Category: Politics

The leaders of the Middle Belt communities and delegates known as the Southern and Middle Belt Alliance have endorsed the presidential ambition of the Labour Party candidate, Mr Peter Obi of Labour Party ahead of the 2023 general elections.

Other groups that also endorsed the former governor of Anambra State in a communique read by Rev. Aminchu Adamu, at the ‘Middle Belt Save Nigeria Conference’ held in Jos, Plateau State on Saturday, were trade unions, market leaders, students, religious and youth leaders in the middle belt region.

A statement made available to our correspondent by the Peter Obi Support Group on Tuesday, indicated that the leader of the Middle Belt Community Leadership Delegates, Mr Joshua Mape, led the endorsement of Obi.

Mape, who lamented the economic hardship of the people in the region as a result of bad governance and insecurity in the region, said that Obi has what it takes to turn the economic fortunes of the country around just as he did when he was the governor of Anambra state.

He said, “Peter Obi is a wealth creator and we believe, he will transform Nigeria by moving the country from a consumption economy to a productive economy and he will also reduce the cost of governance the way he did while he was the governor of Anambra State.

“Under his watch, Anambra was the least indebted state in the country. He returned all public schools to missionaries with N600m take-off grant, Anambra also has the best road network under his administration.

“We support Peter Obi because we believe in justice and fairness.”
The representative of Youth and Students Alliance, Mr Augustine Danladi, also expressed dissatisfaction on the inadequate funding of the country’s higher institutions of learning and the apparent indifference of the present government to the precarious situation.
Danladi, however, opined that with the emergence of Peter Obi as the president, the higher institutions will be better funded, and the nation’s education sector will be transformed.

“We know what he did when he was the governor of Anambra state. He took the state from number 24 to number one in WAEC results in the country. I am confident that if given the chance, he will do the same thing at the nation’s education sector”, Danladi stated.
Also, the representative of market groups and traders in the Middle Belt also supported the ambition of Peter Obi saying that they are sure of his capacity to industrialise the nation.
On their part, SAMBA, and Peter Obi Support Network under the platform of Political Action groups said that Peter Obi has the character and credibility to make Nigeria work again adding that he is a man who is ready to take Nigeria from a consumption economy to productive economy.

The groups said, “Obi has shown from his track record that he is competent, and he has what it takes to move Nigeria forward. He has the character and credibility; he is a man who is ready to take Nigeria from consumption economy to productive economy.”

Religious group in the middle belt represented by Rev. Aminchi Adamu said they are under perpetual fear to attend at their place of worship because of insecurity in the country.

Adamu further submitted that the groups look forward to vote Peter Obi as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in February 2023.

Responding, the presidential candidate of Labour Party, appreciated the groups for the confidence reposed in him by their endorsement.

Obi who spoke via a recorded video message said he has been listening to the deliberations despite being in faraway Germany.

He said, “I appreciate your sacrifice, I have been listening to your deliberations, I thank you most sincerely for your trust in me. I assure that I will bring development to Nigeria.

“Next year’s presidential election must not be based on tribe or religion, but on competence and character. I assure that we will build better Nigeria together.”

Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has vowed to expose politicians planning to loot the country in 2023.

Wike said he would soon expose dubious candidates aspiring to take over the country’s presidency in 2023.

He disclosed this on Monday at the official flag-off of the construction of the internal roads at Rumuesara, Eneka town in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of the state.

According to Wike: “Some other people are busy, putting themselves together on how they will take over leadership in Nigeria to loot the remaining ones these other people have already kept.

“I am privileged to know and at the appropriate time, I’ll tell you who these people are.

“You need to know what is happening in Nigeria.

“Forget about all these people running around saying they want to rescue or save you.

“Just watch to see what is going to happen next.”

Edo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has expressed concern over the meeting of some PDP governors with presidential candidates of other parties, saying such politicking is likely to confuse PDP supporters.

The party therefore called on the national leadership of the party to call for an all-inclusive meeting with its governors on the need to close ranks and work with a bid to win the 2023 general presidential elections.

This position was contained in a press release issued by Edo State c hairman PDP, Dr Tony Aziegbemi, in Benin City, who also assured that the state’s votes for Atiku Abubakar are non-negotiable.

The party chairman was referring to the recent trip of five PDP governors to London and their subsequent meetings with presidential candidates of two other parties, Mr Peter Obi, of the Labour Party (LP), and Sen. Ahmed Bola Tinubu, of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as well as former President Chief Olusegun Obasanjo.

He said, “The governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, who is the leader of the delegation, in a Media interview said that survival of the country was the main motive behind himself and some other governors’ meeting with presidential candidates of different parties in London recently.

“It was also reported that the highly respected five Governors and Leaders of the party led by His Excellency, Samuel Ortom of Benue state in the trip also held a reconciliation meeting with the presidential candidate of our highly esteem party, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.”

According to the PDP state chairman, “Edo state chapter of the Peoples Democratic party is quite elated with the statement credited to Benue State Governor Samuel ortom that the meeting was for the good of the country, hence, might not have anything to do with supporting other parties’ candidates aspiration, we are however, worried that the meeting might be mistaken for support for other presidential candidates of other parties by the supporters of our party(PDP).”

He stressed that “With barely few months to the 2023 general elections that would herald a new, progressive and functional government headed by Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the need for the party to close ranks, irrespective of perceived differences should now be at the front burner.

“The essence of the existence of any political structure or political party is to win elections, which is also the intention of our dear party.”

A political pressure group, the Protectors of Shettima Legacy, has condemned the deliberate attempt to malign and impugn the person and character of the APC Vice-Presidential Candidate, Senator Kashim Shettima by fifth columnists.

The group noted that Shettima’s emergence as the APC Vice-Presidential Candidate has indeed unsettled the political opposition, who have gone into an overdrive to dig up dirt against him, but could not find any because finding dirt on Shettima is like looking for a needle in a haystack – he’s clean as a whistle.

A statement by the chairman of the group, Joseph Chibok, yesterday in Abuja said even though he took time to explain why he appeared the way he did, the opposition would not let go as they deployed all manner of tactics by regurgitating fake news to cast aspersions on Senator Shettima.

For the hack writers, Chibok said their motivation was pecuniary but for their sponsors, it is hatred, anger, and personal gripe with the determination to help sway votes in the upcoming election to a certain candidate.

The statement reads in part: “We have watched with dismay how vested political interests have procured the services of some hack writers to malign and impugn the person and character of the APC Vice-Presidential Candidate, Senator Kashim Shettima.

“An opportunity presented itself during the just-concluded NBA conference where some twisted and warped minds took to Social Media to attack Shettima because of his choice of appearance on the occasion.
“His eloquent and excellent presentation at the NBA conference did not matter to them because the opposition had conceived the idea to slander him for political reasons.

“The opposition has gone a notch higher to extrapolate his earlier stance on restructuring. They also dug out a fake telephone conversation supposedly between him and Senator Amosun. They even brought up the Chibok girls saga, all with the singular purpose of dinting his image.”

Chibok further said that Shettima is urbane, suave, cool, and calculated.

Akin Osuntokun, a former aide to former President Olusegun Obasanjo, has defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the Labour Party (LP).

He is now the South West leader of the party, according to an announcement on Obidient TV, widely shared in the social media.

The statement described Osuntokun as a political scientist and researcher with experience in media advocacy & policy research.

Osuntokun, who is from Ekiti State, was a former managing director of the News Agency of Nigeria.

Political analysts said he has little on-field political experience.

He first made his link to Labour Party known on Sunday, when he appeared on a Channels TV programme, Sunday Politics.

Nigerians in the U.S. are to host the Labour Party’s flag-bearer for the 2023 Nigeria presidential election, Peter Obi, in five U.S. states.

Obi announced his engagement with Nigerians in the U.S in a video posted on social media, which according to him, will start from Wednesday Aug. 31 to Saturday, Sept. 3.

“I’m a guest speaker on the Role of Nigerian Diaspora in Development and Growth of Nigeria, events being organised by Nigerians in Diaspora.

“The events will hold in Charlotte, North Carolina and Dallas, Texas on Wednesday, Aug. 31; Washington D.C. on Thursday, Sept 1; Atlanta on Friday, Sept 2 and New York on Saturday, Sept. 3.
“I look forward to meeting all of you there and God bless all of you,’’ he quoted as saying in the video.

The presidential candidate is expected to address town hall meetings and grant interviews in major cities of the leading democracy in the world.

Obi has in the recent past been in some western nations where he addressed Nigerians and friends of the country in packed to capacity halls.

Earlier, Obi had met with some Nigerians in Germany, Italy, and Canada over his presidential ambition.

He had also visited the Vatican City in Rome, where he attended the ceremony where a Nigerian, Bishop Peter Okpaleke of Ekwulobia Diocese, was elevated to a Cardinal in the Catholic Church.

The Ekiti State Election Petition Tribunal has granted leave to the All Progressives Congress, APC, to inspect INEC documents and other forms used for the conduct of the June 18, Governorship election in Ekiti State.

Earlier, Kabir Akingbolu, holding the brief of Chief Akin Olujimi, SAN, brought a motion exparte in pursuant to Section 6(6) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, Section 47(1) of the first schedule of the Electoral Act, Section 146(1) and (2) of the Electoral Act 2022 and under the inherent jurisdiction of the honourable tribunal.

“An order granting leave to the 2nd respondent/applicant to move the applicant outside the pre-hearing session”

“An order of the tribunal permitting the applicant or its agents for the purpose of defending the petition, to take certified copies and conduct manual/physical inspection of all electoral materials used in the conduct of the Governorship election into the office of the Governorship of Ekiti State held on 18th June, 2022, in all the 16 local governments areas of Ekiti State”

“An order directing the 4th respondent and any other agents of the 4th respondent to allow the applicant and/or its counsel to inspect and if deemed necessary make/procure certified true copies of the BVAS, accredited voters, print-outs, scanned and transmitted documents, among others.

In his ruling, the chairman of the tribunal, Justice Wilfred I. Kpochi, granted the prayers of the All Progressives Congress, APC, who is the 2nd respondent/applicant in the suit.

Justice Kpochi while granting the ex-parte motion, said it is germane for the applicant to defend the petition. Also, the oral application by Akingbolu, as prayed at the tribunal was granted.

The tribunal urged the 4th respondent, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to grant APC access to inspect all documents and materials used for the conduct of the Ekiti Governorship election on June 18.

It will be recalled that the Social Democratic Party, SDP, candidate, Chief Segun Oni, dragged the APC candidate, Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji, who won the June 18 Ekiti Governorship to the tribunal.

The National Chairman of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Prof. Rufai Alkali, has quashed insinuations that the party’s presidential candidate for the 2023 election, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwakwanso is working for the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

It was reported that speaking with journalists in Abuja at the weekend, Prof. Alkali said Kwakwanso, a former governor of Kano State, has what it takes to win the 2023 Presidential election.

Alkali, a one-time presidential adviser on political affairs to ex-president Goodluck Jonathan, who noted that the NNPP Presidential candidate has a better political credentials than his opponents having been governor, Senator, Minister and Deputy Speaker House of Representatives, said that the presidential hopeful is on the race because of his desire to change the cause of things in the country and not for personal aggrandisement.

In a similar vein, Kwankwaso said that he would not forego his presidential ambition for anyone, including the presidential flagbearer of the major opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, and that of the ruling APC, Tinubu.

Kwankwaso insisted that his party, the NNPP, is popular across Nigeria, and “we are sure of victory at the polls”.

Fresh facts have emerged about Bola Tinubu’s meeting with Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State in London, United Kingdom (UK) last week.
It was learned that Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) showed “zero commitment”, as it was alleged that he declined to commit to all of Wike’s conditions before they can work together during the 2023 presidential election.

All has not been well with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) following the presidential primary election which produced former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar as the flag-bearer of the party ahead of the 2023 general elections in Nigeria, and the subsequent emergence of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State as Atiku’s running mate.

Wike and his top political associates – Governors Seyi Makinde (Oyo), Samuel Ortom (Benue), and Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia) – had met in London with Tinubu last Monday to consider the possibility of working together.

However, after Wike tabled his demands, the former Lagos State governor reportedly failed to accede to Wike’s terms.

According to sources that were present at the meeting, Tinubu believed Wike’s demands were generally not feasible.

As an example, Wike demanded that the APC candidate “ensures if he wins the presidential election, which comes first, he will ensure he does not influence the outcome of the governorship and House of Assembly polls in Rivers, Benue, Oyo and Abia states, so that candidates in his camp and those of the other governors could win maintain control of the states”.

The sources said of Wike: “He also wanted assurances that their men should be allowed to win Senate and House of Representatives seats, including the governors contesting senatorial elections. There was no headway on this demand either, since the presidential and National Assembly elections would take place same day.

“Tinubu, however, didn’t make any commitment and that was a red flag for Wike.”

In the end, no agreement was reached between the PDP chieftain and the former APC National Leader, thus when Atiku travelled to London a few days later to settle the grudges Wike had with him, the Rivers State governor had no hesitation listening to his party’s presidential candidate and standing with him.

By Ozioruva Aliu
A former National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole as part of the national reconciliation efforts after the party’s presidential primary election a few days ago called a stakeholders meeting in Edo State and thereafter had a chat with journalists.

What is the essence of this stakeholders’ meeting
The whole idea is to have a conversation because as they say, a house divided among itself cannot stand. I believe that the irreducible precondition for winning an election is that we must be united and the only way to be united is to have an inclusive meeting. If leaders want to meet, there has to be agreed criteria to select those leaders from each local government and everybody must be present. If we are going to have women meetings, all women leaders must be present, that is the way to avoid division, which is the way to avoid suspicion, which is the way to avoid rumour mongering. And we must recognize the formal institution of the party. No matter who we think we are as individuals, we can’t be taller than the party leadership that we all elected. Every one of us has the right to have ideas, but channel those ideas in a way that the leadership takes them on board and takes ownership of it and makes decisions that each and every member of the party will readily accept.

Message
After the governorship election which unfortunately we lost, this meeting was the first meeting that we invited these number of people per local government to attend so that we have to move on because we cannot continue to cry over spilled milk but if we work together, we will win not only the next presidential election, we also win the next governorship but there is no other formula than unity. I think when you make party structures to function, then these issues will be easily addressed.

The local government chairmen are the ones that produce leadership at the local government levels and without them communicating with the people of their local governments, and through them to the ward leaders, the party will be floating in the air so local government leadership is extremely important and also very important are those our strong ward leaders across the 192 wards in Edo State which has all the offices and my appeal today is that as local government party chairmen should call a meeting of the local government executive and challenge each of the wards leaderships to go and constitute unit executive councils because everybody here comes from a unit, without units you cannot be in the ward, without the ward you cannot be in the local government and without being in the local government, you cannot be in the state and if you are not in the state you cannot be in the national level so whoever you are, myself inclusive, I must pay attention to what is going in my unit.

Let it not be that you talk about the roof and forget that there cannot be a roof without foundation so the solid foundation is the unit. If you organise ten people in a unit, encourage them to meet, if each of them brings ten people each, do you what that will amount to per unit?

Our political environment is changing, the dynamics are clear, the era of carrying ballot boxes is gone, it is one person one vote and to get that, you need to take these messages to the grassroots.

Presidential primary
Primaries are over and regardless of how you voted and who you voted for or against, that is gone. Our party recognises the need for intra-party contestation that is why the rule is provided for primaries so the fact that you voted for somebody else, when a candidate has emerged, all of us should put those behind us and work together.

We have to learn from the presidential candidate. Upon his election, he visited each of the aspirants and if you look at those speaking for the campaign, some of them are not necessarily people who were in his camp during his primaries but once primaries are over, we need all our brains to win the election.

You also heard what the president said a few days ago that primaries are over and he will only recognize and deal with the candidates elected on APC platform and he said nobody should say I am the villa candidate because the villa does not have any candidate other than the APC candidates.

Those clarifications are important so that those who say that they are moving to another party and they have the support from any quarter from Abuja that he can go to another party and later come back, President Buhari from that statement has said no, only APC. The president also said that in whatever we do, only one person will win.

The president as the overall leader of the party has also directed and I think we all should obey that all those who have cases in court should also withdraw them so that all hands will be on deck to campaign for APC to retain power in 2023. I am an example, I was national chairman, you know how I left the office, did I go to court? If I went to court, you think I wouldn’t have had a chance? But my attitude was simply this, people hardly remember when things are tough, they remember when it is good.

If the party gave me the opportunity to chair the party for two years, even for two days and at some point some people felt I should leave and I was asked to leave, why should I forget the fact that I had the honour of leading the party? If the Supreme Court says I am the chairman, but respected party leaders thought otherwise, which party will I chair? Some people said it is your right and I said yes but in law, you can decide to sleep on your right so I chose to sleep on my right and I am enjoying it. If I had gone to court and APC could not do their convention, I could have been blamed. So I am asking those members to withdraw their cases from the courts to do what I have not done.

Muslim/Muslim Ticket
There have been so much deliberate mis-information on this Muslim/Muslim ticket which is a non issue and people spend so much time talking about this. Yes Asiwaju is a Muslim, he is a Yoruba man from Lagos but he found love in Delta state our own Bendel and this Tinubu lady is a Christian, she wasn’t a pastor then.

She maintained her faith and grew to become a pastor in Redeemed Church, one of the largest Pentecostal churches in Nigeria so a man who did not Islamise his wife, he did not ask the wife to convert, some of his children are Christians, some are Muslims, is there a better example of religious co-existence than this? He accepted that people have the right to worship according to their conscience.

So if he has not Islamised his wife, he has not Islamised his children, is there any sensible reason that he will do something negative when he becomes the president of Nigeria? Religion is not the problem; today, you have unemployed Christian youths who are hungry, you have unemployed Muslim youths who are hungry, does it matter who govern? When you go to Dubai, do you need to ask whether of Dubai is a Muslim, yet he is a Muslim, those who go to UK for holidays, do they need to ask whether the Prime Minister is a Christian, yet he is Christian. Does it matter to you the religion of those who developed those countries? Whoever will develop Nigeria should be the issue. All these sentiments are meant to remove issues from the debate.

Most of the presidential aspirants have been in government before. Asiwaju was governor of Lagos. There was a time when horsewhips were used to control traffic in Lagos, today are we not seeing six lanes, ten lanes in Lagos? Are we still using even numbers and odd numbers to be able to drive in Lagos? He raised the IGR and today Lagos is about 45 percent of Nigeria’s GDP that is the product of a brain because if you cannot fix your house, you cannot fix your community, if you cannot fix your community, you cannot fix your town and you cannot fix your state, you cannot fix Nigeria. Those who say Edo is not Lagos, are they able to manage security the way Lagos is doing? Before you tell me what you will do, you must tell me what you have done before.

Go to Anambra, look at the roads there, look at the schools there and then compare them to Lagos. I then ask the question, what you didn’t do in Anambra, can you do it in Abuja? Go to Adamawa and look at the poverty level compared to other parts. Our people need to understand that nobody can give what he doesn’t have. There are people who say they want Nigeria to be a producing nation but they live on importation, their business is to import. A man whose specialization is to import goods to Nigeria, they even import wine from South Africa. How can they promise you that they will make Nigerians productive. We have to disobey any logic that is not based on facts.

When Asiwaju finished his tenure as governor of Lagos state, he told his wife to go to the senate and stayed back, if a woman has such a husband, won’t she marry him over and over again and have you seen Tinubu’s wife fighting, agitating for what is right in the senate? There is another presidential candidate who married from the South East and once the woman became his wife, he Islamised the woman, he went to Yoruba land and married Christian, he Islamised the woman. Go and check these records, facts are facts, opinions are free.

Edo governorship
2023 is the bridge to 2024, if you don’t close that bridge, you can still go to 2024 but you will be limping but if you march there on your two feet then we are ahead. They say Oshimhole is supporting this person for governor. He is now supporting this one from another region for governor that I say publicly here that I will not do anything to impose or anoint anybody because I can’t be doing the same thing and expect different results. All those who are saying Oshiomhole is supporting this person or that person, are liars. The ones I supported before, where did it bring me.

In my nomination in Edo north I campaigned and I didn’t direct anybody to step down or vote for any aspirant. The only person I told to step down is my younger brother for the House of Assembly. When they tell you those stories, there are no truths in them. We have enough brains, we have enough materials, I have learnt my lessons; the people can do no wrong.

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, on Friday said the meetings his team held with former President Olusegun Obasanjo and some presidential candidates were in national interest and nothing personal as widely believed.

The governor, who spoke with journalists at the Port Harcourt International Airport when he returned from the United Kingdom on Friday, was accompanied by the governors of Benue and Abia states, Samuel Ortom and Okezie Ikpeazu.
It was reported on Friday that Wike on Thursday met with the presidential candidate of his party, the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar; and that of the Labour Party, Peter Obi.

The governor has been aggrieved since he lost the presidential primary of the PDP and after Atiku chose Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State as his running mate.

Wike said, “I can confirm that this is the first time as a team that we are meeting with presidential candidates. We met with the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (Asiwaju Bola Tinubu) and we met with our leader, former president of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo.

“We met the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (Peter Obi). We also met with our presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar. For whatever it’s worth, consultation is ongoing.

“Whatever we are talking about is for the interest of Nigeria and Nigerians. It is not parochial and tied to one person or group of persons. We believe that with what is going on it will be for the interest of Nigerians at the end of the day. Consultation is still ongoing.”

He said leadership should be about the collective interest and not people’s selfish interest. He described as unfortunate situations whereby a governor who served for eight years would want to be succeeded by his son.

“It’s only in this part of the world that you can see that, when we are talking about poverty everywhere. These are people who do not mean well for Nigeria,” he added.

He said competence should be elevated above ethnic and religious sentiments.

He added, “The only identity they have in this country is religion and ethnicity, nothing more. It’s either I’m a Christian or I’m a Muslim. I’m a Fulani or I’m an Igbo. Nigeria cannot move forward except they think it will be them. That is where we are.

“We are in a country where someone with a primary school certificate can be appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs. That tells you how bad this country has become. But with our consultation, all these will be things of the past. No amount of intimidation or blackmail will deter us. We are determined to make things right.”

Ortom, who was the leader of the team, noted that they had met with renowned persons in the last few days because of their belief that Nigeria was in distress and required concerted effort to rescue it.

“For us, we are looking at the larger picture. Nigeria today is in distress. It is about what we can do. We are looking at how we can harness ideas and put ourselves together to ensure that we get out of the present challenge we are in today.
“From top to bottom, consider what has happened from 2015 and where we are today. This is beyond partisan politics. We are looking at how we can come together and find a way of ensuring that Nigeria survives. Nigeria is on drip, Nigeria is on oxygen and it is about how we can get out of this.”

He said nothing concrete had been decided but that consultations were ongoing.

He added, “The consultation is going on and will continue to go on. We are still going to meet here. We are still going to meet some people some other time and see how we can work to ensure that the project Nigeria works.”

Ikpeazu also stressed that they were on a mission and were determined to find a way of rescuing Nigeria.

He added, “This is a country with great potential and we have to protect it. We think we need to engage across the board. We are also looking at speaking with civil society organisations and those who have ideas and with Nigerians in the diaspora.

River’s gov team returns, to meet ex-VP again
Meanwhile, an ally of Wike and former senator, Olaka Wogu, told one of our correspondents in an interview on Thursday night that the meeting between Wike and Atiku’s camps in London was a continuation of the ones held in Port Harcourt.

He added, “Atiku responded to some of the issues discussed at the last meeting. It was agreed that both parties would take a little time to look at what was discussed before meeting again. It was agreed that time was of the essence for Atiku to constitute the presidential campaign.

“Wike did not make demands, but there were things on the table. Wike is not eager to make demands but he wants the party to be on a good footing.”

Speaking on reports that Wike demanded that Atiku would do one term, Wogu said, “Nobody discussed term or tenure for Atiku. There are some speculations out there that have not come up for discussion yet. But the fundamental ones are already before Atiku to deal with. They are things Atiku and Wike will work out. Wike and Atiku are now taking control of the reconciliation process.”

He added that their current dialogue was based on the recommendations of the Ahmadu Fintiri-led committee.

When asked how long it would take for everyone to come together and work as a team, he said, “The most important thing is that there is a direction all parties are going to work towards. I think the most difficult part of it has been dealt with. The meetings are fixed based on the schedules of the individuals concerned.”

Feud resolvable – Azi
A PDP chieftain and former Minister of State for Transportation, Musa Azi, has said although the disagreement had lingered for too long, it was not without solution.

In an interview with one of our correspondents on Friday, he stated, “All we need for the crisis to be resolved is for the two camps to show understanding. They should know that politics is a game of give-and-take.”

Asked his view on the demand by Wike’s allies that Iyorchia Ayu should quit as the national chairman, Azi said, “All I can tell you is that we in PDP appreciate Wike for everything he has done for the party. But there can only be one candidate for the party. In any case, we will try and accommodate him and we will resolve all the issues. The issues will be resolved and that will not in any way affect the chances of the party in the 2023 general elections.”

The Independent National Electoral Commission on Friday said it would punish political parties found to be violating electoral timelines as well as provisions of the new Electoral Act 2022 (as amended), especially during the 2023 elections.

The commission also maintained its ground not to jettison electronic transmission of results and revert to manual process and would not lower the bar in next year’s election.

INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of its Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, made the clarification during a post-election roundtable and public presentation of the final report on the observation of 2022 Ekiti and Osun Governorship Election, organised by a human rights organisation, Yiaga Africa.

He said, “I want to seize this opportunity to assure Nigerians that this present commission will be bold and courageous in prosecuting the 2023 general elections.

“We are going to harvest and we will continue to harvest lessons from the Edo governorship election, Ondo governorship election, Anambra governorship election, and Ekiti and Osun governorship elections in shaping the way we approach the 2023 general election.

“We are going to harvest all the good practices, we are also going to look at some of those issues we did not do so well and we will improve on them.

“But our assurance is that this commission will not lower the bar and we are going to improve and we continue to improve with every election.

“All the good practices we deployed in prosecuting the elections under review will also be deployed for the prosecution of the 2023 general election.

“This commission will continue to upload polling unit results to our INEC results viewing portal; this commission will not depart from it.

“The Nigerian people will be involved at every inch of the process in terms of knowing what is going on at the various polling units through our processes and procedures.
“We will continue to also manage the collation process transparently so that all Nigerians will also follow whatever we are doing and we will not depart from all the good practices we have established.”

While seeking the cooperation of Nigerians, Okoye advised civil society organisations and other critical stakeholders to study the Electoral Act 2022 in order to gain needed knowledge of its provisions.

“There are creative and innovative provisions that have been imputed into the Electoral Act 2022 that has changed the framework and dynamics of election management and result management in Nigeria.

“Unless we have a good knowledge of these documents, it will be very difficult for us to follow the trajectory of the electoral process and some of the innovations and some of the changes the commission we make and we continue to make towards improving the character and content and context of elections.

“We plead for the understanding of Nigerians, we plead for the cooperation of Nigerians because we recognise the fact that the 2023 election will be challenging, but we have the capacity, and we also have the courage to face those challenges in a very broad and courageous manner.”

Restating its commitment on electoral monitoring, Yiaga Africa’s Board Chair, Hussaini Abdu, urged INEC to take a cue from the Ekiti and Osun gubernatorial elections seeing that elections were held in those states just after the 2022 electoral act was passed.

Abdu, stating that poor logistics has been a major bane in the history of Nigeria, tasked INEC on improvement.

He said, “Many times, particularly in the last three rounds or cycles of elections these ones that we categorise as up season elections shape the character of what to expect in the forthcoming general elections.

“We saw that in 2015 and we saw that in 2019, but what makes this more remarkable and require much deeper reflections and conversations is the fact that we have elections taking place after the new electoral Act and that is very important.”

Kingsley Wali, a good governance activist, stated at the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) conference that Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, and Kashim Shettima violated electoral law.

According to Wali, the vice presidential candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Labour Party (LP), and All Progressives Congress (APC) turned the event into a campaign ground.

Borno Central Senator Shettima represented APC flagbearer Bola Tinubu at the NBA gathering earlier this week in Lagos.

He told reporters that it was shocking to see politicians running for office in Nigeria while the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had yet to lift the ban on electioneering.
The Convener of Unity House Foundation (UHF) stated that a man who is lawless is unlikely to offer quality service to the people.

“If you don’t have regard for the laws, I don’t know how to expect that you are not going to circumvent the law if you become President, Governor or whatever.”

Wali said the ban on campaign will be lifted on September 28 but those who want to get into power “have started very badly by disobeying the laws.”

Wali lamented that it was not done at an inconsequential gathering, but on a platform the international community watched.

In this interview with ABIODUN NEJO, Raphael Adeyanju, Publicity Secretary of the Ekiti State Peoples Democratic Party, says the PDP’s stakeholders in the state are only interested in returning the party to its members and strengthening it so that it can win future elections.

Your party lost the governorship election on June 18th. What was the cause and what was the reaction?

Yes, it was heartbreaking. We were unable to organise our home. Some people were dissatisfied with the primary results, and there was no proper reconciliation. There was no spirit of exchange. Many people were self-centered. They (Party members) wanted to be satisfied.

Those who lost the primaries were bad losers, and those who won did not do enough to reconcile with the others.
So, how has it been with the party in the last two months?

Immediately after we lost the election, the state working committee met and some of us insisted that we wanted the party to be run as a party. We want to strengthen the party and we want to have a collective say in the party. We felt that the PDP was too much in the grip of our leader, which we felt was not good enough. We want to have a situation where the SWC will take charge. We stated that the PDP should have a substantive chairman elected by the people, accountable to the people, and capable of effectively managing the party, but some people disagreed and sabotaged the move. We proposed a meeting. The acting chairman was reluctant to call the meeting, so the state executive council called the meeting, but before we could meet and deliberate on how to fill that post, they went ahead to appoint somebody that they felt could serve as a puppet. That was how we got two chairmen.

So, while we were awaiting the national body’s pronouncement, the other group went to court to get an injunction to stop the headquarters from recognising any of the two.

People expect the PDP to put its house in order after the electoral loss. Why has it been difficult for your party to demonstrate leadership to show you can recover and win future polls?

The problem lies with the inability to admit mistakes. I give it to former governor Ayodele Fayose. He is very brave, bold, and smart, but we expect him to realise that he is also a human being and can make mistakes. When you make a mistake and people point it out to you, you should be able to admit it and probably apologise. The way we handled the governorship election was not proper. We had wanted to decentralise the authority to involve more people, but Fayose felt that we had challenged his authority by asking for a substantive chairman. That is very unfortunate. If he had submitted to the will of the people, this kind of crisis would have been avoided. If he had called us to review the situation together, we would have told him we wanted more people’s participation. He is a leader. He is intelligent, but he cannot be more intelligent than all the other people. He took it personally, as if we had challenged the authority of a sole administrator of a company. The PDP is not a company. We can always ask questions and ask for change, but some people will not want that change to materialise. I don’t know what some people want to achieve by holding on when they realise that their style is not working!

With the present situation, are you convinced that the Ekiti PDP is set to reposition itself?

We are set to reposition because there are people with genuine concern for the future of the party. They are in many groups. All we have to do is to come together for a focus. Individual efforts will not help us. The joy of it is that a factor unifying all the groups is the passion to install Atiku Abubakar as the nation’s president in 2023.

With that development, all members, even those who left the party (PDP) for the Social Democratic Party, are returning, and they are clamouring for Atiku. When you look at it, Atiku is now the major factor. Everywhere, it is the Atiku movement. Everybody is Atiku now, and Atiku is the symbol of the PDP. We are ready. We are determined to win the election for Atiku. We are determined to reposition the PDP.

A fortnight ago, the stakeholders rejected Fayose’s style of leadership. Why and what are the issues involved?

In the past, the slogan was “leader-general,” and we were always looking up to him (Fayose) for initiatives. He was the sole commander of the party, and the other leaders and elders played passive roles in whatever happened.

For the governorship, it was Fayose that nominated Bisi Kolawole, and we supported him. He also wanted to nominate the deputy governorship candidate, but most party leaders disagreed. He felt bitter and started having issues with everybody, including the governorship candidate. We only managed the crisis. What we are saying is that the party is not about anybody but all of us. The way we conducted the governorship campaign with the overbearing presence of Fayose did not help us. Fayose campaigned as if he was the candidate. The real candidate was not speaking. Ekiti people are intelligent. They love Fayose because he performed when he was in office, but they don’t want you to impose a weakling. I am not saying Bisi Kolawole is a weakling, but the system did not project him as somebody who was in charge. The system projected him as somebody who would be a puppet. It would have helped the party if the system had allowed Kolawole, the candidate, to present himself as a very bold person, but that did not happen.

Again, the campaign committees set up did not work. It was Fayose who dominated the arena. If the committees had been allowed to work, there would have been initiatives and suggestions that would have helped the party. These are the things we are out to correct to strengthen the party and return it to winning ways.

Do you think stakeholders’ adoption of collegiate leadership is feasible? Who and what will be involved?

It can work if they want it to work. Fayose is a leader. Senator Biodun Olujimi is a leader. Dr Sikiru Lawal is a leader. Prof Kolapo Olusola-Ekiti is a leader. We have former chairmen. The BOT (Board of Trustees) members (past and present), etc. If these people come together, whatever they come up with will move the party forward, but the whole power revolves around Fayose. So, they are not happy because they are having little or no input. They want to be involved. We tried his one-man leadership style, but it did not work. We cannot continue. Let the leaders come together, agree and disagree among themselves, not that only one person will be talking. When you challenge him, you are in trouble. That is what we are saying.

Again, a leader should not make certain utterances. For instance, Fayose, who is being seen as the party leader, went to the public and announced that it was not the turn of the North to produce the presidential candidate when the party had already got a candidate who happened to be from the North. Does it mean that Fayose is going to conduct another primary, or is he telling the world that Ekiti people will not vote for the candidate? Fayose’s statement projects the Ekiti PDP in a bad light. Was he saying we are not with the PDP? If we did not challenge him on that, it would have created a terrible image for the Ekiti PDP. We have to tell him that he is not the party and cannot speak on behalf of the party. If we had had collegiate leadership, the leaders would have sat and decided the party’s position.

Looking at Fayose’s feats, defeating two incumbents, do you see any headway for the Ekiti PDP without him in the saddle?

He is an individual. He is a leader. He could not do it alone without the support of others. It is the people that promote leaders. Fayose cannot just go out and win elections without others. He won elections because he motivated others, encouraged them, and gained their trust. But there will be a problem when you take the trust for granted. With or without Fayose, the party will move on. We are all human beings. We are mortals. Although we need him around, we need his support, his encouragement, and for him to continue to serve the party as a leader. We are not doing away with Fayose. We are only trying to save him from himself. A good leader must be ready to be checked, corrected.

There is an open-secret that all of you stakeholders are beneficiaries of Fayose’s goodness and that some of you worked against the interest of the party during the June 18 election. What is your take on that?

Fayose helped some people to attain certain positions but some people also helped him to attain the position he has attained. I was already a councillor before Fayose came to the Ekiti PDP. He met me in the PDP.

Twice, I supported him to become governor. If he supported me to become anything, it was to pay back what I did for him. It is like that for so many other people. Fayose could not have made anybody a supervisor or anything without being a governor and you cannot become a governor without the people’s support. We only asked for mutual respect.

And that the majority of us betrayed the party during the governorship was not true. I read where the acting chairman alleged that some people collected money. I don’t know the amount of money he is talking about. No party leader was given election money. It was only Fayose that knew how he disbursed the money and to whom. The majority of the people he gave money to were the party candidates for the 2023 election in the state. The candidates handled the money with the belief that anybody who is a candidate will manage it well because the candidate knows that the outcome of the governorship may have an effect on his election. I am the leader in the Ekiti West Council area, where I come from. I do not know how the money was disbursed, likewise others. I am not even sure the party treasurer knows how the election money was disbursed. Telling lies that those who got the money did not spend it is a self-indictment.

The Peter Obi Support Network has reacted to the meeting between former president, Olusegun Obasanjo, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi and Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike.
Naija News had earlier reported that the trio met in London on Thursday and the meeting had in attendance some governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Those at the meeting included the Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde and Abia State, Okezie Ikpeazu.

Others present at the meeting include former Cross River State Governor, Donald Duke and Senator Olaka Nwogu.

In a chat with The Punch, the Spokesperson for the Peter Obi Support Network, Onwuasoanya Jones, said the meeting was about salvaging the country from imminent collapse.

Jones said the meeting is one out of several of such meetings that have been held and will still be held as the 2023 elections approach.

He asserted that there is a consensus among Nigerian patriots that Obi is the most reliable of the candidates to drive this vision

He said, “I can confirm that Peter Obi met with these PDP governors and our former President, His Excellency Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, in London and I can tell you that this is one out of several such meetings that have been held and will still be held as we approach the 2023 elections.

“Of course, the discussion is centred on salvaging our dear country from an imminent collapse, and there is a consensus among Nigerian patriots that Peter Obi is the most reliable of the candidates to drive this vision.

Accord Party has announced a former Secretary to the Zamfara State Government, Bello Bala Maru, as the running mate to Accord’s presidential candidate, Prof. Christopher Imumolen.

This was contained in a press statement on Thursday where the party maintained that they arrived at the choice of Maru after due consultations and realisation of his powerful political clout in the northern leadership hemisphere.

Accord Party’s National Chairman, Muhammad Nalado, said from all indications, the party leadership had struck a good South/North synergy in the urgency of now when Nigeria must attain a solid form through inter-regional inclusiveness.

He expressed confidence that the party would produce the country’s next president and vice president.

He pointed out that it was with Accord that Nigeria gained independence and produced nationalists, calling on the Nigerian youths to take advantage of Imumolen, who is a youth, to achieve the long-dreamt dream of a youth president in the country.
While responding, the vice-presidential hopeful expressed appreciation for his selection as the right man for the job.

He noted that this followed a long period of consultation and that he was keen on good governance coming from a state and region grossly terrorised and afflicted by insecurity.

Imumolen, while hailing the party’s leadership, pointed out that it would win the 2023 presidential election, with the support of youths and all Nigerians.

He welcomed his running mate and described him as a square peg in the square hole.

Heavily armed security personnel of the Nigeria Police Force have reportedly arrested the leader of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in Borno State.
Reports reaching Naija News at the moment revealed that the personnel on Thursday (today), stormed and took over the party’s secretariat in Maiduguri, the state capital.

Information about the event is still sketchy at the moment. It was reported, however, that some developments yesterday at the NNPP secretariat situated around the Abbaganaram ward of the metropolis, caused the uproar.

It was gathered that on Wednesday, the leadership of the party hired some persons to repaint the new secretariat ahead of the NNPP presidential candidate, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso’s visit scheduled for the next few days.

However, after the work was done, some hoodlums suspected to be opposition/political thugs reportedly stormed the Secretariat and pasted various posters of their candidates at strategic locations on the premises.

The development Naija News learnt stirred the uproar as NNPP supporters stormed the secretariat to fight those responsible for the placement of the posters.

A source who spoke with Vanguard Newspaper said, the NNPP secretariat is located in a residential area of the metropolis, which led to officials of the Urban Planning Development Committee to seal it after serving them with a ‘stop notice’.

Confirming the development to newsmen via a telephone call, the NNPP leader and senatorial Candidate Borno Central, Hon Mohammed Attom said, the “Secretariat which is about to be commissioned next week by the national leader and Presidential Candidate, Rabiu Kwankwaso has been taken over and remain sealed by armed policemen with no any reason.”

He added that, apart from taking over the new secretariat, the police arrested him and took him to the State Police Command in Maiduguri this morning.

“Yes, I can confirm to you that, I have been arrested by the police this morning Thursday. Currently, I am at the Borno State Police Command, and very soon, I was told that my phone will be seized from me.

“I took this opportunity to inform you of the situation we are in right now, and please help us tell the world what is happening to NNPP Secretariat and my humble self.

“I suspect that this is not ordinarily, but the handiwork of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC under the leadership of Governor Babagana Zulum”, Attom lamented.

In a swift response, the Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, Hon Ali Bukar Dalori, dismissed a claim by Hon Attom that APC was behind the sealing of the NNPP Secretariat and his arrest.

He said: “I want to inform you that, APC in Borno is not connected to a sealing of NNPP Secretariat as alleged by Hon Attom.

“I am just hearing this from you, and if Hon Attom was arrested and now in police custody, they should try and sort out their problem or misunderstanding with the police, but not to drag our great party, APC into it.”

However, when contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Sani Shatambaya told reporters that he was not aware of the incident yet.

Victor Oye, National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, has urged all party members in Nigeria and the Diaspora to pray fervently for the Anambra State House of Assembly, pleading for God’s mercy to stop the hand of death that has killed two of its members in three months.

On Wednesday, it was reported that House Majority Leader Nnamdi Okafor had died at a legislative retreat in South Africa.

The lawmaker collapsed and died early Wednesday morning in a hotel in Sandton City, Johannesburg, South Africa, and was pronounced dead hours later.

Okafor, also known as Akajiugo Awka, represented the Awka South Constituency 1 in the state Assembly before his death.

In a press statement on Thursday, Dr. Oye urged all members to embark on three-day fasting and prayer for peace, growth and development in the House and in the party ahead of the 2023 elections.
“The times in which we have found ourselves are perilous and call for constant prayer, self-examination and penance”, the statement quoted Oye as saying.

He called on the leadership of the Anambra State House of Assembly to join in the prayer and fasting as “I see God doing something new in the House soon.”

He used the opportunity to commiserate with the Anambra State Governor, Prof. Charles Soludo, the Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Uche Okafor and the, indeed, all the members of the House on the sudden death of the Majority Leader, Hon. Nnamdi Okafor, in faraway South Africa.

He prayed God to grant the soul of the deceased eternal repose in heaven