Archive for the ‘Progressives’ Category

Enugu APC chief, supporters defect to PDP

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress in Enugu State, and the governorship candidate of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria in the 2011 election, Mr. Valentine Nnadozie, has defected to the Peoples Democratic Party along with his supporters.

A statement from the Office of the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor said Nnadozie announced his defection to the PDP during a solidarity visit with his followers to Governor Sullivan Chime at the Government House.

According to the statement, Nnadozie said the decision to join the PDP was influenced by the achievements of the party in Enugu State and also at the federal level.

Nnadozie, during the solidarity visit, told Chime and the leaders of the PDP in the state that he was coming to the party with over eighty percent of the more than 300,000 registered members of the APC in Enugu State.

Nnadozie, who was a member of the PDP before moving to the defunct ACN to contest the 2011 governorship election, pleaded with Chime and the leaders of the PDP to re-admit him and his supporters as lost sheep into the fold.

We have come sir, to ask you and PDP to kindly re-admit your lost sheep into the PDP family, having gone to the wilderness over these years.

We have come to identify with you and the transformation agenda ofPresident Jonathan and the giant strides of your administration in Enugu State.

We have come to pledge our loyalty to you and the PDP, he said.

Nnadozie explained that his sojourn in the APC had deprived him of the platform to talk for his people, as, according to him, the opposition partys ideologies negated his own political philosophy.

We have come to work together with you and PDP to move our dear Enugu State forward and to the next level, he told Chime.

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Enugu APC chief, supporters defect to PDP

Amosuns aide defects to PDP

Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun | credits: File copy

The crisis in All Progressives Congress in Ogun State deepened on Sunday as one of the special advisers to the Governor Ibikunle Amosun, Mrs. Abimbola Lanre-Balogun; defected to the Peoples Democratic Party.

Lanre-Balogun, was Special Adviser on Environment to the governor until Thursday last week, when she resigned her appointment.

Explaining the reason for her defection, at a PDP stakeholders meeting at the Goodluck Jonathan Political Centre in Ijebu-Igbo, Lanre-Balogun, said she was tired of enduring the style of governance being adopted by Amosun, which she described as family affair.

She further alleged that Amosun was running a government of me, myself and my family.

Lanre-Balogun told journalists shortly after her defection that her passion to work for the good people of the state necessitated the action, alleging that the Amosun-led administration had made her redundant.

She said, I have been in this government (Amosuns) since inception. I was sworn in as Special Adviser on Environment precisely on the July 21, 2011 and we swung into action. Like I always say, I have a passion for hard work, I set out to do so and began to do what God sent me to do for the good people of Ogun State.

I began to work day and night when I was in the Ministry of Environment. It got to a stage that the governor himself called me to the executive meeting and he acknowledged my contribution.

But along the line, I didnt know what happened, I just saw that work was no longer coming and I went to him and said Sir, I dont like being bored, I want to work and thats why Im here.

He said the position was just for me to occupy and that the people doing the work were there. And who were the people doing the work? Just five people himself, his brother, his cousins and members of his family. We were not given anything to do.

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Amosuns aide defects to PDP

Science and Progressives – Video


Science and Progressives
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By: TheAngelofDorkness

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Science and Progressives - Video

Progressives Want to See Clinton's 'Vision for America'

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton may be headlining Sen. Tom Harkin's annual Steak Fry today, but the longtime progressive senator indicated that shouldn't be taken as an endorsement should she decide to run for president in 2016.

Harkin, who is retiring after 30 years in the Senate and was hosting his last annual Steak Fry today, said progressives should raise questions about Clinton's foreign policy and economic positions.

"As someone who has carried the liberal, progressive populist banner for many years, we're always nervous about people moving too far to the right," Harkin told ABC News' Jonathan Karl for "This Week." "See we, a lot of us believe the center ought to be moved back, that the center has moved too far right."

ABC News

PHOTO: Senator Tom Harkin (D) Iowa on 'This Week'

Asked where Clinton's positions fell on the political spectrum, Harkin responded, "Well, I don't know, I mean I think this is something that will be developed and we'll find out when, if she, if she decides to run. You know, what's her vision for America?"

When asked if he had "real questions" about Clinton's stances on issues, Harkin said, "I do about everybody" considering a run for the White House.

He added that President Barack Obama's positions have been less progressive than he had hoped they would be.

"I must be frank with you, I thought Barack Obama was a great progressive and a great populist and quite frankly, I haven't, some things have happened that I don't agree with," Harkin said.

And while most eyes on Clinton this weekend are reading signs for what her return trip to Iowa means for her 2016 presidential prospects, Harkin said Clinton's trip will have more impact on the 2014 midterm elections, as she and former President Clinton begin hitting the campaign trail for Democrats facing tough election battles.

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Progressives Want to See Clinton's 'Vision for America'

Sanders cautions progressives about voter apathy

Daniel P. Finney,, dafinney@dmreg.com 11:51 p.m. CDT September 14, 2014

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks Saturday at a town hall meeting in Dubuque. He also spoke Sunday at gatherings in Waterloo and Des Moines. (Photo: Mike Burley, Dubuque Telegraph Herald/Associated Press )

Voters must fight to repeal policies pushed through Congress by the billionaire ruling class if the United States hopes to restore its middle class and protect representative democracy, Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont, said Sunday in Des Moines.

Earlier this year, Sanders said he was prepared to run for president in 2016. The fiery liberal who describes himself as a socialist independent told NBCs Meet the Press on Sunday that his trip to Iowa was an effort to check the pulse of voters in the home of states first-in-the-nation caucuses.

More than 250 people filled the basement community room of Grace United Methodist Church near Drake University in Des Moines. Though the sampling was small and the audience obviously partisan toward progressives, Sanders message inspired roaring applause during his hourlong speech.

Sanders touched on a broad range of issues, from campaign financing to the economy, but stressed that community organizations must turn out the vote against widespread apathy.

The pundits tell us, if we dont change it in the next two months, that 60 percent of the American people are not going to vote, Sanders said. Of the 60 percent who dont vote, 70 to 80 percent of those who make minimum wage will not vote. Theyve given up on the political process. Something like 75 percent of young people arent going to vote.

So thats democracy. The people who are the future of America are not going to vote. The people who are hurting the most economically are turned off, so they dont vote.

Sanders cautioned the standing-room-only crowd: You have people who are not turned off, and that is the billionaire class who are going to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to elect candidates to represent the rich and the powerful.

Sanders spoke in favor of expanding Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and other federal benefits, including requiring those with the highest incomes to pay more into the system.

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Sanders cautions progressives about voter apathy