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Tag: Oni

  • Better days ahead for Ekiti workers, says Oni

    All Progressives Congress (APC) Deputy National Chairman (South) and governorship aspirant in Ekiti State, Chief Segun Oni, has promised better days for the people, if elected in 2018. He promised a new lease of life for civil servants, pensioners and artisans from October 2018 when the tenure of the current administration would end and a new government would be formed.

    The governorship hopeful said he is not happy about the huge arrears of salaries, gratuities and pensions being piled up monthly in the state. While sympathising with Ekiti State workers and retirees on the hard times they are going through, Oni said that they deserve better than what they are getting ‘as even the holy books strongly assert that a labourer deserves his wages’.

    He promised to make workers’ welfare a priority if elected next year saying, “in my first tenure, I inherited gratuity and pension arrears even from the old Ondo State and we paid them off. We did an analysis on post-retirement poverty with which we tackled. We were determined not to owe anyone by 31st of December, 2007 and we achieved it.

    Oni argued that prompt and regular payment of salaries, gratuities and pensions depend largely on what each administration considers its priority and submitted that salaries should be the priority of governments because the worker deserves his wages. He promised to enthrone a new social and economic order if elected as the next governor in Ekiti State.

     

  • Oni blasts PDP, looters

    Oni blasts PDP, looters

    The National Deputy Chairman, All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Segun Oni, says the People’s Democratic Party (PDP)-led administration of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan caused what he called horrendous damage to the Nigerian economy.

    He told newsmen on Thursday at the Makurdi airport that the damage was “worst than one can imagine”.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Tuesday that Nigeria has exited its worst economic recession in more than two decades, notching up growth of 0.55 per cent in the second quarter of 2017.

    Oni, a former Ekiti State governor on the platform of PDP, said the looting of the country’s treasury was also responsible for the inability of many states to pay salaries in spite of the bail-out funds and other interventions from President Muhammadu Buhari to address the issue.

    According to him, the good intentions of the President is to ensure that all workers at the three tiers of government are paid regularly.

    “This people (PDP) actually did a horrendous damage to the economy of this country, worst than you can imagine.

    “As they were stealing the town dry, first there will be money available to throw down so that people can succumb,” he said.

    “Although,  I was a former PDP member, I was not part of the looting.”

    He expressed shocked over the decisions of some serving ministers to have openly declared  their support for their god-father’s political ambition in 2019.

    Oni said the party would address the issue at the appropriate time.

    “I am surprised that it happened in the first instance, but that is for the President and the party to talk about it at the appropriate time,” he said.

  • Oni, Fayemi to Muslims: imbibe virtues of love

    Former Ekiti State Governor and All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship aspirant Chief Segun Oni and Minister of Mines and Steel Development Dr. Kayode Fayemi have called on Muslim faithful and Nigerians to imbibe the virtues of love, tolerance and harmony as advocated by the teaching of Prophet Muhammed.

    Oni, in a statement signed by the Director, Media and Publicity of Segun Oni Campaign Organisation, Mr. Steve Alabi in Ado-Ekiti, said the celebration offered Nigerians a chance to show love to one another and strengthen the bonds of nationhood.

    He said the teachings of the Holy Prophet should serve as a guide to step out of the economic recession.

    The governorship aspirant urged Muslims to continue to uphold Nigeria in their prayers, noting that Nigeria needed prayers now more than ever before.

    Fayemi urged Muslims to continue to uphold the lessons of love, loyalty and sacrifice, which are the hallmarks of the festival.

    The minister, in a goodwill message signed by his Special Assistant on Media, Mr. Olayinka Oyebode, said the Eid el-Kabir festival offers another opportunity for sober reflection, soul searching and spiritual renewal, which Allah demands from the faithful.

    He advised that the lessons of sacrifice and loyalty, which Eid-el-Kabir teaches should not be lost to the pomp and ceremony that accompany the festival.

     

     

  • Ekiti needs Marshal Plan, says Oni

    Ekiti needs Marshal Plan, says Oni

    Ekiti State governorship aspirant on the the platform of All Progressives Congress (APC),  Segun Oni, has promised to implement a Marshal Plan that would bring about a new social and economic order; if elected as governor.

    Oni, the Deputy National Chairman of APC, told reporters in Lagos, that his ambition is a project of conscience.

    The former governor said to curtail youth restlessness and insurgency, among others in the country and around the world, Ekiti required a new promised to implement social and economic order.

    Oni, who lamented that some core values were already amiss, thereby affecting the orientation of youths, said: “The way we were raised was probably right but it is no longer right for us to expect that that is the way we would raise our children because they are under the scourge of population growth.

    “They are also responding to a new world, behavioural patterns are changing and so on. So the story we have is we want to have a goal at having a society that will be more responsive to the requirements of young people to have a descent life. That is the whole story. A new social and economic order.

    “We are very, very determined to do it, we know it can be done and we know we are going to crack a puzzle. We are going to get there by the grace of God. We are here to call on you to encourage us, to reason along with us, to challenge us and also gove us your contributions because if this problem is solved in Ekiti, it would definitely mean it can be solved elsewhere. If it is solved elsewhere in Nigeria, it definitely mean it can be solved elsewhere in the world.”

    He added: “It is so terrible, as we are talking now, maybe in the last 24hrs, there is a migrant ship that has been sunk in the Mediterranean. Who are the people sinking it? They are the young people, you hardly would find people like me there who are of my age, male and female. They are young people because they have limited opportunities. They know the probability of dying is very high but because they are frustrated. What is the alternative? And some would now go and die there peacefully, some would pull out arms and decide to mow down others even if they would have to die.

  • I didn’t meet Fayose, Makarfi, says Oni

    I didn’t meet Fayose, Makarfi, says Oni

    •APC chief decries hate campaign on social media

    Former Ekiti State governor and All Progressives Congress (APC) Deputy National Chairman (South), Chief Olusegun Oni, has decried what he called “attacks from within” by those allegedly uncomfortable with his ambition in next year’s governorship race.

    He accused some people of attempting to pull him down.

    The former governor said the alleged attacks on him were only making him more popular.

    Oni, who said he was not desperate to become governor again, stressed that his fate and that of other aspirants jostling for APC’s ticket would be decided by delegates at the party’s primary in the first quarter of 2018.

    Addressing reporters at the weekend in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, Oni denied holding “secret” meetings with Governor Ayo Fayose at a hotel in Lagos on the possibility of defecting to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to realise his ambition, as alleged on various posts in the social media.

    The former governor also denied holding a meeting with PDP’s National Caretaker Committee Chairman, Alhaji Ahmed Mohammed Makarfi, at his (Oni’s) home in Ifaki-Ekiti in Ido/Osi Local Government Area.

    He urged his supporters and other people in Ekiti State not to believe the rumour and hate campaign against him by those he described as “faceless individuals” on the social media.

    Oni said he would not be distracted from selling his ideas on a better Ekiti to the electorate.

    The former governor said some people petitioned the party’s national secretariat to compel him to step down immediately as Deputy National Chairman (South), adding that APC’s constitution allows him to remain in that post one month before the primary.

    He said: “The attacks are from within the party, and most of them are coming from the social media. But I am not bothered at all because whatever that will be good will be rough initially. Some people have been given the assignment to pull me down.

    “The good will triumph over the evil. I want to say categorically that I will not be discouraged. Anybody who does not want Oni will either contest against him or support an aspirant. I am not desperate to be governor. I will leave (my post) when the (party’s) constitution says I should leave.

    “By saying I met Fayose at a hotel in Lagos and Makarfi in my house in Ifaki, these people are overpricing me. = I feel honoured if they continue to say that. The last one-on-one I had with Fayose was a day after Gen. Adeyinka Adebayo was buried, when I brought the invitation from the Borisade family. I congratulated him for the honour done Baba Adebayo.

    “I have never had one-on-one with Makarfi. But if they are saying he was in my home, I feel honoured. Those saying this have nothing to sell. But I have told my people not to abuse or attack anybody. If they have the product that is sellable, they should continue to sell it.”

     

     

  • Oni can win Ekiti for apc, says group

    An interest group, Ekiti Unity Forum (EUF) has advised national and state leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to field former Governor Segun Oni as the candidate for the 2018 governorship election in Ekiti State.

    The chairman of the forum, Dr. Sunday Ilori, who made this known to The Nation, said only Oni, out of the aspirants who had so far declared their intent to run, has the pedigree, experience and acceptability to win Ekiti for the APC.

    Oni, who is the APC Deputy National Chairman (South), served as  governor between 2007 and 2010 on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) before his tenure was cut short by the Court of Appeal, which declared Dr. Kayode Fayemi of the then Action Congress (AC) as the winner of the 2007 governorship poll.

    Ilori said the crowd that followed Oni to the APC secretariat last week when he officially unveiled his ambition was a proof that he is the “most popular aspirant capable of unseating the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from power.”

    According to him, civil servants, local government workers, teachers, pensioners and artisans, who form the largest bulk of the voting population, are clamouring for Oni’s return on the crest of his performance during his first tenure of office.

    Ilori said: “Oni is the most credible candidate in the APC and you can attest to this by what happened last Monday when the streets of Ado-Ekiti were shut down by the crowd following him.

    “The people have been expecting him to come out and contest and it took him over three hours to reach the party secretariat because of the surging crowd. This was because he performed fantastically during his first term.

    “Looking at his head on that day, Oni wore an Awo cap, spoke like Awo, laughed like Awo and people accepted him as Awo. He is a true Awo follower and this is the type of person needed by Ekiti people at this point in time.

    He added: “Personally, I am advising all contestants to join hands with Oni to build the state and they should forget about sectionalism. Oni is a thoroughbred Ekiti person.

    “I also want to advise our national leaders especially Asiwaju Bola Tinubu to fully support the Oni candidacy. They should send independent assessors to Ekiti to come and gauge the popularity of aspirants and they will discover that the name on everyone’s lip is Oni.

    “Oni is the right person he can invest on and the investment will yield. he is the man of the masses.”

  • Ekiti 2018: ‘Oni should quit as APC deputy chair’

    A member of the seventh National Assembly in the House of Representatives and governorship aspirant in Ekiti State, Bamidele Faparusi, has threatened to join forces with other like-minded persons to prevent some All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftains from relegating Ekiti South Senatorial District to the background.

    Faparusi noted that for the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) to keep its integrity intact before and after the primary, former Ekiti State Governor Segun Oni and Deputy National Chairman (South) of the party should relinquish his position, having joined the governorship race.

    The former lawmaker said he suspected that deliberate conspiratorial strategies were being contrived by some powerful leaders in the state and beyond to perpetually keep the people of the area from having a shot at the governorship seat.

    He said it will be tantamount to neo-colonialism for the people of the South District to be insulated from having a shot at the governorship position 21 years after the state was created.

    Faparusi spoke yesterday at Ode-Ekiti in Gbonyin Local Government Area while reacting to Oni’s expression of interest in the governorship race.

    The APC chieftain said though he had enormous respect for the Chief John Odigie-Oyegun-led NWC and could vow for their integrity, there were fears that the party’s primary may not be transparent, if Oni kept his position.

    He said: “Our party is bigger than any individual and the party should not allow itself to be put to disrepute by Oni and his cohorts.”

  • PDP ‘ll soon become history in Ekiti, says Oni

    PDP ‘ll soon become history in Ekiti, says Oni

    •APC Deputy National Chairman for governor

    For about four hours yesterday, Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State capital, stood still as the Deputy National Chairman (South) of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Segun Oni, officially declared to run for the party’s governorship ticket in 2018.

    There was a lockdown on major highways in the city.

    It took the former governor over three hours to reach the APC secretariat at Ajilosun on Ikere Road from his campaign headquarters at Adebayo area of the state capital.

    Oni, who rode in an open-roof Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) and clutched a broom, his party’s symbol, was followed by a huge crowd of supporters.

    The long trek caused a traffic snarl at areas such as Adebayo, Okesa, Ojumose, Okeyinmi, Ijigbo and Ajilosun.

    The crowd overwhelmed the party’s secretariat.

    They refused to go away when the rain started falling intermittently as Oni made his declaration.

    Addressing the party’s State Executive Council, Oni said the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) administration under Governor Ayo Fayose should be prepared for exit from the Government House, judging by the acceptability of APC across the state.

    The former governor was accompanied by his wife, Kemi, party leaders, like Senator Olubunmi Adetunmbi, Senator Anthony Adeniyi, Oyetunde Ojo, former House of Assembly members and political office holders who served under him.

    He regretted what he called “instability in governance in which nine state chief executives had occupied the Government House since 1999, unlike Lagos State, which has been ruled by three elected governors within the same period”.

    Oni said APC would administer Ekiti from 2018 for a long time.

    He promised to herald a new social and economic order to facilitate equal access to opportunities in jobs and economic gains for all Ekiti indigenes, regardless of backgrounds or status.

    Oni also promised to forward a bill to the House of Assembly to empower artisans and contractors to get jobs in their domains for even distribution of wealth among the populace to stop capital flight.

    He said: “I am going to build on the past records. I know those projects Ekiti loved during my first term and I will build on them as well as those needed to be corrected. That I will do.

    “My belief as we prepare for this race is that together we can win. I have no enemy to fight in APC, no matter what our differences are.

    “This party is a vehicle we must protect from crash. With the subtle appraisal we did today, we know that the PDP will become history in Ekiti in 2018.”

    The former governor hailed his party’s state Executive Council (Exco) for its doggedness and steadfastness in the face of intimidation and harassment by the Fayose government.

    APC Deputy Chairman, Mrs. Kemisola Olaleye, reiterated the readiness of the party to organise free, fair and transparent primary for aspirants.

    The party chief said only 19 aspirants have officially declared to run for governorship.

    She said: “We will be neutral to all aspirants. We will conduct a free and fair primary. It will be transparent that nobody will fault it. We only have 19 aspirants in this party for now, and Chief Oni is the 19th aspirant.

    “The will of God and the will of the people will prevail; only God knows the person who will win (the APC ticket). There is nobody who emerges as APC candidate that will not crush Fayose and his candidate at the governorship election.”

     

  • Ekiti 2018: ‘Oni has best credentials’

    Ekiti 2018: ‘Oni has best credentials’

    An interest group, Ekiti Unity Forum (EUF), has canvassed support for All Progressives Congress (APC) Deputy National Chairman (South), Chief Segun Oni, in next year’s governorship election.

    Oni is expected to formally declare his intent to join the governorship race on July 17 in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, and open his campaign office same day.

    Speaking with The Nation yesterday, EUF Chairman Dr Sunday Ilori said the group decided to back Oni’s candidature “having identified him as the most credible among the aspirants showing interest in the top job”.

    Ilori, who noted that “every contestant against Oni will fail”, said the former governor performed well during his first tenure between 2007 and 2010,

    He said: “Oni has done it before and we believe he can do it again. Among the over 40 aspirants, he is the most credible. That is why we are rallying support for him in all the 177 wards and 16 local government areas.

    “Oni is a politically mature person. This came to the fore when the House of Assembly, during his tenure, had 13 ruling party lawmakers and 13 opposition lawmakers. But he never convinced any opposition lawmaker to defect to his party.

    “Ekiti youths are currently suffering. Instead of the present government to provide jobs for them, they are being used as thugs and political mobilisers.

    “Oni is a real gentleman. He is sensitive to the needs of the people and he is loyal and committed to the people. I am advising other contestants to drop their ambition and support him.”

     

     

  • Ekiti ex-Governor Oni to join 2018 race

    Ekiti ex-Governor Oni to join 2018 race

    The Deputy National Chairman (South) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and former Ekiti State Governor Segun Oni is expected to officially declare next month for next year’s governorship race.

    The Director-General of Segun Oni Campaign, Dr. Ife Arowosoge, spoke yesterday at the maiden meeting of APC leaders and members from the 16 local government areas working for the 2018 aspiration of the former governor.

    To make the July declaration a reality, Arowosoge, a former House of Representatives member, said Oni had written letters to the party’s executives at ward, local government and state levels on his ambition.

    On the day of his declaration, Arowosoge said, Oni will also inaugurate the headquarters of his governorship campaign secretariat at Opopogbooro, on Iworoko Road, and visit APC state secretariat before visiting the party’s senatorial offices.

    The campaign chief said Oni had been receiving what he called “clarion calls” from interest groups, like teachers, civil servants, local government workers, retirees, youths and women, to take another shot at the governorship race on the strength of his performance between 2007 and 2010.