The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) has lambasted governor of Imo State, Owelle Rochas Okorocha for participating in the merger talks that produced the All Progressives Congress (APC), it described his involvement in the alliance as ‘ridiculous and unfortunate’.

Addressing newsmen in Abuja on Friday, the party said Governor Okorocha acted alone because “APGA is not in the merger. We were never consulted by anybody before such statement of our involvement was issued.”

A member of APGA’s Board of Trustees (BoT) and former Minister of Health, Dr. Tim Menakaya, while addressing the media, said, “The merger of political parties, where the parties are expected to lose their identities, cannot be an ad-hoc arrangement or decision of one person,” adding, “We have nothing against the formation of any mega opposition party.”

Menekaya said that the decision to initiate such a discussion was vested in the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the merging parties “and shall be ratified by their national conventions and communicated to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) through a letter jointly signed by the national chairman, national secretary and the national treasurer of each of the merging parties.”

“The issue of merger with other political parties is not on the agenda of APGA for now. Our concern at the moment is to restructure, nurture and build a strong party capable of winning elections across the states of Nigeria.”

While calling on all party members and the general public to disregard the misleading inclusion, the party chieftain said: “of our party in the ongoing merger talks of opposition parties. It is not on the agenda of the party for now.”

Okorocha, who was elected on the platform of APGA, was at the 10 opposition governors’ who met in Lagos Tuesday to form the APC.

 

Nollywood producer, Charles Novia, who is notorious for his feisty utterances, has this time around taken a swipe at Nigerian radio and TV On-air-personalities.

Novia, whose autobiography is still causing ripples, declared that most of them are “fake-accented elephants”, but reserved praises for a few, who he said are representing the country well.

 

Excerpts:

 

Listening to some Nigerian radio stations can either leave one permanently befuddled or just plain angry all the time. The latter is what happens to me mostly, so I stopped listening to most radio stations for some time. The television stations are not any better. The cause of one’s linear anguish is not hard to find. Confusing accents of the presenters!

Yes, one cannot really tell if the presenters on radio and television [in Nigeria these days] are from Miami, Manchester or Mushin or if they are just a bunch of clueless upstarts mouthing words which seem to make them happy but leaves the listener with a terrible ‘earache’.

Tracing the history of radio and television presentation in Nigeria, who can ever forget the glorious days and diction of Soni Irabor, Jim Lawson Madueke, Bimbo Oloyede, Tony Abolo, Donald Everedjo, Sienne All-Well Brown, Ruth Benemesia Opia, Lola Alakija, John Momoh, Silver Oforgu and so many other articulate and fantastic presenters who shaped the entertainment industry with their style and panache of presentation?

What these names have in common is a clear and distinct presentation style with a pleasant-sounding smattering of perfect Queens English and intonations, mixed with the distinct mother-tongue of the personalities ( if you will) . These guys made millions of people shape up their articulation. We wanted to talk like them, to present like them, in the very clear and African-tinged intonations they had. We loved them and still do.

Being a former colony of Britain, it was only natural that our Spoken English as citizens of Nigeria, had to be a bit uppity and middle class even when many of us were of a lower rung in the society ladder. But that helped many people aspire to change their destinies in their chosen fields.

Sadly, in the mid-nineties, the sweeping American culture crept into our mainstream radio and things changed, albeit horribly. Before we knew it, the ‘Yo, Yo, Yo!’ presenters hit the airwaves. Sounding very American ( and most times Ghetto Americanese too) became the fad. So, the beautiful accents we have as Africans just disappeared with the ‘dash monkey banana’ borrowed accents.

Almost every Presenter came on air sounding like poor imitations of Hollywood Black Gangsters or rap artistes. These days, you just have to strain your ears to hear anything they say on air. Words like ‘alright’ has given way to ‘aight!’ and so many examples. It’s not so much the fake accents that pisses me off but the lack of a true identity by these presenters! Some are confused and don’t even know if the accent they speak with are American or British or just a horrible cacophony of both. All these ‘gonna, wanna, burra, berra’ Presenters! Una nor go kill person.

I have visited South Africa a few times and one of the things I like about their Presenters on radio and television is the NATURALNESS. The Black South African Presenters don’t attempt to hide their MOTHER-TONGUE accents with the English Language. In fact, it makes them so distinct and wonderful on air. I like Supersports Presenters on DSTV from SA like Thomas Mlambo and even the Ivorian Football Analyst ( can’t remember his name now). You feel so at ease with them.

You hear them. (I must also commend Charles Anazodo and Praise and the female presenter on Supersports Nigeria. They are superb in their presentation). And that is not to say that we don’t have presenters in Nigeria at present who are superb. We do have but they seem to be in a minority compared with the horde of fake-accented elephants who have assailed the Nigerian airwaves. Some of them have so perfected the art of ‘forming’ so well that they can’t even pronounce Nigerian names at all on air!’Okoro Feeling Funky’ jockeys! As Basket Mouth the comedian would say ,’Their Father!’

Rivers State Governor, Mr Rotimi Amaechi on Monday asked the Minister of Niger Delta, Godsday Orubebe to resign, saying he had failed the region.

The face-off between the two has been ongoing for months and political observers see Amaechi’s outburst as the climax.

In a chat with newsmen in Houston, Texas, United States while in a meeting with Rivers State community, Amaechi queried that: “Under Orubebe, what development have we witnessed?; None.”

“It is a strategy to distract the Niger Delta people by trying to hide all his failures. I had gone through the region and no presence of his ministry was felt anywhere in the area of meaningful or people oriented projects.”

“I challenge him to a debate for every one project Orubebe can show me that he had done in the Niger Delta region. I will show him 10 of such projects in Rivers State.

“We did a 41-kilometre road to Opobo under water, yet the East-West Road on land he cannot complete. The Port Hacourt/Owerri Road is their road, yet we are doing it with Rivers State funds.”

The Governor, while responding to his rumoured presidential ambition, said: “I cannot contest against Mr. President.”

“We are from the same region. I respect him, and he is a good man. I am tired of responding to this issue of presidential ambition. It is normal to have contrary views on some topics but it doesn’t transcend to hatred.”

“It is the likes of Orubebe that fans the embers of hatred. It is unfortunate that he can accuse me of corruption, nobody has accused me before.

“If Orubebe wants us to go public any day, I am ready. I often tell them that the problem with me is that I am not an old man.”

“I am equal to the task of confronting anybody who confronts me on issues that are mundane. I advise him again to face his work, and make his presence felt in the region.”

Amaechi further stated thus, “After all, I don’t have any mansion anywhere, but I know Orubebe’s mansion. If he wants, we will show the world his mansions.”