The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said that the time is rife for the party to begin to play its role as a party in opposition. Chief Dan Orbih, National Vice Chairman South-South of the party said this on Thursday, when he led the South-South party executive on a courtesy visit to Delta Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa in Asaba. According to Orbih, the party is the hope of the people. “We must start playing our role as a party in opposition. We are the hope of our people. “About few days ago, the Senate approved another $6.1 billion loan about N2.34 trillion. “The conscious policy of the FGN to mortgage our future must stop. These loans are not deployed for economic productive ventures but for railway lines from Kastina to Niger. “What we spend in combating herdsmen atrocities and kidnapping if deployed in the Agricultural sector can make Nigeria provide enough food for the whole of Africa. “What a country so blessed but grossly mismanaged. When will they stop borrowing? Let our members in the National Assembly speak out and express our party’s stand on these loans. “Unfortunately, the committee in charge of loans has a PDP member as Chairman. How do people see us when we turn around to criticise the loans?” He stressed that in future the party’s legislators’ performance must be judged by their role in critical decisions on national issues. He also said that there was the need to have a South South stakeholders meeting to let the people of the region know the direction to go as the country approached 2023. “We commend Governors and leaders in the North who have thrown their support for the Southern Governors’ Lagos resolution. “By their support they have demonstrated their abiding faith in a united Nigeria that stands on the pillars of equal rights and justice. The South South PDP leader also called on the governor to mobilise the people of the state, especially the youth, to use the opportunity of the ongoing voter registration exercise to register to enable them to participate in the next election. “Now is the opportunity for them to send a strong message with their voter cards: “A message that will address their demands during the endSARS campaign. “A message that will change the failed government and bring back our country the way it used to be, One Nation, One destiny.” He disclosed that the team came on the visit “as part of our movement round the Zone to appeal to the Governors and leaders of our zone on the need for the party to remain focused and united. “To rescue Nigeria is a task that must be done. All hands must be on deck. “Those sleeping on duty should wake up and together we can save our people the horrors of bad governance. “As an opposition party we must rekindle the hope of frustrated and disappointed Nigerians that we can do it better. “For Nigeria to make progress, we must vote out those who have neglected our zone in terms of development,” Orbih said. He also noted that the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) had become “the National Headquarters of fraud”. He added that from news, the forensic audit had uncovered 12,128 abandoned jobs with no specific ownership, adding that what it meant was that the Niger Delta had been abandoned by NDDC. He stressed that Nigeria was sick, as there was hunger and insecurity as well as poor economic management. “His Excellency, as the chairman of the PDP Governors’ forum South South, you have a major role to play in reshaping the politics of our Zone. “Our party is the most viable vehicle to bail out the country from the mess we find ourselves.” Okowa, in his response, noted that as a party, the governors and leaders were doing their best to ensure that the party remained strong and united in the zone. He also noted that the deplorable state of federal roads in the South South was something that must continually be drawn attention to. On the issue of the NDDC, the governor said that the South South governors would continue to push for the constitution of the board, adding that forensic audit was not supposed to stop the constitution of the board. He noted that there was no doubt that the NDDC could be better run, and forensic audit would unearth lots of things. He further said that there was the need to rethink the loans process to be sure that a burden won’t be left for incoming administration to handle. He stressed the need for security situation in the country to be truly addressed, while every citizen must work collectively for the unity of the Nation.

The Imo chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has advised its members of the House of the Assembly to maintain decorum. The Publicity Secretary of the Party in the state, Mr Cajetan Duke, said this while reacting to the suspension issue during an interaction with newsmen in Owerri. Duke who described the Assembly as an independent organ of government, called on the suspended lawmakers to desist from acts capable of jeopardizing their public image and that of the legislative House. ‌ He noted that as law-abiding persons, the party would not only respect the independence of the Assembly but also align with any decisions taken by its leadership in the interest of democracy. “APC respects the independence of the House of Assembly and supports any disciplinary measures that make for decorum and we urge the suspended lawmakers to resolve issues using internal resolution mechanism”, he counselled. According to him, out of the six lawmakers who were suspended for alleged unparliamentary conduct, four were members of the ruling APC, an indication that it was not a case of a political witch-hunt.

The National Working Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party has approved the timetable and schedule of activities for the 2021 congresses of the party. The congresses will hold in nine states which include Lagos, Oyo, Adamawa, Kebbi, Borno, Kogi, Osun, Kwara and Ebonyi. The PDP pointed out that in the case of Lagos, Oyo, Adamawa, Kebbi, Borno, Kogi, Osun and Kwara states, the tenure of the Excos by Section 47(1) of the PDP Constitution (as amended) would be expiring, having been elected in 2017. The party’s spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan, in a statement said, “For clarity, in Kogi State, congresses are to hold only in Wards and Local Governments, while in Osun, congresses are to hold in some respective wards only. “However, in the case of Ebonyi, congress would be conducted to elect new EXCOs following the dissolution of the state structure due to political realignments occasioned by the defection of the state governors and others to another party. “According to the timetable, the sale of nomination forms, including ad-hoc delegates forms has been scheduled for July 26 to August 27, 2021, while the last day for the submission of forms has been fixed for September 6, 2021. Sale of all forms are from the National Secretariat. “The NWC urges all members of the party and teeming supporters across the country, particularly in the affected states, to be guided by the official timetable and schedule of events and disregard any other document reported to have being earlier circulated by unauthorised persons.”

A coalition of women groups has instituted a suit at the Federal High Court, Abuja against the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), for allegedly marginalising women in his regime. In the suit, the groups are seeking an order of the court restraining the President from further violating the 35 per cent Affirmative Action Policy in the exercise of his constitutional and statutory powers of appointment. The feminist groups argued that the failure of the Federal Government to implement the 35 per cent Affirmative Action Policy was a gross violation of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the National Gender Policy 2006, and the relevant articles of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights. They also claimed that the predominant appointment of men into key positions in the country was unconstitutional. When the matter came up on Wednesday before Justice Donatus Okorowo, the lawyer to the plaintiffs, Marshal Abubakar, sought leave to regularise his processes. The counsel to the defendants, Ibukun Okoosi, also sought leave to file a counter-affidavit. The court granted their prayers and adjourned the matter till September 29 for arguments. The women groups consisted of Empowerment and Legal Aid Initiative, Women Trust Fund, Centre for Democracy and Development, West Africa Women Advocates Research and Documentary Centre, Vision Spring Initiative, and the Women in Politics in Nigeria. Also joined in the suit is the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice.