Connect with us

News

Edo Guber: ‘Oshiomhole’s Triumphant Entry Has Left You In Trauma, Demoralised,’ APC Mocks PDP

Published

on

The State Media Campaign Council of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the Edo Governorship election has fired back at the PDP in a scathing rebuttal, accusing the party of “suffering severe trauma” and “complete demoralization” over the triumphant entry of Comrade Adams Oshiomhole who recently returned to the state to help the election of the APC’s Osagie Ize-Iyamu.

In a statement released by the chairman of the State Media Campaign Council, Mr. John Mayaki, the APC said the PDP has refused to read the handwriting on the wall and likened its campaign to that of a ‘local tabloid seeking ghetto fame’ with an alleged resort to empty gossips and character assassination.

Advertisement

He said, “The triumphant entry of Comrade Adams Oshiomhole to Edo State last week and the sea of people that dotted the streets and poured out to open spaces to welcome their leader home, have inflicted trauma on the Peoples Democratic Party, demoralized them completely, and shattered whatever hopes they nurtured of rigging their way to victory on the 19th of September.

READ ALSO: OPINION: Captain Hosa’s Open Letter Illuminates The Tyranny Of Edo’s Reprobate Governor By John Mayaki 

“The people’s message was clear: we stand wholeheartedly on this side of the divide, and with the might of our population, we will resist any kind of underhanded attempt to subvert our will.

Advertisement

“But the PDP, in their trademark cluelessness, has failed to read the handwriting on the wall. Instead of leading a substantial topic-based campaign to at least reduce the margin of their expected loss, they have resorted to street gossip like a local tabloid seeking ghetto fame. In their highest point of inspiration, they go into character assassination, tweaking narratives clearly known to the public to be false and baseless propaganda.

“This often resort to belligerent attacks and mendacious propaganda betrays a hollowness that has deepened itself over the years in a party lying about without vision. Obaseki was the man whom PDP sued in court, seeking to nail him for presenting fake and doctored certificates as the output of an academic history mired in irrational inconsistencies.

READ ALSO: Edo 2020: Over 87 APC Councilors Vow To Resist Obaseki’s Harassment To Jorcefully Join PDP

Advertisement

“Edo PDP, at present, is a chapter that its incompetence and irrelevance continues to stink despite the national organ’s relentless attempt to rinse and bleach it with rainy dollars.

“The PDP National Campaign Council on Edo Governorship Election itself is a body running on discordant wheels. It first suffers in the choking grip of that feud with the real Edo State chapter’s structure who, till today, still feel aggrieved for having their true candidates maneuvered, and Godwin Obaseki foisted on them. So when the so-called PDP Natioanl body speaks for Obaseki, they do so because no one else will, and they yet have to satisfy the conditions of their 15 billion naira contract.

“PDP in Edo exists only on paper, color, and insignia. The structures which for years survived on the personal popularity of Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu have all collapsed and will be delivering a comprehensive victory to the APC on the 19th of September.

Advertisement

“We do not expect Kola Ologbodinyan to know this from his Abuja hideout. But just as he relies on speculative reports and hearsays as fodder for his fiction writing and habitual disgraceful invectives, we expect him to learn of the APC’s victory in the same way and extend, even if reluctantly, a congratulatory message before fading again into irrelevance.”

READ ALSO: Edo 2020: APC Women Assure Ize-Iyamu Of clean Dweep At The Polls

Advertisement
Advertisements
Advertisement
Comments

News

FOIA: Community Leaders Trained, Challenged To Hold Govt Accountable

Published

on

By

In its pursuit of holding public office holders accountable, and promoting transparency in procurement, Edo Civil Society Organization (EDOCSO), Friday, organised a day workshop on using ‘Freedom of Information Act to Facilitate Transparency in Procurement’ for community leaders, women and youths.

The workshop held in Benin was in collaboration with Social Development Integrated Centre also known as Social Action.

Advertisement

Speaking at the workshop, Program Director, Social Action, Botti Isaac, said the workshop was aimed at “equiping community people with ideas, strategies and tools in engaging government and government’s agency in ensuring effective service delivery.

According to him, over the years, it has been observed that community people are not able to ask the right questions such as procurement documents, contract documents of ministries and agency because they (community people) do not have the right information.

READ ALSO: Cultism, Terrorism: CLEEN Foundation Advocates Community-oriented Policing

Advertisement

He said this lack of the right information warranted his organisation to organise the workshop with a view to enlightening and giving them the right tools to get the necessary information.

So, our organisation saw the need to bring together these people and intimate them on strategies, approach in using the FOI as a tool to engaging duty bearers, and to ensure that they are more responsible and responsive to the people in ensuring that services are effectively deliver at community levels.

“So, the idea is to equip citizens for further action, and by action, I mean engaging duty bearers for inclusive and effective service delivery,” he added.

Advertisement

Asked if government agency have been complying with the FOIA which has been in existence since 2011, Isaac said: “If I am to rate government agencies and ministries, my rating will be at 50 percent, because a lot of government agency are not complying. Where we have compliance issues most is at the state level because many have argued that it has not been domesticated in their states.

On his part, a former Coordinator-General of EDOCSO, Comrade Omobude Agho, while speaking on the subtitle: ‘Introduction to Freedom of Information Act:A Breakdown of the Act’, challenged community dwellers to hold government accountable.

READ ALSO: HOMEF Trains Women On Climate Change Adaptation

Advertisement

While re-emphasising his organisation’s commitment in continuously enlightening citizens until they are fully aware of the FOIA and demand for accountability and transparency, Agho said: “to hold government accountable is a responsibility of every citizen, but a lot doesn’t know why they are citizens and to what extent their citizenship is.

“So, we have gather people from different communities to teach them what it means to be citizens and how to use the FOIA to track project and to insist that projects are done up to specifications.”

Speaking on Making Request for Freedom of Information Under the FOI Act, a lawyer who specialises in FOI, President Aigbokhan, while corroborating other speakers’ said citizens are not enlighten enough on the FOIA, and that a citizen can query government without being a lawmaker through the help of the FOIA.

Advertisement

He said: “FOI has made it possible for citizens to be participatory in government. Citizens can use FOIA to track government projects and participate in governance.

“There is law that empowers citizens to query government without going the National Assembly.”

Advertisement
Advertisements
Continue Reading

News

Cultism, Terrorism: CLEEN Foundation Advocates Community-oriented Policing

Published

on

By

A non-profit organisation known as CLEEN Foundation has advocated for community-oriented policing aimed at aiding Serious Organised Crimes (SOCs) prevention such as robbery, cultism amongst others.

The foundation said crime preventive model is a sure way of policing geared to divert individuals from joining organised crimes by providing them with alternative opportunities and positive lifestyle choices.

Advertisement

Program manager of the group, Mr. Chigorim Okoro who disclosed this at a two-day crime preventive steering group in Benin City, Edo State said the project is in partnership with Torchlight group, United Kingdom.

Okoro stated that “prevent” is part of a community-oriented policing strategy being practised in UK and currently piloted in Edo, Lagos, Bayelsa and Zamfara States in Nigeria to curb the prevalence of Serious Organised Crimes.

According to him, “Nigeria Police Force (NPF) is critical to the coordination of this multi-partner activity as the project aims to contribute to NPF systems, processes and skills.

Advertisement

READ ALSO: TRAINING: We’re Committed To Efficient Administration Of Criminal Justice – CLEEN FOUNDATION

“And our overrall goal is to prevent more people from joining serious organised crime groups in Edo State and Nigeria at large”.

Representative of the police, ASP. Jennifer Iweagbu disclosed that cultism is predominantly SOCs in Edo State and pointed out that the police has intensified efforts to stem the tide.

Advertisement

She said: “They (cultists) are organised by dividing responsibilities when planing or committing hineous crimes and tend to be loyal to the secrecy they have sworn to”.

Advertisement
Advertisements
Continue Reading

News

World Tourism Day 2023: Edo To Rally Stakeholders On Heritage Promotion, Protection Policy To Drive Sector Growth

Published

on

By

 

As part of activities to mark the 2023 World Tourism Day (WTD), Edo State Government says it is set to
rally stakeholders in the state’s tourism sector to get their inputs in the recently drafted Edo State Heritage Promotion and Protection Policy.

Advertisement

INFO DAILY reports that Edo State Heritage Promotion and Protection Policy is a document aimed at setting guidelines and implementation strategies for the conservation and promotion of the state’s tangible and intangible heritage materials, in line with efforts to make the state a tourist destination of choice.

This was contained in a press statement by signed by the Commissioner for Arts, Culture, and Tourism, Uyi Oduwa Malaka, while disclosing plans by the state to join the world in the celebration of this year’s World Tourism Day (WTD), which holds on September 27.

According to her, ‘‘World Tourism Day, is a day set aside by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) to foster awareness of the importance of tourism and its social, cultural, and economic values to mankind.

Advertisement

‘‘The theme for this year’s celebration is “Tourism and Green Investment,” which emphasises the vital need for investment in building a tourism sector that delivers for people and the planet.

‘‘Tourism is a positive force of nature that helps to connect our heritage, historicity and our present. It connects culture civilizations and melts humanity into a common narrative of origins and experiences.’’

The Commissioner further stated that activities to mark the occasion would hold at the Ogba Zoological Garden on Wednesday September 27, with the major focus on unveiling the State’s Heritage Promotion and Protection Policy.

Advertisement

READ ALSO: Tribunal Judgement: Police In Kano Impose 24-hour Curfew

It will feature stakeholders input in the recently drafted Edo State Heritage Promotion and Protection Policy, guided tours, workshops and it will highlight some of the milestones recorded by the state government in the tourism space.

‘‘This policy places robust emphasis on preservation, conservation and maintenance of our heritage sites and intangible heritage that is consistent with this year’s theme of green investment.’’

Advertisement

The statement further encouraged participants and stakeholders in the sector to suggest ideas that will promote sustainable tourism practices through environmentally friendly initiatives.

Advertisement
Advertisements
Continue Reading

Trending