WHY KOLA OLOGBONDIYAN SHOULD BECOME PDP NATIONAL PUBLICITY SECRETARY

The opposition status conferred on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) over two years ago necessitated a change in media approach and strategy. At a time when the party is at its lowest ebb & struggling with a protracted battle for its soul the people who love it cannot afford to get this decision wrong.

Being an opposition spokesperson requires an eye for detail, a memory that recalls forgotten details and promises as well as a mind that can see connections between events before they appear and thus become a political prophet, making his statements look like predictions of what is to come. It also requires an ability to work through third party perspective to highlight what a partisan spokesperson can not. I have no doubt in my mind that #KolaOlogbondiyan fits this bill most perfectly and I urge everyone who believes in our cause to support him in any way they can.

Over the next four (4) years, the person who gets elected as NPS will be the face of the party. At a time when the image of the party is in tatters because of allegations of corruption, real /or false; when the story of the party is not being told in the manner it should; when the deluge of lies & propaganda from the ruling party refuses to stop; the party cannot afford to make the costly decision of electing the wrong person as NPS.

Any PDP chairman who works with Kola OLOGBONDIYAN will be our luckiest in history – Kola knows how to adapt his journalistic style to anybody he works with. Right now, our opposition needs a publicity secretary who understands the art and science of opposition, a professional and one who knows how to sell his own party. We also need a man who can carry a team along and ensure that every voice of the opposition speaks from the same political playbook.

This is because whoever emerges as NPS of the party bears the responsibility of not only representing the party but also of aggregating facts, the many stories of the party, its many voices and making them speak as one, making them tell one story.

A lot of people have made these contests about the individuals and say things like maturity, experience & so on. But not many people have addressed the fundamental issue. This election is not about the voices or persons of any of the contestants. It is about who can position the voice of the party & make it louder than all these individual voices.

This is why I support Kola Ologbondiyan;
1) He is experienced, mature and has a network among the political and media class

2) Served as a Special Adviser, Media & Publicity to the  6th & 7th President of the Senate, Senator David Mark, between 2007- 2015, a responsibility he discharged creditably.

3) His journalism journey of 25 years which cruised through news reporting to the image and perception manager of the number three citizen for eight uninterrupted years has placed him in the best stead to manage and project the corporate image of our great party, the PDP.

4) He is endowed with a huge capacity to deliver on rebranding our party

5) He can swing narratives to suit the mindset of Nigerians

6) He is at home with the traditional and social Media

It is for this reason I have decided to support him. He is the best bet for this job from the contestants. This is what PDP party deserves – a new way of doing things. I really hope he gets the support he requires to win this as a professional with the right experience.

-Olayinka Samuel writes from Abuja

Ministerial list splits Senate

• Buhari lobbies as PDP senators doubt anti-graft war
• Screening begins on Tuesday

A CRACK seems to have appeared among Senators over confirmation of ministerial nominees following yesterday’s unveiling of the list transmitted to the upper chamber by President Muhammadu Buhari last week.

Some senators are not comfortable with particular candidates while others fault the number.
Meanwhile, the Presidency has begun moves to reach out to Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)‎ senators with a view to persuading them to accept the 21 ministerial nominees President Muhammadu Buhari submitted to the Senate last week even as the upper chamber has fixed next Tuesday for their screening.

Nigerian Senators and House Reps Members Want Life Pension!!!

It has been reported that the National Assembly approved on Thursday, February 19, 2015 life pension for the Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. This should not be allowed because of many reasons.

First, the federal legislators are the highest paid in the world despite the fact that they are part-time legislators who go on recess for over four months in the year and do not sit on Mondays and Fridays!

If the President of the Senate, David Mark, is put on pension, he will be on a second pension after retiring from the army as a senior officer! Will he now retire twice from the same government?

The same can be said of the Speaker of the House of Representatives. Legislation is not a full life work that should warrant life pension like civil servants who serve for at least 15 years. People of goodwill should look into this before we are ripped off. The same is the issue of life pension and fantastic entitlements by the governors.