A chieftain of the APC in Ondo State, Mr Femi Adekanmbi, says destiny has placed Gov. Lucky Aiyedatiwa as a governorship aspirant over others jostling for the seat in the state.

Adekanmbi, in a statement on Tuesday in Akure, said the governor was ordained to lead the state, especially at this crucial time.

 The chieftain who pledged support, promised to work tirelessly for Aiyedatiwa in the party’s governorship primaries and the poll.

“We have received the signal to give  Aiyedatiwa  absolute support for both the primaries and the main gubernatorial  election.

 “Other aspirants  are eminently qualified to lead the state as the  governor but destiny has placed  Aiyedatiwa ahead of them.

“Divine  providence has made Aiyedatiwa the governor of Ondo state, and there’s nothing anyone can do about it.

“The governor is doing well, and I am giving him my support to secure a fresh mandate to enable him to continue his development strides.

“I’ve directed my team across the state to go all out and work for him,” he stated.

He appealed to other aspirants not to see the party’s primary election  as a war but rather, as a family affair where only one person would be elected as its   candidate.

 Adekanmbi urged all party members to stop the campaign of hatred presently going on among  supporters of the governorship  aspirants.

“We should not be seen fighting one another . This primary election should not divide us.

“I also urge Aiyedatiwa to be cautious of those claiming to love him now.

“Those who have suddenly become his accidental supporters now are those that wanted him impeached before the death of former Gov. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu.

 “I urge the governor to continue the good works started by him, and lay down lasting legacy for himself in the state with developmental projects and programmes,” he said. ( NAN)

The House of Representatives Public Accounts Committee, has issued a 21-day ultimatum to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC) to reconcile the N45 billion unremitted operating surplus recorded from 2007 to 2021.

Chairman of the committee, Rep.

Bamidele Salam, gave the directive on Tuesday in Abuja, during the committee’s public hearing on leakages of government revenue.

The FRC dragged SEC before the committee for not responding to its report issued in 2022, where N45.

013 computed liability of unremitted funds was recorded against the SEC.

“We have written SEC on December 20, 2022 intimating the commission of our computed liability for the period 2007 to 2021 and the said liability amounted to N45,013,010,229 only.

“Up till now, we have not received any response from them, so as far as we are concerned they have accepted the liability and that is what we have recorded against the commission,” Mr Bello Aliyu, a representative of FRC, told the committee.

He added that between the period and now, the SEC had not made any attempt to reconcile the figure as contained in the report.

Aliyu said by law, balance of any operating surplus should be paid into the consolidated revenue fund of the Federal Government in less than one month of the statutory deadline of publishing any corporation account.

Mr Lamido Yuguda, the Director General, SEC, while reacting to the allegation, however, said that the commission had reconciled its operating surplus with the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation(OAGF).

“I think if the FRC had actually done a little more work, they would have really seen from the OAGF all the efforts that we have made to reconcile the surplus figure from 2007 when FRC came into being,” Yuguda told the committee.

In his comment, the committee chairman said the FRC was empowered by law to ensure that all agencies and government corporations listed in its enabling Act behave responsibly with regards to remittances and management of their revenues.

“I don’t know why SEC is more comfortable with the Accountant General office and I don’t want to insinuate anything, but I want to assure the FRC that from now on, all that will stop.

”We are going to ensure that all agencies make FRC the major body of government that should ensure compliance with the provision of the act,” Salam said. (NAN)

From Attah Ede, Makurdi

Ahead of the National Executive Committee and Board of Trustees meeting of the main- opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), slated for April 18, some leaders of the party in the north central region under the platform of North Central PDP Stakeholders Forum, have again, endorsed former governor of Benue State, Senator Gabriel Suswam for the position of national chairman of PDP.

The endorsement event took place at Ibeto Grand Hotel Abuja Monday, with several prominent political leaders and other stakeholders in attendance. The event further attracted former and serving members of the State and National Assembly, former ministers, appointees and party elders women and youths, and observers from the zone.Speaking during the occasion, former senator representing Benue north west, Sen. Emmanuel Yisa Orker-Jev alluded that, in line with the constitution of the party, it was only right to return the position of the national chairman to Benue State.He maintained that the chairmanship position currently subsists in Benue after the unfortunate suspension of the National Chairman Sen. Dr. Iyorchia Ayu about a year ago.Also, a former minister from Plateau State, Dr. Damishi Sango totally threw his weight behind Senator Suswam and aligned with the submissions of Sen. Orker Jev. He expressed confidence in the ability and capacity of Sen. Suswam, saying that with Suswam as National Chairman, the party will be revived in no distance time.Those who spoke from the Seven States and the FCT, Abuja that make up the North Central zone were unanimous in their speeches and said the choice of Senator Gabriel Suswam was a wise one.Thereafter, Sen. Orker Jev moved for the endorsement of Senator Gabriel Suswam as the candidate of the North Central zone for the position of the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, and was seconded by ten others.The convener of the group, former Benue Governorship aspirant and business mogul,. Dr Paul Ubwa who gave a vote of thanks, said Suswam is not knew to the PDP.However , the national chairmanship aspirant was absent during the event.