FG PLANNING TO ARREST APC LEADERS TINUBU

               

National Leader of All Progressives Congress, APC, and former Governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, yesterday, said Federal Government was planning to arrest leaders of his party ahead of Saturday’s election.

Declaring that he was ready for arrest, Tinubu, who spoke at the 7th Annual Bola Tinubu Colloquium in Lagos to mark his 63rd birthday, said the plot will not silence him.

Insisting that APC had a better ticket in Major-General Muhammadu Buhari (retd) and Professor Yemi Osinbajo than the President Goodluck Jonathan and Vice President Namadi Sambo team of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Tinubu said despite the postponement of the polls by six weeks, President Jonathan will still lose the election.

The event was attended by a galaxy of APC leaders and stalwarts, including National Chairman, Chief John Oyegun; former Interim National Chairman, Chief Bisi Akande; former Governor of Ekiti and Osun states. Dr. Kayode Fayemi and Segun Oni, respectively; wife of Ogun State Governor, Mrs Olufunsho Amosun; mother of the Vice Presidential candidate, Mrs Bisi Osinbajo; Prof Pat Utomi and Chief Lanre Rasaq.

Tinubu spoke as Governor Aregbesola accused President Jonathan of starving governors of funds just as Governor Fashola said the President lied on his achievements in the last five years.

Buhari reacts

Speaking at the event, Buhari said the seamless manner APC merger was consummated and the pedigree and long-time service of the leaders will yield electoral dividends for the party.

He said: “This was possible because of their personal service in their constituencies. They have served people so much that they have developed so much confidence in them.

“Though there have been previous mergers but they never materialized. And the most interesting thing is that we looked at the opposition parties, and we realized that none of them can compete with PDP.

“And during the merger, some of the parties had court cases that could delay the merger. So we constituted committees in each of the parties and they provided their terms of references. And I was told by Chief Bisi Akande that some of the parties are demanding for certain positions. But I said that the most important thing is that the merger must works. And after that, we will sit down and decide on each demand.

“All my previous attempt to defeat PDP ended up at the Supreme Court. But with this merger, we have done the right job. With the merger, we are witnessing progresses and come Saturday, we will succeed at the polls by God’s grace.”

Why I can’t pay salaries – Aregbesola

Aregbesola attributed his delay in the payment of five months’ salary arrears to Osun civil servants to “the economic strategy adopted by President Jonathan to shrink the monthly revenue of the state.”

Aregbesola lamented that the economic policy of the Federal Government had forced the state to take a loan of N12 billion from banks.

His words: “The reason for indicting the President was that when I assumed office in 2010, I met a state with an income of N2.1 billion and with a wage bill of N1.1 billion.

“Outside Lagos, Osun State is the next state with large number of civil servants under the state employ. By 2012 January, my wage bill jumped to N3.6 billion and at this time, the revenue of the state had increased to N4.6 billion.

Central government

“And do not forget that the state inherited 50 percent of the entire civil servants in the old Western states. But by July of 2013, the apex government announced an unusual decline in allocation to the state which was about 40 percent. So from N4.6 billion with which I could meet the wage need of the workers, the revenue of the state from the central government was reduced to N2.6 billion.

“Since then, the highest monthly allocation received by the government was in November 2013 and it was N3 billion. And since then, Osun State had to augment salaries. Sometimes, N600 million, N1 billion and N1.6 billion.”

On his part, Fashola said President Jonathan lied over the achievements recorded by his administration since 2011, when he was sworn-in.

He said: “As I was reading the newspaper this morning, I saw an advert published by President Goodluck Jonathan, where he listed as part of his achievements the ongoing construction of the Adiyan Phase 11 water works and the N40 billion loan for education, which the central government underwrote for Lagos State through the EKO project.

“The president claimed that they have fixed the Airport Road and built Primary Health care Centres in Lagos State. Those who use the PHC know the people you see there. There are many other things that were also said in the advertorial. That advert is a lie.

Lagos State government under my administration is the one building the waterworks. If the President wants to lie in order to win election, it is a very low point for the presidential election.”