The Pacesetter Frontier Magazine

Tag: PDP

  • PDP commences court proceedings to disqualify Tinubu

    PDP commences court proceedings to disqualify Tinubu

    The Atiku-Okowa Presidential Campaign of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has commenced court proceedings to disqualify the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, over criminal conviction and sentencing by a court of competent jurisdiction in the United States over trafficking in narcotics.

    However, APC PCC immediately countered the PDP, saying the party did not only lack originality but was also a copycat.

    But PDP’s move is a counter to the APC which on January 20, approached the courts to disqualify Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the PDP from the presidential poll over what it termed as #Atiku-Gate and Special Purpose Vehicle, SPV, saga.

    Yesterday, the PDP insisted that the conviction of Tinubu for a criminal offence by a court of competent jurisdiction in the United States of America rendered him ineligible to contest any election.

    The spokesman of the Campaign, Kola Ologbondiyan, said this at a media briefing in Abuja yesterday.

    $460,000 forfeiture nullifies Tinubu’s nomination — PDP

    Ologbondiyan said the decision of a court in Chicago, which led to Tinubu forfeiting $460,000 in funds believed to be proceeds of crime, specifically, the sale and distribution of narcotics renders his nomination null and void.

    He said: “Nigerians are not unaware of the criminal matter concerning the Presidential Candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in respect of his criminal conviction and sentencing by a court of competent jurisdiction in the United States over a criminal case of trafficking in narcotics for which Tinubu forfeited the sum of $460,000 to the state.

    “For the avoidance of doubt, the United States court in sentencing Asiwaju Tinubu ordered ‘that the funds in the amount of $460,000 in account 263226700 held by First Heritage Bank in the name of Bola Tinubu represent proceeds of narcotics trafficking or were involved in financial transactions in violation of 18 U.S.C. S1956 and 1957 and therefore these funds are forfeited to the United States pursuant to 21 U.S.C. S881(a)(6) and 18 U.S.C S981.’

    “From the declaration of the court and the sentencing, it is clear that Asiwaju Tinubu was summarily convicted by the court, he took no step to challenge the judgment but acceded to the forfeiture of the $460,000 found to be the proceeds of narcotics trafficking.”

    The PDP campaign Spokesman noted that it is an established fact that trafficking in narcotics is an international crime which all nations are obligated by international conventions and statutes to arrest, prosecute and implement any court judgment imposed on offenders anywhere in the world, as well as the consequential effects of such judgments.

    Tinubu convicted in US, can’t stand for poll in Nigeria

    He further said: “Having been convicted and having acceded to be guilty as charged by way of forfeiture of the $460,000, Nigeria is a signatory to International Convention is mandatorily obligated to execute the consequential effect of that conviction by virtue of Section 137 (1) (d) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

    “For clarity, Section 137 (1) (d) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) provides that:(1) A person shall not be qualified for election to the office of President if….(d)

    “He is under a sentence of death imposed by any competent court of law or tribunal in Nigeria or a sentence of imprisonment or fine for any offence involving dishonesty or fraud (by whatever name called) or for any other offence, imposed on him by any court or tribunal or substituted by a competent authority for any other sentence imposed on him by such a court or tribunal.”

    He explained that the import of the constitutional provision was that having been so convicted and fined and having acceded to the sentencing by way of forfeiture of $460,000 and have not received any state pardon or acquitted by any court of competent jurisdiction, “Tinubu remains a convict and the consequential effect is that he cannot contest the election at any level in Nigeria.”

    The PDP Campaign equally said: “The effect is that the listing of the name of Bola Tinubu, who stands convicted by a court of competent jurisdiction on the ballot for the 2023 presidential election is by the virtue of Section 137 (1) (d) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) fundamentally illegal, invalid and must be expunged immediately.”

    We’ve approached the courts to disqualify him

    Ologbondiyan also revealed that the PDP has approached the courts to seek Tinubu’s disqualification.

    He said: “Our Campaign has proceeded to the court demanding the court to:

    “Declare Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Presidential Candidate of the APC, having been convicted, as ineligible to contest the Presidential election by virtue of section 137 (1) (d) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

    “Compel the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to immediately delist Asiwaju Tinubu as Presidential candidate of the APC or any other political party for that matter and expunge his name from all materials and documents related to the 2023 Presidential election.”

    According to him, the PDP campaign is also filing for an accelerated hearing in order to save the nation from an impending catastrophe.

    He said: “This case is in the interest of the nation as our laws do not permit a convict, let alone an individual convicted on account of the international crime of trafficking in narcotic, to stand election at any level.

    “Nigeria cannot afford the embarrassment of having a convict hold office at any level against our laws.”

    PDP lacks originality, always copying —APC PCC

    Reacting to the PDP’s counter moves, yesterday, the Chief Spokesman of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, PCC, Mr Festus Keyamo, in a chat with Vanguard, said the main opposition party lacks originality

    His words: “Why did they wait all these months until we filed before they are now rushing to court? I challenged them more than two months ago, yet they did nothing.

    ‘’It shows a team that is lacking in originality, lacking in ideas and lacking in vision. It is just an attempt to create a counter-suit to our own.

    “Unfortunately for them, Nigerians have seen through them already: SPV advocates that are trying to turn the tide of public opinion. Nigerians have decided; Nigerians have rejected them.

    ‘’This is so laughable that Nigerians are beginning to see that these are remorseless people; leopards that cannot change their skin; instead of Atiku facing the cameras, shed some tears and apologise to the nation for abusing his office as VP with SPVs, his reply, in summary, is, ‘what-about-you-too?’ This is disastrously sad”.

    Also, reacting, Mr Bayo Onanuga, Director, Media and Publicity of the APC PCC, restated his statement of January 18, 2023 where he pooh-poohed PDP’s “shameless skirting of issues” using the attack as a defence.

    He challenged Atiku to address the issues of whether he employed the whistleblower, Michael Achimugu, or not, who swore to an oath; whether Atiku made a scandalous conversation on how he and former President Olusegun Obasanjo set up SPVs, such as Marine Float to steal public money; and whether the taped voice was Atiku’s.

    (Sun)

  • PDP PCC asks NDLEA, EFCC to arrest, prosecute Tinubu

    PDP PCC asks NDLEA, EFCC to arrest, prosecute Tinubu

    THE Presidential Campaign Council, PCC, of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has asked the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to arrest and prosecute the Presidential Candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu, in order to avoid worsening Nigeria’s already bad situation.

    This was contained in an address read by members of the PDP PCC Strategic Communications and Media Teams, in Abuja, yesterday.

    Members of the team include the Director of Strategic Communications, Bashorun Dele Momodu, the Spokesperson of the PCC, Daniel Bwala, Media Adviser to the PDP Presidential Candidate, Atiku Abubakar, Mr. Paul Ibe and the Special Assistant, Public Communications to Atiku, Phrank Shaibu among others.

    Reading from a prepared text, Shaibu noted that Nigeria is in a precarious situation and any wrong decision taken in the choice of who becomes the next President could spell doom for the nation.

    Adding sponsored drug trafficking to Nigeria’s problems’ll be a disaster

    He said: “Nigeria is battling many problems; we have banditry and terrorism ravaging many towns in the North, militants attacking oil facilities and bringing the country’s economy to its knees in the Niger Delta while secessionists are holding the South-East to ransom.

    “It will be a huge disaster to add state-sponsored drug trafficking to the mix.”

    He explained that Tinubu’s forfeiture of $460,000 believed to be proceeds of crime, specifically the sale and distribution of heroin to authorities in the United States, is worthy of the further probe.

    Shaibu further said: “Nigerian law is clear. Criminal cases have no statute of limitation and can be re-opened at any time, especially for the sake of national interest.

    “We hereby call on the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency to immediately arrest Bola Ahmed Tinubu and prosecute him for drug trafficking.

    “Apart from the criminal angle to this call, there is also the national security aspect.

    “The world will recall what happened to Panama when Manuel Noriega, a known drug lord, became President in 1983. During his six-year rule, Panama became a narcos state as Noriega became an ally of the notorious Pablo Escobar’s Medellin cartel.”

    Shaibu noted that Tinubu’s indictment in the US should be an issue of concern for all peace-loving Nigerians because of the dangers his alleged links to drug lords portends for the country in the unlikely event Tinubu becomes President.

    He said: “In the unfortunate event of a Bola Tinubu Presidency, Nigerians will be plunged into a drug crisis that would make the Colombia situation a child’s play.

    “With easy access to drugs, there will be an increase in violence. Nigerians cannot risk this. In fact, on March 20, 2021, the Chairman of the NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (retd) said the South-West had the highest drug abuse cases in the country at 22.4%.”

    Protecting Nigeria’s sovereignty

    Speaking in a similar vein, Daniel Bwala, a lawyer, said the request for Tinubu’s arrest and prosecution was born out of patriotic zeal to protect Nigeria’s sovereignty.

    He said: “In the last few weeks the nation is greeted by so many reports on social and mainstream media which raise concern on the character and fitness of the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC.

    Bwala noted that Tinubu was convicted for drug-related offences, specifically money laundering for a drug cartel by a court in Chicago, Illinois, USA.

    He said: “You would recall that the court in Chicago had convicted Tinubu of drug and narcotics-related case to which he forfeited the sum of $460,000.

    “Our country is afflicted by opioids, and other drug-related cases, which have constituted a threat to our national security. Example is the recent interception of large volumes of cocaine by the NDLEA to which the nation is still awaiting a statement about not only the immediate individuals, who were arrested but the links and association of these individuals to any person no matter how highly placed he or she is in the society.

    “Recently even a spy cop (Abba Kari) was arrested and is being prosecuted for an allegation of drugs and narcotics. We call on the NDLEA to address the nation on the busted drugs and possible linkage.”

    Bwala recalled that the anti-graft agency is yet to furnish Nigerians with the outcome of its investigations into a petition written by a former Managing Director of Alpha Beta, a private tax collecting agency in Lagos.

    He said: “A few years ago, the former Managing Director of Alpha Beta lodged a petition at the EFCC against the former governor of Lagos state and now a presidential candidate of APC, Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu.

    “The petition involves massive corruption and misappropriation of funds belonging to the government of Lagos State, abuse of office, and conflict of interests.

    “The said petition raised issues bordering on a wide range of corruption allegations and we call on the EFCC to address the nation on their findings of the investigation which we believe is long overdue.”

    The PDP Campaign also called on authorities to probe Tinubu and his allies for allegedly setting up and funding a militia called “Jagaban Soldiers” and “Battalions” for the alleged purposes of executing his political agenda. He recalled an address by the APC candidate in London telling his foot soldiers that political power was to be snatched by all means.

    Keyamo constituting a threat to peaceful polls

    The PDP campaign charged President Muhammadu Buhari to take steps to prevent his appointee, the current Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo SAN, from constituting a threat to the peaceful conduct of next month’s polls.

    It accused Keyamo of using his cabinet position to intimidate and threaten government officials and political opponents in order to have his way.

    This Bwala said, “is even coming amidst the widespread allegation of corruption involving the minister and the 52 billion naira approved to his ministry for the empowerment of 774 LGA Nigerians.

    “The National Assembly had called for an investigation of how the project was executed and until now the issue has not been told to the Nigerian people.

    Threat to Buhari’s promised legacies

    “This singular conduct has brought the government of President Buhari to disrepute and threatened the legacy he said he will leave behind.

    “It is believed now that President Buhari who recently was reported as saying cabinet members should focus on governance and not be involved in the campaign has since made a U-turn and task on his cabinet members to influence the agencies of government in favour of APC.

    “Members of the opposition are reported to be increasingly invited by law enforcement agencies for one question or the other in order to weaken them.

    Urges Buhari to sack Keyamo

    “We call on the president to sack the Minister of State for Labour and Employment forthwith for using an official position funded by tax-payers money to interfere with the conduct of free, fair and credible elections.

    “We also call on the president to read the riot act to agents of the government from interfering with this election.

    “Any effort to intimidate opposition is an effort to interfere with the conduct of peaceful elections.”

    Keyamo mocks PDP, describes them as copycats

    Reacting, the Presidential Campaign Council PCC of the ruling All Progressives Congress APC, berated the PDP for calling on the NDLEA and EFCC to arrest and prosecute APC Presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu on charges of drug trafficking.

    Dismissing the PDP as copycats, Mr Festus Keyamo, Chief Spokesman of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, PCC, said Nigerians are more concerned now about #Atikugate and Special Purpose Vehicle, SPV.

    Tweeting on his verified Twitter handle: @fkeyamo, Keyamo said: “I’m laughing; these pdp fellows are pathetic. I was told they copied our style and all their spin doctors held a joint conference. Copycats! Nothing new. All old, unproven stories against @officialABAT. What is gripping the nation now is Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), #AtikuGate.”

    (Vanguard)

  • PDP calls on EFCC to investigate Alleged N1.3bn Fraud in Enugu APC

    PDP calls on EFCC to investigate Alleged N1.3bn Fraud in Enugu APC

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Enugu has called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to swing into action immediately to unravel the allegations N1.3 billion fraud levelled against the Chairman of the All Progressives Peoples Congress (APC) in Enugu State, Chief Ugochukwu Agballah, and the party’s governorship candidate, Chief Uche Nnaji, by members of the APC.

    PDP made the call on Tuesday at a press conference reacting to the protest by aggrieved members of the APC at the national secretariat of the the party under the aegis of Concerned Members of Enugu State APC on Monday.

    It is recalled that the aggrieved party members submitted a petition to the National Chairman APC, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, and also staged a protest against the duo of Agballah and Nnaji, accusing them of impunity, gross misconducts, incompetence, divisiveness, maladministration and embezzlement of party funds.

    Addressing newsmen, the Director of Communications and Spokesperson of the Enugu State PDP Campaign Council, Nana Ogbodo, while upbraiding Agballah for linking PDP to his travails and the crisis rocking Enugu APC, recalled that Enugu APC leaders such as former Senate President, Senator Ken Nnamani, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama; and former governor of Enugu State, Sullivan Chime had also led similar protest in 2022 calling for the removal of Agballah.

    “Ordinarily, the Enugu State PDP should have no business with the self-confessed fraud, embezzlement and impunity going on in the Enugu State chapter of the APC. Besides, the APC has never been a factor in elections in Enugu State

    “However, since we have, as usual, been dragged by the loquacious Ugcohukwu Agballah into a purely APC fight between angry and deprived APC members and a greedy and conceited party leadership, who has claimed that the protesters were sponsored by the PDP. This is not a fight between the PDP and the APC, we call on Ugochukwu Agballah to sue for defamation as he boasted. This this will probably afford his aggrieved party members the opportunity to further showcase his nakedness to the world.

    “Ironically, if anybody deserves to be sued for defamation over this matter, it is Agballah, who has defamed the Enugu PDP and its governorship candidate by dragging them into a matter that has absolutely nothing to do with them.

    “Importantly, we call on the EFCC to step in to investigate the weighty allegations of embezzlement of well over N1.3 billion boldly made against the duo of Chief Ugo Agballah and Chief Uche Nnaji by well-known APC party leaders”.

    Ogbodo advised the State Chairman of the APC to “go home and settle with his aggrieved party members and restitute whatever he has taken from them”.

    “The protest was led by well known APC members, including the pioneer deputy chairman of the Enugu APC Comrade Adolphus Ude, Dr. Mike Chukwu, Vincent Asogwa, among others and their grievances and allegations were clear.

    “They want immediate removal of Chief Ugochukwu Agballah as the chairman of the APC in Enugu State and the appointment of a Caretaker Chairman.

    “They want the party to compel Agballah and Uche Nnaji to immediately make available to the state’s delegates to the national convention and presidential primary election the allowances totalling about $1.5 million (about N1 billion) given to delegates by presidential aspirants.

    “They want them to immediately account for the N283m they got for expression of interest and nomination forms.

    “They want Agballah and Uche Nnaji to stop deceiving the Enugu electorate by parading Barr. George Ogara as the deputy governorship candidate of the APC when the real name on INEC website is Robert Ngwu”, Ogbodo concluded.

    (This Day)

  • PDP Chieftains describe BVAS as solution to rigging and a system that’ll curb election fraud

    PDP Chieftains describe BVAS as solution to rigging and a system that’ll curb election fraud

    Sen.Walid Jibrin, the Chairman, Atiku/Ombugadu Campaign Council in Nasarawa State, says the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) is a solution to election rigging in 2023.

    Jibrin, who is a former Chairman, BOT PDP, stated this during the party’s campaign in Akwanga Local Government Area of the state.

    He said that BVAS would curtail electoral fraud in the general elections which would make the electorate votes count.

    The chairman therefore urged electorate to vote Alhaji Atiku Abubakar as Nigeria’s president, Dr David Ombugadu as governor of Nasarawa State and all other PDP candidates in 2023.

    He said that Atiku would rescue Nigeria from its present numerous challenges.

    “A vote for Atiku/Okowa will rescue Nigeria from its present challenges and a vote for Ombugadu/Ohinoyi will bring speedy development across the state.

    “A vote for all of our PDP candidates will enable all of us enjoy the much needed dividends of democracy,” he said.

    Mr Labaran Maku, the Director-General of Atiku/Ombugadu Campaign Council in Nasarawa state, described Nasarawa North as a home of PDP while assuring that the zone will deliver Atiku, Ombugadu and all other PDP candidates come 2023.

    Maku, who hail from Akwanga zone and former Minister of Information, said that PDP would tackle insecurity and promote peace in the state and country at large, if voted.

    The director-general also urged those who are yet to collect their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) to do so in order to vote out APC government at the national and state levels.

    Sen. Suleiman Adoke and Alhaji Mohammed Jafar, former House of Representatives member representing Nasarawa/Toto Federal Constituency, also said that the BVAS would kick out APC government in 2023.

    They also urged the electorate to vote Atiku Abubakar for president, David Ombugadu as governor of the state and all other PDP flagbearers.

    On their parts, Chief Mike Abdul, former Deputy Governor of Nasarawa state, and Chief Jacob Ali, Nasarawa North PDP Zonal Chairman, assured PDP of massive votes in the state.

    They declared Akwanga zone as a PDP enclave.

    They urged the electorate to vote all PDP candidates in 2023 in order to enjoy positive dividends of democracy.

    Mr Francis Orogu, the state PDP Chairman, while presenting party flags to candidates of the party in the zone, said that PDP would tackle insecurity and improve on the standard of living of the people of the state, if given the mandate.

    “The time has come to change APC; it is high time to show APC the way out of power because APC has failed and still failing us.

    “Many have gone because of insecurity, hunger, poverty. It is time to tell APC good bye,” he said.

    Dr David Ombugadu, the PDP Governorship candidate in the state, promised to prioritise security, health, water, education and other infrastructure, if elected governor.

    Ombugadu urged the electorate to have confidence in PDP, pledging that the party will not fail the people.

    The PDP governorship flagbearer also promised to prioritise women and youths empowerment.

    (Vanguard)

  • I’m not troubled by plots of G-5 governors – Atiku

    I’m not troubled by plots of G-5 governors – Atiku

    Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has said he was not perturbed by plots of five aggrieved governors of the party, popularly known as G-5, to endorse presidential candidates of other political parties.

    He said power comes from God and he was confident that no man could arrogate to himself the powers that God alone has.

    This is as the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, said contrary to media reports, the opposition party was yet to take a decision on sanctioning the five governors for alleged anti-party activities.

    The G-5 governors, comprising Governors Nyesom Wike, Samuel Ortom, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, Okezie Ikpeazu and Seyi Makinde of Rivers, Benue, Enugu, Abia and Oyo states, respectively, alongside their supporters, have been on a warpath with the PDP leadership and Atiku, following the nomination of Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, as vice presidential candidate.

    The G-5 governors, who are also insisting on the replacement of PDP national chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, with a Southerner as condition for peace, have continued to stay away from the party’s presidential campaign, and other party activities, while several efforts to resolve the crisis have been unsuccessful.

    Earlier, in the week, there were reports that the aggrieved governors, had gone to London for a meeting, to adopt either the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi or Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress ( APC) for the 2023 poll.

    However, Atiku, who spoke through his Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, said any person boasting of having such powers to stop his presidential bid, should first make himself president.

    “Atiku will be president. Whether the cock crows or not, the sun must rise. Power belongs to God Almighty; no man can arrogate to himself the powers of God Almighty. Any man who can boast of stopping Atiku should first make himself president of Nigeria.”

    Shaibu told the reporter that Atiku would not be surprised by whatever action the G-5 governors decided to take.

    “Atiku is an elephant. Even when an elephant walks on thorns, it does not limp. And when you have seen a snake, it cannot bite you any more. In this case, we have seen the snake, how can we be taken by surprise?”

    Meanwhile, National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba told Daily Sun that all the talks of alleged plans to sanction the G-5 governors were in the realm of speculations.

    He said it would be premature to begin to guess what the reaction of the PDP would be on the alleged plan by the aggrieved governors to endorse the presidential candidates of other political parties.

    “I want to make it clear that this party will take appropriate action in line with its constitution as event unfolds. PDP is already campaigning. We are focused on the elections, we are determined to win. Nigerians are looking up to the PDP to provide the leadership they deserve, and to take it away from the monumental damage that the APC government has done to this country. And we are not going to be distracted by anyone from any quarters, whether from within or outside,” he said.

    He, however, said peace talks were still going on between the party and the aggrieved governors, expressing the optimism that the G-5 will realise that they have roles to play in PDP quest to rescue the country through the 2023 polls.

    “You will recall that the Governor of Rivers State, who was an aspirant for the presidential ticket declared publicly to the whole world at the convention ground that if anybody wins he would support that person and that if he wins he will expect that people will give him. I believe that he will keep his word. I am sure that he knows that history beckons on him and that his word should be his bond,” he said.

    (Sun)

  • Youths from Igbo-Eze South, Nike communities throw weight behind Ugwuanyi, Mbah, PDP

    Youths from Igbo-Eze South, Nike communities throw weight behind Ugwuanyi, Mbah, PDP

    As endorsements of Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State’s bid to represent Enugu North Senatorial District in the National Assembly on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) continue to gather momentum, youths of Igbo-Eze South Local Government Area of the state, under the umbrella of Great-16, have thrown their weight behind the governor and the PDP.

    The Great-16 comprising youths from the 16 electoral wards in Igbo-Eze South LGA also threw their weight behind the governorship candidate of the PDP in Enugu State, Barr. Peter Ndubuisi Mbah, his running mate, Barr. Ifeanyi Ossai, the PDP candidate for Nsukka/Igbo-Eze South Federal Constituency, Chief Engr. Vita Abba, the party’s candidate for Igbo-Eze South Constituency, Hon. Vitus Okechi, and all other candidates of the party.

    Similarly, the elated people of Nachi community in Udi LGA, Enugu West Senatorial District, during their ‘Thank-you’ and solidarity visit to Gov. Ugwuanyi at the weekend, equally declared their support for the PDP and its candidates in the forthcoming elections.

    They pledged to deliver all the candidates of the PDP at the polls, including galvanising and mobilising their friends and in-laws from Enugu North Senatorial District to vote for Gov. Ugwuanyi to represent the district at the Senate.

    Also on a ‘Thank-you’ and solidarity visit to Gov. Ugwuanyi at the weekend were the people of Mbulujodo Nike Autonomous Community led by their traditional ruler, HRH Igwe Gabriel N. Okoh and the State Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Engr. Greg Nnaji.

    They equally declared their unflinching support for the governor and pledged to vote overwhelmingly for all the candidates of the PDP in the forthcoming elections in the state including the party’s governorship candidate, Barr. Mbah, who hails from Owo, a neighbouring community in Nkanu East LGA.

    Led by the leader of Great-I6, Hon. Chimezie Darlington Mama, on a solidarity visit to the governor at the Government House, Enugu, the Igbo-Eze South youths said they are “people in charge of local government, wards, and down to the polling units.”

    Disclosing that the Great-16 is an extension of Enugu State Youth Parliament, Igbo-Eze South LGA Chapter, Hon. Mama added that “it has been long we have been existing, we have been operating and we have been delivering at the grassroots.”

    The group’s leader commended Gov. Ugwuanyi for accommodating and empowering the youth in his administration, stressing that the feat is unprecedented in the annals of Enugu State.

    Hon. Mama also applauded the governor for the peace and good governance his administration has entrenched in the state as well as his humble disposition. He said: “We have tried to learn that from you (Ugwuanyi) but it seems very difficult.”

    Corroborating Mama’s remarks, Ikenna Ugwuanyi emphasised the vital role of the youth in the forthcoming elections and assured Gov. Ugwuanyi that they have already compiled facts and figures of his administration’s remarkable achievements and deployed other genuine strategies that would “attract young persons to vote for you and the PDP.”

    Expressing profound gratitude to Gov. Ugwunayi for the establishment of the State University of Medical and Applied Sciences (SUMAS), Igbo-Eno, Enugu State, another speaker, Hon. Valentine Udoka Eze, pointed out that Igbo-Eze South LGA as one of the host communities of the medical university stands to benefit immensely from the milestone achievement.

    “Your Excellency, you have done noble in terms of education, infrastructure, peace and security, among others. The best graduating students are from Enugu State in both JAMB and WAEC, among other feats. It is courtesy of what you have done in the education sector. So we are thankful to you for that. The Federal Polytechnic, Ohodo, is in the land of Nsukka among many other achievements. So, we say thank you very much, Your Excellency,” he added.

    Presenting the address by the people of Nachi community, the President General of Nachi Development Union (NDU), Dr. Chukwuma Ogugua Orji, explained that they came to thank Gov. Ugwuanyi for giving them a sense of belonging after decades of neglect by previous administrations.

    Thanking Gov. Ugwuanyi for appointing their illustrious son, Engr. Kene Eze, as the Transition Committee Chairman of Udi LGA, which he served out meritoriously, Dr. Orji told the governor that “you broke that yoke of abusive neglect of Nachi community” by that singular act for “it is a known fact that since the return of democracy in 1999, no son or daughter of Nachi had occupied any elective or appointive position in Enugu State.”

    The Nachi people went further to appreciate the governor for the selection and subsequent recognition of their Traditional Ruler, HRH Igwe Cosmas Chizoba Ezeumeh, stating that “this also wouldn’t have been possible without your kind considerations.”

    Also lauding Gov. Ugwuanyi for Enugu’s enviable status as one of the peaceful and safest states in the country, the people of Nachi pledged their unalloyed solidarity, support and loyalty to the governor and his exemplary leadership, stressing: “We pledge to continually pray for you and support your leadership; we shall equally transfer same support to all the PDP candidates in the forthcoming elections in the state.”

    Also lending their voices, the Chairman of Udi LGA, Hon. Philip Okoh and the former Transition Committee Chairman of the council, Engr. Eze paid glowing tribute to Gov. Ugwuanyi for being a role model for others to emulate and reassured him of the determination and resolve of the people of Nachi to vote massively for the PDP in 2023, stressing that the community has been delivering the PDP 100 percent since 1999.

    On their part, the people of Mbulujodo Nike Autonomous Community expressed sincere gratitude to Gov. Ugwuanyi for the appointment of their illustrious son, Engr. Nnaji as a member of his cabinet since the inception of his administration in 2015, the election and subsequent recognition of HRH Igwe Okoh as the traditional ruler of the community as well as the leadership role the governor played in the emergence of Barr. Mbah as the PDP governorship candidate in the state.

    They said that their people are delighted at the choice of Barr. Mbah because of his sound track record in both private and public dealings as well as the inherent benefits attached to the brotherhood they share with his community as neighbours.

    Reiterating their support for Gov. Ugwuanyi, Barr. Mbah and all other candidates of the PDP, the people maintained that “Mbulujodo is PDP, we will vote for the PDP all the way.”

    (Vanguard)

  • INEC gov list: Litigation kicks out 14 candidates from APC, PDP, LP

    INEC gov list: Litigation kicks out 14 candidates from APC, PDP, LP

    The Independent National Electoral Commission has released the final list of candidates that will contest the governorship and houses of assembly election in 28 states of the federation in the 2023 elections.

    In a statement signed on Wednesday by the National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, the list contained 18 political parties that fielded 837 candidates and their running mates for the 28 governorship elections.

    Also, the statement indicated that 10,231 candidates would vie for 993 seats in the state assembly elections.

    The list also included the names of the running mates to the governorship candidates from the 18 political parties billed to participate in the poll.

    Findings by The report indicate that no fewer than 14 candidates in 12 states have been knocked off the INEC list on account of the litigation and controversies that dogged the parties’ primary elections.

    This is against the backdrop of ongoing litigations in Ebonyi, Akwa-Ibom, Enugu, Rivers, Ogun and four other states.

    According to the elections timetable for the 2023 general elections, the governorship and state houses of assembly elections will take place on March 11, 2023.

    But the poll will not be held in Anambra, Bayelsa, Edo, Ekiti, Imo, Kogi, Ondo and Osun states which are no longer part of the general elections circle.

    Those cleared for the governorship race include; Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Seyi Makinde of Oyo State; Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun; Ovie Omo-Agege of Delta State and 833 others.

    In Delta, Omo-Agege of APC would be competing with the state House of Assembly Speaker, Sheriff Oborevwori of the Peoples Democratic Party; Great Ogboru of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, and Kenneth Gbagi of the Social Democratic Party.

    Also cleared for the governorship are former Minister of State for Education; Agbi Goodnews Goodman of NNPP; Ogba Emmanuel Samuel of ADP; Ekure Efeoghene Shedrack of ADC; Gwede Jerkins Giane of AA; and America Emmanuel of NRM.

    Checks showed that the All Progressives Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party will not field governorship candidates in Akwa Ibom and Ogun states respectively.

    In addition, the All Progressives Grand Alliance, Booth Party, Labour Party, Young Peoples Party and Zenith Labour Party will also not contest in Ogun State as they have no candidates.

    The APC candidate in Akwa Ibom State, Akanimo Udofia, was missing from the list following the crisis in the state chapter of the party and the refusal of INEC to monitor the primary which produced him. It, therefore, rejected his candidacy in line with the Electoral Act 2022.

    At least four suits had been filed against the Ogun State governorship candidate of the PDP, Ladi Adebutu.

    Two of the suits were filed by former aspirants – Segun Showunmi and Jimi Lawal, while three PDP members – Taiwo Olabode Idris, Kehinde Akala and Alhaji Ayinde Monsuru, also filed another suit challenging the delegates’ list used in the conduct of the party primaries.

    Last Tuesday, a Federal High court sitting in Abeokuta, nullified all the primaries conducted by the PDP in the state.

    The court also barred INEC from recognising Adebutu as the governorship candidate of the party in the state. Reports said Adebutu had filed an appeal against the Federal Court judgment.

    In Gombe State, the Peoples Redemption, Young People’s Party, and All Progressives Grand Alliance had no governorship candidates as the space for them was blank.

    In Jigawa, the African Action Congress, Allied Peoples Movement, Action Peoples Party and the Zenith Labour Party had no candidates.

    Similarly in Kaduna State, the AAC, Booth Party and ZLP will not field governorship candidates while the AAC, APP, APM and APGA would also not participate in the governorship poll.

    Further checks also confirmed that the AAC, APP, APM, YPP and APGA have no governorship candidates in Katsina.

    Also, the AAC, APGA and New Nigeria Peoples Party will not contest in the Kebbi governorship election.

    According to the INEC list, APGA, BP and NRM will not feature in Kwara State.

    The ZLP will not contest in the Oyo governorship poll while the PRP does not have a candidate in Rivers State.

    Only the Accord Party has no governorship candidate in Sokoto; however, the party will also be missing on the ballot in Yobe alongside AAC, APGA, BP, NRM, PRP and ZLP.

    Abia State has 18 governorship candidates cleared by the Commission. They include Ikechi Emenike of APC; Eleazar Ikonne of PDP; Alex Otti of LP; Enyinnaya Nwafor of YPP, Bishop Onuoha of ADC, and Greg Ibe of APGA.

    No fewer than 16 parties are contesting the governorship election in Lagos. Besides Governor Sanwo-Olu of the APC, others are Abdulazeez Adediran of the PDP; and Funso Doherty of the African Democratic Congress.

    Other parties contesting for the governorship of the state include Accord Party with Dickson Olaogun as a candidate; Balogun Abdulrazaq, AA; Layiwola Olajide, AAC; Bamidele Ishola, ADP; Kupoliyi Funmilayo, APM; Adeyemi Roseline, APP; Oluwo Wasiu. BP; Jim-Kamal Olalekan, NNPP; Braithwaite Ishola, NRM and others.

    In Kaduna State, the APC, PDP, and NNPP governorship candidates; Uba Sani, Isa Ashiru, and Suleiman Hunkuyi made the list.

    However, the candidate of LP, Jonathan Asake, was missing as Alhaji UmaruIbrahim was recognised as the party’s governorship candidate.

    In Kano, Shaaban Sharada made the list for ADP; Aishatu Mahmud for NRM, Nasiru Gawuna for APC, and Abba Yusuf for NNPP.

    In Ebonyi State, Francis Nwifuru, Speaker of the Ebonyi House of Assembly and APC candidate and Bernard Odoh, a former Secretary to State Government of APGA made the list.

    Also, Ifeanyichukwuma Odii of PDP, Edward Nkwegu of LP, Chukwuma Nwandugo of AA, Sunday Opoke of YPP and Anthony Usulor of NRM were among those that made the governorship list, as well.

    In Ogun, some of the candidates listed by INEC include Governor Dapo Abiodun of the APC; Biyi Otegbeye, ADC; Ojeshina Olawunmi for SDP; Ogunronbi Oludayo for NRM; and Oguntoyinbo Femi Ajadi for NNPP.

    In Plateau, Goshwe Yilwatda of APC, Abashe Nwakpak of APGA, Dakum Sunday of LP, Abdullahi Ango of NNPP, Mutfwang Manasseh of PDP; Binchak Pony of SDP; and Gontori Butdangman of YPP were among candidates cleared for the governorship race.

    In Rivers State, INEC cleared 16 governorship candidates. Among those cleared are Similanayi Fubara of PDP, Tonye Cole of APC, Magnus Abe of SDP, Dumo Lulu-Briggs of Accord Party and Dr Dawari George of African Alliance.

    Senator Magnus Abe of the Social Democratic Party and Dr. Dawaro George of the Action Alliance, both of whom are former aspirants of the All Progressives Congress for the 2023 governorship election in the state, made the list.

    Abe and George secured the ticket of the SDP and AA respectively through substitution primaries.

    Meanwhile, the duo are still facing litigation from aggrieved party members who are faulting their emergence.

    Also intact on the INEC list are top contenders and governorship candidates of the Peoples’ Democratic Party, Siminialaye Fubara, and his counterpart in the All Progressives Congress, Tonye Cole, and Chief Dumo Lulu-Briggs of the Accord Party.

    Meanwhile, in Enugu State, 17 parties will contest in the 2023 governorship poll in the state.

    Notable among the parties and their candidates is the governorship candidate of the Labour Party, Chijioke Edeoga. This may have put to rest the confusion over the authentic candidate of the party in the state, following Capt Evarest Nnaji’s insistence that he is the candidate of the party.

    Edeoga however has some hurdles to cross, as the Federal High Court in Abuja has continued the hearing on the case instituted by Nnaji challenging his exclusion from the repeat primary election that produced Edeoga as the candidate.

    In the list Edeoga’s name appeared as number 19, with his running mate, Dr. John Nwokeabia.

    Speaking on the list, Okoye in the statement said, ‘’The publication of the full names of candidates standing nominated for state elections follows the political parties’ conduct of primaries and completion of the nomination exercise.

    ’’It will be recalled that at the end of the process, political parties that conducted valid primaries uploaded the list and personal particulars of all nominated candidates to the Commission’s candidate nomination portal and the subsequent display in their constituencies nationwide as provided by Section 29(3) of the Electoral Act.’

    “Subsequently, validly nominated candidates had the opportunity to voluntarily withdraw their candidature by notice in writing and personally delivered such notice to the political party that nominated them for the election. Thereafter, political parties substituted such candidates under section 31 of the Electoral Act for which the last day was 12th August 2022 for State Elections as clearly provided in item 6 of the Commission’s Timetable and Schedule of Activities.

    “Thereafter, no withdrawal or substitution of candidates is allowed except in the event of death as provided in section 34(1) of the Electoral Act or under an order of a Court of competent jurisdiction.’’

    The National Publicity Chairman of the Labour Party, Abayomi Arabambi, explained that six of the party’s candidates in Ogun, Bayelsa and four other states were affected as a result of a glitch on the INEC portal.

    “It was because the INEC portal crashed. The volume of the information and images on the site was too enormous. People are supposed to do physical submissions instead of the forms they are passing to parties to fill, which is not even in the Electoral Act. This was even the reason we went to court in the first place,” he said.

    He, however, expressed confidence that INEC would soon upload their names and profiles.

    The APC National Publicity, Felix Morka could not be reached for comment on the absence of the party’s governorship candidate in Akwa Ibom State.

    Commenting, the PDP Legal Adviser, Kamaludeen Ajibade SN, observed that INEC would not list a candidate where there is litigation, adding that the party has appealed the judgment concerning its party in Ogun State.

    Meanwhile, commenting on the litigation over the party primaries in some states, Chief Mike Ozekhome SAN, said, “I don’t think court intervention will in any way truncate the fielding of candidates for the next election by political parties.

    “We have seen this again and again. We have passed this route before. It’s a well beaten path. It is not a new route that is being taken. That is why, I said we are not practicing democracy. We are practicing electionocracy.

    “Now, why I said this may not be of much worry is that under the Constitution there is up 180 days to commence and finish all election petition-related matters.”

    Adebayo Folorunsho-Francis, Dirisu Yakubu, Gift Habib, El-ameen Ibrahim, Damilola Aina, Lilian Ukagwu, Nathaniel Shaibu, Esther Blankson, Dennis Naku and Raphael Ede

    (Punch)

  • APC, PDP, LP battle as rating poll favours Peter Obi

    APC, PDP, LP battle as rating poll favours Peter Obi

    The All Progressives Congress (APC), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the African Action Congress (AAC) and New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) have drawn their daggers over the recent poll which favoured Mr. Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP) to win the 2023 presidential election.

    The survey conducted by the ANAP Foundation placed Obi ahead with 21 per cent while Bola Tinubu and Atiku Abubakar, came joint second with 13 per cent each and Rabiu Kwankwaso a distant third with three per cent.

    Reacting, the Atiku Campaign Organisation (ACO) claimed the polls were conjured by Obi while Tinubu’s camp dismissed it as dubious.

    The candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, alleged that the involvement of founding father of ANAP Basis, Atedo Peterside, rendered it biased.

    In his facebook page, Sowore said: “@AtedoPeterside shouldn’t be conducting opinion polls. He lacks the credibility to conduct any polls.

    “He’s @PeterObi’s campaign mgr. That is like Lagos NURTW/@Mcoluomo9 conducting a ballot that states that @officialABAT would win the 2023 presidential election. Cease rigging polls!”

    Speaking for ACO, Daniel Bwala said: “Funny, polls are assessed by sample size and margin of errors. The Peter Obi surrogate polling company conjures something to inflate his ego and confuse voters into thinking cyber space translates to physical space. 419 pollsters.”

    On its part, the APC Presidential Campaign Council, in a statement by its Director of Media and Publicity, Bayo Onanuga, said the poll was dubious, made up of unreliable statistics, wild and incredible permutations. He asserted that APC and its presidential flag bearer were not bothered.

    The statement read: “We are unperturbed by these dubious and unreliable statistics because our research shows that NOI Polls have been off the mark at critical election periods in recent times.

    “For example, preparatory to the March 2015 presidential elections, NOI published in October 2014 the results of a ‘Viability Poll’ which used the concepts of familiarity and net favourability position to survey. In the results, NOI claimed that President Goodluck Jonathan has the best overall familiarity rating at 99 per cent and net favourability probability of ±25.

    “By contrast, NOI dismissed the then APC candidate, Muhammadu Buhari as a “borderline candidate” who needed “huge public relations” to shore up his performance.

    “But when the Nigerian people went to the polls, who won? The APC candidate and now President, Muhammadu Buhari. This is not the only instance when the NOI has turned its political bias in an election period to fraudulent statistics.

    “Towards the 2019 presidential elections, and knowing fully that President Buhari was going for re-election for a second term in office, the NOI pollsters embarked on another abracadabra. In June 2017, they issued the results of another poll, that Nigerians prefer a middle-aged president claiming that this poll was inspired by the election of Macron as the president of France and the campaign of the Not Too Young To Run.”

    “According to the predictable bias, NOI claimed that 64 per cent said they would prefer to vote for a presidential candidate between the ages of 40 and 50 years and 15 per cent preferred candidates between 51 and 60.

    “In short, for a presidential candidate in his 70s running for re-election, NOI results meant certain defeat. But when the Nigerian people went to the polls on February 23, 2019, the man the NOI polls had tried to bully with statistics out of the race won again.

    “It is significant that at the time NOI was generating unrealistic figures to boost the ego of President Jonathan, a more serious and independent team of pollsters – Neo-Telligence based in the United Kingdom used geo-demographics and public sentiment analysis to forecast the emergence of President Buhari.

    “By contrast, their empirical analysis showed that two years before the 2015 presidential elections, Goodluck Jonathan’s public approval rating on corruption, insecurity and the economy had nosedived across most of the battleground states.”

    Onanuga described NOI Polls as an anti-APC research organisation, stressing that it had chosen Obi as its preferred candidate and has decided to use fake, dubious statistics to package him to the Nigerian voters.

    “Our party is putting every necessary machinery in motion to win the federal elections with a margin that will be too wide to contest. Our candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu recorded the highest votes of a senator across the country under the Social Democratic Party in July 1992. He will do it on a nationwide scale on February 25, 2023.”

    The Campaign Council of NNPP said the projections in the poll were self-seeking, self-serving, misleading, inaccurate and laced with partisanship.

    Its spokesperson, Mr. Ladipo Johnson, impunged the sampling methods of the data collection and described the projection as bogus and misleading.

    “I would take it with a pinch of salt. This is a known template. In this season, we should expect many more dubious sounding opinions, polls etc.

    “Unfortunately there are many who for parochial reasons are drawing back the development of our democracy, due to various propaganda tricks.”

    According to him, the data purportedly relied upon did not go far enough in an empirical manner to show the ethnic and religious backgrounds of those polled.

    He added that there was no indication as to whether those polled were artisans, educated or non educated , professional or non professional Nigerians among others.

    “The poll is to say the least bogus and an attempt to create the impression that the LP candidate has the potential to succeed when in actual fact, the reality on ground is totally different. This is similar to a misleading poll they conducted before the Ekiti election,” he said.

    According to him, in any event, the poll will succeed in giving their supporters temporary euphoria.

    Notwithstanding, the harsh reactions, national chairman of LP, Julius Abure and publicity secretary, Arabambi Abayomi applauded the poll.

    According to Abayomi, if a poll conducted by an independent body declared that Nigerians wanted a change through Obi, it is a good omen, and it signifies an end to an inglorious era of both APC and PDP who have held Nigeria to ransom for the past 24 to 25 years.

    In his reaction, Abure said: “PDP and APC’s time is up. Nigerians have made up their mind to do away with them. The mood of the people is very clear and the reason for this are not far-fetched, the government of PDP and APC have been impoverishing the people. People are hungry with poverty in the land. As we speak, inflation rate is 19.5 percent out. No fewer than 100 million are living below the poverty line. So, what kind of country is this when you cannot travel from Abuja to Benin or from Abuja to Kaduna.

    “The insecurity in the country is ravaging every person in the country, the rural dwellers who used to live on substituent farming can no longer go to farm and fishermen can no longer fish in the water. But it’s good for them to continue to deny it and undermine us.

    “I agree entirely with the report because it captures the mood of the people. Let them continue to deceive themselves. If they are saying it is not correct let us wait and see what happens in 2023.”

    Meanwhile, the Action Alliance (AA) has dissociated itself from the allegation made against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the APC by the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) that the electoral umpire has perfected plans to rig the 2023 general election in favour of the APC.

    The CUPP had at a press conference raised the alarm that INEC and APC are making moves to rig the election.

    At the press conference, one Kenneth Udeze represented the AA.

    But in its reaction, the party described Udeze as a frustrated politician who is seeking for relevance, having being expelled from the party.

    (Sun)

  • Wike fumes as Ayu survives NEC sack

    Wike fumes as Ayu survives NEC sack

    The ding-dong in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) continued, yesterday, as Governor Nyesom Wike maintained his hard stance despite a confidence vote in Senator Iyorchia Ayu by the National Executive Committee (NEC) at a meeting attended by only six of the party’s 13 governors.

    Not even the decision by Walid Jibrin to step down as chairman of Board of Trustees (BoT) could pacify the Rivers governor, who insisted that it is either Ayu goes or no deal. He described Jibrin’s resignation as a charade and vowed to continue the fight for the right thing to be done in the PDP.

    The party has been immersed in crisis since the election of Atiku Abubakar and Ifeanyi Okowa as presidential and vice presidential candidates respectively.

    The Wike group has continued to insist on Ayu’s  replacement to achieve a North/ South in the PDP while Ayu, who is backed by some Northern leaders,  has said repeatedly that he would not quit.

    Tension heightened in the party, on Wednesday, ahead of NEC meeting, which was expected to take a decision on Ayu’s fate, as 15 members of the NWC, majorly from the South had moved a vote of no confidence. However, at yesterday’s NEC meeting, Minority Leader, House of Representatives, Ndudi Elumelu, moved a motion for a vote of confidence in the Ayu-led NWC. The motion was seconded by a NEC member from Kwara State, Balogun Ishola Fulani.

    When the acting BoT chairman, Senator Adolphus Wabara, called for a counter motion, some of those present shouted “them no come.”

    Speaking after the confidence vote was passed in the NWC, Atiku said the PDP would resolve its crisis and win the 2023 elections. “Family disagreements are normal. We are determined to resolve those internal disagreements. Disagreement should be removed within the party’s constitution and the rules guiding the party.”

    •No compromise

    Governor Wike has insisted that Ayu must step down as chairman, notwithstanding the resignation of Jibrin as BoT chairman. Jibrin had said he decided to quit because he wanted Atiku to win the 2023 general elections. He noted that if PDP wins the presidential poll, he would be given a bigger position.

    “All we want to make sure is that Atiku becomes the president of Nigeria by all means.  That is why I decided that me Senator Walid Jibrin,  I am stepping down from the BoT. And I  discussed this with the candidate and the candidate agrees with me. If the party wins I will be given a bigger position.”

    Reacting to Jibrin’s resignation, Wike said: “Who is talking about that? Do you want me to accept that the candidate and the chairman should come from the same place? I asked them to tell me the truth and they said no. I don’t like people when you are talking they will say ‘interest of Nigerians’. Who defines the interest of Nigerians, you? You that refused to obey the constitution of their party, are you speaking in the interest of Nigerians? This fight we will fight it to the end,”  he said.

    According to Wike, the issue at hand is that of justice and fairness. He said having produced the presidential candidate of the party, the north should not also hold on to the chairmanship of the party.

    “Some of you don’t know what is happening. You are being deceived; they are telling you Wike is causing problem. Wike is not causing problem; Wike is bringing peace to the country. Wike is advocating for justice, Wike is advocating for equity, and Wike is advocating for fairness.

    “We have finished with presidential primary. It is over and it is over. So, when people say, ‘You want to destroy the party because you didn’t win the primary’, I think they are sick, they have some mental problem.”

    He vowed to sustain the fight for a return to healthy party structure that would allow for an even representation of the interest of the north and south in the national leadership of the party.

    He spoke at the inauguration of the Ahoada campus of the Rivers State University and flag-off of staff quarters performed by Governor Makinde, yesterday.

    •Atiku told me Ayu must go

    He noted that the current hierarchy of the PDP did not give room for the interest of the south, particularly  when decisions are to be taken.  According to him, the resignation of the BoT  chairman is a distraction  because the PDP’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, had told him that the national chairman of the party, Dr. Iyorchia Ayu must relinquish his position.

    “Ayu said if the presidential candidate comes from the north, that he will resign after the convention of our party, and that the chairman of our party will come from the south. When the north central leaders met in the house Bala Mohammed, governor of Bauchi State, he said so there. When he met the caucus of the Senate, he told them that.

    “Now, when we finished our convention on Sunday, the candidate of the party came to see me in my house in Abuja on Monday around 10:30 am. The candidate told me I want us to work together, and then he said, look Ayu must go. I said why? He said because when a candidate comes from the north, the chairman will come from the south.”

    •Demand not due to presidential ticket loss

    Governor Wike challenged the presidential candidate to deny the comment and be ready to hear many other things that had transpired between them relating to the current crisis.

    “And I’m saying implement what you told me. What offence have I committed? It is nothing to do with Wike. It has to do with integrity. This is what he told me. I challenge the presidential candidate to deny this. If he denies it, I will go further to say so many things to Nigerians because enough is enough. We can’t continue this way.”

    •Jibrin non-issue

    “One ex-general went to see the BoT chairman and the candidate too went to see him to resign that we’ll give you advisory position. The BoT position is already advisory. What advisory position are going to give him? That is to insult us. And all of us are here. Our people are there not knowing what is happening. You think it’s Wike. It is you. It is your children. How can we be here the chairman and presidential candidate will meet, they will take a decision, nobody represents us. Just wait, pray let them win then you will see.”

    •Presidential figure backing Atiku, PDP

    The governor accused some vested interest in the PDP of being arrogant because they are being backed by someone in the presidency. He, however, warned those haughty individuals to also bear in the mind that an APC presidential aspirant the person they are relying on backed, failed to clinch his party’s ticket.

    “Why are they being so arrogant? I can tell you they are arrogant because they believe somebody in the presidency is backing them. But, what they don’t understand is the same person in the presidency backed somebody as APC presidential aspirant and the person failed. I will tell Nigerians at the appropriate time who the person is in the presidency that is backing them.”

    •I’m not causing troble

    He stressed that he was not causing any problem in the country. Rather, he was advocating that the right must be done.

    “Some of you don’t know what is happening in the country. You are being deceived they tell you Wike is causing problem. Wike is not causing problem. Wike is bringing peace to the country. Wike is advocating for justice. Wike is advocating for equity. Wike is advocating for fairness. Those of you who do not understand, how party functions, let me educate you.

    “We have finished the presidential primary. It is over and it is over. Some people said you want to destroy the party because you didn’t win the primary. I think you are sick. They have some mental problem. We have done with the presidential primaries and it is over.

    •Tackles Babangida

    He taunted Aliyu Babangida for going to the media to say that somebody was destroying the party because he didn’t win the presidential primary.

    “What an insult. This is the same man, who came out on television and said they, governors from the North, agreed to fail Jonathan in 2015 because they it was the turn of the North.

    “The same man (Aliyu) said they agreed to make sure PDP failed the election because they felt it was their own turn to produce the president. That was what he said. That is the man saying I want to destroy the party because I didn’t win the primary.

    “For Christ sake, in a contest, there must be a winner and a loser. I have no regret. We contested the election very well. And we’re not ashamed. If Aliyu was important, he should have come and pick form, let us deal with him.

    “As a serving governor, he couldn’t win senatorial election. You could imagine me going to pick senatorial election and do not win the election. That means something is fundamentally wrong with me. That means I have never performed as a serving governor. That is a vote of no confidence. Governor bye-bye; you didn’t do well.

    “And that is the man PDP is bringing to the television to campaign for PDP. Ask him, when he was a governor, what was his legacy project? How many people from this country came to commission project. Ask him.

    “So, you should ask, if I have come here today to campaign for our party, people will ask, you that are campaigning, what have you done in your state as a governor? As Aliyu Babangida, show me your report card when you were governor of Niger State.

    “I have been to Niger State, and I asked people, when this man was governor show me what he has done. Nothing. That is the man that would come to national television to tell Nigerians who to vote for. So, how can you recommend us who to vote, while when you were there, you could not perform?

    “That is not the issue. Today, I told Nigerians before that at the appropriate time, I’m going to speak. But, now that things are coming out, let me revealing to you small small, so that you people will know the kind of country we are in and you ask yourself question, am I part of this country?

    “We are talking about how you said, if the presidential candidate comes from the North, you will resign. And by the convention of our party, the national chairman of the will come from the South. When the North Central met, he said that in the house of Bala Mohammed, governor of Bauchi State. When he met the caucus of the Senate, he told them that.

    (Sun)

  • ANALYSIS: An opposition within the opposition? How PDP might derail its ambition

    ANALYSIS: An opposition within the opposition? How PDP might derail its ambition

    ANALYSIS: An opposition within the opposition? How PDP might derail its ambition

    The fallout from the presidential primaries of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which culminated in the victory of Atiku Abubakar as the party’s flagbearer in the 2023 elections has led to a series of events akin to a blockbuster Nollywood movie.

    Despite the reported majority support of the PDP screening committee over the choice of Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, as the party’s Vice-Presidential candidate, Atiku, in his wisdom, decided to jettison this mandate by going for Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State.

    This led to the hitherto-combustible Wike turning into something of a recluse — which has caused unease amongst crucial stakeholders within the party who are worried over the present allegiance of the Rivers Governor.

    Further worry was etched into the foreheads of party heads when Wike issued a statement after the outcome of the party’s primaries; this was before Atiku’s eventual choice of Okowa as his running mate.

    Nyesom Wike, on Monday, May 30, accused some southerners of working against the zone getting the presidential ticket of the party, while addressing supporters in Port-Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.

    Wike made references to betrayal, conspiracy, and people who cannot keep to agreements, but he didn’t mention any name in particular.

    “As far as I am concerned, there is nothing to worry about. I contested election based on principle and agreement with all the southern governors and the leaders of the south that the presidency should go to the south this period,” he said.

    “We have done our own part and we never betrayed anybody, because it is not in our blood to betray. But it’s a shame to those people. Some of the governors from the south are the people they used to sabotage our interest. However, we have shown them that we are not like them. We have the capacity to do whatever is good for us.

    “I don’t want to talk about some other people who cannot even win election in their own places. I’ve told them that this election, whoever emerges, I will support, and I am not going to go back,” the Rivers State Governor said.

    ‘Undemocratic’ Atiku

    Samuel Ortom, the Governor of Benue State, further added to the malcontent by berating Atiku for ignoring democratic precepts with his choice of Okowa as a running mate.

    During an interview with AriseTV on Thursday, June 30, Ortom disclosed that the majority within the party ranks advocated and voted for Wike to be the party’s vice-presidential candidate.

    “Some of us believe Wike has the capacity to lead this country. Unfortunately, the PDP did not give him the opportunity and we further advocated that he should be the running mate. But Okowa was chosen and I expect him to reach out to Wike.

    “14 out of 17 committee members chose Wike which is not fair. But if we are in a democratic era and Atiku decided to give it to Okowa, more explanation is needed in order for us to work as a party. He ought to be consulted before the running mate announcement was made,” the Governor railed against Atiku’s decision.

    Nonetheless, in order to curtail a snowballing of events, Walid Jibrin, chairman of the board of trustees (BoT) of the PDP stated that the party would do whatever it takes to ensure Nyesom Wike doesn’t defect.

    Jibrin said this on Monday, June 28, while addressing journalists in Kaduna.

    Speaking on efforts to ensure that the party remains united ahead of the 2023 elections, Jibrin said a reconciliation committee will be constituted to visit the Rivers governor.

    This decision by Atiku might be akin to a fait accompli, with Ortom being insistent that Atiku botched the entire process by disregarding Wike.

    In the same AriseTV interview, the Benue Governor said that Atiku ought to have reached out to Governor Wike before announcing his running mate for the 2023 election.

    Governor Ortom said the choice only became a problem because Atiku asked stakeholders to deliberate and decide who his VP would be and then went on to choose another against the will of the stalwarts in whose hands he had earlier entrusted the task.

    He went on to say that the development would not have caused any bad-blood, seeing that ultimately the choice was Atiku’s; nevertheless, the PDP Presidential candidate ought to have reached out to those who are aggrieved over the selection, a move which he is yet to make.

    “All that was needed even before the pronouncement, after we did our recommendation, Wike would have been reached out to, he is a human being.

    “This is a man who has built the party today in PDP he has fought all night and all day to see that this party remains together. So, he would have been reached out to, to say that this is the decision we are taking and this is the reason we are taking this decision, and I think he would have understood,” Ortom explained.

    Atiku, in a move to appeal disgruntled stakeholders, said the party was doing its utmost to put its house in order ahead of the 2023 general elections.

    In a post on his official social media handles, on Thursday, June 31, he said he alongside the party leadership was working to address the feelings of all party members.

    “The Peoples Democratic Party will remain united. Focus on our actions. We are taking action to address the feelings of all party members. The unity in our community is my priority. Our resolve to unify Nigeria starts in our party and moves to the community, then on to society”.

    Even with the reconciliatory moves being put in place, rumors have emerged that opposition figures have reached out to Wike by capitalizing on his seeming grieve to persuade him to dump the PDP. This has caused more unease within the major opposition political party which is battling to keep its house in order ahead of the next general elections.

    Whether the reconciliatory moves embarked upon by the party would be enough to unify its ranks remains to be seen, but the major opposition party has a huge job on its hands quelling the opposition from within. And it has to do this in good time before the elections if it hopes to achieve its dream of displacing the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) from power.

    (Ripples)

  • PDP sets up panel to ‘beg’ Wike

    PDP sets up panel to ‘beg’ Wike

    The loyalists of Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, have listed conditions for the resolution of the crisis in the Peoples Democratic Party.

    Supporters of the governor, in separate interviews with The PUNCH on Sunday, said it was not late for the PDP’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, to revisit the issue of his running mate by dropping the Delta State Governor, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, whom he picked last month.

    As the crisis over Atiku’s running mate worsened, the Chairman of the PDP’s Board of Trustees, Senator Walid Jibrin, said the party had set up a nine-member committee to beg Wike.

    Sequel to his victory at the PDP convention, where he beat Wike and other contenders to the presidential ticket, Atiku had nominated Okowa as his running mate, despite the recommendation of Wike by a 17-man committee set up by the party.

    Certain chieftains of the party, including the Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, ex-Plateau State Governor, Jonah Jang and others, had criticised the choice of Okowa as the party’s vice-presidential candidate.

    There were reports on Friday that Wike snubbed a former Minister of Police Affairs and ally of Atiku, Adamu Waziri, who attempted to initiate a peace talk with him in Turkey.

    The party, also on Sunday, raised another panel headed by Atiku, to pacify the aggrieved Governor and prevail on him not to leave the party.

    Some members of the House of Representatives loyal to Wike contended that the PDP was bound to fail with its choice of Okowa as the running mate.

    The PDP lawmakers, in separate interviews with The PUNCH on Sunday, also took a swipe at the National Chairman of the PDP, Senator Iyorchia Ayu, criticising his role in the crisis that has followed the presidential primary of the opposition party.

    When asked if the party should substitute Okowa with Wike, a member of the House from Kogi State, Teejay Yusuf, said it was possible if the presidential candidate could see the value the Rivers governor would add to the PDP ticket.

    He said, “That will be the choice of the candidate. It would be his prerogative to do that. It is not for me to suggest that to him. If he sees that Wike will add more value to the ticket and say ‘with the way it is, I can manage the ripple effect of taking Okowa out,’ why not, if not?”

    “Okowa is a PDP governor but nobody can deny the fact that Wike has the will and the capacity to make this party stand on its feet.”

    The lawmaker, however, dismissed the possibility of Wike, who he described as “a party man,” dumping the PDP for another party or working with another party or presidential candidate through the backdoor.

    But he cautioned that the governor’s loyalty should not be abused.

    The lawmaker also condemned Ayu for allegedly taking sides in the crisis, when he should have been neutral as the leader of the party.

    Yusuf cited the example of how Ayu met with the Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal, and called him a hero.

    Tambuwal had stepped down for Atiku at the PDP primary, making it possible for the latter to defeat Wike who came second amid protests against the retention of power in the North when it was expected to rotate to the South.

    Speaking on the calls on Atiku to reconcile with Wike, he said, “That is a fact and that was what was emphasised by the leaders who spoke of recent, notably Governor Ortom and former governor Jang. I lend my voice to that, that one stoops to conquer. It is the normal thing to be done.”

    Meanwhile, Atiku has said that despite the internal conflict within his party, he does not see “a divided house”.

    He admonished the party not to lose focus on rescuing Nigeria.

    Atiku stated this in a newsletter in Abuja on Sunday.

    He stated, “One of the characteristic attributes of democracy that I admire a lot is that it is a system with an intrinsic asset of crisis management. It becomes even more interesting that, perhaps, the most noteworthy outcome of a democratic process is the greater possibility of conflict generation.

    “So, a remarkable lesson that I have learned in politics is that in some instances, conflicts are healthy realities. I know, for instance, that when conflicts arise out of genuine concerns about having an inclusive political process, it signposts the viability of that process and, more importantly, the eagerness of stakeholders to be active participants in the success of such process.

    In a move to resolve the crisis, the PDP has announced a nine-member reconciliation committee that would visit the Rivers State helmsman.

    Disclosing this on Sunday, the Chairman of the PDP Board of Trustees, Senator Walid Jibrin, also cautioned party members against unguarded utterances that could further plug the party into a deeper crisis.

    The committee, headed by Atiku, comprises Okowa, Ayu and his National Working Committee, Jibril; BoT members; PDP governors; former governors; ex-PDP minister and some party elders from zones and states.

  • VP slot: PDP in turmoil over Atiku’s rejection of Wike

    VP slot: PDP in turmoil over Atiku’s rejection of Wike

    The last has not been heard about the internal wrangling within the opposition Peoples Democratic Party.

    If comments and actions of leading figures in the party are anything to go by, the crisis of confidence over the outcome of the party’s presidential primary and the selection of the party’s running mate has not abated.

    Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State in an interview with Arise Television, revealed that all is not well within the party.

    This became evident when only one of the party’s 12 governors, who are members of the 128-man Osun Governorship Campaign Council, attended its inauguration at the party’s National Secretariat, yesterday.

    This happened as the party dismissed as balderdash reports that National Chairman of the party, Senator Iyorchia Ayu, had been sacked.

    Ortom had in the televised interview, expressed disappointment that the party leadership was yet to address the concerns of members.

    He cited an example with the decision of the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, to ignore the choice of Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State as running mate.

    He said: “I was among the 17-member committee set up by Atiku and 14 of us in the committee said the person should be Wike.

    Unfortunately, Atiku picked Okowa in his wisdom.

    “You cannot ignore the decision of a committee you set up yourself and expect people to be happy. For now, I have gone into hibernation.”

    Asked if he would support the PDP candidate in the 2023 elections, he said: “I am in hibernation. I am praying. When I finish the prayers, whatever God directs me to do, I will do. We expect Atiku to do more but we are not seeing that.”

    In response to a question on claims that Wike was avoiding people from Atiku’s camp, who had made many attempts to reach him, Ortom said: “They should stop that. Atiku should go to him; why won’t he ignore their calls? Is that not an insult? Wike is a pillar in the party; currently, nobody in the party has contributed more for the party to move forward than Wike.

    “If Atiku was not going to honour the decision of the committee, he should have called Wike earlier and informed him. He didn’t do that; you can’t do things anyhow and expect us to be happy.”

    (Vanguard)