PRESS STATEMENT
We need to warn Nigerians to be wary of the sugar-coated promises of former vice president, Atiku Abubakar and his Peoples Democratic Party as they embark on their inordinate and desperate campaign to gain power at all cost.
A party that should be eternally shameful about its appalling record in governance between 1999-2015 is now busy rewriting history, embellishing the locust years as if it was a golden era in our history.
Of course, this is fake history at its worst. We are not fooled. Nigerians should also not be fooled about the boldfaced lies, being articulated by the candidate and his party.
What is more shocking is Atiku’s audacity in standing up to ask for our votes despite what his boss, President Olusegun Obasanjo wrote about him in his book, ‘My Watch’. Obasanjo wrote that it would have been an unpardonable mistake “and sin against God to foist him on Nigeria”. Obasanjo still believes so till tomorrow.
Obasanjo still rues till today making Atiku his vice president in 1999, only to discover later,
“his shadowy parentage, his propensity to corruption, his tendency to disloyalty, his inability to say and stick to the truth all the time, a propensity for poor judgment, his belief and reliance on marabouts, his lack of transparency, his trust in money to buy his way out on all issues and his readiness to sacrifice morality, integrity, propriety, truth and national interest for self and selfish interest.”
We are, however, not totally surprised about Atiku’s latest desperation.
Aware that this is his last shot at the elusive presidency, Atiku, while on the hustings, has been spewing series of lies, making empty promises and presenting a false narrative about our present reality and the legacy of the 16-year ignoble era of the PDP administration, of which he was a principal actor.
He claimed at his rally in Abuja on Saturday that the country is not secure for trading and farming, a false narrative that he has been pushing around for some time, since he relocated to Nigeria from his base in Dubai, principally to contest the election.
We believe in his private moment that Atiku will concede that his view about insecurity is exaggerated. Our country is certainly better secure than in 2015 when the PDP allowed insurgents to seize 17 local councils in Borno and some four councils in Atiku’s home state of Adamawa State, when Abuja was under constant bomb attacks and people slept with eyes wide open. What further proof of progress made by the APC does Atiku need than the fact that he was able, recently, to carry his party men and women to Maiduguri to hold a rally, without any attacks by insurgents and bandits. Atiku can also drive smoothly from Yola, his state capital to Jada, his home town on a reconstructed road by the Buhari-led APC administration. The road was impassable for 8 years Atiku was Vice President and got progressively bad and totally cut off from civilisation until the Buhari government reconstructed it.
Atiku claimed that our country has the highest number of out-of school children in the world, without telling his audience that the problem, which was exacerbated by banditry in North West and insurgency in North East, took its root from the stewardship of his party when the population of out-of-school children phenomenally rose from 10.5 million in 2010 to 13.2 million in 2015.
The most grotesque of Atiku’s promise is that he will ensure that the ASUU stopped going on strike so that universities “reopen forever and ever.” Mr Atiku forgot to tell his audience that a PDP government in 2009 signed an agreement with ASUU, which it never implemented for six years, leaving the mess of the agreement for APC to deal with.
Meanwhile, as Nigerian universities were left to rot under the PDP’s watch , Atiku and his boss, President Olusegun Obasanjo opted to set up their own universities, ABTI-American University and Bell University, meant for the children of the rich.
A pointer that this former vice-president has not changed in his character as portrayed by Obasanjo was his promise to sell the newly commercialised NNPC Ltd and all its assets and subsidiaries for just $10 billion. Even before inviting bids, he had already undervalued the oil conglomerate, the way he undervalued Nigerian companies he was asked to sell, under the abused privatisation programme of the Obasanjo administration. Nigerians will remember that he made a similar promise in 2019, saying he would sell the NNPC to his friends and cronies. Surely, he retains the same mindset, though he has changed the terminology to ‘privatisation’.
In his campaign. Atiku’s refrain has been to tell the less discerning Nigerians that he is on a recovery and restoration mission in presenting himself to be elected.
The question every Nigerian must ask him in pidgin is: Recover Wetin?
Can the PDP ever be a recovery vehicle for our country, judging by its old record of service, when it spent $16 billion on power that only resulted in worsening darkness?
Can the party ever be a recovery vehicle when it also midwifed the privatisation of power distribution to cronies, also leading to more darkness.
Now the nation’s hope for uninterrupted electricity lies on the $2.5 billion Nigeria-Siemens deal, initiated by the Buhari administration.
We need to further ask whether the PDP is hoping to be a recovery vehicle for our armed forces, when during its stewardship, it diverted billions of dollars allocated for arms, into private pockets and marabouts. Our ill-equipped soldiers, were left to die as they faced guerrillas with superior weapons.
Today, the APC government of President Buhari has changed the misfortune of our armed forces and boosted morale with modern weapons, fighter jets, warships and others.
We ask again, can a party that cannot recover itself due to its internal implosion and crisis recover and rescue Nigeria? Let PDP rescue and recover itself and its abandoned national secretariat first. After raising over N20billion to build a national party office, PDP and its leaders plundered the money the same way they plundered our country.
Our advice to Nigerians is to ignore anything Atiku Abubakar says. He is a bloody liar and a desperate politician who should never be trusted.
Atiku is not coming to recover Nigeria from anything, he is only coming to restore it back into his pocket and those of his cronies.
Bayo Onanuga
Director of Media & Publicity,
APC Presidential Campaign Council
December, 11, 2022
RETAINING PRESIDENCY IN THE NORTH IS BAD AS MUSLIM -MUSLIM TICKET – WIKE
*We won’t allow any unscrupulous politician unleash violence in Rivers
Rivers State governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike has told those who say that Nigeria is not ripe for muslim-muslim ticket not to also justify and embrace the efforts at retaining the presidency in the North.
Governor Wike spoke on Sunday at the special dedication service for the Rivers State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) 2023 General Election Campaigns Rallies, which held at St. Paul’s Anglican Church, Port Harcourt.
Governor Wike maintained that those involved in such double-speak and trying to hoodwink some gullible few, know that they are insulting the sensibility of well meaning Nigerians who want a united country that advances national cohesion.
“You play on people’s intelligence; you say Nigeria is not ripe for muslim-muslim ticket, I agree. But Nigeria is ripe for presidency to remain in one zone? I mean, just look at the insult. You blow hot and cold.”
Governor Wike urged those people who delightfully condemn the muslim-muslim ticket as wrong, should also know that Nigerians are also saying it is wrong to retain the presidency in the North after President Muhammadu Buhari.
“Most of you just sit there, you don’t ask yourselves questions. Somebody continues to sell this kind of cheap ideas. You don’t ask the person, I agree with what you are saying but look at what we are saying here.”
He further added, “Your party wants the presidency to go to the same zone where president Muhammadu Buhari is coming from. Who is cheating who?”
The Rivers State governor also spoke reminding the church of the need for it to participate in the voting process. However, he said, it should not get involved to the extent of serving as cannon fodder against any political party or political actor.
Governor Wike pleaded with the church to be careful and resist those politicians who come to mobilise them as if there is a religious war to wage.
“It is not now that politics have come, you want to come and tell the church a different story for your own personal interest. We have to be careful so that the church is not destroyed. Because, all of us, for example, we are Anglicans, I will not allow anybody, for his selfish interest to destroy the church of Nigeria. I will not allow that.”
Meanwhile, governor Wike has warned that his administration will not allow those who in the past instigated wanton destruction of lives and property in the State under the guise of politics to repeat same.
Governor Wike appealed to members of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in the State to resist deliberate attempt by some disgruntled and inconsequential politicians to provoke them ahead of the 2023 general elections.
He described as ludicrous and cheap blackmail the allegation by Dr. Abiye Sekibo and some of his associates that the State government recently resent thugs to attack them.
“Some people are saying we sent thugs to attack them. You see, when people see failure, they will begin to plan excuses. These are people all of us know our background and how we have won election in our various local government. I remember one of them during the last election could not even go to his local government. He ran down to Port Harcourt and stayed with me. Instead of you to tell your principal, this will be difficult for me, you are giving excuses.”
The governor who emphatically declared that he has never engaged in any acts of political violence in all his political career, warn those who might be planning to plunge the State into chaos to have a rethink.
“Anybody who knows me know, that I have never been violent. If I am violent, I won’t go to court. But we know those who planted killings in this State when they were Secretary to government. We know them, but that killing will not happen again in the State. We will not give you the opportunity to try it again.”
Governor Wike explained that the reason why Dr Sekibo and his associates are begrudging him is simply because he did not support their ambition to emerge to get the PDP governorship ticket.
On the issue of Executive Order 21 and 22, the governor advised politicians in the State to approach the court rather than take the laws into their hands. He insisted that until the court declares otherwise, the government will ensure full implementation of the orders.
“The Federal Government has come up with so many Executive Orders, we didn’t kill anybody, but we went to court to challenge such others. The Federal Government has done a lot of things that Rivers state had challenged in court, and by the grace of God, we won.
“If there is anything any government has done which you feel you are not comfortable with, you have to go to court and challenge it, and not just to come out to shout they don’t want you to campaign. Why will anybody not like you to campaign.”
Governor Wike declared that there was nothing wrong with the PDP dragging other political parties to court over their failure to comply with Independent National Electoral Commission electoral guidelines. According to him, sure litigations are part of Nigeria’s electoral process.
“When I know you have made mistake not to run an election, I should leave you? All we are saying is INEC comply with the law. You made us to comply with the law. Why are these people not complying with the law. Why should you allow us to pass through the process we passed through and you did not allow these other people to pass through that process. We said look, this is what the law says. INEC is like you are being partial . It is like you are applying this law differently to different persons.”
In his sermon, the cathedral archdeacon of St. Paul’s Anglican Church, Venerable Obinna Ochulor spoke on the topic; “God our refuge” and exhorted the congregation to acknowledge the infallibility of God always.
He pointed to how people often rush to the altar of God to make vows when they are either experiencing critical situation but would refuse to return to fulfil them when they have triumphed.
While vows are important to be fulfilled, he admonished the congregation and particularly the PDP family to trust in God as their defence and shield so that they can enjoy his protection against all shades of evil.
December 11, 2022.
PRESS RELEASE
2023: WE’LL SUPPORT YOUR RE-ELECTION, AYANGBUREN, IKORODU LEADERS ASSURE SANWO-OLU
Traditional rulers and leaders in Ikorodu division of Lagos State, as well as leaders and members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and Ikorodu-based social club, Oriwu Club, have thrown their weight behind Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu for second term in office.
They said they are satisfied with the performance of Governor Sanwo-Olu in the last three and half years of his first term in office and therefore they will work tirelessly to ensure that he is re-elected in 2023.
Speaking during an official investiture ceremony of Governor Sanwo-Olu as the Grand Patron of Oriwu Club in Ikorodu on Sunday, the Ayangburen of Ikorodu, His Royal Majesty, Oba Kabiru Sotobi; a member of the Senate representing Lagos East Senatorial District, Senator Tokunbo Abiru, President, Oriwu Club Ikorodu, Otunba Adekunle Oduborisa and his vice, Hon. Ola Animasahun, said the people of Ikorodu and Lagos State in general have benefitted a lot from the incumbent administration and therefore the governor deserved to be re-elected.
APC leaders in Ikorodu during a meeting with Governor Sanwo-Olu after his investiture also promised to deliver Ikorodu to the governor and other APC candidates in next year general elections by scoring 300 votes in each of the polling units in Ikorodu Local Government Area.
Governor Sanwo-Olu was decorated as the Grand Patron of Oriwu Club Ikorodu in recognition of his leadership and good governance in Lagos.
Speaking at the event, Oba Sotobi commended Governor Sanwo-Olu for the visible development in Ikorodu division, especially the establishment of the Lagos State University of Science and Technology and the ongoing rehabilitation of the Ikorodu roundabout to Sabo to reduce traffic gridlock on that corridor, with a call for the upgrade of Baales to first class traditional rulers.
In his remark, Senator Abiru said Governor Sanwo-Olu has exhibited courage in the midst of turbulence in Lagos State, noting that the governor deserved to be re-elected based on his performance in the first term.
He said Governor Sanwo-Olu has delivered dividends of democracy through infrastructural development for the people of Ikorodu and Lagos State at large.
The President of the Oriwu Club, Oduborisa, said the investiture of Governor Sanwo-Olu as the Grand Patron of the club was to celebrate the resilience and diligence of the Governor in the last three and half years.
Noting that a social club is not for socialising alone, but also giving back to the society, Oduborisa promised that Oriwu club which has done many Corporate Social Responsibilities in Ikorodu Division, will also renovate the Agbala Paediatric Centre, the first General Hospital in Ikorodu.
While reeling out some of his achievements and ongoing projects in the Ikorodu Division and other parts of Lagos State, Governor Sanwo-olu promised to support the social club to actualise the hospital project, which will impact on children and parents and also pledged to build a new General Hospital in Ikorodu within the next three years
“We will make life better for the people. I want to assure you that this government is committed and by the grace of God if you give us your support and we come back again, we will double our effort and commit ourselves again because the only reward for good work is for us to do more work. And it is only when we do that, that we can make our own town, city and state a place of choice,” he said.
Governor Sanwo-Olu while addressing APC leaders and members after the investiture ceremony, urged them to work for his re-election as well as the victory of the APC presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and other party’s candidates in next year’s general elections.
Speaking at the event, members of the Governance Advisory Council (GAC), the apex leadership body in Lagos APC, Prince Abiodun Ogunleye and Ashipa Kaoli Olusanya, assured that Governor Sanwo-Olu and other APC candidates will score 300 votes per polling unit in next year’s elections.
They said their plan is to deliver 205,000 votes out of the targeted four million votes for Governor Sanwo-Olu to be re-elected.
SIGNED
GBOYEGA AKOSILE
CHIEF PRESS SECRETARY
12 DECEMBER 2022
2022 LONG SERVICE AWARDS: JULIUS BERGER HONOURS 647 WORKERS FOR PRODUCTIVE AND BRILLIANT PERFORMANCE
The Executive Director Administration of Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, Alhaji Zubairu Ibrahim Bayi, fniob, has described the company’s human capital as the reliable bedrock, which has continued to define the company’s strong performance in the industry and market. Bayi made the remark at the 2022 Long Service Awards Ceremony of the Company, which held in Abuja FCT. Bayi said, ‘‘…as worthy staff of our great company, your continuing hard work, loyalty, commitment, resilience, experience and cooperation, as well as the meticulous planning and continuous investments in both human capital and technology by the Company have all helped greatly in the laudable stability we have achieved as a corporate entity.”
According to Bayi, the award ceremony is an annual event to recognize Julius Berger’s long-serving staff and to show appreciation to the workers for their contribution towards the continued success and progress of the Company. “It is our annual tradition in Julius Berger Nigeria Plc to appreciate and reward well-deserving staff.” He said 647 serving staff were honoured at the 2022 event. Bayi, on behalf of the executive management, acknowledged the workers as the bedrock of the Company. “Your loyal commitment, excellent professionalism, tenacity and can-do spirit have kept the Company on a steady path of progress through the years. This long service award event is in recognition of your good work, and also the reciprocal commitment of the Company towards our highly valued workforce.”,” said Bayi.
The Executive Director also said that in the outgoing year, Julius Berger put into place structures for optimization of productivity across the entire spectrum of the Company’s operations in order to keep the Company competitive and further support sustainable performance in the Company’s business for the years to come.
Bayi celebrated the leadership of the company, saying, “…under the strategic guidance of our diverse and extensively experienced Board of Directors, and the able operational dynamism of the Executive Management, regional teams and different heads of departments, Julius Berger has remained dynamic, successful and steadily primed for even greater success in the near future.” Bayi further added that, “the collegiate experience of the members of the Board of Directors and Executive Management, coupled with their collective determination to continue taking this company to the next level, has made Julius Berger the enviable and desirable destination for every serious investor in the market, today. To keep afloat as a going business concern, the Board of Directors and Executive Management, he said, developed three strategic pillars for Julius Berger’s operations, namely, the company’s core construction business, its well-integrated subsidiaries; and its transformative diversification policy. The operation of the above three pillars, Bayi said, has resulted in a positive client mix for the company from both the public and private sectors, adding, “good results are emerging.”
To a round of appreciative applause from the teeming workers and guests present at the event, the Director of Administration stated that, “…it is a testimony to the very focused work of the Board and Management that Julius Berger has received several recognition awards, amongst which is the most recent 2022 Pearl award as the Highest Dividend Growth Company in the Nigerian Stock Market.” Bayi called the Pearl award “…a bold and credible evidence of the company’s robust productivity and progressive success.”
Speaking on industrial harmony within Julius Berger’s operations, the director of administration said that due to the constant, mutual consultation between the junior workers’ Union and the senior staff Association, and the Management on all pertinent issues, the company has continued to enjoy industrial peace nationwide. “I make bold to say that, as evidence of the well-nurtured, closely guarded and continuing industrial harmony between Management and our teeming workers, we are again this year rewarding a total number of 647 workers for their unbroken record of productive service and brilliant performance to the company over the years,” Bayi said. The understanding and cooperation between the company’s workforce, the workers’ industrial Union and Association on the one hand, and the Management on the other hand, Bayi highlighted, has remained helpfully peaceful and productive. This, he said, will be mutually sustained for the progressive growth of the company.
With regard to staff development policy and initiatives by the company, Bayi informed the workers that, “…Management attaches high priority to planned enhanced value of our workers…. During the year, thousands of our workers were trained and retrained; cutting across professional courses with relevant professional bodies, Health Safety and Environment, as well as local training for artisans at the strategic Julius Berger Plant and Equipment Academy, which only recently graduated its first set of trainees.” Management, Bayi stated, envisioned the Academy to be “a leader institution in technical training, the company’s funnel for dynamic, highly trained and resourceful technicians to fill the needs of the company and the industry in general.”
The 2022 long service awardees have worked without break of service for periods ranging from 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, and, believe it, to 45 years of service. Their categories and numbers are as follows:10 years (195 Awardees);15 years (307 Awardees); 20 years (62 Awardees); 25 years (41 Awardees); 30 years (20 Awardees); 35 years (17 Awardees); 40 years (4 Awardees); and 45 years (1 Awardee)
Bayi identified a synergy between the large number of the 2022 long service awardees, the commensurate huge volume of man-hours they put into their jobs during the year, and the company’s proud HSE legacy. He said, “…with regard to the Company’s Health, Safety and Environmental (HSE) achievements, Julius Berger has a proud and in fact unmatched industry record of Lost Time-Frequency Rate of 0.19, which is less than one Lost Time Injury for every five million man-hours worked.” These operational HSE policies, Bayi added, are now imbibed and observed in the way Julius Berger personnel conduct themselves in and out of the workplace.
On the company’s responsibility towards its host communities, Bayi said Julius Berger has also been proactive with its initiatives that rest on four pillars, namely Health, Education, Sports, and Emergency Response Assistance. He added also that the company’s most recent donation of food to flood victims across its operational areas, its continuing donations to hospitals and orphanages, its educational assistance and book donation initiatives to schools, are all targeted at supporting community-based initiatives in order to promote social and economic inclusivity.
Speaking on the future of Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, Alhaji Bayi drew the attention of the workers to the words of the Managing Director, Engr. Dr. Lars Richter, during the company’s recent Investor Relations Forum, where the MD confidently stated, “Julius Berger, today, is endowed with the largest market share, limited competition of similar scale, quality and financial capacity. We have a strong brand equity, a seasoned management, an experienced and diverse Board of Directors, and a well-defined Diversification Strategy; all projecting for a strongly-rooted and positive business outlook…” The Managing Director, Bayi further highlighted, had emphasized that the company, “is synonymous with the best quality infrastructure in Nigeria, and the company is assigned… a Stable Outlook with a National Scale rating of A.” At this juncture, looking straight at the attentive workers, Bayi then fully aligned with Engr. Dr. Richter and said: “Ladies and gentlemen, on this occasion of the year 2022 Long Service Awards, I say to you, Julius Berger’s business future remains only progressively good and beneficial to both its shareholders and workforce.”
Bayi also thanked the spouses of the long service award recipients saying, “…whether as wives or husbands, let me also congratulate and thank all the spouses of the awardees for their support, encouragement and perseverance through the years. Without your co-operation, these recipients would not have had the zeal to perform their enviable duties over the years for which they are now honoured. We are therefore grateful for all you have done to make this day possible.”
As the company appreciated the long service awardees, Bayi enjoined the workers to let the occasion to serve as a tonic to propel them to greater heights, as the company shall continually recognise and reward deserving staff. The Director of Administration also craved the understanding of the workers to understand and accept the administrative and structural changes being implemented across the company, emphasizing that the ongoing changes are designed for the further development of the company to achieve its identified goals.
Finally, Bayi used the occasion to thank the members of the Press who were present for what he referred to as their very kind and positive cooperation and work with the company since the year began. “As society’s chief opinion moulders, by your deeply rational understanding and objective reportage of our numerous projects and endeavours across the country, you have continued to sustain our critically necessary and hard-earned good image with the Nigerian public. We appreciate your partnership for peaceful progress in our business operations. On behalf of the Board, Management and entire staff of Julius Berger, I say to the media that we remain partners in progress. Thank you very much,” Bayi said.
Alhaji Bayi congratulated the awardees and wished them, their families and their guests a happy yuletide season and safe travels, even as they continued their well-deserved celebration. The Julius Berger Long service award for 2022 held in all of the company’s operational regions as well
Julius Berger Nigeria Plc is the country’s leading construction company offering holistic services covering the planning, design, engineering, construction, operation and maintenance of buildings, infrastructure and industry projects in Nigeria.
Since its pioneer project in 1965, Julius Berger has played a pivotal role in the development of Nigeria’s industrial and civil infrastructure. The company specialises in executing complex works requiring the highest level of technical expertise and Nigeria-specific knowhow. The company deploys state-of-the-art methods and precision technologies to ensure that quality and innovation are prioritised for the benefit of clients. Subsidiaries and additional facilities make it possible for the company to realise multifaceted projects at the highest level of performance. This structure allows Julius Berger Nigeria Plc to effectively manage and fulfil construction projects, starting from the initial idea, through to planning, design, engineering, construction, operation and maintenance.
The Group is guided by a value system that defines and differentiates it. Adherence to internationally specified standards and a focus on efficient and value-driven delivery of services further solidifies its competitive edge. With unwavering reliability, unmatched quality, leading governance and a true focus on sustainability, Julius Berger Nigeria Plc and its subsidiaries continue to set a benchmark for success.