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Lagos East Senator-elect speaks on victory, decries opposition’s attempt to discredit APC
Senator-elect for Lagos East Senatorial District, Adetokunbo Mukhail Abiru has stated that the track record of good governance of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) secured him success at Saturday’s bye-election.
In his victory speech on Sunday, he decried the way and manner opposition party tried to fabricate issues against the APC during electioneering campaign rather than concentrate on issues that are relevant to winning elections.
He assured his constituents of his capacity to represent them, adding that he would synergise with his colleagues to ensure that their welfare were taken care of.
He said: “As a party candidate, I presented my sterling career success, enviable records of service and robust pedigree as testimonials to my capacity, commitment and competence to represent the people fairly and bring them expected ends.
“And our records abundantly spoke for us at the poll. Our people – whether in Epe, Ibeju-Lekki, Ikorodu, Kosofe and Somolu – believed in the evidence of our previous stewardship rather than in the concocted accounts of our traditional opposition.
“Our people believed in the ideals of our party rather than in the fabricated reports those who could not play by the rules resorted to in a failed attempt to discredit us politically or the fictitious opinion poll they dished out to score cheap political points.
“In spite of the campaign of anger and frustration they prosecuted, the people of Lagos East generously gave us their mandate.
“This is perhaps the smoothest victory our party has secured in its recent history. We polled 89,204 votes, while our closest rival scored 11,251 votes. This outcome is no doubt, a reaffirmation of our expanding political support base, not just in Lagos East, but also in Lagos State at large.
“If there are people out there, who still doubt the popularity of our great party; who do not reckon with our leadership in this political landscape and who still dispute our progressive approach to governance, our comfortable victory in the just concluded bye-election readily offers them an infallible answer.
“It is the answer the people of Lagos East generously delivered at the conclusion of last Saturday’s bye-election. It is the answer that resonates in their popular decision to give us their mandate.
“It is the answer that our unrepentant critics cannot contest, even in their wildest dream, given the credibility of the process that gave us the mandate.
“This answer did not in any way come by accident or chance. It came by dint of the hard work our party and campaign council invested in the electioneering.
“It also came through the selfless service of all members of our Campaign Council and Local Organising Committees (LOCs) that canvassed support for our party even during sometimes difficult circumstances.
“Honestly, our Campaign Council and all its Directorates have done a great job with the deft approaches they adopted to prosecute our campaign from the level of local councils and development areas to community engagements, street-to-street campaigns and house-to-house mobilisation, setting up meetings upon meetings with different groups of stakeholders in the five Local Government Areas (LGAs) and 11 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) in our senatorial district.”
“I commit myself irrevocably to the agenda I laid out before the electorate-offering people-focused quality representation; ensuring welfare of my constituents; working with my colleagues in the National Assembly to ensure special status for Lagos; promoting policies to improve national economic performance and financial sector development; implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); facilitating completion of all federal and state road projects in Lagos East; promoting ease of doing business; supporting the 5 for 5 agenda for police reform; supporting fiscal federalism and joining forces with colleagues in the Senate and members of the House of Representatives to ensure devolution of powers to the sub-national governments.
“Within the limits of our statutory mandate, this is the time to make the aged smile; empower our jobless youths; minister to the vulnerable; secure the future of brilliant indigent children and support the implementation of the ideals of our party.
“To achieve these enviable goals, we are already in the process of establishing an Endowment and Empowerment Fund to actualize my private philanthropy.
“The Fund will implement different interventions we are coming up with in line with my agenda and the ideals of our party.
“Already, our team is perfecting the modalities for the implementation of all these intervention programmes. By the middle of January, we will unveil these programmes in full and begin implementation immediately”, he noted.
The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Senate Matters, Senator Basheer Lado, has commended his principal for assenting to South West and South – South Development Commissions Bills as well as the Nigeria Anti – Doping Bill 2025.
Senator Lado who made the commendation in a personally signed statement, described presidential assets to the bills as monumental milestone and testament to visionary leadership and national progress.
The statement reads: “I extend my warmest congratulations to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for yet another historic achievement his decisive and visionary assent to the South-West Development Commission Bill, the South-South Development Commission Bill, and the Nigeria Anti-Doping Bill, 2025.
“These landmark legislations are a clear reflection of President Tinubu’s relentless commitment to inclusive governance, equitable progress, and Nigeria’s emergence as a global powerhouse.
“His Excellency has once again demonstrated that leadership is not merely about policies—it is about impact, legacy, and a deep-rooted dedication to uplifting every citizen.
“By signing into law the establishment of the South-West and South-South Development Commissions, President Tinubu has reaffirmed his role as a transformational leader who prioritizes regional empowerment, economic expansion, and infrastructural excellence.
Building on the foundation of his earlier assent to the South-East and North -West Development Commissions, it is evident that President Tinubu is deliberate in bringing development across all regions.
“These commissions will serve as catalysts for industrial growth, job creation, and social advancement—ensuring that every corner of Nigeria benefits from his administration’s progressive vision. This is the mark of a true statesman—one who understands that a nation’s strength lies in its ability to uplift all regions without bias.
“In the same vein, the Nigeria Anti-Doping Bill, 2025 is yet another bold step that solidifies Nigeria’s commitment to fairness, excellence, and integrity in global sports.
“President Tinubu has once again positioned Nigeria as a nation of high ethical standards, ensuring that our athletes compete on the world stage with honor and credibility. By domesticating the UNESCO International Convention Against Doping in Sports, his administration has safeguarded the future of Nigerian sports, protecting our athletes from unfair practices while reinforcing our global reputation as a country that upholds integrity.
“This momentous occasion underscores President Tinubu’s unmatched leadership—one that is proactive, decisive, and deeply attuned to the needs and aspirations of the Nigerian people.
His ability to enact groundbreaking policies that foster unity, drive economic prosperity, and elevate our international standing speaks volumes of his unwavering dedication to national transformation”.
News
BREAKING: Key contact details missing in petition to recall Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan – INEC
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has acknowledged receiving a petition for the recall of the Senator representing Kogi Central Senatorial District but noted that key contact details of the petitioners were missing.
In a press release signed by Sam Olumekun, the National Commissioner and Chairman of INEC’s Information and Voter Education Committee, the commission stated that the petition was submitted with six bags of documents containing signatures from more than half of the 474,554 registered voters in the district.
However, the covering letter only provided a general location, “Okene, Kogi State,” without a specific address or multiple contact numbers as required by INEC’s regulations.
INEC emphasized that the recall process is guided by the 1999 Constitution, the Electoral Act 2022, and its 2024 Regulations and Guidelines for Recall.
The commission assured that once the petition meets all requirements, it will proceed with verifying the signatures using the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) in an open process involving petitioners, observers, and the media.
INEC is currently making efforts to reach the petitioners through other means and urged the public to disregard speculation on social media regarding the recall process.
News
Natasha’s case to be assigned to another Judge as Egwuatu recuse himself, citing Akpabio’s petition
Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court in Abuja, has recused himself from Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan’s case citing a petition by lawyers to Senator Godswill Akpabio.
The case bothered on suspension of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Udughan from the Senate for six months, but a dramatic twist to it Justice Egwuatu who is presiding over the matter on Tuesday recused himself and ordered that the cas file be sent to the Chief Justice for reassignment.
The trial judge based his decision on a petition the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, wrote to challenge his objectivity in the matter.
Though the suit was originally fixed for hearing, however, when the matter was called up by the court’s clerk, Justice Egwuatu announced his decision in a short ruling he delivered.
He said the case-file would be returned to the Chief Judge for a reassignment to another judge.
It will be recalled that Justice Egwuatu had on March 4, issued an interim order that stopped the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions from going ahead with the disciplinary proceeding that was initiated against Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan over an allegation that she flouted rules of the legislative house.
He held that the disciplinary process should be placed on hold, pending the determination of the suit that was brought before him by the embattled female lawmaker.
More so, Justice Egwuatu gave defendants in the matter, 72 hours to show cause why it should not issue an order of interlocutory injunction to stop them from probing the plaintiff for alleged misconduct, without affording her the privileges stipulated in the 1999 Constitution, as amended, the Senate Standing Order 2023, and the Legislative Houses (Powers and Privileges) Act.
He granted permission for the plaintiff to serve the Originating Summons and all the accompanying processes on all the defendants, through substituted means.
It held that they should be served by handing the processes to the Clerk of the National Assembly or by pasting them on the premises of the National Assembly and publishing same in two national dailies.
The interim orders followed an ex-parte application and an affidavit of urgency that was brought before the court by the lawmaker.
However, despite the orders of the court, the Senate Committee held its sitting and slammed the plaintiff with a six months suspension.
Following an application by the defendants, Justice Egwuatu subsequently amended the interim order he issued in favour of the plaintiff, by vacating the aspect that barred the Senate from undertaking any activity within the pendency of the suit.
The Senate President had through his team of lawyers led by Mr. Kehinde Ogunwumiju, SAN, queried the powers of the court to meddle in the affairs of the Senate.
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