POLITICS
PDP Chairmanship: Utaan Seeks Sen. Moro’s Support
By David Torough, Abuja
Frontline contender in the race for the National Chairmanship of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Utaan Terhide has paid a consultative visit to Senate Minority Leader, Senator Patrick Abba Moro, in Otukpo, Benue State.
A statement by the spokesperson, Utaan PDP National Chairmanship Campaign, Bemgba Iortyom said the chairmanship aspirant spoke before the Senator who represents Benue South at the Senate lauded the role he (Sen.
Moro) has been playing in the affairs of the party both at the national level and in Benue State.He particularly appreciated what he described as the “yeomen” task the Senator has been performing in leading the opposition in Nigeria at a time the country is going through extremely difficulty under the rule of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The Benue born Engineer also congratulated the Senate Minority and Samuel Ortom who is the Leader of Benue PDP for the success of the recently concluded congresses in the state which was made possible by the combined efforts of both leaders, and pledged to collaborate their efforts if given the mandate to serve PDP as National Chairman.
His mission within the mandate he will have to complete the tenure earlier started by Dr. Iyorchia Ayu, he stated, will be to embark on a Shuttle Diplomacy to each leader of the party, on his knees, if necessary, to entreat peace, foster reconciliation and engender unity to revive and reposition the party for victory at the 2027 elections.
Speaking earlier, Leader of the delegation of elders who travelled with Utaan, Immediate past Acting State Chairman of the PDP in Benue State, Chief Isaac Mffo stressed that the PDP National Chairmanship contender holds the advantage of youth and freshness of thought that comes with it to be able navigate the party out of the logjam of crisis rocking it
Responding, Senator Moro appreciated Utaan and his entourage for the visit, stating his resolve to continue to work with Ortom to keep the party strong and growing in the state, even as they are working with other leaders at the national level to resolve the crisis it is going through.
The Senate Minority Leader pronounced his blessings on Utaan, praying that God Almighty grant his desire to lead PDP as National Chairman, a position he said he believes the young Engineer possesses the zeal, energy and clarity of thought to succeed in.
POLITICS
Be Thankful APC Didn’t Probe Your Administrations, Okechukwu Tells PDP
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)POLITICS
LG Administration Central to Democracy in Nigeria -Nwoko
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)POLITICS
Without Party Discipline, PDP Should Forget 2027 – Stalwart
Alh. Niyi Adams, a Chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Lagos State, says the party should forget fielding candidates for the 2027 general elections, if they do not enforce discipline.Adams, an erstwhile State Youth Leader, said this in an interview on Monday in Lagos.The director, Campaign and Strategy, Lagos State 2023 PDP Governorship Candidate, said that it would be difficult for the former ruling party to make a comeback in 2027, if it continued to condone indiscipline and anti-party activities.
He said that the party must stand up against indiscipline and anti-party activities that had continued to weaken its fold since it lost power in 2015.“While some believe that anti-party activities should be a norm, the party leadership should not condone it any longer, so as to brighten PDP chances in 2027.“I am not averse to reconciliation, but I am only averse to reconciliation without setting boundaries. If we don’t set boundaries, that same thing will happen again.“We have been reconciling since, we cannot keep doing the same thing and expect different results.“It’s either we get it right by reconciling and enforcing party discipline, or we will all see the implications and the consequences in 2027,” Adams said.According to him, reconciliation without instilling party discipline will amount to a sheer waste of time and will not yield positive results.He urged the party and its leaders to forget events that happened in 2023 general elections and move on.The chieftain, who described the current situation in the party as unfortunate, said that Nigerians were waiting for PDP to rescue them.Alleging involvement of external forces in the crisis facing PDP, Adams said that there must be consequences for everybody’s actions in the party.“The reason why people have continued to engage in anti-party activities and have continued to grow in it, is that there has never been boundary enforcement.“This is the major problem. Once there is discipline, we are good to go in 2027,” he said. (NAN)