National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Bamanga Tukur on Wednesday reacted to the merger by opposition parties in the country, saying the PDP will defeat the newly formed party come 2015.

Parties including the All Nigeria Peoples Party, Action Congress of Nigeria, Congress for Progressive Change, and the All Progressive Grand Alliance, yesterday announced that they have come under one roof to be known as All Progressive Congress, APC.

Speaking shortly after the inauguration, Tom Ikimi, who heads ACN’s merger committee said “At no time in our national life has radical change become more urgent”

“And to meet the challenge, we, the following political parties, namely ACN, ANPP, APGA and CPC have resolved to merge forthwith and become All Progressive Congress and offer to our beleaguered people a recipe for peace and prosperity.

“We resolve to form a political party committed to the principles of internal democracy, focused on serious issues of concern to our people, determined to bring corruption and insecurity to an end, determined to grow our economy and create jobs in their millions through education, housing, agriculture, industrial growth etc, and stop the increasing mood of despair and hopelessness among our people.”

“The resolution of these issues, the restoration of hope, the enthronement of true democratic values for peace, democracy and justice are those concerns which propel us.

“We believe that by these measures only shall we restore our dignity and position of pre-eminence in the comity of nations. This is our pledge.”

The other parties were represented by Annie Okonkwo (APGA), Garba Sadi (CPC), and Ibrahim Shekarau (ANPP).

But in his remark, Tukur said the ruling party would apply the talent of Argentine soccer superstar, Lionel Messi, in dealing with the new coalition.

His words: “If you go for a contest, you have the striker. You know Lionel Messi?,” he asked.

“PDP is Messi in that contest. We will dribble them like Messi. Tell them chairman said PDP is the Messi”

 



As controversy continues to trail the birth of the All Progressive Congress (APC), the deputy Chairman of All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Uche Ejike Friday affirmed that the ‘new bride’ would collapse in less than six months.

The party chieftain while addressing newsmen Friday said: ”Let me clear one issue here, you see that mega party, I wish those behind it luck. But I tell you that the mega party is made up of strange bed fellows.”

“Yes, there are strong personalities there but I give the party six months . It will fall apart soon, it can only be together between now and the next six months.

On why APGA is not in support of the alliance, Ejika said: “I have to say unequivocally as the deputy national chairman of the party that APGA is not part of the so called merger.

“I need to let all Nigerians know , I need to let our followers, all the people who are interested in our party to know that APGA is not part of the group called mega party.

“There was no point in time when the National Working Committee (NWC) deliberated on it as to drag APGA into it.

“There is no meeting whatsoever of that . And I know that the only competent body, virtue of the constitution of APGA, that can decide where the party will go if not the NWC,” he added

 

The Nigeria Army has reiterated its commitment to stamp out terrorists and terrorism act in the country.

This assurance was given by the Chief of Defense Staff, Vice Admiral Ola Ibrahim, during an interactive session to foster civil/military relations in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.

The parley had in attendance elders, youths, women, traditional and religious leaders and other stakeholders.

Addressing the gathering, the CDS who was represented by the Deputy Director Civil Military Relations, Air Commodore Onitiju, stressed that the military will repel any attempt by unscrupulous elements to turn the country into a war zone.

Onitiju said that his mission in Maiduguri was to consolidate on the peace achieved so far. He tasked the stakeholders to always cooperate with the military operatives in the course of their duties, as according to him, security forces alone cannot achieve success without vital information from the general public.

He admitted that the military might have caused some damages during operations, but that such was never intended.

He revealed that the Defense Headquarters will soon send a team of investigators to interrogate all those detained with a view to release the innocent, while those found wanting will face the full wrath of the law.

In his words: “Anybody working against the peace in the country will be forced to respect the law.”

“Terrorist are like cancer in the body and if not removed it would destroy the whole body, because any part of the country which is affected by any crisis affects the whole nation, as Nigerian one indivisible entity,” he said.

Air Commodore Onitiju said that the military repose great confidence in elders, adding that they should refrain from shielding their children involved in terrorism and other criminal activities.

At the public session held at the Ramat Square Maiduguri, parents and guardians particularly women urged the military to release their children, claiming they were innocent.

A traditional rulers who spoke at the meeting, Bulama Bashir Bukar of London Ciki appealed to the military to release those erroneously detained, even as he gave his word that the elders will work in conjunction with the military to ensure that permanent peace returns to the state.

President of Real Madrid, Florentino Perez, insisted at a press conference on Thursday, that there were no problems between manager Jose Mourinho and members of the squad.

Perez was reacting to a report in Spanish newspaper, Marca, which speculated that goalkeeper Iker Casillas and defender Sergio Ramos, had told the president during a meeting to choose between them and the former Chelsea boss.

“I break my rule not to speak to the press about the club’s day-by-day business due to the seriousness of the allegations published by Marca,” Perez said at the press conference.

“I’m not here to talk about Iker, only to deny the information that has come out this morning. I haven’t spoken to Mourinho, I came here of my own accord. They cannot play with an institution like Real Madrid.

“It is absolutely false that the captains said anything negative about the coach. No ultimatum was issued by Casillas or Ramos. The level of responsibility of the captains is incompatible with this information.

“The information published today [Thursday] is a pure lie and it’s a serious attack against the club. I have a lot of respect for the press and I always listen to criticism, regardless of whether I think it’s fair or not.

“But there are limits that must be respected. This is a serious matter. It is not a typical daily rumour, on who we sign or who we dismiss, It’s about ethics.”

After the press conference, Casillas and Ramos released a joint statement on the club’s website, supporting what Perez said.

“The two captains of Real Madrid want to communicate the following: That the meeting held on Tuesday with the president and CEO of the club never raised any ultimatum from us regarding the character of our coach,” the statement read.

“As captains of the staff and members of an excellent group of people and professionals, we categorically reject the use of our names and the rest of our squad’s in support of information that is entirely false.

“We want to show our support for the character of our coach, Jose Mourinho, to whom we owe the greatest respect.

“Finally, we wish to convey to the members and fans of Real Madrid our unalterable conviction that only through the unity of everyone at Real Madrid will we overcome all the challenges that we face each season.”

South Wales Police will not investigate Eden Hazard’s assault on a ballboy, during Chelsea’s 0-0 draw with Swansea on Wednesday night.

Chris Foy sent the former Lille midfielder off, after he appeared to try and kick the ball from underneath one of the ballboys at the stadium, with ten minutes of the match left.

“South Wales is aware of the incident involving a ballboy at the Liberty Stadium in Swansea tonight. We are making arrangements for him to be interviewed. South Wales Police takes such matters very seriously,” Chief Superintendent Josh Jones, of South Wales police, said in a statement.

However, the ballboy met with police at the stadium and insisted he would not take further action against the Belgian player.

Rafa Benitez, had also revealed that Hazard met with the boy after the game and they both apologised to each other.

“I didn’t see the incident from the bench, but afterwards the boy came in to talk to Hazard, and both apologised to each other,” Benitez told Sky Sports.

“The boy knows he was wasting time, Hazard was frustrated because he wanted to get the ball back. They apologised, they made a mistake, and that’s it. We’re disappointed because we lost a player but the best thing is to move forward.”

 


Governor of Yobe State, Alhaji Ibrahim Gaidam, had assured the people of the volatile Yobe state that the Boko Haram insurgency that has claimed many lives and property in 2011 and 2012 will become history.

He said it would end like the Maitatsine of 1980’s in Kano and Maiduguri and the Nigerian Civil War that lasted for three years.

According him, with the fizzling out of Boko Haram insurgency in Yobe State, business activities have been restored through prayers in Mosques by the Muslim communities, as well as the support and commitments of the Joint Task Force (JTF).

Gaidam who made the assertion at the swearing–in of local government chairmen in Government House, Damaturu, the state capital, noted that the Boko Haram insurgency and other security challenges in the state had made it difficult to conduct elections by the Yobe State Independent Electoral Commission (YOSIEC).

He added that as the Boko Haram insurgency persists in the state, YOSIEC has commenced preparations for the conduct of elections into the 17 councils by May/June 2013.

He said that with the Joint Task Force (JTF) and Police’s support and commitments in protecting people’s lives and property in the state, residents are returning to their respective houses and communities to continue with their daily businesses and other social activities in Damaturu, the state capital as well Potiskum, Gashua, Gujba and Geidam that were affected by the insurgency since November 14, 2011.

 

As the Africa Cup of Nations kicks off this weekend in South Africa, Super Eagles goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama, has vowed that if Nigeria wins the tournament, he will go half naked.

Enyeama, who is on loan at Maccabi Tel Aviv from Ligue 1 side Lille, is likely to be in between the posts for Stephen Keshi’s team, after Austine Ejide picked up a thigh injury.

“It will be a dream come true and I am certain I will strip to my shorts. Yes, let everyone hear it that I will strip to my shorts if we are champions,” the former Enyimba goalie said.

Beyond the continental fiesta, Enyeama is looking to keep playing till he is 40 years or more.

“I aim to keep playing until am 40 years old. If possible I wish to play till I am 42. I work hard and I am focused. I know that if I do as little as I did today (he spoke to supersport.com after the Super Eagles’ victory over Dutch side Sparta Rotterdam) in more matches then I can easily play that long.”

The stopper however said he takes each match as it comes, even as Nigeria awaits its first trophy in 19 years.

“Personally, I do not think we are looking at the trophy for now. We want to win the first game, then the next and then the one after that,” he said.

“Nigerians should have faith in us, believe the best of us and pray for us. It is not beyond our abilities to win the competition with God on our side.”