Politics
Delta: PDP Chieftain Harps On Zoning Arrangement
A former Minister of State for Education, Chief Kenneth Gbagi, has called on the political class in Delta to maintain the zoning arrangement for the governorship position, in the spirit of fairness and justice.
Gbagi made the call on Monday while on a familiarisation visit to the Urhobos in Bayelsa, to solicit for their support, ahead of the forthcoming governorship election in the state.
Although Gbagi said that he contested the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship primaries in 1999 that produced Chief James Ibori as candidate, he said that he had since joined hands to build and strengthen the party in the state.
He noted that as the main advocate of zoning arrangement that saw Ibori’s emergence from the central senatorial district as governor, Uduaghan from south and Okowa from north, it was only natural that the governorship position should now return to the Urhobos.
Gbagi, who is also an industrialist, urged the Urhobos to continue to pray and support Okowa for him to finish very strong.
He described the governor as a very shrewd politician who knew the contributions of the Urhobos toward his emergence as governor and owed them the duty of returning governorship to the Urhobos.
Gbagi urged the people to ensure actualisation of the agreement on the zoning of the governorship seat to the central senatorial zone.
The politician also advised them against being influenced by politicians to mortgage their future and that of the generation yet unborn through monetary inducements during the primaries.
He lauded the governor for the monumental transformation going on in the state and promised to sustain the legacies of the governor, if elected.
Early in his welcome remarks, the President of Urhobo Progressive Union (UPU), Bayelsa chapter, Chief Charles Oruru, expressed joy over Gbagi’s visit, describing him as an astute industrialist and politician who had impacted the lives of the people of the state positively.
Oruru assured Gbagi of the unalloyed support of the Urhobos living in Bayelsa to ensure his emergence as governor, come 2023.
Similarly, the Delta South Political Assembly (DESPA) has urged the Delta Central Political Movement (DC-03), another emerging political group in Delta State, not to mislead the people of the state on the issue of zoning of the governorship position for the 2023 elections.
The Director of Media, Comrade Abobo Blessing, in a statement made available to news men yesterday, said the state should continue with the existing zoning formula, which he said was based on ethnic groups.
According to him, zoning by ethnic groups, being practiced since 1999 was consistent with the 1999 Constitution, especially Chapter Two, as well as the PDP Constitution, 2017.
The group maintained that for the 2023 governorship election, the pendulum by all fairness, favours the Ijaw and the Isoko ethnic groups.
Abubu said: “The Delta Central Political Movement, DC-03, can focus on their Urhobo governorship ambition come 2023 since it is their constitutional right to do so.
“The movement being floated by the cream of Urhobo political leaders is free to propagate their course of championing Urhobo governorship agenda.”
He maintained that the DESPA disagreed with DC-03 for making reference to the settled issue of the non-existent zoning formula based on the Senatorial Districts.
According to him, some of the members of the said DC-03, who had contested the PDP primary elections in 2006 and 2014, together with other aspirants from the Delta North and South Senatorial Districts, knew that there was nothing like zoning in Delta State PDP, based on Senatorial Districts.
Politics
Alia Denies Calling For Ganduje’s Resignation
Governor of Benue State, Hyacinth Alia, has denied calling for the resignation of the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Alhaji Abdullahi Ganduje.
This was contained in a press statement issued on Wednesday in Makurdi by his Chief Press Secretary (CPS), Mr Tersoo Kula.
The Tide source reports that the CPS was reacting to some media reports that the governor had called for the resignation of the APC national chairman.
Kula said the governor at no time called for the resignation of the APC national chairman.
He said the governor enjoyed a good relationship with the Ganduje-led leadership of the APC.
“It is imperative to clarify that at no point did Governor Alia assembled, attended and sent a representative or participated in any meeting to discuss the removal or call for resignation of Alhaji. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje.
“The Benue State governor remains firm in his support and allegiance to the leadership of the National Working Committee of the APC, under the leadership of Alhaji Ganduje.
“Furthermore, at no point, whether publicly or privately, has the governor advocated or expressed any desire for the resignation of the national party chairman”, he said.
He said the governor was focused on positively changing the fortunes of the state.
“He is alive to his responsibilities as the leader of APC in Benue State and is doing everything legitimate to reposition the party for future victories,” Kula said.
Politics
LP Re-Elects Abure As National Chairman
The embattled national chairman of the Labour Party (LP), Mr. Julius Abure, has been re-elected for a second term by a unanimous affirmation of delegates despite the protests by the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC).
The Chairman of the National Convention and Deputy Governor of Abia State, Mr. Ikechukwu Emetu declared him the winner during the party’s national convention that held in Nnewi, Anambra State, on Wednesday.
Other serving officers of the party were also returned unopposed.
Recall that the NLC had called for Abure’s resignation as party chairman and the immediate constitution of a caretaker transition committee to organize an all-inclusive national convention for the party.
Meanwhile, a factional chairman of the Labour Party in Anambra State, Mr Peter Okoye has boasted that the Nnewi national convention will not stand.
Describing the convention as a sham, Okoye said: “This is not a convention. We are on top of the matter. It’s purely illegal.
“There was no ward congress, no local government congress, no state congress, and now who and who are the elected delegates that are electing the National Working Committee, NWC, members?
“The NLC was not there, TUC was not there, the owners of the party and members of the NEC and BOT members were not there too. So, who is holding the convention?”
Politics
Suswam Blames External Forces For Problems In PDP
Former Governor of Benue State, Gabriel Suswam, has said that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is being undermined by external forces which have rendered the party ineffective as a viable opposition.
Senator Suswam stated this during a live television interview on Wednesday.
He lamented that the party had since after the 2023 general elections failed to live up to expectations of Nigerians as a viable opposition.
Senator Suswam, who blamed the current PDP leadership for the ineffective state of the largest opposition party in the country, said unless there is an overhaul of its leadership, the party would “go nowhere” because the current leadership has lost focus.
He said, “I think there are subterranean forces inferring in the party and they are determining what is going on in the party. And the leadership is acquiescing to it.
“Subterranean suggests that people are trying to control the party from the outside. They are controlling the party from the outside and they are keeping the party in a comatose state.”
The Benue senator accused the party of refusing to call a National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting to help resolve some of the issues arising in the party.
He regretted the inability of the party to resolve the fallout of the 2022 presidential primary election which saw a group of five governors work against the party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 presidential election.
He added that the inability of the Iliya Damagum-led leadership to discipline erring party members worsened the situation.
Senator Suswam said it was wrong for the party not to have sanctioned the G-5 governors and their allies who openly declared that they would remain in the party and work against its interest.
“They were not sanctioned which made others become emboldened to act anyway they wanted. PDP has been weakened since then,” he said.
He said no serious organisation does that, stressing that, “A serious organisation would apply sanctions” based on the laid down rules as contained in its constitution.
He further accused the acting national chairman of the party, Ambassador Iliya Damagum, of occupying the position which belongs to the North-Central zone, following the removal of the substantive chairman, Senator Iyorchia Ayu, who hails from the zone.
Amb. Damagum, who was the Deputy National Chairman (North), hails from the North-East zone but was, as permitted by the party’s constitution, made acting chairman after Ayu’s removal by a court order.
The party’s law provides that the deputy chairman from the same region as the chairman takes over in the event of the latter’s removal from office.
Senator Suswam further lamented that “PDP is comatose now, and nothing can happen now,” adding that it was regrettable that politicians are now preferring to hold talks with smaller parties and not the PDP.
Noting that the PDP was at the precipice, Senator Suswam said, “Until we provide that leadership, PDP will not be a viable platform. We need to overhaul the leadership of the party. There is no pretence about it, everybody in PDP knows it. Without discipline and reconciliation, the party goes nowhere.”
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