Special Announcement:
This is to invite all members of the National Executive Committee, to the Meeting of the NEC as follows:-
Date- Saturday, August 28, 2021.
Venue: NEC Hall, PDP National Secretariat, Abuja.
Time: 12:00Pm.
Members are enjoined to attend as the meeting will discuss issues of national importance.
Signed:
Sen. Umaru Ibrahim Tsauri, CON.
National Secretary
August 26, 2021
Press Statement
PDP To Buhari Presidency: You, Not Ortom, is Spreading Division, Hate
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) asserts that the Buhari Presidency is responsible for spreading division and hatred among Nigerians and not Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom, as claimed in the Presidency’s press release.
PDP’s position is against the backdrop of an inciting hate statement issued by the Buhari Presidency in a bitter personal attack on Governor Ortom on Wednesday, in which the Presidency made allusions to genocides in Rwanda.
The PDP recalls how the Buhari Presidency has been planting seeds of discord in the country with hate language, divisive tendencies and unconcealed nepotism, to the extent that our nation has become widely divided along all fault lines.
Nigerians have not forgotten how President Buhari, ahead of the 2011 general elections declared that “if what happened in 2011 should again happen in 2015, by the grace of God, the dog and the baboon would all be soaked in blood”.
Moreover, Nigerians can recall how Mr. President tagged those whom he believed did not vote for him; how he described citizens as “dot in a circle,” as well as the hate language that attracted sanctions by Twitter.
It is rather alarming that instead of taking steps to address the killings in Benue state as well as the worsening insecurity, carnages, banditry, terrorism and imminent humanitarian crisis in the country, the Buhari Presidency is thinking of Rwandan Genocide while exposing its deep-seated detestation for Governor Ortom.
Governor Ortom is a highly principled and forthright leader, who is loved not only in Benue, but also across the nation. The PDP urges Nigerians to hold the Buhari Presidency responsible should any harm come to him or his family members.
As a party, the PDP demands that the Buhari Presidency should come clean on its handling of insecurity in the country. This is particularly against the backdrop of its manifest failure to battle and rout out terrorists, bandits, kidnappers and marauders that have taken over our highways, forests, pillaging communities and killing Nigerians on daily basis.
Under President Buhari’s lethargic regime, bandits and terrorists have become so emboldened that they now attack military formations, including the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) where they killed and kidnapped officers for ransom.
The PDP therefore calls on President Buhari to rein in his aides, wake up from his slumber and decisively address the worsening insecurity in the country under his watch.
Signed:
Kola Ologbondiyan
National Publicity Secretary
PRESIDENT BUHARI LAUDS GDP 5.01% GROWTH IN Q2 2021
President Buhari welcomes today’s Q2 2021 report by the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics, showing a third consecutive quarter of positive growth of Nigeria’s economy, as well as the highest quarterly growth in GDP since 2014.
The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 5.01% in Q2 2021 following 0.51% growth in Q1 2021. This growth, which continues the progress of the preceding two quarters, is a continuing trend reflecting Nigeria’s economic rebound following the COVID-19-induced contractions seen in Q1 and Q2 2020.
The non-oil sector is a significant contributor to the economic performance in Q2 2021 with growth of 6.74% in real terms, the fastest growth in the sector since the third quarter of 2014. The contribution of the non-oil sector to GDP increased from 91.07% in Q2 2020 to 92.58% in Q2 2021.
The President commends managers of the economy for hard work and commitment, urging them to keep at it till the positive development “touches the lives and pockets of the average Nigerian.”
The main drivers of the Q2 2021 economic growth include Trade, Information and Communication (mainly Telecommunications), Transportation, Electricity, Agriculture (Crop Production) and Manufacturing.
The service sector, specifically, recorded its strongest performance in more than a decade, growing at 9.27%.
These main growth drivers of this second quarter performance are reflective of the gains from easing restriction of movement locally and internationally, and the improvement in the business and economic environment compared to the same period in 2020.
The President notes the decline in real growth in the oil sector in Q2 2021, compared to a year ago. Oil production levels were at 1.62million barrels per day, compared to 1.67million barrels per day in Q2 2020. The lower production output as well as the volatility in oil prices since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, is responsible for the decline in performance of the oil sector.
President Buhari assures that recent reforms and efforts like the conclusion of the Marginal Fields Bid Round, the renewed focus on gas development (including the NLNG Train 7 project, and various pipeline construction projects) as well as the passage and assent to the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), are certain to attract new investment to the oil and gas sector, and create conditions for more robust levels of growth in the future.
It is gratifying to note that the various policies of the administration, aimed at boosting agricultural production, improving the business environment, and investing massively in infrastructure, are beginning to yield fruit. Equally gratifying is the complementary news of the steady decline in the rate of inflation, over the last few months.
The positive effects of the Economic Sustainability Plan (ESP), which helped fast-track the country’s exit from the COVID-induced recession of 2020, continue to be evident, as some of the sectors driving the Q2 2021 growth have benefited or are benefiting from government-led interventions.
The successful roll-out of vaccines and COVID-19 protocols has also helped to reduce pressures on the healthcare system and the need for a lockdown.
Looking to the future, the President assures Nigerians that there is much to be optimistic about. He assures that the investments in agriculture and infrastructure will continue, as will on-going efforts to achieve a significant improvement in the security situation across the country.
“There is no doubt that a more secure environment – which the security agencies are working hard to achieve – will spur and energize the shoots of economic progress being seen and felt in the country,” the President said.
Femi Adesina
Special Adviser to the President
(Media and Publicity)
August 26, 2021
PRESIDENT BUHARI ANNOUNCES PROFIT AFTER TAX BY THE NNPC, AND PUBLICATION OF AUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR YEAR 2020
In fulfillment of an earlier pledge by the Federal Government to publicly announce the financial position of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, President Muhammadu Buhari has disclosed a Net Profit, first time in the 44-year history of the establishment.
According to the President, who doubles as Minister for Petroleum Resources, “I am pleased to announce the declaration of Profit after Tax of Two Hundred and Eighty Seven Billion Naira (N287 Billion) in Year 2020 by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation. This is sequel to the completion of the statutory Annual Audit exercise for Year 2020.
“The NNPC losses were reduced from N803 Billion in year 2018 to N1.7 Billion in year 2019 and the eventual declaration of Net Profit in Year 2020 for the first time in its 44-year history.
“This development is consistent with this administration’s commitment to ensuring prudent management of resources and maximization of value for the Nigerian people from their natural resources.
“I have further directed the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation to timely publish the Audited Financial statements in line with the requirements of the law and as follow up to our commitment to ensuring transparency and accountability by public institutions.
“I congratulate the Board, Management and Staff of the Corporation and look forward to greater value creation for the Nigerian people.”
Femi Adesina
Special Adviser to the President
(Media and Publicity)
August 26, 2021
PRESIDENT BUHARI CONGRATULATES MINISTER OF STATE, ENVIRONMENT, SHARON IKEAZOR ON 60TH BIRTHDAY
President Muhammadu Buhari sends warm greetings to Minister of State, Environment, Sharon Ikeazor, on her 60th birthday, August 28, 2021, joining family and friends to celebrate with the lawyer and management consultant, whose sacrifice and investment in the country continue to inspire the younger generation.
The President notes the historic leadership role provided by the minister when she was Executive Secretary of Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate, humanizing operations of the outfit, re-energizing members of staff and bringing succour to many retirees, who were almost losing hope.
President Buhari affirms that Ikeazor’s kind heart and charity are easily revealed in her work, and guide her disposition of pursuing greater good for the majority, employing her wealth of knowledge from years of working in both national and international institutions to serve the needs of ordinary citizens, particularly women and the girl-child.
As the former National Woman Leader of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and All Progressives Congress (APC), who is on the Board of Trustees of the party, turns 60, the President believes Ikeazor’s contributions to the political and economic development of the country will always stand out, commending her foundation, The Wakiliyan Mata Empowerment Initiative, which caters for Internally Displaced Women.
The President prays for good health, longer life and more wisdom for the minister, to keep serving the country and humanity.
Femi Adesina
Special Adviser to the President
(Media & Publicity)
August 27, 2021
Press Statement
RIWAMA Monitoring Team Arrests Six Persons For Defacing Market Road, Rumuomasi With Building Wastes
…As Sole Administrator, Bro. Felix Obuah Again Warns Against Indiscriminate Dumping Of Wastes
The Monitoring Team of the Rivers State Waste Management Agency (RIWAMA), arrested six persons for dumping construction/building wastes on the median of Market Road in Rumuomasi area of Port Harcourt, the state capital in the early hours of today, Friday, August 27, 2021.
The Sole Administrator of RIWAMA, Bro. Felix Obuah who disclosed this in a statement, condemned the unwholesome practice of dumping construction/building wastes at the median of roads, stressing that such actions not only sabotage the efforts of the Agency but also destroy the aesthetic beauty of the roads.
Bro. Obuah said the six sanitation defaulters were caught in the act while littering the median of the road with construction/building wastes, long after the approved dumping hours of 6pm to 12 midnight.
“In the early hours of today, some unpatriotic persons, bent on sabotaging the activities of Rivers State Waste Management Agency, RIWAMA emptied into the road and on the median of Market Road, Rumuomasi, Port Harcourt, large volume of debris, mainly construction/building wastes, and defaced the beauty of the road, contrary to sanitation laws of Rivers State”, Bro. Obuah said, adding that the arrested persons would be prosecuted to serve as deterrent to others.
Bro. Obuah regretted that the activities of these unpatriotic persons are geared at frustrating the good efforts of the Agency, but assured that RIWAMA remains resolute and would not be deterred by activities of these individuals whom he described as destructive elements.
Noting that only last month, the Agency embarked on a Public Enlightenment and Sensitization Campaign Against Indiscriminate Dumping of Wastes, Waste Management and Dumping Time of 6pm to 12midnight, Bro. Obuah restated that to keep the roads, markets and other public places clean and healthy at all times is a task that must be done by all and sundry.
Reaffirming his stance that those who flout sanitation rules are enemies of the State, Bro. Obuah stressed that residents and those doing business in Port Harcourt, the State capital and its environs have no excuse to dump refuse indiscriminately as receptacles have been strategically positioned close to business and residential places.
He appealed to Rivers people and all those living and doing business in the State to join hands with the State Government to keep Port Harcourt the State capital and its environs clean at all times.
While again reaffirming the warning that the Agency would not fold its hands and watch these unpatriotic agents sabotage the efforts of RIWAMA, Bro. Obuah revealed that a surveillance team has been put in place to arrest and prosecute anyone found throwing dirts on the median as well as dumping wastes outside the approved hours of 6pm to 12 midnight.
He said the actions of the arrested defaulters became more provocative as a Public Enlightenment and Sensitization Team on Indiscriminate Dumping of Wastes, Waste Management and Dumping Time of 6pm to 12midnight Campaign was recently organized by the Agency.
Jerry Needam
Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to
Bro. Felix Obuah, Sole Administrator,
Rivers State Waste Management Agency (RIWAMA).
Friday, August 27, 2021.
27 – 08 – 21
PRESS RELEASE
AS WIKE EYES NEW PARTY, EZE EXPOSES HIS ANGER OVER AYADE, UMAHI… REVEALS GOVERNOR’S FAILED ATTEMPTS AT JOINING THE APC… UNCOVERS DETAILS OF HOW HE SPONSORED ABE, AGUMA TO SECURE HIM A SAFE PASSAGE INTO RULING PARTY BUT FAILED WOEFULLY… SETS EYES TO THE FORMATION OF THIRD FORCE AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO PDP & APC
Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress and erstwhile National Publicity Secretary of the defunct New People’s Democratic Party nPDP, Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, has said Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State recently attempted to constitute himself into the General Commanding Leader of the PDP and by extension, arrogating to himself powers to make and unmake policies and mar adversaries, by dictating what should and what should not happen in the polity. He has in this self-imposed capacity, tried to bulldoze, muzzle and intimidate those whose consciences are given to gluttony – a serious failure in self-discipline and thus appear difficult to be bought over.
In a statement made available to Media Houses in Port Harcourt and International Community, Eze said Wike directed the Peoples Democratic Party to sue Governor David Nweze Umahi of Ebonyi State and his counterpart from Cross Rivers State, Prof. Ben Ayade, both of whom dumped the PDP in November 2020 and May 2021 respectively.
Eze said Gov. Wike’s stand on these two great leaders sounds funny, recalling that the Rivers Governor spearheaded the reelection of the Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, who freely dumped the APC and joined the PDP without anyone asking the APC to sue the Edo Governor for jumping ship. We have several cases of Governors dumping their parties to join another including some associates of Governor Wike. For instance, Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue and Governor Aminu Tambwual whom he (Wike) is plotting to be his Running mate in the 2023 elections have at one time or the other dumped the APC to join the PDP.
Where was the hypocritical Wike then and why did he not recommend that they be sanctioned if he has no ulterior motive against Governors Umahi and Ayade? Is it not surprising that the Rivers State governor becomes a fighter against what he did in the past?
Nigerians may not even know that Wike has since 2016 been scheming on how to join the APC, using some divisive and undemocratic elements in the party to see if he can use them to control the APC in Rivers State and formally join the party and become the leader of the party in the State but his failure in this regard is propelling him to destroy the PDP to enable him join forces with some frustrated politicians to form what they term as Third Force political party by 2022.
Eze further exposed the roles played by some of Wike’s agents such as Hon. Igo Aguma, Chief Ibiamu Ikanya and many others that assumed to be leaders of APC while playing the role of Wike, by ensuring that the party doesn’t exist in the State, are still very fresh in the minds of closer watchers of political happenings in Rivers State.
Till this day, his closest ally, Senator Magnus Abe, the arrowhead of this heinous plot is not relenting in handing over to Gov. Wike the Rivers State APC structure to enable him (Wike) formally join the party should the plot of forming the Third Force Political Party with Senator Okorocha , Gov. Tambwual and others fails.
This is not minding that most of his collaborators assumed to have dumped him (Abe) are formally welcomed by Wike and appointed into the State Executive Council and some into his Cathedral of spent politicians from Rivers State that have constituted themselves into a very big Choir Group dancing and singing for Wike in most of his political outings for their devious role in destroying the Rivers State APC.
In this devilish plot, Gov. Wike succeeded in using Abe to ensure that APC does not even participate or contest the 2019 general election in the State and has continued to boast that Rivers State APC will not contest the 2023 general elections if he fails to take over the party structure. In this regard, he has plotted with his Judiciary Super Market in Rivers State to frustrate the party from organising her Congresses as approved by the National Body of the APC. But no matter his evil machinations in this regard, APC will surely take over the Brick House come 2023.
The fact is very clear that Wike is not relenting to actualise this devilish plot of decimating APC as a political party in Rivers State.
Eze further highlighted that those who are close watchers and followers of Gov. Nyesom Wike and his type of politics felt awkward when he publicly requested PDP to sue foresighted Governors like Umahi and Ayade of Ebonyi and Cross River states, who saw the plots of Wike to destroy PDP in time and took to their heels before the collapsing PDP fails on them.
Gov. Wike was fully aware that PDP is collapsing when he cried out during a Live program on a national Television that save the intervention of the party’s Governors and BOT members, the party would have witnessed an unprecedented implosion. The question therein is, if Wike was aware that the party was to be imploded, why should Umahi and Ayade stay until that time when the party finally collapses as now envisaged. The Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, says the resolution of the internal crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has allayed his initial fear of possible implosion in the party.
Eze counsels that instead of PDP wasting its lean purse to pursue a useless case against Umahi and Ayade the party should instead congratulate and commend the two wise leaders for dumping the party before its final collapse.
Eze further postulated that Wike’s anger against Ayade and Umahi stems from the fact that the two visionary leaders disappointed him by joining the APC before him while he would have preferred them to wait and collaborate with him so that they can join the party as a team and he would have posed as the one who brought them over.
Wike has learnt nothing, despite the classes arranged for him to understudy how non-oil producing States could be developing so rapidly while he overseers an Oil-producing State without any tangible development to show for his six years of miserable governance in Rivers State where Civil Servants are treated as slaves while Pensioners are dying in droves because of non- payment of their pension and millions of Naira are spent to commission street light while Umahi is embarking upon constructions of an international Airport, Olympic Size Stadium, International Shopping mall, outstanding Ecumenical Centre, International Markets and over 16 standard Flyovers and Ayade is constructing industries everywhere as if he is eating egg coupled with the construction of a super highway road, the first by any State Government. Wike couldn’t understand the magic behind the greatness of these two visionary leaders and thought that the best way to handle them is to scheme a witch-hunt by asking the collapsing PDP to sue them just to distract them from the speed in which they are developing their various states.
Eze though sad over the speed in which Wike is decimating PDP by his evil influence, assured Nigerians that with Atiku Abubakar still in the PDP, Wike will certainly come to understand that he is playing with fire when he decides to think that he can undermine Prince Uche Secondus using his Super Market Judiciary in River State, forgetting that it is only the Ward Chapter of a party that has the sole authority to sack a political leader from his party.
Let me formally congratulate Prince Uche Secondus for successfully setting aside the Court judgement from Rivers State dismembering him as a PDP member by the Kebbi High Court recent judgement reinstating him back to his office. “I must confess that Wike made the greatest political blunder of his life by his attempt to disgrace Secondus from office. Let the game play on”
Eze urges the leadership and stakeholders of PDP to obey the Court judgement and allow Prince Secondus to complete his tenure without any further hiccup
If PDP is not careful, Wike will ensure that it never participates in the 2023 general elections. I am not asking them to ignore my warning but to save this statement for future reference.
Finally, Eze appealed and urged Governors Ben Ayade of Cross Rivers State and David Nweze Umahi of Ebonyi State not to worry themselves over the unwarranted threat by Wike and concentrate on the development of their states as he is just an ever busy Interloper.
Ends
Signed
Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze,
APC Chieftain & former National Publicity Secretary, nPDP
27 – 08– 21