The Presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, on Wednesday, opened up on his choice of running mate, saying he preferred a younger person as vice-presidential candidate.
The former Anambra State governor stated this while featuring on Arise TV Morning Show.
He added that he prefers a younger person who has something to offer to complement his ticket rather than recycling old hands who had been in the government before now.
When asked to clarify social media rumours that he had picked the Director of Publicity and Advocacy of Northern Elders Forum, Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, as his vice-presidential candidate, Obi noted that though consultations are ongoing, he was yet to pick a running mate.
He said, “We’re talking to a quite number of people and Hakeem Baba-Ahmed is a capable hand. But I wish I can work with somebody who is more younger.
“I prefer younger people who have a lot to offer rather than recycling old hands. I want a competent person and I am building a formidable team.
“I want people who can look me in the eye and disagree with me during cabinet meetings. People who have their own minds and ideas.
On when he will release his manifesto, he said rather than a manifesto, he had practiced all that he is preaching and the records are there for Nigerians to verify.
“How can I hire professors to write or draft policy documents for me that I don’t even believe in?
“I have replicated all that I am promising Nigerians before. It would be the same thing. What I did in Anambra and what I achieved is what we will replicate on a larger scale. We want Nigeria to become the engine of production,” the presidential candidate said.
On the campaign of calumny on social media, Obi alleged that his opponents had paid some people online to malign his campaign team by infiltrating his core supporters and releasing falsehoods online.
The former Peoples Democratic Party chieftain noted that despite the campaigns of calumny online and rumours that northerners won’t vote for him during the 2023 election, he believed that Nigerians and people from the north will vote for him based on competent.
“I am contesting to be Nigeria’s president to solve the country’s problem and not because I am from a part or region of the country.
“We need to do things that will bring people hope. Nigerians must be proud of this country and that is what I planned to do,” he added.
The presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has said that Nigeria is currently in a comatose state and needs a specialist like him to save its life.
Obi was speaking on Arise Television’s ‘The Morning Show’, where he addressed questions surrounding the seeming deadlock between his party and the New Nigeria Peoples Party.
The PUNCH had reported earlier how the presidential candidate of the NNPP, Rabiu Kwakwanso, had stated that he would not bend backward to accept the vice-presidential ticket as both parties continued to seek common ground to berth protracted talks over a possible alliance.
It was also reported that a chieftain of the NNPP, Buba Galadima had buttressed earlier comments by the party’s flagbearer that the NNPP would not play second fiddle in the ticket on the grounds that the South-East did not have the political strength Kwakwanso would bring to the ticket.
Reacting to comments by the NNPP, Obi said 100 million Nigerians were in poverty today because of the mentality exhibited by his senior comrades.
He further described Nigeria as a patient in coma, which would imminently die without urgent intervention of an expert like himself
He said, “We choose to vote for incompetence based on a primitive consideration of ethnicity and religion. Tell me, today, you can’t travel from Abuja to Kaduna by air, by road, or by train. Is it because somebody from the South-East is in charge? You can’t travel from Abuja to Minna by road, is it because somebody from the South-East is in charge? Yesterday, we had an attack on the presidential convoy in Katsina, is it because a person from South-East is in charge? Show me where you can buy food cheaper.” You have not talked about electricity, or people are prospering in the North because northerners are in power? In the South-West because they are in power or in the South-East.”
Appealing to Nigerians to jettison politics of religion and ethnicity, obi said it was high time Nigerians chose their leaders on the basis of merit and competence.
He added, “What we have chosen to do in this country is that we consistently hire vehicle drivers to fly the Nigerian airplane, instead of qualified pilots. My commitment is, let us campaign and deal with issues on the problems with the country. There are a lots of problems besieging this country.
If you don’t know today, this country will soon default in their debt servicing. This is what should be preoccupying us now. Universities have shut down and we are talking about who we’ll vote for. Let’s deal with the issues. This election will not be based on ‘my turn’. It will not be based on ethnicity. It will not be based on religion. It will be based on a Nigerian agenda to save this Nigeria. Nigeria is in coma, and it needs a specialist, and that is what I’m offering to save its life or it will die. I’m appealing to people to vote to save Nigeria, and to save Nigeria is to hire the best.”
Yesterday, the Director-General of the Obi Presidential Campaign Organisation, Dr Doyin Okupe, had announced that the planned alliance between the Labour Party and the New Nigerian People’s Party for the 2023 general election is “dead.”
The apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo has said former Kano State governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso is not a presidential material.
Ohanaeze’s National Publicity Secretary, Alex Ogbonnia was reacting to a remark by the presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP.
Kwankwaso had said the Southeast was politically immature to produce Nigeria’s President in 2023.
He said the presidential candidate of Labour Party, LP, Peter Obi would have to be his running mate and not the other way around.
Condemning Kwankwaso’s comment, Ogbonnia said the NNPP presidential candidate lacked the competence to assess the Igbos.
He insisted that the Igbos were long prepared to produce Nigeria’s presidency.
In a statement, Ogbonnia stressed that anybody that had done well in business, and lived in other parts of the country, can rule Nigeria.
The scribe of the organization maintained that an Igbo president would perform better because they understand the country.
According to him, Nigerians should not doubt the competence of the Igbo nation to rule Nigeria if given the opportunity.
He said: “Kwankwaso’s description is unfortunate. He does not know Igbo and lacks the capacity to assess its people. Such a comment is not expected of a presidential candidate.
“As far as I know, Igbo have been the pillar that has helped this country to survive so far. He should know that any person who can do well in business and live in any part of the country can succeed as president.
“Kwankwaso cannot be said to be the best material the country can have when issues of the presidency are discussed. Except for our parochial nature and the kind of politics we have in Nigeria, I do not think that our competence should be in doubt at any time.”
Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State has revealed what the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is currently going through in his quest for a substantive running mate for the 2023 presidential election.
The Governor pointed out that there are so many factors being considered in picking Tinubu’s running mate, thereby making it somewhat difficult for the former Lagos State Governor.
Not mentioning the issue of religion which has formed much of the public debate among Nigerians, Governor Akeredolu centred his argument on zone, loyalty and the area with the highest votes, as he listed the factors that have left the APC flagbearer racking his brain.
Featuring on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday evening, the Governor explained that, “The circumstance Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu has found himself now, that’s a major of what I’ll call ground-wetting. For instance, he’ll not pick from the South. So he’s left to make a choice from the North.
“Because he’s from the South he won’t pick from South-East or South-South, because he’s from the South-West he has to pick from the North.
“And when you look at the North, a lot of factors will have to come into play. Some will say ‘pick from North West’ But North West, that’s where the President now comes from.
“Will they have a second bite whether as vice or anything? Some will argue ‘why not pick from the North East?’ That’s a factor to be considered.
“Others can argue, ‘why not pick from North Central?’ So, another factor to be considered is ‘okay, where do you get votes?’
“So many factors, but under these circumstances, I think he is probably left with North Central and North East probably because so many factors can come into play.
“So, in determining who you pick at the end of the day, you have to look at loyalty. Will this person be loyal or will he be there to undermine you? Those are issues you’ll have to consider very seriously.”
A coalition of stakeholders from the North-East region in the ruling All Progressives Congress have asked the party to pick the running mate of the party’s presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, from the North Central.
The stakeholders said this would not only enable the party to win the 2023 presidential election but help bring to the fore the party’s respect for fairness, equity and justice.
Speaking to journalists after a meeting in Abuja on Sunday, the National Coordinator of North East APC Stakeholders Coalition, Abba Suleiman, described the demand by its counterparts from the North West to be considered for the vice presidential candidate position as a “gross display of insensitivity to the relevance of other regions in the scheme of things in the party”.
He said, “The North West Region had been within the corridor of power in the last seven years of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration, and for such demand to be made indeed speak volume of gross insensitivity.
“It is the considered view of stakeholders in the North East that it would only be fair and just if the vice-presidential slot goes to the North Central, given the numerous contributions of the region to the growth and development of the party.
“The stakeholders must come to terms with the fact that the North Central region hasn’t had a shot at the highest level of governance since the return of democracy in 1999. This time has presented that unique opportunity that must be utilized in the party’s best interest.
“The North-West APC Stakeholders must also realize that the overarching objective of the party is to secure a landslide victory at the polls, and if that is indeed the case, would it make any sense if a region that has been represented adequately in the last ten years, would also demand the vice-presidential slot”.
“Unless the stakeholders of our great party in the North West want us to believe that the North Central is not deserving of producing the vice-presidential candidate hence the demand for the vice-presidential slot.
“The stakeholders of the APC in the North East wish to use this medium to call on the leadership of our great party to ensure justice and fairness by providing that the vice presidential slot is given to the North Central.”
Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), on Thursday warned the courts to “stop imposing politicians on Nigerians”.
According to Falana, “the involvement of the courts in the electoral process has not been favourable to the country’s democracy.”
He made the call while speaking on “The Role of the Courts in the Electoral Process and the Time Bomb of Section 84(12) of the Electoral Act 2022”.
It was delivered at the Law Week of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Ondo Branch.
According to Falana, the courts are involved in appointment of party officers and fixing of national conventions of political parties.
“The courts have been involved in the appointment of party officers and the endorsement of candidates sponsored by political parties to contest elections.
“Even the meetings of the organs and national conventions of political parties are fixed by the courts. Cases arising from the management of political parties are filed in the high court of the FCT or at the federal high court, outside the venue of the dispute.
“The winners of primaries and general elections are no longer determined by the electorate, but by the election petition tribunals and courts,” Falana was quoted as saying via a statement issued by his aide, Tayo Soyemi.
Mr Sowore says his running mate does not have any certificate problem like some presidential hopefuls in the country.
The Presidential Candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, on Friday, said his party currently stands a better chance at victory in Kano State compared to other contenders in the 2023 general elections.
He disclosed this in Abuja during the official announcement of Haruna Magashi as his running mate in the coming election.
Mr Sowore, flanked by some members of the AAC, said both the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the main opposition, PDP, will gallantly lose to his party given the performance of the former and the internal crisis in the latter.
“We hope to defeat APC (All Progressives Congress) over there (Kano) because the governor has messed up; we know that we will defeat PDP (Peoples Democratic Party), that’s the party that’s imploding as we speak,” the Sahara Reporters publisher boasted in an almost three minutes video shared across his social media account.
Despite the recent acceptance enjoyed by Rabiu Kwankwaso’s New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in Kano, both the ruling APC and PDP still command the largest percentage of supporters in the state.
Not ruling the former Kano governor out of his major contenders in the state, Mr Sowore said the influence of his running mate, Mr Magashi, is enough to deliver Kano for AAC while Peter Obi’s Labour Party (LP) stands no chance at all in the state.
“We don’t need to talk about the Labour Party in Kano because the party doesn’t exist.
“We believe that we will defeat Alhaji Kwankwaso and his party, the NNPP (New Nigeria Peoples Party) in Kano because we have got someone who is from there,” the AAC presidential candidate boasted.
With veiled reference to the alleged missing credentials of the APC presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu and his placeholder running mate, Kabir Masari, Mr Sowore assured that the documents of his running mate were duly submitted to INEC.
The Presidential Candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, on Friday, said his party currently stands a better chance at victory in Kano State compared to other contenders in the 2023 general elections.
While the primary and secondary certificates of Mr Tinubu were not accounted for in the personal credentials published last week by the INEC for scrutiny, similar controversies have continued to trail that of his running mate.
Mr Masari, in a court affidavit attached to his personal credentials published, claimed to have misplaced his Grade II certificate from Katsina Teachers College, his primary school certificate among other vital documents years back.
Mr Sowore vouched for his running mate, saying Nigerians would not have to worry because “our Vice-president candidate has his certificates intact.”
“His certificates have not been eaten by goats or snakes and they are not missing. We will make it public as soon as possible,” he mockingly said.
Atiku Abubakar faces a major hurdle. Since the commencement of the present democratic dispensation in 1999, no president has been elected to succeed another from the same region of Nigeria.
Atiku Abubakar
is entangled in a web of controversies, roughly one month after clinching the ticket of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the second consecutive presidential election.
The complex crises ricocheting on the front burner of national discourse concern moral standing, zonal propriety and the democratic style of the PDP candidate.
The Benue State governor, Samuel Ortom, and former Ekiti State governor, Ayodele Fayose, Wednesday landed uppercuts on Mr Abubakar’s presidential quest. While Mr Ortom criticised him for not choosing Rivers Governor Nyesom Wike, the candidate overwhelmingly recommended by a 17-member advisory committee of which the Benue governor was a member, as his running mate, Mr Fayose emphatically reaffirmed his commitment to power shift to the southern half of Nigeria in 2023.
Governor Samuel Ortom, governor of Benua state.
Mr Ortom accused the candidate of failing to honour the democratic choice in the selection of his running mate. He also berated him for failing to reach out to Mr Wike and other aggrieved members of the party after picking Delta State governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, for the slot.
Mr Ortom, who spoke in an interview on Arise TV, said he was waiting for God’s direction on whether to campaign for his party’s presidential candidate or not.
On his own part, Mr Fayose, through his verified Twitter handle, stated that it was important for power to return to the South after the eight-year rule of President Muhammadu Buhari, who is from Katsina State in the North-west geopolitical zone.
Atiku, PDP, Fayose and the North-South power rotation
Since his emergence as the PDP candidate against the grain of the rotational understanding, Mr Abubakar has been carrying the moral hunch of running away with a ticket that ought to have been held by someone from the southern part of the country. As the incumbent president, the opposition candidate is a Fulani-Muslim from the defunct Northern Region.
Nigeria, as a single entity, was formed through the amalgamation of the Southern and Northern protectorates of the British colonial empire on January 1, 1914. Based on a common understanding anchored on the need to foster unity and inclusiveness among the citizenry, the PDP enshrined rotation in its constitution.
Former Ekiti State governor, Peter Ayodele Fayose.
Mr Fayose in his tweet harped on that provision when he contended that: “The PDP Constitution provides for a rotational Presidency. Section 3(c) provides that the party shall pursue its aims and objectives by ‘adhering to the policy of the rotation and zoning of party and public elective offices in pursuance of the principle of equity, justice and fairness.”
He added: “The current President of Nigeria is a 2-term Northern Presidency, thus implying that it MUST be a Southern Presidency in 2023 or NOTHING. Awa ‘South’ lo kan’. Nigerians should await details soon.”
Since the commencement of the present democratic dispensation in 1999, no democratically elected president from either north or south has taken over power from an outgoing president from his own section or region of the country. Similarly, no president from one ethnic group has handed over to another president from his own ethnic group.
In a complex country like Nigeria, with more than 250 ethnic groups, this scenario may weigh against Mr Abubakar when all the variables and analytics are put on the table in the approach to the 2023 general elections.
However, the zoning brouhaha is by no means the only moral burden resting on Mr Abubakar’s shoulders. There is an overhang of corruption allegations and counter-allegations.
FILE: Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Board of Trustees (BOT), Walid Jibrin.
Obasanjo’s salvo and Jibrin’s ultimatum
The Chairman of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of PDP, Walid Jibrin, on Monday called out former President Olusegun Obasanjo and gave him 48 hours to clarify his statement that his choice of Mr Abubakar as his running mate in the 1999 presidential election was a mistake. Mr Jibrin, a northern Fulani-Muslim like Mr Abubakar, threatened to expose Mr Obasanjo unless the former president withdraws the statement.
Mr Jibrin said he would be left with no option but to expose the former president and tell Nigerians and the whole world who Mr Obasanjo is in reality if he failed to explain his statement about Mr Abubakar.
Mr Jibrin, who addressed a press conference in Kaduna, said despite the high regard the PDP has for the former president, it would be very disappointing if he indeed made the statement credited to him (Obasanjo) and carried by virtually all the nation’s news platforms.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo
He said the statement, among others, that he made a mistake in picking Mr Abubakar as his running mate in 1999 was worrisome.
Mr Walid’s 48 hours ultimatum expired Wednesday without a response from Mr Obasanjo or Mr Jibrin as to his next line of action.
Mr Obasanjo, while reflecting on his political experience, during an interaction with some students, on Saturday, remarked that one of the costly mistakes he made in life was his choice of Mr Abubakar as his running mate in 1999.
Mr Obasanjo, who was fielding questions from selected secondary school students that participated in the final of the National Exhibition and Awards organised by Students for the Advancement of Global Entrepreneurship (SAGE) at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL) in Abeokuta, said his mistake in choosing Mr Abubakar psychologically impacted him.
The former president said, in response to a question by one of the students, “One of the mistakes I made was picking my number two when I wanted to become the president. But because it was a genuine mistake, God saved me…I will say there are many things that could have been a mistake but God saved me from them all.”
Mr Obasanjo was President of Nigeria between May 29, 1999, and May 29, 2007 with Mr Abubakar as the Vice President. After serving their first four-year term from 1999 to 2003, he re-nominated Mr Abubakar as his running mate in the 2003 election which they won despite their fractured relationship.
Atiku in Obasanjo’s lens
Preparatory to the unveiling of his memoir titled ‘My Watch’, Mr Obasanjo in December 2014 called his former deputy a ‘shameless liar’ amid other accusations.
“Those who can be regarded as influential and who have publicly accused me of allegedly manipulating a third term were Atiku Abubakar, who is a blatant and shameless liar, who was behind the whole episode of turning wholesome constitutional amendment efforts of the National Assembly to a futile exercise and as a means of riding on its ashes to be Nigerian President.
“Third term was not my agenda or intention although I would not say I didn’t know about it. I didn’t mastermind third term. Those who were telling me to go on were the governors that were going to benefit from it.
“If I did not want tenure elongation when I was military Head of State and had need to, I see no reason why I should be falsely accused of coup planning by Abacha and tenure elongation by Atiku.”
On pages 31 and 32 of the book, MY WATCH proper, Mr Obasanjo wrote about the former Vice President: “What I did not know, which came out glaringly later, was his parental background which was somewhat shadowy, his propensity to corruption, his tendency to disloyalty, his inability to say and stick to the truth all the time, a propensity for poor judgment, his belief and reliance on marabouts, his lack of transparency, his trust in money to buy his way out on all issues and his readiness to sacrifice morality, integrity, propriety truth and national interest for self and selfish interest.”
The former vice president on his part had fought his former boss over the third term plot to remain in office beyond eight years.
In an interview with a Hausa newspaper, RARIYA, which was translated to English and published by PREMIUM TIMES in 2013, Mr Abubakar claimed that Mr Obasanjo nursed the ambition of tenure elongation. The former vice president said one of the instances he had altercations with President Obasanjo was about the third term ambition.
Mr Abubakar quoted Mr Obasanjo as stating as follows while craving his support for a controversial third term in office as against the maximum of two terms enshrined in the constitution: “I left power 20 years ago, I left Mubarak in office, I left Mugabe in office, I left Eyadema in office, I left Omar Bongo, and even Paul Biya and I came back and they are still in power; and I just did eight years and you are asking me to go; why?”
Mr Abubakar said he responded by telling him that Nigeria is not Libya, not Egypt, not Cameroon, not Zimbabwe and not Togo. “I said (to Obasanjo) you must leave; even if it means both of us lose out, but you cannot stay.”
Messrs Fayose and Obasanjo’s missiles have again brought into public focus, the moral issues surrounding Mr Abubakar’s perennial presidential aspiration.
With Mr Fayose’s usurpation clanger added to the familiar Obasanjo salvos, the former vice president’s incubus in the coming election is now two-pronged – the odium of corruption painted by Mr Obasanjo and the Southern tenure grabbing red flag raised by Mr Fayose.
The array of accusations, true or false, is certain to negatively affect Mr Abubakar by making many people distrust him.
However, Mr Abubakar and his political foot soldiers are not resting on their oars as they have continued to respond to the allegations, dismissing some of them as baseless products of bilious politics.
PDP National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu
PDP’s negative perception
Shrugging off the charges is a task not just for the presidential candidate but also for his party leadership under its National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu. The main opposition party, which ruled Nigeria for 16 years between 1999 and 2015, is still seen by many critics as a platform that willingly lent itself as an organ for the perpetration of sleaze and sundry opaque deals in governance.
The presidential primary of the party in Abuja which produced Mr Abubakar as the candidate was also suspected to have been egregiously dollarized. On the eve of the PDP presidential primary, one of the aspirants, Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, withdrew, alleging that the contest had been ‘obscenely monetized’.
Mr Hayatu-Deen’s withdrawal came a few days after another contender, Peter Obi, withdrew from the race and resigned entirely from the PDP. Mr Obi cited ‘recent developments within the PDP’ which were incongruent with his moral conscience and made it impossible for him to continue participating and making constructive contributions.
A few days after, Mr Obi joined the Labour Party and emerged as its presidential candidate. His message, which centres on low consumption, productivity and frugality, has been making impact especially among the youthful segments of the population.
Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State
PDP and the Wike dilemma
Mr Wike may be the proverbial last straw that will break the camel’s back as far as Mr Abubakar’s controversial presidential bid is concerned. He is believed to be incensed over Mr Abubakar’s ambition and alleged shifty stance. Judging by Mr Wike’s well-known stance on power rotation and the manner he was elbowed out at the presidential primary in May, will PDP be able to pacify and rekindle his faith in the party?
Mr Fayose exclusively told PREMIUM TIMES on Wednesday that he could wager that Mr Wike would never support the current presidential bid of Mr Abubakar. The former Ekiti State governor insisted that power must shift to the southern part of Nigeria in 2023 after the expiration of President Muhammadu Buhari’s second term.
Mr Fayose exclusively told PREMIUM TIMES on Wednesday that he could wager that Mr Wike would never support the current presidential bid of Mr Abubakar. The former Ekiti State governor insisted that power must shift to the southern part of Nigeria in 2023 after the expiration of President Muhammadu Buhari’s second term.
So far, Mr Okowa’s choice has not excited many PDP apparatchiks in the South, including some incumbent and former governors like Mr Fayose, and Mr Okowa’s two predecessors as governor of Delta State – James Ibori and Emmanuel Uduaghan.
“Wike never said he wanted to be VP, but when Atiku visited him, he was the one who said, ‘I want you to be my VP’. He said that to Wike. If that then changes, is Wike not supposed to be told? Is he not supposed to know?” Mr Fayose told PREMIUM TIMES.
Mr Fayose berated Mr Abubakar for ignoring the recommendation of a committee set up by the PDP leadership to shortlist his running mate. “PDP set up a committee to recommend a running mate for the candidate and the committee voted and picked Wike, but they didn’t comply with the recommendation of the committee,” Mr Fayose fumed.
“If the party is now a one-man show, we will show them that we can resist it. We are with Wike 100 per cent. When they need Wike’s money and Wike’s support, they will say, ‘Wike is good enough’. Wike has been injured, but we will remain with him. Whatever he does is what we would do; wherever he asks us to go is where we will go,” the former Ekiti governor declared.
Peter Obi & Bola Tinubu
Obi and Tinubu: who benefits?
In the evolving context, either the Labour Party’s (LP) Mr Obi or Bola Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), who are the leading candidates from the South, may profit handsomely from the widening rift in the PDP, with the former being the likely beneficiary.
The ruling party is already a crowded platform by bigwigs who may not easily yield space for big rivals like Messrs Wike, Fayose and other aggrieved PDP chieftains.
On the other hand, the LP, apart from the cult following of its presidential candidate by the youth, is still literally a tabula rasa waiting to be annexed by gladiators. That position makes the party an attractive platform for aggrieved secret backers from the two leading parties – PDP and APC. Such covert backers can only come to the fore if their gambit succeeds in pulling an upset victory for the supported candidate.
Mr Fayose was non-committal when asked whether they would support either Obi or Tinubu. “This is not about Bola Tinubu or Obi, but this is about our belief that power must come to the South and it is a struggle we must actualise.
“This time, it is the turn of the South because Buhari has spent eight years. Why will PDP be insisting that it must again be the turn of the north?”
Mr Fayose also stated that he does not care if his actions are perceived as anti-party activity.
“What I am saying is, it is the turn of the South? And if they want to expel me, to hell with them. I am not taking money from anyone to belong to this party.
“If they want to rock this boat, we will help them to rock it,” the outspoken former Ekiti governor declared.
With these signals, accentuated by Mr Obasanjo’s darts, the PDP presidential candidate certainly has enough political, psychological and moral burdens to bear.
As things presently stand, all the commanding positions in the PDP are held by members from one region – the presidential flag bearer, National Chairman and the BoT Chairman.
Indeed, Mr Abubakar and the PDP leadership have a gargantuan task to stem the worsening tide and restore the confidence of all the stakeholders in the party.
Mr Abubakar, on Thursday, acknowledged that many leaders of his party were uncomfortable with his emergence and his choices. He promised to listen to their complaints.
“The @OfficialPDPNig 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,” he wrote on Twitter.
It will be 24 years of uninterrupted democracy in Nigeria by May 2023. I can still vividly remember the wave of joy the country felt when the then Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, handed over to the newly elected civilian president, Olusegun Obasanjo, on May 29, 1999.
At last, Nigeria would start her journey to growth and sustainability for all. The then President Obasanjo, in his speech, described the day as “the beginning of a genuine renaissance” in Nigeria. The word renaissance comes from a French word meaning “rebirth.” In hindsight, was it truly the beginning of a genuine rebirth in Nigeria?
The political structure in Nigeria has been largely criticised by many as being laden with corruption, godfatherism and a lack of visionary approach to leadership. So much so that many in their pain and naivety have wished for Nigeria’s return to military dictatorship in the hopes of some form of sanity and economic stability. This largely owes to the seeming steadiness of the exchange rate from the day the late General Sani Abacha took power in 1993 till the day he died on June 8, 1998. For a period of five years, the exchange rate of the naira to dollar never changed from N22 to $1, while on the parallel market, the naira was trading as high as N88 to $1 (using the word ‘high’ to qualify N88 to $1 in 2022 might be a stretch but you get the point).
It is, however, important to note that democracy, no matter how problematic it might seem at the moment in Nigeria, is the closest to what we can get in terms of a system that can protect everyone. The almost 24 years of democracy under two prominent political parties—Peoples Democratic Party and All Progressive Congress—may be seen as some form of progress despite existing challenges.
Sadly, Nigeria has missed opportunities, truncated dreams and lost talents. Many sectors of the economy have suffered backwardness. Education is in a state of a cry for help. Security has degenerated so much that the average citizen sees the safety of their lives and property as their personal responsibility. There is the issue of police brutality that led to the #EndSARS movement. Also, the country is wallowing in massive debts. Inflation is on an all-time high, with Nigerians lacking the ability to afford three square meals, which has become a luxury. Even the power sector is so inflated with corruption that solutions deployed by smaller countries to generate power are so cumbersome for our leaders to deploy. According to the Nigeria Bureau of statistics, the rate of unemployment was 33% in 2019 and is likely to have increased as many lost their jobs during the pandemic. It appears that the country is crumbling with a lot of problems.
Nigeria is at a crossroads and people are expecting a miracle. One of my professional colleagues once said, “Nigeria is not something that anyone will want to acquire if it were to be personal property.” Hence, I pity the next President of Nigeria.
The last seven years of our lives as Nigerians have been excruciating. This is not to say that the present regime under the leadership of Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) has failed in every area. However, communication is key and this regime has failed in terms of communication and carrying the populace along in the little progresses made. The concept of servant leadership has been trampled upon.
According to a publication on OCED.org, Nigeria is the largest Black nation in the world: “One of every four Africans and one out of every five persons of African origin is a Nigerian.” This speaks to the power, talent, skills and resilience we have as a people. Nigerians are amazing people – industrious, innovative, creative, bold, kind, family-oriented, hardworking, etc. Young people have argued that they only need an enabling environment in order to survive and build the country they desire. They want leadership but leadership with all the progressive qualities of a visionary leader.
Leadership is service, management and hard work. Whoever emerges the president of Nigeria come 2023, be it Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the APC, Atiku Abubakar of the PDP or Peter Obi of Labour Party, Nigerians are expecting that change promised by President Buhari in 2015. It doesn’t matter that the next President did not make this promise; that expectation just comes with the territory of being the president of Nigeria. As such, fighting corruption and seeing true change is now an inherited campaign promise and the next president needs to be seen to hit the ground running from day one and ensure that true positive change happens.
It’s important to pay attention to the campaign season of the coming election (September/October). Beyond asking what, we must begin to ask, “How?!”
Just as Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State, who is the PDP Presidential running mate, said on Politics Today on Channels TV, it’s a common fight for hope.
Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, has disclosed that the Nigerian High Commission in the United Kingdom has engaged the services of lawyers to defend the senator representing Enugu West Senatorial District, Ike Ekweremadu, and his wife, Beatrice.
Lawan made this known on Wednesday while giving details about the outcome of a closed session held by the upper chamber before the start of plenary proceedings.
The closed-door session which started at about 10:57 a.m ended at 11:49 a.m.
The PUNCH reports Ekweremadu, alongside his wife, was arrested by the UK Metropolitan Police last Tuesday for conspiracy to harvest the organs of a minor.
Ekweremadu and his wife allegedly facilitated David’s entry into the UK to transplant his kidney into their daughter, Sonia, who is suffering from kidney failure.
The couple was arraigned at the Uxbridge Magistrate Court in London on charges of conspiracy and organ harvest on Thursday.
But speaking on Wednesday, Lawan said a delegation from its Committee on Foreign Affairs would depart Nigeria for London on July 1, 2022, to pay a visit to the embattled couple presently in detention over an allegation of organ harvesting.
This was contained in a statement by the Special Assistant (Press) to Lawan, Dr. Ezrel Tabiowo, titled, ‘Senate delegation to visit Ekweremadu, wife in London’.
According to Lawan, the decision to wade into Ekweremadu’s arrest and detention was against the backdrop of a briefing received by the Nigerian High Commissioner to London.
He further disclosed that the Senate would engage the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Nigerian High Commission in London on the recent arrest of Senator Ike Ekweremadu by the London Metropolitan Police in the United Kingdom.
He said, “I had a personal engagement with our Nigerian High Commissioner to Britain, Alhaji Isola Sarafa, who has done so well to establish contact with our colleague, who has been able to get his team to be in the court at Uxbridge where Ekweremadu was taken to.
“The high Commission has also been able to provide some consular services that include the engagement of some lawyers who will defend our colleague.
“We commend them for giving attention to the issue at stake. Equally, the Nigeria Foreign Affairs Minister has been engaged here, so that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs takes steps to provide diplomatic support for our colleague.
“Because this issue is already in court, we have limited opportunity to discuss beyond what we have done so far.
“But I want to ensure the family of our colleague, Senator Ike Ekweremadu and Nigerians, that the Senate will continue to engage with our ministry of foreign affairs as well as our high commission in London.
“The High Commission has done so much but we still expect that it will continue to provide any other further consular services.
“We have also mandated our committee on foreign affairs to engage with the British high commission here in Nigeria, to find more details on this case, as as far as the high commission is involved.
“There will be a delegation to London to see Senator Ike Ekweremadu and his wife. A delegation from the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs of the Senate will leave in the next two days to London for that purpose.
“I want to urge all federal government institutions that can do anything to ensure that justice prevails in this case, that they do so.”
Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue state has said that he is yet to receive God’s approval to support his party, Peoples Democratic Party presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar.
Ortom who criticized Atiku’s choice of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta state as his running mate over Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers state, stated that he will be supporting Atiku’s presidential bid only if God directs him.
In the interview on Arise TV on Wednesday June 29, the Benue state Governor praised Wike as “somebody who stood for the party and made sure that things worked”. He also said “some of us believed in him” as the party’s best choice for the vice-presidential candidate.
Ortom said;
“All of us have our weapon; Wike can be ‘something something’ but when it comes to mobilisation, impact, value addition and reaching out to make sure that the party works the man is an instrument. He’s somebody who stood for the party and made sure that things worked. Some of us believed in him, but unfortunately, it was somebody else. But the party is supreme,” he said.
“However, some of us have resorted to prayers. I have been in hibernation. We’ve resorted to prayer: ‘Lord God, where do we go from here.’ I believe as a Christian that power belongs to God. The Bible says a man can receive nothing except it is given to him from above.
“I am praying. I have gone into hibernation. I am fasting and praying. So in the end, if God directs me that I should support Atiku, why should I not do it? After all, he’s my party member. But I am waiting for him to do more. I expect him to reach out to Wike, who came second in the presidential primary. The man he denied the popular view of the PDP members — 14 out of 17 — who said Wike should be the vice-presidential candidate. I expect more explanation. I expect him to talk to Wike — whom we are supporting — first. I expect him to reach out to some of us so that together we can work as a party.”
Nigerians were on Wednesday divided on social media following the open endorsement of All Progressives Congress presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, by the Yoruba Nollywood actors.
While some backed the choice of the actors, others claimed that the same set of thespians was among those who allegedly foist the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), and attendant maladministration on Nigeria in 2015 and 2019.
The PUNCH reports that support for the APC presidential candidate receive a boost on Wednesday as Yoruba Nollywood superstars openly endorsed the former Lagos State governor.
The thespians noted that their support for the APC national leader had become imperative following his support for the movie industry, practitioners, and the ex-governor’s influence across the country.
The actors made their position known in a video clip shared by a veteran actor, Yinka Quadri, where some of his colleagues took turns to endorse Tinubu’s candidacy.
Those featured in the video clip were Yinka Quadri, Jide Kosoko, Fausat Balogun, Taiwo Hassan, Femi Adebayo, Shola Kosoko, Faithia Williams, Saheed Balogun, Murphy Afolabi, and Eniola Ajao among others.
But reacting to the endorsement, Nigerians on Twitter expressed concern over the Yoruba actors’ support for Tinubu at a time when the country allegedly needed a fresh hand with ideas as a leader.
@Theabiolasteven wrote, “The persons’ morality and integrity are to be questioned in the first place. Nollywood Yoruba as always been a hall of shame since time beyond, hungry sets of men and women. If the women are not Mc Oluomo short time knacks then the men are stomach infrastructure wobiyas.”
@Ifeadigoh also wrote, “Tinubu supporters have a tribalistic strategy that focuses on provoking the people from South East. They do this to get a reaction from the South Easterners which they would use to prove that South Easterners don’t like Yoruba. Divide and Conquer!”
@_Samcleave said, “You cannot watch Nollywood Yoruba, see how 95% of their products are senseless, and still think those that own that industry has any cognition to influence your electoral choices.”
@Letter_to_Jack wrote, “The only place canceling can get to Yoruba actors is IG Live and no one who’s dedicated to watching live videos of celebrities fanning vawulence will ever cancel them for any reason. They are out of reach on this one.
@PoojaMedia tweeted, “Okey Bakassi/Psquare endorse Peter Obi = They know the right it, it’s their right. Yoruba actors endorse Tinubu = They are canceled, why only Yoruba, tribal people. Focus on your candidate cos there will still be endorsements from your fav celebrities for their candidates.”
@ManLikeIcey wrote, “Psquare are free to support Peter Obi, it’s their right. Yoruba actors/actresses are free to support Tinubu, it’s their right. You’re equally allowed to support your preferred candidate, it’s your right. Don’t bully people for their constitutional right.
@AsiwajuOladimej said, “P Square campaigned for Obi. Obidients: Yes, this is good. They are Patriots. They are Democrats blah blah blah. Yoruba Actors campaigned for BAT. Obidients: They are bigots. They are tribalistic. They’ve been paid. Hypocrisy 101!”
@Taiwoalabiho2 – “A group of Yoruba actors made a jingle for BAT and you started ranting. Psquare, Phyno, Flavour and a number of South-South & South-Eastern celebrities are rallying support for Peter Obi, so what’s the problem? We cannot move forward with these double standards.”
@Wizarab10 – “Why are you insulting them? You don’t know what BAT has done for them or the Yoruba movie industry. Many of you don’t watch Yoruba movies anyway. Support your own, let them support their own. It is not affecting you.”
@IsoloShoemaker – “P-Square and others can support Peter Obi, but it becomes a sin when Yoruba actors campaign for Tinubu. Look at yourself and say to yourself “I am stupid”.”
@ThisIsAdemuyiwa – “What kinda campaign is this for goodness sake? You have attacked muslims cos Tinubu is a Muslim. You are now attacking Yorubas as if blackmailing and insults are the only available strategies. Sad to see the supposedly educated Nigerians UNLOOKING. It will be LABOUR IN VAIN!”
@lollylarry1 – “Why are u people angry about Yoruba Nollywood actors declaring support 4 Tinubu? You are claiming they got paid, so tell me, how much was Psquare paid 4 endorsing & campaigning 4 Peter Obi? You ppl hav not seen anything, by d time Ohaneze declare support 4 Tinubu, you’ll be shocked.”
@Ifeadigoh – “Tinubu supporters have been attacking Psquare for supporting Peter Obi, it didn’t work, they resort to blackmailing some Yoruba artistes with “Igbo artistes are supporting their own” How do you expect them to support a corrupt, selfish and thief like Tinubu? They get sense ni!”
An Oyo State High Court sitting in Ibadan has stopped the state House of Assembly from going ahead with the impeachment process against the Deputy Governor, Rauf Olaniyan.
Justice Ladiran Akintola gave the order on Wednesday when the case filed by the deputy governor came up for hearing before him.
Justice Akintola ordered that the status quo antem be maintained until the determination of the suit filed against the lawmakers by the embattled deputy governor.
The court adjourned the matter to July 5 to allow the House to file its reply to the claims of the deputy governor.
Olaniyan was represented by his counsel, Chief Afolabi Fashani (SAN), while the lawmakers were represented by the Director of Legal Services, O. Olabanji.
The House of Assembly dominated by the Peoples Democratic Party had initiated impeachment and moved against Olaniyan following his defection from the PDP to the All Progressives Congress.
The lawmakers had two weeks ago initiated an impeachment move against Olaniyan with 23 of them signing the impeachment notice.
The House in a letter read by the clerk accused the deputy governor of financial recklessness, gross misconduct and insubordination among other allegations.
Olaniyan had also filed his response to the allegations against him and the lawmakers had said the matter would come up for discussion on Wednesday but the order of the court would have altered their plan.
President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday moved to stem the exodus of Senators from the All Progressives Congress (APC) following their inability to get return tickets to the National Assembly.
Meeting with some of them including Senator Smart Adeyemi who was led by Senator Orji Uzor Kalu to his office at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, he noted their concerns about the future of the ruling party but praised their effort to find a solution.
The President assured them that as the leader of the party, one of his roles is to create an environment for members to vent their grievances.
He said he had noted their concerns over the outcomes of the just concluded party primaries, the threat to the majority held by the APC in the National Assembly and its likely consequences to the fortunes of the party.
While pointing out that there must be a winner and loser in every contest, he revealed that he had been inundated with complaints about the primaries, assuring that he would continue to address the challenges through the party machinery.
He urged party members to exercise restraint, promising that justice would be done.
The President said: “I thank you for the decision to approach me with your concerns over the future of the party and for pursuing a solutions approach for the challenges thrown up by the recent election-related activities, particularly the Primaries.
“As the leader of the party, one of my primary roles is to ensure that our culture of internal democracy and dispute resolution is strengthened by creating the opportunity for members to ventilate their opinions, views and grievances at different levels.
“Notwithstanding the fact that we have accomplished 23 years of uninterrupted democratic governance, our journey is still in a nascent stage and we continue to learn from our challenges and mistakes.
“Similarly our party is still evolving in its culture and practice and it is my expectations and hope that we should attain a mature level in our internal conduct.
“I have noted your grievances particularly as it concerns the just concluded processes. The cost to the nation, the threat to the majority of positions held by our party in the legislative chambers and likely consequent causes to the electoral fortune of the party as we approach the General elections. We must not allow these dire threats to come to pass.
“I must acknowledge that in every contest there must be a level playing ground, just as there would be grievances at the end. That is the test of our democratic credentials, systems and practices.
“I have since the conclusion of the process been inundated with various reports and complaints. In keeping with our ethos therefore I shall continue to address the insuring challenges and grievances through the party machinery while paying keen attention to the outcomes.
“I must also remind you of the primary primacy of justice in all our actions if Justice is denied its outcome is usually unpleasant, this is because you the members keep the party running. I should add that as part of the policy of using the party machinery for effective resolutions of conflict, the chairman and some members of the national working committee visited the National Assembly recently to dialogue with our legislators.
“The leadership of the party is currently addressing the outcomes as part of the way forward. I am encouraging all party functionaries to adhere to the truth and to be fair to all parties in any dispute. This is important because our strength and victory in the election lie in the unity of the party in our ability to prevent or heal any injustice perceived unread.
“I urge you and all party members to exercise restraint and continue to demonstrate commitment to the ideals while we continue to build and develop the party and the country.
“Finally, Let me assure you that Justice shall prevail, aggrieved members shall be assuaged in the interest of the party and the nation shall be protected.’
In his remarks, the leader of the delegation, Chief Whip of the Senate, Sen. Kalu, said at least 22 senators and members of the party were unhappy with the outcome of the primaries in their states, noting that they felt disenfranchised by the process.
He said the legislators had made sacrifices for the growth of the party and democracy in the country, asking for the President’s kind intervention.
“Mr President, in the Senate we have worked hard and consistently sold your programmes beyond party lines. Be assured always of our support,” he added.
The Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, on Tuesday, said governors were more responsible for the development of their states than the President of the country.
In his speech at the 6th edition of the Gabfest, an annual programme of the minister, Fashola also pointed out that state governors were responsible for the security of citizens in their states alongside the Federal Government.
He said, “I do not know how many recall the contents of my speech about how I tried to show how more important the governor of my state is to my development than the President of Nigeria.
“For example, I pointed out that there is nowhere in the constitution that security is listed as the responsibility of the Federal Government or President alone.
“In the second schedule of the constitution where the responsibility of the Federal Government is set only, you will see responsibility for the police, the armed forces etc, which are law enforcement agencies; but you will not see the word ‘security’.”
He added, “If you take a narrow view of what security entails, you might be tempted to conclude that this is only a federal affair.
“But if you understand that these, agencies except for the deterrence that they may offer, usually arrive when there is a breach of security.”
The minister stated that security was an all-government affair.
“This is supported by section 14 2(b) of the constitution where the word ‘security’ is used. It provides that: ‘(b) the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government,” Fashola stated.
He added, “It does not say which government and my view is that it is every government; local, state and federal.”
He said security, therefore, involved more than the deployment of armed personnel.
“It is the effective deployment of socio-economic resources to create a state of harmony,” the minister stated.
He added, “Breaches of security have evolved from conflicts over land, for which the Federal Government has no responsibility or control, to conflict over natural resources over which the Federal Government has responsibility and control.
“Governors have as much a responsibility to keep us safe. It starts in my view with how they oversee the development of the human capital. This is less of a federal responsibility and more of state because people live in states.”
The Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, has said the increasing number of inmates awaiting trial is having a toll on the custodian centres and the available resources for the service.
Aregbesola, who blamed the congestion of prisons on the slow dispensation of justice, proposed that from the arrest of suspects to the conclusion of their cases in court, the period should not go beyond a year.
He expressed confidence that this was possible, adding that it took him 42 months to reclaim his mandate in Osun State but now took less than a year to conclude election tribunal cases.
Aregbesola spoke on day two of the Nigerian Correctional Service retreat for senior officers in Sokoto on Tuesday.
The minister said, “Let there be a strong advocacy for rapid dispensation of justice. When I went to court to get my mandate that was stolen in Osun the process lasted 42 months. It was precisely six months to the expiration of the tenure that my mandate was returned.
“It was that experience that forced the judiciary to say every litigation on governorship election must not last more than a year and since then they have kept to it. To reduce the number of inmates awaiting trial we must ensure that the time from arrest to conviction must not go beyond a year.
“If this is done, we will reduce the large percentage of inmates in our correctional centers. We will also be able to reduce the humongous cost of feeding them and the lack of not having enough resources.
“If we can reduce the number of awaiting trial inmates by cutting short the period of trial to a maximum of 12 months the amount we are going to save from feeding them will be enough to revamp the service and our centers.”
Aregbesola also bemoaned what he described as unbefitting status of some of the correctional facilities across the country, urging the personnel to mobilize community efforts to change the facial appearance of the facilities.
A Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday dismissed a fresh application for bail by the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu.
The application was filed pending the determination of the treasonable felony charge against him by the Federal Government.
Kanu, who is currently facing a seven-count charge, had in the application he filed through his team of lawyers led by Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN), also challenged the revocation of the bail the court earlier granted to him.
He asked the court to set aside the order it made on March 28, 2019, which not only issued a bench warrant for his arrest, but also gave FG the nod to try him in absentia.
The IPOB leader told the court that contrary to FG’s allegation that he jumped bail, he fled for his life after his home town at Afaraukwu Ibeku in Umuahia, Abia State, was invaded by soldiers, which he said led to the death of 28 persons.
While contending that he was denied a fair hearing before his bail was revoked, Kanu attached eight exhibits that included photographs, as well as an affidavit he deposed from Isreal, after he fled from the country.
Meanwhile, dismissing the bail request on Tuesday, Justice Binta Nyako said she was not satisfied with the reason the IPOB leader gave for his failure to appear in court for the continuation of his trial.
The trial judge noted that from records of the court, Kanu was represented by his lawyer on the day his bail was revoked, likewise his sureties.
“In fact, he sureties told the court that they did not know the whereabouts of the Defendant and even applied to be discharged from the matter.
“Therefore, Defendant was not denied a fair hearing”.
Justices Nyako also held that though a court could vacate a previous order when confronted with a cogent and verifiable reason, “in the instant case, I have not been given any, neither have I been given any reason to set aside the order.
“The present application amounts to an abuse of court process for attempting to relitigate an issue already decided by the court.
“If the Defendant is dissatisfied, he has the Appeal Court to go to. This application is accordingly dismissed”, Justice Nyako said.
The Judge had also on March 18, declined to release the embattled IPOB leader on bail.
The court maintained that Kanu must explain the reason why he breached the previous bail that was given to him, before he could enjoy another favourable discretion from it.
“Until the issue of the absence of the defendant for his trial, with all the bail conditions breached, is determined, the instant application of the defendant for bail will at best be premature and it is refused.
“However, the defendant is at liberty to re-file the application”, Justice Nyako said.
Meanwhile, the case has been adjourned till November 14 for mention, to await the outcome of Kanu’s appeal.
Apostle Johnson Suleman is receiving heat after he took to Twitter to pray that God will see Ike Ekweremadu and his family through.
Former Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu and his wife Beatrice were arrested by the Metropolitan Police in London for alleged conspiracy to harvest the organs of a child.
The Ekweremadus needed the boy’s kidney for their daughter, Sonia, who is suffering from a kidney problem.
Reacting to the news, Apostle Suleman wrote on Twitter: “Heard about the travails of the former deputy senate president,may God see him through..may God protect their child and spare her life.. Thank GOD for preserving the life of that minor who was to be used.. May God help them to do the right thing.. This too shall pass!”
His tweet generated mixed reactions with some Twitter users calling him out for praying for someone who allegedly committed a crime.
Reacting, Suleman tweeted: “I just made a prayer for all those involved in the issue of the former deputy senate president and I see reactions.. since you have become the law court, take your hate somewhere else and don’t join those I have blocked..even a confirmed thief on the cross, Jesus prayed for him.”
The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, presidential running mate, Ifeanyi Okowa has said the All Progressives Congress, APC, and its presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu are not smart.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today, the Governor of Delta State, said making Kabiru Masari a placeholder showed that APC was not organized and not ready for election.
Okowa said: “You can find that the APC is finding it difficult to get who would be their vice presidential candidate, we are hearing something we have not heard before, somebody on placement to be replaced.
“They are actually not smart, that makes us believe they are not even ready for the election, there seems to be a lot of confusion in the APC, unlike us, right from day one, we‘ve made our decision and I believe we‘re on the right path.”
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, had set a deadline for the submission of presidential running mates.
To beat the deadline, Tinubu submitted Masari’s name as his running mate, but it was alleged that Masari is just a placeholder.
However, the spokesman of the APC presidential candidate, Tunde Rahman had insisted that his principal submitted Masari’s name as his running mate.
He, however, disclosed that Tinubu is consulting with President Muhammadu Buhari, the APC leadership, and Masari over a final decision on the issue of his running mate.
Rahman said Masari may step down in the interest of the party.
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