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Tag: Kola Ologbondiyan

  • PDP decries Presidency’s mockery of Metuh

    PDP decries Presidency’s mockery of Metuh

    The leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party ( PDP ) has decried what it described as the Presidency’s mockery of a former spokesman of the PDP, Chief Olisa Metuh who is currently standing trial at the Federal High Court, Abuja.

    On the insistence of the trial judge to have the ailing Metuh brought to court or be sent to prison, the ex party spokesman was driven to the court premises in an ambulance and taken to the court room in a stretcher.

    Reacting to the condition in which Metuh was brought to court, a presidential aide, Lauretta Onochie had described the scenario as a “Nollywood act”, implying that Metuh feigned his pitiable condition.

    But in a statement on Wednesday by the National Publicity Secretary of PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan, the party said it was eminently revealing that the Presidency had more than passing interest in Metuh’s case.

    The PDP described the statement by the presidential aide as unwarranted and unjustified official intrusion and negative suggestions in Metuh’s trial.

    Describing the presidential aide’s comment as hateful, the PDP said it has further confirmed that the interest of the current administration in the matter was beyond the bounds of seeking justice in the matter.

    The party complained that the Presidency has been intruding into Metuh’s case since inception, with the view to setting him up before the judiciary.

    The statement said, “It is repulsive that a Presidential aide has once again intruded directly, with malicious suggestions, in a matter that is on judicial trial, thus further exposing that Chief Metuh’s travails in the course of the trial may have been politically hatched and orchestrated.

    “It is instructive to state that Chief Metuh, whose spinal chord ailment has badly deteriorated, was brought to court in his current medical state, sequel to the order of the trial judge.

    “It is public knowledge that Justice Abang on January 25, 2018 rejected medical reports from doctors at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Teaching Hospital, Nnewi, where Chief Metuh had been on admission and ordered him to appear in court on Monday, January 5, 2018 or have his bail revoked. In fact, the judge ruled that he would thenceforth not accept any other report issued by any medical doctor on the accused.

    “It is therefore irresponsible, wicked and an unpardonable act of inhumanity, for the Presidency or any of its agents to mock Chief Metuh for obeying the order of court, even in his current state of health”.

    Alleging a sinister design against Metuh, the PDP said it has information that government agents have been harassing medical aides and practitioners across the country for offering any form of treatment or assistance to him.

    The party said that viewing such alongside negative and hostile disposition towards medical reports on Metuh, any responsible person can safely conclude that there is a grand conspiracy to persecute the accused.

    “While we are not opposed to the trial of any of our members for any matter whatsoever, we insist that the process must be fair, without external influences and in strict compliance with provisions of the law”, the statement added.

     

  • We did not procure S/Court judgment, PDP replies Obasanjo

    We did not procure S/Court judgment, PDP replies Obasanjo

    The Peoples Democratic Party ( PDP ) has denied procuring judgment of the Supreme Court in the string of litigations that trailed the victory of many of its governors in the 2015 elections.

    In a statement on Wednesday by PDP’s National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, the party said it represents the true coalition of Nigerians from across the country.

    It added that its experience in governance and successful rebound from challenges has provided it an edge over every other existing or intended political platforms in the country.

    In his recent letter to President Muhammadu Buhari, former President Olusegun Obasanjo had accused a certain PDP governor in the South-South of seeking to take control of the opposition party, simply because he procured the judgment of the apex court in respect of the cases involving a number of PDP governors.

    “The PDP did not procure judgment from the Supreme Court contrary to the unsubstantiated claims made by former President Olusegun Obasanjo in his letter advising President Muhammadu Buhari not to seek re-election in 2019.

    “Obasanjo’s claim on procurement of judgement amounts to an ill-intended attempt to impugn on the integrity of the Supreme Court, particularly when such a claim is false and not predicated on any empirical proof.

    “The party said that the ruling of the Supreme Court, which ended the protracted internal feud within its fold, rather than detract, reinforced the confidence of Nigerians in the PDP as the platform that truly embodies the resilience of a genuine democratic process in the face of daunting challenges.

    “Even the worst critics of PDP concede that the judgment of the Supreme Court, was unprejudiced, uninfluenced and determined completely on merit, for which it was applauded in Nigeria and across the world.

    “Also, the conduct of our December 2017 elective national convention in a transparent, free and fair manner and where nobody was ‘kingmaker,’ denotes the democratic credential of the repositioned PDP to deliver credible primaries that would yield a presidential candidate Nigerians desire”.

    The PDP said there is an extensive dissimilarity between it and the All Progressives Congress ( APC ). The party said while it remains nationally populist and development-driven, “the APC by orientation and composure is arrogant, inept and anti-people, hence the nationwide detestation against it”, the statement said.

    The opposition party said it’s not like the APC, where a very few individuals from within a circle control the instrument of power and governance.

    It claimed to be an egalitarian platform where Nigerians are free to express themselves, politically engage and freely aspire to any office without regard to divisive considerations.

  • PDP: Obasanjo’s letter vindicates our position on Buhari, APC

    PDP: Obasanjo’s letter vindicates our position on Buhari, APC

    The Peoples Democratic Party ( PDP ) has said that the scathing open letter by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, detailing the poor performance of President Muhammadu Buhari has confirmed its poor rating of the President and the ruling All Progressives Congress ( APC ).

    Obasanjo had, in the letter, advised Buhari to perish the thought about seeking re-election in 2019 even as he described the administration as incompetent and nepotistic in its pattern of key federal appointments.

    A statement on Tuesday by the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan, said Obasanjo’s intervention was courageous, timeous and patriotic, adding that such has vindicated its position on President Buhari and the APC.

    The opposition party however rejected the call by Chief Obasanjo for a third force, saying that such would amount to repeating the same blunder that brought in the “ideologically vacuous APC and the Buhari Presidency” which it said has wrecked havoc on the nation in its almost three years of governance.

    The PDP further sated that it’s obvious that President Buhari and the APC have irredeemably failed the nation, adding that Nigerians have already taken an irrevocable position against them ahead of the 2019 elections.

    According to the PDP, Chief Obasanjo’s counsel has rekindled the fate of the people in the democratic process, stressing however that the solution does not lie in creating another political quicksand in a third force but consolidating on a rescue mission with the repositioned PDP which it said Nigerians have already embraced.

    The party recalled that in the heat of the 2015 elections, many citizens who claimed to have become tired of the PDP and its government, opted for a coalition of strange bedfellows that had little or no experience in governance as a vehicle for electoral victory.

    “Expectedly, in their confusion, they have plunged us into this regrettable situation that has brought our nation to its knees”, the statement added.

    Continuing, the PDP said, “Repeating the old mistake of congregating political strangers cannot help our nation at this time, more so, when the few concerns raised by the former President about the PDP no longer obtain under the refocused and rebranded PDP.

    “The PDP is now standing on a truly democratic ground that perfectly represents and reflects the hopes and aspirations of all Nigerians irrespective of their class, creed or tribe.

    “That is why our great party has now, more than ever before, become a centre of the new patriotic and broad-based engagements by well-meaning Nigerians and coalitions across board, including past leaders, in rekindling our democratic process that places priority on returning power to the people.

    “The fact is that Nigerians overrated President Buhari in 2015, but they have now seen that he never possessed the capacity and the required aptitude to effectively govern our great nation and pilot a healthy economy.

    “This accounts for the reason former President Obasanjo, just like most Nigerians today, are concerned about the quality of presidential candidates to be presented by various parties for the 2019 election.

    “The fact is that while the APC is already caught up with President Buhari, the PDP is open for a new engagement that will throw up the President, which our nation truly deserves at this crucial moment”

    The party called on Nigerians, including leaders across board, to come together to rebuild the nation on PDP’s consolidated base rather than traversing on another learning curve”.

  • Mega rally showed APC is insensitive to Nigerians’ plight – PDP

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Wednesday condemned the All Progressives Congress (APC) for organizing a mega rally in Umuahia, Abia State, on Tuesday, saying the development showed that the ruling party is insensitive to the plight of Nigerians.

    The PDP National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, said in a statement in Abuja that the APC was in Umuahia to spit on the faces of suffering Nigerians and the graves of those that had died due to “hardship caused by its misgovernment.”

    The party said: “Nigerians were disheartened to see leaders of the ruling party dancing away and making vain speeches at a time when millions are still traumatized over killings in Benue and other parts of the country, while many more are groaning under the pains of economic hardship worsened by the unabating fuel crisis in the country.

    “If the APC had an iota of regard for Nigerians, it would, at this moment, be brainstorming on the many woes it has caused the nation and how to shore up the economy ruined by its tactless government.

    “The Umuahia rally has also shown that the APC leaders are not in any way interested in the welfare of Nigerians but in their selfish, political and pecuniary interests.

    “This even manifested in their empty speeches wherein they could not present the people with any achievement or plans for future development.

    “Perhaps the APC would have learnt a lesson from the scanty turnout of Nigerians at the mega rally.”

     

  • PDP advises APC leadership to address national issues

    PDP advises APC leadership to address national issues

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has advised the All Progressives Congress (APC) led Federal Government to as a matter of urgency address the incessant killings, unemployment and other national issues affecting the country.

    PDP gave the advice in a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan on Monday in Abuja.

    The advice according to Ologbondiyan is in reaction to the list of appointed board members of federal parastatatals which contained names of deceased persons.

    He specifically called on the APC leadership to ensure a clear roadmap that would address burning issues affecting the economy and Nigerians, rather than resorting to excuses and shifting of blames.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the APC National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun had dissociated the party from the appointment, saying the party had no input in the appointments.

    Some of the issues according to Ologbondiyan include economy challenges, job losses and business closures which he says have caused hardship to families.

    Others according to him include insurgency, fuel crisis, and hidden oil subsidy payouts, illegal lifting of crude and the depletion of Nigerians foreign financial instruments.

  • We will continue to pray for Buhari ‘s son – PDP

    We will continue to pray for Buhari ‘s son – PDP

    The Peoples Democratic Party ( PDP ), has said that it will continue to pray for the son of President Muhammadu Buhari ’s son, Yusuf for speedy recovery from his power-bike accident.

    A statement fromthe party’s National Publicity Secretary, Mr Kola Ologbondiyan in Abuja on Thursday said the party was shocked by the news of the accident.

    “PDP as a family receive with shock, the sad news of the involvement of Yusuf Buhari, son of President Muhammadu Buhari in a power-bike accident in Abuja on Wednesday.

    “The PDP as a family prays for Yusuf’s speedy recovery to enable him return to his normal life.

    Ologbondiyan said that the party was  reassured by reports from the Presidency that Yusuf was in a steady condition.

    Read also: Buhari ’s son ‘stable’ after bike accident

    “We also commend the prompt intervention by medics even as we value the concern of all well-meaning Nigerians for their prayers for Yusuf and the first family”.

    NAN

  • Release of $1bn for FG to fight Boko Haram alarming – PDP

    Release of $1bn for FG to fight Boko Haram alarming – PDP

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Friday described the approval for the release of $1billion to the Federal Government under the guise of fighting insurgency in the North East as curious and alarming.

    A statement issued on Friday by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, said the party was alarmed by the manipulative plot by the All Progressive Congress (APC) administration to secure approvals without recourse to due process, and for purposes of fighting the same insurgents it claimed to have since defeated.

    The PDP wondered why the federal government had to recourse to the National Economic Council (NEC) while avoiding the direct constitutional appropriation channel of the National Assembly for funding of items already provided for in the federal budget if it actually has nothing to hide.

    The party said: “The PDP supports the fight against insurgency. We hold our officers and men confronting the terrorists and securing our territorial integrity in high esteem, but we are concerned about the manipulative tendencies connected with the approvals as well as the veracity of claimed purpose of the fund.

    “Nigerians would recall that the APC-led Federal Government had claimed that it has since defeated the insurgents.

    “If it would take a billion dollars from a nation’s savings to kill what they long claimed was dead, then we challenge the APC government to come clean and tell Nigerians the whole truth.

    “The era of lies and propaganda is long gone and Nigerians now know the truth. The federal government must be held accountable and stopped from any move to fritter away our national savings.

    “We therefore call on the National Assembly to interrogate this proposed disbursement and subject it to a thorough but rapid interrogation.”

    The PDP also noted that the development has rubbished the integrity of the current administration and demanded that it apologise to Nigerians for lying to them about the actual state of the fight against insurgency in Nigeria.

    “By accepting the $1billion for fighting insurgency,  the APC-led federal government has admitted that it lied when it announced that it has defeated the insurgents. They should therefore apologise to Nigerians for giving them a false sense of security, resulting in their vulnerability to attacks by terrorists,” the party added.

     

     

  • PDP to APC: Don’t cause disaffection among our South West members

    PDP to APC: Don’t cause disaffection among our South West members

    The national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of instigating some leaders of the party in the South West with the view to infiltrating their ranks and setting them against the national body.

    According to the PDP, the ruling party is trying to capitalise on the fallout of the just concluded PDP national convention, which saw aggrieved chairmanship aspirants from the South West kicking against the outcome of the convention.

    A statement issued on Thursday by the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, said the aim was to distract the opposition and divert the attention of Nigerians from the “colossal failure” of the APC government.

    “Having woefully failed to stop the PDP elective national convention, a desperate APC has again failed in another bid to plant seeds of discord within the ranks of our members in the South West, particularly on issues relating to the outcome of our hugely successful national convention,” he stated.

    The PDP, however, said people of the South West have seen through the antics of the APC propaganda machine and would not allow themselves be deceived.

    The statement continued, “The South West leaders who contested for the PDP national chairmanship position are all men of quality and credibility; the fallout of the convention cannot, in any way, diminish their standing as core nationalists and statesmen whose interests, particularly in the PDP, and the nation, are not driven by personal or ethnic considerations.

    “What essentially drives the individual and collective aspirations of the South West leaders in the PDP remains in tandem with the vision of other leaders of our party across the country, which is to rescue our dear nation from the directionless administration of the APC with its attendant economic hardship on Nigerians.

    “In fretting, the APC does not seem to realise that people in the South West are as much victims of its misrule as other Nigerians. Those in the South West suffer from the current chaotic state of the economy which the APC administration has inflicted on the nation

    “They groan from the APC’s negative policies on foreign exchange as well as the heavy taxations that are killing industries and businesses; they suffer the misery in the land resulting from the spiral rate of inflation, decline in the stock market and decayed infrastructure.

    “The APC’s attempt to plant seeds of discord among our members in the South West merely betrays their fears of losing control of the region.”

    Declaring that the South West is too sophisticated to fall for the gimmicks of the APC, the opposition party insisted that people of the region cannot be distracted or deceived by baseless propaganda and cheap resort to ethnic politics.

    It added that the South West would not fail to join other despairing Nigerians in voting out the APC in the 2019 election.

    “The truth is that the APC administration, having wrecked the country, is resorting to shadow boxing to stay afloat; Nigerians are however, impatient to kick them out.

    “The APC must note that their exit has become inevitable. They must note that the more they fight the PDP, the more united we become and the more Nigerians see through their deception and emptiness. Today, many are leaving their ranks in droves. Very soon their party will be empty and its collapse will be loud.

    “For the PDP, we remain one big family committed to credible processes that guarantee internal democracy in our party. Our leaders have since revved our internal conflict resolution mechanisms and consultations in this direction are yielding tremendously positive results.

    “Finally, the PDP assures all Nigerians not to despair as we have now repositioned to provide direction and return the nation back to the path of unity and prosperity.”

  • Ologbondiyan joins race for PDP National Publicity seat

    Ace journalist and former Deputy Editor of ThisDay Newspapers, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, on Friday joined the race to fill the position of National Publicity Secretary in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    Ologbondiyan, who picked his nomination papers in Abuja, was also the Special Adviser (Media and Publicity) to former Senate President, David Mark and a strong stakeholder in the PDP at state and national levels.

    He also rose through the ranks in his professional and political callings.

    He was the Group Political Editor of ThisDay Newspapers and as a correspondent, covered several high profile political beats, including the Presidency, National Assembly, State Government Houses and political parties.

    A graduate of the University of Lagos and holder of a Post-Graduate Diploma (PGD) in Journalism from the institute of Journalism, Lagos, Ologbondiyan is well-versed in Nigerian political evolution with strong institutional memory of PDP activities.

     

  • Defection: Mark not employing double standard, says aide

    THE Special Adviser to the Senate President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, yesterday dismissed suggestion that his boss, Senator David Mark, employed double standard in the attempt by 11 Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to defect to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    The Interim National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Alhaji Lai Mohammed had, in a statement, accused Mark of using double standard in his dealings with the new APC senators after allowing defectors into the PDP and preventing defections into other political parties.

    Ologbondiyan described the allegation as not only strange but embarrassing.

    He insisted that the APC’s claims were unfounded and misplaced because no form of defection had taken place in the Senate.

    Ologbondiyan said: “It is strange for the APC to draw such conclusion because no form of defection had taken place on the floor of the Senate. Conditions for defection were clearly stated in the constitution and for now, no senator had met those conditions as provided in the constitution.

    “As I speak with you, there is no form of defection in the Senate. I think for anybody, group or political party to accuse the Senate president of double standard in that regard is most unfortunate.

    “He (Mark) has never employed double standard in his dealings with his colleagues in the upper chamber. He has been straight, fair, just, purposeful and conscientious in his approach to matters affecting every Senator not minding his or her political party.”