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Jonathans visit: APC denies destroying PDP flags

President Goodluck Jonathan

THE All Progressives Congress has denied an allegation by the Peoples Democratic Party in Rivers State that its members were involved in the destruction of the PDP and the Nigerian flags.

The state PDPs allegation is coming ahead of President Goodluck Jonathans visit to Rivers State for the South-South PDP rally on Saturday.

But the State Chairman of APC, Dr. Davies Ikanya, described the partys claim as spurious, maintaining that no APC member was involved in the defacing of flags belonging to another political party or the Nigerian flag.

Speaking with journalists in Port Harcourt on Tuesday, Ikanya said the allegation was another ploy by the state PDP to begin to destroy the APC billboards and cause confusion in the state.

He said, We wish to state categorically clear that no member of the APC was involved in the destruction of the Nigerian flags or the PDP flags anywhere in the state, including the PDP office in Obio/Akpor.

If you look at our state secretariat and our offices in the local government areas, you will see that Nigerian flags are conspicuously mounted there. So, the allegation by the PDP that they saw some people in the night removing Nigerian and PDP flags is spurious and frivolous.

Ikanya recalled how the state PDP accused the APC and the state governor, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, of kidnapping three of their (PDP) members, adding that the police had since arrested the culprits, and they were not members of the APC.

Explaining that Amaechi and the APC did not believe in violence, the state APC chairman said, They (PDP) only want to embarrass our party. Instead of the PDP to talk about why the state (Rivers) has no federal presence, they have been raising frivolous allegations against the governor and the APC.

He, however, warned politicians to desist from planning to unleash violence during the 2015 elections and maintained that the APC would not allow any political party to rig the polls.

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Jonathans visit: APC denies destroying PDP flags

Is That Your Kid? : 09 Audio Stuff For Liberals – Video


Is That Your Kid? : 09 Audio Stuff For Liberals
We introduce two new Behind the Scenes Counterparts to the show. One is a Time Traveling Reporter from the West Coast and the other doesn #39;t like it when his ...

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Is That Your Kid? : 09 Audio Stuff For Liberals - Video

Liberals – Video


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Tax is 'electoral suicide': Liberals

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The government backbench is voicing concern about policy in the lead up to the budget. Analysis with Chris Hammer and Mark Kenny.

Senior Liberals have described plans for a possible deficit tax in the budget as "electoral suicide".Some talked of a party-room revolt and one warned the Prime Minister Tony Abbott would wear the broken promise as "a crown of thorns" if the government decided to go through with it.

The figure, part ofMr Abbott's ministerial team, spoke on condition of anonymity, arguing the suggestion of a tax was one that could come to "haunt"Mr Abbott's entire prime ministership.

Tough sell: Prime Minister Tony Abbott speaking to Neil Mitchell on Fairfax radio in Melbourne. Photo: Penny Stephens

"I worry that this is Tony's Gillard moment, when she announced the carbon tax," said the senior Liberal.

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Several other Liberals also expressed dismay at the prospect of a government, elected to restore trust to politics, overturning a "crystal-clear" policy commitment of no new taxes, in its first budget.

Incredulous Liberals contacted by Fairfax Media said they had been given nothing to tell voters who were beginning to call electorate offices to complain.

A Gillard moment: Senior Liberals are worried that Tony Abbott's deficit tax could spell disaster for the government. Photo: Alex Ellinghausen

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Tax is 'electoral suicide': Liberals

Ontario vows to raise care workers wages

The Ontario Liberals are promising to boost the minimum wage of personal support workers in the home-care sector by $4 an hour, the latest in a long line of spending commitments the Wynne government is making in a bid to survive beyond Thursdays budget.

Health Minister Deb Matthews and Finance Minister Charles Sousa announced Tuesday that the Liberals would increase the minimum wage for 34,000 publicly paid PSWs to $16.50 an hour by April 1, 2016, up 32 per cent from the current rate of $12.50.

The first $1.50-an-hour of the raise is retroactive to April 1, meaning it would take effect even if the budget fails, forcing a snap election. The next $1.50 increase would kick in in 2015, and the final dollar would take effect in 2016.

The Progressive Conservatives dismissed the pay hike as a pre-election ploy, while the New Democrats, the party that will determine the minority governments fate, chastised the Liberals for moving too slowly to address the recruitment problem plaguing the home-care field.

Theyve made 39 announcements under their budget-leaking team and every single one of these has been to try to win seats in the upcoming elections, said Vic Fedeli, the Tory finance critic.

The PSW wage increase is expected to cost the government $50-million in 2014-2015, an outlay that would increase to $130.5-million a year in 2016-2017, if the proposal is fully implemented.

Mr. Sousa said he is planning to find the money in savings reaped from moving chronically ill and elderly patients out of expensive hospital beds which cost nearly $1,000 a day to operate and back into their homes, where they can be looked after by PSWs.

That is a very smart investment, Ms. Matthews said, after announcing the pay hike to a cheering Toronto crowd of purple-shirted members of SEIU Healthcare, the arm of the Service Employees International Union that represents 11,000 PSWs. As we attract and retain more people to work in the home-care sector, that takes big pressures off our hospitals and off our long-term care homes.

The home-care sector has struggled to recruit and keep workers, according to Sharleen Stewart, the president of SEIU Healthcare.

The pay is low, the hours are irregular and expenses such as mileage are not consistently covered by the private and non-profit companies that deliver home-care services in the province, she said.

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Ontario vows to raise care workers wages