Politics

Why South-East Won’t Vote For APC, PDP – Igbo Group

Published

3 years ago

June 24, 2022

Editor

The Igbo Elders Consultative Forum also known as Ime-obi Ohanaeze Ndigbo has berated the major political parties in the country for their refusal to zone the presidency to the South-East region.

They described Igbo delegates who voted against South-East aspirants in the presidential primaries for the 2023 election as “serial betrayals and shameless saboteurs”.

The IECF in a statement issued in Abuja on Friday by its Secretary, Prof. Charles Nwekeaku, specifically expressed concern over the commercialization of the presidential primaries of the All Progressives Congress and Peoples Democratic Party.

Nwekeaku declared that the South Eastast won’t vote for both the APC and PDP in 2023, “as they do not deserve our votes anymore”.

He said, “This will not happen again as the Igbo Elders shall provide a new leadership that will strengthen the Ohaneze leadership in Igbo land. Those betrayals will retire from politics shamefully and unceremoniously as they will never represent South East in any public service again.

“We observed with grave concern the unprecedented monetisation of the recent political parties’ primary elections, especially the presidential election at which highest bidders emerged as presidential candidates.

“More worrisome was the failure of the major political parties, namely, the ruling APC, and PDP, to zone the Presidency to the South East in keeping with the Federal Character principle and zoning arrangement as contained in Section 14 (3) of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the various political parties constitutions for the sake of justice, equity, fairness, peace and stability of the country.

“Worse still, the brazen arrogance and bravado that characterized the PDP leadership changing of the goal post at the middle of the game portrays a bleak future for good governance, transparency and accountability for Nigeria as the principles of justice, equity and fairness do not seem to matter again because it is the turn of the South East.

“Equally shocking and saddening was the brazen betrayal and unbridled collusion of some unpatriotic Igbo sons and daughters that shamelessly and unrepentantly joined those who do not mean well for our people to deny President aspirants from the South East their support and votes.

“They worked and voted for Dollar and lucre at the expense of their fellow aspirants from the South East in brazen arrogance and disregard of the demand of the Southern Governors Forum, Southern and Middle Belt Forum, Afenifere, Pan Niger Delta Forum, Igbo Elders Consultative Forum, Ohaneze Global, among other credible and vocal stakeholders that demanded that the Presidency be zoned to the South, and further micro zoned to the South East.

“Except Ebonyi State, other delegates from Anambra, Abia, Enugu and Imo States and their sponsors need to explain to ndi igbo who they sold their votes to and at what cost at the expense of our collective interest of producing the President of Nigeria in 2023.”

According to him, the serial betrayals and shameless saboteurs would forever regret their unpatriotic actions against the collective interest of the Igbos.

Nwekeaku appealed to Igbos to remain calm as the forum was studying the development, and would, “certainly, take decisive actions against those betrayals and opportunists, no matter their position and caliber, to serve as a deterrent for those who are still plotting to betray the Igbos in the planned 2023 general elections.”

He urged the Independent National Electoral Commission to extend the voter registration exercise for three months to enable every eligible Nigerian to register and participate in the next year general elections.

“It is equally important for INEC to resume the online registration in order to decongest the already overcrowded registration centers, thus facilitating the registration of more Nigerians to participate In the democratic process of electing their leaders as it is generally believed that the application of the electronic transmission of votes as contains in the 2022 Electoral Act would make citizens’ votes count in determining the electoral victory in the country.

“For the political parties that denied the Igbo’s presidential slot, we shall reject them completely in the general elections of 2023, as they do not deserve our votes anymore”, Nwekeaku said.

Politics

Enugu Gov Mbah Set to Dump PDP

Published

18 hours ago

October 10, 2025

Editor

Enugu State Governor Peter Mbah is set to dump the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, for the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, next week.

National Chairman and Deputy National Chairman, South-East, of the APC, Nentawe Goshwe Yilwatda and Emma Eneukwu, respectively, broke the news in Abuja on Friday.

The APC national leadership revealed Mbah’s imminent defection to the ruling party while swearing in the newly inaugurated members of the Enugu State caretaker committee, led by former state chairman, Ben Nwoye, at the party’s national headquarters in Abuja.

The governor is expected to announce his defection at an event schedule to hold in the state next week.

Chairman of the newly inaugurated caretaker committee, Nwoye, who confirmed the development, said the governor will join the ruling party alongside all his appointees.

There are speculations that Taraba State Governor, Agbu Kefas, is also set to join APC.

Politics

Makinde Calls Out Umahi Over Coastal Highway Cost Analysis

Published

21 hours ago

October 10, 2025

Editor

Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has weighed in on the cost of the controversial Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project that was approved by President Bola Tinubu.

Makinde, who spoke at an event in a viral video on Friday, said there was no need for the Minister of Works, David Umahi, to be “dancing around the cost” of the project.

The governor was reacting to a heated exchange that unfolded live on television between Umahi and Arise TV presenter Rufai Oseni on Tuesday.

Oseni had requested the minister to analyse the cost of the project, kilometre by kilometre.

The request didn’t sit well with Umahi, who declared himself “professor” of practice in engineering while elaborating that the costs of the road in kilometres are not the same and would be too complicated for the journalist to understand.

He said, “These are elementary questions. And it makes no sense (sic). A process is ongoing, payment has been made, and you are saying, ‘how has this money been utilised?. The money is meant for the project, and it will be paid according to the work done.

“When a certificate is generated, and it is approved through a process in the Ministry of Works, it will then be given to the funders, who will, in turn, check if the works were done. How can you be asking for cost of kilometre? The prices are different. The next kilometre is different from the next kilometre.

“Keep quiet and stop saying what you don’t know. I’m a professor in this field. You don’t understand anything. I understand engineering very well. You have no knowledge of what you ask. You have no knowledge of what you’re asking.”

Oseni, who also refused to back down, responded, “Minister, it’s alright, keep dignifying yourself, and let the world know who you truly are.”

However, justifying the journalist’s question to the minister, Makinde said, “They asked a minister how much is the coastal road is, and then you (Umahi) are dancing around and going to say that no, the next kilometre is different from the next kilometres. Then what is the average cost?

“When we did the Oyo to Iseyin road then, it was about N9.99 billion, almost N10 billion. About 34 or 35 kilometres, average cost is about N238 million per kilometre.

“But when we did Iseyin to Ogbomoso, that was 76 kilometres, it was about N43 billion, average cost is about N500 million per kilometre. And we had two bridges, one over the Ogun river and then one at Ogbomoso end.”

The PUNCH reports that last year, the Federal Government announced the commencement of construction work on the 700km Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, which spans nine states and includes two spurs leading to the northern states.

Umahi made the announcement during the official handover of the first phase of the project, made up of 47.47 kilometers of dual carriageway, to Hitech Construction Company Limited, and which is to be constructed in concrete pavement.

This was contained in a statement issued by his Special Adviser (Media), Uchenna Orji.

According to him, the Minister who was in company with the Federal Ministry of Works’ Controller in charge of Lagos State, Mrs O. I. Kesha, emphasised the need for all contractors handling Federal Government’s road projects to deliver within a record time, noting that the government would not allow variation arising from delays or slow pace of work once mobilisation had been done.

Politics

2027: Oyo Gov, Makinde Speaks On Successor

Published

1 day ago

October 9, 2025

Editor

Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State has said that the choice of who would succeed him in 2027 rests solely with the people of the state, not with political godfathers or entitlement claims.

Makinde said this on Thursday in Ibadan while flagging off the zonal stakeholders’ consultative forum and engagement meeting on the 2026 Budget.

According to the governor, the decision of who becomes the next governor of Oyo state rests on all eligible voters in the state.

“Oyo State has gone beyond the era of politics based on entitlement or propaganda.

“Rather, the people of the state are now more politically enlightened and they will only support leaders who present credible plans and demonstrate capacity for development,” he said.

Makinde, while reflecting on his own experience before coming into office in 2019, noted that leadership must be about accountability, not entitlement.

He recalled that many people doubted his capability when he first sought the governorship position, because he had not held any political office.

“In 2018, when I was consulting to become governor, there was no yardstick to measure me. I had never been a councillor or a local government chairman, but I asked the people to trust me and judge me by my actions,” he said.

The governor urged political leaders to focus on policies and projects that directly impact the lives of citizens rather than engaging in political theatrics.

He said his administration’s approach to challenges has been to present a clear roadmap for Oyo State’s development, “one that people can read, evaluate, and hold us accountable to.”

Makinde expressed optimism that the people of the state would continue to support leaders who prioritise progress, inclusivity, and the well-being of citizens over personal ambition.

Speaking at the 7th Stakeholders Consultative Forum, the governor said that his administration would continue to consult and engage with residents of the state on the making of the state’s annual budgets, with a view to knowing their aspirations and prioritising their needs.

He maintained that the stakeholders’ engagement was to enable his government to serve the residents of the state better through a bottom-up approach to development, noting that his administration began the tradition in 2019.

According to him, his government first separated the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning from the Ministry of Finance in order to ensure better management of the state’s resources and to avoid discrepancies.

He stated that the stakeholders’ engagement had resulted in better budget performances and economic development of the state.

Makinde reiterated that his government would continue to serve the interests of the people of the state by putting in place institutions that would ensure that the environment was safe and ready to attract investments.

He added that the state was growing rapidly and that this development had stopped rural-urban migration with the construction of Moniya-Iseyin Road, Iseyin-Ogbomoso Road, Oyo-Iseyin Road, among other infrastructural projects, which have opened rural communities.

Makinde is currently serving as governor for the second time.

The governor, whose term ends in 2027, had earlier this month advocated a single term of five or six years for elected political office holders across all levels of government in Nigeria, against the current double term of four years each.

He said a single term of five or six years is enough for any government to focus and serve the people and deliver on its mandate.

(NAN)