Akwa-Ibom Governor Udom Emmanuel has declared the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has the wherewithal to reunite Nigeria and restore it to its past glory. Speaking to newsmen after the graduation ceremony of the El-Amin International School, Minna, the Governor said Nigeria was at its peak of economic glory when the PDP was in charge. “I want to advise Nigerians that in 2023, let us return the PDP to government at the central and I can bet my certificates that the economy of this country shall return to its past glory. “Once we come back to the central, we will build the economy of Nigeria because we are bridge builders and we will reunite Nigerians.” The Governor argued everyone who had tasted the administration of the PDP can attest to the difference. “If you have tested PDP and discovered they performed, why not try them again. You cannot change the winning team, we will do our best to bring back the glory of the country,” he stressed. Speaking further about the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) passed by the National Assembly, the Governor noted the lawmakers were not fair to allocate three per cent to the South-South region. This, he said, is because the region is the worst affected by the effects and should have been given more consideration. “We are not asking for too much but insisting on three per cent is not fair to us. It is one thing to say these things but one thing we have realized is that people do not understand the impact this petroleum has cause our communities. “Our fishermen can no longer earn a living because of oil spillage, a lot of communities are no longer farming because no more farmlands. “The people need to come and see the devastating effect this has had in the communities. So it is not too much to give us five per cent.”

Mr. Aminu Malle, the Chief of Staff to the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Idris Wase, has thanked northern members of the House for protecting and promoting the interest of the North in the recently passed Petroleum Industry Bill and the Electoral Act. The congratulatory message was sent on behalf of Wase by Malle to the northern caucus through their WhatsApp group and leaked to The PUNCH by one of the members. In the recently passed PIB, northern Nigeria’s quest for oil received a huge boost as Section 9 of the bill states that at least 30 per cent of the profit generated by the proposed Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited will go to the exploration of oil in ‘frontier basins,’ which are mostly northern states. However, the demand by oil producing communities in the South for five per cent of the profit of oil firms was cut down to three per cent For the Electoral Act, northern Reps also kicked against the compulsory electronic transmission of results by the Independent National Electoral Commission, arguing that many northern states have weak Internet penetration. Experts argue that electronic transmission of results would reduce incidents of rigging. In the message circulated by Wase’s chief of staff, the northern lawmakers were praised for protecting the interest of the North and showing unity. The message reads, “On behalf of the Deputy Speaker Rt. Hon. Ahmed Idris Wase and the Northern Caucus leader Hon. Musa Sarki Adar, I am directed to write and formally congratulate and appreciate all the northern caucuses for standing firm through their wisdom and strength to ensure the Northern interest in both PIB and Electoral Act is adequately placed in a position of advantage. “There is no doubt a house united will forever get whatever it wants, giving [sic] the advantage we have in size. May God Almighty continue to unite and bind us stronger. May He bless and reward us all abundantly. Remain blessed and wish you the best holidays and Sallah celebrations. Thank you all.” The 17 southern governors had, last week, insisted that the electronic transmission of results must stand and had kicked against the allocation of 30 per cent of NNPC’s profits to oil exploration. Attempts to speak with Malle proved abortive as he neither responded to repeated calls nor a text message on Saturday. However, the spokesman for the Deputy Speaker, Umar Puma, distanced his principal from the message. “I have received calls on this letter. It was not written by the Deputy Speaker,” Puma said. Credit: Punch

A group, the Coalition of Kwara APC Young Stakeholders (CKAYS), has demanded the shutdown of the factional Secretariat of the party recently commissioned by the minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, in Ilorin. CKAYS, which also called for the replacement of the minister with a “loyal and dedicated” party member, demanded that the factional chairman of the party, Bashir Omolaja Bolarinwa, be mandated to return every property in his possession immediately. They made the demand after the party’s national leadership suspended 11 members of the minister’s group over alleged anti-party activities. Addressing a press conference at the party secretariat, the State coordinator of CKAYS, AbdulRasheed Salaudeen, said the suspension of 11 members of the minister’s group by the national body has cleared the air about the authentic faction in the state. While declaring their unflinching support for Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, Salaudeen advised the likes of Akogun Oyedepo and Hon Saheed Popoola, whom he said are engaging in similar actions, to desist henceforth. “The national secretariat of our party should immediately direct compulsory shut down of the mock secretariat in Kwara State and direct all party members to unit under the leadership of the governor.” “The unveiling of an alternative party secretariat in the state is not only an attempt of their disregard for party constitution and leadership but also create a ground for disaffection, disunity disharmony and confusion within APC. “You will recall that CKAYS called for the removal of Hon. Bashir Omolaja Bolarinwa (BOB) as the state party chairman when it became obvious that his motive and agenda to be our party Chairman is antithetical to the progressive intentions of the Governor coupled with gross financial misconduct and lack of accountability as alleged by party executives,” he added. He said the recent “divisive activities” of both Bolarinwa and the minister in the party were deliberate attempts to create disunity and room for opposition to stand better chance against the party in the state. Responding to the issue, the factional Financial Secretary, Mohammed Tajudeen, said nobody can call for the closure of the secretariat. He added that all the “suspension drama and accusations were antics of the Governor’s faction led by Abdullahi Samari”. “They can’t close our secretariat because the party’s constitution allows everybody to do things the way it suits the majority. The party goes with the majority which we are and not the minority. How many are they. They are not up to twenty thousand altogether. “When we say we open our Secretariat and some people said it should be closed. They should come and do their worse and lets see what happens. “On the suspension of the 11 members, they lacked the power to take such decision. To us, Bashir Bolarinwa remains the caretaker chairman and Samari the deputy. The release of the suspension said a committee has been set up. “But how can you set up a committee to look into a matter without giving the other party fair hearing. Those that they accused of anti-party were never called for any submission. This is just the antics of the Governor’s faction led by Abdullahi Samari,” he added.

Mr Augustine Okeke, Publicity Secretary of its Caretaker Committee said in a statement that the party was sure of victory going by the considerable public interest and commentaries that followed INEC’s action. He said the interests and commentaries indicated that PDP remained the peoples’ choice. “The considerable public interest, commentaries and concerns shown by Nigerians who are worried about the non-inclusion of a candidate for PDP in the list is a testament to the acceptance of the PDP. “It shows that the PDP is the party that Nigerians and Anambra people implicitly and absolutely trust to deliver good governance for Anambra people,’’ he stated. Okeke, who reassured the party’s supporters of victory, said that the non-inclusion of the name of PDP’s candidate in the list by INEC was procedural. According to him: “it does did not imply that PDP will not participate in the election. “Recall that faced with multiple litigations during the Imo North Senatorial bye-election, INEC took a similar stance by not including a name for the APC in the list of candidates.’’ Okeke expressed appreciation over the continued solidarity of Nigerians for the PDP.