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Tag: south east

  • INEC disenfranchised 8m South east voters, Obi declares

    INEC disenfranchised 8m South east voters, Obi declares

    Vice presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Mr. Peter Obi on Tuesday stated that the results declared by Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from Anambra state was unacceptable to the party.

    He accused the electoral umpire of marginalizing over 8 million registered voters in the South East in Saturday’s Presidential and National Assembly elections.

    Addressing newsmen in his Onitsha residence, Obi said that the elections were systematically planned to ensure the zone did not participate fully in the exercise.

    He claimed only 20 percent were able to cast their votes out of 10 million registered voters in the region.

    According to him: “You will recall that on the Election Day, I said that the process was clumsy and we also had major problem of card readers and most people could not vote.

    “When over 400,000 Card Readers got burnt, it became clear that something was wrong somewhere and INEC could not save the situation and they will not allow people to vote manually.

    “But in some other parts of the country people were allowed to vote manually and it was accepted by the electoral body.

    “Now how can you tell me that a state like Yobe and Borno produced the number of voters that is higher than Anambra and Ebony states put together?

    “The two states are areas that have been at war and I wonder how they got Card Readers that are working so well despite the war situation that they found themselves.”

    Obi lamented over the retrogressive disposition the country. He said instead of building on achievements of the 2015 general elections, the nation was on a reverse

    He added: “The impressive turn out of voters was discouraged by the performance of the electoral body last Saturday.”

    Obi further condemned the harassment and attacks members of his party suffered in the hands of security agencies targeted at intimidating them.

    He however stated it was not in his powers to announce any demand for the cancellation of the election, saying, “It is left for the party to make its position clear on the matter.”

     

  • Elections: Ohanaeze denies plots to sabotage Buhari’s campaign in South East

    Apex Igbo socio-cultural group Ohanaeze Ndigbo has dispelled insinuations that it intentionally fixed its Ime Obi meeting for January 24 to clash with President Muhammad Buhari’s visit to the Southeast.

    The organisation said its attention was drawn to “a mendacious news item that Ohanaeze Ndigbo deliberately fixed their January 24 Ime Obi meeting to sabotage the campaign tour of the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate for the forthcoming election, President Buhari, to the Southeast.”

    A release by the Special Adviser on Media & Publicity to the Ohanaeze Ndigbo President-General, Chief Emeka Attamah, frowned at such an “insidious allegation” which, he said, was outside the disposition and character of such a hallowed group.

    Attamah stated that the truth of the matter was that the National Executive Council (NEC) ofOhanaeze Ndigbo had chosen the date for the meeting oblivious of the APC campaign time-table.

    He explained that in deference to the Minister of Labour & Productivity, Dr. Chris Ngige and the Chairman of the Southeast Governors’ Forum and Ebonyi State Governor Dave Umahi, who both called his (Nwodo’s) attention to the clash, the group shifted the time for the meeting from 10am to 4pm on the same day at the instance of Dr Ngige.

    Ohanaeze stated that they were aware of the extra cost implications due to those that would have gone but would now be accommodated in hotels but said it was to give all Igbo sons and daughters scheduled for the meeting opportunity to be there.

    The statement added: “Although Ohanaeze Ndigbo is apolitical, it could aggregate the collective interest of Ndigbo for a candidate that answers to their wish and inclination but won’t but be dragged down to the level of vile politicking.”

    It called on the purveyors of such petty innuendos to desist forthwith as Ohanaeze Ndigbounder the leadership of Chief Nwodo would remain sterling and unimpeachable and wishes Mr. President a joyous visit to the Southeast.

     

     

  • 2019: MASSOB dares IPOB, insists elections will hold in South-East

    2019: MASSOB dares IPOB, insists elections will hold in South-East

    The Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra has disagreed with the Indigenous People of Biafra over whether elections should hold this year in the South-East and other parts of the defunct Republic of Biafra.

    The outlawed IPOB, led by Nnamdi Kanu, has been insisting that the elections will not hold in the concerned areas, particularly the South-East states.

    But after a ‘National Executive Council meeting’ in Enugu on Friday, MASSOB declared that the scheduled elections would take place in ‘Biafraland’.

    MASSOB, which stressed that it would not back down from the agitation for a sovereign Biafran state, noted that pro-Biafra activists could not ‘forcibly’ impose their interests on the people of Nigeria.

    According to the group, southeasterners who believe in Nigeria are free to participate in the elections.

    A statement signed by the National Director of Information, MASSOB, Comrade Samuel Edeson, disclosed that the executive council meeting, which held at Awgu, Enugu State, was chaired by the group’s leader, Uchenna Madu.

    Parts of the statement read, “The leadership of the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra, after a National Executive Council meeting presided by our leader, Uchenna Madu, at our headquarters in Awgu, Enugu State, which was attended by all the local government area, state and zonal coordinators, as well as national directors, unanimously agreed and declared that this year’s general elections of the Nigerian state would not be stopped or boycotted in Biafraland.

    “MASSOB, having realised that Biafrans cannot forcibly impose our desires and interests on the people of Nigeria, and also in line with the principle of non-violence, unanimously agreed and resolved that the Nigerian state will conduct its political exercises, including general elections.

    “The Independent National Electoral Commission will be allowed to conduct elections in Biafra for our people that still believe in the Nigerian state.

    “Nigerian elections will come and go irrespective of whoever wins at both national and state levels but we must continue with the struggle for the actualisation of Biafra despite internal and external distractions.”

    Apparently referring to IPOB, the statement noted that Biafran agitators who wish to boycott the polls were free to stay at home on election days, without disturbing other members of the public who might wish to partake in the exercise.

    “MASSOB advises that other pro-Biafra groups that planned to boycott the elections are entitled to stay at home during elections days.

    “Our people that still believe in the Nigerian project are free to participate in the electoral processes of Nigeria, including this year’s elections,” the statement said.

    MASSOB added that it was committed to the actualisation of the Biafran state “through the principle of non-violence and international diplomacy in collaboration with other progressive pro-Biafra groups”.

  • PDP speaks on Ekweremadu, South-East govs allegedly working for Buhari’s reelection

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has denied the statement attributed to the Buhari Media Organisation that the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, and South-East governors were working for President Muhammadu Buhari’s reelection.

    A statement by the party after its meeting with party leaders in the zone accused the All Progressives Congress of inciting the people of the region against Ekweremadu and the PDP governors in the zone.

    The statement signed by the Publicity Secretary for the PDP in the South-East, Dr Chijioke Ekwegh, said the BMO was only playing mind games.

    The PDP said apart from poverty,insecurity,electoral fraud, unemployment, gagging the press, nepotism and corruption, the Buhari administration had not achieved anything tangible since 2015.

    The opposition party urged Nigerians to reject Buhari and vote for its candidate Atiku Abubakar in next month’s presidential poll.

    The statement partly read, “The attention of the South-East zone of the PDP has been drawn to an amateurish propaganda by the Buhari Media Organisation, a pro-All Progressives Congress group, wherein it claimed that Ike Ekweremadu and South-East PDP governors of PDP were working for APC’s victory in the 2019 presidential election.

    “The fact that it came from the BMO clearly shows that it is a lie from the pit of hell meant to divide and disorganise the PDP ahead of the general elections.

    “This misadventure by the BMO has, however, helped to expose the source of the lingering attempt to run down our party leaders in the zone, incite the people against them, and create bad blood among Ndigbo. Although we are in an election season, such extreme propaganda and mind games can’t be tolerated.

    “The PDP remains one big family and every attempt, such as this, to play on our intelligence cannot stand.”

    Meanwhile, the pan-Igbo sociocultural group, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has faulted Buhari’s claim that his administration has been fair to the South-East.

    Spokesman for the group, Uche Achi-Okpaga, told our correspondent that Buhari was being “economical with the truth”.

    The President said during an interview on Arise TV on Monday that he had been fair to the South-East, in spite of the poor low votes (198,000) he got from the region in the 2015 presidential election.

    He said though any local government could have given him the figure he got from the zone, he appointed ministers from the region to key positions in his government. But Achi-Okpaga said the appointment of ministers was a statutory matter which made every state entitled to one in line with the constitution of the country.

    The spokesman said, “Is that a favour? That is a statutory matter; if it were not so, he (Buhari) would not have appointed any one from the South-East.

    “Apart from ministerial appointments, what other appointment has he made from the zone? Let him tell us. In all ramifications, he has not been fair to the Igbo. He is being economical with the truth.”

  • No division in South-East PDP, says Obi

    No division in South-East PDP, says Obi

    Mr Peter Obi, the Vice Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), says there is no division in the party in the South-East geo-political zone.
    Obi said this on Sunday in Awka, while addressing party faithful at an interdenominational church service and reception organised in his honour by the Anambra state chapter of the party.
    He described the rumour that the PDP leaders in the zone were working against the party’s interest in the upcoming polls as false.

    He said that members of the party in the zone remained one family and were working hard to ensure its victory at the polls.
    “Let me tell you all, PDP in the South-East is working as one family and when the votes are turned in, you will all see it.
    “We are working as one family,” the former Anambra state governor said.
    He said that PDP’s victory at the polls would further guarantee the survival of Nigeria and give the youths a better future.
    He assured the people that the second Niger Bridge and the federal roads in the zone would be fixed by PDP within six months of its assumption of office.
    Obi, who was at the event with his wife, Margaret, commended the people of the state for the warm reception accorded him.
    He said that his mission was to assist the party’s Presidential Candidate, former Vice President Abubakar Atiku, to restore sanity in the country.

    He promised that they would jointly work to re-create a country “where unemployment will be tackled, jobs created, infrastructure provided and the economy rebuilt.”
    Earlier, the state chairman of PDP, Chief Ndubisi Nwobu, urged Nigerians to vote out the All Progressives Congress for failing to deliver on its campaign promises to Nigerians.

    Nwobu said, “They promised to make the naira one to a dollar, reduce the cost of food items and stop the importation of refined petroleum products, but none of those promises were delivered.”
    Highlights of the event included the defection of some politicians in the state, together with their teeming supporters, to PDP.
    Prominent among the defectors were Mr Godwin Ezeemo, the former governorship candidate of the Progressive Peoples Alliance, and Yul Edochie, a Nollywood actor and former governorship candidate of the Democratic Peoples Congress (DPC) in the state.
    Mr Hygers Igwebuike, a former factional governorship candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance in the state, also defected to PDP.

  • Senate passes South East Development Commission Bill

    The Senate at plenary on Wednesday, passed the South East Development Commission (Establishment) Bill 2018.

    The proposed commission aims at enhancing the infrastructural development of the South East zone, which is grappling with huge ecological challenges.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that it also seeks to act as a catalyst for the development of the commercial potentials of the zone.

    The proposed legislation requires the concurrence of the House of Representatives to become a bill of the National Assembly, and the president’s assent to become a Law.

    Sponsored by two southeast senators, Stella Oduah (PDP-Anambra) and Samuel Anyanwu (PDP-Imo), the bill was first read in the Senate on June 22, 2016.

    Its passage in the Red Chamber followed the presentation of the report of the Committee on Establishment and Public Service by its former Chairman, Sen. Emmanuel Paulker (PDP-Bayelsa).

    After Paulker’s presentation, the bill was considered clause by clause by the committee of the whole, and amendments made by the lawmakers before it was read for the third time and eventually passed.

    Speaking, the Deputy President of the Senate, Sen. Ike Ekweremadu, who presided at the sitting, commended his colleagues for a job well done.

    “Every morning we pray that God should give us the grace to do only those things that will promote the peace and unity of this country.

    “I believe that we have shown today that we are committed to the unity of this country, and it is this unity that will give us faith in this country.

    “This faith will in turn help us to pursue peace and progress,” he said.

    Addressing newsmen after plenary, members of the South East caucus of the Senate, led by Sen. Enyinnaya Abaribe (PDP-Abia), thanked their colleagues and members of the committee for their efforts.

    Abaribe, who spoke on behalf of the caucus, urged the President to sign the bill into law “as soon as we tidy it up and bring to him, in the interest of the unity and progress of Nigeria”.

    “This will put to rest the long-drawn agitation in the South East, and the difficulties in the rehabilitation and reconciliation efforts that started at the end of the civil war.

    “All things we see always will end up at the negotiating table, which is what we have done,” he said.
    The lawmaker said he hoped the House of Representatives would give concurrence to the bill as it went in the Senate.

    When established, the South East Development Commission would be the third zonal interventionist body in the country.

    Currently, there is the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and the North East Development Commission established recently.

  • South East leaders endorse Atiku/Obi ticket

    Igbo leaders from the five South East states, under the auspices of Mkpoko Igbo, have endorsed the joint presidential ticket of Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi for 2019 general elections.

    They lamented the precarious situation the Igbo have found themselves in the country, in the face of their obvious exclusion from the centre in recent years, and, therefore, said the survival of Ndigbo in Nigeria depends on the actualisation of the Atiku/Obi presidency.

    The summit, which held yesterday, at Nike Lake Resort Hotel, Enugu, with the theme: “Ndigbo 2019 and beyond,” and chaired by elder statesman, Prof. Ben Nwabueze, was attended by the cream of Igbo society, led by President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Nnia Nwodo.

    Other prominent participants were the Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Nnaemeka Achebe, Senator Ben Obi, Prof. Ben Nwabueze, Senator Chris Anyanwu, Chief Achike Udenwa, Chief Onyema Ugochukwu, Prof. Anya O. Anya, Chief Emeka Ugwu-Oji, Amb. Frank Ogbuewu, Amb. Lawrence Nwuruku, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, Prof. A.B.C. Nwosu, Prof. Uche Azikwe, Amb. George Obiozor and former Ohanaeze president general, Chief Gary Igariwey.

    A communiqué read by Olisa Agbakoba, SAN, stated that their vote for Atiku/Obi presidency was based on the restructuring agenda the duo have put on the table, which the four geopolitical zones of the country has already agreed on.

    “The summit deliberated on the state of Ndigbo in Nigeria, today, espec ially after years of exclusion from the centre. This country has never been so divided, as it is today. We Igbo have always yearned for a level-playing field with justice, equity and fairness.

    “It was acknowledged that this nomination puts Ndigbo back in the centre of governance. It is, therefore, important that Ndigbo should rally behind the Atiku/Obi ticket.”

    In his address at the meeting, Prof Ben Nwabueze begged Ndigbo to ensure the victory of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Atiku Abubakar, in next year’s presidential election.

    He said: “This is my last wish before I join my ancestors.

    “We want Nigeria to be united, but we have to survive first. Our campaigns and agitations are for our survival. The Atiku/Obi ticket is for the survival of Ndigbo. It is our determination to ensure its success by mobilising the entire Igbo to vote for them; and with their success, you would have done me the greatest honour.

    “At my age, there is nothing any longer that I should pursue except the good of my people in Nigeria, and this is the path to it. Please do me the honour of that ticket before I answer my final call, and I will be happy. When you leave here, go back to your villages and communities and say to them that Ndigbo must survive in Nigeria, and the only way to ensure their survival is to deliver the Atiku/Obi ticket in 2019. I assure you I will rest in peace in my grave when this is done because it would have liberated Ndigbo.”

    Nwabueze, however, noted that he would not rest until a sense of belonging was achieved for Ndigbo and prayed the leaders to continue to work in unity.

  • Ekweremadu: South-East govs demand full investigations into alleged assassination attempt

    The South-East Governors’ Forum has called for a thorough and unbiased investigation into the alleged assassination attempt on Deputy President of the Senate, Chief Ike Ekweremadu.

    The forum also rejected what it described as “hasty conclusion’’ by the investigating security agency that the attack was a case of burglary.

    Director-General of the forum, Prof. Simon Ortuanya, made the call on Wednesday in Enugu while briefing newsmen on the governors’ position on the issue.

    Ortuanya said that the careful and methodical execution of the plot as reported pointed to something more sinister than burglary.

    According to him, if the mission was mere burglary, the so-called burglars would not have prevailed on the son to take them to his father’s bedroom.

    He said that the alleged attempted attack on Ekweremadu had cast a dark shadow on the security of lives and property in Nigeria.

  • 2019: Why South East leaders opposed Obi’s nomination as Atiku’s running mate – Gov Umahi

    Governor Dave Umahi of Ebonyi State on Tuesday shed some light on why leaders from the South East are protesting the nomination of former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi as running mate to Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.
     
    Umahi spoke after signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on socio-economic development.
     
    The governor, who is the Chairman of the South East Governors’ Forum, said: “Nobody is against Peter Obi because he is my friend, competent and you must have seen our pictures together on the social media
     
    “We must take decisions against the marginalisation of Ebonyi people because if we have to vote, we must be treated with equity.
     
    “Two names of the nominees came from Anambra, two from Abia and one from Enugu but none came from Ebonyi and Imo.
     
    “What is wrong with somebody from Ebonyi and Imo and you must know that one of the reasons an Ebonyi man is against regions in the country, is the fear of further marginalization.”
     
    Umahi maintained that the southeast leaders must sit with the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and if all must have to work together, the leaders must be part of the decision making.
     
    “I am talking about the southeast people and if six people can come from other regions and take decisions, there must be somebody from the southeast zone.
     
    “There is nothing like the southeast governor’s stand on the matter but we are only saying that when decisions are taken and people from other regions are invited, those from the southeast must be invited.
     
    “The southeast leaders never issued any statement on the matter and anybody from the zone who says that our stand is not good, is not a human being’’, he said.
     
    The governor remarked that if Atiku just picked his running mate without people from other regions seeing the list and making choices, there could have been no complaints.
     
    “Nobody chooses the vice president for anybody, it is just like a wife issue but if other people were on the list, people from Ebonyi should be there.
     
    “Even if we would not make the list as the choice is for Abubakar to make, we should know what disqualifies us from being picked,” he said.
     
    He said that Obi told him that he (Umahi) was supposed to be more embittered and make greater noise than he was making presently, if he (Obi) was in his shoes.
     
    “When my Chief Press Secretary (CPS) issued a statement congratulating Obi, the zone’s leaders started calling me, saying that I have made the VP alone.
     
    “I had to issue a counter statement telling them that I was not consulted before the statement was released and that it was an honest mistake from the CPS.
     
    “I cannot endorse Obi alone and am confident that in further decisions, the Igbo man must be consulted.
     
    “If the position I had was my sin, I cannot repent from it,” he said.

  • 2019: Why South-east PDP leaders must accept Peter Obi as Atiku’s running mate – Jonathan

    2019: Why South-east PDP leaders must accept Peter Obi as Atiku’s running mate – Jonathan

    A former President, Goodluck Jonathan, has appealed to the leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the South-east zone to support the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, in his choice of Peter Obi as his running mate, to ensure victory for PDP in next year’s general elections.
    The former president’s appeal follows a statement issued on Saturday by leaders of the party in the zone stating that they were not properly consulted before Mr Obi’s nomination was made public.
    In a statement addressed to party members which he personally signed, the former president counseled against insisting on obtaining a zonal endorsement for a vice presidential nomination, adding that it is the prerogative of the presidential candidate to select the candidate he believes will help him to achieve his vision and goals for the nation.
    A statement issued by Ikechukwu Eze, the former president’s spokesman, quoted Mr Jonathan thus: “I therefore want to directly appeal to my brothers and sisters from the South-east zone who are members of our party to reconsider their position and allow the presidential candidate of the PDP to select a candidate he thinks he can work with to be able to achieve the party’s development goals. Since Atiku has already nominated Mr. Peter Obi as his running mate, I am pleading with my party members from the zone to accept his choice.”
    Below is the full statement issued by Mr Jonathan:
    “I thank members of our great party for the successful conduct of the primaries for the various elective positions ahead of the 2019 general elections. By holding transparent, peaceful and rancor-free convention and primaries across the country, our party has once more, taken the nation’s democratic exercise a notch higher, in line with our well-established tradition of deepening the growth of democracy in our
    nation.
    “I again congratulate all our candidates for various positions, including Alhaji Atiku Abubakar who was overwhelmingly elected by our delegates as the flag bearer of our party in the 2019 presidential election. The popularity and positive reviews of the exercise across the country is a clear demonstration of national endorsement for the choices we made, going into the 2019 elections.
    “The task before us is to build on this firm foundation and momentum by pulling in one direction and working assiduously for the victory of these candidates at the polls.
    It is against this backdrop that I appeal for calm and understanding in the South East where my attention has been drawn to the fact that some leaders of our party are openly expressing their discomfort with the reported nomination of former Governor of Anambra State Peter Obi as Atiku’s running mate. I am told that some of our leaders in the zone have raised issues with the process of consultation that produced the Vice Presidential candidate.
    “I affirm that consultation is a key ingredient in every political process. Nonetheless, in the selection of a vice presidential candidate, a presidential candidate is allowed reasonable freedom to select his running mate based on loyalty, trust, experience, temperament and capacity to perform the responsibilities of the office. Anything other than this could create tension and acrimony between the presidential candidate and his running mate, even before the inauguration of the government.

    My plea is for Alhaji Atiku Abubakar to be given a free hand to choose who he wants to work with as his Vice President without putting him through undue pressure. In this regard, only minimal consultation is required which doesn’t necessarily have to involve full regional review and approval.

    “We have to be careful not to give the impression that the process of selecting a Vice Presidential candidate cannot progress until a regional stamp of approval is formally procured. The system we are used to right from the First Republic is one that places the choice of a running mate at the behest of the candidate, based on his own convictions on capacity and compatibility.
    “From my political history beginning from Deputy Governor to President, I can say that this is the tradition and standard practice in countries where either the President and his Vice or Governor and his Deputy contest election on a common slate. In such instance, once a candidate emerges, he or she is given a free hand to select the person who understands his vision and plans for the country, as his running mate.
    I therefore want to directly appeal to my brothers and sisters from the South East zone who are members of our party to reconsider their position and allow the presidential candidate of our party to select a candidate he thinks he can work with to be able to achieve the party’s development goals. Since Atiku has nominated Mr. Peter Obi as his running mate, I am pleading with my party members from the zone to accept his choice.”