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PDP Is Dead In Enugu – APC …As PDP NWC Dissolves Ebonyi, Adamawa Excos
L-R: Oyo State Chairman of the Nigeria Bar Association, Mr Seun Abimbola, Chief Judge of Oyo State, Justice Badejoko Adeniji and Justice Mukthar Abimbola during the lecture on the ‘’future of Law and Legal Practice in Nigeria’’ in Ibadan, recently.
The All Progressives Congress on Tuesday said the protracted crisis in the Enugu State Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party means that the ruling party will not be able to present a candidate in the state in 2015.
The chairman of the APC in Enugu State, Dr. Ben Nwoye, said this at a news conference where he rejoiced over what he described as the “death of the PDP” in the state.
A bitter struggle between two factions, loyal to Governor Sullivan Chime and Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, respectively, over the control of the party structure, has grounded the PDP in Enugu State, a few months to the polls.
The Chime camp, which insists that Chief Ikeje Asogwa is the chairman of the party, and the Ekweremadu faction, led by Elder David Aja, who was endorsed by the National Working Committee as acting chairman, have both gone to court to obtain court orders restraining each other from acting as the leadership of the PDP in the state.
Currently, there are strong indications that the Chime faction, which also obtained a court order that stopped the national secretariat of the party from acting on the delegates list presented by the Ekweremadu group, is shopping for an alternative political party platform to realise their aspirations in 2015.
There were unconfirmed reports that the Chime camp met on Tuesday to deliberate over a possible move to the All Progressives Grand Alliance.
Addressing journalists against the backdrop of the unfolding developments, as well as the controversy over the N11bn loan approved for Chime by the state house of assembly, Nwoye declared that the Enugu State PDP would not recover from the crisis.
The Enugu APC chairman noted that a member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, who was endorsed by Chime as the PDP consensus candidate, is making moves to join another political party in order to realise his gubernatorial hopes.
It is believed that the Ekweremadu faction, which is currently in charge of the party machinery, was not favorably disposed to Ugwuanyi’s ambition.
“APC is mourning the PDP in Enugu State, PDP as a political party in Enugu State is gone. “Gburugburu (Ugwuanyi) is looking for another platform.
“The Ekweremadu group has used their legal prowess in Abuja to tie down PDP while the Chime group has tied down PDP in Enugu State.
“So it means that PDP will not be able to present a candidate in Enugu State in 2015.
“We are now mourning the demise of the PDP – the prayers of the people have finally worked,” Nwoye said.
The APC chieftain noted that the opposition party was not responsible for the misfortune of the PDP in Enugu State.
Rather, he blamed the development on the PDP ruling class, who he said have failed Nigerians while enriching themselves.
He alleged that the N11bn loan approved for the Chime administration was fraught with irregularities and must be stopped by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
Accusing the banks involved in the loan – UBA and GTB – of conniving with the administration to “wipe away” and “siphon the future revenue of Enugu State.”
Nwoye urged Enugu State indigenes to stop banking with the two financial institutions.
In the same vein, an APC gubernatorial aspirant, Barr. Okey Ezea, faulted the state assembly for approving the loan.
Ezea, who said he would not honour the loan if elected in 2015, said the facility did not comply with provisions of the Fiscal Responsibility Act.
“That approval is null and void and of no effect and if the banks go ahead to advance that money, they will be doing so at their own risk because the court of law may declare it null and void, and the incoming government may not be bound to repay that loan,” Ezea said.
Ezea added that the 2013 report of Debt Management Office indicated that Enugu State has a debt profile of over N12bn as of December 31, 2013, and warned that if the governor obtains the fresh N11bn loan, he would bequeath a N23bn debt on the incoming administration.
Meanwhile, the national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party has dissolved the party’s executives in Ebonyi and Adamawa States.
The decision to sack the executives was taken at the meeting of the National Working Committee of the party, which was held in Abuja on Tuesday.
National Publicity Secretary of the party, Chief Olisa Metuh, disclosed this while briefing journalists at the end of the meeting.
He said, “In order to maintain discipline and to show the supremacy of the party and in furtherance of running a lawful, orderly and responsible state organs of our party, the NWC has decided to dissolve the state executive committees of Adamawa and Ebonyi States for grave and inimical conduct and act capable of disorganising and undermining good conduct of the party in the states.
“We urge members in those states to disregard the publications of the result of the Ward congresses made by those two state executives. Our members should disregard them as not being authorised and not coming from a proper custody. ” he said.
The Rivers State Chief judge, Justice Simeon Chibuzor Amadi has granted pardon to six inmates standing awaiting trial at the Port Harcourt maximum correctional center.
The six lucky inmates granted pardon on Tuesday by the state Chief Judge included Nwekeala Chizoba, Samuel Emmanuel, Aniete Kelvin, Ebube Fubara and Goddey Okpara who were on awaiting trial as murder suspects and have all spent between 10 years to seven years in the custody without a proper information filed against them in the court.
Justice Amadi during a special gaol delivery exercise last Tuesday at the Port Harcourt Maximum Correctional Centre opined that the special gaol delivery was part of activities lined up to commomerate the 2024/2025 legal year in the State and restated the commitment of the state judiciary in decongesting the correctional centre and ensuring that those inmates who are not supposed to be there are removed from the custody.
The state chief judge stressed the need for all stakeholders to work together to build a society that supports rehabilitation and gives a second chance to anyone or group of people who have fallen short of the expectation of the law and have been punished accordingly.
He stressed that the National Judicial Council(NJC) encourages judges to pay more attention to criminal matters to enable them to decongests the correctional facilities, noting that since his assumption into office, his administration has been able to reduce the number of inmates in Nigerian Correctional Centres and the Port Harcourt Correctional Centre in particular, to less than 2,000 as against the over 4,000 inmates previously in the faculty.
According to him, “as they release the deserving inmates, they affirm their commitment to justice, compassion and rule of law but that they must not forget the fundamental principles of justice delivery system which is truth and fairness, integrity and equality before the law.”
I encourage you all the released inmates to return to your families and become better citizens. You must not engage in action that will return you all back to prison. Let me say that while the judges show empathy to you all, it does not absolved individuals from being held accountable for actions against individuals, corporate organisations and state which the law frowns at, ”he stated
The Chief Judge thereafter stood down the exercise to enable the DPP to intervene to case files following the fact that majority of the persons listed to benefit from the exercise are facing murder charges and adjourned to a date that will come before December.
Earlier in his goodwill message, the outgoing state Comptroller of Nigerian Correctional Centre, Port Harcourt, Felix Lawrence, who was recently promoted to the rank of Assistant Controller General, commended the state judiciary led by Chief Judge, Justice Simeon Chibuzor Amadi for their continuous effort aimed at ensuring justice and decongesting the facilities.
Other activities lined up for the event included special church service at St Paul’s Cathedral , Anglican Communion, Rebisi Port Harcourt, inspection of guard of honour by the state Chief Judge mounted by officers of the Nigerian police and a special court session held at the ceremonial court hall.
By: AkujobiAmadi
The Director General of Rivers State Bureau on Public Procurement (RBoPP), Dr. Ine Briggs, has explained that the Sir Siminalayi Fubara administration plans to enforce transparency in governance through public procurement.
Speaking at a one-day Public Procurement Enlightenment workshop organised in collaboration with the State Local Government Service Commission for newly elected chairmen, vice chairmen, secretaries and leaders of legislative assemblies, Dr. Briggs said it is key for grassroot development.
She stated that the Sir. Fubara administration plans to reduce wastage and at same time infuse efficiency in public expenditure.
The RSoPP DG said the local government political office holders remain key drivers in the new vision hence the workshop is to arm them with knowledge on how to execute projects in tandem with needs of the people.
“ Your role in the prudent management of public resources is, therefore, not just administrative it’s the cornerstone of delivering the dividends of democracy. Every procurement decision you make must reflect a commitment to fairness, transparency and accountability” Dr. Briggs submitted.
One of the key goals of the administration she further reminded the participants was to use their offices to foster economic growth through public procurement.
She warned that the law establishing the agency empowers it to penalise defaulters, but that what is more important is voluntary compliance to the laws.
In addition to that, she said urged the local government council leaders that champion the practice and implementation of public procurement law.
On his part, Acting Chairman of Local Government Service Commission, Pastor GoodLife Ben Iduoku averred that the aim of the workshop is to arm key stakeholders in the local government system to generate new ideas, innovation and strategies in tandem with government policies and programmes.
The workshop dealt on various topics on procurement planning, methods, Understanding Bid Process, including types of Construction Contracts and law.
Some participants were awarded excellence and meritorious awards as part of the programme.
By: Kevin Nengia
The 19th anniversary of the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS), Rivers State Chapter, recently ended in Port Harcourt in grand style, with participants from various schools including proprietors, the academia, civil society groups and top government functionaries charting the way forward for educational improvement.
The 19th NAPPS anniversary christened, ‘Innovation and Adaptation: Transforming Challenges Into Opportunities’ was held at Casoni Hotels, Port Harcourt.
In his remarks, the Chairman of the Rivers State Chapter of the association, Dr. Jaja Adafe Sunday expressed gratitude to the members and executives for their untiring efforts towards the achievements of the body.
He sought the intervention of government on the lingering crisis on the economy as it is affecting the running of schools.
He decried high cost of things including fuel and raw materials which has adversely affected the running of schools and payment of teachers.
Dr. Sunday hinted that the current economic situation in the nation is biting hard on the operations of schools, saying inflation, removal of fuel subsidy, fuel scarcity, poor electricity supply, tariffs and lack of government grants are some of the challenges faced by schools, and urged the members to brace up to the challenges, as it is the panacea to building a brighter future.
Guest speakers from the health sector and the academia thrilled the gathering on the essence of basic education which they said is the key to national development.
Former Dean of the Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, Professor Azuru and the Chief Medical Director of Meridian Hospitals, Dr. Odo Iyke were some notable guest speakers who delivered lectures at the occasion.
Some distinguished proprietors also got special recognitions and awards.
The 19th anniversary cake was cut by the Rivers State NAPPS Chairman with representatives of the state government assisting.