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SOUTH-EAST APC PRESIDENCY PROJECT 2023: THAT SAVAGE ATTACK ON APC BY PDP

Published

4 years ago

November 15, 2020

Our attention has been drawn to the mischievous and regrettable savage attack by Kola Ologbondiyan’s PDP on our party, All Progressives Congress (APC), which is also an attack on a key objective of South-East APC Presidency Project 2023, that is, to use the promise of Nigeria’s President of South-East extraction on APC platform in 2023 to attract decent and progressive individuals still in PDP and other parties to APC.

According to Ologbondiyan, National Publicity Secretary of PDP, “Nigerians expect a few credible individuals still trapped in the APC to immediately leave that pirate ship before it is too late.”

We beg to differ from the PDP on this, as we disagree with them on many of their other jaundiced views. Contrary to the false picture they have painted, the predatory elements in the President Buhari administration are not APC.

They are persons known or unknown to President Buhari who are either PDP or have no known party allegiance. Their mission in the administration is simply to pillage and vicariously give APC a bad name. They are mercenaries in the administration – soldiers of fortune committing atrocities outside APC’s progressive manifesto and ethos.

What APC should do and must do with President of Nigeria of South-East extraction on APC platform from 29th May 2023, would be to sanitize the party by expelling the sort of PDP elements and other mercenaries who from 2015 to date have posed as APC members or sympathizers just to partake in a supposed APC-controlled Federal Government.

We say “supposed” because APC cannot be said to exert any influence in Government policies and actions that our detractors mischievously credit to APC.

That is what Dr Salihu Lukman, Director General of the Progressive Governors’ Forum, alluded to when he said that some so-called APC leaders behaved like “criminal bandits”.

A true progressive does not shy away from the truth, even if an opportunistic anti-people party like the PDP would quickly take advantage of our sincerity and desire to change-the-change in-house.

PDP is not a change agent and should not attempt to deceive Nigerians that it can ever be one; unless it is to change from bad to worst.

APC has a manifesto (a very fine one at that) and PDP should apologize to Nigerians for detailing its mercenaries in the Buhari administration – including Ministers, Permanent Secretaries, Agency CEOs, Board Chairmen, Directors, Security and Intelligence Chiefs – to ensure that policies, programmes, projects and practices of the Buhari administration are not reflective of the APC manifesto.

The agenda of South-East APC Presidency Project 2023 is also to religiously implement APC manifesto using only true APC members as government functionaries. APC has a clear progressive ideology and that would manifest in the lives of all Nigerians with Nigeria’s President of South-East extraction from 29th May 2023.

Contrary to PDP mischief, it is the few progressive persons still in PDP (like Governor Dave Umahi of Ebonyi State, Governor Nyesom Nwike of Rivers State, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, and Kola Ologbondiyan himself) who should abandon that ship of notorious pirates and roguish characters for the progressive train of our great party, the APC.

Soon, very soon, APC-controlled Federal Government will not have any PDP or non-APC members anywhere near our corridor of power. The sanitization should start in the remaining lap of the Buhari administration but its full implementation would be guaranteed with President of South-East extraction on APC platform from 29th May 2023.

Signed:

Dr. Chinedu Jideofo-Ogbuagu

National Coordinator

South-East APC Presidency Project 2023.

09052910866, 08023163451

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Dikko And The New Vision Accountability and Development in Sports

Published

1 week ago

December 16, 2024

The Gleamer

Felly Mammah N.

Since the Chairman of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Alhaji Shehu Dikko assumed office on the 30th of October, 2024, he has systematically and deliberately been putting in place structures that would result to proper development of sports in Nigeria. Shortly after he was first appointed by President Bola Tinubu as a leading strength of sports, the Director General (DG), Hon. Bukola Olapade was appointed to compliment his efforts.

Many sports analysts believe that the duo of Dikko and Olapade who have been very visible in sports administration will be one of the best combination to take the sports sector to the next level. The DG no doubt, is the head of administration in the Commission, but it should be noted that the financial enablement to manage the affairs of staff and the political might that shops for the finance needed in the running of the sector rest on the Chairman who has the task of liaising with the President directly.

It is also, worthy to note that there is a huge difference between the administration of in the Civil Service as it is controlled by a Permanent Secretary and Directors while the administration of a Commission involves Board Members and experts whose voices and actions are also, game-changing; more so as Commissioners are likely going to take charge of the different zones to proffer solutions for a way forward. The defunct Ministry of Youths and Sports Development which later in 2023 metamorphosed into the Ministry of Sports Development on the assumption of President Bola Tinubu, produced a minister who was not versed in sports administration and as a result, faced mass criticism especially from men of the media.

These men of the pen profession are the torchlight of global sporting activity; they equally keep the history of both sports participation globally as well as the records of athletes’ performances. Their torchlight on past Minister’s and particularly the recent past, have revealed that most of the people who presided over sports administration do not really have any knowledge of the sector before their appointment.

The exit of the immediate past Minister, Sen. John Owan Enoh, refreshingly paved the way for change and this has brought in sports personnels that are expected to place sporting activities in the digital world. Suffice it to also, say that the new management of Sports Commission in parts of her changes is expected to sanitize athletes’ attitude and character for better reflection of children who have seen and communicated with their peers in the Western world.

However, the clarion call for President Tinubu to remove politics in sports may have changed the leadership of sports going by what many sports fans saw in the last outing of both Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris 2024, where a country like Nigeria did not measure up to her potentials.

Despite the poor performance of atheletes during the World Olympics Games, the past immediate past Minister deserves to be commended that during his tenure, the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) Games was reawakened as the participation of our Super Eagles brought back hope and jubilation to sports fans including the President and higher authorities. Yes whopping sum of N12 Billion was released two weeks to the Olympics Games and at a time the country was not financially stable. Despite the presidential financial support, the medals presented to the country were crisis and ignorant of both the atheletes, Nigeria Olympic Committee and the Atheletic Federaton to do the needful.

Therefore, it is heart-warming that the President harkened to the appeal of his fellow sports lovers to handpick a known figure in the sports arena to share his wealth of experience that gave him both a name in Sports and positions as the former Chairman of the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL), Chairman League Management Company (LMC), FIFA match Commissioner of significance, 2nd Vice President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and presently, CAF Committee Member, in addition to his new portfolio as Chairman NSC.

My reference point here is that Alh. Dikko has been given the authority to effect positive change in sports sector, co-ordinate over 40 Sports Federations in the sector, welcome ideas of both sports stakeholders, individuals and veterans of sports that will enable him x-ray the reasons for poor performances in the sector and to chat a way forward for success story. There can never be a new testament without an old testament, thus the reason Alh. Dikko’s doors have remained opened to receive courtesy calls that included the visits by past administrators and foreigners who want to facilitate with whom the cap fits.

Still, in the mood of celebration to formally welcome Alh. Dikko to office was the peculiar power of sports which gathered momentum and the crowd for happy moments as seen in the recent novelty match organized by his friends, associates and sports veterans at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja recently. That gathering clearly announced not just a man who has made a name for himself at a height in global political decision making in sports circle, but a man who has also, given voice to our country’s leagues and international activities.

Sports is a significant sector that comprises emotion, tension, happiness, sadness even death and hope irrespective of the fact that it has the potential to feed many mouths. The sector cannot be compared to other Ministries with delayed bureaucracies and frustration of abilities. While in the civil service the head will rather submerge a growing talent for fear of power thrown, a coach who discovers a talent takes the credit for showcasing a star athelete discovered. Sports has been proven to generate revenue as well as attract public partnership which are all aimed at enhancing podium performance by the athletes.

Shehu Dikko’s business vision and wide participation in football contributed in making him the right candidate to place the sector in its expected level, increase the GDP of the country’s economy and equally be accountable with administrative roadmap for success.

The novelty match organised for him by his sports fans and League managers had the likes of Samson Siasia, Victor Ikpeba, Mutiu Adepoju, Dominic Iorfa, Ahmed Musa in attendance to share their joy with him as they displayed their talent with their foot.
Others that graced the occasion were Super Sports General Manager, Felix Nwogu, former and present Chairmen of House Committee on Sports, NFF President, NOC members and persons from across the globe. That singular act indicated a clear fact that Dikko can actually gather momentum with persons that can support his ideology to deliver as charged by the presidency.

However, the Chairman’s meekness to open his doors to all does not mean weakness neither does it mean that he has not commenced work officially. His work is more of brain tasking because ideas actually rule the world. I will boldly say that he has resumed work with like minds that will not only be on the same page with him but will as well be on success Guinness Book with him.

Felly Mammah N.
Press Officer (NSC).

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