Politics

Why PDP Performed Woefully In Cross River —Chieftain

Published

3 years ago

March 29, 2023

Editor

A Chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Cross River State, Barrister Essien Ita, on Wednesday 29th March, said that the abysmal performance of the party in the just concluded elections was due to the refusal of the state exco to respect the zoning principle that had existed since 1999.

Barrister Ita contended that the outcome of the 2023 gubernatorial polls was a referendum by the people of Cross River State that zoning must be maintained and power must go to the South.

In what appeared to be a consensus and protest votes, the majority of the Cross River state people irrespective of party affiliation decided to pitch their tent with the APC candidate, Prince Bassey Otu, which in turn gave the party the victory.

Reacting to the development, Barrister Ita congratulated the governor-elect for the victory at the polls and also advised him on the key areas he should concentrate on in view of the poor economic status of the state in order to make an impact.

According to him, “The 2023 gubernatorial elections have come and gone and the APC candidate, Prince Bassey Otu has been declared the winner. He trounced Prof. Sandy Onoh of the PDP like a mother would do her little stubborn child and showed Sandy political superiority. Prof. Sandy says he wants to go to court, it’s within his rights to do so but he needs to know that the court will find it extremely difficult to upturn an election that he lost with such a wide margin.

“There is a Chinese saying that a farmer who plants his seeds on “sandy” soil is doomed to a poor harvest, so PDP’s defeat did not come to me as a surprise, it is actually a well-deserved defeat. The treachery in the party has finally nailed the coffin for those who sold their birthright for a bowl of porridge, they failed to understand that when you sell your brother to a stranger for a piece of silver, the stranger treats you with a lot of suspicion and disdain.”

He further stated that ”the Cross River State PDP Exco also contributed to the party’s poor outing in the elections. For crumbs, they blindly supported and officially promoted Wike’s anti-party posture and refused to openly campaign or support the candidacy of Atiku Abubakar. For crumbs, they worked against the laid down zoning formula of the state which culminated in the party’s waterloo at the polls”.

He maintains that “now that the elections are over and the PDP intends to wield its stick of discipline, it should immediately invoke Articles 9.1 (d)(f)(k) and Article 21.1(c)(f)(h) of the PDP Constitution and properly discipline the rudderless state Exco for dividing the party and officially upholding an anti-party posture that led the party to defeat.”

Continuing, he said, “For Prince Otu Bassey, the governor-elect of Cross River State, I don’t envy you at all for the task ahead of you is quite enormous and daunting. The first issue you will encounter I suspect, will be shabby and untidy hand-over documents calculated to conceal discrepancies in your predecessor’s government.

“The proper status of the numerous projects of your predecessor may not be known, and monies spent and profit made on projects may not be known. You have also been incapacitated by Cross River State’s inability to assess loans because of our huge debt burden and our dwindling revenue occasioned by the loss of Bakassi”.

“You must look inward and help Cross River state stand tall on its feet.”

He further continued by stating that “all hopes are not lost, instead of immediately commencing new projects, please leverage on some of the industrial projects that your predecessor has put in place that are viable but not the superhighway please.

“The Automated Cocoa Processing factory in Ikom, Ogoja Ultra-Modern Rice Mill, 23 Megawatt Power Plant in Calabar, Bekwarra Groundnut Mill, and Cally air are some of them”.

He noted that, “the 2nd Subnational Ease of Doing Business Ranking of 2023 shows that Cross River State has dropped from 28th position to 33 positions in Ease of Doing Business, meaning the state’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) is dwindling. It, therefore, behoves you the governor-elect to attract investments and create enabling environments for businesses to thrive with ease in Cross River in order to ramp up the state’s IGR.

“You will also need to demand from the Federal Government an improvement and timely disbursement of the Bakassi Stabilization fund.”

Ita advised that “now that President Muhammadu Buhari has assented to the Fifth Alteration Bill allowing states to generate, transmit and distribute electricity, you may need to look in this direction with a view to commencing power projects that will bring about the generation, transmission and distribution of sufficient megawatts that will help strengthen small scale businesses and boost Cross River state IGR.”

He concluded by advising that ” Cross River governor-elect should please jettison the idea of having a “food on the table” cabinet, it will not bring you or Cross River State any good. Focus on how to rejig the economy of the state and not the stomach of a few.”

Politics

Probe Natasha’s Allegations Against Akpabio, Afenifere Urges FG

Published

2 days ago

September 26, 2025

Editor

The pan-Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, has urged the Federal Government to investigate sexual harassment allegations levelled by Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan against Senate President Godswill Akpabio.

The call followed the Senate’s decision to lift Akpoti-Uduaghan’s six-month suspension.

This, Afenifere said should not overshadow the need to establish the truth of her claims.

In a statement issued on Thursday, Afenifere’s National Organising Secretary, Kole Omololu, said the senator’s recall reflected commitment to the rule of law.

“We commend the Senate President, His Excellency Senator Godswill Akpabio, and the Senate leadership for taking a decision that further reinforces the country’s rule of law,” Omololu said.

The group, however, insisted that Akpoti-Uduaghan’s allegations must not be ignored.

“For over six months, where are the facts and evidence of her grave allegations?” Afenifere asked.

It called on the “Nigeria Police, Department of State Services (DSS) and National Intelligence Agency (NIA) to carry out a full investigation into the matter.”

Afenifere also recalled Akpoti-Uduaghan’s past false sexual harassment claims against former presidential aide Reno Omokri, which ended in an out-of-court settlement.

“Does this not suggest that, without proof, her allegations against Akpabio are suspicious?” Omololu asked.

The group further criticised Akpoti-Uduaghan for taking her claims to international media, including BBC, CNN, Sky News and Deutsche Welle, saying the move portrayed Nigeria negatively abroad.

It also queried her participation in a session of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in New York.

“If Natasha truly participated in the IPU meeting without due nomination, then it simply revealed her compromise or manipulation of our public institutions for pecuniary ends,” the group said.

In March 2025, Natasha was suspended for six months after a row in plenary and her petition accusing Senate President Godswill Akpabio of sexual harassment.

She claimed the incident happened in December 2023, but the Senate’s Ethics Committee dismissed her petition on procedural grounds. Despite a court order halting disciplinary action, the Senate went ahead with her suspension, which also froze her pay and barred her from official duties.

Akpoti-Uduaghan challenged the suspension in court, insisting it was tied to her allegations. While the Senate said it acted over misconduct, the case attracted global attention after she granted interviews to international media. The matter remains unsettled, with Afenifere now urging federal authorities to investigate her claims.

Meanwhile, Natasha formally resumed her duties at the National Assembly on October 7, 2025, after her six-month suspension ended – and immediately claimed that Akpabio is a dictator.

And almost immediately, Akpabio’s media aide Kenny Okolugbo debunked the claim.

Politics

2027: Drama As Atiku Disowns Media Consultant Over Statement On Yoruba

Published

3 days ago

September 25, 2025

Editor

The 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party and a former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has denied any association with a media consultant named Kola Johnson.

This is as he also rejected statements released by the media consultant on Wednesday that he would protect Yoruba interests if elected as president in 2027.

Atiku, in a statement issued on Thursday by his Media Adviser, Paul Ibe, alleged that “faceless mercenaries” are behind the false press statement just to discredit him.

He also dismissed the claim as “false and offensive,” describing it as part of a calculated propaganda project to ridicule him in the media.

The statement specifically mentioned one Kola Johnson, described as a “self-styled media consultant,” who allegedly released a publication claiming that an Atiku administration would be dominated by a single ethnic group.

The statement read, “Our findings point directly to the Presidency, which, in its desperation to smear opposition leaders, has resorted to hiring faceless mercenaries to fabricate fake stories and circulate unauthorised statements on Atiku.

“Particularly offensive is the false claim attributed to this individual that an Atiku administration would be dominated by a single ethnic group. This disinformation is part of a calculated propaganda project designed to ridicule Atiku in the media.

“Let it be clear: Atiku Abubakar has never engaged one Kola Johnson as a media consultant, aide, or associate. Any statement issued in that name is fake and should be disregarded. We urge media houses that have published such falsehoods to immediately retract them.”

The statement also clarified that authentic information on the former Vice President is only released through his Media Adviser or Special Assistant on Public Communications.

“Editors and media gatekeepers are strongly advised to verify with the Atiku Media Office before publication,” the statement added.

It was widely reported on Wednesday that Atiku has assured people of the South-West geo-political zone that their interest would remain central to his policy direction if elected President in 2027, noting that his long-standing marital and cultural ties to the region make him family.

The report quoted a statement by one, Kola Johnson, as saying that the former Vice President spoke during an engagement with select stakeholders.

The report said Atiku described the people of the South-West as one of the finest species of the human race, noting that his marriage to a Yoruba woman in the 1970s forged a permanent bond between him and the Yorubas.

He dismissed fears of Hausa/Fulani domination under his leadership as unfounded, insisting that the Yoruba were his larger extended family and in-laws.

The former vice president added that his Yoruba connections extend beyond family, as some of his closest friends and associates were from the region.

“In case you don’t know or have forgotten, I was married to my first wife, Titi, a Yoruba woman, in the 70s, and we have four Yoruba children together. She is now over 75 years old, and we are still together.

“Besides, the Yoruba are so sophisticated and highly educated that you can only toy with them at your peril,” Atiku stated. “My Ijesha-born Yoruba wife is more than a wife to me. Aptly put, she is my Jewel of Inestimable value and anybody who knows about my family, even from a distance, can easily tell you this.”

Politics

PHOTOS: Atiku, El-Rufai, Tambuwal, Others Attends ADC Meeting In Abuja

Published

3 days ago

September 25, 2025

Editor

Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar on Thursday attended a meeting of the African Democratic Congress coalition leaders in Abuja, alongside several prominent politicians.

Among those present were former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai; ex-Minister of Digital Economy, Isa Pantami; ADC National Chairman and former Senate President, David Mark; former Kwara State governor, Abdulfatai Ahmed; and ex-Sokoto governor, Aminu Tambuwal.

In a post on his official X handle, Atiku described the gathering as part of efforts to resist what he called entrenched interests holding back Nigeria’s development.

He stated that the meeting was also against the oligarchs who promote poverty and insecurity in the country.

He wrote, “I am currently at the stakeholders meeting of the Coalition African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Abuja. It’s a meeting of the Nigerian people against the oligarchs who promote poverty and insecurity in the land.”

The ADC coalition was adopted in July by opposition politicians as the platform to challenge for power in the 2027 general elections.

The African Democratic Congress, originally formed in 2005 as the Alliance for Democratic Change, later changed its name to ADC and was officially registered by the Independent National Electoral Commission in 2011. The party positioned itself as a centrist alternative to the dominant Peoples Democratic Party and All Progressives Congress.

Over the years, it has attracted defectors and reform-minded politicians seeking to build a third force in Nigeria’s political landscape.

Other members of the coalition include former PDP National Chairman, Uche Secondus; 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi; ex-Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi; former Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola; former House of Representatives Speaker, Emeka Ihedioha; ex-Kogi Central Senator, Dino Melaye, and a former National Chairman of the APC, Odigie Oyegun.