The most outstanding PDP group, the CONCERNED PDP LEAGUE, has reacted to the signing of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill into Law with mixed feelings.
The group while condemning the statement of those who thank Mr. President for performing his constitutional responsible, commended the Civil Society Organizations (CSO’s), Civil Liberty Organisations (CLO’s), some individuals, and Nigerians.
However, the group is celebrating the victory of Nigerians for the new electoral law by presenting awards to some of its deserving leaders and Nigerian activists and governor Wike is topping the list of awardees with the Platinum Merit Award. The group merit award does not come by easily and does not give its award to nondeserving persons.
This was issued in a brief statement with the names of the nominated awardees and signed by the group Leader, Comrade D. Z. Warmate, General Secretary, Tasiu Muhammed, and Director, Mobilization and Organizing, Comrade Gbenga Adedamola.
We received the news of the signing of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill with mixed feelings and we do not have any excitement at the fact that, Mr. President did what the constitution required of him to do and that’s to assent to laws passed by the National Assembly for the good of the nation, and so, we see it as abnormal for supposed opposition leaders playing to the gallery by thanking Mr. President.
We are totally disappointed that after seven years in office, the President is signing an Electoral law for someone who has always castigated the Nigerian electoral system. In 2003 he said he was cheated in 2007 he said he was defrauded In 2011 he said he was cheated, and went all the way to the supreme court to prove this cheating, and seven years into his government, he is grudgingly signing an electoral act Amendment bill that was initiated by the PDP government, that for us, does not worth thanking the President.
We do not know whether we can get anybody who has suffered electoral injustice as claimed by the president before coming to power that will drag his feet to reform the electoral system.
President Yar’adua came to power in 2007. He in his inaugural speech acknowledged that, the election that brought him to power was faulty. So the first thing he did was to setup the Justice Uwais’ committee to look into the electoral system, and now seven years after, we are just talking about signing the electoral act amendment bill. So we are not one of those who are excited.
We feel that this is tokenism at its best. The good part is that we have the electoral act that has all the innovations that have happened in INEC has been now put into law.
That notwithstanding, we are seizing the opportunity to present awards to some of our deserving leaders and Nigerian activists.
The CPDPL national merit award is not given to the names below because of the position they occupied, but rather, their positive impact in the PDP and Nigeria in general.
The nominees are:
1. His Excellency Chief, Barr. Nyesom Ezewon Wike CON, POS Africa has been nominated for the Platinum Merit Award as the Voltron (Defender/(Promoter) of Democracy and PDP, and Most Outstanding Legacy Leader”, for his immense and invaluable contribution in stabilizing PDP and democracy in Nigeria.
Chief Wike is undisputably the most courageous and outstanding opposition governor and figure. He is a promoter and hero of PDP and democracy in Nigeria. He started with PDP and has never left PDP.
Barr. N. E. Wike was elected two-term Executive Chairman of Obio Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers state from 1999 to 2007 and was appointed chief of staff government house. He was appointed as Minister of State for Education on 14 July 2011, and was later appointed the Senior Minister of Education, but later resigned before finishing his term to contest as Governor of Rivers State. He won the April 11 gubernatorial elections to emerge as governor of Rivers state in 2015 and 2019 respectively. He is currently the governor of Rivers State.
2. Prince Deji Adeyanju has been nominated for the Platinum Merit Award as the Most Outstanding activist (Senior Advocate of the Masses, SAM) in Nigeria. He has Unarguably contributed greatly to Nigeria development and democracy, and has given vioce to the voiceless through his advocacy.
Prince Deji Adeyanju is a social commentator, a Nigerian activist and a former Head of New Media for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). He is the convener of Concerned Nigerians, a pro-democracy and good governance group.
3. Pastor Reno Omokre has been nominated for the Platinum Merit Award as the Most Outstanding Nigeria Strongest Voice in Diaspora or Activist in Diaspora. He is also unarguably the most outstanding tormentor of the APC and Buhari led federal government. He describ’s himself as the table shaker.
Barr. Reno Omokri is a Nigerian lawyer, bestselling author and human rights activist. He was a Former special assistant to former president Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. He is also the star of a travel documentary series, Reno Around the World, broadcast in The United Kingdom and Nigeria.
4. Sen. Eyennaya Harcourt Abaribi has been nominated for the Platinum Merit Award as the Most Outstanding Legislator. He is the most distinguished PDP senator, and his visible and audible opposition voice on the floor of the red chamber can not be over-emphasized.
Sen. Enyinnaya Harcourt Abaribe was former deputy governor of Abia state and he is presently representing the good people of Abia-South Senatorial District of Abia State. He is currently the Minority leader in the senate.
5. Mr. Adeyemi A. Moyegun has been nominated for the Gold Merit Award as the Most Diligent and Committed staff, at the National PDP Secretariat.
Mr. Adeyemi A. Moyegun started his sojourn with PDP as Personal Assistant to the former national secretary Dr. Remi Akintoye. He was later staffed and moved to the People’s Democratic Institute. His diligence and resourcefulness led to his discovery by leaders of the party and were further transferred to the directorate of mobilization and organization at the PDP headquarters.
Presently, he is the deputy director of the directorate of mobilization and organization.
6. His Excellency Engr. Oluseyi Abiodun Makinde has been nominated for the Gold Merit Award as the PDP Unifying Figure in South West.
He has contributed greatly in unifying PDP in the southwest and also working in Paripasu with his colleagues to stabilize PDP at the national level.
His Excellency Engr. Oluseyi Abiodun Makinde is the current and only governor on the platform of PDP in the southwest zone of Nigeria.
7. His Excellency, Right Honourable Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, CON, has been nominated for the Gold Merit Award as the Outstanding Chairman of the PDP Governor’s Forum.
Under his watch, the PDP governor’s working in unison was able to manage the crisis and stabilize the party at the national level. Barr. Aminu W. Tambuwal started learning the legislative ropes from 1999 to 2000 while working as Personal Assistant on Legislative Affairs to Senator Abdullahi Wali, the then Senate Leader. He later contested for the Tambuwal/Kebbe Federal Constituency of Sokoto state and won.
He served as the 10th Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives and represented the good people of Tambuwal/Kebbe Federal Constituency of Sokoto State. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal is serving out his second term as the Governor of Sokoto State in Nigeria.
8. Hon. NDUDI GODWIN ELUMELU is been nominated for the Gold Merit Award as the Most Outstanding Opposition Legislative Voice in the Federal House of Representatives.
His contribution to the green chambers is a display of PDP’s legislative and developmental agenda for Nigerians and the national assembly. He is representing the good people of Aniocha North/Aniocha South/ Oshimili North & South Federal Constituency in Delta state.
Presently, he is the minority leader of the Federal house of representatives.
9. Hon. Philips Tanimu Aduda MFR is been nominated for the Gold Merit Award for the Outstanding opposition legislators.
Sen. P. T. Aduda performed and contributed greatly to PDP’s glorious outing in the no too long completed federal capital territory area council elections.
He served two terms in the Nigerian House of Representatives between 2003 and 2011.
He is representing the good people of the Federal Capital Territory in the senate and is the current Senate minority whip.
10. Biodun Christine Olujimi is been nominated for the Gold Merit Award as the “Most Outstanding Female Legislator.
She has made PDP proud on the floor of the red chambers with her gender bills and support for every PDP position.
She is a former commissioner, deputy governor of Ekiti state. She is presently representing the good people of Ekiti South senatorial district and was the former minority whip of the Nigerian Senate.
11. Hon. Kingsley Ogundu Chinda is been nominated for the Gold Merit Award for the Most Outstanding Opposition Voice in the Federal House of Representative”.
His contribution on the floor of the green chamber is an expression of PDP legislative and developmental agenda for Nigerians and the national assembly.
Hon. O.K Chinda is currently representing the good people of Obio/Akpor Federal Constituency and also the leader of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) caucus in the House of Representatives.
12. Sen. Ahmed Muhammed Makarfi CON is been nominated for the Gold Merit Award as the Legacy Leader.
Sen. Makarfi since joining PDP has never left and has displayed dynamism as the then chairman of the caretaker committee and is silently contributing to the stabilization of the party in the Kaduna state chapter and the national.
In 1994, he was appointed to the Kaduna State Executive Council as Honorable Commissioner of Finance and Economic Planning before returning to the private sector.
He was governor of Kaduna State from 29 May 1999 to 29 May 2007, and presented the good people of Kaduna North senatorial district. He later became the national caretaker committee chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
13. His Excellency, the right honourable, Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri is been nominated for the Gold Merit Award for the Unifier of PDP.
He has contributed immensely to the unity of the party by working harmoniously with his colleague and successfully conducting a peaceful national convention as the chairman of the PDP 2021 convention committee chairman.
He was a member of the Adamawa State House of Assembly and became the Speaker of the House.
Later he became the acting Governor of Adamawa State following the impeachment of Admiral Murtala Nyako, the former governor of the state in July 2014, and served for three months. Presently, he is the Governor of Adamawa state.
14. High Chief Raymond A. Dokpesi is been nominated for the Gold Merit Award for the best Media Support. You know, no media, no voice.
High Chief Dokpesi’s contribution that attracted this award is the media support PDP has gotten and is still getting from the Africa Independent Television AIT. He has taken risks just to air some PDP content that would have attracted penalties but are still aired.
High Chief Raymond A. Dokpesi is a business tiekun and a media mogul. He is the founder and chairman emeritus of DAAR group which AIT and Raypower FM are subsidiaries. He is also a member of the Board of Trustees (BoT).
15. His Excellency Sen. David Alechenu Bonaventure Mark, GCON, has been nominated for the Diamond Merit Award as a Legacy Leader and PDP Last Man Standing.
We are giving him the award because his Last Man Standing statement gave hope to a lot of PDP faithful not to leave the party. Also, he is a silent promoter and stabilizer of PDP. He is a founding father of PDP and has never left the party.
Sen. David A. B. Mark, is a retired Nigerian Army Brigadier General and politician. He was President of the Senate of Nigeria from 2007 to 2015 and represented the good people of Benue South Senatorial District in Benue State. Prior to his senatorial career, Mark was the military Governor of Niger State from 1984 to 1986 and the Minister of Communication amongst other positions.
We will communicate to all the awardees via a written letter notifying them of the awards and when it will be presented to them.
