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PDP Youths Tackle Secondus Over Call For Emefiele’s Resignation
The national leadership of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Youth Mobilisation Council, has asked the embattled chairman of the party, Prince UcheSecondus and the Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbodiyan, to resign over their attack on the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele.
The National Coordinator of the council, AbubakarSadiq, in a press release made available to newsmen in Abuja, yesterday, urged the PDP to resolve its internal crisis first before asking Emefiele to resign.
He said under their watch, the PDP had been enmeshed in one crisis or another, wondering why they would abandon their role and focus on Emefiele.
He said, “We are amazed at the irony that the same Prince UcheSecondus as well as Kola Ologbodiyan under whose watch the PDP diminished to its ever worst level and was only made to leave office courtesy of a court order despite fighting to remain in office is the same UcheSecondus and Kola Ologbodiyan that are asking another person to leave office when they have refused to step down to allow the PDP to be rebuilt after their incompetence sent the party to the path of self-destruction.
“Do UcheSecondus and Kola Ologbodion not know that their performance at the NWC of the PDP have been the most unproductive, lacklustre, uncreative and fruitless period in the history of PDP? Do these men not know that they have so made the great PDP so unattractive that governors, senators, national and state parliamentarians and even elected party officials at various levels of the Party are now leaving the party in droves and seeking other platforms to guarantee or even brighten their chances of winning elections in 2023?
“Why have UcheSecondus and Kola Ologbodiyan not willingly resigned if they believe that anyone who fails in an assignment should resign? Or are they waiting for the undertakers to come and carry the carcass of the PDP which they promised their paymasters?
“Instead of distracting attention of focused PDP members on the upcoming Convention, Mr. Kola should go and sit down and at least pen a good hand over note to his successor as his plot with Mr.Secondus to abort the PDP National Convention will fail woefully. That the party resolved that failures like Mr.Secondus and Mr.Ologbodiyan will not be re-elected into the NWC of the party should not force them to pick on the CBN governor who is not the priority of the party.
“A reasonable National Publicity Secretary of an opposition party will rather put the failures on the table of the elected President and not officers he has right to hire and fire. Doing otherwise unequivocally shows that Mr.Ologbodiyan is working for the larger APC interest and he must be booted out of the PDP.
“Finally, has Mr. Kola Ologbodiyan not seen that for the last 5 months that the economy has been growing steadily and that the governor of CBN has got a good grip on the happenings in the economy and that with his several proactive interventions in agriculture, manufacturing and in MSME’s, that the economy is picking up despite the insecurity, drop in global oil prices and the global impact of the Covid-19 pandemic?
“Mr.Ologbodiyan should know that all PDP members are focused on a successful Convention and will not tolerate his distractive agenda as part of a grand plot to abort the upcoming National Convention.”
Earlier, the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) had demanded the resignation of the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, over alleged mismanagement of the economy.
The National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan, made the demand on behalf of the party, at a media briefing in Abuja, yesterday.
The PDP also demanded that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) should equally investigate allegations of malfeasance in the management of the bank and the economy.
The spokesman stated, “Our party insists that the tenure of Emefiele as CBN governor under the APC administration has witnessed colossal failures of monetary and fiscal policies, requiring him to vacate the office and hand himself over for investigation.
“It is instructive to note that when Emefiele took office as CBN Governor in 2014 the naira exchanged for N164 to a dollar.
“Today, in the hands of Emefiele and the APC, the naira has tumbled to near N600 to a dollar, putting the nation’s economy on its knees.”
Ologbondiyan further said, “Painfully, under the leadership of Emefiele, the CBN has failed in its core mandate of managing the economy and took a dive into propaganda, with claims that do not reflect the harsh economic reality on the ground.
“The PDP, therefore, urges the EFCC not to allow this revelation to be swept under the carpet as it borders on serious economic sabotage which sanctions are clearly spelt out under our laws.”
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.
News
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.