POLITICS
APC North-West Stakeholders Brainstorm on Challenges, Plans for 2027
APC stakeholders from North-West on Sunday, in Kaduna brainstormed on some challenges and plans for future electoral victories especially 2027.
The National Chairman of the party, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, emphasized the imperative for unity and proactive engagement among the stakeholders to propel Nigeria towards prosperity under President Bola Tinubu’s leadership.
Ganduje also underscored Tinubu’s unwavering commitment to national advancement and urged the party members to rally behind his visionary leadership.
He called for sensitization efforts to educate Nigerians about Tinubu’s transformative agenda and his decisive actions since assuming office.
The national chairman highlighted the importance of political harmony and unity to achieve success in all endeavors, stressing that progress cannot thrive amidst discord.
He emphasized the need for robust collaborations as well as consultations to address the challenges and harness opportunities for the benefit of all Nigerians.
Ganduje proposed innovative solutions to address security challenges, including the establishment of specialized forest response teams equipped with technology to combat banditry and kidnapping.
He advocated the implementation of technology-driven initiatives such as E-registration to enhance party organization and planning for future elections.
The Chairman of the North West Governors’ Forum, Gov. Dikko Radda of Katsina State reechoed Ganduje’s call for unity and pledged full support for Tinubu’s development agenda.
Radda commended the National Assembly members for their efforts in championing the North-West Development Commission and assured continued support from them and all APC faithful.
He said, ”With unity of purpose and proactive measures, APC will usher in a new era of progress and prosperity for all Nigerians.”
In his Keynote, Gov. Uba Sani of Kaduna State,said the meeting was to address key issues facing the party,
commending the stakeholders for their contributions to the party’s growth.
Sani stressed the strategic importance of the North-West Zone within the party while advocating a consensus approach to issues resolution and adherence to internal party democracy.
He extolled Tinubu’s efforts in tackling Nigeria’s security and developmental challenges and acknowledged the positive impact of his Development Agenda on the North -West Zone.
Sani further solicited for continued support and cooperation with Tinubu’s administration.
Earlier in his welcome ,the APC National Vice Chairman, North-West, Garba Datti,stressed the need to address the obnoxious trend of suspensions within the party, particularly at the ward levels.
He identified instigators within the party who are working against its interests while emphasizing on the importance of adhering to due process and the party’s amended Constitution regarding suspensions.
Datti further called for creative and innovative ideas to prepare the party for future challenges.
He explained that the stakeholders meeting served as a platform for open dialogue and strategic planning to address internal challenges and reposition the APC North-West Zone for future electoral victories.
On her part ,Hajiya Hadiza Bala-Usman, Special Adviser on Policy Coordination to the President, emphasized the importance of bringing rights and resources to the zone.
She expressed gratitude to Tinubu for his continuous support to the zone, urging all the members to work together for the party’s advancement.
Speaking also at the event ,the Speaker, House of Representatives, TAbbas Tajudeen, called on Ganduje to constitute reconciliation committees at various levels to mend rifts within the party.
He also spoke of the need for peaceful coexistence among party members, encouraged forgiveness and collaborations for future successes.
The speaker also urged the party leaders to provide continuous support to the party structures beyond election cycles.
He highlighted the importance of ensuring competent members’ return to the National Assembly in 2027 and commended Tinubu for key appointments in the North-West.
Abbas emphasized the importance of the ongoing constitution amendment, particularly focusing on critical areas such as state Police and women’s inclusion in governance.
He proposed empowering Senators and members of the House of Representatives to engage with their constituents to gather inputs for the constitutional review process.(NAN)
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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