Economy

Delta APC Backs Uduaghan, Says PDP, Okowa Will Lose 2019 Poll

Published

7 years ago

05/09/2018

By Dipo Olowookere

The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Delta State has come in defence of the immediate past governor of the state, Dr Emmanuel Ewetan Uduaghan, over a statement ascribed to him that the “APC will wrest power from the PDP in 2019” which has come under attack by the ruling party in the state, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

In a statement signed by its Secretary, Comrade Okonji Chidi, on Tuesday, entitled “OKOWA AND PDP: EAT THE HUMBLE PIE AND BURY YOUR HEAD IN SHAME” and made available to our correspondent, the party berated the Okowa administration, saying that “every discerning mind in Delta State knows that the PDP government is a total sham”.

Read full statement below:

The All Progressives Congress, (APC) in Delta State read with pity the hogwash put together by the Delta State Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, dismissing the assertion by former governor of the state and revered chieftain of the APC, His Excellency, Dr. Emmanuel Eweta Uduaghan that the APC will wrest power from the PDP in 2019.

Every discerning mind in Delta State knows that the Okowa administration is a total sham, an administration that have failed in all sectors. The assertion is actually the reality on ground. The PDP which the governor claimed is “still strong and formidable” has been decimated long before now, right from 2015 when those who knew Okowa very well as an ethnic bigot and a very vindictive fellow decided to dump him. It was not the making of His Excellency, Emmanuel Uduaghan that respected chieftain like former Speaker, Rt. Hon (Barr) Victor Ochei who also know Okowa in and out dumped him and his shattered PDP.

The defection of Dr. Uduaghan to the APC which is currently shaking the political landscape and causing the PDP and Governor Okowa high fever is just the icing on the cake when they will eventually loss the 2019 governorship elections and many House of Assembly, House of Representatives and Senate seats to the All Progressives Congress, (APC).

Now that Deltans know that Okowa is a failure, will it not be better for him to eat his humble pie and start preparing his hand over note? Because if Okowa and his drowning party, PDP actually know what has befall them, they would not be jumping here and there thinking the former governor, Uduaghan is their problem. Okowa’s ouster has been in the drawing board since well-meaning and respected Deltans who were ready to work with him realized he was a deceitful fellow.

It is foolhardy for Dr. Ifeanyi Michael Osuoza State Publicity Secretary of PDP to say “when it comes to politics and elections in Delta State, Dr. Uduaghan should realise that he is less than a featherweight”. This are assertion of a party in self-pity. A former governor in capacity of Dr. Uduaghan, remains a heavyweight political figure in Delta politics in and out of government that’s why the PDP and Okowa would continue to break their head over the devastating blow and impending defeat awaiting them in 2019.

For their information, when the defection of Dr. Uduaghan who Governor Okowa de-marketed and tried to discredit became imminent, APC catch on it and started wooing him because we know the value-added advantage he will bring to our party and our avowed determination to send incumbent governor packing in 2019.

“Governor Okowa thinks he is “smart”, he thinks he can outsmart every Deltan that’s why he is always coming out with policies that are anti-people like his fraudulent “Contributory Health Insurance Scheme” which has been adjudged in the media as scam and fraud”.

There is a saying that; “he that the gods want to destroy, they first make mad”. Governor Okowa and PDP are behaving like mad dogs already in everything they are doing, including press releases they have been issuing over what Dr. Uduaghan did to them and we as a party, have the antidote that would silent them forever in Delta State.

Imagine, Osuozu giving away information that Deltans know are exactly what Governor Okowa represents. According to Osuosu, “Out of sheer arrogance and vaulting ambition, he estranged many PDP members with his bad leadership style and worked hard to frustrate and impoverish many of them” which he dashed out while trying to denigrate Dr. Uduaghan but every discerning Deltan is aware that the aforementioned were the exact style of leadership laced with fraud that Okowa has given to Deltans since his assumption of office.

Okowa that we know is an arrogant person, he is treacherous, hot tempered, vindictive, pretentious and a bigot in the highest order. But we want to also thank God and commend all those who saw all this ahead of us in faraway 2014 and decided to dump the PDP and leave Okowa to continue his clannish tendencies that would finally exile him in 2019″.

Economy

Seven Price Gainers Boost NASD OTC Bourse by 2.19%

Published

15 hours ago

21/02/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

Seven price gainers flipped recent declines at the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange, raising the alternative stock market by 2.19 per cent on Friday.

According to data, the market capitalisation added N51.24 billion to end N2.389 trillion compared with the previous day’s N2.338 trillion, while the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) climbed 85.65 points to close at 3,994.32 points, in contrast to the 3,908.67 points it ended a day earlier.

Business Post reports that the advancers were led by MRS Oil Plc, which improved its value by N13.00 to N200.00 per share from N187.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc gained N7.40 to settle at N91.55 per unit versus the previous day’s N84.15 per unit, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc appreciated by N6.08 to N71.00 per share from N64.92 per share, Afriland Properties Plc added 66 Kobo to finish at N17.17 per unit versus N16.51 per unit, IPWA Plc rose 37 Kobo to N4.15 per share from N3.78 per share, First Trust Mortgage Bank Plc grew by 11 Kobo to N1.20 per unit from N1.09 per unit, and Food Concepts Plc went up by 10obo to N3.70 per share from N3.60 per share.

On the flip side, there were two price losers led by Geo-Fluids Plc, which depreciated by 28 Kobo to N3.32 per unit from N3.60 per unit, and Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc dropped 5 Kobo to sell at 45 Kobo per share from 50 Kobo per share.

Yesterday, the volume of trades went down by 92.0 per cent to 3.7 million units from 45.8 million units, the value of transactions fell by 59.4 per cent to N84.5 million from N208.2 million, while the number of deals went up by 7.7 per cent to 42 deals from 39 deals.

CSCS Plc remained the most traded stock by value (year-to-date) with 32.6 million units exchanged for N1.9 billion, trailed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 119.6 million units valued at N470.3 million, and Resourcery Plc with 1.05 billion units traded at N408.6 million.

Resourcery Plc closed the day as the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) with 1.05 billion units sold for N408.7 million, followed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 119.6 million units worth N470.3 million, and CSCS Plc with 32.6 million units worth N1.9 billion.

Economy

FX Demand Worries Weaken Naira to N1,346/$1 at Official Market

Published

16 hours ago

21/02/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira weakened further against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Friday, February 20, by N4.97 or 0.37 per cent to N1,346.32/$1 from the N1,341.35/$1 it was transacted on Thursday.

Heightened FX demand tilted the market toward the downside yesterday, exerting upward pressure on rates despite efforts by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to stabilise the foreign exchange market.

Also in the official market, the domestic currency depreciated against the Pound Sterling during the session by N9.39 to sell for N1,815.25/£1 versus the previous day’s N1,805.86/£1, and lost N7.33 against the Euro to close at N1,584.62/€1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,577.29/€1.

The story was not different for the Nigerian Naira at the GTBank FX desk, where it depleted against the Dollar by N7 on Friday to quote at N1,356/$1 versus the N1,349/$1 it was sold a day earlier, but remained unchanged in the black market at N1,370/$1.

It was observed that risky sentiment among Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) contributed to the FX market, amid fears of hot money flight due to capital gains tax and other factors.

As for the cryptocurrency market, it was mostly green yesterday in reaction to a Supreme Court verdict dismissing a fresh 10 per cent global levy by President Donald Trump.

The apex court on Friday described Mr Trump’s global tariff rollout as illegal. The decision did not clarify what should happen to tariff revenue already collected, and it doesn’t necessarily spell the end of the trade agenda, with multiple legal and executive avenues still available.

Litecoin (LTC) grew 2.7 per cent to $55.00, Cardano (ADA) appreciated 2.6 per cent to trade at $0.2815, Binance Coin (BNB) expanded by 2.6 per cent to $627.19, Dogecoin (DOGE) recouped 1.3 per cent to quote at $0.1, Ripple (XRP) jumped 0.7 per cent to $1.43, Solana (SOL) improved by 0.5 per cent to $84.15, and Ethereum (ETH) soared 0.1 per cent to $1,962.78.

However, Bitcoin (BTC) lost 0.2 per cent to sell for $67,850.49, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.

Economy

Fidson, Jaiz Bank, Others Keep NGX in Green Territory

Published

21 hours ago

21/02/2026

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

A further 0.99 per cent was gained by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Friday after a positive market breadth index supported by 53 price gainers, which outweighed 23 price losers, representing bullish investor sentiment.

During the trading day, the trio of Jaiz Bank, Fidson, and NPF Microfinance Bank chalked up 10.00 per cent each to sell for N11.00, N86.90, and N6.27, respectively, while Deap Capital appreciated by 9.96 per cent to N7.62, and Mutual Benefits increased by 9.94 per cent to N5.42.

Conversely, Secure Electronic Technology shed 10.00 per cent to trade at N1.62, Sovereign Trust Insurance slipped by 9.73 per cent to N2.32, Ellah Lakes declined by 7.91 per cent to N12.80, International Energy Insurance retreated by 5.56 per cent to N3.40, and ABC Transport moderated by 5.26 per cent to N9.00.

Data from Customs Street revealed that the insurance counter was up by 2.52 per cent, the industrial goods sector grew by 2.28 per cent, the banking space expanded by 1.43 per cent, the consumer goods index gained 1.23 per cent, and the energy industry rose by 0.05 per cent.

As a result, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 1,916.20 points to 194,989.77 points from 193,073.57 points, and the market capitalisation moved up by N1.230 trillion to N125.164 trillion from Thursday’s N123.934 trillion.

Yesterday, investors traded 820.5 million stocks valued at N28.3 billion in 63,507 deals compared with the 898.5 million stocks worth N38.5 billion executed in 61,953 deals, showing a jump in the number of deals by 2.51 per cent, and a shortfall in the trading volume and value by 8.68 per cent and 26.49 per cent apiece.

Closing the session as the most active equity was Mutual Benefits with 79.0 million units worth N427.1 million, Zenith Bank traded 44.0 million units valued at N3.8 billion, Chams exchanged 43.9 million units for N182.0 million, AIICO Insurance transacted 42.4 million units valued at N179.8 million, and Veritas Kapital sold 36.0 million units worth N90.6 million.