The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)

  • No plans to leave APC- Ortom

    Benue state governor, Samuel Ortom said on Tuesday that he is still a member of the All Progressive Congress (APC).

    Ortom refuted media reports that he planned to defects to People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

    Read Also:‘Ortom has not asked us to forfeit salary arrears’

    There has been rumours that Ortom is leaving the APC to pursue is second term governorship ambition on the platform of another party.

    But speaking to news men in Government House Makurdi, Ortom denied the media report.

    He said dissolution of cabinet is a continuous exercise to inject fresh people with new ideas in government.

    The Governor debunk rumours that it was targeted at some persons saying even his closest aides were affected.

    In a related development the coordinator of “I stand with Ortom” group Comrade Dan Nyikwagh has commended Ortom for reshuffling his cabinet.

    Nyikwagh advised the governor to inject competent hands to help drive his vision for the development of Benue state.

  • MoU to rescue Nigeria, says Ekweremadu

    Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, Monday assured that the coming together of various opposition political parties to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) would rescue Nigeria in 2019.

    He said that the coming together of the parties would also restore the country on the path of democratic freedoms, joy, security, and development.

    A statement by his media aide, Uche Anichukwu said that Ekweremadu gave the assurance during the signing of the MoU by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Reformed-All Progressives Congress (rAPC), Social Democratic Party (SDP), among other opposition political parties in Abuja on Monday.

    He said that the mammoth crowd outside the venue which had gathered to witness the birth of a new Nigeria, showed that Nigerians now saw hope again and urged the grand alliance not be disappoint the people.

    Read Also:Insecurity: More will die unless, Ekweremadu warns

    He said: “For three years, what I see on the faces of Nigerians is frustration and anguish. But for the first time, I tell you that I saw joy. I saw people laughing and smiling for the first time in three years.

    “Those our brothers and sisters, and investors, who left Nigeria in the last three years are also rejoicing with you because by this time next year, they will all be back.

    “Those factories that were closed are going to come back alive by this time next year and Nigerians will rejoice.

    “The people of the South East whom the programmes and practices of this government are forcing them to have a rethink on their membership of this country, today will rejoice and be happy that a new country that will be fair to all is coming; a country that they will be proud to be part of and continue to contribute to her development.

    “All our people in Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps, who have been wondering or believe that they will spend the rest of their lives in the IDP camps are happy today because their stay there is almost over; because next year, we will enthrone a government that will take them to their homes and protect them there.

    “The media houses, all the instruments and institutions of democracy that have been trampled and muzzled in this country, they will be free again to do their work without fear of intimidation.

    “Those, who are being persecuted on account of their political views or insisting that the right thing should be done, are also going to rejoice because a new dawn is here,. One of them is my brother, Senator Dino Melaye, who went through hell, but today, he is a free man.

    “Also, remember that Nelson Mandela said that unless Nigeria earns the respect of the world, no one would respect Africa. So, various countries of Africa, who have looked up to Nigeria to provide leadership will have a good dinner in their houses today, happy that we are coming back again to retake our place again as the foremost country in Africa and to provide leadership”.

    He enjoyed Nigerians to keep faith with the new movement as they days of their anguish and sufferings were numbered.

  • Show Ekiti projects executed with N25 billion, PDP tells Fayemi

    The Ekiti State chapter of the People’s Democratic Party ( PDP ) has challenged the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who is also a former governor of the state, Dr Kayode Fayemi, to show the people of the state the projects he executed with the N25 billion bond he took from the Capital Market during his tenure.

    Throwing the challenge in a statement in Ado-Ekiti Friday, the PDP State Chairman, Chief Gboyega Oguntuase, said rather than executing projects with the loan, Fayemi only put the state into serious debts that would affect the welfare of the people for years to come.

    Oguntuase urged voters in the state to come out in large number next Saturday and vote for the PDP candidate in the poll, Prof Kolapo Olusola, and allow for the continuity of the peace, progress and harmony being enjoyed in the state.

    “Thank God that though they have been denying some many atrocities they committed while in office from 2010 to 2014, there is no way they can deny borrowing N25 billion from the Capital Market. Everybody in the state knows this.

    Unfortunately, they cannot show the people what they spent the money on.
    “In the prospectus published to explain how the loan would be utilised, they listed various projects. Among the projects are a new Governor’s Office, a new Ojaba Market, a flyover, a state pavilion and a new Government House. Where are the projects? The people are asking.

    Read Also: Fayemi condemns holiday for PDP rally

    “The flyover was built in their stomachs. The Governor’s Office never existed. That is after they committed N100 million to scrape a parcel of land near the House of Assembly Complex. For the Ojaba Market, they only erected a giant billboard at the entrance of the palace of the Ewi of Ado-Ekiti.

    “They took the first tranche of the loan, that is N20 billion in 2012 and the second tranche of N5 billion few months to the 2014 governorship election. This is apart from the huge monthly allocations and over N46 billion got from the Excess Crude Oil Account. Ekiti people are asking Fayemi and the APC what they did with the money,” he said.

    The PDP boss noted that the actions and inactions of Fayemi not only led the state into debts, but had mortgaged the state in some ways.
    He explained that the state spends over N1.1 billion monthly to service the debts from its statutory allocations.

    “The monthly deductions have been denying the state revenue that would have been used to pay workers salary, provide more facilities for the people to enjoy and even make provisions for the future of the state and the people,” he noted.

    Oguntuase added that since Fayemi failed when entrusted with the leadership of the state for four years, he should not expect the people of the state to now commit their welfare and future into his hands.

  • Ciroma’s death, blow to political class — David Mark

    Former President of the Senate, Sen. David Mark, has described the death of a former Minister of Finance, Alhaji Adamu Ciroma, as a big blow to the political class.

    Mark, in a statement in Abuja on Friday noted that Ciroma died at a time when his wealth of experience was needed “to navigate through the murky political waters in Nigeria”.

    He said the pioneering role of Ciroma in the political evolution of Nigeria especially in the formation of Peoples Democratic Party ( PDP ), sustained uninterrupted democracy in Nigeria since 1999.

    The legislator said Ciroma was an uncommon patriot and a distinguished public officer who worked for the good of all.

    Read Also: David Mark renews pact with God at 70

    He said Ciroma would be greatly missed for his frank, honest and unwavering commitment to the ideals of nationhood.

    “Late Ciroma distinguished himself as a public officer who stood for the people no matter the odds.

    “We shall miss his noble and honest contributions to nation building,’’ Mark said.

    He described the late elder statesman as a selfless public officer who brought happiness to majority of people.

    Mark prayed God to grant the deceased eternal rest and appealed to the government and people of Yobe to take solace in the fact Ciroma lived an eventful live worthy of emulation.

  • Ekweremadu congratulates Ugwuanyi, Saraki on S\Court victories

    The Deputy President of the Senate, Mr Ike Ekweremadu, has congratulated Enugu State Governor, Mr Ifeanyi Uwuanyi, on his victory at the Supreme Court on Friday.

    Ugwuanyi was having a legal battle with Sen. Ayogu Eze over election primaries of the People’s Democratic Party ( PDP ) for the 2015 governorship poll in Enugu State.

    Ekweremadu said that Ugwuanyi was an agent of peace and development in Enugu.

    On the victory, he said, “this is victory, not just for Gov. Ugwuanyi, but more importantly, a victory for peace, equitable development and unusual transformation in Enugu State.

    “I believe it is a motivation for the governor to do more and a veritable launch pad into the 2019 general elections for the PDP in the state.

    “It is instructive that the three senatorial districts of Enugu State have already endorsed him unanimously for a second term in office because he has justified our decision in electing him in 2015.”

    Read Also: Ekweremadu to lawyers: help sustain democracy

    Ekweremadu also congratulated President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki, on the apex court’s unanimous decision, dismissing the assets declaration charges against him before the Code of Conduct Tribunal ( CCT ).

    He described the verdict as “victory for the legislature and democracy’’.

    Ekweremadu said: “I salute the courage of the Supreme Court jurists.

    “This decision has no doubt strengthened faith in the Judiciary as a sanctuary of justice and defender of rule of law.

    “It has, once again, distinguished the judiciary as the bastion of democracy and last hope of the oppressed.”

    He added that it was victory, “not only for the President of the Senate, but for the National Assembly, our democracy and every Nigerian, who stood up against all forms of political intimidation, high-handedness and impunity.

    “I salute the President of the Senate for his resilience, courage and undying commitment to the immutable democratic principles of the rule of law and separation of powers as well as the integrity and independence of the legislature.”

  • FG Slams PDP over infrastructural development 

    Information and Culture Minister  Lai Mohammed, has challenged the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to present its scorecard of achievements, especially in the area of infrastructural development, in the South-East and the South-South in its 16 years in office.

    The Minister  threw the challenge while inspecting ongoing construction of the Enugu/ Port Harcourt Expressway on Thursday.

    He said it is disheartening that some politicians have made it their pastime to criticize the current administration for allegedly neglecting the two regions without any verifiable proof.

    “I’m particularly glad that we came on this trip for two reasons. I think it has given the lie to those naysayers, who have painted the administration as having done nothing for the South-East and the South-South,” he said.

    “When we were coming on this (third) stretch of the road, I was informed that until this administration came, an entire lane was completely impassable after it was turned to a refuse dump. Now the question is: In 16 years, what did the PDP do on the Enugu-Port Harcourt Road?

    ”Everything that we saw (along the Enugu-Port Harcourt road) today is what this administration has achieved, yet some politicians are so fraudulent. They sit in Abuja and accuse the administration of doing nothing for the South-East and the South-South.”

    Read  also : Bailiff collapses in court over bribery allegation

    Alhaji Mohammed said the intervention of the present administration in the provision of infrastructure in the South-East, in particular, has exposed the PDP for deceiving the people of the region for the 16 years it was in power without anything to show.

    ”From what you have seen yesterday and today, you will see that this administration has done so much for this zone. We can now see that some people are just misinforming the public. I am glad that from the feedback we are getting, the people in the South-East know what is going on because they know what was going on for 16 years and are also here in the last three years and they have seen the difference,” he said.

    The Minister gave the assurance that the federal government will remain focused on completing inherited projects across the country.

    “The most important thing is that this government has been faithful, sincere, passionate and committed towards infrastructural development. What we are doing has never been done in almost 16 to 20 years at least along this axis,” he said.

    The Minister, who is currently on a nationwide media tour of federal government infrastructural projects, had earlier inspected ongoing work at the Second Niger Bridge, where he expressed satisfaction with the pace of work.

  • My detention was dirty politics, says Abaribe

    The Senator representing Abia South, Enyinnaya Abaribe has said that his arrest and detention by the Department of State Services (DSS) was part of the “dirty politics” being played by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

    Abaribe, who was at the national secretariat of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) on Thursday, observed that the entire National Assembly was under siege, adding that members are being hunted by the executive arm.

    Saying that the 2019 election will be a decisive factor for governance in the country, the senator warned that the actions and inactions of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will have effect on whether Nigeria will continue to exist after the elections.

    The Senator was released on Tuesday after spending five days in DSS detention.

    Read Also:Abaribe gets bail, says lawyer

    According to him, the government will always find a reason to detain its political foes as a result of loss of confidence among the Nigerian people.

    Abaribe said, “All that they are doing now is nothing but intimidation and trying to make sure those strong voices and voices that are saying that enough is enough, they will like to silence.

    “The National Assembly, of which I am a very proud member, is now besieged. Yesterday it was the Senate President sponsoring armed robbers, the other day, it was Dino Melaye sponsoring some gun runners, the other day it was Shehu Sani sponsoring murderers.

    “Today, my own is sponsoring terrorism. And so everybody should get ready. They will find something that they will hang on your head”.

    The lawmaker thanked the leadership of the PDP for the support he received during his ordeal.

    “Where we are today in Nigeria, I can only make one recommendation to Nigerians. And that recommendation is: get your PVCs ready because we have to vote out this government.

    “There is no other way we can do it because as you can see, this government is descending into tyranny.

    “And when I was arrested and I was taken to my house for it to be searched, in the warrant of arrest for the search of my house, what they said was that I was a sponsor of terrorism.

    “And I wanted to know subsequently how I would sponsor terrorism and they put there in bracket that I was aiding and sponsoring a proscribed organisation ‘IPOB’.

    “And so, everybody in Nigeria knows that I signed the bail bond for Nnamdi Kanu of IPOB. And if signing the bail bond means that I am now a sponsor of IPOB, what it means also is that every Nigerian should be ready.

    “And so, I believe that when people are challenged and confronted historically at defining moments for the nation like we have today, they will rise up to expectation”.

  • Mass killings: PDP declares 7-day mourning

    …Directs party flag to fly half-mast

    The National Working Committee (NWC) of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has declared seven-day mourning for victims of gruesome killings by marauders and bandits in Plateau state and other parts of the country.

    Consequently, the party has directed that its flags at all its offices and formation at all levels across the country be flown at half-mast during the seven-day period, in honour of the victims.

    Read Also:Plateau killings: Buhari meets Saraki, Dogara in Aso Rock

    In a statement on Tuesday by its spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan, the party urged the people of Plateau State to exercise their rights as global citizens, work with other public-spirited Nigerians and groups and take President Muhammadu Buhari and his government to the International Court of Justice at the Hague for acting helpless in the face of continuous mass killings in our country.

    The statement said, “The PDP firmly holds that the life of every Nigerian is sacred. All Nigerians must be protected whether they are Birom, Basange, Ebira, Tiv, Idoma, Hausa, Igbo, Fulani, Gbagyi, Yoruba or from any other tribe whatsoever.

    “The fundamental duty of government all over the world is the protection of lives and we can no longer afford to continue to fold our hands while compatriots are daily hacked down by marauders”.

  • Scores injured as youths scramble for Atiku’s money in Delta

    There was pandemonium Tuesday at the Unity Hall in Delta State Government House, Asaba over money allegedly released for People’s Democratic Party (PDP) delegates during the consultative visit by the ex-Vice-President Atiku Abubakar.

    Trouble started shortly after Atiku exited from the meeting venue when irate youths pounced on the party officials whose duty it was to allocate money to various delegates from the 25 local government areas of the State.

    The scramble for the money resulted in injuries as security men shot sporadically inside the hall.

    Delegates in their desperation snatched huge bundles of money and made away with others in hot pursuit around the Delta State Government House grounds.

    Security personnel attached to many party leaders shot into the air to scare away the youths as the situation threatened to degenerate.

    An unidentified youth who was chased around the grounds and beaten up by youths as he tried to escape with wads of naira notes.

    He was stripped naked and beaten to stupor.

    Read Also:http://staging.thenationonlineng.net/pdp-knocks-presidency-over-statement-on-plateau-killings/

    Torn five hundred naira notes littered the grounds as desperate youths attempted to escape with the loot.

    Several hours after the ex-vice-President departed from the venue, many youths loitered around the grounds hoping for more largesse.

    Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar Tuesday harped on the need for restructuring of the federation to make progress.

    A government house press release made available to The Nation stated that the former Vice President was in the state to consult the people on his aspiration for the Presidential ticket of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) ahead of the 2019 general elections.

    Atiku disclosed that he has been in the fore-front for the restructuring of the country since 2004, stressing it will bring out the best among Nigerians.

    Alhaji Abubakar had said that his aspiration to be Nigeria’s President was borne out of his passion to ensure that the country make progress, disclosing, “the security architecture of the country must be reviewed and decentralized.”

    He decried situation where security agencies does not take orders from the state governors, asserting, “As an individual, I don’t think this is true federalism, we must restructure the security architecture.”

    The former Vice President also listed ways to tackle unemployment in the country observing, “to create jobs, you must liberalize the economy, support the private sector, create incentives to make the private sector boom and open up the economy to foreign direct investment.”

    “I will have a very small federal government with powers and resources devolved to the states to manage the affairs while they pay tax to the federal government; with this, each zone can survive on its own without leaning on oil money,” he emphasized.

    Okowa commended Atiku Abubakar for engaging in consultation visit, assuring that delegates to the Presidential Primaries of the PDP will make their decisions based on acceptability, reach, experience and level of intelligence of the individual aspirants.

    He urged the aspirant not to relent in moving to different states of the country, stating that more efforts should be made for the PDP to be in control of more states of the country to enable it clinch the Presidential position in 2019.

    Others who spoke at the event include, former Governor of Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, his Imo State counterpart, Chief Achike Udenwa, former Minister of the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, Elder Godsday Orubebe, among others.

  • PDP screens 11 aspirants for Osun guber poll

    The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) is currently screening 11 aspirants that have indicated interest in the party’s ticket for the Osun State governorship election.

    The eleven aspirants are Senator Akinlabi Olasunkanmi, Dr. Oyewumi Olalere, Oladipo Oke, Felix Ogunwale, Fatai Akinbade and Ezekiel Adeniyi.

    Others are Dr. Akin Ogunbiyi, Ayoade Adewopo, Adejare Bello, Senator Ademola Adeleke and Prof Adeolu Durotoye.

    Chairman of the screening committee, Mr Austin Opara who spoke to journalists at the party’s Abuja secretariat on Monday, said the party would provide level playing field for all the aspirants.

    Opara said, “We are determined to do things right. The new leadership of the party has said we must rebrand the party. We will be guided by the guidelines of the party, the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) and the PDP constitution.

    “We will not import any material that is not in the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the guidelines. The constitution for instance has specified the age limit, especially with the passage of the Not-Too-Young-To-Run Bill into law”.

    Opara announced that all the aspirants have returned their nomination documents and assured that the process will be transparent.

    “The exercise is a process and it is clear in all that the party is doing, including the screening that is taking place today. It is going to be very transparent because we want the best for the party and of course, the best for the party is the best for the country. We would be transparent and fair to all concerned.

    “At the end, we want the best for our nation. You can attest to the fact that things are falling apart in the country today as led by the ruling party, even in Osun State. The only party that can give Nigerians hope today is the PDP,” Opara said.