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Ayade Threatens To Quit PDP; Three Other Governors Could Follow; ”I Can Threaten PDP – Wike” |The Source

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The Source
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Governor Ben Ayade

By Gideon Njoku

If there is any State the Senator Bukola Saraki PDP- Reconciliation Committee should urgently head to, it is Cross River State. The party is about to lose the State to the APC. If that happens the ruling party at the centre will have a footing in the South-south. The APC lost its footing in the South -south with the defection of Edo Governor, Godwin Obaseki to the PDP when he was frustrated out of the party by former National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole.

Until Obaseki’s defection, Edo State was the only APC State in the zone. That could change soon for the better, unless the PDP reads the handwriting on the wall, and acts fast to appease the Governor, Prof Ben Ayade.

The rumour of the planned  defection of  Ayade has been strong and thick. Ayade had been keeping his plans close to his chest, and playing safe.

One of the ways he plays safe is never to criticise President Muhammadu Buhari. It was the same game Ebonyi State’s Dave Umahi was playing until he, finally, decamped to the APC from the PDP.

But Ayade seems to be getting tired of the hide and seek game. He is coming out of the closet. On a visit to him on Friday in Calabar by the Governor of Bauchi State, Bala Mohammed, Ayade more than hinted PDP could soon become history with him.

Ayade told Mohammed that he was tired of the shenanigans going on in the PDP. He said he was tired of the party. He said he was tired of external forces trying to influence affairs in his state. “Enough is enough”, he told Mohammed. And then, his confession: “I am sitting on

the fence.” Meaning he has become indifferent to the party.

Ayade has been having a running battle with some people in the State PDP. He blames it on external forces. The external force, an aide of the  Governor told this magazine,  is another Governor in his zone who the source said is trying to influence what goes on in the state. And it is over who succeeds Ayade in 2023. He wants to force a successor on Ayade.

Ayade said he had always taken it easy, like a gentleman, but that his gentleness has been taken as a sign of weakness.

It is not known why exactly Bala Mohammed visited Ayade, but it offered Ayade the opportunity to talk, to open up. Incidentally, Ayade was talking to a man who is, also strongly being suspected to be planning an exit from the PDP to the APC;  a soul-mate when it comes to their seeming lukewarm attitude towards the PDP now. Both of them are sitting on the fence.

Ayade to Mohammed during the visit, in a loaded speech that has been titled:

TIME HAS COME WHEN ALL OF US WILL GATHER AND SAY ENOUGH IS ENOUGH

“I have always played politics with ethics, but in the course of time I have come to realise that ethical politics is mistaken for weakness.”

“Time has come when we will put our foot down and take a decision on the bases of which will prosper my people’s collective well-being.

“For their trust in me, they have put their own future in my hands.

“I cannot blind myself to the challenges of PDP and decide not to know what to do at the right time for their sake.

“I know you are somebody that don’t take injustice. One single injustice they will see a new Cross River State.”

“One single injustice and I say it as a warning, because it does appear that your party seems to celebrate people who threaten and stress them.”

“All councilors PDP, all chairmen PDP, all House of Assembly members PDP, all Commissioners PDP, all the National Assembly except one, PDP. All of them under my leadership into the elections. So it is not now someone will discuss what structure and strategy I need.

 

“But I am happy you have created an opportunity for a melodrama. So today I am seated and dancing on the fence. Indeed that’s true.

“And so I speak with righteous anger for the continuous annoyance and nuisance orchestrated on our innocent by external factors.

“But I just hope this ends today.

“And so, please, as I leave you with some holy whispers, which will be very strong, firm and clear, it’s a harbinger of trouble.

“While I believe in ecclesiatics of peace, I believe in the catechism of good faith but I also believe in the respect for the supremacy of an office.”

Ayade is not alone in his anger.

PDP Could Lose Four Governors To APC

A source familiar with the goings-on in the PDP told this magazine that the PDP, aside from Ayade, could lose three other Governors to the APC. The source told this magazine: “If my sources are right, except a miracle happens, PDP is set to lose Cross River, Bauchi, Zamfara and Enugu.”

In the case of Bauchi Governor, Bala Mohammed, our source said: “Clearly, Bala didn’t mince words yesterday (Friday). He declared that an injustice to Ayade is an injustice to him and that if Ayade crosses over, he too will cross.”

For the records, Mohammed  does not need a push from Ayade to move. Recall that a few weeks ago, he had a spat with Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, over the activities of AK47 rifle-carrying herdsmen. In defending the herdsmen, he held a different opinion from  his party, the PDP, which vehemently condemns the rifle-carrying herdsmen.

Incidentally, it was Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State who intervened and settled the rift between both Governors.

This other day, the Governor of Borno State, Prof. Babagana Zulum, let it be known that Bauchi’s Mohammed will soon join the  APC.

As for Zamfara, Governor Bello Matawalle, months ago, openly threatened he would leave the party over the alleged brash attitude of an unnamed Governor who he described as arrogant, and wanting to lord it over others.

The surprise among the lot is Enugu State’s Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi.

Even though he was alleged to have been sympathetic towards President Buhari during the 2019 Presidential election, his sympathy did not amount to much.

However, the Governors allegedly threatening to dump the party complain of the same problem – the alleged unbearable attitude of one of their colleagues who they say thinks his word is law. “They say they are tired of the Governor’s braggadocio and overbearing influence in the party.”

Wike Warns PDP Not To Toy With Rivers State

In another development that should worry the PDP, Wike sent a strong warning to the Party not to toy with Rivers State. He said doing that will be costly to the PDP. It is not the first time the usually blunt Governor will issue such a threat. Just after the PDP Presidential primary in 2019, he did the same thing.

Nyesom Wike
Nyesom Wike

This Saturday, he spoke at the flag off of the Campaign for Local Government Elections in the State.

Incidentally, the National Chairman of the party, Uche Secondus, a son of the State, was conspicuously absent at the ceremony.

It is not, immediately, known why Wike issued the threat to the PDP, but he said  there will be serious consequences if the PDP tried to short- change the state in anyway.

“I can threaten the PDP”, he declared. He continued:

“Rivers State is not a State you can toy with. Not even within the PDP. We have votes to give, so I won’t  allow anybody take us for granted. I can threaten PDP.

“Even Nigeria knows that Rivers State is not an ordinary State. Rivers State stands tall to say that if PDP is to win an election in Nigeria, it has to be with the performance of Rivers State.

“PDP cannot hang up against Rivers State because they will not recover from it. The Federal Government took us for granted, but they are yet to recover from it.”

PDP’s main rival in the State,  APC, has withdrawn from the LGA election. In response, Wike said the APC withdrew to avoid another disgraceful beating at the polls. Meaning: The election will be a clean sweep for the PDP.

Prof Uzodinma Nwala: Official Birthday Versus Actual Birthday |The Source

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The Source
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Prof Uzodinma Nwala

By Abia Onyike

His Birthday has hitherto been celebrated on March 16th each year!

But March 16, 1942 was not the actual day he was born.

There was no Birth Register in his town Itu Ezinihitte Mbaise in Imo State during the period he was born. Neither his mother nor his father went to the white man’s school and no Birth Register was available in his village at the time.

It was his school teacher who in1951 miscalculated the actual date of his birth and mistakenly put it on March 16, 1942. But March 16 1942 was not the Fifth day of the week – FRIDAY – the actual day he was born!

THE ACTUAL DAY WAS MARCH 20, 1942. The period of his birth is aligned with the period when the most famous merchant in the area, popularly called ISRAEL died.

It has been a burden since this truth was discovered. Professor Nwala cherishes his popular name as a village boy. He is generally called FRIDAY. The younger ones call him DE FRIDAY, When they are angry with him they address him as WA FRIDAY.

He also relishes the name his father – EHILEGBU NWALA UFOMADU, gave him – UZODINMA. When the younger ones don’t address him as DE FRIDAY they call him DE WUZO.

You may want to know how come TIMOTHY as part of his official name.

He gave himself that name at the time he was being baptized in the Apostolic Church, a name he chose became it was the name of their popular teacher – TIMOTHY. I. IGWE.

Uzodinma Nwala was born in the bush on Friday March 20, 1942. This was during the intense period of the Second World War with its acute salt scarcity. Neither his mother nor his father went to the white man’s school and as said earlier no Birth Register was available in his village at the time. All his people remember that he was born on a FRIDAY.

His father was a very turbulent man, highly respected and feared throughout the entire Town of Itu and its environs. His mother was a very hardworking and intelligent trader, a stormy petrel among the women leaders of the town. His father died while he was just a small kid. He remembers the struggle between him and his senior brother as to who should be in front of the other in the line-up during the funeral tribute to his late father.

He and his late senior brother Ikpeoha have marks on their forehead which they inflicted on each other at different periods of their life

His mother carried him in her womb for twelve months, breast-fed him for three years, before weaning him. He nurtured three babies as a baby-sitter before fate turned him from the path of a trader, which his beloved mother had ear-marked for him to start formal schooling. And this was at the point his senior brother had revolted against the idea of himself going to school, dropped his school uniform and ran to his grandmother, protesting and insisting that it was his junior brother and not himself who should go to the white man’s school.

This was how his mother’s dream for his future bowed to his brother’s prophecy.

Within the six years of his primary schooling, he served five teachers as their house boy one of the most memorable cases was the one in which the elders of the Apostolic Church decided that his mother should surrender him as a house-boy to the Church Agent (Pastor) who had lost his wife, leaving behind three children. Everybody agreed that no-one else but Friday (as he was popularly called at the time), was good enough to be entrusted with the task of serving as a house-boy to the bereaved pastor and looking after his small children while at the same time going to school.

This is one of the momentous aspects of Uzodinma Nwala’s Odyssey which he relishes.

As we celebrate this day- MARCH 20, 2021 – we bow our head in awe of the mystery of the Odyssey which is called LIFE!

Onyike, Chairman,

ADF Publicity Bureau, was a former Commissioner for Information, Ebonyi State

INEC Declares Ekiti Bye Election Inconclusive |The Source

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Ayodele Oni
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Independent National Electoral Commission

By Ayodele Oni

Following violence occasioned by ballot snatching, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has suspended Saturday’s Ekiti East State Constituency one bye-election.

Three persons have been confirmed dead, with policemen and youth corps members seriously wounded.

Some gunmen, were said to have invaded voting centres and snatched ballot boxes.

INEC explained that the bye- election could no longer continue following outbreak of violence in various polling units in the LGA.

A policewoman and two others were killed by suspected political thugs.

A statement by the state Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mr Tella Adeniran, stated that “the situation is such that, a conducive environment no longer exists for further electoral activity at the polling units and the Collation centers.

“In view of this development, the Commission has suspended the election forthwith.”

Meanwhile, security agents are on the trail of some of the suspected hoodlums, in connection with the violence which marred the bye election.

BREAKING: Imo Revokes Okorocha’s Sister’s Plots Of Land |The Source

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The Source
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By Charles Igbo

A sibling of Rochas Okorocha,  former Governor of Imo State, Mrs Geraldine Obinali, nee Okorocha, has lost a large expanse of land, allocated to her company during the Okorocha administration.

The plots of land are located    at the Redemption Housing Estate Phase 111. They were allocated to Jessdean Ventures Ltd, of Number 3 Okeoma Close, Trans Egbu Layout, Owerri. The company is owned by Mrs Obinali, Okorocha’s sibling.

A Public Notice signed by Barr. Chinedu Mbakwe Obi, General Manager/ Chief Executive Officer, Imo Housing Estate, said the revocation was ” Sequel to all legal actions taken to notify Jessdean Vetures Ltd…” It said the land was allocated to her “for the sole purpose of providing infrastural facilities in the Estate which was never carried out.”

It asked anybody who had transacted on any of the revoked plots to “immediately come to the Imo State Housing Corporation with original papers for ratification.”

Following is the full text of the public notice revoking the land.

GENERAL PUBLIC NOTICE

“Sequel to all legal actions taken to notify Jessdean Ventures Ltd. of No. 3 Okeoma Close, Trans-Egbu Layout, Owerri owned by Geraldine Obinali(Nee Okorocha), We hereby revoke the following plot numbers in Redemption Housing Estate Phase III issued to her for the sole purpose of providing infrastructural facilities in the Estates which was never carried out.

“Below are the affected plots numbers:

RHE III/258, 424, 423, 422, 420, 419, 418, 417, 416, 415, 414, 403, 421, 244, 244A, 245, 249, 250, 256, 275, 270, 266, 264, 407, 308, 402A, 413, 412, 411, 409, 408, 405, 267, 271, 274, 276, 273, 272, 268, 254/255, 257, 243, 269, 261, 242, 253, 246, 410.

“By this notice, the General Public is hereby been notified that if anybody have transacted on any of the above numbered plots, they are to immediately come to the Imo State Housing Corporation with original papers for ratifications.

“Imo State Housing Corporation will continue to ensure that the desires of the Governor, Sen. Hope Uzodimma in providing affordable housing for imo people will be achieved without delay.

“Signed:

Barr. Chinedu Mbakwe Obi
General Manager/Chief Executive
Imo State Housing Corporation.”

The revocation, many think, is part of the implementation of the Whitepaper on the Judicial Panel On Lands and Other Matters, set up by the immediate past Governor of the State, The Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha, and sustained by Governor Hope Uzodinma on assumption of office.

Ekiti Bye Election Turns Bloody As Three Persons Feared Killed |The Source

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Ayodele Oni
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INEC Logo
INEC Logo

By Ayodele Oni

The bye election to fill a vacant seat at Ekiti state House of Assembly has turned bloody with not less than three persons feared dead.

The assembly position became vacant last month following the death of the member who represented  Ekiti East Constituency one, Mr Juwa Adegbuyi.

Early reports  reveal that several persons sustained various degrees of injuries as suspected thugs, dangling dangerous weapons, unleashed a reign of terror on the electorate and election officials.

The People’s Democratic Party, (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress, (APC) are among the five political parties participating in the bye-election.

Among those that sustained injuries is a youth corps member serving as official in the election who is said to be currently receiving treatment at Ikole General Hospital.

The deceased persons, it was gathered, were shot by some armed political thugs who invaded a polling unit and opened fire at the electorate while attempting to snatch ballot boxes.

The incident was confirmed by the Ekiti State Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Sunday Abutu, who said only a person has been confirmed dead, in a statement made available to newsmen.

According to the statement “Some suspected thugs attacked ward 7 Unit 7 Iworo in Omuo Ekiti, shooting sporadically while eligible voters were casting their votes in a bye election of Ekiti State House of Assembly.

“In the process, six persons were injured, among them were two policemen and one National Youths Service Corp(NYSC) member who are currently receiving treatment in Ikole General Hospital.,”

He also confirmed that some suspects have been arrested in connection with the incident.

There Must Be An End To Crisis In Christ Apostolic Church – Gov Akeredolu |The Source

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Ayodele Oni
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By Ayodele Oni

Ondo State Governor, Mr Rotimi Akeredolu, has charged the new President of the Christ Apostolic Church (CAC), Pastor Samuel Olusegun Oladele, to put an end to the prolonged crisis of division in the Church.

Governor Akeredolu, who said he has been involved in the CAC affairs for so many years, enjoined Pastor Oladele to make the unity of the church a priority.

Mr Akeredolu spoke on Saturday at the inauguration and Duty Commencement Service of Pastor Oladele as the 8th President, CAC worldwide in Ibadan, Oyo State.

The Governor, while urging the new President to bring everyone together under one fold, stressed that the Church must live up to its motto of “One Fold, One Shepherd”.

He further advised Pastor Oladele and other men of God in the Church to stay spiritually alive, adding that he has been saddled with a big task.

“When your citation was being read, the only thing that came to me was that your priority is to end the crisis of division in CAC.

“We have been involved in this for too long. There must be an end to this crisis of division. Let us all come together. It is enough.

“If you have chosen this as your priority, please pursue it with your vigor. I had known that you were going to be President one day because you are gifted. I know you have a task ahead.

“I want to congratulate you and the CAC. You must be spiritually alive. Let God remain with you. Let’s come together under one fold,” Governor Akeredolu said.

Present at the event were Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, represented by the Aso Rock Chaplain, Pastor Seyi Malomo; Oyo State Governor, Engr. Seyi Makinde; Governor of the State of Osun, Mr. Gboyega Oyetola, represented by the his Chief of Staff, Dr. Charles ‘Diji Akinola, and other dignitaries.

How Ortom Brought Oshiomhole To His Knees |The Source

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The Source
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By Gideon Njoku

The past few days were not quite good for former National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, who was, also, a two-time Governor of Edo State. It was  double jeopardy for him.

First, the victory of Godwin Obaseki, Governor of Edo State, now of the PDP, over the APC at the Court of Appeal.

Second, Oshiomhole was brought to his knees by the Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom.

Both situations were brought upon the APC and Oshiomhole, by Oshiomhole’s legendary foul- mouthedness. His tongue is as sharp as razor, and what spues from it, acidic.

The case for which Obaseki emerged victorious against the APC was Oshiomhole’s handiwork. He, as the Chairman of the APC, disqualified Obaseki, a sitting Governor, over an alleged certificate forgery of the University of Ibadan.

On disqualification, Obaseki defected to the PDP which happily gave him the Governorship ticket. Oshiomhole campaigned against him, using the alleged certificate forgery, as a peg. But not only did Obaseki, his former ally, defeat him and his candidate at the poll, he defeated him in Courts, the most recent being on Wednesday, March 17, at the Court of Appeal, Abuja.

In a unanimous judgement, Their Lordships affirmed that Obaseki graduated from the University of Ibadan, citing as an irrefutable fact, the evidence of the Deputy Registrar of the University.

While Oshiomhole was still trying to come to terms with that defeat, and loss of hope of ever installing his candidate, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, as Governor, he was brought to his knees by Ortom.

His problem with Ortom started when the Governor, seeing that he was likely to be denied a second term ticket by his then political party, the APC, defected to the PDP. Again, it happened within  the period of Oshiomhole’s Chairmanship of the APC. Under Oshiomhole, the APC lost some states, allegedly, over his leadership style.

Samuel Ortom
Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State

Addressing the Press on July 27, 2018, in his capacity as the APC Chairman, Oshiomhole descended on Ortom. He accused him of being personally responsible for the heinous crime of murder  perpetrated in the State within the period.

A shocked and scandalized Ortom asked Oshiomhole to retract the apparent libel and defamation of character   contained in his pronouncements at the Press Conference, and publicly apologise to him.. He gave him an ultimatum to so do, or he would go to Court.

Oshiomhole ignored Ortom who proceeded to Court. Within the period, Oshiomhole was sacked as the National Chairman of the APC, mainly over his spat with Obaseki and other sundry  issues.

Ortom was relentless in his pursuit of the case. It was a case everybody knew Oshiomhole would lose because he had no evidence to back his claims.

Seeing Ortom’s relentlessness, and seeing that he was no longer the Chairman of the APC, and that the party may no longer be able to pick the Court’s bills, Oshiomhole did the most sensible thing –

He went back to his vomit.

In doing that, he tendered a public apology to Ortom, and retracted everything he said about the Governor during his 2018 address of the Press. In the retraction published in three National newspapers,  Oshiomhole

admitted he lied against Governor Ortom; he admitted he had no facts to back the claims he made, he admitted his sources were wrong. And he apologised to Ortom.

Following is Oshiomhole’s published apology as carried in Newspapers of  March 18, 2021, personally signed by him, and entitled:

RETRACTION OF PUBLICATION

“On the 27th day of July, 2018 at the National Headquarters of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and particularly in my capacity then as the Chairman of the Party, I addressed different national issues as well as some events which occurred in Benue State, including the movement earlier that day of his Excellency, Dr. Samuel Ortom (Executive Governor of Benue State) from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Peoples Democratic Party.

“In the course of the press conference, I made certain comments about Dr Ortom on the basis of information I have since found to be false and baseless.

“His Excellency Dr Samuel Ortom felt embarrassed, defamed and deeply aggrieved by the comments I made at the said press conference, culminating in litigation.

“That politics aside, Governor Samuel Ortom is a dear friend and brother with whom I have shared so much in common, including mutual respect.

“That as former colleagues and one time members of the Nigerian Governors’ forum and most importantly as someone whom I am  just a phone call away from, any ridicule, embarrassment, spite and insult caused Dr Samuel Ortom is regretted.

“Owing to the relationship we share and in the larger interest of peace, harmony and brotherliness, I believe a complete retraction of my comments made on 27th July, 2018, and which Dr Samuel Ortom found offensive is proper and necessary.

“In view of all the above, I hereby retract the comments made during the press conference on 27th July, 2018, as it relates to Dr Samuel Ortom.”

Known for his famed foul-mouthedness, Oshiomhole had unleashed same on a number of high profile individuals.

For instance, he once called for the arrest, probe and prosecution of former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan. Both men, at one time or the other, contributed to his success in politics. He had also descended on Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the Director-General of the World Trade Organisation, calling her incompetent, and accused her, of mismanaging Nigeria’s  economy. Okonjo-Iweala was Nigeria’s Minister for Finance.

And when Ize-Iyamu was on the opposite side, and Governorship candidate of the PDP in 2016, he called the candidate a thief, a fake pastor, a cultists and untrustworthy.

In the run-up to the 2020 Governorship election in the state when he embraced Ize-Iyamu, and ditched Onaseki, he dismissed his allegations against him in 2016, as politics!

PH Refinery: CNPP, Peter Obi, Melaye Chide FG |The Source

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Adesina Soyooye
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By Adesina Soyooye

Criticisms, like claps of thunder, have greeted the Federal Government’s announcement that it would spend a whopping $1.5b (One billion, five Hundred million US Dollars) on the turn-around maintenance of the, almost, moribund Port Hacout Refinery, Rivers State.

The huge amount to be spent on the project was announced by President Muhammadu Buhari’s Deputy Minister for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva. Buhari is the substantive Minister for Petroleum Resources, a position he had also held as a Military Officer in a Military regime. He was, also, the Chairman of the Petroleum Trust Fund, PTF, under the late former Head of State, General Sani Abacha.

Announcing the approval by the Federal Executive Council, FEC, to spend that obscene amont of money on the Refinery, Sylva said it would be done in three phases.

But many  Nigerians have reacted in disbelief, calling it a complete waste of scarce resource in a season of great want and difficulties for the Country.

Two-time Governor of Anambra State, and the Vice Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in 2019 Election, Peter Obi, reacted in disbelief to the news. He described it as financial recklessness.

Taking to his official verified Twitter handle, Obi wrote: “The news of the planned exlenditure of a whopping  $1.5billion for PH Refinery is worrisome to well-meaning Nigerians.  It is a huge waste.

“Our economy is on life support, but sadly, the managers of our affairs are worsening the situation by their financial rascality.”

Former Senator, Dino Melaye, in a video, decried the plan to waste money on the dead.

Descibing the PH Refinery as long been dead, Dino asked if the FG wanted to waste the $1.5bn on its embalmment.

The Conference of Nigerian Political Parties, CNPP, in a statement signed by its Secretary-General, Willy Ezukwu, condemned the plan to rehabilitate the Refinery in strong words.

The CNPP,  said that; “The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) administration has not done any single thing differently than the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) since it came to power on the wings of its change

The statement asked the Federal  Government  to build a new refinery  to help stop Nigeria from exporting crude oil, and importing fuel.The statement stated that the FG  should  “at least, do one thing right by building a brand new refinery and save the country from unending fuel importation in Nigeria.”

Expressing its disappointment, th in the Buhari Government, the CNPP said: “In 2015, most Nigerians were made to believe that an APC administration, headed by a retired General like President Muhammadu Buhari, would do things differently. But we now know better.

“It is disappointing that after spending over $25 billion on so-called turnaround maintenance of Nigeria’s refineries without any improvement, the Federal Executive Council, chaired by President Buhari will approve fresh $1.5 billion (about N575 billion) for the repair of Port Harcourt refinery.

“How can a whopping N575 billion be wasted again on the 32-year-old Port Harcourt refinery instead of building a new one?

“While the 100 percent capacity of the Port Harcourt Refinery, a two-plant complex, has a combined capacity of 210,000  barrel-per-day  (bpd), Dangote is building a 650,000 bpd refinery with just about $15 billion.

“The Dangote petrochemical complex is reported to house a gas processor and the world’s biggest plant for ammonia and urea, which is used in making plastics and fertilizer.

“The Dangote refinery will produce Euro-V quality petroy and diesel, as well as jet fuel and polypropylene.

“It means that the $25 billion already wasted in turnaround maintenance by successive administrations would have built a bigger refinery for Nigeria than Dangote’s celebrated refinery complex.

“It is, therefore, a shame that after wasting $25 billion, Nigeria is spending the sum of $1.5 billion, about N575 billion, for another fruitless round of rehabilitation work on a 32-year-old Port Harcourt refinery.

“The ruling APC and President must be told that Nigerians are fed up with the rehabilitation of refineries in the country as well as the attendant waste, we should be proactive as a country to minimise waste of resources.

“We see the planned maintenance to be done in three phases of 18, 24 and 44 months, a proposal by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, as one of the conduit pipes for siphoning Nigeria hard earned foreign currencies”, the CNPP stated.

The PH Refinery has been a money-guzzler in the hands of Nigeria’s successive Governments. On a number of occasions, huge sums of money had been budgeted and wasted. The results were not effective. Nigerians think the PH Refinery  has become every administration’s ATM.

Jonathan Tells World Leaders How To Help Africa |The Source

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The Source
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Ex-President Goodluck Jonathan
Ex-President Goodluck Jonathan

Former President Dr. Goodluck Jonathan has urged world leaders to pririotise functional multilateralism and mutually beneficial trade relations as a means of strengthening global economic growth and sharpening the competitive edge of African economies.

The former President noted that Africa, in the light of Covid-19 realities, now needs healthy partnerships with the developed economies and other initiatives that would promote businesses, entrepreneurship, industrialisation and sustainable economic growth on the continent.

Dr. Jonathan stated this on Thursday while speaking at the 2021 Horasis Extraordinary Meeting which held virtually and focused on America’s Rebuilding Trust imperative and the potential of an African Peace Engineering Corps(AfPEC).

He said: “A call for a new African renaissance in multilateralism to promote sustainable peace and economic development is therefore imperative. The huge success experienced in partnership among multilateral institutions and world leaders to combat the novel COVID 19 pandemic is a veritable case in point.”

The former President emphasized that the issue of trust is very critical in the discourse of multilateralism, stressing that “today, developing countries now believe that the developed nations pursue their economic interest to the detriment of the economies of the developing nations.”

The former President who also used the opportunity to thank world leaders for electing Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as the Director-general of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), further said: “There should be deliberate policies to address the issues of trade imbalance. It is a good thing that some multilateral institutions like the World Trade Organisation (WTO) which incidentally now has an African head, recognise this imperative, and are considering ways of building confidence and promoting mutually beneficial cooperation at both ends of the global economic divide.”

Dr. Jonathan who urged African nations to take the initiative of developing their economies in a sustainable manner through progressive leadership also called on investors from the United States and other industrialized nations to support that bid by establishing “cottage industries in Africa, just as they did and still do in other parts of the developing world.”

He stressed that “cottage industries that can process our raw materials such as minerals, farm and forest produce to some level in the value chain that will meet the global standard for export will benefit Africa more than aid in the long run.  This will help create employment and sustainable livelihoods, jumpstart industrialisation and improve the economies of African countries.

“The support African nations continue to receive by way of aid may have helped the continent solve few societal problems, but aid alone has not changed the face of Africa, neither has it translated to sustainable development. What will change Africa, is industrialization.”

He further applauded President Joe Biden’s bid to rebuild America and restore its global influence, as well as his commitment and faith in multilateralism.

Jonathan also weighed in on the issue of growing insecurity in the world and urged leaders to take action to curb arms proliferation.

He said: “The US and other super powers should also look into the issues of proliferation of small arms and light weapons.  As long as we allow the free movement of small arms and light weapons, the issue of banditry and other related crimes will continue to fester in developing countries and this will not augur well in our quest for sustainable peace and development.

“If the world must sustain relative peace, there is urgent need for the global management of the production and movement of small arms and light weapons.

World leaders must establish an international treaty to control the production and movement of small arms and light weapons just as they have done for nuclear weapons.

On the proposed African Peace Engineering Corps (AfPEC), he said:

“I am particularly thrilled with the concept of the African Peace Engineering Corps. I am also pleased to be part of this discussion because this is an exciting initiative that responds to an important part of Africa’s peace and development aspirations. Critically, it reinforces the African Peace and Security Architecture in many ways which is why I believe it should be given the necessary support.

“It is my belief that for the effective management of peace globally, there is the need for multipolar centers. The African Peace Engineering Corps should be one of such centers.

“The noble objectives of the African Peace Engineering Corps is in tandem with the philosophy of the West African Elders Forum; an initiative of the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation (GJF) which is focused on preventing and addressing conflicts, especially those arising from contestation for political power, through engagement, dialogue and persuasion.”

 

Buhari Sacked Me Because Of Atiku, 2019 Presidential Election – Former CJN, Onnoghen |The Source

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Adesina Soyooye
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By Adesina Soyooye

Almost two years after he was sacked as the Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Walter Onnoghen has, finally, disclosed why.

Onnoghen was, inexplicably, forced to resign on April 5, 2019, as the Chief Justice of Nigeria. Before his sack, and replacement by the current CJN, Muhammad Tanko, Onnoghen was hauled before the Code of Coduct Tribunal, CCT, where he was found guilty, among other things, of an untidy declaration of his assets.

The National Judicial Committee, NJC, in what was seen, in many circles, as a betrayal, backed his guilty verdict and sack.

But he has finally, sensationally, revealed that he was sacked because of Abubakar Atiku, the Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

Describing the allegations against him at the CCT as trumped up charges, Onnoghen said he was sacked by President Muhammadu Buhari over a lie from the pit of hell.

And the lie: Onnoghen said they alleged, within the Executive Arm of Government, that he had held a meeting with Atiku in Dubai, ostensibly to influence the result of the election if it ended up in Court. At the time, Atiku was the PDP Presidential candidate.

Onnoghen made the revelations during the unveiling of a book written by a legal luminary, Ogwu James Onoja, SAN, entitled: “Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules 2009, Practice, Procedure, Forms and Precedents.”

Onnoghen’s sack shocked not a few Nigerians, and reverberated across the globe. It was unprecedented.

But speaking in the presence of his wife who accompanied him, and  a venue packed full with legal minds in Nigeria, Onnoghen said the reason behind his sack first started as a rumour from the Executive,   a rumour he never took seriously, and so, never addressed, since he never went to Dubai, how much more meeting with Atiku. Big mistake.

Onnoghen: “There had been rumour from the Executive that I held a meeting with former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, preparatory to the 2019 general elections.”

He said he was surprised that even though the Federal Government had every machinery to investigate the allegation of his rumoured meeting with Atiku, nobody  did so. Instead, Onnoghen said, they decided to unlawfully go after him and his office. He was helpless.

Onnoghen: “The rumour was thick and spread fast, but I decided not to react to it because I never travelled to Dubai or held any meeting with anybody, including Atiku.”

However, according  to him, the ante was upped with a stage- managed trial at the Code of Conduct Tribunal. Prior to that, Onnoghen said he was neither invited nor accused of any wrongdoing.

“The action of the government got to the peak, when in the course of the trial, when parties had joined issues, an ex-parte application was suddenly brought in, and what followed was my  illegal and unlawful suspension as the CJN.”

Onnoghen’s sack was as controversial as the reluctance, on the path of Buhari, to  forward his name to the Senate for confirmation as the CJN, after the expiration of his acting period. It was renewed again, but was finally sent to the Senate by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, as Acting President, when Buhari was on a medical trip to the United Kingdom.

The unconfirmed speculation, then, was that Buhari preferred Tanko to Onnoghen as CJN, and so did not want him confirmed for political reasons.

With Onnoghen’s controversial sack, Tanko, then second in command, finally, became the CJN.

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