Politics

Today’s Headlines: Imo PDP asks Tinubu to intervene in the kidnap of 2 Catholic Priest, Thanks for believing and going to court – Buhari

The Leadership of the Imo state Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, on Sunday called on the President-Elect, Bola Tinubu to intervene in the continued kidnap of catholic priests, killings in Imo state, alleging that Governor Hope Uzodimma, has lost the capacity to handle insecurity in the state.

The State Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Collins Opurozor, made this call while speaking to newsmen in Owerri, on the spate of attacks, and kidnappings of clergymen in Imo since last week.

According to the PDP, they decided to call on the president-elect, because Imo allegedly became a wasteful land.

According to them, “Part of the statement by the PDP, stated: “Traditional rulers are now brutally murdered. In some instances, they are beheaded and their bodies dumped in the streets. Judges are dragged out from their courtrooms and slaughtered like rams. In the last seven days, two Catholic priests have been abducted and their whereabouts are still unknown. Things have fallen apart, and Imo has become a wasteland!

“Before the commencement of this orgy of bloodshed, Senator Uzodinma had made a statement in Abuja, where he boasted that it was on his invitation that the full-blown military operation in Imo began. He followed it up during a meeting with leaders and stakeholders from Njaba LGA at the Government House, where he confessed that he has always told the security forces to allow him to carry out the operations by himself. Speaking the n the Igbo language, his exact words were, “Hapu nu m ka m were aka m mee”. It was in that spirit that the governor further threatened to conduct airstrikes to wipe out two locations in Njaba where he even acknowledged that innocent schoolchildren were staying. This is pathetic!

“Gentlemen of the Press, our Party has documented all these cases of extrajudicial killings and human rights abuses in the Stae and has now commenced the process of presenting them before the International Criminal Court, so that principal officials of this anti-people government can answer to their heinous crimes against humanity.

“We have also pursued this matter with the Embassies and High Commissions of all the American and European countries to ensure that a total and immediate visa ban is enforced on Senator Hope Uzodinma and officials of his regime.”

“Imo PDP urges the President-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to quickly intervene, upon assumption of office, to discontinue the silence of the Federal Government over Senator Uzodimma’s use of state apparatus to oppress Imo people, gag the press and crush political dissent. It is now clear that Senator Uzodimma has lost Imo State. His purchase of a few endorsements has not helped his wobbling regime. He is now desperate, running to his fellow governor for award and validation. But no matter how hard he tries, his removal from power is a decided issue. Nothing can change this.

“The President-elect must respect the decision of Imo people, and should neither hatch nor partake in any scheme to allow this unelected, unpopular, ar and widely-rejected regime to stay in power a day longer than January 15, 2024,” he said.

Presidential election: Thanks for going to court, believing in judiciary – Buhari to Atiku, Peter Obi.

President Muhammadu Buhari has commended presidential candidates who went to court after losing in the last presidential election.

Buhari saluted the doggedness of the presidential candidates in seeking redress in court after losing the election.

In his last nationwide broadcast on Sunday, he applauded the presidential candidates for believing in Nigeria’s judiciary system.

Recall that the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, and Peter Obi of Labour Party, LP, lost the election to the President-elect, Bola Tinubu.

Following their defeat, Atiku and Obi headed to the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal to contest the election outcome.

On Friday, the Supreme Court had dismissed a suit by the PDP to stop Tinubu’s inauguration on May 29 over double nomination.

However, Buhari said the last presidential election was the most keenly contested poll.

According to him: “This year we witnessed the most keenly contested Presidential Elections since the first Republic, and this demonstrates that our democracy is getting better and more entrenched with each election.

“We must as a nation improve and sustain gains we make in the electoral process, on an incremental basis, for Nigeria to take its rightful place among Nations.

“Our democracy provides for, allows and encourages seeking redress for perceived injustices, enabling some candidates and political parties that did not agree with the results to go to court.

“Irrespective of the outcome of the various cases, I urge all parties involved to accept the decision of our courts and join hands to build a better Nigeria.

“I salute the doggedness and resilience of all the Presidential Candidates and their political parties for believing in our judicial system by taking their grievances with the election results to court.

“In the course of the campaigns, we had argued and disagreed on how to make Nigeria better but we never disagreed or had any doubts that Nigeria has to be better.”