POLITICS
Edo Governorship Election: Ododo’s Overwhelming Loyalty for APC Victory
From Joseph Amedu, Lokoja
The tempo of activities leading to the governorship election holding September 21, 2024 reached a crescendo last weekend when the Kogi State Governor, Ahmed Usman Ododo, in company of other APC governors and leaders were in Edo state to campaign for the party’s candidate, Senator Monday Okpebholo.
It was a homecoming for Ododo whose first port of call was Igarra in Akoko-Edo Local Government area of Edo state.
The Igarra shares cultural and linguistic affinity with Ebira. Their language is a dialect of Ebira with a lot in common with the Ebiras in Kogi, Nasarawa, the FCT, Ondo, Ekiti and other states with high population of Ebira speakers and settlers.The people also turned out in large numbers to support and join hands with their “son-governor” from another mother in last-minute campaign to win the hearts of Igarra and Edo people in general and to drum support for the APC candidate, Senator Okpebholo.
After successfully leading the youth rally in Igarra, headquarters of Akoko-Edo on Friday, Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo proceeded to Benin City, the Edo state capital where he was seen receiving other governors and party leaders ahead of the APC mega rally held at the University of Benin Sports Complex in Ugbowo.
Ododo was the cynosure of all eyes as many party leaders including APC governors were seen consulting with him as the director of youth mobilization for the Edo State Edo APC Governorship Campaign Council.
He stayed awake through the night on Friday till early Saturday morning addressing different groups who thronged his base at the GRA in Benin City to consult with him on strategic direction for effective mobilization for the mega rally and grand finale of the Edo APC Governorship election campaign.
The Kogi State Governor was well supported by his brother and the Edo state Deputy Governor, Philip Shaibu who hosted the Governor and his entourage and ensured that the Governor and members of his team enjoyed the comfort and hospitality of Edo state throughout the stay.
Ododo who was at the Benin airport to receive Vice President Kashim Shettima who was the special guest at the mega rally also accompanied the Vice President to the palace of the Oba of Benin, His Royal Majesty Omo N’Oba N’Edo Uku Akpolokpolo Ewuare II.
The Kogi State Governor received commendation from Vice President Kashim Shettima, the APC National Chairman, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, other governors and members of the National Working Committee of the party who were impressed by the level of mobilization of youth for the mega rally which is largely atttibuted to Governor Ododo’s ground work which went on for weeks before the mega rally.
With stops, meet and greet in different communities in Etsako, Owan and Oredo where he interfaced with non-indigenous communities like Igbo traders and Kogi state indigenes in Edo state, Governor Ododo’s message for them to support the APC and its Governorship candidate was loud, clear and persuasive.
From Lampese, Igarra, Auchi through Afuze to Benin City, Governor Ododo’s presence was electric and his impact was felt throughout Edo State as he went with his team to mobilize support for the APC Governorship candidate Senator Monday Okpebholo.
The Ododo story in the 2024 Edo Governorship election which will be complete on Saturday the 21st of September is that of courageous and energetic young Governor who is following the footsteps of his boss and predecessor, Governor Yahaya Bello in unequivocal and absolute loyalty to the APC irrespective of the terrain, the personality of the candidate and the burden of staying true and committed to the success of the political party that has redefined partisan politics in Nigeria’s history.
With the statistics and predictions in favour of the APC, there is hope that Senator Monday Okpebholo will be victorious at the polls and become the next Governor of Edo state.
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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