City Crime
PDP Reassures On National Convention
Contrary to some media reports that the national elective convention of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, may be postponed, the National Working Committee, NWC, has said the October 31 date for the exercise stands.
Addressing newsmen at the party’s national secretariat, Abuja, spokesman of the party, Kola Ologbondiyan said the convention committee was working relentlessly to conduct the exercise as planned.
He said: “The preparations for the national convention are in place. As far as the party is concerned, the date for the convention remains October 30th to 31st. As we speak, we read reports in so many media space that there are issues and that only three governors are working, that national convention committee are not meeting and the National Working Committee members are not in their offices. That is totally and absolutely incorrect.
“Members of the NWC are currently deliberating on the success of the forthcoming national convention.
“The national convention organising committees leadership is in town, and these are the chairman, the Governor of Adamawa State, Mr Umaru Fintiri, the deputy chairman, Governor Diri Duoye of Bayelsa State, as well as the Governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde, who is the secretary of the committee.
“The three of them are in Abuja to oversee the convention process, while all the respective sub-committees are working and that’s why I’m briefing you now because I am the secretary of the publicity sub-committee.”
Ologbondiyan further noted that other logistics had been taken care of, including the venues for accreditation and the convention.
On report making the rounds of some members of the party approaching a High Court in Kaduna to stop the convention, the publicity scribe stressed, “As far as the Peoples Democratic Party is concerned, the party does not work on speculations.
“We don’t have a judgment before the party. You cannot be talking about court issues, it is only when there is a judgment before the court that we will begin to talk about court issues. All the plans have been set out for the national convention on”.PDP Reassures On National Convention
The embattled National Chairman of the Labour Party, Lamidi Apapa has alleged that the presidential candidate of the party, Peter Obi and the party’s suspended National Chairman, Julius Abure, on Wednesday, sponsored thugs against him (Apapa) at the Court of Appeal in Abuja, venue of the Presidential Election Petition Court, PEPC.
Apapa was reportedly mobbed by some angry youths who were at the court to witness proceedings in the petition that Obi filed to challenge the outcome of the presidential election that held on February 25.
Speaking on the development, in an exclusive interview with The Tide source on Wednesday, the factional National Publicity Secretary of the party, Abayomi Arabambi, said he was surprised that this was how Obi, Abure and their supporters intended to come at them.
He said, “They attacked some police. They were fighting with press men. It was the security operatives that saved us. They came there to kill today (Wednesday) and we will definitely petition the police.”
When asked to provide evidence, Arabambi said, “We have the video now, the man that removed the cap of Apapa, we know him. We know them. We know all of them.
“We were together in the court when they started attacking us. Are they not Obidients, are they not shouting Obidients, shouting: Thief Thief on us!”
“It shows the character of who that man is. He can not even govern a local government,” he added.
The spokesperson of the Labour Party, has, however, insisted that they will petition the Inspector General of Police over the incident.
After an additional week in the United Kingdom, where he had gone to attend the coronation of King Charles III, President Muhammadu Buhari has returned to Nigeria.
The President’s aircraft touched down at 4:45 pm yesterday, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja from where he was flown to the Presidential Villa in a chopper.
President Buhari left Nigeria on May 3 for the UK to participate in the coronation ceremony of King Charles III and his Queen Consort, Camilla, of the United Kingdom.
He was initially billed to return to Abuja within the week but had to extend his stay for an additional week to enable him to honour an appointment with his dentist.
Femi Adesina, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, announced Buhari’s decision to stay another week in London in a statement.
“President Muhammadu Buhari will be in London, United Kingdom, for an additional week, at the behest of his dentist, who has started attending to him.
“The specialist requires to see the President in another five days for a procedure already commenced.
“President Buhari had joined other world leaders to attend the coronation of King Charles lll on May 6, 2023,” the statement said.
Buhari is expected to hand over the reins of power to his successor and political ally, Bola Ahmed Tinubu on May 29th.
Already the Presidential Villa is taking a new shape as the maintenance officers are effecting necessary repairs of the seat of power.
Hyde Energy Limited, a global petroleum-trading company with a downstream network in Nigeria, has revealed plans to relaunch Luminor, one of the company’s automotive lubricants.
The Chief Executive and founder of Hyde Energy, Olademeji Edwards, disclosed this recently at a media parley held in Lagos.
Hyde Energy operates across the value chain of the energy industry, and deals with the importation of petroleum products, including Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), Gasoil, Dual Purpose Kerosene (DPK), Jet Fuel, Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG), automotive lubricants, and Naphtha.
Speaking with the press, Mr. Olademeji said in the next six months, Hyde Energy would be performing a relaunch of its Luminor brand and other products.
“The Hyde Luminor brand is a fantastic brand and has infiltrated the hearts of a few Nigerians.
“We launched that particular lubricant in 2017, and in our first year we sold five thousand litres in a quarter; today we are doing almost three thousand litres in a month, which is not a lot compared to other companies.
“But in the next six months, we are performing a relaunch of our products. We are going launching new labels, new bottles, and a new winning strategy coming into Lagos.
“We have not really been popular in Lagos; we have mostly been operating in the Southeast, Abuja, East and Calabar, which is where we get most of our volumes.
“But you will be hearing more and more of the Hyde Luminor brand going forward in weeks and months ahead, and we will enter into partnership with key people that would help us penetrate the market, and work with stockiest, so they can enjoy and know about us”, he said.