Tag: PDP

The Rivers State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has rejected the proposal by the state’s Caretaker Committee Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Tony Okocha, for a solar streetlight project on the tomb of the late Ogoni Environmentalist, Mr. Kenule Saro-Wiwa.

Okocha, who represents Rivers State in the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), had while visiting Bane community, the hometown of Saro-Wiwa, proposed a solar streetlight and an access road to the tomb.

But the PDP in a statement signed on Friday by its Publicity Secretary, Tambari Sydney Gbara, described such a move as insulting and disrespectful to the Ogoni hero and his compatriots, who died for environmental, economic and social justice.

Sydney-Gbara said if Okocha had meant well for the Ogoni people, he would have called for the return of the Ken Memorial Art Bus seized by the Federal Government and a declaration absolving Saro-Wiwa of all allegations leveled against him.

He wondered why Tony Okocha wanted to turn the tomb of Saro-Wiwa into a place of jamboree.

Read Also: PDP sets up reconciliation committee for Edo Gov race

He said: “We are sad that Tony Okocha has no respect for the late Ken Saro-Wiwa, that’s why he wants to turn his graveside into a place where people will organise parties and dance on the tomb of the dead.

“This shows his insensitivity to the plight of the Ogoni people and his disrespect not only for the late Ken Saro-Wiwa but also for the entire Ogoni people.”

The PDP advised Okocha to take such projects to his community and site them at the tomb of one of his late kinsmen.

Sydney-Gbara further wondered why Okocha did not propose the establishment of projects that would impact the lives of the people such as modern hospitals, provision of potable water, rural electrification, the establishment of a University of Environmental Studies or a Research centre in honour of Saro-Wiwa.

He said Okocha should have also suggested the naming of the Headquarters of the NDDC in Port Harcourt after Ken-Saro Wiwa instead of attempting to ridicule the Ogoni hero by making his tomb a place for merriment.

He said: “This proposal of his is wicked, demeaning and shameful, therefore, the PDP, calls on the federal government to remove Mr. Okocha from the NDDC Board and replace him with a more competent Rivers son, because he has shown that he knows nothing of the office he occupies and has nothing to offer the people.”

Rivers State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has rejected the proposal by the state’s Caretaker Committee Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Tony Okocha, for a solar streetlight project on the tomb of the late Ogoni environmentalist, Kenule Saro-Wiwa.

Okocha, who represents Rivers State in the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), had while visiting Bane community, the hometown of Saro-Wiwa, proposed a solar streetlight and an access road to the tomb.

However, the PDP in a statement signed on Friday, March 1, by its publicity secretary, Tambari Sydney Gbara, described such a move as insulting and disrespectful to the Ogoni hero and his compatriots, who died for environmental, economic, and social justice.

Sydney-Gbara said if Okocha had meant well for the Ogoni people, he would have called for the return of the Ken Memorial Art Bus seized by the federal government and a declaration absolving Saro-Wiwa of all allegations levelled against him.

He wondered why Tony Okocha wanted to turn the tomb of Saro-Wiwa into a place of jamboree.

He said: “We are sad that Tony Okocha has no respect for the late Ken Saro-Wiwa, that’s why he wants to turn his graveside into a place where people will organise parties and dance on the tomb of the dead.

Read Also: Mimiko, others meet over Ondo PDP governorship

“This shows his insensitivity to the plight of the Ogoni people and his disrespect not only for the late Ken Saro-Wiwa but also for the entire Ogoni people.”

The PDP advised Okocha to take such projects to his community and site them at the tomb of one of his late kinsmen.

Sydney-Gbara further wondered why Okocha did not propose the establishment of projects that would impact the lives of the people such as modern hospitals, provision of portable water, rural electrification, and the establishment of a University of Environmental Studies or a Research centre in honour of Saro-Wiwa.

He said Okocha should have also suggested the naming of the Headquarters of the NDDC in Port Harcourt after Ken-Saro Wiwa instead of attempting to ridicule the Ogoni hero by making his tomb a place for merriment.

He said: “This proposal of his is wicked, demeaning, and shameful, therefore, the PDP, calls on the federal government to remove Mr. Okocha from the NDDC Board and replace him with a more competent Rivers son, because he has shown that he knows nothing of the office he occupies and has nothing to offer the people.”

Security has been beefed up at the venue of the Edo State Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) governorship primary election, the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, Benin.

Policemen were stationed along the road while many others were at the entrance of the stadium ensuring that only those who have business there were allowed in.

The police in a statement through its spokesman, Chidi Nwabuzor, said the crises which occurred at the All Progressives Congress primary election on Saturday was an eye-opener and the police authority will no longer treat such elections as just a party affair.

Read Also: FULL LIST: 10 aspirants for Edo PDP primary today

He said: “You could remember that we had just a little hitch of a particular party delegate election. That has been an eye-opener to Edo State Police Command that we should no longer see it as a party affair.

“The delegates are people with diverse interests, people with diverse behaviours, people with different attitudes and characters. So, this time around, we are going to ensure that the right thing is done and protect the lives and property of these party members.

“The Nigerian Police, Edo State Command is ready to ensure that there is a peaceful, hitch-free delegate election cutting across political parties in the state.

“The Commissioner of Police has adequately deployed officers and men for the exercise and we believe that with the number of officers, the calibre of officers he has deployed for this exercise, we are not hoping to see any form of violence or civil disobedience.

“The vigilante will not be part of the election process, be it a state election or general election. They are a state-owned security outfit, so we cannot take the risk of having them around in this kind of important assignment.”

The leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State has released strict guidelines for Thursday’s indirect governorship primary election at Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, Benin. 

It was learnt top of the agenda will be adopting Governor Godwin Obaseki-backed Asue Igbodalo as the sole candidate.

The guidelines were released by Edo PDP’s Organising Secretary, Tony Anenih Jnr. 

Anenih said: “Delegates are to report at Edo Hotel Marque, GRA, Benin City, where their accreditation will kick off at 8 a.m. prompt 

“Each delegate will be given security access cards upon accreditation. Delegates shall be conveyed in dedicated buses to the venue of the primaries. 

Read Also: What next for PDP, Umbugadu in Nasarawa?

“Only designated buses carrying accredited delegates shall be allowed into the premises of the primary (Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium). No private vehicle whatsoever shall be allowed into the venue. 

“All vehicles conveying governorship aspirants will drop them and their guests off at the gate, before departing 

“Delegates shall be seated in Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, venue of the primary, local government by local government. 

“Each governorship aspirant should collect two security tags from the Edo PDP Secretariat, 59, Airport Road, Benin City. Each card admits one guest only. 

“Accreditation of journalists and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) will also be at Edo Hotel Marque, GRA, Benin City. Only accredited pressmen and media outfits will be allowed into the venue.

“Only delegates, invited guests and aspirants will be allowed into the venue. All delegates, aspirants and their guests must be seated at the venue of the primary at 11 a.m. prompt.”

Edo organising secretary of PDP also urged the stakeholders to please note that all security agencies had been activated to ensure that the guidelines were strictly followed. 

With the PDP’s delegates Obaseki’s loyalists, it is expected there will be no serious challenge. The main battle will be on September 21 during the governorship poll with Edo Deputy Governor, Comrade Philip Shaibu, a governorship aspirant and the consensus governorship aspirant of Chief Dan Orbih-led Legacy Coalition; Omoregie Ogbeide-Ihama and a former member of the House of Representatives believed to ready to support the eventual standard bearers of All Progressives Congress (APC) and Labour Party (LP), to punish Obaseki.

The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, has urged governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP to face the work they were elected to do and stop distracting President Bola Tinubu. 

The Minister was reacting to a statement credited to the PDP governors calling for the resignation of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over the current challenges facing the country.

The minister in a statement said the president is not overwhelmed by the current challenges the country is facing, neither will he abdicate his responsibilities.

The statement which was signed by Rabiu Ibrahim Special Assistant (Media) to the Minister of Information and National Orientation also accused the PDP governors of trying to intimidate the administration through back door.

The statement reads: “The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, notes the statement by the PDP Governors Forum, directing a call for resignation at President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR. 

“The call is nothing but an attempt at distraction by people who should instead be busy supporting the President’s efforts at bringing economic relief to the Nigerian people. It is our considered view that the PDP and its Governors should not be seeking, through the back door of intimidation, what they have consistently failed to achieve by democratic means, since 2015.

“Those who could not bring transformational change when they had a lengthy chance to, should not seek to interrupt or distract those who are busy at work on the presidential vision that Nigerians elected them to implement.

“The administration of President Bola Tinubu has also, since inception, generously extended financial support to all the State Governments, regardless of partisan affiliation. In addition, the removal of the petrol subsidy—which, incidentally, was one of the main planks of the PDP presidential campaign—has swelled the revenues of all States, including the PDP States. To whom more has been given, more is therefore expected. 

“The President and his administration recognise the unfinished business of revamping our national economy kickstarted by the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, through programmes focused on large-scale infrastructure, social welfare, prioritizing the equipping and welfare of the military and security agencies, and reclaiming Nigeria’s strategic place in the comity of nations. Boko Haram and its affiliates, on the ascendancy in 2014/2015, have since been decimated, and similar bold gains are now being made with bandits and other criminals.  

“Nigerians have not forgotten that it was the APC administration that cleared several liabilities left behind by the PDP government, such as subsidy claims by oil marketers, Paris Club Refunds, unpaid pensions, gratuities, and salary arrears owed various categories of pensioners from liquidated and existing State-Owned Enterprises. 

“Major oil sector reforms that the PDP touted for years but could not deliver – passage of the PIB, new refineries, as well as the revamp of existing ones, and so on – are the very real and continuing legacies of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

“All of these have been accomplished without access to the oil windfall that the PDP government enjoyed for much of the time that it was in power, and also against the backdrop of the most devastating global shock since the Second World War: the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“We must continue to state these facts so Nigerians will know where we are coming from, and appreciate what is being done in its full context. 

“President Tinubu is not and will never be overwhelmed by the current challenges the country is facing. He will not abdicate his responsibilities.

” He will courageously continue to wrestle with the challenges and surmount them, laying a durable foundation for the new Nigeria that is emerging. 

“He has also never shied away from acknowledging the pain of ongoing reforms, and has seized every opportunity to assure Nigerians that inside the pain of the reforms lie the seeds of lasting prosperity and national development.

“To the PDP Governors, let us reiterate: This is not the time for distraction. It is time instead for the rolling up of sleeves, to support and complement the hard work of the President and his administration.”