Plans for the formation of a mega party are creating increasing dissonance within the two major political parties in the country with eyes turning on Senate President, Bukola Saraki, as the beautiful bride of the major agitators.

Plans for the formation of a mega party are creating increasing dissonance within the two major political parties in the country with eyes turning on Senate President, Bukola Saraki, as the beautiful bride of the major agitators. Meanwhile, promoters of the mega party, Vanguard learned, are moving to ensure that the party has a complete national outlook with faces from all geopolitical zones on board. Crucial to the move, it was learned, is the enrolment of some former governors mostly of the former ruling party, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, into the mega party. Retired generals with political bent are also being recruited into the movement, Vanguard gathered. Meanwhile, against earlier projections of the Senate President being hounded out of office, Senator Saraki, it was learned, has become a beautiful bride to those in the APC who want to remain and those who want to opt out. Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, had repeatedly been mentioned as among those to leave for the mega party. Tinubu, however, issued a rebuttal on Monday as he insisted he would remain in the party he helped to build. Repeated efforts to get a confirmation or otherwise on Atiku’s stance, as at press time, yesterday were not successful. Atiku and Saraki had forged a sort of collaboration just before the National Assembly leadership election in 2015 as supporters of both men within the APC and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, closed ranks to throw up Saraki as Senate President as against the inclination of the Tinubu/Muhammadu Buhari tendency in the ruling APC. That collaboration was underpinned by the stoicism with which Atiku’s Man Friday, Timi Frank, the Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the APC, flayed the attacks against Saraki. However, multiple sources confirmed to Vanguard that Buhari’s associates, following the fallout with Tinubu in Kogi and Ondo States, have opted to collaborate with Saraki towards ensuring the realisation of the President’s second term ambition in 2019. Towards that end, Saraki, it was learned, has become a key political strategist within the Buhari political tendency and was instrumental to the strategic political moves that helped win the Ondo State governorship election for the APC. The position of Saraki in the APC was accentuated last week after his political godson, Bolaji Abdullahi, was named to take up the position of National Publicity Secretary, a position vacated by Alhaji Lai Mohammed. “True, Lai Muhammed was originally from Kwara, but he was Asiwaju’s own Kwaran, who is more or less a Lagosian. When Muhammed went on to become Minister of Information, the implication was that Asiwaju and the ACN block had nobody left in the party’s executive hierarchy. Instead, it is Saraki that now has his man as the voice and face of the party,” Mr. Tope Ajayi, a source privy to the developments, told Vanguard. The Tinubu camp, it was learned, has, however, not given up on Saraki as associates are said to be making regular contacts with the Saraki camp towards projecting a common front towards the 2019 contests. Political commentators have also noted how the Presidency has recently been falling back to please the Senate President and sometimes making sacrifices to please him. In one of the latest gestures to the Senate President, Pastor Yissa Benjamin, a former Speaker of Kwara State House of Assembly who was nominated to the board of the National Communications Commission, NCC, from Kwara State in the days of the acrimony between the Presidency and Saraki was dropped by the Senate without much of a complaint by the Presidency.

Youths under the aegis of the Peoples Democratic Party National Youth Frontier, PDPNYF, has berated the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC over what they described as the dwindling fortunes of Nigerians under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari.

Youths under the aegis of the Peoples Democratic Party National Youth Frontier, PDPNYF, has berated the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC over what they described as the dwindling fortunes of Nigerians under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari.

The PDPNYF which took to its Twitter handle @PDPNYF, on Tuesday, gave a clear analysis of the differences in the prices of essential commodities under the immediate-past PDP administration and the current APC administration.

PDPNYF decried that the prices of goods and services have increased steeply under the APC government as compared to the immediate past administration of the PDP

According to PDPNYF, “a bag of rice which sold for N8,500 in the PDP administration now sells for N22,000; Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) also known as petrol which sold for N97per litre has now been hiked to N145 per litre.

“A bag of cement which used to cost N1,400 is now N2,300.

“The Pounds and Dollar rates have increased steeply, leaving the Dollar to N420 from N187 and the Pounds from N280 to N560.”

10 year old boy & two others defile seven-year-old girl in Lagos

10 year old boy & two others defile seven-year-old girl in Lagos

Two minors, identified simply as Segun and Kalesanmi, and a 22-year-old tiler, Samuel Osholo, have been arrested for allegedly defiling a seven-year-old girl.

The suspects reportedly covered the girl’s mouth and took turns to defile the primary one pupil inside a building under renovation on Adaraloye Street, Ikorodu, Lagos State. They were however caught in the act by the victim’s peers, who had gone into the building to play.

PUNCH Metro reports that Osholo and 17 year old Kalesanmi had gone to work in the building, 

which is a stone’s throw from the victim’s residence. The duo also lived in the neighbourhood.

They were said to have persuaded 10-year-old Segun, the girl’s neighbour, to lure her into the building around 6pm on Friday.

The victim’s father, a trader, said one of the children, who caught the suspects in the act, confided in his wife, adding that he was informed about the incident on the telephone.

“My wife and I work in Oyingbo and we usually return home late. But that day, my wife returned home before me. She explained to me that a girl told her that our daughter had been defiled. I rushed home immediately. The girl mentioned Segun and I went to meet him. He confessed and mentioned the two other suspects.

“I reported the case at the Igbogbo Police Division and they were arrested. There was sperm in her pants and the police confirmed it too. We took her for treatment at the Ikorodu General Hospital.

“Since yesterday (Tuesday), my neighbours have been threatening me for taking the matter to the police. If anything happens to me or any of my family members, I will hold them responsible.”

Segun confessed to the crime at the station, saying that he persuaded the girl to follow him to the building after the other two suspects promised him some money.

He said,

“The girl and I live in the same house. They told me to invite her to meet them in the house where they were working and I did. They asked me to get a piece of cloth and paper. They put the paper on the floor and laid the cloth on it. They instructed me to take off her pants and sleep with her.

“I removed her pants and slept with her. They also slept with her. The girl began to cry and they covered her mouth. I felt sorry for her. I told them to stop, but they refused. They said she would not die and that nobody would know. They also promised to give her money.”

However, Osholo and Kalesanmi, who spoke in Yoruba, denied raping the girl, adding that they had finished work and left the area before the incident occurred.

“I don’t know anything about this case. A building is being renovated on Adaraloye Street and we were asked to fix the tiles. I don’t know where the incident happened. The girl is lying against us,” Osholo said.

Kalesanmi said,

“There was a misunderstanding between the girl’s father and my elder brother. They fought recently and the girl’s father broke a bottle and threatened to stab us.

“While people tried to settle the matter, he called his daughter to a corner and spoke with her secretly. I don’t know what they planned. This allegation was made out of annoyance.”

The suspects were brought before an Ikorodu Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday on seven counts bordering on unlawful sexual intercourse. While Segun pleaded guilty to the charges, the two other defendants pleaded not guilty.

The presiding Chief Magistrate, Mrs. A.A. Oshoniyi, granted Osholo bail in the sum of N200,000 with two sureties in like sum and ordered that he should be remanded in prison pending when his bail conditions would be perfected.

Adjourning the case till January 26, 2017, Oshoniyi held that Segun should be kept in Boys Remand Home in Oregun, Lagos, while Kalesanmi should be remanded at Borstal Home, Abeokuta, Ogun State.