Politics

ATM comment: Delta not Lagos, Okowa’s aide tackles Tinubu

Published

3 years ago

November 20, 2022

The All Progressives Congress presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, on Saturday, knocked the Peoples Democratic Party for failing to develop Delta State despite the huge federal allocation to the state.

Tinubu also warned that Delta was not an Automated Teller Machine for migratory politicians from the state.

A statement issued by his media officer, Tunde Rahman, said the APC candidate said this during a campaign rally at the Warri Township Stadium.

Addressing the rally, Tinubu accused the opposition party of abandoning infrastructural development in the state and leaving Delta to rot away.

He said, “Delta is among Nigeria’s largest oil and gas producing states. Revenue from oil and gas has historically been the backbone of government revenue and foreign exchange earnings.

“As such, your state and other oil producers have made a one-of-a-kind financial contribution to the building of modern Nigeria. The nation is thankful to you.

“Delta has all it takes to be great and help lead the nation forward. Yet, for the past 23 years, those governing your state have taken you for a hard and long ride by selling you short. They have not done the things they should have and could have done for you.

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“The infrastructure in the state was better 30 years ago than it is now. The state has recorded historic debts run up by the incumbent, yet the infrastructure and other things still remain lacking because of under investment and neglect.

“The money is much, but it does not have legs. Where did it go? Not to your welfare. Perhaps, it has found a home with a certain presidential candidate, who loves Dubai more than Nigeria.

“But Delta State is not an ATM for migratory politicians. It is a place where good and hardworking people reside and work to create decent and peaceful lives for themselves and their families.”

On his plans for the state, the former Lagos governor promised to re-activate the gas revolution industrial park, while also seeing to clean up the entire Niger Delta region to ensure that the host communities would not suffer for building the nation’s economy through their oil.

Tinubu added, “Our government will further re-activate the multi-billion dollar gas revolution industrial park project. President Buhari’s administration has made great strides in revisiting this project. We will complete it.

“Gas will become a national priority. I envision fertiliser and petrochemical plants, aluminium smelters and methanol plants, all creating jobs for the unemployed, while producing goods that bolster farming, construction and other industries.

“We will step up and clean up the operations of the Niger Delta Development Commission and the Ministry of the Niger Delta.

“The NDDC will be improved. Greater cooperation with communities, which have suffered environmental degradation, will be my policy.

“I am saddened by the environmental cost, which the oil and gas industry has exacted. Our moral and economic duty calls us to clean the Niger Delta and to create new opportunities for young Deltans to build better lives for themselves.”

On Delta’s infrastructure development, which he affirmed had been in a sorry state, Tinubu said, “We will help develop the infrastructure of your state. The deep seaport project and the Omadino-Escravos Road project will be revisited. We will rehabilitate Warri, Koko, Sapele and Burutu ports, creating yet more jobs in the state.

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“My government will deploy new technologies to protect the safety and security of law-abiding Deltans as well as the critical national infrastructure situated in this state. We will also introduce greater funding and reform policies to bring the Nigerian police closer to the communities they serve.”

In attendance were Senate President, Ahmed Lawan; APC Deputy National Chairman, South, Emma Enekwu, who represented National Chairman, Abdullahi Adamu; Tinubu’s running mate, Senator Kashim Shettima, and his wife, Nana; and Senator Oluremi Tinubu, wife of the presidential candidate and daughter of Itsekiriland.

Also present at the rally were Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodinnma; Governor of Plateau State and Director-General of the campaign council, Simon Lalong; Deputy Senate President and Delta State governorship candidate of the party, Ovie Omo-Agege; Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Idris Wase; members of the APC National Working Committee; Minister of Youth and Sports, Sunday Dare; spokesman for the PCC, Festus Keyamo; and former governor of Edo State and Edo North Senatorial candidate, Adams Oshiomhole.

When Oluremi Tinubu addressed her people in her native Itsekiri dialect, there was a standing ovation in the stadium.

She urged the people of Delta to vote for the APC to have one of their kiths and kins in the corridors of power.

Okowa also came under criticism from Oshiomhole, who accused him of under-developing, the state.

In his response to Tinubu’s comment, the state Commissioner for Information, Mr Charles Aniagwu, said the people of Delta State appreciated the state’s infrastructural development and that Delta was “not like Lagos that Bola Tinubu put in his pocket.”

Aniagwu, who is also a spokesperson for the PDP Presidential Campaign Organisation, told Sunday PUNCH in an interview, “We don’t have time to respond to somebody whose identity is still unknown. Let him first of all go and clear himself; when and where he was born, the schools he attended and other records about him so we can know who we are talking to.

“Somebody whose records are still in doubt cannot be the one talking. Our state cannot be in his pocket the way he did Lagos. Delta is not Lagos and our people cannot be deceived by such a person.

“With the kind of wonderful defeat and disgrace he, the APC and Adams Oshiomhole suffered in the last Edo State governorship election, we thought he would have learnt some lessons. That 2020 defeat in Edo will be a child’s play compared to what they will suffer in Delta State in 2023.

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“Governor Ifeanyi Okowa has been prudent in managing the state economy. We have a lot of infrastructure on ground for all the money that accrued to the state, ranging from roads to bridges, schools and human capital development. Their (APC) governorship candidate did not tell him that the road from the airport to the stadium is a federal road the APC-led Federal Government failed to fix.”

Oyetola on Tinubu

Osun State Governor, Mr Adegboyega Oyetola, on Saturday, said voting for the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, next year would renew the hope of Nigerians in the country.

Oyetola stated this in Osogbo at the inauguration of the Directorate of Grassroots Mobilisation, Engagement and Orientation of the Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Kashim Shettima Presidential Campaign.

According to him, Tinubu has the experience required to further transform the nation and take it to the next level, and expressed optimism in the ability of the group to spread the message and mobilise voters for the candidate.

The state APC Chairman, Mr Gboyega Famodun, said Tinubu had the capacity and good health to be the next president.

Zamfara APC campaign

Similarly, Governor Bello Matawalle of Zamfara State has inaugurated the Tinubu Presidential Campaign Council and his governorship campaign council.

Punch

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Politics

AMAC Polls Shock: Another PDP Candidate Withdraws from FCT Race, Backs APC

Published

5 hours ago

February 19, 2026

Trends Admin

AMAC Polls Shock: Another PDP Candidate Withdraws from FCT Race, Backs APC

Less than 48 hours before the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council elections, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chairmanship candidate for Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Hon. Zadna Dantani, has pulled out of the race and declared support for the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Hon. Christopher Zakka Maikalangu.

Dantani’s withdrawal follows a similar move in Bwari Area Council, where the PDP candidate, Hon. Julius Adamu, stepped down in favour of APC’s Joshua Ishaku Musa, signalling a major shift in political alignment ahead of Saturday’s elections.

In a formal declaration, Dantani explained that his decision was influenced by high-level intervention from the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, whom he described as both “party leader and FCT leader.”

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“I want to sincerely appreciate everyone who supported us. This decision is not about personal interests. The Honourable Minister of FCT, Barrister Nyesom Wike, emphasized that this is a brotherhood election. I am aligning with APC in support of the good works of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” Dantani said.

Dantani also confirmed that he had completed all legal formalities, including submitting a letter of withdrawal to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), stating that the move was entirely voluntary and made after consultations with family and stakeholders.

He called on his supporters across AMAC’s 12 wards to vote for APC’s Christopher Maikalangu, describing the alignment as a step toward unity and effective governance in the territory.

Political analysts note that these high-profile PDP withdrawals in both AMAC and Bwari have reshaped the FCT political landscape, increasing APC’s chances of sweeping the elections and stirring debates about PDP’s internal cohesion ahead of upcoming local and national contests.

AMAC Polls Shock: Another PDP Candidate Withdraws from FCT Race, Backs APC

Politics

Updated: Rivers Senator Mpigi Barinada dies at 64

Published

7 hours ago

February 19, 2026

Trends Admin

Updated: Rivers Senator Mpigi Barinada dies at 64

Lawmaker representing the South East Senatorial district of Rivers State, Senator Mpigi Barinada is dead.

He was aged 64.

The Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Works, Akin Alabi, confirmed the sad development in a tribute post on his official X handle on Thursday.

He wrote, “Good night my dear friend. Rest in Peace, Senator Mpigi Barinada. Sen Mpigi represented Rivers South East in the Senate”.

The Rivers Senator was the Chairman, Senate Committee on Works.

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Senator representing Nasarawa South, Mohammed Onawo, also paid glowing tribute to the late Rivers senator and urged his colleagues to honour his memory.

He spoke during the session of the Senate Committee on Culture and Tourism on Thursday.

First elected in 2011 to the lower house, he was re-elected for a second term in December 2016.

In 2019, he was elected as the Senator representing Rivers South East Senatorial District under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Updated: Rivers Senator Mpigi Barinada dies at 64

Politics

LP Crisis Deepens as Abure Faction Rejects Otti’s Reconciliation Call

Published

10 hours ago

February 19, 2026

Trends Admin

National Chairman of Labour Party (LP), Julius Abure

LP Crisis Deepens as Abure Faction Rejects Otti’s Reconciliation Call

The leadership crisis rocking the Labour Party (LP) has taken a new turn as the Julius Abure–led faction firmly rejected reconciliation efforts initiated by Abia State Governor Alex Otti, declaring it has no interest in any peace move proposed by him.

In a strongly worded response, the factional National Working Committee (NWC) led by Julius Abure described Governor Otti’s call for unity as dishonest, premature, and ill-fated, insisting that the internal dispute within the party is far from being resolved.

The Abure camp was reacting to Otti’s recent appeal for aggrieved factions within the party to sheathe their swords and work towards rebuilding the LP ahead of future elections. The governor had announced plans to set up a reconciliation committee, stating that the interim leadership would determine the appropriate timing.

However, the Abure faction dismissed the move outright, accusing Otti of playing a central role in triggering and escalating the crisis. According to the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, the governor lacks the moral authority to champion reconciliation.

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“We are not interested in any reconciliation being proposed by Governor Alex Otti because he is largely responsible for the crisis facing the party today,” Ifoh said. He questioned why the governor was rushing reconciliation talks when legal battles over the party’s leadership are still ongoing, stressing that the matter is “far from over.”

The rejection comes amid heightened tensions following the removal of Abure’s leadership details from the INEC portal, a development that further deepened divisions within the opposition party.

Background: How the Labour Party Leadership Crisis Began

The Labour Party crisis stems from a prolonged power struggle over national leadership, which intensified after the 2023 general elections that significantly boosted the party’s national profile.

At the heart of the dispute are two rival factions: one led by Julius Abure, the party’s embattled national chairman, and another aligned with Nenadi Usman, who heads an interim leadership structure.

The crisis escalated when a court of first instance issued an order that effectively recognized the Nenadi Usman–led group as the authentic leadership of the party. Acting on the ruling, the Independent National Electoral Commission adjusted its records, delisting the Abure-led NWC from its official portal.

While Abure’s faction has since filed an appeal and maintains that the court ruling is not final, the Usman-aligned camp has continued to operate as the recognized leadership, widening the rift within the party.

Governor Otti, one of the most prominent LP officeholders, has publicly aligned with reconciliation efforts, arguing that internal unity is critical for the party’s survival. However, the Abure faction views his actions as politically motivated interference, rather than a genuine peace initiative.

With legal proceedings still pending and both factions refusing to back down, the Labour Party remains deeply divided, raising fresh concerns about its cohesion and electoral prospects ahead of future political contests.