WE’LL USE EDO TEMPLATE IN ONDO, ANAMBRA – GANDUJE

download 59 1

WE’LL USE EDO TEMPLATE IN ONDO, ANAMBRA – GANDUJE

National chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, has said the party would use its template in Edo State governorship election to win the November 16 election in Ondo State.

Ganduje, a former governor of Kano State, also said the party would use the same template to win Anambra currently under the control of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and other states in the South East in future elections.

He spoke on Monday in Abuja, while celebrating the victory of Senator Monday Okpebholo with members of the Edo state election situation room.

Ganduje said a big party like the APC ought to have been fully in charge of the South East geo-political zone, and urged party leaders at all levels to work hard towards actualising the party’s objectives.

“We have started working to develop strategies to win these states. Next year, Anambra state will follow. Let me remind you that we have a project which we named political demarginalisation of South East geo-political zone.

“That project is also a task that must be done. We will face South East zone with 5 states. We already have 2, but 2 is too small for a big party like ours. We will face that state and see how we can recover many states in our favour,” Ganduje said.

Meanwhile, some elders of the APC from the North Central led by a former Senate President, Ameh Ebute, have expressed optimism that the 2027 general election would be a walkover for the party.

They spoke while on a visit to the party’s national secretariat in Abuja on Monday to congratulate Ganduje, on his victory at the High Court in a suit which sought his removal as chairman.

The suit was filed by the North Central APC Forum which sought the court to declare Ganduje’s chairmanship of the party as a breach of the provisions of Article 7(vii) and (ix) of the party’s constitution and the consensus reached at the 2022 National Convention held in Abuja, that the national chairman of the APC from 2022 to 2026 must be someone from the North Central geopolitical zone of the country.

Ebute said, “We feel we should be the first to come and congratulate you on your winning of the Edo governorship election for the party; for adding Edo to states controlled by the APC. We have no doubt in your ability to lead this party to a higher level.

“We are happy that the suit seeking your sack as national chairman was struck out. We are solidly behind you and we shall continue to support you to take the party to the next level. With these achievements, we believe 2027 will be a walk over.”

Similarly, a former presidential aspirant, Cesnabmilhilo Oken’oval who was part of the delegation said, “We are very happy with your leadership and we will continue to support you. 2027 election will be the greatest shock, we will cary it clear and clean.”

Speaking on his victory at the federal High Court, Abuja during the visit, Ganduje said, “There is no doubt that claim was baseless and was treated by the court as such. We don’t fear such baseless litigations.”
On Edo election, he said, “The election of Saturday is an indication that our efforts are yielding results.

Fighting an incumbent government is not easy.”
:

  • Dons Eze

    DONS EZE, PhD, Political Philosopher and Journalist of over four decades standing, worked in several newspaper houses across the country, and rose to the positions of Editor and General Manager. A UNESCO Fellow in Journalism, Dr. Dons Eze, a prolific writer and author of many books, attended several courses on Journalism and Communication in both Nigeria and overseas, including a Postgraduate Course on Journalism at Warsaw, Poland; Strategic Communication and Practical Communication Approach at RIPA International, London, the United Kingdom, among others.

    Related Posts

    FUBARA LOSES AS APPEAL COURT AFFIRMS PRO-WIKE LAWMAKER AS AUTHENTIC SPEAKER OF RIVERS ASSEMBLY

    FUBARA LOSES AS APPEAL COURT AFFIRMS PRO-WIKE LAWMAKER AS AUTHENTIC SPEAKER OF RIVERS ASSEMBLY The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja, on Thursday, affirmed Hon. Martin Amaewhule as the authentic Speaker of the Rivers State Assembly. The appellate court, in a unanimous decision by a three-member panel of Justices, equally validated the Amaewhule-led members of the Assembly as bonafide lawmakers for the state. While dismissing an appeal that was lodged before it by Governor Siminalaye Fubara, the court upheld a judgement the Federal High Court delivered on January 22, which nullified the 2024 budget of Rivers State on the premise that it was not presented before members of the state assembly that were known to the law. According to the appellate court, Fubara, shot himself on the foot when he voluntarily withdrew a counter-affidavit he filed to challenge a legal action the Amaewhule-led lawmakers instituted to be recognised as valid members of the Rivers State House of Assembly. The court held that governor Fubara’s decision to present the 2024 Rivers State Appropriation Bill to only four out of 31 members of the Assembly, amounted to a gross violation of section 91 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended. It will be recalled that the Rivers State Assembly was fractionalised owing to the frosty relationship between Governor Fubara and his predecessor and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike. In the heat of the fracas, governor Fubara sidelined the Amaewhule-led 26 members of the House that were loyal to Wike and presented the state’s N800billion 2024 budget before the four lawmakers led by Hon. Edison Ehie who had emerged as a factional Speaker of the Assembly. The Ehie-led faction, which had also declared seats of the Amaewhule-led pro-Wike lawmakers vacant for defecting to the All Progressives Congress, APC, from the Peoples Democratic Party, promptly passed the budget which was quickly assented to by Governor Fubara. Meanwhile, following the intervention of President Bola Tinubu, both Fubara and Wike signed a peace pact that included the restoration of Amaewhule as the bonafide Speaker of the State Assembly. The factional Speaker, Ehie, who had approached the court and was joined as an interested party in the suit, subsequently withdrew all the processes he filed before the court and equally rescinded both his seat and his membership of the Assembly. Whereas Governor Fubara, in line with terms of the peace deal, withdrew all the processes he filed to challenge the suit, however, the pro-Wike lawmakers only withdrew an impeachment notice they served on him while they declined to terminate their legal action. While deciding the suit, Justice James Omotosho of the high court held that the budget was invalid as it was not properly presented before the Rivers State House of Assembly as required by the law. It held that Governor Fubara acted like a tyrant when he demolished the Rivers State Assembly complex and withheld funds standing to the credit of the legislative house. The court also described as unconstitutional, the redeployment of the Clerk and Deputy Clerk of the Rivers State Assembly by Governor Fubara. Justice Omotosho stressed that the governor lacked the statutory rights to interfere with the operations of the Assembly, adding that he acted in contempt of a subsisting order that barred the parties from taking any steps to overreach the matter that was pending before the court. Besides, the court held that the National Assembly could not take over the legislative affairs of the state in the absence of the preconditions that were listed under section 11 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended. Consequently, the court, among other things, nullified all actions the Rivers Assembly took without the participation of the Amaewhule-led members of the House, among which included the presentation…

    HOUSE OF REPS BEGINS MOVE TO PROBE BUHARI GOVT

    HOUSE OF REPS BEGINS MOVE TO PROBE BUHARI GOVT The House of Representatives has unveiled plans to launch a comprehensive investigation into the Road Infrastructure Development and Refurbishment Investment Tax Credit scheme, which was initiated by former President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019. The decision follows the adoption of a motion of Urgent Public Importance brought forward by Hon. Ibrahim Aliyu during the plenary session on Wednesday. The scheme, established through Executive Order No. 007, was designed to address Nigeria’s significant infrastructure deficit by encouraging private sector participation in road development. Under the program, private companies that invest in the construction or refurbishment of eligible roads can recover their costs through tax credits against future Companies Income Tax (CIT) liabilities. However, Hon. Aliyu raised concerns about the effectiveness and accountability of the scheme, arguing that, five years after its launch, has yet to deliver clear results. In his lead debate, Hon. Aliyu emphasized the importance of ensuring public funds are used responsibly and questioned whether the scheme has truly contributed to bridging Nigeria’s infrastructure gap. He noted that the Federal Government had previously stated that Nigeria would need approximately N348 trillion over a decade to close the nation’s infrastructure deficit. Despite this massive need, the results of the Tax Credit Scheme remain uncertain. “The House observes that this Tax Credit Scheme was meant to encourage private sector participation in road infrastructure development in Nigeria. It allows companies to recover costs incurred in constructing or refurbishing eligible roads as tax credits against their future Companies Income Tax liability,” Aliyu said. Aliyu also pointed out that after five years, the scheme’s viability, efficiency, and overall cost-effectiveness of the projects completed under its umbrella have not been sufficiently evaluated. The House resolution seeks to investigate the projects completed so far, as well as the mechanisms for ensuring accountability and transparency in how the scheme has been implemented. The Tax Credit Scheme has been lauded for its innovative approach to solving Nigeria’s infrastructure problem by leveraging private sector resources. Major corporations, including Dangote Group, have participated in the program, with some high-profile road projects being undertaken under the scheme. However, critics argue that while the scheme offers short-term relief for some road projects, it may not address the long-term structural issues of underfunding and mismanagement in Nigeria’s infrastructure sector. Some stakeholders have also raised concerns that certain projects may not have been cost-effective or that the benefits of the scheme could be disproportionately favouring large corporations at the expense of smaller businesses. The House of Representatives has resolved to set up a committee to conduct a thorough investigation into the scheme. The inquiry will focus on evaluating the overall impact of the program on Nigeria’s road infrastructure, the transparency of the project selection process, and whether the projects completed under the scheme have provided value for money. “The House further observes that 5 years after its inception, the scheme’s effectiveness, which hinges on the viability and cost efficiency of projects undertaken, is yet to be ascertained,” Aliyu stressed during the debate.

    Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    You Missed

    2024 RIVERS BUDGET A NULLITY – APPEAL COURT

    FUBARA LOSES AS APPEAL COURT AFFIRMS PRO-WIKE LAWMAKER AS AUTHENTIC SPEAKER OF RIVERS ASSEMBLY

    • By Dons Eze
    • October 10, 2024
    • 104 views

    I SACRIFICED MY POLITICAL CAREER IN FINLAND FOR BIAFRA’S INDEPENDENCE – SIMON EKPA

    NNAMDI KANU’S WIFE BEGS UK GOVT TO INTERVENE IN IPOB LEADER’S CASE

    FUEL PRICE HIKE: TINUBU LISTENED TO DANGOTE – IPMAN CHAIR

    ROYAL FATHERS TO FG: WE WANT DIRECT PAYMENT OF OUR 5% ALLOCATION