Nation
‘PDP Heading For Painful Disintegration’
A former member of the House of Representatives, Hon Lasbery Amadi has described the current crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Rivers State and at the national level as unfortunate development which may end the rule of the party in the country.
Amadi, who dumped the PDP for the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in the 2011 general elections, regretted that critical actions were taken by the leadership without thinking about the imminent result of such actions.
The former federal lawmaker, who spoke with The Tide at the weekend, condemned the various decisions taken by the Felix Obuah-led party in Rivers State, and warned that the party may have serious issues to contend with in future elections.
He warned that if the party did not reconcile all aggrieved members in the crisis rocking both Rivers State and the national leadership, the party might naturally drift into extinction in the nearest future.
According to him, “what I am seeing today is completely different. A situation where Rivers State continues to give the highest vote to PDP, and today, the party is treating the state in this manner, I am honestly afraid of the interest it is serving. There is need for urgent action to save this party. There is need for those who wish PDP well to come together now to stop this charade.
“My understanding is that those who are fomenting these problems; those who are unleashing these unfriendly policies; those who are overheating the system are not helping Mr. President. I see a situation where even Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, will assist Mr. President to achieve his ambition in 2015 far better than those who are now trying as much as possible to ignite and overheat the system in the state. It is high time the party realized this,” he said.
Amadi, who contested on the platform of the ACN to represent Rivers East Senatorial District, said the party must look back at the nitty-gritty of the problem, and find workable solutions that would help the party enthrone enduring democratic culture in the country.
He, however, warned that some of the party’s leaders must be called to order now to save it from imminent collapse.
The Chairman of Malumfashi Local Government Council of Katsina State, Maharazu Dayi, has been impeached.
Maharazu Dayi was impeached yesterday by 11 out of 12 councillors, barely two days before the local government elections in the State.
The councillors reportedly took action following allegations of misconduct and poor governance against the chairman after a dispute over the distribution of the council’s Paris Club funds.
The development has sent shock waves across the local government area, especially as the impeached chairman is among those who failed to secure the ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to contest in the forthcoming election.
The Rumuwoji Ultra Modern Market Traders Association, Mile 1, Port Harcourt, has urged the state government to utilise the available spaces within the area to build phase 3 of the Rumuwoji Market in order to solve the ever increasing needs of traders.
The association, which said this at a media briefing in Port Harcourt, also described as a welcomed development the decision by the state Governor to open the phase 2 of the market for business.
According to the association, “We consider it as an answer to the various cries of the people, because he is a man on a mission who is out to place the interest of Rivers people first. It is a dream come true for the first time for the market to be dully allocated and open for business”
Chairman of the association, Hon Godspower Wobo, who briefed the press shortly after a meeting of the association in Port Harcourt, also urged the public to disregard the activities of some persons whose stock in trade is to cause disaffection in the market.
He said the attention of the association was drawn to the activities of some strange fellows who went about misforming the people about situation in the market, stressing that apart from his association, no other group exists in the market except subdiary unions.
Wobo also tasked the reallocation committee to tread with caution so as to avoid being deceived by any group.
According to him, time has come for the state government to engage in robust discussion with aggrieved shop owners who went to court and those who paid monies to the state coffers and issued with allocation certificates for the overall interest of peace.
He also advised the public to deal directly with his association, stressing that the meeting was to review activities for the last year as well as unveil their new Constitution.
Also speaking, former Chairman of the association, Deacon Kenneth Eze urged the Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara to open the phase 2 of the market, as it is long overdue.
Eze who is the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the association also urged the public to do business with only the Rumuwoji Ultra Modern Market Traders Association as it is the only union recognised by the traders.
The President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Akinwunmi Adesina, has debunked reports linking him with the race for Nigeria’s presidency in 2027.
Reacting to the report on his X handle yesterday, following a recent interview with Arise TV, the AfDB boss said his quotes were misrepresented and misinterpreted in several Nigerian media reports.
However, the AfDB president denied the media reports, stating that he never said that he wanted to contest for President.
“A segment of my recent interview on @Arise TV has been both misinterpreted and misrepresented in several Nigerian media outlets. What I said was, “I will be available to serve in any capacity, globally, in Africa, anywhere, including my own country.”
“A listen to the substantive and robust interview, which is available online, will show this to be the case. For clarity and for the record, I did not say that I am running for the office of President of Nigeria,” Adesina said.