POLITICS
APC in a Hurry to Develop Nigeria– Senate President
From Alfred Babs, Ilorin
Senate President, Senator Ahmad Lawan has expressed the willingness of the present administration of the All Progressive Congress APC to develop the country for good saying “We are in a hurry to develop the country.”
Lawan disclosed this at an empowerment programme, organized by the Senator representing Kwara North District, Senator Sadiq Umar held at Kwara State Polytechnic Mini Stadium in Moro Local Government Area of Kwara state.
He said that President Muhamadu Buhari-led administration was working hard to fix infrastructural challenges and urged all Nigerians to continue to support the government.
He reiterated the need to partner with the state government and the local government adding that “the partnership has been so purposeful, impactful that today in every every part of Nigeria you have what we called infrastructure development. Federal government of president Buhari is in a hurry, we are in a hurry to develop Nigeria, in four years between 2019 and 2023 by the grace of God Nigeria would have been turned into an infrastructure laboratory because every part of Nigeria from East to the West to the North to the South. In the East the Second Niger Bridge today is at about 75 percent completion level.
“The synergy between our states and Federal Government of Nigeria is working. It is making Nigeria to develop. We have never seen infrastructure like that of this administration” he said
While commending the constituency projects of Senator Umar as part of his Constituency project, he said “Constituency projects are direct touch of the needs of the communities.
He however urged the beneficiaries to make good use of the items given to them.
“Beneficiaries please don’t sell whatever you are given, if you sell whatever is given to you, you are doing injustice to yourself, you are also doing injustice to those who would have benefited from it please don’t sell, use whatever you are given because is meant to make your life better.” He said.
Lawan also called on the people of Kwara State to continue to support Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq to consolidate on his remarkable achievements in the last two years, saying that his administration has delivered on key components of governance in a way and style not seen over the past decade in the state.
He acknowledged the humility and maturity of the Governor in handling of state matters, commending his leadership of the state and its people.
“Your Excellency, the APC administration in Kwara State is barely two and half years. We know how far we have gone in just two and half years.”
The senate president particularly praised AbdulRazaq for working closely with the three senators from Kwara to perform their legislative functions with comfort and bring dividends of democracy to the people of the state.
The Senator representing Kwara North Senatorial District, Sadiq Umar, explained that the programme was to give back to the people of his constituency who gave him the mandate to serve them.
He added that the programme complements the efforts of Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq in addressing the needs of people of North who he said have long been neglected over the years.
“I have deliberately focused on programmes that will have direct impacts on the lives of the people in the areas of education, road, water, health, agriculture as well other infrastructure and human capital development generally,” he said.
“This year we have decided to do a single empowernment Programme today, although several training and skills enhancement in areas of IT, shoe making, bag making, cake production, household items, fishery, agriculture, vocalization, phone repair, hair dressing and so on were conducted but we are giving the items to them today. We have provided about 20 vehicles, 120 motorcycles, 14 tricycles, mostly for institutional and group youths so as to strengthen our structure and because of the numbers of the items present here today we have 20 different categories of items and because of the geography of Kwara North and because of the time of our guest we shall be doing a symbolic hand over all the items will be moved to the various local government for proper handover to the beneficiaries. I employ all beneficiaries to make best use of what we are able to give them they should make judicious use of of these items for the benefit of all.” He said
He assured Governor AbdulRazaq of the people of Kwara North’s continuous support for the administration.
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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