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Your Hero Led Substandard Governance in Oyo, Makinde’s Aide Tells Ajimobi Group

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Your Hero Led Substandard Governance in Oyo, Makinde's Aide Tells Ajimobi Group .

The Chief Press Secretary to Governor ‘Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, Mr. Taiwo Adisa, on Sunday, stated that the debt profile of the state had been reduced by as much as N7.4 billion in the last two years of the Governor Seyi Makinde’s administration.

The media aide, who was responding to a statement by the Ajimobi Legacy Forum(ALF) on Sunday, said that the late governor led substandard governance in the state.

The CPS also maintained that his submission was informed by data and statistics from the Debt Management Office, a Federal Government agency, describing a statement credited to the ALF, which accused Makinde of poor governance as not well-thought-out and premised on fraudulent statistics.

A statement by Adisa declared that due to the prudent management of the state’s resources by the governor, the state’s domestic debt was reduced from N99.3 billion, which it inherited from the the late former Governor Abiola Ajimobi’s government in 2019 to N91.9 Billion as shown by statistics made available by the DMO in March 2021.

Adisa maintained that contrary to claims by ALF and the All Progressives Congress (APC) that the Makinde government has been embarking on excessive borrowing, the administration has borrowed about N24 billion for infrastructure financing, while only N18 billion of the amount has been accessed so far.

He added that the administration had been concentrating the state’s resources on legacy projects and reduction of the state’s infrastructure deficit with a view to expanding the economy of the state, wondering why ALF would describe the Moniya-Iseyin Road, Adamasingba Stadium renovation and remodelling and other key infrastructure projects as wasteful.

The statement noted that it was pitiable that the ALF went out with fraudulent and misleading statistics to deceive the public, saying the childish interpretation of DMO statistics made mockery of the group’s late principal, who was the real architect of Oyo’s gargantuan debt and profligate governance.

According to the governor’s media aide, the desperation of the attention-seeking and less-known ALF to share the limelight with the performing and people-oriented government of Governor Makinde, which celebrated two years in office with legacy projects and people-centred achievements that the Ajimobi government could not boast of in eight years, is pitiable and condemnable at the same time.

“The said ALF would do better with the memory of their hero by helping Oyo people forget the eight-year lackluster governance he led in Oyo State,” the statement read.

He added that the attempt to redeem the image of the late Ajimobi, who almost ran the state aground, leaving behind a domestic debt of N99.9 billion and foreign debt of 200 million US dollars, with practically nothing tangible to show, must have pushed the ALF to spew unsubstantiated statistics and outright falsehood to justify its jaundiced criticism of Makinde’s government.

The statement said: “The statement credited to one group known as the Ajimobi Legacy Foundation accusing Governor Makinde of running poor governance in Oyo and incurring the debt of N91 billion in two years is sad, misguided and jejune.

“The ALF or specifically Kunle Sanda must be suffering from what we will like to call Attention-Seeking Syndrome (ATSS) by going out with fraudulent interpretations of the statistics from the Debt Management Office or shall we say the group was pushed to publish the falsehood to redeem the image of its late profligate and wasteful principal, who they should have allowed to rest in peace?

“From statistics made available by the Debt Management Office, a federal agency, the domestic debt of Oyo State as of June 2019 stood at N99,358,565,798.52 while the state’s foreign debt was 200 Million US Dollars.

“The same Debt Management Office released another statistics in March 2021 stating that as of March 31, the state’s domestic debt was N91,954,231,316.98, which signified a reduction of N7,404,334,481.54.

“While the statement portrayed ALF as childish and ignorant and its handlers and sympathisers as apparently lacking any intelligence of debt management, we shall take the pain to school them.

“The group said the state’s debt under Ajimobi is less than N100 billion and that the state’s debt under Makinde in two years now stands at N91 billion, when it was Ajimobi that incurred the same debt and left the huge mountain of indebtedness which Makinde is now dealing with.

“For the ALF’s information, Ajimobi’s inherited less than N7 billion debt and catapulted it to N99 billion in eight profligate years.

“But in two years, what Makinde has done is to reduce the state’s domestic debt by N7.4 billion. This, of course, puts a lie to the efforts by the APC to portray Governor Makinde as engaging in excessive borrowing.

“To date, the Makinde administration has only borrowed about N24 billion and of this amount, only about N18 billion has been accessed.

“Though we are aware that the ALF, like its parent party, APC, is fraudulent and opportunistic, we would like to advise them to engage the services of competent statisticians before they come out to advertise their ignorance next time.”

 

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BREAKING: PDP Crisis Worsens As Chairman Ayu Steps Aside, Deputy Takes Over

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BREAKING: I Won't Resign, Wike, Others Were Children When We Formed PDP - Ayu
Ayu

As an indication of a worsening crisis in the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) , its National Chairman Iyorchia Ayu on Tuesday stepped aside.

Ayu was replaced by the Deputy National Chairman, (North) Umar Iliya Damagum.

Damagum will assume office as the Acting National Chairman of the PDP, pending the determination of the case in court.

A High Court in Makurdi, the Benue state capital, had restrained embattled Ayu from parading himself as chairman of the party pending the determination of the substantive suit which has been adjourned to April 17, 2023 for hearing.

A member of the PDP from Benue, Terhide Utaan, who is the plaintiff before Justice W. I Kpochi, obtained the order restraining Ayu from parading himself as national chairman of the party.

Addressing journalists in Makurdi after obtaining the court order, the plaintiff said following the suspension of Ayu by his Igyorov Ward Exco on Sunday, it was wrong for him to keep up with the office of national chairman and further disunite the party.

Ayu was suspended late last week for anti-party activities in the wake of the party’s loss in the presidential election.

But in a Monday statement by his media aide Simon Imobo-Tswam, the former lawmaker argued that only the ward lacked the powers to suspend him.

Ayu’s political rival in the PDP and Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike on Monday, said he was elated that a Benue State ward exco passed a vote of no confidence in him.

“I am not from Benue State, but I am happy, and now that Benue State has done it, we would now come out and say we are in support of it,” he said.

Prior to this development, there had been intense calls for Ayu to step aside for a Southerner to take over as the Chairman of the party.

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BREAKING: Obi Speaks On Joining Tinubu’s Unity Government

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VIDEO: What Peter Obi Said In Port Harcourt About Other Presidential Candidates
Peter Obi

Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, has given insight into what his position will be if he is invited to join Bola Tinubu’s Government of National Unity.

Tinubu, the president-elect and his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) have been taken to court by Obi over the outcome of the February 25 election.

The camp of the APC candidate had hinted that the former Lagos Governor would form an all-inclusive government to carry all his opponents along in his government.

While featuring on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Thursday, Obi was asked what he would do if he was called upon to be a member of Tinubu’s Government of National Unity.

In his response, Obi said he was still challenging the process of the election and the declaration.

According to him, the process of the election should be put right first before anyone could talk of the Government of National Unity.

“The first thing I want to see is that the process is right. The process through which you achieve anything is far more fundamental than what you do thereafter. Let us go back first, I am challenging the process and the declaration.

“Until we get it right, then we can talk about a government of national unity. Otherwise, we would go and sit down and say that those who stopped a train and kidnapped people can call us to discuss peace when they have people in captivity. Until things are done rightly, we will be encouraging what we don’t need to encourage,” he said.

When he was asked whether or not he would accept the outcome if it is not in his favour, Obi said he would be shocked if the court upholds Tinubu’s election.

His words: “Issues about the election will be sorted out in court. I will be shocked if this country goes on with that situation. It will then stand that it is a corporate criminalised country. We can’t allow it. We need to start unbundling this criminality.

“When people were talking about structure, it is this fraud and criminality that we witnessed that they were talking about, and we want to unbundle it for the sake of our children.”

The former Anambra State governor said he believes the judiciary would do the right thing.

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LP Chieftain Flays Return Of 1999 PDP as Ibori, Henchmen Seek Political Relevance In Delta APC

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BREAKING: FG Returned £4.2m Ibori Loot To Delta Govt – Accountant General
James Ibori

The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Delta State is gradually taking on the colouration of 1999 PDP with all of former Governor James Ibori’s ‘boys’ now leaving the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in droves and finding a new home in APC to swell its ranks ahead of the guber elections on Saturday, March 18, 2023, according to a chieftain of Labour Party (LP), Chief Delly Ajufo.

Ajufo described the development as “a gathering of vultures to consume the soul of Delta State,” noting that Ibori, who has suffered a pariah status under Governor Ifeanyi Okowa’s 8-year administration, now has a chance to reclaim his “godfather or grand commander” position over his godson, guber candidate of APC and Deputy Senate President, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege.

According to him, Ibori looks to resume his godfather position as Bola Ahmed Tinubu of Lagos State, a position that slipped out of his hands since his stint in the UK prison.

Ajufo said Deltans needed to be wary of Senator Omo-Agege’s governorship bid, and see it as a backdoor for Ibori to re-take control of the management of the state’s resources in a manner likely to be worse than the 1999 – 2007 era when he was governor. He warned that Deltans could not have forgotten how Ibori raped the fortunes of the state in his eight-year administration by corruptly enriching himself and his cronies (including Sen. Omo-Agege) that earned him a UK prison sentence. He described the APC as PDP-2 trying to upstage Okowa’s PDP-1 from power, saying Deltans should reward both of them with electoral defeat since both parties have run the country (APC – 8 years) and Delta State (PDP – 24 years) badly.

He argued that none of them deserves to occupy the seat of power in Asaba come May 29, 2023.

The Labour Party chieftain also said the gathering of Ibori’s political family under APC is dark and ominous for the state, and urged the electorate to reject both ‘PDAPC’ at the polls on Saturday, and vote for Labour Party (LP) as the only political breath of fresh air that Delta people need now.

“We must sever our links with the people from both parties that have collectively ruined the fortunes of this oil-rich state by running it aground since 1999,” he noted.

Ajulo added that Ibori trying to reclaim his faded godfather position, using APC as his new launch pad was tantamount to vultures gathering to feast on the carcass of a dying animal, a situation that Deltans should not wait to see but to halt it in its tracks outright.

“This is a gathering of vultures and it does not augur well for our beloved Delta State,” said Ajufo.

“Ibori wants to use the APC backdoor to reclaim his faded godfather status since all his allies are dumping PDP in droves and moving over to APC. The signs are not good for Deltans who have been pauperised for so many years in spite of the huge oil wealth that comes to the state monthly. I urge Deltans to see through the evil that’s about to befall them if they elect Ovie Omo-Agege. Of course, PDP is dead, going by February 25, 2023 election. There is no need to bother about it. Deltans will bury whatever remains of it in the guber elections.

“The nightmare we must all now resist is APC taking over. Sen. Ovie Omo-Agege was SSG and Commissioner under Ibori’s eight-year reign of wasted resources in Delta from 1999 – 2007. A vote for Omo-Agege is a vote for the return of Ibori into Delta’s mainstream, with his baggage of corruption and mismanagement of state resources. Delta is tired of another Tinubu returning to pillage the coffers of the state for his selfish interests. We cannot afford to ‘carry last’ on this matter.”

The chief urged Deltans to do for Labour Party what they did on February 25 when they massively voted for Labour Party and Peter Obi, saying they should do the same for the party’s governorship candidate, Deacon Ken Pela and all House of Assembly candidates. He called on all women to look the way of Labour Party’s candidate, Dcn Ken Pela for the governorship election, adding, “We also call on women to rally their own fellow woman, an educationist and erudite scholar, Prof. Nwabogo-Umukoro, to represent and champion women’s causes in government at the highest decision-making level.”

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