Monday, January 6, 2014
National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
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Politics
Political events that shaped Ondo in 2013
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Defection or not, we are still party to beat, says PDP OBIORA IFOH ABUJA
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he Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has said that in spite of the crisis of defection that has rocked it recently; it still believes that it is the party to beat as it remains the “preeminent party, well ahead and better than the opposition.” The PDP National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, in a statement yesterday said the party is “still the most organised party in Nigeria with genuine follow-
ership in all the nooks and crannies of the country,” adding that more people are eager to join its fold. “The PDP is a party founded on democratic ideology by worthy and respectable leaders. It is the only party committed to national interest, in which no person, group, tribe or religion can claim to play dominant role. We have remained strictly committed to our ideology based on the principles of patriotism and service to the people and this explains why self centered and undemocratic elements
find it very difficult to adapt to the dictates of the party,” the statement said. Noting that “the challenges that faced the party will enlarge, rather than shrink its support base”, the PDP said the developments have shown that the opposition is merely a group of selfish religious and ethnic bigots, completely lacking in ideology and pursuing selfish agenda. Saying that while the opposition “is at liberty to enjoy some space in the media to exercise their penchant for propaganda and hollow
claims, it has become obvious that they lack true followership among the people and cannot match the PDP at the general elections.” The party commended President Goodluck Jonathan for his steadfastness in delivering on his Transformation Agenda and not allowing himself to be distracted by the antics of the opposition. It however charged all its elected and appointed officials at all levels to redouble their efforts and work harder by curbing all wastes and keep on being prudent
in handling the nation’s resources to ensure that Nigerians not only continue to enjoy the benefit of having the PDP in power but also vote en-masse for it in the general elections. The party also applauded the President for his initiatives towards the technological advancement of the country citing the establishment of the National
Abia PDP chieftain, Emenike, defects to APC GEORGE OPARA UMUAHIA
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Cross section of some of the newly appointed Permanent Secretaries taking oath of office during the swearing-in ceremony of twenty-five newly appointed Permanent Secretaries in the Delta State Civil Service by the governor held in Asaba, yesterday.
Adelabu rallies support for Fayemi
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or the umpteenth time, the Ekiti State deputy governor, Prof. Modupe Adelabu, has again rallied support for the administration of her boss, Dr. Kayode Fayemi. She urged civil servants to put in their best for the Fayemi-administration to achieve its dream of lifting Ekiti State to a loftier height. The deputy governor spoke at the New Year gettogether party she organised for workers deployed to her office at her residence in Ado-Ekiti. Prof. Adelabu, who described civil servants as the engine room of the gov-
ernment urged them not to compromise on diligence, reminding them of the vital roles they have to play for the success of any government. She showered encomiums on the staff of her office, who she described as hard working and cooperative since her assumption of office. Assuring that workers’ welfare will always be accorded priority attention, the deputy governor urged the workers to support the governor’s efforts at ensuring that Ekiti ranked amongst the best states in the country. In his sermon, the Chair-
man of Christ Apostolic Church, Ekiti Districts Coordinating Council, Pastor Olu Eyebiokin, admonished workers to be faithful in the discharge of their duties. The cleric identified indolence and unfaithfulness as the bane of the society, which he counselled both leaders and followers to eschew. According to him, the diligent and the faithful would be rewarded accordingly both by men and God. While cautioning them to be wary of their actions, pointing out that a government is rated by the actions of individuals, Pastor Eyebiokin also urged the deputy governor to continue to be faith-
ful and loyal to the governor as well to sustain her positive standing in the public. The Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Deputy Governor, Mr. Babatunde Alokan, who opened the floodgate of testimonies, described the deputy governor as an amiable personality, whose relationship with members of staff has been more of a mother-and-child relationship rather than a boss and the subordinate. Others who bared their minds also attested to the generosity and humility of the deputy governor, despite her academic and political attainments.
Institute of Construction Technology in Uromi, Edo State, the new national automobile policy and the implementation of power sector reforms among others and urged Nigerians to continue to support the PDP, noting that it remains the only party that can guarantee a government committed to the national interest and the welfare of all at all times.
chieftain of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP and factional governorship candidate of the party in Abia State in 2011, Chief Ikechi Emenike has decamped to the All Progressives Congress, APC. Emenike is reputed to have a large and strong political structure in the state up to the council level including youths and women groups as well as his main party structure. It would be recalled that after the 2011 elections, he challenged the candidature and victory of Governor Theodore Orji, up to the Supreme Court, though he lost. His declaration followed a meeting attended by over 4,000 of his coordinators
representing all age groups from across the state, where a vote was said to have been taken to decide which party they would defect to. According to the vote of his supporters, about 80 per cent voted to urge him to join the APC, 15 percent supported his joining the Labour Party, while four per cent voted for the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA. Based on the outcome of the voting by the supporters, Emenike and his supporters decamped enmasse to the APC. However, before the voting process, the whole gathering unanimously, by acclamation through a motion moved by Mr. Nnamdi Uchendu, a former chairman of the Nigeria Bar Association, NBA, Aba, agreed to leave the PDP.
2015: Be prayerful, vigilant, ex-Rep tells Kwarans WOLE ADEDEJI ILORIN
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onetime governorship aspirant on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and now a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Kwara State, Hon. Bashir Bolarinwa yesterday called on the people of the state to be on their guard as the 2015 general elections approaches.
Bolarinwa who is also a former member of the House of Representatives in an interview with National Mirror said he foresees “agents of darkness conniving with some politicians in the state to hold back the emergence of a purposeful leadership in the election.” According to him, “these set of politicians, because of their influence and power will not like a people oriCONTINUED ON PAGE 14