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Late Shehu Yar’Adua Anointed Me -Atiku …APC Confused, Bent On Rigging Polls -Secondus
As the Presidential campaign train of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) hits Katsina State, President Muhammadu Buhari’s home state, the former Vice President and PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has wooed the support of indigenes on the need to elect him the next president and fulfill the unachieved dream of the late Shehu Musa Yar’Adua.
Atiku said the late Shehu Musa Yar’Adua anointed him the presidential candidate in 1993, but could not fulfill his dream before his death.
The former Vice President while addressing the party faithful who thronged the Muhammadu Dikko Stadium in Katsina, told them to help the late Yar’Adua achieve his dream by voting him and making him the next president in the country.
According to him: “I was introduced into politics by late Shehu Musa Yar’Adua of blessed memory and I grew up in politics in Katsina. Later, late Shehu anointed me as the presidential candidate in 1993.
“Today, it is time to fulfill the dream of late Shehu Musa Yar’Adua. Would you help Shehu achieve his unfulfilled dream?” Atiku said. The APC-led government have not fulfilled its campaign promises. “The APC, three and half years ago, came here to promise you that they will restore the economy, improve security and unemployment, but they have failed.
“I am assuring you that if elected, we would restore the security, address the issue of unemployment and by the time that is done, we must have addressed hunger in the country. We would closely work with Lado (Katsina governorship candidate) to achieve this together in the state level,” Atiku stated.
Meanwhile, the National Chairman of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Uche Secondus, yesterday, said the All Progressive Congress, APC, is bent on rigging the forthcoming general elections in the country.
Secondus stated this in Katsina while reacting to the recent statement credited to Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State. Governor El-Rufai had threatened foreign powers whom, he said, may have had the intention to interfere with the coming elections in the country, to jettison the idea or “leave Nigeria in body bags.”
But the PDP Chairman said El-Rufai’s statement meant that the ruling party is confused and bent on rigging the forthcoming through dubious means. He, however, vowed that the PDP and Nigerians would resist any form of rigging in the country.
According to him, “the APC government are confused, they are worried and are adopting all sorts of measures to make sure that they rig this election.
“And you know the spirit of confusion have entered them. One of their governors, Nasir El-Rufai (Kaduna State) attacked the International communities, saying that members of the global democratic institutions that are working for a peaceful election in Nigeria would return to their countries in body bags.
“Which means that APC, their leadership and their plan, is to destabilise this election. “Let me remind you that in 2015, the same El-Rufai and other leaders of APC travelled as far as United States to ask for International observers that witnessed the elections. But because they want to rig, they don’t want the international observers to come.
“The will of the people will prevail. Because of the confusion in APC, they have lost all the polls from the international, local and national. And they have lost the victory to Atiku. Atiku is winning and that is why APC is confused.
“They have resorted to redeployment of the Commissioners of Police and destroy institutions like the Nigerian Police Force and the Military.
They want to compromise them to aid them to rig the elections. “You cannot destroy the will of the people and Nigerians. Atiku is the symbol of unity for our country.” Secondus said.
He however urged the electorates to come out en masse to vote for Atiku and Lado just as he urged them to ensure their votes counts.
Similarly, the Presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, wooed the electorate to make him the next president to fulfil the dream late Shehu Musa Yar’Adua could not achieve during his lifetime. He said he would work closely with the Governorship candidate in the state, Yakubu Lado Danmarke, to restore security and lost glory in the state.
The party leader in the state, Bar. Ibrahim Shehu Shema, urged the electorates to vote wisely, saying Atiku stands to unify and heal the country. Earlier, the Governorship candidate in the state, Yakubu Lado Danmarke claimed that the APC destroyed sixteen (16) years of PDP achievements.
Vice President Kashim Shettima has arrived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for an official State visit at the invitation of the Prime Minister, Dr. Abiy Ahmed.
Upon arrival yesterday, Shettima was received at the airport by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, Dr. Gedion Timothewos, and other members of the Ethiopian and Nigerian diplomatic corps.
Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Communication, Stanley Nkwocha, revealed this in a statement he signed yesterday, titled: “VP Shettima arrives in Ethiopia for official state visit.”
During the visit, Vice President Shettima will participate in the official launch of Ethiopia’s Green Legacy Programme, a flagship environmental initiative.
The programme designed to combat deforestation, enhance biodiversity, and mitigate the adverse effects of climate change targets the planting of 20 billion tree seedlings over a four-year period.
In line with strengthening bilateral ties in agriculture and industrial development, the Vice President will also embark on a strategic tour of key industrial zones and integrated agricultural facilities across selected regions of Ethiopia.
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RSG Tasks Farmers On N4bn Agric Loan ….As RAAMP Takes Sensitization Campaign To Four LGs In Rivers
The Rivers State Government has called on the people of the state especially farmers to access the ?4billion agricultural loans made available by the State and domiciled in the Bank of Industry.
This is as the State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) of Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP), a World Bank project, took its sensitization campaign to Opobo/Nkoro, Andoni, Port Harcourt City and Obio/Akpor local government areas.
The campaign was aimed at enlightening community dwellers and other stakeholders in the various local government areas on the RAAMP project implementation and programme activities.
The Permanent Secretary, Rivers State Ministry of Agriculture, Mr Maurice Ogolo, said this at Opobo town, Ngo, Port Harcourt City and Rumuodumanya, headquarters of the four local government areas respectively, during the sensitization campaign.
Ogolo said apart from the ?4billion, the government has also made available fertilizers and other farm inputs to farmers in the various local government areas.
The Permanent Secretary who is the Chairman, State Steering Committee for the project, said RAAMP will construct roads that will connect farms to markets to enable farmers and fishermen sell their farms produce and fishes.
He also said rural roads would be constructed to farms and fishing settlements, and warned against any act that will lead to the cancellation of the projects in the four local government areas.
According to him, the World Bank and Federal Government which are the financiers of the programme will not condone such acts like kidnapping, marching ground and other acts inimical to the successful implementation of the projects in their respective areas.
At PHALGA, Ogolo asserted that the city will benefit in the areas of roads and bridge construction.
He noted that RAAMP was thriving in both the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja; Lagos and other states in the country, stressing that the project should also be given the seriousness it deserves in Rivers State.
Speaking at Opobo town, the headquarters of Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Area, the project coordinator, RAAMP, Mr.Joshua Kpakol, said the programme would reduce poverty in the state.
According to him, both fishermen and farmers will maximally benefit from the programme.
At Ngo which is the headquarters of Andoni Local Government Area, Kpakol said roads will be constructed to all remote fishing settlements.
He said Rivers State is lucky to be among the states implementing the project, and stressed the need for the people to embrace it.
Meanwhile, Kpakol said at PHALGA that RAAMP is a project that will transform the lives of farmers, traders and other stakeholders in the area.
He urged the stakeholders to spread the information to their various communities.
However, some of the stakeholders at Opobo town complained about the destruction of their farms by bulls allegedly owed by traditional rulers in the area, as well as incessant stealing of their canoes at waterfronts.
At Ngo, Archbishop Elkanah Hanson, founder of El-Shaddai Church, commended the World Bank and the Federal Government for bringing the projects to Andoni.
He stressed the need for the construction of roads to fishing settlements in the area.
Also, a former Commissioner for Agriculture in the state and Okan Ama of Ekede, HRH King Gad Harry, noted that storage facilities have become necessary for a successful agricultural programme.
Harry also stressed the need for the programme to be made sustainable.
In their separate speeches, the administrators of Andoni and Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Areas, pledged their readiness to support the programme.
At Port Harcourt City, the Administrator, Dr Arthur Kalagbor, represented by the Head of Local Government Administration, Port Harcourt City, Mr Clifford Paul, said the city would support the implementation of the programme in the area.
Also, the administrator of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Dr Clifford Ndu Walter, represented by Mr Michael Elenwo, pledged to support the programme in his local government area.
Among dignitaries at the Obio/Akpor stakeholders engagement is the chairman, Rivers State Traditional Rulers Council and paramount ruler of Apara Kingdom, HRM Eze Chike Wodo, amongst others.
John Bibor
President Bola Tinubu has ordered the commencement of personnel audit and skill gap analysis across all cadres of federal civil servants.
The president gave this directive in Abuja, yesterday, while speaking at the International Civil Service Conference, reaffirming his resolve to achieve efficiency and professional service delivery in the civil service.
“I have authorized the comprehensive personnel audit and skill gap analysis across the federal civil service to deepen capacity. I urge all responsible stakeholders to prioritize timely completion of this critical exercise, to begin implementing targeted reforms, to realize the full benefit of a more agile, competent and responsive civil service,” the president announced.
Tinubu further directed all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), to prioritise data integrity and sovereignty in national interest.
He called for the capture, protection and strategic publication of public sector data in line with the Nigeria Data Protection Act of 2023.
“We must let our data speak for us. We must publish verified data assets within Nigeria and share them internationally recognized as fruitful. This will allow global benchmarking organisation to track our progress in real time and help us strengthen our position on the world stage. This will preserve privacy and uphold data sovereignty,” Tinubu added.
President Tinubu hailed the federal civil service as the “engine” driving his Renewed Hope Agenda, and the vehicle for delivering sustainable national development.
He submitted that the roles of civil servants remain indispensable in modern governance, declaring that in the face of a fast-evolving digital and economic landscape, the civil service must remain agile, future-ready, and results-driven.
“This maiden conference is a bold step toward redefining governance in an era of rapid transformation. An innovative Civil Service ensures we meet today’s needs and overcome tomorrow’s challenges.
“It captures our collective ambition to reimagine and reposition the civil service. In today’s rapid, evolving world of technology, innovation remains critical in ensuring that the civil service is dynamic, digital” the President said.
Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack in her welcome address told the President that his presence and strong words of commendation at the conference has renewed the morale and mandate of public servants across the country.
Walson-Jack described Tinubu as the backbone of driving transformation in the Nigerian civil service, and noted that the takeaways from past study tours undertaken to understudy the civil service in Singapore, the UK and US under her leadership, is already yielding multiplier effects.
Walson-Jack assured Tinubu that her office, in collaboration with reform-minded stakeholders, will not relent in accelerating the implementation of the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan, FCSSIP 25.
She affirmed that digitalisation, performance management, and continuous learning remain key pillars in strengthening accountability, transparency, and service delivery across MDAs.
Walson-Jack reaffirmed that the civil service is determined to exceed expectations by embedding a culture of innovation, ethical leadership, and citizen-centred governance in the heart of public administration.