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Atiku Opens Up On Real Reason He Visited America

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Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has penned a long article on why he decided to visit the United States of America.

Atiku stated that he travelled to the US, because he has a mission to “create the right economic atmosphere for American investments to return to Nigeria”.

Full text below:

It has become pertinent for me to speak about my ongoing visit to the United States of America, where I have met and I am still meeting with the U.S. administration officials and business leaders.

I travelled to the United States of America because I have a mission, which is to create the right economic atmosphere for American investments to return to Nigeria at a rate and quantum that we had before the current Nigerian administration’s policies almost halted the flow of foreign direct investments to Nigeria.

I am in America because Atiku means jobs.

My reason for running for the office of president of Nigeria and even for going into public service in the first place, is because I believe that Nigeria has what it takes to be the beacon of hope for the black race and a leading nation of reckoning in the international community.

This has not materialised over the course of the last four years because, as Chinua Achebe prophetically said in his 1983 book, “the trouble with Nigeria is the failure of leadership.”

The current Nigerian administration has allowed our relationship with our long-standing friends and partners to deteriorate and this has had unfortunate consequences for our economy.

Foreign relations that had been meticulously and delicately built for decades were allowed to deteriorate because members of the incumbent administration mistook their personal interests as the interests of Nigeria and allowed short term goals to dominate their foreign policies.

New friendships should not be made at the cost of old friendships. It is not an either-or situation. Right from Independence, Nigeria has nurtured a policy of non-alignment. We borrowed from the Lincoln policy of malice toward none and charity for all. Sadly, that policy has suffered major setbacks in the last four years.

As a leader in business, I am cognisant of the fact that both Western and Oriental nations will be making the transition from fossil fuels to electric powered vehicles and other green energies over the course of the next two decades. This means that Nigeria’s oil has a limited shelf life.

To be forewarned is to be forearmed and we must, as a nation, begin to make the transition from an oil economy to a modern one based on manufacturing and value-added agricultural chain.

…my vision is for trade to go both ways. Nigeria has a lot to offer America via her creative industry (Nollywood is the world’s third largest movie industry) and rich mining sectors (Nigeria’s Kaduna State is rich in gold ore). I am also eager to find a market in the U.S. for some of the half a million shoes manufactured in Nigeria’s cities of Kano and Aba everyday.

The message I took to the United States business community is not a new message. In my opinion editorial in the British media (“Beyond Brexit – Nigeria wants a new trade deal with Britain”), I submitted that Brexit is an opportunity for Nigeria and the United Kingdom to have a Big Ambitious Free Trade Agreement.

It is only common sense.

In 2014, the African continent as a whole earned $2.4 billion from coffee grown in Africa and shipped mainly to Europe. That sounds impressive. However, one nation alone, Germany, made $3.8 billion from re-exporting Africa’s coffee in 2014.

As a businessman, I see this and I cannot allow it to continue. It is unconscionable, but situations like these will not stop unless Nigeria and Africa have leadership that thinks business, instead of aid, and capital instead of loans.

Nigeria has, perhaps, the highest populations of youth as a segment of the total population, in the world. Already, we have the unfortunate distinction of being the world headquarters of extreme poverty. We cannot afford business as usual. My single-minded focus is to change this dubious record by transforming Nigeria from a consumer nation to a prosumer nation (a nation that consumes what it produces).

For this to happen, we need U.S. firms who have divested from Nigeria, to return. We need Procter and Gamble to reopen its $300 million Nigerian plant, which it shut down last year. We need General Electric to reverse its $2.7 billion pull out of Nigeria.

And my vision is for trade to go both ways. Nigeria has a lot to offer America via her creative industry (Nollywood is the world’s third largest movie industry) and rich mining sectors (Nigeria’s Kaduna State is rich in gold ore). I am also eager to find a market in the U.S. for some of the half a million shoes manufactured in Nigeria’s cities of Kano and Aba everyday.

Someone somewhere said Nigeria’s youth are lazy. I am one of the single largest employers of Nigeria’s youth and I know that assertion is false. My travels in Europe and America is to sell the Nigeria that I know to the world that does not yet know her. A Nigeria with not just a hardworking youthful population, but a nation with some of the smartest working people on earth. A nation that is open for business and a Nigeria that is much more than oil.

And I am certain that if I am successful in selling this Nigeria to the world, the world will come to Nigeria for business. That is why I am in America. Because I believe in JOBS – Jobs, Opportunity, Being United and Security and it is time Nigeria and all Nigerians finally have the opportunity to realise their true potentials.

Politics

Enugu LGA chairman appoints aides on garden egg, pepper, yam

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Eric Odo, chairman of Igbo Etiti LGA of Enugu state, has appointed Ezeugwu Ogbonna as senior special assistant on agriculture (yam and pepper).

The appointment is contained in a letter dated November 1 and addressed to Ogbonna.

“I am pleased to inform you that the executive chairman Igbo Etiti LGA has approved your appointment as senior special assistant to the local government chairman on agriculture (yam and pepper),” the letter reads.

“You should report to the executive chairman Igbo Etiti LGA, Ogbede, for briefing and deployment.

“It is pertinent to note that this is not a career civil service appointment but a temporary appointment which you hold at the pleasure of the executive chairman of Igbo Etiti LGA.”

Odo also appointed Nwodo Ugonna as special adviser on garden egg and pepper.

The council chairman did not outline the specific duties of the appointees.

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Politics

Ondo guber: Obi, NLC ruined my chances of winning, says LP candidate

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Ayodele Olorunfemi, candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the Ondo governorship election, says Peter Obi and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) ruined his chances of winning.

On Sunday, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Lucky Aiyedatiwa, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as winner of the poll.

The governor secured 366,781 votes in all 18 LGAs to defeat his closest rival Agboola Ajayi, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who polled 117,845 votes.

The LP candidate secured 1,162 votes, finishing fifth from bottom in the 17-candidate off-cycle election.

On the eve of the election, INEC substituted Olusola Ebiseni with Olorunfemi.

On September 27, the federal high court in Abuja directed INEC to recognise Ebiseni as the LP candidate.

The party appealed the ruling, and the appellate court struck out the earlier judgment for lack of jurisdiction.

The umpire said it had restored Olorunfemi’s name as the LP candidate in line with the court judgment.

“The commission was yesterday 14th November 2024 served with the certified true copy (CTC) of the judgment of the court of appeal which set aside the judgment of the federal high court (FHC), Abuja division,” the statement reads.

“In obedience to the court order, the commission has restored Olorunfemi Ayodele Festus, whose name was first published as the Labour Party candidate for the 2024 Ondo state governorship election, and uploaded the same to our website for public information.”

In the buildup to the election, Obi endorsed Ebiseni and described him as “someone who believes in a Nigeria rooted in fairness, equity, and justice”.

“It is this conviction that propelled me to travel by road to Ondo state yesterday to campaign alongside our Labour Party Governorship Candidate, Hon. Sola Ebiseni — a candidate I believe possesses the competence and capacity to govern the State effectively,” Obi said.

‘THEY SCUTTLED MY ASPIRATION’

Speaking with PUNCH, Olorunfemi alleged that Obi and NLC sabotaged his governorship bid.

He admitted that his last-minute campaign was poorly organised and ineffectual.

“My campaign for the election was neither here nor there. I have Peter Obi and the NLC to thank for that. They have scuttled my aspirations and chances to win this Ondo election,” Olorunfemi said.

“These people spoilt things for us with that PDP reject they wanted to force on the party. Their insistence on having Ebiseni on the ballot ruined everything for me.

“They just capitalised on the crisis between the Labour Party and the Nigeria Labour Congress to create problems.

“Can you imagine that Ebiseni wrote a letter to the court in my name without my knowledge, saying I have withdrawn from the race? They cannot exclude me from such a position.”

Olorunfemi admitted that he knew his chances of winning were slim after his reinstatement, adding that he is determined to “get his pound of flesh”.

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‘He wanted me to succeed him’ — Aiyedatiwa dedicates victory to Akeredolu

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Lucky Aiyedatiwa, Ondo state governor-elect, says he wishes Rotimi Akeredolu, his late principal, was alive to witness his victory.

Aiyedatiwa, the incumbent governor of Ondo, secured victory in all 18 LGAs, garnering 366,781 votes to defeat his closest rival, Agboola Ajayi of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who polled 117,845 votes.

Aiyedatiwa took over the leadership of the state after Akeredolu died from protracted prostate cancer in 2023.

Speaking in an interview on Channels Television after his victory, Aiyedatiwa said Akeredolu wanted him as his successor.

“How I wish he was present in that banquet hall when I was declared in the company of other brother governors. That would have been really good, but God knows better,” he said.

“It is so sad and painful that he didn’t live to see the manifestation of what he himself spoke about. I do refer to him sometimes as the man who saw tomorrow.

“He knew that I was going to succeed him as governor. He knew because he wanted me to and was ready to give me the full backing.”

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Bodex F. Hungbo, SPMIIM is a multiple award-winning Nigerian Digital Media Practitioner, Digital Strategist, PR consultant, Brand and Event Expert, Tv Presenter, Tier-A Blogger/Influencer, and a top cobbler in Nigeria.

She has widespread experiences across different professions and skills, which includes experiences in; Marketing, Media, Broadcasting, Brand and Event Management, Administration and Management with prior stints at MTN, NAPIMS-NNPC, GLOBAL FLEET OIL AND GAS, LTV, Silverbird and a host of others

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