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2027: Fashola Questions APC Reward System As Voter Turnout Drops

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Former Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, has questioned the All Progressives Congress, APC, reward system.

 

Fashola raised the question while identifying a drop in the number of votes accrued by the APC.

 

To this end, he wondered if APC’s policies still resonates with its traditional base.

 

He spoke during the APC’s Stakeholders Forum which endorsed President Bola Tinubu for a second term yesterday in Lagos.

 

The former governor of Lagos State wondered if the party has a well documented register for members can can be engaged which could help stimulate votes.

 

According to Fashola: “Our closest opposition back then used to have about one third of the total votes that we got. That was what it used to look like.

 

“And so what has happened? Why have the votes dropped? And I think that is the heart of the matter. There are a lot of numbers here, but I don’t want to go into interrogating all of those numbers.

 

“Where are our traditional voters? Are they still with us? Are they turning out for us? And why are they not turning out enough?

 

“This is a time for honest answers and for honest questions, and I hope those questions will be asked, as I said, after this meeting by people who are resolved to ensure that we turn out voters for the next election.

 

“Some of the questions to ask are, whether our policies and programs are still resonating with our traditional base.

 

“What is our own party reward system like? How do we even network with ourselves?

 

“I have asked questions such as, if we wanted to undertake a particular program that involved a certain set of tradesmen or tradeswomen, do we have a register that we can consult to say who are the party members who will be interested in this?

 

“Those are questions that I think this conference provokes us to ask because political party participation is based on enthusiasm.

 

“If people are enthusiastic, they will turn out and they will vote. But hope is not lost because we are in a season of renewed hope and therefore we will turn our renewed hope into renewed enthusiasm for our party and for our programs.

 

“Of course, some of the speakers before me have alluded to the growing demography of young people.”

 

The former minister also wondered why the children of APC leaders are not involved in the party’s affair.

 

“Now, how many of our children are involved in what we are doing? How many of our children come to our rallies and our campaigns?

 

“If it is important to us, we must make it important to them and we must find a way to connect them to it. Because really and truly, who would we be handing it over to if not to them?

 

“And a good place to start is to ask ourselves, in APC-controlled states and state institutions, educational institutions, where are the APC youth wings? How are we connecting and getting people? Because APC can be like any other club in a university that you can join.

 

“And so these, for me, I think are the questions that we need to ask and we need to answer very, very honestly,” he said.2027: Our votes dropping – Fashola questions APC reward system

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How 2018 Federal Legal Advice Exonerated Saraki In Offa Robbery Case

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In light of the Kwara State Government’s fresh prosecution of Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki and his successor over the Offa robbery, fresh facts have emerged on why the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Mr. E. U. (Etsu Umar) Mohammed gave the duo a clean bill of health.

The Federal Director of Public Prosecutions cleared former Senate President Bukola Saraki of involvement in the Offa bank robbery in 2018, citing no evidence of a connection.

It was gathered that the DPP reviewed a 16-page police report prepared and signed by Abba Kyari, a Deputy Commissioner of Police and then head of the Inspector-General of Police Intelligence Response Team (IGP-IRT) at Force Headquarters, Abuja. The report detailed investigations into the April 5, 2018, multiple bank robbery attack in Offa, Kwara State.

The DPP in his first report dated June 22, 2018 and signed on behalf of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, prepared a five page legal advice in which he noted in paragraph 5 (f) that “for the Senate President (Saraki) and the Kwara State Governor (Ahmed), his office is unable to establish from the evidence in the interim report a nexus between the alleged offence and the suspects. Hence, it is our advice that further and thorough investigation in this regard be carried out”.

Following the submission of a second report by the police investigating team to his office on July 27, 2018, the DPP prepared a second legal advice, which was dated August 23, 2018. The three-page legal advice also has only three paragraphs.

In paragraph 3 (vi), he noted that “with regards to the Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki, since there is no departure from the earlier findings in the interim report, this office is still unable to establish any prima facie case against him for any offences of criminal conspiracy, armed robbery, and culpable homicide punishable with death”.

Both legal advices had recommended six people for prosecution. They are: Ayoade Akinnibosun, Ibikunle Ogunleye, Adeola Ibrahim, Salawudeen Azeez, Niyi Ogundiran, and Michael Adiukwu.

One of the suspects, Michael Adiukwu, later died in police custody, while the other five had since been tried at the High Court in Ilorin.

During the trial, the suspects revealed how they were coerced into incriminating Senator Bukola Saraki.

They mentioned several inducements dangled before them, including money and the promise of a visa to travel out of the country.

The suspects have since been convicted and their convictions confirmed by the Court of Appeal. The matter is now pending before the apex court, the Supreme Court of Nigeria.

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₦400m Ransom Demanded As Gunmen Abduct Another Kwara Ruler

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Terrorists have abducted a traditional ruler in Olayinka community, located in the Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State, Oba Salman Olátúnjí Aweda and are demanding a ₦400 million ransom for his release.

The abduction occurred on April 18, 2026, when armed men, suspected to be militia herdsmen, invaded the community and took the monarch, his wife, and another resident into the forest.

According to JomogNews, residents who witnessed the incident said the terrorists, numbering over 10, invaded the monarch’s residence around Saturday midnight, forced the door open, and abducted him alongside another person in the house.

The assailants reportedly led both victims into the bush.

Chairman of Ifelodun Local Government Area, Mr Abdulrasheed Femi Yusuf, visited the community on Saturday on a sympathy visit and assured residents that efforts were underway to secure the monarch’s release.

“We are deeply concerned about this incident, and we are taking swift and decisive action in collaboration with security agencies,” he said.

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Living Faith Church Founder Declares Week Of Vengeance Against Insecurity Sponsors

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Bishop David Oyedepo, General Overseer of Living Faith Church Worldwide, has declared that bandits and their sponsors will face divine judgment and retribution within seven days.

Speaking on Sunday, April 19, 2026, during a service themed “Covenant Day of Vengeance” at the church’s headquarters in Ota, Ogun State, the cleric stated that those responsible for killings and kidnappings would face imminent consequences.

“I declare judgement on those who caused these tragedies and their supporters in the name of Jesus,” he said.

The cleric further asserted that divine retribution would occur within a short timeframe.

“Unless I am not sent, this will happen in the next seven days,” he added.

Oyedepo also expressed confidence that Nigerians would soon witness outcomes of what he described as divine intervention, noting that the coming days would bring “testimonies of vengeance.”

 

 

 

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