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Tag: Rotimi Ameachi

  • Okorocha on his own on non-issuance of certificate of return, says APC

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) on Wednesday reacted for the first time to the decision of the independent national Electoral Commission (INEC) not to issue certificate of return to Imo state Governor Rochas okorocha.

    It said the party has no official position on the issue since the governor is still under suspension.

    National publicity Secretary of the party, Mallam Lanre Issa- Onilu, said at an interactive session with reporters that the governor has also not informed the party of the problem with the electoral management body probably because he is aware of his suspension.

    INEC has said it will not issue certificate of return to Okorocha, who was declared Senator-elect, insisting he was declared winner under duress.

    Asked whether the party planned to intervene in the matter, Issa- Onilu said Okorocha is still under suspension, adding until such is vacated the party will not intervene.

    “On the refusal of INEC to issue Certificate of Return to governor of Imo state, Rochas Okorocha, who was announced winner of the Imo West senatorial ticket, this party cannot take any action.

    “Don’t forget that he is on suspension and as far as this party is concerned, that situation remains because there is no way we can say that somebody is on suspension and still go ahead to intervene in his case.

    “In any case, he has not even come up to inform the party of his problem because he has realised that he is on suspension.

    “Therefore, until it is vacated, the party will now step in to intervene as a party member who has problem to resolve.”

    On whether former Rivers state governor Rotimi Ameachi had committed anti-party activity for allegedly supporting governorship of African Action Congress (AAC), Issa- Onilu said: “I will emphatically say no because if you liken it to the situation in Imo and or Ogun states, it will be wrong.

    “In Rivers state, APC does not have any candidate and as a party, Rivers state is very important to us. The state has been in the hands of pillagers for too long.

    “If we have the opportunity of working with party willing to abide by our principles, then it is within our right to work with such a party to ensure we free the people of Rivers state from the locust.

    “In this case, he has not abandoned a particular candidate that belongs to the APC for a candidate of another party.

    “They are entirely different issues and in that case, there is no anti-party. Whatever Amaechi has done is completely normal and acceptable to this party as far as working with other party is concerned.”

    Read also: Kwara PDP passes confidence vote on Saraki

    On the supposed suspension of Senator Kabiru Marafa by his ward in Zamfara, Onilu said: “It’s within the powers of the party executives at the ward level.

    “If they have good reason to take punitive action against a member that they considered to have flaunted the rules of the party.

    “In this case, we don’t have all the facts because it has not been brought to NWC attention and they don’t really need to come that far before they can take that decision.

    “Whoever that has happened to has the window to seek redress. So, we are watching to be sure that they stay within the rule.”

  • FG wades into Oshiomhole, Ngige rift

    Ngige replies Oshiomhole: I’m not afraid of suspension

    The Federal Government on Wednesday said that the ongoing rift between the Chairman of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole and Minister of Labour, Chris Ngige will be resolved soon.

    This was disclosed by the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed after the Federal Executive Council meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    Oshiomhole had threatened to expel Ngige from the party and cabinet if he fails to inaugurate the board of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF).

    Speaking on the rift, Mohammed said “What happened between the minister and chairman will be resolved.”

    Explaining further he said two weeks ago, the government launched a campaign against fake news saying it’s one of the most dangerous phenomenon we have today. .

    He stated “We don’t know who said what and until we know and the minister confirmed this statement credited to him, it’s difficult really to comment.

    “I can assure you if there is any problem between the party chairman and any of our ministers, it will be resolved.”

    Read Also: Ngige to Oshiomhole: be guided in your utterances

    On his part, Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Ameachi denied report credit to him that he disparaged the party chairman.

    He said “How do you know it’s true, I saw in social media this afternoon where they said I said the chairman is a bad luck. I never said so. I have never said such a thing. They quoted me that I was attacking the chairman.”

    Speaking with journalists on Wednesday, Ngige said that he was not afraid of suspension in a party in which he is a founding member.

    He was responding to the threat issued by Oshiomhole, that if he does not inaugurate the board members of federal agencies and parastatal under his ministry in line with the President’s directives, he will be suspended or expelled by the party.

    When asked if he was going to comply and if he was not afraid of suspension from the party, Ngige said, “How? In a party that we formed and brought them in? The man is talking out of ignorance. I’m not afraid of suspension.”

    Ngige, had in his written response earlier, explained why the Board of NSITF was yet to be inaugurated. He said: “Our National Chairman, I am in receipt of a letter referenced APC/NHDQ/ GEN-S/28/018/003 dated July 11, 2018, which was sent from your office and received by me on July 12, 2018. Ordinarily, I would not believe the letter was from you except for the barrage of media statements that came before I saw the letter. I read the contents of this letter with both amazement and utter disbelief.”

    The minister said he had reconstituted three boards out of the four agencies and parastatals under his ministry, but has not been able to constitute the board of NSITF because of cases of financial malfeasance, which have put the agency under investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

  • Buhari okays $15 billon loan negotiation for Port Harcourt – Maiduguri rail project

     

    President Muhammadu Buhari has approved negotiation for $15 billion loan for the completion of work on the Port Harcourt – Maiduguri rail project.

    This was disclosed to State House correspondents by the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Ameachi, after a closed door meeting with President Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    He also said that the President has approved negotiations of funds for the execution of Lagos – Calabar rail project to ensure its speedy completion.

    He said “Don’t forget that the Lagos-Calabar is yet to start because of funds; the Port Harcourt – Maiduguri is yet to start because of funds, but the President has approved that we negotiate for funds.

    “We are almost concluding negotiations for the Port Harcourt – Maiduguri. We are looking at the cost – is in the neighbourhood of between 14 and 15 billion dollars.’’

    He explained that a lot of progress is being made in the area of revamping rail transportation network across the country.

    According to him, the laying of tracks on the Lagos-Ibadan route would commence next month, stressing that the project would provide a lot of job opportunities to Nigerians.

    He said “If the rain doesn’t start early we will start laying tracks on the Lagos-Ibadan route in April and hopefully we believe we can complete it in December or January and open it up for passengers and business and we expect about 6, 000,000 tons of cargo out of the 30,000,000 tons of cargo that we have between Lagos and Kano.

    “In terms of job creation, you can be rest assured that it will be in thousands,” he added.

    https://soundcloud.com/thenationnewspaper/buhari-approves-negotiations-for-15bn-loans-to-finance-rail-projects

    He said that the Itakpe – Warri rail project was being reconstructed as he hoped  that it would be inaugurated by August.

    He said: “The tracks were already there but they were vandalised so we are rebuilding those tracks and then building new stations.

    “We are also reconstructing a yard that was abandoned. All things being equal, the place should be ready soon, we gave them May as completion period but let’s say by August we should be commissioning.’’ he added

    The Minister reassured that adequate security had been taken to guarantee safety of passengers aboard rail transportation in the country.

    “There are policemen in all the coaches that ply our routes. So if the passengers are attacked by armed robbers, they will report while they take action,” he said.

     

  • Lagos-Ibadan Standard Gauge Rail will create additional 7000 jobs – Ashafa

    Lagos-Ibadan Standard Gauge Rail will create additional 7000 jobs – Ashafa

    Sen. Gbenga Ashafa, Chairman Senate Committee on Land Transport has said that the ongoing Lagos-Ibadan Standard Gauge Railway line would create additional 7000 jobs for the teeming youths.

    Ashafa said on Monday during the oversight visit paid to the Nigerian Railway Corporation NRC by both Committee on Land Transport and the Committee on Local and Foreign Debts.

    “We are confident that the Lagos to Kano and Calabar to Lagos railway modernisation projects would in no small way reinvigorate Nigeria’s economy through creation of about 7000 jobs.

    “On our part as senators holding the mandate of our constituents, we are totally committed to  assisting the executive arm in the actualisation of every developmental project within our purview,” Ashafa said.

    The senator said that the visit was to assist the committee on Local and Foreign Debt assess the project implementation plan for the recently approved loan request by the Federal Government from the China Exim Bank.

    According to him, the loan is to be accessed for the purpose of completing various railway rehabilitation and construction projects across  the country.

    “The focus of this visit is to immediately set in perspective of our commitment to ensuring a high level of accountability in public expenditure.

    “As such, the bulk of this joint committee’s work lies particularly in the areas that concern activities of the Ministry of Transport and all relevant stakeholders in the expenditure of the loan.

    “As requested, the sum of 5.851 billion dollars being the total approved loan would be expended on modernisation of Lagos to Kano, Lagos to Ibadan and Calabar to Lagos segments,” he said.

    Sen. Shehu Sani, Chairman committee on local and foreign debts in his contribution said that both committee were signals to the seriousness attached to the commencement and successful completion of the rail projects.

    Sani said that the  project was in the 2016-2018 External Borrowing (Rolling) plan recently approved by the senate.

    According to him, the potential of the rail projects was to fast track the nation’s economic growth, provision of gainful employment to teeming youths and overall development of the country.

    “The senate while approving the borrowing plan as it concerns the rail mandated its relevant committees to ensure a thorough oversight of the actual implementation of the projects for which the country was borrowing.

    “Obviously, this is to guarantee effective and efficient utilisation of every kobo taken as loan by the federal government on behalf of Nigerian citizens.

    “Therefore, this visit is one step in the fulfilment of that mandate and the public trust we owe Nigerian citizens,” he said.

    Mr Leo Yin, the Project Cordinator, Chinese Civil Engineer Construction Company (CCECC), said the major challenge facing the project presently was the recent continuous rainfall.

    Yin said that plans have been put in place by the company to deliver and hand over the project at the appointed time.

    He however, appealed to the communities in the affected areas to cooperate witwith the workers for speedy execution of the project.

    NAN reports that the Minister of Transportation, Mr Rotimi Ameachi, had said that Federal Government would ensure the completion of the ongoing Lagos-Ibadan standard gauge rail services by Dec. 2018.

    Ameachi gave the assurance on Monday July 10, in Lagos while inspecting the ongoing rail projects at Ijoko community area of Ogun State.

    The minister said that the Federal Government was making all efforts to ensure the completion of the project as scheduled.

  • Amaechi tasks FG on youth development

    Amaechi tasks FG on youth development

    The former Governor of Rivers State and minister designate, Rotimi Amaechi, has advised the federal government to support and empower young Nigerians as they are the building blocks for the country’s development.

    Amaechi made this known at the maiden edition of the Red Media Africa Summit held at the Habour Point, Victoria Island, Lagos.

    The summit and gala night is the second event organized as part of the celebration of the 10th anniversary of Red Media Africa, Nigeria’s leading omni-media company, and it has brought together 121 exceptional media icons who have left an indelible impact on the Nigerian media sphere to be honoured.

    According to him, Nigeria has so many youths who have extra ordinary talents, creative skills and ideas, which if well harness can be veritable tools for nation building.

    Amaechi, who was the Chairman Presidential Campaign Committee of President Muhammadu Buhari recalled that, although God won the victory for President Buhari,  the contribution of Adebola Williams and Chude Jideonwo, the founders of Red MEDIA Africa can never be undermined.

    He said, “I thank Adebola Williams & Chude Jideonwo for taking that responsibility of handling the presidential campaign. They sold our candidate to Nigerians against popular opinion. They got President Muhammadu Buhari to wear a suit, something he hadn’t done for over thirty years and that was one of the biggest highlights of the campaign. Those images broke barriers and sold the man.”

    He continued, “We always say God won the election but their role can’t be overemphasized. They created an impression that we had money, made the other people afraid and think we could match them money for money but we really couldn’t. It was their creativity. I thank them and wish them the very best.

    “I took a risk with  Chude & Adebola to handle the presidential campaign and they did a great job”.

     In her words, the Former Minister for Education, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili applauded the effort of the red media in providing the road map for their generation”.

    Ekwesisli, who launched the west Africa media report produced by the red media Africa said that the report is a contribution to the media industry as people assume time is important in tackling problems but resources called partnership is more germane.

    On the reasons for celebrating icons in the media industry, the co-founder of Red Media, Mr. Chude Jideonwo said that it is a decision of the heart and not of the head, driven by gratitude rather than balance sheets. Our hearts wanted to do this. Our souls wanted to do this. Our very beings wanted to do this.

    “We wanted to say thank you for courage, for character, for creativity, for depth. for passion, for ambition, and for purpose.”

    Also present at the event include the former Governor of Ogun State, Chief Olusegun Osoba, the former Special Adviser on Media to former President, Goodluck Jonathan, Reuben Abati,  Sadiq Daba, Kenny Ogungbe, Dayo Adeneye, Yinka Davies, Timi Dakolo, Lala Akindoju, Kehinde Young Harry, Banky W., Funke Bucknor, Uche Nnaji, among others.