Nwagba, Female Reps aspirant accuses PDP of Gender discrimination
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by ericjames ochigbo6 his personal assistant simply known as mr richard was also contacted but no further response could be gotten from the party at the time of publishing this story1 in an interview with the news agency of nigeria nan nwagba said she was denied the ticket to contest and represent aba northaba south federal constituency based on gender1 she faulted the primary election alleging that there were a lot of irregularities especially over voting1 nwagba said delegates were accredited and voting was done but the number of votes counted exceeded the number of accredited voters1 she said there are video clips to show that the electoral team spent hours trying to ascertain where the additional votes came from but could not1 the aspirant said her agents raised alarm drawing the attention of all the stakeholders and the general public to the development1 while i demanded that the process be stopped my opponent mr uzo azubuike was not worried about the discrepancies and wanted the process to continue1 the electoral team did not yield to my demand to discontinue the process even though they had seen the discrepancies she said1 she added that in line with the electoral guidelines she submitted an appeal along with those of the delegates before the appeal panel and until date there has been no report1 this is happening to me because i am a woman long before the election there were questions on the ability of a woman to deliver aba1 they have forgotten that this same woman fought through the courts in 2015 to regain the pdp mandate when the party lost all seats to the all progressives grand alliance apga1 in 2011 i was made to step down for this same opponent and i obeyed the party and i went to the house of assembly1 there is always a way of marginalising women even when they know that you can do it it is not fair on us imagine in the whole abia state pdp does not have any female candidate1 24 state house of assembly seats eight house of reps seats and three seats in the senate no woman is represented yet women are going to vote this is not fair she said1 nwagba said that at a time when the issue of 35 per cent affirmative action and women inclusiveness in governance were most topical it was unfair not to field a single woman1 dr blessing nwagba an aspirant in just concluded peoples democratic party pdp house of representatives primary election in abia state has accused the party of denying her the ticket because she is a woman1 nwagba said if due process was followed she would have won the election because she worked hard and did all that was required to emerge victorious1 it is not too late whoever the party says is the candidate become the candidate they should consider the plea of aba people they should consider the fact that women should be represented in governance and give me the ticket nwagba said1 she said as a foundation party-member which had delivered for the party at various levels she remains loyal to the party and confident that the pdp will do justice to the matter before it is late1 in a related development mr chukwudi dike senior special assistant to the governor of abia on sports said that since 2009 no member of aba-ngwa community had been given the opportunity to represent the constituency either at the house of reps or at the senate1 dike who led a delegation of constituents to the pdp national secretariat in abuja to register their grievances on the conduct of the primaries said that they had been dominated by non-indigenes as only people from neighbouring local government areas had occupied the seat1 he said the community supported two of its indigenes to contest in the just concluded pdp primary election but one died mysteriously after purchasing the form1 according to him the community then threw its weight behind nwagba a serving member of the abia state house of assembly to clinch the ticket but the primaries was rigged1 the way the primaries was conducted it is not acceptable to us we the constituents do not want mr uzo azubuike who lost at the polls in 20151 we are campaigning for a fresher an indigene someone with capacity and experience and one the people in the aba north and south are ready to support1 our prayers is that this ticket should be given to dame blessing nwagba an indigene and a woman with legislative experience he said1 when contacted on phone the pdp assistant publicity secretary in abia mrs love eze said she was not around at the time the election was conducted and could not comment on the matter she does not know1 when asked to recommend somebody to speak on the matter the assistant publicity secretary said blessing nwagba who reported the matter to you should tell you those who where there1 however all efforts to reach the national publicity secretary of the party mr kola ologbondiyan proved abortive1 several visits to his office met him absent and several calls and text messages to his phone were not replied1 the aspirant said women are not meant for the kitchen alone as they are equally endowed to add value to society through good governance1

Ezeife throws weight behind Obi as Atikus running mate
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by ericjames ochigbo6 ezeife whose 80th birthday will come up on nov. 21 urged the youths to go about spreading love and wishing people well in order to live long1 in an interview with the news agency of nigeria nan in abuja ezeife described the reaction of those aggrieved over obis selection as shameful1 it will be recalled that some politicians including governors of the south eastern region of the country challenged the selection saying that they were not consulted before obi was selected1 ezeife said that all nigerians igbos and non-igbos were very happy because obi also a former governor of anambra was the kind of politician the country needed1 according to him peter is economical and does not waste money he knows management and he is a thorough business man1 a very few people thought they would have been picked to be atikus running mate.\1 to the extent that they called a meeting in enugu and at the end they were not ashamed to announce that they did not come out with any decision ezeife said1 the former governor said that some igbo elders were in his residence in abuja and they were all complaining and condemning the actions of those politicians1 a former governor of anambra chief chukwuemeka ezeife on wednesday said the choice of peter obi as the running mate of the peoples democratic party pdp 2019 presidential flag bearer atiku abubakar was a welcome development1 i see a ray of light in our society. this atikus nomination and the atmosphere at the pdp convention in port harcourt showed it clearly1 people had expected that after the convention there would be implosion but the way it went and the matured speech of the winner changed the game he said1 going into 2019 general elections ezeife urged all nigerians to work together for the progress of the country1 the former governor said that there were too many divisions along economic ethnic and religious lines and it was not helpful to the nation adding that god had given nigeria a great destiny1 he described nigerians as successful people filled with the motivation for achievements and the determination to succeed1 according to him an ordinary nigerian wants his children to surpass his achievements and the moment we stop pulling ourselves down nigeria will rise1 he said that the minority tribes should raise their voices as they were now equal to every other tribe and would have great impact in the 2019 general elections1 while congratulating obi atiku and all nigerians the elder statesman said that no improvement could be made in the choice of a vice president made by atiku1

House of Reps probes MDAs expenditure on IT
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by ericjames ochigbo6 in his remarks the speaker of the house mr yakubu dogara mandated the committees to report back within four weeks for further legislative action1 this was sequel to a unanimous adoption of a motion by rep. iboro ekanem pdp-cross river at plenary1 moving the motion earlier ekanem said that the national information technology development agency nitda reported that mdas spent about two billion dollars on it projects annually1 he said that the huge expenditure was without commensurate results in the activities of mdas1 the house of representatives on thursday mandated its committee on public accounts and its finance counterpart to investigate ministries departments and agencies mdas expenditure on information technology it1 he said that a recent investigation carried out by nitda showed that many it projects were riddled with poor conceptualization and without clear sustainability plans1 he said that such situation of led to duplication of projects waste redundancies and a conduit pipe to siphon public funds1 ekanem alleged that the nations financial resources were being hoarded to the benefit of a few individuals thereby damaging the economy and reputation of the country1 according to him if no attention is given to this matter it may pave way for corrupt practices to increase among mdas using lct platform as a ground for official theft breach of trust and misappropriations1 the lawmaker said that it had also been reported that the demand for public funds to pursue it projects had become a means to siphon public funds by corrupt individuals1

Mace theft: NASS tightens security
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by ericjames ochigbo6 security was beefed up at the national assembly complex on thursday after wednesdays invasion of the senate by some hoodlums who made away with the mace1 the news agency of nigerian nan observed the deployment of heavily-armed security personnel at the complex who were conducting serious search of vehicles entering the premises1 an additional checkpoint was mounted at the entrance of the three arms zone near the federal secretariat with heavy presence of policemen monitoring movement around the area1 the doors to senate wing lobby which were hitherto often open were closed and manned by security officers who ensured that those who walked through the area were properly identified1 an official of sergeant-at-arms unit who pleaded anonymity told nan that henceforth nobody would be allowed to evade security checks even when in the company with a legislator1 the source disclosed that those who invaded the assembly on wednesday made their way into the senate chamber because they were in company with a lawmaker and were not properly checked1 he said going forward anybody entering the complex must go through proper security check irrespective of whose company they might be or their mission1 nan also observed that officials of sergeant-at-arms unit insisted that people displayed their identity cards and those without identity were not allowed into the complex. nan1

PDP celebrates with former President Obasanjo at 81
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by ericjames ochigbo6 the peoples democratic party pdp has congratulated former president chief olusegun obasanjo as he turns 81 on march 51 the party in a statement issued on sunday by its national publicity secretary mr kola ologbondiyan said it remains proud of the former president1 it said obasanjo had excelled as an international figure and made outstanding contributions toward global peace and development particularly in the african sub-region1 the party described the former president as an outstanding nationalist a courageous and a dedicated leader who has made immeasurable sacrifices towards the development stability and growth of the nation1 indeed the pdp intensely celebrates former president obasanjo who stands tall as one of the best performed nigerian presidents chiefly because his administration founded and anchored its policies and programmes on pdps people-based manifesto and ideology.1 the pdp also commends chief obasanjo for his continued engagement on national issues particularly his disposition against poor governance corruption bloodletting and confusion that now pervade the nation in the last three years.1 while we value chief obasanjo for his concerns for the political future of our nation we note that our repositioned and rebranded pdp remains the only credible political platform for the much desired broad-based engagements among nigerians and coalitions across board the party said.1 the pdp said it was more than prepared to salvage the nation in the all-important task of returning her to the path of good governance national unity and prosperity for all come 20191 the party prayed god to grant obansanjo good health wisdom and strength as he continues to be of service to the nation1

Group wants primary election debate introduced
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by ericjames ochigbo6 the united nigeria group tung has called for the introduction of election debates at the level of primary elections so as to get the right candidates1 with particular reference to the peoples democratic party pdp the group said that primary election debate will further improve democracy in the country1 the tung which said it is interested in fostering peace unity and community sensitisation on political issues gave the advice in abuja on monday1 speaking in an interview the spokesman of the group dr bright emenena said that with election debates at level of primary election the pdp could take democracy to new height even as an opposition party1 we want to use this opportunity to put pressure on the peoples democratic party pdp to make more impact even as an opposition party by taking democracy to the next level in nigeria1 they must ensure that the process of choosing a candidate at the primaries is fair they should go further by ensuring the contestants engage in public debate at the level of the primaries1 in this country there have never been a time when a sitting president had made himself available for public debate but pdp can start something1 they can take democracy to another level by introducing debate at the primaries level so that contestants can make public their vision to enable the delegates and general public make informed decision he said1 emenena said tung believes in the unity of the nation and engages only in activities that fosters the peace and security of the country1