POLITICS
North-East Youth Group Wants Ex-Gov Mu’azu to Contest for PDP Presidential Ticket
From Mohammed Muktar Umar, Bauchi
A group of young technocrats from the North-East geopolitical zone, under the aegis of Coalition of North East Young Technocrats for Good Governance, has called on a former Bauchi State governor, Alhaji Ahmadu Adamu Mu’azu, to contest the position of the president in 2023.
The group’s position was contained a statement made available to journalists in Bauchi on Tuesday, declaring that with his vast experience and performance, the former governor has what it takes to unite the country and grow the economy.
According to the statement signed by its National Coordinator, Dr Mohammed Abdullahi and Secretary General, Mr Solomon David Jnr.
, the coalition vowed to canvas for more members and keep enlightening Nigerians on the antecedents of Mu’azu, a former National Chairman of the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) as well as his exemplary leadership style.The coalition asserted that given his track records, Mu’azu is top among equals and is eminently qualified to lead Nigeria given all the needed support by stakeholders.
“Nigeria is very blessed with intelligent men and women of goodwill which had continually produced eminent figures such as Ahmadu Mu’azu, an eminent personality and the past National Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) who is top among equals whose track records in unifying this nation is of note and whom we believe is eminently qualified to lead this nation given all the needed support by stakeholders.
“He is fit for the highest office at this time and needed to be brought on board to lead the unification struggle to keep Nigeria growing as one given the agreement that this country needed to grow and remain a united nation for the greatest happiness of the citizens and overall development of the nation,” the statement read in part.
It added that having had good track records in his kitty, Mu’azu is one Nigerian that would be most acceptable to not only both Southern and Northern elites but also entire Nigerians, adding that such person like the former governor should be called upon to come and unite the country.
“Mu’azu is a man with laudable achievements and good track record. He is, no doubt, the person that would be mostly acceptable to the Northern and Southern elites and the people in general considering his laudable achievements in various aspects of life.
“He has not retired but should now be beckoned unto to come onboard in order to refire the national clout that could further cement and bond Nigeria together as one beyond 2023.
“To this end in our own genuine view of nation building, a man of goodwill in person of Ahmadu Mu’azu should be given the chance as his pedigree and records in national politics speak volumes.
“Let’s embark on a journey to grow our dear country and give one Nigeria another chance in 2023 by considering a man of strong will Ahmadu Mu’azu,” the coalition stated.
The young technocrats informed that the former PDP national chairman had proven his worth in all the places work through hard work, adding that Mu’azu’s giant strides in developing Bauchi State when he was a governor for eight years was attested by all.
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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