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Often, I disagree with Tinubu as a personal friend but he’s doing well – Otti
“People in 2025 are talking of 2027… you can’t even talk about 2027 because there is no guarantee that you would go beyond 2025. Who are you to begin to talk about 2027?” was the question posed on Sunday by Alex Otti, governor of Abia State, to those already canvassing for political power while the next general election is still two years away.
Otti, who showed his disapproval at the move when he hosted Orji Uzor Kalu, former Governor of the state an currently Senator representing Abia North Senatorial District in the National Assembly, wondered what would give such people their impetus, in a situation where nobody knew what would happen the next moment.
Kalu in company of Chris Adighije who once represented Abia Central Senatorial District, to pay “a friendly visit,” said was undertaken “to commend and encourage him for the good works he is doing in the state and also use the opportunity to discuss governance issues with him.”
At the parley, Otti questioned as he imagined the audacity of those talking about 2027, trying to play God, adding: “Today is certain; tomorrow is a promise. Next tomorrow is gambling. Let us talk about today; when tomorrow comes, and we are lucky to be part of it, we can hold the discussion. Nobody is competent to talk about tomorrow except he or she wants to play God.”
It was also a day that the governor also indicated showcased his support for President Bola Tinubu “as he takes difficult but courageous and necessary economic decisions to fix Nigeria’s economy.”
“When you talk about supporting President Tinubu, the President and I are very good friends and our friendship predates party politics and current positions. We agree on so many issues, and as it is natural, we know where we disagree. But, when you talk about the economy, what Mr. President is doing has always been my position for a long time.”
Stressing that his position on removal of subsidy was fully documented, including he urged those in doubt to read his columns at the back of Thisday Newspaper, some years back, especially during the Covid-19, where he laid down a comprehensive argument on the matter, insisting that Nigeria had no need to sustain the system.
His words: “It requires somebody with courage to remove that subsidy and I am in support of it. We have behaved in an irresponsible manner for a very long time. And, when you have years of irresponsible behavior, the correction would be tough, difficult, and painful. It is the correction that we are going through now. If we don’t lose faith, we will eventually get it right.
“So, talking about supporting the President, it’s a no-brainer. I will continue to support him because it is the same administration.”
Expressing gratitude to Kalu, for the work he did in the state before him, he argued that there was no need to dwell on how things went wrong in the past, as his government had hit the reset button and start work, without looking back in the interest of the people rather than fighting anybody.
“Government and Governance is a continuum, it can be broken but you must go back and recover it. My late mother was a strong supporter of Orji Uzor Kalu for the good works he did in road construction when he became Governor, especially in Aba. It is still the same template I’m using.
“I can assure you, that template is not wrong. You fix the place that generates the revenue, the revenue will come and you use it to fix other places.”
Seriake Dickson, National Leader of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), on Wednesday showcased Peter Obi, its presidential candidate in the 2027 election, but gave a proviso – his importance would not be at the expense of the party.
A guest on Prime Time, a public affairs programme on ARISE NEWS Television, the former Governor of Bayelsa State, now Senator representing West at the National Assembly, maintained that the belief in some quarters that Obi’s entrance into the party was a favour was completely misplaced.
Instead, he argued that the opposite was the case, as it was the party that was doing its candidates a favour by giving them the opportunity to contest elective positions on its platform in the 2027 elections, a gesture that ought to be returned.
Hear him: “Don’t make it look like anyone is doing NDC a favour. No one is. Rather, the NDC and I and my colleagues are doing people a favour by granting our platform. If you are genuinely supporting Peter Obi and you are disparaging me, the leader, or the platform itself. That is nonsensical.”
Stressing that NDC had demonstrated confidence in Obi by adopting Obi as its sole presidential candidate and selecting a vice-presidential candidate without internal disputes, he said it was enough to earn its leadership the gratitude it deserved.
He added: “Nobody paid shishi. So, if a presidential candidate didn’t pay shishi to be made the sole presidential candidate and sole vice-presidential candidate, that same party cannot be the one saying that small people are underprivileged.
“I could have run. There’s no one more qualified than me. There’s no one more qualified than me to run for presidential candidate. None. There is no crisis within the NDC. Peter Obi is a cherished member of our party. On our own, we have made him a presidential candidate. Sole presidential candidate. And that counts for something. We are working well together. There’s no crisis.”
Invoking its zero tolerance on issues of security breaches, the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), has clamped down on aircraft and crew of the privately operated jet that landed on a roadway in the Ogwashi-Uku area near Asaba, Delta state.
Even with regulatory body for airline operations in Nigeria informed that no casualties were recorded in the incident, it still went for its sanctions in line with its sworn position of maintaining maximum safety at every point.
In a statement on Wednesday, Michael Achimugu, its spokesman said preliminary reports indicated that the aircraft conducted a missed approach while attempting to land at Asaba airport at about 7:43am.
Achimugu: Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, said: “Reports received from personnel at the scene indicate that all occupants safely exited the aircraft and were transported to Asaba by road,” Achimugu said. The aircraft had four (4) crew members on board. At this time, no injuries to passengers or crew have been reported.
“Preliminary information available to the authority indicated that the aircraft later departed the location and returned to Lagos without obtaining the required regulatory approval. Air traffic control was informed only after the aircraft had become airborne.”
Stressing that the action constitutes a violation of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulations (Nig.CARs) and is currently under investigation by the authority, he said the NCAA immediately grounded the aircraft upon its arrival in Lagos pending the outcome of investigations.
He added: “The flight crew have been placed under regulatory review while the NCAA conducts further inquiries into the circumstances surrounding the occurrence and the subsequent unauthorised departure of the aircraft.
“The NCAA has formally notified the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) of the occurrence and is coordinating with relevant aviation stakeholders, including the operator and the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency to establish the full circumstances surrounding the incident.”
Stating that the NCAA immediately suspended the operator’s permit for non-commercial flight (PNCF), he added that the authority would review all operational, airworthiness, maintenance and flight-related records as part of its statutory responsibilities and take further enforcement action in accordance with applicable aviation regulations.
Achimugu said the NCAA remains committed to maintaining the highest standards of aviation safety, security, and regulatory compliance within the Nigerian aviation sector.
Atiku Abubakar, candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), on Wednesday, swore to the integrity of the process that led to his picking the party’s ticket, saying it remained untainted and consistent with the wills of the members.
Against the backdrop of the insistence of Babachir Lawal, former Secretary to Government of the Federation (SGF), that he stole the ticket by corrupting the process, Atiku, Vice President between 1999 and 2007, pooh-poohed the claim.
Before the former SGF Rotimi Amaechi, former Governor of Rivers State and Minister of Transportation as well as Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, former Chairman of Nigeria Economic Summit Group, both candidates in the contest for the ADC ticket, had rejected the process as flawed, even before the outcome.
Lawal, who had earlier announced his resignation from the ADC a fortnight ago and made sundry allegations of gaming the system against Atiku, had doubled down on Monday, while appearing on Politics Today, a public affairs programme on Channels Television, claiming he personally monitored the exercise and had evidence that the primary was rigged.
Hear him: “Don’t forget I was the National Vice Chairman (North-East). I was in the field during the exercise, so I have evidence. Atiku’s people are the ones trying to deny what they did. We are all human beings. We know what they did. I knew the primary was rigged at the point it was being done and the results declared.”
Regardless that neither Amaechi nor Hayatu-Deen had recanted their original position Atiku, insisted that nothing was amiss, adding that his opponents actually won in the areas of their individual popularity and stronghold.
Conveying his position through Phrank Shaibu, his spokesman, who appeared as a guest on Politics Today, a public affairs programme on Channels Television, the former VP said: “Anybody who claims rigging or irregularity in the last election should check the places and locations they won. Where are the states that Rotimi Amaechi won? If you check the figures and the margins he got there, you will know that those are his strongholds. It was not a fraudulent process.
Maintaining that the burden of proving any fraud rested on the former SGF Shaibu, Shaibu depicted his boss as the most popular among the contestants, arguing that the outcome of the event should not be surprising to anybody.
He said of the ex-SGF: “Babachir reminds me of a baby who is yanked off her mother’s breast while suckling. It is like a deprived suckling; definitely the baby will throw tantrums. He admitted on your show that his preferred candidate was Hayatu-Deen. He worked for him.”
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