News

Withdraw Your Petition Against Tinubu, Apapa Faction Tells Obi

Published

4 months ago

June 2, 2023

The Lamidi Apapa faction of the Labour Party (LP) has asked the presidential candidate of the party, Peter Obi to step down his case at the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal (PEPT), noting that he (Obi) is not showing any seriousness.

The faction said the call became necessary following the event that happened in the Tribunal on Thursday where the court stepped down hearing the petition filed by Obi and the Labour Party against the election of President Bola Tinubu.

Addressing journalists in Abuja on Friday, Factional National Publicity Secretary of the party, Abayomi Arabambi, maintained that Obi has not been able to provide any concrete evidence to back these claims since PEPT began sitting.

He alleged that Obi went to court to challenge the victory of Tinubu because he (Obi) and his co-travellers had different intentions against the wishes of the Nigerian masses who freely offered their support to the Labour Party.

He stated: “We have followed with keen interest the shameful developments and approach by the so-called legal team assembled by Peter Obi challenging the outcome of the February 25 presidential election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and we have, like many Nigerians, come to the conclusion that Obi is not only taking Nigerians for a ride but would continue to waste the hard-earned resources donated by Nigerians for this purpose to even enrich himself the more.

“Obi attempt to cage the sense of thinking of Nigerians by trickily obtaining money from them to fund the court process making them believe that there is something for him at the end of the day that must stop now.

“All of you here who have been following this case can recall that the day we had an altercation in court with Abure’s group, INEC announced that Peter Obi could not pay for CTC form EC08 and other documents to be for the election. That now compelled them to only present only thirty per cent of the materials they would need for the hearing at the Election Petition Tribunal.

“How would any right-thinking person go to an election tribunal with only thirty per cent of your documents where not of all them would be accepted or agreed to be tendered by other political parties?

“Three days ago, they said two of their counsels were sick and yesterday they could not even file a single process with the array of SAN with Obi. This is what we have been saying that they are just trying to hoodwink the public, deceiving the Obidients and giving them false hope that they have something at the tribunal.

“It’s evident from the attitude displayed by them when they wrote a letter to INEC that Obi could not pay N1.5 million. Who are they deceiving? Counsels were sick? Just two out of how many of them and they stalled a court process when time is already against our party. Yesterday, the court had to give them a stand down of ten minutes to file their process. They came back and they could not do anything. You heard what the court told them. They are wasting the time of the court and they are not serious.”

Arabambi while declaring that the court has confirmed the fear of the Apapa faction, said the faction had raised alarm from the onset and has now been vindicated.

“That’s why we have consistently maintained that Obi is not serious. He came into the party with nothing. He didn’t fund the election, he didn’t fund the party, and he didn’t do anything for the party. He only came to mess of the entire process and to deceive Nigerians that he has something to offer to them.

“Labour Party is thereby calling on him to step down his selfish ambition and stop messing up the party if he has nothing serious to present to the tribunal”, he added.

Speaking on fuel subsidy removal, Arabambi knocked the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) for rejecting the new pump price of petrol.

He insisted that the position of the Labour Party on the removal of fuel subsidy during the campaign has not changed, saying “We cannot reverse that position because it was not our candidate that won the presidential election.”

He added: “Whatever we have agreed on during our campaign, and as a party that promotes peace, equity and justice in Nigeria, then we can’t be found approbating and reprobating at the same time. Our Position is that, once Obi said he would remove fuel subsidy from his first day in office, the same organized labour who stood in that position must not be seen working in cross purpose on the same thing that Tinubu, Atiku and even Obi said they were going to do.

“Obi said Subsidy was an organized crime that must be stopped. NLC can’t call for any strike. If they do, it is obvious that they are just being mischievous for a reason best known to them or maybe they have something against the President that they should come out open to tell Nigerians. That is our position as Labour Party.”

News

We’ll reshape hospitality industry, tourism in Abia – Otti

Published

19 mins ago

September 21, 2023

Ifunaya Emeka

Gov. Alex Otti of Abia has expressed readiness to reshape the hospitality industry and tourism sector through creative strategies to boost the state’s economy.

Otti said this on Thursday during a meeting with members of Nigeria Hotel Association and Hotel Proprietors Association in Umuahia.

The governor, who was represented by his Chief of Staff, Dr Caleb Ajagba, said that he was desirous to develop and strengthen the hospitality industry as well as tourism sector to meet global standards.

He said that the rebuilding agenda of the government was focused on achievement of even distribution of socioeconomic development and added that the hotel owners had a vital role to play in this regard.

“We are here to kick start what would be an enduring legacy in terms of reshaping the perception of stakeholders in the hospitality industry.

“Also looking at creative ways to move the hospitality industry, and one of the take aways we are looking at, is building partnership with stakeholders.

“Government cannot do everything, however, government will create an enabling environment for businesses to thrive, but it is the responsibility of entrepreneurs to drive the process to boost wealth creation,” he said.

Otti said that the government would create channels that would enhance the visibility of Abia’s hospitality industry on the digital space, and further drive the hospitality businesses to deliver world class services.

The Commissioner for Digital Economy, Dr Matthew Ekwuruibe, urged stakeholders in the hospitality industry to align with government’s rebuilding agenda.

Ekwuruibe said that plans were underway to build a website for hotels listing and booking , as well as connecting the hotels to Google Map, and added that the website would contain information about tourism centres in Abia.

He said that the use of digital technology to reinvent the hospitality industry had a lot of benefits such as increased visibility, enhanced ease of doing business, among others.

Also, the Commissioner for Information and Culture, Mr Okey Kanu, said that the hospitality industry played a central role in improving the economy of any state.

Kanu said that “the hospitality industry is central to any government that is interested in growing its economy.

“The relationship between government and the hotel owners is a relationship that needs to grow into a partnership to transform the hospitality industry,”
The Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr Kazie Uko, described the meeting as a deliberate effort by the government to transform the hospitality industry in the state.

Uko said that the engagement between the government and stakeholders had created a viable opportunity to address the issues inhibiting the growth of the industry in the state.

Furthermore, the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Tourism and Entertainment, Mr Martins Justice, described the hospitality industry as the bedrock of the tourism sector.

Justice said that the government was working to build a hospitality industry that would meet the demands of the 21st Century as well as develop the tourism sector.

Earlier, the National Treasurer of Nigeria Hotel Association, Mr Charles Ezeala, called on the state government to create an enabling environment for hotel businesses to thrive.

Ezeala said that the government had a great role to play in assisting hotel businesses to thrive, for the hospitality industry to be transformed.

Also, Mr Nnanna Ngwakwe, a member of Hotel Proprietors Association, Aba branch, said that insecurity, poor power supply and bad roads were the bane of hotel businesses in Abia and added that this was affecting the growth of the hospitality industry in the state.

Ngwakwe called for the urgent intervention of the state government in addressing the challenges threatening the advancement of the industry in Abia.

Headline

Gov Sule charges real sector conference to proffer practical solutions to economy

Published

36 mins ago

September 21, 2023

Olakunle Adeniyi

Gov. Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State has charged participants at the Nasarawa State University Keffi (NSUK) 1st International Real Sector Conference to proffer practical solutions to rejuvenate the economy.

He gave the charge on the first day of the two days conference on real sector productivity held at the University in Keffi Local Government Area of the state.

The theme of the conference is “Rejuvenating the sector productivity in Nigeria”.

Sule challenged participants to get real and proffer workable and practical solutions that would rejuvenate the real sector in Nigeria for optimal productivity which in turn would impact on the economy of the country positively.

“The question we should be asking ourselves here is that why are we not getting it right in the real sector in Nigeria?

“So let us proffer practical solutions so that we don’t just end up having an event and having all the communique and all that and then they end up in our offices. Let us ask ourselves what is that is possible and how do we contribute,” he said.

He said their recommendations should also be useful in shaping a better future for the real sector in Nigeria so that future Nigerians could build on that.

“So we must sit down and deliberate on what exactly is our problems in this sector. Are we ready to make sacrifices? And we must make sacrifices because that is the only way we can move forward.

“I want to assure you that in Nigeria we can change the narratives but it will take all of you here to convince the rest,” he said.

Prof. Suleiman Bala-Mohammed, Vice Chancellor, NSUK, commended the university’s Department of Business Administration for organizing the conference and urged the department to sustain it as it would be a platform for cross fertilisation of ideas and wider conversations on local and international issues.

He also urged participants to brainstorm and come up with policy recommendations on how to rejuvenate the real sector in Nigeria.

Mr John Mamman, Nasarawa State Commissioner for Education, however, told NAN that he expected the outcome of the conference would change the narratives because the real sector, according to him, is the driver of the economy.

“The manufacturing, construction, engineering and others are the real movers of the economy. Once we get it right from the drivers of the economy, other sectors will also be impacted positively,” he said.