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Tag: governorship ambition

  • Aremu unfolds governorship ambition in Kwara

    Former Deputy National President of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Issa Aremu has declared intention to contest for the governor of Kwara State under the Labour Party (LP).

    Addressing party supporters, he said Kwara was lacking in development, adding that he would ensure the people enjoy dividends of democracy when voted to office.

    Aremu said that he would address the uncertainly in state, noting that the people were weighed down by poverty and mass hunger.

    He said: “With God guidance and your support, I hereby offer myself to lead the electoral process in liberating our hitherto promising Kwara State from underdevelopment, mass hunger and poverty.

    “I am honoured and humbled with your sacrifices to make today a reality. I am indeed delighted and grateful that we all turn out because of the legitimate concern we have for the development of our dear state and Nigeria

    “Today seems uncertain, God willing, tomorrow can and will indeed be better. Despite lack of money and pervasive income poverty, you have taken various means of transport like Okada, Keke and unworthy taxis through the notorious Ilorin roads to this place.’’

    Aremu said the government seems to legitimize wage theft especially of local government employees, contrary to the stipulation of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) work conditions.

    He maintained that the bail outs offered by President Muhammadu Buhari had not been judiciously reflected in the condition of the people.

    Aremu said: “In spite of the legitimate worries you still have time to come. Many appreciatively turn up at the shortest notice. I salute your patriotism and remarkable commitment towards a better Kwara, better Nigeria and better Africa.

    “All our worries about poor governance in Kwara call for action. Let’s get out of slumber and murmurs. Let’s organise and stop agonising.

    “The state was created on 27 May 1967, we are proud to be part of the first generation of states which include Rivers, Kano and Lagos states. Last year, first generation states celebrated 50th anniversary. Lagos and other states celebrated 50 with upbeat signature projects.

    He added: “But Kwara at 50 was ‘marked’ almost unnoticed by leaders who paradoxically celebrate their personal birthdays and weddings of their children like days and months long.  At 50 Governor Ahmed Fatai led administration listed unity, peace and development as the achievements of Kwara at 50.

    “Other listed achievements include the Federal, State and private universities, industries, an emerging aviation hub, advanced health facilities, modern recreational facilities, and comparatively good infrastructure. Why then the “low-key”  celebration?

    “Our state urgently begs for development and salvation from bad governance. The 2019 governorship election offers a unique historic opportunity to reclaim our dear state. I offer to lead my dear Kwara state through selflessness, statesmanship, entrepreneurship, compassion, managing diversity, equality, inclusiveness, sense of justice and fairness.”

  • 2019: I’m still in Imo guber race -Nwosu 

    …Says my ambition is divine

     

    The Chief of Staff to the Imo State Governor, Ugwumba Uche Nwosu, has described as unfounded and baseless, reports that he has suspended his governorship ambition over the opposition mounted by the ‘Coalition Group’.

    Nwosu stated that rather, his ambition has been strengthened by the activities of the opposition, which he affirmed has prepared him for the task ahead, stressing that cheap blackmail and propaganda can’t stop his ambition.

    The Chief of Staff and former Commissioner for Lands, who was reacting to a publication in one of the national newspapers that he may have jettisoned his push for the Imo State governorship, following the outcome of the party’s congresses, confirmed that his support base across the state has continued to swell by the day, which he said is rattling his opponents.

    He maintained that he is not disturbed by the political intrigues and controversies that arose during the course of the contentious APC Congresses in the state, noting that his ambition is “divine and cannot be truncated by any man”.

    Read Also:2019: Imo Deputy Gov rejects Okorocha’s Senate offer

    According to him, those behind the report of his purported withdrawal from the race are those who are already losing sleep over his growing acceptance among the Imo electorate, adding that, “no amount of cheap blackmail or sponsored falsehood in the media can distract him or derail God’s plan for Imolites through his mandate”.

    He said, “there is nothing that can be farther from the truth than such report that I have suspended my ambition. It is those in the opposition that have suspended their governorship aspirations because of the fear of Ugwumba Uche Nwosu. They are afraid because they know that they don’t stand a chance against the will of God and the people.

    “We are very focused on the goal and we cannot be distracted. If you observe correctly, you will discover that we are not resting on our oars, we are moving and taking our message to the nooks and crannies of the state, while the so called Coalition Group are running around in hotels in Abuja looking for ways to subvert the will of the people, they are not on ground and none of them can win any election in Imo”.

    Nwosu who urged his supporters and the APC to disregard the malicious rumour, stated that what transpired during the botched APC Congresses in the state has revealed the plans of the opposition parties to infiltrate the APC with the intention of introducing crisis that will mar the chances of the party during the 2019 election.

    He said, “those same people who fought Governor Rochas Okorocha and even called him all sort of uncomplimentary names, some even went as far as selling the falsehood that he was working with President Muhammadu Buhari to Islamize the Southeast when he was building the APC, are the same people who are pretending to love the party. We know their plans and their sponsors but just like we defeated them in 2011 and 2015, we will also defeat them in 2019 and President Muhammadu Buhari will have landslide victory in Imo and other Southeast states”.

  • Delta APC changes strategy as Emerhor jettisons governorship ambition 

    As part of steps to win Delta State, the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress(APC) in 2015 Olorogun O’tega Emerhor has jettisoned his ambition for a credible candidate  from Delta North.

    Emerhor has conveyed his decision to opt out of the race to the presidency and stakeholders of APC at the national level.

    It was learnt that Emerhor’s choice was part of the ongoing review of strategies on how President Muhammadu Buhari can win appreciable votes in the Southsouth, including Delta State.

    There were indications that the APC leadership might take a decision soon on the alleged parallel congress in the state.

    The source said the Peoples Democratic Party( PDP) and the state governor are becoming jittery because APC is looking at Delta North for its candidate.

    A top source said: “APC is reviewing its strategy in the Southsouth including Delta State. We do not want to repeat the same mistakes of 2015.

    “As for Delta State, we are taking the governorship  battle to the doorsteps of Governor  Ifeanyi Okowa. Our candidate in 2015, Emerhor, has decided not to contest the 2019 governorship election, but to allow the party to produce the governorship candidate from Delta North Senatorial District where Okowa hails from.

    “ Emerhor has given up his ambition because he said he does not want to disrupt the natural flow and that he is ready to wait till 2023. He has sacrificed his ambition in the interest of the party so that the APC can win the state in 2019.

    “To defeat Okowa in 2019, the APC believes it must take the battle to him in his backyard because of the unwritten policy of rotation existing in the state.

    “As you are aware, Delta Central and Delta South have both governed the state for eight years each. Delta North is just concluding four years and should be allowed to do the remaining four years.

    “But those who are conducting parallel congresses believe that the governorship ticket must come from Delta Central and that the Great Ogboru must be the party flag bearer. That is playing into the hands of Okowa.”

    The source said further that: “The governorship ticket in 2019 is what is behind all these issues of parallel congresses in Delta APC.

    “Beyond that, it is suspected that some elements in the Peoples Democratic Party( PDP) in Delta  State are also behind what is happening to APC in the state. Their fear is that a stronger APC will dislodge PDP and Okowa.”

    Responding to a question, the top source added: “By our calculations, the odds favour the Northern district. Delta North has nine local governments, while the rest two districts have eight each.

    “If we don’t pick our governorship candidate in 2019 from Delta North and we shift to Delta Central or Delta South, we will give Okowa the sentiment to gather the whole of Delta North together and say they want to take what belong to them. We cannot afford to  lose nine local governments.

    “After consolidating in Delta North, Okowa would only need four local governments to win re-election.

    “We have array of qualified persons from there. We have a choice and we believe that is the only way we can win by bringing the fight to Okowa in his own backyard.”

    The party claimed  those who defected to APC from the Labour Party were behind the parallel congresses in Delta APC.

    “The scenario is this. Emerhor contested in 2015, while Ogboru contested under the Labour Party and later joined the APC after the election. There was no name they did not call APC leaders  then while harassing them.

    “But they defected with a determination that Ogboru will be governor and so, when they came in, they refused to integrate with the rest of the party and kept to themselves. They even gave themselves a name called the Light of APC.”

     

    “So, they have been carrying along like that from the first day they came into the party.In view of this, they are playing into Okowa’s hands.

     

  • ‘It’s wrong to stop Adeola’s governorship ambition’

    A governorship aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ogun State, Jimi Lawal, has faulted those seeking to stop Senator Olamilekan Adeola from pursuing his governorship ambition ahead of the 2019 poll.

    Adeola, the senator representing Lagos Westhails from Ogun West Senatorial District and has a declared desire to become the next governor of Ogun State on the paltform of the APC.

    Lawal said it was “wrong” for anybody to attempt “stopping or hindering” Adeola, popularly called Yayi, from participating in the forthcoming 2019 governorship race in the Gateway State “on the basis of where he is coming from”.

    The former banker and founder of defunct Alpha Merchant Bank addressed reporters at the weekend in Ijebu-Ode.

    He noted that anyone or group attempting to stop Yayi would merely be pursuing a “moral issue and not something legal”.

    Lawal said the constitution and the electoral law are clear on the matter.

    The former banker stressed that one can transfer one’s Personal Voter Card (PVC) from one location to another, thus paving the way for one to vote or be voted for in a new location during general elections.

    The APC governorship aspirant from Ogun East expressed the confidence that he would succeed Governor Ibikunle Amosun in 2019.

    Lawal added that he was not comfortable with the fact that some people working for Yayi in the state were in disagreement with the governor.

    The politician said it was not right for one to be in the opposition.

    He hailed Amosun for improving on the state’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), adding that his administration’s urban renewal and infrastructural development were remarkable.

    But he said the state’s development seemed to be capital-based.

    Lawal pledged to embark on far-reaching economic and human capital development, functional education and healthcare system, open the state’s rural areas for accessibility and socioeconomic development as well as return Dangote to Ogun-Waterside to set up a refinery there, if given the mandate to govern the state in 2019.

  • 2019: Ibadan indigenes back Oke-Ogun governorship ambition

    2019: Ibadan indigenes back Oke-Ogun governorship ambition

    A group of Ibadan indigenes, the Ibadan Equity Forum (IEF), has expressed support for power shift to Oke-Ogun area of Oyo State, ahead of the 2019 governorship election.

    In a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Mr Sola Adio, the forum said its decision was borne out of the need to promote equity, fairness and justice among the various communities in the state.

    Since the creation of Oyo Stat in 1976, no indigene of Oke-Ogun has been elected governor.

    Oke-Ogun has 10 local government areas; it is located in the northern part of the state.

    Its land mass covers about 60 per cent of the total land mass of the state, but the area has about 20 per cent of the state’s population.

    IEF urged indigenes of the area to present a credible candidate who can offer excellent leadership in office.

    It advised Ibadan and other indigenes to support any candidate Oke-Ogun may present ahead of next year’s governorship election.

    The statement reads: “Following our emergency meeting last Thursday at the palace of the Olubadan of Ibadan at Oja’ba, we resolved that we are solidly behind the idea of a candidate from Oke-Ogun in the 2019 governorship election. For the purpose of fairness, equity and justice, we want the next governor to come from the region. We implore all Ibadan indigenes – home and abroad – to support the decision.”

     

     

  • Ashafa: I’ve no governorship ambition

    Ashafa: I’ve no governorship ambition

    Lagos East Senator Gbenga Ashafa yesterday distanced himself from an online report that he plans to take a shot at the Lagos governorship next year.

    Ashafa said he is not only focused on his assignment as a federal lawmaker, but that he is in full support of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode.

    He said his attention was yesterday drawn to reports of his purported aspirations, saying the news lacked every iota of truth.

    A statement by his media aide, Tope Atiba, reads: “The distinguished Senator Gbenga Ashafa uses this medium to reiterate his support for the government of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, and state that he is firmly focused on his assignment as the Senator representing the people of Lagos East in the upper chamber of the Legislature. Senator Ashafa is equally committed to supporting the brilliant strides of the incumbent governor of Lagos State, and would continue to support him accordingly.

    “It is pertinent to state at this juncture that only last Friday, Senator Ashafa used his address at the closing ceremony of the Entrepreneurship Training and Skill Acquisition for his constituents to publicly drum up support for the government of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, noting the governor’s good works, particularly in youth empowerment.

    “Senator Ashafa urges the people to continue supporting the Government of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, and also makes it abundantly clear that he is currently focused on his assignment as the Senator representing Lagos East in the National Assembly.”

  • Ikuforiji informs Assembly workers of governorship ambition

    Ikuforiji informs Assembly workers of governorship ambition

    Lagos State House of Assembly Speaker Adeyemi Ikuforiji has informed Assembly workers of his intention to contest next year’s governorship election on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    Addressing the workers at the week end at the “Quarterly Interactive Session”, Ikuforiji said God had given him the go ahead to contest the election.

    The announcement was greeted with applause from the workers, who shouted: “Ikuforiji o, Epe lo kan o (Ikuforiji o, it is Epe’s turn to rule Lagos State).

    Ikuforiji said he consulted widely with stakeholders, including opinion leaders and his colleagues in the Assembly, adding: “I have called on God concerning my ambition and He has given me the approval to go ahead.”

    A few weeks ago, the Speaker hosted his colleagues in the Assembly at his Ikeja home and notified them of his intention to contest the governorship election.

    He said he had successfully established a virile legislature, pledging to build a state “where people will be happy”.

    Ikuforiji said: “I have not come here to formally declare my ambition to be governor of Lagos State. What I am doing is inform you of my intention.  When the time comes, I will do so and the whole of Lagos will know I did so.”

    Praising the Assembly’s management and staff for their professionalism, the Speaker thanked them for their contribution to the legislature’s development. He urged them to work harder to make the Assembly an excellent example in the world.