying”, and he just be responsible for its final rites.

Mr. Obasanjo spoke to Mr. Sheriff who visited him in Abeokuta on Saturday. He later explained to journalists what he said had been the subject of their closed-door meeting.

“He called me yesterday and said ‘where are you’ and I said, ‘I am in the country’ and he said, ‘May I come and see you?’ and I said ‘my house is open to all Nigerians of goodwill and even non-Nigerians of goodwill. And I said, he can come’,” Mr. Obasanjo said.

“I have said to my brother that I wish him well with the dying baby they have put on his laps because PDP is comatose and he was of course not in PDP, he has never been in PDP until now. When I was in PDP, I tried and encouraged him to come and join PDP, but he did not come, but the PDP they have given him now is a dying PDP, a dying baby, it needs to be in intensive care, otherwise, he will just be an undertaker,” Mr. Obasanjo said.

Speaking further, the former president said he had not rescinded his decision to renounce partisan politics.

“Let me make it absolutely clear once and again, I have not renounced partisan politics, I don’t belong to any political party, not to talk of his own faction of PDP or any other faction of PDP.‎ But he came and I am very very happy to receive him and I said ‘look, for my own education, for my own knowledge, tell me what exactly is happening’, and he briefed me,” he said.

“And, as they all want to say now, ‘well, you were once the father of PDP’, I was once the leader, for eight years, I was the leader of PDP but the PDP that I was the leader of is not the PDP of today.

The PDP of today, if you can talk of a party again as PDP, its soul has been taken out of it and those who allowed that to happen are, unfortunately, either in the country or out of the country unperturbed about the fate of the party and indeed the fate of the country.”

The former president said for democracy to thrive in the country there must be strong political party as opposition.


“For our democracy to thrive we need strong political party in government and strong political party in opposition. Today, PDP cannot claim to be a strong party in opposition, I don’t know if APC can claim, at the national level, to be a strong party in government either. Now that is part of the misfortune of this country today.

“That being the case, it must be the concern of all Nigerians that the present democratic dispensation must not be allowed to be derailed and for it not to be derailed, we must have a strong political party in government and a strong political party in opposition’.

“When they talk about institution, a political party is an institution and in a democracy, it is a very important institution that we must all nourish and we must all cherish’.

“But like I said, it is the responsibility of all Nigerians of goodwill and all friends of Nigeria that wish this country well that we should ensure that the institution that will underpin a virile, dynamic, thriving democracy are put in place,” he said.

‎In his own remarks, Mr. Sheriff said he called on Mr. Obasanjo to help solve a problem within the crisis-ridden party.

“Baba has spoken everything, Baba said the PDP given to me is a dying PDP, he built the PDP that everybody cherished; Baba, whether today in politics or outside politics, he has a role in Nigeria nation and every one of us that is looking up to him,” Mr. Sheriff said.

“If we have a problem, we must come to him for solution, therefore, since we are looking for solution whether he is inside, he has said he’s not going to play any partisan politics, we agree but he is our father, father of the Nigeria nation and the grandfather of PDP, therefore, the soul that has gone, he has to bring it back to us and through his advice, we will get through.

“You know, Baba is very correct, so many things have gone wrong and it will be alright Insha Allah. Making it right is a matter of concentration and talking to the right people.

“Baba told you already, Nigeria needs a strong party in government and outside government and he also told you that both are needed for democracy to survive, he keeps saying this as a practical experience as a two-time president of Nigeria, every wisdom that we want to lead our party, he has it and that is why we come to consult him,” Mr. Sheriff told journalists.

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British PM warns of ‘difficult times’ for the economy

Prime Minister Theresa May warned of possible “difficult times ahead” for Britain’s economy in an interview screened Sunday as she sought to build post-Brexit trade ties at the G20 summit in China.

Speaking to BBC television, May also ruled out a new general election anytime soon, saying Britain needed stability following June’s referendum vote to pull out of the European Union.

She voiced optimism about the health of Britain’s economy but warned that there could be tough times ahead.

“I’m not going to pretend that it’s all going to be plain sailing,” she said. “I think we must be prepared for the fact that there may be some difficult times ahead. But what I am is optimistic.”

May, who took office in July after David Cameron quit following the referendum, also confirmed Downing Street briefings that she is not intending to call a general election soon.

This is despite the ruling Conservative party having only a small majority in the House of Commons, which could make it hard to pass controversial laws, and Jeremy Corbyn’s deeply divided opposition Labour lagging in opinion polls and holding a leadership contest.

“I’m not going to be calling a snap election,” May said.

“I’ve been very clear that I think we need that period of time, that stability, to be able to deal with the issues that the country is facing and have that election in 2020.”

May is meeting world leaders including US President Barack Obama and China’s Xi Jinping at the G20 summit.

She told the BBC she wanted to “start to scope out” with them how future trade deals would look post-Brexit.

But Obama spoke out strongly against Brexit during the referendum campaign, warning Britons they would go “to the back of the queue” for a US trade deal if they voted to leave.

European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker also said Sunday he opposes trade negotiations between Britain and other nations while it remains part of the bloc after Australia said it was about to launch talks on the issue.

AFP

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End Time: Prophetess Running Brothel in Ogun Arrested

The Ogun State Police Command yesterday paraded some suspects recently arrested, Dailypost reports.

A prophetess who also runs a pleasure home that houses teenage girls has been nabbed and paraded by the police before the general public.

Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Iliyasu, at the command’s headquarters, Eleweran, Abeokuta, said no fewer than 21 assorted guns, which included three AK 47 rifles, were recovered.

Among the suspects was a 54-year-old woman, Idowu Olupinla, the founder of a white garment, Adura migba Cherubim and Seraphim Church, Ijoko, Ota.

The prophetess was paraded for allegedly running a prostitution ring, using teenagers.

Three of her victims confirmed that she used one of the rooms in her apartment as a brothel, where different men, including male members of the church slept with them.

The Commisioner said one Haruna Saidat aged 16 years and three others lodged complaints against the suspect for using them for prostitution and sending other young girls to neighbouring countries for the same purpose.

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Blood Everywhere! Wife Butchers Husband in Ogun for Marrying Another Wife (Graphic Photos)

The injured husband at the hospital

A woman heartlessly brutalized her man in the South-western part of Nigeria over an act of jealousy.

A woman did this to her husband in Ogun state for marrying another wife. According to rumours, the couple even had s*xual intercourse before she perpetuated this act overnight.

The weapon used by the woman remains unclear as well as the circumstances surrounding the near-fatal attack.

The husband is currently receiving treatment at Ijebu-Ode General Hospital. An insider said the woman orchestrated the attack as a result of unbearable jealousy of sharing him with another woman.

See more photos:

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Forex policy: CBN Governor, Emefiele reacts to Sanusi’s criticism

Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Governor, Godwin Emefiele, has reacted to commens on foreign exchange policies by the Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi.

Sanusi, a former CBN Governor, had at the 15th Joint National Council on Development Planing meeting in Kano, criticized President Muhammadu Buhari’s endorsement of CBN’s foreign exchange policies, adding that it encourage corruption.

Speaking at the National Institute for Policy and Strategy Studies (NIPSS), shortly after he delivered a lecture titled “Managing Monetary Policy in Turbulent Time,” the CBN governor said it was better to provide creative advice that would help the economy than sitting back criticising.

Emefiele said: “It is easy to criticise from outside but my advice is not to sit back in a garden and call press men and begin to raise criticisms that are untrue and unsubstantiated.

“We need advice of former CBN governors, there are channels they can use but not sit in their garden and call pressmen to raise criticism and say what is not true.”

The CBN governor advised Nigerians to look inwards in order to come out of the present economic predicament.

He lamented that Nigerians spend about £2 billion on their children studying abroad at the detriment of the the nation’s educational sector.

Emefiele further blamed the elite who preferred imported materials to local ones for the current crisis, and wondered why CBN is often condemned whenever it takes decisions to reposition the economy.

“When you introduce a new policy and people do not complain, then that policy is not working. But when policies are introduced and people are shouting and complaining, then the policies have reached the right place.

“It means the policy is working. We should not use our hands to destroy ourselves, we should not use our hands to kill ourselves,” he said.

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We want Fridays declared work-free for Muslims like Sundays – MURIC Director, Akintola

Ishaq Akintola

The Director of Muslim Rights Concern, MURIC, Ishaq Akintola, has called for ‘fair treatment’ between Christians and Muslims in Nigeria.
The professor of Islamic Eschatology said Nigeria is not a secular state as according to him, it does not recognize religion.

In a chat with the Punch, Akintola said, “I still insist Nigeria is not a secular state. It does not recognise any religion at all. An example is the Sallah holidays.

Although Christians used to enjoy Christmas and other holidays, there was no Sallah holiday for Muslims on Eid el-Fitr and Eid el-Kabir days during the colonial days. We wrenched that from our oppressors’ hands after a long struggle.

“Another example where freedom has come our way is where Nigerian Christians compelled Muslims to operate Christian financial system with its riba (interest) which is haram (forbidden) for Muslims, yet they refused to allow Muslims to practise the Islamic banking until a former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi (now Emir of Kano), belled the cat by introducing Islamic banking.

“What exactly do I mean? Nigerian Christians have been enjoying everything they need since the British took over the country and colonised it. They have the Christian common law while they object to Muslims having Shariah.

They enjoy Christo-Western education while they restrict Muslim children’s access to Islamic education. Christians are free to do whatever they like on Sundays but Muslims are chained to their workplaces on Fridays. That chain must break. Freedom is our cry.

“The government supports both Christian and Muslim pilgrimages. Christian and Muslim prayers are said at official functions. The preamble of the Nigerian Constitution leans heavily on God. So, we are a multi-religious nation. It is when Christian leaders want to pull the wool over our eyes that they claim that Nigeria is a secular country.

“We must widen the horizon of the quest for self-determination. They hold Christian court or church marriage whose certificate is recognised by law whereas mosque marriage certificate is not recognised.

Christian schoolchildren use Christian school uniforms but Muslim children are disallowed from using the hijab. Muslim women are denied driving licences and international passports in Nigeria on account of their use of hijab.


“There is an urgent need to straighten this lopsided system. It is not working. Nigerian Muslims still remain oppressed today because they have yet to be emancipated in the four examples above. There are more areas of oppression. But there are one or two aspects where the Muslims have been liberated.

“So you can see that it is all about struggling for liberation. It is like a master-slave affair. Those who sit on the necks of Muslims are reluctant to set them free. But we will get there whether the oppressor likes it or not.

It is interesting to note that Christians know that a Muslim commits a sin each time he collects or gives riba yet they never freely allowed it. What do you call that? Do we love our neighbours?

“Do you call that freedom of religion? Isn’t there some element of selfishness in that? Didn’t Jesus teach loving the neighbour? I remember that a particular bishop from the East led his followers in a public demonstration against the introduction of Islamic banking. Ridiculous, isn’t it?

“As for the claim that Muslims are being favoured by the present administration, that is large-scale falsehood. Even Nigerian toddlers know that Buhari is religion-blind. He is not a fanatic. He just wants to fix Nigeria.

“How has the present administration favoured Muslims? The facts are at our fingertips. Take the South-West as an example: there are six states there and each has a minister. Only Babatunde Fashola and Adebayo Shittu are Muslims.

The rest are Christians. Let CAN tell us if that is not so. Do you call two out of six a favour? And that is just a tip of the iceberg in Buhari’s administration.

“The parastatals are replete with Christian chief executives. But Muslims are not complaining. Nigeria now has about 35 ministers out of which only 17 are Muslims. Tell me how the present administration has favoured Muslims. Is CAN using mathematics or mathemagic?

“Personally, I believe that we are cutting our nose to spite our face in this country. We should allow government to pick the best candidates for positions in order to get maximum performance. We should not always be thinking of religious or ethnic leaning.

Muslims have tried as much as possible to maintain this principle but CAN is always making a noise because of its grip on the press,” Akintola noted.

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Tinubu’s candidate defeated at Ondo APC governorship primary

Fresh reports reaching NE has it that Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN) has been elected candidate of the party for the All Progressives Congress primary election for the November 26 governorship election in Ondo state.

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It is the second time he is emerging candidate of the party, as he was the candidate in the 2012 governorship election.

In Saturday’s election, he defeated Olusegun Abraham, the preferred candidate of the National Leader, Bola Ahmed Tunubu, by 669 votes.

Mr. Abraham, an international businessman and a one-time Chairman of Owena Motel under Governor Adefarati, scored 635 votes to place second in the race.

He was a governorship aspirant in 2012 on the platform of the defunct ACN but was pressured to step down for Rotimi Akeredolu who flew the party’s flag at the time.

Despite the initial controversy over alleged imposition of Mr. Abraham on the party, the results showed that the election was keenly contested with all the major aspirants showing political strength.
Although 24 persons vied for the ticket, the contest was strictly among Mr. Abraham, Olusola Oke, Robert Boroffice and Mr. Akeredolu.

Mr. Oke pulled some surprises with his performance. He is a new figure in the party, joining the party from the PDP shortly after the 2015 loss to APC in the presidential election.

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Obasanjo, Sheriff teaming up to destroy PDP — Fayose

Ayodele Fayose, governor of Ekiti State, has crticised Ali Modu Sheriff, factional leader of the Peoples Democratic Party, over his visit to former President Olusegun Obasanjo.


Sheriff held a closed door meeting with Obasanjo at his hilltop mansion in Abeokuta on Saturday, The Cable reports.

He later told journalists that he decided to consult the former party leader over the crisis in the PDP.

But Fayose described the visit as the “coming together of PDP enemies”, alleging that both men collaborated to destroy the All Nigerians Peoples Party.

“The meeting was a coming together of collaborators in the total annihilation of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP),” Fayose said in a statement issued on his behalf by Lere Olayinka, his media aide.

“No genuine lover of the PDP will go to the house of a man who openly destroyed his membership card and worked assiduously to ensure the party’s failure in the 2015 presidential election, to seek advice on how the way forward for the PDP.

“Sheriff can as well begin to sleep in Obasanjo’s house, it is good riddance to bad rubbish.

“Since Obasanjo is no longer a member of the PDP and he has consistently maintained that he can never return to the PDP, only those in the same league with him can go about visiting him,” he said.

He alleged that despite the fact that “no one benefited from the party more than Obasanjo”, the elder statesman still worked against his former party.

Fayose asked Nigerians to beware of Obasanjo, saying; “The result of Obasanjo’s imposition of President Muhammadu Buhari on the country is the hunger and sufferings that Nigerians are facing now.”

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We may die before President Buhari completes reforms –Sani

Shehu Sani

The Chairman, Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts, Senator Shehu Sani, has warned the Federal Government to put in place short-term measures to cushion the effect of the current economic crisis on the Nigerian masses or risk the lives of the people before he completes his reforms.

Sani, who is representing Kaduna-Central Senatorial District at the Senate said.

The lawmaker, who criticised President Muhammadu Buhari for not having an independent economic team to drive Nigerian economy out of recession, pointed out that many lives would have been lost before the current reforms are completed.

He said, “If you happen to be in a position of power, inasmuch as you want to bring reforms that are painful, you have to understand the need for you to carry the people along because if you keep on bringing reforms and continue to unleash hardship on the people, you may as well say there is a paradise but people need to be alive to reach that paradise.

“If you keep reforming and reforming and the people are suffering and dying, you may reach the Promised Land alone because by that time everyone has died. Of what use would that be?”

Sani, who is the Deputy Chairman, Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, added that the goodwill the All Progressives Congress enjoyed at the polls, which led to the emergence of Buhari as president, was waning fast, especially with the increasing number of open letters on the hardships being suffered by Nigerians.

He said, “Let me tell you how it started, which is general with all persons who just took power in Nigeria. In 1979 and 1999, when a new president assumed office, he would have the support of all Nigerians. The first stage will be, ‘We support you; we stand by you and we are going to back you.’

“The second stage will be, ‘We are advising you.’ The third stage will be, ‘We are cautioning you.’ At the fourth stage, Nigerians will say, ‘We are warning you.’ The fifth stage will be, ‘We doubt you.’ The sixth stage, it will be, ‘You are incompetent.’ The seventh stage will be, ‘You should go.’”

“When you study these stages, you will see that we have moved behind 100 per cent support to “advise.” And with letters flying and criticisms following, it is about “cautioning.” And I think the handwritings are on the wall for everybody to see.”

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61 Priests Bury Stella Oduah's Son

The dust raised by the death of son of Nigeria's former Aviation minister and presently the Senator representing Anambra North Senatorial District in the red chambers of the National Assembly,Senator Princess Stella Oduah, has finally settled as the remains of 28 year old, Maxwell,Chinedu Oduah-Etoromi was at exactly 2:15 pm Saturday, interred at the Oduah family mausoleum in Akili- Ozizor,Ogbaru local Government of Anambra State amidst tears and eulogies


The Metropolitan Archbishop of Onitsha, Most Reverend Valerian Okeke,was represented in the burial mass by the Episcopal Vicar of Dunukofia Region, Very Rev Fr Theophilus Odukwe who presided over the mass with 57 other priests concelebrating,among whom was a Papal Chamberlain and Chaplain of the Catholic Women Organization(CWO) Onitsha Archdiocese, Monsignor Greg Adibe.In their midst were 3 Anglican priests.

In his homily,the President of the West African Association of Priests,Very Rev Fr (Dr) Martin Onukwuba condoled with Senator Oduah and other members of their family saying that death is a mystery and universal experience which every mortal must pass through.According to him,the death of a Christian is nothing but a passage to meet the risen Christ adding that upon death,every believer must look forward to dying in order to open his or her eyes to the light of eternity.

In his contribution, the representative of the Archbishop, Very Rev Fr Theophilus Odukwe described the late Chinedu Oduah as a chip of the old block, meaning that he took over from her mother in generosity and kindness to the less privileged.

Fr Odukwe conveyed Archbishop Valerian Okeke's condolences to Senator Oduah who he described as a true daughter of Igbo land going by her achievement as Aviation Minister.

The Senate President,Dr Olusola Saraki, represented by Senator Dino Melaye who led other senators and House of Representatives members to the funeral laced his remarks with humour and jokes,said the Senate President was pained by the death of Chinedu whose mother,Senator Stella Oduah she described as a reliable and hard working colleague.

He pledged that the Senate will donate generously to the newly formed Foundation for the deceased.

Also in his remarks,the governor of Anambra State,Chief Willie Obiano represented by the Deputy Governor,Dr Nkemdiche Okeke,described the death of Chinedu in his prime as painful as it woul not be the wish of any mother to experience such.He prayed that God will give the entire family the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.

Chairman of Princess Stella Oduah Campaign Organization and former Rep member, High Chief (Hon) Okwudili Add to dictionary gratitude to God for his marvelous works in making the week long funeral peaceful.

While speaking on the death of his brother,Master Tuoyo,the immediate junior brother to the deceased spoke at length on the sterling qualities of his late brother who he described as generous to a fault.
Among the dignitaries that attended the burial are former Gov Peter Obi(represented)the PDP chairman,Anambra State,Chief Ken Emeakayi,Hon Obinna Chidoka,former Anambra Speaker,Chief Anayo Nnebe ,Hon Eucharia Azodo,Chief Mrs Comfort Obi,member of board of the Police Service Commission,Abuja, the Okpala of Akili Ozizor,Prfessor Stella Okunna,Chief Mrs Odife,Chief Dubem Obaze,etc.PDP stalwarts at local and state levels attended.

The liturgical coordinator of the burial committee,Rev Fr Donald Uzoh,the coordinator of burial logistics,Prince Joe Agwunobi Oduah and the Chief of Staff of Princess Stella Oduah Foundation,Princess Nwaka Ononuju,the Knights of St Mulumba,St Mary's Subcouncil led by its Grand Knight,Sir Joseph Nsika,the director of Princess Stella Oduah campaign Organisation,Chief Pandola Okwuosa among many others were present.

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