POLITICS
I am Ready to Serve, Anyim Declares at 61
By Jude Opara, Abuja
Former Senate President, Anyim Pius Anyim at the weekend said he believes in one and united Nigeria where men would only be rated on the contents of their character and what they can offer as against where they come from or the religion they profess.
Anyim spoke in Abuja during an elaborate birthday celebration organized in his honour.
The former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) who spoke on many issues also reacted to the incessant killings across the country also condemned the killing of some cattle traders in Aba.
The presidential aspirant who also used the opportunity to again reiterate his resolve to help in salvaging the country said he is more than ever ready to serve and add his quota to nation building.
“I want to reassure my countrymen and women that as I turn 61, I will commit the rest of my days in pursuit of peace and progress in this country. Nigeria must be great again,” he said.
“We must live in peace and in safety in this land. It is a commitment that all of us irrespective of your religion, irrespective of your geographical location, irrespective of your party affiliation.
“We must commit to building a peaceful and secure nation which we shall be proud of,” he said.
President Muhammadu Buhari who was represented at the occasion by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha described Anyim as a man who has constituently demonstrated the ability to lead. He added that he is courageous and has the tenacity to endure unpleasant situations when they arise.
Also at the occasion was former President Goodluck Jonathan who lauded Anyim’s contributions to the development of the country, describing him as a patriotic Nigerian who always puts the nation first and a stabilizing voice in Nigeria.
“He is a replica of what the country needs at this time. A role model for upcoming politicians and we are happy to be associated with his personality. He is a man, when you give him as assignment he does it to your satisfaction and even when things don’t go the way he wanted, he will still be calm”.
Former Vice President Namadi Sambo in his remarks said Anyim has served Nigeria as a true patriotic citizen. He added that he has demonstrated enough love for the country because he has shown severally that he is not sectional.
“He was able to steady the ship of nation as Senate President as well as when he served as SGF. He can be trusted with high political responsibility in the future”.
Speaker after speaker eulogized the presidential aspirant with beautiful comments to qualify him. They were united in describing him as a true patriot who is also blind to tribalism and sectionalism.
Other dignitaries who openly praised Anyim for his contributions to nation building include; former Inspector General of Police (IGP) Mohammed Abubakar; Chief Mike Ozokhome (SAN); former Attorney General, Bello Adoke; former Minister of Works, Sen. Sanusi Dagaah; Sen. Obinna Ogba; Sen. Dino Melaye; Sen. Theodore Orji; former governor of Sokoto state, Attahiru Bafarawa; elder statesman; Shaibu Oyedokun; former Senate President, Adolphus Wabara and many more dignitaries from all walks of life.
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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