PDP leaders reject calls to resign as crisis grows

Muazu

There seems to be no end to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) blame game —the result of the ruling party’s massive electoral loss.

Party Chairman Adamu Mu’azu hit back at the Presidency and the governors at the weekend, cautioning them against “the developing culture of using and dumping”.

He rejected any blame on him and the National Working Committee (NWC) for the party’s thrashing by the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Also at the weekend, a group of Southwest leaders of the party met in Ado-Ekiti and canvassed the resignation of the National Secretary, Prof. Wale Oladipo, and the National Auditor, Alhaji Adewale Adeyanju, for leading the party to failure.

Oladipupo faulted the call. He attacked party’s former Deputy National Chairman Chief Olabode George, one of the conveners of the meeting.

Oladipo, in a statement yesterday, said: “However, a very careful examination of the inherent breaches in the procedures adopted in the convening of the meeting as well as the content and tone of its resolution shows an orchestration by a few individuals bent on sowing a seed of discord within the PDP fold in the zone.

“This is evident in the fact that the said communiqué in no way reflected the views of majority of those who attended the meeting, neither did it tally with the opinion of the generality of our party members in the region.

“It is indeed undermining and a clear breach of protocol the fact that a meeting of some leaders of the zone would be convened to discuss issues of the party’s presidential campaigns and the highest-ranking national officers of the party from the zone were excluded.

“This is in continuation of the apparent marginalisation of the National Working Committee and the party structure at all levels in the handling of the presidential campaigns.

“More so, even some of those who attended the meeting were not privy to the agenda and the eventual content of the communiqué issued at the end”.

Oladipo said the call was absolutely unpatriotic and against the wishes and aspirations of majority of party members from the Southwest through whose mandate he occupied the office of the National Secretary.

He also spoke for Adeyanju, saying: “If we concede to the demands in the communiqué, especially given the fact that as elected members of the National Working Committee, our positions have a tenure which lasts until March 2016”.

According to him, members of the PDP in Osun State, his primary constituency, have already passed a vote of confidence on him as the party’s National Secretary.

Continuing, Oladipo said: “Furthermore, while some of those asking us to resign performed very poorly even in their polling units, it is on record that the National Auditor and my humble self performed creditably and delivered our areas in the general elections.

“It is therefore disheartening that rather than joining other well-meaning members of our great party in supporting the National Working Committee in the on-going re-engineering process to rebuild the PDP, some elders from our zone, particularly, a former Deputy National Chairman, Chief Olabode George, who should know, have instead resorted to divisive politics by attempting to instigate our members against one another.

“What our party needs now in the Southwest and indeed across the country is for all hands to be on the deck as we work harmoniously in our determination to reposition the PDP to regain power in 2019.

“Our party members are by this therefore charged to watch out for individuals whose agenda is to sow seeds of discord and pave the way for crisis within our fold for their selfish interests.

“The National Working Committee is now more than ever before determined to rebuild the PDP and restore its glory as the preeminent political party in Nigeria. This resolve is irrevocable and we shall not allow ourselves to be distracted in anyway by any person under any guise whatsoever.”

Senate Leader Victor Ndoma-Egba also accused the governors of being behind the failure of the party at the elections.

In a paper entitled “Majority and minority parties in the Legislature: party defection (cross carpeting in the legislature)”, which he delivered at the induction course for legislators-elect of the 8th National Assembly in Abuja, Ndoma-Egba said: “In the PDP, government is no longer of the people and for the people.  It is now government of governors, by governors and for governors.”

Speaking on the defection of members to opposition parties, Ndoma-Egba explained that politicians “defect because their former party squeezed them out, or in the case of the PDP recently, that they did not fit within the governors’ calculations. In my view, since every politics is local, each case should be treated on its merit............www.latestnigeriannews.com

Obafemi Martins Scores Brace in New York

Nigeria forward Obafemi Martins was Seattle Sounders hero on Sunday night as he scored a brace in their 3-1 win over hosts New York City FC.

‘Oba’, as the former Birmingham City striker is called in the USA, opened the scoring in the 23rd minute to give the visiting team a 1-0 lead.
The Nigeria striker completed his brace when he struck in the 66th minute to complete a 3-1 win on the road. He has now scored six goals in eight MLS games this season.
The 30-year-old striker has played for Levante (Spain),Rubin Kazan (Russia), Birmingham City (England),Wolfsburg(Germany), Newcastle united (England)and Inter Milan (Italy) in no particular order.

Family of six burns to death in Jos

A woman, three of her children, a relation and her housemaid were yesterday burnt to death in a fire outbreak in Jos, the Plateau State capital.
The incident, which occurred at their Ibrahim Taiwo road residence, was apparently caused by a power surge.
Neigbours said the fire ensued shortly after power was restored to the area following an outage the previous night.
A gas cylinder reportedly exploded as the fire spread.
Attempts by the victims to escape were hampered by the fortified security barricade in the house, which has only one entrance.
All occupants of the two bedroom apartment were burnt beyond recognition before men of the Fire Brigade Service and residents could render any assistance or extend any help to save them.
The victims all died while the head of the house was away on official duty.
In line with Muslim tradition, the victims were buried shortly after prayers were offered for the repose of their  souls.

Algerians angry over plans to liberalise alcohol

Alcohol has resurfaced as a hot-button issue in Algerian politics, with ultra-conservative Muslims angered by plans to liberalise sales in a country torn between respect for Islam and freedom of choice.
With deeply-conservative Salafists threatening to take to the streets, Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal in mid-April blocked a circular issued by Commerce Minister Amara Benyounes liberalising the wholesale trade of alcohol.
“The prime minister, to keep the peace and harmony, has decided to freeze the circular,” Benyounes said on the radio, complaining he had been the “victim of a media lynching” orchestrated by private television channels.
A popular firebrand television preacher, known as Chemseddine, had accused the minister on Nahar TV of “waging war on God”.
“We want laws which conform to sharia (Islamic law) and not to the World Trade Organisation,” he fumed, mockingly predicting that the sale of pork, which is banned in Islam, and prostitution would be next in line for liberalisation.
On the web, activists have launched a “together for an Algeria without wine” Facebook page that has attracted more than 10,000 supporters.

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The daily El-Watan newspaper suggested that by freezing the circular, Sellal had exposed “the weakness of the current leadership in the face of the Islamist tendency”.
The newspaper said political-religious pressures have been forcing government and local authorities to pass “incoherent and contradictory laws”.
The circular issued by Benyounes, a minister from a secular party, aimed to scrap a ruling by an Islamist predecessor enforcing a system of permits for wholesale trade in alcoholic drinks.
According to the minister, 70 percent of imported alcohol is sold on the “informal” market in Algeria, which itself only produces wine and beer.
Annual beer production is running at 1.6 million hectolitres (42 million gallons) and wine at 700,000 hectolitres, said Ali Hamani, head of the Algerian Beverage Manufacturers Association, adding that 85 percent of output is consumed locally.
– 40% rise in imports –
Algeria, with a population of 40 million, 99 percent of whom are Sunni Muslims, in 2014 imported $82 million (73 million euros) worth of alcoholic drinks, a rise of more than 40 percent over two years.
And yet the authorities have closed hundreds of bars for a whole host of infractions.
“Many of them are waiting desperately for authorisation to reopen after having met all the requirements in terms of hygiene, security and respect for the environment,” a bar owner in downtown Algiers said, on condition of anonymity.
“It’s a political decision. The authorities are scared of the Islamists,” he said.
The series of closures has forced alcohol drinkers indoors, with most opting to drink either in smokey bistros, at home, or in remote outdoor sites away from the public eye.
One customer lamented the decline in local drinking holes.
“We used to have 15 bars around here, now we only have one,” he said, expressing envy for those allowed to take non-alcoholic refreshments in outdoor cafes in the Spring sunshine.

Champions Chelsea unloved but unstoppable

The Premier League title beckoned for Chelsea from the moment Andre Schuerrle put them ahead after 20 minutes and 45 seconds of their opening fixture at Burnley on August 18.
Diego Costa’s first Chelsea goal cancelled out Scott Arfield’s opener and four minutes later Schuerrle converted a sumptuous, half-volleyed pass from Cesc Fabregas at the culmination of a superb 25-pass move.
Branislav Ivanovic’s 34th-minute goal completed a 3-1 win that took Jose Mourinho’s side above defending champions Manchester City on goals scored at the top of the table, and they have been there largely ever since.
“They’ve definitely been the best team in the league,” admits Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey. “They’ve only lost twice this season. Their consistency has been the best and that’s what you need.”
That win at Burnley, with Eden Hazard dazzling, Costa scoring and Fabregas supplying two assists, provided the blueprint for the Blues’ entire season, but the formula was tweaked after the turn of the year.

Chelsea won 11 and drew three of their first 14 games, notably beating Arsenal and Liverpool and crushing Everton 6-3, which sparked talk of an unbeaten campaign.
But they lost 2-0 at Newcastle United in early December and a 5-3 humbling at Tottenham Hotspur on New Year’s Day — which saw City pull dead-level for the space of nine days — prompted Mourinho to circle the wagons.
There was an emphatic 5-0 victory at Swansea City on January 17, but despite their challengers all falling away, Mourinho reverted to type and Chelsea’s next seven league wins would all come by a one-goal margin.
The leaders were taunted with chants of ‘Boring, boring Chelsea!’ during a 0-0 draw at Arsenal in April that edged them closer to the title, but captain John Terry said the criticism was unfounded.
“Possession and tippy-tappy football’s great, but if you are not winning games, you’re not going to win the league,” he said.
Despite their dominance, Chelsea have seemed to spend much of the season with their backs to the wall as Mourinho employed a familiar strategy by creating a siege mentality.

Mayweather still undefeated, conquers Pacquiao

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Floyd Mayweather has beaten Manny Pacquiao on a points decision during one of the most lucrative boxing matches of all time.
Neither of the fighters, regarded the world’s top two, failed to land a winning blow during 12 rounds late Saturday night, and judges awarded May weather the fight on a points decison.
All three judges scored Mayweather higher than Pacquiao in a unanimous decision. The new unified WBC, WBA, and WBO Welterweight champion scored 118-110, 116-112, 116-112.
American Mayweather took his unbeaten record to 48-0, with Pacquiao’s record slumping to 57 wins and six losses after the Filipino’s defeat.

Saturday’s long-awaited bout, which had been more than five years in the making, had transcended the traditional boxing scene, catapulted the sport back into the public consciousness and promised to rewrite the record books as the richest fight of all time.
Las Vegas was buzzing ahead of the welterweight world title showdown and the money men were rubbing their hands: total revenue for the bout could reach an eye-watering $400 million, fuelled by as many as three million pay-per-view purchases.

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The breathtaking figures – touted as high as a possible $180 million payday for the unbeaten American and an estimated $120 million bonanza for Filipino icon Pacquiao – have intensified the spotlight on a fight between two of the most successful boxers of their generation.