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Edo APC Leaders Deny Oshiomhole’s Involvement In Mock Primary, Challenge Obaseki To Prove Allegation

Published

3 years ago

May 7, 2020

Editor

Demand Gov To Account For N350bn

Some leaders of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in Edo State have denied allegation by governor of the state Mr. Godwin Obaseki that former governor of the state, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, was involved in a purported mock primary that recently held in the state.

A statement signed by the leaders, which was made available to INFO DAILY, also refuted the governor’s claim that, against his government’s directive, over 50 persons attendanded the meeting now misconstrued as mock primary.

Edo State government had accused the national chairman of organising a “mock primary” of the party in the state on April 30, purportedly to pick a candidate for the gubernatorial election in the state.

The statement jointly signed by Engr Chris Ogiemwonyi, Dr Pius Odubu, Gen. Charles Airhiavbere (Rtd), Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, among others, the governor was challenged the governor to prove his allegation of a crowded “meeting of more than 50 persons.”

The statement reads in part, “We hereby vehemently deny any involvement of Comrade Adams Oshiomhole in our activities. We also state emphatically that there was no crowded meeting of 20 persons or more by this body of APC Leaders anywhere in Edo State in recent time. We hereby challenge Mr. Godwin Obaseki to prove his allegation of a crowded, “meeting of more than 50 persons” by releasing a video of such event.

“A look at the list of those who issued this statement on behalf of our teeming members will expose the rudeness in describing us as puppets of Oshiomhole by Mr Obaseki in the statement under reference.”

According to the leaders in the statement, the twisted narrative by Mr Obaseki was meant to drag the National Chairman of the party’s name into their activities in order to blackmail him, adding that the blackmail attempt is already ongoing.

While confronting the governor with evidence of bad governance, the leaders noted that no form of intimidation by Obaseki’s “hackneyed bashing” would deter them in the state.

“The twisted narrative by Mr Obaseki, is meant to drag the National Chairman, Comrade Oshiomhole’s name into our activities in order to blackmail him. This is an ongoing, but over used strategy for his ill-fated campaign for second tenure. We state unequivocally that we are not intimidated by Mr. Obaseki’s hackneyed bashing of and disrespect for the former Governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, whose excellent performance in government remains the selling points for our party till date.

“Contrary to the resort to personalise attacks by Godwin Obaseki on the National Chairman, who is not contesting any election, we are confronting Mr Obaseki with the evidence of bad governance, mindless embezzlement of state funds, destruction of democratic culture, wicked demonization of those on whose backs he rose to power, and systematic destruction of APC, the platform that brought him to power,” they added.

Speaking on the huge spending by governor of over N300bn, the leaders said there are practically no projects to justify the expenditure of the huge receipts, lamenting that “it has all promises, celebrated signing of MoUs, deceptive adverts inviting tenders, etc”

They continued, “As at April 2020, Edo State Government under Godwin Obaseki has netted about N350bn (Three hundred and fifty billion Naira). The bulk is made up of Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) disbursements and Internally Generated Revenue, all amounting to about N300bn, Bail Out fund N17.5bn and Paris Club Excess deductions Refund, enhanced by exchange rate differentials, making up the balance.

“Against this huge funds, never seen before in Edo State, there are practically no projects to justify the expenditure of the huge receipts. All promises, celebrated signing of MOUs, deceptive adverts inviting tenders, and even inviting the Vice President on state visit to flag off construction of INDUSTRIAL PARK, came to nothing. There is not a single project worthy of commissioning as Mr Obaseki moves towards the end of his tenure.”

Reacting to the governor’s claim that he had spent N1bn on the fight against COVID-19, they, and the entire state was shock when the governor announced he has spent such huge amount, stressing that none of the claimed projects by the governor on COVID-19 has been executed in the state.

“Even in the current fight against Covid-19, he does not care about the sufferings of the people, but he is busy converting the opportunity for embezzlement, embarking on political campaign in the 192 wards under the guise of personal sensitization campaign against coronavirus. The state was shocked when he announced they had already spent over One billion Naira on the pandemic within two weeks. Till today there is no lockdown in Edo state in order to avoid spending on palliatives. Yet he moved markets to school premises in the entire state with a promise to fumigate the markets statewide.

“No fumigation has been carried out and the school premises are fast becoming Refuse dumps. Huge crowds are crammed into whatever space in the schools without social distancing. He ordered people to wear face-masks but his government did not provide any for the poor masses. The number of infected people is growing exponentially, he doesn’t care”, they lamented.

While ago alleging that thugs are deployed at will and agencies of government are sent as hounds to make life miserable for persons, the said anyone who disagrees with Obaseki in the state is being endangered.

“Anyone who disagrees with Obaseki in Edo State is endangered. Thugs are deployed at will and agencies of government are sent as hounds to make life miserable for such persons. Bombs have been thrown into people’s homes resulting in massive destructions, but curiously no arrests were made”, they said.

Efforts to speak to Special Adviser to the Governor on Media, Mr. Cruseo Osagie proved abortive as calls put across to him were not through, and SMS sent to him was not replied.

News

APC Blames PDP For Impoverishing 133m Nigerians

Published

3 hours ago

November 28, 2022

Editor

The ruling All Progressives Congress has exonerated the administration of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), for the poverty level of over 133 million Nigerians.

This clarification was made by the APC Director of Publicity, Bala Ibrahim, when he appeared on Sunrise Daily, a popular programme on Channels Television, on Monday.

While stating he could not dispute the recent statistics released by the National Bureau of Statistics, Ibrahim fingered the opposition Peoples Democratic Party for plunging the nation into a sorry state as result of bad governance.

The NBS had in November disclosed that about 133 million people, which represented 63 per cent of Nigerians were ‘multidimensionally’ poor.

The bureau further indicated that 65 per cent of the impoverished people live up the north, while the remaining 35 per cent are represented in the south.

But the APC publicity director stoutly defended the Buhari’s regime, saying it had no case to answer when it came to the impoverished state of the average Nigerian.

He said, “I am happy the NBS did not say it is the APC that impoverished Nigerians. This poverty that has taken control of Nigeria is as a result of the misrule of the PDP for 16 years.

“The APC, since it came into power, has been doing everything to uplift the standard of living, to take people to the place of their ambitions, and it promised to provide succour, and it is doing so.”

Continuing, Ibrahim applauded the current administration, which he said deserved accolades for producing more millionaire rice farmers since it was elected in May 2015.

News

Nigerians Most Litigious People On Earth, CJN Ariwoola Laments

Published

4 hours ago

November 28, 2022

Editor

The Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola lamented on Monday in Abuja that Nigerians, especially the political class are the most litigious people on earth putting unprecedented pressure on the judiciary.

Justice Ariwoola canvassed the need for the Nigerian public to be told to do less litigation and embrace more of alternative dispute resolution to free the courts of unnecessary over-stretching of human and material resources.

Speaking against the incessant rush to court after every little disagreement, the CJN explained that Nigeria has various alternative dispute resolution mechanisms across the country that can conveniently be leveraged, with a view to freeing the courts of the incessant case overload.

“In every little disagreement, we rush to court; and in every lost case, we rush to appeal even up to the Supreme Court, no matter how little the issue might be. That has obviously accounted for the several appeals pending in Supreme Court.

“Though we receive scathing criticisms from members of the public over our over-blotted docket, we are neither in any position to regulate case inflow to the court nor have the supernatural powers to attend to all in one fell swoop.”

Justice Ariwoola spoke at the Supreme Court at a special court session to mark the 2022/2023 legal year of the Apex Court and the inauguration of the 62 new Senior Advocates of Nigeria, SAN.

To buttress his claim, Justice Ariwoola explained that during the 2021/2022 legal year alone, the Supreme Court entertained a total number of 1,764 cases, comprising of motions and appeals.

Out of the figure, he said justices of the court heard 816 civil, 370 criminal and 16 political matters, making a total of 1,202 motions.

Similarly, he said, the court considered a total number of 562 appeals, comprising 341 civil, 186 criminal, and 35 political. A total number of 154 judgments were delivered in the year.

“[Of] our pending (backlog) civil appeals are 4,741 while the number of pending (backlog) criminal appeals is 1,392.

“On the other hand, we have 751 moribund appeals for disposal. That brings the total number of pending (backlog) appeals in this Honourable Court to 6,884.

“Out of the 4,741 appeals in the court’s docket, 1,495 have briefs filed and exchanged and are ready for hearing; whereas, the remaining 3,246 appeals are having about 10,000 motions, with some contentious and others innocuous in nature.

“As for the pending 1,392 criminal appeals, 461 already had briefs filed and exchanged and are ready for hearing. The remaining 931 appeals have about 2,000 different motions for hearing to determine their eligibility for hearing.

“However, the identified 751 moribund appeals are to be disposed of for non-compliance with the Supreme Court Rules, i.e. Order 8 Rule 8,” he said.

He further stated: “Available facts on judicial activities in various jurisdictions across the globe still emphatically confirmed that the Supreme Court of Nigeria remains the busiest and most hardworking Supreme Court in the world.

“It is on record that we work from Monday to Friday every week. We conduct sittings on daily basis. It is only on Wednesdays we do chamber sitting to consider non-contentious matters. On Fridays, we deliver judgments and rulings.”

He noted that there are debates in the public space as to whether the Nigerian judiciary is independent or not.

“In the course of these various engagements, discussants always assess the situation from different unrelated perspectives; and that has largely accounted for the often conflicting solutions proffered at the end of each dialogue session.

“The Nigerian Judiciary, to a very large extent, is independent in conducting its affairs and taking decisions on matters before it without any extraneous influence,” he stated.

According to him: “At the Supreme Court, without mincing words, we are completely independent in the way and manner we conduct our affairs, especially in our judgments.

“We don’t pander to the whims and caprices of anybody. If there is anybody to be feared, I must say with full confidence, that it is only the Almighty God. We will never be subservient to anyone, no matter his position or influence in the society.

“Nevertheless, I will make it clear to whoever that cares to listen that when the Nigerian Judiciary is assessed from the financial aspect, we are yet to be free or truly independent.

“The annual budget of the Judiciary is still a far cry from what it ought to be. The figure is either stagnated for a long period of time or it goes on a progressive decline when placed side-by-side with the current realities in the market.

“Prices of goods and services are not getting less or friendly to buyers; while at the same time, our purchasing power is abysmally low and weak enough to transmit on the same wavelength with the market forces.

“The only thing I can do at this juncture is to plead with the other arms of government and allied agencies to clear all the impediments so we can enjoy our independence holistically.”

News

FG Gives Reason For High Cost Of Fertiliser

Published

4 hours ago

November 28, 2022

Editor

The Federal Government, on Monday, explained that the cost of fertilizer had continued to go up due to a global increase in its production components.

Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, gave the explanation in Abuja at the fifth edition of the President Muhammadu Buhari (PMB) Administration’s Scorecard 2015-2017 series.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports the scorecard series is organised by the Ministry of Information and Culture, with the fifth edition featuring the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Mohammad Abubakar.

Responding to a question on the high cost of fertiliser in the country, the Minister of Information and Culture said it was a global issue.

He explained that from 2017 till date, the prices of three major raw materials for fertiliser production, that is, phosphate, potash and urea, had gone above the roof.

“In 2017, one metric ton of phosphate cost 290 US Dollars (USD). Today, the same metric costs 1,255 USD.

“In 2017, one metric ton of potash cost 256 USD. Today, the same one metric ton costs 1,187 USD.

“In 2017, one metric ton of Urea was 300 USD. Today, one metric ton is 1,037 USD.

“You can see that the prices of fertiliser components at the international market have gone up and this is not peculiar to Nigeria,’’ he said.

The minister recalled that when the Buhari-led administration came on board in 2015, it launched the Presidential Fertiliser Initiative to address the perennial challenges faced in the production, cost and distribution of the commodity.

He said that the initiative yielded results, including the increase of fertiliser blending plants from four in 2015 when they assumed office to 72 presently.

The minister also recalled that before the prices of the fertilizer components started going up in 2017, the Buhari administration succeeded in bringing it down from N10,000 to N5,000.

According to him, if not for the fertiliser initiative of the federal government, the cost of fertilizer would have been higher than what is presently obtained in the market.

NAN reports that the price of the commodity in the retail market currently is between N20,000 to N25,000 for a bag of NPK or urea fertiliser.

Corroborating Mohammed, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development attributed the increase in the prices of fertilizer and its production components globally to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change and the Russia-Ukraine war.

He said that Nigeria was not insulated from the global impacts and inflationary trend.

The minister assured that the federal government would continue to mitigate the impacts and implement policies and programmes that would cushion the effects of the high cost of fertiliser.