Following the disaffection expressed by some members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) who lost out in the just concluded primaries, the party hierarchy may have begun behind-the-scene manoeuvres to stop more party chieftains from quitting the party. This is just at the senator representing Kaduna Central Senatorial District, Comrade Shehu Sani, yesterday resigned his membership from the ruling APC following the submission of the name of his opponent, Uba Sani, to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the APC senatorial candidate in the 2019 polls.  The APC, it was learnt, decided on the reconciliatory moves to forestall any more defection plans by its stalwarts, LEADERSHIP Sunday has learnt. The recent primaries held by the party in different states and zones had thrown up several contentious issues with party faithful threatening to dump the party and join forces with the opposition ahead of the 2019. LEADERSHIP Sunday recalls that the APC had after the primaries inaugurated its national Appeal Committee headed by former governor of Edo State, Prof Oserheimen Osunbor.
According to a source who was privy to the decisions reached by the Appeal Committee which submitted its report to the National Working Committee (NWC) penultimate Monday, a lot of the party men who lost out in either the gubernatorial, senatorial or House of Representatives primary elections in their states were already poised to ensure that they take their own pound of the flesh on the party as they felt betrayed the process. For instance, the decision of the party to drop Senator Shehu Sani despite the appeal panel’s verdict upholding the choice of his candidacy for the Kaduna Central Senatorial District, the candidacy of Uche Nwosu, the son-in-law of the Imo State governor, Rochas Okorocha, against the alleged winner, Senator Hope Uzodimma, and the case in Zamafara had all left a bitter taste in the mouths of party stalwarts.
In its report, the appeal panel held that the primary conducted by the electoral panel for Kaduna was done in contempt of a court order, adding that the only aspirant cleared by the party to contest the election was Senator Shehu Sani. The source was of the opinion that the party leadership would have to move in urgently to avoid its members defecting in their droves to the other various political parties, thereby weakening APC’s chances in the 2019 general elections.
“If they do not make moves to appease some aggrieved party men, what Shehu Sani did is just the beginning of many more to come,” the source added. Another party insider who spoke on the condition of anonymity stated that several of the petitions submitted to the Appeal Panel were either not entertained or were dismissed for lacking in substance and this did not go down well with many of those who felt they did not get fair hearing. It was also gathered that a majority of the petitions against the conduct of the Senate and House of Representatives primaries were not upheld for various reasons, ranging from lack of merit, lack of proof to lack of time for fresh primaries. No reasons were adduced for not upholding some others. Similarly, some petitions were upheld and some of the petitioners declared as candidates of the party either because they actually won the primaries and were substituted, or for other reasons, ranging from lack of clearance and others the committee did not explain. Senator Sani, who was reportedly earlier granted an automatic ticket by the leadership of the APC to recontest his seat in the 2019 general election, did not participate in the just concluded primary poll in which Governor Nasir el-Rufai’s political adviser, Uba Sani, defeated other aspirants and emerged winner.
Our correspondent gathered that the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) may field Senator Sani as its candidate for Kaduna Central zone, though political parties had already submitted presidential and National Assembly candidates’ names to INEC to beat the October 1

Ayaune lahadi 21 Oct Allah yaiwa maihafin dinnan rasuwa Wanda akafisani da Dan aura,maishirya wasan barkon ci,

HIGHLIGHTS
The agitated protestors resorted to stone-pelting in which some people including police personnel received minor injuries, witnesses said
They were raising slogans against the state government and demanding resignation of Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu.
AMRITSAR: The Punjab police Sunday cleared a section of the railway track here which was blocked by agitators protesting against a train accident that had claimed 59 lives during Dusshera celebrations.
The agitated protestors resorted to stone-pelting in which some people including police personnel received minor injuries, witnesses said.
A large number of police officials pushed the protestors to other side of the tracks where the accident took place on Friday evening.

The railway tracks were cleared off the protestors who were raising slogans against the state government and demanding resignation of Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu.

A Non-Governmental Organisation, Migration Enlightenment Project Nigeria (MEPN), has called on the Federal Government to demand for the list and secure the immediate release of Nigerians detained in Libya.

             
Nigerians in prisons abroad
Mr Femi Awoniyi, Co_Project Director, MEPN, in a statement in Abuja commended the Federal Government for its efforts in the repatriation of some Nigerians detained in Libya.

Awoniyi said that, however, the recent release by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) that 10,000 Nigerians had been repatriated from Libya since April 2017 was worrisome.

Senate approves Science and Technology varsity for FCT

“MEPN will like to use this opportunity to note that thousands of Nigerians may still be stranded in Libya and other transit countries.

“The case of a group of returnees, who were held captive inside a government-run detention centre indicates that many could still be in forcible custody in Libya.

“Many Nigerians could still be detained in camps run by smuggling gangs and militias,” the statement quoted Awoniyi as saying.

He said that the return of 161 Nigerian migrants under the European Union/International Organisation for Migration (IOM) joint initiative on migrant protection and reintegration was a step in the right direction.

The director called on Nigerian youths and migrants to learn from the experience of the returnees and stop embarking on dangerous journeys to Europe without visa.

He urged young Nigerians to seek legitimate ways of migrating, adding that thousands had lost their lives in the past five years because of illegal migration.

Shehu Sani, the senator representing Kaduna Central in the National Assembly, on Sunday, disclosed that he would contest the forthcoming election despite resigning from the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Sani stated this in a statement he posted on his official Facebook age on Sunday morning.

He, however, did not disclose his next choice of party, promising to reveal that in the next two days.

Sani said: “This is to thank all my supporters and friends for the show of solidarity and assurances of support over my decision to exit the APC.

“I assure you that in the next two days, you will be informed of my new party. And be rest assured I will contest in the upcoming elections Insha Allah.”

According to INEC 2019 timetable, all political parties, however, have up till November 2 to submit lists of their candidates for governorship and state houses of assembly positions.

The parties also have till November 17 to withdraw or replace candidates for president and National Assembly elections, and up till December 1 for governorship and state Houses of Assembly candidates.

The Arewa Youth Integrity Forum (AYIF) has frowned at the alliance between the Peoples Democratic Party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar and former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode with leader of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu.

The youth group vowed to stop Atiku because his romance with Fani-Kayode and the pro-Biafra group leader would destabilize Nigeria.

Recall that Kanu, who went missing since September following the invasion of his house by troops of the Operation Python Dance, was spotted in Jerusalem, Israel praying at the Wailing Wall last week.

Kanu is billed to address his supporters today.

Few minutes after his reappearance, Fani-Kayode, a chieftain of the PDP took to his Twitter handle to announce that he spoke with Kanu and he had agreed to work with the PDP to oust President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019.

Reacting to the development, Adamu Adamu, the National President of AYIF, said Atiku would lose the support of northern youths if he failed to distance himself from the union.

Adamu wondered why Atiku, who is eyeing the nation’s number one seat could get the support of an outlawed orgnisation like IPOB or its leader who has been declared wanted by the Nigerian security operatives.

According to him, “AYIF has followed with concerns the reappearance of the wanted leader of the terrorist Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu and the invitation to anarchy by one of those standing trial for corruption, Femi Fani-Kayode (FFK), who disclosed that Kanu has agreed to work for the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the forthcoming elections.

“We find it odd that Fani-Kayod, who had alleged a military abduction and assassination of Nnamdi Kanu did not deem it proper to apologise to Nigerians for his lies but simply pretended as if he never made such outlandish claims and switched to talking political alliance.

“His lies about the “Hausa/Fulani imperialists” killing Kanu had placed the lives of persons of these ethnicities at risk while also pushing the entire country to the edge of a meltdown. His lack of remorse shows that it is something he will attempt again in no distant time.

“AYIF further reminds Nigerians that prior to jumping bail, Kanu, with his followers, had consistently referred to Nigeria as a zoo and the citizens as animals that do not deserve to live. His inflammatory provocations got to a point where Nigerians were angered to a point of issuing quit notices against each other along ethnic lines even as Kanu’s IPOB continued to call for the disintegration of the country.

“It, therefore, borders on insanity for the same Kanu to reappear today and be declaring to be part of the nation’s political process without first renouncing his separatist stance and demand for violence against Hausa/Fulani.

“The hatred of the two men against Hausa/Fulani remains evident from the comments of their followers on online platforms and there is no proof they have tried to call their radicalized followers to order.

“The alliance they are talking about is nothing but trying to create a publicly acceptable platform for their hate mongering. They have nothing good to offer Nigerians.

“Ordinarily, the alliance between the duo do not bother us in the least since the leading candidates in the race for presidency are from the north; but we find it repulsive that men who have not properly proven themselves as being free of mental illness are jostling to take leading role in how Nigerians decide.

“One of them is standing trial for treason and the other is on trial for capital corruption so they have the incentives to deliberately cause provocations that will destroy the country and ensure that Nigeria no longer exists as a country to conclude their trial.

“We, therefore, warn the PDP presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar that he risks losing the support of Arewa if he associates his campaign with Femi Fani-Kayode and Nnamdi Kanu, who have both repeatedly declared the

The Federal Government of Nigeria has said after consultations it proposed N24,000 as the new minimum wage for civil servants.
The Minister of Labour and employment, Chris Ngige, stated this Wednesday while briefing State House correspondents after the meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC).
Mr. Ngige was responding to media reports quoting the president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Ayuba Wabba, saying that the tri-partite committee discussing the demand for new minimum wage has agreed to increase it from the current N19,200 to N30,000.
“Such information is not true,” Mr Ngige said.
The minister said when the committee reconvened on October 5, after the NLC had called off its nationwide strike, “ the organised labour came down to N30,000, the organised private sector came down to N25,000.”
He also said the federal government had to consult with the 36 state governors. After the consultations, he said, the federal government proposed N24,000 while governors proposed N20,000.
Mr Ngige said the government is therefore still consulting and negotiations is ongoing.
He said in accordance with Convention 131 of International Labour Organisation, the most important thing to consider in fixing the new minimum wage is the ability to pay.
The NLC had initially proposed a N50,000 minimum wage for workers, a move opposed by many state governors, many of whom are unable to regularly pay the current N18,000 minimum wage.
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