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Edo APC Chides Obaseki On ‘Wasteful Foreign Trip’

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The Edo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has called on Governor Obaseki to put an immediate end to his “unwarranted and wasteful pleasure trips abroad” which, according to the party, very recently saw him gallivanting to Germany, Qatar and United Arab Emirates.”

The party, in a statement by its Assistant State Publicity Secretary, Victor Osehobo, urged the Governor to, “Stop wasting tax payers funds on these weird frivolous foreign trips in search of investors, whereas all you are doing is sight seeing while the business of governance suffers in the state”.

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The party in the statement said, Mr Obaseki’s recent visit to Germany is the latest of the series of such “unnecessary trips he embarked on, during which he failed to meet or even interact with credible German business tycoons and investors to come into the state to grow an economy which he is noted for mismanaging.”

The party added that it was the “same story when the Edo State governor went to the expensive 2022 Doha Forum in Qatar to showcase non-existent business and investment opportunities in Edo, whereas his tenure so far has brought untold disadvantage to the estwhile business-friendly environment.”

On Governor Obaseki’s trip to this year’s Annual Investment Meeting (AIM) in Dubai, the party said that the governor had no business there because “no serious investor from that part of the world is willing to risk looking at his pitch for investments in the stillborn Benin River Port, the Enterprise Park, and the Benin Inland Container Depot/Dry Port, among other MOU projects.”

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The APC described the foreign trips as a misplaced priority, alleging that Governor Obaseki was using “them to pocket scarce state funds under the guise of attracting imaginary foreign investors to the state.”

According to the APC, “In this year alone, he (Obaseki) has spent over N7bn for foreign trips. He says he is looking for foreign investors to come to the state. Is that amount not enough to invest in one industry that can create jobs?”.

READ ALSO: 2023: Edo APC Knocks PDP Over Violence In Primary Elections

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Meanwhile the APC has advised the Governor Obaseki-led administration to cancel its alleged plans aimed at silencing members of the public, especially APC faithful in the state who have been critical of the government’s policies, in the build-up to the 2023 general election.

The party said it has uncovered plans by some aides and allies of Gov. Obaseki to hound and attack identified critics of the state government, especially those belonging to the APC, with a view to silencing them ahead of the next general election.

The party, therefore, urged Governor Obaseki to halt such plans, saying it is undemocratic and unpopular and is capable of throwing the state into untold political turmoil and social crisis.

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Amaechi: I Will Resign As FCT Minister If… Wike

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Federal Capital Territory FCT minister, Nyesom Wike has begged President Bola Tinubu to release the report of the forensic audit on the Niger Delta Development Commission NDDC, which he said indicted the former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi.

Wike vowed to resign if the report is released and its contents do not indict Amaechi.

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Speaking on ‘Politics Today’ on Channels Television monitored on Friday in Abuja, Wike who was responding to allegations by Amaechi that he was corrupt, said Amaechi’s wife received N4 billion monthly from the NDDC to train Niger Delta women.

He said, unlike Amaechi, he does not come from a poor background, hence his sophisticated taste.

READ ALSO: Coalition: Why ADC Leaders Stepped Down — Nwosu

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Wike said, “First of all, Amaechi’s wife was not an industrialist. She has never been, and that is why I call on Mr President to release the forensic audit of NDDC.

“Amaechi’s wife company, every month, got N4 billion to train Niger Delta women. That is N48 billion in one year alone, and the forensic audit report is there. Who killed it? It was Malami, then the Attorney General.

“That is one of the people who is now talking. Mr President should help Nigerians. You see, this is what I have always said. Mr President should help Nigerians. Please, release the forensic audit of the NDDC.

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“I have said, let Mr President please do us a favour to release that document. Former Attorney General, Malami, killed that document to protect those who were concerned.

READ ALSO:Ex-minister Amaechi Dumps APC, Says Tinubu Can’t Govern Nigeria

I am not just saying what I am saying, let them release the document. If what I am saying is not in the document, I will resign at the Minister of the FCT. I said I will resign.

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“I don’t worship office. What I am saying, let them release the forensic audit of the NDDC. I didn’t say the forensic audit was right, but I said, release the report of the forensic audit.

“That is how the wife became an industrialist – N4 billion every month to train Niger Delta women”, he stated.

Wike challenged the academic qualifications of Amaechi, describing them as less than average, and also faulted Amaechi’s claim that a Senator gave him (Amaechi) a Rolls-Royce but that he does not use it.

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According to the FCT minister, the vehicle was given to Amaechi by a contractor who was executing about -0 percent of the projects in Rivers state. In contrast, the former Transport Minister was the governor.

 

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Coalition: Abure-led LP Gives Obi 48 Hours To Leave Party

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The Abure-led faction of the Labour Party has given the presidential candidate of the party in the 2023 election, Peter Obi, a 48 hours ultimatum to leave the party haven formally joined the coalition party.

This was contained in a statement signed by the faction’s National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, in Abuja, on Thursday.

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He explained that the Labour Party under Abure’s leadership remains vehemently opposed to joining the coalition while dismissing members of the coalition as “power mongers whose only interest was self and not the people.”

The party warned Nigerians that the often mouthed ‘new Nigeria is Possible’ is a ruse and cannot be achieved with the assemblage of old, recycled, desperate and frustrated politicians in the coalition.

READ ALSO::Only A Formidable Coalition Can Salvage Nigeria, Says Peter Obi

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Ifoh said the party is aware that all those who mismanaged Nigeria over the years are the ones that gathered themselves in the coalition while noting that desperate politicians can’t birth new Nigeria.

He said, “We are aware of several nocturnal meetings between Peter Obi and some of our members, lobbying them to join him in his new party. We’re also aware that a number of them has refused to defect with him.

“Labour Party has consistently said it is not part of the coalition and therefore, any of our members who is part of the coalition is given within 48 hours to formally resign his membership of the party.

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“Labour Party is not available for people with dual agenda, people with deceptive persona. The party will not avail itself to individuals who have one leg in one Party and another leg elsewhere.

“People who in the morning they will claim to be in the Labour Party and in the evening they are in coalition.

READ ALSO: Peter Obi Condemns Tinubu’s Saint Lucia Trip

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“Nearly 70 per cent of the Nigerian population are youths who are tired of the old order, tired of gerontocrats deciding their fate. The new Nigeria that the youths are dreaming of, is not what can be realized from what we are seeing in the coalition.

“These people are opportunistic politicians who are only interested in relaunching themselves into circle of power, people who are desperate to continue holding on to power.

“The new Nigeria of our dream can only be realised through the Labour Party, and the party is willing to lead Nigerians along that trajectory.

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“I therefore urge all members of the party to remain loyal and keep the party structure intact ahead of future elections.”

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Only A Formidable Coalition Can Salvage Nigeria, Says Peter Obi

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The presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 elections, Peter Obi, has given his full support for the coalition of opposition parties aimed at ending President Bola Tinubu’s rule in 2027.

He explained that it was a fact that no single group can change Nigeria alone, hence the need for people to come together to pursue the goal.

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The former Amambra State Governor said this in a post on his verified X handle, on Thursday.

READ ALSO: Peter Obi Condemns Tinubu’s Saint Lucia Trip

He said this just as the Julia Abure-led faction of the Labour Party has given him 48 hours within which to formally resign from the party or risk expulsion.

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Obi in his post wrote, “Yesterday, the coalition members formally adopted the African Democratic Congress (ADC) for the 2027 Nigeria General Elections with Distinguished Senator David Mark serving as the National Chairman and H.E. Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola serving as the National Secretary.

“Our commitment is to sacrifice and work together towards the 2027 General Elections, ensuring that Nigeria gets a competent, capable, and compassionate leadership that will prioritise the nation’s future by putting the welfare of Nigerians first.

REAS ALSO: Peter Obi Speaks As Port Harcourt Refinery Begins Production

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“This decision was not made lightly. It comes from deep reflection on where we are as a country and what must be done to move forward.

“No one group can change Nigeria alone. To dismantle the structures that keep our people in poverty and insecurity, we must build bridges, not walls even when those bridges are uneasy. A New Nigeria is Possible. -PO.”

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