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Nairaland Forum / Nairaland / General / Politics / Donald Duke Declares For Presidency November 7 At Inter. Conference Cent., Abuja (11684 Views)
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Re: Donald Duke Declares For Presidency November 7 At Inter. Conference Cent., Abuja by LondonCool(m): 11:29pm On Feb 05, 2007 |
LePhilippe: I have just returned to UK from Calabar and can attest to everything "Celemel" stated in his post. AVIATION The Margaret Ekpo Airport belongs the the F/Govt, why blame DD? Nevertheless, it still has a very high standard of aviation infrastructure-at least Arik Arlines, Aero Contractors and Virgin Nigeria would not all be running schedules from Abuja/Lagos to Calabar if it was that bad. EDUCATION. DD handed over secondary schools back to their original owners (formerly established by the Catholic and Presbyterian Churches), this has led to an improved standard of secondary education.The establisment of the state owned University CRUTECH was a visonary step in the right direction especially as Polytechnics in the country will soon stop issuing HND's in preference for B.Tech. All primary school Text Books are produced in the State and are supplied to every pupil at a very subsidised rate. TINAPA PROJECT You need to go there and see things for yourself. I was privileged to tour through the gigantic site and was awed by what I saw.(Wal Mart have already booked their Mega-Store there). The train route from the Airport to Tinapa is currently under construction and is already changing the landscape of the surrounding environs around the Ikot Ishie/Ikot Effanga axis. ROADS This is the area where DD scores my highest marks. Nearly 80% of road within Calabar (Calabar South & Municipality) are either tarred, dualised or graded to a very high standard.This makes traveling round Calabar very accessible and smooth depsite the huge influx of Cars from outside the state. URBAN DEVELOPMENT When DD became Gov he divided the state into 3 centres for Urban development purposes. Ogoja, Ikom,Ugep and Akamkpa have had roads tarred, water pipes laid and rural electricity projects have covered over 75 % of the state. AGRICULTURE. This has been a hit and miss area to me, but more hit than miss. If DD had concentrated on the areas where Cross River State had comparative advantage he would have even had made a name in Agriculture rather than Tourism. Whereas there has been a systematical Governmnet effort to replenish the Cocoa and Rubber plantations established by the old Michael Okpara regime with a view of exporting them and competing to overtake Ondo State as the largest Cocoa producer in Nigeria;venturing into Pineapple and Cashew Nut mass farming was an ill-advised project.At least it contradicts the laws of comparative advantage. People in Calabar are so poor yet he spends $300m to build Tinapa ! I personally feel offended by that reckless fallacy of over-generalisation. What do you mean by "people in Calabar are so poor?", who were the people you were refering to ? Poverty is every where,even in UK-so whats the point you are making here? Are people in Calabar poorer than those in the Northern states ?. If you want to judge if DD has made the people in Calabar poorer during his last 8 years in power, then you need to measure the economic well-being of the people. Cross River State is not just about Calabar, it has 18 local government areas that have also improved their economic well-being. Akpabuyo LGA even has more steady,consistent and uniniterupted supply of electricity than Calabar itself.DD is fast pushing economic development towards Akpabuyo LGA as an extension of Calabar. I have even been allocated with a Detached House in the ongoing CRS Housing Estate being built there. My 10 SHORT COMINGS of DONALD DUKE's REGIME I am not a DD apologist, we have never met and the only 3 things I share in common with him are the same surname, schooled in the same Kongo campus @ABU and his good looks . Nevertheless, I have some concerns about some issues of governance. 1-Salaries are still not being paid on time,( a recurring decimal throughout DD's 8 year tenure.) 2-Not establishing any solid industry in any part of the state.(quite surprising) and selling the existing ones to his cronies. 3-Contracting most jobs and projects to non-indigenes of the state when state indigenes are qualified to do it 4-Deducting LGA allocation at source by force,and intimidating non-compliant LG chairmen 5-Political Vindictiveness-DD does not have much political grace when it comes to dealing with those who disagree with him ,he always goes to extremes to exact vengeance- a trait similar to OBJ. 6-No attempt or deliberate govt effort or policy to create an Entreprenueral class amongst the people-who are to all intents and purpose mainly Civil Servants. 7-Limiting most of the economic-cum-infrastructural development of the state to Calabar. Ikom and Ogoja used to be admin centres controling Afikpo,Abakaliki in the 1960's. There is really nothing to show that these areas have progressed from that status.I also blame all previous Governors for this neglect, not only DD. 8-Running the state PDP as a Cabal for his cronies. 9-Not being able to show everyone in the State our Balance sheet. How much money has been borrowed from the erstwhile STB Bank to finance the road projects? How much money is the State Govt owing ? Who are our creditors? .The state tried to issue Treasury Bonds in 2004 but couldnt succeed because the Debt Mngt Office in the Presidency raised some of the above questions that could not be answered. 10-How much was spent on Calabar Xmas Carnival since its inception in 2005 That is the smartest ways to siphon money out of the state. I had a friend who had the contract to bring in P-Diddy(he didnt eventually come) for the last carnival and I was surprised at how much the CRS had spent in dollars despite the hype that the private sector sponsor the whole jamboree. |
Re: Donald Duke Declares For Presidency November 7 At Inter. Conference Cent., Abuja by WhoAmI4(m): 2:15pm On Feb 09, 2007 |
Compatriots! Positive Action is the greatest prayer God will not come down from heaven to do the miracle by himself People must make themselves available for God to use Patito has done that- even at great risk to himself. So has Donal Duke! He/They need support. This is the time for all Nigerians who want a beter future to ACT! Vote!!! The stars are favouring a miracle in Nigeria this year. Atiku has been disqualified. Yar adua is an unknown. This is why I believe this is a very good chance for change EFCC will not allow many CORRUPT people to contest. If the youth and Nigerians can be made to see the oppourtunity here and come out in masses to vote, then God will perform the miracle sooner than we think. Otherwise, we will all be praying endlessly. Even a priest went to teh extent of Threathening his congregation with ex-communication fi they dont register to vote. I believe he has seen the handwriting on the wall. Pls tell everyone you know to come out and vote this time. Lets be God's hand this tiem and then we will see what happens. Cheers and Peace! |
Re: Donald Duke Declares For Presidency November 7 At Inter. Conference Cent., Abuja by LePhilippe(m): 4:25pm On Feb 10, 2007 |
@ Celemel I can see from this you are very proud about Calabar city. Compared with other major Nigerian cities such as Lagos, Kano, it is nothing but a success story. Have you ever been to major tourist resort cities such as Dubai, Hong Kong, Sun city e.t.c that your governor DD is comparing Calabar too Calabar doesn't have any good public transport services until recently the whole Calabar population depended on motor cycle taxis. This is ridiculous. Do you really expect a tourist to get onto one of these death rides It is one of the few working airports in Nigeria, with all the facilities in good condition. Again my friend you fail to see that Calabar is no more appealing to a low Nigerian standard, it is now appealing to an international standard. The horrible airport in Calabar is a big cry for attention. This airport is obviously not ready for the huge influx of people predicted to enter from the Tinapa venture. I mean what a shocking contrast, The dull airport to the shining new monorail. My idea of infrastructure are roads, electricity, water, sanitation, schools, hospitals. Exactly, these aren't very obvious in the vast greater calabar area. Calabar doesn't have a 24 hour power supply and it wants to get a fully functional monorail?? Before you say it, some cities in Nigeria have 24 hour power supply for example i know the city of Abuja has a 24 hour power supply. I was privileged to live there for a week and the power remained uninterrupted. Roads - The road network is seriously lacking various facilities such as simple traffic management facilities such as double yellow lines. It is a very poor road network due to all i have seen you might disagree with this. Water - Please answer this question for me, Does Calabar city and its greater area have a fully functional running water supply Please it still has a long way to become what in your statement is in good condition. Schools - It may have UNICAL but isn't this same school plagued with strikes by the staff. Can't pupils bribe their way into this facility. Is a degree in UNICAL accepted by major countries in the world. Don't get me wrong being a Nigerian i am proud of the TINAPA business resort but please DD should concentrate on simple issues rather that of Monorails or the longest or largest projects!!! + |
Re: Donald Duke Declares For Presidency November 7 At Inter. Conference Cent., Abuja by LePhilippe(m): 4:34pm On Feb 10, 2007 |
Please people before you start blowing DD's horn read this article and see if you still think he is the who you think he is!!! GOVERNOR DONALD DUKE: SAINT OR SINNER? Taken from http://nigerian-newspaper.com/governor-donald-duke.htm |
Re: Donald Duke Declares For Presidency November 7 At Inter. Conference Cent., Abuja by Revolution: 4:53pm On Feb 10, 2007 |
Before you read that read this: News Last Updated: Friday, 30 May, 2003, 16:16 GMT 17:16 UK LePhilippe has appeared in court, charged with conning a German businessman out of $350,000. LePhilippe was arrested on Wednesday by the anti-fraud commission in connection with a so-called "419" scam. Nigerian conmen have become notorious for duping foreign businessmen into handing over large amounts of money, on the basis that they would receive millions of dollars later on. The Judge sentenced Lephilippe to 3 years in prison; he will be due for realease in May 2006. +++++++ LePhilippe, so you are an ex convict? |
Re: Donald Duke Declares For Presidency November 7 At Inter. Conference Cent., Abuja by BigB11(m): 5:20pm On Feb 10, 2007 |
I've said it before and I will say it again; Mr.Duke is a fine man, an incredible representative of Nigerian boys scout, but not ready for this major step and he knew this fact from day one. He has done well for himself by putting his name out there. Now he has to clean up his nose or keep his nose clean for the next election (2011), may be someone will pick him up to be a running mate. Anything else will be uncivilized, no disrespect. Running things in Cross River State is not the same as ruling the nation; hence folks should stop crying and put end to this unfeasible dream. FACT: Do you guys know that it is extremely easier for any governor to steal government fund compare to any other government officials? Do you guys know that every single governor in Nigeria has not one, not two, but many bones in his closet? And this is one of the reasons why EFCC is gradually becoming the joke of the century, because people know, believe me, they know the truth. There is no clean fish in the pond, they are all infested with the dirty water |
Re: Donald Duke Declares For Presidency November 7 At Inter. Conference Cent., Abuja by LePhilippe(m): 5:22pm On Feb 10, 2007 |
Revolution Please grow up. Lol!! |
Re: Donald Duke Declares For Presidency November 7 At Inter. Conference Cent., Abuja by LePhilippe(m): 5:24pm On Feb 10, 2007 |
Well said Big B1 but please i just need to know when will people in nigeria open there eyes to the extreme corruption and put an end to it!!! |
Re: Donald Duke Declares For Presidency November 7 At Inter. Conference Cent., Abuja by Revolution: 7:38pm On Feb 10, 2007 |
Lephilippe, do you see my point? Anybody can make up a story about anybody and put it on the internet and it will seem like the truth. Don't always believe what you read, the guy who made these accusations against Duke is a fraud, even his stated office in Calabar does not exist. |
Re: Donald Duke Declares For Presidency November 7 At Inter. Conference Cent., Abuja by LePhilippe(m): 7:50pm On Feb 10, 2007 |
I hardly think the EFCC would make such a story up! |
Re: Donald Duke Declares For Presidency November 7 At Inter. Conference Cent., Abuja by Mariory(m): 8:27pm On Feb 10, 2007 |
The story, according to the article came from an investigative "journalist" not from the EFCC. |
Re: Donald Duke Declares For Presidency November 7 At Inter. Conference Cent., Abuja by LePhilippe(m): 9:02pm On Feb 10, 2007 |
To be honest, I found several articles such like this scattered across the internet. Some are even hidden in the depth of Nairaland. Please, i know a relation who has lived in Calabar for 35 years and this is the reoccuring situation. |
Re: Donald Duke Declares For Presidency November 7 At Inter. Conference Cent., Abuja by LondonCool(m): 9:22pm On Feb 10, 2007 |
LePhilippe: The fact that you have a relation who has lived in Calabar for 35 years does not add credibility or authenticate your assertions. If that were to be the case then all I would have to do is to produce a relation who has lived in Calabar for 45 years to rebut your claims, may be my Grand-dad. |
Re: Donald Duke Declares For Presidency November 7 At Inter. Conference Cent., Abuja by LePhilippe(m): 9:27pm On Feb 10, 2007 |
Do you know and naive and innocent you sound. You sound like a foreigner who doesn't know a thing about the so called Nigerian Politics. I am not saying Donald Duke has done nothing good. I am saying the amount of bad he has done cancels out the good he has done. |
Re: Donald Duke Declares For Presidency November 7 At Inter. Conference Cent., Abuja by Revolution: 9:41pm On Feb 10, 2007 |
LePhilippe, it was these sort or allegation against Duke that made the EFCC investigate him, yes Duke was investigated, however Ribadu not only found the allegations to be false but he was so impressed by Duke's accountability and style of Governmemnt that he singled him out as an examplary Governor during his appearance before the senate. There are so many allegations in the your initial post, however it doesn't take a genius to know that if there was an element of truth in them the EFCC would have nailed Duke by now because they are so blatant. Duke isn't stupid, even if he was to steal money, would he foolishly pay his Wife's NGO £18M though a bank account which leaves a trail of evidence. Common! The accusation were made by: Fredrick Osari Executive Chairman fredosaraqua@yahoo.com CROSS RIVER STATE ANTI-CORRUPTION NETWORK Suit 5, Cultural Centre Complex, Calabar Cross River State, Nigeria Philippe, ask your relative who has lived in Calabar for 35 years to go and look for Mr Osari at Suit 5 in the Cultural Complex, and see if he that office exists. The cultural complex is government owned so it obvious he does not have an office there, so that is his first lie. What credibility does he have left if he can't even tell the truth about where he is located. I know a few people in Calabar myself and all of them say Mr Osari is a joker. You have his email address above, maybe you can contact him and investigate whether he is not the real crook in this whole affair. By the way, what bad had Duke done? and please don't mention any of these baseless allegations. Please tell us what bad he has done that cancels out the good. |
Re: Donald Duke Declares For Presidency November 7 At Inter. Conference Cent., Abuja by LePhilippe(m): 9:50pm On Feb 10, 2007 |
Ok firstly!!!! It was widely announced that the Tinapa project cost $25 million dollars. Then, out of the blue, Donald claims that it costs $65 billion dollars |
Re: Donald Duke Declares For Presidency November 7 At Inter. Conference Cent., Abuja by Revolution: 9:59pm On Feb 10, 2007 |
Those facts are wrong. Tinapa cost a lot more than that, about $350m (N45bn) but that had long being the estimate. But what has this got to do with good or bad governance. Lots of projects around the world exceed their estimates because of one reason or another. Even here in the UK the Olympics for 2012 is running well over budget, The new Wembley stadium is well over budget, Abuja Stadium cost lots more than expected. It could well be the contractors fault. This is not good example of a bad thing Duke has done becaue Tinapa is a very good thing |
Re: Donald Duke Declares For Presidency November 7 At Inter. Conference Cent., Abuja by stanech: 12:25am On Feb 11, 2007 |
LePhilippe: Broda It happens every where!! ordinary to clear grass for Airport na im dem dey charge millions of dollars My broda the problem is not the money used for the project, it is if the project worked and is still working If other governors in Nigeria had done half of what duke is doing for calarbar i bet nigeria would have been a better place by now, Don't let sentiment get into you Duke is the best thing that has happened to Calarbar. i don't care what people say, His work is there as an evidence |
Re: Donald Duke Declares For Presidency November 7 At Inter. Conference Cent., Abuja by McKren(m): 12:39am On Feb 11, 2007 |
LePhilippe: absolute waste of time and space. |
Re: Donald Duke Declares For Presidency November 7 At Inter. Conference Cent., Abuja by BigB11(m): 2:10am On Feb 11, 2007 |
So how come Mr.Duke's latest ambition did not go far, if he's such a charming governor and a magician? Yes, as a governor of Calabar, is doing alright, but don't come here to preach to us that he is squeaky clean. Totally rubbish! Do you know anything about state contract in Nigeria? Who are these contractors? How come their initial contract estimation is always wrong or incorrect. I hate when folks talk about things they truly do not understand. We have 3 types of Governors in Nigeria: 1. Unfocused Governor: He doesn't care about his state and doesn't know much about his job description or any state social and economic development. His main purpose is to accumulate wealth for self, family and friends. Governors like this do not have any connection what so ever with locals and usually get exposed sooner or later. Rating: 97% corrupt 2. CEO Governor: He was already a very rich man with several successful businesses before he became the governor. This position to him is a continuation of business as usual. He cares about the people and the state, but the business still comes first. Governors like this have loyal supporters and it is also very difficult to implicate them as corrupt individual because of their financial status prior to holding the position. Rating: 75% corrupt 3. People's Governor: He's very charismatic, good looking, not too rich but loves people. The interpersonal skill is untouchable, very articulate, sweet and respectful. He understands poverty and sincerely wants to help his people. Corruption is not his main focus. Governors like this are not too rich, but have extremely loyal supporters behind them. They usually do a lot for their people and state. It is also a challenging task to implicate them as corrupt governors, because of their major accomplishments for their people and states. Furthermore, people tend not to focus on negatives and only want their governor's positive accomplishment advertised. Rating: 55% corrupt At the end of the day, all 3 governors are guilty of the same crime. Which one is your governor? |
Re: Donald Duke Declares For Presidency November 7 At Inter. Conference Cent., Abuja by McKren(m): 3:26am On Feb 11, 2007 |
So how come Mr.Duke's latest ambition did not go far, if he's such a charming governor and a magician? Its no point arguing about this guy, he is out of the race for now. I dont wish to make much noise about him. But the fact remains that Donald Duke in quiting the race left so many hearts broken but IBB quiting the race was a reason for most Nigerians to celebrate. That is the difference. |
Re: Donald Duke Declares For Presidency November 7 At Inter. Conference Cent., Abuja by GNature(m): 4:42am On Feb 11, 2007 |
@bigB1 Impressive. Could you please give me an example of an unfocused, ceo and people's governor. thanks |
Re: Donald Duke Declares For Presidency November 7 At Inter. Conference Cent., Abuja by Nobody: 4:59am On Feb 11, 2007 |
Unfocused - Peter Odili , Lucky Igbinedion CEO - Orji Kalu, Nnamani People's Governor - Duke, Yar'adua |
Re: Donald Duke Declares For Presidency November 7 At Inter. Conference Cent., Abuja by dblock(m): 5:02am On Feb 11, 2007 |
Does Donald Duke still have a chance of contesting, when I mean chance i mean 0.1, 0.2 percent, any chance at all, does he have a chance, is he even still contesting |
Re: Donald Duke Declares For Presidency November 7 At Inter. Conference Cent., Abuja by GNature(m): 5:04am On Feb 11, 2007 |
Donzman: lol But Donzman, what really is the big deal about Yar 'Adua ? I know the EFCC gave him a clean slate, but how has he managed the funds accrued to his state since being its state executive ? I need someone to please enlighten me. |
Re: Donald Duke Declares For Presidency November 7 At Inter. Conference Cent., Abuja by BigB11(m): 2:21am On Feb 12, 2007 |
@GNature: Unfocused Governor: Odili CEO Governor: Kalu People's Governor: Duke Bravo Donzman, you got it right. |
Re: Donald Duke Declares For Presidency November 7 At Inter. Conference Cent., Abuja by LePhilippe(m): 11:04pm On Feb 12, 2007 |
Unfocused Governor: Igbenadion CEO Governor: Kalu People's Governor: None!!!! |
Re: Donald Duke Declares For Presidency November 7 At Inter. Conference Cent., Abuja by BigB11(m): 11:15pm On Feb 12, 2007 |
I feel you on that. |
Re: Donald Duke Declares For Presidency November 7 At Inter. Conference Cent., Abuja by Sundipp: 6:15pm On Mar 31, 2013 |
lewa: Apart from Tinapa what has he done?Please don't get carried way by public charm,poise and grammar.What is on ground in Cross River?How many youths have been gainfully employed?Rural eletrification?Adequate healthcare? Etc. I have my smoking gun ready and please respond with facts and figures and not with bias,ethnic sentiments and all other jargon |
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