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Tag: defection

  • Senator Andy Uba defects to APC

    Senator Andy Uba defects to APC

    Sen. Andy Uba, representing Anambra South Senatorial zone under the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), has defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    Uba disclosed this at a news briefing on Wednesday in his home country, Uga, Aguata Local Government Area of the state.

    The lawmaker said that he joined the APC at the ongoing registration of party members in the state.

    According to him, APC has ideology and focus which he needed to tap into to provide quality representation to his constituents.

    Uba further said that he joined the APC because of other personalities in the party with sound ideas and whom he looked up to in politics.

    He listed some of the personalities to include the Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen. Chris Ngige, and APC National Auditor, Chief George Muoghalu.

    Uba stressed that with such caliber of people, the party would take the state to enviable heights.

    The senator said he would be very effective in serving the yearnings of his people more now that he was in APC and urged other Igbo politicians to join the bandwagon.

    The registration of senator Uba had doused speculations of his defection to APC which had been on for many weeks in the state.

  • Former Labour minister dumps PDP for APC

    Former Labour minister dumps PDP for APC

    Sen. Joel Ikenya, the immediate past Minister of Labour and Productivity, has announced his defection from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

    Ikenya hails from Taraba and served in the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

    He told newsmen on Monday in Jalingo that his defection was informed by the numerous achievements of President Muhammadu Buhari- led administration.

    He urged Nigerians especially those from the North-East, to key into the policies and programmes of the President for the socio-economic development of the country.

    “My reasons for decamping from the PDP to pitched tent with the ruling party are based on the many achievements the president has recorded within his first one year in office.

    “The success he achieved in restoring peace to the troublesome North-East zone alone is something we cannot shy away from no matter our political party differences.

    “Buhari’s fight against corrupt practices is also one of the major factors that motivated me to dump my former political party to the ruling APC,” Ikenya said.

    The former minister pledged the `unflinching support’ of his and his supporters to the President to enable him (Buhari) lead the nation to greater heights.

    “My supporters and I will support Mr President because a close look at his appointments will show you that no region benefited from his appointments like the North-East.

    “I want to use this platform to call on citizens from the northeast region to put aside sentiments and support the president in reciprocity for all the good things he has done for us,” he said.

  • Ondo senator causes row in Senate over defection

    Ondo senator causes row in Senate over defection

    There was a row in the Senate yesterday, following the defection of Ondo South senator, Yele Omogunwa, from Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

    The manner the defection was announced forced PDP senators to stage a walk out when Senate President, Abubakar Bukola Saraki, overruled the demand by PDP senators to declare Omogunwa’s seat vacant.

    The development may have dealt a blow to the cordial relationship between majority APC senators and their minority counterparts in PDP.

    Saraki read a letter by Senator Omogunwa to announce his defection from PDP to APC.

    The letter indicated that Omogunwa wrote the letter before last Saturday’s governorship election in Ondo State.

    Omogunwa staid he was defecting from PDP to support the governorship candidate of the APC in the just concluded election.

    Saraki dramatised the defection to the disaffection of PDP senators in the chamber.

    Minority Leader Godswill Akpabio promptly raised a point of order, citing Order 43 of the Senate Standing Rules, which empowers a senator to make an explanation on any given subject.

    Akpabio prayed Saraki to declare the seat of Omogunwa vacant in line with the 1999 Constitution (as amended)

    The Minority leader insisted that the only reason allowed by the constitution for defection was existence of crisis in a party, which led to division or polarisation in the party.

    Akpabio noted that there was no leadership crisis in PDP following a Supreme Court judgment, which he said acknowledged the Senator Ahmed Makarfi’s caretaker committee as the authentic leadership of PDP.

    He insisted there was no division in the party that could provide justification for Omogunwa’s defection from PDP to APC.

    Saraki, who seemed unimpressed by Akpabio’s position, ruled him (Akpabio) out of order. This did not go down well with PDP senators.

    The submission of Senator Dino Melaye (Kogi West) seemed to have further provoked PDP senators.

    Melaye, who justified Omogunwa’s defection, cited Section 68 (g,h) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

    He noted that Omogunwa’s defection was in order in view of division in PDP.

    Senator Peter Nwaboshi (Delta North) raised another point of order, claiming Melaye’s intervention was a breach of procedure, especially since the Senate President had ruled on the issue.

    The situation degenerated into a row as senators were shouting.

    Following prolonged altercation, the PDP senators walked out in anger.

    Akpabio, at a news briefing,  said: “What happened this morning; you just saw what I may regard as a protest walkout by the PDP caucus of the Senate and the reason is obvious.

     “The essence of both chambers – House of Representatives and Senate – is that we are lawmakers, we cannot be law breakers and we believe in the rule of law.

    “One of our colleagues, Senator Yele Omogunwa, decided to jump ship, maybe out of the excitement of the Ondo (governorship) election, which the PDP is challenging.

     “He did that not take into cognisance the recent Supreme Court’s decision settling the issue of the chairmanship of the party, which had been an issue in the last few months.

     “That issue was settled in favour of Senator Makarfi’s leadership, which was set up at the Port Harcourt convention.

    “The moment that happened, it means the PDP as a family has no division. The Supreme Court does not recognise any division in PDP as of today because the issue has been settled.

     “And then, one of our colleagues decided to walk out. Of course, the constitutional provisions are clear; that where there is no division in a political party and a member of the House of Representatives or a senator decides to jump ship and defect, such person should automatically lose his or her seat.

     “The Senate president or Speaker ought to declare the seat vacant.

    “So, we made a passionate appeal to the Senate president to do the needful; to take the legal step to stop political ‘rascality’ in Nigeria and for us to have a settled caucus, not just of the PDP but of the APC, so we can face the business that we came here to do.

    ‘’Another colleague of ours stood up to interpret the Supreme Court decision, saying it was on the issue of Ondo election and not on the issue of the chairmanship of the party. The moment the Supreme Court made the pronouncement, it was clear.

     “If the Supreme Court does not recognise the chairman of a party, there is no way the candidate of that chairman would be accepted. It goes with other incidental decisions.

    “We felt that for today, the way we see it, is that maybe our contributions are not wanted and the excitement of the ruling APC is that they can do it on their own. I don’t think that will augur well for democracy.

     “So, we have to make our point clear to the nation; that, yes, we do not support political ‘rascality’ and this is not the right time for somebody to defect, realising that the party is one.

    “If he wishes to go and support his governor-elect, he has the right to resign from the seat and give our seat to us and the legal process will follow and we will fill the vacancy. It is not for him to jump from a corner of the chamber to the other to support his governor-elect; it is not for him to do so.

     “He ought to resign and go there to become a commissioner or a special assistant or adviser; not to trade the seat of the PDP.”

  • PDP, SDP, AA members defect to AD in Ondo.

    PDP, SDP, AA members defect to AD in Ondo.

    Ahead of saturday’s governorship election in Ondo state, scores of members of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Social Democratic Party (SDP) and Action Alliance (AA) on Tuesday joined the Alliance for Democracy (AD) in Ondo state.

    The defectors said the decision to dump their former parties was based on their conviction that only the AD government could rescue the state from the hopelessness currently being experienced by the people of the state.

    They were received into the AD by the party’s governorship candidate in Saturday’s election, Chief Olusola Oke, at his campaign grand finale at the Democracy Park, Akure, the state capital.

    The AA national secretary, Kenneth Eze, announced the collapsed of the party’s structure in the state into the AD.

    The governorship candidate of the party, Yinka Orokoto, also declared that he had stepped down for the AD standard bearer.
    Leading the PDP defectors was a two-term member of the House of Assembly, Hon. Akindele Adeniyi.

    The former PDP members including the two-term lawmaker representing Akure North Constituency,Akindele Adeniyi explained the party had collapsed in the state, saying the only option for them was the AD.

    The AD national chairman, Chief Joseph Avazi, called on people of the state to vote for the candidate of the party in the election.

    Avazi said the AD government would serve the state, adding that only the party could ensure the desired change.

    Oke, who warned against any attempt to manipulate the poll, however, said that the Resident Electoral Commissioner in state, Segun Agbaje, had given assurance that the wish of the people would prevail.

    The AD candidate urged people of the state to come out to vote for him and his running mate, Hon. Gani Dauda, on the Election Day.

    He said: “We’ve came to repair. We’re  also come to prevent further destruction of the good legacies of our former leaders.

    “There are electric poles but no light. There are boreholes but no water. There are graduates but no jobs. This is unacceptable. It is on this note that that AD has come to restore the glory of the state.

    “Our economy will be revived. AD government will eradicate poverty. We shall build on what Papa Ajasin, Chief Adefarati and Dr. Agagu built. Our mission is to create wealth and generate employment.”

    Also the Iyaloja-General of Ondo state,Mrs Folasade Ojo urged her members to come out and vote massively for Oke on saturday.

    She said market men and women would benefit more under the government of Olusola Oke,who she described as transparent and humble,if elected.

    The Director- General (DG) Olusola Oke Campaign Organisation (OOCO) Bola Ilori warned the APC mafia boasting of rigging the coming election to desist in order to prevent anarchy in the state regarded as politically volatile.

  • PDP chair: Sheriff intensifies lobby as Southwest group threatens defection

    PDP chair: Sheriff intensifies lobby as Southwest group threatens defection

    Overwhelmed by opposition to his candidacy, the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP), Sen. Ali Modu Sheriff, yesterday  met with the former Chairman of Northern Governors Forum, ex-Niger State Governor Babangida Aliyu.

    He urged Aliyu to prevail on some party leaders to take it easy on the opposition to his candidacy.

    The embattled PDP leader was shocked that the opposition against his return to office is more pronounced in the North.

    Sheriff arrived at Aliyu’s  Mandara Close, Aso Drive Abuja home at about 6.01pm and left before 7pm.

    He came in the company of a senator and three associates and thereafter entered into the inner recess of the mansion for a meeting with the ex-governor.

    A top source, who was  privy to the meeting, said: “Sheriff actually came to solicit for support from Aliyu and his group for his return as the PDP leader.

    “He assured the former governor that he is seeking the mandate to reorganise the PDP before the next election in order to defeat the All Progressives Congress(APC).

    “Sheriff is no doubt under pressure because of the gang-up against his desire to return to office on May 21. Most leaders of PDP from the North cannot understand why Sheriff will want to be National Chairman at a time the zone is seeking the party’s 2019 presidential ticket.

    “They see his ambition to lead the party as a spoiler’s game which will not help the North.”

    A member of the National Working Committee (NWC) said: “The fear of Sheriff’s candidacy is about his alleged presidential aspiration. Some PDP leaders are suspecting that Sheriff might transmute from party leadership to presidential candidacy.

    “Others see his desire to retain his seat beyond May 21 as a gross violation of the PDP zoning formula.  If Bamanga Tukur and Adamu Muazu from the Northeast have led PDP in the last three to four years, what is the rationale in giving the slot to another candidate from the Northeast?

    “Going by our zoning policy, it is the turn of the South to produce the next national chairman of PDP.  If Sheriff re-emerges, it might lead to the disintegration of PDP because many leaders will leave the party.”

    Also yesterday, former presidential spokesman Dr. Doyin Okupe, said the zoning of the PDP national chairman position to the North is injurious to the interest of the Southwest.

    He said the party has ignored the virtues of justice and equity, warning that the marginalisation of the zone might herald mass defection.

    Okupe reflected on the zoning controversy, chiding some Southwest chieftains, who he described as charlatans, for collaborating with top party leaders to relegate the zone to the background.

    In a statement titled: “PDP and the burden of justice and equity”, the former presidential aide alleged that the seed of misrepresentation was sowed by a group of political clowns and court jesters.”

    He noted that the Southwest PDP elders, led by the former National Deputy Chairman Chief Olabode George, have condemned the “traitors” during their recent summit in Lagos.

    He said the Southwest PDP has the intention of bidding for the position during the national convention.

    Okupe said: “ I want to state categorically, without any fear of equivocation, that we, the Yoruba from the Southwest, desire and demand the post of the national chairman at the next convention of the party.

    “The following are the past chairmen: Chief Solomon Lar, Chief Gemade, Audu ogbe, prince Ogbolafor, Dr Nwodo, Alhadji Baraje, dr Haliru Bello(Acting), Alhaji Bamangar Tukur, Alhaji Adamu Muazu, Prince Secondus(Acting),and Sen Sheriff.

    “In the last 18 years, there have been 11 chairmen from five geo-political zones. Only the Yoruba from the Southwest have been precluded from this exalted office.

    “In the interest of fairness, equity and justice, it is most compelling that the Yoruba  of the Southwest zone must be allowed to contest for this post at this coming National convention.”

    Okupe warned that any attempt to deny the Southwest the position could spell doom.

    He said: “Any attempt to do anything to the contrary, no matter the reason advanced cannot be acceptable. Failure for a Yoruba man to emerge as the national chairman can only mean two things: that there is a pervasive and concealed hatred for the Southwest in the PDP, or the PDP has very little or no regard for Yoruba interest as shown by the obvious cheating of the Southwest from the  position of the House of Representatives Speaker in 2011, which was neither rectified nor compensated for the whole of four years.”

    Okupe added: “The sad implication of the above is that, regrettably, many of us from the southwest may have to reconsider our membership of this great party we have  helped to nurture and supported through thick and thing, a party we have loved almost more than our very existence, and the party we have served with all our natural endowment, in victory and defeat.”

  • Tales of Akpanudoedehe’s defection: The facts, hallucinations

    Tales of Akpanudoedehe’s defection: The facts, hallucinations

    We are not supposed to join issues with Umana Okon Umana and his small group of PDP defectors who have turned our party, APC, into a money-making machine for themselves.

    Senator Akpanudoedehe is the symbol of the struggle against the tyranical PDP government of Godswill Akpabio in which Umana Okon Umana was the engine room. Udoedehe midwifed the birth of APC right from the beginning. He has put in a lot to build the party and he has the right to jealously guard it.

    Umana’s tales about a plan by Udoedehe to defect to the PDP is a grand plan to keep the APC in Akwa Ibom divided so they will continue to reap from where they did not sow. Udoedehe as the Leader of APC in the state has written severally to the party’s National Chairman, Chief John Oyegun, drawing attention to the lack of inclusiveness applied by Umana and his co-PDP joiners and the irrational, one-sided suspension of members by the state chairman of the party ostensibly on Umana’s instructions.

    They have been boasting that no founding member will be part of the change that we fought for. During the struggle for change, we lost almost 100 people; some are still in prison awaiting execution on trumped up charges.

    It’s not just about Udoedehe. He is defending a struggle. No one has exhibited loyalty and commitment to the APC than Senator Udoedehe, who was imprisoned on trumped up charges in case after case instituted by Umana and his friend, Akpabio.

    Udoedehe was a member of the Merger and Constitution committees of the APC and appreciates President Muhammadu Buhari for showing the strength of character to reward those who stood with him from his CPC days. The president rewards loyalty; he doesn’t betray loyalty. Why should Udoedehe’s loyalty to the opposition be backstabbed?

    The National Chairman came to Uyo on the 28th November 2014 and introduced Umana as the new face of change, but we all know that Umana cannot represent change. The State Chairman of the party and some of his EXCO members, who we put in place sold out to Umana while we were doing the struggle and while Umana was still in the PDP.

    We left the PDP to bring the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) to the state in 2009, and since then, we have been the main opposition party in Akwa Ibom State.

    Senior ACN members, including Udoedehe’s running mate, the late Dr. Ime Umanah, were lured to join PDP after they were promised positions by Umana. But we stayed on and built the party. When he couldn’t make the PDP primaries, he came up to join APC.

    Why the so-called reconciliation could not stand is simple. The governorship aspirants were invited to a meeting to dicuss the inconclusive primaries and not ministerial nominations. The National Working Committee set up a committee under the chairmanship of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, who mandated the current SGF, Babachir Lawal, to meet with the aspirants. But the aspirants were shocked to learn from Lawal at the venue that the party had already sent in Umana’s name to INEC as a candidate.

    That announcement defeated the aim of the meeting. So, there was no peace meeting. Though there was a text message from Lawal about an offer, the idea that I tore any paper was false and misleading.

    Another Umana tale is that Udoedehe is in talks with the PDP having been promised N15 billion contract upon defection to the PDP. That is absolutely not true. These same characters in the PDP said in the past when Udoedehe brought ACN to Akwa Ibom State that he had collected N2billion naira from Tinubu.

    These fabrications were sent out during ministerial nominations, because they thought Udoedehe would be nominated and now boards and commissions are being compiled, they are at it again.

    It is also funny to accuse Udoedehe of engaging in anti-party activities. If you are bringing the president to Uyo, arrangements ought to be all-inclusive but the so-called new face of the party excluded founding members from party affairs. We were not informed when the president was coming to Uyo.

    They were suspending founding members of the party in the state and did everything to shut us out of the party. Even at the national level, we were not invited to serve in any of the committees, but we still supported the party. Accusing us the way they are doing is their way to have sympathy with whoever is sympathetic to them. The party has failed to handle this issue properly.

    Umana cannot be the face of change. He is just a pretender. He came to our party with misleading claims that he is coming with lots of people and money to the party.

    The settlement is that we are in court and the case at the Federal High Court Abuja will come up on the 13th of January. We believe that our party should have a candidate who represents the struggle for change.

    The projection of Umana Okon Umana and his fellow PDP defectors that Senator Akpanudoedehe would abdicate and hand over a party, which he founded and nurtured, is an extreme form of hallucination which can only elicit pity.

    Effanga, a lawyer and APC chieftain in Akwa Ibom State, writes from Abuja

  • Udoedehe, Akwa Ibom PDP and defection tales

    Udoedehe, Akwa Ibom PDP and defection tales

    Former Minister, Senator John Udoedehe’s romance with the progressive forces in Akwa Ibom State may end anytime soon, no thanks to his beef with the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, reports Assistant Editor, Remi Adelowo

    Several months after he lost the governorship ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to Umana Okon Umana, the former Minister of State of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Senator John Udoedehe, is allegedly set to join the Peoples Democratic Party, an authoritative source has disclosed.

    For some time now, the former governorship candidate of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) for Akwa Ibom State in the 2011 elections, have been engaged in talks with PDP leaders to fine-tune modalities for his defection.

    The discussions, it was learnt, involved the immediate former governor of the state, Godswill Akpabio, his successor, Udom Emmanuel, Udoedehe and few other PDP leaders in the state.

    The outcome of the APC governorship primary which was won by Umana, sources say, was a huge blow for Udoedehe, who had assumed that the governorship ticket was his for the taking.

    For him, Umana’s emergence was simply unacceptable. And he never hid his displeasure. From that moment, the former minister allegedly vowed to work against Umana and the party.

    Indeed, the former minister walked his talk. Days before President Muhammadu Buhari, then the APC presidential candidate visited Akwa Ibom for his campaign, Udoedehe had allegedly instructed his supporters to stay away from the rally.

    Failed reconciliation move

    Determined to forge a united front against the PDP in the last elections, the national leadership of the APC raised a high powered panel headed by the party’s former National Vice Chairman (North-East), Engr. Babachir David Lawal, now the Secretary to the Federal Government (SGF) to reconcile Udoedehe with APC leaders in the state.

    For several days, the committee met with relevant stakeholders to discuss the way forward. At the end of it all, the committee made some recommendations, which included the nomination of Udoedehe as the ministerial nominee from the state in the event that APC wins the Presidency; freedom to nominate five persons from five local governments as commissioners if the party wins the governorship seat and nomination of five persons as chairmen of five local government areas of his choice.

    The former minister was subsequently invited by the committee to peruse the recommendations and make his inputs. But to the shock of everyone present, Udoedehe allegedly tore the paper given to him and stormed out of the venue.

    Subsequent events

    Predictably, the PDP took full advantage of the crisis within the APC ranks.

    Sources disclosed that the party reached out to the aggrieved APC chieftain during which some undisclosed agreements were sealed between the two parties.

    The relationship between Udoedehe and APC leaders in the state grew worse, with the former allegedly using every opportunity to vent his spleen on the party and the governorship candidate.

    In one instance, Udoedehe, while featuring on a programme at a private radio station based in the state, allegedly cast aspersions on APC leaders, accusing them of betrayal and receiving bribe from Umana in order to deprive him of the governorship ticket.

    At another instance, he was accused of showing total disrespect to party rules and regulations by allegedly asking some unnamed officials of the party, suspended for anti-party activities, to defy the party’s directive.

    His deal with PDP

    The state PDP is said to be excited about Udoedehe’s alleged impending move to the party, it was learnt.

    Though the date for his defection has not been finalised, sources say that the exercise would have taken place before now, but for some loose ends yet to be tied up properly.

    Interestingly, some of the offers being dangled before the former lawmaker are similar to the ones proposed by the APC reconciliation committee, a few of which include his nomination of a few loyalists as commissioners and local government chairmen.

    APC’s position

    The APC seems not bothered about Udoedehe’s alleged romance with the PDP.

    Speaking with The Nation recently, the party’s spokesman in the state, Ita Awak, carpeted Udoedehe for his conduct after the governorship primary, adding that the party was aware of the former minister’s plan to defect to PDP.

    He said: “Udoedehe’s defection to PDP is not a threat to APC’s popularity in the state. His defection would be good riddance to bad rubbish.”

    Shedding more light on what triggered off the crisis, Awak, a former Commissioner for Information in Arch. Victor Attah-led administration, added, “Udoedehe revealed his anti-democratic nature after he lost the governorship ticket to Umana Okon Umana by threatening to pull down the whole house.

    “The party leadership, both at the state and federal levels, intervened by appealing to him to sheathe his sword. But rather than toe the party line, Udoedehe resorted to attacking our leaders by casting aspersions on their persons. It is important to put it on record that Udoedehe lost to Umana in a free, fair and credible primary.

    “He was not only the aspirant who lost to Umana; there were three others. But he was the only one that the party leadership reached out to and offered some concessions. For months, he has been fraternising with the PDP, but we are not bothered. As a matter of fact, his defection to the PDP is just a matter of time,” he said.

  • PDP, Accord members defect to APC in Akwa Ibom

    PDP, Accord members defect to APC in Akwa Ibom

    Hundreds of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Accord Party members yesterday defected to All Progressives Congress (APC) in Akwa Ibom State.

    Samuel Effanga, a former exco member during Mr. Godswill Akpabio’s administration and a candidate for Uyo Federal House of Representatives on the ticket of Accord Party in the last elections was part of those that defected to APC.

    Effanga defected to APC alongside hundreds of his supporters.

    Also, a former Chairman of Uyo Local Government Area, Mr. Ekerette Ekpenyong was among the defectors.

    Ekpenyong until his defection was a card-carrying member of the PDP.

    Ekpenyong and others were received into the party by Gabriel Ikpe, APC’s chapter chairman for Uyo Local Government Area.

    Explaining his decision to switch camps, Mr. Ekpenyong noted that he chose to defect to APC because the PDP upon which he reigned as the Chairman of Uyo LGA was not better off.

    He added that his defection to the APC was in order as he was returning to where his heart has always been.

    His words: “I may have been a Chairman on the platform of PDP but I tell you that my heart was always with APC. I was only there for some time but now, I am back home. Godswill Akpabio as Governor then, told me several times that Umana Umana was going to succeed him as governor hence the time has come for us to actualise that dream.”

    The defection train was led by Nse Brownson who is the coordinator of Accord Party in Uyo local government area.

    Some of the Accord Party supporters at the event shouted: “Udom dakkada yak Umana atie’’ which means that Udom should vacate his seat for Umana to take over.

    The Chapter Chairman of APC in Uyo Local Governmnet Area, Gabriel Ikpe welcomed all the defectors and assured them that they will be well accommodated in the party.

    Ikpe noted that their decision to join APC is timely in light of the re-run governorship election that is coming up.

    The political Leader of APC in Uyo, Obong Maurice Ebong said that he was happy to be a witness to the historic defection of Ekerette and Effanga, describing it as a sign that the party is on a sound footing ahead of the re-run election.

    His words: “It is a thing of joy to be here. What we are doing today is to restate that Uyo is fully for APC and for Umana Umana. Let us all join hands and work for the victory of our candidate, and when that is achieved, everybody will smile.’’

    He told the massive crowd that soon, consultations and interactions with stakeholders, elders, youths, Women and ward by ward tour will commence in order to finalise plans for Umana’s expected victory at the poll.

    The State Chairman of APC Mr. Ahmadu Attai, who was represented by the Deputy State Chairman of the party, Elder Emmanuel Udoh, appealed to Uyo Senatorial district to stand with the party for victory is already assured.

    Attai said: “Nothing will stop us from sacking this interim government from power. There must be a change. Udom is only a temporary governor.’’

  • Protest as APC members foreclose Ndoma-Egba’s defection

    Some Cross River State members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday protested the speculation that former Senate Leader Victor Ndoma-Egba will soon join the party.

    The protesters, bearing placards with various messages at the party’s secretariat in Calabar, the state capital, said if Ndoma-Egba intended to join APC, he should follow due process.

    Leading the protest, a caucus member of the party and former deputy governorship candidate, Elder David Okon said: “What you are seeing here is a subtle protest and it has to do with what APC members are hearing. This is politics. A lot of things can happen and those concerned are unaware of them.

    “No member of the APC is averse to or does not want other Nigerians to cross over to the party. The truth remains that you must follow due process. You have to register from the ward, to the state and the national levels.

    “Going to join the party from the national or getting the appointment you so criticised or did not even work for, is what we oppose.

    “I am a state caucus member of the party and a deputy governorship candidate of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN). The APC, as we have today, if not because of people like me, we would not have it. It is annoying that people in the saddle in the past 16 years just bring their plates to eat when the soup prepared by others is done. We are doing what is justifiable today.”

    But a lawyer and social commentator Utum Eteng said nobody can stop others from joining the APC or any other party.

    He said: “Are you saying there should be no credible opposition because one or two persons are afraid of a healthy competition? Even if Ndoma-Egba decides to join the APC, it is not because he lacks what to do or is looking for appointments, but to contribute his quota from another angle.”

     

     

  • Ex-Ekiti Speaker denies defection

    Former Speaker of Ekiti State House of Assembly Olufemi Bamisile has denied returning to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    He declared that the PDP has become history for him and he would never return to his “vomit”.

    Bamisile, in a statement yesterday, maintained that he remained a committed member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and “was more resolute in his resolve to emerge as the next governor of the state in the 2018 polls”.

    The former Speaker confirmed that he had a meeting with some paramount traditional rulers in his local government area of Ekiti East, only for Governor Ayo Fayose to join midway.

    Bamisile said: “It is no news that Ekiti APC is back on her track, having learnt from her lessons in governance and politics of Ekiti State. I had offered myself as the biblical Nehemiah, who rebuilt the fallen walls of Jerusalem.

    “Indeed, I had a meeting with the traditional kings, where Governor Fayose joined.  He said I would be given the ticket of the PDP, if I return to his party and held my legs, begging that the kings should plead with me.

    “I snubbed and immediately left him in the room because I think it was unhealthy for our political system, if we soil the hands of our traditional kings into the dirty mud of politics.”

    Bamisile said his activities had put the governor on pressure, and returned the vigour to the Ekiti State APC.

    “Without being immodest and with the utmost regards for all leaders of the party, I am the symbol of the party, as it is today. I am re-invigorating the party.

    “I am providing the required engine oil to the party wheels, so that the weakened spirit of party faithful will not eventually knock down the whole system.

    “I understand that Fayose would want to stop this new tempo. So, I am not bothered. Let it be announced on the mountain top of our most beloved state and beyond that I will never return to my vomit – never”.

    The ex-Speaker urged the governor to maximise the improved federal allocation and resources in the state coffers to provide jobs for unemployed youth, pay salaries and arrears of civil servants, embark on the Social Security Scheme for the elderly, instead of blackmailing him.