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‘World Bank Report Reveals Why Nigeria Needs Atiku’

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‘Against the backdrop of a bleak economic future for Nigeria painted by the World Bank recently, the Peoples Democratic Party Presidential Campaign Council has said the report justifies the need to have its candidate, Atiku Abubakar, elected president of the country to address the nation’s many challenges.

The PUNCH had quoted Alex Sienaert, World Bank’s lead economist for Nigeria, as saying that in 2023, debt servicing will gulp 123.4 per cent of the country’s total revenue.

Sienaert had stated this in a presentation titled ‘Nigeria Public Finance Review: Fiscal Adjustment for Better and Sustainable Development Results’ for the month of November.

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READ ALSO: 2023: Atiku, Tinubu Fight Dirty In Bid To Succeed Buhari

Borrowing more is not the solution: debt costs are rising rapidly, squeezing non-interest spending,” he said, adding that “debt servicing has surged over the past decade and is expected to continue increasing over the medium-term, crowding out productive spending.”

Responding in a statement to the presentation, spokesman of the campaign council, Senator Dino Melaye said, “The solution to the years of the locusts under APC is Atiku Abubakar, who worked under a team that brought great economic prosperity to Nigeria.

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“The APC presidential candidate is always eager to dissociate from Buhari, but he carries a DNA that is infused with the APC blood and water. What can he do differently? Besides, if he had a different solution he could have offered it to his failed party so as to pave a smooth way for his own emergence. Having ‘chilled’ with the big boys, he now wants to ‘chill’ alone.

“Nigerians should look forward to the termination of APC’s arrested development when Atiku/Okowa and the PDP return Nigeria to its winning ways. As President Obasanjo said in his famous aphorism, there is no need to reinforce failure.

“What the World Bank report has done is an economic advisory, which Nigerians have to take seriously by looking away from APC and embracing the People’s Democratic Party on February 25, 2023.”

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According to the statement, “the recent report by the World Bank, confirming the arrested development experienced under the All Progressives Congress administration since 2015 has more than any other indices, justified the imperative of stopping APC from doing further damage to Nigeria’s economy and social advancement in 2023.

“The APC inherited a healthy economy in 2015, just a year after Nigeria’s economy was re-based, and rated as the largest economy in Africa, ahead of South Africa. Rather than consolidate on the gains recorded by the PDP administration, Buhari and the APC embarked on unprecedented economic amateurism that has thrown Nigeria into one of the least performing economies in Africa. The APC has also thrown Nigeria into such a huge debt doldrum that it would take the country years of creative management to regain lost grounds.

“The APC which premised its campaign on change has succeeded in taking Nigeria back more than 10 years. While they accused their predecessors of corruption, they have now made corruption a state policy and the stench in the high corruption quotient of APC provokes deep revulsion.”

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The statement further read, “Nigerians will not forget the great prosperity under the PDP administrations. They can also not forget how the reversal of fortune under APC has brought Nigeria down from prosperity to poverty, resulting in the relegation of Nigerians to a nation of 133 million poor citizens.

“If only Nigerians understood what the APC meant by change! The prodigal son scores better when peered with the APC.

READ ALSO: Tinubu’s Spokesman, Onanuga Narrates How Atiku’s Convoy Almost Kill Him

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“Sadly, the poor performance of the APC is not limited to the economy. Insecurity has degenerated by a higher degree. Unemployment is at its worst. The energy crisis remains intractable and unaddressed.

“The Buhari administration and APC are now relying on the Department of State Services to make fuel available to Nigerians. The subsidy programme that came under heavy criticism by APC has not only been sustained but has become an indefensible and convoluted policy in which the supposed poor now pay higher for fuel than the obviously rich. While fuel sells for about N180 in the cities, the rural folks buy the same product at about N300-500 per litre.”

 

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Okpebholo Believes In Courage, Capacity Says Edo Poly Rector

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The acting rector of Edo State Polytechnic, Usen, Dr Nosakhare Arodoye has promised to implement to the fullest the SHINE agenda of the state government.

Dr Arodoye said he was appointed by the governor to change the narrative of the Polytechnic from the present state to global standard with market-ready graduates and wealth creators within and outside Nigeria.

He spoke during the handover ceremony of the leadership in the state tertiary institution.

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According to him, “the governor sent me here for development that will position this institution in a manner that will be productively and evidently attractive to all for visible intellectual results and deliveries.

READ ALSO:Abductors Demand ₦5m As Teenager Is Kidnapped In Edo

“I’m for greater impact, lesser noise, the governor as a game changer understands this hence he approved my appointment as a tool for change in Edo Poly. Governor Okpebholo believes in courage and capacity.

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“The governor is not a cut to size, he knows how the academic environment works. You can see that his team is made up of global scholars and that is where I belong.

“I’m here to work, I’m going to teach, courses must be allocated to me. I go for what people run from as a progressive, just like the governor, you can see the turnaround of things affecting every area positively.”

Earlier, the immediate past acting rector, Engr. Sylvester Omoruyi briefed the new rector on the present state of the institution particularly the continuous support from the state government.

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READ ALSO:JUST IN: Okpebholo Nominates Another 5 Persons As Commissioner-designates

He said Sen Monday Okpebholo has cleared the backlog of salaries as staff now receive their salary as at when due.

He noted that a total of twenty-two programmes have successfully been accredited with NYSC calling for various HND awarding departments.

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On partnership, he said the polytechnic is currently in collaboration with Xianzi and Fuzhou Polytechnic in China where seven students are currently undergoing studies on student exchange programmes.

Before arriving at the polytechnic premises, Dr Arodoye had visited the palace of the Elawure of Usen, Oba Oluogbe III.

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JUST IN: Senate Confirms Amupitan As INEC Chairman

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The Senate has confirmed Professor Joash Amupitan as the new Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission.

The Red Chamber confirmed Amupitan after a voice vote conducted by Senate President Godswill Akpabio and after undergoing screening and answering questions posed by the lawmakers.

Amupitan had earlier arrived at the National Assembly complex earlier, exchanged pleasantries with Senators.

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He was accompanied to the chamber by the Governor of Kogi State, Ahmed Ododo, and other dignitaries.

READ ALSO:Why I Picked Amupitan As INEC Chair – Tinubu

At about 12:50 p.m., the nominee was ushered into the Senate chamber by the Presidential Adviser on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Senator Abubakar Lado, and was already seated ahead of the commencement of the exercise.

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Amupitan was allowed into the hallowed chamber after the Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele (APC, Ekiti Central), moved that Order 12 be set aside to allow visitors into the chamber, and he was seconded by the Senate Minority Leader, Senator Abba Moro (PDP, Benue South).

Senate President Godswill Akpabio welcomed Amupitan, his family members, and well-wishers to the Red Chamber, commending them for their presence.

Before introducing himself to the Senators for the question and answer session to take off, Akpabio disclosed to his colleagues that the nominee had been cleared by the office of the National Security Adviser after vetting.

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READ ALSO:Meet New INEC Chairman, Joash Amupitan

According to Akpabio, the office of the Department of State Services had also cleared him.

The Senate President also said that the Office of the Inspector-General of Police, having done a fingerprint search on him, cleared him and said that he had no criminal records with the police.

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The screening exercise commenced at about 12:55 p.m. following Akpabio’s opening remarks, during which he outlined the procedures to be followed by the lawmakers in considering the nominee’s credentials.

The screening session focused on Amupitan’s vision for credible elections, his plans for institutional reforms within INEC, and measures to deepen the use of technology in Nigeria’s electoral process.

READ ALSO:Fire Ravages Residential Building In Oyo

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Following his confirmation by the Senate, Amupitan will oversee preparations for upcoming off-cycle governorship elections and lay the groundwork for the 2027 general elections.

President Bola Tinubu had nominated Amupitan, a Professor of Law from the University of Jos, to succeed Prof. Mahmood Yakubu.

The President’s letter conveying Amupitan’s nomination was read on the floor of the Senate by Akpabio during plenary on Tuesday.

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A Senior Advocate of Nigeria and former Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Jos, Amupitan, is widely regarded for his expertise in constitutional and international law.

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IPF Commends Tompolo’s Commitment To Security In Delta, Nigeria

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Ijaw Publishers’ Forum (IPF) has commended High Chief Government Ekpemupolo, popularly known as Tompolo, for his remarkable commitment to improving security in Delta State, Niger Delta and Nigeria at large.

In a press statement by its national president, Comrade Ozobo Austin, the IPF described Tompolo’s gesture towards Delta Security Trust Fund as a demonstration of his firm commitment to promoting peace, security, and progress in the atate, Niger Delta and Nigeria.

The group’s leadership lauded Tompolo’s philanthropic efforts, which according to them, portrayed his dedication to the well-being and prosperity of the country.

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READ ALSO:IPF Wants NDDC MD Ogbuku, Others Probed

Recall that Tompolo promised continued support for the Delta State Security Trust Fund after making a handsome donation at the event held at the government house yesterday.

“The unprecedented donation and firm commitment to peace and security in the country by High Chief Tompolo are shining examples of his leadership and dedication to the development of Delta State, Niger Delta and Nigeria as a whole.

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“We commend him for his vision and generosity, and we urge others to follow his footsteps in supporting initiatives that promote peace and security in Delta State and Niger Delta region.

“High Chief Tompolo’s support will go a long way in enhancing security measures in Delta state and contributing meaningfully to the overall development of the country,” the statement reads.

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