News
PDP Slams Buhari Over Attacks
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has asked the former Head
of State and Presidential Candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change
(CPC) in the 2011 general elections, General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) to show
statesmanship in his assessment of the contributions of the PDP led Federal
Government to the cause of democracy and good governance.
In a statement by the National Publicity Secretary of the
PDP, Chief Olisa Metuh, the party said yesterday that political differences notwithstanding,
it expected Buhari as an elder statesman and a former Head of State to
acknowledge the significant progress that Nigeria has made in internalising democratic
culture since the return of democracy in 1999.
“There is still room for improvement no doubt, but Nigeria
under the PDP has recorded tremendous gains in terms of advancing the rule of
law and the fundamental rights of Nigerians, in deed, in other indices of good
governance which democracy is usually expected to guarantee.”
According to the PDP, while on a visit to Kano last week,
General Buhari had said of the PDP led Federal Government; “under normal
circumstances, we are supposed to work strictly within the provisions of the
constitution, but this is Nigeria and nothing is perfect and the only thing
they have not tampered with between 1999 to date in Nigeria is the Holy Koran.”
“We are shocked that an elder statesman could paint such an
ugly picture, tissue of lies, of his dear nation just to advance his political
fortunes. We shudder that a former head of state under whose watch freedom of
expression landed many Nigerians in detention on account of his obnoxious
decrees, and who now enjoys such freedom, is utterly ungrateful to the efforts
of our great party in advancing the cause of democracy.”
“If the CPC leadership does not understand what the rule of
law is, let’s oblige them with little details,” the statement said.
“Today, criticisms, even destructive ones are hurled at the
PDP led federal government and no one is harassed because we uphold the
inalienable rights of the people which is at the heart of democracy .We throw
our doors open to criticism so that we accommodate alternative views.”
“Today, the PDP loses elections and winners are sworn in and
we do not use our incumbency at the centre to truncate the democratic wishes of
the people. However, in the states held by the opposition parties, local
elections are massively rigged as witnessed recently in Lagos and Ogun States
and where we defy the odds to emerge victorious like in Imo State, machinery of
government is used to frustrate the expressed wish of the people.”
“The rule of law if we must state further is that in our
drive for transparency and accountability, some leaders of our party have been
caught by the long arm of the law and we never obstructed the course of
justice.”
“Do we need to add that the PDP led Federal Government does
have other preference to the rule of law and that is why we enacted the Freedom
of Information Act so that every Nigerian will not be in the dark as to how the
nation is run, and so that they can be armed to demand for what is right.”
“ Must we also tell the leadership of the CPC leadership
that in our congresses and convention, deference to the rule of law is the
word. And that notwithstanding our size, we successfully manage dissenting
views and establish strong leadership not dogged by factions like the CPC.”
“And for General Buhari, the evangelist of rule of law,
Nigerians wish to know if unlawful incitement of the populace to violence and
attack on the institutions of democracy is part of the rule of law?”
“ Is the imposition that marked the congresses of the CPC in
2011 which is still hunting the party till date an act in rule of law?”
“ We wish to advise General Buhari to concentrate in giving
Nigerians his alternative ideas and plan of action to what the PDP has at
present or even engage us in a public debate on the
values of good governance. We pray that his party or
whatever alliance they are negotiating presents Buhari once more as a
presidential candidate so that Nigerians will make their choice”.
“However, we wish to remind the former Head of State that
Nigerians are not fools and that they know what Nigeria was yesterday
especially under regimes like his and what obtains today. There is no doubt
that even the blind can distinguish between the daylight it is today and the
deep dark night it was hitherto”, the party said.
The Nigeria Immigration Service has officially ended passport production at multiple centres, transitioning to a single, centralised system for the first time in 62 years.
Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, disclosed this yesterday while inspecting Nigeria’s new Centralised Passport Personalisation Centre at the NIS Headquarters in Abuja.
He stated that since the establishment of NIS in 1963, Nigeria had never operated a central passport production centre, until now, marking a major reform milestone.
“The project is 100 per cent ready. Nigeria can now be more productive and efficient in delivering passport services,” Tunji-Ojo said.
He explained that old machines could only produce 250 to 300 passports daily, but the new system had a capacity of 4,500 to 5,000 passports every day.
“With this, NIS can now meet daily demands within just four to five hours of operation,” he added, describing it as a game-changer for passport processing in Nigeria.
“We promised two-week delivery, and we’re now pushing for one week.
“Automation and optimisation are crucial for keeping this promise to Nigerians,” the minister said.
He noted that centralisation, in line with global standards, would improve uniformity and enhance the overall integrity of Nigerian travel documents worldwide.
Tunji-Ojo described the development as a step toward bringing services closer to Nigerians while driving a culture of efficiency and total passport system reform.
He said the centralised production system aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s reform agenda, boosting NIS capacity and changing the narrative for better service delivery.
The Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) has disbursed N2.225 trillion as federation revenue for the month of August 2025, the highest ever allocation to the three tiers of government and other statutory recipients.
This marks the second consecutive month that FAAC disbursements have crossed the N2 trillion mark.
The revenue, shared at the August 2025 FAAC meeting in Abuja, was buoyed by increases in oil and gas royalty, value-added tax (VAT), and common external tariff (CET) levies, according to a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting.
Out of the N2.225 trillion total distributable revenue, FAAC said N1,478.593 trillion came from statutory revenue, N672.903 billion from VAT, N32.338 billion from the Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL), and N41.284 billion from Exchange Difference.
The communiqué revealed that gross federation revenue for the month stood at N3.635 trillion. From this amount, N124.839 billion was deducted as cost of collection, while N1,285.845 trillion was set aside for transfers, interventions, refunds, and savings.
From the statutory revenue of N1.478 trillion, the Federal Government received N684.462 billion, State Governments received N347.168 billion, and Local Government Councils received N267.652 billion. A further N179.311 billion (13 per cent of mineral revenue) went to oil-producing states as derivation revenue.
From the distributable VAT revenue of N672.903 billion, the Federal Government received N100.935 billion, the states received N336.452 billion, while the local governments got N235.516 billion.
Of the N32.338 billion shared from EMTL, the Federal Government received N4.851 billion, the States received N16.169 billion, and the Local Governments received N11.318 billion.
From the N41.284 billion exchange difference, the Federal Government received N19.799 billion, the states received N10.042 billion, and the local governments received N7.742 billion, while N3.701 billion (13 per cent of mineral revenue) was shared to the oil-producing states as derivation.
The Governing Council of Kenule Beeson Saro-Wiwa Polytechnic, Bori, has decried the inadequate power supply and poor state of infrastructural facilities and equipment at the institution.
The Council also appealed to the government, including Non-Governmental Organisations, agencies, as well as well-meaning Rivers people to intervene to restore and sustain the laudable gesture, dreams and aspirations of the founding fathers of the polytechnic.
The Chairman of the newly inaugurated Council, Professor Friday B. Sigalo, made this appeal during a tour of facilities at the Polytechnic, recently.
Accompanied by members of the team, Prof Sigalo emphasised the position of technology, technical and vocational education in sustainable development.
He noted that with the prospects on ground, and the programmes and activities undertaken in the polytechnic, there is no doubt that the institution would add values to the educational system in our society and foster the desired development, if the existing challenges are jointly tackled.
This was contained in a statement signed by Deputy Registrar, Public Relations, Kenpoly, Innocent Ogbonda-Nwanwu, and made available to The Tide in Port Harcourt.
The chairman who restated the intention of his team of technocrats to ensure that KenPoly enjoys desirable face-lift, said the Council would deliver on its core mandates, accordingly.
Earlier, the Rector, KenPoly Engr. Dr. Ledum S. Gwarah, commended the appointment of Professor Friday B. Sigalo as Chairman of the KenPoly Governing Council.
He described him and his team as seasoned technocrats and expressed confidence in their ability to succeed.
The Rector pledged the management’s support to the Council to ensure that KenPoly resumes its rightful place in the comity of polytechnics in the country.
Facilities visited by the Governing Council include KenPoly workshops, laboratories, skills acquisition centre, library, hostels and medical centre.
Chinedu Wosu
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