A member of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Rev. Gideon Para-Mallam has said that the All Progressives Congress never sought his consent and that of his wife, Prof.
Funmi Para-Mallam, before including their names in its Presidential Campaign Council list.
Para-Mallam in a statement he released, stated that he and his wife are not card-carrying members of any political party in the country.
He added that he also respects CAN’s stance on the Muslim-Muslim ticket being flown by the APC.
The statement read;
“My attention has been drawn to a list in circulation which indicates that I (or my wife – Prof. (Funmi) Para-Mallam) have been nominated to serve in the APC’s Presidential Campaign Council.
Neither of us is aware of this nomination and our consent was not sorted.“Nigeria is a great country; our present setbacks notwithstanding.
But I believe that Nigeria will be great again. I love this country. I am not a partisan politician. I am a clergyman and a social justice peace advocate. I am non-partisan. I am also not a card-carrying member of any political party in Nigeria today (not that it would be wrong, but I am not at moment).
“Besides, CAN has taken a position against any Muslim-Muslim ticket and any Christian-Christian ticket. I respect that decision. Nigeria is a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-religious country.
This contextual reality needs to show in the way our political parties play their politics through fair internal party politics.
“Accepting to serve in the APC’s Presidential Campaign Council will negate this fundamental reality of what we are as a multi-religious country. Politics of inclusiveness should override politics of exclusion not just in 2023 but beyond.
“I, therefore, wish to distance myself from membership of any campaign team of any political party in the forthcoming 2023 elections. I have some respected and close friends in all the major political parties.
I will continue to work to promote political harmony and peaceful co-existence in Nigeria. May God give Nigeria peaceful 2023 elections.
“God bless Nigeria and guide both the parties and Nigerians as the campaign season commences.”
The All Progressives Congress Northern Christian leaders will be adopting a consensus candidate to defeat the All Progressives Congress’ Muslim-Muslim ticket.
The group led by Yakubu Dogara, a former speaker of the house of representatives, and Babachir Lawal, a former secretary to the government of the federation (SGF), had earlier expressed their disappointment over the decision of the APC to field a same-faith ticket.
A communique issued after their meeting this past weekend read;
“That we have agreed to work together with a view to fostering unity, peace and national cohesion.
“To work together and jointly adopt a pan-Nigerian political platform that will engender unity, inclusiveness and a sense of belonging among the Nigerian citizenry.
“Conscious of multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multi-cultural configuration of Nigeria we believe that a same faith ticket and voting along religious lines may trigger dangerous dimensions of negative consequences among our disparate peoples in ways that will hamper nation building.
“Consequently, we have agreed to channel our energies on matters that unite us more as a people instead of encouraging attacks on sensitive issues bothering on religion in the name of politics.
“In view of the above, we have agreed to set up a committee with the mandate to fashion out strategies for advancing the objectives set forth in this resolution.”
Spokesperson of the Tinubu-Shettima Presidential Campaign Council, Festus Keyamo, has unveiled the first edition of his much-publicised podcast.
A podcast is a recording of audio discussion on any issue ranging from inspiration talks, business, travel or politics that can be downloaded or listened to on the internet.
Keyamo shared a clip of his first podcast on social media and Whatsapp platform on Saturday evening.
In the recording, the Senior Advocate of Nigeria was heard explaining that the digital file would catalogue the achievements of the Presidential Candidate of All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.
This is even as the Minister of State for Labour and Employment argued that it would also be deployed as a tool to debunk fallacies and set the tone as the September 28 campaign season beckons.
He stated,
“I welcome you to the first edition of a weekly podcast I will bring to you as the chief image maker of this campaign, highlighting the issues, debunking the fallacies and setting the tone for this campaign on weekly basis.
“Remember, our candidate is an easy one to sell. All you need to do is to look at his record and the records are there for everyone to see.
Next week, we shall look at some of them and the person of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.”
Some chieftains of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kaduna State have been reportedly abducted in an attack along Kaduna-Kachia highway in Kaduna State.
According to Daily Trust, the attack happened on Thursday, September 22, at Tashar Icce, which is some meters from Kujama community in Kajuru Local Government Area of the state.
The team was on its way back from Kafanchan after a political meeting with Christian leaders in Southern Senatorial District.
On the entourage were; the DG Campaign Uba Sani Campaign Organization, Prof Sani Bello, Mainan Zazau, Director of Organization , Engr Namadi, Special Adviser to the Governor, Alhaji Ahmed Maiyaki, Engr Jamilu, Personal Assistant to Senator Uba Sani, other aides and security operatives.
A politician who escaped the attack, described the incident as terrible, saying about five vehicles were affected.
He said the bandits opened fire sporadically. He also said some of thee people in the entourage sustained gun injuries while two persons were abducted.
It was gathered the governorship candidate, Senator Uba Sani, was not part of the team that was attacked as he had travelled to Abuja from Kafanchan.
His Campaign DG, Sani Maina, Ahmed Maiyaki, a Chieftain of the party, and a few others escaped unhurt.
Among those abducted are the APC House of Assembly candidate in Kajuru simply identified as Mr Madaki and the Vice chairman of APC in Kajuru Local Government Area, Ruben Waziri. Ben Maigari, a relative of the Vice Chairman, confirmed the incident and said they were yet to be contacted by the bandits.
“They were attacked; the bandits blocked the road and opened fire on the entourage and other moving vehicles.
My brother, Ruben, was abducted alongside Madaki because they were in the same vehicle,” he said.
The publication also gathered that two other buses were attacked around the same time, with two people feared killed while others were taken into the forest.
Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, says he will be working with former speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, against the Muslim-Muslim ticket of their party, APC.
Speaking on AriseTV on Wednesday, September 21, Babachir said northern Christian politicians are determined to kill the same faith ticket of the APC.
“The introduction of a Muslim-Muslim ticket by the APC or same faith ticket is a wicked plan to further create divisions within the north.
We try as leaders of societies to live as brothers and sisters, but this demonic proposition just came out of the blues.
For all lovers of unity in this country, in the north in particular where we are most affected, this ticket must never succeed.
And we will make sure we defeat it in such a resounding manner that nobody in his right senses will ever think about it again at least in the near future for our political journey in Nigeria.
So we are set on it and we are determined to kill it( Muslim-Muslim ticket). Our people are mobilised, and our people are ready for the election.
I and Dogara alone aren’t the only ones involved in this. Indeed, we are leaders of groups of about 40 leading Christian politicians in the north.
We started work on this years back when we suspected that if a Muslim emerge from the south as the candidate for any of the political parties there is a risk of what has happened will happen.
So, while we plan that the same faith ticket of APC should fail, we also believe that we should align with one of the leading political parties that has the chance of wining.
Our strategy is we will not just waste our vote because we want to protest the same faith ticket of APC, we will like to partner with another group that is more sensible of the Nigerian situation and realised that Nigeria needs harmony, unity and peace.”
The Peoples Democratic Party has instituted a lawsuit compelling the Independent National Electoral Commission to prevent All Progressives Congress Presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu; and Labour Party standard bearer, Peter Obi, from replacing their running mates with Senator Kashim Shettima and Senator Datti Baba-Ahmed respectively.
The PDP is also asking the court to declare that Tinubu and Obi be disqualified unless they contest alongside their previous running mates – Kabiru Masari and Doyin Okupe respectively.
In the originating summons with suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/1016/2022, the PDP is seeking an order barring the Independent National Electoral Commission from replacing the running mates of Tinubu and Obi.
Those listed as first to seventh respondents in the case are INEC, APC, Tinubu, Masari, Labour Party, Obi and Okupe.
Recall that Tinubu had nominated Masari as a surrogate running mate or placeholder in order to beat the June 17 INEC deadline. Obi had also nominated his campaign manager, Okupe, as an interim running mate. However, INEC gave a grace period of about one month to substitute their names.
After weeks of consultations, Tinubu and Obi nominated Shettima and Baba-Ahmed respectively while Masari and Okupe resigned.
However, the PDP asked the court to determine if by the combined interpretation of Section 142(1) of the constitution, Section 29(1), 31 and 33 of the Electoral Act 2022, and INEC’s timetable, Tinubu and Obi are bound by the submission of Masari and Okupe respectively as their running mates.
The party also asked the court to determine if “by the combined interpretation of Section 142(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Sections 29(1), 31, 33 of the Electoral Act 2022, the first defendant (INEC) can validly accept any change or substitution of the 4th (Masari) and 7th (Okupe) defendants as running mates of the 3rd (APC) and 6th (Labour Party) defendants.”
The PDP is also seeking five reliefs including a declaration that by the combined interpretation of Section 142(1) of the constitution, Section 29(1), 31 and 33 of the Electoral Act 2022 and INEC’s timetable, both Tinubu and Obi must be bound by their submission.
The party asked the court to rule that both Tinubu and Obi will be disqualified the moment they substitute the names of their running mates.
One of the reliefs reads, “A declaration that by the combined interpretation of Section 142(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), Sections 29(1), 31, 33 of the Electoral Act 2022, the 1st defendant’s (INEC’s) election timetable, the 3rd (Tinubu) and 6th (Obi) cannot validly contest the 2023 Presidential election without the 4th (Masari) and 7th (Obi) respondents as their respective running mates.”
The PDP also based its argument on the fact that the term ‘placeholder’ is unknown to Nigerian law.
“The Electoral Act makes no provisions whatsoever for placeholder or temporary running mates. The acts of the 2nd (APC), 3rd (Tinubu), 5th (Labour Party ) and 6th (Obi) defendants in nominating and forwarding the names of the 4th (Masari) and 7th (Okupe) defendants as running mates for the 2023 Presidential elections is valid and subsisting,” the party added.
In a supporting affidavit sworn to by Evelyn Oroh, a litigation secretary in the law firm of Gordy Uche (SAN), it was stated that some of the defendants had stated openly that they were mere placeholders.
“I know that the 3rd (Tinubu) and 6th (Obi) defendants have stated in media interviews and publications that the 4th (Masari) and 7th (Okupe) defendants are not their real running mates but merely holding the place as placeholders for the real running mates,” it stated.
When contacted on the telephone, the Labour Party’s lawyer, Alex Ejesieme, said he had received the court processes.
“I have received the processes and we are filing a response already,” he simply stated.
We’re aware of the suit – Tinubu’s legal team
The Head, Legal Directorate, Tinubu Campaign Organisation, Babatunde Ogala (SAN), said he was aware of the suit when contacted by one of our correspondents on Thursday.
Ogala, a former Legal Adviser of the APC, however, said Tinubu’s legal team had not been served a notice by the court. “Yes, I’m aware (of the matter). But they have not served us.” When asked to confirm the service, he restated, “They have not.”
Earlier, INEC National Commissioner, Festus Okoye, had in an interview with Arise TV, described the issue of placeholder as a unique invention that had no place in the constitutional and legal framework of the country.
He had said, “Political parties’ candidates have submitted names of associates to run with them, and that is the position of the law as of today and nothing has changed.
“For there to be a substitution of a candidate, the vice-presidential candidate must write to the INEC, with an affidavit stating that he is withdrawing from the race within the time frame provided by the law, as that is the only way there can be a substitution of candidates.”
Also, the Resident Electoral Commissioner for Osun State, Prof Abdulganniy Raji, had said, “Being a part of the umpire, I will not say I see danger or I didn’t see danger (in party submitting place holders instead of running mate).
“I will rather abide by the constitutional provisions, the extant laws. The Electoral Act makes provisions for the procedure of how to nominate and there are also provisions for the substitution of the names, either in case of death or withdrawal by any candidate, whether the substantive candidate or the running mate.”
Senior lawyers, in separate interviews with The PUNCH on June 20 had said the only risk involved in the place holding arrangement would be the refusal of the running mate to step down.
A senior advocate, Adegoke Rasheed, said a placeholder could only be withdrawn if he died or voluntarily withdrew as neither INEC nor the court could make him relinquish the position.
Another SAN, Rotimi Jacobs, said political parties had taken advantage of the silence of the Electoral Act on the issue.
He said, “The political parties are just taking advantage of the provision of the Electoral Act: Section 33 permits the candidates to withdraw or an account of death or may be substituted. The political party will conduct another primary election. Or if he voluntarily withdraws, the political party that is affected must within 14 days conduct fresh primary elections to produce another candidate.”
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has postponed the official unveiling of former Borno State Governor, Kashim Shetima, as the running mate to its presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu.
Shetima was scheduled to have been presented to party members at the APC national Secretariat on Thursday.
However, the Chairman of the APC Press Corp has informed reporters the event has been moved forward.
He said a new date will be announced in due time and that the date would probably be sometime next week.
The Press Corp chairman said the directive for the postponement was given by the party’s Deputy National Secretary.
No reason has been given for the decision which comes amid controversy over the choice of a Muslim-Muslim ticket by the party.
Nollywood actor, Kenneth Okonkwo, has dumped the ruling All Progressives Congress over the party’s decision to fly a Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket for the 2023 election.
The PUNCH reports that the APC presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, on Sunday, announced former Borno State governor, Kashim Shettima, as his running mate despite opposition from some quarters to a same-faith ticket.
The thespian announced his decision in a letter shared on his Instagram page on Monday.
He said his decision became imperative following Tinubu’s choice of Shettima as running mate despite clamour from stakeholders and other Nigerians that a Christain northerner should complement the party’s ticket.
Part of the letter read, “Recall that joined APC because of its Constitutional vow, as true Progressives and Patriots, to eliminate all forms of discrimination and social injustice in Nigeria, thereby building the nation a nation which will guarantee equal opportunity for all and ensure mutual and peaceful co-existence among Nigerians.
“Those ideals are now alien to the APC, with their unfortunate decision to paint our Muslim brothers in had light, by insinuating that the Muslims in Nigeria will not accept or vote for a Northern Christian as Vice-President to pair with a Southern Muslim.
“If Muslims could vote voluntarily for Southern Christian Presidents, it is then a fallacy to insinuate that they cannot accept a Northern Christian Vice-President. This will permanently destroy the political viability of Northern Christians in Nigeria, if allowed to stand.
“Being the convener of the Campaign for Equity and Justice in Nigeria, and as a former member of APC Presidential Campaign Council, which resisted same religion presidential ticket in the past, I can no longer continue to lend my name to these abnormalities in the interest of our peaceful co-existence, integration and progress of our beloved country.”
As preparations for the 2023 general elections hot up, the ruling All Progressives Congress is making frantic moves to win more influential politicians into its fold. Three governors on the platform of the party on Friday visited the Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, to woo him to join the party.
Wike is said to be dissatisfied with the outcome of the presidential primary of his party, the Peoples Democratic Party, which produced Atiku Abubakar as the candidate, while he emerged as the first runner-up. The governor is also said to be aggrieved by the choice of Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, as Atiku’s running mate despite the recommendations of a committee that favoured him.
The aftermath of the primary led to a deep crack in the party with some members, believed to be loyal to Wike, calling for the resignation of the national chairman, Iyorchia Ayu and substitution of Okowa’s name with Wike as the running mate.
The absence of Atiku, who has been on vacation abroad, is also said to be exacerbating the crisis, as many believe he should have met Wike in person and play a critical role in uniting the party before the crisis escalates.
The APC is therefore believed to be taking advantage of the festering crisis in the opposition party and Atiku’s absence to woo the governor, who is seen by many as influential and a mobiliser.
On Friday, three APC governors: Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State who is also the Chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum; Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State; and Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State; and a former governor of Ekiti State, Ayo Fayose, who is a PDP member, visited Wike in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.
As soon as they alighted from their vehicle, they exchanged banters, hugs and handshakes with Wike. However, a top government official in the state who did not want his name mentioned noted that as soon as they arrived, they went into a closed-door meeting with Wike and that the meeting lasted for about an hour and thirty minutes.
Though it could not be ascertained what their discussion was about, it is believed that the visit was about the 2023 elections and attempt by the ruling party to woo the governor to join the APC.
When asked by reporters what their visit was about, Fayemi reportedly said “it was a Sallah visit”.
While trading banters before the meeting, Fayemi who was the first to speak while in a handshake with Wike said, “Why did you come here with a camera?” Wike replied, “Am I hiding?”
Then, Akeredolu while shaking the governor, said, “Wike, Wike,” which elicited another response from him, saying, “They said I went to London. Which day did I go to London? Is this place (his residence) London?” But Fayemi interjected, “London via Turkey.”
Teasing their host, Akeredolu kept hailing Wike and told him that the cap he (Wike) wore was now in vogue but Wike replied, saying “I don’t want to wear it”, as they all burst into laughter and walked towards the governor’s residence.
They continued their banter as they walked towards Wike’s residence.
‘Come join us’
Meanwhile, a source at the meeting, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the APC governors told Wike to join them in their quest to win the 2023 presidential election.
The source said, “The plan is to woo him to our side since his party seems to be ignoring him. We asked him to work with us.”
Asked what Wike’s response was, the source said “Well, you don’t expect him to jump at the offer. This is because his party already had a candidate for all the elective positions, especially in his state. But we want him to work with our presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. But he gave us no commitment.”
Their visit came a few weeks after Governor Dave Umahi, also of the APC, visited the governor and held a closed-door meeting with him. The details of the meeting were not known but it is believed it’s also about the 2023 elections. Umahi and Wike had previously had open disagreements prior to the party primaries.
Apart from Peter Obi of the Labour Party and Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria Peoples’ Party who also visited the governor, some PDP leaders, including Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State, the Senate Minority Leader, Phillip Aduda; his deputy, Shuaibu Lau; and deputy Minority Whip, Danjuma La’ah, had paid similar visits to Wike recently. The visits also included closed-door meetings.
There has been widespread speculation that Wike may be contemplating dumping the PDP, but the governor who had always said he remained in the PDP, had yet to make any statement to that effect.
Governor Samuel Ortom had in a recent interview expressed displeasure over the way the party handled the aftermath of the primary, especially as it concerned Wike. Fayose, who contested the presidential primary, said about a week ago that it was either southern presidency or nothing.
PDP kicks
Meanwhile, the PDP has said it is not threatened by the visit of the APC governors to Wike. It also said the visit was expected since the 36 governors would have common issues to deliberate upon.
National Publicity Secretary of the party, Debo Ologunagba, told one of our correspondents in an interview that the visit by the three APC governors was normal.
He added, “The (APC) governors are free to visit any of their colleagues. Wike, who is our performing governor, couldn’t have rejected the offer by his colleagues to visit him. Also, the visit is not meant to threaten us. We are not threatened at all because the APC were probably in Rivers State to learn from Wike.
“Let me also add that the governors have a club known as the Nigerian Governors’ Forum and its members are free to socialise and visit one another. There is nothing wrong with that. It is good for governance because beyond politics, the governors need to come together for the good of the country.”
Asked when Atiku would return to the country, Ologunagba said, “Anytime from now.”
However, sources within the party said its leadership was worried about Atiku’s trips.
Atiku was said to have travelled to the United States some days ago, from where he moved to Dubai. However, a source close to him told one of our correspondents that the former vice president is now in France.
Rivers APC speaks
The spokesperson for the APC in Rivers State, Chris Finebone, has said he wouldn’t be the one to decide whether or not Wike would be welcomed to the APC if he decides to defect.
He said in an interview with one of our correspondents, “I won’t be the one to decide whether the door will be open or closed but if you ask me for my personal opinion, Wike will not go to the APC.
“Wike may work out something with those who are visiting him and might not necessarily go to the APC. There are a thousand and-one things he can arrange with those visiting him without pronouncing his movement to APC; that is my personal view.
“I think it is taking speculations too far that those three governors came with an ex-governor Fayose, it may be a sign of working together but it may also not mean out rightly decamping to join the party.”
Ex-VP in France
Meanwhile, Atiku is said to be in France after his trips to the United States and Dubai. A top source in the party told one of our correspondents that the former vice-president was on vacation, adding that he needed to rest given that once he returned he would be busy with campaigns that would last till the February 25, 2023 presidential election.
When reminded that Atiku’s absence was not good for the party, the source said, “Atiku Abubakar is on vacation. The man is taking a break. This race will be a marathon by the time he gets back, so he deserves the vacation now.
“Genuine stakeholders, members of the party and leaders recognise that everything needs to be done to resolve all the issues and the reconciliation process has started and is ongoing. It’s not only about Atiku Abubakar; the party has taken ownership of it. He’s the candidate of the party and the party is trying to find a solution to these issues, and I think people should give them the opportunity.”
When asked if Atiku’s camp had fears about the APC governors to Wike, the source said, “People need to have some respect for Governor Nyesom Wike. He is a governor and those who visited him are also governors, and they have a right to interact and if they do, why should people interpret it wrongly. That amounts to a disservice and they are not being fair to him.
“In all of these, we must take cognisance of what Governor Wike has said; that PDP is in his DNA and that whatever was the outcome of that primary, he would work for the PDP in 2023. That was his last say on that matter and I think we should respect that.
Tinubu returns
The presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, returned to the country on Friday, 11 days after he travelled to France.
Tinubu’s Spokesperson, Tunde Rahman, confirmed this in an interview with one of our correspondents on Friday.
Also, Tinubu, via his official Twitter handle, Friday evening, shared a tweet, “Heading home,” with a link to his Instagram page showing him inside an aircraft.
Tinubu had travelled to France on June 27 for “important meetings.”
Tinubu departed Nigeria shortly after he held a closed-door meeting with the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on June 27.
While announcing his trip to France via a statement, Rahman said, “He is off to Paris, France to hold some important meetings. The APC standard-bearer is expected back in the country shortly.”
Some of his supporters expressed hope that the matter of his running mate would now be settled in a matter of days.
Although his media team averred that the candidate travelled to the French country ‘to hold important meetings,’ his critics believed that it was a mission to perfect his plans ahead of the 2023 general elections while some believed he travelled for medical attention.
Ayu back home
On Friday, Ayu also returned to the country from the United Kingdom after a brief vacation. He arrived at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
Ayu travelled to the UK on June 21 for a brief vacation after the party’s primaries and nomination processes.
A statement by the Special Assistant on Communication and Strategy to the Chairman, Simon Imobo-Tswam, stated that before the vacation, Ayu the Deputy National Chairman (North), Ambassador Umar Damagum, to act for him.
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.”
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 86-member Campaign Council was inaugurated in Abuja on Thursday.
The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdulahi Adamu, has told the campaign council for the July 15 governorship election in Osun State that he has zero tolerance for failure.
Mr Adamu stated this while inaugurating the 86-member council at the party secretariat in Abuja on Thursday.
The council, co-chaired by Governors Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State and Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State, has been mandated to secure the re-election of Governor Gboyega Oyetola.
Mr Oyetola faces a tough challenge from Demola Adeleke of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and other candidates.
Mr Adamu, in his speech, said the council should not come back home crying, adding that crying should be left for the opponents.
He asked the council to do everything legally possible to ensure victory for the party.
“Nobody should come back to us crying, failure is not our own by the grace of God. Whatever it takes within the laws of the land, I said go for it, win the election.
“Let them go complain. Let them go wherever. Let’s win the election. We have no apologies whatsoever for this posture because these two elections are for the best to the national election coming up in 2003.
“It will go in our credentials that we have the winning track record. This National Working Committee that you elected we have a commitment. So, we must be prepared to face him eyeball to eyeball,” he said.
Briefing journalists after the inauguration, Mr Ganduje said the council will start with reconciliation of all aggrieved members of the party.
“To win the election is absolutely necessary but following due process, following all democratic ideals.
“But we assure you, we must start with reconciliation to ensure that the party is intact and the machinery is on the right footing. We know all that led to the election being inconclusive. But this time around, it will be conclusive,” Mr Ganduje said
The northern region is the stronghold of the ruling APC, as it governs 14 of its 19 states. But this is the first time the party is presenting a southerner as its presidential flag bearer.
What fate awaits the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, in the northern states in the 2023 election?
The question is of interest to political observers because the region is the stronghold of the ruling party, as it governs 14 of its 19 states, but this is the first time the party is presenting a southerner as its flag bearer.
Mr Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos State, polled 1,271 votes at the APC primary on June 8, defeating 13 aspirants after seven others stepped down for him at the convention ground.
He will slug it out with the candidates of 16 other parties in the February 25, 2023, general election, including Atiku Abubakar of the People Democratic Party (PDP), Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria People Party (NNPP) and Peter Obi of the Labour Party.
Patient courtship
Before declaring his intention to run for president in January, Mr Tinubu had been the leader of the APC in the South-west zone, where he had been influential since the beginning of the Fourth Republic in 1999. However, northern state governors provided the most critical support that helped him to win the party’s nomination.
This did not come as a surprise to close observers because Mr Tinubu in recent years had taken deliberate steps to build alliances with political leaders in the region.
Initially, some northern APC governors did not support Mr Tinubu because of their own ambitions. But he eventually won them over, helped no doubt by the position of a majority of them that the South should produce the successor to President Muhammadu Buhari next year. But he had also deliberately courted many of them over the years.
One of the governors, Muhammad Badaru of Jigawa, who eventually stepped down for Mr Tinubu at the primary, narrated how the former Lagos governor helped him to win his election as governor.
Mr Tinubu announced his presidential bid in January, after numerous engagements with northern leaders. He was the Guest Speaker at the prestigious Arewa House lecture series in Kaduna last year, an event he preceded with visits to Kano and Katsina states within a week.
While in Katsina, last March 24, he donated N50 million to victims of a fire disaster at the city’s central market.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr Tinubu said: “For the fire disaster, I am personally most touched because I am a son of a market woman leader. My late mother was the president of the Nigerian Men and Women Market Association.
“We, together with my mother, had been to Katsina several times for political rallies and Durbar. Coming to Katsina, it is not only to celebrate but to share the joy and sorrow, particularly in this period where Nigerians need each other both in pain and joy. We will continue to pray that Nigeria will be peaceful,” the former governor said.
Arewa House Lecture
Speaking at the opening of the 2021 annual Arewa House Lectures, which he chaired in Kaduna on March 27 that year, Mr Tinubue called for massive investment in job creation to address the economic and security challenges of the region.
The theme of the lecture was “Reduction of the Cost of Governance for Inclusive Growth and Youth Development in Northern Nigeria in a Post- COVID-19 Era”.
He said the government must think outside of the box in finding solutions to the challenges posed by unemployment. According to him, frustration and despair among the youth were largely caused by chronic poverty and the breakdown of social institutions.
“Building vital infrastructures such as irrigation and water catchment systems will help agriculture, arrest desertification, and provide jobs.
“Another readily available area primed for investment is the agro-allied industry which, for the northern region, is particularly advantageous,” he said.
On the herder/farmer dispute, he said the government “must appreciate that martial security measures alone will not suffice.
“We cannot resolve this problem by holding on to one-dimensional answers. We must all be dispassionate in our search for solutions. These challenges are multi-faceted and so the solutions must be.
“The issue of insecurity, unemployment, and extremism has many things to do with governance, over time. We must tackle our deep and widespread poverty.
“If we limit the government’s role under the erroneous assumption that government spending is intrinsically unproductive, then we tether ourselves to failure.
“The development of any populous nation has always been dependent on the ability of the government to allocate sufficient funds to projects and programs that create and encourage enduring growth and employment,” Mr Tinubu said.
The 12th Colloquium in Kano.
Mr Tinubu held the 12th edition of his annual Colloquium in Kano in 2021 under the theme, “Our Common Bond, Our Common Wealth.” The colloquium is a lecture series held on his birthdays since 2009, two years after he left government.
At the event, during which he inaugurated the headquarters of the state’s anti-graft agency, Mr Tinubu lauded Governor Abdullahi Ganduje for strengthening the anti-corruption institutions in his state.
He also preached peace, unity, and tolerance among Nigerians and then held a closed-door meeting with clerics and the five first-class emirs in the state at the Government House in Kano.
These engagements probably contributed to the support that the former Lagos governor received from northern state governors at the APC National Convention. But now that he is the party’s presidential candidate, has he done enough to connect with the voters in the region?
Courtship
Habu Muhammad, a former head of Aminu Kano Centre for Democratic Research and Training (Mambayya House), a research and training unit of the Bayero University, Kano, said Mr Tinubu’s visits to Northwest states were in promotion of his ambition to succeed President Buhari come 2023.
“Tinubu is an astute politician who believes that with the support from Kano in particular and the northern states, he will actualise his ambition of becoming the next Nigerian president,” Mr Muhammad, a professor of political science, told PREMIUM TIMES.
He said if Mr Tinubu’s tours of northern states were solely to preach unity, he should have gathered southern leaders to preach the same message to them too.
“Since he started celebrating his birthday in 2009, I can’t recall the celebration taking place in the north. Holding it in the north now is political. But there is nothing wrong with that because it is politics. In politics, someone must indicate interest and that person must lobby for support. Tinubu has political relevance, he has people and supporters across Nigeria. In the end, Nigerians will decide whether he is the right person or not,” Mr Muhammad said.
However, Mr Muhammad warned that Mr Tinubu may encounter challenges in the north if leaders in his South-west region continue to be silent about the alleged persecution of Hausa/Fulani groups over the farmers/herders crisis.
He said Mr Tinubu himself had not spoken out against the attacks on northern businesses and Fulani communities in his home region.
But the candidate faces other challenges as well.
Kano: NNPP’s challenge, Ganduje’s record
Kano is the most populous state in Northern Nigeria. The APC got its highest votes, about 1.9 million, in the state in 2015, a feat it also repeated in the 2019 presidential election.
However, Governor Ganduje appears to have mismanaged the party in Kano. Many of its important stakeholders have left the party in anger and frustration. This may affect the support that the APC presidential candidate may get in the state at the poll.
A former governor Ibrahim Shekarau, a former presidential aide, Kawu Sumaila; and a former federal lawmaker, Abdulmumini Jibrin; are among those who have defected to the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) brought to the state by a former governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso, who is also running for president.
Both Messrs Sumaila and Jibrin are formidable politicians in the Kano South Senatorial district, which has 15 local government areas (LGAs). Rano LGA, which had 71,641 in the last elections, will be one of the battlefields in the zone for the APC, NNPP and PDP.
Other council areas in Kano South like Kiru, Wudil, Gaya, Tudun Wada, and Doguwa will also see close contests. However, the Chief Whip of the House of Representatives, Alhassan Ado-Doguwa, has vowed to deliver the Kano South Senatorial district to the APC as he did previously.
Luckily for the APC too, Barau Jibrin, the senator representing Kano North District, which has 14 LGAs, remains in the party. Mr Jibrin, who is the Senate Appropriations Committee chairman and is seeking re-election, and Abubakar Kabir, who is the member representing Bichi in the House of Representatives, are popular in the district. With the influence of the Emir of Bichi, Nasiru Ado-Bayero, who is an in-law to President Buhari, the APC may sweep the poll in this zone.
But the ruling party will face stiff opposition in Kano Central Senatorial District where Messrs Kwankwaso and Shekarau hail from. Mr Kwankwaso’s followers (members of the Kwankwasiyya Movement) are numerous in the city.
The unresolved APC crisis emanating from the primary election in some of the metropolitan council areas, like Fagge, is an added advantage to the opposition parties.
The member representing Fagge at the House of Representatives, Aminu Suleiman, won the APC primary election despite complaints of alleged poor representation made against him by some residents. Mr Suleiman, however, dismissed the allegation as politically motivated, saying he secured hundreds of jobs for his constituents.
In addition, many APC supporters are disenchanted over the poor performance of the APC-led federal government in the last seven years.
Overall, APC needs a lot of hard work to harvest the usual humongous votes it has been getting in Kano central. However, many residents commend the Ganduje administration for executing landmark projects in the Kano metropolis.
The NNPP is unlikely to win in Kano but may play the spoiler for Mr Tinubu and his opponent of the other major party, Atiku Abubakar of the PDP.
Keen contests
The contests in other Northwest states will be keen between the APC and PDP. The ruling party will likely maintain its grip on Kaduna and Katsina states. In the former, Governor Nasir El-Rufa’i is widely adjudged to have performed well but the animosity against him in the southern part of the state means the PDP also remains strong in the state.
In Katsina, the home state of President Buhari, despite the challenges of insecurity, Governor Masari has also executed many projects and addressed the security challenges in rural communities.
But Sokoto and Kebbi will be battlefields for the two parties.
The APC has bright chances in the North Central Niger State, as the structure of the PDP seems to have collapsed in the state over the years. A former governor, Babangida Aliyu, who ought to be the leader of the party in the state, has been silent, perhaps because he is battling corruption charges.
With the absence of the PDP structure, APC chieftains in banditry-prone Shiroro, Munya, Rafi, and other council areas are noticeably supporting the victims of attacks. Those politicians are more likely to influence the elections even in communities displaced by terrorists.
The APC states and APC ruling states
The APC controls 14 states in the North. Yobe, Borno, and Zamfara are traditional APC states – the PDP has not won a governorship election in the three states since the beginning of the Fourth Republic, and there is a high tendency that Mr Tinubu will win those states hands down.
But the APC presidential candidate will suffer from the perceived sins of some of the governors in states like Jigawa and Kebbi, who have either been accused of hijacking the party structures or abandoning governance for their personal businesses.
Abdullahi Tsoho, a labour union leader and governorship candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in Jigawa, said over 9,000 teachers retired from the state civil service in the last seven years, but the government has not recruited to fill the vacancies.
Instead, Mr Tsoho said the government has focused on building new classroom blocks without teachers to teach.
Even his party members had complained that Governor Badaru has never done empowerment programmes for residents in the last seven years, while farmers also complained that farming inputs, machines and agrochemicals he reportedly imported from China were never sold to them at subsidised rates. Some farmers lamented that farm inputs are cheaper in the open market than from the state-controlled Agricultural Supply Company (JASCO), managed by a confidant of the governor.
Also, farmers alleged that Mr Badaru’s role as head of the presidential task force on fertiliser did not benefit farmers in his state as the price and availability of fertilizer in Jigawa remain a concern.
However, unlike in Kebbi where aggrieved APC members defected to the opposition PDP, they have refused to leave in Jigawa. A party member said many of them are instead waiting for the elections to pay back for the alleged wrongdoings of the governor.
Meanwhile, a former lawmaker, Farouk Aliyu, is challenging the governor in court over the alleged imposition of candidates of the party.
Thus, the unresolved party crisis and perceived political sins of the Jigawa governor may affect the support for his party’s presidential candidate in the state.
50/50 in the Northeast – Don
A professor at the Department of Political Science, University of Maiduguri, Umara Ibrahim, agreed that the APC presidential candidate may win three of the six states in the North East.
He told PREMIUM TIMES that it would be difficult for the PDP to win in Borno and Yobe states and that APC, being in government in Gombe, is also most likely to take the state. The PDP is in government in Adamawa, Taraba and Bauchi states.
The don said the APC may gain more influence in the zone if it picks its vice-presidential candidate from the zone.
Mr Ibrahim said Atiku has a large following in Bauchi State, which would make the state difficult to win for the presidential candidate of the APC. He added that though the governor, Bala Mohammed, lost in the PDP presidential primary, he will still support his party to win the state.
Muslim-Muslim
Mr Tinubu, a Southern Muslim, is under pressure from Nigerian Christian leaders to pick a Northern Christian as his running mate. But Sa’idu Dukawa, a professor of Political Science at Bayero University, Kano, said fielding a Muslim-Muslim ticket will serve his electoral interest better in conservative Northern states.
Mr Dukawa believes that Mr Tinubu’s choice of a running mate will influence the support he gets from the average voters in Kano and other conservative Muslim states in the region.
“If Tinubu picks a Muslim running mate from the North, the APC may win all the states it now controls, and even get additional states. But if they chose otherwise, the party may lose some of their states. There is no doubt about this because religion will definitely influence the voting pattern,” Mr Dukawa said.
He said the predominantly Muslim population in the North is now interpreting the calls by religious groups on Mr Tinubu not to pick a Muslim running mate as a plot against their religion.
“The simple arithmetic is that only three of the 19 Northern states are being governed by Christian governors. The Muslim population will want one of their own to represent them as the vice president,” he added.
However, he said Mr Tinubu may also face a backlash from this arrangement with the majority of Christians not voting for him both in the North and in the South. The don said the aim of any political party is to win an election, and that politicians will always adopt the option they think will make them win.
The APC has named Kabir Masari, a Muslim from Katsina State, as his running mate but many believe he is not the final choice and would be substituted before July 15.
That notwithstanding, Mr Dukawa said voters should always consider competence over religion and vote for the candidate that will address the security and economic challenges, irrespective of their regions and religions.
The majority control of the All Progressives Congress in the Senate is currently under threat as no fewer than 20 APC senators have concluded plans to defect to the Peoples Democratic Party, Labour Party, New Nigeria Peoples Party and others.
The PUNCH learnt that the APC, which had earlier lost 13 senators to the opposition parties, might lose more parliamentarians aggrieved for losing their return tickets to the National Assembly during the party primaries.
It was gathered that the party leaders were worried that if the rate of defections continued and the opposition PDP gained more members, the ruling party might lose its majority status in the Senate.
During Wednesday’s plenary, Senator Dauda Jika representing Bauchi Central, announced his defection to the NNPP, bringing the number of APC senators to 67.
Currently, the five minority parties in the upper chamber have 43 senators with the PDP boasting 39 senators, while the Young Peoples Party, All Progressives Grand Alliance, Labour Party and the New Nigeria People’s Party have four senators.
To stem the gale of defections, the National Chairman of the APC, Abdullahi Adamu, met with the APC senators behind closed doors at the National Assembly complex, Abuja, some minutes past 2 pm on Wednesday
Adamu, who first went to the office of the President of the Senate, Ahmed Lawan, for a brief meeting before the general meeting, said that the party was worried by the wave of the defections among the APC senators.
Speaking to journalists after his meeting with the APC caucus, he noted that it was a usual occurrence during the election period but it was enough for any leader to worry over the loss of any member.
He stated, “The meeting with the senators was most fruitful. The issue of defection is an unfortunate development when it happens but this is a season where there are all sorts of behaviour in the political space and ours is not an exception.
“In every election year, this kind of thing gives cause for stakeholders to sneeze and Nigeria is not an exception so is the APC, not an exception. I don’t care about what is happening in other parties, my focus is on the APC. But we all know that the occurrence is not only happening in the APC, it’s happening across other political parties too. And because we are the ruling party, our problems are exaggerated before the public.”
Adamu also said he did not know if the problem of defection would persist in the party but he had met with his colleagues at the National Assembly and he believed the issue was surmountable.
He added, “There is no responsible leader that would not be worried when he loses one member not to talk of two. At the moment we are faced with the stark reality of our problems. I have committed my colleagues at the National Assembly to face the problem squarely and see the problem as solvable. We are in politics, I don’t know what would happen tomorrow, and nobody does.”
Meanwhile, a lawmaker who spoke to one of our correspondents on the condition of anonymity, stated that the party chairman had to come down to the National Assembly to dissuade the senators from defecting from the ruling APC.
According to the source, not lesser than 20 senators intend to leave the APC to other parties, particularly the PDP within the next week.
The source said, “The party chairman came to have a meeting with the APC senators because he said that they learnt through intelligence that not lesser than 20 more senators were planning to defect to other parties within the next one week.
“The chairman asked each of the aggrieved senators to lay bare their grievances which we all did one after the other. Having heard our problems, the chairman instructed that we put them into writing.”
The lawmaker also stated that Adamu promised that the party would look into the issues raised and do something about it as it was a dangerous time for lawmakers in the party to defect because it was the election year and such moves were grave for any political party.
The source added, “The chairman asked us all to put all of our complaints into writing after which the APC caucus leaders would sit with the National Working Committee and look into the issues raised.
“Senator Adamu further stated the party would then see what it can do to help the situation. He, however, stated that lawmakers who do not feel comfortable with the help provided by the parties can then leave. But leaving without proper consultations with the party sends a wrong signal of discord. It presents the party as if in disarray and without proper leadership.”
“This is an election year and it’s not good to present the party as having leadership issues,” the source quoted Adamu to have said.
The PUNCH reports that there has been a wave of defections across the APC senatorial seats.
A number of the APC senators had cross-carpeted to other parties due to their failure to secure a return ticket to the NASS with many of them alleging that their states’ governors hijacked the senatorial primary elections.
In the past week since the resumption of the plenary, not less than six senators have sent their defection letters to the Senate President.
They include the Majority Leader, Senator Yahaya Abdullahi representing Kebbi North senatorial district, who defected to the PDP.
Abdullahi alleged that the democratic challenges and deficits in Kebbi State did not just start from the last congresses, but from July last year “when the governor illegally decapitated the state leadership of the party, imposed unelected ward, local government and state executives of the party.”
He stated in his defection letter to the Senate, “At a point, I thought of resort to the courts, but decided against that course of action after realising that political challenges require political solutions in the democratic arena where it is the people and not the judges who are the final arbiters.
“I came to this decision after a very hard struggle with my conscience and emotions. It is either to remain on the side of my people or to selfishly look the other way. All politics is local. I cannot therefore in good conscience, continue to work for the success of this administration at the centre while the people of my state, my primary constituency, continue to wallow in abject poverty and destitution under the misrule and manipulation of a despot.
“I have, therefore, decided to pitch my tent with the Peoples Democratic Party to join forces with my compatriots at home who are struggling against incompetence, imposition and violation of democratic norms, principles and practices.”
Also former governor of Kebbi State, Adamu Aliero (Kebbi Central), defected from the ruling APC to the PDP stating that his “predicated on the fact that there is no internal democracy in the APC.”
He alleged that the state’s governor, Atiku Bagudu, had “bastardised, the party and electoral processes in the state which are now characterised by high-handedness and unfairness.”
Similarly, Senators Ahmad Babba-Kaita (Katsina North), Lawal Gumau (Bauchi South), and Francis Alimikhena (Edo North) also announced their defection from the ruling party on Tuesday at the plenary.
While Babba Kaita and Alimikhena defected to the opposition PDP, Gumau on the other hand, defected to the NNNP.
The notice of their resignation and defection was contained in three separate letters read during plenary by the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, on the floor.
But, the senator representing Oyo South Senatorial district, elected on the platform of the PDP, Senator Kola Balogun, Tuesday formally defected to the APC.
APC Senate spokesman
The Chairman of the Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Ajibola Basiru, in an interview with Channels Television, allayed fears of the party losing its majority status.
Basiru noted that despite the gale of defections that had the APC caucus in the chamber, it had gained more members.
He said, “I want to first say that all politics are local. The politics of the State of Osun is different from national politics. I don’t know any of the existing National Assembly members in the State of Osun that has defected. So, if the argument is based on defection, I don’t see how the defections of somebody in Kebbi State or Katsina State will affect the fortune of my party in the State of Osun. ”
He claimed that the number of the APC senators had increased to 67.
On why the lawmakers were defecting, Basiru said, “As to the question of the people who have been defecting, they may have their reasons, some of them may be because they have lost their popularity in their party; it may be because of the peculiar challenges or what they faced in their state.
“All I know is that the South-West has spoken in Ekiti and will speak louder in Osun, to say that the PDP, to the extent that it does not even have regard for the cohesion and federal character nature of the country, and it does not even care about the feeling of the people of southern Nigeria in terms of power shift, would be roundly rejected in the election of July 16, 2022.”
The APC National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, did not respond to calls or attempted to answer the questions sent via WhatsApp.
However, a member of the National Working Committee, who craved anonymity, said that defection was normal in politics.
“It doesn’t mean that it will hamper the chances of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.
“The real electioneering starts from September. We are not under any form of pressure or panic mode,” he said.
The National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Debo Ologunagba, described the defections as a welcome development.
He said “What happened today is a welcome development; it shows that Nigerians will begin to have legislators that will formulate laws that will change the narratives of insecurity, lack of employment and a purposeful representation. It shows that the party is the only hope for the people. We are hoping that more will still join our party.”
In his reaction, the National Chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council, Yabagi Sani, said the senators’ action did not come as a surprise.
“It is democracy in action. People have the right to associate with whoever they want to associate with. The moment people see that their interests will not be advanced where they are, of course, they will change. There is nothing strange about what is happening. It happened before to the PDP when five chieftains including governors moved to the APC. I don’t think it is anything that is unheard of in this country. It is now left for APC to put its house in order,” he submitted.
‘APC defections ominous’
Prof Sylvester Odion-Akhaine, a political science lecturer at Lagos State University, believed the recent defection is an ominous sign the APC must checkmate.
He added, “What we are looking at is a very complex 2023. In this case, we cannot assume that the APC and PDP, being dominant parties, will carry the day. We are also seeing a very high power politics by the ruling oligarchy in Nigeria, realigning the way that undermines the power shift to the South.
“This is the indication because when people move from one political party to the other in the Nigerian context, it is unhealthy and symptomatic of the fact that we don’t have institutionalised political parties in Nigeria.
The permutation of either of them getting victory will be quite complex and tough. The current defection from Tinubu’s party is ominous for the APC,” he argued.
Also speaking, Mr Tonye Isokariari, said the defections were not unusual, adding, “People cross-carpet when they feel the party is not working for them. But is not the right thing, more people will also join the APC as much as people in the APC are leaving.”
Meanwhile, no fewer than 15 APC members in Kano State have defected to the NNNP.
They include a former governor of the state and now the Senator of Kano Central, Ibrahim Shekarau; a member representing Rano/Bunkure/Kibiya Federal, Constituency, Alhassan Rurum; member representing Takai/Sumaila Federal constituency, Shamsudden Dambazau and former member representing Kiru/Bebeji and former Executive Director of the Federal Housing Authority, Jibrin Kofa.
The former Speaker of the Bauchi State House of Assembly, it was gathered, was considering joining the NNPP.
Over 500 supporters of the Peoples Democratic Party from the Boripe Local Government Area of Osun State, have defected to the All Progressives Congress.
The defectors were received into the APC at a campaign rally held in Iragbiji, the hometown of Osun State Governor, Adegboyega Oyetola.
A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Ismail Omipidan, on Tuesday, said the defectors attributed their defection to the convincing manner Oyetola has been managing the affairs of the state.
They also restated readiness to support Oyetola with their votes in the July 16 governorship election.
Addressing crowd that attended the rally, Oyetola commended them for supporting his administration.
He then assured that if re-elected, his second term “would be more rewarding and resourceful, as the first term was a foundation for a brighter future.”
Oyetola also urged citizens who were yet to collect their Permanent Voter Cards to do so, to enable them exercise their civic duty during the forthcoming governorship election.
The committee has been saddled with the responsibility to ensure the re-election of Gboyega Oyetola on July 16
Nigeria’s ruling party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), has announced an 86-member campaign council for the Osun State governorship election.
The council will be co-chaired by the governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, and Governor Umar Ganduje of Kano State.
According to the list released by the National Chairman of the party, Abdullahi Adamu, on Tuesday, the committee has been saddled with the responsibility to ensure the re-election of Gboyega Oyetola.
Mr Oyetola faces challenges from Ademola Adeleke of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and 13 other candidates at the July 16 election.
The ruling party has enlisted the services of all state governors alongside the Senate President Ahmad Lawan and Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila as deputies to Messrs Sanwo-Olu and Ganduje.
The committee will be inaugurated on Thursday at the National Secretariat of the party in Abuja.
The APC performed beyond expectations. It only fell a little short of the famed Ayo Fayose’s 16-0 feat in which the former governor won in all the local government areas in the 2014 governorship election. Mr Fayose’s main opponent then was the incumbent governor, Kayode Fayemi of the APC.
The ruling party on Saturday won in15 of the 16 local government areas of the state with huge margins. Interestingly, the winner’s closest rival, SDP’s Segun Oni, did not win in any of the local government areas. He even lost his own Ido-Osi to the APC.
Only the PDP’s Bisi Kolawole managed to secure his own Efon Local Government Area to prevent a clean sweep by the APC. The noise of the people prior to the actual election seemed to have misled many analysts who predicted the fall of the APC and a possible victory for the SDP.
What the figures say
At the final tally, Mr Oyebanji recorded 187,057 votes, while Mr Oni polled 82,211 votes. Although he won in his local government area, Mr Kolawole of the PDP came third with 67,457 votes.
The figures show that in all the local government areas won by the APC, it polled over 50 per cent of the valid votes cast,. which means that it polled higher votes than the PDP and SDP votes put together. This was replicated in the final tally, as the combined votes of the two parties amounted to 149,668 votes.
The APC also showed its dominance in the areas supposedly controlled by the opposition, especially in Ekiti North and Ekiti Central. While the SDP candidate managed to win his PU 006, in Ward 04, Ifaki, in Ido-Osi LGA, convincingly, he failed to replicate that wide margin in nearly all the wards in the area, except in Ifaki II, which is his home.
The PDP candidate was on a high ground in Efon, beating the rest neatly to come tops in the local government area. Besides Efon, he simply trailed the other two parties.
Set back for opposition
The election on Saturday showed how the opposition had fallen far behind, and failed to rework its structures to be able to win elections.
For example, the APC’s margin of victory in 2018 was not so wide, as it defeated the PDP, which was then the ruling party, with about 19,000 votes. Mr Fayemi had won the election with 197,459 votes to defeat the PDP which had 178,121 votes. In Saturday’s election, however, the two main opposition parties did not receive up to the number of the votes garnered by PDP alone in 2018.
Despite the hype of improvements in the electoral process, the turn out also fell far below what obtained in the 2018 governorship election.
In 2018, the total registered voters was 909,585, out of which 405,861 voters were accredited on election day. But on Saturday, despite an increased voter registration which totalled 989,224, only 365,438 voters were accredited.
PDP’s internal crisis eclipsed SDP
The signs became obvious at the start of the campaigns. Not many crowd pullers were seen either in the PDP or the SDP campaigns. Many sympathisers believe they would have done better working together.
The setting of that calamity was the struggle for the control of the party, begining with the aspirations for the governorship ticket of the party.
A chieftain of the PDP, Ayo Fadaka, said the problem began with the faulty primaries over which Mr Oni left the party to the SDP.
“The signs of failure began with the party primaries when Segun Oni left for the SDP with a good number of members of the party,” he said.
“Some key members of the party also quietly left the party for the APC before the election.”
Mr Fadaka said the PDP needed to rediscover itself and must ensure that it does not weave its structures around a single personality, if it wants to be strong as a party again.
However, the National Secretary of the SDP, Olu Agunloye, said the loss of his party was due mainly to irregularities in the election. The irregularities, according to him, bordered on voter inducement by the two leading political parties.
Mr Agunloye said it was on record that voters were coerced to vote against their conscience by being offered as much as N15,000 to vote for a particular candidate.
He said with such development, it was not possible to have a free and fair election.
“Those who voted for us voted with their conscience and without inducements,” he said.
The APC candidate had earlier said those who voted for him did so in expression of their wishes, and thanked them for entrusting him with the mandate of administering the state for the next four years.
Taiwo Olatunbosun, the spokesperson for the Biodun Oyebanji Campaign Organisation, described the APC landslide victory as “remarkable, iconic and unprecedented in the annals of the state.”
He said the icing on the cake for the governor-elect was breaking the jinx of ruling parties never recording back-to-back victory in the state.
He also said the victory at the poll was an endorsement of the good works of the administration of Governor Fayemi in which Mr Oyebanji served as the SSG.
APC’s post primary recovery
The deep cut inflicted by the shenanigans of the governorship primaries that sprouted Mr Oyebanji has not healed. However, insiders said that the decision of the agreived parties to work together was informed by a common self-interest.
Most of those adversely affected by the outcome of the primaries were in the pro-Tinubu group associated with the South West Agenda for Asiwaju (SWAGA). There were fears that they would ruin the game for the party. But after Bola Tinubu became the presidential candidate of the APC, he went to join the campaign and said an APC victory in Ekiti was necessary to boost his presidential ambition.
That was enough to make his supporters close ranks with the others and work together. The conflicts are now kept in abbeyance until the agenda is fully realised.
Moses Agbaje, a resident of Ado Ekiti, is convinced that singular interest suspended the fight which earlier threatened the party.
Some have reasoned that the effect of vote buying was a mere incident in the current election, and the APC could have won squarely even without it.
Oluwole Kolawole, a civil servant, argued that in Ekiti, the voters who truly are in support of the SDP could not be swayed with money, noting that the people are yet to get the enlightenment on the implications of selling their votes.
“We are in such a big trouble in this country,” he said. “But one thing I know is that although there was so much noise about Segun Oni, the people were not really serious about voting him into office, otherwise, no amount of vote buying will result in such a huge gap in the results.”
He said although Mr Oni was popular, he needed to match the APC and PDP with money to emerge as governor. “That is another sad story about our situation,” he lamented. “Our road to prosperity is still far away so long as we are collecting money from politicians before we cast our votes. There is no hope.”
Saturday’s governorship election, however, posted an excellent result with regards to security of the ballots and election violence. Although isolated cases of disruptions were recorded in Ilawe and Ikere, there was no widespread occurence.
There is an outcry against vote buying, yet some observers have noted that the act was drastically reduced compared to what obtained in the last governorship election.
What was disappointing in the exercise was INEC’s failure to design the voting area to discourage the act. Most of the cubicles were still open to view by anyone seeking to perpetrate vote buying.
Police officers, as usual, turned a blind eye, while the inducers continued their trade close to the polling units.
Opposition parties’ agents at the state collation centre expressed their grievances over the phenomenon, saying it took away the credibility of the election.
“What we had yesterday were vote-buying centres and not polling units,” one of the agents said. Although they indirectly accused the ruling party of perpetrating the act, election observers asserted that all the leading parties were involved in the malpractice.
There is no let up in the corruption that bedevils the nation’s electoral process. Even with the EFCC’s intervention during the election, there is no sign of the political will to stamp out the malaise. As Mr Kolawole said, only the people themselves can change the narrative.
ABOUT eight months to the general elections, the All Progressives Congress, APC, seems to be waltzing into another wave of crises that may hinder its electoral chances in many constituencies across the country.
The arbitrary replacement of duly nominated candidates by officials at the National Headquarters of the party with those that did not even participate in the primaries is generating disillusionment within the party and creating legal loopholes that could be exploited by the opposition as in the case of Zamfara State.
In Yobe North Senatorial District, Bashir Machina who was duly nominated unopposed as the senatorial candidate has been replaced by Ahmed Lawan, the Senate president, who did not even participate in the primary. Lawan, we recall, was only interested in the presidential ticket of the party and not the Senate seat which he had occupied for three terms now. In Idah/Igalamela/Ibaji/Ofu federal constituency of Kogi State, the duly nominated candidate, David Zachariah, has been arbitrarily replaced by Mustapha Mona, who did not even participate the primary.
In Akwa Ibom State, the replacement is large scale in scope. All the three senatorial candidates that emerged from duly conducted and INEC-monitored primaries have been replaced by a new set that did not even participate in the monitored primaries. Among the new nominees is Senator Godswill Akpabio who had featured prominently in his party’s presidential nomination process.
Along with Akpabio, Dr. Emaeyak Ukpong and Mr. Martin Udo-Inyang have also been forwarded to INEC as senatorial nominees to replace persons earlier nominated in an INEC-monitored primaries. I understand that federal constituency nominees are also being replaced. In the case of Akpabio, a new primary was conducted, but INEC is insisting that it did not monitor it and the former minister ought not to be a candidate since he did not participate in the first one.
These are just a few of the constituencies where APC officials in Abuja have succumbed to pressures to replace duly nominated candidates, thus violating the 2022 Electoral Act.
Just as the affected candidates are threatening court action to protect their mandates, I urge INEC to stamp its feet down and protect the sanctity of our electoral process. If we allow powerful men to keep trampling on the rights of the average citizens, especially in a manner that flagrantly subjugates the electoral process, we would be putting our democracy in a danger. We should not continue to behave as if Nigeria is the impunity capital of the world!
At the core of this abuse is the inability of party officials to appreciate the difference between the 2010 Electoral Act and the new 2022 Electoral Act, especially in relations to substitution of names. By Section 33 of the 2022 Act, a political party cannot change or substitute a candidate unless by reason of death or voluntary withdrawal.
Where a candidate has voluntarily and properly withdrawn his candidacy according to the law, the candidate is required to directly inform INEC in writing within 14 days and the party must conduct a fresh primary to produce a new candidate.
Only those who participated in the first primary would be allowed to participate in the rerun primary. This is different from the 2010 Act which allowed political parties to replace candidates if they had reasons to, even if the replaced candidates were not in support of their replacement. The 2022 Act in Section 29(1) further provides that candidates to be submitted by political parties “must have emerged from valid primaries conducted by political parties”.
Now here is where INEC derives its power(s). Section 84(13) of the 2022 Electoral Act states that… “Where a political party fails to comply with the provisions of this Act in the conduct of its primaries, its candidate for election shall not be included in the election for the particular position”. Compliance with the Act entails, among others, having INEC monitor all primaries.
So, it is clear that Ahmed Lawan cannot be a senatorial candidate in the 2023 election because he did not emerge from “a valid primary”. In fact, he did not emerge from any primary at all. The same applies for many other cases of replacements across the country, some of which I have listed above.
I am, therefore, surprised that Lawan, a ranking senator who presided over the Senate when this law was passed, is leading the onslaught against the law. Lawan ran for presidency and failed. He now wants to contest for the Senate even though he did not participate in the senatorial primary. It is notable that Bashir Machina is threatening court action to protect his mandate.
Lawan is not alone. The problem exists in both APC and PDP. Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi, Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto and Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi are just a few examples of those who are caught up by Section 33 because they had initially participated in the presidential primaries of their parties and are now seeking to go to the Senate (in the case of Umahi and Tambuwal) and return to the State House as governor (in the case of Bala Mohammed).
It is also for this reason that Adams Oshiomhole refused to participate in the APC presidential primary despite his initial declaration. He foresaw the danger and today, he is a duly nominated senatorial candidate for Edo North District.
To save our democracy, INEC must live up to its name as an independent electoral umpire and reject any candidate that did not emerge through a legitimate process. APC would be thrown into another round of crises if we allow this impunity to stand.
Members of the two majority parties in Nigeria, the Peoples Democratic Party and All Progressives Congress in Imo North Senatorial District of Imo State on Sunday collapsed their structures into the Labour Party and pledged their loyalty and support to its presidential candidate, Peter Obi.
No fewer than two thousand people joined the LP at a ceremony at Umuaro community in the Isiala Mbano Local Government Area of the state.
A former Deputy Chief of Staff to a former governor of the state, Chikwem Onuoha, said that the decision was reached after an investigation revealed that Obi was the best presidential material among other presidential candidates.
Onuoha, said that APC and PDP had misruled Nigeria for the past 23 years, adding that it was time Nigerians voted Obi to rescue the country.
The APC chieftain said, “Today, APC and PDP are dead in Okigwe zone. We have resolved to collapse our structures in the zone into the Labour Party and to work for the victory of Peter Obi. Peter Obi symbolises the hope of the ordinary people of Nigeria.
“Peter Obi is tested and trusted and he has the support of the people who vote during the election. Apart from Obi, we will vote LP all through. The Labour Party is for a mass movement. We are wiser and we want to take back our country.”
The President General of the Okigwe North Youth Progressives Forum, Chidinma Onyenagubo, said that his group was mobilising people to obtain their Permanent Voters Cards to vote for LP In 2023.
The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu, has arrived in Lagos following his victory at the primary election of the APC.
The candidate, who landed in Lagos on Sunday, was welcomed by an excited crowd from the airport.
On his Instagram story, Tinubu noted that it felt good to be back home, as he was seen waving at ecstatic supporters who hailed him.
The supporters who were waving brooms, which is an APC symbol, were chanting “Emilokan” as they followed his entourage.
Tinubu, who was also waving back a broom, captioned the video, “Feels good to be back home.”
Several videos available on the Internet showed that Tinubu was received by the Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, upon his arrival.
APC United Kingdom on Facebook wrote, “Aṣíwájú Bọ́lá Ahmed Tinubu arrives Lagos after weeks of absence.
“He left Lagos as a presidential aspirant, but came back as a presidential candidate. It could only be God!”
Tinubu scored 1,271 votes to defeat his closest contenders, Rotimi Amaechi and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, two weeks ago.
Amaechi obtained 316 votes while Osinbajo polled 235.
He contested against 13 other aspirants – Mr Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, Pastor Tunde Bakare, Mr Ahmed Rufai, Senator Rochas Okorocha, Mr Jack Rich, Governor Ben Ayade, Governor David Umahi, Senator Ahmed Yarima, Dr Ahmed Lawan, Osinbajo, Amaechi, Governor Yahaya Bello and Mr Ogbonnaya Onu.
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