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Babatunde Saka | credits: Olaleye Aluko

An All Progressives Congress ward chairman, Alhaji Babatunde Saka, who was declared missing, has been found dead and abandoned on the Lekki-Epe Expressway, Lagos.

Saka, 67, was the APC ward chairman of Ward C of the Orile Agege Local Council Development Area, Lagos State.

PUNCH Metro had reported on Tuesday, November 9, that Saka had been missing from home for about three days.

It was also reported that the chairman, a native of Agbowa, Ikorodu, Lagos, went missing shortly after he returned from a trip to Abeokuta, Ogun State where he went to treat an illness, which had to do with cerebral fever.

Speaking with PUNCH Metro on Saturday, the deceaseds younger brother, who identified himself simply as Baba Saka, said the chairman was found dead on the expressway and was initially picked up by the Lagos State Ambulance Services.

He added that Saka, as a result of the brain sickness, had lost track of his home and wandered away to the Lekki area.

He said, We think that when he became too weak to go further, he laid by the roadside. He had a loss of memory. It was the LASAMBUS which picked him up. He was still alive by then.

They found his Permanent Voter Card on him and it was the address on the card that was used to trace the family. He died while he was being taken home. Eventually, they found us and we collected his corpse. That was on Thursday.

Our correspondent gathered that the late chairman was taken to his hometown in Agbowa, and had been buried on Friday.

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Missing APC ward chairman found dead by roadside

George and Obanikoro

The All Progressives Congress has re-echoed the allegations made by the immediate past Minister of State for Defence, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, that the Subsidy Re-investment and Empowerment Programme federal task force was being used by the Peoples Democratic Party leaders to perpetuate electoral violence.

The ruling party called on the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Suleiman Abba, to investigate the claim by Obanikoro.

Obanikoro had said officials of the task force were allegedly hired by a leader of the PDP in the state, Chief Bode George, to perpetuate violence at the governorship primary in the state last week.

At the primary, the number of votes cast (863), exceeded the number of voters (803).

However, the APC in a statement by its publicity secretary, Mr. Joe Igbokwe, on Sunday, said security agencies should not take the allegations likely as it could mar the conduct of the elections next year.

The party described the task force as a ruse with which the PDP is recruiting and arming hoodlums with the money realised from the inhuman increment of fuel pump price in January 2012.

The APC said that the revelation from a group within the Lagos PDP called Action Support for Democracy that George used armed thugs in SURE-P vehicle to rig the contentious Lagos State PDP governorship primary for his choice, Jimmy Agbaje, had proved the nefarious role SURE-P is being used in Lagos.

It added, We are surprised that the relevant security agencies have been looking the other way since this illegal task force started assembling. We raised the alarm that the PDP, in its desperation, is diverting parts of the SURE-P funds for which Nigerians have been subjected to untold suffering towards forming an armed and illegal group that are being used to cause mayhem and collateral damage in the peace and security of Lagos and for the purpose of rigging the next elections.

We recall that this illegal group had started contesting for the territorial land of Lagos and for the control of traffic in the metropolis, which is a huge ruse to confuse Nigerians about their real mission.

Link:
Investigate Obanikoros claim on SURE-P, APC tells IG

The All Progressives Congress on Sunday said the party was yet to pick a running mate for its presidential candidate, Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari.

The APC, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed, said the public should ignore all the permutations that had been made on who would be Buharis running mate, saying the choice of the running made would be made within the context of the best democratic ideals.

The party spokesman said the leadership of the APC were yet to meet and had not picked a running mate for its presidential candidate.

He said, We are using this opportunity to tell Nigerians to pray for us as we get set to pick a running mate for our presidential candidate. This is because this choice is not just for us but for all Nigerians.

We are assuring Nigerians that the choice of our presidential running mate will also be guided by best democratic ideals.

We appreciate the nationwide interest that the choice of our presidential candidate and his running mate has generated.

It is a mark of the confidence that Nigerians have in us and we want to assure Nigerians that we will not disappoint them.

Meanwhile, the Professional Youths for Good Governance of Nigeria on Sunday described the emergence of Buhari as the presidential candidate of the APC as a good development that would deepen democracy in the country.

The group, in a statement by its National President, Mr. Tunde Daromosu; and National Coordinator, Mr Nasir Abdulquadri, said the APC presidential convention showed that Nigerians were determined to make the right choice and create impact to take the country back on track.

It said, The party showed its preference for democratic principles through a very transparent, credible and hitch-free presidential primary that produced a Nigerian of impeccable and incorruptible character, which has restored hope for a better future for Nigerian youths

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We are yet to pick Buharis running mate APC

Buhari and Jonathan

The emergence of President Goodluck Jonathan and a former military Head of State, General Mohammadu Buhari (retd), as presidential candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party and All Progressives Congress respectively have set the stage for a political war among various ethnic and cultural groups in the country.

SUNDAY PUNCH enquires showed that while some of the groups have taken decisions to queue behind either Jonathan or Buhari, others are in the process of taking decision on whom to support.

This is happening even as some of the groups have, however, chosen to be neutral.

Buhari is the All Progressives Congress presidential candidate for the February 2015 election.

He defeated four other APC aspirants: Atiku Abubakar, Rabiu Kwankwaso, Rochas Okorocha and Sam Nda-Isaiah to clinch the partys ticket at a national convention/primary that held Thursday in Lagos.

His victory sets him yet again as the number one challenger to President Goodluck Jonathan, who on Wednesday was formally handed the Peoples Democratic Party flag for the 2015 presidential election without having to contend with any opponent in the party.

The Ijaw National Congress told SUNDAY PUNCH it would support President Goodluck Jonathans bid for a second term in office. It said its decision was based on the performance of the President.

The INC spokesman, Mr. Victor Borubo, said the congress had compared Jonathans performance with that of past presidents and came to the conclusion that he (Jonathan) deserved a re-election.

Apart from the fact that President Goodluck Jonathan is a son of the Niger Delta people and we will naturally vote for him, he is the only President that has been so criticised and yet did not harass anybody or send assassins against anybody, Borubo added.

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2015: Voting may follow ethnic lines

The All Progressives Congress candidate for Obokun State Constituency to the Osun State House of Assembly in the 2015 election, Olatunbosun Oyintiloye, has described his emergence as divine intervention and the goodwill of men.

In a statement on Saturday, Oyintiloye also attributed his emergence to the maturity of co-aspirants and his own dedication to grassroot development.

He said this after he was declared the partys candidate for the constituency on Wednesday.

He said, This is a lesson that when you exercise unflinching commitment to leadership, party and the people and you contribute to the development of your party and at the grass root, there would also be a moment of remembrance.

So, my emergency is as a result of dedication, service to the people and having an impact on the grass root.

Oyintiloye, who further described his emergence as a call to value added service, said with the collaboration of other aspirants and members of the party, he was sure of the victory in the 2015 election.

He commended the maturity and understanding of other aspirants, party leaders and members, pledging that he would do everything possible to protect the interest of all and work with all stakeholders to win the poll for the APC.

He promised to give quality representation to the people of his constituency if he eventually emerged winner at the general election.

Oyintiloye noted that he accepted to take the baton from a colleague, who had contributed his quota in the Assembly to raise the flag of the party higher and defend the cause of the defenceless.

My emergence is a product of collective success, collective efforts and collective labour; its not about Oyintiloye, its about the fortune of our party, the betterment of our constituency and raising the profile of all the stakeholders, he added.

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My emergence, call to greater service -Osun APC candidate