POLITICS
2023: Hope 23 Women Wing to Embark on Door to Door Campaign
By Jude Opara, Abuja
In a move to ensure the emergence of their candidate as the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the Hope 23 Women wing has said it would embark on a day to day campaign to make the aspiration of Governor Yahaya Bello.
Bello who is the governor of Kogi state is among the presidential aspirants struggling to take over from President Muhammmadu Buhari next year.
Director, Women Mobilization of the Hope 23, Yahaya Bello Campaign Organization, Zara Gift Onyinye who spoke after a courtesy call on the National Women Leader, Dr.
Betta Edu said they were at the National Secretariat of the party to congratulate the chairman and the National Women Leader on their election at the national convention of the party last month.They also said they had come to solicit for support for their aspirant in the coming presidential race.
Onyinye said they group decided to throw its weight behind Gov. Bello because of his support for women. She added that his chances are very bright because women form a huge part of the delegates that would vote at the primary election.
“They’re just like we’ve been saying and we’ve numerated earlier on, a candidate who supports a woman will definitely stand the chance of winning this election because women form the highest number of voters and across Nigeria and they also know that if they support that person, that person who has shown that he has the women in his heart, he has love for women, he creates enabling environment for women, he gave them that opportunity to sell and that person is Yahaya Bello and all the women have shown that he have indicated interest as the person who supported them, that same person they’re going to support and so that stands him out of all the aspirants going for this election.
“The other one is for the youth. Yahaya Bello is a youth, as we all know, and if you check all his appointees in Kogi state, I can say that 95% of them are all youth of Nigeria, and I know they will support him.
“You can hear the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), working with her governor; she was able to ensure that women were made Directors-General, heads of parastatals and they made a difference. We want to thank you all for your support to the governor. He is a great man.
In her remarks, the National Women Leader of the APC, Dr. Betta Edu said the party would be ready to support any aspirant that emerges as the candidate of the party.
Dr. Edu also expressed confidence that the calibre of aspirants coming from the party all have what it takes to govern the country.
“There is one very beautiful thing I love about APC. The aspirants that are coming out for the presidential ticket in APC are well qualified. They are high above and are far above board. I have not seen one that is not good.
“Now as a party, our party will come together under the leadership of the President, Muhamadu Buhari and of course the national chairman and other leadership structures of our party to decide on whom will be the candidates of our dear party.
“Before that decision is made, something requires time that we must do immediately. If indeed you are supporting a candidate in APC, you are supporting Governor Yahaya Bello, you must go out now and begin the door to door mobilization for registration. Go door to door and begin the campaign for voter registration.
“The APC women’s wing will be coming on out, will be going to states to mobilize women to go and register remember. If they don’t have their voters card our work is useless even if they give any of our aspirants the tickets it will not amount to (victory). So we must take our time now door to door.
“But one thing is certain APC will not give its ticket to a presidential candidate who will not favour women. We know our President and all the glass ceilings he has broken. You know our party chairman and all the glass ceilings he has broken for women by giving us free forms”.
The National Women Leader also promised to continue to engage all the state governors to appeal to them to encourage more female representatives at the National Assembly.
In her contribution, the SSG, Folashade Arike said they were at the party secretariat to congratulate the National Women Leader and to also assure her of the support of all the women in the Yahaya Bello support group.
“I need to just let you know of the fact that Yahaya Bello loves women, he gives us a place of honour. In Kogi state as we stand from 2016 to date, I have been the SSG a woman. Not just that, the Head of Service has been a woman. We have a pioneer pension commission, His Excellency say let me put a woman, DG.
“All the 21 local government areas all the vice chairman are women. We have six institutions, three of them (leaders) are women.
“I need to let you know that His Excellency loves to put women in places of honour. He likes to give us relevance”.
The APC is expected to begin the sale of nomination forms after the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting which holds today in Abuja.
The Abia Chapter of the INEC Staff Welfare Association (ISWA) has warned its members to uphold the integrity of the commission and guard against the culture of manipulating election results.
The Abia Chairman of the association, Mr Collins Eze, gave the advice at the group’s general meeting and end-of-year party in Umuahia.
Speaking in an interview with newsmen on the sideline of the ceremony, Eze said that the staff members were adequately aware of their enormous responsibility and should ensure free, fair and credible elections.
He said: “We have also told our colleagues that anywhere they find themselves they should make sure that they do the needful by ensuring transparency in the conduct of elections.
“We have always told them not to allow anybody to induce them with money to manipulate election results.
“I’m happy that they have been building the capacity of our colleagues on election processes.
“So, in the coming years, we won’t have any problem in ensuring free, fair and peaceful elections.”
He said that the end-of-year party was special as it afforded them the opportunity “to wine and dine together as well as thank God for sustaining them in 2024”.
Eze said that his leadership had introduced various means of assisting members in dire financial needs by providing platforms to solicit suppory for them.
He expressed gratitude to members for their support and cooperation, describing them as the “secret behind the success of this administration”.
He said that 34 of at least 350 staff members of the commission in the state retired from service in 2024.
According to him, the development has placed a huge financial burden on the association, in terms of their welfare and entitlement as members.
Report says that each member received a carton of tomato paste as Christmas gift from the association. (NAN)
A chieftain of All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr Osita Okechukwu, has told the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to be thankful to God that its 16-year administration was not probed by the successive APC-led governments.Okechukwu stated this on Tuesday in Abuja, while reacting to a statement by PDP congratulating Ghanaians for the conduct of free, fair and transparent general elections.
Report says that PDP had, in a statement, said that the verdict of the people of Ghana in the presidential election was a signal to the APC that its days were numbered. The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, had said in the statement that the power of the people in Nigeria, just like in Ghana, would ‘surely prevail and end the APC’s oppressive rule’.This, he said, would “return Nigeria to the path of good governance, security, political stability and economic prosperity on the platform of the PDP in 2027.”However, in his reactions to Ologunagba’s statement, Okechukwu said that the PDP clan should thank God that former President Muhammadu Buhari and President Bola Tinubu, out of sheer statesmanship, had refused to probe ‘the 16 locus years of PDP administrations’.Okechukwu, a former Director-General of Voice of Nigeria (VON), described the 16 years of PDP administrations as ones full of squandering and lack of plan.He said that Nigeria had yet to recover from the humongous culture of impunity and trust deficit planted by PDP on the Nigerian soil.Okechukwu said corruption was among the culture of impunity, saying it governed the privatisation of Nigeria’s electricity value chain, a key element in the country’s industrialisation drive.“Another is the blatant rigging of the 2007 general elections which the foremost beneficiary, President Umaru Yar’Adua, out of good conscience and noble magnanimity, publicly acknowledged the malfeasance which characterised his victory,” he said.Okechukwu also mentioned what he called conscienceless sale of the legislative and ministerial quarters, the annual rentage of which, he said, was bleeding the country’s treasury.“Another one is the neglect of $23 billion Greenfield Refinery, which could have saved over $70 billion expended on importation of refined petroleum products and which simulated the economic hardship of today,” he said.On why, for nine years, the APC administration could not fix those challenges, he recalled the efforts made by the Buhari administration to reopen talks on the Greenfield Refinery which, according to him, the Chinese regrettably rebuffed.The former VON director-general said that Nigerians were not in a hurry to forget the deliberate breach of the rotational convention of president from the north to the south.He said that the country could not also forget the utter disregard for Section 7 of the PDP’s constitution which expressly mandated zoning.Okechukwu advised the PDP not to insult the sensibilities of Nigerians by assuming that citizens would easily forget how they were put in the harms way.He said that PDP should thank God that Buhari and Tinubu did not want to probe them, adding “that’s why Nigerians cannot decipher the difference between the two political parties.” (NAN)
Sen. Ned Nwoko (PDP-Delta) says that Local Government Administration is central to democracy in Nigeria as it ensures grassroots governance and service delivery at the local level.This is contained in a statement signed by Dr Michael Nwoko, the Chief of Staff to the lawmaker in Abuja on Monday.Nwoko said this on the occasion of the presentation of an award “Icon of Hope” to him by the Association of Local Government Vice Chairmen of Nigeria (ALGOVC).
He was represented by his Chief of Staff. He said that the importance of local government administration in the country could not be overemphasised, as it was the bedrock of democracy.According to him, local governments in Nigeria play key roles in the country’s democracy by promoting participatory democracy, providing services, and representing citizens.“Local Governments help determine local needs and how to meet them. They also act as a link between the centre, state, and local people.“They are created to decentralise power and bring the government closer to the people. They perform both mandatory and concurrent functions.“It is in view of this that I took it upon myself to enhance the viability of local governments through the Paris and London club loan refunds,”he said.Dr Folashade Olabanji-Oba, ALGOVC National Chairman, while presenting the award at its 7th Annual National Conference, said the award was in recognition of the lawmaker’s significant contributions to strengthening local government administration.She highlighted Nwoko’s critical role in ensuring the Paris and London Club loan refunds, a financial breakthrough she said enhanced the capacity of local governments nationwide.(NAN)
NDA Commandant Decorates Ombugadu, Others as Fellows of Solar Energy Society of Nigeria
ShareFrom Abel Zwànke, Lafia The 2023 gubernatorial candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Nasarawa State, His Excellency Rt....
Yuletide: Bode George Urges Tinubu to Reduce Petrol Price
ShareChief Bode George, a former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has urged President Bola Tinubu to...
Tinubu Set for Groundbreaking of Renewed Hope City in Lagos
Share President Bola Tinubu, is set to perform the groundbreaking of 2,000 housing units of the Renewed Hope City in...
Gov. Alia Presents N550.1bn as 2025 Budget Estimate to Benue Assembly
ShareGov. Hyacinth Alia on Wednesday presented the sum of N550.1bn as the 2025 appropriation bill to the Benue State House...
Tax Bills: NASS will not Betray the Trust of Nigerians, says Akpabio
Share The President of the Senate, Sen. Godswill Akpabio, says the National Assembly will prioritise the interest of all Nigerians...
Alia Has Demonstrated Capacity, Courage to Entrench Good Governance—Speaker
Share The Speaker, Benue Assembly, Mr Hyacinth Dajo, has said that Gov. Hyacinth Alia has so far demonstrated capacity, courage,...
Investors Gain N183bn on NGX
Share The Nigerian Exchange Ltd. (NGX) continued its bullish trend on Wednesday, gaining N183 billion. Accordingly, the market capitalisation, which...
Energy, Solid Minerals Top Priority, Tinubu Tells German Businessmen
Share President Bola Tinubu, on Wednesday, assured the German government and businessmen of Nigeria’s preparedness to expand frontiers for investors...
Nigerian Who Wrote WASSCE 17 Times Bags Distinction from London School
Share Dr Emmanuel Ahmadu, a Nigerian who wrote the West Africa School Senior Certificate Education 17 times, has earned a...
INEC Staff Welfare Association Warns Members Against Manipulating Election Results
Share The Abia Chapter of the INEC Staff Welfare Association (ISWA) has warned its members to uphold the integrity of...