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Why PDP May Die After 2023, Atiku Explains
Atiku who was addressing members of the Board of Trustees (BOT) of the party said members of the party must be united and work together in order to win the election in 2023.
Former Vice President of Nigeria and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Atiku Abubakar has been speaking on why PDP cannot afford to lose the next presidency of Nigeria, otherwise the party may go into extinction.
Atiku who was addressing members of the Board of Trustees (BOT) of the party said members of the party must be united and work together in order to win the election in 2023.
“I am worried and you should be worried too that if we do not win, it means we will be in opposition again for the next eight years,” he said.
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“By the next eight years, I don’t know how many will be left in politics and it may even ultimately lead to the death of the party because people gravitate, particularly in developing countries, towards governments.
“Ordinary, people naturally gravitate towards the government. So this is a very crucial and historical moment in history for our survival, I want you to think about it. We are now at a crucial moment in this country. For many of you here, it is either we retire together or we move on together.”
While commending the performance of the party in the 2019 election, Atiku said the PDP can do better in 2023 if members work in unity.
“Somebody said that we recorded 12 million votes during the last election. Those are not only my votes, those were our votes. In achieving or recording those 11 million votes, it was all of us and I believe if we work together again, we can surpass those votes,” he said.
On zoning, the former vice-president said while he is not opposed to rotating the presidency, he has paid his dues and believes it is time for him to take the reins as president.
“In the party, we invented and formulated this zoning policy simply because we wanted every part of this country to have a sense of belonging and I personally have paid my dues on the issue of zoning,” he said.
“Many of you were members of our government when all the PDP governors came in 2003 and said I should run and I said no. We have agreed that power should remain in the south-west, Why should I?
“Some of those governors that supported me, some of them went to jail, some of them were kicked out of their offices, we made sure that we kept the policy. Therefore, you cannot come and try to imply that the PDP has not been following the zoning policy.
“Some say the south-east has not been given the chance. When I joined the Action Congress of Nigeria (CAN) which my friend Bola (Tinubu) set up, he gave me a set of conditions for giving me the ticket, one of which was that I should make him the vice-president.
“I said no, ‘I’m not going to make you vice-president,’ instead, I took senator Ben Obi. So there is absolutely no reason they should say that there is a deliberate attempt to exclude the south-east in political participation or power-sharing.
“So I thought I should disabuse your mind and of course, as an enlightened political class, I don’t think there’s any deliberate policy to exclude anybody in this country.”
News
We don’t have power to determine tenure of IGP – Police Service Commission
The Police Service Commission, PSC, has said it has no constitutional powers to determine the appointment or removal of the Inspector-General of Police, IGP.
Gatekeeper recalls that the Police Service Commission had last week directed all serving police officers who have served for 35 years, or attained the age of 60 years, to proceed on immediate retirement in line with existing laws.
Since the directive several public commentators have argued that the directives should also affect the tenure of the IGP.
But Ikechukwu Ani, Head, Press and Public Relations of the PSC, in a statement on Monday, said, “By virtue of Paragraph 30, part 1 of the third schedule to the Constitution, and clause 6 (1) of the Police Service Commission (Establisment) Act, 2001, the Commission is charged with the responsibilities of appointment, promotion, dismissal and exercising disciplinary control over persons holding offices in the Nigeria Police Force (except the Inspector General of Police).
“The law is clear on the mandate of the Commission and it does not extend to the Inspector General of Police who is an appointee of Mr. President with the advice of the Police Council.
“The Commission wishes to state that it is comfortable with the size of the powers which the Constitution has bestowed on it and is not interested in shopping for more powers that obviously are not backed by law.”
News
Electricity, telecom tariffs increase unconscionable, should be stopped – Shehu Sani
Former lawmaker, Senator Shehu Sani, has described the planned increase in electricity and telecom tariffs as unconscionable.
The statement comes after the telecoms regulator last week approved the increase in mobile tariffs.
The federal government also recently said that plans were ongoing to increase electricity tariffs “over the next few months.”
However, Sani, who said the government’s plan is unreasonable, insisted that it should be halted.
The ex-lawmaker also expressed his support for the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) over the scheduled protest against the government’s proposal, calling it a welcome development.
“The planned increase in electricity tariffs in the midst of poor power supply and the proposal to increase telecom tariffs is unconscionable and should be halted. The scheduled labour union protest is a welcome development,” he posted on X.
News
Trump to cut off funding to South Africa, gives reason
The United States President, Donald Trump, has revealed his decision to cut off all future funding to South Africa, citing poor treatment of “certain classes of people.”
Trump made this known on Sunday in a post on Truth Social, his social media platform.
According to Trump, South Africa was seizing land and mistreating some citizens without concern for the violations of their rights.
“South Africa is confiscating land and treating certain classes of people VERY BADLY.
“I will be cutting off all future funding to South Africa until a full investigation of this situation has been completed!” Trump wrote.
Reports suggest that the American leader may be defending White South Africans, some of whom have alleged that the South African policy is unfair to them.
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