POLITICS
Kalu Denies Colluding with Buni to Undermine APC Convention, Urges Buhari to Always Listen to Both Sides of the Story
By Blessing Bature Akpakpan, Abuja
The Chief whip of the Senate, Sentor Orji Uzor Kalu, has denied an allegation by the former Director-General of the Progressive Governors Forum Dr. Salihu Lukman, that he connived with the Chairman of the Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC), Mai Mala Buni to undermine the March 26 national convention of the party.
Kalu denied ever participating in any collusion to frustrate the National Convention of the ruling party in a statement he made on Saturday.
The former Abia Governor also urged the President to listen to the two sides of the story involving the leadership of the APC in the interest of the party.
Kalu said that the impression the former DG of the Progressives Governors Forum, Lukman, was trying to create was indeed erroneous.
Kalu recalled that he appealed to the leadership of the CECPC on December 15, 2021 to postpone the national convention earlier scheduled for February in the pursuit of party cohesion.
According to him, he had warned that holding the convention in February without sorting out the “minor disagreements that arose during the Congress would lead to implosion .’
He said, “I have read the unfortunate accusations leveled against me by a former Director-General of the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF), Dr. Salihu Lukman .
“In a statement credited to Lukman , he alleged that some party leaders are working with the Chairman of the Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC), Mai Mala Buni to undermine the March 26 national convention of the party.
“He specifically said “there are other party leaders, including Sen Uzor Kalu who have actively supported His Excellency Mai Mala to undermine the decision to organise the National Convention of the party.”
“It is on this note that I consider it necessary to correct the wrong impressions Lukman must be making efforts to create.
“There has been no time I participated in any collaboration or collusion to ensure that attempts to organise the APC National Convention are blocked.
“It will be recalled that on the December 15, 2021 , I made an appeal to the party and the Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee members to consider postponing the national convention earlier slated for February.
“I had warned that holding the convention in February without sorting out the minor disagreements that arose during the Congress would lead to implosion .
“I was worried that , the creation of factions which denied the party victory in so many states in the past elections may repeat itself. I therefore called for a peaceful resolution of the crisis before holding the Convention. No peaceful and tactful leader, would support a terrible scenario to reoccur.”
Kalu commended Buni for his exploits in the APC saying his sterling leadership quality stabilised the party across the six geopolitical zones, with high profile defections on its favour.
“It is imperative to state that Buni has done very well for the party . His sterling leadership quality is what helped stabilise our great party across the six geopolitical zones, with high profile defections in our favour .”
He called on party leaders to guard their utterances to avoid causing more division within the party.
Kalu who said that there are always two sides to a story urged the President Buhari to listen to the two stories involving the leadership of the APC in the interest of the party,
“Going forward, whether it is Gov Mai Mala Buni or Gov Abubakar Sani Bello, I would always give the party my maximum support and drive for stronger growth.
“There is always a danger with single story and I encourage Mr President to hear the two sides of the story so that the party can win together.” He said
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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