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Tag: Oshiomhole

  • PDP weakened, says Oshiomhole

    PDP weakened, says Oshiomhole

    Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole has said the All Progressives Congress (APC) would focus on winning the governorship election, following the emergence of Mr. Godwin Obaseki as the candidate.

    He said the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is divided, adding that he would not lose  sleep over the opposition party.

    Oshiomhole said the APC would soon commence campaigns for the general election as, according to him, the PDP is lighter than a loaf of bread.

    His words: “Our delegates have spoken, now the party will hit the ground running. There is no PDP in Edo state. Which of the factions, we have one body several heads, even when they were in Federal we defeated them with all their Federal might. So there is no PDP as long as I am concerned.

    “For me they are lighter than a loaf of bread. But we will go to the election, there are other parties in the state. PDP is not an issue, I don’t think Edo people will forget the crime of PDP in a hurry. Not for the next twenty years in this state. Even when you ask young boys and girls in the state, who is responsible for this bad school they say PDP.

    “Who is responsible for this bad hospital, they say PDP. Who is responsible for this bad road PDP, who is responsible for this good road, APC. Even children knows that, by the time they become 18 they will continue to vote APC and vote against PDP. We have no fear at all, infact we will do better in the next election and kick them out of existence” he declared.

  • Oshiomhole assures aspirants of free, fair primary

    Oshiomhole assures aspirants of free, fair primary

    Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State has assured governorship aspirants on the All Progressives Congress (APC) platform that tomorrow’s primary will be free, fair and devoid of violence.

    Speaking at a meeting with the aspirants at the Government House, Benin City, Oshiomhole said: “As the Chief Security Officer of the state, every step will be taken to ensure that there is no violence; and there will be no violence by the special grace of God, because our party does not include violence in its method.

    “There will be enough security, and anybody going into the arena will not be able to carry any offensive weapon. That I can assure you; it is not a place for supporters’ club. It is a venue for delegates polling. Perhaps, the only exemption will be those who are not delegates, but who are aspirants. I believe by reason of their delegation, they are entitled to be there. The same goes for their approved agents. I believe there are rules guiding the exercise, having been involved in election primaries.”

    He added: “I assure you I will work with security agencies to ensure that anybody whose purpose of coming to the stadium that day is to foment trouble will be arrested and, if convicted, will spend some time in Oko or any other location. We have a duty to stand by the motto of our party, which is ‘Change’: change for good. It does not include violence as an instrument of change.”

    Reacting to the allegation of inducement of delegates, the governor said: “As for the allegation of people spending money, the truth is like what they said in the Bible: who will cast the first stone? Of the seven of you here seated, how many can put his hand on the Bible and say, I have not induced delegates with money?”

  • Why Oshiomhole’s legacies must be protected, by Bello-Osagie

    Why Oshiomhole’s legacies must be protected, by Bello-Osagie

    Hon Rasaq Bello-Osagie, a former member the House of Representatives and a stalwart of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo State, in this interview with SHOLA O’NEIL, speaks on the challenges confronting state governments, among sundry issues.

    What is the way out of the present economic gloom occasioned by dwindling oil prices in the Niger Delta and other parts of the country?

    I think Edo State is a classic example of a state of how a state should be run. The state is under a leadership that has taken a very cursory look as to where we want to be and he has been very proactive. When Governor Adams Oshiomhole came in as Governor of Edo State, the IGR was hovering about N200m to about N300m. We have seen a movement that is unprecedented to nearly N2bn a month. What has he done? He looked at the tax net and tax administration and our IGR. Before he came people where helping themselves. The miserable taxes that people were collecting from they were using it to help themselves. He said some consultants were using that as a medium to also help themselves, but what we are seeing now since the intervention of the governor is helping our statutory allocation and that is why he is able to deliver on the promises that he has made.

    He is not only able to salaries as at when due, contractors obligations are also being met. This is one of the four or five states that are able to pay salaries as at when due. Even recently, the man went ahead that the minimum wage was also going up to N25,000 when so many states are not paying and are also looking for bail out.

    So, I see as these governors as just plain lazy; they are not proactive, creative and so now that the help from Abuja, monthly handout, has collapsed the states have also collapsed.

    That shouldn’t be. Some of the governors from what I see, lack capacity to manage their states. They just sit down and wait for manners from Abuja. That is why we need to restructure the country so that states should be able to develop their true capacity and pay taxes to Federal Government. What we have at the centre, we should push them to the states because it is around the states that we have these activities. We need to take the money and rearrange the formula for distribution so that the states would have more money to attend to their needs.

    If you ask me before now what the states were doing with the Federal allocation, you will be amazed. You have so much, over 52percent or thereabouts and if you conduct an audit you will discover that most of these monies went into private pockets. Civil servants were helping themselves. In Abuja most of the assets dotting the city are owned by civil servants.

     On President Buhari and Change mantra

    I want to appeal to Nigerians and the people of the Niger Delta that we need to be patient with the present administration. One year of PMB administration is too short to assess what he is doing because where we are coming from and what we inherited is a total collapse of the system and it will take time for him to begin to fulfil those promises.  I can tell you that the priorities of this government are very clear.

    We are looking at insecurity occasioned by insurgency; we are looking at corruption at the economy and decay in infrastructure. All these templates are on and what we are about to see is the implementation and that takes some times. I am aware that funds have been released to some contractors now. Construction giants are going back to site that is going to create employment.

    Election of Oshiomhole’s successor

    The battle ahead for the development of Edo State is not a child’s play and the challenges are now getting hydra headed. The problems that Oshiomhole inherited was smaller because we still had the resources and we needed somebody to proactively manage our meagre resources and that is what he did to take us to where we are now.  But now we have a major challenge of how to source for the fund and a person who has the knowhow and capability to not only to create opportunities, but to take advantage of what we have to develop and provide what we need. That person is Godwin Obaseki, who has proven his mettle in various areas – public and private sectors and he has served the state selflessly over the past seven years.

    With the collapse of price of oil and reduction in our crude oil output, we are having more challenges. I am told that we now produce about 1.1million barrels per day. I was a member of the Appropriations Committee; I represented Edo state in the House of Representatives from 2001 – 2015 and some of the figures I saw at that time there were signals of challenges ahead. After we left the thing exploded. So the situation is different.

    So, Oshiomhole has a right to endorse a candidate and his choice of Godwin Obaseki is the best for Edo State, not just as an APC member but for the entire state. We must in the interest of the state, look beyond party and decide what is best for the state. We must see that decision in Obaseki; we must join hands and support him irrespective of party affiliations because we are now fighting to secure the future of our dear state and our children yet unborn.

    President Buhari’s anti-corruption crusade and people seeing it as targeting the opposition

    For the first time in the annals of our political history, we have never seen this kind of looting of our common patrimony as under the past administration; I have never seen it. It is unfortunate that those who were in government and supposed to be presiding over our resources helped themselves. Mind you, institutions are built around systems, procedure and the rule of law, I am yet to see any country where people access, by way of just notes to the Governor of Central Bank, to expose our treasury for people to feed fat and redistribute.

    We had a party (PDP) that exposed our treasury, both local and international, for people to help themselves. Now we are faced with a plethora of problems. We are seeing the downturn of the economy to the extent that the economy is on oxygen and therefore, the intervention is to make some recoveries. I have no doubt in my mind that by the grace of God, we have a leader who is an embodiment of integrity that has been so widely recognised in other climes.

    I can tell you that what they are seeing now, compared to what they knew before this present administration came about, what they saw was just a tip of the iceberg. It is now very clear that the matter is a lot deeper than what we thought. We are now in trouble; most of the states cannot pay salaries and you can begin to imagine if PDP had won that election. I can tell you that they must have been sitting on all of these.

    I read in the pages of newspapers that $2.1bn meant to procure arms and ammunition were shared from the NSA office. This is saying yes he gave me this and that is saying he gave me that and I don’t know where it is coming from?

    We must begin to live above board. I don’t believe that what you are seeing now is targeted at the opposition. If anybody has any petition that will indict members of the APC, please go to the appropriate agencies and put your petitions there so that they can investigate. Politics should be about uplifting the quality of lives of our people and you need resources to prosecute that agenda.

  • Odubu, Imasuagbon, Agbonmhere shun meeting with Oshiomhole

    Odubu, Imasuagbon, Agbonmhere shun meeting with Oshiomhole

    Edo State Deputy Governor Pius Odubu, who is also a governorship aspirant of the All Progressives Congress (APC), yesterday shunned a meeting with Governor Adams Oshiomhole.

    Other aspirants who shunned the meeting include Blessing Agbomhere, Kenneth Imasuagbon, Prof. Oserheimen Osunbor and Austin Emuan.

    Agbomhere said that they decided to shun the meeting because there was nothing new they expected to hear from Oshiomhole.

    The seven aspirants that attended the meeting are: Mr. Godwin Obaseki, Chris Ogiemwonyi, Gen. Charles Airhiavbere (rtd), Comrade Peter Esele, Prof Ebegue Amadasun, Mrs. Tina Agbara and Hon. Emmanuel Arigbe-Osula.

    Oshiomhole expressed regret over the delay in the release of the delegate’s list by the national headquarters of the APC.

    Oshiomhole said it is worrisome that some aspirants are more vicious in their approach to the intra-party contest, rather than focusing on their campaign.

    The governor noted that enemies of the APC should not be allowed to infiltrate their ranks and create tension, such that it would be difficult to work together.

    His words: “We all need to work together. I want to be able to go out with any candidate to campaign. I want to be able to give support.

    “My plea is let’s maintain our friendship. Let’s not scandalise ourselves. I tell them that what we do in the APC is service delivery and that infrastructural development is a way of life in our party. That explains why even six months or less than six months to the end of my tenure, we are still flagging off new projects when others can’t even pay salaries.

    “I want to service the bond between Edo electorate and the All Progressives Congress (APC) as a party, so that I will leave the ladder stronger than I met it.”

    The aspirants who spoke emphasised  the need to unite behind whoever emerges the candidate of the party with a view to winning the general election on September 10.

  • Oshiomhole seeks varsity fee subsidy for indigent students

    Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State has called on the Federal Government to review its policy on university education with a view to subsidising tuition fees for indigent students while children of the rich would pay proportionately.

    Oshiomhole, who spoke at the maiden matriculation for pioneer students of the Edo University, Iyamho, last Saturday, said parents of the rich should be made to pay for quality university education for their children while the government should support children of the poor to access education of same quality.

    The governor said the present situation in which government subsidises fees for all undergraduates is unsustainable.

    He said: “Right now, Nigeria is running a system which is highly deceptive and is not sustainable – a system that I like to describe as a generalised system of suffering, a system that subsidises the children of the rich just as they subsidise the children of the poor.

    “For God’s sake, my dear friend who works in an oil sector, why should his son or his daughter go to the university and enjoy subsidy when they can afford to pay $20,000 or $30,000 for his son in Canada or in the UK or in the US? But if they are here in Nigerian universities, they pay N40,000 or N50,000, and we know that is not sustainable.

    “I think the way to go is to have the courage to find a way to identify students whose parents can afford to pay school fees to pay economic fees for their university degrees. But the ones who cannot afford, but have what it takes for university education, those ones can also be identified and granted government scholarship so that they are not denied access to quality education.”

    Oshiomhole said he has set the process in motion at the university to identify indigent students for support.

    “I have already encouraged the management to set up a panel to identify such students, if there are, among the current students, and to make sure that it does not involve any influence or corruption. We have carefully selected a panel to include a man that we all respect, Bishop Dunia as a member of that panel,” he said.

    In his speech, Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof Aluyor praised Oshiomhole for establishing the institution.

    “Like every human venture, there are challenges, but you have provided a broad shoulder to lean on. Therefore, we are confident that we will succeed,” he said.

    The Vice-Chancellor said the university has been accredited by the Nigerian Universities Commission (NUC) to run degree programmes in arts, social sciences and management sciences.  It began academic activities in April 2016 with the admission of 91 students.

    He said the first session of the university will end on 18th November while a new 2016/2017 academic session is expected to start with the admission of new students in November 2016.

    Dignitaries at the event included the Chief Judge of the State, Justice Cromwell Idahosa, Service Chiefs, members of the State Executive Council, royal fathers from Edo North, the Esogban of Benin Kingdom, Chief David Edebiri, Governorship aspirant of the All Progressives Congress, Maj.-Gen Charles Airhiavbere, among others.

  • Oshiomhole: Edo’ll build roads despite low oil price

    Oshiomhole: Edo’ll build roads despite low oil price

    Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole has said his administration will not stop work on ongoing road projects as well as build new ones, even if the price of crude oil crashes further.

    The governor spoke yesterday at the flag-off of the 10-kilometre Uzebba-Okpuje-Okabhor Road in Owan West Local Government Area.

    He said: “Like I promised during the electioneering campaign in 2007, I said I did not come to join people to lament the misrule of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). I did not come to shed tears about missed opportunities. I came with my colleagues on a rescue mission. It was to show that whatever they said was not possible, to demonstrate that it is possible and that everything they refused to do, we would try to do it.

    “We started by building schools. I am sure in this local government you have what they now call the ‘red roof’ schools. I am sure in a couple of places we have also sunk boreholes. I am sure some of your sons and daughters, who are working for the Edo State Government, their salaries for May has been paid, and the wage has even been increased.

    “I can assure you it has been tough, and it is still tough. It might get even tougher in the very near future. But there is nothing we have started in this state under my stewardship that we have abandoned. And therefore, this one is yet another project that we will complete. It will not be abandoned. Even if oil price crashes to zero, this road will be done.

    “We have already mobilised the contractor. So, we are not owing. The contractor has Owan blood. He must ensure that this road is better than any other road we have built so that it will last much longer than 25 years. This is because, for me, a government must never deceive the people because we don’t settle for less than the best.

    “That is why on all the roads we are constructing, we insist that they must have not just laterite base, we also ensure they have stone base to make sure that the asphalt does not peel off fast. We create drainage wherever it is necessary so that the water can flow out and protect the asphalt.

    “That is why our roads are better than PDP Federal roads. None of our roads has failed. I have spent seven and a half years in office. We have not gone back to the quality of roads we met before. So, I assure you that this will be the same.”

     

  • Oshiomhole, NFF bid Amodu farewell

    Oshiomhole, NFF bid Amodu farewell

    •As late coach is buried in hometown

    TECHNICAL Director of Nigeria Football Federation, Amodu Shaibu, has been interred according to Islamic rites.

    He was buried at a corner of his residence at Okpella, Estako East local government.

    The funeral was attended by top officials of the NFF, Governor Adams Oshiomhole and some government officials.

    It was all tears as his body was lowered into the grave.

    His corpse arrived Okpella at about 12:30pm but he was buried at about 5:30pm.

    Speaking at a special funeral prayer, Alhaji Ahmed Musa, described the death of Amodu as a great loss to the nation and football lovers

    Alhaji Musa urged the gathering to understand why part of their wealth is reserved for the less privilege because the end of everything is death.

    He said Allah gave wealth to be shared and not to be hidden.

    His words, “Allah will ask you at the end what you used the wealth he gave to you for. Look at Amodu, that tiny hole is all he got now. All his properties are now useless to him.”

    Secretary-General of NFF, Mohammed Sanusi, said a special meeting of the body would be convened for both Stephen Keshi and Amodu.

    Sanusi stated that late Amodu lived a fulfilled life and added that the entire football body was saddened by the loss.

    His words, “We are sorrowful. We are sad and down. These are heroes. We will try and immortalized our heroes. Their effort will not be in vain.”

    Question on the controversy of NFF owing late Amodu, Sanusi said, “This is not the time to talk about his not being paid or not. We lost somebody and we are mourning him. We are not here to talk on controversies”.

    To Governor Oshiomhole, “This is the worst week for Nigerians and the football world. We have lost two outstanding statesmen who served us at the hour of need.

    Oshiomhole who spoke after joining in the funeral prayer said the leadership quality of late Amodu was not in doubt.

    He said Amodu worked hard for the country whether he was paid or not.

  • ‘Why a technocrat should succeed Oshiomhole’

    ‘Why a technocrat should succeed Oshiomhole’

    Osamede Umweni is the Coordinator, ‘Edo Professionals,’ a group advocating for good governance in Edo State. He spoke with reporters in Lagos on the succession battle in the Southsouth. Excerpts.

    What are the factors that will shape the next governorship election in Edo State?

    I will say that the factors are subjective to each individual in the state. What I will are the factors, to me, are good governance and a capable successor to the outgoing governor.

    We have men, who are angling to become the governor of the state.

    We need someone who wants the good of the state and who is ready to move the state to the next level. Someone who is not selfish but patriotic. These are the factors that will shape the election in a few months from now.

    What are the qualities you expect from Oshiomhole’s successor?

    First, Oshiomhole has done well. If you want to measure him, I think he has passed. The next occupier of that office is someone who will surpass the foundation already laid in Edo State because governance is a continuous process. So, we need a pragmatic leader, a successful individual, who had excelled in his chosen field. One who has track record that can take the state to the next level. We do not need a failure as the next governor.

    There are speculations that Godwin Obaseki is the adopted candidate of the governor, which has left to a cold war between the governor and his deputy. What is your take?

    If a governor, who has been in the saddle for eight years, who looks at his achievement, he would want a successor that I prove on those achievements. As it is, Oshiomhole has not come, publicly to say he is supporting an aspirant. Oshiomhole, as a governor and individual has a right to support any aspirant to be governor, but it depends on the electorate to decide whether or not they want such an individual as their governor.

    Concerning Godwin Obaseki, he is the aspirant that I am rooting for. I have known him for 16 years now. In the course of our dissection, I could see the zeal and passion in him when I was discussing the Edo Project with. When he was made chsirmN of the economic team of Edo state, I felt that it was a good development. He has been successful in his professional life and he has been able to bring in revenues for the state and also helped in managing the state resources efficiently. When he decided to throw his hat into the ring, I felt it would be good to support his ambition. I know he has what it takes to move the state forward from where Oshiomhole has stopped. I think he is the best.

    Are  you not worried that this may affect the APC’s chances during the election, if the feud is not resolved?

    I am not worried because the APC is the ruling party. The various aspirants are going round the state meeting with delegates and leaders of the party ahead of the primary. As soon as the primary is conducted, the candidate will emerge and everyone will fall in line. I believe that the primary will be free and fair but all that is happening is politics. In the coming weeks, everything will be stabilized.

    What is the position of Edo Professionals regarding the elections?

    Edo Professionals is a non partisan body, which is formed for the advancement of our professional life and people in the state. The organisation was formed to chart a good course for ourselves and for our people.,it is basically a non partisan group, and not political group.

    Does that mean that this group is not averse to the emergence of a PDP governor, who can build on the legacies of the governor?

    As the coordinator of the group, I only have one vote but members are free to support any candidate of their choice. On the long run, the people of the state, who are the electorate, will be the ones will determine the next governor of Edo State.

    Why are you rooting for a technocrat to succeed the governor?

    I have noticed that states that have professional politicians in Nigeria do not fair well in governance. They hardly work for the people. What they do is to satisfy their personal interest. We keep saying that there is looting of the treasury, it is because we have professional politicians at the helm of affairs. When you have a sound technocrat at the helm of affair, he rejigs the state and makes it better for the people. We need someone who is successful in his profession to add value to the state.

    What are the legacies of Oshiomhole which has become a legacy that must be defended by the next governor?

    I am sure that if you have been in Benin city some eight years ago you would have wept by the state of the roads in that state. We had an administration for eight years but there was no meaningful progress in that state. There was nothing to talk about then in Edo state. In areas of infrastructure, there was nothing on ground, the monthly allocation from the federation account, was shared among private individuals. But now, Edo State is a state that has received transformation, salaries are being paid as at when due, pension are being paid.

    I can see see transformation in Edo State. The state has been able to raise the internal revenue. The governor has raised our financial base to a good level, infrastructures are all over the state. To me, he has performed compared to the past PDP administration.

  • Edo pensioners and Oshiomhole?

    Edo pensioners and Oshiomhole?

    SIR: Dear Comrade Oshiomhole, if Edo State pensioners have offended you in anyway, let us know so that I and other concerned citizens will apologise.

    You won Vanguard award because of prompt payment of workers salary among other things. Workers in Edo State payroll have never had it so good. What of the pensioners? Where did they go wrong? Is it a crime to retire in Edo State?

    You took the bailout loan for local government workers and left out the pensioners. You have again increased state workers salary from N18,000 to N25,000 minimum wage for this I am happy for the workers but what of pensioners? Why are you giving workers 100 per cent attention and pensioners zero percent attention? Why will you pay workers regularly and owe pensioners up to nine months pension in addition to their gratuity and previous accumulated pension arrears that accrued from the time they retired to the time they started receiving monthly pension? This accumulated pension arrears ought to be paid in bulk the very month they started receiving monthly pension.

    It is true that you inherited a huge amount of gratuity and pension arrears which you have cleared. But it is also true that majority (more than 80 per cent) of those that retired under you have not been paid gratuity and pension arrears. Worst of all they are not even receiving monthly pension now. This beats all logical reasoning. Or is it that you want to push it to the next governor as it was pushed to you? From the way things are unfolding politically in Edo State now, who knows who will be the next governor of Edo State? What if the governor refuse to pay any inherited pension arrears?

    Edo State Pensioners are dying under your watch. To be blunt: so long as you continue to neglect senior citizens of the state, you have achieved nothing.

    I acknowledge that you have done much. When I saw the new Central Hospital complex in Benin, I have to pinch myself to be sure I was awake and not dreaming. What of the Edo State University lyamoh and the upgrading of College of Education Ekiadolor to a university; what of the renovation of primary and secondary schools across the state, the attraction of a cement factory and a power plant to Edo State that will generate thousands of employment, just to mention a few. Please give pensioners their due and allow them to enjoy the fruits of their labour.

     

    • Ukhun Felix,

    Benin City, Edo State.

  • Oshiomhole backs Buhari’s measures against vandalism

    Oshiomhole backs Buhari’s measures against vandalism

    Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole  yesterday backed President Muhammadu Buhari’s handling of the Niger Delta crisis.

    There has been an upsurge of bombings of oil pipelines and installations by a group of militants, the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA).

    The government has deployed troops in the region to forestall further pipeline vandalism while reaching out for dialogue to ensure a lasting solution to the problem.

    The government is also making moves to clean up Ogoniland, the Rivers State community where oil exploration has destroyed the environment.

    Speaking with State House correspondents after meeting with President Buhari, Oshiomhole noted that the steps being taken by the President are right.

    While stressing that the unity of Nigeria is non-negotiable, he said the destruction of installations by NDA was scaring away investors to the detriment of the region.

    He said: “So if somebody, for whatever reasons, decides to destroy pipelines and thereby compound the problem of pollution, the cost of cleaning up that area, making it attractive either for fishing, farming or other business; it’s a huge cost. Cost, not just naira and kobo, cost in terms of time and in terms of human lives.

    “So it doesn’t bring us closer. I think all of us ought to converge around a common idea; how do we ensure this natural endowment to be truly a blessing? And that if there are environmental issues arising from certain negligence on the part of certain key players, that as the President has shown for the first time a commitment to clean up Ogoni land and any other area; these are the things we all ought to work together and encourage the President and the Federal Government to continue to do.

    “But to compound those problems by breaking pipelines, stealing crude oil and destroying farmlands, destroying water ways, I don’t see anybody benefiting from that.”

    Oshiomhole said: “So, it’s very unfortunate. I think it is important to say that the Nigerian state must not be demystified by gunmen and accept that the environment will be governed by gunmen.

    “No one can deny that a number of interventions have been put in place. A whole ministry has been created for Niger Delta; that is unprecedent in our history and is manned by people from the area. We have the NDDC, a commission exclusively devoted ýto addressing the challenges of the region.

    “If the development has not developed faster than it is, we probably need to look inward. Why is there a gap by what is purportedly spent and what people can find on ground. These are issues this President is dealing with, the issues of corruption.

    “Corruption exposed the gap between huge allocations, contracts awarded and the reality that even with torchlight you can’t find those things on ground. Even in Edo State many projects were awarded but never to the right contractors. The money is stolen and the people are just witnesses to exploitation.

    “So this is the time we have a president that said he is going to fight corruption. If we can defeat corruption in the Southsouth, and if the money given to NDDC is truly used to address infrastructure, and the Niger Delta ministry will focus on addressing the challenges in the region, then we will begin to see things change.”

    He does not think that the Nigeria state should submit to blackmail but should rather be respected.

    He said: “For me, I believe in Nigeria. I believe no part can do without the other, I believe our unity is not negotiable. I believe the responsibility of the political elite is to strengthen the bridge of unity, to discourage preaching hatred, implify weak points rather work to strengthen those points.

    “I salute our armed forces for what they are doing and the confidence they have brought back to our security.”

    On Buhari’s handling of the region, Oshiomhole said: “What I can say is that this president deserves the support of everyone and there is no part of Nigeria that can be better off without the other part. The sooner we accept this reality the better it is for all of us.

    “The days of ethnic champions and imigenary divides will not help anyone. I believe that the President has shown leadership; he has shown determination to keep the country going. For once we are enjoying respect ýin world capitals, in different continents.

    “Part of the challenge we are facing today is that quite a number of our young people are out of job. Even in our budget the president on his own without prompting, decided to devote as much as half a trillion naira ýto social investments that are targeted at the poorest among us.”

    He urged the people of the Southsouth to understand that it is in their interest to make the