POLITICS
Ayu, PDP Govs, Others Receive Lagos4Lagos Convener, APC members into party
The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Iyorchia Ayu; Oyo State Governor, ‘Seyi Makinde; former Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki and five other governors on the platform of the party, on Friday, received the convener of the Lagos4Lagos Movement and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr.
Abdulazeez Olajide Adediran a. k.a Jandor, into the PDP fold.
The governors in attendance were: Makinde (as host governor); Rivers State governor, Barr.
The event, which had in attendance members of the National Working Committee of the PDP, including the Deputy National Chairman, Ambassador Taofeek Arapaja and the National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyawu, as well as former PDP Deputy National Chairman, Chief Olabode George; former Governors Peter Obi and Olusegun Mimiko, was held at the Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos.
Governor Makinde, while addressing select journalists shortly after the event, said the event signalled the beginning of a new dawn for the PDP in Lagos State.
According to the governor, the South-West PDP is now fully ready to lead the charge to rescue the zone and the country from the hands of APC, which promised too much but did so little to justify the trust Nigerians had in it.
“Today, I joined my brother governors in the PDP and other well-meaning members of our great party to welcome Mr. Jide Adediran of the Lagos4Lagos Movement to the PDP.
“Indeed, it is the dawn of a new era and our great party has shown through many ways, that it is ready to rescue the South-West and Nigeria from the maladministration of bad governance of the APC. The South-West, as I have always said, is strategic to Nigeria’s politics and we will definitely lead the charge to rescue Nigeria from the front.”
The national chairman of the PDP, Ayu, had maintained that the party would restore Nigeria’s glory come 2023 and that Lagos would also be rescued from the throes of bad governance.
According to Ayu, the APC deceived Lagosians and Nigerians with the promise of change, but residents of the state and country have not been happy because they not enjoying the change.
Ayu said: “PDP loves Lagos. We love Nigerians. We want Lagos to return to Lagosians and we want Nigeria to belong to Nigerians.
“Today, I know you are not happy. You are not happy that you gave your lives to people who deceived you about change. Are you enjoying the change now? How much is a bag of rice today?
“Today, we are happy to join Lagosians to welcome Abdulazeez Olajide Adediran to the PDP so that together, we can rescue Lagos State and rescue Nigeria from the throes of economic hardship.”
Similarly, Governor Okezie Ikpeazu, who spoke on behalf of the PDP Governors’ Forum Chairman, Rt. Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal and Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, welcomed Adediran and his team to the PDP.
Ikpeazu maintained that Adediran has joined a bus that will not stop until it gets to Aso Rock in 2023, charged him to join hands with existing members of the PDP in Lagos State to rescue the state and Nigeria.
In his response shortly after being presented with the PDP membership card by the chairman of the party in Ojoo Local Government and the chairman of the Lagos State PDP Caretaker Committee, Engr. Julius Akinsola, Adediran said he and his followers were joining the PDP to add value to the party.
Adediran, who stated that he drew inspiration from Governor Makinde, who took on a task that seemed unachievable and came out victorious in the 2019 governorship election in Oyo State, noted that he and his followers would put their numerical strength to test in Lagos.
“We once belonged to a party that was not ready for a contest. But we have now moved to the PDP, party that believes in the rule of law and in this party, we will put our numerical strength to test against the APC.”
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)
NDA Commandant Decorates Ombugadu, Others as Fellows of Solar Energy Society of Nigeria
ShareFrom Abel Zwànke, Lafia The 2023 gubernatorial candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Nasarawa State, His Excellency Rt....
Yuletide: Bode George Urges Tinubu to Reduce Petrol Price
ShareChief Bode George, a former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has urged President Bola Tinubu to...
Tinubu Set for Groundbreaking of Renewed Hope City in Lagos
Share President Bola Tinubu, is set to perform the groundbreaking of 2,000 housing units of the Renewed Hope City in...
Gov. Alia Presents N550.1bn as 2025 Budget Estimate to Benue Assembly
ShareGov. Hyacinth Alia on Wednesday presented the sum of N550.1bn as the 2025 appropriation bill to the Benue State House...
Tax Bills: NASS will not Betray the Trust of Nigerians, says Akpabio
Share The President of the Senate, Sen. Godswill Akpabio, says the National Assembly will prioritise the interest of all Nigerians...
Alia Has Demonstrated Capacity, Courage to Entrench Good Governance—Speaker
Share The Speaker, Benue Assembly, Mr Hyacinth Dajo, has said that Gov. Hyacinth Alia has so far demonstrated capacity, courage,...
Investors Gain N183bn on NGX
Share The Nigerian Exchange Ltd. (NGX) continued its bullish trend on Wednesday, gaining N183 billion. Accordingly, the market capitalisation, which...
Energy, Solid Minerals Top Priority, Tinubu Tells German Businessmen
Share President Bola Tinubu, on Wednesday, assured the German government and businessmen of Nigeria’s preparedness to expand frontiers for investors...
Nigerian Who Wrote WASSCE 17 Times Bags Distinction from London School
Share Dr Emmanuel Ahmadu, a Nigerian who wrote the West Africa School Senior Certificate Education 17 times, has earned a...
INEC Staff Welfare Association Warns Members Against Manipulating Election Results
Share The Abia Chapter of the INEC Staff Welfare Association (ISWA) has warned its members to uphold the integrity of...