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The Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, has expressed his willingness to address the House of Representatives’ investigation regarding the N15tn Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway road project controversy.

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Umahi mentioned his intention to broadcast the event live on television so that it could be viewed by all Nigerians.

The minister emphasized that there is complete transparency regarding the project, affirming that both him and the Ministry of Works meticulously adhered to proper procedures and acquired all essential approvals and documentation before initiating the project.

He said, “I am ready to face the National Assembly to defend the project. I will not want to say anything now till I meet with the senators and House of Reps members. It will be live so you will also hear it. It will be live so that Nigerians will see it,”

“When people say the project is on personal interest, there is a contradiction there. This is because Atiku Abubakar said the Jonathan administration wanted to do that project which would have cost about $12bn or so. So, whose interest was that administration promoting in trying to do that project?

“I have a design from the NDDC (Niger Delta Development Commission) on that project. The NDDC designs are quite bulky. When I was implementing this current project, I had to call for the design. There is no personal interest in this project. The idea of that project came from the ingenuity of Mr President (Bola Tinubu) when he was governor; he was the one who procured the right of way within the Lagos corridor and gazetted it.”

“The reason for the project taking off now is all about how we can inject some activities into the economy. If we want to come out of inflation, we have to look at investments in infrastructure and that is what this project is addressing. It is addressing a lot of elements of return on investments. There is no personal interest associated with that.

“It is quite petty to ask why it is starting from Lagos and not Calabar. The name of the project is ‘Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road’ and not the other way around. This means there is a zero point, which happens to be at Ahmadu Bello Way, which coincides with the Eko Atlantic. That is pure coincidence. We have started the project already and it is progressing. As of today, I can tell you that about 80 per cent of the first 1.3km is completed.”

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Kenneth Okonkwo dumps Labour Party

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Kenneth Okonkwo
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By Henry Oduah

Actor-turned-politician, Kenneth Okonkwo, has announced his resignation from the Labour Party effective February 25, 2025.

Okonkwo said on Tuesday in a lengthy post on X that his decision to resign from the party was because the party is “non-existent as presently constituted.”

He wrote, “In the Constitution of Labour Party, the tenure of the ward, local government, and state party executives is three years (See Article 15(2)(3)(4) of the Labour Party Constitution). Having conducted no congresses at these levels within the constitutionally allowed tenure of the executives, their regimes have effectively expired.

“The former National Chairman of Labour Party, Julius Abure, and his former National Working Committee, having conducted no national convention known to law, according to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and the courts having held that the issue of the leadership of a political party is the internal affair of a political party for which the courts do not have the jurisdiction to entertain, there’s no effective leadership of Labour Party at the national level.

“The Senator Nenadi Usman-led Caretaker Committee, which was duly and legally set up by the National Executive Council (NEC) of the Labour Party, after the non-recognition of Abure-led National Working Committee (NWC) by INEC, and was given six months to conduct congresses and the convention, was the only viable option towards salvaging the Labour Party.

“Unfortunately, Abure and his colleagues, with the collaboration of outside forces, expectedly, being political jobbers, launched unnecessary legal challenges against this Caretaker Committee that have inhibited it from functioning.”

Okonkwo, also a lawyer, said that if Abure was interested in the emergence of a southern candidate in Labour Party to challenge President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election, he would cede the position of national chairman to the north.

“Since the party is non-existent as presently constituted, I am constrained to resign my membership of the party to all Nigerians of goodwill who supported us when we needed them most and to pledge my continued loyalty to the Nigerian people in all I will decide to do in my political future,” Okonkwo added.

“This resignation takes effect from the 25th of February, 2025, which marks the second anniversary of the presidential election of 2023, after which I will be at liberty to join other well meaning, and like minded Nigerians in charting a great future of good governance for this great country blessed by God.”

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Kogi Assembly Speaker declares Dekina/Okura State Constituency seat vacant

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The Speaker of the Kogi State House of Assembly, Aliyu Umar Yusuf, has declared vacant the seat for Dekina/Okura State Constituency in the current eight Assembly.

This is sequel to the death of the Deputy Speaker and member representing Dekina/Okura State Constituency, Enema Paul.

Ekwutosblog recalls that Enema Paul, who died on 14 December 2024 at a private hospital in Abuja, had since been buried according to Christian rite.

Speaking during plenary on Tuesday, Yusuf noted that the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria gives him the power to declare the seat vacant following the demise of the former Deputy Speaker.

“By the power conferred on me as the Speaker of the eight Assembly, I hereby declare the seat for Dekina/Okura State Constituency vacant so that the people can have a representation in this hallow chamber,” he stated.

The Speaker directed the Clerk of the House to communicate the development to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, so that a bye-election can be conducted for Dekina/Okura State Constituency.

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PDP federal lawmaker defects to APC

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A member of the House of Representatives, Amos Gwamna Magaji, has left the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) for the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Magaji, who represents Java/Zango Kataf Federal Constituency in Kaduna State, cited internal conflicts within the PDP as his reason for switching parties.

Magaji, a two-term lawmaker, serves as Chairman of the House Committee on Health Care Services and leads the Kaduna caucus in the House.

He is also the Deputy Chairman of the Special Ad-hoc Committee on Restructuring Government Agencies, which is reviewing the Stephen Oronsaye report.

Amos Gwamna Magaji

Over the years, he has been involved in committees handling defense, police affairs, constitution review, and other key legislative matters.

This marks the third defection of a PDP member to the APC since the inauguration of the 10th Assembly, following Chris Nkwonta and Eriatheke Ibori-Suenu.

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