Fielding Jonathan for presidential poll an error – PDP

The Peoples Democratic Party has asked Nigerians to forgive the party for its inability to meet their yearnings in the past 16 years.

The party also said that fielding former President Goodluck Jonathan as the PDP candidate for the 2015 Presidential election was an error. It added that the party was aware that Nigerians were angry with it because of some actions it took when it was in power.

The PDP said it was ready to mend fences and this was why it was organising a national conference where all issues affecting the former ruling party would be discussed.

The Chairman, National Planning Committee of the conference, Dr. Raymond Dokpesi, said this at a news conference in Abuja on Tuesday.

Dokpesi, a chieftain of the party from Edo State, was flanked at the briefing by members of the planning committee of the conference.

The defeat of the party in the last general election came to its leaders as a surprise.

Apart from losing the Presidency to the All Progressives Congress, the PDP also lost in some states where it was hitherto popular.

Dokpesi attributed the defeat to many errors committed by the party and its leadership, but asked Nigerians “to forgive and forget.”

He said, “We are aware that there were errors we made. We admit that we made mistakes and we have not met the expectation of Nigerians and we tendered unreserved apologies for these mistakes.

“You must have seen the Ike Ekweremadu report on why we are apologising. There was no internal democracy. There was impunity within the party and there was no level-playing ground for members of the party.

“Zoning principles of the party were abandoned and gamuts of all other issues, which will come out during the conference and for all these and the people who have been offended; for people whose toes were stepped upon, we also tendered an unreserved apology.

“These are the reasons why we are begging and apologising. We want to assure every founding member of the party that we deviated from their visions. That is why we are going to have all our founding fathers, like Adamu Ciroma, Dr. Alex Ekwueme and other members of the G.34, to come and talk to us at the conference.

“For every and any mistake we have made, I therefore say, we tender our unreserved apologies.”

Asked if the mistake of the party included the fielding of the former President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan as its presidential candidate in 2015 poll, he said it was wrong for the party to have abandoned zoning in preference for the former President.

Dokpesi said the party ought to have allowed the northern part of the country to complete its term when former President Umaru Yar’Adua died in 2010.

He said, “The party in 2010 and 2011 made the first round of mistake of not allowing the North to complete its term.

“That was when the party gave a special favour to the then President (Jonathan), who came to compete the term of Yar’Adua, to be allowed to finish just a term.

[FULL LIST] Ministers and their portfolios

President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday named a former governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), the Minister of Power, Works and Housing.

The ministry is a merger of three ministries: Power, Works as well as Housing, Land and Urban Development.

The President, shortly after inaugurating the ministers, also named a former governor of Rivers State, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, the Minister for Transportation.

Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers)–Transportation

Chris Ngige (Anambra)–Labour and Employment

Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti)–Solid Minerals

Babatunde Fashola (Lagos)–Power, Works and Housing

Abdulrahman Dambazau (Kano)–Interior

Aisha Alhassan (Taraba)–Women Affairs

Ogbonnaya Onu (Ebonyi)–Science and Technology

Kemi Adeosun (Ogun)–Finance

Abubakar Malami (Kebbi)–Justice

Hadi Sirika (Katsina)–State for Aviation

Suleiman Adamu (Jigawa)–Water Resources

Solomon Dalong (Plateau)–Youths and Sports

Ibe Kachikwu (Delta)–State for Petroleum

Osagie Ehanire (Edo)–State for Health

Audu Ogbeh (Benue)–Agriculture

Udo Udo Udoma (Akwa Ibom)–Budget and National Planning

Lai Mohammed (Kwara)–Information

Amina Mohammed (Gombe)–Environment

Ibrahim Usman Jibril (Nasarawa)–State, Environment

Anthony Onwuka (Imo), State for Education

Muhammadu Bello (Adamawa)–FCT

Adamu Adamu (Bauchi)–Education

Okechukwu Enelamah (Abia)–Industry Trade and Investment

Aisha Abubakar (Sokoto) State for Trade, Industry and Investment

Khadija Bukar Abba (Yobe), State for Foreign Affairs

Claudius Daramola (Ondo)–State, Niger Delta

Geoffrey Onyeama (Enugu)–Foreign Affairs

Monsur Dan-Ali (Zamfara)–Defence

James Ocholi (Kogi), State for Labour

Zainab Ahmed (Kaduna), State for Budget

Mustapha Shehuri (Borno)–State for Power

Heineken Lokpobiri (Bayelsa)–State for Agric

Isaac Adewole Folorunsho (Osun)–Health

Usani Usani Uguru (Cross River)– Niger Delta

Abubakar Bwari Bawa (Niger)–State for Solid Minerals

Adebayo Shittu (Oyo)–Communications

Muhammadu Buhari–Petroleum

ADVERTISEMENT

Nigeria’s problems can’t be solved in a day – APC

National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun

President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday met behind closed doors with members of the National Working Committee of the All Progressives Congress inside the Defence House, Maitama, Abuja.

The President’s guests were led to the meeting by the party’s National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun.

Odigie-Oyegun later told journalists that they decided to embark on the visit in order to pledge their loyalty to the President and express their determination to work with him through thick and thin.

He said Buhari could always depend on the party which he used as a platform to become the President.

Odigie-Oyegun added that the party noted the fact that Nigerians’ expectations were extremely high and that the public expects a totally new dawn.

He said, “On that note, we told him we are with him and that he will succeed because the entire party will be galvanised as one man behind him to ensure that days into this Presidency that Nigerians will indeed see that things are changing.

“All the problems cannot be solved in one day but what Nigerians want is to be sure that we are getting it right and that we are on the proper path towards addressing their long frustration towards ameliorating their condition and that is what they will get.”

Wike orders Perm Secs to produce 18-month account details

Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike

The RIVERS State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, has directed permanent secretaries in the state to produce account details of their ministries’ expenditure over the last 18 months.

Wike also advised the permanent secretaries to shun partisan politics as career civil servants, adding that the role some of them played in the closing days of the immediate past administration was politically-motivated.

The governor, who addressed the permanent secretaries during a meeting at the Government House, Port Harcourt on Tuesday, expressed regret that some of them helped the immediate past administration to illegally withdraw funds from government coffers up to May 28, 2015.

“I want full details and printout of every ministry’s account in the last 18 months. I will not accept any handover note without an accompanying account details.

hady oil deals: Reps reject move to absolve Diezani

Former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke

The House of Representatives failed again on Tuesday to make progress on the consideration of the report on the Petroleum Industry Bill.

The lawmakers also stopped a report, which sought to give a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, and other actors a clean bill of health in their alleged involvement in “shady deals.”

The House has only Wednesday (today) and Thursday (tomorrow) left to sit before the expiration of its current tenure on June 5.

The PUNCH had long reported exclusively that the House might abandon the bill, as it was making slow progress on the 348-page report.

As the consideration resumed at Tuesday’s session, which was presided over by the Deputy Speaker, Mr. Emeka Ihedioha, members were noticeably divided along regional and political lines.

For example, the provision for a Frontier Exploration Fund to be used for exploring oil in other parts of the country, outside the South, divided members along regional lines.

Buhari seeks Senate approval to appoint 15 advisers

President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday requested the approval of the Senate to approve 15 Special Advisers who will assist him to carry out his functions as the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.

The President, in a letter addressed to the Senate President, David Mark, said his request was in accordance with Section 151 (1) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, (as amended ).

The President did not attach the list of the 15 special advisers but craved the indulgence of the federal parliamentarians to urgently consider his request.

Buhari’s first letter to the Senate, read by Mark, noted that his action, was pursuant to the provision of the constitution which confers on him the power to appoint special advisers to assist him in the performance of his functions.

Buhari said, “I write to request for your kind consideration and approval of the distinguished members of the Senate of the Federal Republic to appoint 15 special advisers as prescribed in Section 151(2-3) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).

Osun earned N204bn in four years –Aregbesola 

Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola

The Osun State Governor, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, said on Tuesday that the state earned N204bn from the federation account, internally generated revenues and other accruals from Abuja between 2010 and 2014.

The governor gave this explanation in his speech when he inaugurated the sixth assembly in the state.

Aregbesola spoke just as Mr. Najeem Salaam was returned as the Speaker of the House of Assembly for the second term.

The governor, who was obviously reacting to allegations of financial recklessness levelled against his administration by the Social Democratic Party in the state, denied exposing the state to a financial crisis.

While promising that things would soon get better, the governor traced the genesis of the financial crisis in the state to 2012 when salaries increased drastically as a result of hike in wages.