Agony of Benue PDP female legislative aspirant
News & Trends •
by emmanuel afonne7 so i dont know where the story of rejection of result fake list and attacks are coming from we left the venue peacefully and nobody protested or was attacked1 from all indication the conduct of the sept. 29 primary election was a bitter experience though the partys leadership in the state has described the entire process as peaceful with the loser embracing the winner1 ogwuches lamentation to the news agency of nigeria nan suggests that the pdp in ogbadibo might go into the 2019 general election deeply divided1 she alleged that her opponents used thugs to terrify attack and almost stripped her naked in the public because of their bias for her gender1 the acclaimed uk trained lawyer also alleged that the entire exercise was marred by irregularities occasioned by alleged falsification of authentic delegates list which eventually disenfranchised some of her supporters1 according to her the build-up to the primaries witnessed a lot of intimidation and harassment of supporters and delegates that should have voted for her after attempts to force her to step down for her opponent failed1 before we went into the stadium where the primary election took place my agent my coordinators and some key persons in my campaign team were threatened1 some thugs were looking for my agent adolowu lawani while few of them walked straight to the vice chairman of my ward and the women leader and told them that they will chop off their fingers if they voted for me they were threatened right there outside the stadium when they were on queue1 the thugs went as far as warning my campaign coordinator i was standing with him but they never knew i was the lady aspirant. they even mentioned the name of the leader of their group and said that he sent them to warn him and at this point i began to fear for my life and everything1 when we went inside we discovered that the delegate list has been changed. the list that was used was not the original list sent from abuja which they used for the governorship1 also when it was the turn of ogbadibo delegates cast their votes i heard the leader of the party in the local government chris adabba abba saying he was going to stand as the agent of my opponent and that everyone should not vote by themselves but hand the ballot for him to write on behalf of all1 at this point i sensed the process had been hijacked because as our leader he has undue influence on the delegates1 to make good his plans he abba stood as the agent of my opponent and was snatching ballot papers from delegates to write the name of the aspirant who eventually is his cousin1 and when my agent lawani raised observation and confronted him he threatened to slap him and the whole situation became chaotic and the electoral officers threatened to suspend the process ogwuche narrated1 she recounted her ordeal in the hands of the thugs whom she alleged were working for her opponent and the leader of the party in the area stressing that such treatment was an affront on the sensitivity of the female folk1 i saw multitudes gather against my agent and i got closer i saw the some boys hitting him and before i knew it they pounced on me they beat me up mercilessly tore my clothes and stripped me naked in the public right there in the stadium. they also punched my eyes and pulled my hair1 this was what i faced. all these bullying harassment and intimidation just because some people feel more entitled to hold this position than myself. this is unacceptable1 im calling on all authorities out there and good nigerians to look into this situation. this cannot continue to go on the ill treatments against female folk must stop and this is where it stops she added1 no matter the sympathy or bias the position of some stakeholders who spoke to nan appeared to have diluted the allegations brought forward by the female aspirant1 the chairman of aiodo ward 1 where ogwuche came from hon. idoko ojo alias ojotu said the exercise was conducted in a free and fair atmosphere1 he also dismissed the claims of harassment and intimidation of any voter and falsification of the delegates list as alleged by the female aspirant1 on that fateful day our party delegates voted peacefully and there was no form of violence harassment or intimidation1 our people respect the zoning arrangements existing in our constituency a lot that was why some of us advised aida to wait till it gets to the turn of our own district to go to the house of assembly but she refused. she kept thinking that she could do magic to win but the reality was that she lost out he stated1 ojo further alleged that his life was now being threatened by some suspected cultists who he claimed were sent by the aspirant to recover the money she gave to the delegates during the primary election1 i got a phone call by an unknown caller and i asked to know the identity of the person. but he told me not to bother about his name. he asked me if i was ojotu and i said yes. he said he was directed to arrange all the money that aida gave to me and send back to him1 for barrister aida-nath ogwuche benue state house of assembly female aspirant for ogbadibo constituency in zone c in the 2018 primary election of the peoples democratic party pdp the event has come and gone but the memories lives on1 i told him that this is politics and in our place we respect zoning. and since it was not our turn we cannot support her1 i advised her before the election to retrace her steps work for the party and wait for the turn of our people and that by the law of natural justice we will reciprocate by supporting her but all these advise fell on deaf ears1 mr lawrence oko the chairman of owukpa ehaje ward 2 in a telephone interview with nan vowed to take legal action against ogwuche if she continued to malign the names of party leaders in the area1 oko expressed anger over the unfounded allegations against the party and the entire exercise describing it as an attempt to destroy the unity of pdp in ogbadibo1 i am compelled to say that the zoning arrangement did not favour her constituency because the incumbent legislator is from her ward so it greatly affected her chances in the election1 she polled 52 votes while peter enemari who was eventually declared the winner garnered 79 votes1 there was no form of protests crisis disputes or violence over the outcome and that was why we were shocked when complained about the outcome of the election at the pdp national secretariat and also going to the media to tarnish the image of our party1 she massively doled out cash to lure some of the delegates to vote for her and i believe that was where her problem started because she tried to collect the money back from those whom she felt disappointed her1 oko however said that efforts have been made to resolve the issue with ogwuche family members to ensure the party go into the general election as a united group1 pdp woman leader in ogbadibo local government area hon. eloyi onekele also dismissed ogwuches claim1 she said how can she claim that a fake delegate list was used for the election whereas it was the same delegate list that was used for governorship senate and house of representatives primary elections1 it is also good for our party leaders and indeed the general public to know that both the senate house of representatives and house of assembly primaries were held at the same venue same time and concurrently for six out of the nine local government areas that make up zone c1 so there is no basis for anybody to believe ogwuches allegation that a fake delegate list was used for the election1 it would be interesting to note that ogbadibo parades some of the notable and influential politicians in benue politics such as chris adabba abba alias mad lion who is the party leader in the area and has remained a committed member of the pdp hon. joseph ojobo an incumbent member of the states house of assembly and hon. ijiga oko a former local government chairman and also former state financial secretary of the pdp and now special adviser on assembly matters to the governor1 others are hon. jerry agada former minister of state for health hon. hassan saleh the incumbent member house of representative representing ado-okpokwu-ogbadibo constituency hon sunday ojo former local government chairman among others1 for political convenience the local government area which is made up of three major districts otukpa orokam and owukpa has a total of 13 council wards with otukpa having six wards orokam three and owukpa four wards1 these three districts have often rotated the ogbadibo state constituency seat amongst themselves1 in 1979 it was the present honourable minister for agriculture and rural development honourable chief audu ogbe of ai-oono ward 2 in otukpa that represented the area while hon. christopher ajunwa of olachagbaha ward in otukpa took his turn in 19831 the1999 election saw the emergence of hon. edoka nnaji of ai-oodo ward 2 as the constituencys representative an indication that the zoning formula moved from ai-oono to olachagbaha and to ai-oodo and therefore natural that it should now be the turn of ai-oono which has two more wards that has never enjoyed this position since 19821 it was on this basis that the seat was unanimously zoned to ai-oono ward 3 which made stakeholders from the area to see the entry of ogwuche into the race as plan to truncate the long-existing political equation in the area1 it was evident that the stepping down of six other aspirants who hail from ai-oodo area namely hon. ebije benjamin hon. andrew idoko hon. gabriel ameh and hon. ehikowoicho all of ai-oodo ward 2 and hon. emmanuel abba and hon. onoja umoru both from ai-oodo ward 1 was in adherence to the political calculation which favoured peter enemari who is from ai-oono1 only ogwuche refused to step-down for enemari in spite not getting the support of stakeholders based on the zoning formula1 interestingly winner of the ogbadibo constituency primary election peter enemari has extended a hand of fellowship to ogwuche1 he described her as a dogged fighter and an asset to the party in the area but insisted that she must be ready to face the reality of the election for them to move forward1 enemari said i am surprised with the hullabaloo emanating from the primary election because aida ogwuche embraced and congratulated me after the election1 he said when he insisted on putting aida on a conference call he refused but rather asked that he should be given time to call aida and get back to him. he called me back after about 30 minutes to inform that aida was angry that i didnt vote for her despite coming from her ward1

Ex-agitators urge Nigerians to support President Buhari
News & Trends •
by emmanuel afonne7 ebisintei also said that buhari is the only nigerias president who has allowed his appointees the freedom to do their work without interference a quality that nigerians have desired for so long1 a statement issued in abuja on monday by the coalition quoted its leader stephen ebisintei as saying that the review is the only way the programme can be all encompassing1 ebisintei said the planned review of programme is sacrosanct to the peace and security of niger delta saying it is also in the best interest of the youths as well as critical stakeholders1 more importantly it will increase choices for targeted beneficiaries of the programme and indeed the youths of niger delta1 we have to reciprocate the kind gesture of mr president by supporting him in 2019 so as to enable him see through his lofty and robust plans for the region in the next four years the statement quoted ebisintei as saying1 he cautioned the people of the region to beware of those he called fair weather politicians who he said are deceitfully promising the people of the region heaven on earth ahead of the 2019 elections1 the coalition of niger delta ex-agitators phase 2 has urged the youths of niger delta especially the ex-agitators to support the planned review of the blueprint of the amnesty programme by president muhammadu buhari1 according to him as the race for 2019 hots up youths and critical stakeholders of the niger delta should beware of politicians whose stock in trade is promises without any intention of fulfillment1 we should as a people be more circumspect and use the 2019 election to take our destinies in our own hands it is in our considered best interest to queue behind the president and work for his re-election bid1 if we fail in this we may not have this rare opportunity again to lunch our beleaguered region on the desired path of sustainable growth and peace as we are witnessing now1 in the past all we have received were promises but we can see and testify that with the administration of president muhammadu buhari our region has greater opportunities and is well placed to roll back the injustices of the past1 we have seen that he has not denied the region what is due to it in terms of appointment into key positions of government especially with the appointments of prof. quaker dokubo and dr. ibe kachukwu as the head of the amnesty office and minister state for petroleum respectively1 it is without doubt that these individuals are fits in their respective offices and are working assiduously to empower youths and of course ensure development of critical infrastructure in the region1 ebisintei pointed out that supporting the buharis re-election bid remains the best option for niger delta as far the amnesty programme is concerned1

FG revives 18 fertiliser blending plants FEPSAN
News & Trends •
by emmanuel afonne7 the whole idea is to get people to build plants around a cluster so that it helps with cost of transportation to achieve that price target we are looking at he added1 the president of fepsan mr thomas etuh who said this in an interview with news agency of nigeria nan in abuja on tuesday stressed that the resuscitated plants were now operational1 he recalled that only six out of the 32 fertiliser blending plants existing in the country were functional at inception of the buhari-administration in 20151 we then had six fertiliser plants working at 10 per cent capacity but with the introduction of pfi we moved to 11 plants in the first phase and today 18 out of the 32 plants are engaged in this programme1 at the end of last years season we closed with 12 fertiliser blending plants because wacot limited in collaboration with the edo state government added one plant to the 11 we had in the first phase1 about five plants are being evaluated to meet up the standards before we enlist them and i can also tell you that because of this programme we have five new fertiliser blending plants being set up in the country1 we have one each in zamfara ajaokuta in kogi akwa-ibom and funtua in katsina state while the one in kaduna is at the point of inauguration1 the plants in ajaokuta kogi and zamfara should come live by the end of the year while that of funtua in katsina state might come up by first quarter of next year 20191 fertiliser producers and suppliers association of nigeria fepsan says 18 fertiliser blending plants across the country have been revived under the presidential fertiliser initiative pfi introduced by president muhammadu buharis administration1 etuh said that nigeria would soon be reckoned with in area of fertiliser production considering the amount of money that was invested in the industry in the last three years1 he added that nigeria would soon be an exporter of npk nitrogen phosphorus and potassium fertiliser1 about 63 per cent of the raw materials are locally available in the country the materials are produced by some companies1 we have limestone granules with calcium produced by west african fertiliser company in okpela we have the urea produced by indorama and notore in onne rivers state1 so i know that in the next two to three years aliko dangotes fertiliser plant will start production and other are also coming up. currently nigeria is a net exporter of urea-based fertiliser1 with the aliko plant coming on board and indorama increasing to a second line we will be producing about 7 million tonnes of fertiliser. about 70 per cent of the fertiliser would be for exports while the remaining 30 per cent would be used within the country he said1 etuh who is also a pfi committee member said that fepsan was working hard to ensure that every farmer cluster had a blending plant to ease product transportation costs and facilitate a reduction in fertiliser prices1 he said that the fertiliser blending plants in niger and plateau were to service states in the north central geopolitical zone while the fertiliser plants in lagos were to cater for states in the south west and south east zones as well as kwara which as in the north central zone1 so i think these new five plants should be up and running by the first quarter of next year he added1

NFF presidential aspirant faults LMC over aborted NPFL
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by emmanuel afonne7 nan reports that election into the executive committee of the nff is scheduled to hold on sept. 20 according to the amended timetable of the sani katu-led electoral committee2 okoye the proprietor of bimo football club of lafiastated this this in an interview with the news agency of nigeria nan in abuja while reeling out his six-point agenda ahead of the forthcoming nff board election2 nan recalls that an emergency joint consultative meeting of the 20 npfl clubs and the lmc met in abuja in august and declared the 20172018 league season concluded after 24 matches2 the meeting said that the decision was against the backdrop of the adverse circumstances in the administration of football in the country which resulted in the indefinite suspension league leading to huge fixture congestion for both league and cup competitions2 the decision meant that none of the 20 npfl clubs would be relegated to the lower league while four would be promoted from the nigeria national league nnl to bring the number of the npfl clubs for the 201819 season to 242 but okoye said that the termination of the npfl with 13 games still remaining while teams were separated from each other with just few points can best be described as match fixing2 this is the first time in the history of nigeria football where the league was concluded with 13 matches to go2 four people just sat down and decided to award lobi stars fc the npfl title2 we all know that we have a problem it is only in nigeria that you know the winner of the league from the beginning of the season. we have to stop this okoye said2 mr chinedu okoye presidential aspirant in the sept. 20 nigeria football federation nff electionhas faulted the decision of league management company lmc to end the nigeria professional football league npfl season with 13 matches left to play2 okoye said if elected president he would tell nigerians what the football secretariat got from sponsors annually2 there is sponsorship money from coca cola and other big companies you cannot run nff like a cabal or your fathers property because it has a mandate to develop football in nigeria2 nff collects 4.3 million dollars every year from fifa for the development of football in nigeria including the payment of state football associations as well as female football but unfortunately these monies get into individual pockets2 is that the way to grow no. we dont need nff president that will go and watch arsenal when his national team is playing a friendly game that is what we have currently in nigeria but it has to stop2 i am talking about transparency and accountability in the nff and i will be ready to answer anybody that will come to me to know how much comes into nff and how much goes out2 in this current administration you dare not ask because if you do you are pushed out the following day okoye added2 the nff presidential aspirant noted that the annual financial grant from fifa was basically meant for the development of football at the grassroots with fa chairmen taking the driving seats and not to be spent on frivolities2 he said there is no facility and there is no age grade competition in nigeria. children from age eight to 18 dont have any competition2 again the issue of doping in our games has to stop. if i become the nff president the people that dope will have no place in our sport2 according to okoye time has come when nigerians should find out how football especially the leagues are run in the country2

NFF presidential aspirant faults LMC over aborted NPFL
News & Trends •
by emmanuel afonne7 nan reports that election into the executive committee of the nff is scheduled to hold on sept. 20 according to the amended timetable of the sani katu-led electoral committee2 okoye the proprietor of bimo football club of lafiastated this this in an interview with the news agency of nigeria nan in abuja while reeling out his six-point agenda ahead of the forthcoming nff board election2 nan recalls that an emergency joint consultative meeting of the 20 npfl clubs and the lmc met in abuja in august and declared the 20172018 league season concluded after 24 matches2 the meeting said that the decision was against the backdrop of the adverse circumstances in the administration of football in the country which resulted in the indefinite suspension league leading to huge fixture congestion for both league and cup competitions2 the decision meant that none of the 20 npfl clubs would be relegated to the lower league while four would be promoted from the nigeria national league nnl to bring the number of the npfl clubs for the 201819 season to 242 but okoye said that the termination of the npfl with 13 games still remaining while teams were separated from each other with just few points can best be described as match fixing2 this is the first time in the history of nigeria football where the league was concluded with 13 matches to go2 four people just sat down and decided to award lobi stars fc the npfl title2 we all know that we have a problem it is only in nigeria that you know the winner of the league from the beginning of the season. we have to stop this okoye said2 mr chinedu okoye presidential aspirant in the sept. 20 nigeria football federation nff electionhas faulted the decision of league management company lmc to end the nigeria professional football league npfl season with 13 matches left to play2 okoye said if elected president he would tell nigerians what the football secretariat got from sponsors annually2 there is sponsorship money from coca cola and other big companies you cannot run nff like a cabal or your fathers property because it has a mandate to develop football in nigeria2 nff collects 4.3 million dollars every year from fifa for the development of football in nigeria including the payment of state football associations as well as female football but unfortunately these monies get into individual pockets2 is that the way to grow no. we dont need nff president that will go and watch arsenal when his national team is playing a friendly game that is what we have currently in nigeria but it has to stop2 i am talking about transparency and accountability in the nff and i will be ready to answer anybody that will come to me to know how much comes into nff and how much goes out2 in this current administration you dare not ask because if you do you are pushed out the following day okoye added2 the nff presidential aspirant noted that the annual financial grant from fifa was basically meant for the development of football at the grassroots with fa chairmen taking the driving seats and not to be spent on frivolities2 he said there is no facility and there is no age grade competition in nigeria. children from age eight to 18 dont have any competition2 again the issue of doping in our games has to stop. if i become the nff president the people that dope will have no place in our sport2 according to okoye time has come when nigerians should find out how football especially the leagues are run in the country2

2019: Nobody can defeat Buhari, says group
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by emmanuel afonne7 even if pmb stands alone in apc the good news is that our votes will count and he will still win the election1 williams ozi-raji chairman north-central zone of pmb-swc said this on tuesday in abuja while addressing journalists on the activities of the group ahead of the 2019 general elections1 ozi-raji said the group had concluded plans to carry out sensitisation programmes across states in the zone to ensure the re-election of buhari1 he described pmb as a man who exhibits zero tolerance for corruption and injustice and whose political will helped in transforming the nigerian economy1 within the age bracket of those who have served in government we do not have anybody that equals pmb in terms of character credibility among others he said1 according to ozi-raji the group will also work for the election of other contestants in the all progressives congress apc from ward to the federal level1 a political campaign group pmb sensitisationworkshop committee pmb-swc north-central chapter says nobody in the country can defeat president muhammadu buhari in the 2019 general elections1 we are also to ensure that every nigerian in the north-central is properly educated on what pmb has done for nigerians for him to deserve a second term1 this will be from the ward local and state level in the north-central states the road transport workers civil servants the less privileged and the physically challenged will all be carried along ozi-raji said1 he attributed the herdsmen killings across the country to ploy by desperate politicians to discredit the present government and to frustrate the re-election of buhari in 20191 the election of mr president in 2015 was not because some politicians decamped from pdp to apc but because he was one man who nigerians felt it was time to do the right thing and they gave him their votes1 those that defected to apc in 2015 did that because they wanted a situation where they would destabilise the efforts of mr president and apc1 now that the opportunity was lost they thought it was time to return to their original party to carry out their enterprise1 in achieving this a lot has been put on ground structurally because if you do not plan it simply means you have planned to fail1

Miss Aviation African Beauty Pageant debuts in Nigeria
Sports •
by emmanuel afonne7 the miss aviation african pageant logo was unveiled on feb. 23 to kick start preparation for the grande finale scheduled to hold in lagos in june1 organiser of the pageant mr ossai ilome told the news agency of nigeria nan in abuja that the pageant scheduled to hold in june was designed to change the labour dynamics in the aviation sector in favour of local content1 ilome also said that the pageant would be used to create a platform to engage relevant stakeholders towards improving business environment for operators of airlines and also create a safe and serene environment for passengers1 according to him government cannot solve the challenges in the aviation sector alone hence the introduction of the miss aviation african pageant to help facilitate and create platform for the aviation transformation in africa1 we need to identify gaps and requisite solution in the provision of adequate safety and security services to customers1 the aviation industry is set to witness a re-branding with the introduction of miss aviation african beauty pageant1 co-founder of the pageant blessing chijekwu said that the maiden event would provide not less than three scholarships to african girls to attend aviation academy quarterly within africa1 the event is also expected to champion african girls career empowerment by mentoring and networking professionals and encouraging professionals and encouraging students to focus on developing aviation sector careers1 women are the continents greatest untapped resources and we are dedicating this pageant to ensure the increase number of women in decision making positions in the aviation industry chijekwu said1 she noted that the miss aviation pageant was socially designed to harness the potential of beauty queens in contributing to development of the aviation sector1 chijekwu urged contestants wishing to participate in the beauty pageant to log on to to register1 the pageant hopes to expose and expound policy gaps as it relates to providing business friendly environment for operators ilome said1