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Oyetola Leaves N14bn Cash; Says He Is Only Stepping Aside

By
Ayodele Oni
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By Ayodele Oni

Gboyega Oyetola, who stepped down on Saturday as Governor of Osun state disclosed that throughout four years of his administration, the state did not obtain any loan to run the administration.

In his farewell speech to the people of the state, Oyetola stated that ‘For four years, we did not take any bank loan facility.

“But we benefitted from the N3billion monthly intervention from the federal Government to all the States for six months to cushion the effect of deductions of budget support facility and salary bailout accessed by the previous administration, just as we have paid N97 billion from the total debt we inherited in 2018.

“We are leaving behind cash of over N14 billion. In addition to the N14 billion cash, another N8 billion is being expected between December and January from our performance in SFTAS and the IGR.

“Also, another Seventy-Two million Dollars will come to the State soon from RAMP 3, NG-CARES, Nigeria for Women Project and Ease of Doing Business.

These are earned, based on performance. And we have indeed performed to earn them. It was part of the same performance that earned us the award of Best Governor on Efficiency of Public Expenditure and TOP Performer on Domestic Revenue Mobilisation by the World Bank’s States’ Fiscal Transparency, Accountability and Sustainability, SFTAS, recently.

“We have gone this length to let you know that Osun under our leadership was sustainable. It was done through fiscal discipline and personal sacrifices.

“Let me reiterate here that in this first tenure, we were able to take care of the fears and evil of fiscal indiscipline and lack of implementation, which hamper projects and services in the nation’s public service.

“This can be seen in the myriad of people-centred and masses-focused projects we delivered for the use of the people of the State in this first term.

“We proved that infrastructure and economic development are doable in a depressed economy and that stagnated development in a struggling economy is a product of intellectual laziness, dearth of creativity, shortage of innovation and lack of political will.

“The laudable and people-centred projects we were able to deliver include the feeding of 30,000 vulnerable persons in Osun on a monthly basis through the Osun Food Support Scheme and financial support for the aged and widows; opening up of the Mining sector that attracted big investors to the state.

“Reforming of the educational sector, including the recruitment of 2, 500 teachers; review of the single school uniform regime among others in line with the demand of the people; renovation of school buildings, distribution of educational materials to our pupils, provision of free education and free meals to them as well as training and re-training of our teachers to provide quality education for our children to enhance their performance as leaders of tomorrow.

“In order to increase access to quality and equitable education at all levels with a view to empowering Osun citizens to realize their full potential, we upgraded the existing Osun State College of Education, Ilesa to a full-fledged University of Ilesa, with a world-class funding strategies that would not exert unnecessary pressure on the finances of the State.

“Fixing of the State Specialist Hospital, Asubiaro and equipping same with state-of-the-art equipment, where we constructed120-bed ward and 30 units of Doctor’s Quarters; rehabilitation of the Ejigbo and Ifetedo General Hospitals; we also instituted the Osun Health Insurance Scheme (OHIS) to deliver affordable healthcare to our workers while offering free health services to the vulnerable under the scheme; revitalization of 332 Primary Health Centres -one per ward across the State.”

2023: Atiku Vows To Name, Prosecute Oil Thieves If Voted President

By
Akinwale Kasali
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By Akinwale Kasali

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Presidential Candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has vowed to wield the big stick on oil thieves if voted into the saddle as the President of Nigeria come 2023.

The Adamawa State born politician said the era where oil thieves are protected by the powers-that-be in Government will be history, saying that there will no longer be a hiding place for them and their accomplices, no matter how highly placed in the country, if he takes power in 2023.

Atiku, a former Vice President of Nigeria, made this pledge today in Lagos when he interacted with a broad spectrum of Corporate Nigeria under the aegis of Business Dialogue Stakeholders Forum at Eko Hotel and Suites that had business tycoons that include: Alhaji Aliko Dangote, Jim Ovia, Femi Otedola, Tony Elumelu, Herbert Wigwe and Muhammad Hayatudeen among others, present.

He said the move is in the interest of national development, targeted at confiscating all oil bloc allocated to some Nigerians who had failed to make them operational.

He promised to sustain frequent interactive sessions between government and the country’s business class when voted to power. He equally outlined the ways he would tackle what he described as an ailing economy.

“If you are not going to develop oil blocs given to you, we will take it away and give it to those who will develop it. We will also assemble the names of those involved in oil theft, publish same and prosecute them,” Atiku told the stakeholders.

Atiku also revealed his plans to boost the oil and gas sector, noting that under the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, the quota of oil production was earmarked for increase to four million barrels per day.

Speaking further, he said that plan would assist greatly in resuscitating and sustaining beyond the projected figure, when he is voted into office next year, pointing out that in order to do this successfully, the Petroleum Industry Act and any other enabling law would be invoked.

“When we were in government, we started this process. However, there were hiccups. We were unable to pass the legislation to encourage IOCs to partake in the sector. We will go back to where we started,” he said.

He added that the Brass and Olokola LNG projects, started under the Obasanjo administration would be given more attention under him. “We will continue if we have the opportunity. As you know, joint ventures are good because they are investor-driven,” he said.

He reiterated his commitment to privatising the refineries in Kaduna, Port Harcourt and Warri, saying, “I swear to God, I’ll privatise them,” he told the entrepreneurs.

Speaking on the inconsistency that has affected FOREX in the country, Atiku said that he is turning to fiscal challenges of FOREX, monetary policy and the N20 trillion way and means balance facing the country.

He said, “I believe that we should have a FOREX policy that allows a convergence. I don’t believe in a multiple FOREX policy that currently applies.”

He added that in order to stabilise the FOREX regime loopholes in oil, production would be blocked, emphasising that he would encourage local production and “not control of public expenditure.

“Dollarisation or otherwise of the Nigerian economy depends on the strength or weakness of our economy. If we strengthen our economy, you don’t need the dollar. The naira can be strengthened by the number of jobs created and exports,” he said.

According to him, the monetary policy would be such that the Central Bank of Nigeria would be independent. “Monetary policy and other related items would be liberalised. Without prize stability, the economy does not work for anyone; and job creation and poverty eradication cannot be attained.”

“The CBN will take responsibility to deliver price stability despite the fact that inflation is a global phenomenon and a product of strong demand and limited supply.

“But none of these stops the CBN from carrying out its duty of price stability and single window fiscal regime,” the PDP presidential candidate said, pointing out that “some of these economic and financial challenges existed in 1999.”

Lagosians Lament Shutdown Of Markets Over APC Rally In The State

By
Akinwale Kasali
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Bola Tinubu Rally in at Teslim Balogun Lagos

By Akinwale Kasali

Lagosians has condemned the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Lagos State for imposing a total closure of markets in the State due to the APC Presidential Campaign Rally that took place at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere, Lagos.

All markets in the State were under lock and key due to the APC Campaign that also halted vehicular movements  in the Surulere area of the State and on the Island.

In what has become a norm in the State anytime the APC is staging a campaign for its Presidential Candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and the APC Governorship Campaign for its Candidate, Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo Olu who is seeking re-election, everywhere was shut down.

Lagosians who had planned to go to the markets to get foodstuffs saw their hope dashed as the markets were not opened leading to unpleasant reactions.

This was also the lot of commercial drivers and commuters who were stranded due to the heavy traffic that saw the State on a standstill.

Though there was restrictions to movements in some part of the State with movement and transportation advisory released by the Lagos State Ministry of Transportation and the APC, but that did not have any cushioning effect.

Lamenting at the popular Ile Epo market in Alimosho Local Government Area of Lagos State were some people who had come to the market to purchase foodstuffs only to see the markets locked without prior notice.

Helen Attah never had the premonition that she will return home without getting the foodstuffs she had planned to get as her hopes was dashed on getting to the market.

A frustrated Attah lambasted the APC Government for not being considerate, saying that they don’t have the interest of people at heart.

“This is appalling and sad, how could you forcefully Impose this on this market women Whose livelihood depends on this. I wasted money coming to the market to buy foodstuffs for the weekend, only to arrive and see that this APC government has locked the market”.

A market woman who pleaded anonymity said the market heads threatened that everyone of them must attend the APC Presidential Campaign Rally or else they will face the wrath.

She added this was the main reason the market was locked to force the market women to go to the campaign ground.

This scenario was what played out weeks back when the Chairman of Lagos Parks and Gardens, Musiliu Akintunde popularly known as MC Oluomo staged a One-Million march for the Presidential Campaign Rally for Tinubu and Governor Sanwo Olu, in which all the market women that sell in the park that were nor present at the Rally were fined heavily, while some were sent away from the parks and markets.

Count Me Out Of PDP G5 Governors’ Politics – CJN

By
Ayodele Oni
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By Ayodele Oni

24 hours after the Media Campaign Office of the Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Atiku Abubakar, worried about the alleged relationship between the Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Hon Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, the CJN has denied any relationship with politicians.

The Atiku Camp accused the CJN of hobnobbing with Politicians and asked him to refrain from doing so.

It particularly pointed out to a statement credited to the CJN, among other previous ones, where at a reception in his honour by the Oyo State Government, praised the State Governor, Seyi Makinde, for being a member of the PDP Governors’ G5 which is at loggerheads with Atiku and the PDP National Leadership.

The story, which had trended for a couple of days was surprisingly ignored by the CJN until the reaction by the Atiku Camp.

In its reaction on Saturday, the Supreme Court  explained that as third tier of Government, it has no business with politicians.

The Apex Court  dissociated the CJN from the political statement on the activities of the five Governors of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), otherwise known as G-5 Governors.

The Apex Court in the first official reaction, said unequivocally that Justice Ariwoola never made any comments to the effect that he was happy that his home state governor, Seyi Makinde is among the G-5 Governors.

A statement by the Director of Information and Press, Supreme Court of Nigeria, Dr Festus Akande said that those crediting the CJN with the comments were just out to score cheap goals with the remarks  of Justice Ariwoola at a public function in Port Harcourt, River State.

The statement dated November 26 read in part,

“Our attention has been drawn to a publication with the caption “Iam happy, Makinde is among G-5 Governors” making the rounds in both conventional and social media.

“We wish to state unequivocally clear that the CJN,  Hon. Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, GCON had never at any point said such during his brief remarks at the State Banquet organized as part of the events lined up for the commissioning of the two Judiciary projects undertaken by the Rivers state government.

“Issues bordering on misconceptions and misrepresentations of this nature are not always strange in times like this when the country is preparing for general elections, as some people may want to take advantage of every opportunity to score very cheap goals.

“As we all know, this is the era of aggressive and even unconventional politicking, so, there’s nothing that will not be heard or seen at this crucial time, especially between now and February 2023, when the general elections will be conducted.

“People say whatever they choose to say, just to please their selfish interests and inordinate desires.

“We can’t really pinpoint where such barefaced falsehood is coming from; and certainly,  we don’t also know at what point the CJN said he was happy that Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State was a member of the now christened “Integrity Group” or “G-5 Governors.”

“Everyone knows that the CJN, Hon. Justice Olukayode  Ariwoola, GCON, is a Judicial officer and not a politician, as such, would never directly or remotely make such comments or innuendoes.

“We wish to set the record straight by making it clear that the CJN and other senior Judicial Officers drawn from different parts of the country were in Port Harcourt on Thursday and Friday, being the 24th and 25th days of November, 2022 to commission the two buildings to accommodate the Federal Judicial Service Commission’s South-South Liaison Office and the Hon. Justice Mary Peter-Odili Judicial Institute.

“Even at the State Banquet organized as part of the events, the CJN made it clear in his brief remarks, that he (CJN) was not in Port Harcourt for the State Banquet but simply to commission the two projects as a mark of honour for the Judiciary and Hon. Justice Mary Peter-Odili, CFR, JSC, Rtd and later go back to Abuja thereafter.

“Similarly, he said he was very surprised to see the “G-5 Governors” (“Integrity Group Governors”), just as he equally expressed the same surprise when he saw them in Ibadan, Oyo State, during the reception in his honour by his state government in October, 2022.

“His surprise particularly stemmed from the fact that he saw his own State Governor,  Engineer Seyi Makinde (who incidentally is a member of the “G-5 Governors”) at the Port Harcourt occasion.

“He equally  stated jocularly that being that HE Engineer Makinde married from Rivers State and is equally very close to HE Nyesome Wike, he would be able to replicate the developmental strides of the latter in Oyo State for the good of the citizenry.

“This, of course, is a comment that, ordinarily,  ought to elicit applause and not myopic misrepresentations, as governance is all about positive comparisons and healthy  competitions.

“Anyone or group of individuals making these unconscionable assumptions and pervading the misinformation are by implication, creating the impression that it is now a crime for the CJN to have come from Oyo state, which coincidentally, has a member of the group, Engineer Seyi Makinde, as the Governor.

“Let it be noted that anything said,  assumed, presumed, reported or placed in the public domain outside the above facts, is simply a mere figment of the imagination of such authors and don’t in anyway represent what the CJN said in Port Harcourt.”

Abaribe Tackles Wike, Denies Receiving Money From Him; Says Rivers Governor Lacks Integrity

By
Adesina Soyooye
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Nyesom Wike and Senator Abaribe

By Adesina Soyooye

The Senator representing Abia South, Enyinnaya Abaribe has denied he received any money from Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike.

Wike had, at the launch of the Abia Governorship Campaign and that of the National and State Assemblies in Obingwa, dragged Abaribe and dismissed him as a man without integrity.

He disclosed that Abaribe, just before he decamped from the PDP to All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, had come to him and told him he was going to leave the PDP.  Wike said he appealed to him not to, and asked him what he wanted. He said Abaribe told him he wanted money.

According to Wike, he called Abaribe’s Governor, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu, and told him that your brother was no longer leaving and wanted money. Wike said they gave Abaribe money, but that Abaribe left tye PDP three days later.

He, therefore, dismissed

Abaribe as a man without integrity, and asked people not to vote him to the Senate again. Wike’s friend and ally, Ikpeazu, is contesting for the same Senate seat as Abaribe.

But in response to Wike, Friday, on Arise TV, Abaribe said he has more integrity than Wike. He explained that when he got tired of the happenings in PDP, he left, but that Wike has stayed put in the Party, even though he is tired of the Party. He, also,   denied that Wike gave him any money and said he never sat down with Wike to discuss anything.

He also said that given Wike’s background as a lawyer, the Governor should be ashamed of admitting to a crime on national television by bribing him with money.

Abaribe: “No, he did not give me any money and I don’t remember anytime I sat with governor Wike to discuss  leaving or not leaving PDP.

“If I was someone that could be bought, I could have been bought a long time ago in this APC government but I rejected everything just like I rejected every blandishment they were sending my way. I walked out to prove that it is possible for you to walk out without being inside a system and destroying that system.

“I resigned my position as the Minority Leader in the Senate and Leader of the PDP because I was disgusted with the happenings in PDP, and I decided that I will not stay there because I needed to prove that I can win election elsewhere.”

Abaribe said Wike’s problem  stems from his loss of the presidential primary election and has, since then,  impugning people’s character, trying to destroy the  PDP..

Abaribe: “Between me and Governor Wike, who has integrity? Everyone of us who felt we were not happy with what went on in PDP left, why didn’t Wike with all the grouse he has, not walked away from PDP rather he wants to stay in PDP and destroy the party. Who now has integrity between me and Wike?”

Group Urges FG To Correct Alleged Injustice In NDDC

By
Akinwale Kasali
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0

By Akinwale Kasali

A Group under the aegis of Self Employed Association Of Progressives, SEAP, has lamented that the Nominees to the board of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, Board, as announced by  President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday, negates the extant provisions of the Act establishing the commission in 2000.

The Group which is a coalition of socio-political groups called on the President  Buhari to correct what it called the “unjust denial” of the right of Akwa Ibom in the composition of the new Board.

In a statement signed by the state coordinator, Prince Ekpuk Jumbo; Deputy State Coordinator, Uyo Senatorial District, Mr Goddy Unyah, Deputy State Coordinator, Eket senatorial district, Mr Ben Ukutt and General Secretary Pst Joe Ita, the Group said it is unfair to deny Akwa Ibom State its rightful position of Executive Director, Finance and Administration which has never been granted to the State since the establishment of the Commission.

It urged the Federal Government to immediately correct the anomaly before it is too late.

The statement reads in part, “Self Employed Association of Progressive, a Socio-political grassroots group in Akwa Ibom state views with great consternation the height of marginalisation, oppression, suppression and deprivation in the recently constituted statutory board of the Niger Delta Development Commission.

“We want to bring to the notice of the Buhari-led administration that NDDC is an agency established by the Act of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which warrant’s that, both activities and composition of the agency must strictly adhere to the letters and spirit of the Act. Available records since the establishment of the NDDC show that all compositions of the past NDDC statutory boards have been done in accordance with the established Act.

“Section 12 (1) states that ‘ there shall be for the commission, a managing director and two executive directors who shall be indigenes of the oil-producing area starting with the member states of the composition with the highest quantum of oil and shall rotate among members states in order of production.

“In view of the above-stated section of the NDDC Act, Akwa Ibom state should in the present board composition take her rightful position of Executive director Finance and Administration which had never been granted to Akwa Ibom state since the establishment of the agency.

“This is insulting, humiliating and utter denigrating to our self-dignity, determination and right. Akwa Ibom is highly concerned and vehemently protest this ungodly and unjust denial of our right.

“We hereby strongly demand the reversal of the abnormality and request that our right position of Executive director Finance and Administration be restored in the newly constituted board.”

It also warned that it might be constrained to mobilise its members across the State to demonstrate against the abnormality if it is not corrected immediately

The Group further stated that the data obtained from the Federal Ministry of Finance, RMAFC, FAAC, FIRS, Edo state, unlike Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers, is not among the four top oil-producing states,” wondering why such position should be allotted to Edo.

“We charge and mobilize our members across the region to embark on more peaceful protests until our major demand of giving Akwa Ibom state its rightful due is addressed satisfactorily.”

“For now, we are calling on our members to remain calm, while waiting for the Federal Government’s action on the matter,” the statement further stated.

OPINION: Tinubu’s Baffling Gaffes

By
The Source
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Bola Tinubu
Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu

By Etim Etim

Even before the polls open in next year’s general election, the APC Presidential candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is already scoring high in the several unintelligible gaffes and misspeaks he’s been offering Nigerians at campaign grounds and public events. These blunders have become so many and frequent that his campaign managers no longer try to explain them away, and so the voters are at a loss to decipher their meanings. Nigerians have come to accept that the octogenarian is not just being smart with words, as we were told in the early days. Rather, he is actually exhibiting signs of mental impairment.

At a rally yesterday in Abakiliki, Tinubu was addressing his supporters on the failure of past PDP governments to provide electricity to the nation. He said: ‘’They promised you so much…they spent so much…but they failed to realize that high tension wires are superhighways, and they could not even make a down payment on the roasted corn of electricity’’. What concerns electricity with a roasted corn, for Heaven’s sake?  Social media has been abuzz with all sorts of comments, but strikingly, I have not seen any official come to his defence or try to clean up the mess, as was the practice in the past. This is not the first time that corn has crept into Tinubu’s lexicon in a rather queer manner. One writer even asked in Nairaland, one of the nation’s popular online news sites, ‘’Why does this man love corn so much?’’ At a campaign event in Lagos last year, Tinubu had announced that if elected President, he would hire 50 million youths into the army and feed them with agbado (corn in Yoruba) and cassava. The laughter and mockery that followed lasted several months. Till today, many still refer to his team as ‘’Agbadoists’’. When a picture of him being feted at the home of one of his big supporters in Kaduna surfaced some months back, one commentator asked if ‘’agbado’’ was in the menu. The ‘’agbado’’ comment was the first major indication that something might be wrong with him, but his supporters were still willing to give him the benefit of doubt. Since then, the problem has got worse to the extent that spin doctors can’t keep up trying to rephrase these embarrassing gaffes.

Just last month or so, Northern Elders Forum (NEF), an association of political and business elites in Northern Nigeria, hosted the major presidential candidates in a town hall. Each candidate fielded questions on a wide variety of issues. When Tinubu was asked his views on how he would address climate change and its many negative impacts, he said, and I’m not joking, that ‘’it is a question of how do you prevent a church rat from eating a poisoned holy communion’’. It is yet one his funniest verbal blunders, and I am still laughing. But many others, especially the clerics, are still livid at such an insensitive and offensive remark. Bishop Emmah Isong, one of the most influential Christian leaders in the South-South area, had issued a statement asking Tinubu to retract his remark and apologize. ‘’The Christian faith holds the sacrament of the holy communion of bread and wine very sacrosanct, highly supernatural, and very eternally significant. Therefore, whatever mistake the APC Presidential candidate had made, that comment is going to affect 60 million of his supporters who take the holy communion every week and month’’, Isong said.  But Tinubu has neither recanted nor apologized for his awkward remark.

The reason such a careless comment on a sensitive religious matter did not set the country ablaze is because Christians do not resort to violent revenge and reprisals when they are offended. The Bible specifically asks Christians not to seek revenge, but rather ‘’turn the other cheek’’ if they are slapped. ‘’It is an injunction many have taken advantage of to denigrate the Christian faith because they know that we do not burn houses and clobber people to death when they say such things’’, said a pastor friend of mine.

Another of Tinubu’s meltdowns came two weeks ago when he met with a select group of editors in Lagos. It was a carefully planned media event meant to secure the support of the political press, but instead, the man’s mental challenge was at display, and the journalists were left wondering if this the same person they had covered for years. Trying to emphasize how he would be different from President Buhari, Tinubu said, ‘’We can create wonders, here is a success again, townhall, different from balabu, bluhuhu, balabu!’’. The assembled journalists were shocked and many days after, Nigerians are still talking about it on twitter and other social media platforms. There are many others instances of Tinubu rambling and speaking gibberish in public since he started his campaigns. He once announced at a function in Kaduna that he would like Gov. Nasir el Rufai to serve in his cabinet when he becomes President because ‘’el Rufai has the competence to turn a rotten situation into a worse one’’.

These incoherent and rambling performances are the reasons Tinubu has been shielded from participating in live, one-on-one interviews and events where he would be scrutinized, unlike Peter Obi, Atiku Abubarkar and Rabiu Kwankwaso who have all subjected themselves to such rigorous examinations.  It is also another reason candidates seeking high office of the land ought to have their medical conditions duly examined by doctors. In the US, for example, Presidential candidates and presidents themselves, routinely ask their personal physicians to make their medical reports public.

Like me, many people believe that our President ought to have the capacity to deliver his words in a clear, crisp and lucid manner to Nigerians at home and at international platforms. Our leader should possess adequate mental and physical stamina to meet the demands of the office. How would Tinubu, already presenting symptoms of cognitive difficulties, be able to perform the duties of a President, if he is elected?

Fixing Nigeria Not Tea Party – Obi;  Lists Requirements To Fix Nigeria

By
The Source
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0

The Labour Party Presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi has said that to get Nigeria working again is not  rocket science but requires extraordinary commitment from the people and their leaders.

Obi’s view  was contained in his remarks at the weekend at the Annual General Meeting AGM of the Nigerian Institute of Architects, NIA in Calabar, Cross River state.

At the conference with a theme; “Housing and Design Excellence for National Development”, the LP standard bearer listed what he called 4Cs; -competence, capacity, credibility and commitment as critical requirements to turn the country around.

“We must aspire to put in place a leadership that is imbued with competence, capacity, credibility and commitment.  These 4 Cs, are leadership competencies required to turn Nigeria around”

He noted that, “What is grossly missing in Nigeria’s leadership, governance and economic realm is the lack of efficiency.  Good governance and a prosperous and stable economy are routinely anchored on sectoral and holistic pursuit of efficiency”

He told the Architects that Nigeria has high and severe housing deficit to the point that the country needs 28 million houses  to be built to meet the national needs and by estimation this will cost about 60 trillion naira.

He said that what his Presidency will do if given the mandate is to partner with a professional body like the NIA and create the enabling environment via the right of making laws; regulating and preserving of property; employing the force of the community; and public good.

The dearth of vision and commitment in our political leadership over time is having effect in all sectors, noting that,  “what is grossly missing in Nigeria’s leadership, governance and economic realm is the lack of efficiency.  Good governance and a prosperous and a stable economy are routinely anchored on sectoral and holistic pursuit of efficiency.

According to him, “if I and Datti are hired by Nigerians on February 25th, 2023, we will pursue intangible assets of good governance, rule of law, security of lives and properties but for this to happen there must be elite consensus on critical national interest questions.

“We are also aware that our existing national infrastructures are decrepit and crumbling. We are housing challenged. We have as a nation been inconsistent in our infrastructural planning and funding. This is an area we must tackle urgently.

Obi further remarked that as a first step their Presidency must start with rethinking the fundamentals of our nationhood and how to collectively unite and secure Nigeria and move it from good to great.

“Good governance simply translates to eight critical governance values, namely; a government being Accountable, Transparent, Responsive, Equitable and Inclusive, Effective and Efficient; and adherence to the rule of law, as well as participatory and consensus-oriented governance.”

With the mandate of Nigerians the Obi-Datti administration, from its inception, will continue to encourage investment in infrastructure—housing, energy, transport, irrigation, and telecoms—to grow these and other sectors.

“We are eager to quickly close the infrastructure gap between now and 2030. That is the Nigeria we want in place by the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) target year.”

Obi also charged the Architects to bear in mind some fundamental requirements of their profession in contemplating on “Housing and Design Excellence for National Development” which includes Design for the future and economic and social wellbeing; to think of demographic in our designs; Design and build for public good.

Our buildings must be accessible to People with disabilities; Our buildings must reflect our culture and heritage; We must manage funding for building;  Give primacy to maintenance culture; and  finally NIA must protect its institutional integrity

Finally, he then reminded the NIA members of the new mantra of his campaign message,

“in the mission to rescue Nigeria, there is no tribe, religion, or class. Indeed, there can be no conscientious objector.”

2023: You Have Failed Two Times; Don’t Run Again, Tinubu Urges Atiku

By
Akinwale Kasali
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0
Bola Tinubu And Atiku Abubakar

By Akinwale Kasali

The All Progressives Congress, APC, Presidential Candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has called on the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Presidential Candidate, Atiku Abubakar to quash his Presidential ambition following his unsuccessful attempt to win the Presidential election on two occasions.

Tinubu made the call during his Presidential Campaign at Oporoza, Headquarters of Gbaramatu kingdom of Delta State, where he met with Traditional Rulers and stakeholders of the Niger Delta region.

Speaking with the the Monarchs and stakeholders, the former Lagos State Governor said, “As I stand before you, there are few of us running. One says he is Atiku, how many times has he been running? He is now tired of running. Let’s tell him to go and sit down and quit the race. Enough is enough.”

He added that Labour Party, LP, presidential candidate, Peter Obi, is a man that is not wanted by Nigerians because “he lies with arithmetic that no mathematician can solve.

“To mention his name is a disgrace to me. He gives out wrong arithmetic and wrong statistics on the economy. That is not what Nigerians want. Nigerians need honesty, they need the man who knows the road to take, and that man is me,” Tinubu stated.

He identified himself as a son in-law of the Niger Delta and appealed for support in the electioneering campaign, promising to carry everyone along, develop the area and renew the hope of the people.

The traditional ruler of Gbaramatu kingdom, Oboro Gbaruan II, hosted the meeting and conferred chieftaincy titles on Tinubu, Omo-Agege and others.

The Monarch requested access road to his kingdom when Tinubu emerged.

Tinubu was accompanied to the Creeks alongside Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State, his Yobe State counterpart, Mai Buni; the Ministers of State for Petroleum Resources and that of Labour and Productivity, Timipre Sylva and Festus Keyamo respectively.

Others were former House of Representatives Speaker, Dimeji Bankole; Senator Omo-Agege’s running mate, Friday Osanebi; Delta APC Chairman, Chief Oseni Sobotie; Delta APC Campaign Director-General, Godsday Orubebe and a Bayelsa State APC chieftain, David Lyon, among others.

Ekiti: Leadership Of Wards Rise In Support Of Suspended Assembly Members

By
Ayodele Oni
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0
Ekiti State House of Assembly

By Ayodele Oni

As reactions continue to trail the leadership tussle at the Ekiti state House of Assembly which led to suspension of six members, leadership of constituencies where the lawmakers come from have expressed resentment over the fate of their representatives.

APC ljesa Isu ward seven where the impeached Speaker, Gboyega Aribisogan comes from has warned against any attempt by the All Progressive Congress, (APC) to expelled the lawmaker from the party.

This is just as a members from Efom Alaaye, writes to breif his ward members about his plight.

At the end of a ward meeting at the weekend, the Executives and members of  APC ward  seven Ijesa Isu Ekiti unanimously agreed that they are solidly behind RT. Hon. Olugboyega Aribisogan and also call on ijesa Isu son’s daughters both home and abroad to rise in support their ilustrious son.

In his own statement, The ward chairman, Mr Kehinde Awoleye, said that he will never support any plot  by the State Excos to expel Rt. Hon Olugboyega Aribisogan because he believes in justice and fairness, calling on the State Excos not to carry out the alleged plot.

One of the suspended member of Ekiti state House of Assembly has written to his Constituency, insisting that he was being punished for standing on the side of the people.

Adegoke Olajide, representing Efon Alaaye Constituency insisted that only the people that elected him have constitutional power to impeach him.

Olajide states in the letter that “I received a letter from the House of Assembly which accused me of “involvement in unpatriotic acts that led to non-passage of the 2022 Supplementary Appropriation Bill” and “unpatriotic and unparliamentary conduct capable of threatening the peace of the State”.

“I hereby wish to inform Efon people in particular and the entire Ekiti public in general, that the allegations are not only unfounded, they are, indeed absolutely ludicrous.

“When, how and where was I involved “in unpatriotic acts that led to non-passage of the 2022 Supplementary Appropriation Bill” and “unpatriotic and unparliamentary conduct capable of threatening the peace of the State?”

“The House had a successful plenary sitting on Tuesday 15th November, 2022 where a new speaker was elected.

“The plenary sitting was followed by an equally successful and peaceful parliamentary meeting attended by all members of the House after which everybody departed for their homes.

“The Assembly Complex was sealed by fierce looking, armed policemen in the early hours of Wednesday, 16th November who prevented all Honourable members and workers from gaining access to the Assembly from that day until Monday when I was accused, judged and condemned; so when, how and where did I commit the alleged offences?

“It is particularly despicable that the allegations were levelled, discussed and judgement passed at an unlawfully convoked meeting of fourteen members of the House which started at the unparliamentary hour of 6am.

“Those members of the House had been camped overnight in a location outside Ado Ekiti and shepherded to the Assembly Complex on Monday morning by a combined team of armed policemen and a formidable gang of brutal political thugs.

“I make bold to say that I was neither pre-informed of that meeting nor apprised of the allegations against me.

“I therefore was not able to present any defence or response to the allegations. It is a big shame that colleagues, with whom I have been extremely cordial in the last three and a half years that we have worked together, will agree to shave my head in my absence.

“They concluded the matter without considering it necessary to give me any hearing even if such hearing would be unfair. I am told that it was all about politics and interests. Shame indeed!

“Let me say that my suspension, along with six other members of the House, is a punishment contrived by persons outside the House of Assembly and outside the Government of Ekiti State because of our decision to exercise our democratic right of choice in support of the election of Rt. Hon. Olugboyega Aribisogan as the new Speaker of the House.

“Rt. Hon. Aribisogan was elected in a legal and transparent election which was conducted in the full glare of journalists and members of the public.

“The unlawful meeting on the floor of the House on Monday was a coup d’etat which was orchestrated to remove him from the exalted office.

“I want to say quite frankly that I supported, and still support, Rt. Hon. Aribisogan for the Speakership position, for several reasons.

“Not only he is the only ranking member of the House of Assembly as at today, it was also clearly obvious that he was the better candidate for the office.

“It must also be noted that the Ekiti North Senatorial District, which he hails from, was without any of the key Government offices in the State before he was elected as Speaker.

“For me, supporting Rt. Hon. Aribisogan for the Speakership was the right thing to do and I do not have any regrets for doing so.

As I stated earlier, all resolutions of the unlawful meeting are ultra vires and therefore legally unsustainable.

“Even if the meeting was lawfully convened, the House of Assembly does not have the power to suspend me because I was not elected in the Chamber.

“I was elected by the people of Efon constituency and only the people of Efon constituency have the right and power to remove me from the House through a recall process.

“This is an issue that has been settled by the Court of Appeal in its 2017 judgement in the case titled Speaker of Bauchi State House of Assembly vs Hon. Rifkatu Samson Danna.

“Despite the height of illegality that was perpetrated in this State on Monday, I am still convinced that Ekiti State is neither a jungle nor a conquered fiefdom.

“I therefore urge the people of Efon constituency to remain unperturbed while I take legal steps to ensure my quick return to the floor of the House.

“I most respectfully want to express my deep appreciation to our revered traditional rulers as well as the eminent Ekiti Statesmen and Leaders of thought who are taking steps to ensure the amicable resolution of this avoidable crisis.”

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