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Tag: Ogbonna Nwuke

  • AFCON 2019: Expert calls for early preparation

    Mr Ogbonna Nwuke, a Port Harcourt-based journalist and politician, has called for early preparation and quality friendlies for the Super Eagles ahead of the 2019 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) .

    Nwuke made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Port Harcourt on Wednesday, ahead of Nigeria’s participation in 2019 AFCON.

    The competition is expected to hold from June 21 to July 19 in Egypt with 24 participating national teams.

    “You will find that in comparison to other countries which take their time to play serious friendlies, you don’t usually find that in Nigeria.

    “We just come late and then may be because God is a Nigerian; we manage to go beyond the first round and so on.

    “I think that what is critical at this point in time is to change our coaching to achieve positive results,’’ Nwuke said.

    He also appealed to the Super Eagles Technical crew to groom talents for national teams, to complement players invited from abroad.

    “A good technical adviser/coach should go down, examine the local league and invite the best to complement professionals invited from abroad.

    Read Also: Updated: Nigeria qualify for AFCON 2019

    “The role also demands that he should not just get up and run but get down and develop our football. That is supposed to make him very different from of the coaches found in Nigeria,’’ he said.

    He commended Gernot Rhor, the Super Eagles Technical Adviser, for adding value to our national team.

    “When Gernot Rohr came here his intention was to develop our soccer, most of our local players were not as exposed as they are today. It means there is something unique in him.

    “Nigerians love football and talents abound here.

    “But Rhor should find time to reach out to know what the local teams are doing in the league to be sure of what players to further develop.

    “A serious coach will go down and try to find out the best approach to develop talents.

    “He should not be seen as one who simply makes use of talents that were developed by others.’’

    He said that the Nigerian football league had the potential for development, to match any league in the world.

    “Of course, we have upcoming young talents in our league. All we need to do now is to find the best way of developing our league, compared to what is happening in South Africa.

    NAN

     

  • Tonye Cole: we’ll overcome temporary setback

    Governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers state, Tonye Cole has described Friday’s Supreme Court judgement upholding decision of the Lower Court on Rivers primary as only a temporary setback that will be overcome.

    In a statement by the spokesman of the Cole/Giadom Campaign Organisation, Ogbonna Nwuke, Cole expressed confidence that the APC in Rivers will triumph at the end of the day when the substantive suit is determined by the Apex court.

    The Supreme Court had on Friday upheld the ruling of the Court of Appeal and the High Court in Rivers State blocking the primaries conducted by the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State.

    The statement reads: “Our attention has been drawn to reports which suggest that Ibrahim Umar & 22 others have secured a final determination at the Supreme Court.

    Read Also; ‘Tonye Cole should search his conscience’

    “The fact available to us is that the only issue determined today, Friday, 8th February, 2019 was that of legal representation, which had been in contention.

    “Based on the various conflicting headlines being carried, it is critical to state that there are other pending matters, including the substantive appeal, which is yet to be determined by the Supreme Court. Our faith in the judiciary remains unshaken.

    “We wish to urge our numerous supporters not to panic, following the deliberate misrepresentation of facts on the social media and elsewhere regarding the outcome of today’s judgement. We shall surely be triumphant in the end.”

  • ‘Rivers governor lacks moral right to ask for second term’

    The governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, Pastor Tonye Cole, has stated that Governor Nyesom Wike lacks the moral right to ask for a second term, in view of his abysmal performance.

    Cole, on Thursday in Port Harcourt, through the Spokesman of his campaign organisation, Ogbonna Nwuke, a former member of the House of Representatives, noted while reacting to the New Year’s Day message of Wike, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), that the Rivers governor had squandered whatever was left of his goodwill.

    He said: “What is Wike really coming back to do? Rivers people gave him a chance to serve them in 2015, after the abracadabra that took place. Rather than work for them, Wike turned against them and chastised them from day one.

    “Rather than for Wike to keep Rivers people safe, heads of innocent and defenseless persons were gruesomely cut off. Whole families were wasted by hit squads, while property worth millions of naira was destroyed in many parts of the state.

    “Three and a half years down the line, the Rivers governor, who has squandered the opportunity to write his name in the history books, wants a second chance. Even members of his party (PDP), who have seen how bad he is, are not looking forward to a Wike’s second term.”

    The co-founder of Sahara Group also stated that the Rivers people, pushed to the wall by Wike’s maladministration, could not afford to gamble with the future, stressing that it was time to hold the leaders accountable for their deeds, while insisting that it had nothing to do with political party.

    Read Also: ‘Wike will lead Rivers unto prosperity’

    He said: “We challenge the Rivers governor to tell people of the state what he has done with billions of naira belonging to them. Before asking for a second tenure, Wike should tell Rivers people where he kept the N117 billion that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says has been stolen from the coffers of Rivers State.

    “Wike should tell Rivers people where he is getting billions of naira that he is using to buy them out of their lands and acquire palatial structures all over Port Harcourt.

    “Rivers governor should tell us why we have the highest unemployment rate in the country, despite billions of naira that are flowing into the state. He should tell them why we are number one in all the wrong places: insecurity, waste mismanagement, occurrence of HIV/AIDS and the national misery index.”

    The governorship candidate of APC also urged Rivers people to say no to looting, while declaring that the score card of Wike’s administration was not encouraging.

    He said: “Wike has failed abysmally to improve the health sector. He has not delivered in the education sector. He has failed the civil servants and pensioners who worked tirelessly to lay the solid foundation for the growth of our dear state.

    “What Wike has is a bag full of colossal failures. Unlike Wike, Cole, who has a clear plan, will not allow the heads of Rivers people to be severed from their bodies and used gruesomely to decorate roadsides, in order to induce fear.

    “Unlike Wike, Cole understands the need to create an appropriate environment for investments and understands the place of bureaucrats and technocrats who work in the state’s civil service.

    “Cole knows that the greatest task of any responsible government is to protect lives and property. This is why Rivers people should ignore Wike’s appeal for a second tenure and vote APC.”

    Cole also assured that his government from May 29 this year, by God’s grace, would bring back security, investments, jobs and empowerment, as well as to restore the Garden City status of Port Harcourt with the greening and cleaning of the state capital and its environs, with end put to the hazardous soot.

  •  Tonye Cole to supporters: remain calm over litigations

    Governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State Pastor Tonye Cole on Thursday urged his teeming supporters to remain calm over litigations against his bid.

    Speaking in Port-Harcourt through the spokesperson of his campaign organisation, Ogbonna Nwuke, Cole expressed optimism of getting justice in court despite the “little” setback.

    The co-founder of Sahara Group said: “We advise members of the public to remain calm while justice is sought. We need peace, built on equity and justice and we are in the right place to find it.

    “Let us ignore cheap propaganda and falsehood. Irresponsible talks about thugs and our Director-General, Dr. Chidi Lloyd, invading the Supreme Court is fake news from desperate minds.

    “Tonye Cole and his campaign organisation are a symbol of peace. No amount of provocative behaviour will divert us from this path.”

    The Supreme Court on Thursday adjourned hearing in a matter brought before it by H.A  Bello, the counsel for Ibrahim Umar and 22 others, who are loyalists of Senator Magnus Abe (Rivers Southeast), seeking to nullify the congresses in Rivers state.

    The justices of the apex court stated that they would hear the matter on January 21, 2019, an outcome that the Tonye Cole campaign organisation said it was pleased about.

    It noted efforts were made to delve into the competence of appeal number 198, which was not before the justices but took the intervention of an unnamed justice of the Supreme Court to stop the proceedings.

    It was gathered that the justices mildly reminded the Supreme Court that he was not a member of the panel set to hear appeal number 198.

    The appeal, which was earlier adjourned till March 8 next year, was relisted for hearing on Thursday, following an application by Bello.

    But all efforts to delve into other issues not connected to the matter on the court’s list were truncated.

    It was also gathered that one of the justices of the apex court drew the attention of the presiding justice to the fact he was not a member of the panel, which left the justice with only one option of adjourning till January 21, 2019 to hear the application for abridgement of time.