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One of the nine aspirants jostling to become National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Olabode George, has explained his decision to withdraw from the race.

George announced his decision moments after the convention screening committee had cleared him for the exercise.

He insisted that he did not step down for another candidate and also raised concerns about the fallout of the convention.

According to him, he withdrew because the South West was already cheated with the entrants of aspirants from the South-South.

George made it clear he stands with the micro-zoning principal of the party, which has been abandoned.

He also blasted Rivers Governor, Nyesom Wike, for abusing the Yoruba people on a national television, when he said the South West has never contributed anything meaningful to the success of the PDP.

Below is the full text of his speech at the press conference where he backed out of the race:

Since the ancient days when the Yoruba people began their historical challenges on the plains and the hills of Ile-Ife, we have always been defined by our instinctive integrity, our methodical industry, our consistent loyalty and our steadfastness in protecting and defending the truth.

It is in all these characterization that I have personally lived my life. It is in all these summative portraits that I have pursued my personal and political engagements, strengthened in the resolve that truth, sincerity of purpose, fearlessness, equity, ethical balance are the basic ingredients of a purposeful life.

I have gone through many travails in my life. I have climbed the highest hills. and I have been through the lowest valleys. But in all, I have been guided by the holiest of heart’s affection, the genuine and the utmost surrender to the will of the Lord.

But I have never been afraid of a good fight. I have never disengaged from a meaningful challenge. I have always committed myself to any struggle with absolute dedication and unflinching, resolute vision.

It is in this spirit and clarity of selfless engagement that I decided to run for the National Chairmanship position of our great party. I did not enter the contest for any personal benefits. I did not throw myself into the fray because of some pecuniary benefits.

I have come to serve. I have come to offer myself because I believe in the greater glory of our party and in the growth and development of our nation. I have served continuously for 10 years in various high level positions in our party administration, including the second highest echelon of Deputy National Chairman.

With all sense of humility, I can say that I know the workings and all the administrative processes and the tools of making our party work.

That shattering and very divisive crises of the last two years have made our party very vulnerable, weak and basically tottering on the edges of the cliff.

Less than one year before the next general election, our party must now elect new managers to direct our affairs. The foremost of these new managers is the position of the National Chairman.

In this highly challenging scenario, the party naturally needs an experienced, trusted, proven, reliable and astute administrator who can guide our party to the land of redemption and the land of triumphant rebound.

It is in this vein that I have offered my humble service to lead our party.

But more importantly, I have entered the contest on the fundamental predication of the micro-zoning principle as laid down by our founding fathers.

The zoning principle, which was publicly reinforced last year in Port Harcourt, had specifically and rightly affirmed the South-West as the zone to produce the National Chairman. This binding proclamation was based on equity, fairness and natural balance that hold any organisation together.

But this old, legitimate and morally sound micro-zoning principle has now been trashed, dumped in the waste bin, flung into the gutter by very little men who have compromised the pivotal moral anchor of civilised engagement for temporary selfish gains.

Everywhere you look, the Yoruba people are now being brazenly insulted. The very traditional fiber of our founding fathers is now being trampled upon, debased and soiled by external forces and mercenary traitors within.

It appears the PDP is now bent on self-destruction. It has obviously allowed money moguls to dictate its thematic largeness. The party has lost its soul. It has lost its principled beginning and the predications of righteousness. It has traded the finer principles of democratic guidance and equity for the squalid, dirty and shameful resort to mercenary agenda where nothing matters save the putrid, oafish gains of the moment.

I cannot be part of this screaming aberration. And as the Atona of Yoruba land, I do not expect any well-meaning, well disciplined, forthright, sincere Omoluabi of Yoruba land to continue with this deceit and shameful theater.

The Peoples Democratic Party has now mangled and distorted its soul and spirit. There is no morality here anymore. There is no sanity or any sense of enlightened civility.

As a result of these observed aberrations wherein the position of the National Chairman has been apparently sold and auctioned to the highest bidder, I, as an Omoluabi and as an authentic Atona of Yorubaland, will not partake in this charade.

I, hereby, withdraw from this brazen fraud and absolutely preconceived, monetized, mercantilist convention.

The Yoruba people have been openly maligned. The Yoruba have been savaged, tormented, treated with contempt, scurried, scoffed at, humiliated and denigrated by little men whose sun will soon set.

As a Yoruba patriot and the pathfinder of Yoruba land, I will stand by our people, I will stay with them thick or thin, I will fight for their good cause without compromising any ethics.

The Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike must as a matter of priority and ethical importance tender unreserved apology to the people of Yoruba land for his unguarded utterances on national television this morning. It was a show of shame.

I thank you all for listening.

BIG STORY

Senate Passes Bill For Ijebu State Creation For First Reading

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The Nigerian Senate on Tuesday passed a bill for the creation of Ijebu State, marking the first reading of the proposal during its plenary session.

The bill, which seeks to establish Ijebu as an independent state, was sponsored by Senator Gbenga Daniel, representing Ogun State.

Titled the “Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Sixth 1 Alteration) Bill, 2024 (Creation of Ijebu State),” the proposed legislation aims to carve out Ijebu from the current Ogun State.

The bill was introduced by Senate Majority Leader Michael Bamidele of the All Progressives Congress as the “fourth order of the day” during the plenary.

After reading the title of the bill, Senate President Godswill Akpabio moved the proposal forward, passing it for its first reading and setting the stage for further legislative processes.

The bill will now undergo a series of discussions and evaluations before it can proceed to the next stages of approval.

The push for the creation of Ijebu State is part of a broader national discourse on the need for more state creation across Nigeria, particularly in regions where there are growing demands for administrative autonomy.

If the bill successfully progresses through the required legislative procedures, Ijebu, currently a part of Ogun State, could become a separate state with its own governance structures.

This development comes amid increasing calls for state creation in various parts of the country, with proponents arguing that new states could better address local needs, foster economic growth, and enhance political representation.

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BIG STORY

An Aspirant Gave Each Delegate $30,000 During PDP Primary In 2022 — Dele Momodu

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Dele Momodu, publisher of Ovation Magazine, says he regrets spending about N50 million to buy the presidential nomination form of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2022.

Momodu spoke in a recent interview on Eden Oasis, published on Sunday.

The journalist and politician said the primary was heavily monetised, with a particular aspirant doling out $30,000 to each of the 774 delegates who voted during the election.

The politician stated that he would not vie for any party’s presidential ticket unless he is adopted as a consensus candidate.

“Experience is the best teacher. I have come to realise that there are powers that you can describe as principalities that control Nigeria,” he said.

“Unless a major political party decides to adopt me — where you have a consensus of people who say Dele Momodu is best suited to change and to lead Nigeria. Then I will consider it.

“But if I have to pick my money to buy a presidential nomination form of about N100 million… I spent about N50 million to buy the form for the last one.

“N50 million would have bought me a property. It was a waste. I didn’t get even one vote because everything was monetised.

“One of the candidates paid as much as $30,000 per delegate, and we had 774 delegates.

“So, how do you want to compete with them? They have stolen the country blind and are doing all kinds of deals to make money, especially those in the oil-rich areas.

“It is not easy. You can’t compete with them. That’s why they insult Nigerians anyhow because of the amount of money available to them in raw cash. There’s no country where people buy raw cash like Nigeria.

“The bulk of their money is not in any bank. So, they are not traceable to any bank. So, they have the money. If today you say to some politicians that you need $500 million to become a president, they will find it.

“So, people like us, where will I start from?”

Momodu was one of the presidential hopefuls of the PDP at the time. He did not secure any votes during the exercise.

Atiku Abubakar clinched the presidential ticket with 371 votes to beat his closest challenger, Nyesom Wike, now minister of the federal capital territory (FCT), who polled 237 votes.

Abubakar was defeated by Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2023 presidential election.

Bukola Saraki, former senate president, scored 70 votes; Bala Mohammed, Bauchi governor, got 20 votes; Udom Emmanuel, former governor of Akwa Ibom, secured 38 votes; while Pius Anyim, former secretary to the government of the federation, polled 14 votes.

Sam Ohuabunwa, a businessman, alongside Momodu and Ayodele Fayose, the former governor of Ekiti, received zero votes.

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BIG STORY

We’ll Reintroduce Bill Seeking 6-Year Single Term For President, Governors Despite Rejection — Rep

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Ikeagwuonu Ugochinyere, a member of the House of Representatives, says the push for a six-year single term for president and governors will continue despite the bill’s rejection.

The bill, which was slated for a second reading during Thursday’s plenary session, was rejected by lawmakers in the Green Chamber.

Sponsored by Ikeagwuonu from Imo State and 33 other lawmakers, the bill also sought to amend Section 3 of the Constitution to recognize the division of Nigeria into six geopolitical zones.

Briefing journalists on Thursday evening, the lawmaker described the rejection of the bill as a “temporary setback.”

“The struggle to reform our constitutional democracy to be all-inclusive and provide an avenue for justice, equity, and fairness has not been lost,” he said.

The lawmaker added that voting against the bill by the parliament “does not put an end to agitation and hope that we will realise this objective.”

“This is a temporary setback which does not affect the campaign for an inclusive democratic process,” he said.

The Imo lawmaker stated that the sponsors of the bill will review the decision of the House and “find possible ways of reintroducing it after following due legislative procedures.”

“All I can tell Nigerians is that we will continue the advocacy and convince our colleagues to see reason with us. If elections are held in one day, it will reduce cost and rigging,” he said.

“If power rotates, it will help deescalate political tensions, and a six-year single term will go a long way in helping elective leaders focus on delivering their democratic mandate.”

“All hope is not lost, we will continue the advocacy, and we hope that when reintroduced, our colleagues will support it.”

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