By Tony Edike &  Anayo Okoli

ENUGU-THE Peoples Progressive Alliance, PPA, has protested its exclusion by President Goodluck Jonathan from the invitation extended to certain political parties to meet with him on Wednesday, June 1, in Abuja.

National Chairman of the party, Chief Sam Nkire, said in a statement yesterday that “not inviting at least all the ten political parties that won elections would amount to discrimination, which “the President is not known for.”

He stated that despite PPA’s poor showing in the last election, the party won at least one legislative seat and hoped to recover more from the tribunals, adding that a party which produced two governors and a Minister four years ago was not a party to be ignored by any means.

According to him, the PPA did not only adopt Jonathan in the last election but ensured that  he either won or did well in the 36 states, including Abuja, and 774 local government areas where the party has offices.

Nkire expressed the hope that the unfortunate development of excluding the PPA from the proposed meeting was a mere oversight which the President may wish to correct in order to retain the confidence of his admirers and supporters within the party who have confidence in his leadership abilities.

.. says he was abandoned in Kirikiri Prisons

GOVERNOR Theodore Orji of Abia State weekend struggled to hold back tears as he lamented his abandonment at Kirikiri Maximum Prison, Lagos, by his former boss and political mentor, Orji Uzor Kalu, and his government in Abia State.

Orji said hewas detained on the orders of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, for “what I know nothing about.”

He said his lawyer, Tayo Oyetibo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, who was struggling to secure bail for him and other government officials detained with him, was owed his legal fee of N20 million by the government which threatened to frustrate securing bail for them.

Orji  said when he got to know about this, he called the former governor and asked him if N20 million was too much for the government to pay the lawyer to enable him continue his service and secure bail for them.

He lamented that his former boss was enjoying himself in Benin, the Edo state capital, while his principal officers were languishing in detention for what they knew little or nothing about.