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2023: PDP Mulls Ambode, Sanwo-Olu Showdown

By
Bayo Bernard
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0

By James Orji

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in Lagos state says its doors are wide open to a former Governor of Lagos state, Akinwumi Amode if he wishes to contest next year’s  governorship election  under its banner.

Last week, the incumbent Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu dislosed that he is considering running for another four years in office.

When asked whether he is prepared to throw his hat in the ring for a second term, Sanwo-Olu  said “I will ask, I will consult. Citizens, how do you see it? These are some of the things; that’s how you get it down. Try and finish very strong. You know when it is time for us to do all the politicking we will do it.

“I think we are doing a very good job if I dare say so. I think the citizens know what it is they will be missing if they don’t let us continue to wrap up all the things we are doing.”

The development  comes on the back of suggestions that the former governor may be planning to return to active poltics after following his disgraceful exit from office three years ago. Ambode, we recall was denied the APC governorship ticket by powerful forces in the state, even though he was entitled to second term as the sitting governor at the time.

But after more than two months in political wilderness, the former Lagos helmsman who has refused to speak since he left office, broke the silence on Tuesday, thus raising posers on whether he is intending to run for a political  office next year.

Posting on his face book page  the former governor had urged the youths to go a get their PVCs in preparation  for next year’s  general election.

“After all we have been through, God has been faithful. Thank you for the overwhelming endorsement of our modest contributions to the growth of Lagos. It can only get better for Lagos, and indeed Nigeria. The youths are coming. The power is in their hands. Go and get your Permanent Voters Card (PVC) ready. Your future is NOW!” Ambode said.

According to keen watchers of the state’s  politics, the former governor is positioning himself to run for the Senate.  Others who are  close to himy also informed the magazine that he may be eyeing the Alausa Government House again.

The PDP may be ready to offer him its platform to run for any elective office,  chieftain of the party, Ganiu Taofik said, as long as he  can abide by the rules.

Taofik  a former Publicity Secretary of the PDP in the state in an interview with The Punch said the former governor has the opportunity  to become the state governor under the PDP next year.

According  to him, “the PDP is a political party, the gate is widely open; you can come in and come out as long as you abide by the regulations of the party, especially when you are seen as an asset, you will definitely be a beautiful bride.

“Anybody can join the party and we are ready to allow as many as possible to try their popularity using our platform.”

He said Ambode has a brighter chance in the party “having been a governor of the state. He sure would have people who love him and of course, people whom he may have stepped on their toes as well,” adding that the party will keep its door opened for any aspirant  who wished to run under its platform. We are making the party a platform that anybody wants to join going into 2023,” Taofik said.

Taofik however stated that the party has not reached  out to the former governor. “Officially, not to my knowledge but I know that for somebody like a former governor, there is no doubt that a serious political party would have reached out to such a person but I don’t have an official report on whether he has been reached,” he said.

Meanwhile,  sources Lagos APC informed the magazine that some powerful elements in the party are contemplating  dropping Governor Sanwo-Olu for next year’s  governorship  contest. In his place, it was learnt Muri Okunola, the state Head of Service, HoS has been pencilled down to run for governor under the party.

Oil Thieves Rob Nigeria Of $4bn

By
Bayo Bernard
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0

By Fola James

The Nigeria oil sector continues to bleed due to oil theft accordingly  to the chairman of of Heirs Holdings, Tony Elumelu. Within eight months the country has lost a whopping  $4 billion to oil theft by criminal groups in the Niger Delta, the billion who ventured into oil business last year January, said on Tuesday

Elemelu became a major investor in the sector 13 months ago after acquiring from Shell, Total and Eni the ownership of 45 per cent of a producing oil block in the Niger Delta. The oil bloc is located onshore, a few kilometres north of Port Harcourt, and the deal is worth $ 1 billion.

Speaking as a guest lecturer at the National Defense College Course 30 lecture,  Elumelu, who is also the Chairman of the United Bank for Africa!  UBA,  said oil theft is endangering the country’s economic  sustainance as well as its securities. He said criminals are making huge  cash from oil theft in Nigeria’s oil producing region.

According to him, “our oil and gas business is threatened by theft. Theft in the Niger Delta is a national menace. We will produce crude oil and the thieves will steal like 50,000 barrels per day. To me, it requires a national seminar and dialogue. In my view it is one of the highest levels of threat to our country because it’s so much money in the hands of people who don’t pay tax, people we don’t regulate, the country is not safe. They do that to us; they do that to other operators also.

 

“Between three quarters of last year, between January to September 2021, Nigeria lost about $4bn to thieves who don’t pay tax and they will use the money to buy more lethal ammunition, posing threats to our cooperate existence”.

He said, “we produce sometimes about 87,000 barrels per day, thieves take 50,000 per day and to me this requires a national seminar or dialogue.

He stated that Nigeria lost over $4 billion to oil thieves, between January and September last year, noting that tackling the problem will “require strategic leadership to deal with issues like this within the country but the lesson there is resilience in leadership”.

The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, NEITI, said in one of its audit report that Nigeria lost 42.25 million barrels of crude oil valued at 2.77 billion dollars to oil theft in 2019.

2023: “When The South Speaks Soon, Nigeria Will Know We Are Not Joking” – Wike

By
The Source
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0
Nyesom Wike

By Charles Igbo

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike says the People’s  Democratic Party in Southern Nigeria will speak soon on the 2023 Presidential seat. The South, when the Region speaks, will speak with one voice, Wike said. And when it does, Nigerians, according to the Governor, will know the Region is not joking.

Wike spoke to an array of Rivers State Stakeholders on Tuesday, February 1, at the Government House Porthacourt.

A visibly angry Wike used the opportunity to debunk a story which went viral on Monday, January 31, to the effect that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, and the People’s Democratic Party’s Presidential candidate in 2019, Atiku Abubakar, has picked him as his running mate for 2023, and dumped Peter Obi, former Anambra State Governor, who was his running mate in 2019.

Debunking the story, Wike said perish the thought. He said he had never discussed something like that with anybody. Nor has anybody approached him for such a thing.

Said Wike: “The South will make a statement very soon, and the day the South makes a statement, Nigeria will know that we are not joking.

“It is not to come out and say you are consulting, yet, you have declared. Is it not after consultation that you declare.”

Wike, however, noted that the most important thing before the PDP is not agitation over zoning, but cohesiveness to make sure the Party gets it right.

Already, in the PDP, from the North, former Senate President, Bukola Saraki, and the  Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal,  have  declared. Atiku has not hidden his interest, and same with Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed.

From the South are frontrunner, for now, former Senate President, Anyim Pius Anyim, and Boardroom guru, Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa.  He is a former  Managing Director/CEO, Niemeth Pharmaceuticals.

Clark Indicts Atiku, Saraki, Tambuwal, Over Jonathan; Asks Them To Stand Down In 2023 For The South

By
The Source
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0

A former Minister for Information, foremost Statesman, and Leader of the Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum (SMBLF), Chief Edwin Clark, has indicted former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal, and former Senate President, Bukola Saraki, over the roles they played to prevent the re-election of former President, Goodluck Jonathan, for allegedly violating zoning principle in 2015.

The advice comes on the heels of the interest of the three in the 2023 Presidential seat which many insist should be the turn of the South after President Muhammadu Buhari’s eight years in office. He advised them not to run for the 2023 ticket in the interest of national unity.

The elder statesman, in a statement in Abuja on Tuesday, February 1, 2022, told them that “after the eight years of President Muhammadu Buhari, no Northerner should be seeking to be President.”

The North, Chief  Clark noted, has  ruled Nigeria for 45 out of its 61 years as a nation in both civilian and military dispensations.

He said the three prominent members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and other Northern politicians who are contemplating contesting the 2023 Presidential election should abandon their plans.

To continue with their plans, invite a destabilization of Nigeria.

Said Chief Clark: “Firstly, I wish to use this medium to advise my most respected Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Chieftains in the persons of former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, former President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki, Aminu Tambuwal, Governor of Sokoto State, and other PDP aspirants from the north, that in the interest of maintaining the unity of this country to which they have contributed so much, to re-consider their desire of wanting to contest for the Presidential election in 2023, because both by the PDP Constitution and by convention, it is now the turn of Southern Nigeria to produce the President of Nigeria, in 2023, after President Muhammadu Buhari’s eight years.

“To do otherwise is to invite chaos, which will lead to the disintegration of our dear country.”

He recalled that Nigeria had practised zoning since the pre-independence era, which saw political posts shared among the regions.

Clark: “Zoning has been practised in the Nation ’s polity even before Independence, when Tafawa Balewa, in 1954, was the Prime Minister, Nnamdi Azikiwe was the Governor-General.

“Zoning of political offices, particularly the Presidency of the country, is the best antidote to the breakup of Nigeria, and the panacea for peace and unity of the country.

“One of the reasons why the North opposed Chief Anthony Enahoro’s motion for independence in1953, was that they felt they were not equal to the South in education; that they were not in a position to produce proportional candidates who will run an independent government with the South because, at that time, they had only about 4 graduates. They subsequently walked out of the Parliament, went back to the North, and swore never to return to Lagos again.

“That was what led to the Constitutional Conferences held both at the Lancaster House in London and at Ibadan, Nigeria, purposely to keep Nigeria one. The impression was that no one group or section of the country should dominate the government of Nigeria at the expense of other parts of the country.”

He said that it was because of zoning that Northerners did not want Jonathan to contest the 2011 election even though it was within his constitutional right to do so.

He said: “Because of this zoning consideration, Northerners did not want him to continue and contest the election in 2011. They objected to his appointment as Acting President of the country. I remember, Sheikh Abubakar Gumi, the father of Dr. (Sheikh) Ahmad Abubakar Gumi, came to my house and pleaded with me to ask Dr Jonathan to step down for a Northerner because it was the turn of the North. That Dr Jonathan should, in fact, be a Vice President to another Northerner who should take the place of Dr Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, and that when the North had finished, then Dr Jonathan could come back and become the President of the country.

“My response to him was that that will be against the Constitution of Nigeria, which provides that when the Office of the President becomes vacant either by death, or by illness, or any other occurrence, the Vice President shall take over, under Section 15 of the Nigerian Constitution.

“The opposition against Dr Jonathan was from various quarters; Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and Dr Bukola Saraki were major parts of that opposition, which was carried through the 2015 Presidential elections.

“Though it was his Constitutional right to re-contest in 2015, to complete the eight years, as provided by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Dr Jonathan’s succeeding of late Dr Yar’Adua, did not obliterate his right to seek a second term.”

“Nevertheless, the Northerners still felt Dr Jonathan should not contest the 2015 election because it was their turn. Hence most of the Northern leaders, including Governors and politicians from the PDP decided to support  Muhammadu Buhari and even contributed funds to his campaign, including the former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and Dr Bukola Saraki.

“Most PDP leaders, from the North, who collected campaign money from the party did not use the money for the purpose. There were only a few exceptions among the Northern leaders of the PDP. That was why I said that it was ‘PDP that defeated PDP in the 2015 Presidential election.”

Clark observed that both the PDP and the APC have been applying the North-South zoning principle, and noted:

“It is instructive that the nation’s two main parties, the APC and the PDP, have been religiously, following the zoning and rotation system between the North and the South.

“By 2023, the North would have ruled for another eight years. It is, therefore, rational and right, to insist that the Presidency should rotate to the south. It does not matter whether the presidency has been produced from the APC or the PDP since 2015.

“To which sub-region the Presidency should be further zoned to in the South, is a different matter entirely. At the appropriate time, we will decide as to which area, section or region of the three regions of South-East, South-South and South-West, should have it.

“It must be understood that the north has had the Presidency for about 45 years of our nation’s history as an independent country.”

While listing the former Nigerian leaders and the period they spent in office, Clark stated: “As I have said earlier, I have observed with dismay, that some of my respected friends, especially, the former Vice President Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, and the distinguished former President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki, who opposed former President Goodluck Jonathan for contesting the Presidential elections because they felt it was the turn of the North, are now wanting to contest for the presidency under the PDP in 2023.

“They are already campaigning through the length and breadth of the country, even after a northerner will be having a straight 8 years, come May 2023. Is it no longer not a negation of the ‘zoning agreement,’ for which former President Goodluck Jonathan was castigated? Is it no longer threatening the unity and survival of the country? As the intention of these and others who may follow will be going against the zoning system of the PDP. It may even be the deciding factor for the PDP, whether to be or not to be.”

“The recent resolution by the Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum that the Presidency should be zoned to the South and that those who refuse to heed to our plea/decision, should not count on our support, is wholly supported by me, as the leader.

“The former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, under the zoning arrangement, contested the PDP Presidential Primaries in 2019, with other northern presidential aspirants, like the former Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, Rt. Hon. Aminu Tambuwal, the Governor of Sokoto State, former Senate President David Mark, former Governor of Kano State, Rabiu Kwankwaso, former Governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido, former Governor of Plateau State, Jonah Jang, former Governor of Kaduna State, Ahmed Makafi, former Governor of Gombe State, Ibrahim Dankwambo, former Governor of Sokoto State, Attahiru Bafarawa, former Minister of Special Duties, Kabiru Tanimu Turaki, SAN and Sen. Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed.

“There was no single Southern candidate that contested with them. Alhaji Atiku Abubakar won overwhelmingly with about 3000 votes. We all supported him.

Unfortunately, he lost in the general election. All that is now history.

“The issue of 2nd term for Alhaji Atiku Abubakar does not arise, because he did not win the Presidential election in 2019. He is, therefore, not entitled for a second term, which is only meant for a sitting President serving the first tenure. As a result, power has to return to the South. The same also applies to my respected former Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki.

“However, I am very happy to note that there are still some patriotic Nigerians from the North, who believe in the unity of Nigeria and are advocating for the return of power to the South in 2023. Among these patriotic Nigerians from the North are Governors Babagana Zulum of Borno State, Governor Aminu Masari of Katsina State, Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State, Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State, Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State, Governor Darius Ishaku of Taraba State, Babangida Aliyu, former Governor of Niger State, and my life long friend, Alhaji Tanko Yakassai, who is now 96 years old, while I am 94 years old. We both have seen it all in Nigerian politics.”

Airtel Appoints Emeka Oparah Vice President For Africa

By
Uche Mbah
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0
Airtel

By Uche Mbah

Airtel Africa Plc has appointed Emeka Oparah, a Communications Professional, as Vice President, Corporate Communications.

This was disclosed by the Telecom giant in a statement Tuesday.

Oparah himself, also, announced it on his Facebook page Tuesday.

According to the Airtel statement, Oparah will be in charge of its 14 African markets, including Nigeria, as the mouthpiece of the company.

Oparah, whose office will be in Dubai, was occupying the same position in Nigeria.

“A highly respected crisis and Perception Management Expert, Oparah has over 25 years experience in the Communications industry spanning Journalism, Advertising, Public Relations, Events, Sponsorships and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) with 19 years in Airtel Nigeria. He rose from the position of Public Relations Manager to Head of PR, Events & Sponsorship and later Head of Corporate Communications & CSR before attaining his current position as the Director Corporate Communications & CSR for Airtel Nigeria, a position he has held since June 2011″, the statement read.

“Prior to joining Airtel Nigeria, he had stints in Imo Newspapers Limited (publishers of The Statesman, Sunday Statesman and Statesman Extra); Patike Communications (a Public Relations Consulting firm), Candid Communications and Richland Communications (both Advertising Agencies) and Cadbury Nigeria, one of Nigeria’s foremost Food and Beverages Manufacturing Company, where he worked for eight years as Media Relations Manager.

“A Mass Communication graduate of University of Nigeria, Oparah is a member of the International Public Relations Association (IPRA); International Association of Business Communicators (IABC); Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) and Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON) and has attended numerous courses locally and internationally in Communications, Management and Leadership.”

Last year, Airtel appointed Olusegun Ogunsanya as CEO. He replaced Raghunath Mandava.

Currently, the telecom company is the most capitalised in the Nigerian stock exchange.

Airtel Africa recently surpassed Dangote Cement to become the most capitalised company listed on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NSGE).

Cross River Takes A Leap As Ayade Digitalizes Rice Farming

By
The Source
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0
Ben Ayade Rice Farm in Cross River State

By Chidi Onyemaizu

“If you give me rice, I will eat today;  if you teach me how to grow rice, I will eat every day”- Mahatma Gandhi.

This timeline quote, uttered almost a century ago by the irrepressible Indian anti-colonial nationalist is resonating in Cross River state. It has found meaning in the state where its visionary governor and a Professor of Environmental Micro Biology, Ben Ayade is silently superintending a massive revolution in rice farming.

In Cross River, Governor Ayade is indeed showing class and vision with a new vista on technology-driven rice cultivation and production.

He has done away with the slavish and laborious mode of rice farming and introduced the latest technology in the cultivation and production of the crop, thus making the farming processing pleasurable.

According to him, “today, rice cultivation in Nigeria gives you an average of three to four tonnes per hectare while in advanced worlds like Thailand and China, you are looking at between 10 and 14 tonnes per hectare. That is technology, that is the digitalisation that my administration has brought in”

With quantum investments in rice cultivation and production, Ayade is keen on creating employment as well as diversifying Cross River’s economy through revenue accruing from local and international sales of rice and rice seedlings.

The Governor’s giant strides in that direction have not gone unnoticed. A broad spectrum of Nigerians agrees that his innovative efforts on rice production are top-notch.

Since a focused head will always attract a fitting and deserving cap, it was no surprise, therefore, that President Muhammad Buhari, at a recent unveiling of rice pyramid in Abuja by the Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria, RIFAN, singled out Professor Ayade for honour.

An Excellent Award bestowed on him by the President in recognition of his invaluable contributions to rice production and rice value chain is an enchanting validation of Ayade’s grit-determination to put Cross River nay Nigeria on the global rice production map.

Notedly, in pursuit of his administration’s revolution in rice production, Professor Ayade has established in Calabar, the state capital, Africa’s first and only automated rice seeds and seedling factory.

The factory was commissioned in June 2018 by President Buhari amid effusive praises for the governor.

There is also an ultra-modern vitaminized rice mill, also the first of its kind in Africa,  in Ogoja, in the northern part of the state, completed and awaiting commissioning by the President.

The Ogoja rice mill is eye-popping and jaw-dropping. With design and installed machinery in the facility sharing similarities and competing favourably with those in the industrialised world, the magnificent Ogoja rice mill leaves first-time visitors mouths agape.

Ayade’s predecessor, former Governor Liyel Imoke, satisfied with what he saw after a visit to the plant had this to say: “the rice mill is huge, it is a project that makes economic sense, it is a project that creates employment. I love the location, it is ideally located. It will capture rice from the northern, central and Southern Cross River in terms of access to the market.

“I have always talked about timing. The Ogoja rice Mill came at the right time. It came at a time the federal government has committed billions of naira to local rice production.

“This mill fits into the governor’s vision for industrialized Cross River. So, in the area of Industrialization, I give it to him.”

The rice seeds and seedlings factory in Calabar is projected to yield N14 billion naira annually to the coffers of the state government.

The factory produces high-yielding, disease resistant rice seedlings.

So many southern states have in the past year or thereabouts, got supplies of rice seedlings running into billions of naira from the factory.

Private rice farmers including Chairman of the IRS Group, Rabiu Isiaku Rabiu had also ordered seedlings from the factory.

For President Buhari, the rice factory, situated at the sprawling industrial park, is a “reference point in Nigeria’s effort to kick-start a revolution in agriculture.

“This factory speaks loudly about the giant strides we are making in agriculture as a country. It is evident that by conceiving projects such as this, governor Ayade has a keen eye for tomorrow, focusing on projects that are building a new economic base for the state, rather than projects with short-term benefits to make cheap political gains,” the President further said.

Former Governor Donald Duke believes that Ayade deserves a Noble Prize for his pioneering effort at digitalizing rice farming.

He spoke glowingly of the governor when he visited the factory: “This rice facility, from what I have seen here, can enable the entire West Africa sub-region to be self-sufficient in rice.

“If that was all Ayade did, he has every right to beat his chest. If all he did was to ensure that the entire sub-region of West Africa is self-sustaining in rice production, he will deserve a Nobel Prize for that.

“The rice seedlings facility will make Cross River by far the largest producer of rice in the entire West Africa.”

Essentially, whenever a story of how Nigeria got on the subway to self-sufficiency in rice production is written by international researchers like Simona Varrella with a bias for the study of economic growth,  a chapter or two should be devoted to Ayade’s contributions because in the words of the governor, “Cross River has provided an alternative roadmap to crude oil as the mainstay of the economy by focusing on Agro-industrialization.”

Onyemaizu is the Senior Special Assistant on Print Media to Governor Ayade

Ikonne, Oldest Nigerian Monarch, Honours Uzodimma With Chieftaincy Title; Marks 93rd birthday

By
The Source
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0
Uzodimma Chieftancy Title

The oldest living Monarch in Nigeria and Traditional Ruler of Aba in Abia State, His Royal Majesty, Eze Dr. I. A. Ikonne (Enyi 1 of Aba) has honoured the Governor of Imo State, Senator Uzodinma with a chieftaincy title of Onye ndu Ndigbo (leader of the Igbos).

Eze Ikonne extended the Honour to Governor Uzodimma at the weekend in Aba in a landmark, but colourful, ceremony to mark his 93rd birthday that attracted the who is who within and outside Abia State.

Represented by the Imo State Deputy Governor, Prof. Placid Njoku, Eze Ikonne said the honour bestowed on Governor Uzodimma was inevitable because of his visionary leadership and unwavering commitment to reposition the Igbo people in the socio-political and economic equation of Nigeria.

Eze Ikonne pointed out that Governor Uzodinma has fittingly earned himself a place in the heart of future generations of Ndigbo who will be the ultimate beneficiary from his today’s toil and sacrifice.

The Enyi 1 of Aba as Eze Ikonne is fondly called further praised the Governor for his persistent push to bring the Igbos into the central operating position for governance in Nigeria.

Eze Ikonne: “While some people may not see or appreciate the enormity of work undertaken by the Governor on behalf of the Igbos, the guardians of the Igbo consciousness and strategic thinkers in Igboland know that in the reality of the Nigerian situation and global dispositions, the best option for Ndigbo at the moment is to build bridges and harness every possible political avenue to raise the already tall standing of Ndigbo in the Nigerian project.”

The revered Monarch, also, thanked the Governor for his “history of love and utmost respect for traditional institutions in Igboland” and urged him to not relent in his efforts “until the Igbos become the centre of a progressive and industrialised nation.”

Receiving the plaque on behalf of Governor Uzodimma,  Prof. Njoku said he was at the Eze’s palace at the instance of his principal who would have loved to attend the ceremony in person, but was held back by pressing state matters.

The Deputy Governor thanked Eze Ikonne and indeed, all Abians for the special honour done to Governor Uzodinma and noted that it is the resolve of his boss to work to change the narrative of the Igbo man in Nigeria.

Prof. Njoku described his principal as a great and tireless visionary who sees beyond the present and has sworn to work for the ultimate good of not only the Ndigbo, but the entire Nigerians.

On behalf of Governor Uzodimma, the Deputy Governor prayed for long life for Eze Ikonne whom he said, God has been merciful to preserve in good health for the benefit of not only Abians and Ndigbo but for the entire people of Nigeria.

President Muhammadu Buhari was represented at the event by Minister of Labour and Productivity, Senator Chris Ngige.

Other political appointees of the federal government from the South East who graced the occasion included the Minister of State for Education, Emeka Nwajiuba and the Minister of States for Mines and Solid Minerals, Uche Oga.

The Senator representing Abia South, Enyinnaya Abaribe, the Senator representing Okigwe zone, Mr. Frank Ibezim, among other prominent guests were also in attendance.

BREAKING: Veteran Nollywood Actor, Tafa Oloyede Is Dead

By
Akinwale Kasali
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0
John Adewunmi aka Tafa Oloyede

By Akinwale Kasali

Nollywood has lost another veteran actor of Yoruba genre, John Adewunmi, popularly known as Tafa Oloyede.

The Veteran Actor was 69 years of age, and was said to have died in the early hours of today, February 1, 2022 at his residence at Arowomole, Kajola area Osogbo, Osun State Capital.

The Ede, Osun State born actor ventured into acting in 1974 under the tutelage of late Oyin Adejobi.

He has featured in many movies that include ‘Jaiyesimi’, ‘Ayanmo’, ‘Ekuro Oloja’, ‘Orogun’, ‘Akanji Oniposi’ and others.

Born on 19th November, 1952, he was hardly seen in movies these days; a development that  was a source of worry to his fans.

Sources revealed that he died after a brief illness. He would be missed by colleagues who had always praised his interpretation of roles and was a role model to younger colleagues.

Anyim Greets Onyeka Onwenu at 70, Says She Is An Inspiration To Youths

By
The Source
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0

Former Senate President and 2023 Presidential  Aspirant, Anyim Pius Anyim, has congratulated Lady of Songs, Onyeka Onwenu, on her 70th birthday describing her as an inspiration to young people.

In a personally signed letter of felicitation on Monday, Anyim who is contesting the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) primaries also told the celebrant that she is a woman of worth.

Anyim recalled the contributions Ms Onwenu has made in the Communications and Entertainment industry and observed that she had made success of anything she had put her mind to.

Said Anyim, “It is with immense joy that I join your family, friends, associates and innumerable fans the world over, to rejoice with you and congratulate you on this special occasion of your 70th birthday.

“I thank God for your life. Your solid achievements in the Communication and Entertainment industry stand you out as a woman of worth.  Your confidence, courage and intelligence endear you to anyone that comes in contact with you.

“Your strength of character, boldness, determination to succeed in everything you put your mind to, and the brilliant success that you have become will remain a source of inspiration to the youth, particularly the young women”, the letter stated.

Anyim concluded by saying:

“I celebrate you, our own ‘Elegant Stallion’. I pray that the good Lord will uphold you in good health and sound mind as you continue your worthy services to our dear country and humanity at large.”

Wike: I Will Run For Presidency, Says Amaechi Emptied Rivers Treasury; Slams Dokpesi

By
Akinwale Kasali
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0

By Akinwale Kasali

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, says nobody can stop him from running for the office of the Presidency in 2023.

Speaking at a Stakeholders meeting in Porthacourt monitored on AIT on Tuesday, Wike slammed Chief Raymond Dokpesi for attributing to himself, the power to zone the office if the President, independent of the Party.

The Governor also came down hard on his  predecessor and current Minister for Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, alleging that he emptied the Rivers State treasury before he left the saddle in 2015.

Aside from emptying the State coffers, Wike said that the door bell at the Rivers State Government House was also misisng.

“They left with everything and nothing was left behind, and I had to replace them all.

“As we speak now I am renovating the place for somebody to occupy in May next year.

On the Presidential Race in 2023, Wike condemned Dokpesi for going above his threshold by zoning the Presidential slot.

He said: ”I have not seen that kind of politics before, doing the job of the party by zoning position.”

Dokpesi, the Leader of the Campaign team of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, had, recently, told the South-east to support Atiku who he said would be in power for only a term, and hand over power to the South-east.

Wike then emphasized that nobody can stop him from contesting in the 2023 Presidential election, declaring that no amount of money brought by anybody  can sway the PDP

He told the Stakeholders that it was necessary for members to give their 100percent to the party.

He added that the Party will capture the State whether the opposition likes it or not, stressing he is not a liability to the party, rather, he is an asset to the party.

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