Tag: Moves

  • Tinubu, Ruling APC Making Moves To Lobby, Bribe Christian Association Of Nigeria Leaders Over Muslim-Muslim Ticket—Sources

    Tinubu, Ruling APC Making Moves To Lobby, Bribe Christian Association Of Nigeria Leaders Over Muslim-Muslim Ticket—Sources

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    There is fresh information regarding how the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has initiated moves to lobby and bribe some leaders of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) to get their support for its Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket. 
    Some top APC members of the Christian extraction have kicked against the Muslim-Muslim ticket and expressed their dissatisfaction with the choice of former Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima as Bola Tinubu’s running mate.  





    Tinubu and Shettima are Muslims – a combination that has triggered varying reactions since the former recently announced the latter as his running mate in Katsina.
    Tinubu is from Southern Nigeria while Shettima, a former Borno governor, is from the Muslim-dominated Northern part of the country.
    The APC Christian leaders have described the Muslim-Muslim ticket as an insult, particularly as the party’s leadership claimed that competence was the yardstick – implying that no Christian across the north possesses this quality. 
    CAN and the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) have both kicked against the team of Tinubu and Shettima as the presidential and vice-presidential candidates of the ruling party. 
    Some respected party members have either quit their membership or stepped aside from the APC’s presidential campaign and are now ready to hit the streets to drive home their grievances. 
    The APC candidate recently met with the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye, following the controversy trailing the Muslim-Muslim ticket.
    Sources at the weekend told SaharaReporters that Tinubu had set up a team of eminent persons with whom he was scheduled to meet the Christian leaders within the party and faith-based organisations like CAN, PFN and the Catholic, to appeal to them and secure their support.
    “The APC, having failed to justify its Muslim-Muslim ticket through other mediums, have reached out to the leadership of the Christian Association in Nigeria to endorse its choice of vice presidential candidate,” a Christian leader and member of CAN told SaharaReporters.
    “The APC has concluded plans to secure the endorsement of CAN towards quelling the agitations that have come about due to its choice of Senator Kashim Shettima, a Muslim as the vice-presidential candidate of the party. 
    “I can tell you authoritatively that APC leadership has sent emissaries to our leadership (CAN) to support or endorse the decision to field a Muslim-Muslim ticket. Talks are ongoing, and the inducement figure is very tempting. I won’t be shocked in the days and weeks ahead; we might see a statement from a faction of CAN endorsing the APC presidential team.
    “This is a big challenge for the APC. I think it has realized that the Muslim-Muslim ticket has elicited resentment from most people who view such disposition as an affront to the sensibilities of Christians across the country.” 
    He continued, “My fear is that some CAN leaders may not resist the offer. It is structured in such a way that it would leave no traces behind. And the amount involved is huge. Talks are ongoing through a senior member of the association with the mandate to get the buy-in of other critical stakeholders in the association.”
    The statement was corroborated by a close associate of one of the leaders of CAN. He stated that there had been tremendous pressure to appease the association. 
    “Before the unveiling of Kashim Shettima, some APC stalwarts reached out to the leadership of CAN, extending an invitation to attend the event. This was rebuffed by CAN, citing no moral justification to attend the event in the face of a clear lack of respect for the sensibilities of Christians in the country,” he said.
    “The condition given was the replacement of Kashim Shettima as the vice-presidential candidate of the APC. The decision was hinged on the fact that other political parties respected the ethnic and religious sensitivities in the country, and the APC should not be an exception.” 
    He added, “I am ashamed of what is going on. I can’t believe that such a topic would be deliberated upon in the first instance. I know the money promised is very tempting, but as servants of the Lord, and at this stage, they ought to have risen above this inducement.
    “Why do you think the Christian community can’t speak in one voice? Most of the members of CAN have been grandstanding. They are in the habit of taking care of themselves. If only Nigerians would realize the rot in CAN, they would henceforth take with a pinch of salt whatever statement that emanates from the association.”
    An APC chieftain confirmed to SaharaReporters that emissaries had been sent to CAN leadership. He however denied the Christian leaders were being induced with cash.
    “We are talking about competence over religious considerations. Talks have reached advanced stages through proxies.“
    Calls put across by SaharaReporters to Felix Morka, APC spokesman were not answered or returned.

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  • Ukraine’s Zelensky moves against ‘spies’ — World — The Guardian Nigeria News – Nigeria and World News

    Ukraine’s Zelensky moves against ‘spies’ — World — The Guardian Nigeria News – Nigeria and World News

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    Ukraine’s army is putting up fierce frontline resistance against Russian troops, but President Volodymyr Zelensky’s shock dismissal of two top law enforcement officials has revealed another front in the war closer to home — against spies and Kremlin sympathisers.

    His dismissal of SBU security chief Ivan Bakanov, a childhood friend of President Zelensky, and of prosecutor general Iryna Venediktova, is unprecedented since the start of the invasion.

    The decision was announced Sunday and approved by parliament on Tuesday, with Zelensky berating the pair for their failure to counter the activities of Russian spies and collaborators in Ukraine.

    In his daily video address, he said there were over 650 cases involving officials suspected of treason and aiding Russia, including 60 “working against our state” in Russian-held areas of the country.

    “Everyone was expecting… more tangible results” from Bakanov and Venediktova in “fighting collaborators and traitors”, said Andriy Smyrnov, deputy head of the presidential administration.

    ‘The last straw’
    “The president and his cabinet were not pleased with the work of Bakanov and Venediktova” even before the Russian invasion, Ukrainian political analyst Volodymyr Fesenko told AFP.

    In the last few months, at least three top SBU officials have been accused of high treason.

    One of them, Oleg Kulinich, who was sacked in March and was arrested on Sunday, had been based in the southern region of Kherson.

    Situated close to the Crimean peninsula which was annexed by Moscow in 2014, the region was quickly taken over by Russian troops at the start of the invasion — a significant setback for which the government was heavily criticised.

    “This man was collaborating with Russian secret services. It is a very serious blow. In my view, it was the last straw for Zelensky,” Fesenko said.

    Zelensky had already sacked the regional head of the SBU for Kherson, Sergiy Kryvoruchko.

    Another SBU official is suspected of having shared with Russian troops top secret maps of minefields intended to hamper their advance.

    Zelensky on Monday said there would be a “review” within the SBU, pointing out that 28 agents could be sacked for “unsatisfactory” work.

    One of Bakanov’s deputies has also been sacked.

    Prisoner exchanges at risk?
    Venediktova was heading up the high-profile investigations into atrocities committed by Russian forces, particularly in the town of Bucha, which became a symbol of the alleged Russian war crimes.

    According to the influential news site Ukrainska Pravda, she incurred the wrath of the presidency by attracting excessive media attention and for rushing through trials of captured Russian soldiers.

    According to the report, the trials angered Moscow and made negotiations over prisoner swaps — a priority for Zelensky — more difficult.

    For many observers in Ukraine, the reshuffle appears to have been a move to reinforce presidential control over law enforcement.

    The interim replacements of both Bakanov and Venediktova — their respective deputies — are considered to be more politically docile.

    “It is clear” that these men “will execute all the political orders” of the presidency, said Tetyana Shevchuk, an expert from the Centre for Action Against Corruption, a non-governmental organisation, cited by Forbes Ukraine.



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