₦airaland Forum

Handsomecole:
Yes! He has to avoid the debate and it's not because of Oshiomole's absence but because the sham called debate was padded. It was organized by the PDP so why should he honour such ??

NextGovernor:
Guy you are not in Edo State not to talk of Esan North East LG.

thesicilian:
What achievements?!

KINGinVAHALA:
[s]Hahahahaha, I really need to laught john yakubu, yakubu a mere former Esan north east local govt chairman being Oshiomole problem?

Though we are from the same village but you should stop given yourself hope mr yakubu. Yeah, I know PDP are going to win Uromi but isnt it only Uromi and maybe 2 other local govt in Edo Central? But same can't be said about APC and winning Edo north, its without doubt a block vote for Apc in Edo north.

You talked about oshiomole being after you, but we all watched you on ITV last week when you were interviewed rainy curses on oshiomole, so who is really after the other?

And least I forget, so bad you have stopped talking about your achievement when you were Esan north east LG govt chairman because the last chairman who is apc, Sam oboh made your assumed achievements seems nothing with what he did as chairman, under 4yrs.[/s]

By Emmanuel Aziken, Political Editor

Mr. John Yakubu, the deputy governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in the Edo State governorship election was recently on the spot after he was lampooned as a disadvantage to the PDP ticket at a rally of the All Progressives Congress, APC.

Governor Oshiomhole had during the campaign stop particularly accused Yakubu, a former chairman of Esan North East Local government area of being a serial loser who would not bring any benefit to the PDP ticket. On the sideline of an interaction between political editors and the PDP leadership in Benin, Yakubu was put to task on the tag put on him.

Challenged on the circumstances that led to his failure to take the helms at the Esan North East council for the second time in 2013, Yakubu said:

“In spite of the fact that the governor appointed the officials, who conducted that poll, I defeated his party. Even when issues over that election got to the court, the presiding judge did mention that it was shameful for the chairman of the Edo State Independent Electoral Commission, Solomon Ogor, to have released results that were not collated. While we were still at the collation centre in Uromi with the state Commissioner of Police, the Returning Officer and the media, the Comrade …invited Ogor and wrote the results for him. Someone had to call my attention, while we were still at the collation centre that Edo Broadcasting Service was announcing results.”

On the comments by Governor Oshiomhole that he is a serial election loser, he said the misunderstanding between the two of them arose from his refusal to give consent for the compulsory deduction of his local government funds by the state authorities.

“At a particular meeting, the governor directed the 18 local government chairmen in the state to release 10 per cent of their allocations to him. But I said that I have to consult my people back home before I can cede even a kobo to him. Before the end of that meeting, a memo came out from nowhere and our names were on it. The memo was passed to us but when it got to me, I said that it was impossible for me to sit down at the meeting and cede funds belonging to my local government to anybody and I passed it to the next person.

“The other council chairmen signed but I refused because there is no law that says that I should release my local government’s fund to the state. In fact, there is a provision in the law, which says that the state should give the local governments 10 per cent from the Internally Generated Revenue of the state. I insisted that I won’t give out money that came from Abuja and meant for my people until I consult them.

After the governor had taken N.5 billion (500 million) from the councils, I wrote a petition to the State House of Assembly and what was Oshiomhole’s defence: ‘The council chairmen signed for the deduction of 10 per cent from their allocation but that the chairman of Esan North-East Local Government Area did not sign and for that reason, his council’s money was not taken.”

“When my council’s money was withheld for about five months, a commissioner in the Oshiomhole government, advised me to decamp to the ruling party in the state, so that the money could be released. Fortunately for me, we had a meeting with the governor that day and I confronted him with his commissioner’s proposal. In the presence of the 18 council chairmen and their deputies, the governor said: ‘Yakubu, I have a machine gun in my hand and I will fire you from a distance.’”

In the face of what he describes as the attack on his person, he further asserted that the PDP ticket would respond with their policies and plans for the state. “While the governor continues to take his time to talk about me, we will keep educating the people of Edo Sate why the local governments are suffering. The councils are not doing anything not because they don’t have money but because the …took the money from them.

“He is doing this despite the fact that the state Assembly passed a resolution directing that he should stop the deduction and refund the N500 million he collected. The papers are there to verify this. So, it is unfortunate for the governor to talk about John Yakubu not winning elections.” Concluding, he posited that even if the election were between him and the outgoing governor, that he, Yakubu would triumph.

“But I can assure you that if I have an election today with Governor Oshiomhole in Edo State, I am quite sure that I will defeat him.” Unfortunately for him, that is a boast that cannot be tested given that Oshiomhole has himself paid his dues and is exiting after two terms.

As I write this, the question is echoing louder and louder: so what has changed? If a guber nomination form costs N126 million, how much will the presidential nomination form cost?

By Eddy Odivwri

Given the near putrid state of the Nigerian nation on all fronts, the quest for a new experience was a burning desire of many Nigerians including even those who were active members of the then ruling party—the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

That explains why the mantra of “Change” introduced by the All Progressives Congress (APC) caught up like wildfire. Even babies helped to echo the monosyllabic word: Change, whenever there is a loud hail of A-Pee-Ceee

The imperative of change could not be over-emphasized. And the unstated understanding was that with the advent of the said change, Nigeria will experience a radical transformation from all the challenges and drawbacks she has suffered, to a new order defined by a new lease of life where all the odds of the past have been thrown into the abyss.

But 15 months after, there is yet a furtive search for those things which have changed.
In this piece, I will deliberately stay away from the economy which has been a sore point facing the government, resulting in Nigeria losing the status of having the largest economy in Africa. South Africa, during the week, was declared as having displaced Nigeria; just two years after Nigeria held the position.

I was shocked when I read of the pending Ondo State gubernatorial contest, where in the APC, governorship aspirants are expected to collect the guber form with the sum of N126 million. Yes, N126milliom! For form!
These are some of the things we condemned loudly under the PDP government.
How can a form, just a form, cost as much as N126 million, especially in party that promises change?

If form alone will cost as much, it can only be imagined the trailer load of sacks of money that will be poured into the campaign itself. It is even more curious that the N126 million could just go with the wind after the primaries where only one of the many aspirants will emerge as candidate.

Given the ascetic disposition of Mr President who had to approach his bank to obtain facility to enable him collect the presidential form at N25 million last year, Nigerians had expected a remarkable slash in the cost of forms for the party’s aspirants, especially as Buhari had complained at the time, of the huge cost of the form. Conversely however, what Nigerians have seen is the hike in the cost of forms in the APC, far higher than that of PDP.

In the September 10 guber contest in Edo State, for instance, PDP aspirants collected their forms initially with N16 million. This was then reduced to N13million, with the form itself costing N10 million, and the Expression of Interest costing N2million while administrative charges is put at N1million.

Now the danger with such huge pre-election expenses is that whoever emerges from such a capital-intensive system, will ab initio, set out on a recovery mission, if elected. No matter how gospelled such an official maybe, the primary attention will be to pursue, catch up and overtake his expenses profile via unbridled project/contract padding. Little wonder that the criticized practice of ten per cent kick-back, in the second republic, now looks like kiddies’ joke.

The APC had appeared flaked with socialist flavour, in direct opposite of the bohemian PDP. It is thus such a smoking irony that the nomination form of the APC guber election is not only higher than the vilified PDP, but even higher than the amount used to collect the presidential form last year, in the same APC.

As I write this, the question is echoing louder and louder: so what has changed? If a guber nomination form costs N126 million, how much will the presidential nomination form cost?

Or is it the cost of dollar that has affected the nomination forms?
The idea of using the nomination forms to generate huge sums required to run the election is anachronistic and backward mentality. There are nobler ways of generating money in a party.

The other implication of the expensive forms is that it effectively knocks out good but non-stupendously rich aspirants. That way, the contest is reserved only for money-bags, who are most likely going to rape the treasury of the state, when they are elected. The consequence is that we will have office occupiers who will make no meaningful impact in the lives of the ordinary men and women on the street. And as they say, the beat goes on.

Were it not so, if just 50 per cent of all the budgets so far executed in the last 17 years were actually deployed for the good of society, Nigeria would have been remarkably transformed.

It is noteworthy that the Jonathan administration had mooted the idea of streamlining campaign funds, in a way that it won’t be this humongous. But the administration, like in many other such issues, did not have the political will to implement it, as it actually provoked wild dollar-rain before and during the 2015 general election. It is the effect of that mindless dollar-rain that we are yet to recover from today, more than 15 months after. Those in the political fray at the time, know what I am saying.

All said, the APC must make conscious effort to distinguish itself from the malaise of the past administration. Already, the harsh economic pinch on every Nigeria is querying the change mantra. But it will be far worse an interrogation if the APC begins to beat and surpass the notorious and reprobate acts and records associated with the PDP. Let the Change be visible!

castrokins:
Guess You Meant To Say "Tamper"?

Pierocash:
[s] does he want to chair,to chair and teach them how to loot d common wealth of d people,teach them hw to create and sponsor militancy should they loose election inorder to sabotage d economy and make d country ungovernable for d winner.ride on Jonacrook,ur days are numbered,Kuje loading.....[/s]

blackpanda:
Election Observers?? Really Lolz



How the mighty have fallen!

XaintJoel20:
I see Nigeria disintegrating soon..

IllegalMoney:





Ali Modu Sheriff is a stubborn he-goat, he will on Monday go to a Justice Abang Okon presided Federal High Court to seek an injunction to stop the PDP convention.

Chigold101:
Which of the primaries did INEC sent a rep to?
This is what will determine the outcome of this matter.


This is not about supreme court or even any court issue.

MadamExcellency:
This must be a joke and a lie of the year.

Edo State sacked 7000 State civil servants at a go in the year 2000?


What was the total workforce then?

NextGovernor:
My friend if you don't know what to say keep quite.

Landloard01:
wicked.. This small thing, you go express am the other way round? You must be an expert in that filed. I just the look you. I no fit laf jare..

https://kokofeed.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/MikelObiChelsea.jpg

Quoting the Scriptural passage which says that ‘my people perish for lack of knowledge’ and ‘ where there is no vision the people perish,

Mboi:
I just saw this and was surprised of what Comrade Adams Oshimole has turned to.
http://dailypost.ng/2016/08/11/owe-pensioners-four-years-arrears-oshiomhole/#

I owe pensioners only four years arrears – Oshiomhole

Gov. Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State says his administration is owing only four years of unpaid pensions after settling nine years pensioners’ entitlements.

Oshiomhole told State House correspondents in Abuja on Thursday that contrary to the allegation by the opposition, he was not leaving behind a huge liability for his successor.

The opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo had alleged that the present administration’s failure to pay pensioners’ arrears might cripple the incoming administration in the state.

“From 1998 when the Army left, to 1999 and to the end of 2008 when I took over, that was a period of 13 years.

“So, we found a pension bill of 13 years, arrears of gratuity and pension not paid by the PDP government including the 7,000 people they dismissed.

“When I assumed duties at the end of 2008, I had two options. There was this temptation to say that I would be paying those who retired during my tenure.

“But, as a former labour leader, I asked myself that if an employer was so callous to carry out massive retrenchment of workers as the PDP did by sacking 7,000 and permanent secretaries and did not pay them gratuity, is it the fault of those workers?

“So, I accepted the fact that government is a continuum.

“So, as we speak today, we have paid all those who pensioned in 1998 and 1999, all the ones they dismissed in 2000 and those who retired from 2001, 2002, 2003 up to 2011.

“So, I have paid pension arrears of 13 years even though I have been in government for only seven years plus.’’

The governor, who maintained that having cleared 10 years pension and gratuities arrears, assured that his administration would settle part of the outstanding four years pensions before handing over power to a new government. (NAN)

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu has said that he is contesting to right the many wrongs of the last seven and a half years by the All Progressives Congress(APC) government in the state.

He said the spiritual and physical situation of Edo State during the period is very bad with the people who voted for change mourning at the increasing level of poverty across the land orchestrated by a failed government.

Ize-Iyamu in the company of his wife, who is also a Pastor of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, spoke while addressing over 100 Pentecostal Ministers who converged on the Church Hall of the Christian Gospel Mission under the aegis of the Christian Leaders Forum in Benin City yesterday.”

One does not want to contest because one is a Pastor. In Edo State, people are mourning. Poverty has not been as established as we see it today. There is no time in our state that cultism has been promoted than in the last seven and a half years”, he said.

He explained that he is seeking the office of governor to right the wrongs of bad governance by a government that has not only promoted vices and banality but deployed state resources for that purpose in the state, adding‎ “a lot of things are wrong with our state.

Things are wrong spiritually. Things are wrong physically. I am going to government as your representative. I am going to government as your voice. I will not disappoint you or destroy your confidence”.

Quoting the Scriptural passage which says that ‘my people perish for lack of knowledge’ and ‘ where there is no vision the people perish, the PDP candidate challenged the Pastors to question the outrageous expenses of the outgoing government in terms of receipts from statutory allocations to date.

Presenting the gathering with copies of what he called ‘my covenant with Edo people’, called ‘SIMPLE Agenda’, Pastor Ize-Iyamu said the document is designed to let Edo People know of his plans if elected as governor.

The document, he said details how he plans to change the present state of despair across the length and breadth of Edo State into one of hope where once again the dignity of every person will be restored and the air of poverty blown away for good.

In his own remarks, the state Chairman of the PDP, Chief Dan Orbih appreciated the Minsters of the gospel for availing the party of a man of Ize-Iyamu’s calibre and assured them of good governance if he is elected governor in September.

splenzard:
mehn OP this post long o.


I think we should starting teaching summary

on nairaland.



[s] meanwhile Obaserki (hope I got that) already

got Edo[/s]