Politics

Peter Obi alleges plot to arrest, detain him

Published

2 years ago

October 9, 2022

Presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Mr Peter Obi, has raised the alarm, says there a grand plot to arrest and put him in detention ahead of the 2023 elections, for speaking out against crude oil theft in Nigeria.

He raised the alarm while speaking during an interactive session of an event orgnised by Oxford Africa Society, the umbrella body for all African students at the University of Oxford.

Obi, who spoke on “Trends and Prospects of Nigeria’s Economy: Broader implications For Africa’s Development”, said the ultimate plan was to silence him from talking about the menace of crude oil theft in Nigeria.

He has previously accused people in the government of colluding with external influence to steal the country’s crude oil, stressing that there is no way crude oil could be stolen from Nigeria, without the authorities knowing about it.

Obi said at the event held on Friday, “I have said it everywhere that oil in Nigeria is being stolen by people in the government. Nobody can steal oil; it is not sweet; you can go into a grocery shop and steal something and put it in your pocket and go away; you can’t steal oil like that.

“For you to steal oil, a ship has to come into your territorial waters, load the oil and no ship can go into a nation’s territorial waters without the approval of its Navy. When you load it, for you to leave, you have to have approval. And everybody knows where every ship is on the surface of the earth. It is something that is recorded.

“So, if somebody is able to take away oil, there is high-level connivance between external and internal people who have organized for the oil to leave; and you can even trace the oil to where it is offloaded. So, it is not an easy thing to steal. It can only be done officially and that is it.”

He also said, “Again, it is worrisome because if you think of the amount of money that we are losing; when we need; again, look at our exchange rate; when we need every dime, we are losing a huge amount of money, even when all the monies won’t come to us. I always tell people about what happened in July and August, we are operating a high-level of budgetary deficit.

“Between January 1st of this year and about 30th of April, first four months, our revenue was in the region of about 1.6 trillion and we say expenditure was about 4.7 trillion. So, we had a deficit of almost 3.13 trillion in terms of Naira. But in two months, we lost almost 2.83 trillion.

“In July, our oil production was on average 1,083,000. Our quota is 1.8 million. So, every day we lost 717,000 barrels. That is what we didn’t produce. So, if you check it in one month, it was about 22,227,000. At the average price of 110 dollars in July it was 2,445,000,000 dollars. If you multiply that with 550, I do not want to use the official rate, it gives you about 1,344,750,000,000. That is what we lost in one month in July.

“In August, that situation was worst. We were producing 975,000. We were losing 825,000 every day. Multiply by another one month, we lost about 25 million barrels in August. At average price of 100 dollars, its 2.5 billion dollars. Again, multiply by 555, its about 1.4 trillion.

“So, if you put these two together in two months, you lost about 2.8 trillion. You had a deficit of about 3.1 trillion in four months. Aggressively, we are supposed to pursue this and considering that we need every dollar now.

“That is why I said its official stealing. Because if it is not official stealing, we have 200 million in population. We have about 60% youth unemployment, which is about 20 million youths, who don’t know where the next meal will come from; is it not pipeline, we go and stand everybody on the line there, and make sure that nobody takes one barrel of it. I am prepared to go and stand on the line; all of us because this is the only resources we have.

“But because people who are in government, they are stealing it, they will not want to. And when you say it, everybody is looking for where to put Peter Obi in detention; this man is causing trouble. Since we know this thing is missing, let all of us go and man the pipeline. Is it not pipeline? If we stand there, who will take it? They don’t want us to do it because people know those who are taking it.”

Related Topics:2023 Crude Oil Theft Peter Obi

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Politics

PDP crisis: Two ex-Senate presidents lead fresh plot to oust Damagum

Published

1 day ago

December 21, 2024

Trends Admin

Umar Iliya Damagum, Acting National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)

PDP crisis: Two ex-Senate presidents lead fresh plot to oust Damagum

Two former Presidents of the Senate, Chief David Mark and Dr Bukola Saraki are leading a fresh charge aimed at removing Amb. Umar Damagum as the Acting National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The push by Mark and Saraki has received the backing of prominent stakeholders, including the Plateau State Governor, Caleb Muftwang and other political office holders elected on the platform of the PDP.

Similarly, former governors from the Northcentral zone who served on the party’s platform have also aligned forces with the group.

Rising from a stakeholders’ meeting in Abuja on Thursday night, the party chieftains resolved to produce a candidate from the zone early 2025 to replace Damagum.

According to them, the move to replace Damagum with a substantive chairman from the Northcentral, has received the endorsement of key party stakeholders from the Northwest and the Northeast zones.

Among those being projected as potential candidates to take Damagum’s seat include Mark; a former Benue State Governor, Gabriel Suswam; and a former House of Representatives member from Nasarawa State, David
David Ombugadu.

A communique issued after the meeting, said the stakeholders
reviewed the festering crisis in the party following the exit of the erstwhile National Chairman, Dr. Iyorchia Ayu.

Ayu lost his seat to the crisis triggered by disagreements over the emergency of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar as the presidential candidate of the PDP in the 2023 general election.

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The crisis has continued to deepen with the apparent overbearing influence of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike on the Damagum-led national leadership.

The Northcentral stakeholders argued that Damagum’s continued occupation of the office breached provisions of the PDP constitution.

The communique states in part, “The PDP’s constitution clearly states that succession of offices in the party at all levels is largely to the extent that any vacant position can be replaced by appointment from the zone, as per Section 47 (6) of the party.

“The party is guided by its constitution at all times. Therefore, the leadership of the party needs to rise up to the occasion to restore goodwill and cohesion in the party by making necessary sacrifices and compromises to restore confidence and cohesion in the party.

“It is in the light of this that the stakeholders of the Northcentral Zone appeal to the conscience and goodwill of our compatriots in other zones of the Northern region to restore the seat of the chairmanship of the party back to the Northcentral Zone to serve out its tenure.

“That the stakeholders must strive to build consensus to get the buy-in to the position of Northcentral zone.

“The Northcentral is united and will strive to preserve the PDP as a veritable platform for good governance in Nigeria.”

The meeting, which was attended by Governor Muftwang, also had former Governors Jonah Jang (Plateau), Babangida Aliyu (Niger), Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara) and Idris Wada (Kogi) in attendance.

Others at the meeting included the Senate Minority Leader, Senator Abba Moro; incumbent PDP National Legal Adviser, Kamaldeen Ajibade (SAN); and a former Information Minister, Prof Jerry Gana.

Also at the meeting were former senators Tunde Ogbeha, Philip Aduda, Suleiman Adokwe, Dino Melaye, Mohammed Onawo and Peter Jiya.

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Similarly, former Ministers, Labaran Maku and Sarah Ochekpe also attended the meeting. Other stakeholders like Simon Mwadkwon, Mrs. Margaret Icheen, Mr. Raymond Dabo, Maika Jiba, and Isa Dobi were also present.

Damagum, who is from Yobe State in the Northeast zone, emerged Acting National Chairman in March 2023 following the exit of Ayu who is from Benue State in the Northcentral zone.

Damagum was the PDP Deputy National Chairman (North) before his appointment as Acting National Chairman.

By virtue of Section 47 (6) of the party’s constitution, he ought to have relinquished the seat for a substantive National Chairman from the Northcentral zone where Ayu hailed from.

The Section reads: “Where a vacancy occurs in any of the offices of the party, the Executive Committee at the appropriate level shall appoint another person from the area or zone where the officer originated from to serve out the tenure of the officer.”

Ayu was elected chairman in 2022 for a four-year tenure that should expire in 2026 before his tenure got truncated in 2023.

Several moves by critical organs of the party, including the PDP Governors Forum, the Board of Trustees (BoT) and the National Caucus to replace Damagum have been thwarted by the Acting National Chairman, allegedly with the backing of Wike.

Miffed by the development, the PDP Governors Forum, led by Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State, had, a few weeks ago, directed the Damagum-led leadership to convene the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting latest by February 2025.

The NEC meeting has suffered four postponements between August and November 2024, as Damagum, who is supposed to convene the meeting has been evasive.

The power to ratify any candidate chosen by the Northcentral zone to replace Damagum is vested only in the NEC.

PDP crisis: Two ex-Senate presidents lead fresh plot to oust Damagum

Politics

PDP expels South-East national vice chairperson over anti-party activities

Published

3 days ago

December 19, 2024

Trends Admin

PDP expels South-East national vice chairperson over anti-party activities

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Oguduokwor Ward, Onicha Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, has officially expelled Ali Odefa, the suspended National Vice Chairperson of the party in the South-East, following allegations of anti-party activities.

Odefa had been suspended on September 11, 2024, by the ward executives, a move that was later upheld by the Federal High Court in Abakaliki. In its ruling on November 29, 2024, under suit number FHC/AI/CS/182/2024, the court affirmed the legitimacy of his suspension.

On Wednesday, Onyeka Ovuta, the Acting Chairperson of the PDP in Oguduokwor, announced Odefa’s expulsion in a statement. Ovuta explained that the decision followed recommendations from the party’s disciplinary committee, which confirmed the allegations against Odefa.

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The party announced that Mr Odefa by the virtue of his expulsion, “ceases to be a member of the party.”

Reacting, Mr Odefa laughed off the expulsion, stating that those who announced it were “frustrated charlatans”.

He said the expulsion cannot stand because “it did not take place in the ward but in Abuja”. He said those who made the announcement against him were not ward executives of the party.

“Let them come home come and announce it. Or is our ward now located in Abuja?”

PDP expels South-East national vice chairperson over anti-party activities

Politics

INEC recognises Sylvester Ezeokenwa as APGA national chairman

Published

4 days ago

December 18, 2024

Trends Admin

APGA National Chairman, Sylvester Ezeokenwa

INEC recognises Sylvester Ezeokenwa as APGA national chairman

Sylvester Ezeokenwa has been reinstated as the national chairman of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA).

Ezeokenwa was reinstated by the leadership of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Tuesday, December 17.

According to Sam Olumekun, the National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee of INEC, the commission had been served with the judgement of the Supreme Court.

The apex court judgement with the Appeal No. SC/CV/824/2024 APGA & ANOR vs OYE & ORS was delivered on November 27, 2024.

The court ruled that Ezeokenwa should be recognised as the national chairman of the party.

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“In compliance with the judgement of the apex court, the Commission has restored Barr. Ezeokenwa as the Chairman of APGA and restored his name on our website accordingly,” the INEC commissioner said.

He also stated that the reisnstatmemt of the new chairman would automatically lead to the withdrawal of the recognition of Njoku as the national chairman of the party.

The court also upheld an earlier judgement of the appeal which did not confer any enforceable rights on Njoku.

If also awarded N20 million each against the appellaants.