Atiku names Iwuanyanwu, 58 others into PDP nomination council
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press statement2 frontline presidential aspirant of the peoples democratic party pdp and former vice president of nigeria atiku abubakar has named chief emmanuel iwuanyanwu and 58 other persons as members of his presidential nomination council ahead of the pdp presidential primaries1 announcing the membership of the council the director general of the atiku presidential campaign organization and former governor of ogun state otunba gbenga daniel said that the work of this council as the name connotes is to mobilize pdp delegates from all the states of the country for atiku to emerge as the presidential flag-bearer of our great party1 of course when by the grace of god our aspirant becomes the candidate of the pdp membership into this council will be expanded and more people will be drawn into the council1 in his remarks atiku noted that the struggle for national renewal is usually a difficult one but it is one that patriots must engaged in if they hope to improve the lives of their compatriots1 assembled here today thursday is a diverse group of nigerians including experienced political leaders representing all regions and segments of our country. you are all here because you want a better deal for nigeria and nigerians. you are here because you are committed to fighting for a better nigeria a nigeria that works1 members of the council drawn from several states of the country are eminent stakeholders in the pdp and are expected to mobilise support from their respective states for the emergence of atiku as the pdp presidential candidate. see list of members attached1 responding on behalf of other members of the council chief iwuanyanwu remarked that we owe the waziri atiku a huge sense of gratitude for finding us worthy for this national assignment1 i have been in politics for nearly fifty years and in all those years i have never seen our people this poor and i am sad when i see all of these things. my worry and my concern is how do we reverse this situation1 the waziri atiku is somebody i know very well. he has enormous strength and he has what it takes to bring pdp back to power and make life more abundant for our people1 therefore i urge us all as members of this council to see our nomination as a call to national service to rescue our people from the claws of poverty and bad governance1 nigerians are yearning for jobs for opportunities for unity and security. we must work with them to deliver these. we must also restore truth in politics justice and fairness in governance and a genuine federal system that helps us address local priorities and run a more effective and efficient government he said1

Saraki, Dogara slam Ortoms impeachment by 8 legislators
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press statement2 senate president abubakar bukola saraki and speaker house of representatives yakubu dogara have described the move by eight members of the benue house of assembly to impeach governor samuel ortom as illegal1 in a joint statement the two leaders who are being expected to join the peoples democratic party from the all progressives congress said the move was a desecration of the legislative sanctity1 in a joint statement on monday they condemned a situation where 22 other members the majority are kept away from the assembly complex by the police1 saraki and dogara called on president muhammadu buhari to call the police to order and stop them being used to achieve political purposes1 we have monitored closely the development in benue state in which the impeached speaker terkimbir ikyange led seven other members to serve impeachment notice on the state governor samuel ortom while the 22 other members who constitute more than two-third majority have been prevented from having access to the chamber. we believe this is illegality and does not conform to parliamentary procedure on impeachment1 we also note with surprise the role of the police in this undemocratic event in which the minority is seeking to impeach a governor against the position of the majority. we believe it is the sacred institution of the legislature that is being desecrated and rubbished in all these negative developments1 the situation in benue state house of assembly has grave implication for the nations democracy and it represents a throw-back to the period of dictatorship in our country. it also represents how the nigeria police are being misused to achieve political end. in a statement recently the presidency derisively referred to an era in the past where a minority number of legislators was used to impeach governors who were unfriendly with the federal government. what we are seeing in benue now is a return1 we believe this unlawful and unconstitutional move to impeach governor samuel ortom by a minority should be condemned by all lovers of democracy at home and abroad. we call on president muhammadu buhari to call the police to order and prevent a break-down of law and order. we also call on friends of nigeria in the international community to lend their voice in condemning the perpetration of illegalities and actions that can subvert our democracy1 there is already a tense atmosphere in benue state following the recent killings. nobody should encourage any action or move which may exacerbate the security situation in the north central state. as leaders of the federal legislature we are ready to work with our colleagues in both chambers of the national assembly to prevent any attempt to destroy any state legislature or use it to derail democracy saraki and dogara stated1