POLITICS
No Amount of Torture, Killings, Abduction of Members will Stop PDP from Taking over Ebonyi in 2023 – Ex-SGF-Anyim tells APC
Godwin Okeh, Abakaliki
The former secretary to the government of the Federation, SGF, senator Pius Anyim Pius on Friday said that no amount of intimidation, torture or abduction of it’s party members by suspected agents of Ebonyi government, will stop the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, from taking over power from the ruling APC in the state, come 2023.
Anyim Pius who is a presidential aspirant under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, made this known in a statement signed and made available to journalists in Abakaliki capital of Ebonyi state.
The former senate President, however expressed dismay over the decision of the fifteen (15) APC lawmakers in the house of Assembly, to declare vacant the seats of their two members; Dr. Oliver Osi representing Ivo constituency and Mrs. Lilian Ngozi Eziulo representing Afikpo North East constituency in the state house of Assembly.
The statement reads in part: “Just today, the same House of Assembly in another childlike drama purportedly declared the seat of two more members, Oliver Osi and Ngozi Eziulo vacant, for the same reason of reaffirming their membership of the PDP.
“As a leader of a party built on the rule of law, the PDP, and a defender of democracy, I remain resolute in conjunction with other leaders, in using all lawful means to protect the citizens and obtain justice for the oppressed, aggrieved and all victims of the vicious activities of the state government.
“For all we care, the Ebonyi State House of Assembly and their master may declare the whole of Ebonyi State House of Assembly vacant. That will not break the resolve of the 9 out of 24 members that have vowed to remain in PDP. In the same vein, no amount of torture, killing or abduction will make the well-meaning citizens of Ebonyi State change their minds about remaining in the party of their choice the PDP. “I, therefore, urge all Ebonyians to remain steadfast; even in the face of intimidation, killings and suppression, as all necessary actions are being taken to ensure that the state is rescued and made greater in 2023” he said.
Anyim however, urged the commissioner of police Ebonyi state command, CP, Aliyu Garba to rise up to the challenge, to investigate the signatory forgery of the factional deputy speaker of the house, Obasi Odefa, who reaffirmed his earlier refusal to defect to APC in the state.
“We look forward to seeing the reaction of the Ebonyi State Police Command now that Mr. Odefa has clarified that his signature was forged and he is only being hunted because he reaffirmed his earlier refusal to defect to APC. True to the reign of terror in Ebonyi State, deadly hoodlums numbering over 50 were dispatched to surround his country home with unclear intentions. It took the firm resolve of Youths of the community to dislodge them and save the deputy speaker and his family from evident danger.
He however, expressed happiness over the release of the Publicity Secretary of PDP, Chika Nwoba Chika who was in police detention since 9th January 2022.
“The bail granted the Publicity Secretary of the People’s Democratic Party, Ebonyi State, Nwoba Chika Nwoba, calls for, not only celebration, but deep thoughts about the danger democracy is running into in Ebonyi state. “It will be recalled that Nwoba was abducted in a commando-style on January 9, 2021, by known officers and agents of the Ebonyi state government under the dreaded Ebubeagu outfit. The swift intervention of the state PDP deputy chairman, who invited the police to the scene, saved Nwoba from being killed by his abductors. “To the bewilderment of all, rather than arresting the culprits, the police turned around to detain Nwoba until January 26 when he was arraigned in court” Anyim stressed.
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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