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Tag: PDP

  • Automatic tickets for Senators: Jonathan, PDP bow to governors

    Automatic tickets for Senators: Jonathan, PDP bow to governors

    Governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are winning their battle with senators over who gets the party’s senatorial tickets ahead of next year’s elections.

    President Goodluck Jonathan and the PDP are said to have reversed their decision to concede automatic return tickets to 40 Senators.

    The governors, especially those who are about completing their second term, are interested in going to the Senate and want serving senators dropped for them.

    They also claim that some Senators will fail if fielded by the party.

    It was learnt yesterday that the list of the 40 Senators was being reviewed at press time.

    But the u-turn made by the President and the PDP has angered some of the affected senators who are now believed to be willing to take their own pound of flesh by supporting the impeachment plot in the National Assembly.

    The Nation gathered that about 20 senators may eventually be given automatic slots in 2015.

    A highly placed source said security reports and field studies have shown that it is no longer realistic to grant the 40 senators automatic tickets.

    The PDP governors had made representations to the President and the party, rejecting the automatic tickets.

    The source said: “Following pressure from governors, the Presidency and PDP have decided to tinker with the list of the senators who may get automatic tickets.

    “The party needs to take into cognizance the performance of senators, the peculiar local environment in the state; the zoning formula and the overall chances of the party.

    “We also have instances where automatic tickets have caused crises in some states between governors and senators. The overall intention of the automatic tickets is to enrich the legislature and not to stoke fire.”

    A high-ranking Senator said the President, the PDP and the Senate leadership “ have gone back to the drawing board on how we can come up with a win-win situation for all.

    “We learnt that not all the 40 senators will be given automatic tickets again as agreed some weeks ago at the Presidential Villa.

    “So, we are awaiting the list of the beneficiaries of the auto tickets. We hope those returning will be appreciable to enhancing legislative business in the 8th Senate.”

    A top official of the PDP said: “I think about 20 of the senators may eventually return after harmonization of all factors.

    “The party will be fair to all because we do not only need to win the presidency; we have to secure the National Assembly too.”

    But one of the senators, who spoke in confidence, said: “It will not augur well for the President and the PDP to allow the governors to force the party to dance to their tunes.

    “Some of these governors are leaving the stage with credibility problem and they should not create any electoral crisis for PDP.

    “The President and the PDP are however afraid of these governors. We should be careful or else there might be protest votes in some states.”

    Led by the President of the Senate, Chief David Mark, about 60 senators recently met with President Jonathan at the Villa.

    At the end of the session, the PDP leadership was mandated to go and consider the modalities of giving 40 senators their return tickets.

    Based on the harmonised list, those expected to return are : Chief David Mark, Senate Deputy President Ike Ekweremadu, Ahmed Makarfi, Nenadi Esther Usman, Smart Adeyemi, Atai Idoko-Ali, Barnabas Gemade, Barth Nnaji, Pius Akinyelure, Boluwaji Kunlere, Philip Aduda, Enyinnaya Abaribe, and Uche Chukwumerije.

    Also on the list are: Senate Leader Victor Ndoma-Egba, Bassey Otu, Benedict Ayade, Zainab Kure, Simeon Ajibola, Adeseun Ayoade Ademola, Agboola Hosea Ayoola, Emmanuel Bwacha, Umar Abubakar Tutari, Suleiman Adokwe,

    Also enjoying concession are Maccido Muhammad Ahmed, Abdullahi Danladi, Hassan Abdulmumin, Emmanuel Aguariavwodo, James Manager, Emmanuel Paulker, Heineken Lokpobri, Tukur Bello, Hassan Barata, Lidani Joshua, Alkali Saidu Ahmed, Andy Uba, Margery Okadigbo, Magnus Odion Ugbesia, Garba Gamawa Babayo, and Adamu Gumba.

  • Broom revolution hits Akwa Ibom as Umana, others dump PDP for APC

    Broom revolution hits Akwa Ibom as Umana, others dump PDP for APC

    National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC),Chief John Odigie-Oyegun,the party’s national leader,Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and its chairman in Akwa Ibom State are confident of   APC’s  victory in the state next year .

    They told  thousands of party faithful  in Uyo the state capital yesterday  that  with the defection of the immediate past Secretary  to the State Governmnent (SSG),Mr.Umana Umana to the APC,the development which has eluded the people for long, is around the corner. The rally was to formally receive Umana and other former bigwigs of the PDP into the APC

    The defectors were welcomed  by Chief  Odigie Oyegun, who told the new comers that in APC, there is zero tolerance for corruption.

    Oyegun told the electorate to equip themselves with their voter’s cards, which he described as  the only instrument needed to  sweep PDP out of power.

    He said that with the coming of Umana and others into the party, the train of change has begun in the state.

    He critisised  the  PDP-led government for abhorring corruption and using the security agencies to attack the opposition. His words: “Many of you who don’t have the voters’ cards must go and have the voters’ cards. The voter’s card is your weapon for change. How many of you are happy with the level of corruption in this country?

    “Corruption is the sole reason that education has collapsed, that health is collapsing, it is the sole reason that our roads are not looked after. It is the sole reason for the problem we are having in the country today. In APC we have zero tolerance for corruption.

    “Another duty we owe to the youth of this country is to provide them with jobs. We have worked out our programmes to achieve these.

    “Now we are going to have a third colossus like Umana in APC after having former Minister of State for Federal Capital Territory, Senator James Udoedehe and former Military Administrator of both Ogun and Rivers state, Sam Ewang.  Strong people like Umana are just discovering that they have been working for a party that is destroying this country. Umana should demonstrate how he can use the broom to sweep the destroyer.”

    Also speaking, Asiwaju Tinubu, called for  ‘common sense revolution’  to end  the PDP ‘misrule’.

    He said that  when God wanted to deliver the people of Israel from the bondage of Pharaoh  He gave the Israelites instructions through their leader, Moses and they took their destiny in their hands and their deliverance from the Egyptian bondage of over 400 years was secured.

    He said the way to start the revolution is for the people getting their voters’ card from INEC  and be ready to vote for the agent of change symbolized by the APC in the coming general elections next year.

    He said: “His words: “Your voters’ card is the weapon for common sense revolution. The common sense revolution is not by bloodshed. It is about voters’ card. Ensure that you get it from INEC to change the government in Abuja and other states not controlled by the APC.”

    Tinubu explained that with Umana and his supporters  joining  APC and  working with people like Senator John Udoedehe, Captain Sam Ewang and others, the Akwa Ibom people are on the way to delivering  the state from impunity that has rocked the state all these years.

    The national leader also said APC would make the people the cornerstone of their policies and programmes.

    Tinubu also recalled how Senator James Udoedehe went to jail in the hands of the PDP-led government in the state during the 2011 general elections.

    He said: “John Udoedehe suffered, he went to jail and almost got killed in the hands of the PDP government. I am happy to see him stand here today with another of our brother Umana. Both of you must join hands together in Unity.

    In his remarks, Akwa Ibom State APC chairman, Dr. Amadu Attai, said the last seven years of PDP in the state has been fraudulent and traumatic for the people.

    Attai decried that despite the oil-money, Akwa Ibom is still one of the poorest states in the country. He said: “We have been suffocated by the government of the PDP. The state is the richest but the people are the poorest since Akpabio took over the mantle of leadership.

    “The ruling party and the Presidency have failed to listen to the concern of the elders. Governor Akpabio wants to install himself as a third term governor through a pseudo arrangement. Today’s event has proven that APC is on the part of winning Akwa Ibom State in 2015.”

    In his words, the APC Presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, urged Nigerians and Akwa Ibom people to unite and rescue the state from the ruling PDP next year.  He said: “Make sure there is a change in the next election. Whoever is you candidate, the persons who wins should be supported.”

    Also, another APC Presidential aspirant, Sam Nda Isaiah, said it has become necessary for Nigerians to ensure they vote out PDP in the next general election.

    He said presently, there are 48 million young Nigerians without jobs.  He asked Nigerians to vote for APC candidates as the party, saying the party is ready to turn the misfortune of  Nigerian  cause by PDP miss-governance around with god policies.

    He said:  “The time to change has come and Nigerians must seize the opportunity to vote out PDP government.”

    Another chieftain of the party, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, said with the coming election, time has come for Nigerians to deliver themselves.

    Onu  said nobody is happy the way things are in the country and prayed for God’s grace to enable the party win next year and turn things around for the good of all in the country.

    In his words, the national Vice Chairman of the party for the South/South region, Prince Hillary Etta, said majority in Akwa Ibom have taken a stand to secure change for the suffering of the people.

    He said  though President Jonathan is from the Southsouth, , he has failed to impact Akwa Ibom and indeed Nigerians in any meaningful way.

    Umana, who spoke on behalf of the defectors, asked PDP to return his N11million he used to purchase the nomination form for the governorship race.

  • Minister urges Cross River PDP to resolve differences

    The Minister of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation, High Chief Edem Duke, has called on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Cross River State to sort out its differences.

    Speaking with reporters in Calabar, Duke said the state was the last bastion of stability for the party in the country.

    He said, “We have gone into a season of high political activities and it is important for me especially as a minister with a responsibility for national orientation to make an urgent and passionate call on all players in the political space that it is critical for us to maintain a high sense of decorum in this political season. The political contest is a contest of ideas, therefore it is important especially as we had recorded in 2011, the most peaceful and credible elections in Nigeria.

    “I would like to use the opportunity as minister from Cross River State to reiterate the fact that the state has always being the last bastion of stability in the PDP family all over the country. Therefore as we begin to go into the active seasons of the elections, I wish to use the opportunity of strengthen the call of the President that we must play politics without bitterness. It has never been the character of Cross River politics for violence and unethical utterances.

    “I wish to use the opportunity to say that every state in Nigeria has always envied the agenda of the political family in the Cross River. It is therefore too late in the day for us to change the characteristic of the state politics. I believe that because we have always said that the grace of God is abundant for each and every one and the PDP umbrella is big and comfortable enough to accommodate all players irrespective of our initial desire and ambition.

    “It is therefore my passionate call that a time has come for us to muster the courage to put again forward that characteristic of the PDP in the state which has been the envy of the country. We cannot afford at this critical time when we are facing the challenges of economic and social development, dwindling resources and all kinds of deficiencies.

    “We cannot allow a crack in the PDP family. It is right and appropriate for each and every one of us to aspire to leadership, but from what I have always seen in the state, we have always at the end of the day resolved our differences in harmony.”

  • Elders call for peace in Ibadan

    The Central Council of Ibadan Indigenes (CCII) has called for peace in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, following the violence in some parts of the city.

    The council, a non-partisan umbrella organisation of Ibadan social clubs, urged warring groups to sheathe their swords and allow peace to reign.

    It enjoined members of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Accord Party (AP) and others to exercise restraint ahead of the 2015 general elections.

    A statement, entitled: Call for Peace in Oyo State, by the council’s Publicity Secretary, Seye Ogunsina, appealed to security agencies to prosecute anyone who wants to turn Ibadan into a battle ground.

  • Kebbi deputy governor: I’m still in PDP

    Kebbi deputy governor: I’m still in PDP

    Kebbi State Deputy Governor Ibrahim Aliyu has debunked  rumours that he was planning to dump the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) with 17 members of the House of Assembly to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    Addressing reporters yesterday in Birnin-Kebbi, the state capital, Aliyu said the story of his defection was a shock to him because he did not grant any interview to any reporter on such a sensitive matter.

    He said: “I am not under pressure to leave the PDP. I am one of the founding fathers of the PDP in this state.”

    According to him,  himself, Gen. Muhammadu Magoro, Dr Muhammed Bello Haliru and Bello Alkali brought the party to this state.

    Aliyu added: “The yearnings and pressure from the people  propelled me to vie for governorship to succeed my boss. This is not a unilateral decision; it was at a township meeting that I was endorsed to take over from Abdulazeez Dakingari as the next governor of Kebbi State.”

  • Court voids Anambra PDP caretaker committee

    A Federal High Court, Abuja has voided the caretaker committee constituted for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Anambra State by the party’s national leadership.

    Justice Evoh Chukwu, in the verdict yesterday, held that the constitution of the committee while a suit was pending before his court over the party’s leadership dispute was an affront on the court.

    He further held that the constitution of the caretaker committee, contrary to the undertaking by the party’s lawyers, amounted to foisting a state of helplessness on the court.

    The judgment was on a suit by a former chairman of Anambra PDP, Ken Emekeanyi.

    The judge dismissed the suit for being an abuse of court process.

    Justice Chukwu dismissed the suit on the grounds that it amounted to an abuse of court process because there are multiple pending cases on the same issue about the leadership of the PDP in Anambra State.

    Emekeanyi had urged the court to hold that his term of office of four years started running from 2013, when he was allowed to function, even when the election that produced him was held in 2012.

    The plaintiff was elected as the Vice Chairman in 2010. He assumed the office of the Chairman in 2013 when former occupant of the office, Emmanuel Nweze, resigned.

    Emekeanyi, in the suit dated November 6, 2014, had asked the court to declare that his tenure would only start to run in 2013 when he was recognised as the state chairman of the party.

    He argued that having assumed office in 2013, he ought to be allowed to serve four years, running from 2013.

    “I must, in strong term, condemn this reckless forum-shopping by the plaintiff,” the judge held in reference to the multiple cases already filed on the same issue by the plaintiff.

    The judge noted that Emekeanyi’s executive “came into power in 2010, but was refused to function until 2013. Going by the constitution of the party, his tenure elapsed on October 24, 2013. So, his argument that his tenure started running in 2013, holds no water.

    “It is only governors under our law that their four-year tenure starts to run from the day they took oath of office. Having said that, this suit, which is a gross abuse of court process, is hereby dismissed.

    “It is further ordered that the act of appointing caretaker committee by the fourth defendant, which is an abuse of court process, is also set aside and nullified.”

    Earlier in the judgment, Justice Chukwu rejected the argument by lawyer to the PDP, Olusola Oke, to the effect that the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the suit on the ground that the election of a party’s leaders was an internal affair of the party.

    The judge also refused the defendants’ argument that the court could not hear the case on the ground that the plaintiff failed to exhaust internal dispute resolution mechanisms of the party before approaching the court.

    Justice Chukwu agreed with the defendants that the suit amounted to an abuse of court process in view of the existence of multiple suits on the same issues.

  • Who is the leader of PDP?

    SIR Today, the truth remains that the federal government is controlled by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. The party also controls majority of the state governments in Nigeria. Unarguably, President Goodluck Jonathan is the leader of PDP, and therefore the leader of the Nigerian nation.

     It is therefore safe and easy to assume that the critical decisions affecting this country, good or bad, are taken under his care, and the buck stops on his table. It is generally known that actions and in-actions of those in government could enhance or diminish the reputation of the government – in this case, the federal government. It, therefore, beats my imagination for the Presidency to say that it was not aware of the actions taken by the new Inspector General of Police, Suleiman Abba, an appointee of the President, as they relate to the Speaker and members of the House of Representatives.

     Is President Jonathan a weakling of sorts, or is he succumbing to political forces that are bent on misdirecting him on policy matters?  He should promptly query anyone who misrepresents his government’s policy position. Nigerians are quietly holding him responsible for the drift that is becoming so visible with his government. He has allowed his wife, Dame Patience Jonathan, who has no role whatsoever within the PDP to continue meddling in the affairs of the party in such states as Rivers, Bayelsa, Kwara, Oyo, Abia, etc. In most cases, her actions run and contradict certain norms that would have ordinarily strengthened and brightened up PDP and its constitution. For instance, in Rivers State, Dame Jonathan saw nothing awful and unbecoming in visiting the home of one of the governorship aspirants Nyesom Wike and ‘handing over’ the governorship ticket to him. Well, that action alone has torn PDP into pieces in Rivers State.

    Is it that Dame Patience, who comes from Rivers State, has no patience to interpret the political mood in the state? Or is there no one close enough to Dame Patience to educate her on the proper meaning and the spirit of Chapter 7 of PDP Constitution which enunciated equity, fairness, justice and rotation of critical political offices as cardinal points that have nurtured the upland/riverine enduring brotherhood in the state?

    The choice before President Jonathan is simple and straightforward: either he abdicates his position as leader of his party or he sits his wife down and talk to her seriously. She is not the first to be Nigeria’s First Lady. She is meddling too much into affairs that the constitution excludes her totally. With her behavior, Nigerians are beginning to ask whether they are going to the poll in February 2015 to vote for Goodluck Jonathan or for Dame Jonathan. The president’s handling of national and party affairs in the coming weeks would help Nigerians decide who really we are voting for. Remember, Nigerians have options and alternatives. Jonathan should not allow his wife to create more political problems for him.

    • Chief Godknows Johnson,

    Borokiri, Port Harcourt, Rivers State

  • 2015: PDP screens Jonathan

    2015: PDP screens Jonathan

    President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday appeared before a presidential screening committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    Jonathan, who arrived at the party’s secretariat at 3.15 pm, in company with Vice President Namadi Sambo and ministers, went straight to the screening venue.

    The exercise lasted for about an hour, with the Ahmadu Ali-led committee discharging the President after the closed screening session.

    After the exercise, the President left the secretariat as quietly as he came in.

    The National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Olisa Metuh, who spoke to reporters after the screening, said it was necessary for the President to comply with the processes leading to the primaries and ratification.

    According to him, the President was not in anyway disadvantaged before now and that his humility at submitting to party processes spoke volume of his compliance with party supremacy.

    Metuh said the result of the screening would be released by the party’s leadership within 24 hours.

    The leadership of the PDP has voided the disqualification of its aspirants by the screening appeal committees across the states.

    A statement yesterday by the party urged the affected aspirants to disregard the disqualification orders.

  • Suspected PDP thugs attack Ahmed’s convoy

    Suspected PDP thugs attack Ahmed’s convoy

    •Governor decries attack •PDP chair: assailants not PDP members 

    Scores of youths, suspected to be Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP’s) thugs, on Tuesday, attacked the convoy of Kwara State Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed in Kaiama, Kaiama Local Government Area.

    The governor was in the ancient town for the N7.9 billion reconstruction work on the Kaiama-Kishi Road and the inauguration of the remodelled general hospital in the community.

    He distributed some electricity transformers and held a town hall meeting with the residents.

    The suspected thugs, who wielded campaign posters of President Goodluck Jonathan and souvenirs of PDP National Chairman Adamu Mu’azu, were allegedly waiting at the party’s secretariat beside the Emir of Kaiama’s palace, waiting for the governor’s convoy.

    They allegedly hauled invectives at the governor’s train as it decoyed from the general hospital to the emir’s palace, where he was to be turbaned as the ‘Jarman’ Kaiama.

    The intervention of the governor’s security detail prevented the situation from snowballing into a free-for-all.

    Policemen in the convoy of the governor fired teargas canisters into the air to disperse the hoodlums.

    The youth, who a resident called loafers, were shouting invectives at former Governor Bukola Saraki and Ahmed as the governor’s convoy drove past the PDP secretariat to the emir’s palace.

    Police spokesperson, Ajayi Okasanmi, confirmed the incident.

    But he said he had not been adequately briefed.

    Okesanmi said: “I am sure some people would have been arrested.”

    Ahmed lodged a complaint yesterday with Police Commissioner Salihu Garba on the attack.

    In a letter by his Senior Special Assistant on Security and Intelligence, Alhaji B. S. Abdulsalam, the government alleged that the hoodlums vandalised two vehicles belonging to Speaker of the House of Assembly and Kayode Adams in the governor’s convoy.

    Also, a statement in Ilorin, the state capital, by the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Media and Communications, Dr Muideen Akorede, said: “The complaint also indicated that at 3pm on November 20, suspected PDP youths in Kaiama destroyed some billboards of Governor Ahmed.

    “The state government identified some PDP stalwarts in Kaiama as the brains behind the unfortunate incidents.”

    The Kwara State APC described the incident as the height of political provocation.

    In a statement, APC spokesperson Sulyman Buhari said: “Apparently bitter and terrified by the rousing reception accorded Governor Ahmed and his entourage by APC members and the people of Kaiama, a member of PDP State Executive Committee (SEC) led his armed thugs to ambush the governor’s convoy near the PDP secretariat, which is not far away from the Emir’s palace, immediately after the turbaning.

    “The armed thugs launched unprovoked attacks on the convoy of Governor Ahmed. Many vehicles were destroyed in the convoy while our party members were injured.

    “Kwara APC preaches and practices peace, even though all households in Kwara State are quite familiar with the violent antecedents and tendencies of the PDP.  We cannot fathom why the few armed PDP thugs on the rampage in Kaiama on Tuesday.

    “We condemn the attack on Governor Ahmed’s convoy and APC members. It is the height of political provocation.

    “The competence of the security agencies in Kwara State is being challenged by the activities of PDP thugs in the state. If the people in the governor’s convoy cannot be immune from ambush and attack, then the ordinary people in Kwara State without privileges of police escort are at the mercy of rampaging PDP thugs.

    “Security agencies should know that the attack on the governor’s convoy is a signal to the well-oiled violence machinery the PDP intends to launch in Kwara State in the build-up to the 2015 general elections.

    “We call on the police command and other security agencies in Kwara State to promptly investigate and bring to book the PDP thugs who orchestrated the attack…”

    Kwara State PDP Chairman Iyiola Oyedepo said the alleged attack on Ahmed’s convoy was not from PDP members.

    He said: “I want to tell you that the attack was not from members of PDP. I have always been of the view that when people continue to deceive the electorate, the pay day is always around the corner. So, the people may be reacting to years of neglect by the state government.

    “It is not the handiwork of PDP and we do not have thugs anywhere, not even in Kaiama. In any case, how many thugs would have been sent to PDP to do that kind of thing?

    “I was told that some of their vehicles were attacked by the people who were dissatisfied by the way and manner they had been neglected. They are not PDP thugs.”

  • ‘Why I want to succeed Imoke’

    ‘Why I want to succeed Imoke’

    Legor Idagbo, a lawyer and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship aspirant in Cross River State, spoke with  EMMANUEL OLADESU on his vision for the state.

    How democratic is the governorship nomination process in Cross River PDP?

    At the outset of the race, we were more than 20 aspirants. So, what the party leadership did was to ensure that the caucuses in all the local government areas were to screen and evaluate all the aspirants. Besides, the caucuses at the local government level, there were also caucuses at the senatorial zones. These caucuses were made up of party stalwarts from all the local governments. The caucuses gave opportunities to all the aspirants to showcase their visions, blueprint and development plans for Cross River State. The process was transparent, free, fair and democratic. At the end of the day, five aspirants were shortlisted. So, now we are five in the race. They are a few aspirants who did not make the list, but they went ahead to purchase the nomination forms and they are now in the race. Nobody stopped them. They have been going on with their campaign unhindered, without any form of harassment. It is preposterous for anybody to say that there is no internal democracy in the Cross River State PDP. The party has been transparent and democratic in all its processes.

    The caucus arrangement was designed to allow the people take ownership of the democratic process. To what extent was this achieved?

    The people have indeed taken owner of the process because now they have had the opportunity to hear out the aspirants who presented themselves before them. They had the opportunity to assess everybody that aspires to serve them and they came out with their assessment of the aspirants. So, I think, to a very large extent, the people have taken ownership of the democratic process in the state.

    The campaigns are characterised by bitterness. What is your view?

    What is happening is that some indigenes that were not resident in Cross River are returning because they have some connections out there and they have money to spend. They are trying to undermine the will of the people, by subverting justice and the will of the people. The people have decided, but a few non-resident politicians think that they can make nonsense of what thousands of Cross Riverians have decided.

    Why do you want to succeed Governor Liyel Imoke?

    Governor Liyel Imoke has been able to build consensus, strong leadership institution. He established a regime of transparency in the state and today, the state has one of the best procurement agencies in the Nigeria. I want to give credit to the former Governor Donald Duke for this. Even though the state was left in huge debt, Imoke has been able to wade through the challenges and move the state forward, despite the loss of oil wells and the loss of Bakassi. So, the question that should be asked is, moving forward, what needs to be done? I come from the background of being the secretary of my local government, two-term chairman of Bekwarra Local Government Area, chairman of ALGON in Cross River State, Commissioner for Works.  I came from the grassroots and have related with the people down to the top. I believe it is time we took government to the people; it is time we transformed all these achievements into sustainable wealth creation for the people. We have to invest in human development.  We need to begin to look at the people.  We have witnessed so much infrastructural development. The present administration has constructed so many rural roads from the creeks of Bakassi to the hills of Obanliku. In our urban renewal programmes, so many kilometers of roads were constructed from Calabar to Ogoja. Now, we need to ensure that all these impact positively on the lives of people and transform the economies of the various rural areas. We need to ensure that the life of an average farmer is transformed from subsistence to commercial. All these can only be achieved through people-oriented policies of a government. This is where I come in. The people believe that I have what it takes to do all these to transform their lives. I would retain the seven-point Agenda of the present administration, but I would move it a step further aimed at wealth creation for Cross Riverians.