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FULL LIST: Lagos PDP Spokesman, Others Join APC

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The Lagos State Peoples Democratic Party’s spokesman, Hakeem Amode, has dumped his party for the ruling All Progressives Congress.

Amode, along with other PDP chieftains announced their defection at a news conference on Monday in Ikeja, Lagos.

He disclosed that he and other defectors were motivated and inspired by the visionary leadership of the 2023 PDP governorship candidate, Abdul-Azeez Adediran, who had earlier moved to the APC.

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It is with great honour and a profound sense of responsibility that we stand before you today to announce a pivotal decision; one that marks a significant turning point not just for us as individuals, but for many committed political stakeholders who have journeyed with us over the years.

“Today, we have decided to collapse the entire PDP structure in Lagos State, from ward to the state level , to allign with His Excellency Jandor to decamp en masse to the APC.

“The PDP, both at the national and state levels, has lost its way.

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“The party has deviated from the founding ideals that once made it the largest and most respected political platform in Africa.

“Today, its future is riddled with tension and uncertainty.

“The PDP is in a coma and may not survive unless urgent measures are taken,” Amode said.

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According to him, the tenure of the defectors within the PDP had been lengthy and eventful, characterised by both achievements and setbacks.

READ ALSO: Delta Rep Defects To APC, Says Labour Party Has No Direction

He said that majority of the defectors had the privilege of serving the PDP in various capacities, worked for change and did their best for their former party

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He said, “However, after thorough introspection and extensive consultation, we believe it is time to chart a new course.

“This decision has not been made lightly.

“It reflects our commitment to taking control of our political destinies in order to better serve our people and the loyal supporters who continue to stand by us.”

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Amode said that the PDP in Lagos, under the leadership of Philip Aivoji, had been fractured and disunited.

Poor leadership and a lack of cohesion have cost us dearly

“Today, we, alongside several former PDP candidates at various levels, national, local government executives, ward leaders, and key stakeholders across Lagos, formally resign from the PDP and align ourselves with the APC.

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“We have submitted our letters of resignation to our respective ward chairmen, local government chairmen, and the state leadership of the PDP,” he said.

Today, we have decided to collapse the entire PDP structure in Lagos State, from ward to the state level , to allign with His Excellency Jandor to decamp en masse to the APC.

“The PDP, both at the national and state levels, has lost its way.

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READ ALSO: VIDEO: Moment Tinubu Observed Akwa Ibom Gov’s Defection To APC

“The party has deviated from the founding ideals that once made it the largest and most respected political platform in Africa.

“Today, its future is riddled with tension and uncertainty.

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“The PDP is in a coma and may not survive unless urgent measures are taken,” Amode said.

According to him, the tenure of the defectors within the PDP had been lengthy and eventful, characterised by both achievements and setbacks.

He said that majority of the defectors had the privilege of serving the PDP in various capacities, worked for change and did their best for their former party

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He said, “However, after thorough introspection and extensive consultation, we believe it is time to chart a new course.

“This decision has not been made lightly.

“It reflects our commitment to taking control of our political destinies in order to better serve our people and the loyal supporters who continue to stand by us.”

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Amode said that the PDP in Lagos, under the leadership of Philip Aivoji, had been fractured and disunited.

Poor leadership and a lack of cohesion have cost us dearly.

READ ALSO: Edo Senator, Neda Imasuen Defects To APC, Says LP In Shreds, No Direction

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“Today, we, alongside several former PDP candidates at various levels, national, local government executives, ward leaders, and key stakeholders across Lagos, formally resign from the PDP and align ourselves with the APC.

“We have submitted our letters of resignation to our respective ward chairmen, local government chairmen, and the state leadership of the PDP,” he said.

Amode, who noted that the decision to leave the PDP was not driven by personal ambition, clarified that defecting to the APC was to serve the society better.

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We are determined to work with our new partners in the APC to deliver the true dividends of democracy to every corner of our great state.”

Safurat Abdulkareem, a two-time State PDP deputy governorship candidate, said that the defectors were determined to follow the progressives to make the state better.

Also speaking, a former state PDP Deputy Chairman, Chief Ola Apena, said the PDP had no relevance in the state anymore.

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The PDP is dead. There is no more PDP.

“The party is in complete limbo and we don’t know whether it will be up,” he said.

Speaking on behalf of 2023 PDP state House of Assembly candidates, Mr Ibrahim Balogun, who flew the party’s flag in Kosofe, said he wasted time by staying in the PDP for 18 years.

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We will work for Tinubu in 2027. We are going en masse into the APC.

READ ALSO: Akwa Ibom Commissioner Resigns After Gov’s Defection To APC

“Jandor is a visionary leader to follow because he is a man of the people,” Balogun said.

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Jandor, who congratulated the defectors, said, ” We have successfully collapsed the entire structure of the PDP into the APC now.

“There is no point in belonging to a political party that has no determination and purpose of winning elections. The PDP is a social club, not interested in winning.

“Lagos State PDP leadership is ensuring that the party does not win and the party had been doing this for over two decades now, wasting people’s destiny.

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“I congratulate these PDP leaders for joining me in the APC.

“The PDP is a sinking ship. In Nigeria of today, there is no other viable platform apart from the APC,” Adediran said.

Other PDP leaders, who dumped the party for the APC included Prince Rufus Adeniyi, a former PDP Assistant State Organising Secretary (Lagos West) and Mr Jerry Afemikhe (Olori Odo), a former PDP House of Representatives Candidate in Surulere Constituency I.

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Some 2023 PDP Lagos State House of Assembly candidates who dumped the party included Messrs Keshinro Abiodun (Epe 1);Akeem Jinadu, (Eti-Osa 1); Ibrahim Balogun (Kosofe 2).

Messrs Taofeek Obanikoro (Lagos Island 1); Tunde Pratt (Lagos Mainland 2); Saheed Aregbesola (Oshodi-Isolo State 2), Sulaimon Thompson (Surulere 1)and Taofeek Kuye ( Ajeromi-Ifelodun State 1) also dumped PDP for APC.

Mr Adeyemi Kazeem:former PDP Chairman, Ojo Local Government;Pastor Gbenga Ogunleye,media aide to the 2023 Lagos PDP Governorship Candidate were also among those who defected.
(PUNCH)

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VIDEO: Why I’ve Never Tried Convincing My Christian Wife To Convert To Islam — Tinubu

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President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has explained why he has never attempted to convince his wife, First Lady Oluremi Tinubu, to convert to Islam, stressing his belief in love, religious freedom, and mutual respect among people of different faiths.

Speaking on Saturday at the funeral service of Nana Lydia Yilwatda, mother of the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Prof. Nentawe Yilwada, Tinubu said his marriage to a Christian pastor has never created any conflict in their home.

The president, who arrived in Jos, Plateau State around 2 p.m. for the ceremony at the COCIN headquarters church, said he inherited Islam from his family and has always upheld the principle of freedom of religion.

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READ ALSO:Benin Monarch To Tinubu’s Daughter: Do You Know Role Of Iyeki In Benin Culture?

He noted that both he and the First Lady serve the same God and would ultimately be answerable to Him, adding that what matters most are people’s deeds, character, and love for others.

Tinubu urged Nigerians to embrace tolerance and peaceful coexistence, emphasising that hate should never have a place in the country.

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He also prayed for the repose of the soul of the late Lydia Yilwada and asked God to grant comfort and blessings to those she left behind.

READ ALSO:Tinubu Appoints New Heads For Key Agencies

He said, “Hate is not an option for us. Love is what you preach, that we should love one another.

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“Nobody, nobody determines what God has ordained. God’s ordained action and his promises are what matter. I inherited Islam from my family. I didn’t change. But my wife is a pastor. She prays for me.

“No conflict. And I never did at any single time try to convince her or convert her. I believe in the freedom of religion.

“We are praying to the same God. We are answerable to the same almighty God. We will answer to him. We will account to him. Our deeds, our character, our love for our fellow beings are what are important.

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“May the almighty accept the soul of Lydia and give all that she left behind blessings and glory, so we say, may her soul rest in peace.”

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UK Police Quiz Six After Fatal Synagogue Attack

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Six people arrested on suspicion of “terrorism”-linked offences after a fatal car-ramming and knife attack on a UK synagogue remained in police custody on Saturday, as Prime Minister Keir Starmer urged people not to take part in pro-Palestinian protests.

Two people were killed and three others seriously wounded in Thursday’s attack in northwestern Manchester on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar.

Police shot dead the assailant, Jihad Al-Shamie, a 35-year-old UK citizen of Syrian descent, within minutes of the alarm being raised.

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Three men and three women are in custody.

The attack has heightened fear among Britain’s Jewish community.

Police said they were patrolling places of worship across the city “with a particular focus on providing a high-visibility presence within our Jewish communities”.

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READ ALSO:US On Brink Of Govt Shutdown With Funding Talks Stalled

The attack on Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in north Manchester was one of the worst antisemitic incidents in Europe since the October 7, 2023, attack in Israel led by Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.

The Hamas attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

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Israel’s retaliatory offensive on the Gaza Strip has killed at least 66,288 Palestinians, also mostly civilians, according to health ministry figures in the occupied territory that the United Nations considers reliable.

The Gaza conflict has inflamed passions in Britain, with frequent pro-Palestinian rallies in cities that some critics allege have stoked antisemitism.

A “global movement for Gaza UK” protest went ahead in London late on Thursday, with police making 40 arrests.

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London’s Metropolitan Police asked organisers delay another planned demonstration backing the banned Palestine Action group later on Saturday.

However, organisers Defend Our Juries rejected the calls.

READ ALSO:US Faces ‘War From Within’, Trump Tells Generals

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A spokesman said the group “stood in solidarity” with the Jewish community over the attack.

– Accidental shooting –

Starmer urged protesters not to join the pro-Palestinian rally.

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“I urge anyone thinking about protesting this weekend to recognise and respect the grief of British Jews. This is a moment of mourning. It is not a time to stoke tension and cause further pain,” he said on X.

During the attack, Shamie was seen “with a big knife, banging his knife into the glass, trying to get through”, synagogue chairman of trustees Alan Levy, who helped barricade the doors, told ITV News.

“The heroes of the congregation who saw what was happening then came to the doors because he was trying to break the doors down to get in,” he added.

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READ ALSO:JUST IN: Court Bars Police From Enforcing Tinted Glass Regulation

A UK police watchdog, meanwhile, said it would look at the police shooting of Shamie.

The probe would also look at the shooting of a second victim who suffered a fatal gunshot and a third person who was shot but survived.

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The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said there was no evidence anyone other than police used firearms at the scene.

“Our independent investigation will look at the circumstances surrounding the fatal police shooting of Jihad Al-Shamie,” it said in a statement.

“A post mortem has today (Friday) concluded another man who died at the scene suffered a fatal gunshot wound.”

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IOPC investigations are standard practice in situations where the use of force by police may have resulted in the death of a member of the public.

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Edo Inaugurates Committee On Drug Abuse, Healthy Living

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L-R: ACGN, NDLEA, Fidelis Cocodia, Deputy Governor of Edo State, Hon. Dennis Idahosa and Coordinator, Office of the First Lady, Edo State, Mrs. Edesili Okpebholo Anani during the Inauguration

Edo State Government has inaugurated Drug Control Committee for the state and local governments, aimed at curbing the menace of drug abuse in the state.

Inaugurating the committee, Governor Monday Okpehbolo said the committee was not only saddled with the responsibility of curbing the menace of illicit substances, but to promote healthier living across communities in the state.

Represented by his deputy, Hon. Dennis Idahosa, Okpebholo described the initiative as “a vital step in our unwavering commitment to stopping the menace of drug trafficking and substance use among youths.”

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The governor, who bemoaned the rising tide of drug dependency and its impact on society, pointed out that the committee’s creation aligns with the national drug master plan and represents a bold stride toward protecting Edo future generations.

READ ALSO:Idahosa Hails Insurance 1-0 Thrashing Of Niger Tornadoes

On his part, Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa, represented by ACGN, Fidelis Cocodia, Zonal Commander, Zone 13, emphasised grassroots interventions, awareness campaigns, and support systems as the backbone of the fight against drug abuse.

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Edo State commander of the NDLEA, Mitchell Ofoyeju disclosed that while national drug use prevalence stands at 14.4 percent, Edo state surpasses the average at 15 percent.

He noted that the state is one of the hardest-hit states in the country, warning that the trend has fueled crime and heightened youth vulnerability.

READ ALSO:Idahosa Lauds Edo Specialist Hospital Facilities

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The state’s Commissioner for Health, Dr. Cyril Oshiomhole pledged to make Edo a model in drug control through rehabilitation, youth enlightenment, and second-chance opportunities for recovering addicts.

Coordinator, Office of the First Lady, Edo State, Mrs. Edesili Okpebholo Anani, described drug abuse as a pandemic, noting that “you hardly see a crime without drugs being involved.”

She added that women’s empathy and influence must be harnessed in the campaign against drug abuse.

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