Politics
Anambra Speaker Makes Case For Girl Child
The Speaker of the Anambra House of Assembly, Mr Uche Okafor, has advised parents to provide the girl-child the opportunity to harness and realise their full potential in life.
The speaker gave the advice in his goodwill message issued in Awka to commemorate the 2020 International Day of the Girl-Child yesterday.
He described the theme of the celebration: “My Voice, Our Equal Future” as apt and encouraged every girl-child in the state to remain confident and focused in the pursuit of their goals in life.
He admonished parents and government to create an enabling environment for the girl-child to occupy her rightful position in society.
Okafor urged parents to pay priority attention to the future of their girl-child because of her potential as a future mother.
He warned parents against exposing the girl-child to negative cultural practices and hawking during school hours.
According to him, such actions often affect the moral and academic disposition of the child.
He restated the commitment of the legislature to always make good laws meant to eliminate all forms of discrimination against the girl-child in the state.
Okafor lauded the efforts of the Wife of the Governor, Dr Ebelechukwu Obiano, to improve the socio-economic status of the girl-child in Anambra through quality education and skills acquisition.
He urged mothers and other well-meaning indigenes to join hands with her to create a better future for the girl-child.
Okafor urged community leaders and other social agents to prescribe severe punishments for those who maltreat or endanger the happiness, security and safety of the girl-child.
A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party in the state, Mr Godwin Ezeemo, appealed to government at all levels to take the welfare and security of the girl child seriously.
Ezeemo told newsmen that “the girl child all over the world is demanding a life free from gender-based violence, access to health, skills, recognition and investment as leaders of social change.
“We need to make laws to reassure our girl-child how much we truly care about giving her a voice in the political space and career,” he said.
He said that although some progress had been made in ensuring the girl-child grew and developed in good health, she still battled with early marriage, rape and other challenges.
Mr Christian Mbachi said that the right of a girl-child to inheritance and decision-making process on issues affecting her should be respected.
Mmesoma Chiadikaobi, 18, canvassed for policies that would allow the girl child the liberty to freely and regularly speak on issues that affect her wellbeing outside the international day celebrations.
“A girl-child should be able to discuss freely with her parents on which course or relationship she wishes to follow without undue parental or societal interference,” Chiadikaobi said.
The day focuses attention on the need to address the challenges girls face and promote girls’ empowerment and fulfilment of their human rights.
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President Bola Tinubu, on Saturday, launched the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential campaign in Kaduna State, beginning the ruling party’s mobilisation for the 2027 general elections.
The campaign rally, held at the Kaduna Township Stadium, attracted Vice-President Kashim Shettima, APC governors, party leaders, federal and state lawmakers, political stakeholders and supporters from across the country.
The flag-off marks the beginning of the APC’s drive to secure a second presidential term for President Tinubu, with the party expected to promote its achievements, defend its economic reforms and outline its policy priorities under the proposed Renewed Hope 2.0 agenda.
Kaduna’s selection for the campaign launch underscores the strategic importance of the North-West, a region with a substantial voting population and considerable influence on presidential election outcomes.
The APC faces a significant challenge in Kaduna, where the Peoples Democratic Party’s presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, defeated President Tinubu in the 2023 election. The rally therefore provides the ruling party an opportunity to strengthen its grassroots structures and regain electoral support in the state.
Addressing supporters, Vice-President Shettima appealed to Northern voters, highlighting President Tinubu’s political relationships with prominent Northern leaders, including Alhaji Abubakar, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu and the late President Muhammadu Buhari.
The Vice-President’s appeal reflects the APC’s determination to consolidate its support in the North as the party intensifies preparations for the presidential contest.
The Renewed Hope 2.0 agenda is expected to feature prominently in the campaign, providing a platform for President Tinubu to explain his administration’s economic policies and outline plans for another term.
However, the President’s record on economic reforms, rising living costs, petrol prices, employment, infrastructure and insecurity is expected to attract considerable scrutiny during the electioneering period.
The Labour Party (LP) standard-bearer for Ikwerre State Constituency in Rivers State, Hon. Stasi Amadi, has described the ongoing political reconciliation in Ikwerre Local Government Area as a welcome development capable of promoting unity, understanding and peaceful coexistence among political stakeholders.
Hon. Amadi stated this while speaking with newsmen in the area at the weekend, noting that genuine reconciliation remained necessary for strengthening relationships among political leaders and creating an atmosphere conducive for democratic participation.
She said the reconciliation initiative was borne out of goodwill and should not be interpreted as a setback for the Labour Party’s determination to win the Ikwerre State Constituency seat and bring positive changes to the people of the area.
According to her, the party remained committed to its political aspirations and would continue to mobilise support among the electorate through constructive engagement, people-oriented programmes and a determination to provide effective representation.
Hon. Amadi observed that the Rainbow Coalition was a broad political platform capable of accommodating different interests and tendencies, expressing optimism that the arrangement could provide opportunities for participating political parties to secure elective positions.
The LP candidate said the coming together of political brethren should be celebrated rather than criticised, adding that reconciliation would be more beneficial if it encouraged mutual respect, cooperation and a shared commitment to the development of Ikwerre Local Government Area.
She maintained that the leadership of the Rainbow Coalition was focused on achieving positive changes for the people, stressing that the LP would not abandon its political principles or aspirations because of the ongoing reconciliation process.
According to her, political unity should not prevent individual parties from pursuing their legitimate electoral ambitions, but should, instead, encourage healthy competition, issue-based campaigns and a collective commitment to the welfare of the electorate.
Hon. Amadi said the people of Ikwerre deserved a political environment where leaders prioritised development, improved living conditions, employment opportunities and effective representation rather than allowing political differences to undermine the common interest.
She also called on the police and other relevant security agencies to deploy adequate tactical intelligence before, during and after the 2027 general elections to prevent security breaches and ensure that the electoral process was peaceful and credible.
The LP standard-bearer urged security agencies to remain professional, impartial and vigilant in the discharge of their responsibilities, particularly in identifying potential threats, preventing political violence and protecting voters, electoral officials and other stakeholders.
Hon. Amadi expressed hope that the reconciliation among political stakeholders would strengthen democratic participation in Ikwerre Local Government Area, while assuring the electorate that the LP remained determined to contest the forthcoming election and pursue a positive political future for the people.
By: King Onunwor
A former ally of Senator Seriake Dickson, the National Leader of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Hon. Godpower Keku, has vowed to work against the interest of his erstwhile political leader and kinsman in the 2027 general elections.
Hon. Keku also faulted the duo of former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), and former governor of Anambra State, Mr Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), over their consistent presidential ambitions.
Hon. Keku, who is the Commissioner for Culture in Bayelsa State, served as Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the State during Senator Dickson’s tenure as governor of the state.
The Tide further gathered that Hon. Keku hails from the same State Constituency, local government area, and Senatorial District as Senator Dickson.
He described Mr Obi as a destroyer of political parties and alleged that the NDC’s presidential candidate does not build parties, but instigates problems and backs out of them when internal wranglings become aggravated to the detriment of any party he belongs to.
According to him, politicians should be grateful to their political parties and remain consistent to avoid being stereotyped as untrustworthy and disloyal members in order to grow politically.
He also alleged that the National Leader of the NDC once affirmed that he would not field a presidential candidate for the party in the 2027 polls, saying Senator Dickson had been reported to have said, during the initial stages of formalizing the registration of his party, that he was only interested in producing Assembly and governorship candidates prior to the entrance of Mr Obi and Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso into the NDC.
The ex-PDP scribe, who described himself a “party man”, restated his loyalty to the Governor Douye Diri-led leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state and vowed to deliver all candidates of the party in his constituencies.
“I wonder why Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar still want to contest this election. In fact, Obi is the easiest to win in this election. And I’m begining to suspect that it’s either he is a friend of President Tinubu or he is an enemy. One of these two things must be factual, if not why is he still contesting in the 2027 polls?
“What surprises me most in Obi’s behaviour is the way and manner he destroys political parties with his over- ambitious political interest. After destroying one party he quickly moves to another without helping to rebuild the party he helped destroy.
“My brother and friend, Senator Dickson said he wasn’t interested in fielding presidential candidate for the NDC prior to the registration of Obi and Kwankwaso as members of the NDC.
“Dickson had also said he was only going to field States, National Assembly and governorship candidates in the NDC and work with President Tinubu before the entrance of Obi and Kwankwaso into the NDC”, he said.
“For Atiku, he should remember that it’s the turn of the South to complete their eight years of two terms. Buhari, a Northerner just completed eight years of two terms before handing over to President Tinubu, a Southerner.
Speaking on the performance of the Bayelsa State governor, the Commissioner boasted about the achievements of Governor Diri’s administration, stating that the infrastructural and human capital development projects of the governor would campaign for the APC and ensure victory for the party in the forthcoming elections.
“I’m a party man, and even my brother and friend, Senator Dickson would attest to that fact. I don’t betray and don’t relent in my support for any party I belong to. The APC is my party and Dickson is an NDC member. I can’t work for him or any candidate of his party. I have my integrity and interest to protect as a party man.
“We’ll deliver all APC candidates in my political enclave, because, like I said earlier, Dickson himself knows me as a party man”, he stressed.
By: Ariwera Ibibo-Howells
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