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Tag: PDP

  • Ahmadu Ali urges ASUU to end strike

    Ahmadu Ali urges ASUU to end strike

    •PDP ex-chair heads NUC board •Minister: Govt can’t fully fund tertiary education

    A former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP), Senator Ahmadu Ali, yesterday in Abuja begged the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to return to the classroom “in the name of God”.

    The university system, he said, is the most critical variable in the development of the country’s education.

    Ali, a former Federal Commissioner for Education during the military government of Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo, spoke at the inauguration of the governing boards and councils of Federal Ministry of Education’s corporations/institutions and the Committee on NEEDS Assessment for Polytechnics and Colleges of Education.

    The politician is the chairman of the Governing Council of the National Universities Commission (NUC).

    He decried the challenges facing the sector.

    Ali said: “I beg ASUU, in the name of God, to return to the classroom. This is coming at a time when our educational system is facing major challenges. We consider our appointment as very important. The importance is heightened by the fact that the university system, which the NUC is supervising, is the most critical variable in the development of our national education.

    “The quality of our education depends largely on maintaining a good quality in the university. We promise to do our best to contribute to a more robust system.”

    The Supervising Minister of Education, Nyesom Wike, who inaugurated the governing boards/councils, urged the members to ensure that the industrial actions experienced in the institutions are resolved.

    He said: “It is clear that the sustenance of the ongoing processes may continue to be problematic since the Federal Government lacks the capacity to fully and solely meet the funding needs of tertiary education. Consequently, effective fund mobilisation, through diverse sources and greater prudence and efficient utilisation of available funds, must be of utmost concern to you.

    “You have no excuses to give since you already have the institutional freedom and flexibility to respond to the challenges of limited public funding through proactive initiatives on endowments, sourcing research grants, the provision of consultancy services, as well as courting the involvement of the private sector in the development of the institutions.”

    The Chairman, House of Representatives’ Committee on Education Aminu Suleiman said the National Assembly was trying to resolve the ASUU crisis.

    He urged the boards and councils to put the interest of the country above personal interests.

    The lawmaker advised the members to aim at excellence, adding that giving excuses would lead to failure.

    Suleiman noted that the corporations had suffered because they did not have boards and councils.

    Osun State Deputy Governor Mrs. Grace Laoye-Tomori hailed the government for appointing those capable of running the governing boards and councils.

    She urged the members to work hard and avoid distractions from various quarters.

  • Protesting traders foil Obi’s, Obiano’s campaign

    Protesting traders foil Obi’s, Obiano’s campaign

    Traders in Onitsha Main Market yesterday resisted an order by the government to close the market and welcome Mr. Willie Obiano, the All Progressives Grand Alliance’s (APGA’s) candidate in the November 16 poll.

    The APGA’s standard-bearer arrived at the market about 9am with Chief Martins Joe-Martins Uzodike, his Campaign Manager and Commissioner for Information, Tourism & Culture.

    The traders, who were angry, marched on the market, carrying placards.

    They were later joined by their colleagues from Ose Okwodu, who carried brooms. Bystanders and okada riders supported them, singing in praise of the All Progressives Congress’ (APC’s) candidate, Senator Chris Ngige.

    Not even the arrival of Governor Peter Obi could deter the protesting traders. Rather, the governor’s entourage was pelted with sachet (pure) water, prompting a retreat to the Whitehouse office of the Onitsha Amalgamated Traders Association (OMATA), where the donation of N1 million announced by the governor was shouted down, with many booing his entourage.

    Obi’s agents were wooing the traders through their leaders. They persuaded them to come to the Onitsha North Stadium to be addressed, but the resistance was stiff.

    The traders sang: “Ngige, Ngige, Ngige k’ayi ga esoooooo!

    Ona eje eje o na ana ana,Ngige Ka’yi gaeso,” meaning “Ngige is the one we know and we will follow him wherever he goes.”

    One of the traders said: “We received an order by the government saying we should not open today. We feel this is not okay. Every time, they will close our business without considering our interest.”

    •Governor’s entourage pelted with sachet water

    Another trader selling home appliances, Mr. Fred Nebedum, said: “It’s not by force to support a candidate. Obiano should tell us his manifesto, but this does not mean we should close our market.”

    Mr. Phil Onyia of Abada line was more blunt: “Government is forcing an unpopular candidate on us. We want Ngige. Although we do not say anybody should not campaign, they should stop playing politics with our stomachs.”

    Obi had earlier reportedly instructed parties not to campaign in markets, a decision decried by opposing parties for not being based on any law.

    Yesterday’s event, therefore, surprised parties.

    A chieftain of the Labour Party in Onitsha, Mr. Luke Udeh, said: “Obi did not even obey his own instruction! This is unfair.”

    Chief Amaechi Obidike of the APC did not pick his calls.

    Mr. Jude Nkputa of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said since Governor Obi had moved to campaign in a market, everyone would follow suit “and woe betide anyone who tries to stop us.”

  • ‘Award has proved Opon Imo critics wrong’

    The recognition of Osun State’s Opon Imo (tablet of knowledge) as one of the best four e-learning products by the United Nations (UN)-backed World Summit Award/Global Congress on e-content and creativity has proved critics of the initiative wrong, the All Progressives Congress (APC), Osun chapter, said yesterday.

    Opon Imo is an initiative of the Governor Rauf Aregbesola administration.

    In a statement by its Publicity Director, Kunle Oyatomi, APC said the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and all those who condemned the initiative should apologise to Nigerians for “suggesting that Opon Imo was a waste of resources”.

    It said: “If Opon Imo was as bad as the PDP and ignorant critics claimed, it would not have won a world award. Instead of studying the project closely before commenting, PDP resorted to political mischief.

    “Now that it has been proved wrong by world experts, who compared Opon Imo with 421 other such innovations, Nigerians should begin to think differently about Aregbesola and the APC government in Osun State.”

    APC urged Nigerians to shun attempts by desperate politicians to discredit Aregbesola’s education reforms, “which has been acclaimed as a model to be replicated in other states by education experts”.

  • ‘Godfatherism’ is dead in Enugu, says Chime

    Enugu State Governor Sullivan Chime has said the era of political godfatherism is gone in the state.

    Chime, who was speaking at Oji River Local Government in continuation of a campaign tour ahead of the November Local Government elections in the state, also flayed the nonchalant attitude of some members of the National Assembly to their constituents.

    The governor said: “As governor, I have no structure than the PDP. The era of one person trying to lord it over others and claiming to be a godfather is gone in Enugu State. It is unfortunate that some of my brothers who found themselves in some positions now feel they are bigger than the structure which delivered them.

    “Some of our brothers in the National Assembly have not participated in the local government campaign tours even within their constituencies, yet they sneak in at night to hold nocturnal meetings and lie to people that they were not invited.

    “I don’t see how someone would have lost touch with reality to the extent the he now feels the people back here do not matter again. There is no big man in PDP.”

  • Police abort G-7, Baraje faction’s meeting

    The police Sunday night aborted a scheduled meeting of the G-7 Governors and the leadership of the Abubakar-Baraje-led breakaway group.

    The meeting, scheduled by the organisers to hold at the Sokoto State Governor’s lodge, Asokoro, Abuja, at 8pm, got botched by truck loads of heavily armed riot policemen.

    Swiftly, the members regrouped at an undisclosed location where they met. They discussed briefly and dispersed as soon as they gathered.

    Reports claimed that  armed policemen in two trucks parked close to the entrance of the building as at 7.45 pm.

    But when our correspondent arrived the venue at 8.30 pm, there was only one police car parked close to the entrance with only two policemen in visibility.

    Drivers and vehicle owners were prevented from stopping metres close to the building. Parking was not allowed.

    Spokesman for the Baraje faction, Chukwuemeka Eze confirmed the siege. He told our correspondent on the telephone that members were forced to beat a retreat, strictly for security reasons.

    According to him, “we are being careful not to play into the hands of certain state sponsored agents currently on the prowl”.

  • Edo LG polls: Accord Party to sue PDP over fake results

    The Accord Party has threatened to institute legal action against the Edo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for declaring what it termed ‘misleading and fake parallel results’ in last Tuesday’s re-scheduled inconclusive elections in Esan North Esan Local Government Area and in some wards in Uhunmwode, Estako Central and Estako West.

    It said the PDP should have explored the court of law to contest the election instead of embarking on a fishing expedition by declaring the election results on the pages of newspapers.

    National Secretary of Accord Party, Dr. Samson Isibor, in a press statement issued in Benin City, said it was surprising that a political party which prides itself as the largest party in Africa could not obey simple electoral rules that govern the conduct of local government election.

    Isibor noted that it was the duty of the electoral body (EDSIEC) to conduct the local government election as well as declare the results and announce an eventual winner.

    He said the rejection of the election results and protest by the PDP was in bad taste and against the beauty of democracy.

    In the statement which reads in part, Isibor said: “Accord Party frowned at some Abuja- based politicians loyal to the opposition party who converged on Uromi, the administrative local government headquarters of Esan North East local government area of Edo State during the election with a barrage of armed policemen from Abuja and Lagos State to intimidate defenseless, voters at some poling units.

    “These Abuja politicians were said to have also held hostage some presiding officers who were reportedly threatened to announce fake results in favour of the PDP candidate, John Yakubu.

    “Accord Party recalled that other states conducted local government elections in similar manner in the past and there was no rancour. God anointed kings not by threats of force.”

  • PDP launches campaign next week

    PDP launches campaign next week

    The governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Comrade Tony Nwoye, will arrive Awka today to prepare for his campaign launch scheduled for next week.

    Speaking with The Nation yesterday on the phone, he said everything was ready for the PDP’s campaign launch, which, according to him, would be held either in Awka or Onitsha.

    The Nation learnt that Vice-President Namadi Sambo would lead PDP bigwigs to Anambra with the National Chairman of the party, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur.

    On Wednesday, the Court of Appeal sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital, pronounced Nwoye the PDP standard-bearer in the November 16 governorship poll.

    The ticket had been in contention between Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu, who was welcomed home last weekend by his party members at Emmaus House in Awka and Comrade Nwoye.

    Nwoye said: “My court victory is not for me alone, it is for all PDP members. I thank them for their support.

    “Before now, members of the Tony Nwoye Campaign Organisation (TNCO), led by the Director-General, Prince Osita Ezenwa, had been working in the villages and communities for the PDP and what we will do now is to sustain the momentum.

    “Everybody is happy with the court’s decision, including our chieftains. Anambra people will see what will happen during our campaign launch next week.

    “Anambra is a PDP state. I urge our brothers and sisters in the party to join hands for PDP’s victory on November 16.

    “Time is no longer on our side. We have wasted a lot of time fighting over who would be the party’s candidate. Such a time could have been used for campaigns. But all the same, we have not lost much because the people are behind us.”

  • PDP a lifeless body – Nyako

    PDP a lifeless body – Nyako

    Governor Murtala Nyako of Adamawa State on Thursday said the Peoples Democratic Party may be buried as a lifeless body because of the flagrant abuse of power by its national leadership.

    The governor made the disclosure in Dutse, Jigawa State, while fielding questions from journalists during his visit to the state governor, Sule Lamido.

    He said, “People leave even their religions for another and PDP is not a religion which means leaving it would not be regrettable.

    “There is no regret for us or be accused of deserting a dead body because to me I would not want to be buried with a dead body. So PDP is a dead party and if they feel expelling us from the party is what they desired, so be it.

    “The leadership of the party in Abuja has already given it a terrifying fatal upper-cut like in boxing and to leave a dead body of the already dead PDP is better than be buried with it.”

     

  • FCT: Why New PDP office must be demolished

    FCT: Why New PDP office must be demolished

    The authorities of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and the Abubakar Baraje breakaway faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have drawn the battle line on the planned demolition of the faction’s secretariat in Abuja.

    The building has continued to be under siege, with riot policemen mounting guard around it.

    The FCT yesterday insisted that the building, located in the high brow Maitama District in Abuja, would be demolished for alleged violation of land use.

    FCT Director of Development Control Yahaya Yusuf said the location of the building was meant strictly for residential purposes and that converting it to a party secretariat violated the Abuja master plan.

    In a telephone interview with our correspondent yesterday, Yusuf said there are about 202 of such buildings in the capital city. They will be pulled down, he said.

    But the Baraje faction of the PDP dared the FCT authorities to demolish the building and face the legal consequences.

    The faction’s National Publicity Secretary, Chief Chukwuemeka Eze, who also spoke with our correspondent on the telephone, said: “Let them go ahead and demolish the building. We can assure them that we are going to rebuild it with money from the Federal Government of Nigeria.

    “We will sue them for wilful destruction and they will be made to know that the building belongs to a Nigerian citizen with constitutional rights to own property in any part of the country, including the Federal Capital Territory.”

    To Eze, the FCT Minister, Senator Bala Mohammed, is pushing an agenda to destroy President Goodluck Jonathan, stressing that under no circumstances would a minister embark on such a destructive mission.

    He continued: “The minister has been mandated by some forces to find a way of destroying President Jonathan and he has happily embarked on that mission. That is why he is doing something that is not expected of him.

    “He does not have the powers he is arrogating to himself. Bala Mohammed is confused. He is undemocratic. He is being wicked. Such a person is not worthy of the position he occupies.”

    The spokesman regretted that President Jonathan had failed to understand the altruistic mission of the breakaway faction, adding that “otherwise, he would not be treating a political party as if it’s a personal estate”.

    He recalled the case of Sokoto State Governor Aliyu Wamakko who was suspended from the PDP simply because he did not pick the telephone call from PDP Chairman Bamanga Tukur.

    Eze also pointed out that Governor Rotimi Amaechi was suspended from the party for not rescinding a decision by the Assembly suspending the executive of a local government.

    “I recall that the same building was being used as the national secretariat of another political party, the National Democratic Party (NDP), before we acquired it,” he said, adding:

    “At that time, they did not realise that it violated land use now they want to demolish a building simply because they perceive the owner to be anti-government. What do we make of this madness?”

    Investigation by our correspondent revealed that the building is owned by a Senior Advocate of Nigerian (SAN) from the Southeastern .

    But the Public Relations Officer of the FCT Development Control, Mr. Kalu Emetu, clarified the position of the FCT authorities.

    According to him, the directive is for the building to revert to residential use and not for commercial purpose as it is being used by the faction.

    Emetu warned that failure to revert to residential use would lead to the FCT sealing off the building until the directive is obeyed.

    The PRO said in situations where residential areas are used for commercial purposes, the available facilities, such as water, electricity and other amenities get overstretched.

    This, he said, puts pressure on the facilities leading to a breakdown as a result of the large number of people using such limited facilities.

  • ‘New PDP can’t last in Kwara’

    ‘New PDP can’t last in Kwara’

    Kwara State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain and former Works Commissioner Afolabi Yunus told reporters in Lagos that the original members of the party are not part of the insurgency led by the factional national chairman, Alhaji Kawu Baraje. MUSA ODOSHIMOKHE was there.

    You are the former Principal Secretary to the former Acting National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Kawu Baraje, who is leading the splinter group, nPDP. Is the faction justifiable?

    I am not one of the people supporting Baraje in the venture to divide the PDP with their self-styled nPDP, which has no place in Kwara State politics and Nigeria in general. As a result of that, I am not with him at all. We are not even happy that he can go to that length because we believe that, having been given the opportunity to serve as the National Secretary by Baba Saraki (may his gentle soul rest in peace), and had the opportunity of becoming the Acting National Chairman, he should remain loyal to the PDP and President Goodluck Jonathan. But with all these, Kawu Baraje still went ahead to sabotage the government, considering that he was also given the position of the Chairmanship of the Board of Nigerian Railway Corporation. I believe that it is in Baraje’s character to betray the hands the feed him. Available records show that Bukola Saraki was even against Baraje taking that position. But he went ahead and took that appointment and, at the same time, he is now working against the same government that gave him that opportunity to serve.

    Not only that. Back home, I know Kawu Baraje very well. I am his senior when we talk about politics because I had the opportunity of being a member of the defunct Constitutional Conference in 1994 and I even served under Bukola Saraki Administration in the first tenure. I was Commissioner for Works and Transport between 2003 and 2007, while Kawu Baraje was made Permanent Secretary under Saraki’s government and this appointment was given to him by Baba Saraki because all forces were against Kawu Baraje as a civil servant then becoming Permanent Secretary. But Baba Saraki insisted that Kawu Baraje should be considered for that post. Having been given that post, he served as Permanent Secretary all through and thereafter, Baba Saraki still considered this same Kawu Baraje for the last Constitutional Conference in 2005. It was immediately after that that Baba still nominated this same Kawu Baraje for the position of the National Secretary, and it was when he got there that he started nursing the ambition of working against Baba Saraki’s interest when he teamed up with Bukola to supplant Baba in Kwara politics.

    What is wrong in Baraje’s decision to back former Governor Saraki?

    The general public will agree with me that the step Baraje took against Baba Saraki was an unfortunate step because, having had the opportunities from Baba, people expected him to advise Senator Bukola Saraki against taking steps against Baba Saraki. But he went ahead and gave Senator Bukola the support and ensured that they worked against Baba. So, as a result of this, I am seeing Kawu Baraje as a betrayer when you consider the fact that he betrayed his political mentor in Kwara State and now he has betrayed the President at the national level. Even, while he was in office, he had the opportunity of becoming the NAMA Chairman. All these are enough for him to have advised Bukola against the unfortunate step he took against Baba Saraki.

    Don’t you see any element of truth in what Baraje is fighting for now in the PDP?

    There is no truth in what he is fighting. He is only being selfish and arrogant. In fact, I want to say he is just being parochial. He is narrow minded and that is why they are now just pursuing their own self-styled PDP. It is surprising to many people to hear Kawu Baraje calling himself the Chairman of the new PDP. What sort of new PDP? The original PDP is the only future for Nigeria. We don’t recognise any new PDP or the self-styled version of PDP that they want to bring into place. There is no place for nPDP in Kwara and I know that it has no place in Nigeria. So, for that reason, any reasonable person will not join them because we know they are just buying time.

    I want to even say that I know they have made up their mind about where they are going. Maybe they have another party in mind and they are just buying time with what they are doing. That is just my observation.

    But the new PDP is in control of the government and the structure in Kwara. They produced the governor, the former governor and Kawu Baraje

    The original PDP is still on ground in Kwara State and the PDP in Kwara State has no problem with anybody. People are still interested in the PDP. It is only the way Senator Bukola and his team are managing the affairs of the PDP, that is why some people want to criticise the PDP. But really, the original PDP is on ground in Kwara State and people are prepared to go with the PDP. Those that call themselves the new PDP in Kwara State, we don’t know how they will define it. We don’t know what they will tell us, whether they are a faction of PDP and that they want to have a say in the PDP. No. Majority of the people in Kwara State today are tired of the leadership of Bukola. Baraje even has no place politically.

    You are saying that the loyalists of the mainstream PDP are still in Kwara now, despite the firm control by Bukola and the governor?

    They are still intact. We are very many and people are just waiting for time to come when this self-styled PDP will move to where they belong because we believe strongly that they are not fit to be in PDP.

    The belief is that the followers of original PDP or late Dr Olusola Saraki have moved to the ACPN, which he endorsed before he died

    I want to say that before now, Baba Saraki directed everybody in Kwara State to remain in the PDP. So, the issue of the ACPN in Kwara State is not happening now. Even long before now, while Baba was alive, he directed that nobody should go to any other party, whether CPC or ACN. He said they should all remain in the PDP. Everybody returned to the PDP while Baba was still alive. As far as I’m concerned, Baba never asked us to go to any other party and that is why we remain within PDP.

    But what of Senator Gbemi Saraki, who was fielded on the platform of the ACPN as the governorship candidate?

    I want to tell you that, at that time, it was just a kind of arrangement that came up. We started everything. I was in the PDP too with Baba, but it got to a level that Bukola just said he wanted to hold on to the PDP and let other people go wherever they like. So, that led to the introduction of the ACPN, which was short-lived. But immediately after that election, everybody dropped whatever allegiance they had with the ACPN. It happened within the election period and, immediately after the election, we dropped the idea of anything ACPN. Baba Saraki instructed us to be in PDP and that’s why all along, we have been in PDP. We are still card carrying members of the PDP.

    Are you saying that all the supporters of Oloye Saraki are now back in the PDP?

    All loyalists of Baba Saraki are in PDP. As I’m talking to you, I’m a card carrying member of PDP and I have my membership card with me. So we are still card carrying members of PDP.

    You are supposed to know the National leader of nPDP, Kawu Baraje inside out, do you see him as somebody who fights for principles because what the new PDP is telling us is that they are fighting on the principle of liberating the party from a few persons?

    Very far from that. They are the people that want to introduce a kind of selfishness into the PDP. They are not objective at all. When Baraje was even the National Secretary, the attributes of a good politician were never seen in him at all and efforts to advise him on that did not succeed. He would rather try to play his own parochial interest and have his way and when people come to see Baraje as the National Secretary, he would rather ask them to go and see the Special Assistant or the Principal Assistant. He was literally avoiding people and as a politician, you need not avoid people. You are supposed to listen to people and table solutions to whatever deplorable condition that is before you. But instead of that, Baraje would be avoiding people and as such, I don’t see him as a serious politician. He is not fighting for the interests of the people and he is not fighting for the grassroots. Instead, he is pursuing his own selfish end and that’s why I’m now saying that he’s not fit to be in politics because if you are a politician, you must listen to the masses and table solutions to deplorable conditions before you.

    What about Senator Bukola Saraki? You have worked with him; do you see him fighting for principles?

    I have worked with Senator Bukola and I want to say that he too has not been working for the principle of the common man. Rather, Bukola will bring people from nowhere so that, at the end of the day, they will be responsible only to him. Bukola will not carry the indigenes of Kwara along. Many of us were just pushed aside by Bukola and he will go to Lagos, go to Kaduna, go to Kano, bring in those people that have nowhere to point to as their base.