POLITICS
We Will Carry Everybody Along—Adamu Assures APC Members
By Jude Opara, Abuja
The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Sen. Abdullahi Adamu has advised members of the National Working Committee (NWC) and party faithful to always work for general interest of the party.
Adamu who spoke at the weekend while receiving his certificate of return from the APC National Convention Planning Committee said the task ahead of the party is enormous adding that they must have to guide against complacency if the party is to win the forthcoming 2023 general elections.
The former governor of Nasarawa state also lauded the Convention Planning Committee for the effort it out in place to ensure that the exercise was conducted in a peaceful and conducive atmosphere.
“But for the good job you managed to do with the convention, we won’t be here to tell this story to a matador.“The convention is all about electing new officers for our great party. And you conducted yourselves and your assignments in a very, very efficient, honest and very equitable manner as circumstances of the day permitted you to so do we appreciate you.
He also hampered on the importance of the certificate of return which he noted is a sign that they truly have the authority of the party to function.
“It’s not because we are waiting for the certificates, but it was one of the reasons because it’s what gives us credibility. In the eyes of APC members and the general public.
“You know, we are products of the convention and we will want to have you stay with us a bit so that we don’t behave as if we’ve everything. Nobody knows everything. And there is still room to learn for those of you who have been in the defense of this party at the national level.
“These are people that have been working for this party from inception to date. I want to thank you and I want to bear this in my place. I don’t know you’re all very busy persons who have not finished establishing our team. Whether they want to behave as if we have preempted the election itself. And the policy we’re going to put on it. So there are quite a lot of things that are there that we will need your expertise. You may not be coming to join us as permanent members in our Secretariat, so whatever assignments we may be wanting you to undertake some ad hoc responsibilities for us particularly in areas where you are now authorities as far as APC is concerned”.
The APC Chairman also told the Chairman of the Committee and governor of Jigawa state, Abubakar Badaru that the NWC would be needing the support of the governors especially through their APC Governors Forum.
“We will need your services from time to time and it is my hope that when we get to that point, whoever amongst you we call to please come and join us to get us over certain situations.
“I am a team player as much as is possible I want to carry everybody along with me”.
Adamu equally urged his fellow NWC members and indeed all party faithful to always show loyalty to the leadership of the party, saying such would help in the development and growth of the party.
“But to work with me, not because I’m the best and everything. You have to be loyal. You’re loyal to me is not loyalty to me but loyalty to the party. You have to recognize the authority of the party. In all that we do, the interest of the party is paramount”.
The Chairman equally hinted of a plan to look into the books of the party, adding that they want to really know where the party stands before delving into the events that would lead to the elections.
“You are lucky you around because we had agreed by Wednesday we are having our next meeting because we wanted the committee to give us a report we want to know where the party is where exactly, so that we don’t get taken by the exuberance of winning election and just plunge into the into the into the pond pool or not know how deep is the temperature of the water.
“As for you the director of admin, you have no hiding place. We will we will count on your loyalty to the party. It is in God’s pleasure that we are here at the helm of affairs of this party. We’ve come with a very open mind but you have to reciprocate in same spirit.
“We will definitely by the will of God Almighty, the Secretariat, we need to look at you but am not saying anything today until the transition committee submit its report.
“It is my hope that by the time the report is submitted, you have what they call clean bill of ledge, that’s my prayer”.
Earlier, Chairman of the Election Committee, Governor Abubakar Badaru said they could have given the certificate of returns to them even before the swearing-in but for the fact that time was far spent. “We certified the winners and agreed with Mr. President to perform their swearing in that day on the 27th at least the chairman and the secretary. And we agreed to fix another day to issue them certificate even though they were certified publicly to the listening of all Nigerians. This is just to hand them the certificate, they will not just be announced on the podium there but they will also have certificate to show their success at the election at the convention”.
He said there were 78 positions for contest for the NEC members and the zonal executives. He added that of the lot, 66 positions were decided through consensus arrangements while only 12 went into elections because of the fact that the APC is a family.
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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