Category: Politics

The All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, has denied reports that he demanded N50 billion per month from former Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, during his administration.

A report recently circulated online alleging that Ambode was unable to secure the APC governorship ticket for a second term in 2018 due to his refusal to remit the N50 billion to Tinubu.

It was recalled that Ambode, who became governor of the state in 2015, served only four years before losing the APC primary election to incumbent governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu in 2018.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Director, Media and Communications for Tinubu Campaign Organisation(TCO), Bayo Onanuga said Tinubu could not have made such a demand when the state didn’t make the said amount monthly.
According to Onanuga, Lagos state started making N50 billion in revenue after the former governor left office.

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He noted the site where some of the fake news emanated from has been identified as World of News with the URL as ‘world news’ adding that a content analysis shows it is a Biafra news platform.

The statement reads: “The spuriousness of the statement is in the evidence that Lagos did not begin to clock N50 billion revenue until after Ambode left office.

“Tinubu could not have demanded a billion monthly payment from Ambode when the state government didn’t make such in a month throughout the tenure of Ambode.”

“A content analysis of the site clearly showed that it is a Biafra news platform”.

Former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) national chairman Abubakar Baraje has stated that the ongoing crisis involving PDP presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar and Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike cannot destroy the party.

The PDP has been embroiled in an internal crisis since the nomination of Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa as its vice-presidential candidate. Wike, who finished second in the presidential primary won by Atiku Abubakar, had been giving the party the cold shoulder after losing the vice-presidential slot to Okowa.

He had met with some prominent members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), but he insisted he would not leave the party.

Speaking on the issue on Arise TV on  Wednesday, Baraje said PDP had been following due process in the resolution of its post-convention crisis, assuring that Wike remains a prominent member of the party.
He said although he was aware that Wike had been meeting and inviting APC members, the governor had not done anything anti-party, adding that PDP chieftains were working to resolve the crisis.

He also called on the party members to be patient and give them time to resolve the crisis, adding that Wike’s issue cannot tear the party apart.

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He said, “It is because we have not finished some of our homework that’s why we’ve postponed many of our meetings. The meeting of the caucus, the meeting of the NEC, and the meeting of the BOT.

”We have set up various subcommittees and committees within the party, and the report of this committee have started coming in. And we’ve given them a mandate, we’ve given them timeline. And we’ve to wait for them to complete whatever they’re doing.

”I just appeal to the aggrieved members particularly, to please give us time to solve the problem.

”The problem of governor Wike is not extraordinary. And it’s not an issue that will tear the party apart. The party has been there, it’s still there, and it will continue to be there.”

Lee Maeba, a former senator for Rivers State South East constituency and an ally of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar, has stated that Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike has threatened to “collapse” the party if he is unsuccessful in his presidential bid.

Maeba recently revealed in an interview with an online television station that Wike threatened to dissolve the main opposition party if he did not secure the party’s ticket to contest the 2023 presidential election.
In the party’s presidential primary in May, Wike finished second to Nigeria’s former vice president, Atiku, who received 371 votes to Wike’s 237.
“Wike told me during one of our campaigns that if he failed the primary that he will collapse the whole system if they do to him what they did to (Ex-Rivers state governor, Peter) Odili,” Maeba said.

“He said he will collapse the system and everybody will go home. That is the fear here.”

He wondered why the governor had refused to move on like Odili did when he failed in his bid to become the president in 2007.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) stated that it did not accept nominations from the Yobe North and Akwa Ibom North West Senatorial Districts for Senators Ahmed Lawan and Godswill Akpabio.

For the record, the commission stated that it has not recognised either of the two individuals as senatorial candidates.
Festus Okoye, the national commissioner and chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, disclosed this in a statement titled ‘Spurious Allegations Regarding Candidate Nomination In Some Senatorial Districts,’ which was made available to newsmen yesterday in Abuja.
Okoye said as evidence of the alleged role played by the Commission, a certified true copy of Form 9C uploaded by their political party and received by the Commission on 17th June, 2022 when the nomination portal closed was earlier presented.
For clarity, he said the Form EC9 (submission of names of candidates by political parties) is the Form uploaded by parties on the INEC nomination portal.
He said it was clearly indicated on the title of the Form which was received on 17th June, 2022 when the portal closed.

The statement reads in part: “What follows is the publication of the personal particulars of nominated candidates which was done a week later. The Forms of the two personalities in question were not published by the Commission.
“The decision of the Commission triggered legal action which are still ongoing. It, therefore, defies logic and common sense to go around and submit doctored documents purportedly recognising the duo as candidates when the matter is clearly sub-judice.”
“As part of the ongoing case in Court, a law firm requested the Commission for a Certified True Copy (CTC) of the Form EC9 submitted by the All Progressives Congress (APC) as its candidate for Akwa Ibom North West Senatorial District which we are duty bound to oblige them under the law.”

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Okoye said the Form was certified on 15th July, 2022, adding that if minimum care had been exercised by the promoters of the story, they would have seen the two stamps of the Commission bearing different dates on the Form.

“It is this Form that is now misconstrued as INEC’s endorsement,” he said.

He, however, called for responsible reportage as against the unwarranted attack on the Commission and its officials over a matter than can be easily fact-checked.

He added that this was not the first time, the attention has been drawn to a story published by an online medium that the Commission has doctored, such documents, saying nothing can be further from the truth.

The President of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo, has denied making a Facebook post in which he advised the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, to give his Labour Party counterpart, Peter Obi, a chance.

Akufo-Addo called the information false and malicious in a tweet on Tuesday.

The Ghanaian president stated unequivocally that he would never meddle in Nigerian politics.

“My attention has been drawn to a disturbing social media post in which it is claimed I wrote to the APC’s 2023 presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, urging him to ‘give Peter Obi a chance and seek treatment for his health.’
“This is completely false and mischievous, with no iota of truth whatsoever in it,” Akufo-Addo wrote.

He added that “Ghana and Nigeria boast of decades of cordial, strong and brotherly relations,” and he is “not going to be the one to interfere in the internal affairs and politics of Nigeria.”

President Muhammadu Buhari said on Tuesday that one million Nigerians died in the Biafra war in the fight to keep the country united.
Mr Buhari stated that the circumstances that led to such indiscriminate killings between 1967 and 1970 must not be repeated.

“We have been through everything since January 15, 1966.” You understand what I mean when I say that we have killed a million of ourselves in order to keep this country together.”

He said this on Tuesday at the Presidential Villa, where he hosted a forum of state chairmen of the defunct CPC, his former political party that merged with other parties to form the ruling APC.
“I don’t think there can be any practical experience more than that. We are Nigerians, God willing we remain Nigerians and Nigeria will remain one,’’ Mr Buhari assured.

Read Also: N’Central APC members protest Muslim-Muslim ticket, reject Lalong

Praising his visitors for their continued support for his administration, Mr Buhari urged political leaders to stay focused and uphold the ultimate objective of promoting the interest of the country.

He asserted that the CPC was founded on the bedrock of patriotism.

They carried placards with inscriptions such as ‘Lalong is a Judas, Lalong is a betrayal, Lalong is on his own,’ ‘We say No to DGship, give us our VP slot’, ‘On North Central Christian vice-presidential candidate we stand,” and ‘Dear Asiwaju…keep your DG, give us a Christian VP, all Christians in the APC say no to DGship.’

The leader of the group, Dauda Yakubu, said various indices at play so far within the APC did not suggest that the Christians from northern Nigeria were considered in the party’s affairs.

While describing the appointment of Lalong as an insult to the North-Central region, the stakeholders said they would only accept the position of the Vice President.

He noted that the party had neglected advice from concerned stakeholders by nominating a northern Muslim as the party’s vice-presidential candidate.

According to him, stakeholders in the APC, especially northern Christians, felt humiliated by the actions of the party’s leadership in recent times, which, he said, did not demonstrate ethnic and religious inclusion.

He called on Buhari to clear his role and make his position known on the party’s same faith ticket.

Yakubu said, “We feel the appointment of Governor Lalong as the Director General of the Presidential Campaign Council is an insult to our collective sensibilities as a devoted party faithful in the North-Central.

“Mr. President may wish to remember that in the affairs of the party, the North-Central zone has demonstrated an unalloyed commitment to the growth and development of the party. But what has the North-central received in return?
“We came from far and near to witness first-hand, the news making the rounds that you indeed, sanctioned the Muslim-Muslim ticket of our party. There have also been insinuations that the vice-presidential ticket was not given to a northern Christian because you supported it.

“We know you to be an advocate of unity, ethnic and religious inclusion. But again, we are short of words with the news making the rounds, hence, this open letter in a protest march to hear from you that you were indeed in support of a Muslim-Muslim ticket.

“This is on the heels that as stakeholders of our party, we have consistently advocated for Governor Lalong as the party’s vice-presidential candidate because he possesses all the necessary qualities. But to our dismay, he was appointed as the DG of the Presidential Campaign Council.

“So many questions are left unanswered in our minds regarding the position of the party in the interest of northern Christians. We beg to ask the question that, if a northern Christian is good enough to lead the Presidential Campaign Council, why then is a northern Christian not good enough to be nominated as the vice presidential-candidate of our party?

“It is our considered position that the lines are not connecting for us as stakeholders of the party in the North-Central zone of the country. And consequently, we demand explanations as to why our interests have been jettisoned using a yardstick that defeats common sense.”

Yakubu said the APC was the only party that did not consider the country’s religious sensitivity in the composition of its presidential team, adding that it was not on the strength of a lack of qualified and credible candidates.

While insisting that there was something fundamentally wrong, Yakubu said the forum was convinced beyond doubt that the President could not sanction such a move, going by his antecedents as a unifier and an advocate of peace.

“Your fatherly disposition to all, regardless of ethnic or religious affiliations, has never been in doubt. You have been a great source of strength and support to all, and it is on record that you have treated all in the same manner since you assumed leadership of our great country.

“We know that you can’t be a part of religious exclusion under any circumstances; hence, our presence here in Abuja through this peaceful protest, to hear from you if you support the Muslim-Muslim ticket of our party.

“At this stage, we cannot rely on rumours and hearsay because we know your pedigree as a father and mentor to all party members across the country. Mr President, it is our earnest desire that you, in your fatherly manner,” he stated.

Yakubu asked the APC leadership to convoke an emergency meeting to reflect the wishes and interests of northern Christians in the composition of the presidential team of the party for the 2023 presidential election.

The Yoruba Muslim Youths Organisation (YMYO) has criticised the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) position on the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential ticket.

The ruling party’s flagbearer, Bola Tinubu, will run alongside Senator Kashim Shettima; both are Muslims.

The same faith ticket is facing stiff opposition from Christian leaders and a segment of Nigerians.

Muritala Abdulsalam, the coordinator of YMYO, told CAN on Tuesday to stop inciting citizens against the APC.

Abdulsalam advised the body to allow Nigerians to vote for candidates based on merit rather than religious sentiment.
He stressed that the constitution does not stipulate that an adherent of a particular religion must be the president and running mate.

“CAN should focus on good governance and accountability, rather than on the APC Muslim-Muslim ticket.

“CAN as a body of eminent Christian leaders, should not abdicate its primary responsibility by delving into politics.

“CAN is not a registered political party in Nigeria, why are the leaders getting more and more involved in politics”, he said.

However, some APC chieftains have openly voiced their objection to the party’s ticket.

They include ex-House Speaker Yakubu Dogara, ex-Secretary to the Federal Government Babachir Lawal, Senator Ishaku Abbo among others.

2023: Christians and Muslims hold special prayers for Tinubu and Sanwo-Olu
Tinubu’s presidential ambition will be realised, according to the group, if he seeks God’s blessings.

The political group ‘ROT Like Minds’ has organised special prayers for the success of APC presidential candidate Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the 2023 general election.
The prayer session was held on Sunday in Lagos.

Jimmy Akinboro, the group’s coordinator, presided over the joint Islamic and Christian special prayers.

Rotimi Agunsoye supporters comprise the group (APC-Kosofe, Lagos Federal Constituency).

Mr Akinboro stated that the group organised the prayers to seek spiritual intervention for Mr Tinubu’s presidential ambition.

“The group believes that Tinubu’s presidential ambition will become a reality by seeking the blessings of God. Tinubu is a trusted and tested leader who has touched lives and redefined leadership in and out of political positions,’’ he said.

Mr Akinboro explained that the prayer session was also to support Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s re-election bid.

“This is not the first time Hon Agunsoye is organising this type of programme. We have embarked upon this prayer session in honour of our principal and our mentor. This is because he has unfolded his ambition to become the president of the country by the grace of God,” he stressed.

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Mr Akinboro added, “We are his foot soldiers, and we are his loyalists. All of us have come under the banner of this group to organise this Christian and Muslim prayer session. We want to hand over all our affairs to God so that He can guide us and grant our request. This is so that Tinubu can become president to continue to do what he knows how to do best, which is developing people and developing society.”

APC chieftain in Kosofe local council, Adebajo Adetunji, said the prayer session was to pray for more wisdom, knowledge and Tinubu’s aspiration to come to reality.

“If you look at his records when he was Lagos state governor, he created the 37 LCDAs. These councils have created jobs for more people in the state,” Mr Adetunji noted. “Tinubu groomed many leaders across the country and elevated so many politicians. That is why we are also supporting his ambition and also supporting Governor Sanwo-Olu.’’

Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike has invited Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwoolu to the inauguration of the recently completed Orochiri-Worukwo (Waterline Junction) flyover in Port Harcourt, the state capital.

The invitation comes amid a schism within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) between Wike and Atiku Abubakar, the party’s presidential candidate for 2023.

Both men had a falling out after Atiku refused to pick him (Wike) as his running mate for the upcoming elections, despite being recommended by a 16-man committee set up by the party to choose a vice-presidential candidate.

Wike made the announcement while inspecting ongoing projects in the state’s Obio/Akpor and Port Harcourt local government areas, according to reports.
He disclosed that the next round of project inauguration would commence on August 8 and last for two weeks.

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Furthermore he disclosed that the next project to be inaugurated will be the Ogbum-Nu-Abali Eastern Bypass. and it would be done by a Former Governor, Aliyu Wammako, who is also a chieftain of the APC.

Wike urged the people of the state all to join the government in thanking God Almighty for the accomplishments of his administration. He said the capacity of his administration in inaugurating more projects while also embarking on new ones was unique.

He said: “And I think you can’t hear anything happening in most of the States. But for us, we will end our services to the people on the 29th of May, 2023.”

“Like I said no project will be left abandoned and that is why we have taken priority to make sure that the finances are there to back up these projects. If we don’t have the money, there is no need of awarding contracts.”

Adamu Abdullahi, Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, has stated that his party expects to receive more than 25% of votes from the South-East.

Abdullahi made the remark while launching an eight-member Abia State Reconciliation Committee led by Senator Chris Adighije. He urged the zone’s leaders to put aside their differences and work for the party’s victory in the general election.

“Let Abia go and sit with us,” he said. We will not be satisfied with just 25% of the vote cast in any national election, House of Representatives, Senate, governorship, or presidential election.”

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“We need the majority of the vote cast for APC. No halfway about it. If we are to win, we must try to win every state. We have to do some work and stand together. This is the time to unite; this is the time to work for unity. If we do, God will be with us.”

Adamu advised warring factions in Abia to bury their hatchet and work for the party’s success.

“I hope that with what we have done (inauguration of the committee), there will be peace and we hope this is the very last step. We are not going to hold a reconciliation meeting again. We will now leave it to the leaders of Abia to go and play their politics in Abia state. Politics is local,” Adamu told the factions.

Senator Adighije promised to work toward uniting the party in the state.