BIG STORY

PDP May Die If We Don’t Win 2023 Presidency, Atiku Tells BoT Members

Published

3 years ago

March 16, 2022

Atiku Abubakar, former vice-president, says the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) cannot afford to lose the 2023 presidential election.

Atiku said members of the party must be united and work together in order to win the election in 2023.

Addressing members of the Board of Trustees (BOT) of the party, the former vice-president said some of them would retire from politics in eight years.

“I am worried and you should be worried too that if we do not win, it means we will be in opposition again for the next eight years,” he said.

“By the next eight years, I don’t know how many will be left in politics and it may even ultimately lead to the death of the party because people gravitate, particularly in developing countries, towards governments.

“Ordinary, people naturally gravitate towards the government. So this is a very crucial and historical moment in history for our survival, I want you to think about it. We are now at a crucial moment in this country. For many of you here, it is either we retire together or we move on together.”

While commending the performance of the party in the 2019 election, Atiku said the PDP can do better in 2023 if members work in unity.

“Somebody said that we recorded 12 million votes during the last election. Those are not only my votes, those were our votes. In achieving or recording those 11 million votes, it was all of us and I believe if we work together again, we can surpass those votes,” he said.

On zoning, the former vice-president said while he is not opposed to rotating the presidency, he has paid his dues and believes it is time for him to take the reins as president.

“In the party, we invented and formulated this zoning policy simply because we wanted every part of this country to have a sense of belonging and I personally have paid my dues on the issue of zoning,” he said.

“Many of you were members of our government when all the PDP governors came in 2003 and said I should run and I said no. We have agreed that power should remain in the south-west, Why should I?

“Some of those governors that supported me, some of them went to jail, some of them were kicked out of their offices, we made sure that we kept the policy. Therefore, you cannot come and try to imply that the PDP has not been following the zoning policy.

“Some say the south-east has not been given the chance. When I joined the Action Congress of Nigeria (CAN) which my friend Bola (Tinubu) set up, he gave me a set of conditions for giving me the ticket, one of which was that I should make him the vice-president.

“I said no, ‘I’m not going to make you vice-president,’ instead, I took senator Ben Obi. So there is absolutely no reason they should say that there is a deliberate attempt to exclude the south-east in political participation or power-sharing.

“So I thought I should disabuse your mind and of course, as an enlightened political class, I don’t think there’s any deliberate policy to exclude anybody in this country.”

Post Views: 618

Related Topics:2023 Abubakar Atiku bigstory PDP

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BIG STORY

Two US-Based Nigerians Bag 30-Year Jail For $3.5m Romance Scam

Published

4 mins ago

November 26, 2024

PorscheClassy News

Two Nigerians, Anthony Ibekie and Samuel Aniukwu, have been sentenced by a United States federal jury to a combined 30 years in prison for defrauding US citizens of $3.5 million.

The sentencing was announced in a press release made available on the US Department of Justice website on Monday.

According to the statement, Ibekie and Aniukwu deceived their victims by claiming they had received substantial inheritances that required money to be claimed. The duo would then ask the victims to send money with the promise of reimbursement once the inheritances were secured.

The statement also highlighted that the pair carried out romance scams, building online relationships with their victims to gain their trust, only to later demand money.

It read, “An undercover law enforcement investigation has resulted in federal prison sentences for two Nigerian nationals residing in the Chicago suburbs who conducted online inheritance scams and other fraud schemes.

“Using aliases, Anthony Emeka Ibekie and Samuel Aniukwu communicated with victims throughout the United States, convincing them they had received substantial inheritances and needed to send money to individuals associated with the defendants in order to claim it.

“In addition to the inheritance scam, the pair carried out an online romance scam that involved communicating with victims via social media and dating websites, building trust with the victims through a purported online romance, and convincing them to send money to a predetermined recipient. Aniukwu and Ibekie also orchestrated a ‘business email compromise’ scam that targeted corporate email accounts.

“The fraud schemes were uncovered by a covert law enforcement investigation. The scams resulted in losses to victims of at least $3.5 million.”

The statement further noted that after facing at least 14 charges, Ibekie and Aniukwu pleaded guilty to the accusations. As a result, Ibekie was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Thursday, while Aniukwu received a 10-year sentence on November 8.

The statement continued, “A federal jury earlier this year convicted Ibekie, 59, of Oswego, Ill., on all 14 counts of wire fraud, mail fraud, money laundering, making false statements to a bank, and passport fraud. U.S. District Judge Steven C. Seeger on Thursday sentenced Ibekie to 20 years in federal prison.

“Aniukwu, 50, of Romeoville, Ill., pleaded guilty last year to wire fraud and money laundering charges. Judge Seeger on Nov. 8, 2024, sentenced Aniukwu to 10 years in prison.”

Meanwhile, an accomplice of Ibekie and Aniukwu, US citizen Jennifer Gosha, is set to be sentenced on December 18 following her guilty plea.

“A third defendant, Jennifer Gosha, 52, a U.S. citizen from Oak Park, Ill., pleaded guilty earlier this year to charges of wire fraud and making false statements to a federal agent. Gosha is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Seeger on December 18, 2024,” the statement concluded.

Post Views: 9

BIG STORY

JUST IN: Ebonyi Governor Suspends Health, Housing Commissioners Over “Gross Misconduct, Negligence Of Duty”

Published

2 hours ago

November 26, 2024

PorscheClassy News

The Governor of Ebonyi State, Francis Nwifuru, has suspended the state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Moses Ekuma, and his counterpart in Housing and Urban Development, Francis Ori.

The suspensions occurred on Monday during the State Executive Council meeting in Abakaliki, the state capital.

A statement issued by the Commissioner for Information and State Orientation, Jude Okpor, on Tuesday morning, read, “Following cases of gross misconduct and dereliction of duties by some government officials and matters related thereto, the Chairman of Council directed the indefinite suspension of the Honourable Commissioner for Housing and Urban Development and three months suspension of the Honourable Commissioner for Health respectively.”

Reports suggest that the suspensions may be linked to the alleged theft of government property by officials in the Ministry of Health and the reported underperformance of the Housing and Urban Development commissioner, particularly regarding his poor management of the Amaeze Housing Scheme in the Ishielu Local Government Area.

It is also recalled that the governor visited the health ministry’s premises on Saturday night, where six officials were allegedly caught diverting government materials. He subsequently ordered their arrest and prosecution.

Post Views: 47