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PANDEF youth wing rejects Peter Obi’s endorsement
The Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) Youth Wing has distanced itself from the endorsement of the Labour Party (LP) Presidential candidate, Mr Peter Obi, by some members of the national leadership of the forum.
Rising from an emergency meeting on Sunday in Yenagoa, Bayelsa, the headquarters of PANDEF, the leadership of PANDEF Youth Wing, South-South States, said those who purportedly endorsed Obi in a meeting of the Southern Nigeria and Middle Belt Leaders recently were on their own.
They claimed that Obi’s endorsement was done without due consultations with stakeholders, particularly the youth body of PANDEF, comprising national officers and state chapters chairmen.
Their position was contained in a communiqué after the meeting, presided over by the National Deputy Youth Leader, Mr Vincent Oyibode, and signed by Edo Youth Leader, Mr Don Ben; Rivers Youth Leader, Mr Henry George; Akwa Ibom Youth Leader, Mr Victor Asuquo; Cross River Youth Leader, Chief Ani Esin; Delta State Youth Leader, Chief Sylvester Okumagba and Bayelsa Youth Leader, Mr Berenengia Samuel.
The PANDEF youths said the purported endorsement was against the spirit and letters of the PANDEF Constitution in Article 1 (1) which stipulated that PANDEF was a non-political, non-partisan and non-religious organisation of the Niger Delta people.
They stated that in a meeting where sensitive decisions were to be taken, it must involve all the national executive officers and state chapters chairmen, including those of the youth wings.
They added that such meetings must be at the headquarters of the organisation in Yenagoa.
The PANDEF youths stated: “There was no time PANDEF ever held a meeting to debate the need to participate or take a position as a group on the 2023 general elections and that those who purportedly endorsed Obi at that meeting spoke for themselves and not PANDEF and the South-South region of the Niger Delta.
“That the major focus of PANDEF is to promote sons and daughters of the region on issues of public interest that bear direct and indirect impact on the well-being of the Niger Delta people as that is the constitutional aim and objective of the PANDEF Constitution.
“That the same persons, without any meeting with stakeholders, have given ultimatum to a son of the Niger Delta, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, the Vice Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to drop his ambition for reasons best known to them and that this does not have the blessing of the youths of region.”
The youths also expressed concern over the monetary policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) now posing challenges to Nigerians and called on the Federal Government to as a matter of urgency, put up an acceptable implementation mechanism.
They sympathised with the families of youths that lost their lives in Edo and other places due to the poorly implemented monetary policy.
They called on the CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, to release the new Naira notes and also the network services should be made to be working efficiently.
The PANDEF youths also called on the youths of Nembe Kingdom in Bayelsa where some persons were reportedly killed recently during rival groups clash to sheathe their swords and embrace peace.
They contended that the era had passed where brothers killed each other due to political interests, saying that politics would always come and go but community would remain forever.
“Those few individual members of the national exco of PANDEF who purportedly issued the statement of endorsement of Peter Obi do not have the interest of the Niger Delta region because they disobeyed the constitution of PANDEF by nominating themselves into the Obi campaign organisation.”
Reacting to the youths position in a telephone interview with News reporters, Mr Ken Robinson, Spokesman for PANDEF, dismissed the action as “childish”.
He said that claims that PANDEF’s endorsement was done without consultations were false as most of the signatories to the rejection were indeed in the meeting when Obi met with PANDEF in Yenagoa.
“We are going to deal with this internally as it is not tangible enough to warrant joining issues with a handful of misguided youths
“The mastermind of this is an appointee of a governor and he took few youths, about seven of them, on this misguided voyage.
“PANDEF’s endorsement of Obi stands, all the organs of PANDEF met Obi in December at Yenagoa and we promised to brief PANDEF leader, Pa Edwin Clark who subsequently endorsed Obi and so PANDEF is unanimously mobilising support, using our structures for Obi.
“We are also behind Pa Clerk on his call on Okowa to pull out of the race because as far back as 2021, PANDEF had resolved that for equity and fairness, power should shift to the South after eight years of Northern Presidency and Okowa was amongst those that took the decision,” Robinson said.
The Federal Government has announced that the demolition of buildings situated within the right of way of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road will commence this coming Saturday.
According to Channels Television’ on Thursday, the Federal Controller of Works in Lagos State, Korede Keisha, disclosed this during a press briefing held in Lagos on Thursday.
Keisha urged all residents whose houses have been earmarked for demolition to visit the ministry’s secretariat in Lagos to address any necessary procedures required by the ministry.
She stated that the demolition team would commence the removal of the marked properties on Saturday.
Keisha said, “So this press briefing is just to create awareness for all those that may be involved or have one or two things to do along that project corridor.
“We’ve sent out demolition notices to as many as are within the right of way and we are using this medium now to say that everyone that has any concern within that corridor and have been served, the secretariat is opened to them from today, 3pm.
“We are welcoming them from today till tomorrow. Whatever you have to do along that axis, and then we’ve come to you and marked you down for demolition, we are asking that you see us at the secretariat from today till tomorrow evening.
“Thereafter, demolition squad will move to action by Saturday morning for the first three kilometres.”
The minister added, “For the first three kilometres, anything within the right of way of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway will be dropped down from Saturday morning.
“So, I want to use this medium to reach out to as many as we cannot put calls across to, that this will go a long way to let them know that their issues will be sorted out between today and tomorrow.
“Especially if you are within zero to three kilometres of the projects and you have been marked. You have been identified as standing in the right of way of the project corridors.”
Recently, Minister of Works Dave Umahi disclosed that the construction of the Lagos-Calabar coastal road is expected to span eight years and cost N4 billion per kilometre
The 700 km Lagos-Calabar coastal road will be constructed for N15 trillion, and a kilometre of the road will cost N4 billion.
It is designed to connect Lagos to Cross River, passing through Ogun, Ondo, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, and Akwa Ibom states before culminating in Cross River.
Hamma Bello, the eighth posecution witness in the trial of a former Head of Service of the Federation, Winifred Oyo-Ita, narrated before Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court, Maitama, Abuja, on Thursday, how the defendant and her subordinates diverted public funds into their private companies.
Oyo-Ita, the first defendant, is facing criminal prosecution by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission alongside her special assistants, Ugbong Effiok (seventh defendant), and Garba Umar (fourth defendant).
Others are six companies: Frontline Ace Global Services Limited, Asanaya Projects Limited, Slopes International Limited, U and U Global Services Ltd, Prince Mega Logistics Ltd, and Good Deal Investments, on 18 counts bordering on misappropriation, official corruption, money laundering, and criminal diversion of funds to the tune of over N3bn.
The witness, while being led in evidence by prosecution counsel, Faruk Abdullahi, and H.M. Mohammed, told the court that Oyo-Ita used Slopes International Limited and Good Deal Investments Limited – fifth and sixth defendants respectively, to fraudulently award government contracts to herself through the fourth defendant, Umar.
The first entry transaction of Good Deal Investment Limited in February 2019 showed that N42,748, 201.47 was paid into its Zenith Bank account.
The witness said, “We called for the account statements of these two companies, upon analysing them, we realised he (Umar) was paid several sums of money from the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing where he is an employee.
“And upon interviewing the fourth defendant, he admitted that he was also a contractor. He also admitted to have paid the first defendant on several occasions from the proceeds of the transaction.”
On April 27, 2019, the witness disclosed that a transfer of N20, 2027, 142 was made in the name of Ibrahim Madu to the Zenith Bank account of Asanaya Projects Limited.
The mandate card of the account bears the signature and photo of the seventh defendant, Effiok.
Investigation, according to the witness, also revealed that the seventh defendant incorporated Asanaya Projects Limited in his name with the knowledge of the first defendant and that approvals were granted and payments made to the seventh defendant either through his personal account or to the account of the company.
The witness said, “The seventh defendant, upon interview, confirmed he had never travelled for most of the funds he received and that the first defendant was aware of and benefitted on several occasions from the funds. The account of U and U Global Services Limited was also opened by the seventh defendant.
“In summary, from 2015 to 2018, U and U Global Limited received several payments in the form of Duty Tour Allowances and estacodes. Sometimes, payments from the Federal Government were made directly to the account, for instance, on March 24, 2016, he received N40, 313, 453. 58. This particular payment was from the Federal Government.”
Further in his testimony, the witness stated, “Exhibit O is the Fidelity Bank account of Prince Mega Logistics Ltd. On March 27, 2018, and April 6, 2018, there were four entries, N4, 950, 000; N3,946,000, N4,676,000 and N1,478,000, from Thomson Titus Okure, who used to be a colleague of the seventh defendant in the Account Department.
“There were also outward payments to Ignom, Minaro Blessing, Winifred Oyo-Ita, Olarenwaju Godman Olushola and the seventh defendant is the sole signatory of this account.”
peaking further, he said, “I also want to add that we invited the first, second and seventh defendant at different times to our office and interviewed them. In the case of the first defendant, we printed chats from her phone and saw conversations she had with contractors, subordinates, and permanent secretaries. She also voluntarily made a statement to the EFCC.”
The matter was adjourned till April 30, 2024.
The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) President, Mr Festus Osifo, has said that the much-awaited new minimum wage may not be announced on May 1.
Osifo said this while speaking with newsmen on Friday in Abuja.
”The negociation by the Tripartite Committee is still on going. If you remember, the TUC earlier submitted N447, 000 as the new minimum wage but we have harmonised our figure with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) .
“It is now N615,000. Regarding the when for the new minimum wage, the committee is still working.
“So, certainly, May 1, will not work for the pronouncement of the new minimum wage. Except if the Federal Government wants to pay the minimum wage of N500, 000 to workers,”he said.
He however said that the N615,000 demanded by the organised labour is not sacrosanct.
”The government also has its markup and so conversations and negotiations will start and end somewhere, ‘he said.
He also noted that before organised labour arrived at that amount, a proper study was conducted.
”If you look at the N615. 000, you will think that the amount is right but at about the time we did that computation, a dollar was about N1, 700.
”I am hopeful that the committee will meet after May 1,” he said.
NAN reports that the 37-member tripartite committee on minimum wage set up by the Federal Government to continue further negotiations and consultations on the new minimum wage.
The National Minimum Wage Committee is chaired by former Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Bukar Aji, with other members drawn from the Federal Government and State Governments, the Private Sector as well as the Organised Labour.
Shettima notes that though decisions made to salvage the economy remain inevitable, the Federal government is not oblivious of the short-term implications, assuring Nigerians of better days ahead
He urged the committee to be diligent and consult widely in arriving at a fair and decent wage that can alleviate the sufferings of the people.
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