TheNewsGuru

Tag: Soludo

  • Anambra 2021: You were Obasanjo’s shoe cleaner – Soludo mocks Andy Uba

    Anambra 2021: You were Obasanjo’s shoe cleaner – Soludo mocks Andy Uba

    Professor Chukwuma Soludo has described Senator Andy Uba, as President Obasanjo’s domestic staff whose part of his duties was shoe cleaning.

    The candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chukwuma Soludo has described Andy Uba, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as President Obasanjo’s domestic staff who part of his duties was cleaning the former President’s shoes.

    Soludo disclosed this on Monday during the gubernatorial debate for the November 6, 2021, governorship election.

    Soludo claimed that Uba, who was a close confidant of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, was a domestic staff in the Aso Villa, cleaning the former President’s shoes.

    The former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) made the comments while speaking on his relationship with Uba during the Anambra governorship election debate organised by ARISE TV.

    He said, “I know Andy was a Masseur in the U.S.

    “He was a domestic staff in the Villa, who cleans the President’s shoes.

    “If throwing up my name gives Andy Uba a CV, then I will concede that to him.”

    Soludo also said that Uba begged him to join the APC.

    On the contrary, Uba said he made Soludo the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria during the tenure of the same former President, Olusegun Obasanjo.

    Uba tagged Soludo as an ingrate after he allegedly recommended him to Obasanjo for an appointment for the post of CBN governor.

    He said that despite Obasanjo referencing him as the reason for Soludo’s appointment when some traditional rulers came to the Villa on a thank-you visit, Soludo never showed the needed appreciation.

    He was quoted as saying, “When he (Soludo) became the CBN Governor, he came to my house to say thank you.

  • Anambra poll: APGA’s Soludo accuses APC’s Uba of kidnapping, certificate forgery

    Anambra poll: APGA’s Soludo accuses APC’s Uba of kidnapping, certificate forgery

    Anambra governorship aspirant, Charles Soludo, has accused his opponent Andy Uba of kidnapping and forgery.

    The two clashed during the Anambra Gubernatorial Debate organised by Arise TV on Monday.

    Soludo, a former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, accused Andy of kidnapping a sitting governor and forging his Senior Secondary School Certificate.

    Speaking to Uba, he said, “You don’t have a Senior School Certificate Examination result. Did you obtain a Senior School Certificate Examination result Certificate in 1974, did you? It’s forgery!

    Ubah recently appeared in court over the school certificate he allegedly submitted for the election. The court documents stated that the Form EC9 he submitted to INEC was full of false information.

    The year Uba claims he sat for the exams, 1974, the West African Examinations Council, who was listed in the suit, did not conduct the SSCE.

    Soludo, who is the flag bearer of the All Progressives Grand Alliance in the election, accused Uba, who is with the All Progressive Congress, of allegedly being part of those who masterminded the abduction of a former Anambra State governor.

    “My co-debator Andy Uba] by my right kidnapped a sitting governor.”

    The Anambra Governorship election is scheduled to hold on Saturday, November 6. The debate featured the three candidates representing the APC, APGA, and the PDP.

  • Anambra governorship debate: Soludo, Uba, Ozigbo take stand on IPOB

    Anambra governorship debate: Soludo, Uba, Ozigbo take stand on IPOB

    Ahead of the November, 6 governorship election in Anambra State, major governorship candidates which include Andy Uba of All Progressives Congress (APC), Chukwuma Soludo of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), and Valentine Ozigbo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have made their stands on the issues concerning the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

    The aforesaid contenders made their stance on IPOB public during a governorship debate, which is organised by Arise News Channel, with the support of a non-governmental organisation, Enough-is-Enough Nigeria.

    Speaking on the topic, Soludo said, ” I am on record speaking, I visited Nnamdi Kanu in 2016 in Kuje prison, with prominent people to ask for his release in line with a court order.

    Summarily, he said dialogue is the best solution to the IPOB issue.

    Ozigbo said Kanu is a product of leadership failure. He also urged for dialogue and called for Kanu’s release.

    On his part, Uba said he believes in engagement. He said the agitation is as a result of joblessness.

    On IPOB again, Uba declined supporting or condemning the group. He said engagement is the right step to take. Soludo is a pan Nigerian. He, however, said the IPOB deserves to be heard; dialogue. Ozigbo said there are certain things that IPOB does that he supports. He, however, said he does not support the group’s extremisms.

  • Infrastructure: Ozigbo questions Soludo, Uba’s integrity having held top public offices yet ignored Anambra’s deplorableness

    Infrastructure: Ozigbo questions Soludo, Uba’s integrity having held top public offices yet ignored Anambra’s deplorableness

    Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the Anambra State governorship election, Valentine Ozigbo, has questioned the integrity of his counterparts, Andy Uba of All Progressives Congress (APC), Chukwuma Soludo of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) on the state of infrastructure development in the state.

    Valentine Ozigbo says the duo representinh APGA and APC have failed the Anambra people, as far as Infrastructure is concerned in the state.

    He stressed that both Soludo and Uba who hailed from his the same Local Government with himself had held top public offices in Nigeria and never did anything tangible with the privilege of holding such offices.

    Ozigbo made the remarks during a governorship debate, which is organised by Arise News Channel, with the support of a non-governmental organisation, Enough-is-Enough Nigeria.

    “Public-private partnership is essentially government revenue alone cannot fix the infrastructure.”

    Ozigbo added that he will also cut unnecessary waste to get funding.”

    Soludo speaking on infrastructure admitted that there is a road challenge that needs to be fixed. He said will declare a state of emergency on roads; continuing from where Obiano stopped. He also said he will launch an urban renewal agenda if elected.

    He also said he has thought through how the roads will be funded.

    On his part, Uba said he will also declare a state of emergency on roads. “Soludo speaking long English here,” Uba said. He questioned the APGA candidate about what he has been advising presidents about. The APC candidate also said he will ensure the state’s airport becomes effective, saying it’s not working at the moment.

  • Anambra Guber: ‘Stop feigning ignorance about Anambra’s huge debts,’ Uba tells Soludo

    Anambra Guber: ‘Stop feigning ignorance about Anambra’s huge debts,’ Uba tells Soludo

    The Senator Andy Uba Governorship Campaign Organisation, SAUGCO has asked former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Professor Charles Soludo to stop feigning ignorance about the total debt liability of the state he so desperately seeks to govern.

    Soludo, candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA in next week’s Anambra governorship election, had while speaking on Channels TV programme, Politics Today, yesterday, shocked the show’s host, Seun Okinbaloye, and viewers when he could not put a figure to the state’s debt profile.

    The usually verbose Professor of Economics had been pointedly asked if he knew what the state’s debt overhang was, and how he intended to deal with it.

    Instead of offering a definitive answer, the APGA candidate embarked on a rigmarole, before stating that he would find out when he becomes governor.

    Undeterred, Okinbaloye pressed further, pointing out that statistics from the country’s Debt Management Office, DMO, indicated that Anambra owed N60 billion in domestic debt, and $116 million in external loans.

    However, the real shock emerged when the eminent Professor, renown for his oratorical skills than sound macro economic solutions, said: ‘We are going to verify that. Borrowed from who, who are the creditors?’

    “We see Soludo’s demurred stance on a very sensitive issue that affects the lives of the people as cheap politics and an attempt to cover up the sins of his pay masters to the detriment of the State.

    “We are however happy that APGA’s antics are already known to the people who are waiting to finally send them packing on November 6.

    “Ironically, data released by the DMO on December 31, 2020 indicated that Anambra’s domestic debt stood at N59,013 billion as at September 30, 2020, while the state’s external debt profile was $115,886 million as at June, 2020.

    “In deed, it is shocking that a Professor Soludo who should have such information at the tip of his fingers, would elect to play politics with such information crucial to the lifeblood of the state, or was simply being mischievous,” Hon. Victor Afam Ogene, Director, Media and Publicity of the Senator Andy Uba Governorship Campaign Organisation, SAUGCO said in a statement today.

    “Whichever is the case, Professor Soludo owes ndi Anambra the patriotic duty of researching into what really is the debt liability of our dear state, Anambra.

    “In fact, for a man who was two years ago, in November 2019, given the task of fashioning out the grandiose 50-year Anambra 2070 Vision Agenda not to be seized of important data such as the profit and loss account of the state, speaks eloquently about his capacity for accomplishing small, practical assignments.

    “Perhaps, it is this obvious flaw that caused former Minister of Finance and current Director General of the World Trade Organization, WTO to author a damning confidential report on Soludo in January, 2015.”

    Okonjo-Iweala: “There is definitely an issue of character with Professor Charles Soludo and his desperate search for power and relevance in Nigeria. Nigerians should therefore beware of so-called intellectuals without character and wisdom because this combination is fatal.”

    Could this character flaw have been at play when Soludo decided to cover up Governor Willy Obiano’s obsessive borrowing binge, in exchange for his role in seeking to puppeteer him into political office?

    “As an irreducible minimum, the Senator Andy Uba Governorship Campaign Organisation, SAUGCO, requests Professor Soludo to undertake the urgent task of finding out the exact and total debt liability of Anambra state – for, in accomplishing this task, Professor Soludo would have rendered an invaluable service to a people he so eagerly crave to govern,” the statement added.

  • Anambra guber: Soludo Campaign Mocks Andy Uba, APC Candidate

    Anambra guber: Soludo Campaign Mocks Andy Uba, APC Candidate

    The Chukwuma Soludo Gubernatorial Campaign has challenged the purported candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the November 6 governorship candidate, Senator Andy Uba, to flag off his campaign in a big way, as Professor Chukwuma Charles Soludo, the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) candidate, did on Saturday, September 25 at Alex Ekwueme Square in Awka, the state capital.

    “The APC purported candidate has been running away from the good people of Anambra State for weeks because he is afraid of his own shadow in the state”, the Soludo Campaign stated in a statement in Awka today signed by C. Don Adinuba, the Communications Director of the Campaign who is also the Anambra State Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment.

    Uba suspended rallies on September 30, claiming that it was due to the security situation in the state.

    But the Soludo Campaign dismissed the claim, saying the suspension has nothing to do with the state’s security.

    “After all, Professor Soludo, who was attacked on March 31 in his hometown of Isuofia in Aguata Local Government Area while addressing a large number of youth in the town and in the process lost three gallant police officers, is holding huge rallies all over the state, touring two local government areas daily, together with the fearless Anambra State governor, Chief Willie Obiano.

    “Uba is very afraid of Anambra people, the very people he wants to rule by all means”.

    Adinuba continued: “In fact, his fear of ndi Anambra borders on phobia because of what he has done to the state since his days in the President Olusegun Obasanjo administration when the state witnessed abduction of the sitting governor and his so-called resignation from office, as well as the forced movement of the governor to the Okija shrine in the dead of the night to swear an oath of critical and perpetual allegiance to a tiny clique of so-called godfathers, the mayhem of November, 2003, in which almost all institutions of the state were burnt down in broad daylight and the signing of the notorious Irrevocable Standing Payment Orders (ISPOs) through which billions of naira were starched away by a tiny clique of politicians whom Chinua Ache memorably described as ‘renegades determined to turn my home state of Anambra into a lawless and bankrupt fiefdom’.

    By claiming that the security situation is not good, according to Mr Adinuba, Senator Uba and his group are passing a vote of no confidence on President Muhammadu Buhari who is the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces and to whom all security and intelligence services in the country are answerable.

    The statement rather claimed that Uba’s inability to hold a big rally where his campaign will take off formally “springs from his growing unpopularity and outright rejection not only by the people of Anambra State but also by top members of his own party, including President Buhari, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Labour and Employment Minister Chris Ngige who is the APC founder in the state and National Inland Waterways Authority chief executive George Moghalu”.

    The Soludo Campaign recalled that on the two occasions the APC in Anambra State announced last month that President Buhari would flag off its gubernatorial electioneering effort, the President ignored the party.

    “Even when it announced that Vice president Osinbajo would flag off the campaign in September, in Onitsha, Professor Osinbajo ignored those using his name in vain because, as a Christian pastor, he didn’t want his name to be soiled by Uba who emerged the APC candidate in a sacrilegious manner.

    “It is unconscionable for Uba to claim that he scored a whole 320,201 out of a so-called 348,490 votes to win the phantom primary election on June 26, 2021, when the entire APC membership in the state is not up to 30,000.

    “No one person voted in the alleged primary election as no electoral materials were brought to Anambra State.

    “Anambra State has long passed this kind of gangster politics”.

  • Nigerian Democracy on the march, judiciary on right path; Anambra Government lauds S’Court verdict affirming Oye as APGA chair, Soludo as flag bearer

    Nigerian Democracy on the march, judiciary on right path; Anambra Government lauds S’Court verdict affirming Oye as APGA chair, Soludo as flag bearer

    The Anambra State Government has hailed the Supreme Court judgement affirming Victor Oye as the authentic National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and Charles Soludo as the party’s flag bearer in the forthcoming governorship election in the state.

    Reacting to the verdict which was delivered yesterday, the Commissioner for Information C. Don Adinuba in a statement signed and released on behalf of the Anambra State Government said the Supreme Court has once again demonstrated that it is the temple of justice.

    Read full statement below:

    Anambra Welcomes Supreme Court Verdict On APGA Leadership

    1. The people and Government of Anambra State have received with joy, like the rest of Nigeria, the Supreme Court judgment this morning upholding the decision of the Court of Appeal sitting in Kano that Chief Victor Oye is the authentic National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA). He is, therefore, the right and proper person to submit the name of the APGA candidate in the November 6 gubernatorial election in Anambra State to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). His submission of the name of the former Central Bank governor, Professor Chukwuma Charles Soludo, to INEC as the APGA candidate in the forthcoming election following the Anambra State Congress of the party held on June 23, 2021, which Professor Soludo won overwhelmingly in a peaceful and transparent manner, was in accordance with the extant laws of the land.

    2. The Supreme Court has, once again, demonstrated that the Nigerian judiciary is a temple of justice. It does not just give judgments but also dispenses justice. It does not just comply with the letter of the law but also acts in accordance with the spirit of the law. It provides hope for not just the common man but also all citizens, regardless of class, gender, ethnicity or faith.

    3. There is massive rejoicing throughout Anambra State and, indeed, all over Nigeria at the Supreme Court judgment. The people feel justice has been done. The Supreme Court justices have met the expectations and wishes of the people. In other words, public confidence in the judiciary has been restored, despite the activities of a few members of the Bench like Mr Justice Musa Ubale of the Jigawa State High Court at Birnin Kudu who last June 30 gave a preposterous judgment over the APGA leadership by assuming territorial jurisdiction over a development which happened in Awka, Anambra State. It was a new low for the country’s judiciary.

    4. The Supreme Court should not stop at providing the right judgments on cases but punish members of both the Bar who bring to courts matters meant to ridicule the judiciary and of the Bench who entertain such suits and pass judgments on them. The Honorable Justice Chioma Nwosu-Iheme of the Court of Appeal in Awka served as the conscience of the nation when she in the open court on Tuesday, August 3, excoriated such legal professionals who run helter-skelter from one court to another in Birnin Kudu and Owerri as well as Enugu in what lawyers call forum shopping. The Section on Public Interest and Development Law of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), led by Dr Monday Ubani, also lived up to its reputation as the conscience of our society when it criticized such lawyers, particularly senior lawyers among them, whose conduct brings their profession to public odium. The NBA led by Olumide Akpata also rose to the challenge of the day by not only criticizing such members of the Bar and Bench but also setting up a panel to look into their behavior.

    5. Nigerian democracy is on the march. And the judiciary is on the right path. God bless Nigeria.

     

    Signed

     

    C. Don Adinuba

     

    Commissioner for Information & Public Enlightenment.

  • Anambra guber: Supreme Court affirms Soludo as APGA’s flag bearer

    Anambra guber: Supreme Court affirms Soludo as APGA’s flag bearer

    The Supreme Court on Thursday affirmed Professor Charles Soludo as the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in the Anambra election slated to hold on November 6, 2021.

    The five-man panel led by Justice Mary Odili also affirmed Mr. Victor Oye as the chairman of the party.

    The apex court, in a unanimous decision by a five-man panel of justices led by Justice Mary Odili, upheld the judgement of the Kano State Division of the Court of Appeal, which validated the primary election that produced Soludo.

    According to the Supreme Court, the appellate court was right when it quashed a Jigawa State High Court judgement that recognised a parallel primary election that was conducted by the Jude Okeke-led faction of APGA.

    It will be recalled that Soludo emerged from the primary election that was organised by the Chief Victor Oye-led faction of the party.

    Thursday’s ruling ends the long-running battle over the leadership of the party and candidature for the Anambra guber poll.

    TheNewsGuru.com, TNG reports that in July, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had omitted the former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor’s name from the list of candidates for the election and instead listed Chukwuma Umeoji as the party’s flag bearer.

    The electoral body had explained that its decision was based on court orders, a move Soludo described as surprising.

    But a month later, the Mahmood Yakubu-led INEC made a u-turn and named Soludo as the APGA candidate for the Anambra election.

    Again, the commission said the development was in line with court judgements on the matter.

    “The commission was served with the judgement of the Court of Appeal (Kano Division) which set aside the judgement of the High Court of Jigawa State on the leadership of APGA and the nomination of its candidates for the Anambra Governorship election,” INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye explained.

  • Anambra : I’ll produce 1, 000 millionaires yearly if voted governor – Soludo

    Anambra : I’ll produce 1, 000 millionaires yearly if voted governor – Soludo

    Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, Governorship Candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in Anambra, says he will produce one thousand millionaires yearly if elected.

    He made the pledge at the official flag off of his campaign in Awka on Saturday, ahead of the Anambra Nov. 6 governorship election.

    Soludo, a former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) used the event to formally present his manifesto.

    The official flag off of Soludo’s campaign, was coming barely 41 days to the election, and is the first official flag off by any of the 18 political parties fielding candidates for the election.

    Soludo said the manifesto was a well-thought-out document and had all in it for all round transformation of Anambra.

    “If I am elected the next governor, my administration will produce one thousand youth millionaires every year. By the grace of God, the next APGA government will ensure that 130, 000 jobs are created yearly in Anambra,” he promised.

    Soludo, flanked by his running mate, Dr Ifeanyi Ibezim, said his vision was to ensure that any child born in Anambra would not leave the state in search of greener pastures elsewhere.

    Gov. Willie Obiano who also spoke, said he was proud to have Soludo as his potential successor, adding that the former CBN governor had the pedigree and contact to drive Anambra to the next level.

    Obiano who listed the signature projects he did to include the Anambra Airport, 12, 000 seating capacity International Conference Centre and Awka Stadium, said he was convinced that Soludo would do better than him.

    “The former APGA government before me did well, my government performed better and I hope if elected, Soludo will be best,” he said.

    Obiano said, with Soludo, APGA would have landslide victory at the poll.

  • Anambra guber: Soludo formally presented as APGA candidate as party kickstarts campaign

    Anambra guber: Soludo formally presented as APGA candidate as party kickstarts campaign

    The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) has flagged off its campaign for the forthcoming governorship election in Anambra State.

    This comes six weeks to the date announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct the poll across the local government areas of the state.

    Party faithful, in hundreds, thronged the Alex Ekwueme Square in Awka, the state capital on Saturday where a former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Professor Chukwuma Soludo, was formally presented as the candidate of APGA in the November 6 election.

    His emergence as the party’s flagbearer in the poll followed a series of disagreements – that led to court cases – among party leaders over the choice of candidate for the poll.

    Incumbent governor, Willie Obiano, who has served the state on two terms, was physically present at the event, along with his wife, Mrs Ebele.

    The couple, Soludo, and APGA National Chairman, Victor Oye, among other party leaders, took turns to address the crowd of party supporters at the event.

    Upon taking the stage, Oye who was the first of the aforementioned four to speak reeled out the achievements of the party over the years.

    “APGA has performed in Anambra State,” he said. “Our records in Anambra State are impeccable; our records in Anambra State, nobody can erase it. Our governor, Willie Obiano, has performed creditably and the incoming governor (in his view), Chukwuma Soludo, will perform superlatively.

    “There is no political party in Nigeria that has the capacity to turn around the lives of the people as much as APGA has done.”

    Oye also took a swipe at the two frontline political parties in the country – All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), saying, “Very soon, both of them will go into an irreversible coma, and APGA will become the ultimate undertakers.”

    In her remarks, Mrs Obiano whose had a majority of her speech delivered in Igbo canvassed support for the party.

    According to her, it is important for the people to vote for the party’s candidate in the coming election in order to continue to enjoy the dividends of democracy in the state.

    Thereafter, Soludo was presented the party’s flag – symbolising his status as the party’s candidate – by Governor Obiano and Mr Oye.

    He began his acceptance speech with a song titled ‘Who Can Battle With The Lord?’ after which he thanked the party leaders and members for their support all through the events that led to his emergence as the party’s candidate.

    “With a deep sense of humility and gratitude to Almighty, gratitude to our lovely party that gave me the opportunity to be able to fly this flag, we accept to fly this flag,” the party’s candidate said. “By the special grace of God, the will and wish of the people have been expressed.

    “There are 32 support and self-funding groups with a membership of over 500,000 across Anambra, Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Enugu, everywhere, that have worked tirelessly for over two years.

    “The next thing that should happen in Anambra will be to consolidate the wonderful works that are ongoing, especially under the 16 years of APGA in Anambra State.”

    Governor Obiano, in his remarks, explained why he believes his party will win again in the forthcoming election.

    “In the last 15 and half years, we have delivered the dividend of democracy to Anambra residents, and particularly in the last seven and half years,” he said. “That is why our candidate will win, and win landslide.

    “So many things have been said about my achievements which most of you know but let me show some examples. The international cargo and passenger airport in Anambra that I built in 15 months, the runway is the second-longest in Nigeria. It has the tallest tower in Nigeria and the most modern terminal building, and I built this airport without borrowing a kobo.”