APC South South

EID-EL-FITR MESSAGE

In the name of the South South Zone of the All Progressives Congress, I felicitate with our Muslim countrymen and women who are celebrating the Eid-el-Fitr, having successfully concluded this year’s Ramadan fast.

As the celebration goes on, it is important for faithfuls to undertake a renewal of commitment to the teachings of Prophet Muhammed (PBUH) and to practice his good works in accordance with the injunctions of the Holy Book.

Let us also use this chance to say sincere prayers for the unity and progress of our Nation and for its continued peaceful coexistence. It is fitting as well that we table our collective national problems before the Almighty and seek his divine guidance as we chart the course for a better tomorrow.

May our Muslim compatriots remain favoured by Allah’s blessings now and in the years to come.

Happy Eid-el-Fitr.

Ntufam (Prince) Hilliard Eta

National Vice Chairman
APC South South Zone

Apt!

SOUTH SOUTH APC MAY SUE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OVER BUDGET PADDING AND ALTERATION

We are very upset that our representatives at the National Assembly would discard decorum and hinder progressive change by acting at variance with the infrastructure development agenda of the APC led federal government. The arbitrary removal of the Lagos – Calabar rail track by the National Assembly from the 2016 budget is a display of depraved indifference to the welfare of Nigerians. The deletion is not just arbitrary; it is a big disservice to the people of Nigeria, particularly the South South zone which the proposed railway track would have traversed.

Also, the total rehabilitation of the collapsed and terrible Calabar – Odukpani –Itu – Ikot Ekpene federal highway which was allotted six billion naira by the federal government in the budget was doctored and almost five billion naira removed and reallocated to a non-existent project in the constituency of the Chairman of the House of Representatives Appropriation Committee, Abdulmumin Jibrin, in Kano state.

By these two acts, the Senate and House of Representatives displayed the astonishing contempt in which they hold Nigerians. The National Assembly exists to ensure that Nigerians get the best from their government using the instrument of purposeful legislation but the 8th Assembly by this budget padding debacle has not only brought itself to ridicule, it has also proved itself unworthy of the trust and confidence of Nigerians.

It is pertinent to at this point conduct a re-examination of the powers of the legislature to establish if really it has the power to doctor and alter projects or totally remove them from the budget even after the Minister under whose ministry the said projects fell under had credibly defended them and justified their inclusion.
As a Party in the South South zone, we make public our disenchantment with the National Assembly and we are particularly disappointed by the Chairman of the Senate Appropriation Committee, Senator Danjuma Goje and his counterpart in the House of Representatives, Honourable Abdulmumin Jibrin who directly supervised and even actively abetted such debauchery.

The South South zone of the All Progressives Congress demands that the budget be reverted to its original form and all the development projects conceived and included in the budget by the federal government be retained without alteration. We also advise the legislature to refrain from giving the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari a bad image by attempting to deprive Nigerians of the dividends of democracy under any guise.

Lastly, we shall approach the courts of the land for a clear interpretation of the role of the National Assembly in the passing of the National Budget as it is evident that it overstepped its bounds by unnecessarily tinkering with the budget when its constitutional duty is mainly supervisory.

It is time we Nigerians begin to show a keen interest in the affairs of the legislature as only that can put a stop to the kind of shady alterations that the budget was subjected to while it was being evaluated by the National Assembly.

Signed:

Prince Hilliard Eta
National Vice Chairman (SS)

IBE KACHIKWU: RESIGN IF YOU CANNOT PERFORM
-National Vice Chairman, South South APC

Following reports in the dailies that there is a ‘major’ rift in our Party, the All Progressives Congress, due to the statement from one of our Party leaders and statesman – Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, I am compelled to set things straight from the standpoint of the South South Chapter of the Party which the Minister concerned is a member of.

It is important to reiterate here that winning the federal election in 2015 has not eroded the core ideology of progressivism which we espouse as it is the very foundation on which the Party rests. This progressive ideology strongly emphasizes government as a tool for service to the people who are the custodians of power in the first instance. In line with this, it is not wrong or out of place for Tinubu to call the Minister of State for Petroleum, Mr. Ibe Kachikwu to order owing to the anti-progressive statements he made in the Presidential villa on Wednesday 23 March, 2016, while fielding questions from journalists on the persisting scarcity of petrol.

Secondly, we in APC believe that it is proper to immediately correct mistakes or errors committed by any member of the Party – no matter how highly placed - and we are developing a culture of accountability to the Nigerians who government is meant to serve. From this perspective, it is therefore understandable that Kachikwu’s statement to the effect that he has no solution to the petrol scarcity bedeviling the country drew flaks from Tinubu and this does not in any way imply that there is a crack within the Party. In African culture for example, it is seen as irresponsible for an elder to watch a youngster or an inexperienced person blunder without immediately calling him to order.

Furthermore, the South South Chapter of the All Progressives Congress feels that Kachikwu has not entirely cast off the orientation of the Peoples Democratic Party where he was and this is manifest in his actions and utterances such as the recent one that attracted opprobrium from many Nigerians. As a member of the President’s cabinet with a very important office, it is incumbent on the Minister to shed his haughtiness and climb down from his high horse to face squarely the duties required of him by his office as responsibility to the people is one of the cardinal points of the All Progressives Congress which he professes membership.

It is necessary to commend Asiwaju Bola Tinubu for acting like a true national Party leader by immediately correcting the Minister and reminding him that it is his duty to serve the country and proffer workable solutions to the issues concerning petroleum refining and distribution which is entirely under the purview of the Ministry of Petroleum which he (Kachikwu) heads.

Finally, South South APC reiterates the absolute and unflinching determination of the Party and Mr. President to evolving real democratic values and the fast tracking of human capital development through the engagement of capable persons to proffer reasonable solutions to the problems facing the country and prudently utilize available resources for the common good. In the light of the foregoing, Mr. Kachikwu must not be a cog in the wheel of progress and he should do the needful by resigning honourably if he is not capable of doing his part by efficiently running the Ministry assigned to him.

Signed:
Prince Hilliard Eta
National Vice Chairman (APC South South)

Read more in the dailies.

"There are many approaches to leadership. President Buhari is evidently a hands-on person and we support his efforts to fix our country."

~Prince Hilliard Eta
National Vice Chairman (APC South South)

Photos from the thanksgiving and grand reception held in honour of Mr. Hilliard Eta, National Vice Chair, APC South South in Calabar yesterday (Dec 6, 2015).

Dignitaries from most states of the zone graced the occasion.

Invitation

Prince Hilliard Eta, National Vice Chairman (APC South South) invites you to the Grand Reception and Thanksgiving Mass being held for him by the APC in Ward 5, Calabar Municipality LGA on Sunday December 6th, 2015 at Great St. Charles Luwanga Parish, Essien Town, Calabar by 9:30 am prompt.

Reception follows immediately at Essien Etim Offiong Square, Behind the Catholic Church, Essien Town, Calabar.

Under the Distinguished Chairmanship of Professor Essien A. Offiong.

Special Guest of Honour

Hon. Emma Eneukwu
Nat. Vice Chairman, APC South East.

APC - CM Congratulates Eta

The APC Canvassers Movement has lauded Prince Hilliard Eta, National Vice Chairman (APC South South) on his appointment by the President to the Committee set up to reconstitute all Federal Boards and Parastatals.

More details shortly...

AKWA IBOM TRIBUNAL: WHY WE ARE SURE OF VICTORY – APC S/SOUTH

The Justice Sadiq Umar led three man election petition tribunal constituted to hear and determine cases of electoral malpractices in Akwa Ibom state during the last general election has proved itself to be different from what was the case in past years as it has so far shown that it is set to rule in favour of justice and equity. The tribunal has chosen to be above board by refusing to be unduly influenced by those who for selfish interests would want to by any means ensure the retention of the illegal government of Mr. Udom Emmanuel and others from the state who are currently holding public office on stolen mandates. If the tribunal maintains this tempo till the end of the cases, it must have proved significantly that the judiciary is indeed an independent arm of government willing and able to sustain the rule of law and ensure the protection of the rights of the citizens of this great country.

Since the tribunal commenced sitting in May after its relocation to Abuja to prevents agents of the rejected system from hatching and executing sadistic plots to hinder the progress of the tribunal, knowing fully well that the charade called election will be upturned ones the details are exposed by APC, we have been hearing one shocking revelation after another from the proceedings on how an exercise that was to be free and fair was hijacked by the PDP cabal in the state using the instruments of state power.

In July when forensic experts engaged by the petitioner (our Party's candidate) Obong Umana Okon Umana, needed to examine and assess ballot papers used in the elections to determine the integrity of the fingerprints on the papers by comparing them with those captured by the card readers during accreditation on election day and those collected in during the voter registration the previous year; INEC Uyo in collusion with PDP agents employed every trick in the bag to scuttle the task. The PDP was supposed to participate in the process as a passive observer, but strangely it assumed the role of INEC and was given leeway to determing how the process went: with INEC Uyo taking a backseat having relegated its constitutional role to the PDP.

For the governorship and state assembly elections, it was stunningly revealed that the figure declared by the state INEC office more than doubled what the card reader captured during accreditation on the day of the election: recall that on April 2, 2015, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, issued a very clear directive to all its officers that only the "Card Reader" electronic machines be used for the accreditation of voters for the governorship and State House of Assembly elections scheduled for April 11, 2015.

This directive was reportedly confirmed a couple of days later, by Prof Attahiru Jega, the then Chairman of INEC, during a world press conference where he affirmed the April 2 INEC directive, emphasizing that in any place where the card reader malfunctions up to 5 pm, elections should be shifted to Sunday, April 12, 2015.

Incidentally, there was nowhere in the over 2,500 polling units across Akwa Ibom state that field officers of INEC reported the malfunction of their card readers meaning there was nowhere in the state where elections were shifted to Sunday, April 12 as such governorship and state house of assembly elections held on April 11 without problem but how come the numbers computed into the INEC server, which were automatically generated when Permanent Voters Card (PVC) were verified at the Polling Units across Akwa Ibom state are different from those hand filled in FORM EC 8D by INEC staff at these polling units? The fact is, those results written in forms EC8D were doctored by INEC staff unaware that back-up PVC verifications were being simultaneously documented in the INEC servers in Abuja.

At the end of the day, INEC Uyo declared a total 1,122,836 votes whereas the card reader captured 437,128 votes. A difference of 685,708.

Going forward, none of those sham elections (Governorship and State House of Assembly) held on April 11 would be deemed credible using records from PVC readers’ printout from INEC servers. For instance, it is safe to question Form EC 8E compiled by reportedly compromised INEC staff which says Governor Emmanuel Udom got 996,071 votes. How did he get these outrageous figures when PVC readers printout from INEC servers say there were only 437,128 accredited voters in Akwa Ibom state for the April 11 governorship?

Now, accreditation is compulsory in an election; be it through the use of card reader or Option A4 and failure to tender incident forms as was the case in Akwa Ibom imply obviously that there was no accreditation and this effectively makes the entire affair a nullity.

In the course of the proceeding, forensic experts and our researcher and data analyst, Akin Davids revealed the concrete isolation of multiple thumbprint and non human prints on over one hundred thousand ballot papers leading our counsel, Wole Olanipekun (SAN) to describe the exercise as "alien to law, civilization and".

Having presented over three hundred and sixty documentary evidence and tendered fifty-two witnesses who all voiced the opinion of Akwa Ibom people - that the so called election was a charade and a farce - we strongly believe that it is only a matter of time for the illegal government of Mr. Udom Emmanuel installed by former governor Godswill Akpabio to be ignominiously shown the door.

Hard pressed Akwa Ibom people have risen as one in a historic move to recover their mandate from a regime that has held them captive for nearly a decade and they will stop at nothing to ensure all respondents answer for their roles in manipulating a simple and straight forward electoral process into some twisted, complicated farce.

To bring about the victory that was denied them at the polls, the people have taken it upon themselves to withstand the rigours of a tribunal case as could be seen in dispassionate testimonies of principal witnesses currently recounting their personal experiences of massive electoral irregularities, fraud and violence allegedly perpetuated by PDP and its agents in active connivance with corrupt INEC officials.

Meanwhile, the witnesses presented by the PDP to 'testify' that the elections were duly and credibly held have all continued to unwittingly prove the exact opposite to the world. For example, during the proceedings of the Akwa Ibom National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal in Abuja on Wednesday September 16th, one of the witnesses of former governor Godswill Akpabio claimed to be blind and illiterate when he was handed the card reader report to read the total number of accredited voters for Ikot Ekpene as he evidently knew that there was a wide disparity between the card reader figures and what the state INEC declared. Other PDP witnesses called that day also proved to the tribunal by their conduct and incoherent testimonies that the figures were grossly doctored and inflated to favour the PDP candidate in that election.

The fact is, with the monumental and irrefutable evidence of the shameful conduct of INEC Uyo in collaboration with PDP during the election becoming more glaring; it is only a matter of time before the farce of an election is upturned. We firmly believe that the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Umana O. Umana will prevail in the end when justice is done.

BEING AN ADDRESS PRESENTED BY THE NATIONAL VICE CHAIRMAN, SOUTH-SOUTH OF THE ALL PROGRESSIVES CONGRESS, APC, PRINCE HILLIARD ETA, AT THE POST-ELECTION DINNER, ON SEPTEMBER 5, 2015, IN CALABAR, CROSS RIVER STATE.

PROTOCOLS

It gives me immense pleasure to, on behalf of our great Party; welcome you all to this great city on this auspicious occasion. So many notable leaders of our Party did send their regrets, cogent reasons why they are unable to gather here with us today.

I again welcome everybody present and remain secure in the knowledge that those of us not present, would surely ask for a repeat, as I am sure those of you here will not fail to regale them with tales of our hospitality and mind blowing cuisine.

I am not one for speech reading. I prefer to speak off the cuff. But my aides advised that I read from a prepared text, so as not to fall prey to the ‘printer’s devil’ when the events of tonight would go to press.
Nevertheless, I would proceed to give a short term welcome speech so we can quickly attack the aroma of culinary delight lined up there for us. After all, this is a dinner.

It is true that the 2015 general elections have come and gone. It is true that we gave a good fight. It is also true that we as a party made substantial gains. We were able to bake many cakes in various states, but it is unarguable that the icing on our cake was the presidential mandate. While I must allow political historians to analyze, extrapolate, investigate and conclude on the reasons of our success at the polls, I know, and I am sure that maybe all of us here know too, that the PDP made our work easier by their inept leadership, displayed in the main by crass impunity, wanton corruption and unprecedented nepotism, to mention a few.

But we are not gathered here tonight because we won an election. We are here principally because of our tomorrow. Because our today was good, we want our tomorrow to be better. We recognize the truism that the euphoria of election success must soon give way to serious business of state. You may care to call that governance. But for we at the party secretariat from local government to national, the end of an election becomes a call to prepare for the next. What didn’t we do well? What could we have done better?

We must begin now to drive home to our people, the critical imperative of our CHANGE mantra. And this point is fundamental. CHANGE is much more than changing lanes. It is a philosophy. It is not a prose of what is right or wrong. It is simply a narrative of what should be. We all know what should be. For example, we all know that when driving the red traffic light means stop. We all know that at this point in our corporate existence as a nation we should have gone beyond bread and butter issues. We should not be looking for drinking water in our metro and rural areas. We should not be talking about electricity or ill equipped clinics and hospitals. We should be talking about grade A universities, secondary and primary schools instead of bemoaning the standards we find today.

What APC is about; our attempt to clean the Augean stable, if you pardon that cliché, must necessarily scare weak people. We need to get something straight. Money or the acquisition of wealth, whether legitimate or illegitimate does not confer strength. Whereas legitimate acquisition remains a halfway path, we are weak because we always seek the easy road. Our thought process and worldview has been conditioned to see our country as “a country of anything goes”. Yes corruption is much more than primitive looting of the national store. If you have stolen from the commonwealth then face the consequence with dignity. But how do you deal with minds corrupted in decayed embrace of wrong over right?

We are presently suffering oftentimes unreasonable barbs from an angry, unsettled and quimish PDP on account of Mr. President's steely resolve to confront corruption, Nigeria's number one enemy. They would rather we allowed corruption take a bow and thrive, let it go forth that the APC shall leash this scourge and bring it to its knees in complete disregard of PDP protestations.

Our Party got its victory. It is true that there cannot be victory except there was a battle. But winning the battle becomes a clarion, a bell, to signal the beginning of war. For us in the South-South our war has just begun. We must use the guns in our heads to define how to situate the dictates of CHANGE in the minds and thoughts of our compatriots. Truth be told, even though we were part of that victory, our voices are stilled in the emptiness of our ballot. Today therefore begins our quest for a full bounty.

We may care to join the cacophony of voices shouting themselves hoarse on appointments and all that. That would be a position or an argument steeped in the imperatives of our common contract of existence and nothing more. But we have not reached that point yet. I share in the opinion of our governor, the indefatigable Adams Oshiomole, on this matter. He maintained that recent appointments were made on merit and not political sentiments or ethnic considerations as some tribal jingoists and political jobbers would have us believe.

Oshiomole said and I quote “The Nigerian nation has come to a point where we have to use the best hands to confront the peculiarity of our problems. It is not all the time we descend to the level of geo-political balancing. We need to employ unusual methods to solve an unusual problem. The level of decay in the country at present requires very seasoned hands and incorruptible Nigerians that would help to translate the APC agenda of change for the benefit of all Nigerians. We must not reduce governance to political patronage of bread and butter”.

I must also add that most of the appointments recently made are personal. Shouldn’t the Chief of Staff be someone whom the President can relate to and is familiar with his thinking and ways of doing things? We did not see a northern SGF in the last government. Again, I must repeat that it is too early in the day to cry wolf. I am assured that the South-South will definitely get its fair share of appointments. But we should not delude ourselves that appointment in whatever hue is a guarantee of development. It is my contention that we must evolve a critical mass of support for both the President and the party, to be able to negotiate our need within the context of sustainable development.

We need to fix our roads, schools, rails, hospitals, civil service, business environment, values, ethos, industry, agriculture, journalism, etc. Almost everything in this potentially great country needs fixing - we must therefore urge the President to get on with the job of fixing this country with the best hands he can get. Sooner he delivers on our mandate, as he will; the clamour for ethnic representation will beat a retreat for our eternal good.

In conclusion, permit me to reiterate the truth that we as APC South-South have our work cut out. Henceforth, our journey, above all, must be to create, nurture and flourish, a network of believe amongst our people, that emphasizes a NEW WAY, A NEW THOUGHT, that we pray can and should lead us on the path to a better Nigeria. I promised a short speech but I guess I have taken much time already as my stomach has begun to churn. Once again, please kindly receive our warm welcome and may God help us in our task ahead.

5th September, 2015.
Calabar.

UNEP REPORT: APC APPLAUDS BUHARI, CALL FOR SUPPORT OF BAYELSANS

The South South headquarters of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has applauded Wednesday's move by President Muhammadu Buhari to fast track the implementation of the report on the cleaning of Ogoniland. The United Nations Environmental Protection (UNEP)report on massive oil spillage in Ogoniland had recommended the restoration of health and hygiene as well as development options in the area through a comprehensive sanitation and development package. That report had been dropped from being implemented by previous governments. But President Buhari on Wednesday ordered officials of the Ministry of Environment to prioritise the process by fast tracking its implementation.

APC's National Vice Chairman for South South, Prince Hilliard Eta said in a statement by his media aide, Bassey Ita that ''by this gesture of President Buhari,the party officials in the area are vindicated of initial blame and insinuations that there have no reason for leaving their own (Jonathan and PDP) to support Buhari and the APC during the elections.''The statement further assured the people of the South South that the development ''was a tip of the iceberg'' adding that ''more goodies are coming the way of the geopolitical zone that will further justify our position to stick with Buhari and the APC as well
as prove our traducers and critics wrong''.

The APC chieftain who expressed confidence that the APC government will turn around the
economy of south south region also urged the electorate in Bayelsa state to embrace change in the coming elections. Eta assured that the
undue harassment of APC members in the state will be history as the party was reaching out to relevant authorities to put a stop to the
menace of the PDP led authorities. He said the police and other security operatives will no longer be used against their wish as in the days of the PDP adding that there should ''make change which the APC signifies a common slogan and song on every lips.''

The statement said the President would be moved to fix the entire problem of development in the state and that of the Niger Delta if the people of Bayelsa prove their support to the APC led administration through their votes at the forthcoming polls.

Appointments: Be Wary of Dupes APC Tell Public

A plot to smear the image and reputation of the National Vice Chairman(South South) of the All Progressive Congress(APC) has been uncovered. The Media Office of the National Vice Chairman in a statement issued on Monday said some unscrupulous elements have been
going about using the name of the National Vice Chairman to dupe innocent members of the public of huge sums of money in the pretext of
offering them juicy appointments in the APC led federal government.

The statement which was signed by the Chief Press Secretary to the South South Zonal Chairman of the party, Bassey Ita, read in part:
''our attention has been drawn to a sinister plot ostensibly to tarnish the hard earned image and reputation of the National Vice Chairman (South South) of the APC, Prince Hilliard Eta.

The said plot is perpetrated by some unscrupulous elements who go about duping their unsuspecting victims under the pretext that there will secure for them endorsed written recommendations from the National Vice Chairman South South of APC to facilitate certain appointments of choice in the APC
led federal government.'' The statement however distance the APC chieftain from such plot which it said ''in all intents and purposes is criminal and at cross purposes with the anti-corruption posture of the APC led government of President Muhammadu Buhari''.

Consequently, it warned perpetrators to desist from such criminal act of exploitation
or risk the full wrath of the law.'' Members of the public, the statement furthered ''are advised to be wary of such tendencies and to report such cases to relevant authorities for prompt action that would lead to apprehension and subsequent prosecution of the culprits.''

BASSEY ITA,
Chief Press Secretary/Media Adviser
Office of the National Vice Chairman, APC South South