Politics

Bayelsa: SDP Presidential Candidate Donates N10m To Flood Victims, Diri Hails Adebayo

Published

3 years ago

November 9, 2022

The presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party, SDP, Prince Adewole Adebayo has been commended for supporting Bayelsa State flood victims with a donation of N10 million.

Governor of the state , Senator Douye Diri gave the commendation during a courtesy visit by the SDP presidential candidate to the state on Tuesday.

Diri called on the Federal Government to fund the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) adequately as the manner it has been funding the North-East Development Commission to enable it effectively respond to natural disasters.

Represented by his Deputy, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, the Governor desscribed the effect of the flood as unimaginable, noting that the state would require a lot of resources for the recovery process in terms of physical infrastructure and human resources that have been lost to the flood.

A statement by the Deputy Governor’s media aide, Mr Doubara Atasi, quoted the Governor as saying that the federal government has been very swift at funding the North-East Development Agency in response to the flood in the north to the detriment of other flood ravaged states in the Niger Delta

According to Diri, for the fact that NDDC has been kept inept, docile and comatose, speaks volumes of the insensitivity on the part of the federal government.

He expressed regret that the NDDC, which ought to be an interventionist agency, had become highly politicized.

The governor described as contradictory and nepotic the situation where the NDDC established many years before the North East Commission has a sole administrator to run its affairs for a long time now, while its North East counterpart has a board, fully funded and functional.

Diri noted that what the state has so far received from the federal agencies were some non-food items, stressing that all the relief materials airlifted by the Nigerian Air force to the state was procured by the Bayelsa government.

He also added that the people of the state were suffering from high prices of petroleum products and foodstuffs that had skyrocketed due to the damaged road infrastructure of the East-West road thereby making the state barely inaccessible.

His words:”We want to use this opportunity to reiterate our call on the Federal Government which has been very swift in funding the North East Development Commission to respond quickly to flooding in states in the north.

“We believe such should also be done for the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). The fact that the NDDC had been left comatose for so long is an insensitivity on the part of the Federal Government.

“The NDDC is an interventionist agency that had been so unduly politicized and had become the fishing port for ministers of the federal Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs.

“We want to thank you for this auspicious visit at this time. All the major tributaries empty their volume of water in Bayelsa which lies about 1.5 metres below sea-level.

” We are very happy you have come to see things for yourself, because the magnitude of damage here is not only colossal but very daring and unimaginable. It would require huge amount of resources to recover in terms of infrastructure.”

Earlier, the presidential candidate said N10 million was donated as part of intervention efforts to assuage the impact of the natural disaster that ravaged the people for the past few weeks.

While expressing sympathy with the government and people of Bayelsa State over the level of devastation caused by the natural disaster, the SDP presidential candidate said he was saddened by what he saw while coming into the state.

Alluding to the recent comments by the Humanitarian Affairs Minister, Sadiyat Farouk about Bayelsa not being among the top ten most flood impacted states, Adebayo condemned what he described as stay-at-home analysts who make comments on things they have not seen.

He said the resources at the disposal of states particularly in the Niger Delta were grossly inadequate to tackle challenges bedeviling them, advocating that the derivation principle should not be anything less than 50%.

He said:”In view of the wealth of resources coming from here l was expecting to see federal agencies making some interventions concerning the flood. As a way of our intervention, we are making a modest contribution of N10 million.

“As a way of according a national recognition to the issue of flooding, a national appropriation bill should be put in place to address this problem.

“The debate about restructuring is not academic nor political but a pragmatic common sense. It stands to reason that we should not take away all the resources from those who can immediately intervene and put it in the hands of people who are too far away from the reality on ground.

“So l see no reason why derivation principle should be less than 50%. And this is not a pro-Bayelsa statement but a pro-common sense statement.” he said.

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Politics

Agege LG Chairman Resigns

Published

5 days ago

November 5, 2025

Editor

Agege Local Government
Mr. Tunde Azeez Disco has stepped down as the Executive Chairman of Agege Local Government, citing persistent health challenges as the reason for his resignation.

The former chairman submitted his resignation letter to the Agege Local Government Legislative Arm.

He noted that his health status had significantly impacted his ability to effectively discharge his official duties.

The legislative house, while acknowledging Azeez Disco’s dedication to public service, quickly accepted the decision. Following a thorough deliberation, a unanimous resolution was passed, accepting the resignation with immediate effect.

The council wished the outgoing chairman well in his future endeavours, with the event underlining the necessity for public officials to prioritise personal health and well-being.

Ganiyu Obasa, son of the Speaker, Lagos State Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa, is the Vice chairman of Agege Local Government.

In May, residents of Agege, under the banner of the Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), called on President Bola Tinubu to intervene in the local government election in Agege.

They claimed that Obasa allegedly plans to foist his surrogates as candidates in the local government and councillorship elections.

In a meeting held in response to the announcement of candidates for the chairmanship and vice-chairmanship of the Agege Local Government and Orile-Agege Local Council Development Area (LCDA), the aggrieved residents alleged that those shortlisted as candidates to represent the area were handpicked by Obasa.

They said the process was void of internal democracy and collective participation.

Addressing the media, Kamardeen Sabitu, chairman of the PCC for Agege and Orile-Agege, alleged that Obasa did everything possible to manipulate the political structure in the area for personal gain.

During the protest, demonstrators carried placards reading “Red Card, Obasa O to ge, (it is enough). They also chanted songs such as “Enough is Enough, this suffering is enough, Tinubu, rescue us.”

Politics

JUST IN: Reps In Rowdy Session, Reject Key Motions

Published

6 days ago

November 4, 2025

Editor

The plenary session of the House of Representatives on Tuesday turned rowdy after members voted against some motions of urgent public importance, which bordered on the protection of lives and key government assets.

With the Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu, presiding, the session became rowdy, as members dissolved into a closed-door session to restore order.

It all started when the member representing Somolu Federal Constituency, Lagos State, Ademorin Kuye, drew the attention of his colleagues to what he called the illegal allocation of lands within the Lagos International Trade Fair Complex and prayed the House to refer the matter to the Committee on Public Assets for investigation.

Kuye, a member of the All Progressives Congress is the Chairman of the House Committee on Public Assets.

Proposing an amendment to the prayers, Delta lawmaker and Chairman, House Committee on Rules and Business, Francis Waive, argued that though the matter brought before the Green Chamber is urgent enough, the Committee on Commerce, not Public Assets, should be in charge of the investigation.

Waive was supported by Akwa Ibom lawmaker, Mark Esset, who argued that “It is the Committee on Commerce that should take responsibility on this matter.”

On the other hand, Yusuf Gagdi representing Pankshin/Kanke/Kanam Federal Constituency, Plateau State, supported Kuye, stating that the Public Assets Committee should be allowed to take charge of investigating the allegation of illegal land sale and submit a report to the House.

With no end to the back-and-forth argument in sight, Gbefwi Gaza (SDP, Nasarawa) on the advice of Kalu, proposed the constitution of an Ad-hoc Committee comprising members of both Committees (Public Assets and Commerce) to conduct the probe.

When subjected to a voice vote, almost an equal number of lawmakers voted in support and against the motion.

Not sure whose voices were louder, Kalu gave it to the nays, sparking unrest in the chamber.

Next on the order of urgent motions was Mohammed Bio representing Baruten/Kaima Federal Constituency, Kwara State.

Bio who lamented the worsening security situation in his constituency, prayed the House to urge the military to establish a base in the crisis-prone areas to stem the tides of attacks.

This time, more lawmakers voted against the motion, to the surprise of Kalu and the Kwara lawmaker.

It became clear to Kalu that members had resolved to frustrate the day’s session owing to the rejection of Kuye’s motion.

So, when again voices thundered against Ayodeji Alao-Akala’s motion which drew members’ attention to the need to address Nigeria’s description as a “Country of Particular Concern” by the United States President, Mr Donald Trump; Kalu allowed the motion to pass, forcing members to openly oppose the decision.

Voices of dissent rent the chambers and the plenary was suspended for a closed-door session.

…Details later

Politics

Obaseki’s Media Aide Tackles Edo Information Commissioner Over Alleged ₦600bn Debt

Published

6 days ago

November 4, 2025

Editor

A former Governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki, has denied leaving a debt of N600bn, urging the Monday Okpehbolo-led administration to crosscheck from the Debt Management Office (DMO) before “spewing lies.”

The state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Prince Kassim Afegbua, had on Monday in Benin claimed that the immediate past administration in the state left a whooping ₦600bn debt.

Reacting to Afegbua’s claim via video call on Tuesday, Obaseki’s Media Adviser, Crusoe Osagie, challenged the current administration in the state to visit the DMO to see whether Edo drew such debt.

Crusoe, who said no government at whatever level has capacity to draw loans or enter into any debt arrangement without the knowledge and approval of the DMO, said lies being spewed by the Okpebholo’s administration is giving the country a bad image.

He said information of such gives the impression that the state is being governed by people who don’t understand what it means to run a government.

Crusoe described the claim as false and outrightly out of place.

On the planned probe of Mosium of West Africa Arts (MOWA), Crusoe noted that MOWA remained an international brand that entered into a business agreement with Edo State with all T’s crossed and all I’s dotted.

He insisted that every record about the transaction between Radisson Hotel and the Edo State government was contained in the transition report.

He said: “MOWA is an international investment drawing funds from the German government, the United Kingdom’s government, and the French government for its development. You think such an investment will be put on a land that was not ceded to that organization by the state.

“These people just come out there and toss all kinds of irresponsible information out there. At the end of the day what happens is that all of these turn around to form the intelligence that gathered out of Nigeria by the international community.

“It makes these countries think that the country is a failed state and the place is not being governed.”