POLITICS
Edo Guber Associates Purchase N50m Nomination Forms for Okpebholo
From Jude Opara, Abuja
Friends and associates of Senator Monday Okpebholo have on Tuesday contributed over N50 million to purchase the Expression of Interest and Nomination Forms for the forthcoming Edo state governorship election.
The friends who took over the National Secretariat of the ruling party in Abuja, described the Senator representing Edo Central at the current 10th National Assembly as an aspirant to have the capacity to rebuild the state.
Coordinator, friends of Senator Okpebholo, Barr Musa Ikhilor, said that for the fact that Okpebholo, is among the four favoured by the leaders of the party to contest the party primary, makes his aspiration much more easier.
Ikhilor who spoke to newsmen after going through the ceremonial purchase of the nomination forms, argued that the purchase, means expression of absolute confidence in his capacity and capability to transform Edo state and turn things around for the people.
“It is a remarkable honour to be here. We are friends of Senator Okpebholo. We came all the way from different parts of the country, especially Edo state, we are sons of Edo state.
“Because we are very much interested with what is happening in Edo state we decided to come together to find a suitable person who can give Edo people a breath of fresh air and we have looked round and found Monday Okpebholo, as someone who is very much capable to provide that breath of fresh air for Edo people.
“That is why as friends we decided to take a bold step to purchase this particular expression of interest and nomination forms for him. He is not even aware of how this form was purchased but that is the kind of person he has been.
“Even as a senator, he faced this similar pressure from us because we saw what he was doing, all the interventions he was giving to the poor and the downtrodden and all the projects he was doing. We have told him that he needs a bigger platform to do more for more people.
“And that was how he was convinced to come into the Senate race and we are aware that he broke a jinx set for over 24 years by being the first Senator to do something that has not been done in the whole of Edo Central senatorial district.
“We are taking that spirit to the whole of Edo state and that is why we decided to contribute and purchase the forms for him to contest. We are going to present the form to him”.
Speaking further, he stated that the presentation is an absolute expression of confidence in his capacity and capability to transform Edo state and turn things around for the people of Edo.
“We are ready to stake whatever it takes, our money, time, and resources to buy the nomination forms while he will do others. So far, what we were able to raise is even more than the amount for the form. Others will go into mobilizing for him,” the coordinator of the group of friends added.
He also reacted to the rumour that there are some anointed aspirants to take part in the primary election.
“We have heard much about the anointed aspirants, and I think it is a good thing that the party leadership intervened to reduce the rancour by trimming the numbers of the aspirants from the large number of 29. From what we heard, there were different stages and criteria that the aspirants went through before accepting to abide by the resolutions to undergo through the screening.
“It was pruned down to 10, and from the information we heard, he has been pruned from six to four. We are happy that by the special grace of God, our principal is among the last four standing. We are very delighted that he is found worthy to be selected by the elders to be among the four anointed aspirants.
“However our project goes beyond the screening and pruning down. We absolutely believe that he is the right person for the job because he is an unusual character. He is not the regular career politician, he is a positive disruptor and he is going to be a game changer and the right person to rule Edo state” he concluded.
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)
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...
Bill for Compulsory Counselling, Training of Convicts Scales 2nd Reading
ShareA bill to amend the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000, has successfully passed its second reading in...