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Seven PDP National Officers Resign

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Seven deputy national officers of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Tuesday resigned their positions as members of the National Executive Council.

The seven national officers are Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Diran Odeyemi; Deputy National Legal Adviser, Ahmed Bello; Deputy National Women Leader, Umoru Hadizat; Deputy National Auditor Divine Amina Arong; Deputy National Organizing Secretary, Hassan Yakubu; and Deputy National Financial Secretary, Irona Alphonsus.

The officers attributed their resignation to incompetence of the PDP National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus.

One of the officers, who spoke on anonymity, cited bad treatment exhibited by the Secondus led National Working Committee (NWC) leadership on the deputies since they were elected in 2017.

“Since our election in 2017, we (deputy national officers) have only met with Secondus thrice. It is not as if he called us; on those three occasions, we sought audience with him.

“To him, we are just a necessary evil to be tolerated but never to be catered for. We all have our constituencies and our followers.

“It appears they see us as nothing but appendages forced on them by the party’s constitution,” he said.

Odeyemi, who was in London, United Kingdom, while declining comment on the development, aligned himself with the decision of his colleagues to resign.

The PDP National Publicity Secretary, Mr Kola Ologbondiyan, confirming the development, said that the NWC had received the resignation letters.

Ologbondiyan said that the party leadership would look into the matter and adopt the internal mechanism to resolve it.

“The NWC of our great party at its meeting today received the notice of the resignation from deputies who are elected members of the National Executive Committee.

“The meeting of the NWC and the deputies immediately took place to dialogue on the issues that were raised.

“The party will look into the grievances raised by members of NEC as well as members of the National Working Committee.

“The internal conflict resolution mechanism of our party has also been immediately activated to put these issues behind us.

“We call on all the leaders, stakeholders and members of our great party to remain calm as we collectively resolve these issues,” Ologbondiyan said.

The National Youth leader, SKE Ude-Okoye, also briefing newsmen in his office at Wadata House, the party National Secretariat, Abuja, alleged that Secondus was incompetent of managing the affairs of the party, saying he lacked managerial capacity to manage PDP.

He said that Secondus had made sure that many departments of the party did not function as effectively as it ought to function.

“The Chairman has nothing to offer to the party only to come here and deceive us.

“There is a sharp division in our NWC right now, not only me, many more NWC members are more aggrieved than myself.

“Today I have asked him in our NWC meeting to resign his position as the chairman of this party because he cannot lead this party to victory,” Ude-Okoye said.

He called on PDP leaders, the governors, the founding fathers, youths and women to rise up to rescue the party from Secondus incompetent leadership.

“Secondus is not willing to take us to anywhere. He is just there to make sure that he enriches himself.

“I am here to make it very clear to all Nigerians that if Secondus does not resign from the party, I am going to leave the party for him to eat the party and own the party.

“The governors, if they don’t wade into this matter right now, I assure Nigerians that within the next three, four days, my letter will be public,” Ude-Okoye said.

He added that more officers of the NWC would still resign because of Secondus.

“Right now I can tell you that not less than eight to ten persons within the NWC members are very aggrieved with Secondus,” Ude-Okoye said.

Asked if they have explored the impeachment clause in the constitution of the party instead of resigning his position, Ude-Okoye said they were in the process.

Also reacting to the development, Mr Ike Abonyi, the Media Adviser to Secondus, described the allegation of incompetence and self enrichment against Secondus by Udo-Okoye as unfortunate.

Abonyi expressed concern that it took Ude-Okoye three and half years to know that Secondus was incompetent, and enriching himself.

“It took him three and a half years and four, five months to the convention, it is very unfortunate because he has operated as the youth leader of this party since December 2017 with Secondus as National Chairman.

“He has worked with him but suddenly, few months to the convention, after the game of this morning, in some part of Abuja, he suddenly discovered that Secondus is incompetent. He suddenly discovered that Secondus is enriching himself?

“I want to assure members of the party that the structure of the party is intact and Prince Secondus is the National Chairman.

“Anybody who resigns will be filled the next day and this party will work to victory in 2023. There is no going back about it.

“All those who are looking for interim government few months to general election are taking us back to Egypt and no body is ready to go back to Egypt.

“We have passed through this road before and we don’t want to go back there,” Abonyi said.

The resignation and the internal crisis is coming at the heel of the party membership e-registration that commenced  on Monday.

This was also as the party was preparing for its national convention expected to hold in December.

POLITICS

Poverty, Behind Deadly Stampedes Across Nigeria, says Falana

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Missing N500bn: Probe CBN, Falana, Others Tell PMB
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By Mike Odiakose, Abuja

Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, on Sunday attributed the deadly stampede that claimedmore than 105 lives in stampedes during food and cash distribution events to “poverty-induced neoliberal economic policies” and “criminal negligence.

In a statement released on Sunday, Falana, who chairs the Alliance on Surviving COVID-19 and Beyond ASCAB, demanded justice for victims of the tragic events, saying, “These tragic events are a national shame, the victims were not just statistics but human beings driven to desperation by systemic poverty and the gross incompetence of those entrusted with their safety.

On December 21, 12 people died and 32 others were injured in Okija, Anambra State, during a scramble for rice distributed by a philanthropist.

On the same day, a stampede at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Maitama, Abuja, resulted in the deaths of 10 individuals, including children, as over 3,000 people jostled for palliatives.

Just two days prior, on December 19, 35 children lost their lives in a stampede at a Christmas funfair at an Islamic High School, Basorun. in Ibadan, Oyo State.

“The loss of these innocent lives is heart-wrenching,” Falana lamented.

“It underscores the indignity that poverty imposes on our people.”

Falana also criticized the elite for their treatment of the poor during such events, stating, “No member of the elite invites others to lunch by throwing the food,” and condemned what he termed “class prejudice” in the distribution of humanitarian aid.

He also announced plans to mobilize lawyers to pursue civil suits against the organizers of these events.

“We will ensure survivors and families of the deceased are adequately compensated,” Falana affirmed. “Those responsible for these avoidable tragedies must be held accountable.”

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POLITICS

2025 budget: LP Chieftain Lauds Tinubu for Diving Priority to Security, Others

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Dr Ayo Olorunfemi, National Deputy Chairman of the Labour Party (LP) ,has commended  President Bola Tinubu for giving  priority to security and other key sectors in the 2025 Appropriation Bill .

Olorunfemi gave the commendation while speaking with newsmeon Thursday in Lagos.

NAN reports that the President had on Wednesday  presented  the N47.

9 trillion 2025 Appropriation Bill , christened “Budget of Restoration, Securing Peace and Rebuilding Prosperity” , to a joint session of the National Assembly .

The President listed highlights of the 2025 budget allocations to include: defense and security: N4.91 trillion; infrastructure: N4.06 trillion; Health: N2.

48 trillion and Education: N3.52 trillion.

Reacting , Olorunfemi  described security as an enabler of development.

He called on the President to ensure proper implementation ,saying budgets had always been well-crafted but usually lacked monitoring and implementation.

“There is nothing that can happen if there is no security. This is good if the budget is properly utilised for the purpose.

“Our problem is not about policies and budgets, it is about monitoring and implementation.

“There is nothing wrong in bringing a budget proposal forward in terms of expectation, what we want to do, how we want to do it, and how much we want to spend.

“Now, the most important thing is the implementation,, budgets in Nigeria have always been properly crafted,” the LP boss said.

Olorunfemi called on the President to build strong institutions to prevent sabotaging of his policies.

“If this government wants to do anything, it must wake up to the responsibility of monitoring policies and ensure  severe penalty for anyone who attempts to sabotage such policies.

“We need institutions that no one will be able to interfere with. We must allow these institutions to work, that is what we expect.

“Once we have strong institutions, most of our problems are solved,” he said.

He  also called on the President to take steps to address  the problems experienced by Nigerians in the banking sector.

Olorunfemi  decried the inability of many Nigerians to get cash at  bank’s Automated Teller Machines and the high charges paid  to get cash from Point of Sales (POS) operators.

The LP boss also urged the President to devise ways of  ending multiple taxations and high fuel price, describing them as major causes  of  hardship .

Recalled that the President said that the budget was a demonstration of government’s commitment to stabilising the economy, improving lives and repositioning the country for greater performance.

He also said the budget sought to consolidate the key policies instituted to restructure the economy, boost human capital development, increase the volume of trade and investments and bolster oil and gas production. (NAN)

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POLITICS

Atiku hails Ndimi’s Oriental Energy on commissioning of first FPSO 

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By Mike Odiakose, Abuja

The former Vice President of Nigeria and PDP Presidential flag bearer in the 2023 general elections, Atiku Abubakar has congratulated the Chairman of the Nigerian Independent producer, Oriental Energy Resources (OER), Muhammadu Indimi, on the successful completion and commissioning of the Okwok Field’s Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel/platform in Dubai.

In a statement in Abuja by his Media Office in Abuja on Wednesday, the Former Vice President described the commissioning of the FPSO as one of the most gladdening news coming out from the upstream subsector of Nigeria’s oil industry in recent times.

“The vessel’s deployment at the Okwok field is expected to significantly increase Nigeria’s crude oil output, contributing to the government’s revenue growth and economic development objectives,” he said.

According to Atiku, “This is the first FPSO entirely funded by an indigenous Nigerian company and this landmark achievement being championed by OER showcases the rising capability of Nigerian firms in conceptualising and successfully executing complex projects in the nation’s upstream oil industry.

The successful building and commissioning of the FPSO marks a significant step toward enabling an indigenous oil and gas company to independently develop a marginal oil field. 

This development marks an important milestone for Nigeria and its indigenous energy sector, he said.

“No doubt, this latest investment would boost economic growth, generate job opportunities for Nigerians, and ensure steady growth and development of not only the oil sector but the nation’s economy in general.”

He described Indimi as a man who so much believes in the capabilities that exist in the Nigerian oil and gas industry.

“From onset of his foray into the nation’s oil sector, his vision of standing out as a player of reckon in the nation’s upstream oil business has been top-notch,” he said.

As he said, Oriental Energy’s significant investment in the oil sector has set a new standard in local investment and operational excellence in the nation’s oil business, benefiting both the company and its partners.

The 40,000 barrels per day capacity facility constructed by the Singaporean firm HBA Future Energy will commence sailing to Nigerian waters beginning February 2025 for hook-up on the Okwok Oil Field. Production is expected to commence on the oil field in the first half of next year.

Okwok Oil Field, discovered by ExxonMobil in 1967, is located in Oil Mining Lease(OML) 67, in 31 metres water depth in shallow marine, southeast offshore Nigeria with estimated recoverable reserves of 45 million barrels. OER has an ongoing multi-well drilling campaign on the field that commenced in October 2023.

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