Connect with us

News

South-East PDP Demands VP Slot, Says Obi’s No Threat

Published

on

The Peoples Democratic Party in the South-East is reaching out to the leadership of the party and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, to ensure that the PDP standard-bearer picks his running mate from the zone.

The Punch gathered that the leadership of the party in the South-East argued that having failed to cede the presidential ticket to the zone, which had consistently supported the PDP since 1999, the only thing left for the party was to cede the vice-presidential slot to it.

Atiku had in May emerged the winner of the PDP presidential primary after defeating other aspirants including a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator Pius Anyim and an ex-President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, Sam Ohuabunwa.

After the PDP primary, the apex socio-cultural organisation for the Igbo, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, criticised the party for betraying the zone.

A few days to the primary, Atiku’s running mate in 2019, Mr Peter Obi, dumped the party and joined the Labour Party on whose platform he would contest the 2023 presidential election.

There has been growing support for Obi since he joined the LP.  Analysts have warned that Obi’s defection to the LP may affect the chances of the PDP in the South-East, where its presidential candidate got 1.6 million votes in 2019 against over 403,000 votes garnered by the President, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), who contested on the platform of the All Progressives Congress.

The Publicity Secretary of the Anambra State PDP, Nnamdi Nwagwu, in an interview with The PUNCH, confirmed that the South-East had demanded the vice-presidential slot like the South-South.

He noted that both the PDP and the APC had sidelined the South-East, adding that it was only in the PDP that the zone could get the VP slot.

He added that only the VP slot could, at least, secure votes for the party in the South-East.

He said, “They (South-East leaders) are making such a demand for the VP slot. Let us see how it goes. They are making the demand because every party has sidelined the South-East and it is only in the PDP that they can get the VP slot because they cannot get it from the APC as the APC already has a southern presidential candidate.

“Only the VP slot can secure votes for the party in the zone, if not, it will be difficult to wrest the votes of the region from Peter Obi. And let us see how it goes if the VP slot will be given or not.”

On its part, the Imo State chapter of the PDP said that it was not perturbed by the growing acceptability of Obi in the South-East.

The Director-General of the New Media of the PDP in the state, Collins Opuruzor, said that the PDP in the region was not worried about Obi’s candidature.

He said that the party was mobilising for the victory of the PDP not only in the South-East but also across the country.

Opuruzor said that the PDP presidential candidate could win the presidential election in 2023.

When contacted, the National Vice-Chairman of the PDP (South-East zone), Chief Ali Odefa, said, “I’m not the National Chairman of the party to comment on this. Contact the National Chairman of the party for this, please.”

But the PDP’s National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologbunagba,  in an interview with one of our correspondents,  dismissed Obi’s popularity.

On whether the party considered Obi’s growing support as a threat, Ologbunagba said, “When we talk about popularity, that is your assessment and you are entitled to it. When we get to the polls, the popularity will reveal itself.

“We are not talking about somebody’s popularity. That is not what we are talking about. We are focused on our party. That is the important thing. We are focused on what we are doing and what we will do for Nigerians. We are focused on insecurity, our kids being out of school for one year.”

Also, a former presidential aspirant of the PDP, Sam Ohuabunwa, said in picking a running mate, the party would choose somebody who could bring votes.

He stated, “The PDP leadership will do a lot of hard work and will not just focus on dividing the so-called Obi’s votes in the South-East and while he may also have followers outside his region, we are not sure yet. All we see now is social media hype. We cannot be sure until we get to the polls. What we read in the media may not be what happens in real life.”

But the Spokesman, Peter Obi Support Network, Sani Altukry, took a swipe at the PDP.

According to Altukry, the Peter Obi phenomenon is now a national movement and revolution that will bring an end to the PDP and the APC.

He said, “Some say it is a revolution, a present reality that will bring an end to the PDP and the APC as major political parties because they failed to do the right thing.

“They failed to address the yearnings of Nigerians for equity and justice. And they have also failed the youth of this country. The youth yearn for good government, an end to ASUU (Academic Staff Union of Universities) strike and graduate unemployment. The youth are angry that Nigeria is today the poverty capital of the world because of the PDP and the APC misrule and Peter Obi’s rallying cry to move the country from consumption to production is a rallying cry for hope.”

He added that the ‘Peter Obi Movement’ was also a protest against the injustice meted out to the people of southern Nigeria when the PDP failed to zone the presidency to the South.

“Mark my words, the PDP will receive the shock of its life as its presidential candidate will come second runner-up while Labour Party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, will emerge as a winner in the 2023 presidential election. It is quite unfortunate that the party lost its followers due to injustice,” he added.

The Punch

Continue Reading
Advertisement


Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

News

Osun Guber Election: I’ll Call Trump If Anything Goes Wrong, Davido Warns

Published

on

Afrobeats music singer, David Adeleke aka Davido, has said he will seek the intervention of United States President, Donald Trump, if anything goes wrong during the forthcoming Osun State governorship election.

The singer made the statement during a livestream hosted by content creator Carter Efe, where he discussed his interest in politics and his concerns about the conduct of elections in Nigeria.

Davido said he would consider joining politics when he is convinced that the country’s electoral system is transparent and allows voters to freely choose their leaders.

According to him, he is confident of emerging victorious in an election that is conducted fairly.

He said the lack of transparency remains one of the reasons he has not ventured into politics despite his interest.

“Until there’s transparency, then I can go ahead with politics because nobody can beat me in any election,” he said.

Davido added that he would be confident of winning if Nigerians were allowed to vote freely and have their votes properly counted.

He also expressed concern about the upcoming Osun governorship election, saying he was waiting to see how the exercise would be conducted.

“I want to see what they are going to do in Osun. We are waiting,” he said.

The singer then disclosed that he would reach out to Trump if he became dissatisfied with the electoral process in Osun.

Davido said he would tag and call the US president and, if necessary, take his concerns to the White House.

“I’ll tag Trump, I’ll call Trump, everybody. If they still don’t see anything, I’ll go in front of the White House and say, ‘Help us,’”

“Trump will just say, ‘I think there’s a Nigerian artiste sending me a message. Don’t worry, my message will be delivered.’he said.

He stressed that his threat should not be dismissed as a joke, adding that he expected his concerns to reach the US president.

Davido concluded by calling on those involved in the electoral process to allow the people of Osun State to freely determine their next governor.

“Leave Osun alone oo, leave it,” he said.

Continue Reading

News

Food for Living: Love What You Do (Pt. 1)

Published

on

By Henry Ukazu

Destiny Friends,

The word ‘love’ is very significant. This is because of its descriptive power towDearards an action or feeling directed at someone or something. However, love means many things to many people, depending on one’s side of the divide.

Love is a beautiful thing. It is a beautiful experience and feeling when one gets it right. It breaks the heart when one loves someone and he/she is not loved back. Trust me, it really hits differently when one is loved in the manner they wished to be loved.

Love cuts all barriers of life, whether we are talking about purpose, health, academic, spirituality, finance, relationships, family, and career/vocation.

Let’s take a minute to dwell on the concepts of love as it relates to loving what one does.

Purpose:

Our purpose in life is much more important than our career. It’s instructive to note your profession is what you are trained to do as an attorney, doctor, engineer, accountant; your vocation is what one is paid to do as 9-5 work or skill work; but your ministry is your calling, that’s where you find your passion, your gift/talent. Our focus in life is to align our vocation, profession and ministry together.

Health:

If we love ourselves, we’ll pay attention to our health and that entails what we eat, how we exercise, and how we pay attention to our body. When we love our health, we’ll pay attention to what we do because our health will ultimately affect all we do.

Academic:

Loving what we do also affects our academics. It’s sad to see students who read majors they have no interest in just because of the job market. If one studies a major they don’t like, it will have an impact in their personal and professional lives. Imagine reading law when one’s interest is in accountancy, engineering or even Mass communication. The level of impact and fulfilment one gets studying a major they like is different from the impact they will deliver if they one don’t like the major. So, it’s advisable for one to study a major they have a strong interest in.

Spirituality:

Our spirituality plays an important role in what we do. We can’t succeed in life without the support of God. According to Evangelist Ebuka Obi, behind every successful man, there’s a spirit working for him. I totally agree with this saying because when you love what you do, the universe has a way of coming close and conspiring to make you succeed because it’s in alignment with God’s master plan and purpose for your life.

Finance

When we love what we do, it will have an influence on our finances especially when we are good at what we do. Everyone likes the best person who can do a job and that even entails paying for a premium service. One of the reasons why most people are poor is simply because they are not solving problems, even though they are solving problems, they are not solving the right problem, or they are not solving the right problem for the right people at the right places and time.

Relationships

To succeed in life, we must pay attention to our relationships because our relationships determine our network which ultimately determines our net worth. Loving what one does also entails being intentional in the people they let into their lives.

Family,

Family is the highest influence in a child’s life. When there is love in the family, the child will learn to love other people when they go outside. According to Mr. Okechukwu Ukazu, you can choose your boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, wife, and best friend, but you can’t choose your family. We don’t have control over who becomes our family either as parents or siblings because that’s how God designed it. Do you see why family is everything?

Career/vocation

Succeeding in life entails working in a profession or vocation we like. When we like what we are doing, and what we are doing like us, we shall be successful. It’s sad to see people working in jobs they don’t like just to pay the bills. It’s instructive to note that at creation God grants us talents and gifts to succeed in life, but because of the challenges of life, some of us now settle for something else. This is why some people are victims of defective success because as they climb the corporate ladder, one day, they will realize that they have gotten to the top only to realize they were climbing the wrong ladder of success.

Have you ever wondered why some people feel frustrated and depressed in life despite having resources at their disposal? It’s simply because they don’t like what they are doing. Loving what you do has a strong correlation to one’s physical and psychological and mental success in life.

In conclusion, to succeed, endeavor to love what you do.

Henry Ukazu writes from New York. He works with the New York City Department of Correction as the Legal Coordinator. He’s the founder of Gloemi. He’s a Transformative Human Capacity and Mindset coach. He is also a public speaker, youth advocate, creative writer and author of Design Your Destiny Design, Unleash Your Destiny and The Six Pillars of Succes . He can be reached via info@gloemi.com

Continue Reading

News

Glo Records Largest Internet Subscriber Growth in Nigeria in May 

Published

on

Digital solution provider, Globacom, recorded the highest Internet subscriber growth among Nigeria’s major telecom companies for the month of May.

Data from the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, Nigeria’s total Internet users increased to 157 million in May, up from 154.3 million in April. That is a growth of 2.67 million users in one month.

Globacom led the market by adding about 1.2 million new Internet subscribers. This means Glo was responsible for almost half of all new Internet users in May.

The company’s subscriber base grew from 15.5 million in April to 16.8 million in May. Airtel came second with 1.07 million new users, moving from 54.8 million to 55.8 million. MTN added 382,894 users to reach 83.5 million.

T2 Mobile, formerly 9mobile, recorded no growth for the second month in a row. Its subscriber base remained at 802,534. This is despite its roaming agreement with MTN, which was approved almost a year ago to help T2 customers use MTN’s network in areas with poor coverage.

Industry experts say Glo’s strong growth is due to its ongoing network upgrade. Since last year, the company has been building new base stations, expanding its fibre network, and adding thousands of new 4G sites across cities and rural areas.

The upgrades have improved voice and data quality for customers, while Globacom remain committed to providing better network experience and affordable Internet services to more Nigerians.

Continue Reading