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Tag: faction

  • No faction in Kogi APC, says ex-CPC chieftain

    A former governorship aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) in Kogi State, Chief James Ocholi (SAN), has said there is no faction in the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    Ocholi, who addressed reporters after the state stakeholders’ meeting held in Lokoja, the state capital, explained that what was perceived as a faction was the pre-registration meeting of various political parties that formed the APC.

    According to him, the members of the defunct political parties have come together to run the new party in the state and plan ahead on how to take over power from the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kogi State and at the centre.

    He said the meeting adjourned for a larger parley, for which a date has not been fixed, to accommodate some aggrieved PDP members who want to join the APC.

    “We have decided to adjourn today’s meeting to a larger one. That will be after we have ushered in those from PDP and other political parties into our fold. We want to make a bigger one so that even the PDP will shiver,” Ocholi said.

    On the possibilities of some sponsored individuals, who may join the party with the aim of causing problem, he said: “We are much aware of this. But we have our own mechanism to identify and consequently dislodge them. I cannot tell you our mechanism, until that time.”

    He stressed that the APC is so large that it can accommodate all the PDP members, including other political parties who are yet to make up their mind.

    The secretariat of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Lokoja was yesterday taken over by an army of APC members who wanted to attend the meeting.

    The main hall of the NUJ Press Centre could not accommodate the crowd. Several others had to hang by the window to participate in the meeting.

     

  • Call Wike, Obuah to order, Ake faction urges Jonathan

    Call Wike, Obuah to order, Ake faction urges Jonathan

    The Chief Godwin Ake faction of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Rivers State has urged President Goodluck Jonathan and the party’s leadership to call Minister of State for Education Nyesom Wike and the factional party chair, Mr. Felix Obuah, to order.

    A statement by George Ukwuoma, the Publicity Secretary of the Ake-led faction, identified Wike and Obuah as masterminds of the prevailing lawlessness in the state PDP, stressing that their “unguarded” statements could cause chaos.

    He accused the duo of deliberately heating up the polity, ostensibly to destroy the party and truncate democracy in the state, warning that this “must stop henceforth”.

    “Such statements include his (Obuah’s) congratulatory message to Governor Jonah Jang of Plateau State as Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) even when it was clear to the whole country and world that Governor Chibuike Amaechi beat Jang with a clear 19 to 16 votes and is the authentic chairman of the NGF.

    “Another instance is Obuah’s congratulatory message to Hon. Evans Bipi of the Rivers State House of Assembly, who proclaimed himself Speaker of the Assembly after a coup by him and four other members to impeach Speaker Otelemaba Dan Amachree failed on the day they attempted to disrupt sitting and cause mayhem at the Assembly with the help of their thugs and police accomplices.

    “Or is Obuah saying to the state and the nation that five is greater than 27? It’s never possible for five members out of a 32-member Assembly to carry out an impeachment process.”

    The statement also urged the PDP leadership to warn Obuah against making false and malicious statements against Governor Rotimi Amaechi, stating that he remains the leader of the party in the state.

    It also condemned Wike’s actions and statements, saying the minister has carried on like an alternate governor.

    “We have watched with dismay and utter disgust the way and manner Wike has carried on as if he’s the alternate, most times, substantive governor. This is most condemnable. That young man(Wike) is just a Minister, a deputy minister at that, and must be reminded at all times that there is only one governor and leader of the party in the state, which is Governor Amaechi and he must mandatorily subjugate himself to the leadership of the governor or get out of the party.”

    “This Wike group is only deceiving the President and the party leadership, claiming that they have the support of the people when it’s clear they don’t. What they are doing is destroying the party. The people working with them are not card-carrying members of the PDP. They mostly consist of expired politicians, deadwoods and people who we roundly beat in the last elections as candidates of opposition parties and are now seeking relevance. These are the people Wike brought to Abuja as PDP leaders. They are not even PDP members.

    “The vast majority of Rivers people and Rivers PDP are solidly behind Governor Amaechi; the grassroots are for Amaechi. Elected and appointed PDP leaders from Ward to the national level are solidly behind Governor Amaechi. So Wike’s and Obuah’s claims to the Presidency that they are in control should be put to a stop now as it would end up destroying the formidable structure built by the PDP in the state.”

    “We challenge them to call for a meeting of elected and appointed leaders of the party in the state from Ward to national level; let’s see how many will attend. This would prove that their purported clout in the state PDP is false. They should stop deceiving the party and Mr. President.”

    “We, therefore, urge our dear President Goodluck Jonathan, the Chairman PDP Board of Trustees, Chief Tony Anenih and the party’s National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur to take relevant action and immediately call to order and correct this false campaign being carried out by Wike, his acolyte Obuah and their minute minority, which is threatening to swallow and destroy the PDP in the state,” the statement said.

  • Ondo CNPP: Faction tells chairman to handover

    The leadership crisis rocking the Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) in Ondo State deepened yesterday as the caretaker committee set up by a faction of the group told the embattled Chairman, Chief Ayo Isijola, to vacate his office.

    Isijola, who was reportedly sacked by the faction led by the former General Secretary of the Conference, Prince Femi Ajibola, said he remains the state CNPP chairman.

    The faction announced Isijola’s “impeachment” last month and set up a five-man committee to oversee the CNPP’s affairs for six months, within which an election would be held.

    In a letter to Isijola yesterday, signed by the Secretary of the Caretaker

    Committee, Mr. Olusola Adeniyi, the committee directed Isijola to handover the conference’s property to it.

    The letter reads: “I was directed by the Ondo State CNPP General Assembly at its meeting on May 26 to refer to the CNPP’s resolution of May 2, where a change of leadership was effected and a Caretaker Committee, headed by Mrs. Yemisi Aladesaiye, replaced your good self in office.

    “You ceased to function as Ondo CNPP Chairman from May 3 and the decision has been communicated to you variously.”

    The committee warned Isijola to obey the directive, adding that it had sent copies of the letter to security agencies and the CNPP’s Southwest Zonal Office.

    Isijola said the faction was “engaging in an impossible venture”.

    He said he had been going to the CNPP Office everyday and had not seen anyone holding a meeting there.

    Isijola said Ajibola and two former executive were suspended by the CNPP for alleged anti-party activities.

    He said Ajibola was suspended indefinitely and replaced with Mr. Lawrence Kehinde.

  • Delta PDP faction looking for publicity, says Orubebe

    THE Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godsday Orubebe, has said his destiny is not in man’s hand, adding that only God has the power to use man for his purpose.

    He spoke in the light of his suspension from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Burutu Local Government Area of Delta State.

    Orubebe said everyone needs to live in Christ to overcome life’s challenges.

    The minister and nine others were suspended for alleged misconduct and anti-party activities.

    He said the faction is not recognised and that it is only looking for cheap attention.

    Orubebe said: “That body is an illegal body. You are aware that this is a government that stands for the truth, it is a government that is transforming.

    “We had a PDP elected body in place and from behind, a group of people went and imposed an illegal body on the people and I said I will not recognise them because they are just looking for cheap attention and I don’t look at it.

    “The authentic chairman, who is in court now, made it very clear that he is the authentic chairman and he is leading the local government executive.

    “He came out to state categorically that nobody should listen to the music they are dancing to. I think that is what I am going to say.”

    On the implication for 2015, he said: “There is no crisis. Politics is a game of people with various interests and what they are doing is also talking about their own interest.

    “But our interest is the interest of the party and we have the body that is legally elected. And so, we don’t have crisis as far as the issues of 2015 are concerned.

    “Everything is in place for us to deliver to the PDP what is expected of us as a party in Burutu Local Government Area.”

  • Ohanaeze faction shelves election

    A faction of the Igbo apex cultural group, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, yesterday shelved the election it had scheduled for today in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, to pick its executives council.

    This was sequel to an injunction handed down by an Enugu State High Court restraining the faction from proceeding with the election.

    Former secretary of the election committee of Ohanaeze, Prince Richard Ozobu, told reporters that the election had been postponed indefinitely.

    He said although he had not been served the court papers, he only read about the injunction in the newspapers.

    “After reading it, I made consultations and the popular opinion is to shelve the election and respect the court order,” said Ozobu.

    He apologized to the “numerous delegates who have arrived Ebonyi for the election and pleaded with them to show respect for the rule of law and due process.

    He said he was working towards vacating the injunction, adding that as soon as that was done, the election would go on.

    However, the Secretary General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Dr. Joe Nwaorgu who was elected at last Saturday’s election by one of the factions in Enugu, said yesterday that there was no crisis in Ohanaeze Ndigbo.

    He said some ‘interests’ are “colouring the emerging impasse with the infusion of cash for media grandstanding.”

    Nwaorgu who spoke to The Nation requested Ndigbo to resolve internal issues within the ambits of the organization.

    He spoke on the last election, saying: “The elections were successfully concluded and the new executive council was inaugurated and sworn in by no less a personality than a retired Chief Judge of Enugu State and first president general of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Justice Ezebuilo Ozobu.”