The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Chief Tiwe Oruminighe

  • Bayelsa APC clears delegates for national convention

    Bayelsa APC clears delegates for national convention

    The All Progressives Congress (APC), Bayelsa State chapter, on Saturday cleared 24 delegates from the eight local government areas of the state for the party’s non-elective National Convention.

    The delegates were selected through affirmation following consensus by all the local government chapters of the party.

    Party faithful gathered at the APC secretariat in Yenagoa, the state capital, to participate in the exercise by affirming the nominees presented to the congress committee through voice votes.

    The Secretary of the committee, Mrs. Mildred Ezoh, who came from the National Secretariat of the party, said the congress was either through elections or affirmation as recommended by the party’s constitution.

    She said the committee’s job was simplified by the decision of the party members in the state to adopt affirmation.

    Ezoh said: “We came from Abuja for this exercise and we will do what we are supposed to do. It is either by election or affirmation. I have been directed to conduct this election.”

    The state chairman of the party, Chief Tiwe Oruminighe, described the exercise as peaceful and devoid of rancour.

    He said the leadership of the party at the local government areas consulted widely with all the stakeholders before submitting their lists, adding that they were required to present only three delegates from each council.

    He said the exercise was devoid of crisis because the consultations that produced the lists were far-reaching.

    Apart from the 24 delegates, he said the state had other statutory delegates that would participate in the party convention.

    He said: “Today is our local government delegate congress. The exercise was smooth. We had no hitches. The only place where we had small disagreement was in Ekeremor. But the disagreement was resolved.”

    Some of the party members described the congress as peaceful and commended the electoral committee and the APC chairman for the success of the exercise.

    The congress was monitored by about 12 officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from the Yenagoa office.

     

  • Dickson behind crisis in our Party, says APC

    Dickson behind crisis in our Party, says APC

    The All Progressives Congress (APC), Bayelsa State chapter on Monday accused the State Governor, Mr. Seriake Dickson, of being the brains behind the crisis rocking the party in the state.

    APC in a statement signed by the party’s Publicity Secretary, Mr. Panebi Fortune, said there was an underhand dealing between the suspended Chairman of the party,  Chief Tiwe Oruminighe and Dickson.

    Oruminighe and few membes of the state Executive Committee have been directely attacking the state leader of the party, Chief Timipre Sylva, accusing him of selling appointments to his cronies.

    Dickson in the heat of the crisis released a statement purportedly supporting the faction of the APC Executive Committee led by Oruminighe.

    The party said: “It has become compelling for us to expose the under hand dealings between the governor, Hon Henry Seriake Dickson and the suspended state chairman of the APC, Chief Tiwei Oruminighe alongside two of his accomplices.

    “In the last few days, the state and indeed the entire nation has witnessed the outright misdemeanour on the part of the suspended party and two members of the state exco. As a party built on the principles of discipline, justice and fair play, 25 out of the 31 member state exco of the party supended Orunimigha and his co-travellers for gross indiscipline and misconduct.

    “However, our attention has been drawn to a statement laced with lies and outright misinformation purporting and insinuating financial dealings between two leading lights in our party, that is our leader, Chief Timipre Sylva and the Hon Minister of State for Agriculture, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri prior to the appointment of the latter as minister. We find these lies very disgusting and ignoble, hence seen as the ranting of a bunch of misled ingrates.

    “But our curiosity is that the statement emanated from one Daniel Iworiso-Markson, chief press secretary to Governor Dickson. The question of who is behind the suspended chairman and his ‘boys’ does not need to be asked. What rather baffles us is the rationale behind this incredulous act of anti party and unconscionable desire for monetary gains in the name of politics.

    “We wish to state unequivocally that the entire membership of the ‎state exco aside the suspended trio of Oruminighe, Julius Eddy and Daniel Marlin is solidly behind our leader, Sylva as well as the minister of state. We call on the relevant security agencies to unravel the source of the attached email statement from Iworiso-Markson”.

  • Minister to Bayelsa APC faction: Blackmail won’t distract me

    Minister to Bayelsa APC faction: Blackmail won’t distract me

    The  Minister of State for Agriculture, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri on Monday said no amount of blackmail would distract him from discharging his functions in the cabinet of President Muhammadu Buhari.

    Lokpobiri said all the allegations against him by the suspected faction of the state Executive Committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC) led by the party’s state Chairman, Chief Tiwe Oruminighe were laughable and baseless.

    Oruminighe and his group accused Lokpobiri of purchasing his ministerial slot from the state leader of the party and former Governor of the state, Chief Timipre Sylva.

    But Lokpobiri in a statement signed by his Media Assistant, Mr. Donald Ojogo, said he never got his appointment on the altar of financial inducement.

    He threatened to seek redress in court by filing libel suit against persons bent in damaging his hard-earned reputation.

    The statement said: “In the last few days, the Bayelsa state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has contended with  some unsavoury moments.

    ” Undoubtedly, these are orchestrated by an insignificant few within the party and oiled by some external forces who feel threatened about their political future, especially as the APC challenges the outcome of the last governorship election at the Election Petition Tribunal.

    “‎From the outset, the attitude of the Honourable Minister of State for Agriculture, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri has been to ignore and avoid responding to all such untoward moves and circumstances around the APC. To him, such do not represent the much required cohesion, sincerity of purpose and political maturity.

    “Nonetheless, in the view of the deliberate fabrication of lies and misrepresentation of facts on the part of those who have allowed themselves to be used in this blackmail venture, it has become very compelling to state the following:

    “The Hon Minister of State for Agriculture, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri never got his appointment on the platter of financial negotiations as expressly insinuated by the suspended State chairman of the APC in Bayelsa State, Chief Tiwei Oruminigha and his cohorts.

    “Like other appointees of Mr President, Senator Lokpobiri was duly considered worthy to be so appointed in his position.

    “It is a clear case of misrepresentation of facts to insinuate that former governor of Bayelsa who is the leader of the APC in Bayelsa State, Chief Timipre Sylva collected money from the Hon minister before his appointment as minister. This is an outright fabrication”.

    The statement added: “The reference by Tiwei Orunimigha to statements purportedly made by Hon minister in the build up to the 2015 elections ‎that he (Lokpobiri) never believed in the ability of the APC and its then presidential candidate (now president), Muhammadu Buhari to win election is nothing but an exhibition of either some form of delusion or  incurable  amnesia.

    “For the records, the Hon Minister’s political affinity with President Muhammadu Buhari dates back to 2003 when he was the senatorial candidate of the defunct All Nigerian Peoples Party ( ANPP) fro Bayelsa West Senatorial District.

    “He had vigorously campaigned for him to be president then. The assertion by Orunimigha can only be a fictionalised sermon heightened by defeated expectations. It is therefore a blackmail that cannot stand the test of time. It is neither capable of distracting the Hon minister.

    “Lastly, as a law abiding citizen, the Hon Minister wishes to state that while an unsuspecting section of the media has the liberty to publish unsubstantiated stories, he reserves the right to seek redress in the ‎law courts”.

  • APC, Dickson trade words over party crisis

    The All Progressive Congress (APC), Bayelsa State chapter, has accused the state Governor, Mr. Seriake Dickson, of hiring a former state Security Adviser, Chief Richard Kpodo, to create crisis in the party.

    The APC in a statement signed by its state Chairman, Chief Tiwe Oruminighe, insisted that Kpodo, who was expelled from the party was being used by the governor to destabilize APC ahead of the 2016 governorship election.

    But Dickson dismissed the allegation and advised the APC to deal with its self-inflicted problems instead of trading blames.

    Kpodo in a press conference set up a parallel Executive Committee, proclaiming himself the chairman of the party.

    The party in the statement said it initially wanted to ignore Kpodo “for the fact that he had been expelled from the party with ignominy,” but decided to reply him for the benefits of some persons who are “oblivious of his tainted background as a blackmailer and political jobber.”

    APC urged the people to disregard Kpodo’s antics, describing him as a drowning man, a nuisance and a stooge in the hand of Dickson’s administration.

    The statement said: “It should be recalled that a few months ago, Kpodoh declared that the APC in the state was dead on arrival because the party refused his demand to be made state chairman.

    “Since then he had been working to sabotage the party, hence he was expelled. It is now baffling that he has turned around to declare himself the state chairman of a party he said was dead on arrival!

    “We are not unaware of the antecedent of Kpodoh. He has always lend himself useful as an agent of destabilization in state. This has been his way of life. That is why he is today being used by the Bayelsa State government to cause confusion in the APC. He will not succeed.”

    The party also lamented the attacks on its members by the state command of the Nigerian Police.

    It said the command had allowed itself to be used as an agent of doom by the state government, adding that the police had been used to harass its members.

    “We want to let the state police command to realize that if the police has one million men, we have civilian police who are more than that, and if they are 500,000 the APC civilian police is more than a million.

    “We believe that we are in a democracy and it is obvious that a supposed unbiased umpire like the police is now allowing itself to be used by the state government against the opposition.

    “The Inspector General of Police is hereby called upon to investigate the activities of the state command and curb its excesses,” the party said.