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If not Buhari, Nigeria would have collapsed – Odigie-Oyegun
dailypost.ng


National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), John Odigie-Oyegun, has stated that had President Muhammadu Buhari not put in place various diversification efforts upon his assuming office in 2015, Nigeria would have collapsed.

He said the present administration was building a new economic model which will be sustainable, production-based and will diversify from oil to agriculture, solid minerals and other viable sectors.

Odigie-Oyegun said this at the APC National Secretariat in Abuja when he received political leaders from Delta Central Senatorial district, who defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the APC.

The decampees were led by Johnson Boro, former Commissioner in the Delta State Oil Producing Area Development Commission (DESOPADEC).

Other decampees are: Immediate-past PDP Chairman, Ughelli South LGA, Francis Aguonigho; Sleek Oshare; Isaiah Kekeje; Mathew Kwode; Robert Ojo; Sunny Ogbududu; David Edonor; Comrade Saturday Nukueye and Charles Otaiye.

The APC National Chairman stated that with the globally decrease in the demand for oil, Nigeria’s economic mainstay, the need to diversify the Nigerian economy has become increasingly imperative.

He added that the efforts of the Buhari administration will be evident in a few years as the country will be counted as one of the industrial power houses in Africa.

Odigie-Oyegun said: “Economically, things are difficult, there is no question about it. But in spite of that people of your quality sat down and still want to join the boat, because you have seen the future and you know the future belong to a changed country. A country that produces, not only consumes.

“In the last sixteen years of previous administrations, we just consumed. Thank God this nation brought President Buhari at the point it was about to collapse and all we are doing today is putting the pieces back together again. It is a difficult experience and as a result of that our people are going through some hardship. But there is no question at all, that you can see the silver lining that is on the way.

“By the end of this year, we will be net exporters of rice, today we have started to export formally yam. Today we are about certain that all the grains in this country can be produce locally. These are all part of the building blocks towards the Nigeria that we foresee in another year or two. So, tremendous is progress is being made to reverse the road at which we were travelling, to build a new economy, an economy based on what we can produce. An economy based on agriculture, based on our solid minerals.

“It is clear today that oil is gone. Britain has declared that in 40 years vehicles that consume fossil fuel will be phased out. The United States of America and other countries of Europe have made similar declarations. So it is fortunate that President Buhari is today in office taking us painfully through the process of change such that this nation will be counted in another few years as one of the industrial power houses of the African continent.”.

While welcoming the new entrants to the APC, Odigie-Oyegun said one of the resolutions of the Party’s National Leadership was to bring the South-South back into the mainstream of Nigerian politics. The APC National Chairman described the zone as one of the “strongest pillar for unity” in the country.

“I cannot resist but speak like somebody from the South-South on this very special occasion even though I belong to the nation as APC National Chairman.

“The point about us is that we are not tribal. The South-South is perhaps the strongest pillar for unity in this nation. The reality about the South-South is because we believe in the unity and oneness of this nation so strongly, we are ready to work with anybody who stands for one nation and one Nigeria.

“Today, two years now we have a new regime of change. Unfortunately to a large extent, we missed the boat. We have only one state in the entire South-South, Edo State. It is our resolve here at national headquarters to bring the South-South back into the mainstream of Nigerian politics. Because at the greatest point of danger for this country, it was the South-Southerners that stood firm at risk to themselves, at risk to their lives that this nation must remain one,” the APC national Chairman said.

He said with the new entrants from Delta Central, another solid block had been added to the APC’s aspiration to bring Delta State and indeed the South-South into the Progressives fold.

“I know how crucial central is in Delta state and with your entry into the Party, we have firmed up the central and can project from there to take Delta State and eventually take the entire South-South. Today we are adding one more solid block towards the unity, development and great of this country.

“I am aware there are scores of you, but because the ceremony is taking place at the National Secretariat, we had to limit the number of persons who could come, I know that at the appropriate time we will have a great big unity rally in Delta state where all those who have joined us in the recent past will be formally received and where we will also formally launch the movement for the recovery of Delta state,” the APC National Chairman said.

Speaking earlier, the APC National Vice Chairman (South-South), Prince Hilliard Eta said the defection of the PDP leaders from Delta Central to the APC was testimony of the paradigm shift being witnessed in the South-South.

Eta: “As you are aware, the other Party hitherto was in domination of our zone but because of the good work of this government, because of the leadership of this Party, there has been a paradigm shift. Our people are moving from the other party to the progressive family to actualise the development of the South-South, the Niger Delta and indeed Nigeria. It is in that line that we have distinguished sons of Delta State who have come to add value to our Party in Delta state, in the South-South region and in Nigeria.”

Chief Johnson Boro who led the decampees thanked the APC leadership, particularly the National Chairman for the reception. “We are extremely delighted with the reception you have accorded us today. We now believe that we are coming to a home where we will be accepted.“ He said.

Other APC National Working Committee (NWC) members at the meeting included: National Secretary, Hon. Mai Mala Buni; Deputy National Chairman (North), Sen. Lawal Shuaibu; Deputy National Chairman (South), Engr, Segun Oni and Deputy National Secretary, Hon. Tombari Giadom.

Niger Delta owes Atiku a debt – Reno



Bestselling author, Reno Omokri, has said that the Niger Delta region owes former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar a debt.
Pastor Omokri who shared a picture showing Atiku Abubakar in conversation with the British Prime Minister, Theresa May, also hinted that the former VP is serious about restructuring and is willing to hold talks with world leaders over Nigeria’s restructuring.’

Omokri said that the Niger Delta region owes Atiku a debt because it was the former VP that persuaded Ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo to return to oil producing states the offshore revenues earlier denied them by Buhari during his first coming in 1984.
Reno Omokri: Atiku Abubakar and Theresa May at the background

According to him, “Look carefully behind me. Guess who you see speaking with Theresa May? Restructuring on the agenda.
“Please pray for Waziri Atiku Abubakar if you support restructuring.

“In 1984, Major General Mohammed Buhari (rtd) reduced the amount of derivation funds paid to oil producing states to a paltry 1.5 % by military fiat and excluded the offshore oil revenues from derivation.

“In 2001, Atiku Abubakar persuaded Obasanjo to go for a political solution that returned offshore revenues to oil producing states. In 2004 it became law. The Niger Delta owes this man a debt!”

I have no regrets stopping Obasanjo's third term agenda - Nnaman‎i
dailypost.ng

Former Senate president, Ken Nnamani, has stated that he has no regrets truncating the third term bid of former president Olusegun Obasanjo.

Nnamani said if given another opportunity, he would still preside over the stoppage of the botched agenda.

“Yes, I presided over the plenary for third term, and all that I needed was to call a spade by its name.

“If I have the opportunity to do it again, I will do the same thing,” he said.

He made this comment while speaking at a National Seminar on the theme “Unity in diversity: Security and national development” held at the Department of State Services’ (DSS) Institute of Security Studies in Abuja.

Nnamani reiterated his call for restructuring of the country.

He added, “What I want to talk about is the issue of general agitations. I hope you don’t go with the comment of the former Inspector General of Police (IGP), Solomon Arase, that if you obey Mr President as a symbol of Nigeria, you have obeyed the country. It is not necessarily correct in all cases.

“If you read the revelation of the Governor of Ekiti State, Ayo Fayose, about Obasanjo, which has not been denied, you will understand that the statement from Arase is not true. For instance, he said on the issue of third term that Nnamani cannot go free, whatever that means I don’t know.

“Those against restructuring or devolution of power to the state will later see the need for it. If only we can make haste while the sun shines it might help our country. Each state in Nigeria has its own peculiarities. Yes, it might not be on equal proportion as of today.

“For instance, certain crops that grow in the North may have difficulty surviving in the South and the other way round. In my view, the South needs the North just as the North needs the South.

“So, the concept of any section being a parasite is not correct, because we are naturally endowed as a nation; and if we look properly inwards, we will identify those potential areas which we can turn into high productivity and revenue, we will find out that we are gifted and naturally blessed,” he said.

Mynd44:
https://www.nairaland.com/3966088/kogi-assembly-speaker-resigns-save

Why I Resigned - Kogi Assembly Speaker Reveals
nigerianeye.com

The crises rocking Kogi State House of Assembly took a new dimension yesterday, as, unexpectedly, the Speaker, Umar Ahmed, resigned his position.
Ahmed’s resignation came exactly a week after the 25-member House passed a vote of confidence on him and less than 48 hours after the Assembly was invaded by hoodlums that disrupted plenary.

The ex-Speaker, Ahmed, in the letter dated August 3, said he decided to throw in the towel to avert plunging the state into another round of crises and to save his life, which has been under intense death threat.

In his acceptance speech, the new Speaker, Kolawole, expressed gratitude to the members for reposing confidence in him, promising to do his best to take the assembly to enviable heights.

It was, however, gathered that it took the intervention of Senator Smart Adeyemi, who brokered peace between the Assembly and the executive to ensure the “amicable” resolution, prompting members of the House, which had initially adjourned indefinitely, to swallow their pride and call for a sitting 24 hours after the hoodlums’ invasion.

Constitution review: Why Presidential assent unnecessary - Saraki
nan.ng Aug




Saraki responds to questions from left: Editor-in-Chief, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Mallam Yusuf Zango; and a Deputy Editor-in-Chief/Head of Political Desk in NAN, Mr Olisa Ifeajika,
Saraki responds to questions from left: Editor-in-Chief, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Mallam Yusuf Zango; and a Deputy Editor-in-Chief/Head of Political Desk in NAN, Mr Olisa Ifeajika,
By Ifeanyi Nwoko

The President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki, has said that presidential assent was an unnecessary addition to the process of amendment of the Constitution.

He told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja that it was with conviction on that that the 8th National Assembly approved the removal of presidential assent to an amended constitution.

The 7th Assembly had in 2015, while reviewing the 1999 Constitution, approved the removal of presidential assent from the process of the amendment.

But, the then president, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, refused assent to the amendment because of the removal of the clause contained in Section 9 of the 1999 Constitution.

Jonathan had insisted that the amendment would have been valid if supported by votes of not less than four-fifth majority of all the members of each chamber of the National Assembly.

In addition, he said that it also ought to have been approved by a resolution of the House of Assembly of not less than two-thirds of all the states as provided by Section 9 (3) of the 1999 Constitution.

However, Saraki said that going by the process of amending the Constitution, the final decision of federal and state legislatures should be seen as the decision of the people.

“Well, to me, if two-thirds of the National Assembly agrees to something and two-thirds of the state assemblies also agree, in my view, the President should accept that as the wish of the people.

“Does he really need to assent? Personally, I don’t think so; that is my personal view, because with two-third of National Assembly, two-third of states’ assemblies, the people have spoken,” he said.

Saraki added that the senate would follow up on the amendment process in the states to ensure that there was wide consultation and sensitisation.

sarrki:
Stop breeding hate speech against a tribe

Cc myndd44

BBOG Convener ‘forced to resign’ over call for Buhari’s resignation

theeagleonline.com.ng


She had on August 1, 2017 made the decision to quit her position public on her Twitter handle

Indications have emerged that the Convener of the Bring Back Our Girls group, Aisha Yesufu, was forced to resign.
Yesufu had tendered her resignation as the leader of the group, creating the impression that she was leaving willingly.

She had on August 1, 2017 made the decision to quit her position public on her Twitter handle.
She tweeted: “Today i step aside for my sis Ms Florence Ozor @FlorenceOzor to take over as the new Chairperson. In our leader @obyezeks we have a teacher.”

However, sources told The Eagle Online that Yesufu, whose group is agitating for the return of the schoolgirls kidnapped from their hostel in Chibok, Borno State by the Boko Haram sect, was forced to resign based on her criticism of President Muhammadu Buhari in a video on her Twitter handle on May 19, 2017.

Highly reliable sources close to her and the group said after the open criticism by some members of the group over her call on Buhari to resign, which she said she did in her personal and not official capacity, there were indications that some members were going to remove her.

One of the sources said: “The pressure had been on since she posted the interview that Buhari should step aside to attend to his health.
“She was bitterly criticised for her call on Buhari to resign as president.

“It is not unlikely that government has deeply penetrated the group as many members of the body are in open support of the establishment.
“At a meeting we held before her resignation, members seriously contested the continued leadership of the #BBOG by Aisha Yesufu, hence the decision to make her step down.
“This was effected in order to avoid an outright vote of no confidence and to preserve the integrity of the group.”

A source said it had now become obvious that the group is now divided the pro and anti establishment forces.

The source insisted that Yesufu and a former Minister of Education, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, are the only minority voices still upholding the values that established the group, adding: “Many others have accepted a softer stance on the administration.”

In the controversial post on her Twitter handle, Yesufu had said: “When are we going to realise that this Acting President (arrangement) is really not just working out? Things are stagnant in Nigeria. For crying out loud, the President is sick, the President is not capable of discharging his duties as President. Why can’t he resign?
“Sickness can happen to anybody; nobody is wishing the President bad. The fact that he is sick does not mean he is going to die today or tomorrow; even someone who is as healthy as I am can drop dead. That is life.

“But for crying out loud, for how long are we going to wait and keep watching everything go into disarray? Who is going to sign the budget? We don’t know. The report on Babachir Lawal (SGF), what is happening to it? Why are we being held to ransom?

“It’s not about you, Mr President. Can you just take some time off to take care of yourself? May God give you good health, may God have mercy on you. What you are going through is from God and people go through it in different ways, but please, Mr. President, do not allow this to keep the rest of us in bondage.
“And for us Nigerians, it is time we woke up. The Acting President cannot do anything because he wants to be seen as a good man. We need to take our country back. Let the President resign and if he cannot resign, let the National Assembly do the right thing and let us have another President.

“It is not about President Muhammadu Buhari, it’s about Nigeria and right now, Nigeria is suffering and we cannot continue to allow this. Please, we have a lot of people who are supposed to be sacked but they cannot be sacked.”

After the post, a member of the BBOG, Waziri Bello, said they were shocked to hear such comments coming from their leader.
Bello, who spoke with the Hausa Service of the BBBC, said this could go a long way in depicting the comments as the position of the group.
He told BBC: “Most of us at the group were disappointed by her comments.
“Firstly, she said as a citizen that she was speaking for her own opinion.
“But we kicked against that because as the leader of this movement, whatever she says reflects us as the group.
“And then for her to come out and make this kind of comment could not be differentiated by the general public from this group and would consider it our stance.”
Bello said Yesufu’s position now portrayed her as a politician as it is a departure from the focus of the group.
He said if Yesufu has decided to turn a politician, she should leave the group to pursue her ambition.
He said: “If she wants to venture into politics, then she should resign and join politics so that she can continue to attack government.
“The 82 Chibok girls rescued have just reunited with their parents.
“So if anybody could make this call, our group should go against that person because this President was able to return 106 of our Chibok girls.
“Let us allow him to fulfill his promise to us.”
But Yesufu insisted that her comments were her personal opinion as a Nigerian.
She said: “My statement for Buhari to resign over his health issue has nothing to do with BBOG.
“It is A’ishe Yesufu’s view as a citizen of Nigeria.
“The president himself had once called on another president to resign.
“If I want to venture into politics, nobody can stop me.
“I only need to ask my husband and if he allows me, I will join.
“But I am not into politics.”