Middle Belt Forum: El-Rufai denying Buhari to run away from APC’s failure

According to the Middle Belt Forum, Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna is desperately attempting to separate himself from the disastrous policies of the All Progressives Congress, APC, of which he is a member.

National President, Dr. Pogu Bitrus stated, “Governor El-Rufai has constantly been mischievous and egocentric.

Under the previous administration, Obasanjo, he started criticizing everyone outside of that administration. When he joined the group that would eventually form the All Progressives Congress, APC, he started by making announcements about any and all issues pertaining to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to which he had previously belonged.

“Today he’s within the APC in which he’s one in all their top notch leaders and the APC has failed woefully, he’s desperately looking to distance himself with the aid of using pronouncing Buhari is that this and that.

“He forgets that he has also performed badly in Kaduna state. People have lost their lives and lands taken over and all of that. 

“So El-Rufai will continue to be a selfish and self-centered person. And remember just before now, this same El-Rufai said the Governors are the “leaders in the North”. He is not a person you can rely on.

So you can forget about his statement and let posterity judge him.”

Current and former governor of Plateau State trade words over Wike/G-5 Governors 

The former governor of Plateau State, General Jonah David Jang, released a statement on Sunday which was signed by his media consultant, Clinton Garuba, in response to a purported false claim made by Lalong that General Jonah Jang rtd was supporting the APC presidential candidate Asiwaju Bola Tinubu because he is a member of the G-5 PDP Governors.

He called Lalong a daydreamer for believing that the G5 PDP governors and allies, including former Governor Jang, would support the APC.

“It seems however that, Governor Lalong has just woken up from his slumber of almost 8 years and discovered he has spent these years doing nothing in the interest of Plateau people, hence the degeneration to day dreaming.

But for the misleading statements he made, there was no need to dignify him with a response since we know that anything outside his written speeches are not only disjointed but profane babbling that makes no semantic sense.

Plateau Media and Publicity of the APC PCC, Sylvanus Naman had then responded stating that Jang got it wrong over his comments on Lalong’s claim.

The statement reads: “To say that the G5 Governors have not taken a position on their support for the APC Presidential Candidate is a confirmation of his fear for a Bala Ahmed Tinubu unstoppable victory at the polls. He stated that Wike “has suddenly remembered how Jonathan lost out in 2015, which he was at the centre of”.

“One does not need the service of a political pundit to tell us that the G5 or Integrity Group have since called it quits with the Atiku ticket. Do we need a better confirmation of Governor Lalong’s assertion than the one coming from the horse’s mouth and pillar of the G5 himself, the steely Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike when he recently responded to a statement by allegedly stating that:

 ” Yes it is true that I have directed all Local Government Chairmen,  Commissioners, Board Chairmen, Senior Special Advisers, Special Advisers, Senior Special Assistants,  DGs, Board Members and all my aides to work for Bola Ahmed Tinubu and I owe no one any apology”?

The statement by Sylvanus Naman added: “The G5 Governors are patriots who have decided to go with a very patriotic Nigerian in the person of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu rather than presidential candidates with divisive tendencies. It ended by saying that,

“Jang should stop boiling his adrenaline over his morbid condemnation of anything coming from his immediate successor.”

Earlier, General Jang rtd, berated the current Governor in a statement where he said – “For someone who has spent all these years as governor not doing what makes for the welfare and wellbeing of his people; in addition to the dismal performance in terms of basic infrastructure, healthcare, tourism, education and all the sectors necessary for the people, he should be hiding his face in shame rather than trying to denigrate the former governor whose records of performance dot the Plateau landscape.

He further added that, “Nigerians have been subjected to tortuous life never imagined and they are willing to express their anger through the ballot box. Thinking of delivering APC top to bottom by Lalong and his ilk is mere wishful thinking. No right thinking person will consider an extension of the present situation we have found ourselves in. That is the kind of hardship that Lalong and co want to perpetuate just in the name of seeking relevance.”

He justified the monies he spent during his administration and questioned why Lalong was still owing salaries with no infrastructure to justify despite the huge allocation the state received in addition to the mindless borrowings Governor Lalong engaged in.

“Governor Lalong should stop referring Plateau citizens to what happened in 2015 and market himself and his so called candidates through his performance of his nearly 8 years administration. The people are watching and they will hold you accountable at the poll for your inept leadership, underperformance and the shame you have brought to Plateau.” He stated.

One killed as Herdsmen attack Omalla local government in Kogi State

Herders stormed the Ole-Esu community in Kogi State’s Omalla local government area, resulting in the death of one person.

An unnamed local claimed that the incident began on Saturday when migratory herders were seen destroying fields in the Ole-Esu village.

According to him, tensions between the Ole-Esu community’s people and herders reached a breaking point over the previous weekend, triggering a conflict. They then learned that one person had been discovered dead in the aftermath.

We spoke with another resident who said, “We are not against the herders travelling through our territory, but they should respect our own ways of life.” Seeing what you worked so hard for destroyed in an instant is heartbreaking.

While confirming the occurrence, SP William Aya of the state police stated, “The situation is already peaceful. Vigilantes and hunters are keeping close watch over the sites, as are police and other security organizations.