Politics
2023: I see hope in Lawan becoming President – Governor Uzodinma
The Governor of Imo State, Senator Hope Uzodimma told the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan on Tuesday that he saw hope in him.
Governor Uzodimma made the remarks after Lawan addressed the All Progressives Congress(APC) leaders and delegates from the five Southeast states of Imo, Anambra, Abia, Ebonyi and Enugu who converged at the party Secretariat in Owerri.
Also in attendance were the Southeast zonal leaders of the party.
Uzodimma said it was clear that President Muhammadu Buhari would have to give recommendations and guidance on the succession plans but prayed that the President would see what some of them had seen.
Governor Uzodimma said: “The party is aware that it is only our President, President Muhammadu Buhari who understands the demography and the character of the current national politics vis-a-vis the insecurity, economy and the public welfare and the party will also be guided by his recommendations in managing the succession plans.
“These delegates are still here. They have cried for a very long time against not given sufficient recognition and relevance to the people of Southeast.
“That is why I’m almost certain that they will not be influenced by money nor by any material influence. They will do that which will attract to our people the relevance and recognition nationally that we have been looking for, for a very long time.
“I have listened to you. Very brilliant ideology. I have also seen that you are highly detribalised and nationalistic. I think, in you, I can see hope.
“Therefore, I will recommend very highly that Mr President in his wisdom, guided by the spirit of God, will also see what some of us have seen.
“One assurance that you should take home is that, Northeast and Southeast are bloodly related. Getting no-objection certificate from Mr President, we will not be stopped by anybody.
“So when you go home, greet our brothers and sisters. Before you came, our own brother, the Governor of Ebonyi came to address the delegates.
“And in doing so, he also recognised copiously the relationship between Northeast and Southeast to the extent that he even re-echoed that the two geo-political zones are the most marginalised in Nigeria.
“Therefore, whatever comes to Southeast is as good as it has gone to Northeast. And whatever goes to Northeast is as good as it has come to Southeast. We are with you.
“You are completely loyal to the leadership of our great Party, APC, under the command of President Muhammadu Buhari and I’m almost certain that our decision may likely be guided by his recommendations and counsel.”
Earlier, Lawan who described Uzodimma as the “Lion of the Southeast” said he had been a “major pillar in all my political journey since we started.
“He was at the forefront in 2015, you know he was a Senator, he wanted me to be Senate President. He worked so hard tirelessly.
“But today, to the Glory of God, this our brother, the Governor of Imo state, has worked so hard to also keep this campaign going. Actually, he presented my completed nomination form.”
The Senate President outlined his plans to the delegates if given the chance to fly the flag of his party the APC and if elected as President:
“For me, it is security first. Because you need to secure the people. Even for them to go to their farms or to go to their markets or to go about their local businesses, they need to be secured.
“This is a challenge that this administration has been working so hard to ensure that every citizen is secured.
“I am coming from the Northeast. Coming from Yobe State. We were under the domination of Boko Haram between 2014 and 2015, before President Muhammadu Buhari took office.
“Today we are far safer. Most of the insurgents are coming out to surrender with their families. Their leaders have been killed.
“Of course, before President Muhammadu Buhari took over, about 15 or 16 of our Local Governments in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa were under the full control of Boko Haram. But we still have challenges.
“That is a success story for our administration. That is the kind of story we want repeated in all parts of Nigeria. We are battling so hard in the Northwest and some parts of the Northcentral with the bandits and kidnappers and of course in the south particularly the Southeast which is a recent development.
“The Southeast is supposed to be our South Korea. It’s supposed to be our Japan. It’s supposed to be our America in Nigeria. Very ingenious people. Very enterprising people.
“And therefore, we must never allow our past history, history told by colonialists….we are the same people because whether you are coming from the North or From the South or the East or the West, you are a Nigerian.
“And as a Nigerian, you will pray and work that every Nigerian in every part of Nigeria succeeds and be in peace because what happens here in Owerri affects me in Yobe and what happens in Yobe affects you here.
“So I believe that given the opportunity, and we are already doing something, we must have a national integration policy. National cohesion.
“What does that mean? It is for us to ensure that there is fairness and access to social, economic and political opportunities. This is one way to go because most of the time, the crisis, the conflict is about the resource distribution, opportunity that is available to everyone.
“But I believe that we must continue to work for national integration to give everyone a sense of belonging. If you are a business man you should excel in any part of Nigeria you chose to be.
“Secondly, having secured our nation, we must continue to work for the improvement in our economy. Our economy is already the largest in Africa and that is a feat. We have been able to succeed to maintain the number one position despite two years of COVID 19 that we suffered.
“One thing is that we need to improve to make this economy more productive and more inclusive. That is to say that those at the highest level should not enjoy at the expense of those at the lowest part of the ladder.
“That is to say if you are a small trader, you should have some support. You already have some support, the empowerment programmes by the present administration.
“But what we need to do is to ensure that in areas like the Southeast, where majority of people are business oriented, the Small and Medium Scales Enterprises, will have to be supported. Once everybody has something to do, nobody will like to call for any trouble.
“So I want to make that my mission, that employment opportunities must come through support to SMEs.
“I want to see a situation where our women will continue to play a dominant role but I’m particularly also concerned about our youth, I believe to transform Nigeria, you have to transform our youth. Take them off the streets. Take them to schools.
“We must invest in our education. We have to introduce entrepreneurship development courses so that those who are not able to go to tertiary Institutions should be useful in one trade or the other.
“I want to assure you that a vote for me is a vote for progress in Nigeria, for stability in Nigeria, for prosperity in our country.
The immediate past deputy governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in Rivers State, Dr Emana Ambrose Amawhe has resigned her membership of the party with immediate effect.
In a letter dated 28th March, 2025 addressed to the Chairman of Edem Odo Ward in Akpabuyo Local Government Council of Cross River State, she said, her resignation was with immediate effect.
She pointed out in the letter that her resignation should not be taken lightly, while she reaffirmed her commitment to and readiness to serve the government of Cross River and Nigeria in general in any capacities.
She said, “I am writing to formally resign my membership from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) with immediate effect.
”I sincerely appreciate the opportunity given to me over time to contribute my quota to the growth of the party and the chance to serve as the Deputy Governorship Candidate in the last general elections.
”It was a privilege to be part of the PDP’s vision and engage with our people in meaningful ways. However, after much reflection in light of the current state of affairs within the party, I believe it is time for me to move on.
“This decision was not made lightly, but I remain committed to serving my community and contributing to the progress of our state and nation in other capacities.”
Ambrose-Amawhe was the running mate to Senator Sandy Onor in the 2023 governorship election in Cross River.
She had also contested for the House of Representatives seat for the Bakassi/Akpabuyo/Calabar South Federal Constituency under the PDP.
The Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Rivers State Chapter, Chief Tony Okocha, has defended the emergency rule declared by President Bola Tinubu in the state, citing escalating security threats.
According to Chief Okocha, Rivers State was on the brink of anarchy due to increasing security concerns in various parts of the state.
Okocha made this statement while addressing journalists at the APC headquarters in Abuja on Thursday.
Justifying the suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara and the declaration of a state of emergency, Okocha commended the President for his “timely” intervention and criticized those opposing the decision.
“The state of emergency called by Mr. President saved Rivers State from anarchy. When you see non-state actors brandishing guns and making statements that promote lawlessness, then you should know there is a problem.
“I see some people jumping onto television platforms to cast aspersions on Mr. President and condemn what they do not understand. Mr. President knows more than they do.
“The truth of the matter is that Rivers State was headed towards anarchy. We all know Rivers is one of the states that sustain this country. Some of the same people criticizing the President now would have also condemned him if he had done nothing.”
Chief Okocha also questioned the silence of former President Goodluck Jonathan and the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) when the Rivers State House of Assembly complex was demolished under Governor Fubara’s administration.
“Thank God, President Goodluck Jonathan has been president, General Obasanjo has been president, and they know that every day on their table, they receive security reports.
“I hear the NBA saying the suspension is an affront to democracy. But when the assembly complex was burned and the next day, eleven pieces of equipment were deployed to demolish it, the NBA was silent. They were alive, yet we didn’t hear anything from them”, he said.
Reacting to criticism over why the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, was not sanctioned despite allegations that he contributed to the unrest, Okocha argued that Wike was not involved in the crisis.
He said, “For those asking why the Governor and members of the State House of Assembly were suspended but not the Minister of the FCT—was he in the frame? The answer is no”
Former presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party in the 2023 general election, Adewole Adebayo said, God has told him that the party will produce the next president in 2027 general election.
Speaking over the weekend in Abeokua when he met the members and executive who were led by the State Chairman, Yinka Ola-Williams, said he could confirm that a President of SDP will mount Aso Rock villa in 2027.
“One thing that God is telling me is that there will be an SDP president in the villa in 2027.
“For the first time in a long time, we will have people who care for the people. Let’s remain focused. The problems of Nigeria are our problems, not individuals.
“We are not against Tinubu as a person but we are against hunger, inflation, poverty, insecurity, unemployment. That’s what we are against,” he said.
Buttressing Adebayo’s position on modalities of joining the party, the SDP Chairman in Ogun State, Mr. Yinka Ola-Williams, disowned 30,000 membership cards and registers allegedly being flaunted by one of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) aspirants in the 2023 governorship election in the State.
Ola-Williams said the party’s door is widely opened to anybody who wants to join, but such a person or group, no matter how highly placed, must follow the procedure as laid down in the party’s constitution.
He emphatically stated that the party had nothing to do with the membership cards and registers claimed by the aspirant, who said he got them from the party’s National Secretariat.
“We want people to join us, and we want to work together to provide a better government than what we have now that will remove poverty, provide a better healthcare system for people, improve education and all.
“But not that they come to the party, hijack the party and take the structure away. That’s what we will not agree,” Ola-Williams said.
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