Atiku will unseat Buhari in 2019, says Williams

Atiku will unseat Buhari in 2019, says Williams

…..Praises Lagos Governor for de-marketing Babajide Sanwo-Olu

…..Says Ambode is a failure

Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar will unseat President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019, says Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) House of Representatives Candidate, Lagos Island Federal Constituency 1, Hon Violet Olaitan Williams.

Williams spoke of Atiku in the superlative.

“Atiku Abubakar has basic understanding of what the people need. He is the man to beat. His chances are growing by the day” she said.

Williams told newsmen in Lagos on Monday that Atiku would revamp the nation’s economy, restructure the country and create jobs for Nigerians.

The PDP House of Representatives flag bearer praised Lagos State Governor, Akinwumi Ambode for de-marketing the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship flag bearer, Mr. Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu.

“I watched Governor Akinwumi Ambode talking about Mr. Jide Sanwo-Olu having a mental issue. That is a minus for a governorship candidate. How can someone that has an ailment govern us? People will capitalize on it once they know his flaw. Jimi Agbaje is a better material any day. He stands a better chance. The people want him” Williams said.

She also spoke on robust representation, her agenda for the people of Lagos Island and the performance of some elected officials.

She described Governor Akinwumi Ambode as a failure.

“2019 goes beyond ending the era of Bola Tinubu in Lagos State. It is about the people. They are tired of poor governance.  Ambode is a minus. All the sectors are crying for attention. The government cannot do anything on the issue of traffic. Jimi Agbaje, an indigene of Lagos, is the next governor of Lagos State”

Emphasizing that experience and gender mark her as a sure asset in the eyes of the Lagos Island electorate, Williams said It would be impossible for the ruling party to win the 2019 elections in Lagos State.

The PDP candidate sees the crisis in the ruling party, deceit and the poor performance of Mr. President, APC governors and lawmakers as gains for the opposition party.

“We have House of Representative members. They are contesting in 2019. We have House of Assembly members before and we still have one standing. How can they say PDP will not win in Lagos State? I want to win. Our chances are bright. APC is at war with itself. The people are tired of lies and empty promises”

The PDP candidate also criticized INEC, accusing the electoral body of manipulating the electoral processes in the country.

Williams, who is a stakeholder in the maritime sector, stressed on effective representation, restructuring, job creation and transparency in the system.

“My area is a maritime community, which has not been harnessed. I feel pain when I see the teeming youths jobless. We will focus on job creation, skill acquisition and entrepreneurship. We will partner the various companies in my community towards employing our youths and developing the area. We will use bills to promote the coastal states in Nigeria”.

She promised a better arrangement for the good people of Lagos Island Federal Constituency 1.

“Hon Enitan Dolapo Badru doesn’t know the problem of the constituency. The people are not happy. He is not masses friendly. They don’t see him. They don’t know him. He is a product of godfatherism”

She urged the electorate to vote PDP in 2019.

“Don’t take rice and N5, 000 for four years. Don’t mortgage a better tomorrow for your generation and your children. Stay firm. The N5, 000 and the N10, 000 Traders Money that Professor Yemi Osinbajo, Nigeria’s Vice President, is sharing will not earn you a better life but a life of misery. It is vote buying” she added.

Tonye Cole: His assassination attempt and what happens next - Princewill

​…..Calls on the international community, particularly the US, UK and EU ambassadors to buckle up

A frontline Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress in Rivers State Prince Tonye Princewill has condemned in strongest of terms the recent alleged assassination attempt on the party’s governorship candidate for the 2019 poll – Architect Tony Cole.

Mr. Princewill in a statement signed and circulated to journalists called on security to be extremely active in discharge of their constitutional responsibilities.

The statement reads: I want to thank all those who reached out to our candidate with messages of sympathy and support after witnessing the act of sheer desperation the other day by our opponents during his visit to Degema LGA. It should be of no surprise to anyone to know that Tonye Cole is not only still active and well, but even more determined to push forward until sanity is restored to our politics again. He is neither bowed nor subdued, but is rather emboldened by his faith and his purpose. He’s here to win. And by God’s grace, he will.

I want to use this opportunity to first call on the security agencies who are responsible for keeping the peace, to set an example that such acts will never go unpunished. It is the absence of consequence that provides the climate for this type of lawlessness.

While Castro said “it is unlawful to be lawful in a lawless society”, Tonye maintains that “an eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind”. Many of us were not with APC immediately after 2015, when being a member of APC was an invitation to write your will. We won’t accept that. We expect this set of security chiefs to mirror their successes elsewhere. The Niger Delta is the wealth of the nation and Rivers state is the treasure base. It must be secure.

Secondly, let me remind the international community, particularly the US, UK and EU ambassadors that previous attempts at halting violence did not work because none of your governments had any teeth. Known candidates engaged in known violence and nothing came out of it. No travel bans, no targeted sanctions and no withdrawal of support. I was there. Every step of the way. It’s that impotence that provides a cover for no consequence. The result is a recurring cycle of violence. If we want to stop getting what we are getting, you have to stop doing what you’ve been doing. Friends should tell each other the truth.

While we appreciate a lot of the good work both you and the security agencies are doing, it is clearly not enough in Rivers state and the cost of failure is too high. It’s measured in people’s lives. Condolences, shuttle diplomacy and speeches are simply not going to be enough.

 Signed

Prince Tonye T.J.T Princewill

Prince Lawrence Ezeh: An unsung humane personality

Prince Lawrence Ezeh:  An unsung humane personality

Over the years, many a personality has endeared themselves not only to their immediate native villages but also to their communities, the less privilege and even to widows, with the aim of bringing succor, joy, simile and hope to the pessimistic.

Jef Raskin has the like of Prince Lawrence in mind when he said, “An interface is humane if it is responsive to human needs and considerate of human frailties. Again, When Meyers Jr said, “Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good has an individual like Prince Lawrence in mind.

Humane and also philanthropic in his ways, Prince Lawrence Ozoemena Ezeh is the Prince of Mburubu in Nkanu East Local Government Area of Enugu state. He is the Chair of Buzuzu Company, a company he has used to empower, employ many unemployed youths and extended his philanthropic, charitable works to his people.

To demonstrate his empathy to the plight of his people, Prince Lawrence Ozoemena Ezeh constructed a 4.5km asphalted road, and has been grading Nara - Mburubu - Nomeh road more than four years now. In addition to these, he gave scholarship to about fifty less privileged persons, repaired some inaccessible portions at Ugbawka- Nara road and also provided more than 20 high tension electric

concrete poles at Ugbawka. 

Spyder Kenn in a post captured the reason Prince Lawrence has endeared himself to his people thus. My father once told me that "Ajaa dike na nke o kere, o kee ozo”. He also told me that the word, "Ya dikwara gi na mma" will always affect one’s life positively. On this note, I wish to thank Prince Lawrence Ezeh, the son of the traditional ruler of Mburubu, a town in Nkanu East Local Government area of Enugu state, the government are not aware of our existence, and successive governments has abandoned this road and these surrounding communities to their fate, but we are not going to forget ourselves. We might have to resort to using our own money to build our own roads now, while other communities in Enugu state get their own roads built by the government. The injustice of the whole process is

not lost on the people of Nkanu east, who cannot boast of any government presence. Nomeh, Mburubu, Nkerefi and many other Nkanu East towns have been forgotten by the government. Posterity will not fail to dig up this bit of our history when the time comes. Once again, we thank you Prince Lawrence Ezeh using your money to grade our road even as the government cannot. O ga adiri gi mma. (From the people of Nomeh-Unateze).

Again, Mr. Petrus Obi in his piece titled “Nkanu East People Heave Sigh of Relief as Illustrious Son Constructs Three Bridges” encapsulated what Prince Lawrence did when he wrote, “The council is identified as one of the most backward council areas in terms of development and infrastructure.

“It was, therefore, not a surprise the way the people trooped out to celebrate the construction of a new bridge in the area, more so when it was through the individual effort of one of their sons.

“The traditional rulers from the various communities were present as the people sang and danced without restraint to the praise of one of their own, Engr Lawrence Eze (the Prince of Mburubu). The Rivers State-based engineer has constructed three bridges which hitherto hindered movement within the nearby communities, thereby wiping out the tears of his people.

“The bridges, which were abandoned for years by previous administrations in the state, had

become a source of worry to the people of the council area before Engr Eze decided to take it upon himself to reconstruct them before the rains set in properly. The bridges include Ojorowo Bridge, Ugbawka; Ovu Bridge, Mburubu and Nvuna Bridge, Nomeh.”

From the foregoing, it is clear that the people of Nomeh-Unateze do recognize the salient contribution of Prince Lawrence towards the need to ameliorate the hardship road users in the aforesaid communities pass through on daily basis.

It was therefore a great pain to many observers how this philanthropic, humane, rare and unsung son of Nkanu East lose out of the Peoples Democratic Party’s Enugu East Senatorial Primary election, or rather was betrayed after committing so much to the PDP.

To so many, it came as a welcomed move for him to defect to the All Progressives Congress, APC not minding contrary opinions in some quarters, where he seeks to actualize his senatorial aspiration.

In view of Prince Lawrence Ezeh’s rare contributions to his constituency, someone who has not tasted any elective post, but has done commendably well for his people, it therefore behooves his constituents to do the needful to ensure his victory as the general elections draw near. The time to act is now.

Nwaorgu Faustinus a socio-political commentator, wrote in via ngorokpalaresarcher@ngmail.com

Stop Insulting, Inciting Rivers Traditional Institutions against Opposition – TCCO Rebukes Wike

The Tonye Cole Campaign Organisation, TCCO, said it received with shock the reported public reprimand of traditional rulers by the governor of Rivers State, Barr. Nyesom Wike at the 108 and 109 general session of Rivers State Council of Transitional Rulers in Port Harcourt Monday for what the governor referred to as their involvement in partisan politics.

TCCO in a statement signed by Chief Chidi Lloyd, PhD the Director-General of Tonye Cole Campaign Organisation noted that “Ideally, it is imperative that traditional rulers, as leaders and custodians of the people’s common heritage and culture, should remain non-partisan. We believe that every traditional ruler understands and accepts this position. Ordinarily, a constant reminder to the traditional institution of this age-old norm by a sitting governor should be seen as either routine or prompted by certain misstep by a member or members of the revered institution. However, Monday’s warning by the governor was couched in the harshest and most unconscionable language not deserving, not respectful of and totally demeaning to the hallowed office of the traditional rulers.”

The statement reads: “It is unsettling that Gov. Nyesom Wike decreed that, “If you don’t respect your stool, you will have challenges. Withdraw yourselves from playing politics. If you don’t withdraw yourselves, I will withdraw you. If you take sides, I will also take sides.” We find this style of Hitler-type decree and talking down disgusting, repulsive and unacceptable to the traditional institution in Rivers State and all decent minds.

“The exact reality on ground is that Gov. Wike has directed that no first class traditional ruler should represent Rivers State government before the federal government or federal agencies without his approval. He has further warned that before any traditional ruler will lead any delegation to visit the federal government; such a traditional ruler must have approval from him. This is the highest insult to the traditional institution in Rivers State. It appears that the governor has conquered the good people of Rivers State and their traditional rulers because the people seem to have gone silent in the face of this 21^st century tyranny.

“Even more troubling is the attempt by Gov. Wike to incite the traditional rulers against the opposition when he stated thus: “We expect the political parties to play by the rules and embark on peaceful and issue-based campaigns. But you must be on the watch out to ensure that no person or entity violates the peace of your communities under the guise of political campaigns.” This indeed is a move to surreptitiously drag the traditional institution into partisan politics on the side of the governor and against the rest of the opposition parties in Rivers State. It is a clear message of intimidation to beat the traditional rulers into line on the side of the governor and his party and against the opposition.

“We are convinced that the real reasons for the present reprimand of the traditional institution by Gov. Wike was occasioned by the open acceptability of the APC governorship candidate in Rivers State, Pastor Tonye Cole who has been received with fanfare by the people and showered with traditional titles during his ongoing ward-to-ward consultative visits across the State. Therefore, we deeply regret this present attempt by Gov. Wike to publicly humiliate the traditional institution for partisan political reasons.

“The Tonye Cole Campaign Organisation believes that it is only respectful and proper to visit and get formal approval from community leaders before accessing their various communities to interact with the people. We will continue to respect the sanctity of the traditional institution by not undermining its authority, neutrality and fairness to all.

“We urge Gov. Wike to accord the traditional institution its deserved respect and not want to intimidate and incite our traditional rulers against any group or political party as the governor’s present chastisement appear to indicate.”