TheNewsGuru

Tag: PDP leaders

  • JUST IN: PDP leaders storm NASS, protest Buhari’s aide’s nomination as INEC Commissioner

    JUST IN: PDP leaders storm NASS, protest Buhari’s aide’s nomination as INEC Commissioner

    The leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party on Wednesday stormed the National Assembly to protest against the nomination of the Special Assistant to the President on Social Media, Lauretta Onochie, for appointment as a National Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission, representing Delta State.

    This happened as the party vowed that four of of its lawmakers that recently decamped to the All Progressives Congress will be made to lose their seats in the Senate.

    The National Chairman of the PDP, Prince Uche Secondus led the protest.

    Secondus in a petition addressed to the Chairman, Senate Committee on INEC, and titled: “Rejection of the nomination of Lauretta Onochie as INEC Commissioner” said the Senate should save itself in particular and Nigeria in general from ridicule by rejecting Onochie.

    The letter signed by the National Secretary of the PDP, Senator Umaru Ibrahim Tsauri, reads: “The National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has learnt of the nomination of Mrs. Lauretta Onochie as a Commissioner in INEC by Mr. President and Commander-in-Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

    “The nomination which was read on the floor of the Senate and forwarded to your committee for screening has created a lot of misgivings in the court of public opinion and judgement.

    “Our Party considers it as important to bring to the attention of your committee the fact that our duty is to let you know that the National Assembly must endeavour to do things right and in accordance with the dictates of the laws of the country.

    “The Nigerian Constitution 1999 (as amended) clearly prohibits people like Mrs. Onochie, who is very partisan, in fact, a card carrying member of a political party to be appointed into INEC as an electoral umpire.

    “Section 156(i)(a) and third schedule, Part 1, Item F, Paragraph 14(1) of the Constitution have out rightly disqualified her.

    “We are, therefore, writing to ask the Chairman to save the Senate President, the Senate itself and Mr. President from being ridiculed.

    “We call on your committee to reject the nomination of Mrs. Onochie because she cannot be neutral or independent as she is factually known to be an unrepentant card carrying member of the APC with uncountable number of proofs.

    “Her confirmation will be a wholesome abuse of democratic tenets and dragging the reputation of the President and the Senate in the political mud.

    “Please, don’t make an avoidable legislative and political mistake for the country.”

    Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the protest which took place at the outer gate of the National Assembly popularly called MOPOL Gate, the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan, insisted that lawmakers who recently dumped the party and pitched their tent with the APC will be made to vacate their seats in due course.

  • Photos: PDP leaders hold ‘crucial meeting’ with Ebonyi governor over alleged defection to APC

    Photos: PDP leaders hold ‘crucial meeting’ with Ebonyi governor over alleged defection to APC

    Sequel to news making the roundabout on his proposed defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC), Ebonyi State Governor Engineer Dave Umahi was on Tuesday engaged in a crucial meeting by the PDP leaders in Abuja.

    The PDP National Working Committee (NWC) moved to stop the governor from leaving the party.

    The party spokesman, Kola Ologbondiya, released pictures from the meeting and wrote: “State of the nation: @OfficialPDPNig just held a crucial meeting with Ebonyi State Governor, Engr. Dave Umahi, to deliberate on national issues.”

    The governor was seen in the pictures smiling and holding hands with the National Chairman Uche Secondus and other NWC members.

    Sources in the state maintained that the defection is on course.

    It was gathered that two very close aides of the governor met with the 64 development centre coordinators in the state where modalities for the defection were discussed.

    Sources at the meeting said no date was fixed for the defection but that it is imminent.

    The sources said the two aides, who are members of the governor’s kitchen cabinet as well as the State Executive Council, told the coordinators that there was no going back on the defection.

    The coordinators also pledged their support and that of their supporters in their domains to the governor in whatever step he takes.

    Also, the 13 local government chairmen who were present at the meeting reiterated their support and readiness to defect with the governor.

    “Wherever the governor and our leader goes, we will go with him. We are very loyal and committed to the project,” one of those at the meeting said.

    One of the coordinators posted an APC flag on his social media handle after the meeting and wrote: “APC, here I come, and I come in peace.”

    The source said the governor’s recent engagements as the Southeast Governors Forum chairman, especially on issues around #EndSARS, may have delayed the yet-to-be-announced defection decision.

    It was also learnt that 16 of the 24 members of the Ebonyi House of Assembly have so far agreed to jump ship with the governor.

    The APC in the state at the weekend said the governor’s defection was a done deal and only a matter of time.

  • Atiku, Saraki, Dogara, Melaye, other PDP leaders with ‘links’ to Hushpuppi must be investigated – APC

    Atiku, Saraki, Dogara, Melaye, other PDP leaders with ‘links’ to Hushpuppi must be investigated – APC

    The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has called on anti-graft agencies to investigate the link between some notable leaders of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the leader of the Dubai based international e-fraudster Ramon Olorunwa Abbas popularly known as “Hushpuppi”.

    The party said the media space has been awashed with reports of criminal conspiracy linking some top echelon of the PDP with the fraudster who is currently facing criminal charges on cyber-enabled fraud in the United States of America.

    The party through it’s Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the governing party, Mr. Yekini Nabena in a statement in Abuja on Saturday demanded for an investigation by the country’s anti-graft agencies of money laundering allegedly linking some PDP leaders and financiers to the Dubai-based international criminal ring.

    The statement reads in part: “Reports of the criminal conspiracy linking the top echelon of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) with Ramon Olorunwa Abbas also known as “Ray Hushpuppi” who was recently arrested along with associate(s) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates and extradited to the United States of America to face trial over cyber-enabled fraud and Business Email Compromise (BEC) schemes should be a matter of serious interest to relevant authorities in Nigeria.

    “We note that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has already declared the arraigned Instagram celebrity wanted over fraud allegations. However, the EFCC, Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) and other sister agencies must investigate money laundering reports linking some PDP leaders and financiers to the Dubai-based international criminal ring”.

    The party said the call for investigation became necessary in order to unravel the choice of Dubai for the pre-2019 general election “strategic” meetings of the opposition party and the reported relationship of “Hushpuppi and some leaders including the opposition Presidential candidate.

    According to Nabena, “PDP leadership turned Dubai into their “Strategic” meeting place ahead of the 2019 general elections in Nigeria and “Hushpuppi’s” affinity with the PDP leadership is not mere coincidence.

    “At different times, “Hushpuppi” was seen photographed in Dubai meeting with the PDP’s 2019 presidential candidate, Alh. Atiku Abubakar; former Senate President, Bukola Saraki; former Speaker, House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara; Senator Dino Melaye among other PDP stalwarts.

    “While relevant authorities investigate the nature of their relationship and business partnership, we also challenge the PDP leadership to do same by opening up on the nature of the relationship, particularly the kind of services the arrested “Hushpuppi” provided them”.

    Ahead of Edo and Ondo governorship elections, the ruling party in the statement renewed it’s call against monetised elections and vote buying schemes which the PDP has serially deployed in past elections.

    The party then urged relevant authorities to “up their guard to prevent this practices that threaten the sanctity of our elections. The people’s will and votes should determine elections, not illicit money used to buy votes.”

  • Jonathan, other PDP leaders responsible for rot in health sector – Buhari

    President Muhammadu Buhari has blamed past leaders, especially the immediate past administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, for neglecting the health sector between 2010 and 2015.

    Buhari said this while delivering his speech at the 58th Annual Delegates Meeting and scientific conference of the Nigeria Medical Association in Abuja on Thursday.

    The President, who was represented by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, said when the global price of crude oil was over $100 per barrel per day, the Jonathan administration failed to seize the opportunity to invest in the health sector.

    Speaking at the event with the theme, ‘Quality Healthcare: An Indicator of Good Governance; the President said investments in public health care must be improved.

    He said paying for health care from budgets would not be able to improve the health sector unless other concerned parties and donor agencies augment government’s efforts.

    Buhari said, “It is no longer news that we inherited a troubled health care sector and the sector has been troubled for a long time. As one of the manifestations of the severely low spending on infrastructure generally and in health care in particular, I think that what we have seen through the years is a scandalously low level of funding for public health care in Nigeria.

    “The level of public sector investment in health care in our recent past has in no way reflected our earnings, the high oil earnings, especially in the period between 2010 and 2015. That was when we earned the highest from oil prices.”

    The President added that insurgency in the North-East which started in the period further brought the health sector to its knees with the attendant impact on the level of immunisation and availability of medical personnel.

    In his remarks, the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, said there was a need for focus to be shifted to primary health care centres and not the secondary and tertiary institutions.

    Saraki further stated that the National Health Act would be fully implemented even as he revealed that the budget would be ready in a few days.