POLITICS
Don’t Zone Presidential Ticket Outside South-East, Ohanaeze Youths Advise APC, PDP, Others
By Orkula Shaagee, Abuja
The Ohanaeze Youth Council (OYC), has advised the ruling of All Progressives Congress (APC) and the main opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to jettison any idea of zoning their presidential ticket outside the South-East geo-political zone of the country.
Chairman of the group, Comrade Igboayaka O. Igboayaka, who gave the advise at a world press conference in Owerri, Imo State, noted that a president of South-East extraction was the only thing that would unite the country.
Igboayaka, disclosed that OYC was ready to stage a mass resistance against any politician or political party that will make a move to deny South-East zone a presidential ticket in the 2023 general election.
“We call on the ruling party, APC and the main opposition party, PDP and other frontline political parties, who are lovers of equity, fairness and justice to cede their presidential tickets to Southeast.
“In the history of Nigeria, Gen. Gowon remains a symbol of unity, apart from Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, who laid the foundation of Nigeria unity. Therefore, in the same spirit, Igbo youths worldwide would not hesitate to fight to a finish in their quest to maintain the legacy of the former Governor, General Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe and former Head of State Gen. Gowon, hence sustenance of the Nigeria unity is concern.
“Undoubtedly, Gen. Gowon fought with everything within his disposal in 1967/70 to keep Nigeria one. To this effect, every necessary arrangement has been made both in South-East, South-South and the 25 states in Nigeria were Igbos are second largest populated tribe, to stage a mass-base resistance against any politician or political party that will make a move to deny South-East presidential ticket.
“We will massively shake Nigeria for the sake of Nigeria’s unity.
“Just like Gowon dealt ruthlessly to those who stood against Nigeria unity, hence Nigeria President of Southeast extraction remains the only surest means to keep Nigeria one, Igbo youths shall stage a democratic fight and civil disobedience to achieve this goal by every means necessary.
“Therefore, Ohanaeze Youth Council (OYC) urges political parties to refrain from the protracted injustice and marginalisation of the Southeast region, we call for every action and emphasize on the indispensable need for a sustainable united Nigerian nation.
”At this juncture, we believe that the delay in APC national convention is to have proper arrangements to consider yielding her presidential slot to Southeast, but if the conspiracy in APC is to cede the National Chairman of the party to Southeast as a plan to deny Southeast Presidential tickets, they should hastily disengage from such injustice and marginalization, otherwise if they dare to subvert justice, Nigeria will be like a ship hit by Tornado before 2023,” Igboayaka stated.
He blamed the emergence of separatist groups in the region on the gross deprivation, marginalisation and victimisation suffered by the South-East region over the years.
“There has been gross deprivation, marginalisation and victimisation suffered by the South-East region over the years. This has resulted in emergence of so many separatist groups and youth restiveness in the Region. Consequently, in the spirit of equity, fairness, justice and unity, power should be taking round the three Zones in Southern Nigeria, ranging from the Southwest, South-South and South-East,” he added.
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)
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