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PDP governors divided over bid to sack party chair Damagum

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A group of National Working Committee (NWC) members met with Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed on Tuesday and got a message.

Another group led by Acting National Chairman Illiya Damagum met yesterday with Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde. They got another message.

While the Bauchi State Governor said the party would send Damagum packing because his stay had become untenable, Makinde said in Ibadan that he was giving 100 per cent support to the acting national chairman.

Mohammed hosted members of the party’s Board of Trustees (BoT) yesterday at the time that Damagum was in Ibadan.

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Reading the communique of his meeting with a faction of the NWC, he said: “My brother from the Northeast is currently serving as Acting National Chairman, which is constitutionally inappropriate.

“According to our party’s constitution, any leadership vacancy should be filled by someone from the region where it originated.

“Northcentral has been eager for this opportunity, and we’ve discussed this issue.

“We are committed to working with the NWC and the party to ensure that the Northcentral is given the chance to assume this responsibility.”

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He said such an arrangement was worked out after the resignation of Alh. Bamanga Tukur from the Northeast, when former Governor of Bauchi State, Ahmadu Adamu Mu’azu, became the PDP National Chairman.

The NWC team that met with Mohammed was led by the National Legal Adviser, Kamaluddeen Adeyemi.

With him were National Publicity Secretary Debo Olagunagba and National Vice Chairman (Northeast) Emmanuel Bovao.

Others were National Treasurer Ahmed Yayari, National Women Leader Amina Bryhm and National Financial Secretary W. A Daniel.

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There were also DG-PDP Governors Forum Agbo Emmanuel and Consultant Agu Emmanuel.

But, Makinde pledged full support for Damagum, who was in Ibadan for the turning of the sod for the rehabilitation of the Ladoke Akintola airport.

The Oyo governor said: “I am glad also that our Acting National Chairman and members of his NWC are here.

“I was reading yesterday (Tuesday) that there was another meeting in Bauchi by some NWC members.

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“Let me say clearly that I have been discussing with my brother and let me tell you that we are 100 per cent in support of Damagum-led NWC.

“Whatever decision you take, we will support you to reposition our party.

“Let me also say this: I don’t think this is the right time…Even if we have issues within ourselves, we have an important election on Saturday.

“So, we should all just rally around and deliver our candidate.”

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Dispelling speculations that he is not in support of Edo PDP candidate Asue Ighodalo, Makinde said: “I was away. I already fixed the meetings in Finland and Sweden when they fixed the Edo governorship grand finale rally. I couldn’t come.

“I thought I would manage to get to Nigeria that Saturday and tongues have been wagging that I wasn’t at the rally.

“Let me declare loud and clear that Seyi Makinde is 100 per cent with our candidate Asue Ighodalo in Edo State and it is the Edo people’s decision.

“If the people of Edo want to know the difference between delicious and nutritious, you should vote for Asue Ighodalo and deliver him as your next governor. He will give you nutrition.”

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‘APC planting moles in Rivers PDP’

Mohammed accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) of deliberately planting moles within the PDP in Rivers State.

The governor alleged that the ruling party’s strategy is to fuel internal divisions for political gains.

Mohammed made the accusations when the PDP BoT visited him.

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Mohammed expressed concern over the ongoing power struggle within Rivers PDP between Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, now the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory under the APC-led government.

He said: “We have to close ranks but it is something that is baffling some of us.

“No challenge is not insurmountable. It will be surmounted by the grace of God and we will find a solution to that and that is why there is a problem.

“It is only PDP with the experience of governance that is being challenged. And you will notice that this is a creation of the other side (the APC).

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“They want us to be in disarray; the crisis is the creation of the APC. They always want to have moles within us; they want to know what is happening within us.”

Mohammed said efforts were on to unify the party, adding: “We cannot compromise the peace and unity of our great party.”

BoT Chairman Senator Adolphus Wabara commended Mohammed for his initiatives in resolving the crisis, expressing the BoT’s willingness to support his efforts.

Wabara said the BoT plans to engage the two factions in Rivers in separate meetings to address the issues.

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Wabara further expressed disappointment with the ongoing challenges in the PDP, particularly the NWC’s actions and the leadership crisis in Rivers.

“We are not happy with what is happening in the party, and I think Nigerians too are not happy with what is happening in the PDP, particularly in Rivers,” he said.

(The Nation)

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Politics

Obi Urges Nigerian Graduates to Seek Opportunities Overseas if Needed, Vows to Fix Nigeria for Their Return

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Peter Obi, the Labour Party presidential candidate in Nigeria’s 2023 election, has encouraged Nigerian students to seek better opportunities abroad if local conditions don’t meet their needs.

Obi shared this advice during his visit to Anambra State, where he made donations to Peter University in Achina/Onneh and the College of Nursing Sciences in Adazi-Nnukwu. Addressing nursing students, he reaffirmed his commitment to supporting institutions that nurture skills, professionalism, and character.

Obi advised students that, if career opportunities are limited locally, they should feel free to explore options abroad.

“If things aren’t working here, go where they will work for you,” he said, expressing optimism that, with efforts to improve the country, Nigerians working abroad would eventually return.

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Speaking at Peter University, Obi urged students to dedicate themselves to their studies, highlighting education as a transformative force essential for national development.

Emphasizing that investment in education is an investment in the future, he encouraged them to aim for excellence, assuring that a stronger Nigeria would await them.

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Parliamentary system better option for Nigeria -Aregbesola

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By Gloria Ikibah.
Former governor of Osun State, Rauf Aregbesola, has called  for Nigeria to dump the presidential system of government and return to the parliamentary system.
Aregbesola made this revelation at a National Dialogue on Home-Grown Parliamentary System in Abuja on Monday.
The immediate past Minister of Interior, who said he is opposed to the executive system of government currently practiced in Nigeria, insisted that the arrangement in the parliamentary system is best suited for a country like Nigeria.
“If you go on believing that an individual, no matter how beautiful, no matter how good, could have the capacity to govern 120 million people all alone without checks, we are joking. So, by that consideration alone, I am opposed to executive system of government.
“I believe the collective arrangement which the parliamentary system guarantees is best for a nation like Nigeria if indeed we are committed to advancing the interest of the large population and mass of our people,” Aregbesola said.
In February this year, a group of lawmakers in the House of Representatives brought a bill seeking amendments to the 1999 Constitution to transit from the current presidential system to the parliamentary system of government.
According to the group made up of about 60 lawmakers, the transition has become necessary to reduce the cost of government in the face of dwindling revenue.
Titled, ‘The Bills Proposing Constitutional Alterations For a Transition To Parliamentary System of Government,’ the bill was sponsored by the House Minority Leader, Kingsley Chinda, and 59 others.
The bill was read on the floor of the House during plenary session in Abuja on Wednesday, February 14, 2024.
In a statement, a Spokesman for the Parliamentary Bill Sponsors, Abdussamad Dasuki said, “Today, we stand on the cusp of history, as lawmakers across party affiliations and regional backgrounds come together to present bills proposing Constitutional Alterations that seek a transition to Parliamentary System of Government.
He added that over the years, the imperfections of the Presidential System of Government have become glaring to all, despite several alterations to the constitution to address the shortcomings of a system that has denied the nation the opportunity of attaining its full potentials.
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Politics

2027: Kwankwaso’s visit to Otti sparks possible alliance

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Governor Alex Otti of Abia State at the weekend played host to the former presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Rabiu Kwankwaso, at his Nvosi country home in Isiala Ngwa South Local Government Area(LGA).

Speaker of the House of Assembly  Emmanuel Emeruwa, some aides of the governor, and members of the Kwankwasiyya Movement were  present.

Although Kwankwaso said he was in the state to condole with Otti on the passing of Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, the first governor of old Abia State, rumours of a possible political alliance between him and Otti, the only Labour Party(LP) governor in the country, spread.

Onu was buried in Uburu, his hometown in Ohaozara LGA of Ebonyi State on Friday.

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Kwankwaso’s visit coincided with a reception held by the governor for 15 Abia indigenes who recently graduated from the Nigeria Police Academy in Kano.

Shortly after he departed the state, political analysts said they were sure that the visit was partly informed by efforts of the Peter Obi-led LP faction to align with other opposition parties ahead of 2027.

‘’Don’t forget that  2027 is near. Do you think the two men would meet like they did now with talking about the next presidential election? That is impossible,’’ one of them told  The Nation.

Another said Kwankwaso and Otti were  ‘’very much aware that the only way to oust   President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the All Progress Congress (APC)  from  the centre is   a formidable alliance.

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‘’They know that now is the best time to start talking about how to defeat those in Aso Rock. And that, I believe is the core reason for the visit.”

Last month’s  local government poll in the state produced a stunning result with candidates loyal to Otti winning  nearly  all the chairmanship positions on the platform of the Zenith Labour Party(ZLP)

The governor backed the winners because of court cases on the authentic leadership of the leadership of the LP.

One faction of the party is led by Julius Abure while the other supported by Obi and Otti is headed by  Nenadi Usman, a former Finance minister.

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Political analysts argued that if Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP), Obi, and Kwankwaso fail to put their political differences behind and field an acceptable presidential candidate in 2027, they might end up not making a significant impact.

Otti had while welcoming Kwankwaso recalled how he offered him a  ‘’platform in May 2022  to run ’’ as a governorship candidate.

He thanked  Kwankwaso for his guidance and patriotism.

His words: “Thank you for your guidance, for your patriotism, for everything that you have done for this country.

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“I want to thank you for encouraging me in 2022  not to lose faith,  though we were in different parties, and it appeared as if everything was going to be lost.

“That call that you made about the 20th of May 2022,  for also making your platform available for me to run if I had wanted to use the platform, the rest is now history.”

Kwankwaso, a former Kano State governor, congratulated Otti on his emergence as governor. He also    lauded his achievements in the state

“For the little time I have been here, I have had the opportunity of talking to a few people who confirmed to me that you are doing very well. We have seen your project everywhere” he said.

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The governor and his visitor urged the new Police officers to work hard,  contribute to the security of the country, and be good ambassadors of the state.

“The challenge is for you to now work very hard, knowing fully well that in this society, the son of a nobody can be the father of somebody,” said Otti.

“If people like us who grew up here without any hope at that time can be here, there is no reason why you can’t get here. But I am challenging you to be the best you can be.

“Always do things right and do the right things. You can always get to where you are headed. Cutting corners does not take you too far, “ the governor added.

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Kwankwaso charged the new police officers to be professional in the discharge of their duties.

“Let me take this opportunity, based on my experience, to advise you to first and foremost fear God.

“Two, you need to be professionals. Now you are fresh, just coming out of the prestigious institute.stay there as professionals,” he said.

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