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Tag: Oshiomhole

  • 2019: ‘Sheriff, my former boss, wants to manipulate Buhari, Oshiomhole to anoint next governor’

    Alhaji Shettima Dibal, the Wazirin Biu, was deputy to former Governor Ali Modu-Sheriff from 2003 to 2011. In rare comments about his former boss, Dibal spoke to reporters in Abuja on recent political developments in the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Borno State. Managing Editor, Northern Operations Yusuf Ali was there.

    Former Governor Ali Modu-Sheriff whom you served as deputy for eight years has returned to the APC recently. First of all, why didn’t you follow him to the PDP ahead of the 2015 election?

    To start with, I have always been in politics of purpose and conviction. I don’t do blind politics. I think if I was going to join the PDP that should have been when Goodluck Jonathan became the President in 2010, because we had some familiarity when both of us served as deputy governors. Jonathan is a humble and nice man, yet even when he was President and I was doing nothing around 2011, I wasn’t attracted to the PDP. I think the worst thing that can happen to any reasonable politician is to forget what works in his own base. From 1999 to date, Borno and Yobe are the only two states in the whole of northern Nigeria where the PDP has never been in control, whether by election or defection of a sitting governor. If you look at all the 19 states in the North, you will discover that the PDP has at one time or the other been in control of state government, whether through election or the defection of an incumbent governor from another party. But, in the case of Borno and Yobe, we have never had anything to do with the PDP at the state government level. Borno and Yobe have always been under the APP that later became the ANPP and now the APC. If you recall, in the build up to the 2003 election, the then Governor Mala Kachallah of blessed memory defected from the APP to the AD; the soul of the then AD is part of the APC today. One would have expected Kachallah to join the PDP for his re-election in 2003. I mean, the PDP at that time controlled the Presidency, the security agencies and INEC, but he didn’t do that, because he knows that the people of Borno will never vote PDP into office. Going to the PDP in Borno and Yobe is suicidal. I know that and my politics is always about our people and what they want.

    Why then do you think Sheriff joined the PDP? Didn’t he try to persuade you and other associates?

    I think Sheriff went into the PDP because he is always afraid of being in opposite political direction with every sitting President. He usually tries to manoeuvre his way to the heart of every sitting President. When he is in the opposition, many people accuse him of working for the sitting President in another party. However, for the 2015 election, he lost influence in the APC. He was not in position to influence anything for Jonathan and the PDP; that is why he left the APC and he did so because he never believed it was possible for a sitting President would lose the election. He did everything to drag Governor Kashim Shettima and all of us in the APC to follow him to the PDP, so that we can work against the victory of Buhari. At some point Kashim  Shettima was seriously harassed, intimidated, blackmailed and even threatened to make him leave  the APC and go to PDP. But, the governor was very strong. I will tell you that I was surprised by his strength. He stood firm in the APC and he mobilised everyone in Borno and across the Northeast for Buhari’s victory. He did so much behind the scene.

    Now that Sheriff is back to the APC, will you say he made the right choice in line with the political philosophy of Borno people or do you think he came with a different motive?

    I think Sheriff’s return to the APC has nothing to do with right or wrong. It was about his survival. He returned because he didn’t have any option and, like I said, he always wants to manoeuvre his way to the Presidency. But, then, politics is about growing numbers and whoever joins the APC is ordinarily a plus. However, it will depend on sincerity of purpose or the opposite.

    Are you saying Sheriff is not sincere, because he is now promising high votes for Buhari in Borno State in 2019?

    Making bogus promises to presidents is not new to Sheriff. After the 2007 election, when the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua came to Maiduguri for a state visit, Sheriff said publicly without any prompting that he was going to work for Yar’adua’s re-election. At that time, Sheriff was in the ANPP and Buhari was the ANPP’s presidential candidate and he was still in court challenging Yar’adua’s election. Sheriff didn’t care about Buhari’s interest; he was trying to find a way to penetrate Yar’Adua. Don’t also forget that when Buhari lost election to Yar’Adua in 2007, the ANPP national leaders came to Maiduguri and held a closed door meeting at the Government House which was hosted by Sheriff. One of the outcomes of that meeting was that the ANPP should not go to court to challenge Yar’Adua’s victory. The ANPP took the decision without consulting Buhari who was our candidate. The party decided to abandon Buhari to his fate and he went to court without the ANPP’s support. I believe it was part of that reason and more that Buhari left the ANPP to form the CPC. After the 2007 election, Sheriff was one of the major beneficiaries of the Yar’Adua/Jonathan government. He was a governor on the platform of the ANPP, but his sister-in-law was appointed a Minister by President Jonathan. So, making promises is not new in his tactics.

    The argument of Sheriff is that in 2003, 2007 and 2011 Buhari got around one million votes in Borno, but in 2015 he got around 600,000 votes. Sheriff is now promising to ensure Buhari gets more than one million votes in Borno State by 2019. What’s your reaction?

    I think the most annoying political analysis is to compare Borno’s 2015 election with the results of 2003, 2007, 2011 or with the upcoming 2019. It is the height of insult to people’s intelligence. Look, in 2015, about 20 local government areas held their elections in IDP camps in Maiduguri. Initially, many people thought election was not going to take place in Borno, because the Sheriff’s faction of the PDP kept on spreading fake information that it was not going to take place and because of that voters didn’t turn out for the presidential and National Assembly elections as they did for the governorship and the state assembly. In the first election, presidential and National Assembly in IDP camps, some local governments in northern Borno did not produce more than 2,000 votes each. There is a member of House Reps in the APC that won his election with less than 7,000 votes, as the total votes from four local government areas and the election took place in the IDP camps. Almost two million of our citizens from 20 local government areas were scattered around neighbouring countries like Niger, Cameroon and Chad and states like Adamawa, Bauchi, Gombe, Kano, Abuja and some went to Lagos. They all ran for their lives due to killings. After Buhari won, some of these people became energised and they came to Borno to take part in the governorship and state assembly elections. So, 2015 was a different thing entirely. However, for 2019, the governor and all of us have been mobilising people to come out and register, so that they can vote. I remember last year he released funds to stakeholders to go to their communities and mobilise citizens to get their PVCs. In fact, most of the time when the governor visits any place, he demands that people should show him their PVCs. A lot of women in Borno whenever they see the governor driving, will show him their PVCs and he stops and give them some help. This is of public knowledge. Borno today has more than two million registered voters and this happened when Sheriff was still fighting for his chair in the PDP. He came only three months ago. He knows the number of registered voters, he didn’t play any role on that, but now he wants to steal the show. Typical of him.

    Are you saying Sheriff’s promise to deliver more than one million votes for Buhari is mere political rhetoric?

    It is not rhetoric; it is rather a political antic that is calculated to manipulate and deceive President Muhammadu Buhari, the new National Chairman of the APC, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, and the entire Presidency. What Sheriff wants is for the Presidency and the APC headquarters to make him the arrowhead of Buhari’s campaign in Borno State. By that, he will get some mileage, access to security and resources principally for him to anoint the next governor of Borno State. He is angry with those who didn’t follow him to the PDP before 2015 election and he wants the next governor to fight them. The same Sheriff said on January 24, 2015 during PDP presidential campaign in Maiduguri that he was going to ensure Buhari’s defeat in Borno State. He said Jonathan should hold him personally responsible if the PDP fails to win Borno State. Of course, the PDP lost woefully. I think if we are to even look at Buhari’s election record in Borno State from 2003 to date, I will say his best was in 2015.

    Why will you say so?

    In all the previous elections that Buhari took part, whether it was 2003, 2007 and 2011, results in Borno showed that Buhari’s opponents in the PDP from Obasanjo, Yar’Adua and Jonathan all got the component of 25 per cent of votes needed to defeat Buhari. And you know, sometimes the only thing the PDP presidential candidates need from opposition state is to get 25 per cent votes. PDP candidates have always secured more than 25 per cent in Borno, except in 2015 under Governor Kashim Shettima as leader of the APC. So, whereas Buhari recorded higher votes in previous elections, his opponent got what they wanted from Borno under Sheriff. The greatest mistake PMB or Oshiomhole will make is to ignore those who remained with the APC under intense atmosphere of intimidation to embrace someone who joined the party only three months ago and mind you, he joined not because of conviction and interest in the President, but because he lost grip in the PDP.

  • Oshiomhole inaugurates Cross River APC committee

    The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, yesterday inaugurated a new working committee (SWC) for the party in Cross River State.

    The chapter had been in crisis since two parallel congresses produced two different executive committees in May this year.

    The SWC that was inaugurated by the National Chairman was elected during the congress that was recently conducted by a five-man committee, led by Mr Henry Idah Agbom, and monitored by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    The members of the SWC, which has Dr Mathew Achigbe as Chairman,  Sir John Ochalla as Vice Chairman and Bishop Victor Ebong as Secretary, emerged through voice votes by delegates.

    Oshiomhole, who was represented by the National Vice Chairman (Southsouth), Ntufam Hillard Eta, said it was the wisdom of the National Working Committee to dissolve the state executive committee and elect a new one to move the party forward.

    The congress committee chairman, Agbom, said the party needed a united front in Cross River State to take over government in 2019.

    He expressed confidence that with the inauguration, the party would win the governorship election in the state next year.

    The new chairman, Dr Achigbe, expressed gratitude to President Muhammadu Buhari, and Comrade Oshiomhole for remaining committed to the rule of law.

    He promised to work hard to ensure victory in next year’s general elections.

    Achigbe also expressed commitment to re-electing President Buhari next year.

    He called for the support of party members to guarantee success.

    The senator representing Cross River Central, John Owan-Enoh, said the party would get stronger.

    Among delegates at the congress yesterday were former Governor, Clement Ebri; former Tourism and Culture Minister, Chief Edem Duke; former senator (Cross River South), Prince Bassey Otu.

  • C/River APC: Oshiomhole inaugurates new state working committee

    National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, on Wednesday inaugurated a new state working committee (SWC) for the party in Cross River State.

    The party in the state had been in crisis since two parallel congresses produced two different executive councils in May this year.

    The SWC was yesterday inaugurated after being elected in a state congress conducted by a five-man congress committee led by Mr Henry Idah Agbom and monitored by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    The members of the SWC, which has Dr Mathew Achigbe as chairman, Sir John Ochalla as Vice Chairman and Bishop Victor Ebong as Secretary emerged through voice votes by the delegates at the congress.

    Oshiomhole, who was represented by the National Vice Chairman, South-South, Ntufam Hillard Eta, said it was the wisdom of the National Working Committee to dissolve all the state executive councils and elect a new one to move the party forward in the state.

    The congress committee chairman, Agbom, said the party needs a united front in the state to take over government in the state in 2019.

    He expressed confidence that with the inauguration, the party would win the governorship election in the state in 2019.

    The newly inaugurated chairman, Dr Achigbe, expressed gratitude to President Muhammadu Buhari, and Comrade Oshiomhole for remaining committed to the rule of law.

    He promised to work hard to ensure victory in the elections next year.

    Achigbe also expressed commitment to re-electing president Buhari next year.

    He called for the support of all members of the party to guarantee success.

    Also speaking the Senator representing the Central Senatorial District of the State, Mr John Owan-Enoh, said with the executive council inaugurated, the party would get stronger.

    Among delegates at the congress yesterday were former governor, Dr Clement Ebri; former Tourism and Culture Minister, High Chief Edem Duke; former Senator of the Southern Senatorial District, Prince Bassey Otu among others.

  • Buhari, Oshiomhole, Abe greet Odili at 70

    President Muhammadu Buhari has extended his good wishes to former Rivers State Governor Peter Odili on the occasion of his 70th birthday.

    The President, in a statement by Special Adviser on Media and Publicity Femi Adesina, recognised the contributions Dr. Odili had made to the development of his community, state, Niger Delta, Nigeria and humanity as a physician and third governor of Rivers State.

    The statement reads: “As a statesman and Knight Commander of the Order of St. Sylvester, President Buhari appreciated Sir Odili’s role in fostering a peaceful and harmonious environment in Niger Delta through a peaceful engagement and meaningful dialogue, in line with this administration’s commitment to peace, stability and development in the region.

    “As family, friends, colleagues and well-wishers gather to celebrate Dr. Odili’s milestone and achievements; President Buhari prayed God almighty to sustain him with good health and fulfilment in the coming years.”

    The National Chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, has eulogised Dr. Odili as a unifying figure and an apostle of politics without bitterness.

    Oshiomhole, in a statement he signed to felicitate with the ex-Rivers State governor, said: “It is gratifying to note that long after office, you are still widely adored. It can only be a measure of the durability of the bridge of unity you built across the nation’s divides – whether ethnic or religious. Even critics will acknowledge your quintessence as the apostle of politics without bitterness.

    “Even more remarkable is the seamless way you have transited from active life in partisan politics to the nobler station of statesmanship and mentoring, thus teaching us that opportunities exist for life after office.”

    The lawmaker representing Rivers Southeast, Senator Magnus Abe, has described Dr. Odili as a living legend, whose exemplary lifestyle has impacted on  people.

    Abe, yesterday in an online statement by his spokesperson, Parry Benson, congratulated Odili, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), on his 70th birthday.

    The senator, a governorship aspirant in All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, said Odili should be emulated for his impressive performance as a governor and love for humanity.

     

  • Condition for Saraki to remain Senate president, by Oshiomhole

    All Progressives Congress (APC) National Chairman Adams Oshiomhole is insisting on Senate President Bukola Saraki’s removal. His time is up, he said.

    To retain the Senate presidency, he said, the only condition is for Saraki to return to the APC.

    Besides, the Senate President will be removed legally, Oshiomhole said yesterday.

    Oshiomhole, who spoke at a meeting with APC National Assembly members, said however that the party was not ready to welcome the Senate President back to its fold, insisting that Saraki will be removed legally as minority cannot preside over majority.

    The former Edo State governor asked those who have become judges to be prepared to challenge the impeachment of the Senate president in any court of their choice. He was apparently referring to the recent judgement of the Court of Appeal which says that the Assembly has a right to its independence.

    Some governors were not at the meeting. Oshiomhole also said they could not attend as a result of “communication breakdown”.

    He said: “Democracy teaches us that minority has the right to have their say but majority must have their way. So, if we have 56 senators and they have 49 senators, I insist that 49 senators cannot preside over the affairs of a house in which APC has 56 senators. And I ask them to tell us anywhere in the world where minority rules over majority.

    “Often times, we take flights to Washington and other places to understudy the American presidential system of government. Once you lose majority, without further ado, you step down.

    “So, I want to repeat, Sen. Saraki as president of the Senate will be lawfully and democratically impeached. It will not be illegally done. It will be done according to law and tradition.

    “Those lawyers who have chosen to sit as judges need to be reminded that lawyers are, at best, officers of the court and do not constitute the court. So, when Sen. Saraki is lawfully and democratically impeached, they will be free to go to anywhere they want to go and canvass the legality or the illegality of the action. It is not in their place to pronounce with finality as if they constitute the judicial arm of government.

    To Oshiomhole, Saraki should not keep the Senate president’s seat. He said:

    “I want to reassure the Nigerian people that we are committed to leading by example and that means absolute submission and obedience to the letters and spirit of the Nigerian Constitution and everything we will do, we will ensure that it is done according to law, including the impeachment of Sen. Bukola Saraki. There is no hiding place for him. I insist, his time is up.

    “The only way that, probably, he could have retained that seat is to decide to return but we will not be ready to welcome him. He must remain where he is and we will continue to ensure that he surrenders the presidency of the Senate to the majority party in the Senate – in line with the provisions of our constitution.

    “We have very many important issues, which require the National Assembly to deliberate on. Those issues that were pending when the two presiding officers hurriedly adjourned the deliberations of the House without exhausting the calendar.

    “The result is that we have serious pending issues that require deliebertaions by the National Assembly, including the issue of the apprval of foreign loans without which this year’s budget cannot perform; the issue of the INEC budget and virement of the budget.

    “Ours is to appeal to all of you that your commitment to the sustenance of democracy is enough to get you to do all that you can to get the National Assembly to reconvene so that these and other weighty national issues will be deliberated upon, appropriate decisions reached so that the Nigerian government is not shut down.

    “If we do not take those steps and government cannot spend money that should be appropriated, we run the risk of government shutdown. As members of the governing party, I believe you will do whatever is needed to be done to prevent a government shutdown.

    “I want to reassure you that we value you; all the stories about people being denied or that you would be frustrated out, I want to assure you that our party values experience; our party values knowledge; our party values loyalty and our party will do everything possible to reward loyalty and demonstrate that loyalty pays and we will not be ashamed to do so.

    “We are already doing so many things on our part, but, like they say, the taste of the pudding is in the eating. With time, all these shall come to pass and we would have kept our word as you have kept yours.”

  • How Saraki can retain Senate presidency – Oshiomhole

    The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole, said on Tuesday the only way the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, would retain the Senate presidency is to return to the All Progressives Congress, insisting that he would be impeached if he fails to retrace his steps.

    Oshiomhole, who spoke at a meeting with APC members in the National Assembly, said the party was not ready to welcome the Senate president back to its fold.

    He insisted that Saraki would be impeached because the “minority cannot preside over the majority.”

    The former Edo State governor asked those who had become judges on the matter to be prepared to challenge Saraki’s impeachment in any court of their choice.

    “He said: “Democracy teaches us that minority has the right to have their say but majority must have their way. So, if we have 56 senators and they have 49 senators, I insist that 49 senators cannot preside over the affairs of a House in which APC has 56 senators. And I ask them to tell us anywhere in the world where minority rules over majority.

    “Often times, we take flights to Washington and other places to understudy the American presidential system of government. Once you lose majority, without further ado, you step down.

    “Over and above all of these stories about illegal impeachment, let me restate that we cannot be subjected to minority rule in the Nigerian Senate and therefore, whether it is convenient for Distinguished Senator Saraki or not, the truth is whether by morality or by law or by convention, Saraki can only avoid impeachment by toeing the path of honour, step down so that APC can take over the leadership of the Senate.

    “So, I want to repeat, Saraki as President of the Senate will be lawfully and democratically impeached. It will not be illegally done. It will be done according to law and tradition.

    “Those lawyers who have chosen to sit as judges, need to be reminded that lawyers are at best, officers of the court and do not constitute the court. So, when Saraki is lawfully and democratically impeached, they will be free to go to anywhere they want to go and canvass the legality or the illegality of the action. It is not in their place to pronounce with finality as if they constitute the judicial arm of government.”

     

  • One million Oshiomhole can’t sack me – Saraki

    Senate President, Bukola Saraki, has dared the All Progressives Congress (APC) over the clamour for his resignation.

    Saraki boasted that the APC National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, cannot remove him as Senate President.

    He also said the demand by Oshiomhole for him to resign from the position would remain a wishful thinking.

    Saraki stated these in a statement titled: “Response to Adams Oshiomhole,” signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Yusuph Olaniyonu.

    The statement read: “It is rather surprising that Mr. Adams Oshiomhole is behaving like a rain-beaten chicken, crying all over the place about Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, as if the Senate President is the apparition haunting his life and the sinking ship that he captains.

    “Having decided not to join the pigs in rolling in the dirt; we would not like to be involved in any meaningless exchange with the demagogue now in charge of APC.

    “However, because he claimed that he was reacting to the issues raised by the Senate President during his World Press Conference, we thought it necessary to give the APC chairman some attention.

    “Alas, we found that instead of addressing any issue raised by the Senate President, his press conference merely showcased his obsession and those of his sponsors with Saraki’s removal, which he did without any decorum befitting of his age or his awarded office.

    “He brimmed with hate, hurled abuses, threw tantrums, told lies, huffed and puffed. In the end, he said nothing.

    “It is indeed amazing that the same Oshiomhole, who is now describing Saraki as a politician of no consequence was the same one who only a few months ago was crawling all over the place pleading for Saraki’s support to become chairman.

    “We are sure that those who took him to Saraki several times to plead his case must now be thoroughly embarrassed by his reckless and uncouth manner.

    “By his conduct and utterances, Oshiomhole, who accused Saraki of not acting in national interest needs to do more to convince Nigerians that his desperate desire to become party chairman is not simply to feed his over-sized ego.

    “The position of Oshiomhole and his cohorts in the APC that the Senate President must resign is a mere wishful thinking.

    “They will continue to dream about their planned removal of the Senate President. They will need 73 Senators to lawfully remove Dr. Saraki and they will never get that in the present eight Senate.

    “The argument of APC that the Senate President must come from a majority party; that the Senate Presidency is their crown and National Assembly is their palace is only supported by ignorance and dangerous delusion.

    “First, the issue of which party is in the majority will only be resolved when the Senate resume. Two, Section 50 (1) (a) of the Constitution is clear that any Senator can be elected as Senate President. If the only thing left of the APC change agenda is to change the Senate President we can only wish them good luck.

    “Perhaps, Mr. Oshiomhole needs to be better educated about our parliamentary history when he stated that ‘for the first time in parliamentary history in Nigeria, we had a situation where the APC had majority of senators and went on to elect a PDP as Deputy Senate President.

    “We hereby assure this garrulous, tactless and reckless APC chairman that a million of Adams Oshiomhole cannot remove Saraki as Senate President.”

     

     

  • Oshiomhole to meet Edo APC chiefs

    National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Adams Oshiomhole will meet with aggrieved party leaders in Edo State today to resolve the brewing crisis.

    Some of the state lawmakers and party chiefs complaining about lack of patronage by Governor Godwin Obasaki are threatening to defect.

    Oshiomhole assured APC supporters, who came to receive him at the Bénin Airport that the party would reward  those who worked for it.

    He said: “I want to assure you that the tradition of carry our people along will be sustained. You represent what I call our infantry division. You are the ones on Election Day who ensure that our voters come out.

    “You are the ones who ensure that the PDP rigging machine was defeated. We must keep you as a standing point, together we will match on and will ensure that everyone who works is looked after.

    “I know there are people with all kinds of stories but let me assure you that after the storm the weather will settle. Trust me, as you have not abandoned me, I will never abandon you. To our youths, I want to particularly appeal to you; don’t lose faith. There will be work, there will be participation; there will be involvement. We will not throw away anybody.

    ”Nobody will be used and dumped. If yesterday was beautiful, tomorrow will be better.”

    However, eight APC lawmakers in the House of Assembly are planning to defect, but it was not clear last night which parties the lawmakers would defect to.

    According to them, they are not sure of getting the APC ticket for re-election.

    Sources said the ban on campaign by the APC in Edo has heightened fears that it may be late to get the nomination of other parties if they failed to secure APC ticket.

    Another reason given by one of those planning to defect is lack of political patronage by Obaseki.

  • Akpabio is an ‘uncommon defector’ – Oshiomhole

    National chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Adams Oshiomhole stirred the huge crowd at Ikot Ekpene Stadium in Akwa Ibom State, with his fiery speech and dance steps.

    Oshiomhole,former governor of Edo state, joined party big wigs, including the national leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to formally receive defecting ex-senate minority leader, Godswill Akpabio.

    Akpabio and his wife, Ekaette, and others senators that attended the ceremony displayed their dancing prowess, gyrating to the melodious music, “Shekem’’.

    Oshiomhole described the event as the reception for “an uncommon defector and a man of honour’’.

    He described Akpabio as a symbol of unity who would lead Akwa Ibom to join Edo as APC states in the South South in 2019.

    He explained that opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has deceived the people for 16 years and Nigerians were no longer ready for to embrace the party.

    The chairman of APC challenged Senate President Bukola Saraki to emulate Akpabio by relinquishing his seat.

    “Senator Akpabio has demonstrated what the people of South South stand for by quitting the seat of senate minority leader.

    “It is the turn of Saraki to vacate his seat as President of the senate.’’

    Oshiomhole, said Akpabio was joining APC to solidify his position as the former minority leader of the senate.

    Akpabio, he said, has demonstrated that he meant good for the people of South South.

    He urged the people to appreciate Akpabio for his role as a builder,

    “I feel extremely proud of Akpabio and humble also with the kind of crowd that I have seen in Ikot Ekpene today.

    “I am happy I came here today to see the bond that exists between Akpabio and the people of Akwa Ibom and I deeply appreciate this,’’ Oshiomhole said..

  • Asking for apology over stadium misplaced, Umahi tells Oshiomhole

    Ebonyi State Governor David Umahi has lambasted the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Chairman Adams Oshiomhole for demanding an apology from him for his alleged refusal to grant the party permission to use the Abakaliki Stadium for last Saturday rally.

    Oshiomhole was addressing APC faithful in Ebonyi State at the rally, which later held at a playground beside the Offia Nwali Flyover at Presco Junction in Abakaliki, the state capital.

    He said the governor should not overuse his powers, adding that he (Oshiomhole) felt bad when he heard that Umahi, who he called his friend, could deny his party the use of the township stadium.

    “…If we were to take it in other level and the Federal Government decides that the governor should not drive on the Federal Government roads, what happens? Somebody said he will fly. What if we stopped him from flying through Federal Government airport? What happens?” Oshiomhole said.

    But the governor, who spoke through his Chief Press Secretary, Emmanuel Uzor, described the statement as baseless.

    The statement said: “It is very shameful for Oshiomhole to have made the statement credited to him while in the state.

    “…Oshiomhole and Umahi have shared great friendship before this rally, and as a sitting governor, Umahi, while in Edo State to conduct governorship primary of the PDP in 2014, did not only pay a courtesy call on Oshiomhole but also had personal interaction as brothers, despite their differences in political association. This is a pure example of political maturity exhibited by Umahi.

    “One would have expected Oshiomhole, as a senior comrade, to show respect to a sitting governor… But he decided to fly into Abakaliki, enjoyed the ambience of a serene environment and drove round a beautiful city with the best road network in the country and then mounted the podium and started spewing his usual political blackmail.”