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EKITI 2018: Oshiomole, Kalu, APC Govs woo voters for Fayemi

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More All Progressives Congress (APC) bigwigs arrived Ekiti State on Monday to woo voters for the candidate, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, ahead of Saturday’s governorship poll.
The APC National Chairman, Mr. Adams Oshiomhole; former Abia State Governor, Dr. Orji Kalu; Governors Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun), Rotimi Akeredolu (Ondo) and Atiku Bagudu (Kebbi) were the latest arrivals to give support to Fayemi.
National Leader Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, former Interim National Chairman Chief Bisi Akande and former National Vice Chairman (Southwest) Chief Pius Akinyelure had earlier arrived on Sunday.
Tinubu, Akande and other party elders were billed to participate in a road show originally scheduled for the day but it was cancelled based on security advice from the Police High Command.
Oshiomhole led the APC team to canvass for votes of labour unions led by former state Chairman of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Mr. Ayodeji
Aluko for Fayemi.
Kalu led the delegation that met with the leaders of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo where he sought the support of the large Igbo population in Ekiti for Fayemi at a separate meeting.
The three governors-Amosun, Akeredolu and Bagudu-were present at the parley held with the Igbo.
Oshiomhole, former National President of the NLC, assured Ekiti workers that Fayemi was not seeking a return to the state number one seat to seek vengeance but to make a positive difference in government and better their welfare.
The former Edo State governor said the APC will win the election not by intimidation but based on past records of Fayemi’s government in the state
Oshiomhole said: “Our task as labour leaders is not to agonize but to have the will to fight; I have not come to lament that Fayose has not paid workers. I have come to give guarantee to the workers of Ekiti that their welfare will be priority to us.
“Fayemi knows that if he doesn’t perform especially for workers, I will box him from Abuja. Don’t be afraid, I am behind you and I will get whatever due for you from Dr Fayemi if you convince your people to give him the votes”.
Kalu, during the forum with the Igbo said Fayemi has promised to give financial supports to their businesses if elected governor, the way he did in his first term.
He urged them to discountenance the hate speeches being peddled around by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), labeling APC as anti-Igbo and Islamic party, describing these as attempts to smear the image of the party.
Kalu said Fayemi remains the only person that can bring Ekiti out of
squalor, saying the present governor, Mr  Ayodele Fayose shouldn’t be
allowed to impose whom he described a ‘cowboy’ on the people.
The former Abia governor said Fayemi is more experienced, exposed and has a better pedigree in governance than the PDP candidate, Prof. Kolapo Olusola.
Kalu said: “You have to vote for a man that is better equipped for the job. Don’t listen to the rumour that APC is an Islamic party.
“When President Muhammadu Buhari came, he inherited a massively looted economy. The PDP people were just going to the Central Bank of Nigeria to collect money on the order of the then President.
“You know what it means for the CBN to be looted and that was why we experienced the economic recession when Buhari came and today we are out of it.
“APC remains the best party for Ndigbo. I cannot be bribed by anybody to deceive you. I would rather die than to deceive you because we are one.
“President Buhari did the second Niger Bridge. He had also awarded many road contracts in the Southeast. Did former President Olusegun Obasanjo, late Umaru Yar’Adua and Dr Goodluck Jonathan did all these?
“President Buhari might not have given us many appointments, but he had performed for the Southeast in terms of facilities and public utilities.
“If President Buhari is bad, I will be the first person to expose him. Please, vote for APC in this election. Make sure you spread the gospel and you will never regret it.
“He has promised to give you appointments in governments and give you other supports and I know the promise shall be fulfilled.”
Fayemi pledged to treat the Igbo and the workers with dignity and honour if given the chance, promising to fulfill all pledges made to these groups if given the mandate to govern Ekiti again.

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Edo PDP opposes suspension of LG bosses by state assembly, says ‘It’s unconstitutional’

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The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo says the suspension of all the chairpersons and their deputies in the 18 LGAs of the state is “unconstitutional”.

The chairpersons and their deputies were suspended on Tuesday by the Edo state house of assembly for two months over alleged misappropriation of funds.

Blessing Agbebaku, the speaker of the house, said Monday Okpebholo, governor of Edo, had written a petition to the assembly regarding the chairpersons’ refusal to submit the financial records of their LGs to the state government.

In a statement, Anthony Aziegbemi, chair of the PDP in Edo, said the “illegal” suspension is a disregard to a supreme court decision that affirms the autonomy and independence of local governments.

“How can the governor direct the State Assembly to suspend democratically elected chairmen of the 18 local councils for insubordination when these elected officials enjoy autonomy and independence as enshrined in the constitution and are not subordinates of the governor, the state assembly, or any other arm of government?,” he said.

“We are also aware that the chairmen and their vices were not even given the opportunity to be heard in their detence and were suspended unheard on watery trumped up charges, in total disregard to the constitution.

“We want to restate that the constitution remains supreme, and any attempt to undermine its provisions or disregard the judiciary and its rulings is not only illegal but also a direct attack on democracy and the rule of law.

“The speaker of the Edo state house of assembly and the entire assembly have clearly overstepped their constitutional mandates with this illegal action and we urge them to immediately reverse its decision, in respect to the rule of law and democratic governance.”

Aziegbemi said the suspended officials should report to their councils on Wednesday and carry on with their normal duties.

Also speaking on the issue, Anthony Ehilebo, a PDP chieftain, said Okpebholo has no legal backing to request the financial records of the LGAs.

“In fact, the governor and the assembly members are in contempt of the supreme court,” Ehilebo said when he appeared on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme.

“The purported suspension of the local government chairmen by the state assembly is as absurd as the president asking the national assembly to suspend state governors because they refused to submit statements of accounts to him.

“This is a witch hunt. The LGA chairmen are all PDP members.”

The lawyer said the suspension “is unknown to law and will be ignored”.

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Ex-sports minister Bolaji Abdullahi resigns from PDP

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Bolaji Abdullahi, a former minister of sports and youth development, has resigned from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

He disclosed his intention to resign in a letter dated December 16 and addressed to the PDP ward chairman in Ubadawaki, Kwara state.

Abdullahi confirmed the development to TheCable on Monday.

The ex-minister also said he is yet to decide which political platform to pitch tent with.

“The decision of what to do and where to go will be taken in the future that’s left to God,” he said.

In the resignation letter, Abdullahi said he reached the “difficult” decision after days of reflection and introspection.

“I write to formally resign my membership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP),” the letter reads.

“I have had ample time to reflect, and I have come to the difficult conclusion that this is the only tenable option for me at this time.

“Mr. Chairman, please permit me to express, through you, my gratitude to the leadership of the party for the opportunities that I have had to serve the state and the country on its platform, and for the great moments we have shared.”

Abdullahi was the PDP candidate for the Kwara central senatorial district election in 2023. He lost the race to Salihu Mustapha of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

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PDP debunks inviting Jonathan to contest 2027 presidency

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The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says it has not extended an invitation to former President Goodluck Jonathan to contest the presidency on its platform in the 2027 election.

Speaking with BBC Hausa, Ibrahim Abdullahi, deputy spokesperson of the country’s main opposition party, said no ticket has been issued to the former president.

Abdullahi said the party has many eligible people who can contest for the presidency on its platform, adding that a recent interview he granted was interpreted to mean that Jonathan he asked to run on the PDP platform.

“The report that PDP has issued its presidential ticket to former President Goodluck Jonathan or invited him to contest the 2027 presidential election is not true,” he said.

“What happened is this, I had an interview with a journalist where we discussed some issues.

“But in the course of the interview, he mentioned President Jonathan, asking about our opinion of him, because there are reports that he is being urged to run for the presidency.

“I responded by saying that he (Jonathan) is eligible to contest the election, because he is a Nigerian and has the right to do that by the provision of the law, and he still has one more term left.

“So, there is nothing wrong about him contesting the presidential election because he is eligible in the face of the law.”

The deputy spokesperson said the ticket would be given to someone who has shown interest in running for the presidency.

Jonathan, then in the PDP, lost the presidential election to former President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015.

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