The choice of Mr Peter Obi as the running mate to the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2019 presidential election has divided the party in the South East.
Leadership of the party in the zone had, after the announcement of Obi, summoned an emergency meeting in Enugu.
Obi, a former Governor of Anambra, was picked by PDP Presidential flagbearer Atiku Abubakar for the 2019 race.
However, the meeting which was slated to hold at the party’s zonal headquarters, was later shifted to the Independence Layout residence of the Deputy Senate President, Chief Ike Ekweremadu.
In attendance in the closed door meeting were all PDP governors in the zone, some members of the National Assembly from the zone, zonal leaders and others.
Addressing newsmen after the meeting, Gov. Dave Umahi of Ebonyi said that the leadership of the party was not aware of the choice of Obi as running mate as it was not consulted.
Umahi said that they only heard the appointment on social media and expected that they would be carried along prior to the announcement.
The governor said that the leadership still expected that the candidate of the party, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar would visit to inform them about the choice he made.
Meanwhile, the candidate of the PDP in the 2017 governorship election in Anambra, Mr Oseloka Obaze, has faulted the position of the party leadership on Atiku’s choice.
Obaze told newsmen after the meeting that it had never been heard of that a presidential candidate would consult on a zonal level before choosing a running mate.
He said that what was playing out were the antics of few individuals within the party and cautioned that they needed not go into the election divided.
“As the leader of the party in Anambra, I want to say that we support the choice of Mr Peter Obi. He is our son but we are here saying we are not aware of his nomination.
“We need to support him and the party,” he said.
Obaze said that the conduct of the governors who took off from the residence of Ekweremadu without meeting with party faithful who attended the meeting was most regrettable.
“I have heard corridor talks about passing a resolution to repudiate the selection of Obi as Atiku’s running mate.
“I hope that those who champion such cause will also have the courage to sign their names to the resolution so that in the fullness of time our posterity will appreciate our folly.
“If we lose the present opportunity to produce the vice president due to the whims of a few among us, Ndigbo will never recover the past and history will be unkind to us,” Obaze said.
Tag: south east
-
2019: Peter Obi divides PDP in South East
-
2019: South East politicians react to Atiku’s choice of Peter Obi as running mate
Some politicians in the South East of Nigeria have reacted to the choice of Mr Peter Obi as the running mate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.
While some respondents view the choice as a move to consolidate the support base of the PDP in the zone, others see it as a hoax.
Mr Ukpai Ukairo, PDP Legal Adviser, South East Zone described the choice of Obi as perfect.
Ukairo said Obi would bring value and industry to the economy and governance of the country if the party win the election.
He said that Obi had one of the best track records of performance during his time as governor in Anambra.
The legal adviser said that the fundamentals of the PDP ticket were the tenure issue and the restructuring of the country which the candidates had subscribed to.
“It is better for us to leverage on this to restructure the country, rather than living in a Nigeria that is not working,” Ukairo said.
Mr Raph Egbu, former information commissioner in Abia, said that as an experienced technocrat, Obi would bring quality leadership to bear in the governance of the country.
Egbu, who is a former chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), said that the ticket would give the zone the needed sense of belonging in the affairs of the country.
“Atiku is an experienced politician and must have taken a look at the numbers and what would happen in the various zones during the election.
“President Muhammadu Buhari is not a new candidate and will be assessed by his performance. If Atiku can contest fairly in the North and the South West, then anything can happen,” Egbu said.
Meanwhile, the Special Adviser to the President on Justice Reform Sector, Mrs Juliet Ibekaku-Nwagwu says the Atiku/Obi ticket is not a threat to Buhari in the zone and beyond.
Ibekaku-Nwagwu said that the current administration had performed well in all areas of the economy in spite of the challenges it faced.
She said that the South East remained a stronghold for the APC considering the unprecedented upgrade of infrastructure by the Buhari administration.
The presidential aide said that party faithful in the zone would mobilise effective support for the president come 2019.
Mr Osita Okechukwu, another chieftain of the APC, said that though the choice of Obi was a great one but the zone needed to know that ‘all that glitters is not gold’.
Okechukwu, who is the Director General of Voice of Nigeria, said that the Atiku/Obi ticket was basically driven by a promise to restructure the country as well as to do one term in office.
He said that Nigerians needed not to fall to the restructuring sentiments, adding “even the zone that the PDP presidential candidate hails from is opposed to restructuring. So how will he achieve it?
“Even the commitment to serve for one term is not tenable and we still believe that the interest of the South East is better served in APC,” he said.
Okechukwu urged electorates from the zone not to be carried away by the antics of the opposition, adding that South East would have a grip of the presidency in 2023 under the APC.
-
NIPOST opens 36 banking centres in South East
No fewer than 36 banking centres have been opened by the Nigerian Postal Services (NIPOST) in the South East, the Zonal Manager, Dr Asuquo Abianga has said.
Abianga disclosed this on Tuesday in Enugu on the sidelines of the commemoration of the 2018 World Post Day.
He said that the essence of the centres was to provide financial facilities to the unbanked populace in the zone.
He said that the facilities were cited in the remotest parts of the zone as a way of ensuring inclusion in the provision of infrastructure.
He said that due to the inability of certain players in the private sector to provide certain amenities “most communities rely on us as a one-stop-shop for their services.
“The post office provides social inclusion to capture people living isolated and disaster prone areas.
“With our manpower, millions of unbanked people are covered and we are leveraging on technology to achieve this,” he said.
Abianga said that the post had the largest network, competitiveness, security, pricing and reliability to achieve such feat.
He said that the Postmaster General, Mr Bisi Adegbuyi had made laudable efforts to reposition NIPOST with the reforms.
The zonal manager said that the reforms were aimed at attaining strategic importance as well as increasing the operational efficiency, accessibility and penetration of the post.
He said that in spite of the daunting challenges facing the NIPOST, the management had gone ahead to make an indelible mark in driving the industry.
“NIPOST has steadily evolved from providing traditional postal services such as sales of postage stamps, mail delivery to game changing products and services,” he said.
Abianga named their new services as E-stamp, NIPOST Youth Engagement Strategy, Address Verification System, E-Money Order, agency banking and others.
The zonal manager said that the agency banking was to serve the unbanked areas and to promote financial inclusion of the Federal Government.
He said that the advent of Information Communication Technology (ICT) had enhanced NIPOST as a multi product and service organisation to create wealth for Nigerians, especially the youths.
Abianga called on the well meaning Nigerians and the private sector to partner with NIPOST in its new mandate of promoting the educational and economic growth of the country.
The theme of the 2018 celebration is ‘The Post Delivering Goods to the World’.
Highlight of the celebration was a road show by members of staff of NIPOST.
-
FG releases list of 69 ongoing road, bridge projects in South-east
The Federal Government on Monday released a list of the 69 ongoing road and bridge projects in the South-east region of the country.
In a statement in Abuja on Monday, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said though the contracts for many of the roads were awarded before the advent of this Administration, they were either poorly funded or not funded at all, hence work on the roads has lingered.
The Minister said the 69 roads and bridges, which are spread across the five states in the South-east, are now in different stages of completion, thanks to the funding sourced by the present Administration from budgetary allocations, the Sukuk Bond and the Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund.
He said the government is also looking into the possibility of using a part of the recovered looted funds to fund the development of infrastructure across the country.
While announcing the projects, which include the rehabilitation of the existing Niger Bridge as well as the construction of the 2nd Niger Bridge last week, Alhaji Mohammed promised to publish the full list of the roads and bridges, as well as give a state-by-state breakdown of the total figure.
-
Buhari approves agency for robotics and AI for South East
Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu said President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the establishment of an agency on robotics and artificial intelligence(AI) for the South East.
Onu revealed this at a grand rally of the All Progressives Congress in Abakaliki, capital of Ebonyi state. The rally which received defectors from the Peoples Democratic Party, was attended by the national chairman of the party, Adams Oshiomhole.
Some of the defectors who were received include, Senator Sonni Ogbuoji, former Minister of Power and Steel, Chief Goddy Ogbaga, former Secretary to the State Government, Bernard Odoh and former attorney general and commissioner for justice, Chief Augustine Nwankwegu.
Onu told the rally that in 2015 he pleaded with South-East not to put its eggs in one basket but his pleadings fell on deaf ears.
“In 2015 I pleaded with the zone not to put our eggs in one basket. Today I want them to compare the 16 years of PDP and relate it with just 3 years of APC.
“The three years of APC is greater than the 16 years of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP); the second Niger bridge is nearing completion, the Enugu – Port-Harcourt and Enugu – Onitsha highways are in various levels of completion,” he said.
“The time has come for the South East to be in the mainstream of Nigerian politics by voting for President Buhari and APC in 2019”.
APC chairman Adams Oshiomhole said that the current security challenge in the country was devoid of religious or ethnic colouration.
Oshiomhole therefore urged Nigerians not to allow themselves to be deceived by the antics of selfish politicians in the country who are trying to give the security challenges in the country an ethnic colouration to score cheap political points.
According to Oshiomhole, there is a plot to paint the government of President Muhammadu Buhari in bad light by portraying all the killings in some states in the country as the handiwork of herdsmen.
“Let me urge you to be more careful because in this season people are spreading untruth. People are being hired to turn the gospel upside down. They want us to believe that every problem should be explained in ethnic and religious terms.
“We have a problem and we must confront those problems. Criminals must be dealt with individually as criminals. Government at all levels must work hard to protect every Nigerian regardless of tribe or religion, ” he said.
He said Buhari and the security agencies are working hard to put an end to the security challenges facing the country.
Oshiomhole urged the people of the South-East to vote for APC and President Buhari in the 2019 general election as he has delivered democracy dividends to the zone.
” If Buhari has remembered the South-East which did not give him more than 10 percent in 2015, imagine what he will do if you give him 85 per cent in 2019″.
Former Governor of Abịa State, Dr Orji Uzor Kalu said the new River Niger bridge, which the PDP could not construct in 16 years, has now reached 53 per cent completion.
According to him, the South-East will give the President and APC majority of its votes in 2019 in appreciation for all the projects and democracy dividends he has given the zone.
The rally earlier scheduled to hold at the Pa Oruta Ngele Stadium Abakaliki was later moved to a a playground near the Enugu-Abakaliki Expressway following the refusal of the state government to grant the APC permission to use the stadium.
-
Igboland will become better under Buhari-led govt – Adesina
The Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, has assured that the Southeast region would witness massive infrastructural development before the B uhari-led All Progressives Congress (APC) government leaves office.
He spoke while representing Buhari at the inauguration and flag off of a 5.5km road attracted by Dr. Alex Otti, the 2015 gubernatorial candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and built by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) at Isieketa community in Isiala Ngwa South Local Government Area of Abia State.
The presidential spokesman, who lamented the infrastructural decay in the country inherited by the Buhari’s administration, assured his principal would do all to ensure the infrastructural deficits were tackled.
“One thing that is dear to the heart of President Buhari is infrastructure; roads, railway, power, etc.
“Nigeria has a lot of deficits in infrastructure and President Muhammadu Buhari is determined to reverse that deficit.
“We will see that by the time this administration ends Igboland will never be the same again. Igbo will be far better beyond where it has ever been before.”
Otti thanked the Federal Government for giving the Isieketa community and its environs new lease of life.
He said the farming community, which has suffered losses in the past would now have access road to move farm produce to nearby villages and commercial cities.
Otti also disclosed to the cheering crowd that another 12.5km road, which stretches from the point where the 5.5km road ended to Aba-Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway, has been awarded by the Federal Government through the NDDC.
-
2019: No election will hold in South-East – Pro-Biafra group
The Biafra Zionists Federation, BZF, on Friday vowed that no election would be conducted in the defunct Biafra region during the 2019 general elections.
This came from the self-acclaimed President of the BZF, Barr. Benjamin Onwuka. Benjamin Onwuka He spoke to journalists in Enugu a day after he was released from prison, where he also boasted that he would take over Enugu government house on August 20 to announce Biafra Independence as President of Biafra.
Onwuka was arrested on May 30 alongside 32 members of his group in front of Enugu government house where they had gone to declare Biafra Independence.
They were discharged and acquitted by a Magistrate Court in Enugu. He said nothing would stop him from “ceasing Enugu government house on that day as President of Biafra and as Enugu remains the capital of Biafra land.”
He stated that the struggle for the actualization of Biafra has received a fresh momentum from the support of the United States of America (USA) and Isreali government, stressing that on August 20, they would “enter government house, Enugu with carrots and sticks with Isreali forces.
Onwuka said: “We will return back to Enugu government house on August 20. The Nigerian government has 31 days to run and wound up. Enugu is the capital of Biafra. “The Enugu government house is the property of Biafra. It does not belong to Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, it does not belong to Mohammadu Buhari and also does not belong to Nigeria. I will cease the place on that day and the Isreali forces will be backing us on that day and we are inviting all Biafrans, students, Middle Belt, South-South and South west to come out and receive their freedom on that day.”
Onwuka, who confirmed that they were charged with treasonable felony after their arrests, stated that the United States of America (USA) ordered their release from prison last month, adding however that the order was not carried out until Thursday night.
“The Magistrate who had earlier declined jurisdiction on the matter and sent us to prison, suddenly pronounced us discharged and acquitted. We simply walked out of prison and we thank the President of the United States of America, Donald Trump, who issued the order.
“Nobody believed we will return from prison. We went in and we have come out. They can’t do anything and we are going to show that we have the power of Isreali behind us.
“The implication of that order is that we have defeated Nigeria. They can no longer shoot at us. That order has reinforced the struggle and Biafra has gained momentum as Southeast, South-South and Middle Belt are now asking for it,” he disclosed.
He announced a ban on all political activities in Biafraland, stressing that elections won’t hold on Biafra territories in 2019.
He listed the areas where there would not be election in 2019 to include Southeast, South-South, Western region, Bakassi Peninsula, Middle Belt, saying they are part of the Biafra territory.
Onwuka added, however, that the Nigerian government was free to conduct elections in ten northern states of Kebbi, Sokoto, Katsina, Jigawa, Kano, Bauchi, Gombe, Boronu and Yobe states.
-
Rowdy session as Ekweremadu, other South-East senators accuse Buhari of lopsided appointments
Plenary at the Senate was rowdy for about 30 minutes after its President, Bukola Saraki, read a letter from President Muhammadu Buhari seeking legislative confirmation of appointments into the board of the Federal Emergency Road Maintenance Agency.
Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu, raised a point or order to protest against non-compliance by the President with his appointment of heads of Federal Government departments, agencies and parastatals.
According to him, the recent appointments made by Buhari and for which he had sought legislative approval showed that the nominees were from particular parts of the country.
The Majority Leader, Ahmad Lawan, however, argued that the appointments were balanced ”if you look at the larger picture.”
Saraki pointed out that the Senate would not act on sentiments and opinion, ruling that the Committee on Federal Character investigate Buhari’s appointments and present a report to the chamber on Tuesday.
The chamber, however, became noisy as the lawmakers shouted ‘yes’ and ‘no.’
Apart from Ekweremadu, three lawmakers from the South-East successively raised points of order to ask the chamber to suspend further consideration and screening of nominees pending the presentation and adoption of the report by the Committee on Federal Character.
Those who protested were senators Chukwuka Utazi, Mao Ohuabunwa and Obinna Ogba.
Saraki, however, insisted that only the report by the committee would determine if the protesters were right or wrong, and if the Senate would continue to act on Buhari’s requests for confirmation of appointments.
Details later…
-
2019: Nothing will stop Buhari’s landslide victory in South-East – Uzodinma
The Coordinator, South-East Caucus, National Committee of Buhari Support Group, Sen. Hope Uzodinma, says nothing will stop President Muhammadu Buhari from landslide victory in the South-East in 2019.
Uzodinma stated this at the inaugural meeting of the caucus in Abuja on Thursday.
He said that the caucus’ target was to deliver not less than six million votes out of estimated eight million registered voters in the South-East.
He said the caucus would not rest on its oars in ensuring that the goal became a reality in view of what the region stood to gain if the target was achieved.
According to the coordinator, an overwhelming vote that will return Buhari as President in 2019 will guarantee the South-East an opportunity to produce the President in 2023.
According to him, it is an opportunity the region has for several years, clamoured for and should not be allowed to slip through its fingers.
“The national leadership has approved the operation of this caucus and we are going to go for it, bearing in mind that if we succeed we will smile very well in 2023.
“We are going to tag our operation, ‘Operation 2023’, meaning that by the time Mr President wins convincingly in the South-East, the name of the business will be ‘Reciprocity’.
“This means, I have done for you, you are now to do for me,” he said.
Uzodinma assured that plans were already in place to map out strategies that would enable the caucus to deliver on the mandate.
He added that the group would come up with a programme that would take the All Progressives Congress (APC) politics to various units in 2019 while reaching out to “booth owners’’.
He said, “Every booth in South-East belongs to some people. They have leaders and if the message is given to them in a manner that they will understand, I am sure that we will succeed.
“There is no point claiming headship; the common denominator is what would make President Buhari, out of the eight million registered voters in the South-East, to get a minimum of six million votes.
“In doing that, we have to make sacrifices and call some people to order. We will do our beat.
“For me as a person, we will try to convince and those that will willingly follow will follow.’’
Uzodinma hinted that plans were underway to organise a mega rally in the region, adding that the President had approved of it and promised to be present.
He stressed that management structures would be set up at the state, local government and ward as well as booth levels, for better delivery.
“Before some of us came into the party I was told you do not use money to do politics; now we are going to use money to do politics.
“We are going to do that knowing very well that the tradition and culture of our people requires that.
“We cannot begin to learn a new culture when election is a few days away. So we will start from the known to the unknown.
“We are going to work with the President and by the grace of God he will win in 2019.
“However, we have to establish criteria for knowing who a leader is when we get home.
“A leader is a man who wins his booth. A man who doesn’t win his booth is a pensioner. So, we will identify the right type of people that will in the frontline, give us victory,’’ he said.
The coordinator assured of his commitment to serving, not only to coordinate affairs but ensuring that the tools and logistics needed to make work easy would be provided.
He urged members of the caucus to designate functions appropriately, saying that it would be counter-productive to assign duty to people who would not deliver on mandate.
He said, “I am optimistic that working as a team with love and providing accommodation for each and everyone; we will have no reason not to succeed.
“It is your goodwill in your various states that will translate to the President’s goodwill.
“We will take the risk and guarantee the president so that our people will vote for him and he will win, knowing very well that after 2023, it will be Alleluia all the way.’’
The lawmaker assured of the party’s readiness to reconcile differences among members, particularly those from the South-East.
He added that it was time to work for one Nigeria, rather than bearing grudges that would damage the party and Nigeria as a whole.
The National Chairman, Buhari Support Group, Mustapha Ahmed, said the group had been working assiduously to raise the support base of the president.
He said that the effort had yielded result, adding that the identified support groups across the country had increased from 198 to over 450.
“National Committee of Buhari Support Group started about three years ago and we were given the mandate to go round the 36 states plus the FCT.
“The essence was to identify and ascertain groups that worked for the emergence of President Muhammadu Buhari in the 2015 elections and so far the base has been increased,’’ he said.
Inaugurating the caucus, Chairman, National Committee of Buhari Support Group Board of Trustees, Sen. Abu Ibrahim, said the group was established to coordinate various support groups to sell the ideals of the President.
According to him, this is to build a virile and democratic society that guarantees the rights of every citizen to fulfill his and or her potential.
Ibrahim, who was represented by the Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Sen. Ita Enang, said various groups remained important channels of outreach between the government and the citizenry.
He said, “Many of the support groups that registered with the National Committee of Buhari Support Group existed before the 2015 election.
“They piloted the grassroots initiative via which the president’s message of hope was delivered in the nooks and crannies of the country.
“As we inaugurate this caucus, I call on all and sundry to remain steadfast in the onerous task of nation-building and effort to fight crimes and reposition the country for sustained and inclusive growth.
“Let it remain our collective duty to restore this country’s pride because we have no choice.
“This land belongs to all of us and we must all work tirelessly to make it better for our children and generations to come.
“The `nay sayers’ need to know that we shall never give up this God-given right.’’
Ibrahim said Buhari was aware of the inauguration of the caucus, adding that he looked forward to seeing it deliver not only votes but the much-needed cohesion necessary for national development.
He called on the caucus to work hard towards mobilising votes for the President in the region and entire country.
On recent coalition of some political parties, the chairman said it was not known to law.
He said it was not a coalition of proper officers of registered political parties but of people with various interests hiding under coalition.
He pointed out that more than half of the parties said to have been part of the coalition, had denied membership of the coalition and declared their support for Buhari.
Ibrahim assured that the party was ready to reconcile aggrieved members of the party where and when necessary.
“For some of the members of our party whom we saw their faces on that coalition day or who may have expressed opinion in that direction, we will not be hard on them.
“We will use conciliatory words because they have stakes in this party. We will not use any untoward word, we will go to them.
“Also, we will take whatever the opposition party says as advisory to and as opinion which we will use to deepen what we need for Nigerians and deliver victory to the APC and President Buhari,’’ he said.
-
Miyetti Allah angry with S/East governors over rejection of ranches
The Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria on Wednesday described the rejection of ranches by South-East governors as shocking and lack of discretion.
The South-East leader of the group, Alhaji Gidado Siddiki, stated this in a press statement in Awka, Anambra State.
He said the group least expected such decision from the Igbo who he described as “the major bonding elements among the people of Nigeria.”
He added, “It was surprising to us considering the cordial relationship that had existed in the zone between us and the state governments.”
Siddiki said Miyetti Allah had never failed to appreciate the commitment of the host governors in ensuring the safety of his members.
The South-East Governors’ Forum had at a meeting in Enugu on Sunday unanimously agreed not to donate land for ranching in the zone.
But Siddiki in his statement said the governors’ decision did not show exemplary leadership.
He said,”It is our candid view that the South-East whose citizens are the major bonding elements among the people of Nigeria would provide exemplary leadership in accommodating other Nigerians in their midst.
“It is evident that our organisation’s advocacy for peaceful coexistence among indigenous farmers and herdsmen is increasingly making successes in the South-East.
“This explains our surprise at the latest stand of the governors which would not only frustrate our people from carrying out our legitimate livestock rearing business in this part but might be suggestive of a kind of suspicion that might undermine the mutuality of the claim of brotherhood.
“We are mindful of the various negotiations and consultations still going on in respect of the contentious issues of ranching, colonies and grazing areas across the country, we are hopeful that these issues are considered dispassionately in the interest of Nigeria and the generality of its citizens.