Politics
We Have Kept Faith With Good Governance In Rivers -Wike
Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, says his administration has kept faith with good governance in the State, having fulfilled all the promises he made to Rivers people.
Speaking at an event held at the Isaac Boro Park, Port Harcourt, tagged “11th Hour Home Coming”, to receive decampees from the All Progressives Congress (APC) and other political parties into the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state, last Saturday, Governor Wike said the PDP remained the only political party that could win elections in the state.
Governor Wike said the interest of Rivers State had remained paramount to his administration as he had refused to yield to any form of blackmail and intimidation from any quarters but had worked hard to protect the state and recovered key property and belongings of the state.
He pointed out that the track record of achievements of the PDP-led administration in Rivers State was overwhelming, as those seeking elective positions on other political platforms in Rivers State were doing so in the name of contesting election without any hope of winning.
Governor Wike, who congratulated the decampees and welcomed them back into the PDP fold, commended their decisions and stated that it was time to collectively build a solid foundation for the incoming administration in the state.
He advised Rivers people to be wary of “big men” who alienate themselves from the people but are hellbent on dictating the political fortunes of the state from Abuja, and urged all PDP faithful in Rivers State to be involved in grassroots mobilisation at the unit levels to deliver all candidates of the party in the state.
Governor Wike also, within the week under review, inaugurated the three satellite campuses of the Rivers State University at Etche, Emohua and Ahoada, respectively.
Addressing the people during the inauguration of the new Faculty of Agriculture of the Rivers State University at Etche, on Tuesday, Governor Wike said the vision was to expand access to education in the state and bring development to the grassroots.
He commended the management of the Rivers State University for delivering the project in record time and for providing unbroken academic activities in the institution despite the over six months of ASUU strike that has grounded academic activities in universities across the country.
The governor given also stated that Rivers State electoral votes can no longer be traded away without commensurate rewards and lamented the dearth of federal projects in the state despite the huge contributions of the state to the development of the nation.
Inaugurating the Emohua and Ahoada campuses of the Rivers State University on Wednesday and Thursday, the Governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde, described Governor Wike as a man of great vision and passion to develop Rivers State and urged the people of Rivers State to support him.
Similarly, former Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, on Friday inaugurated the remodelled Community Secondary School, Obuama (Harry’s Town) in Degema Local Government Area.
Speaking during the event, Fayose expressed deep admiration over Governor Wike’s effort in building critical infrastructure to improve the standard of living of the people.
On the internal schisms in the PDP, Fayose blamed the ongoing conflicts in the party on the antics of some people close to the Presidential Candidate of the Party, Atiku Abubakar, who turned on the heat through blackmail and other sycophantic schemes.
He pointed out that Governor Wike had made tremendous contributions to the party, which could not be waved aside, adding that he (Wike) represents the face of internal democracy and equity in the party.
He called on those causing disaffection in the PDP to desist from the act while the imperatives of justice should be adhered to in the party.
By: Beemene Taneh
Politics
Senegal: Faye Set To Become Youngest Elected African President As Rival Concedes Defeat
Senegalese politician, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, (44), is set to become the youngest elected leader on the African continent.
While Faye’s main rival, Amadou Ba, from the ruling coalition had said a run-off might happen to determine the winner, at least five of the 19 candidates in the race had issued statements to congratulate Faye as of early Monday.
“For our part, and considering the feedback of the results from our team of experts, we are certain that, in the worst case scenario, we will go to a run-off,” Ba, a former Senegalese Prime Minister, had said.
But as Faye’s lead got wider, Ba called to concede victory in Sunday’s presidential elections, BBC quoted a government official to have said.
Faye’s lead had spurred his followers to troop out in celebration on the streets of the capital, Dakar, on Sunday.
Reports revealed that millions took part in a peaceful day of voting to elect Senegal’s fifth president after three years of unprecedented political turbulence that triggered violent anti-government protests and bolstered support for the opposition.
Faye is a Senegalese politician and a former tax inspector, who also served as the General Secretary of dissolved PASTEF.
He contested the highest political position in the West African country in place of disqualified candidate Ousmane Sonko.
Senegalese voters had a choice among 19 contenders to replace Sall, who is stepping down after a second term marred by unrest over the prosecution of opposition leader Sonko.
The incumbent was not on the ballot for the first time in Senegal’s history. His ruling coalition picked Ba, 62, as its candidate.
In a country of over 18 million people, 7.3 million people were registered to vote, and about 71 percent voter turnout was recorded, Senegal’s State TV reported.
Politics
Writing Judgment For Presidential Election Tribunal Allegation, FG Arraigns One
The Federal Government has arraigned one Chike Ibezim for allegedly defaming Babatunde Fashola, former Minister of Works and Housing.
Ibezim is one of three individuals who alleged that Fashola had written the judgments of the Presidential Election Petitions Court (PEPC) that dismissed the petitions by the Labour Party (LP) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in favour of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Ibezim was arraigned on Monday before a federal high court in Abuja on a six-count charge.
The charge, marked FHC/ABJ/CR/434/2023, borders on criminal conspiracy, cyberstalking, and defamation, among others.
The matter is before Bolaji Olajuwon and has been adjourned till April 15 for continuation of trial.
Count one of the charges reads: “That you Ibezim Chike Victor, male with Jackson Udeh, Nnamdi Emmanuel Ibezim and Reportera.ng (body corporate) now at large on or about 05/08/2023 at Abuja, did commit an illegal Act to wit: criminal conspiracy; when you jointly agreed to publish a defamatory statement of false allegations in your online social media, the reportera.ng news, against His Excellency Babatunde Raji Fashola SAN, CON, without justification, you thereby commit offence punishable under Section 27(1)(b) of the Cyber-crime Prohibition, Prevention Act 2015.”
However, Fashola said the allegation was “baseless and defamatory”.
The former minister described those behind the allegations as “agents of destabilisation”.
Politics
Soludo’s Performance Assessment, APGA Tackles LP Chieftain
The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) has faulted a chieftain of the Labour Party (LP), Valentine Ozigbo, over his comments that the performance of Anambra State governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, after two years in office, was “not impressive.”
Mr Ozigbo, who was the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2021 Anambra State governorship election, now a chieftain of the LP, stated during an interactive session with journalists last weekend that he was not impressed about Governor Soludo’s performance and has therefore decided to contest the 2025 governorship election in the state.
He said, “We have seen the leadership of Soludo in two years, and some of you may be impressed, but I am not. After the last election in 2021, I called and wished him well and moved on, and we have never spoken again. My decision was to assess him after two years, and having seen it, I am not impressed, and I want to start holding him accountable.
“I am here to share my thoughts with you, what I think, and no matter how you see what he (Soludo) is doing, you will be more proud when I mount the saddle.
“We need to change the narrative and look for a way to survive. We must fight to rescue Anambra. I am a non-transactional politician. I have several things I can do, but my worry is how we can recover the state and put her on the path of development.
“Zoning is a good thing. But it must be combined with competence to make sense. Don’t pick a renegade just because he is from a certain zone, and don’t pick the best, when you know you can pick one that is better.”
Mr Ozigbo said further, “I respect zoning, and I will be making a case for a single term of four years. Anyone who sees what Alex Otti is doing in Abia State will know that four years is enough time to do a lot of work.
“I will honour that principle of zoning, and I will not need anyone’s push or prompting to do otherwise. I will be ready to do an agreement and do an undertaking that I will do just one term. I also wish to tell you that Peter Obi has been consistent that a southerner who emerges will only do one term.
“It is a settled matter that I intend to run for just one term. I intend to keep faith with the agreement.”
But reacting to the development in a telephone interview with The Tide’s source on Monday, APGA spokesman, Tony Olisa-Mbeki, dismissed Mr Ozigbo’s utterances, insisting he has nothing to offer the people of the state.
Mr Olisa-Mbeki said, “He is a political stooge. What could he possibly bring in? Last I checked, he only managed Transcorp Hotel. Is that a qualification to be a governor in Anambra State? Soludo runs an inclusive government in Anambra; that is why he holds town hall meetings with different sectors. What other approach to governance is Ozigbo talking about?
“Anambra State governance is not for learners like Ozigbo. Ozigbo can’t even give a good lecture; he would be better suited working as a PA to any governor. Ozigbo’s aspirations in the previous gubernatorial contest in Anambra found him trailing in third place under the banner of the PDP, despite the staunch endorsement from former APGA governor, Peter Obi.
“That alone should tell him that APGA is like an apostle’s creed to Ndi Anambra. However, what reforms could Ozigbo propose? Anambra State, under Governor Soludo’s leadership, is a testament to political and socio-economic ingenuity.”
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