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Breaking: ACF Refutes Endorsement Of Amnesty, Payment To Bandits

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The Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF, has refuted allegations of endorsing amnesty and payments to bandits, akin to late President Yarádua’s amnesty program for Niger Delta militants, dismissing a video clip, now trending on social media.

The National Publicity Secretary of the ACF Prof T. A. Muhammad-Baba said, the insinuation must have emanated from a recent interview granted to Arise News by Alhaji Bashir Dalhatu, Wazirin Dutse, Chairman, Board of Trustees (BOT) of the ACF, insisting that the piece in circulation was taken out of context, truncated and mischievously abstracted to reach some predetermined conclusions.

In a statement, Prof Muhammad-Baba said, “Mercifully, the full interview is available on digital platforms, easily accessible to anyone interested in the full details.”

He explained that it is not the tradition of the ACF to engage such “clandestine, shadowy or anonymous figures in public debate,” saying that given the gravity of the allegation, it has become necessary to clarify ACF’s stance on the subject.

The statement further explained, “First, Alhaji Bashir Dalhatu spoke mostly in his personal capacity, only sporadically alluding to official perspectives. Second, right at the start of the interview, he had assertively and emphatically condemned the spate of terrorist activities in Nigeria and elsewhere in West Africa.

“He went on to call for the total annihilation of the terrorists and bandits and, thereby, the pervasive state of insecurity in Nigeria within the shortest period possible. Farther in the interview, he was unequivocal in emphasising that absolutely no one in the North, or Nigeria, is happy about the insecurity imbroglio, nor trying to shield bandits and other non-state actors perpetrating mayhem against people, as often wildly suggested.”

It said that Alhaji Bashir Dalhatu’s allusion to the Niger Delta Amnesty Program was in suggesting that all kinetic and non-kinetic pathways (as may be found expedient) to dealing with the insecurity problem should be employed by the government, including variants of late President Yarádua’s approach to solving the Niger Delta crisis.

The statement noted that “he did not categorically propose the unadulterated application of the same pathway, stating that anyone suggesting such solutions was only stating an opinion”.

He said nowhere in the interview did Alhaji Bashir Dalhatu refer to the terrorists and bandits with their primordial characteristics such as ethnicity, religion, stressing that “conclusions or impressions that suggest otherwise remain the vile reactions of some mischievous, clandestine and shadowy group(s) and/or individual(s)”.

“ACF hereby makes it categorically and unambiguously clear that at no time has the organisation called for any amnesty in favour of any terrorists or bandits and therefore rejects, in its entirety in its entirety, any insinuation to the contrary.

“As always, ACF pledges full and unalloyed support to the Government and the security agencies in their various endeavours to stamp out the scourge of terrorism and banditry in Nigeria.”

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POLITICS: Wike-led PDP Faction Takes Over Party Secretariat In Oyo

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Members of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, loyal to the Minister of Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike, have taken over the secretariat of the party in Oyo State.

The secretariat, located in the Molete area of Ibadan, was in the custody of the faction loyal to Governor Seyi Makinde of the state until Thursday when the members loyal to Wike took over the premises.

DAILY POST gathered that the PDP members stormed the secretariat on Thursday and occupied the premises with hundreds of members of the party in attendance.

PDP chairman in the state, Professor Abdulrahman Akinoso, confirmed the development to DAILY POST.

Akinoso in a telephone conversation with DAILY POST on Thursday, insisted that the real owners have taken over the premises.

He said, “It is true. It is not faction. It is PDP. We have taken over the premises. It was in the morning. We were there in the morning. We just left the premises. We are now in control. We have taken over the premises.” .…For more, Complete your reading.

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POLITICS: Foreign Recognition Won’t Secure Re-election – ADC Tells Tinubu

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The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has told President Bola Tinubu that foreign recognition will not secure him another term in office, insisting that Nigerians will judge his administration by its performance, not by diplomatic gestures from other world leaders.

In a statement issued on Thursday by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the opposition party reacted to the Presidency’s celebration of a purported letter from United States President Donald Trump to Tinubu.

The ADC said presenting the letter as an endorsement of Tinubu’s administration was misleading, stressing that diplomatic correspondence between world leaders is a normal part of international relations.

“The Presidency’s attempt to present President Donald Trump’s letter to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as though it were a referendum on the state of the nation is not correct,” the party said.

According to the ADC, countries cooperate, leaders exchange views and letters regularly, adding that such communication does not amount to an endorsement of a government’s performance.

The party accused the Tinubu administration of being desperate for international validation instead of focusing on solving Nigeria’s challenges.

“It is apparent that this administration is desperate to seize upon any gesture of international recognition as proof of success at home,” the statement said.

The ADC maintained that “a letter from a foreign president, however well-intentioned, cannot substitute for the verdict of the Nigerian people.”

It added that the true measure of any government is not what foreign leaders say about it, but what citizens experience daily.

The opposition party argued that Trump’s letter had not changed the reality facing millions of Nigerians, especially those affected by insecurity.

“For the millions of Nigerians still living with the consequences of this government’s failures, President Trump’s communication changes nothing. It did not say that insecurity has been overcome or that Nigerians can once again travel freely, farm safely and sleep without fear,” the party stated.

The ADC also pointed to the continued captivity of hundreds of women and children in parts of Borno State and Kaiama in Kwara State, while many communities in Benue and other parts of the country still live in constant fear because of insecurity.

The party further noted that, despite the Presidency’s celebration of the letter, the United States Department of State has not changed its travel advisory for Nigeria.

According to the ADC, several Nigerian states remain under Level 3 and Level 4 travel advisories, with American citizens still being urged to reconsider or avoid travel because of crime, terrorism, kidnapping and civil unrest.

“We therefore wonder how correspondence from a government that designates several Nigerian states as ‘Do Not Travel’ areas can be regarded as an endorsement,” the party said.

It argued that the travel advisory shows the international assessment of Nigeria’s security situation remains different from the image the Presidency is trying to project.

The ADC said Nigerians are more concerned about their safety than diplomatic exchanges between presidents.

“The daily reality of Nigerians is shaped not by diplomatic correspondence, but by the guarantee that they can go about their lives without falling victim to violent crime or terrorism,” it said.

The party stressed that Trump’s letter was simply communication between two presidents and “does not amount to an endorsement of this government’s overall performance.”

It urged the Tinubu administration to focus less on celebrating diplomatic courtesies and more on delivering measurable improvements in the lives of Nigerians.

“Ultimately, Nigerians will not judge this government by the letters it receives from foreign capitals. They will judge it by whether .…For more, Complete your reading.

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