No fewer than 7,000 delegates will ratify on Saturday, President Muhammadu Buhari’s nomination as the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in next February’s election.

Gov. Kashim Shettima of Borno and Deputy Chairman of the APC Presidential Convention Planning Committee said the delegates will converge at the Eagle Square, Abuja for the ratification.

Shettima made this known while briefing newsmen on the party’s preparations ahead of the convention.

The delegates are drawn from the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Shettima said.

He disclosed that the convention committee on security was working closely with security agencies to ensure a hitch-free exercise.

Shettima, who said that the convention would commence at 2.00 p.m, added that its transport committee was making arrangements to reduce to the barest minimum, inconveniences it might cause Abuja residents.

“We moved the convention time from 9.00 a.m to 2.00 p.m deliberately to accommodate delegates that are coming from far and near.

“Incidentally, people from Kogi for instance, can leave and be in Abuja within three hours, but believe me, all our delegates will be on ground by 2.00 p.m,” he said.

Shettima stressed that the presidential convention was to ratify the nomination of President Buhari as the APC presidential candidate for the 2019 election.

“Let me assure you that the nomination and ratification of the candidacy of President Buhari is a commitment to service, progress and quality change.

“The convention is a special one for the emergence of our presidential flag bearer; no other issue will be tabled.

“In subsequent conventions, and the National Working Committee (NWC) and National Executive Committee (NEC) meetings, other issues can be discussed and sorted out,” he said.

The committee deputy chairman, while speaking on the challenges that followed the party’s primaries in some states of the federation, said the NWC was working round the clock to ensure that the issues were amicably resolved..

“Despite some of the problems we have encountered during the primaries in our various states, the NWC is working assiduously to resolve all the issues.

“It is a family quarrel, and we are going to sort things out amicably,” he said.

Shettima added that vote cast for President Buhari during the party’s recent presidential primaries held across the federation and the FCT would be revealed at the convention.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the APC Expression of Interest and Nomination forms were purchased for President Buhari by the Nigeria Consolidation Ambassadors’ Network on Sept. 5, at the cost of 45 million.

Buhari had in April declared his intention to seek re-election at the APC National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting.

The President, who is the APC sole presidential aspirant, while submitting the forms, on Sept. 12, said; “I am taking this step with all humility, sense of responsibility and unquestionable desire to serve and protect the interest of all Nigerians.

“Let me today, appeal to party members not to be complacent but to pre, strategize and win 2019 elections.”

By Ifeanyi Nwoko

Frontline contestant of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) senatorial primaries for Benue South, Hon. Joseph Ojobo has appreciated the leadership of the party and the delegates, for their wonderful support during the senatorial convention.

Ojobo, a two-term member of the Benue House of Assembly, who was clearly in the lead ahead of former Minister of Interior, Comrade Abba Moro former Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Defence, Chief Mike Okibe Onoja, disclosed this while addressing newsmen in Benue.

He attributed his success at the poll to the grace of God upon his life and the love from his people.

The aspirant saluted the courage, dedication and resilience of the delegates who defied rainfall and other inconveniences to ensure he emerged, promising he would not let the people down.

Though the congress was declared inconclusive, as elections into 3, out of the 9 local government areas of the senatorial district had not been held, Ojobo who had won six local governments said he was optimistic he would clear the entire election.

I am very much on ground, I am a grassroots person, I have spent over 30 years of my life in Okpokwu, so I hold Okpokwu as much as I hold my local government of origin.

Otukpo local government area is like a municipal area which is populated with young people, these young people will always stand with one of their own.

My victory so far is absolutely an act of God and unflinching love from the people. The least I shall do is to work hard to justify the confidence reposed on me, he said.

Hon. Ojobo while expressing confidence in the electoral process, specifically thanked the immediate past President of the Senate, Senator David Mark, for playing an exceptional leadership role in the whole process.

He stressed that the neutrality and sincerity of heart in having a democratically elected successor is already in the public knowledge and commendable.

Source: NAN

By Salisu Sani-Idris

The Sisters of Jannah (SOJ), a Muslim Humanitarian Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), says it has concluded arrangements to empower no fewer than 2,000 women in Small Scale Businesses across the country.

The National Coordinator of the NGO, Mrs Ramatu Aliyu, made the disclosure at a news conference in Abuja to highlight the achievements of the organisation.

She said that the empowerment was part of efforts of the organisation to assist widows and other disadvantage group in the society in order to complement efforts of the government.

Aliyu restated the determination of the organisation to bring succour to the needy in the society, especially in the area of medical care, education and skills acquisition.

I am most delighted to inform you that come December 8, 2018, SOJ will be celebrating three years of constant humanitarian work, and will also empower 2,000 women in small scale businesses to mark the celebration.

She said within three years of its existence, the organisation had recorded some achievements in all facets of human endeavours, including facilitating the released of some inmates.

The National Coordinator also said that the organisation was committed toward elimination of public misconceptions about Islam and Muslims as well as promote authentic Islamic spirit, belief, values and culture.

She advised corporate bodies and agencies to channel their organisations social responsibility to the care of the needy and less privileged in the society.

Aliyu noted that assisting the vulnerable group in the society would go a long way in enhancing the ECOWAS Vision 2020 adopted by Head of States and Governments.

Source: NAN

Senator Gbenga Ashafa has lost his bid to return to the Senate, for a third term on the platform of the All Progressives Congress.

The 63 year-old senator lost by a wide margin, the primary for the Lagos East ticket to a four-term House of Assembly member, Bayo Osinowo, according to the results announced Saturday by the All Progressives Congress (APC) Electoral Committee of the National Assembly and State House of Assembly primaries in Lagos.

Ashafa was expected to run unopposed in the primary as Osinowo was not originally cleared by the National Working Committee of the APC to stand in the election. It was not clear when the NWC gave Osinowo the nod to run for the seat.

As far as the Ashafa Support Group is concerned, the result may be a nullity as Ashafa only went into the primary for affirmation. In . other words, he ran against himself.

Hon. Bayo did not scale through the screening of the party and so could not contest an election. Senator Gbenga Ashafa only came out to be affirmed by his constituents, the group tweeted on Friday.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports the primaries, including a repeat of the senatorial primary election, were held on Friday.

The senatorial primaries initially held on Thursday, but were cancelled and rescheduled owing to logistic issues.

Announcing the results in Ikeja, Chairman of the committee, Mr Lucky Imasuen, said the primaries were contested for the three senatorial seats, 24 House of Representatives and 40 state House of Assembly seats .

In the results of the senatorial primaries, Imasuen said Sen.Oluremi Tinubu, who was unopposed, polled 89,494 votes to emerge as candidate for Lagos Central.

For Lagos West, the committee chairman said the incumbent, Sen. Olamilekan Solomon emerged winner with 378,906 votes, as against the 1,179 votes scored by Mr Kayode Opeifa and Mrs. Areago Olopades 1,275 votes .

Imasuen, a former Deputy Governor of Edo State, added that a member of the state House of Assembly, Mr . Bayo Osinowo defeated the incumbent Sen. Gbenga Ashafa with 247,743 votes to emerge candidate for the Lagos East Senatorial district.

He disclosed that Ashafa, the incumbent, polled 20,385 in the primary.

Imasuen said the details of the House of Representatives and state House of Assembly primaries results were ready and that they would be released later.

He described the exercise as peaceful and successful.

The primaries were peaceful and successful.

We thank the state chapter led by Tunde Balogun for the support for the committee.

We also thank all other stakeholders including all members of our party in the state for making the conduct a success, he said.

Source: NAN

Michael Opeyemi Bamidele, the man shot on June 1 by a policeman at the launch of Governor-elect Kayode Fayemis campaign, is now the senatorial candidate of the All Progressives Congress for Ekiti Central.

Bamidele, who was also a former commissioner in Lagos and member of the House of Representatives, defeated the incumbent, Senator Fatima Raji-Rasaki, a recent convert to the party from the Peoples Democratic Party.

However, Raji-Rasaki is not taking her defeat lightly as she complained that she ought to have been given automatic second term ticket, part of the promises made to her when she joined the APC.

Candidates for the other two Ekiti senatorial six House of Representatives seats have also been announced.

Picked as candidates are Senator Olubunmi Adetunmbi for Ekiti North Senatorial District and Prince Dayo Adeyeye, former PDP governorship aspirant who recently defected to the APC. Adeyeye was also a former minister of state for works under President Goodluck Jonathan.

The six candidates for the House of Representatives seats are Yemi Adaramodu, former Chief of Staff to Governor-elect Kayode Fayemi, former Speaker of the state House of Assembly and one of the governorship aspirants that contested the last election with Fayemi, Mr. Femi Bamisile.

The others are Mr Fatoba Olusola, Ogunlola Steve, Peter Owolabi and Ibrahim Olanrewaju, all said to be close political associates of Fayemi.

The News Agency of Nigeria, (NAN) reports that the candidates emerged in the direct primaries that began in the afternoon of Friday and dragged into the early hours of Saturday in most cases.

Declaring the results early on Saturday at the partys Secretariat in Ado Ekiti, the Chairman of the National Working Committee on senatorial primaries in Ekiti, Mr Ibrahim Sule, said Bamidele polled a total of 61,823 votes to defeat his closest rival, who garnered 3,289.

In the election in Ekiti North, Senator Olu Adetumbi clinched the senatorial ticket with a total of 2,763 votes while Adeyeye won Ekiti South with a total of 51, 443 votes.

Bamidele, who spoke on behalf of the other candidates described their emergence as the will of God and the expression of the peoples love and confidence in them.

He praised former Governor Niyi Adebayo and the Governor-elect, Dr Kayode Fayemi for standing by him and preventing some powerful individuals from opposing the primary election.

He said the direct primary conducted in Ekiti had afforded every member the right of participation as entrenched in democratic ideals , saying act of imposition would only brew ill-feelings among party members.

The Senatorial candidate lauded party members for exhibiting so much love for him, urging them to replicate the gesture in next years election, when the presidential and National Assembly elections would be conducted on 16 February by the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC).

Let me assure Mrs Rasaki that I will continue to hold her in high esteem. We are in this party together and there was need for us to coalesce efforts and build a virile party of our choice

It was history that repeated itself, because I succeeded her in the House of Representatives and the same thing is about to happen; I give glory to God

I want her to exhibit the spirit of sportsmanship by working for me in the coming election in the interest of Ekiti and our party, APC.

I am of the conviction that my being voted as the Senatorial candidate was borne out of the need to have popular candidates that can enhance the victory of President Muhammadu Buhari in Ekiti in the 2019 presidential election.

Let me also say that I am indebted, so indebted to the people of Ekiti Central Senatorial district, because some queued in the sun since morning. I will not forget them when I get to the Senate as forgetting them would tantamount to a sin against God and humanity, he said.

Bamidele promised to engage the PDP candidate for Ekiti Central, Obafemi Adewale in constructive and issue based campaign , since the mission of the two of them is to represent Ekiti people well and make their lives better.

Source: NAN

Melania Trump concluded her trip to Africa on Saturday by urging people to pay less attention to what she wears and also voicing support for her husbands embattled Supreme Court nominee.

The U.S. first lady said the message of her tour to Ghana, Malawi, Kenya and Egypt was to show the world that we care.

She dismissed reports about alleged derogatory comments reportedly made by President Donald Trump about African countries and said the issue had not come up on her visit.

The stylish former model also said she did not always agree with her husbands tweets and gave him her opinion directly, even though he does not always follow her advice.

The four-country trip was a coming out of sorts for the first lady in the world stage. It was her first major solo trip abroad and a rare example of a time when she has answered questions by reporters.

Speaking in Cairo on the tours final leg, Trump praised Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and said she was glad he and his accuser had a chance to be heard following allegations of sexual assault.

Im glad that Dr Ford was heard. Im glad that Judge Kavanaugh was heard, FBI investigation was done is completed and (the) Senate voted, Trump said, referring to psychology professor Christine Blasey Ford who had accused him of sexually assaulting her.

Kavanaugh has denied all the allegations.

Trump declined to say whether she believed Ford.

We need to help all the victims, no matter what kind of abuse they had, she said. Im against any kind of abuse.

Trump flew to Cairo from Nairobi earlier on Saturday on the last stage of her visit to Africa, a continent her husband once referred to derisively.

President Trump has been quoted as saying immigrants from Africa came from shithole countries. He denied making the remark.

Trump said that her husbands alleged derogatory comment about African countries did not come up on her trip.

Nobody discussed that with me, and I never heard him saying those comments. And that was anonymous source and I would leave it at that.

She said she did not always agree with her husbands tweets, and that she tells him that. She also said she wished that people would focus on what she does, not what she wears, and then proceeded to pose for pictures in front of some of Egypts greatest landmarks.

The US first lady came in for some criticism back home for her choice of headgear in Kenya. Some commentators said she had made a mistake by wearing a white pith helmet, a hat favored by 19th century European colonialists, because of its association with the exploitation of Africans.

Trump had earlier received a warm welcome from Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and his wife, Entissar, at the presidential palace in Cairo before she headed to visit the Pyramids and the Great Sphinx.

She wore slacks and a tie as she stepped off the plane in Cairo, where she proceeded to the presidential palace, an ornate cream stone building with arabesque designs.

At the meeting which lasted for nearly one hour, Sisi sat in the middle, with Trump on one side and his wife on the other. No statements were made to the press.

Source: NAN

Cristiano Ronaldo, embroiled in rape allegations, scored for Juventus in Saturdays Serie A game against Udinese.

The Portuguese forward lashed in the second goal for the Italian champions after 37 minutes from the left following a cross from Croatias Mario Mandzukic.

It was his fourth this season for Juventus, with the 33-year-old celebrating wildly with his teammates.

Ronaldo showed no sign of being under pressure despite the damaging accusations made against him and which threaten his multi-million euro sporting empire.

US police on Monday re-opened an investigation into accusations by former American model Kathryn Mayorga that the five-time Ballon dOr winner raped her in a Las Vegas hotel in June 2009.

Ronaldo has strenuously denied the claims, and Juventus have so far stood behind the 33-year-old superstar, who moved to Turin in the summer in a 100 million euro ($115 million) deal from Real Madrid.

He arrived at Udineses compact Stadio Friuli and was greeted by the enthusiastic cries of dozens of children waiting for the two team buses.

During warm-up before the game he was even approached by a child who came onto the pitch to ask for his autograph.

Source: NAN

Jose Mourinhos stuttering Manchester United gave a glimpse of their old image, roaring back from a two goal deficit in the first half to beat Newcastle United 3-2.

Alexis Sanchez scored the winner with a header on 90th minute.

The duo of Kenedy and Yoshinori Muto had shot Newcastle United ahead in the first half of a make or mar match for Mourinho at Old Trafford, scoring two goals in three minutes. And the two goals came in the first ten minutes of the match.

Manchester United lumbered through the half, not really threatening the boys from Newcastle.

But in the second half, Mourinho made some changes in his squad, throwing in Marouane Fellaini and Alexis Sanchez. Their introduction added some pep to the attack, and along with Juan Mata who came in as substitute for Eric Bailly in the first half, the result showed in the goals.

With United dominating possession and piling the pressure on New Castle, Mata first pulled one back on 70th minute, after a foul near the box by Mohamed Diame for teh visitors.

Six minutes after, Paul Pogba set up Anthony Martial, for the equaliser.

Then in the 90th minute, a cross by Ashley Young found Alexis Sanchez, who nodded in for the winner, to send the fans at Old Trafford into rapture.

The victory for Manchester United must definitely offer some relief to the embattled coach, following reports that the board members were unhappy with him and were planning to sack him.

Uniteds first win in five games in all competitions could buy the coach some much-needed breathing space heading into the international break.

I am 55 years old. It is the first time I see man-hunting. There is too much wickedness in something that should be beautiful, Mourinho said of his critics.

I can cope with it. Some of the boys, in spite of them not being the man that is hunted, they are not coping well with it.

Every ball around our box was almost a goal or some mistake, a bad decision, panic.

At half-time we spoke and the team faced the second half with a different spirit, a different belief, giving everything for the victory.

Asked if the speculation would stop, Mourinho added: No. I go to London now and if it rains tomorrow in London then it is my fault.

With the scoreline, United, after eight games, are now eighth on the league table with 13 points, six points away from leaders and city rivals, Manchester City, who still have a game in hand, against Liverpool on Sunday.

Source: NAN

The Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) on Saturday elected Alhaji Ahmed Sakil as its presidential candidate for the 2019 elections.

Sakil who was elected in the partys primaries in Abuja said that he would restore the nations lost glory in the education and health sectors.

Nigeria has the potential to be a developed nation and lead the way for other African countries to follow .

This can only be achieved however, with a genuine leader that would prioritise the major sectors of the economy that will spur development.

I am the man that will do the job,I promise to transform all the sectors and declare free education and healthcare systems.

Sakil urged Nigerians to ensure to collect thier voter cards ahead of the 2019 elections to enable them excercise their franchise.

Prof. Bankole Okuwa, National Chairman UPN said that the party was not an ethnic one even though one of ita pemier was from the west.

Okuwa said that the candidate had better plans to transform the nation if elected adding that Nigerians needed to embrace the party that would develop the nation.

He said that the nation ought to turned around and much more modernised than it presently was.

He said that the partys ideas would be made into policies that would bring the required progress for Nigeria if chosen.

So as we go into 2019, I urge all citizens to make the right choice for a better nation he said

The News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) reports that the presidential candidate before entering politics was an agro businessman.

The Gombe state candidate is also an animal husbandry professional who is into cattle, poultry and horse care and a graduate of Ahmadu Bello University .

Source: NAN

Governor Ibrahim Dankwambo of Gombe has defeated by a landslide other presidential contenders in the Peoples Democratic Party, in an online poll.

Dankwambo garnered 68 per cent of all votes cast. A total 17,925 Twitter users participated in the poll which lasted about seven hours.

The poll, which was conducted by DailyTrust, a national newspaper also featured Atiku Abubakar, Bukola Saraki, and Rabiu Kwankwaso, who had received most votes in various previously conducted polls.

The poll asked, Who is the best candidate for @OfficialPDPNig [PDP]? Atiku and Saraki, coming second place, had a total of 11 per cent, while Kwankwaso staggered behind with a slightly lower percentage of 10 per cent.

Dankwambo, 56 years-old and an accountant, is a two-term governor of Gombe State.

In August, he declared an intention to contest in the 2019 presidential election under the umbrella of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

This, he said, is to enable him consolidate on the gains of democracy and save the country from hunger and starvation.

Other presidential contenders in the PDP at the convention now underway in Port Harcourt include Aminu Tambuwwal, Sule Lamido, Kabiru Turaki, Attahiru Bafarawa, Datti Baba-Ahmed, Ahmed Makarfi, Jonah Jang and David Mark.

Source: NAN