POLITICS
APC Chieftains Want National Chairmanship Slot Retained in South South
Some Chieftains of the ruling-All Progressives Congress(APC) have raised the alarm over alleged plans by a powerful group in the party to zone the National Chairmanship position out of the South South Zone in the forth coming national convention.
The Chieftains who spoke to DAILY ASSET on conditions of anonymity said retaining the slot in the South South “would ensure unity, equity and stability in the party”
Investigations by DAILY ASSET revealed that there were some underground plots to rezone the chairmanship outside the South South.
Until his ouster recently following the dissolution of the National Working Committee of the APC, Comrade Adams Oshiomole held the position on behalf of the South South geo-political zone.
As the party prepares for another National Convention, pundits said if the party’s tradition was maintained, another candidate from the South South should take over and complete Oshiomhole’s tenure, which was truncated by the dissolution of National Working Committee.
It was learnt that some influential party leaders like Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai; Kebbi State Governor, Atiku Bagudu and Chairman, Nigerian Governors Forum and Governor of Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi were in favour of the retention of the chairmanship in the South South geo-political zone.
It was however, gathered that based on the political permutations for Buhari’s successor in 2023, some interest groups were pushing vigorously for the rezoning of the chairmanship slot to suit their political interests.
Although, some members of the party said such moves ran against the grain of existing wisdom just as they were capable of creating more crises in the party.
Those familiar with the intrigues told FDAILY ASSET that a prominent leader of the party from the South West who is interested in the 2023 presidential race, was scheming seriously to have the chairmanship slot zoned to the South East to preclude the zone from the presidential race.
A party stakeholder in Abuja, Chief George Ohikere, who spoke in an interview on the matter said “The race for 2023 has started with the current permutations on the chairmanship. The plot to zone the chairmanship to the South East is to thwart the presidential aspiration of the zone and make it dead on arrival”.
Another influential member of the party from the South South, who is also believed to habour presidential ambition, it was learnt, has also activated his lobby machine to push for the chairmanship to go to North Central to pave way for his aspiration.
The various blocs, it was learnt were bringing pressure to bear on the Governor the National Caretaker Committee, led by Yobe State Governor, Mai Mala Buni, to move the chairmanship slot outside the South South.
A source told DAILY ASSET that influential members of the party were relying on the pledge by the National Caretaker Chairman to ensure justice at all times and were hopeful that the final decision on the matter will be in the overall interest of the party.
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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