APC seeks enforcement of Niger tribunal judgment

• Candidate debunks Presidency’s claim on Ilorin-Ibadan Road

• Ortom to complete abandoned tomato factory

BENEFICIARY of last Friday’s electoral tribunal verdict upturning the victory of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in Niger East Senatorial by-election, David Umaru, has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to comply with the judgment and issue him the Certificate of Return immediately.

   The tribunal, which nullified the return of Dr. Shem Zagbayi Nuhu, had asked INEC to comply with the order immediately. Umaru said the judgment was a lesson to the ruling PDP that the people would no longer allow it to steal people’s mandate. 

   According to him, the victory will galvanise his efforts and that of the party at ensuring victory for APC at all levels in the general election because, “it is only when we elect APC candidates to fill the various political offices that the desired change can be achieved.”

   He added: “The judgment has shown that if people can fight together, stand together and persist together, nothing can stop their victory. If we persist, the people will always have their way.”

   On the PDP’s move to appeal the judgment and possibly stall his swearing in, Umaru said that “appeal is a right, but with the evidences advanced, we are not afraid, we shall meet in court.”  

   Meanwhile, an APC chieftain, Prince Oyewole Oyewunmi, has debunked recent claim by the Presidency that it had completed the Ilorin-Ogbomoso Expressway, describing it as “deliberate churning out of lies simply to deceive the people and seek undeserved electoral support from voters.”

   The National Assembly candidate and son of the paramount ruler of Ogbomoso Kingdom, Oba Oladunni Oyewunmi, told The Guardian that the claim was like adding salt to the injury that the people of the area and other Nigerians have been going through for over 14 years that the rehabilitation has lasted.

   Oyewole said that till date, Nigerians from Ibadan, Ogbomoso, Osogbo, Ilorin and Minna axis have continually sought explanations on why the road could not be completed when the remaining portion is far less than the completed area and yet has remained so for over a decade.

   In another development, the APC governorship candidate in Benue State, Dr Samuel Ortom, has rekindled hope for the completion of the tomato juice factory at Wannune in Tarka local council, which was begun during the administration of George Akume.

   Ortom, speaking during his campaign rally at Wannune, further pledged to reactivate several other moribund industries as well as establish new ones through partnership with the organized private sector in order to create jobs and wealth for the people.

   The former Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, promised to also find a permanent solution to the perennial communal violence between Guma, his home council, and Tarka, where the Senate Minority Leader, Akume, hails from.