The failure of the disbanded Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential  Declaration  Committee, led by Senator Aniete Okon to settle newspapers’ advertisement debts incurred in the course of its assignment  has led to a face off between the organisation and reporters of certain national dailies in the country.
Daily Sun checks revealed that a Kaduna-based lawyer, Festus Okoye had written a letter to the National Chairman of the party, Adamu Mu’azu, demanding the payment of N6, 952,405.00, being the total  debt the committee has refused to pay.

In the letter dated May 11, 2014 Okoye  stated that his client, Ibrahim Musa, the Bureau Chief of New Telegraph Newspaper in Kaduna State had placed centre spread advertisement on December 24, 2014 in Daily Trust, Leadership, The Sun and Vanguard acting on the instruction of Dr. Okey Ikechukwu,  a member of  the Senator Okon-led Committee.
Okoye further disclosed that four months after,  several efforts to get the committee to redeem its pledge yielded no result.
In the letter addressed to the PDP national chairman,  copy of which was made available to Daily Sun, the party has been given  two weeks deadline to settle the outstanding debt or face legal action.
“Our client has exercised sufficient restraint in relation to the payment for these advertisements and his integrity and the livelihood of some of his colleagues are at stake.”
“We plead that you use your good offices to ensure that our client is paid to enable him meet his own commitments to his colleagues and their newspaper medium.
“Our client has given us the mandate to use all legal and constitutional means to affirm the integrity of the contract but we feel that we should explore an amicable resolution of this matter.

‘APC ready for governance’ 
From AIDOGHIE PAULINUS, Abuja
Former deputy national chairman of the defunct Congress for Progressives Change (CPC), Alhaji Saliu Mustapha, has said the All Progressives Congress (APC) is ready for governance.
This is even as he denied any rancour between the National Leader of the APC, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and the President-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari, over appointive positions.
Mustapha, who spoke against the background that the inability of the APC to agree on zoning of key offices showed that the APC was not ready for governance, said it was just mere mischief that anybody in the opposition party would want to use to score cheap goal.
“If they are saying that because zoning has not been done, the APC lacks focus or direction, is a very big mischief. What parameter are they using to measure that for now that we have not even taking over office?
“If the APC is not focus, how did it organise itself to dislodge a government that has been on the seat for close to 16 years?”
“APC is trying to be democratic. So, if we decide to say we leave the National Assembly to handle its own affairs does not mean that the party does not know what its doing. We don’t want to interfere in the way and manner they conduct themselves.
“APC has a focus and a dream. We are talking of Nigeria and our aspiration is, very soon, a time will come whereby we would be talking of Nigeria and not I am Igbo, I am Fulani, I am Yoruba, I am Hausa or I am Ibibio. We want people to say I am a Nigerian. They contested election on the platform that they are Nigerians. It is just because of the backlog of the divide and rule that we have experienced or that we have been running the country that brought about zoning.
“Ideally, we should be looking for the best. Let the best emerge. But because of the backlog of divide and rule that has held this country to ransom for a very long time, we have to gradually see ourselves come out through this. If not, if you want for any reason do a 360 degree on it, it would have its own repercussion on the system,” Mustapha said.