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The Peoples Democratic Party has called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission to beam their searchlights on the finance of the administration of Governor Rauf Aregbesola . The PDP chairman in Osun State, Mr . Soji Adagunodo, made this call at a press conference in Osogbo on Thursday .

The senator representing the Osun East Senatorial District at the Senate, Ademola Adeleke , and many governorship aspirants of the party including a former Secretary to the State Government , Alhaji Fatai Akinbade ; a former Speaker , Adejare Bello , and Chief Nathaniel Oke ( SAN) , were present at the briefing .

The party said the audited report of the state government which the European Union transparency initiative forced them to release to the public was replete with alleged glaring evidence of financial recklessness .

The PDP chairman said , “For example , the Office of the Governor which is principally made up of the Governor , Deputy Governor , Secretary to the State Government and the Chief of Staff , expended a sum of N6 , 367 , 390 , 350 . 64 in one year . This was higher than the entire money spent on education, agriculture and health in the same year .

“ Of this figure , the sum of over N5 bn and N50 m was spent on overheads in the office of the governor . This was an increase of almost 400 per cent on the sum of N1 . 2 bn spent on the same overheads in 2015. The question is what could be responsible for this astronomical rise in the overhead cost of running the Office of the Governor within 12 months ? How much of this money was funnelled into private pockets and on political patronage ?”

He said the huge money spent by the governor on running his office happened in a year when the state got zero allocation and borrowed over N26 bn.

Adagunodo lamented that it was in the same year that Osun was ranked the fourth in the list of states with the highest domestic debt in Nigeria .

The other three states – Lagos , Delta and Akwa -Ibom, are very high earners from the federation account and internally generated revenue.

The PDP chairman claimed further that Aregbesola according to the audited report , spent over N276 m on the improvement of his office infrastructure in 2016 , while a paltry sum of N1 . 18 m was spent on the improvement of infrastructure in the hospitals in the 30 local government areas and the Ife East area office in the same year .

Some of the other alleged wasteful expenses according to him are: over N10 m spent on the building of a website called the O – JOB portal as well as several millions of naira on the maintenance of an aircraft .

Adagunodo said . “ Another sad revelation coming out from very credible government sources was the approval and payment of an additional sum of N1 bn as variation cost on the construction of three prototype high schools in Iwo , Osogbo and Ilesa .

“ Even though this contract was awarded in 2013 and some of these schools were inaugurated in 2016 , the Aregbesola administration approved an upward review of the contract sum from N4 . 05 bn to N5 . 002 bn in January 2018 . This , to all intents and purposes , is contrary to the provisions of extant financial regulations and principles of accountability . ”

The party chairman said the PDP was compelled to come out with the alleged financial recklessness in order to sensitise the people and to show them why Osun State was in a financial mess with unpaid salaries and pensions .

But the Commissioner for Information , Mr . Adelani Baderinwa , when contacted described the allegations of the opposition party as spurious and baseless .He said the PDP was coming out with these allegations because of the success of the tour of the federal constituencies recorded by the governor .

He urged the people of the state to discountenance what he called concocted lies to tarnish the image of the government and continue to support the ruling APC government which he said had brought unprecedented development to the state .

BIG STORY

BoT Annuls Abure’s Election, Takes Over Labour Party Affairs, Declares Anambra National Convention A Charade

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The Labour Party’s (LP) Board of Trustees (BoT) announced that it has taken over as the party’s governing body after the previous National Working Committee (NWC), headed by Julius Abure, completed its term in office.

The secret national convention that took place on Wednesday at Nnewi in Anambra State was referred to as a hoax in a statement signed and released by the BoT on Wednesday night through its Chairman, Comrade S.O.Z. Ejiofor.

The statement reads: “Following the expiration of the tenure in office of the immediate past National Working Committee of the Labour Party headed by Mr. Julius Abure, the Board of Trustees of the Labour Party, in line with the Labour Party Constitution, has stepped in to steer the affairs of the Labour Party.

“This step is to avoid any leadership vacuum in the Labour Party.

“Furthermore, the Board of Trustees of the Labour Party, in consultation with major stakeholders in the Party, will soon communicate the processes for the conduct of an all-inclusive and expansive National Convention of the Labour Party.

“This is in line with the March 20, 2018, Federal High Court consent judgement delivered by Justice Gabriel Kolawole, which recognised the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) as the owner of the Labour Party and mandated that an all-inclusive and expansive National Convention of the Labour Party be held.

“The decision of the Board of Trustees is also in furtherance of the agreement signed between the former National Chairman of the Labour Party, Mr. Julius Abure, and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) on 27th June 2022, which was mediated by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

“While we commend members of the Labour Party, especially workers, students, youths, market women and men, Obidients, and candidates on the platform of the Labour Party for their contributions and fidelity to the ideals of the party, the Board of Trustees promises to quickly set in motion processes for the conduct of an all-inclusive and expansive National Convention.

“Unlike the charade that took place today in Nnewi and in tandem with the principles of popular democracy, the all-inclusive National Convention will start with grassroots congresses at ward, local government, state and ultimately at the national level.

“This process will not leave any genuine member of the Labour Party out and will be held in the full view of the Independent National Electoral Commission, media, civil society, security agents and the general public.

“We commend the leader of the Labour Party, Mr. Peter Obi and key stakeholders in the Labour Party for declining to deodorise the malfeasance that took place in Nnewi with their presence.

“The BoT assures all stakeholders that we are committed to reclaiming and repositioning the Labour Party as the vehicle for the socio-political emancipation of our dear country, her working people and populace.”

Earlier on Wednesday, Abure was re-elected as the National Chairman of the Labour Party at a controversial national convention held in Nnewi, Anambra State.

Abure, along with eight others, was declared re-elected into the 22-member National Working Committee (NWC) of the LP by the Chairman of the National Convention and Deputy Governor of Abia State, Ikechukwu Emetu, at the event held at Grand Seasons Hotel in Nnewi.

A communique issued by the LP delegates, who attended the convention, said the party declared its presidential candidate in the 2023 general election, Peter Obi, as its preferred presidential candidate for the 2027 general election.

The controversial convention also adopted the Governor of Abia State, Alex Otti, as the Labour Party governorship candidate for the 2027 gubernatorial election in Abia State.

However, both Obi and Otti were conspicuously absent at the national convention.

Abia Deputy Governor, Emetu, led all members of the State Executive Council (SEC) and members of the National and State Assemblies from the state elected on the LP platform to the national convention.

However, no member of the National and State Assemblies from Anambra State elected under the LP platform except the member representing Peter Obi’s Anaocha/Njikoka/Dunukofia Federal Constituency and Deputy Minority Whip of the House of Representatives, George Ozodinobi, attended the LP national convention.

The controversial re-election of Abure as National Chairman came a week after members of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) picketed the LP secretariat in Abuja.

It would be recalled that the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) had earlier asked Abure to shelve his planned secret national convention.

The NLC had in a statement on Friday, March 15, accused Abure of running the Labour Party as a Sole Administrator by secretly scheduling a supposed national convention of the party without consulting stakeholders.

Members of the NLC, which accused Abure of “financial rascality”, had on Wednesday, March 20, occupied the National headquarters of the Labour Party in Abuja, calling for Abure’s sack as National Chairman of the party.

Reacting to Abure’s re-election earlier on Wednesday, Benson Upah, Spokesperson of the NLC, said, “It is an illegality, a nullity. The whole exercise was a charade! Nothing can legitimise such brazen impunity.”

Also, the factional chairman of the Party in Anambra State, Peter Okoye, boasted that the Nnewi national convention will not stand.

Describing the convention as a sham, Okoye queried: “This is not a convention. We are on top of the matter. It’s purely illegal. There was no ward congress, no local government congress, no state congress, and now who and who are the elected delegates that are electing the National Working Committee (NWC) members?

“The NLC was not there, TUC was not there, the owners of the party and members of the NEC and BOT members were not there either. So, who is holding the convention?”

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BIG STORY

Abure Re-Elected Labour Party National Chairman Amid Disquiet Among Obidients

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Despite opposition from certain party members to the national convention, Julius Abure, National Chairman of the Labour Party, has been re-elected to lead the party for a further four years.

At the party’s national convention, which took place on Wednesday in Nnewi, Anambra State, Mr. Ikechukwu Emetu, the chairman of the convention and the deputy governor of Abia State, proclaimed him the winner.

Abure’s emergence as Labour Party National Chairman is without the support of Obidients who constitute the fulcrum of Peter Obi’s support in the 2023 presidential election.

There are whispers that Obi is not in solidarity with Abure who has been locked in a controversy over campaign funds mismanagement as alleged by the now suspended Labour Party national treasurer, Oluchi Oparah, who accused the national chairman of misappropriating N3.5 billion.

How Labour Party will fare without the support of the Obidients will be closely watched by pundits.

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Fubara Deceived Me Into Working For His Governorship Ambition — FCT Minister Wike

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Nyesom Wike, minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), said governor Siminalayi Fubara used him to actualise his gubernatorial ambition.

Wike, a Former Governor of Rivers State said he regretted helping Fubara become the governor of the oil-rich state.

He expressed his regret while addressing a crowd of supporters, in Port Harcourt over the weekend.

Wike has been at loggerheads with his successor, Governor Fubara for many months now over economic and political control of the state and their faceoff appears a long way from resolution.

Wike said: “You (Fubara) said State Assembly people should not be independent, but you want to be independent. Continue to be independent. Continue to save the democracy of Nigeria. If they like, let them do as they’re doing; if they get to any court they have in the state, let them continue. Let them continue.

“We’ll never be intimidated by that. So let nobody be afraid. Every day, they say they’re doing thanksgiving. They were lucky they didn’t show this early. When we’ve finished winning for them, from polling units to tribunal, from tribunal to court of appeal, they now came saying we want to remove them at Supreme Court.

“Can you imagine? That’s how they collect money from them. They appointed somebody as a judicial consultant. Shame, shame, shame.”

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