The Pacesetter Frontier Magazine

Tag: 2023 presidency

  • Adopt-women-as-running-mates-first-lady-tells-presidential-aspirants

    First Lady, Aisha Buhari, has asked presidential aspirants across parties lines to adopt women as their running mates in the 2023 general election.

    She made this call on Saturday when she hosted presidential hopefuls from various political parties to Iftar, at the State House Conference Center (old banquet hall), Abuja.

    According to her, considering the voting strength and involvement of women in politics, they should be adopted as running mates in the forthcoming elections.

    Mrs. Buhari said: “In fact, it is high time women are adopted as running mates at all levels, considering their voting strength and active involvement in political processes.

    “As we approach the 2023 elections with greater hope, I am confident that Nigeria will continue to grow from strength to strength on the pedestal of our democratic tenets.”

    The First Lady also encouraged the aspirants to ensure that the forthcoming elections are fair and free.

    Citing the 2015 elections that brought in her husband as president, she urged the aspirants to emulate same in the 2023 elections.

    “It was neither contested in the court of law, nor in the court of public opinion,” she said.

    “Therefore, the greatest end-of-tenure gift that fellow Nigerians can give to the first family is another free and globally-acknowledged fair election come 2023.”

    Recall that at the maiden edition of the National Progressive Women’s Conference in January with the theme “One Voice Uniting for Progress”, Mrs. Buhari had asked the ruling party leadership to ensure that women are put in strategic positions in the party.

    According to her, the participation of women in politics will have a significant impact on the country’s development

    (Sun)

  • I’ll tackle insecurity, ailing economy if elected president – Wike

    Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has vowed to expeditiously tackle the festering security and economic challenges facing Nigeria if elected president.

    Governor Wike maintained that at this critical juncture, the country desperately requires a leader with political will and courage to decisively end the scourge of insecurity and revive the ailing economy.

    He made the pledge while addressing Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) delegations from Borno and Yobe states in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, yesterday.

    He observed that in the past seven years, the security and economic situations in the country had deteriorated due to the incompetence of the current All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Federal Government.

    He said: “I came here today, because there is a problem, and that problem is that Nigeria is dying and we must not allow Nigeria to die. We must rescue this country. So, I came as a Nigerian, a member of the PDP, a party I have never left since 1998 till now. A party I have worked for and will continue to work for.

    “And so, I want to vie for the presidency of this country on PDP platform. I came because I feel concerned, I came because I have no other country to run to and therefore, I have come to offer myself to solve most of the problems that this APC administration could not solve.

    “Before, people used to talk about insecurity in Borno State. Today, insecurity is all over Nigeria. Hunger does not know Muslim, hunger does not know Christian. Insecurity does not known Muslim, insecurity does not know Christian. Insecurity does not know North, insecurity does not know South. You need somebody who will have the courage to fight insecurity in this country and I want to tell you, I have that courage.”

    He advised the delegates not to be deceived by those who might want to use geopolitical and religious sentiment to influence how they would vote during the PDP convention.

    According to him, the socio-economic and security challenges bedevilling the country does not exclusively affect Muslims or Christians alone.

    “Nigerians are aware that everybody is suffering. Nigerians are aware people are dying. Muslims are dying, Christians are dying. Northerners are dying, southerners are dying. We need somebody that can stop all these and that is me.”

    Governor Wike accused APC leadership of covertly scheming against his emergence as the standard bearer of the PDP.

    According to him, APC leaders were afraid that if he clinches the PDP presidential ticket, that would mark the end of their grip on power.

    The governor commended PDP leader in Borno State, Mohammed Imam, for being a steadfast and dependable political ally.

    In his welcome address, Imam said he was one of the friends who purchased the expression of intent and nomination forms for Governor Wike, because they were convinced of his capacity to lead Nigeria out of its current socio-economic predicaments.

    Imam, who spoke on behalf of PDP delegates in Borno and Yobe states, decried the nonchalance shown by the APC-led Federal Government to issues of security that have crumbled business in the two states.

    “We, in Borno and Yobe, are business people. We are bordered with three countries; Niger, Cameroon and Chad. Your excellency, our people are businessmen.

    “On a daily basis, lots of people here can attest to that, over 2,000 trucks load of goods come out from Maiduguri market, cutting (taken) across these three Trans-Sahara regions that I’ve mentioned: Maiduguri, Banki-Bama to Cameroon, Lake Chad, Niger, up to Central Africa, Libya.”

    Imam also expressed grief over the level of devastation that their communities have suffered within the period because of the unrestrained marauding Boko Haram killers.

    According to him, despite their cries, there has not been meaningful response from the Federal Government.

    He said they were now looking up to Governor Wike who is a man of vision and courage to rescue Nigeria, guarantee safety to Nigerians and improve the economy.

    “We are peasant farmers, we don’t go to farm now. Our people cannot access their farms. In the Lake Chad, we are fishermen. Forty percent of the fish consumed in Nigeria and other Sub Africa states come from Lake Chad basin.

    (Sun)

  • 2023 presidency: Why APC should support Ngige (Opinion)

    WARREN Gamaliel Bennis (1925-2014), an American author and scholar, regarded as one of the pioneers of contemporary leadership studies, famously said: “Leadership is the ability to translate vision into reality.”

    The deduction that could be made from this statement is that a leader who has a dream must have the passion to pursue it. Former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, re-echoed this notion when he addressed African leaders during the wave of elections across the continent in 2020.

    Speaking under the auspices of Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, Blair recalled that he came into the UK government in 1997 full of enthusiasm and optimism with a significant mandate from the people and a majority in the parliament, but swiftly found out that the set of skills that brought him into power was largely redundant when it came to governing.

    According to him, the one was about persuasion and the other, was about getting things done, and over time, he realised that the core challenge was turning the great vision into a practical reality (implementation).

    Regrettably, since independence in 1960, Nigeria still grapples with the challenge of producing leaders who cannot translate vision to reality. We have a leadership selection process that more often than not, produces either leaders who do not have a vision or those who have a vision but lack the passion to pursue it. The attendant consequences include maladministration, widespread corruption, mismanagement of public resources and the ripple effects, such as rising cost of living, poverty and underdevelopment, and decaying infrastructure, among others.

    However, the coming general election presents another golden opportunity for Nigerians to change the leadership trajectory to guarantee a prosperous and bounteous future for the country. In the meantime, politicians have started indicating interest in various offices, including the office of the President. By the time of writing this piece, several politicians have indicated interest to contest the presidential elections under different platforms.

    A fortnight ago, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige told Channels Television that he was seriously consulting to run for President in 2023. Ngige said: “I told my constituents that were urging me last December that I will do some consultation and speak to them in April during Easter.

    So, I am doing my consultation.” Prodded further by the interviewer, Seun Okinbaloye, the minister quipped: “I am qualified to be President although I am yet to inform my boss, President Buhari.” The two-time minister further disclosed that some Nigerians, including a former Inspector General of Police, have asked him to run.

    Ngige, however, made it clear that he would not be running based on regional sentiments but as an eminently qualified Nigerian from Alor in Idemili South Local Government Area in the South-East of Nigeria. “I will not wear the toga of an Igbo President,” he said.

    I was not baffled by this statement being somebody conversant with Ngige’s Zikist inclinations and belief in one strong indivisible, equitable, fair and just Nigeria.

    Besides, in a clime like ours where politicians deploy ethnicity and even religion to capture power, it is heartwarming to note that we still have politicians like Ngige who eschew primordial sentiments from politics. Whilst some politicians would only run if their parties zone the ticket to their section of the country, Ngige has chosen not to be a provincial candidate.

    The good news here is that if elected President, the former Anambra State government intends to make the entire country his constituency. Prior to the Channels Television interview, the Anambra State chapter of the APC had in December last year adopted a resolution, urging him to run for the presidency. He asked the party faithful to give him until the coming Easter to decide. Ever since the pressure on him to contest has gained more momentum.

    As somebody who has followed Ngige’s flourishing political career, I see him as somebody capable of translating vision to reality. Apart from his sound educational background, vast public/private sector experience, versatility and other outstanding leadership qualities, the medical doctor- turned-politician has distinguished himself, beginning from his days as the governor of Anambra State (from May 29, 2003-March 16, 2006), senator representing Anambra Central (June 2011-June 2015) and the Minister of Labour and Employment (2015 till date).

    In his current assignment as the Minister of Labour and Employment, Ngige’s interventions have been felt in critical sectors of the country, such as Work, Health and Education.

    He contributed immeasurably to the success of the Second Niger Bridge, one of the five legacy projects of the Buhari government. The multi-billion naira bridge is billed for commissioning by October this year, having reached 91 per cent completion, according to the Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola.

    Also, courtesy of Ngige’s interventions alongside his counterparts in the Ministry of Health, the Federal Government released N32b as a hazard allowance to doctors and other health workers at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, the government and the health workers have concluded negotiations on a new hazard allowance, expected to be more meaningful than the N5000 the workers have been earning as a hazard allowance since 1991.

    In his ministry, he has demonstrated to the delight of the organised labour, “the penchant for leaving open the door of frank discussions, open negotiations and genuine reconciliations”. In 2019, he played a key role in the negotiation of the N30,000 minimum wage for workers in Nigeria. He returned Nigeria to the frontlines of international labour and diplomacy by taking the country back to the Governing Board of the International Labour Organisation, ILO, in 2018, after about 10 years of absence. His political sagacity propelled him to the position of the leader of Africa and Asia Ministers of Labour. In 2019, he became the President of the government group of the 187-member nation UN agency.

    As governor of Anambra State, he laid the foundation for the rapid development of the state through massive infrastructure development. For instance, the Ngige administration executed 105 road projects cutting across the three senatorial zones of the state and some linking Anambra to neighbouring states.

    He also invested heavily in healthcare development, education and provision of security while salaries and pensions were promptly paid. He initiated the process of returning schools to the original owners (the churches) and began the process of getting voluntary agencies to partner with the government in the management of hospitals.

    Even as an opposition senator in the seventh Senate, he attracted power projects to the South East and his Anambra Central senatorial district, courtesy of his position as the Deputy Chairman, Senate Committee on Power and as a member of the Committee on Health, co-sponsored alongside Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, the bill that produced the Health Act 2013, among other bills.

    Ngige’s exploits in these offices have continued to earn him accolades both locally and internationally. For instance, in February this year, he was inducted as a Distinguished Honorary Fellow of the Institute of Leadership, Entrepreneurship and Corporate Governance, INSLEC, a leading global body of both present and aspiring leaders, entrepreneurs and people in corporate governance.

    According to the President/Chairman of the council of INSLEC, Professor Gabriel Emecheta, the decision to elect Ngige as a Distinguished Honorary Fellow of the institute, speaks volumes about his pristine and differentiated worth as a leader, mentor and bridge builder. Similarly, the Chairman of, Planning and Resource Committee, Prof. Ayandiji Aina extolled Ngige’s creativity, confidence, decisiveness, humility and trustworthiness, describing him as a conflict manager of great extinction.

    This same February, Ngige received a commendation from the French President, Emmanuel Macron for exhibiting diplomatic finesse while receiving the French delegation that came to seek Nigeria’s support for the candidate of France for the post of the Director-General of International Labour Organisation, ILO. Macron made the commendation in a letter to President Muhammadu Buhari. In conclusion, I am of the opinion that the APC should support Ngige.

    Being a consummate politician, he has all it takes to offer Nigerians purposeful leadership that would consolidate on the enormous gains of the Buhari administration. Chukwunyere, a public affairs analyst, wrote from Abuja.

    (Vanguard)

     

  • Wike declares for Presidency

     

    Rivers State Governor, Nyeson Wike, has declared intention to contest the 2023 presidential election, saying he is the best man to wrest power from the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    Wike, who stated this when he visited his Benue State counterpart, Samuel Ortom, at the Government House in Makurdi, yesterday, said he was making his intention to contest for presidency known for the first time in Benue.

    “To remove APC from power, I’m the person who can tell them enough is enough. We must take this power and I’m ready to take it for PDP. God is with us that’s why APC keeps failing everyday,” he said.

    The presidential aspirant, who urged stakeholders to give him their mandates and not to sell their votes, assured he has the capacity to, “face this evil government.”

    He queried those founding fathers who ran away from the party and still want to be recognised, saying, “by the time you ran away, you sold your share as a founding father so you can no longer retain your position of founding fathers.

    “I stood for this party. I work for this party since 1998. I have nowhere to run to and that’s why anything that happens to this party I take personally. I have never relented.

    “In 2015, those who ran away made us loose election. Today, they are crying but some of us stood and said PDP will not die.

    “Some people want to use Nigeria to buy back their personal business. They talk about private sector. Mention the private business that survive. Is it banks that your father had? Everybody is an employer of labour. Even in my house, I have 50 people who feast from me.

    “They should stop deceiving us. I have performed as a governor and carry my shoulders high anywhere. I have the capacity to face this evil government. Just give me the mandate. I will speak the truth to power and nothing but the truth. I have the capacity to move this country forward,” he said.

    Wike promised that if elected, security would be his topmost priority.

    (Sun)

  • 2023 Presidency: IBBN urges parties to zone presidential ticket to South.

     

    A group, the Initiative for a Better and Brighter Nigeria, IBBN, has urged political parties to zone their presidential ticket to the South in the spirit of fairness and equity.

    The organisation, which noted the creation of additional 56,872 Polling Units ahead of the 2023 general elections, said it had been mobilising Nigerians to collect their Permanent Voter Cards.

    Speaking to journalists in Abuja on Tuesday, the group’s President, Prophet Dr. Isah El-Buba, said the North has had its fair share of the nation’s leadership and should therefore yield the presidency to the South.

    He said, “As political activities hit the crescendo, we call for political actors in the country to play the game, putting Nigeria first over any parochial interest.

    “Among other things, for the purpose of advancing equity and putting the national interest first, we call on all Political parties to in all sense of fairness, zone their presidential tickets to the southern zone of the country, especially that the North will be concluding a full eight-year term by 2023.”

    According to El-Buba, fairness and equity were all that would be required to service and continue to make every union work.

    “Indeed fairness and equity are what it will take to keep the Nigerian union as one indivisible great country under God,” he submitted.

    The IBBN described as astronomical the National Assembly’s increase of campaign spending limits of political parties and their candidates by 300% in the recently passed Electoral Act Amendment Bill which is awaiting presidential assent.

    El-Buba said, “We call on the National Assembly to consider and review section 91 of the Electoral Act Bill, which dramatically and astronomically increased campaign spending limits by 300 percent, which suggests that the 9th National Assembly intends to entrench a heavily monetized and merchandising political system- and this has dire implications for elections violence, youths exclusion, good governance and the economy.”

    Meanwhile, the group noted that the nation was already overwhelmed by insecurity and other social and economic challenges, warning that any further delay in the deployment of the Super Tucano Fighter Jets in flushing out terrorists would compound the nation’s woes.

    Prophet El-Buba said, “Beyond preventing deepening attacks, we need reclaim forests and ungoverned spaces already occupied by terrorists, when will we deploy the much-celebrated Tucano jets and other Airforce platforms procured to extinguish these terrorists? It better not be when the terrorists are done with killing Nigerians. We call on Government to Deploy those Tucano jets to use, now.”

    On the abduction and murder of little Hanifa Abubakar in Kano State, the group lamented that any country devoid of safe spaces for children was is a society with a bleak future.

    “From wave of mass abductions for ransom at schools over the last year, carried out by terrorist elements nicknamed bandits, to the recent abduction and murder of this little promising 5-year-old Hanifa Abubakar by the Proprietor of her own school who demanded a ransom of six million naira ($14,500) last month only to later kill Hanifa with rat poison and bury her in a shallow grave in the city of Kano; there couldn’t be more endangerment of education and violation of the right to life in Northern Nigeria.

    “For the act of terrorism against children alone, Nigerian Government need not show mercy to domestic terrorists & terrorpreneurs alike. We must stand up to the active defence of the right to life in Nigeria because the life of Nigerians matter. May God comforts the family of little Hanifa and all others who have lost loved ones in the hands of terrorists and terropreneurs in Nigeria,” El-Buba said.

     

    (Vanguard)

  • 2023 Presidency: PDP will reclaim Nigeria – Tambuwal

    Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State has reiterated that the Peoples Democratic Party reclaim Nigeria and Zamfara State in the 2023 general elections.

    Tambuwal stated this on Monday in Gusau, Zamfara State capital, where he had gone to consult the party’s stakeholders on his options to prosecute or drop his ambition to run for the position of President in the country in 2023.

    The Gusau visit is the second leg of Tambuwal’s presidential bid discourse as he visited Jigawa State last Tuesday.

    According to him, the rollback of the fortunes of the PDP in leading Nigeria and Zamfara State will soon be over.

    He observed that the reasons why he left PDP in 2018 are

    still subsisting under the ruling All Progressives Congress(APC) are still subsisting, “therefore, the leadership of the APC in the country must be challenged in order to make things work right.”

    He enumerated the challenges caused by the APC government as insecurity, economic downturns, debilitating healthcare system, and the “collapse of virtually everything”.

    The Governor pledged that “if we succeed in our bid the country will witness a reversal of the current bad fortunes.”

    On the recent moves by the Zamfara state House of Assembly to impeach the Deputy Governor of the state, Barrister Mahdi Aliyu Gusau, Tambuwal said, “The matter is in the court and any law-abiding person must allow the law to take its due course.”

    In his remarks at the occasion, former Governor of Sokoto State, Alhaji Attahiru Bafarawa, said the purpose of their visit is to present Tambuwal to the state PDP stakeholders for consultation with them on the pursuit of his ambition to run for President next year.

    “He is not a stranger to you. He’s our brother. Sokoto a d Zamfara states are the same entity. He (Tambuwal) sought the same position in 2019. Then seven of us from the North contested and he emerged second.

    “Young and energetic then and now, I believe he still has the capacity to do it very well more than us. He is ready. I have no doubt that he will represent us very well if he gets the chance,” Bafarawa said.

    Receiving Tambuwal’s delegation, the Deputy Governor of Zamfara State, Mahdi Aliyu Gusau expressed appreciation to the team for the visit.

    While enumerating the political credentials of Tambuwal, he pledged to support him in his bid if he so decides. “There’s no turning in our determination to back him all the way,” he assured.

     

    (Punch)

  • 2023 Presidency: Northern group seeks support for Umahi

     

    A group under the aegis of Northern Organisation Umahi for President has lauded the aspiration of the Ebonyi State Governor, Dave Umahi, to lead Nigeria in 2023.

    The group code named its mission ‘Rescue Nigeria’, revealed that it began its move in 2021, precisely one year ago, adding that the candidate would ensure the transformation of the country to an enviable position.

    According to a press statement issued to journalists on Thursday, by the Coordinator, Modibbo Yahaya, their candidate has displayed impeccable character, worthy of trust to pilot the affairs of the country.

    The statement partly read, “We wish to welcome all crew members on board this vessel. The name of the vessel is ‘Rescue Nigeria’. It’s flying Umahi ’23 flag. We started constructing this vessel in January 2021.

    “We wrote to His Excellency, Dave Umahi, requesting him to vie for president. However, God has answered our prayers. So we decided to flag off the journey on 20th January, 2022.

    “We started from this harbor. We will be cruising all over, until when we get to our terminal, pray Allah will answer our prayers.”

    While explaining further the reason the group settled for Umahi, Yahaya stressed that the job of the president is one meant for credible persons, which their candidate exemplified.

    “We really need your cooperation. Our flag bearer is honest, reliable, trustworthy and a true nationalist. He is not sentimental either tribal, religious or otherwise,” the statement added.

     

    (Punch)

  • Opinion: David Umahi Vying for Presidency – Genius or Blunder?

    Opinion: David Umahi Vying for Presidency – Genius or Blunder

    By Dele Sobowale

    “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”

    When Chief David

    Umahi, Governor of Ebonyi State, decamped from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, on whose ticket he was elected, to the All Progressives Congress, APC, my first instinct was to denounce his lack of principles. He still stands charged; but, something about his move was fascinating. It was the breath-taking move of a Chess Grandmaster. It was time to sit back and watch. With his declaration to run for President in 2023, a few weeks ago, at least one aspect of his strategy is now clear. As the Governor of the smallest and poorest state in the South-East; and not as nationally exposed as some other candidates, he now surprisingly occupies an enviable position in the race. Luck has already placed him in a strategic position in APC. Here is why:

    Millions are campaigning for him free.

    Hitherto, it has been an assumption, at least in the South, that to have millions campaigning for you means you must have tons of money to spend. Ordinarily, that would have made Umahi a non-starter. Furthermore, the South-East has been solidly behind the PDP from 1999. Two cracks came in Anambra and Imo states. Till now PDP has been unable to find its way back to Government House in Anambra and Imo. Meanwhile, the South-East has gone against the current ruling party – on account of the treatment of IPoB and its leader – Kanu. But, by decamping to APC and moving against the current in Igboland, he is now the only Igbo presidential candidate in APC.

    Unless other Igbo candidates enter the race, everybody campaigning for a southern candidate is working partly for Umahi. Those who have been canvassing for Igbo presidency, like me, now have only Umahi to benefit from our efforts within APC.

    Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, a Yoruba, supposed to be from Lagos State, and said to be stupendously rich, is already a declared candidate. Yet, since Tinubu’s announcement, I have heard and read more opposition to his bid – even from Lagos and Yoruba voters – than those against Umahi. Yet, Umahi has not even stepped into Lagos or the South-West to campaign. Tinubu fares only a little better or worse than Vice President Osinbajo among the people in Yorubaland. Supporters of the two Yoruba candidates are at daggers drawn on the matter. Though undeclared, the VP is already seen as an enemy of the Asiwaju supporters; the hostility goes both ways.

    The South-West is set to re-experience the sort of bitter politics characterising the feud between Awolowo and Akintola in the 1960s. As if history is about to be repeated, Akintola was Awolowo’s subordinate, who rose against his former boss in a contest for power. The wounds have not fully healed from the political war in the ‘Wild West’. Nobody is paying attention to Umahi; and he might become a beneficiary of the Tinubu-Osinbajo face-off in Yorubaland. The zone has several examples of politics with bitterness to make that a distinct possibility.

    Ohaneze is certainly working for him. Each time the pan-Igbo organisation clamors for Igbo candidate, Umahi smiles. At least in APC he is the only choice right now until other Igbo candidates step forward. Ordinarily, that would suggest that Umahi is in a comfortable situation. Unfortunately, in the quick sand of Nigerian politics, he is vulnerable for the same reason he is fortunate to be the only Igbo aspirant in APC so far. One APC chieftain told me why the “man is wasting his time”. According to him, “Umahi spent all his time in the PDP, was voted Governor twice; then finding himself in the wrong place, he decamps to APC. Now, he wants to claim the biggest prize in Nigerian politics while bringing nothing to the party.

    “He is from a poor state; has very little money; Ebonyi is the smallest state in the South-East and he is a local champion. He has no national network. Can such a candidate expect the party to leave Tinubu or Osinbajo and field him?” That, in a nutshell, is the question Umahi must answer; those are the ‘Goliaths’ this David must conquer.

    Fortunately, for Umahi, all is not lost. More than ever, this is one presidential campaign which will be largely influenced by the media – including social media. He can up his game by performing well during media exposures.

    Ohaneze, Igbo Leaders, IPoB and Presidency

    “Two parallel lines can never meet” -Geometry

    Ohaneze and other Igbo leaders have my sympathies. They are stuck on two parallel tracks which can never meet – at least as far as 2023 presidential election is concerned.

    First, they feel compelled to demand for the unconditional release of Kanu, the leader of IPoB – whose is facing several charges in Abuja. Second, they also want other Nigerian ethnic groups to concede the presidency to the South-East partly as a gesture to stop the agitation for secession in Igboland. To some extent, the two demands are mutually exclusive; mostly because of IPoB. Let me declare, once again, that I view IPOB’s demand or any other group for self-determination as legitimate. It is a right universally acknowledged and which people in other parts of the world have been exercising. The United Kingdom just underwent a plebiscite to determine if one of its constituent parts would remain in the kingdom. The skies did not fall. Several thousand people in California, USA are still busy collecting signatures in a legitimate bid to leave the United States of America.

    There is no violence involved; either by the agitators or by the Federal Government.

    To be quite candid, the FGN has mishandled the matter — right from the time of MASSOB. They have criminalised activities which elsewhere were settled by voting, i.e. referendum. Unfortunately, the agitators also fall into traps by giving the FG the excuse that they are fugitives from the law. Let me stop there for now;in order to get to the main point of this article.

    When Igbo leaders ask Buhari to release Kanu by saying “go and sin no more”, they make two assumptions. One, that Kanu and IPoB accept they are criminals – which is doubtful. Two, that Kanu and IPoB will actually stop agitating for the creation of Biafra. This is even more unlikely. Kanu and IPoB have become inseparable. Igbo leaders might as well ask him to go and commit suicide. He will not keep quiet. And, his continuing agitation for secession works against the quest for Igbo President.

    From evidence available to us, neither the All Progressives Congress, APC, nor the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, appears to be too keen on presenting an Igbo candidate. Non-Igbo people, like me, who have been advocating for Igbo President in 2023, know the response we receive most of the time from other ethnic groups. It is at best regarded as a last resort; at worst, a non-starter.

    From my own experience, the main reason for resistance lies in the failure of Ohaneze and other Igbo leaders to start the process of engaging the people and leaders of other ethnic groups in the advocacy. The most common question I am asked is: have you heard of any of their candidates going to other parts of Nigeria, establishing networks, making friends? The impression in other parts of Nigeria is that Igbo are waiting for the rest of the country to come and deliver the presidency to them on a silver platter.

    By contrast, one other candidate (name withheld), who declared two weeks ago, has already been seen in at least seven states – five of them outside his own zone.

    STAKES ARE HIGH

    The stakes are high for Igbo; and for Nigeria as well. It has probably never occurred to all of us that failing to elect an Igbo President in 2023 will mean that few people over the age of 60 will ever live long enough to see one – especially if the presidency shifts South again. By then, the frustration, anger and sense of injustice driving IPoB will claim more adherents. In time, Kanu and IPoB might even be regarded as benevolent.

    In that connection, the frequently reported romance between former President Jonathan and APC is a joke that should not continue. In all the three elections for the presidency – 2007, 2011 and 2015 – Igbo gave him over 95 per cent of their votes.

    They were his most loyal supporters. It would amount to ingratitude of the worst kind if GEJ allows himself to be used to frustrate the presidential ambition of Igbo people. He should put an end to the nonsense by categorically opting out of the 2023 race. He is one opponent Igbo candidates don’t deserve.

    (Vanguard)

  • Kalu announces that he has all that it takes to match Tinubu grit for grit in the APC presidential race

     

    Former Abia State governor and Chief Whip of the Senate, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu has said he will be ready to contest the All Progressives Congress, APC, Presidential ticket with former governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu if the party zones it to the South.

     

    Speaking in an interview, yesterday, Kalu said that while he has nothing against the aspiration of Tinubu, he believes that his own South East is ripe for the Presidency and that it should be the turn of the region to produce the next President and that should be him

    Kalu said that he has all that it takes to match Tinubu grit for grit and campaign for the campaign if need be for the APC ticket in 2023.

     

    Tinubu had on Monday, declared his ambition to take the reins of power as Nigeria’s next President; a move many believe may have foreclosed the clamour for Igbo Presidency.

     

    Tinubu had last November visited Kalu in his villa mansion where he intimated the federal lawmaker about his Presidential ambition.

     

     

     

     

    Source: www.vanguardngr.com

     

  • 2023 Presidency: Dave Umahi joins Presidential race

     

    The Ebonyi State Governor, David Umahi, has declared his intention to contest for president in 2023 on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

     

    He made his intention public shortly after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday at the State House in Abuja.

     

    This is coming a day after a former governor of Lagos State, Bola Tinubu, revealed his plan to run for the office on the ticket of the APC.

     

    Mr Tinubu said, after meeting with Mr Buhari on Monday, that he would contest for the office of president.

     

    Mr Umahi, in an interview with State House correspondents, said he has told the president about his ambition to contest for the seat if the party zones the ticket to the Southern region.

     

    “We discussed politics as the growth of our party, APC, in Nigeria, and the South East. And, of course, you know, the interest of the South East, for the seat of presidency in 2023.

     

    “And, of course, I told Mr President, that without prejudice to whatever will be the decision of the party, which we shall abide by, that if the party throws the ticket open or zones to Southern part of Nigeria that I believe that with what I have put in place in the past six years plus, that I will be running for presidency on the platform of the APC.

     

    “So, I told him and of course, he believes that whoever wants to run for president of this country must have to consult widely, go to all the leaders and that we must do everything to remove ethnicity and religion in our politics so that this country can grow,” he said.

     

    Like the APC national leader, Mr Umahi promised to replicate his feats as a governor at the national level if he eventually gets to fly the party ticket and win the presidential election.

     

    ⓘ

    The governor, who will round off his second term in office in 2023, was one of the three Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governors that dumped the party for the ruling party between late November 2020 and June 2021.

     

    Mr Umahi left the PDP in November 2020, six months before his Cross River counterpart, Ben Ayade defected. Governor Bello Matawalle of Zamfara State was the last to dump the PDP last year.

     

    The Ebonyi governor had argued that his defection had nothing to do with the 2023 presidential ticket but to take the Southeast region to the centre.

     

    “I want to clear the air that I never sought (for) PDP presidential ticket and I will not. So whoever said that I moved to APC because they refused to zone the ticket to me is being very mischievous,” the governor had explained at the time.

     

    However, with Mr Umahi’s declaration, he may be jostling for the APC presidential ticket with Mr Tinubu and the Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, who had declared his intention to contest the presidential election on the APC platform.

     

    The Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, also of the APC, may be a contender but he has not officially declared his intention to run.

     

    The Ebonyi governor joins some of the South-east politicians who have indicated interest in occupying the nation’s highest political office.

     

    Last year, a former Senate President, Paul Anyim, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), announced his plan to run for president whether his party zones the slot to the South-east or not.

     

    Earlier, Kingsley Moghalu from Anambra State and Sam Ohuabunwa from Abia State had earlier indicated their interest in the race.

     

     

     

     

     

    source:www.premiumtimesng.com

  • PDP will return to power in 2023

    The National Vice Chairman South South of the People Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Dan Orbih, has assured the party is poised to return to power come 2023 given the successful completion of it’s national convention last Saturday.

    He spoke on Sunday while congratulating the new members of the National Working Committee (NWC) who emerged on Sunday morning.

    The PDP confirmed the emergence of Dr Iyorchia Ayu and 20 others as new national officers.

    Commending the rancour-free convention, Orbih said that the emergence of the Iyorchia Ayu leadership specifically marked a new dawn in the history of PDP and a rekindled hope in Nigeria.

    Speaking to Journalists at the sideline of the convention, Orbih said: “PDP has today shown, by the quality and outcome of its convention, that it has the capacity to offer Nigerians exceptional leadership in the management of its human and material resources.

    “This convention was not only rancour-free, it provides great insight into the organizational capabilities of the PDP in sharp contrast to what the current administration has bequeathed the country in the last six years.

    “With this great outing, PDP is set to return as the ruling party in 2023.

    “I congratulate all of the new national officers, particularly our representatives from the South-South zone, the National Financial Secretary and National Women’s Leader, whose contributions to the growth of PDP are already well celebrated.”

    Orbih also called on Nigerians to prepare to dump the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2023, stating “APC has, in the last six years, inflicted so much insecurity, pain and agony on Nigerians that no wise person would want them returned to power.”

    Source: www.thenationonlineng.net

  • PDP ratifies zoning party chairmanship to North

    PDP ratifies zoning party chairmanship to North

    The National Executive Committee (NEC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Thursday approved the zoning of the party’s next national chairman to the northern part of the country.

    The party’s spokesman Kola Ologbondiyan disclosed this while addressing newsmen on the outcome of the NEC held in Abuja.

    Mr Ologbondiyan said that the NEC considered and adopted Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi-led Zoning Committee’s report, ahead of the party’s national convention, scheduled for October 30.

    The committee had recommended that the current elective National Working Committee (NWC) positions in the party should be swapped between the North and the South.

    Mr Ologbondiyan, however, clarified that what was approved was not about the executive and legislative positions in the 2023 general elections, but the elective NWC positions for the forthcoming convention.

    Asked if the date for the national convention was still sacrosanct, Mr Ologbondiyan said there was no contrary decision regarding the date of the convention during the meeting.

    “So far, nothing has been said to alter the date of the convention, which is October 30, ” Mr Ologbondiyan said.

    On when the aspirants would start obtaining forms, Mr Ologbondiyan said what was adopted was the recommendation of zoning between the North and the South.

    He said that what was expected was for the regions to go and micro-zone the positions to the geopolitical zones, after which aspirants can start obtaining forms.

    Mr Ologbondiyan, however, said that the report of the Governors Bala Mohammed committee on PDP performance in the last general elections would be considered in another meeting of the NEC.

    (NAN)