₦airaland Forum

DAILY POST reports that the caretaker committee chairman of the party in the State Dr Anthony Aziegbemi made the allegation at a press conference titled, “State of the Nation Address”.

Aziegbemi alleged that the money was spent by the governor to compensate “godfathers” who worked for him during the September 21, 2024, governorship election

The PDP caretaker committee chairman, who accused the APC-led government of not paying the state’s civil and public workers the November monthly salary, noted that the development was contrary to the record set by the former PDP-led government under the Governor Godwin Obaseki where the state’s workers received monthly salary on or before 26th of every month.

He also alleged that the APC-led government in the state had within two weeks in office procured over N5 billion worth of vehicles without a proper procurement process.

Aziegbemi, who further alleged that Governor Monday Okpebholo’s government was desperately looking for ways to pass entries for over N2 billion as inauguration costs, opined that the Edo State Procurement Act was at risk.

According to him, “for 8 years the PDP-led administration paid salaries on or before the 25th of every month, and as of today, they have not been able to pay November salaries even though the Obaseki-led PDP administration left over N30bn in the state coffers.

“What have they done with that money? They have filtered the money away and shared it with their godfathers for the roles they played in circumventing the will of the people

We are aware that as we speak, nobody in the state has received any credit alert for the payment of November 2024 salary. The government of Godwin Obaseki paid salary 26th of every month

"Governor Okpebholo has procured over N5bn worth of vehicles without proper procurement process which has created a crisis to the extent that the Permanent Secretary Governor’s office is threatening civil servants in Central administration for refusing to accept vehicles due to improper documentation, while desperately looking for ways to pass entries for over N2bn of inauguration costs.”

Responding to the allegations, the Edo State Government said Governor Monday Okpebholo would expose PDP’s eight-year rot in the state.

A statement by Fred Itua, the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, noted that no amount of blackmail would stop the Okpebholo-led administration from recovering the commonwealth of the people from a few dubious men.

Itua posited that the 14-day government of Monday Okpebholo was in a hurry to develop Edo State and had remained undaunted in living up to the people’s expectations.

He described e-payment as a good initiative by the CBN but maintained that its cashless policy operational style with the commercial banks in Nigeria has become obviously a calculated effort to increase the hardship confronting Nigerians since the petroleum subsidy removal in the country.

Uguru, who is known as the Agbarungele 1 of Izhi Nnodo Clan, made this known, weekend, in Abakaliki, while interacting with journalists during the Izzi Development Union, IDU’s 2024 end-year party.

The lawmaker said he had prepared a bill to present before the National Assembly, saying his concern would be on tackling the CBN’s harsh cashless policies, by bringing back a healthy transaction in the country’s commercial banks without any further delay.

His words: “I have a bill that is on ground now; just go to any bank today, you see, nobody gives cash. I thought this ugly development took place only in the Southeast region of Nigeria.

“I would have presented the bill last week, but it’s coming up next week. When I went to Abuja, I put in a cheque for N400,000, and the commercial banker said he would only give me N10,000.

“Otherwise, I would have hit back that the easterners were not treated well. Little did I know that the cashless problem is a national issue, but when you go to POS people, you see them with mint, and you buy from them.

"Who is causing this cashless problem? It’s the Federal government through the Central Bank of Nigeria.

“This is the trouble we are facing in Nigeria: who is fooling who? Where are we going? I think this is the area Mr President should look into seriously.

“We see him as a President who has done a lot to improve the lives of Nigerians.

"However, people misconstrue a lot, like I mentioned, their expectations, and they have to be patient with Mr President.

“But Mr President should also not think it will take a donkey years to fix the country; otherwise, the people’s patience will elapse.

“Mr President is trying a lot, but there are some of his subordinates, like in the Central Bank of Nigeria who are sabotaging his good efforts.

“Why should the bank – commercial banks throughout the whole country expect you to do e-payment, especially now we are entering the festive period?

“How do the banks expect people to make e-payments to your mother in the village when you want to buy pepper and other items for her?

“Much as we agreed that e-payment reduces theft and other crimes, there’s no way somebody will come to the farm to harvest rice, and you begin to tell her of money transfer. Does she know what POS is?

“So, there is no money in commercial banks, and now we realize that it is not the fault of the commercial banks because, imagine where Central Bank gives N200,000 to a commercial bank and the CBN will be coming to monitor them, yet the same CBN sells to the POS people mints as much they want.

“If the POS person wants N100 million, they will get it from CBN, mints.

“I, Emmanuel Uguru went and bought the mints as well. I didn’t buy the mints because I needed them, but I used them as proof so that nobody would say it was not true.

“From my findings, the efforts of Mr President to improve the livelihoods of Nigeria have been sabotaged.”

This was disclosed by Lt. Col. Jonah Unuakhalu in a statement he released on Monday night.

He said the operation took place inside a forest in Umuaku Isuochi, Umunneochi LGA of Abia State, adding that the operation was carried out after credible information was received.

The statement also said that the troops at early hours of Monday raided a camp allegedly belonging to the Eastern Security Network in Isiala Ngwa North LGA, along the Imo River axis and destroyed the camp.

He disclosed that some arms, vehicles and other items were recovered from the camp and other camps in Imo State where similar raids were carried out.

During a recent two-day meeting in Jos, Plateau State, the PDP governors claimed that electoral irregularities prevented the party’s candidate, Asue Ighodalo, from winning in Edo.

They PDP governors also accused INEC of rigging in the recent Ondo election.

They alleged that INEC altered results to benefit the APC and urged the judiciary and lawmakers to enhance electoral laws to combat what they referred to as “institutional sabotage of the will of the people”.

In response, Rotimi Oyekanmi, Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, called the allegations “unfortunate and inappropriate,” emphasizing that INEC, as a law-abiding body, cannot comment on ongoing court matters.

Oyekanmi criticized the PDP governors for engaging in a “media trial”, encouraging them to present their evidence in court instead of making unsubstantiated claims publicly.

He pointed out that the PDP has filed a petition at the tribunal to contest the Edo State governorship election results, suggesting they should provide their evidence there.

Regarding the Ondo State election, Oyekanmi defended INEC’s performance, labeling it one of the best elections conducted by the Commission.

He urged political parties to adopt a spirit of sportsmanship, stating, “It is not healthy to accept the outcome of an election only when you win.”

DAILY POST recalls that the electoral body had declared Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) winner of the Edo election with 291,667 votes, with the PDP candidate, Dr. Asue Ighodalo, securing 247,274 votes. Labour Party’s Olumide Akpata came third with 22,761 votes.

Similarly, in Ondo, INEC declared Lucky Aiyedatiwa as the winner of the governorship election that was held on Nov 14 defeating the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, candidate Agboola Ajayi, and Olorunfemi Festus of the Labour Party.

In an interview with Sun, Shettima said some of the policies of the present administration do not give hope to the common Nigerians.

According to him, “there is nothing bad in dropping a policy that does not give hope to the people”.

"They should come up with policies that will allow Nigerians to breathe”.

Shettima further said, “that an economic policy has worked somewhere successfully does not mean it must work here in Nigeria. So, the government must be very sensitive concerning the policy models they import into our situation.

“This country is hugely blessed and there is no reason for Nigerians to be in this mess if the government decides to be more sensitive to the plight of the people. Yes, there is hunger, there is insecurity and Nigerians want to see gradual progress taking place.

"Yes, the time may still be too short for an objective assessment of this government, yet something better than what Nigerians are experiencing is possible.

“So, the onus is still on the government to raise the leadership bar that will inspire hope on the people”.

He, however, blamed the current economic woes on the immediate past government led by Mohammed Buhari, saying it will take years to correct their errors.

"The reality as I have said is that the government cannot reverse the damage of the Buhari regime as easily as most Nigerians think.

“They cannot even reverse all the mess in four years, but Nigerians should begin to see conscious relief, improvement and the government coming up with policies that give hope”, he added.

The details of the findings were disclosed in the Auditor-General’s Annual Report on Non-Compliance and Internal Control Weaknesses, covering activities between 2020 and 2021.

These violations include irregular payment for contracts, and payment for jobs partially executed or not executed at all, contravening the country’s financial regulations and procurement laws.

Specifically, N7.386 billion was the amount of irregularities in the award of contracts by 32 MDAs.

REA topped the chart with N2.12 billion while NSPM recorded the least with N11.7 million.

“The sum of N7,386,551,051.09 (seven billion, three hundred and eighty-six million, five hundred and fifty-one thousand, fifty-one naira, nine kobos) was the number of irregularities in the award of contracts by 32 ministries, departments and agencies.

"The Rural Electrification Agency, Abuja, has the highest amount of N2,117,143,168.09 (two billion, one hundred and seventeen million, one hundred and three thousand, one hundred and sixty-eight naira, nine kobo), while the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company Plc (NSPM) has the least amount of N11,720,000 (Eleven million, seven hundred and twenty thousand,” the report indicated.

The worst revelation of the report showed that the sum of N167.59 billion was paid for jobs or contracts that were either partially executed or not executed at all. This contravenes Paragraph 708 of the Financial Regulations, which prohibits payments for services or goods not yet delivered.

In this aspect, the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc, an agency in the country’s power sector accounted for N100 billion of these irregular payments, making it the highest in this category. Meanwhile National Centre for Women Development recorded the lowest irregularity at N2.17 million.

The report read, “The sum of N167,592,177,559.40 (one hundred and sixty-seven billion, five hundred and ninety-two million, one hundred and seventy-seven thousand, five hundred and fifty-nine naira, forty kobos) was the number of payments for jobs/contracts not executed by 31 ministries, departments and agencies.

"The Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc., Abuja, has the highest amount of N100,000,000,000.00 (one hundred billion naira), while the National Centre for Women Development has the least amount of N2,171,766.44 (two million, one hundred and seventy-one thousand, seven hundred and sixty-six naira, forty-four kobo).”

Similarly, the report also uncovered violations of due process in contract awards amounting to N20.33 billion across 24 MDAs.

The violations are against Section 16(21) of the Public Procurement Act (PPA) 2007 which requires strict adherence to procurement plans and mandatory approvals before contract awards. Meanwhile, the audit report found that these requirements were often ignored or violated. The report showed that NSPM, a subsidiary of CBN was responsible for the highest amount of due process violations, totaling N14.14 billion, while the Corporate Affairs Commission had the least, at N8.98 million.

"The sum of N20,334,104,016.27 (twenty billion, three hundred and thirty-four million, one hundred and four thousand, sixteen nairas, twenty-seven kobo) was the number of contracts awarded in violation of due process by 24 ministries, departments and agencies.

The Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company Plc Abuja has the highest amount of N14,136,472,333.16 (fourteen billion, one hundred and thirty-six million, four hundred and seventy-two thousand, three hundred and thirty-three naira, sixteen kobos) while the Corporate Affairs Commission has the least amount of N8,980,603.72 (eight million, nine hundred and eighty thousand, six hundred and three naira, seventy-two kobo),” it added.

Financial corruption has been the bane of Nigeria’s problem. In July 2024, the National Bureau of Statistics’s corruption survey report showed that Nigerians paid N721 billion as bribes to public officials in 2023.

jamesversion:
Atiku should give his ambition a rest. His ambition is the primary reason for the disunity in the party.

How can one man contest the presidential primary almost every election year.

jamesversion:
Wike and Atiku are the two principal problems of PDP.

Chairman of the PDP Governors Forum and Governor of Bauchi State, Bala Mohammed, made the assertion at the end of a meeting on Saturday in Jos.

Mohammed said the party will overcome all its challenges, adding that the ‘minor setbacks’ would soon be over.

He called on lovers of the PDP and Nigerians in general not to lose hope in the party.

“The Forum notes the concerns of Nigerians, the founding fathers, elders and members of our great party about the seeming divisions within its rank and file.

“The Forum, however, wishes to state categorically that it remains resolute in its determination to ensure unity and cohesion within the party.

"This is a party that Nigerians have come to trust as the best platform to provide democratic governance to all; it is still the party to beat,” he said.

The chairman also called on the party’s National Working Committee, NWC, to convey a meeting of the National Executive Council, NEC, as part of measures to address internal wranglings.

He commended members of the National Assembly elected under the platform of the party for their contributions toward the growth of democracy.

Mohammed, however, called on the leadership of the National Assembly to critically interrogate all bills to ensure fairness, equity, national balance and even development.

The governor, who noted with deep concern the current economic crisis in the country, called on President Bola Tinubu to urgently review his administration’s macro-economic and fiscal policies to address the welfare and well-being of Nigerians.

While commending Governor Caleb Mutfwang for hosting his colleagues in Plateau, Mohammed, equally commiserated with the government and people of the state over the recent fire outbreak at a wood market.

koxyz:
Based on past antecedents, it has always been a distraction.

koxyz:
The governor should settle down and work,he should avoid unnecessary distractions that lead to nowhere.

DAILY POST reports that the chairman of the committee, Kelly Okungbowa who disclosed this to newsmen on Friday in Benin City, said three vehicles have been recovered in a private residence.

Okungbowa listed the three vehicles as one Hilux van and two Toyota Hiace buses.

He also disclosed that in one of the Toyota Hiace buses, the committee recovered some palliatives that were meant to have been shared to the people of the state.

He added that the palliatives include bags of garri and rice of 10 kilograms and 25 kilograms.

Okungbowa, however, appealed for more information from members of the public, assuring that whistleblowers would be handsomely rewarded.

“Yesterday, we were inaugurated, and we promised to follow the law to carry out the mandate of Mr Governor which is to recover all missing government vehicles in private hands.

“We are glad to inform the people of Edo State that we have recorded success within 24 hours of our inauguration.

[b]"I am glad to announce to you that we have recovered one Hilux and two Toyota Hiace buses in private custody. You see that within 24 hours we have made success and recovered some vehicles.

“We assure the Edo people and the State Government that we are going to do the job to the best of our ability. We will make sure we recover all the stolen vehicles.

"Reports reaching us are that we have over 200 government vehicles missing. We appeal for more information as the whistleblowers will be handsomely rewarded.

“This is not private property but the property of Edo citizens and it is not good for a private individual to steal government property.

“This vehicle was recovered from one person’s house. Palliatives were recovered from the Toyota Hiace bus as some garri and bags of rice were kept in the bus.



“We are just wondering how many will be in the houses of former government officials like the Chief of Staff, SSG, and so-called Deputy Governor which is not known by law.

“We appeal to former government officials and other citizens holding back government vehicles to return the vehicles within 48 hours.

“Information is key as these three vehicles recovered this morning as a result of information.

“We need more information as we are moving to other places where we have been informed that government vehicles are parked. There has not been resistance so far because security agencies are backing our operations,[/b]” he said.

Kam2021:
The Wike and the G5 you are accusing have a good number of people who won election at different levels in their state. They have and are still winning elections for the party in the state.So how are they destroying the party?
You think it's easy for PDP to win a state like Rivers in an opposition government?If it were so Imo should be a PDP state.
But you that claim to be saving the PDP how many PDP members are elected in your states?

A member of the House of Representatives from Ideato North and South Federal Constituency of Imo State, Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere Ikeagwuonu, has said the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike wants to destroy the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

Ugochinyere accused Wike of playing childish and kindergarten politics which should be stopped by PDP governors.

He disclosed this while featuring on Channels TV’s Politics Today on Friday.

According to Ugochinyere: “The way PDP is going and the role he’s playing in staying with APC to do their work while insisting that the leadership of the party would remain when they have no legal status to remain in office all points to the fact that they want to destroy PDP.

"I blame some of the PDP governors and leaders who are not man enough to stop this childish, kindergarten politics – it’s a child’s play.

“I don’t understand why you have a national Chairman and Secretary of a party who seems to be in bed with the ruling party and people are comfortable with that.

“They are filing cases to keep themselves in office, Wike and his G-5 people are working for APC while they are still struggling for control of PDP with us.

“Do you think that is decent or how democracy was built in Nigeria? If Azikiwe and Awolowo were alive, do you think such people running around like clowns now will be in the midst of conversations?”

PressMyButton:
That was Buhari, this is Tinubu.
Seems you quickly forgot how Military dealt with Okuoma community earlier this year.

cc; zooposki

chrisxxx:
Can you stand the sound of war helicopter 🚁?
Can you stand the sight of military men in camouflage?
Can you stand the smell of marine gunboat?

PressMyButton:
My friend, read and cure your low understanding. The court order is subsisting and when FAAC is being shared Fubara won't receive one Kobo from LG's share.

PressMyButton:
Oya carry your thin legs and go and face him. Tell him you want to blow up pipelines and there's nothing he can do.

Cat9:
Your fish brain wouldn’t let you know that those you are pointing out works for the Nigerian government and they are feeding fat from the government.

Cat9:
Your fish brain wouldn’t let you know that those you are pointing out works for the Nigerian government and they are feeding fat from the government.

PressMyButton:
Dey play, Tompolo go clear una finish.

PressMyButton:
It has been stopped already, can't you read.