Ifako/Ijaiye residents resort to trekking over restrictions

Residents of Iju-Ishaga, Ogba, Agege and Ifako/Ijaiye areas on Saturday resorted to trekking due to partial road restrictions resulting into heavy traffic over the ongoing Ifako-Ijaiye Federal Constituency By-election in Lagos.

There was heavy traffic along Agege/Ogba and Fagba axes; shops were also closed and security men with patrol vans were seen in the areas.

Some of the residents who spoke to NAN lamented low publicity as they were not aware of the by-election.

Mr Seye Adeoti, a civil servant, said that due to heavy traffic he alighted from the bus and started trekking from Iyana-Orile in Agege to Ogba.

Mrs Biola Abdul-Lateef, a trader at Fagba, said she was not aware of the by-election that it was the heavy traffic and the mass trekking of people on the road that suggested something was happening in the area.

She said she was not allowed to open her shop because of the election as a polling unit was situated close to her shop.

Also, Mr Celestine Okhiro, an apprentice said the restriction had made him trekked from Pen Cinema in Agege to Iju-Ishaga.

The six political parties’ contesting in the poll are: Action Alliance (AA), Alliance for Democracy (AD), African Democratic Party (ADC), All Progressives Congress (APC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Social Democratic Party (SDP).

The by-election resulted from the death of Mr Elijah Adewale, who represented the constituency in the House of Representatives.

Adewale died in Abuja on July 20.

Man Begins Trekking from Lagos to Abuja To Support Sheriff’s PDP

A trekker, Muhammed Isa, 32, has once again embarked on a walk from Lagos to Abuja in solidarity with the Ali-Modu Sheriff’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) faction.

Isa, who started the walk from Berger footbridge along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, told newsmen before departing at about 9.12 a.m. that youths of the party support Sheriff as the Chairman.

“I am on solidarity trek from Lagos to Abuja to show my support and the support of youths to Sheriff as the authentic national Chairman of PDP,’’ he said.

The internal leadership squabbles had factionalised PDP with Alhaji Ahmed Markafi leading the other.

Isa, a graduate of Psychology, claimed that the youth felt that Sheriff was the best person to manage the affairs of the party.

“I want to make something clear, Ali-Modu Sheriff is someone who is honest and listens to grassroots politicians; he has been working tirelessly to ensure that PDP regains its lost glory.trekking “This is the type of person we need as a leader to move the party forward,’’ he said.

The indigene of Borno said he hoped to finish the trek within 23 days. “I have already planned my journey, I will be trekking from morning to evening, wherever dusk meets me, I look for an accommodation there. “After morning prayers, I will resume trekking,’’ he said.

Asked about the security measures he has in place, Isa said he had none but believed God was with him. “I believe with Allah on my side, no evil will befall me because I am not doing something that is bad or injurious to the country,’’ he said.

NAN reports that Isa also trekked when former President of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan, conceded defeat on March 28, 2015 President Muhammadu Buhari.

Then, he trekked from the same Berger area of Lagos to Abuja with the reason that Jonathan made a great sacrifice for the unity of the country. “The fact that I am a Muslim does not mean that I should not celebrate Jonathan for the sacrifice he made for this country by accepting defeat.’’

Isa, who expressed optimism that he would meet the President and present him an award then, however, said that “if I did not see him, I don’t care. “If I die on the road, I still believe that I die for what is right,’’ he said during the trek that began on May 6.

 

Man Begins Trekking From Lagos To Abuja To Support Sheriff

A trekker, Muhammed Isa, 32, has once again embarked on a walk from Lagos to Abuja in solidarity with the Ali-Modu Sheriff’s Peoples Democratic Party faction.

Isa, who started the walk from Berger footbridge along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, told newsmen before departing at about 9.12 a.m. that youths of the party support Sheriff as the Chairman.

“I am on solidarity trek from Lagos to Abuja to show my support and the support of youths to Sheriff as the authentic national Chairman of PDP,’’ he said.

The  internal leadership squabbles had factionalised PDP with Alhaji Ahmed Markafi leading the other.

Isa, a graduate of Psychology, claimed that the youth felt that Sheriff was the best person to manage the affairs of the party.

“I want to make something clear, Ali-Modu Sheriff is someone who is honest and listens to grassroots politicians; he has been working tirelessly to ensure that PDP regains its lost glory.

“This is the type of person we need as a leader to move the party forward,’’ he said.

The indigene of Borno said he hoped to finish the trek within 23 days.

“I have already planned my journey, I will be trekking from morning to evening, wherever dusk meets me, I look for an accommodation there.

“After morning prayers, I will resume trekking,’’ he said.

Asked about the security measures he has in place, Isa said he had none but believed God was with him.

“I believe with Allah on my side, no evil will befall me because I am not doing something that is bad or injurious to the country,’’ he said.

Isa also trekked when former President of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan, conceded defeat on March 28, 2015 President Muhammadu Buhari.

Then, he trekked from the same Berger area of Lagos to Abuja with the reason that Jonathan made a great sacrifice for the unity of the country.

“The fact that I am a Muslim does not mean that I should not celebrate Jonathan for the sacrifice he made for this country by accepting defeat.’’

Isa, who expressed optimism that he would meet the President and present him an award then, however, said that “if I did not see him, I don’t care.

“If I die on the road, I still believe that I die for what is right,’’ he said during the trek that began on May 6.

Credit: NAN

El-Rufai’s Wife Receives Man Walking From Kano To Abuja

Wife of Kaduna state governor-elect, Aisha Nasir El-Rufai, on Saturday received another solidarity trekker, Haruna Muhammed Salisu, in Kaduna as he journeys from Kano to Abuja in protest against what he termed, “injustice against gubernatorial candidate of All Progressives Congress, APC, in Taraba state, Hajiya Aisha Al-Hassan, during the just concluded Taraba state governorship election.

According to Salisu, he is walking from Kano to Abuja with documented facts on the massive rigging against Taraba APC female gubernatorial candidate, Aisha Jummai-Alhassan to hand over to the party leaders for action.

Speaking to journalists along Ahmadu Bello Way, where she received Salisu, Aisha El-Rufai said she was amazed, seeing a man doing what ordinarily should have been the responsibility of a woman.

“I expected our women to be protesting injustice against a woman in the just concluded governorship election in Taraba state, but Salisu is doing it for us,” she said.

According to her, Salisu is fighting for justice for a woman because he understands the role that women play in the overall development of the society.

While pointing out that what has been done to Madam Aisha is not only injustice but travesty of democracy, she also stressed the need to support Salisu’s protest trek to fight the APC candidate’s cause.

She however promised to support Salisu to ensure that justice is achieved in the end.

The Man Who Trekked From Lagos To Abuja Meets Buhari

The man whose dare has brought to limelight, Suleiman Hashimu, the Lagos to Abuja trekker finally met with the president-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday.

Hashimu had made a personal promise in 2013 that should Buhari contest and win the 2015 presidential elections, he would trek from Lagos to Abuja.

Following Buhari’s victory in the March 28 elections, Hashimu had to fulfill his promise and on Monday, April 20, 2015, he arrived Abuja from Lagos and got a hero’s welcome at the capital city.

Giving details of his journey to the President-elect, Hashimu said he passed through Kwara to Niger and then to Abuja.

“I made a promise because of the love I have for Mr. President that if Buhari should win the 2015 elections, I will trek from Lagos to Abuja which I have done. I thank God that I made a promise and I fulfilled the promise.

“I passed through Kwara and Niger states to Abuja. I was trekking from 6.00am to 6.00pm and anywhere I find myself when it is 6.00pm, I pass the night there.I spent 18 days from Lagos to Abuja.

“Once I found myself inside the bush by 6.00pm and I managed to continue the trek till 9.00pm to a nearby village.

“I made this promise two years ago. I am based in Ibadan and I started my journey from Lagos because Lagos is the most popular city in Nigeria and I started from Berger junction in Lagos.

“I am not bothered about what people think. It is a promise between me and my God. I don’t want anybody to believe me. I left Lagos because I made a promise. Right from Kwara state, I never walked alone for five kilometres. People always walk with me to the next village. I work with a construction company based in Ibadan.”

Speaking at the event where he received Hashimu, Buhari congratulated him and thanked God that his health did not fail him.

“I want to congratulate you for making it. He is a young man and he was lucky that his health did not fail him. I also heard so many stories that you wore almost half a dozen pair of shoes. I also understand that there are people who have been quite generous to help you to pay for pair of shoes,” Buhari said.