The Lumine News

Category: Press release

  • Chris Agara Reacts To Orok Otu Duke’s Threat, Says Governor’s Word Or Preferences Can Not Become Law Unto All

    PRESS STATEMENT ON THE THREAT OF VIOLENCE AGAINST CHIEF (BAR) CHRIS AGARA BY OROK OTU DUKE

    1. The attention of Chief (Bar) Chris Agara Campaign Organisation has been drawn to a comedy strip in which Honourable Orok Otu Duke is the stand up comedian. In the video Duke laboured to ridicule the disclaimer by our team in respect of the phantom consensus Governorship agreement in Abuja. While he succeeded in making his audience laugh he also made a very serious commitment to violence against those who refuse to accept the Consensus Option.

    2. We recognise the obvious threat to the life of Chief Chris Agara and his followers advocated in the video to the loud applause of the men sitting in the room, including the state Governor, and will take very profound measures to protect our Principal and ourselves throughout the period of electioneering. While he humoured Governor Ben Ayade in the same video for making Chief Chris Agara rich during his Governorship, our Principal who God has already generously blessed long before 2015 will make an appropriate response to this matter himself at the right time.

    3. One of the profound tenets of liberal democracy is the right to disagree with a decision that one feels differently about within the framework of the law. That is precisely what Chief ( Bar) Chris Agara has done. Governor Ben Ayade himself recently said openly in his interview with Channels Television that while he wishes that the Governorship returns to the South “I cannot play God and force everyone to agree with me”. We will like to remind the pseudo democrats in the room that Section 84 (9) of the Electoral Act, 2022 provides that consensus may be used after cleared aspirants have emerged. Also, the written consent of the aspirant must be extracted before any consensus would be said to have been arrived at. Cleared aspirants who must have bought the nomination form and gone through due clearance are the ones who can enter into consensus agreements not pretenders to the Crown at Peregrino Hall.

    4. Democratic civil rule does not confer the status of a monarch or potentate on the Governor or President for that matter, and therefore the Governor’s word or preferences cannot become law unto all. We have chosen to disagree with the Consensus Option and are fully prepared for the Governorship race of Cross River State at this time, no matter the number of comedy strips, threats of violence and all types of intimidation that we may come against in the course of prosecuting our legitimate aspiration.

    SIGNED
    BAR. RICHARD OGBECHE
    DIRECTOR GENERAL.

  • Chris Agara Dissociates From The APC Consensus Candidature, Describes The Meeting As Merely A Talk Shop Amidst Good Food And Vintage Liquor

    WE ARE NOT PART OF THE SO – CALLED ‘CONSENSUS’ APC CANDIDATURE

    The Chris Agara Campaign Organisation wishes to state very clearly as follows:

    1. That we are legitimate members of the All Progressives Party (APC), who have always respected and will continue to respect the lawful decisions of the Party and all is organs at all levels.

    2. That we recognise the leadership of the Party in the state by His Excellency, the Governor, Professor Ben Ayade and have been and will continue to be loyal to his leadership.

    3. We wish to state very clearly that such respect and loyalty should however be mutual since the leadership of the Party and the Governor are as important to the members as the members should be important to them.

    4. That our Principal was invited to the meeting which took place on Monday, May 9th at the Transcorp Hotel, in Abuja to discuss the report of the Seven – Man Committee earlier set up by the Party and not to agree on any consensus.

    5. That right there on the floor of the meeting when the matter came up, Chief (Bar) Chris Agara clearly expressed his reservations about the Consensus Option and declined to go along with it.

    6. That Chief (Bar) Chris Agara went further to point out the grave disrespect to some Governorship aspirants that the obvious ambush meeting entailed, by inviting them to a meeting for a specific purpose and then turning around to do something else.

    7. The Chris Agara Campaign Organisation will like to point out to His Excellency the Governor and the leadership of our great Party that while the Electoral Act allows the option of Consensus, it also prescribes that such agreements shall be in writing and shall be endorsed by all relevant parties concerned.

    8. To the best of our knowledge the meeting at Transcorp of the May 9th instant was merely a talk shop amidst good food and vintage liquor and should not be accorded any further importance beyond what it truly was.

    9. The Chris Agara Campaign Organisation assures its teeming supporters that Chief ( Bar) Chris Agara remains committed and competitive in the race and is prepared to pursue his Governorship aspiration to its logical conclusion.

    SIGNED
    BAR. RICHARD OGBECHE
    DIRECTOR – GENERAL

  • Owan Enoh Insists That The One Form For APC Governorship Must Be Purchased In His Name

  • Gov Ayade Set To Reshuffle Cabinet, Directs Permanent Secretaries To Assess Political Appointtees

    The Governor of Cross River State, Sen Ben Ayade is set to reshuffle his cabinet members.

    This is contained in the release sighted by the TheLimineNews and signed by the Special Adviser to the governor on Media and Publicity, Mr Christian Ita.

    Find the release.

  • WPFD: ACROJ Commends Journalists Who Risk Their Lives Daily In The Course Of Their Duty

    Press Release

    As journalists across the globe celebrate World Press Freedom Day 2022 with the Theme: Journalism under digital siege, the Association of Cross River Online Journalists (ACROJ) commends all journalists who have stake so much to keep the world informed and expose various ills in the society.

    ACROJ also lauds the Federal Government of Nigeria and Cross River State Government for dropping all charges against journalists who have stood trial for various charges in the state.

    The World Press Freedom Day (WPFD) is an annual celebration of Press Freedom, observed on 3 May every year.

    The celebration organized by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), serves as a reminder to governments of the need to respect their commitment to press freedom and is also a day of reflection among media professionals about issues of Press Freedom and professional ethics.

    While this year’s World Press Freedom Day theme “Journalism under digital siege,” spotlights the multiple ways in which journalism is endangered by surveillance and digitally-mediated attacks on journalists, and its consequences on public trust in digital communications, ACROJ seizes the opportunity the day affords to recall the dismissal of all charges against her Board of Trustees Chairman, Citizen Agba Jalingo by the Cross River State Government, on the 21st Day of March, 2022. We commend the state government for acknowledging that they made a grave error in arresting Mr. Jalingo and other members of ACROJ.

    The association also lauds journalists who risk their lives daily in the course of executing their duty, urging them to keep up the courage and maintain professional ethics to ensure that the public is furnished with credible information on a consistent basis.

    As the union continues to tow the path of truth, justice and fairness, we also call for continued synergy with all relevant stakeholders to ensure the fulfilment of a decent society.

    Edem Darlington.               Umo Akwang
    Chairman                             General
    ACROJ.                                 ACROJ

  • Independent National Electoral Commission Commences Distribution Of Permanent Voter’s Cards

    The Independent National Electoral Commission INEC has Commenced the distribution of permanent voter’s cards to those who registered between June to December, 2021.

    In a release made available to The Lumine News and signed by the Administrative Secretary, Mr Davis Obo Eldrea indicates that the voter’s cards for fresh registrants who registered between June and December 2021 in Cross River State are ready for collection at the 18 Local Government Area offices from Thursday 28th April 2022.

    The release reads in parts “The management of Independent National Electoral Commission INEC, Cross River State wishes to notify the general public that the voter’s cards for fresh registrants who registered between June and December 2021 in Cross River State are ready for collection at the 18 Local Government Area offices from Thursday 28th April 2022.

    “The time for collection is between 9.00am and 3.00pm from Monday to Friday except for public holidays”

    The release stressed that “the cards must be collected in person and not proxy”

  • Caterpillar Movement Debunks Rumors Of Sandy Onor Picking Senatorial Form, Called On Supporters To Remain Unperturbed

    CATERPILLAR MOVEMENT

    PRESS STATEMENT

    We, in the Caterpillar Movement have come across a fictitious newstory by one Citizen Ekanem Essien purporting that our Principal, Sen. Sandy Ojang Onor has ” technically withdrawn ” from the Gubernatorial contest by picking dual forms for both the Gubernatorial and senatorial elections as a contingency in the event of failure.

    We wish to outrightly debunk this malicious rumor by stating that Sen. Sandy Ojang Onor has never been one to shy away from a fight, especially one that is done with the public interest at heart.

    Furthermore, Our principal, Sen. Onor would never venture into a course with double minds or cold feet to the extent of cowering by attempting to contest for two positions at once.

    For the records, we wish to state clearly that only the Gubernatorial Nomination form was purchased by our Principal because he believes strongly in his credentials, competence and capacity to emerge victorious. The unwholesome act of buying two forms at a time is a practice set aside for losers to showcase their cowardice by being unsure about their political aspiration.

    Our Principal is decisive, precise and Lucid enough about his intentions to rescue Cross River state from the shackles of maladministration currently experienced and is therefore reticent to subscribe to political gimmicks.

    Let those who are cowards continue to be indecisive and at a quandary but we in the Caterpillar Movement are solely only interested in the Gubernatorial Position. We are confident that victory is sure.
    Once more, we enjoin our supporters to continue to remain peaceful and unperturbed by this deliberate distraction by the true enemies of our dear State .
    Again they have failed and will continue to fail.

    God bless us all.

    Joe Obi Bisong (Hon. Chief)
    Director General

  • Caterpillar Movement Describes A Non-existent Online Poll By Delegates Of The PDP In C’River For The Gubernatorial Primaries As Misleading And False Graphic Presentation

    THE CATERPILLAR MOVEMENT

    Press Release

    Our attention has been drawn to a spurious,
    misleading and false graphic presentation on social media detailing a non-existent online poll by delegates of the PDP in Cross River State for the Gubernatorial Primaries.

    As we all know, elections have never been won from social media postulations and ” online polls” but in the interest of full disclosure, we in the Caterpillar Movement wish to state categorically and emphatically that the circulated graphic is nothing but a figment of the imagination of a particular political interest group skewed heavily to favour their candidate while at the same time attempting to create a psychological mind game on the mind of delegates in the party to think that they have some phantom advantage when in truth, our Principal, Sen. Prof. Sandy Ojang Onor is , by every standard, the leading and preeminent candidate for the position of party flagbearer.

    We believe that this fantasy, packaged as an online poll is nothing but the last kick of an obviously dying horse hell-bent on not only destabilizing our well meaning party delegates but also on being bad losers since it has become obvious that their aspiration shall not see the light of day.

    Accordingly, we urge all our teeming supporters to remain calm and unperturbed by this false development while also urging them to continue to spread the gospel of our Principal and his intentions to liberate the state from this current chokehold.
    It is our belief that come May 21st, we shall emerge victorious at the only real and legitimate polls available to us; The PDP Gubernatorial Primary Election.

    God bless the PDP
    God bless Cross River State
    God bless the Caterpillar Movement.

    Joe Obi Bisong ( Hon. Chief)
    Director-General

  • Sandy Onor To Hold Easter Retreat With PDP Delegates And Coordinators Of Caterpillar Movement

    By Elijah Ugani

    The senator representing Cross River Central Senatorial District, Sen Sandy Onor has perfected plans to hold the 2022 Easter retreat with PDP delegates in the state.

    In release sighted by The Lumine News and signed by the Director General of the Caterpillar Movement, Chief Hon Joe Obi Bisong indicates that the retreat will be held at Gomara Hotels, Ogoja on the 11th April, 2022 for the Northern Senatorial District. That for Central Senatorial District is to hold at Heritage Hotels, Ikom on the 12th April, while the Southern Senatorial District is billed for 13th April, 2022 at Venatian Arena, M/M high way, Calabar.

  • Ayade’s Interview With Arise TV: The Paradox, Farce, And Fact – Ojisi

    PEOPLES DEMOCRATIC PARTY CROSS RIVER STATE

    9th April 2022

    Press Statement:

    Ayade’s Interview With Arise TV: The Paradox, Farce, and Fact

    Governor Ben Ayade’s ignominious interview granted to Arise TV yesterday, has further underscore the position of the Peoples Democratic Party that the Ben Ayade’s led administration is purely a government whose foundation is built on deceit and lies. For a Governor who has perfected the art of grandiloquence and concussing unsuspecting individuals with litanies of fallacious claims, one wonders where he draws his inspiration and penchant for lying barefacedly.

    Here are some of the paradox from the interview.

    Governor Ben Ayade claimed to have built the Obudu German Hospital, which according to him is the most sophiscated Project built by any Governor in Nigeria. Nothing can be further from the truth as the said Obudu German Hospital is neither sophisticated nor near completion. Like other white elephant Projects of his, the Obudu German hospital is mainly a conduit pipe for the governor to retire public funds. Construction work at the site is quite epileptic and not a single medical equipment has been installed. So, where lies the sophistication?

    On the claim by the Governor that he created 5000 jobs for teachers, the Peoples Democratic Party challenge the Governor to publish the names of the beneficiary and their payroll since 2019. For the sake of emphasis and clarity, the Governor only carried out a kangaroo recruitment of less than 2,300 teachers, unfortunately a greater percent of those recruited are yet to collect their appointment letters not to talk of being on payroll.

    The Governor claimed also to have built the Teachers Continuous Training College in Biase and that the said college is fully functional. This is another mendacious claim as the Teachers Continuous Training College was neither completely funded by the State Government nor is the institution fully functional.

    Of all the lies dished out by the Governor, the most nauseating is his claim of building the biggest pharmaceutical factory in Nigeria called Calapharm. The reality is, we have nothing close to a pharmaceutical company in Cross River State. What we have is a makeshift facility at the Ayade’s industrial park that is neither completed nor operational. We challenge the Governor to mention just one product from the pharmaceutical company that is in the market.

    On the claim that he parades 18,000 Political appointees, the governor has succeeded in making a mockery of governance. What is a single Governor doing with 18,000 Political Appointees in a state that he has repeatedly complained that the economy is comatose? Isn’t it paradoxical that the governor parades such large number of Political appointees under the state payroll some of which are without defined portfolios and job designations yet complains of the economic situation of the state?. It is noteworthy to also stress that the army of food eaters paraded as appointees by Governor Ben Ayade are majorly cultists employed to carry out hatchet jobs during election.

    We call on Cross Riverians to rise and demand total accountability from Governor Ben Ayade. Our dear state cannot continue to be under the stranglehold of his deceits, digital lies and unconscionable approach to governance. We must rise to the occasion and salvage what is left of us as a state. As we approach 2023 Election, we urge Cross Riverians to come out and register in order to vote out this ill-fated government.

    Signed:
    Prince Mike Ojisi
    (State Publicity Secretary)