POLITICS
New APC Chairman Emerges in Benue, As Gov Alia Meets with State Exco
From Attah Ede, Makurdi
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Benue State has unveiled a new acting State chairman, Mr. Benjamin Omakolo.
The Acting Chairman of the party was unveiled before governor Hyacinth Alia by members of the State executive council of the party at government house Makurdi, Wednesday.
Governor Alia while addressing members of the State Exco of the party, called on the supporters to continue drumming support for the party, saying it is the only platform that has good plans to change the fortunes of Benue State and Nigeria as a whole.
He maintained that it was good that the party Exco came requesting that the vacant position of the State Chairman of the party be filled, in order to save it from further crisis.
The governor regretted the suspension of Comrade Austin Agada by his Ehaje ward 1 EXCO, which was later followed by a court injunction, restraining him from parading himself as the State Chairman of the party.
According to him, there is too much pressure from the stakeholders of the party in Zone C, who have recommended a replacement for the vacant position in order to keep the party going.
“In order to reduce the pressure on me and to also stop the party from facing further troubles, I am left with no choice than to direct Hon. Benjamin Omakolo, the Welfare Secretary of the party in the state, to step in as the acting party chairman, pending the outcome of the court case instituted against Hon Agada,” Gov Alia said.
He described the APC as the best party anyone could associate with, insisting that a lot of efforts and sacrifices were put in by many, which ensured the victory the party currently enjoys in the state, saying the party cannot be left in the hands of a few individuals for them to destroy it because of their selfish interest.
While thanking the stakeholders of the party from Zone C for recommending a capable replacement for the vacant position of the state chairman, the governor equally called on all the APC faithful in the state to support Hon. Benjamin Omakolo, as he assumes the duty of piloting the affairs of the APC in the state.
Earlier in his opening address, the Organising Secretary of the APC in the state, Hon. James Ornguga, said they were pleased to come before the governor to explain to him the turbulent times the party and its supporters were facing as a result of the suspension and the subsisting court order restraining Hon. Agada from acting as the chairman of the party in the state.
He urged the governor to use his good office as the governor and leader of the party in the state, to fill the vacant position of the State Chairman, in order to stop the party from sinking further adrift.
In their separate remarks, the Speaker of the Benue State House of Assembly, Hon. Aondona Dajoh, the Secretary of the APC in Ogbadibo Local Government, Comrade Abba Isaiah, the Chairman of the APC in Konshisha Local Government, Hon. Aginde Daniel, as well as the State Assistant Legal Adviser of the party in the state, Hon. Ajuma Success, all commended the zone (C) APC stakeholders for pressurizing the governor to fill the vacant position of the state chairman.
They also commended the governor for heeding to the cries of the party faithful in the state, and for giving the nod for Hon. Omakolo to step in as the acting state Chairman of the party, assuring that they will all support the acting chairman to succeed.
Accepting the new responsibility, the acting Benue State Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Hon. Benjamin Omakolo, said he was overwhelmed by the trust the party faithful in the state have reposed in him, promising to unite the party, strategically placing it in a position to win more elections in the future.
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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