Category: News

The spokesperson for the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council, Festus Keyamo, has said the party’s presidential flagbearer, Bola Tinubu, remains the candidate to beat in the 2023 elections.

Keyamo was reacting to the march held in Lagos State on Monday to rally support for Bola Tinubu and his running mate, Kashim Shettima.

Naija News reports that the rally was led by Ibijoke, wife of the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, and Oluremi, wife of the Deputy Governor, Obafemi Hamzat.

The march was tagged, ‘Lagos Women Support Walk for Tinubu/Shettima, Sanwo-Olu, Hamzat’.

Others at the rally include Lagos APC chairman, Cornelius Ojelabi; former Deputy Governor, Oluranti Adebule, and Lagos APC Women Leader, Jumoke Okoya-Thomas, among others.

The APC supporters marched from Lagos Island to the Mobolaji Johnson Arena and chanted solidarity songs as they waved different sizes of APC flags and brooms.

The Tinubu supporters were also spotted wearing different colours of branded T-shirts and fez caps with inscriptions to rally support for the APC candidate and his running mate.

The women also drummed support for the second term bid of Sanwo-Olu and Hamzat.

Reacting to the rally via his Twitter handle on Monday, Keyamo said the women embarked on the march to appreciate Tinubu’s efforts in the rapid development of Lagos over the last 23 years.

The Minister of State for Labour and Employment added that the women are not guided or blinded by tribal sentiments, adding that they will “speak so loud in 2023”.

He wrote: “These are women who are appreciative of the efforts of @officialABAT over the last 23 years to see to the rapid development of Lagos. They’re not guided or blinded by tribal sentiments. They will speak and do so loudly in 2023. The neophytes think they can teach us how to march!”

https://twitter.com/fkeyamo/status/1576933867105447936

This article was originally published on Naija News

A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Lere Olayinka, has said the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, is not a threat to his party’s flagbearer, Atiku Abubakar.

Naija News reports that Obi, a former Governor of Anambra State, was the running mate to Atiku in the 2015 presidential election.

But despite being one of the frontline candidates for the 2023 elections, Olayinka said the former governor does not stand a chance of succeeding President Muhammadu Buhari.

Speaking with the Punch, the spokesperson to former Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, said the next president will be produced by either the PDP or the All Progressives Congress (APC).

He, however, admitted that the 2023 presidency is a four-horse race, saying that the presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Rabiu Kwankwaso, is not a pushover.

Olayinka said: “The PDP is the only alternative to the APC. If you do not like the APC, the only alternative is the PDP.

“I don’t want to subscribe to the idea of a three-horse race. Former Kano State Governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso, is also in the race and he is not a pushover.

“The next President of the country will be produced by either the PDP or APC.

“Obi is not a threat at all to Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and the PDP.”

This article was originally published on Naija News

Some senior lawyers have reacted to the ruling of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja which nullified the nomination of Governor Gboyega Oyetola and his deputy, Benedict Alabi as the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the last election.

Recall that Justice Emeka Nwite nullified Oyetola’s nomination on the ground that the former caretaker chairman of the party, Mai Mala Buni, who submitted their names to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), violated the provisions of Section 183 of the 1999 Constitution and Section 82(3) of the Electoral Act, 2022.

The lawyers in their reaction to the judgement disclosed that it would not affect the candidacy of the APC presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu.

The senior lawyers, Kunle Adegoke, Afam Osigwe and Reuben Atabo, who happens to be counsel to the Osun State Governor reacted to the judgment in an interview with Punch.

Adegoke, while sharing his view, said Governor Oyetola will appeal the ruling against his nomination as APC Governorship candidate.

He said, “We’re going on appeal straight away; no alternative to appeal.”

According to Adegoke, the ruling can not invalidate Tinubu’s candidacy, noting that the national convention has ratified everything the Buni-led executives did.

He added, “The national convention is the highest organ of the party, so at the national convention, we ratified everything Buni did. Asiwaju’s chances are very bright. We are going to appeal; all we know is that the court is wrong.”

A former Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association, Abuja branch, Osigwe speaking in the same context said there are two different cases.

He said, “I will not want to comment on the judgment of Justice Nwite in respect to the ticket of the Osun State governor because he is on appeal.

“In the Supreme Court judgment delivered on Eyitayo Jegede (SAN) and Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN), the Supreme Court had the opportunity to consider the defect of a party ticket/nomination paper of a candidate being signed by Governor Buni and the court referred to the decision of the Court of Appeal which talked about holding dual executive office, and the court opined that if there is even any defect in that, it does not affect the candidate who has emerged from the primaries.”

Atabo in the interview said Abdullahi Adamu-led executive submitted Tinubu’s name to INEC, unlike Oyetola’s own which was submitted by Buni.

He said, “So, in my own opinion, the two cases are different. While in Oyetola, Buni was the caretaker chairman, the court held that it was inappropriate, that he couldn’t hold two positions at the same time.”

This article was originally published on Naija News

Members of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)  would meet with Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State today in Port Harcourt.

Naija News reports that the PDP BoT members would be led by their Chairman and former Senate President, Adolphus Wabara, to the meeting with the Rivers governor.

Recall that the BoT, which is the Special Reconciliatory Committee of the PDP, had met with the party’s Vice Presidential candidate and Governor of Delta State, Ifeanyi Okowa.

The committee also met with the party’s Presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, at his Abuja residence on Sunday in a bid to resolve the crisis rocking the party and the way forward for the party.

Before the new PDP BoT emerged, Atiku and Wike had met more than twice both in London and in the country to resolve the issues affecting the party.

During one of their meetings, Wike had insisted that the National Chairman, Senator Iyorchia Ayu, must resign if his camp must reach a truce with the candidate.

But Atiku had said he had no powers to remove the chairman, saying that if the chairman must be removed, due process must be followed by the party’s constitution.

Following the development, Wike, some PDP governors and allies withdrew from the party’s Presidential Campaign Council and boycotted its inauguration in Abuja.

PDP Crisis: Wike, Makinde, Ortom, Others Give Conditions To Back Atiku

Meanwhile, the group led by Wike has tabled conditions Atiku must meet before they can back him in the 2023 general election.

Naija News reports that the Wike group, which comprises the governors of Enugu, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi; Benue, Samuel Ortom; Oyo, Seyi Makinde, and Abia, Okezie Ikpeazu are insisting that the national chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, must be replaced with a Southerner before they could participate in the PDP presidential campaign.

The source discloses to Daily Sun that senior members of the PDP are pressuring Atiku, a former vice-president, to accept the demands of the Wike group so as to unite the party before the 2023 election.

It was gathered that the five governors at their Enugu meeting insisted that there is no going back on the sack of the national chairman as a condition for their participation in the PDP presidential election.

This article was originally published on Naija News

The All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council will today (Tuesday) hold an emergency closed-door meeting.

Naija News reports that the meeting will take place at the campaign council headquarters in Abuja under the leadership of its Director-General and Governor of Plateau State, Simon Lalong.

Some of the issues that will be discussed include the fresh list of over 2,000 appointees for the council, the postponed inauguration and strategies on how to begin the campaign.

In a chat with The Punch, the Spokesperson for the campaign Council, Festus Keyamo, said the emergency meeting will take today.

The Minister of State for Labour and Employment added that he does not know if the party’s Presidential candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, would be joining the meeting.

He said, “Yes, but I don’t know whether it is with the candidate or not but I am aware the PCC is having a meeting.”

Also speaking, the PCC Director of Media and Communication, Bayo Onanuga, kept mum regarding the meeting but confirmed that Tinubu should return to the country this week.

“He is arriving this week. I don’t have any update for you on the presidential campaign inauguration,” he said.

This article was originally published on Naija News

Major stakeholders in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are expressing worry over the delay in the composition of sub-committees and the release of a timetable and schedule of activities by the party’s national campaign council.

Recall that last week, the main opposition inaugurated its 600-member campaign council with Akwa Ibom State Governor Udom Emmanuel as chairman, while his Sokoto State counterpart, Aminu Tambuwual, was named Director General.

However, the composition of the sub-committees, as well as the timetable and schedule of campaign activities, is still being awaited despite the inauguration of the campaign council.

According to Vanguard, insiders revealed that the anxiety in the party resulted from the fact that despite its internal challenges, the party had taken the lead in preparation ahead of the 2023 election.

A member of the council, who spoke in confidence, said: “There is nothing to worry about. We’ve set the pace, others are still trying to play catch-up.

“We’ve met and are still meeting these details you are asking about will soon be made public. Even though we have moved on, we want to secure the commitment of our aggrieved members so we can move on.

“There is still time, but we can do with less of distractions like the one that the housing allowance for our NWC members is causing at the moment.”

Also drawing concerns in the PDP is the decision of some aggrieved governors to boycott the presidential campaign of Atiku Abubakar, demanding the resignation of the party’s National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, for peace to return to the party.

The aggrieved governors are reportedly not cooperating fully with the campaign in terms of providing venues and logistics for campaigns in their domains.

The source said: “It would be naive to think the controversy generated by the return of housing allowances by some NWC members is not part of the game plan of our aggrieved members. We have to really tread carefully to avoid any more surprises.”

The PDP presidential campaign council inaugurated last week was divided into broad directorates, namely Administration, Finance, and Directorate of Legal Affairs.

Others are Directorates of Technology, Situation Room, Election Management, and Training.

Others include Operations- which was further divided into Directorate of Field Operations and Logistics, Strategic Communications, Security, and Support Groups.

Those demanding the resignation of Ayu include Governors Nyesom Wike (Rivers), Seyi Makinde (Oyo), Samuel Ortom (Benue), Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia), and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State.

Others are Prof Jerry Gana, former governors Ayo Fayose, Jonah Jang, Donald Duke, and Olusegun Mimiko, as well as former deputy national chairman of the party, Olabode George.

This article was originally published on Naija News

A forum of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Candidates and Aspirants have passed a vote of no confidence on the National Chairman of the party, Iyorchia Ayu.

The National Secretary of the party, Samuel Anyanwu and the Deputy National Chairman North, Umar Damagum were also condemned by the Forum on Monday.

They asked the party officially to resign from office in the next 48 hours or risk legal action.

The Forum called on the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party to see to their demand.

The Forum in their meeting which was held in Abuja threatened to launch a legal suit that will forcefully exit the three officers from office.

They claimed that the actions of the party leadership are responsible for the nullification of the governorship primaries of the party in Zamfara State and Ogun State.

According to the Forum, there are many more cases which are still pending in Court.

The Forum condemned the party for not utilizing the money made from the sales of nomination forms.

They lamented that Nigerians now see the party as a “come and chop or share the money party” for how it utilized the money, adding that Ayu’s removal will help portray the party as not being corrupt.

The Forum said that it has already sent a strong-worded petition to the party NEC and demanded the following which includes; “the immediate resignation of the trio, the appointment of the highest office as Acting National Chairman before the allegation can be investigated as Ayu, Anyanwu and Damagum cannot be a judge in their case, notice to commence legal action in 48 hours if steps are not taken to address the issues.”

This article was originally published on Naija News

The immediate past chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP), Senator Walid Jibrin, has on Monday disclosed the reason for resigning from his former position.

Jibrin, in a statement made available to journalists in Kaduna on Monday, said that he left his position to promote unity and oneness in the party.

He explained that he made the descision to ensure that the party presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar emerge as the winner of the 2023 election.

He said, “We should never be sectional at all. If I left my position to allow others, based on my concern for Nigeria, and our party to be stronger, so, I have no regret of relinquishing my position.”

He urged members of the newly inaugurated PDP Presidential Campaign team to ensure that they work towards delivering votes for the party in their respective states.

Speaking on the crisis in the party, Jibrin said what was happening in the party would be eventually handled as it is a normal family matter, adding that it will soon be a thing of the past

“And I want to assure Nigerians that what is happening in PDP is never a problem but a normal family matter that would be solved very soon. Never, ever mention that PDP has any problem. We shall soon take over from the ruling party. Nigeria shall move forward. Cheers. May God bless all of us,” he explained.

Jibrin, who was recently appointed to head the Nasarawa State Presidential Campaign Council, urged members to remain calm in the face of crisis.

He said, “I am happy to announce that Nasarawa State has appointed me to be the Chairman of the Presidential Campaign – I will lead all elders, women, and youths.

“I have started my duty in that respect and I call on all members of the Presidential Council, not to remain in Abuja, we should all go back to our units, wards, local government areas, and states, to ensure that we win our states, hands down.

Speaking further, the former BOT boss also admonished all organs of the party to come together and work for it’s good.

He urged the National Working Committee (NWC) to set down a good example with it’s party activities.

He warned that no member should allow themselves to be used by a person or group irrespective of their position.

“All Members of the party, no matter what, must accept what positions are being held and taken by the NWC, and the NWC should not come out and what they agreed; particularly by few Members of the NWC. This is not encouraging at all in our party,” he added.

This article was originally published on Naija News