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Tag: Igbokwe

  • APC ‘ll not implode, says Igbokwe

    THE Lagos State All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday allayed fears of a possible implosion in the party as a result of the alleged disagreements among its chieftains.

    Its spokesman, Joe Igbokwe, gave the assurance at the public presentation of three books in honour of former Lagos Governor Babatunde Fashola (SAN) by one of his aides, Hakeem Bello.

    Addressing reporters after the event at the Muson Centre, Lagos, Igbokwe noted that it was normal for party members to disagree on certain issues, but insisted that the matter would never go out of hand.

    He said: “APC remains APC. As a big party, we must not overlook the fact that sometimes problems will occur. It is the capacity to solve the problem that makes you what you are.

    “It is part of the process in politics. We disagree to agree and by tomorrow,  we will get it right. It is not the first time. When Governor Akinwunmi Ambode came out to contest as governor, we had crisis. Twelve governorship candidates walked away and we managed it.

    “We have always been winning. In the last election, people thought that Lagos State will go, but it didn’t go. So, problems are part of life. Even as I am standing here now, I have some issues to resolve in my family. Once your problem finishes, you are dead.

    “So, whatever is happening now is part of democratic process; don’t forget democracy is a slow process.

    “We never had implosion in the days of the formation of our party, APC; we never had implosions until we had victory and they think we will have it now or what you see now will affect us. No!

    “We will use our capacity to deal with our misunderstandings in the fullness of time because our party is bigger than some of these skirmishes.”

    Another chieftain Prof. Tunde Samuel, who also denied the allegation of a rift between Fashola and APC National Leader Bola Tinubu, said no one builds a house only to destroy it.

    “Fashola is Tinubu’s own. You do not build a house and destroy it,” Samuel said.

  • Keshi sabotaged not to qualify for AFCON —Igbokwe

    Keshi sabotaged not to qualify for AFCON —Igbokwe

    Torchlight of Nigerian football’ Iyke Igbokwe has alleged that Stephen Keshi was sabotaged by his employers not to qualify for next year’s AFCON.

    On Wednesday, defending champions Nigeria sensationally failed to qualify for the 2015 AFCON in Equatorial Guinea after they could only draw 2-2 with group leaders South Africa in Uyo.

    Igbokwe, who contested the recent NFF executive committee polls and has since appealed against the conduct of the elections, said it was planned from the onset for Keshi to fail.

    “The NFF board saddled to oversee the game are to blame for this failure because we all know there is no love lost between Keshi and the board of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF),” he argued.

    “The NFF board sacked Keshi, but the presidency in its wisdom reinstated the coach because he started the qualifiers and with two matches to go, he should finish it.

    “His replacement would have had a ready-made excuse had he being failed to qualify.

    “Also, the team’s morale was low. Their daily allowances in Congo were not paid, but instead the NFF took 100 journeymen on a chartered plane to Congo for sightseeing paid for by tax payers.

    No NFF board member was there to visit the team before the match this has never been done in the history

    “The animosity between employer and employee played out in full glare in Uyo.

    “This is certainly not a proper way to run football in Nigeria.”

  • ‘Ngige is best man for Anambra governorship’

    ‘Ngige is best man for Anambra governorship’

    AHEAD of the Anambra governorship election billed for November, the spokesman for the Lagos State Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Mr Joe Igbokwe, has tipped Senator Chris Ngige as the best man to take over from Governor Peter Obi.

    Igbokwe hinged his recommendation on the need to sustain the tempo and raise the stake of good governance in the state.

    The ACN spokesman, who recalled how his preference for the incumbent over Ngige in 2010, pitted him against party members, explained that his position was informed by the trauma Obi went through to reclaim the mandate freely given to him by the Anambra people.

    He listed such hurdles as the denial of his well-deserved mandate, the controversial impeachment by the state Assembly and the tribunal/judicial battles he fought to before he was restored as governor.

    “I wanted Governor Peter Obi to get a second term because of all the troubles he went through to reclaim his mandate and all the troubles he suffered going through criminal impeachment and through courts and tribunals to reclaim his mandate,” Igbokwe explained in the statement.

    Though Igbokwe said the supporters of the senator reported him to former Lagos State Governor Bola Tinubu, alleging that he was engaging in anti-party activities. He said Obi has justified his mandate with the landmark achievements of his administration.

    Igbokwe noted that those who took his case to Tinubu leveled the allegation against him in the presence of the party’s National Chairman Chief Bisi Akande and Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola, who was then the Lagos Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure.

    According to him, the time has come for Ngige to take the mantle of leadership and add more value to the politics of the state.

    He said: “The rest is now history but it was an excruciating and daunting experience for me. I have never regretted it.

    “I will appeal that we put this matter behind us and move on. We have a target and that is to make 2014 a memorable year. We will join the teeming and enthusiastic Anambra voters to elect Dr. Ngige as the governor of Anambra State. So, let us all move forward with that spirit until victory is achieved.”

    He expressed confidence that the All Progressive Congress (APC), which will field a progressive candidate for the November 16 election will succeed Obi, whose two-term tenure of eight years expires next year.

    Igbokwe said: “All the energies at our disposal will be deployed to make this a reality. We will put our hands, our feet, our eyes, our brains, our strengths, our human and material resources to make the dream come true. “This support would not be based on flimsy grounds but the best interest of Anambra at heart. We will work hard to elect for ourselves a man best suited to continue the progressive march.”

    He noted that Ngige during his first stint as governor, was the architect of the historic liberation of Anambra politics from the shackles of godfathers and minions, adding that the liberty paved the way for Obi’s success.

    “For the avoidance of doubts, the template of Anambra renaissance we all are benefiting from today was set up by Ngige when he damned the hawkish demands of the godfathers to free Anambra and its resources for the people of Anambra,” Igbokwe said.

  • APC will provide better leadership, says Igbokwe

    APC will provide better leadership, says Igbokwe

    THE Publicity Secretary of the Lagos State Action Congress of Nigeria(ACN), Joe Igbokwe, has said that the new mega party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), will provide effective leadership for the country.

    In a statement in Lagos, Igbokwe noted that Nigerians have been asking sundry questions about what impact the APC would make, when it is registered. He assured that the country will certainly make progress under the party.

    He said: “Some Nigerians are asking what the new party can do to restore the dignity of Nigeria. As we move close to 2015 Presidential elections, political watchers are asking to know the difference between APC and PDP. A lot of questions are coming to the political desks of APC throughout the country: is this party different from PDP? Are the progenitors not the same Nigerians we know? What does this party have in store for 150 million Nigerians? Can this new party make a difference? Can it fill in the gap in Nigeria’s political landscape? Can APC have the courage and the political will to fight the dreaded monster in Nigeria called corruption?

    “Nigerians want change and APC is ready to provide the long-awaited change. But the change is not going to come easy knowing the antics of the ruling party and their criminal disposition when it comes to electoral issues. To them, every presidential election is a do or die affair, a fight to finish, and the mother of all battles.

    Igbokwe asked Nigerians reclaim the country from the hand of pretenders.

    He added: “It is left for Nigerians to fight to reclaim their God-given country from pretenders and to all intents and purposes this is not going to be easy. This is a struggle for the soul of Nigeria, a struggle for economic, social and political freedom, a struggle to reclaim our rights to life. It is now or never. Yes, we can!

    “Well, APC may not have all the answers to these very strong questions posed above, but the truth of the matter remains that things will never be the same again. One thing is clear: Nigeria is not making progress in the midst of plenty. Nigeria is not making progress in the age of success. APC believes that investment funds must be retrieved from the pockets of few corrupt Nigerians and the money ploughed back to the economy to create jobs”.

    Igbokwe hinted that the party would invest massively in education as a panacea to poverty.

    He stressed: “APC leaders know that the only way to fight poverty is through massive investment in qualitative education. I can go on and on but APC cannot do everything in one fell swoop. Please take notice that this is not the manifesto of APC. After the formal registration, the party will sell its manifesto to Nigerians, and I know that it may not be too far from what I have said above.

    “Nigeria’s problems are well known for a long time in this country, dating back to the early 90s. For over 20 years we have been dancing around our problems without addressing them frontally and today we have gone full circle. The problems have magnified to become an octopus.

  • Igbokwe: PDP cannot capture Lagos

    Igbokwe: PDP cannot capture Lagos

    Lagos State Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has said that the threat by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to capture the state in the 2015 general elections will collapse before the polls.

    The ruling party said the opposition party should perish the idea of winning elections through the back door in the Centre of Excellence.

    ACN Publicity Secretary Comrade Joe Igbokwe described as a wishful thinking the plan by the PDP to hijack power from the progressives in their stronghold.

    Igbokwe spoke against the backdrop of PDP’s comment on the proposed Eko Atlantic City project and the on-going monitoring project monitoring by Governor Babatunde Fashola.

    According to the PDP chairman, Captain Tunji Shelle (rtd), the stae government is promoting propaganda.

    But Igbokwe, in a statement, accused the PDP of blackmailing the ACN-led administration to curry the favour of Lagosians.

    He said: “Lagos PDP’s hopeless hopes and pathetic lies to win the hearts of Lagosians are nothing but a struggle for a seat in a filled train and at best, an exercise in futility.

    “While Lagos PDP continues to struggle on daily basis to find something negative to say about ACN- controlled government in Lagos State with the hope to win the hearts of Lagosians, Governor Fashola continues to record landmark and ground-breaking achievements.

    “From the Iganmu-Okokomaiko Light Rail project to the New Cable Car Transport System; from the world-class Eko Atlantic City to the successful Lagos Security Project; from the massive rehabilitation and renovation of public schools in the state to the current reconstruction of inner roads in Lagos; and many other projects too numerous to mention here, our take is that there is no hiding place for the PDP in Lagos.

    The Publicity Secretary also querried: “How can a party that wants the world to take it serious call the dedication of 5,000,000 square meters of the great Eko Atlantic City a propaganda; a serious event witnessed by President Goodluck Jonathan, former United States President Bill Clinton, House of Representatives Speaker Aminu Tambuwal and many eminent Nigerians?

    “How can a party that says it wants to take over leadership in Lagos says Fashola is deceiving Lagosians by going to inspect and inaugurate completed projects in the metropolis?

    Igbokwe said Fashola Administration has justified the confidence reposed in it by Lagosians, adding that he is a model worthy of emulation by other governors.

    He said the voters will reject PDP at the polls in Lagos because the impact of the PDP federal government is not felt in the city-state.

    Igbokwe added: “We in the ACN believe that Fashola has proved beyond reasonable doubt that good governance is possible in Nigeria.

    “Governor Fashola will ever remain focused; he will continue to fix his eyes on the ball and he will continue to show the way forward for others to follow in Nigeria in many years to come.