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Tag: Peoples Democratic Party

  • Atiku condoles with families of supporters involved in accident

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has condoled with family members of those who lost their lives on Saturday road accident after his rally in  Jos.

    He expressed the condolence in a statement issued by his Media Aide, Mr Paul Ibe, on Sunday in Abuja.

    Abubakar said that he received with sadness report of the loss of Mrs Christy Dungtou and Mr Donatus Morkwap, members of one of his support groups, in a road accident on their way to Shendam after the Jos rally.

    Mrs Dungtou died at the scene of the accident while Morkwap passed away as he was being conveyed to General Hospital, Barkin-Ladi.

    Mr Kwalmi Julius, one of the injured whose condition is critical is receiving treatment at the Plateau Hospital, Jos, while the other two had been referred to Shendam.

    The statement revealed that the Atiku Presidential Campaign is in liaison with an official of the support group who has confirmed that the corpses of the deceased have been deposited at the mortuary in Shendam Local Government Area of Plateau.

    Abubakar expressed his condolences to the families of the deceased even as he prayed for the speedy recovery of those still in hospital.

    The former Vice President has also directed his campaign organisation to spare no resource in ensuring that those still in hospital receive the best of medical care.

    He has also instructed that the Campaign takes care of the burial cost of the deceased.

    Abubakar acknowledged the efforts and sacrifices of thousands of his support groups and millions of their members in his avowed commitment to get Nigeria working again for the good of all.

    He assured that their sacrifices would not be in vain.

    NAN

  • 2019: Ensuring gender equity

    For the first time since 1999, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) will not be fielding a female deputy governorship candidate. Due to some internal political realignment, the party will have a male candidate for the position in the February elections.

    Although some other parties in the state, including the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) have female deputy governorship candidates, the APC has a better chance of winning the governorship race like in past elections.

    If the APC wins the election as expected, one of the closest opportunities women have had to be in top political positions in the county would be denied them.

    Instead of making progress in our quest for gender equity in the election of office holders in the country, this development will be a setback as there is no guarantee that as many as six female deputy governors and seven senators in the present dispensation will be elected in the coming general elections despite the increase in the number of female candidates in the various parties.

    But for the opportunity to vie on the platforms of other parties, female aspirants were not as lucky in the APC and PDP that have brighter chances of winning most of the electoral seats.

    At a workshop in Ibadan, Oyo State, last week, female candidates recounted the ordeal they had to go through to win the primaries of their parties. There were cases of those who won the tickets and had their names substituted.

    Some were not even allowed to contest for seats in the parties they had been part of for years and had to opt for other options. Despite being eminently qualified than their male party members in some instances, female aspirants were told to forget their ambitions and were intimidated through various means.

    A participant at the workshop recalled how she was told that based on cultural reasons, women cannot hold any top position that would make her superior to a man.

    Notwithstanding women making up 49 percent of the country’s population, according to the National Population Commission (NPC) figure of 193 million released in April, it is unfortunate that their share of political offices in the country has been less than 15 percent.

    While some other countries in Africa have made significant progress in the number of elected women up to the Presidency, there is no indication that the major political parties are as committed as they claim to giving women equal rights to aspire for political offices.

    The advocacy for improved women representation is not a case of asking women to be elected to increase their numbers, it is that of demand for equity to enable those of them who have what it takes to provide leadership at any level to be given the opportunity to contribute their quota to the development of the country.

    Evidence abound that women who have been elected in the past in Nigeria and other countries have lived up to expectations and in some cases done better than their male counterparts. What is needed is a conducive political atmosphere where the electorate are allowed to choose the best candidates for whatever position, no matter the gender of the candidates.

  • Oshiomhole: PDP deceived Igbo for 16 years

    The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole on Friday accused the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)  of deceiving the people of the five Southeast States for the 16years it held sway at the Aso Rock Villa.

    Oshiomhole, citing the inability of the PDP to fix Southeast roads during its years in office, said most of the same highways have now been made motorable by President Muhammadu Buhari in only three and a half years.

    Speaking in Umuahia at the flag off campaign of the party’s governorship candidate in the state,Dr. Uche Ogah, the APC chair said: “The Igbo made a mistake in 2015, they should not make the same mistake twice.

    “In 2019 on the 16th of February, everybody should compare the darkness of 16years and the light that they are beginning to see under President Buhari under two and a  half years. The choice will be yours to make.

    “You must elect all the senatorial and House of Representatives candidates

     “The road networks in the Southeast was nothing to write home about in the 16years of PDP in the country.

    “The more the PDP broke the ground for the second Niger Bridge, the more bridge became weaker.

    “But Muhammadu Buhari, without changing his name to Azikiwe, is doing great things in the construction of the second Niger Bridge.

    “Under the PDP, PDP farmers started growing cassava on the Enugu-Onitsha Expressway. Today, President Muhammadu Buhari, without changing his name to Azikiwe or Ebele, is rebuilding that road. Many days for the liars, 2019 for the man of truth.”

    He urged Abians to vote out incumbent Governor Okezie Ikpeazu and replace him with Ogah, saying Ikpeazu has failed workers in the state by not utilizing the Paris Club refunds to pay their salary arrears.

    He said: “as a former president of the NLC, I know that the primary purpose of government is the welfare of citizens. And you cannot lay claim to public welfare when you are treating your employees as slaves.

    “The incumbent governor of the PDP collected Paris fund refund and President Buhari told him to go and pay my people in Abia State.

    “Ikpeazu, how do you sleep when your workers are not being paid? He collected the Paris fund refund twice and ended up diverting the funds.

    “We are here to win. When Uche Ogah wins, he is going to provide progressive governance. That is why we are in business. We want to measure how much impact that we have made in the lives of the people.”

    Oshiomhole presented Ogah, his running mate,Mr. Martin Azubuike and the APC senatorial candidates former governor of the  State, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, Senator Nkechi Nwaogu, and Sir Marc Wabara for Abia North, Abia Central and Abia South senatorial Districts respectively to the people.

    Also speaking, Dr. Uzor-Kalu urged Abia people to vote out PDP and enthrone a committed government.

    He said: “when I was Governor,  salaries were paid promptly. There was free education. I built this stadium. Today our university is dead. T A Orji wasted eight years and left Abia this way. We will make a change.

    “We will elect Buhari with 70 percent votes. We will elect Ogah. He is a businessman like me. We will pay salaries and pensions. No new roads in Aba and Umuahia 12 years after I left. Today no road leads to Abia because of people like Ikpeazu.”

  • Kashamu to supporters: work with Adebutu’s group

    Senator Buruji Kashamu (Ogun East) has directed all his supporters and associates to work with members of the Lado group within the Ogun State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the overall interest of the party.

    The Lado group is led by a member of the House of Representatives, Honourable Ladi Adebutu, who has been locked in a supremacy battle with Kashamu over control of the state party structure and the Ogun State PDP governorship ticket.

    In a statement on Thursday in Ijebu Igbo, Ogun State, Kashamu said it was better for the contending groups to work and win together – in the overall interest of the party.

    According to him: “It is true we are in court. But, we are hopeful that the issues will be resolved sooner than later.

    “However, in the overall interest of the party, it is better and wiser for us to work together as members of the same family pending the resolution of the issues in court.

    “We may have had our disagreements and issues and have submitted them to the court for adjudication; yet, we have been talking to one another.

    “We reckon that whichever way it goes, the court cannot bring about genuine reconciliation and peace.

    “So, we have resolved to be agents of peace and reconciliation. Let us put aside our ego, prejudices and personal interests, and work together for the Party – in the hope that whoever carries the day will work for the Party, its members and the generality of the people.

    Read Also: Elections: Adebutu, Kashamu PDP factions hold unification rally

    “It is in the light of the foregoing that I wish to formally and publicly urge all my leaders, elders and supporters to work with the Lado group within the Ogun State chapter of the PDP ahead of February 16 and March 2, 2019 elections.

    “Irrespective of our differences, we are members of the same family. At the end, it is the party that wins; not any individual or group.”

    Kashamu urged the ongoing unity meetings and rallies between the two groups within the Ogun State PDP be intensified in the 236 wards, 20 local governments and three senatorial districts of the state.

    These, he said, will be capped with a “Mega Unity Rally” to be held on a date and venue to be announced soon.

  • PDP urges Plateau people to vote out Lalong for poor performance

    The Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Plateau State chapter, Mr. Damishi Sango, has urged the electorate in the state to vote out the incumbent Governor Simon Lalong and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) for poor performance.

    Sango who made the call while addressing party supporters at the flag off of its governorship campaign at the Mangu mini stadium also called on the electorates to vote massively for the return of PDP.

    Sango said: “APC is a strange party in Plateau State and Gov. Lalong is just a tenant in Government House in Rayfield, Jos. Therefore, we cannot allow him to occupy it beyond 2019, because of his poor performance.”

    The PDP governorship candidate, Senator Jeremiah Husseini, said he is the race to restore the PDP back to power in the state.

    Hussein said: “The present government house Lalong is occupying was built by the PDP and the opposition party cannot afford to build its house for another party to occupy.”

    The immediate past governor, Senator David Jang, said he is spearheading the battle to restore the PDP back to power in Plateau State.

    Jang urged the people to support the PDP during the governorship and presidential elections, so as to put an end to what he described as the misgovernance of the APC.

    Sango used the occasion to plead with some party fatefuls who were aggrieved after the governorship primary and the selection of the deputy governorship candidate, to put aside their differences and work for the success of the Useni/Dalop ticket.

    In her good will message, Sarah Dokateri disclosed that 50 per cent of Plateau State citizens have become internally didplaced are now living in IDPs camps, because their bread winners were killed by suspected herdsmen militia.

    Dokateri added that the PDP is the party that the people should vote for in the 2019 general elections.

    She admonished farmers whose farmlands have been overtaken by herders to support the PDP to return to power, so that they can recover their lands.

    Dokateri charged people to come out and massively vote for Jeremiah Useni, who is coming to secure the state and boost the well-being of the people.

  • PDP aspirants back Agbaje

    Former aspirants who lost in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) primaries to pick candidates for the various elective offices have thrown their weight behind the Lagos State governorship candidate, Mr. Jimi Agbaje.

    A statement issued by the Jimi Agbaje Campaign Organisation (JACO) stated that the decision was reached at a stakeholders’ parley between Agbaje and the aspirants.

    Although they expressed reservations regarding the outcome of the primary and the unjust substituting of some of the names of some erstwhile victorious aspirants, the PDP members promised to work for the success of the party in the general election scheduled to commence on February 16.

    Apart from Agbaje, who was joined by his running mate, Mrs. Haleemat Buhari, other leaders of the party present at the meeting include: former Minister of Works, Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe; a member of the PDP Board of Trustees, Hajia Aduke Maina; and the State Deputy Chairman, Alhaji Hassan.

    The aggrieved aspirants reeled out series of infractions that characterised the primary, saying despite the perceived lapses, they have resolved to support the party’s candidates at the polls.

    After listening to their complaints, Agbaje assured them that their sacrifice for the party would not be in vain.

    His words: “I am happy to meet all of you today. I am particularly delighted that despite the fact that the primaries didn’t go the way you have envisaged, you are still faithful with the cause. I am also happy that you have decided to sacrifice your individual ambitions for the collective good of all Lagosians. The task to liberate our state from the stranglehold of an individual is a collective one.

    “It is not about me, but about the people of the state who are bearing the brunt of the rulership of the prevailing order in the state. With the decision you have taken, I am assuring you that you would be carried along as valued stakeholders.”

    Ogunlewe said the election called for the collective efforts of all to wreste power from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). He added that Agbaje have become the symbol of the struggle and that all stakeholders must rally behind him.

    He said: “I am assuring you that the day Agbaje becomes the Governor of Lagos State he will become a watershed in the history of the state. Let all of us rally round him to make sure that he wins.”

    Maina thanked those present, saying their sacrifices and loyalty would not go unnoticed by the party.

    She added: “I understand your plights, all that happened is well known to me but we should all put them behind us in the task of removing the state from the shackles of the oppressors.”

     

     

  • Atiku storms Kogi, promises economic revival

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential flag bearer and former vice president, Alhaji Abubakar Atiku, made a stopover in Lokoja, Kogi State, ahead of next month’s election. JAMES AZANIA was on the trail.

    The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Abubakar Atiku has part of his campaign trail stopped in the Kogi State capital, Lokoja, to win more Nigerian to his side ahead of the crucial 2019 general election.

    He said that he would redirect the country towards infrastructural development, create jobs and ensure a robust economy.

    He centered the plank of his appeal to the people of the state on the perceived impoverishment of Nigerians under the watch of the President Muhammad Buhari-led All Progressives Congress (APC).

    He promised to complete all abandoned projects in the state, if elected. The former vice president gave the pledge at the flag off of his presidential campaign in Kogi State.

    He said: “The legacy of Ajaokuta Steel Company, Geregu power plants 1 and 2… are PDP projects and we will make it a matter of priority to complete all projects that have been abandoned in the last three and half years. It is on record that Nigerians have not benefited from the government of President Buhari and his party, the All progressives Congress. Myself and my running mate, Peter Obi have the blueprint of how to halt the suffering inflicted on Nigerians by Buhari and his co travellers in APC.

    Atiku assured that the moribund Ajaokuta Steel which was stop in 1983 during military regime of President Muhammad Buhari will be revived if given the made to govern the country.

    He said the alarming unemployment, non-payment of salary and palpable infrastructural decay in Kogi State, and Nigeria at large will be a thing of the past.

    The PDP candidate said: “I have been an active player in the Nigeria economy. I have created multiple employment opportunities for hundreds of Nigerians in my private capacity. Revival of this bleeding economy and true federalism through restructuring would be my cardinal objectives.”

    Atiku, it would appear, is not taking Kogi, which is an APC governed state, for granted, and pundits remain of the opinion that he is angling to cash in on the perceived disaffection in the ruling party.

    He promised to complete all abandoned Federal Government projects in Kogi State, if elected president, come February.

    Pojects to be completed according to the presidential hopeful, include the multi billion naira Ajaokuta Steel Company and river ports in Lokoja and Idah.

    He recalled that both the Ajokuta Steel complex and the Confluence Stadium in Lokoja as well as many other projects in Kogi were legacies of the Peoples Democratic Party.

    He said that he will address the alarming unemployment situation in Nigeria and convert the abundant natural resources in Kogi to execute projects that will be beneficial to all.

    Kogi, he said, will be the Number One beneficiary of his proposed restructuring of Nigeria, if elected.

    He uged Kogi people not to be deceived by the ruling All Progressive Congress, which he described as fake and “failed administration since it can’t pay salaries and pensions let alone execution of projects.”

    He also promised to correct the “mistakes of the PDP when it ruled the country for 16 years.”

    He condemned the unlawful detention of Senator Dino Melaye (Kogi West), and called for his immediate release by the police.

    The Director General of the Atiku Abubakar Campaign Organisation and Senate President, Bukola Saraki called on the people to ensure victory for his principal, in order to put an end to the myriad of problems bedeviling the state through anti people programmes of the ruling APC.

    Saraki urged the people of Kogi to end “APC’s autocratic” system of government by voting massively for PDP candidates in this year’s election.

    He added: “The last three years of APC have been hell for the people of Kogi and the entire country as a whole. A president who does not know what is going on around him is not my president, my president knows what he is doing, my president reads, my president knows how to create job and he has been doing so for years and will create jobs for our teaming youths.”

    Saraki said Kogi and Kwara, where he was once governor, shared everything in common, and must work together for the common goal of ensuring victory for Atiku. The Director-General called on the well-meaning people of Kogi to speak with one voice to ensure the release of Melaye. He called for the people of Kogi to vote massively for a president who knows what he is doing and well-schooled in the art of governance.

    He said: “My own president knows what’s happening around him, my own president reads, my own president is healthy, my own president knows how to create jobs and has been doing that for years, so let’s give him chance to prove his worth to us.”

    The PDP called for the immediate and unconditional release of the Senator representing Kogi West, Dino Melaye. The lawmaker is reportedly currently being held at the police clinic in Abuja, after the siege on his Abuja residence, over charges bothering on alleged shooting of a police officer detailed to arrest him at his Ayeitoro-Gbede country home last year.

    Amidst shouts of “holy ghost fire,” speakers called on the police to release the senator and allow him continue his work.

     

  • PDP, Atiku know Buhari is honest – Osinbajo

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo says that members of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and their Presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar know that President Muhammadu Buhari is an honest man.

    Osinbajo stated this while addressing the `Drive 4 Buhari-Osinbajo’ rally organised by the `I am Ready’ campaign group alongside other support groups on Tuesday in Abuja.

    Referring to an earlier remark by Gov. Yahaya Bello of Kogi State, Osinbajo said that with Buhari Nigeria’s wealth is safe.

    Bello had earlier posed a question to crowd on whether they would rather deposit their monies in an Atiku Bank or a Buhari Bank.

    “I will not speak much, I will only give you certain examples and then you will make your choice.  Because the difference is clear between APC and any other political party.

    “Anywhere you go, you ask them this simple question—there are two banks; one is Buhari bank; another one is Atiku bank, where will you deposit your money?

    The crowd erupted in laughter. Shouting Buhari bank.

    “The talakawas know that their money is safe in Buhari bank; even Atiku knows that his money is safe in Buhari bank,’’ Bello said.

    Osinbajo, who was beaming with smile while acknowledging cheers from the enthusiastic crowd, chanted APC campaign slogans while the audience responded.

    He told the audience that Bello had said it all.

    The vice president said the major problem of Nigeria was corruption- stealing of the resources of the people, adding that Nigeria would never give looters chance to return to power.

    “We will not allow them to come back. I think that the very right question has been asked; where will you rather put your money?

    “If it is me, I will put my money in Buhari bank because even Buhari’s worst enemies know that he is an honest man; even the thieves know that he is an honest man.

    “Even the enemies will put their money in his bank because they know that their money will be safe in his bank; we have today an honest man as president, a man who will use the money for what it is meant.

    “Even his worst enemy knows that he is an honest man and that he will use the money. I pray for our country that our country will be great.

    “And the only way our country would be great is if you and I vote for a man who is honest, for a man who is truthful, a man we know, even his opponents know, everybody in PDP knows that he is an honest man.

    “Even Atiku knows that Buhari is an honest man; and he can never deny that; nobody can deny that; that is the kind of leader we want for our country today.’’

    Osinbajo said that the Buhari-led administration had made giant strides in the last three years.

    According to him, for the first time, the country is spending money on roads and railways.

    The vice president listed some completed and ongoing projects as the Lagos-Kano railway; Itakpe—Warri railway and second Niger Bridge.

    “In every state of Nigeria, we are building a major road.  We are going to do the Lagos-Calabar railway. We are going to complete that by the grace of God. Port Harcourt-Maiduguri we are going to complete it.

    “When we came into office, after 16 years, 3000mw of power was all that we had. Today, we have 7000MW,’’ he said.

    Osinbajo thanked the campaign coordinators for working so hard across the country to drive home the APC campaign.

    On his part, Festus Keyamo, Director of Media of the Buhari Campaign Organisation, said that the Federal Government’s Social Investment Programme was the first since 1960 aimed at improving the lives of the poor.

    Earlier in his remark, Dr Abudallahi Bafa, Coordinator, One 2-Tell-10 Support Group said that the rally was organised to push the Next Level agenda.

    More so, Mr Afolabi Imoukhuede, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Job Creation (N-Power Scheme), highlighted the impact of the scheme on young Nigerian; hence the need for another four years for the administration.

    The Minister of Interior, Abdulrahman Dambazau, who spoke on behalf of other ministers at the event, urged Nigerians to vote for continuation so that Buhari would consolidate on his feats.

    Afterwards, Osinbajo proceeded to the UTC Market, Area 10, Garki, Abuja, where he addressed the artisans and urged them to vote for Buhari in the forthcoming presidential election. (NAN)

  • Amaechi: PDP hits Buhari over Amaechi’s leaked tapes

    The Peoples Democratic Party Presidential Campaign Organization (PPCO) has mocked President Muhammadu Buhari over leaked audio tapes in which Rotimi Amaechi allegedly vilified the President.
    Amaechi, who is the Minister of Transportation, is also the Director General of Buhari’s Presidential Campaign Organisation.
    In a statement on Monday by the spokesman for the PDP Campaign, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, the party urged Buhari to throw in the towel and end his re-election bid.
    The PPCO noted that since the audio recording leaked last Friday, neither  Rotimi Amaechi nor the Buhari Campaign Organization has mustered the strength to deny or offer any cogent explanation on the matter.

    The main opposition party said the continued silence from Amaechi and the Buhari Campaign Organisation was an indication that the President has lost the loyalty of his support base.

    The statement said, “This development amply shows that the Buhari Campaign Organization is in agreement with Amaechi that President Buhari’s incompetence, nepotism, insensitivity and corruption, and not the 16 years of the PDP in government, are responsible for the myriad of problems facing our nation.

    Read Also: Buhari vows to secure the country more

    “Our party, therefore, holds that President Buhari now lacks the honour and integrity to campaign and seek for votes since his Campaign Organization is holding him directly responsible for the biting economic hardship and security problems our nation has been facing in almost four years of his tenure, as expressly communicated in the leaked recording.

    “Amaechi’s confession, that President Buhari does not listen and that he does not give a hoot about the sufferings of Nigerians but laughs and glees at the misfortunes and plights of our citizens shows the world the level of disdain President Buhari holds Nigerians.

    “Mr. President is now merely clinging on straws and walking by his own shadows and Nigerians can now see why he is desperate to use his niece in INEC, Amina Zakari, to rig himself back to power”.

    The PPCO challenged President Buhari to dare Amaechi and speak out on the alleged poor rating by his Campaign DG, saying that the President lacked the rectitude to canvass for votes from Nigerians.

    “We therefore urge President Buhari to advise himself, having seen that he has no support left, by throwing in the towel instead of allowing his desperation bring more opprobrium to his person and plunge the nation into unnecessary crisis.

    “Finally, we hope that no harm will befall some members of the APC Presidential Campaign Organization for the exercise of their freedom of expression”.

  • Defectors are Irrevelevant to us – Niger PDP chairman

    The Chairman of the Niger state People’s Democratic Party, Barrister Tanko Beji has described the defection moves by some PDP chieftains to the APC as good riddance saying they are irrelevant to PDP.

    According to him, PDP is better off with them leaving the party saying that their defection has revealed that they were moles in the party who had been selling the party out.

    During the week, four PDP bigwigs defected to the APC, they included the former PDP Chairman, Abdulrahman Enagi, two governorship aspirants, Mohammed Baka and Sudan Hannafi and the Treasurer, Ibeto.

    Fielding questions from Journalists in Minna regarding the recent defections in the party, Beji said that the PDP is not in any way moved or concerned about the moves as no gap has been created in the cause of the defection.

    “Who are you talking about? These people have no substance, to us, they only have one vote. On our side, where we lost one, we gained over 100 back. There is nothing new on defection. It is part and parcel of politics.

    Read Also: PDP shopping for excuses for failure, says VON DG

    “We are better off without them. It finally shows that the moles are finding themselves out, it revealed that all these while, they had their interest elsewhere and because they did not get the position they aspired for, they decided to go.

    “Let them go. It is good riddance to their bad rubbish. When the former PDP Chairman defected, we received over 100 youths from his village and when Hannafi defected, we received crowd of APC members in Kontagora.

    “They are Abuja politicians. We are not concerned with Abuja politicians which is who they are. We are not moved. We have better things to concentrate on.

    The PDP Chairman further disclosed that the party would soon begin its local government campaign tour.