Front Pix
APC’ll Lose Five Million Voters, Okorocha Fumes …Amosun Accuses Oshiomole of Injustice …As NWC Shuns S’Court’s Ruling, Insists On Cole For Rivers
Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State yesterday met with President Muhammadu Buhari and declared afterwards that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) will lose five million voters as a result of the crises besetting the party.
A fuming Okorocha told State House corespondents that the National Chairman of the party, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole does not have the President’s support to mishandle issues in the party.
He said the party boss has no right to substitute Uche Nwosu with Hope Uzodinma as the gubernatorial candidate of the party in Imo State.
The governor also said the National Leader of the party, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu was ill-informed over the crisis following his reported support for Oshiomhole.
He said: “Gentlemen of the press, I am here to clear the air that the Presidency is behind what Oshiomhole in what he’s doing in some of the states and which has affected our party negatively; and from my understanding from Mr President, there is no such directive for Oshiomhole to do anything illegal or create any sort of injustice.
“So, Oshiomhole is on his own in this whole thing. There is no Presidency’s support for him to refuse candidates, those who won elections and give wrong candidates who didn’t win election.
“This is the matter and I will simply say that he is not with the consent of the Presidency, he is on his own.
“I also requested that Oshiomhole must learn to respect the rule of law and obey court orders where they apply. This issue of treating court orders as tissue papers must stop, it doesn’t reflect the image of our party. He must act quickly to fix the integrity of this party because his coming in ought to have brought joy into the party and not sadness.”
Asked if the ruling party now faces disintegration, the Chairman of Progressives Governors Forum, replied: “Well, APC will not disintegrate for as long as the person, Muhammadu Buhari, is still the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and remains the leader of this party.
“So, we cannot give that credit to the chairman. He cannot disintegrate this party, the party is still intact, just that many people are hurt.
“Since his inception and after this primaries, we are losing almost five million voters because of anger, protest everywhere and he needs to be called to order, he has to respect the rule of law, respect court orders and do the right thing – obey court orders where applicable and not turned himself into INEC.”
On the reported support of National Leader of APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, for the party boss, Okorocha stated that he was not properly informed.
He added: “No, may be he is being misinformed, if he is properly informed he will not say what Oshiomhole is doing is the right thing.”
On whether Oshiomhole’s insistence on Uzodinma as the APC gubernatorial candidate in Imo State, the governor maintained that it would not be acceptable.
He explained, he can not be standing on Hope Uzodinma because that man did not win election. You cannot compare somebody who won 265,000 votes with somebody who won 7,000 votes.
“He (Hope Uzodinma) never won election and you cannot imposed a candidate who is unacceptable to the people to the people. “That is how serious the matter is now.
“So, he (Oshiomhole) should do the right thing and I have advised himself severally to do the right thing before he creates more disaffections in our party.”
The governor insisted that the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) cannot submit Uzodinma’s name to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the party’s candidate in Imo.
Okorocha added: “He can’t! I don’t think the National Working Committee will do that because in the first place, the National Working Committee sent a 13-man delegation who conducted election and 12 of them signed, proving that Uche Nwosu won the election with 265,000 votes as against Hope Uzodinma who got less than 7,000 votes. So, they can’t do that.
“And there is a letter to that effect from the National Working Committee saying Uche Nwosu won, there is a Certificate of Return given to Uche Nwosu, there is a Police report saying Uche Nwosu, there is INEC report saying Uche Nwosu. So, nobody can do that and if they do that, that must be the worst imposition in the history of Nigeria.
On the rumor that he may defect to the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Okorocha declared: “SDP? How can I build a house and leave it for someone else? I am in APC, I founded the APC, I gave the name APC and so, this is our party and we must continue with the party and build the party for victory.”
Meanwhile, amidst the crisis trailing the primaries of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in some states, the Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun, has told the national chairman of the party, Adams Oshiomhole, he is not being asked to sell his conscience but to abide by the rules of the party.
He was reacting to a statement by Mr Oshiomhole after a closed door meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday in Abuja that he will not mortgage his conscience to keep his job.
The APC chairman made the statement while dismissing rumours some governors were moblising to unseat him over the outcome of the party’s primaries.
Speaking for Mr Amosun in a statement he issued yesterday evening, Dayo Adeneye, the Commissioner for Information and Strategy in Ogun State, insisted Mr Oshiomhole “fell short of all standards of justice and fairness.”
“We state without any fear of equivocation that no one, at least not on the side of Senator Amosun, has requested or expected Oshiomhole to sell his conscience.
“The least we expect of him is to abide by the rules and guidelines of the APC. Oshiomhole knows, as we know, that in the instance of the last primaries in Ogun State, he has fallen short of the minimum standards of justice, equity and fairness.”
Mr Amosun’s stance differs from that of a national leader of the party, Bola Tinubu, who on Wednesday also said the chairman has not broken any law or guilty of anti-party activities.
The Ogun governor is dissatisfied with the primaries of the party in his state which produced Dapo Abiodun, in place of his anointed candidate, Adekunle Akinlade.
Before the primaries, the party in the state was divided over what mode of primaries to be adopted as Mr Akinlade was initially announced as the consensus governorship candidate by the governor-led faction of the party.
After the national leadership called for primaries in the state, Mr Amosun’s faction moved for an indirect mode which five other governorship aspirants rejected. The National Working Committee (NWC) eventually directed the conduct of direct primaries in the state.
Mr Amosun’s anointed candidate, Mr Akinlade, was declared winner of the governorship primary election but the results were not signed by the chairman of the electoral committee and none of the agents of the five other gubernatorial aspirants.
Following this, another election was conducted by the NWC which now produced Mr Abiodun. But the governor has insisted that other exercise did not hold.
“Oshiomhole knows that there were no other gubernatorial primaries in Ogun State other than the one that produced Adekunle Akinlade as candidate. He knows that the primaries into national and legislative offices were won hundred per cent by those declared winner by the panel he sent to Ogun State to oversee the exercise,” Mr Adeneye stated in his statement on Thursday.
“He knows that the shenanigan of unknown court injunctions, unknown appeal panels and all sorts unleashed on the process by him and his cohorts are premeditated schemes executed to deny the members of the APC their true choice of candidates in the elections.”
He said the governor’s “consolation lies in the fact that in the fullness of time, what remains unknown to the public will become bare and everyone will see
Oshiomhole and his co-travellers for who they are.”
Mr Adeneye, however, assured of the governor’s “full commitment to the reelection of President Buhari, stressing, “the issue with the primaries won’t change that.
“In his conduct, Oshiomhole has exhibited disdain for the interest of the APC and that of the National Leader of the party, President Muhammadu Buhari. Senator Amosun remains committed to his convictions about President Buhari and nothing in the shenanigan of the primaries will change that.”
Addressing the chairman’s claim that only three out of the 23 APC governors are not pleased with the outcome of the primaries in their states, Mr Adeneye said justice is not dependent on number of whom it was denied.
“Finally, Oshiomhole’s claim that only three state governors are aggrieved about the conduct of the primaries flies in the face of the nation-wide outcry that remains loud, trailing the exercise several weeks after.
“We remind him that in any case, justice is not dependent on the number of whom it has been denied. Injustice to one is injustice to all.”
He said the overwhelming majority of members of the APC in Ogun State remain unshaken in their rejection of the “gangsterism” that has been visited on them in the conduct of the primaries.
“Resolved that the attempt to hand over their state and their patrimony to a rapacious gang of expansionists in the South West will be resisted, not only by members of the APC but by the entire people of Ogun State who are too enlightened to tolerate such abomination.”
Similarly, ahead of Friday’s deadline for submission of Forms CF001 and CF002 of the list of the governorship and state assemblies candidates by political parties to the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC), the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has said Tonye Cole remains its governorship candidate in Rivers State for next year election.
A statement issued last night by the party and signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, claimed the recent judgement of the apex court on the crisis in its Rivers State chapter has no bearing on the primary where Tonye Cole emerged as governorship candidate and the process that produced its candidates for the state assembly.
Our checks revealed that the Supreme Court penultimate Monday set aside the ruling of the Court of Appeal, Port Harcourt Division, which vacated a stay order made by a Rivers High Court against the conduct of All Progressives Congress congresses in the state.
Delivering the ruling on the interlocutory appeal, Justice Centus Nweze held that the decision of the Court of Appeal was in error. Nweze said the lower court was compelled to be guided by the judgments of the apex court, adding that the panel had to follow the law before arriving on its decision.
Recall that Justice Chinwendu Nworgu of the State High Court, on October 11 delivering judgment on a substantive suit, instituted by Ibrahim Umar and 12 other members of the Rivers State APC, challenging their exclusion from the party Congresses, the court voided the list of candidates and sacked the state APC executive.
But the APC last night claimed the judgment of the apex court would not restrain it from submitting Tonye Cole along with his running mate, Hon. Victor Giadom as its candidates in Rivers.
The statement read in part: “ In view of conflicting interpretations that have greeted the recent verdict of the Supreme Court on the contentions among our members in Rivers State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), it has become necessary to clarify that the Supreme Court’s verdict has nothing to do with the primaries conducted for the governorship and legislative positions in the state.
“Therefore, the candidature of Arch. Tonye Cole along with his running mate, Hon. Victor Giadom remains inviolate. The list of our candidates for the governorship, National Assembly, and House of Assembly have been processed by the National Working Committee (NWC) according to the INEC guidelines.
“Our party appreciates the support of the good people of Rivers State and their commitment towards the victory of our governorship candidate, Arch. Tonye Cole and other APC candidates at all levels in the 2019 elections. A progressive leadership under the APC beckons and the people of Rivers State are poised to effect a change to move the beleaguered state to a path of progress and development”.
The INEC, however, told Nigerian Tribune that it was not aware of the judgment of the apex court on its Rivers State chapter.
Rotimi Oyekanmi, media aide to INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmoud Yakubu told Tribune Online on phone last night that the Commission was ignorant of the court judgment
He said: “We haven’t been served. It is when we have a copy of the judgment that we can take a position.”
Front Pix
DEPLOY YOUR CAPACITY, TECHNICAL KNOWHOW TO REVITALISE SONGHAI FARMS, FUBARA TELLS TASK FORCE
Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has said that diversifying the economy of the State has become inevitable because of the need to solve the problem of food shortages while also providing jobs for the teeming unemployed youths.
These, he said, are the reasons why great care has been taken to critically look at the prospects of revitalising the Songhai Integrated Farms, which is located in Bunu Tai, in Tai Local Government Area of the State.
Governor Fubara insisted that if the problem associated with food shortages is tackled with good intent and purpose, about 40 to 50 percent of current problems of economic hardship plaguing the country and its people would have been solved.
Governor Fubara made the assertion while inaugurating the Chairman, Mr Biedima Oliver, and members of the task force saddled with the responsibility of supervising the revitalization of Songhai Integrated Farms by its partners: Vitalcrop Ventures Limited and Imagine Adama Limited, at Government House in Port Harcourt, yesterday.
Other members of the task force included, the Rivers State Commissioner for Agriculture, Engr Victor Kii; Commissioner for Finance, Barrister Emmanuel Frank-Fubara; Dr Ayebaesin Beredugo; and Mr Maurice Ogolo.
The Governor explained that it took him time to approve the constitution of the task force being inaugurated because of the ugly experience with the previous group that shown such interest.
Governor Fubara stated that a process was initiated and driven halfway into the handing over of Songhai Farms on concession to an interested partner who latter showed a total lack of the needed capacity to undertake such task.
He said, “As a matter of fact, if few of you could remember, we even conceded the place to an investor who came in after he had made his presentation, and we, believing that he has the capacity, we said okay to him, and we had already signed up.
“But something happened. He came back to tell us that he wanted us to give him a N5billion bank guarantee. We then asked him, why? If we have the N5billion, why do we need you to come and even revitalize Songhai Farms? We would have put that N5billion there ourselves. For that reason, we cancelled that arrangement.”
Governor Fubara said now that two separate companies have come together to indicate interest and given the assurance of having the needed capacity to drive the process, he is delighted to see them meeting that expectation.
Governor Fubara pointed to the expectation of the people who want to see the Songhai Farms back on stream on a sustainable basis.
That expectation, he insisted, is also what his administration wants to see actualised within its lifespan.
He noted, “We want to see food sufficiency, because we know when Songhai Farms comes on board, there will be food, which is one of the problems we are having in this country. If we are able to tackle the issue of food, 40 to 50 percent of our problem will be solved.”
Governor Fubara also stated that although he believes in the presentation made by the group and has taken their assurance to heart, but warned that he would not tolerate a repeat of what happened before.
The Governor said, “I hope your story will not be (end) halfway too. I hope you have the capacity and all the technical knowhow to handle it. It is not when we start now, after we had finished inaugurating the task force, you will come back to tell us that you need $2million. If we have $2million, we won’t need you. We will invest it by ourselves.”
Governor Fubara, however, praised the capacity of the Chairman of the task force, Biedima Oliver, saying that incidentally, he was one of the personnel that convinced the then administration to develop the Songhai Farms, and had worked with the Rivers State Sustainable Development Agency (RSSDA) to manage the project.
He said, “He knows and understands the workings of Songhai, and now that we are making you the chairman of the task force, we want to believe that you will make that place come back to life.
“I don’t have any doubt in your capacity. A few things you’ve touched, you turned them to gold. Please, bring it back to what we used to see in Songhai. Bring it back with the help of your committee.”
Governor Fubara assured that his administration will remain committed to providing all the necessary support that they may require to make their assignment a success.
He added, “So, I hereby inaugurate you. Your task is very simple: Do everything within your powers and with our support to make sure that Songhai becomes operational to the benefit, not just the people of Tai, but to the entire Rivers State and Nigeria as a whole”.
In his acceptance speech, the Chairman of the Task Force to Supervise the Revitalization of Songhai Farms with Vitalcrop Ventures Limited and Imagine Adama Limited, Mr. Biedima Oliver, expressed appreciation to Governor Fubara for the opportunity and confidence reposed in them to revive Songhai Farms.
Mr. Oliver assured that they will deliver the expected goal on Songhai Farms, and doing so on time and on target so that the good people of Rivers State can eventually be happy and also benefit from the huge investment.
Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has declared that all the policies and programmes of his administration are tailored towards the protection of interest of Rivers people, especially the youths.
This, he said, is borne out of the importance his administration attaches to youths’ development and empowerment as leaders of tomorrow.
Fubara, according to a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Nelson Chukwudi, disclosed this when he received the youths of Emohua Local Government Area under the auspices of “Emohua Youths For SIM” on solidarity visit to Government House, Port Harcourt, last Friday.
He said that his administration has put in place modalities that will boost the livelihoods and well-being of Rivers citizens, which youths of Emohua will also benefit when they materialise.
The governor, who spoke through the Rivers State Head of Service, Dr. George Nwaeke, pointed out that the recently awarded Elele-Omudiaga-Egbeda-Ubimini-Ikiri-Omoku Road, the ongoing Emohua-Kalabari Road, reinstatement of illegally sacked workers of Emohua Local Government Area and the approval for electrification of the area, are part of deliberate measures to open up the area to make life conducive and more meaningful for the people.
According to him, “Everything about the governor is putting the interest of Rivers State first. He is looking at and taking action on those things that we need to do to restart the wheels of progress in Rivers State.
“There are many things the governor has planned and is already doing that will boost the life and welfare of every citizen of Rivers State, but most importantly the youths.
“Growing up, I learnt that Egbeda is one of the biggest communities in the whole of Ikwerre, and it’s predominantly an agrarian community. They have food in Egbeda, they have food in Ubimini, they have food in Omudiaga and other natural resources. The whole world is tilting to agriculture, and this is the way to go.
“The Elele-Umudioga-Egbeda-Ubimini-Omoku road, when completed, will open up the area for real development. Your food and everything you produce there will now have value, they will no longer be thrown away. In all these, you the youths are going to be the utmost beneficiaries.”
He added, “Same will be applicable to the Emohua-Kalabari Road which will also, trigger development in the area, and you will be the greatest beneficiaries. When the LGA is also electrified, you will be having 24 or 20 hours of electricity, and those things the youths can do with electricity, you can stay at home and create wealth for yourself and children.
“All the totality of what the governor is doing, when they are completed, or even as some are completed now, the youths are going to be utmost beneficiaries.”
While acknowledging that youths are the true leaders of tomorrow and any government that fails to carry them along in the scheme of things is doomed to fail, the governor assured them of his administration’s commitment to always address issues concerning youths and ensure that they are part of his government.
He commended the youths for toeing the path of truth by identifying with his administration, urging them to sustain the tempo and shun evil, as his government will ensure that the trend whereby politicians turn youths to beggars are over.
He said, “Youths are, indeed, the leaders of tomorrow. The time of youth is a very important time. It a time that your parents or whoever is your leader at that time have to make the greatest investment in you. And any Government that decides to only carry the elderly, chiefs aling and abandon the youths is bound to fail,” he asserted.
“But I am happy that Governor Fubara has concentrated his energy on everything that will benefit the society, especially the youths.
“And based on these, I want to thank you for recognising what is good and calling it good, for shunning what is evil, for saying the Governor is standing for you.
“Let me tell you, you are on the right direction. Let me tell you again, Rivers State is the bride of Nigeria. The whole Nigeria is looking at what will happen here. As they look here and see you standing on the path of truth, this is a very important step that you have taken to right all the wrongs of the past, to make Rivers State stand on the tripod of justice, peace and security. That is what we are going to gain through the governor, taking all the wise actions that he has already initiated.
“The projects the governor is embarking on are meant to prepare nets for the youths to fish and put food on their table, hence you should continue to follow him.
“The SIMplified Movement brought upon by the governor will ensure that Rivers youths stop the habit of going to bow down before politicians, pledging loyalty before they can eat.”
Earlier, spokesman for the Emohua Youths for SIM, Comrade Ovamale O. Ovamale, had said that the visit by youths from the 14 political wards in Emohua Local Government Area was to thank the governor for the award of the Elele-Omudiaga-Egbeda-Ubimini-Ikiri-Omoku road, the approval for electrification of the area and reinstatement of sacked workers of Emohua Local Government Council, of which the youths were mostly affected.
According to him, “Siminalayi Fubara of recent has given Emohua Local Government road that links Elele to Omoku, which comprises over four communities in the local government.”
“Emohua Local Government has also been in darkness for eight years. No community in the local government that has light. But, of recent, because of the passion and love the governor has for the people of Emohua, he has approved the electrification of the local government.
“Also, the illegal sack of Emohua Local Government workers, for which the youths were mostly affected and without the approval of the Local Government Service Commission, the governor, in his compassionate nature, has reinstated them, and that is why we said we must come and thank His Excellency”, he said.
Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has assured that his administration will collaborate and continue to consult widely in delivering a liberated State experiencing enduring peace.
Fubara said, in doing so, he would not operate as a dictator but as a member of a team that has the best interest of the State at heart and determined to leave a lasting legacy that can be celebrated.
The governor spoke during the formal presentation of Certificate of Recognition and Staff of Office to the Amanyanabo of Okochiri Kingdom, King Ateke Michael Tom, as first class tradition ruler, at Government House in Port Harcourt, yesterday.
Fubara stated that, during the Sixth State Executive Council meeting, N80.8billion was approved with 50 percent contract value paid already as the Government awarded the construction of the Elele-Egbeda-Omoku Road.
He said the project will be funded from the savings from Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) to underscore his administration’s prudence without also borrowing to complete the project.
“We are at a crossroad in our State where we all need to stand for what is right. It happens once in a life time. So, for now, be one of those people that will be in the course to liberate and free our dear State.
“And I know strongly that having the support of a peace-loving Amanyanabo of Okochiri Kingdom, having the support of the wonderful Council of Chiefs, having the support of the great people of Rivers State, we will bring peace in our State. We will do those things that are right to develop our State.
“We will continue to consult. We will not act as dictators. We will act as people who know that one day, we will leave, and when we leave, the way we have acted will speak for us. We will not force people to talk good about us. Our legacy will be a signature for how we led”, the governor said.
Fubara explained that he acted within the ambit of the law to upgrade the traditional stool upon which King Ateke Tom sits in recognition of his efforts in promoting peace in Okrika, and indeed, the State, and urged him to continue to do justice to everyone.
In his speech, Commissioner for Chieftaincy and Community Affairs, Hon Charles Amadi, congratulated King Ateke Tom for being formally presented with the Certificate of Recognition and Staff of Office as first class traditional ruler.
Also speaking, former Transport Minister, Chief Abiye Sekibo, thanked the governor for fulfilling his promise of upgrading the traditional stool of Okochiri Kingdom, and pledged the support of Kirike Se people to his administration.