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APC Crisis: Chieftains Press For Oshiomhole’s Resignation …Say He’ll Destroy Party
Former Minister of Communications, Adebayo Shittu, has backed the call for the resignation of the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole.
It would be recalled that the Deputy National Chairman of the APC (North), Lawal Shuaib, had last Tuesday, urged Oshiomhole to tender his resignation letter following the Supreme Court’s nullification of the party’s primaries in Zamfara State.
In a letter he had made public few days ago, Lawal said the APC national chairman has performed below expectation, and therefore, should resign.
However, Shittu said if Oshiomhole was allowed to remain, APC would go down when President Muhammadu Buhari’s second term was over.
Speaking with newsmen on the call for Oshiomole’s resignation, the former minister said, “I endorse it.”
He said, “The truth is with Oshiomhole this party would go down by the time President Muhammadu Buhari finishes his 2nd term.
“Oshiomhole is full of himself and he has an ego problem, and wants to dominate every environment, and democracy is not like that.
“I know that many of us who are conscionable members of the party who think of the future of this party, and the fact that this party should continue to be relevant even after President Muhammadu Buhari has left office, I would stand by this call. We are concerned and everything that we can do to force him out, we will do it”
Meanwhile, another leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), has called for the National Chairman of APC, Adams Oshiomhole, to step aside in the interest of the party.
A chieftain of the APC in Rivers State, Kingsley Wali, who is the latest to make this call, said Oshiomhole was responsible for the predicament the party suffered in different parts of the country in the build-up to the just-concluded general elections.
Wali, who is a lawyer, said that APC as a party should take a collective decision to ease out Oshiomhole to avert further damage to its fortunes.
He stated that the APC national chairman has been running a one-man show which is not in tandem with the vision of President Muhammadu Buhari.
“I have been consistent with my view that Adams Oshiomhole was 95 per cent responsible for the problems APC had. You have a man who believes that whatever he says is final and then turned a political party to a labour union.
“For me, if Oshiomhole is a responsible person which I doubt because I can tell you for free, Zamfara may not be the end of the story. There are a lot of cases in court.
“The reasonable thing for APC as a party to do is to ask Oshiomhole to vacate his seat so that a new orientation can come in that will help the party move forward.
“If we insist on characterising the Next Level slogan of the APC, the attitude that Adams Oshiomhole exhibited cannot be in tandem with the present vision of Nigeria. The man was running a one-man show.
“In every decent political clime, once you lead a party and the party did not perform well you have to go. Let us not delude ourselves because we won the presidency, what about the governorship seats.
“What is in the public domain is that Adams Oshiomhole is hell-bent on making sure that Obaseki doesn’t come back, Yahaya Bello doesn’t come back, Akeredolu doesn’t come back, I don’t know his interest in Bayelsa State.
“In every democracy, the sitting President or the sitting governor is given a right of first refusal. It will interest you to know that the Deputy National Chairman of APC, Senator Lawal Shuaibu had in a letter requested that the National Chairman of APC, Adams Oshiomhole should resign for leading the party to failure in the 2019 elections.”
Also, the dust generated by the call by the Deputy National Chairman (North) of the All Progressives Congress APC, Senator Lawali Shuaibu asking the National Chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole to resign is yet to settle.
This is because yesterday, national officers of the party who are not members of its National Working Committee NWC demanded an urgent interface with the NWC to discuss the matter. The officers are however members of the APC National Executive Committee NEC.
The party officials under the aegis of forum of Non-National Working Committee (Non-NWC) in a letter signed by their Chairman, Alhaji Nasiru Danu and the Secretary, Hon. Omolayo O. Akintola, said the meeting had become necessary to discuss emerging issues before they get out of hand.
There have been calls by some stakeholders of the party asking the NWC to convene a NEC meeting to resolve issues which arose from the conduct of the last general elections and also forge a common front ahead of the composition of the next cabinet by President Muhammadu Buhari.
However, in the leaked letter dated 29th May, 2019 and titled: “Demand for an urgent interface with NWC organ of our party-APC” and addressed to the National Chairman, the national officers said the meeting is “principally to address critical issues affecting our great party before such issues go out of hands which could be inimical to the general welfare of the party.”
The forum said it would have called for such meeting earlier, “but we considered the concluded 2019 general elections as determinant or our Party’s survival which had come and gone with successes and losses.
“This body rose from her today‘s (29-05-2019) emergency meeting shortly after the Presidential inauguration ceremony held at the Eagle Square, Abuja and concluded the following request be made.
The forum said it would have called for such meeting earlier, “but we considered the concluded 2019 general elections as determinant or our Party’s survival which had come and gone with successes and losses.
“This body rose from her today‘s (29-05-2019) emergency meeting shortly after the Presidential inauguration ceremony held at the Eagle Square, Abuja and concluded the following request be made.
“We hereby request for a meeting to be fixed from your end as soon as possible in order to meet with the urgency it demands.” The letter addressed to the National Chairman also copied the chairman of the APC Governors Forum, Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi state.
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.