Amaechi slams Wike, says he knows nothing about seized N13bn

Minister of Transportation and immediate past governor of Rivers State Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi has dismissed the false claims by his successor Nyesom Wike that the $43,449,947, £27,800 and N23,218, 000 recovered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, from an Ikoyi apartment in Lagos belongs to him.

Wike and Amaechi

Wike, in a suspicious, hurriedly arranged press conference on Friday night, told journalists that ‘the money in question belongs to the former Rivers State Governor, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi.’ Wike also insinuated that the ‘houses’ in Ikoyi belong to Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi.

Amaechi in a statement titled ‘$43MILLION TALE: AMAECHI SLAMS WIKE’ released by his Media Office on Saturday, Amaechi described the claims as malicious, frivolous and another failed attempt by Wike to divert attention from the mess he has created in Rivers State.

According to the statement:
“Rivers State is perpetually in crisis, the state in a mess as Wike has made a total mess of governance in the State. That child who sits there as governor is confused, he doesn’t know what to do. Wike’s only solution is to attack Amaechi.”

“Since he became governor, Wike sleeps and wakes up everyday, with a sole, one-point agenda to attack and denigrate Rotimi Amaechi, no matter how ridiculous and silly he sounds. Everyday in Rivers State, there is one frivolous, false story of what Amaechi did or didn’t do. Same pattern, the same blatant lies with no proof, same old concocted stories of corruption allegations against Amaechi told with different flavours

At this rate, if Wike is unable to perform his spousal duties, he will blame it on Amaechi. Yes, that’s how despicably low he can go in his consuming fixation to throw mud at Amaechi.” 

“This latest outburst by Wike is typical of him. We are aware that Wike first tried to float the fake news of Amaechi’s ownership of the recovered $43million and the Ikoyi house in the social media using his minions and lackeys, spending huge sums of Rivers money on the failed project. His minions and lackeys were calling journalists, bloggers and media organizations to run the fake story with promises of almost irresistible mouth-watering compensation for using the fake story. When that failed and the story didn’t gain traction that was when Wike decided to hurriedly hold the press conference Friday night, to rant and spew his outright lies, yet again without providing any proof of Amaechi’s ownership of both the property and the money.”

“For clarity and emphasis, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi is not the owner of the $43million and the Ikoyi apartment in which the money was recovered from. Amaechi has no business, link or connection to the money or property. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi does not know who owns the money or Ikoyi apartment.”
“Wike’s malicious allegation of corruption against Amaechi in the sale of the Gas Turbines is not new.

This false claim has been punctured repeatedly with facts and evidence of the transfer payments for the power plants into Rivers State government accounts by Sahara Energy. The records of how the funds were spent and what it was spent on are in the records of the State government. Amaechi has absolutely no business or any interest whatsoever in Sahara Energy. The company was already a thriving business concern before Amaechi’s emergence as governor of Rivers State in 2007. 

“We urge all right-thinking members of the public to completely disregard all the false, politically motivated no-proof claims by Nyesom Wike and his minions as it concerns Amaechi and the $43million and Ikoyi property. 

“Yet again, we challenge Wike to charge Amaechi to court if he has any shred of evidence that the money belongs to Rivers State and was kept in the Ikoyi apartment by Amaechi. But like his numerous frivolous accusations in the past, we know he won’t go to court. He has nothing to substantiate his blatant lies. This Wike’s recent tale like his previous ones is a big sham, a disgraceful political drama, and a campaign of calumny to defame and destroy the sterling reputation of Rotimi Amaechi. This is now Wike’s sole life ambition.” 

“Finally, we want Nigerians to note that Wike’s reckless, irresponsible and fictitious tirade against the President Buhari administration at his media briefing of Friday is a declaration of war against the Federal Government. This has been his regular past time in recent times, making false allegations against the Federal government and threatening the President Buhari administration with fire and brimstone”, the statement concluded

LEE | Guardiola’s Growing Pains Represent an Opportunity

When the whistle sounded last Sunday at the Etihad Stadium, there was a palpable sense of relief around the stadium.  Liverpool and Manchester City had just played a breathless game of soccer, filled with end to end action, clear chances and controversial calls on both ends of the pitch. It was exactly the kind of edge-of-your-seat play which the Premier League has become famous for.

It is also a source of concern for Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola.

Since joining in the summer, Guardiola has found Manchester City to be a far different endeavour than any he has previously undertaken.  When he first entered management, he took on the helm of Catalan juggernaut Barcelona and turned it into one of the best sides ever, with the team becoming the only club to win six major trophies within a calendar year. Guardiola tasted similar success — albeit not to quite as great extent — with German giant Bayern Munich, winning three consecutive league titles in his three years at the helm.

Leaderboard 1

But key among these teams is that, prior to Guardiola’s leadership, they were already forces to be reckoned. Barcelona, despite a somewhat disappointing season in the previous year, was still composed of a core of Spanish national team players which would eventually deliver three straight major international trophies for the national team. Similarly, Bayern was hot off a treble when Guardiola joined. Manchester City, on the other hand, is very much a work in progress.

Summer signing John Stones, who cost a whopping 50 million pounds, resembles a newborn gazelle, both in his gangly running style and his inexplicably naive and self-destructive decision making on the ball. Center midfielder Fernandinho leads the league in red cards, while İlkay Gündoğan, who was signed to be Fernandinho’s midfield partner, has been injured more often than he has been fit. Guardiola himself has shouldered some of the blame for the team’s underperforming personnel; his decision to ship out fan-favorite Joe Hart in favor of bringing in Claudio Bravo has been roundly condemned due to poor performances of said keeper.

In addition to these shortcomings, the very nature of the Premier League clashes with Guardiola’s coaching style. Compared to the Bundesliga and La Liga, the Premiership is known for chaotic, end-to-end action, with patient possession taking a back seat to high-octane, vertical play. This chaos is seen in the league’s top two seeded teams. Chelsea and Tottenham trot out midfield pairings — Kante and Matic for the Blues, and Mousa Dembele and Victor Wanyama for Spurs — which are designed to destroy, not to control.

Leaderboard 2

Of course, criticism with the league-wide lack of control has come from all aisles. Former Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez has criticized the ease of scoring in the Premier League, citing that “the action is everywhere and the midfield is non-existent,” while Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas claimed that it was “easier to shine in England” compared to Spain because it was “much more crazy, out of control.”  Perhaps the most infamous quote comes from former Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp, who, as a form of tactical instruction, once told a player to “just fucking run around a bit.” Such a style of play is at great odds with a manager like Guardiola, who is famously fussy and has been repeatedly labelled a perfectionist.

However, despite all the stumbles he has had in England, Guardiola still has a career-defining opportunity in Manchester City. His tenure will afford him the chance to dispel what has been a recurring criticism of his: that his managerial success has largely been carried by world class players, and that his philosophy and skills as a manager has largely been peripheral to the success of his teams.

At each of his prior clubs, Guardiola has inherited elite players capable of playing in a distinctive style, but at Manchester City — as the chaotic, frenetic game against Liverpool would suggest — there is yet to be a cohesive team identity. Coupled with some less than stellar personnel and the chaotic nature of the Premier League in general, Guardiola is facing challenges which he has never faced before in his career. And while he has certainly struggled, these problems also represent a chance for Guardiola to demonstrate that his philosophy actually works and that it is he that is truly responsible for the success of his teams. This is a make-or-break opportunity for Guardiola. Despite all his past successes, it is succeeding in Manchester that will truly cement his reputation as a world-class manager.

Magu, Ali vs Senate: Presidency destroying our democracy – Fayose

Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti state Sunday urged Nigerians to resist what he described as the rascality of Presidency officials who he said are bent on destroying our hard-earned democracy and emasculating the National Assembly.

Ayodele Fayose

The governor said: “The major difference between democracy and dictatorship is the presence of the legislature in democracy and its absence in a dictatorship”, adding that efforts by this administration “to hand-cuff the National Assembly is a subtle plot to foist full-blown dictatorship on Nigerians.

He therefore charged Nigerians to resist such development, saying: “In doing so, we shall be defending our democracy and we shall also be defending ourselves and generations of Nigerians yet unborn. This democracy cost us a lot in blood and sweat. The labour and sacrifice of the heroes and heroines of our democracy must not be allowed to go in vain”, he said.

The governor made the remarks in a statement released in Ado-Ekiti Sunday by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Idowu Adelusi, saying it is a shame when the Constitution of the country is violated by Federal appointees and the Presidency keeps silent.

“It confirms that the Presidency is the one behind it. In the uniform saga involving the Comptroller-General of Customs, it is safe to say that the Presidency is in support of Hammed Ali against the National Assembly.

“It is scary that a whole Senate of the Federal Republic has to bow to an appointee who had needed the same Senate to confirm his appointment. In a democracy which thrives on separation of powers, this is tantamount to an invasion of the hallowed chambers of the legislature, in the same manner that we recently witnessed against the Judiciary.

“When the Presidency accepts and defends the arrogance of one man against the time-tested and practice-honoured intricate system of governance, then, the system as a whole has collapsed. It is even more dangerous that the courts have been dragged into this obvious plot to destroy the legislature just as we recently witnessed a similar plot against the Judiciary itself”

“It is an open secret today that many judges are being blackmailed to do the bidding of the Presidency and the ruling party. It is also embarrassing to ask the Senate to maintain status quo on an issue that borders on the performance of its legislative duty”, he added.

“Presidency appointees are ridiculing and sneering at the Legislature, which is comprised of the elected representatives of the people; Presidency appointees are relentlessly and without remorse tearing the fabrics that bind this country together: What are they turning this country into? When last did this happen in Nigeria?

“Magu’s nomination has twice been rejected by the Legislature; yet, he sits pretty in office: Under what law and by whose authority? Mrs. Jamila Shu’ara, permanent secretary in the Federal Ministry of Education, who should have retired two years ago, is being brazenly kept in the civil service in flagrant violation of extant civil service rules and regulations. Where else in the civilised world can that happen?

“If a power-drunk Presidency is bent on violating the law, why can’t the individuals concerned be men and women of integrity?

“What is the essence of sending appointees’ nomination to the Senate? It is so that the Senate, which is the authority constitutionally-saddled with the responsibility to confirm or reject such nominations, can perform its duty. And its decision is biding; not advisory like some chop-and quench lawyers are rationalising. And no nominee, who fails to pass the Senate hurdle, can sit in the office to which he had been nominated.

“The spirit as well as the letters of our Constitution; and, indeed, the pillars of democratic governance erected this road block to enforce checks and balances and keep the Executive in check because power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely

“Otherwise, we shall have dictatorship on our hands and President Buhari would soon become Emperor Buhari in the same mould or even worse than those of Emperor Jean Bedel Bokassa and Emperor Idi Amin Dada. God forbid!

Fayose then warned that “the infractions by the President’s men are becoming too often, too many, and achingly intolerable. We run a constitutional government and not a dictatorship. It is a shame that they are all behaving as if Nigeria is a banana republic”.

Less Competitive Universities In Nigeria You Can Easily Gain Admission In 2017 -

Most of 2017 UTME prospective applicants who don't want to make serious mistake of applying for an extremely competitive universities, demanded for the easiest and cheapest ones. You will agree with me that, it is not logical to apply for an extremely competitive universities where you cannot gain admission or when the chances is extremely low I have a friend who applied for admission into university of Ilorin for more than five years and could not gain admission. He continue to apply for admission until he tried another school. He gained admission that very year. University of Ilorin do have more than 100000 applicants every year. The truth is that, there are lot of universities in Nigeria where you can apply for admission and gain it with 180 in UTME without stress and with adequate school fees. Below are list of less competitive Universities in Nigeria in 2017 The list below is ranked based on 2016 UTME applicants numbers for the universities below: 1) Federal University, Gashua, Yobe State: This one of the newly created Federal universities. The university is new and most admission applicants don't know about it. In 2016 UTME, only 1,438 applicants applied for the school through UTME. 2) Federal University, Otuoke, Bayelsa State: Do you know this university, is another newly created federal university in Nigeria by last administration. Its UTME applicants for 2016 was 2,315 applicants. 3) Federal University, Gusau, Zamfara State: In some months ago . It is also a new Federal university in Nigeria and has a very low applicants of 3560 in 2016 UTME. 4) Federal University, Dutsin-Ma, Katsina State: Federal University Dutsin-Ma is in Katsina State. You can easily gain admission into any of the courses in the school. In 2016 UTME, the university had only 3,569 admission applicants. 5) Federal University, Lokoja: This is also a newly created university by the Federal government and its located in Kogi State. The University offers several undergraduate Courses and in 2016 UTME, the university has only 4,660 admission applicants. 6) Federal University Of Petroleum Resources, Effurun: FUPRE is a new Federal university in Delta State Nigeria. It is the first petroleum university in Nigeria and has alot of course you can apply for at undergraduate level. It had only 4,992 applicants in 2016 UTME. 7) Federal University, Kashere: Federal University, Kashere is in Gombe State and has not been well known by most Nigerian University applicants. The university is nice and you can check out the List Of Courses Offer In Federal University Gusau . In 2016 UTME, only 5,590 admission applicants seek for admission into the school. 8.) Federal University, Oye-Ekiti: This university is located in the South West region of Nigeria and to be precise in Ekiti State. It is a new Federal university with a lot of undergraduate courses for you to study In 2016 UTME, only 5,956 admission seekers applied for the school. 9) Federal University, Birnin-Kebbi: I bet you may not know this university exist but yet it is a federal government owned university with a lot of accredited undergraduate courses you can apply for. The university is in Kebbi State with only 5,890 UTME applicants in 2016. 10) Federal University, Lafia: This is a Federal University in Nasarawa State and had only 6,214 undergraduate admission seeker in 2016 UTME. 11) Federal University, Ndufu-Alike: This is a Federal University in Ebonyi State. Last year 2016, it has only 8,063 UTME admission applicants. 12) Federal University, Wukari: This is a newly established University in Taraba State. You can easily apply and gain admission into the school. Just imagine the university had only 8,328 UTME applicants in 2016. 13) Federal University, Dutse: Don't confuse this with Federal University in Dutsin-ma. This one is in Jigawa State. There are lot of accredited courses in Federal University Dutse Jigawa State that you can apply for. It had only 9,073 admission seekers last year through UTME. 14) Modibo Adamawa University of Technology: This is not a new University, it is formally known as federal University of Technology Yola. It is a technology University in Nigeria. Here are the courses offer in Madibbo Adamawa University of technology and you can conveniently apply for them. In last year admission exercise, the school only had 9,480 admission seekers. 15) Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University: ATBU is a technology school in Bauch State. It was created in 1975, but it always have less applicants number. The courses offer in ATBU are much but had only 10,332 in 2016 UTME. Fee free to apply for admission into any of the above universities in your 2017 UTME registration. You have a high chances of gaining admission. Best of luck to you all,. www.elitesportal.com.ng/2017/03/2017-utme-applicants-see-15-less.html 5 Likes 2 Shares

MMM, Sambisa and the boy died

Dr. Reuben Abati.

“Happy New Year, my brother”
“What do you mean happy new year, more than two weeks into the New Year. Have I not been in touch with you since January 1?”
“But for you the New Year has just started. Your January 1 was not on January 1”
“Looks like you have started taking something. I must inform your wife.”
“I say Happy New Year to you.”
“Okay, same to you.”
“You think I don’t know what you have been going through? Your wife told me you have not been yourself since those Mavrodi Mundial Moneybox people suspended their scheme. She specifically asked me to keep an eye on you. But we thank God the MMM is back, 24 hours earlier than they promised. Now, you can get your money back.”
“My brother, it is a lo-n-g story. This MMM thing has become a case of the more you hear, the less you understand. And to think I invested my children’s education savings. Everything.”
“What is the problem again? I hear you can get your money back, and MMM says they are ready to change the world.”
“I don’t know about changing the world, but let them change my sadness to joy by just returning my money, but now they say they can only pay a small amount per day and that those who invested big money like me should wait.”
“How much did you invest?”
“If I tell you the figure, you will know that the year is not new at all.”
“Tell me.”
“So you can go and tell your wife and your wife can tell my wife and the three of you can tell everybody. I just pray MMM does not mess me up, otherwise all of you won’t have anything to gossip about when you start looking for a casket.”
“Is it that bad? Please don’t let it get to that stage. But I can assure you, if they mess you up, I will sue the hell out of them. I will get lawyers and sue them to court.”
“You will defend my rights after I am dead? Now, I see you are a very good friend indeed.”
“I am just trying to help. I almost invested in the MMM myself.”
“Let me ask you something. What is a bitcoin?”
“Not too sure.”
“MMM says they will pay with bitcoins. I invested with Naira. They say they will pay me with coins, not with dollars, but coins. Ore mi, gba mi. Se kinni yi o ti fe di one chance bayi? And yet they are saying they want to change my world. Government should intervene and monitor the whole thing.”
“I won’t consider MMM the business of government.”
“Everything that has to do with the welfare of a citizen is the business of government.”
“If you decide to go and invest your money with money-doublers, why should government be bothered?”
“Government cannot allow anybody to spread frustration in any form. MMM should give me my money, not coins.”
“By the way, we should find out what a bitcoin is? We learn everyday.”
“I didn’t invest for research purposes. I invested for profit purposes.”
“But suppose the bitcoin is even better than the Naira. Somebody told me that bitcoin is a cryptocurrency, although he didn’t quite explain.”
“Ha. I am in trouble. So, I now have to carry dictionary over this MMM matter. Even a crypto something is now better than the Naira. God, pity your servants!”
“Just calm down. We have enough people dying everyday. Don’t join the list. I am sure everything will be sorted out. While you are killing yourself over MMM, are you aware that some Nigerians are already investing in another Ponzi scheme?”
“What is that one?”
“It is called Swissgolden. They offer gold or cash profit.”
“I don’t want to hear about it. And you say government should not get involved? We are almost becoming a nation of desperate money-doublers.”
“Government should worry about more serious things, except of course someone sets out to commit a crime.”
“Nothing can be more serious.”
“Like the Southern Kaduna killings, for example”
“That is sad. Ethnic and religious violence has been a source of threat to Nigeria’s corporate existence. We need to build a nation first.”
“The Catholic Church says the casualty figure in Southern Kaduna so far is about 808. Over 1, 422 houses, 16 churches, 19 shops and one primary school have been destroyed. The challenge is how to prevent these things.”
“Too much politics in everything and that is why ordinary things become big things and so much tragedy is invited. Government must be pro-active.”
“That’s like saying nothing. I have heard that cliché too many times. The root of our national crisis is much deeper. Oftentimes the people themselves are the problem.”
“I hear in the Niger Delta, the people are also threatening to resume hostilities, shut down oil installations and destroy NDDC projects.”
“It is not the people. It is the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) with their ‘Operation Walls of Jericho’ and the Niger Delta Revolutionary Crusaders (NDRC). Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has led a delegation to go and talk to them, particularly the Pan-Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF). I think the resort to dialogue is wise.”
“I’ll like to see that too in Southern Kaduna, coming from the highest levels and I like the fact that the Federal Government is talking to the Bring Back our Girls Group and that for once they are willing to listen. Before May 2015, that group never wanted to listen to government. Now they are in Sambisa Forest.”
“I call it the BBOG Journey to the Sambisa Forest of a Thousand Daemons. When you go to a forest like that, you will have stories to tell.”
“I like the strategy. Get the protesters to help government sell its own story. Quite clever.”
“What if the strategy back-fires?”
“Oh, come on. It won’t.”
“You are always cynical. Thank God you are not in Tanzania where media cynicism of any sort is now a crime.”
“Under President John Magufuli, the bulldozer? Everyone has been praising him for fighting corruption and administrative opaqueness.”
“Magufuli is now bulldozing the media and free speech. Just the other day, he threatened Tanzanian journalists. According to him: ‘We will not allow Tanzania to be a dumping yard for inciting content. This will not happen under my administration”
“What?”
“They now have in Tanzania, The Media Services Act of 2016 which gives government officials the powers to shut down media houses and seize their printing machines.”
“That is even worse that that Nigerian Decree. Decree… Decree….”
“It is not from my mouth you will hear that one. Just be careful. Magufuli’s position is that journalists provoked him with their inciting content.”
“What is it with our leaders in Africa? In other words, Magufuli is saying he is a constituted authority.”
“Not a…he is the constituted authority.”
“One of these days, he too will just say, “Bring that boy here…Leave him…Who do you think you are talking to…I am the constituted authority.”
“You are quoting someone else now, not Magufuli.”
“African leaders sound alike when it comes to the use and abuse of power. You are right, I am quoting the Governor of Oyo State, Nigeria, Governor Abiola Ajimobi. Students of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) provoked him. They had the temerity to remind him that their school had been shut down for eight months. The Governor was so irritated, he sounded as if the students were disturbing him.
“The students were rude. Nigerian students don’t respect constituted authority. They don’t know how to address power.”
“Which authority? Is that why they should be tongue-lashed and shot at by the police?”
“I know the Governor. One of the students must have said something nasty to him. I got that much from his daughter’s alleged reaction.”
“Who is that?”
“The Governor’s daughter defending her dad.”
“What does she know about a university being shut down for eight months and students having to stay at home because government is suffering from a disease called lack of funds. This democracy sha.”
“Don’t worry yourself. It is not an African thing. In the United States, the President-elect’s daughter is going to be very powerful in his in-coming government. Her husband, Jared Kushner is already warming up to play a major role, and his only qualification for the job according to the father-in-law is that he is a good lad and a natural talent”
“That Donald Trump. He should stop disturbing everyone with his reckless comments.”
“I pray he doesn’t cause a Third World War.”
“With the way he has been provoking China.”
“Everything is under negotiation including One China”, says Trump.
“Nobody can negotiate that,” says China.
“And Trump picks up his phone and makes a long-distance call to the President of Taiwan, and China says that is a terrible insult”
“Trump definitely thinks his trip to the White House is one of his ‘You’re fired’ episodes. He is busy burning bridges.”
“Meanwhile, in Nicaragua…”
“What’s happening in Nicaragua?”
“The President has just been sworn in for a third term in office, with his wife as his Vice-President! A husband and wife Presidency”
“You think that can happen in Nigeria?”
“You are not aware that in some states in Nigeria, family members are the ones who run the government?”
“Which state?”
“Go and find out for yourself?”
“So, how is our friend, Jim Obazee of the Financial Reporting Council (FRCN)?
“He broke the law”
“He was trying to enforce the law”
“He broke the law of the Psalms. Psalm 105: 15 – “do not touch my anointed ones/And do my prophets no harm.” He wanted to use a Governance Code to force men of God to observe term limits.”
“You are missing the point.”
“And to think he would start implementing the Code from his own church, where he is a pastor, with Daddy G.O. of the Redeemed Church. So he means charity begins at home.”
“You don’t get it. Are you recommending nepotism? The whole point of the Code is that when religious groups become business entities, they must pay taxes and respect corporate governance rules.”
“Nigeria is a secular state. Government should not dabble into religious matters.”
“But government can dabble into the matter of El-Zakzaky and his movement. I beg.”
“The Bible says…”
“Yes, I know what the Bible says. Don’t bother.”
“We should pray for the people of Gambia and the President-elect Adama Barrow who is supposed to be inaugurated as President on January 19. Yahya Jammeh is still insisting he will not step down. The people are already fleeing the country, Ministers and other government appointees have resigned, the whole world is angry, but Jammeh is sitting tight.
“You know something?”
“What?”
“In the midst of all this, while Adama Barrow is in exile in Senegal waiting for January 19, his eight-year old son was bitten by a dog last Sunday. He was rushed to the hospital. The boy died.
“Oh. Oh, Africa.”

PDP is government-in-waiting – Makarfi

The Peoples Democractic Party (PDP) on Wednesday said it was not just an opposition party but a government-in-waiting.
Chairman of National Caretaker Committee of the party, Ahmed Makarfi, said this when he received syndicate reports of the party’s Strategy Review Committee led by Jerry Gana in Abuja.
He said the PDP would become the ruling party in 2019 if its members did the right thing.
“It is in the interest of Nigerians that opposition exists and is strong.
“Nigerians will not expect opposition that behaves in unruly manner; one that will be there to talk down on government all the time.
“I think we should not be unreasonable in our opposition.
“We should use our brains so that when we criticise and bring out alternative ways of doing things, we will convince Nigerians that we are better set of people to rule Nigeria.
“But, if we show that there is no difference, Nigerians will say `no, they are birds of the same feather’.
“That is why we must criticise, using our brain to actually connect with Nigerians so that we can convince them that we are what we say we are,” Mr. Makarfi said.
On reconciliation in the party, the chairman said that the party’s leadership must not withdraw from any opportunity to ‎reconcile with its members.
“We must not close door for reconciliation and negotiation but we must reconcile based on strong position. A unified judgment by Court of Appeal will place us in good stead.’’
He added that it was only the judgment from the Court of Appeal in Port Harcourt that the party was waiting for in moving forward.
“We are waiting for judgment that will restore hope.
“How the court will restore that hope is for the will of PDP members to be respected, and we are giving the legal right for us to go ahead to build a virile party.’’
Mr. Markarfi, however, urged the party executive and its organs at the state and local government levels to continue to work while waiting for the court’s decision on its leadership.
He commended the committee for its efforts towards the repositioning of the party, recalling that the committee was self-funded “and this is the kind of sacrifice that PDP needs to rise and fly again’’.
‎Presenting the report earlier, Mr. Gana said the committee would submit its final report at the end of January.
Mr. Gana said the committee also planned to have a brief session with PDP governors and the National Assembly caucus before the submission of the report.
“This is to inform them on some of the issues and recommendations that are contained in the report.
“This is also to accommodate any input they can bring forward so as to bring everybody on board,’’ he said.
The Gana’s committee was set up in November 2016, to evolve ways to reconcile the party leadership crisis and reposition it to win future elections.

Defection: I Am Going Nowhere -ekweremadu Replies APC

The Office of the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, has dismissed as false, insinuations and reports that the Senator could be on his way to the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, to save his job.

In a statement made available to reporters in Abuja, the Special Assistant to the Deputy President of the Senate on Political Affairs, Hon. Okey Ozoani, described the reports as “a fantasy of those peddling it.”

He assured the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) faithful and Nigerians that “Ekweremadu is going no where.”

He said: “Senator Ekweremadu is not contemplating leaving PDP. He is more concerned about fixing the country’s biting economic and security conditions and other challenges than saving his job as the Deputy President of the Senate.

“It is his view that Nigeria has to first exist for us to have political parties to belong to or political offices to occupy. Studies have shown a direct relationship between economic conditions and survival of democracy.

“The primary responsibility the Constitution places on our government is to cater for the wellbeing of the citizens as well as security of their lives and property. When such are threatened, everyone should necessarily get serious and preoccupied with contributing his or her quota to salvaging the country.

“Besides, he is most grateful to his colleagues for the confidence they continue to repose in him and the Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki. He is grateful for the solidarity that the Senators have continued to accord them”.

Hon. Ozoani, while appreciating Ekweremadu’s supporters and well meaning Nigerians who have continued to contact the Office over recent media reports, assured them that there was no cause for alarm. He urged them to continue to pray for the Senate leadership, the Senate, the National Assembly, and indeed the government and the entire nation.

“By strength alone shall no man prevail. Therefore, let us get down on our knees and continue to present the government and the country before God”, Ozoani added.

DAILY POST recalls that the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria was greeted with overture from the APC caucus in a motion moved by Senator Kabiru Marafa (Zamafara Central) on Wednesday, 11th January 2017, asking the deputy Senate President to cross over to the ruling party.
There have been other reports since then, that the APC caucus may be using the proposal to threaten Ekweremadu in his exalted office of the deputy President of the Senate.