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Tukur Quits, New PDP National Chairman Emerges, Monday …Stakeholders React
The PDP National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, yesterday in Abuja, formally resigned his appointment following crises within the party.
Tukur‘s resignation was announced by President Goodluck Jonathan at the party’s 63rd National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting.
“We have some internal problems that have been agitating the minds of the people and let us really thank the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) headed by Alhaji Bamanga Tukur.
“He did not just wake up to be the chairman of our party, he has paid his dues, he has held several offices and worked for this country and he has done very well.
“And for us to make sure that we rest these issues, the party chairman agreed to step aside,’’ the president said.
The announcement of Tukur‘s resignation by President Jonathan was greeted with a standing ovation.
Jonathan said Tukur personally submitted his resignation letter to him Wednesday night even as he handed the letter to the party’s National Secretary, Prof Adewale Oladipo right at the NEC meeting.
“He is not guilty in any way; in fact, I have to give him another assignment that is tougher than handling PDP.
“This is because we need people like Bamanga Tukur to market this country and the PDP.
“He has been doing that in the platform of African Round Table but we need a tougher job than the African Round Table for him,” Jonathan added.
He, consequently, called on Governor Liyel Imoke of Cross River to formally move a motion to accept Tukur‘s resignation which was seconded by Sen. Abdul Ningi.
Jonathan further announced that the party’s NEC should take a decision to hold another meeting on January 20 to formally inaugurate a new national chairman for the party.
This, he maintained, would be based on the party‘s constitution, adding that the new chairman would come from the North East, according to the party‘s zoning principle.
“Within this period from now to Monday, we will look among ourselves particularly our leaders from the North East for a new chairman,’’ he said.
The president expressed the need to select someone who would be acceptable to all party members and with the qualities to lead the party to greater heights.
“For that reason, between now and Monday that we will meet, I will meet with relevant stakeholders and see how we can get such a person that will be acceptable by all of you.
“Because when we come here that day, and you say no, there is nothing we can do, that is why we must take time to look for a man or a woman that will lead the party.
“And I believe that those who will consult collectively will not disappoint this house,’’ the president said.
He described as normal the defection of some PDP members to the opposition, adding that the development was not a thing the party should worry itself about.
Jonathan said that as long as the parties continued to work together and do things together, it would remain the best party in the country.
He expressed the hope that from ongoing discussions, some of the members who defected to the opposition would return to the party soon.
He added that the party would henceforth be holding regular meetings, adding that the party‘s governors would now be meeting monthly to strategise on how to improve the party‘s fortune.
He also said that the party’s caucus and the Board of Trustee meetings would now hold every quarter while its NEC would meet more regularly.
“That would make us here at the centre to interact more with the state party chairmen and other party officials as well as the governors to think about the party.
“This is to see how we can collectively drive its machinery.
“The people want to see the PDP very affective because if we are not holding meetings, they will think that people have overtaken us, nobody can overtake PDP,’’ he said.
He assured the gathering that the PDP-led government at all levels would continue to give the people the true dividends of democracy.
The president challenged the opposition to assess the present PDP administration with previous government.
According to him, this government has done very well in the interest of the country.
He said that the PDP government was committed to its vision of ensuring positive change at all levels.
He tasked members to remain faithful, adding that the party would continue to grow stronger.
However, the factional Chairman of PDP in Rivers State, Felix Obuah has confirmed that he was among the state PDP chairmen that passed a vote of no confidence on the embattled National Chairman of the PDP, Bamanga Tukur.
Obuah disclosed that they no longer have confidence on the leadership of Tukur, due to what he described as problems in the party since his assumption of office.
Obuah said it was time for Tukur to step aside, adding that the Rivers PDP stakeholders had no problems in voting against him
According to him, “we feel that the problem of leadership the party has witnessed and the grievances, a lot of acrimony amongst its members he has not been able to address are some of the issues that had been of concern to us. So, we feel that it is right time to call it quits”.
Meanwhile, some members of the House of Representatives, yesterday in Abuja, said that the resignation of Alhaji Bamanga Tukur as PDP chairman, would help in repositioning the party.
In separate interviews with newsmen, the legislators said that with the resignation, the party would be repositioned for 2015 general elections.
Rep. Uzor Azubuike (PDP-Abia), said that the decision by Bamanga to resign as the party chairman was patriotic.
He called on those who had defected to APC to make a rethink and come back to the party.
Rep.Gerald Irona (PDP-Imo) said that members of the party had had problems with the leadership style of Bamanga which led to the defection of the five PDP governors and others.
He said that his resignation was a good development for the party as it would save it from eminent danger.
Also speaking, Sen. Abdul Ningi described Alhaji Bamanga Turku, the former PDP national chairman, as the sacrificial lamb for the unity and stability of the party.
He made this known after President Goodluck Jonathan presented Tukur‘s resignation letter to the party‘s National Executive Committee (NEC) members.
Ningi, who seconded Governor Liyel Imoke of Cross River motion for the acceptance of Tukur‘s resignation letter, said that Tukur had not violated any section of the party‘s constitution.
He stressed the outgoing party national chairman only sacrificed himself for the party following its recent crisis.
Tukur had before the president announced his resignation, thanked God and the party’s stakeholders for giving him the opportunity to serve.
“It has been a matter of honour for me to have served our party, and indeed, a rare privilege to have become the national chairman.
“I am grateful to the seven deities of good luck with which the Almighty God has endowed me.
“I am delighted to have had the opportunity to nurture and deliver an idea; that is the need for discipline and internal democratic practices within the party,” Tukur said.
Tukur advised the party members to install new national values that were driven less by personal greed and power and more by national interest.
This, according to him, is critical to address the country‘s challenges as well as that of the party.
“As we reinvent the foundation of internal consensus, let us endeavour to flaunt the good works of our various governments at all tiers of governance. We shall overcome,’’ Tukur said.
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FG Ends Passport Production At Multiple Centres After 62 Years

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.
News
FAAC Disburses N2.225trn For August, Highest In Nigeria

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.
News
KenPoly Governing Council Decries Inadequate Power Supply, Poor Infrastructure On Campus
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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