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Tag: vows

  • Otti vows to defeat PDP in 2019

    The Abia State governorship candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) for 2019, Alex Otti, has appealed to his co-contestants to join forces with him to defeat the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-led government in 2019.

    Otti, who spoke at the party’s secretariat while receiving his Certificate of Return from the National Chairman, Victor Oye, urged them to bury their grievances in the interest of the party’s growth.

    He said: “I appeal to everyone who participated in this process to understand that it is the wish of God that happened. I welcome them and appeal to them to join us to ensure that we get to that place God has destined for us.

    “Yes, it is not unexpected that when people go into a contest, and lose out there will be bitterness and hurt, but we must also realise that in a contest, only one person wins. And because one person has won does not mean others did not do well.

    “Abia is blessed with resources, both human and material, but because of the prevalent environment in the last 20 years, people have not made judicious use of these.

    “But I intend to bring the right environment for people to efficiently and effectively use the resources that they have. I intend to bring infrastructural development because if you go to Aba and most part of Umuahia today, everywhere looks like a refuse dump. But I don’t think it is too much for government to commit to cleaning the environment.”

  • Illegal fishing: Peterside vows to protect waterways

    The Director-General, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr Dakuku Peterside, has vowed to protect the nation’s territorial waters against pollution and illegal fishing.

    Findings revealed that the rate of polluting the territorial waters, illegal fishing and dumping of hazardous wastes has reduced drastically, based on the new measures put in place by the NIMASA helmsman.

    A member of the Fishery Society of Nigeria (FISON), Alfred Adegoroye, said NIMASA was  working with foreign partners to develop the capacity in tackling the crisis caused by pollution, hazardous waste dumping and illegal fishing

    Adegoroye said the dumping of toxic waste in the maritime domain and the increasing crimes on the coastline were attracting the required attention and commitment on the side of the Federal Government and NIMASA in providing capability and cooperation with foreign partners to build the nation’s maritime capability.

    Adegoroye pointed out that NIMASA and other security experts around the Horn of Africa have developed theories over the increasing hazardous wastes dumping and piracy

    He said Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand had set the stage for cooperation between states, both in information exchange and mobilisation of resources.

    Another member of the group, Mrs Lola Bilesanmi, observed that the insecurity in Africa’s waterways had forced insurers to hike rates for ships passing through the region.

    Specifically, coastal and inland states had seen their vital trade links threatened by pirates, a situation that led to rising costs that their populations must bear.

    “As at now, there are no clear answers as to the best ways to ensure maritime security, nor are there clear answers as to what percentage of resources nations should allocate to maritime security to best facilitate the goal of furthering development, but we need to give Kudos to NIMASA for its current initiatives,’’ she said.

    Since piracy is not the only threat to maritime security, another member, Mr Sesan Olanipekun, advised the government to adopt best practices that can be implemented to boost the current efforts of NIMASA.

  • Customs’ ‘Strike Force’ co-ordinator vows hard times for smugglers

    The new National Co-ordinator, ‘Strike Force’ of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Mr Abdullahi Dahiru Kirawa has promised smugglers hard times.

    Speaking at the weekend after taking over the leadership of the anti-smuggling outfit of the Service, Kirawa said he would collaborate with other Customs’ Commands to flush out smugglers.

    He said with the support of other officers of the Service, he would harness all human and material resources to achieve the zero tolerance policy on smuggling.

    A few years back, his group, it was learnt, seized about 10,000 bags of rice in a single operation on Seme/Badagry Expressway.

    Kirawa is seen by his colleagues as a grassroots officer, who understood the terrain and has the ability to conquer the environment where smugglers carry out their nefarious activities.

    “I know the terrain more than they do and I’m a grassroot man too with a lot of informants. So, my advice to them is that they should find legitimate things to do to earn a living because if they continue with smuggling, they will not only lose their investments, but will equally be prosecuted.

    “Everybody knows that the CGC, Col. Hameed Ali (rtd), has zero tolerance for anything that is illicit, including smuggling and is fully prepared to descend heavily on criminals in the system.

    “Therefore, with his mandate, my team and I are fully ready to crack down on all saboteurs of the economy. The law must be implemented to the letter as far as the Strike Force of the Customs is concerned.

    “I must make it known here that the Strike Force covers the entire country and my men are all over the place, both land and water, to ensure that no illegal goods enter undetected. Like I said earlier, anybody who wants to lose his investments and face prosecution should smuggle. We will spare nobody because we stand by the mandate given to us by the CGC and the law of the land,” he said.

    Seeking the cooperation of stake-holders, he advised importers and customs agents to keep abreast of import guidelines.

  • NBA vows to deliver credible polls

    The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has promised to deliver credible and transparent elections in forthcoming elections scheduled for this month end.

    Following fears caused by that one of the presisential candidates has a cross board relationship with Chams, the ICT firm engaged to man the portal for the elections, the NBA President, Mr. Abubakar Mahmoud (SAN) took steps to verify the allegations, correct the impression and reinforce confidence in the process.

    At the end of the consultations, the association in a statement said: “The leadership of the Nigerian Bar Association has followed with great concern, the various issues that have arisen regarding the preparation for the conduct of the 2018 NBA National Elections as well as various allegations that have been made which have created perceptions of the lack of integrity in the electoral process and which may cast doubt on its outcome.

    “To address these issues, it became necessary for the NBA to undertake an extensive and careful review of all processes and also seek clarifications andinvestigate all the allegations, particularly with regards to the selection of the e-voting platform service provider as well the integrity and security of the infrastructure to be deployed and the capability of the service provider.

    “The review took place at the NBA National Secretariat in the course of the last two days (Thursday 19 and Friday 20 July 2018) and all relevant stakeholders were invited including the candidates, their technical advisers and some of our members who have raised these concerns or made allegations.

    “The review process was conducted openly with the Electoral Committee of the NBA (ECNBA) in the presence of National officers, the Presidential Candidates and some other Candidates, their IT experts and technical advisers and other stakeholders. The e-voting platform service provider; Chams Plc., the Independent ICT Expert Adviser to the ECNBA and other observers were also present.

    “The process involved an extensive review of the selection process of the service provider, modalities for the NBA Elections, technical presentations on the e-voting platform to be deployed including its security architecture and deliberations on the alleged relationship between the e-voting service provider and one of the candidates.

    “Sequel to the review exercise, the NBA President held further consultations on July 20, 2018 with past Presidents, past General Secretaries and the Chairman of the ECNBA to which all the presidential candidates were invited and were in attendance.

    “These consultations became necessary to listen to and address all concerns and to arrive at the best decision in the overall interest of the NBA and the legal profession while ensuring the credibility of the process and the outcome.

    At the end of these consultative processes, the following observations/findings were made: “The selection process conducted by the ECNBA for the service provider of the e-voting platform; Chams Plc. was transparent and credible. The ECNBA acted independently in the above selection process and did not enter into any communication with, nor was it influenced by any elected or appointed officers of the NBA in the selection of the e-voting platform service provider for the election.

    “An introductory letter from Chams Plc. sent to the NBA National Secretariat on Friday, February 9,  was received in the normal course of business but was neither acted upon nor passed on to ECNBA and had no relevance to the decision taken by the ECNBA in the selection process.

    “The cross board membership of the chairman of board of the e-voting platform service provider (Chams Plc.) and an aspirant for theoffice of NBA resident did not constitute any material conflict of interest that would affect the credibility of the electronic voting process or the outcome of the elections.

    “The allegation that the e-voting service provider had conducted a flawed election for a similar professional association, ICAN was satisfactorily explained as the service provider has continued to conduct elections for that association subsequent to those issues;

    “The consultative meetings and the review exercise nevertheless revealed that the voter verification process was unsatisfactory and in order to address this and perception problems which have been created, it was necessary to take measures to reinforce confidence in the electoral process. The following measures were accordingly resolved to be implemented:

    “The electoral processes shall be disaggregated into three stages and each stage shall be handled by separate entities or service providers duly appointed by the ECNBA. The three stages are:

    “Pre-election: process of compilation and verification/validation of list of voters;

    “Election: the deployment of the e-voting platform for NBA elections Post-election: an audit of the electoral processes

    The ECNBA will undertake a holistic review of the voter verification process to ensure that all issues and complaints are satisfactorily resolved and may engage an independent entity or service provider for that purpose; the revalidated voter data shall be deployed on the electronic voting platform for the conduct of the 2018 NBA National Elections; and use of the validated voter data may be monitored by the ECNBA and representatives of the aspirants pre, during and post-elections.

    “The e-voting service provider appointed by the ECNBA; Chams Plc. shall be limited to the deployment of the e-voting platform for NBA elections, which it has already developed and is ready to deploy. The ECNBA will develop a post-election audit framework and process and may engage an independent entity for that purpose;

    “The ECNBA will ensure that an appropriate review of the integrity of the election portal or voting platform is undertaken and all necessary steps taken to reinforce the security and integrity of the portal/platform and the relevant applications;

    “The ECNBA will ensure that the candidates and their technical representatives are given appropriate access to all processes and given opportunity to make input/observations at all stages of the process.

    In view of the above consensus and pursuant to the powers to issue guidelines for the verification of voters and the general conduct of electronic voting, vested in the

    ECNBA under Article 2.4 (c) of the Second Schedule of the 2015 NBA Constitution, the ECNBA will review the election time table and make appropriate adjustments, ensuring that elections are conducted not later than Tuesday, July 31 as provided for in the NBA Constitution.

  • Firm vows to meet 50% steel requirement

    A steel manufacturing company at Ovwian –Aladja, Delta State, Premium Steels and Mines Limited has said it will meet more than 50 per cent of the domestic steel requirement, which are currently being met through imports.

    Its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Prasanta Mishra, made the pledge at the opening of the steel and mining facility.

    Formerly known as Delta Steel Company (DSC), the 32-year-old facility is rated Nigeria’s foremost and only integrated steel plant estimated to produce 1.2 million metric tons of various steel products per annum. The plant has since been retooled and ready for production.

    Mishra is excited that President Muhammadu Buhari administration has initiated a simultaneous and wide-ranging investment plan in infrastructure.

    This, he said, will boost the demand for steel and serve as the backbone of the nation’s industrialisation.

    He said Mines and Steel Development minister Dr Kayode Fayemi’s strong initiative contributed immensely to the success of the revived steel plant.

    Mishra said the benefits of having a functional steel industry cannot be overemphasized, when viewed against the multiplier effects it has on all facets of the economy, including the important role steel plays ingrowth of the automotive industry.

    According to him, industrial development would soon serve as the foundation of efforts to address poverty and inequality through employment and wealth generation.

    “We dare to say therefore, that we are one of the best Nigerian Steel Plants to produce the BS4449 grade steel, TMT and other value-added products of high capacity that can be used for high-rise buildings, bridges, flyovers, malls and other skyscrapers due to its tough mechanical and high yield strength,” he said.

  • NUPENG vows to shutdown sector over sack threat

    NUPENG vows to shutdown sector over sack threat

    Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) has warned that it will shut the oil sector if the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN) sacks its members as threatened in a recent ultimatum to the Federal Government.

    The marketers have given the government a 14-day ultimatum to settle the N650 billion debt allegedly owed its members.

    In a statement by its Executive Secretary, Olufemi Adewole, DAPPMAN said if the government failed to meet the deadline, it would direct its members to shut all the depots the NNPC uses to store imported products as well as disengage their over 10,000 workers.

    However, NUPENG President, Igwe Achese, who addressed the  reporters after the NUPENG Elders Stakeholders Meeting in Lagos, said the union would protect its members from the threats.

    Achese noted that there was an urgent need to call for dialogue with the marketers, adding that if the issues were not promptly addressed, NUPENG would be at the receiving end.

    “The problem will not only affect workers, but also tanker drivers. Hence, if it happens, we will react to protect our members. If workers are sacked, the union will react accordingly,” he said.

    The NUPENG chief said the government should wake up to the reality that NNPC alone could not sustain petroleum supply in the country.

    “We have always said it that, for fuel crisis to end, our refineries must come back on stream. If we are importing, that should only be a stop-gap,” he said.

    The union, he said, would give the Federal Government maximum support to ensure that all the refineries got back to their full working capacity, but that the government must ignore those that were calling for privatisation of the refineries. Instead, it should look for a way to upgrade the facilities.

  • Ahmed vows to strengthen councils

    Ahmed vows to strengthen councils

    Kwara State Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed has promised to strengthen local government areas for revenue growth to enable them carry out their responsibilities.

    He spoke when the Council of Chairmen from Kwara South, led by the chairman of Oyun Local Government Area, Joshua Omokanye, visited him at the Government House.

    Omokanye also chairs the Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON).

    The governor, who said the days of reliance on federal funds are gone, added that the government will soon give staffs of office to traditional rulers upgraded last year.

    Ahmed reiterated the need for councils to improve their Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) by partnering Kwara State Internal Revenue Service (KWIRS).

    He said: “I will continue to work with you to ensure that capital expenditure is synergised with the state’s expenditure so that you can take advantage of what we are doing in Human Capital Development, Infrastructure and driving the economy”.

    Omokanye lauded the governor’s efforts in creating a sustainable model in the state’s finances, and requested the presentation of staff of office to upgraded traditional rulers in their areas of domain.

  • Peterside vows to fight piracy

    Peterside vows to fight piracy

    Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) Director-General Dr Dakuku Peterside has vowed to fight piracy, develop human capacity, ensure safety of vessels and removal of wrecks and mitigate the effects of pollution.

    Speaking with The Nation, Peterside noted that NIMASA owes the international community the obligation to ensure the safety of their vessels, crew and cargoes to foster shipping trade between Nigeria and other parts of the world.

    He hailed the partnership between NIMASA and the Nigerian Navy, describing both institutions as partners in progress.

    The NIMASA boss noted the importance of the Navy to the development of the nation’s maritime sector and thanked the Navy for the synergy.

    He commended the officers and men of the Nigerian Navy for their efforts in combating piracy over the years, pledging the agency’s support to the deal to help it carry out effectively, its operations.

    “Piracy is capable of crippling the economy. Since shipping largely contributes to the growth of any economy, the economy cannot thrive where piracy activities are carried out.”

    He said he was happy that the Nigerian Navy created the Central Naval Command, noting that it would help checkmate illegalities in the industry.

    He said the agency would continue to extend human capacity development to the naval personnel in the Maritime Guard Command Unit of the agency.

    He also warned shipping companies against polluting the ports. It said it had adopted best practices to protect marine resources from ship pollution.

    The NIMASA DG urged the firms to use the waterways well or face the law, adding that pollution must be tackled to make the waterways cleaner.

    He said he was not happy that general environmental issues were not considered by some oil and gas firms in the country.

    NIMASA, he said, would issue roadmap on Marine Waste Management in Nigeria.

    He said NIMASA would domesticate some International Maritime Organisation (IMO) codes and conventions to protect the maritime sector.

    He said IMO and domestic laws were considered in planning the road map structured to provide the ideal platform to grow the business of managing waste generated in the maritime environment.

    He plegded the agency’s support for public-private partnership model to facilitate effective management of ship-generated waste within the marine and coastal environment.

    Maenwhile, Sea and Cargo Logistics Chairman, Raphael Christo-pher alleged that many foreign ships were polluting the nation’s territorial waters with waste and depleting fish stocks.

    At a seminar organised by sea workers in Lagos, he urged the Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi , to fashion out a policy that will facilitate effective management of ship-generated waste within the marine and coastal environment.

    Christopher said 28 countries, with an aggregate merchant shipping tonnage of 26.37 per cent of the world total, have ratified the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) convention.

  • I’ll resume tomorrow, Peace Corps boss vows

    I’ll resume tomorrow, Peace Corps boss vows

    • Headquarters still sealed by police

    • I’ve been vindicated, says Akoh

    The National Commandant of Peace Corps of Nigeria (PCN), Dickson Akoh, has vowed to resume at the headquarters of the outfit on Monday, which is still sealed by the Police Force.

    He said his resumption is predicated on the Federal High Court Abuja’s ruling last Thursday, which awarded N12.5m as damages against the Police Force and Inspector General of Police over violation of Akoh’s rights and some of its members.

    Justice Gabriel Kolawole gave the award in a judgment on a fundamental right suit filed by Akoh and others.

    Men of the Police Force on February 28 invaded the Abuja headquarters of the PCN during its commissioning and arrested Akoh with 49 other members, who were later detained.

    Akoh and others later filed a suit against their arrest and detention, claiming N2billion damages.

    They listed the Nigeria Police Force, IGP, the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, the National Security Adviser, the Department of State Services (DSS) and its Director-General as respondents.

    Justice Kolawole also ordered the police to immediately unseal PCN’s headquarters at 57, Iya Abubakar Crescent off Alex Ekwueme way, opposite Jabi Lake, Jabi, Abuja.

    Speaking to newsmen yesterday on the judgment and recent development, Akoh said: “The PCN headquarters has not been vacated.

    “This order was given last Thursday as it was supposed to take effect immediately. As far as law is concerned a court order is a public pronouncement and public document.

    “As I am talking to you, police are still sealing the headquarters of the Peace Corps of Nigeria, (PCN). Their truck is still there. They should obey this court order to vacate the PCN headquarters.

    “I think what the police is looking for is for us to revolt so that they can use it to justify our actions and look for another charges to hold us.”

    He went on: “We will resume the office on Monday because by Monday if we have our document with a court order, we will resume there.

    “I was wrongly accused and I have never received any money from government.

    “As a voluntary organisation, if you want to join you need uniform and kits.

    “And if you want to go for the orientation you pay N40, 000 that was the only accusation that the police are holding on to.

    “The IGP never gave me the opportunity to defend myself. In their bid to rush and take me to court, they did not look at the reality on ground and I could not have opened up some facts.

    “It is not done in any society. I have travelled widely courtesy of PCN to United Nations (UN) programmes but there is no country in the world that someone of IGP status that has been accused of been fraudulent and he is still in office.”

    “The police can appeal on this matter. With my little knowledge, the police have made me to be very knowledgeable in law now.

    “As far as we are concerned whether they appeal thinking that they would delay they must deposit that money in the treasury of the corps.

    “Apart from this issue I would appreciate if government can setup a committee to investigate me, I have not committed any crime.

    “But the problem they have is that I started an organisation whose bill has been passed. With that they felt very disturbing.

    “The judgment has restored people’s interest in the organisation. My friends at a particular point stated avoiding me.

    “People that I know with those I have helped before were saying so this man is a ‘419’ person.

    “So he is running an organisation that is not known. But today calls and congratulatory messages have started coming from some of these people.”

  • Makarfi vows to flush Sheriff out of PDP

    Makarfi vows to flush Sheriff out of PDP

    •Party chair: I’m for peace

    The protracted Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leadership crisis boiled over yesterday as Caretaker Committee Chairman Ahmed Makarfi vowed to flush out court-backed party chair Ali Modu Sheriff.

    But Sheriff insists that he means well for the PDP. He has accepted the recommendations of the Governor Seriake Dickson-led Reconciliation Committee for a national convention tentatively fixed for June 30.

    The two factions made their positions known at separate media briefings in Abuja.

    Makarfi camp spokesman Dayo Adeyeye said it would be a disaster for the party to allow Sheriff preside over the planned convention.

    Describing Sheriff as “a snake under the party’s roof”, Adeyeye said the Caretaker Committee, in agreement with all organs and stakeholders in the PDP, would deploy all legal means to ensure that Sheriff is chased out of the party.

    Asking Sheriff to stop parading himself as the chairman of the PDP, the Makarfi camp pointed out that the spirit and letter of the February  17 judgment of the Port Harcourt Division of the Court of Appeal did not confer the chairmanship on the ex-Borno State Governor.

    Said Adeyeye: “To buttress this, the general public will also recall that the judgment of the Appeal Court, Port Harcourt Division of Friday, February 17, 2017 that nullified the national convention of May 21, 2016 limited itself solely to the legality or otherwise of the National Convention of May 21st, 2016 and not on the legality or otherwise of the appointment of Senator Ali Modu Sheriff as the Acting National Chairman of the PDP.

    “Firstly, let us remind the public of our earlier calls on Senator Ali Modu Sheriff to stop parading himself as Acting National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) following the judgement of an Abuja High Court delivered by Justice Valentine Ashi on June 29, 2016 in which the court nullified the 2014 Amendment to the PDP Constitution that produced Senator Sheriff as Acting National Chairman of the PDP.

    “This judgment was never appealed by Senator Sheriff and the time frame stipulated by law for the appeal has elapsed and, as such, the judgment subsists.

    “Another judgment delivered on August 17, 2016 by Justice Nwamaka Ogbonnaya of the FCT High Court in Abuja reaffirmed the ‘sack’ of Senator Ali Modu Sheriff as the chairman of the PDP on the ground that the judgment of Justice Valentine Ashi, which nullified his appointment, has not been set aside or vacated and therefore it’s subsisting.

    “Justice Ogbonnaya further held that all actions taken by Senator Ali Modu Sheriff are null, void and of no effect; and the Order further restrained him from parading himself as the Acting National Chairman of the party.

    “Once again, he is currently an illegal Acting National Chairman, given the decisions of the courts, the constitution of the PDP, decision of the National Convention coupled with his act of breaking and entering into the national secretariat of our great party.

    “It is interesting to note that Senator Sheriff is very much aware of the binding implication of the subsisting judgments on his ‘status’ as national chairman because we have been reliably informed that he is now seeking the leave of court to appeal the judgment. But, unfortunately, time is against this latter move. So, he is an illegal national chairman”.

    Ruling out any possibility of reconciliation with Sheriff, the Makarfi camp said there are more disturbing issues that could ultimately forestall efforts by stakeholders to unite Sheriff with the party.

    But Sheriff has continued to restate his pledge to rebuild and unite the party, saying that in line with the recommendations of the Dickson Committee, he would be convening the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting in the days ahead.

    According to him, it is only NEC that can approve preparation for the national convention after deliberations.

    Sheriff said: “From today, I am going to meet with all the organs of the party and collect their list of membership with a view to picking their members to be part of the convention committee.

    “We are going to contact the National Assembly caucus, the Board of Trustees and other stakeholders. We are writing them formally on that, so that we can collect the specific number of nominees that are required.”

    He also hinted of plans to organise congresses in Oyo, Kwara, Sokoto, Lagos and Anambra states where attempts to conduct the exercise in 2016 collapsed.

    But the Makarfi camp dismissed the Sheriff camp’s plan with a wave of the hand, saying that none of the stakeholders would respond to its overtures. It called on party members in those states to boycott the congresses in case Sheriff decides to conduct same.

    Adeyeye said: “All the party organs and stakeholders are with us and none of them will respond to this deception. There is no way Sheriff would be allowed to conduct a convention for the PDP. It is at the convention that everybody would see his true self. He is an agent of the ruling party.

    “We wish to use this opportunity to inform and clarify to our members and teeming supporters nationwide that the PDP has no standing ‘Reconciliation Committee’ chaired by the Governor of Bayelsa State, Rt. Hon. Seriake Dickson.

    “However, we respect our Governor, Seriake Dickson and acknowledge his effort towards holding the next national convention. But he acted hastily and presented the proposal in error to Senator Sheriff.”

    According Adeyeye, the four ad-hoc committees set up by the party for the botched May 21, 2016 Port Harcourt convention ceased to exist. The ad hoc committees were inaugurated by Sheriff.

    Adeyeye listed the committees to include the National Convention Planning Committee, chaired by the Governor of Rivers State, Chief Nyesom Wike, with Governor Darius Ishaku of Taraba State as Deputy Chairman and Governor Dave Umahi of Ebonyi State as Secretary; the Reconciliation Committee is chaired by the Governor of Bayelsa State, Mr. Henry Seriake Dickson, with Senator Ibrahim Mantu as the Deputy Chairman;  and Finance Committee, chaired by the Governor of Gombe State, Dr. Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo, with Senator Godswill Akpabio as the Deputy Chairman.

    The Zoning Committee is chaired by the Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State. Deputy Governor of Ebonyi State Mr. Kelechi Igwe is the Secretary.

    “These committees were inaugurated by Senator Sheriff as the Acting National Chairman on April 5, 2016 to carry out their specific roles in line with the directives of the 69th NEC for a hitch-free national convention in May 2016.

    “That Reconciliation Committee was constituted to reconcile aggrieved party members before the National Convention in Port Harcourt”, he added.

    The Caretaker Committee said it would continue to work with all the organs of the party to for reconciliation efforts that will bring lasting peace to the PDP, to the exclusion of Sheriff.

    Listing conditions for a way forward, the Caretaker Committee called on Sheriff to vacate the party secretariat immediately or risked being forced out by security agencies.

    “Given the lawless and untoward behavior of Senator Sheriff so far, it appears that there will be no meeting point in this matter. However, without prejudice to the appeal suit before the Supreme Court challenging the recent judgment of the Court of Appeal, the National Caretaker Committee working for the organs of the party and the people is not averse to reconciliation processes that may result in a workable ‘political solution’ as proposed by the Governors’ Forum with the former President, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.

    “The present illegally constituted NWC, led by Senator Sheriff, must stop operations on behalf of the party immediately. We want to state unequivocally that the party will not hold any national convention under the leadership of Senator Sheriff.

    “We are determined to pursue the matter before the Supreme Court conclusively in the interest of justice, equity, fair play and democracy in general.

    “Finally, we call on all our members, teeming supporters and all lovers of democracy to be calm and continue to support the Senator Ahmed Makarfi-led National Caretaker Committee in its quest to return our great party to the people in line with the ideals of our founding fathers.

    “It is indeed our desire to rebuild, revive and revitalise the PDP in collaboration with all the organs and structures of the party that will culminate in a well-deserving, all-inclusive and participatory national convention very soon.

    “We enjoin you all to not despair because surely, justice shall be served; and we will reposition our party to reclaim government in 2019,” Adeyeye stated.

    But Sheriff said he would not join issues with his traducers,  particularly Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti State who has been his most virulent critic.

    Said he: “Let me make it clear to some of the party members, particularly, Gov. Ayo Fayose that I will not condescend to his level. It must be very clear to him that the party has rules, and we will look at the constitution, at the appropriate time to do the right time.

    “He has made it a point of duty to be insulting Ali Sheriff everyday. I want to tell him that enough is enough. Belonging to a political party is by choice. Yes, you may have a right, but your right should not trample on another person’s right. Political party is a voluntary association.

    “If you are a leader of a political party, we have to allow people to have their choice of leadership. In all these things we are doing, we believe that PDP belongs to all Nigerians. We believe that PDP must be handed over to the owners.

    “The owners of the party must be allowed to do the right thing. That does not mean a sign of weakness. PDP that has produced 28 governors, today has 12. If we allow impunity to continue, Nigerians have the right to reject our party. You can take a horse to the river but you cannot force it to drink water.

    “We can make this party attractive to everybody. We want to reposition the party so that it can win elections. Nobody hasý the monopoly to do what they are doing, as if we don’t have the rule of law”.