Category: 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

The New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP) has rubbished certain reports claiming its presidential candidate, Rabiu Kwankwaso is in the 2023 race as a spoiler.

The party in a statement on Monday said Kwankwaso has better credentials than all other candidates he will be contesting against for Nigeria’s number one political position next year.

The NNPP statement which was issued by the party’s national publicity secretary, Dipo Olayoku said those spreading fake news about the party and its candidate are political enemies trying to cause disaffection where there is none.

Maintaining that Kwankwaso will win the 2023 presidential race, the party spokesman said its candidate has the experience and support to emerge victorious at the February polls.

He argued further that there is no truth in certain reports that the former Kano Governor is planning to step down for any particular candidate ahead of the presidential elections.

Olayoku said: “l want to state that nothing can be further from the truth than this. We in the national working committee consider these reports as the handiwork of fifth columnists, who have been trying to cause disaffection in the party and they will never succeed.

“They had tried in the past to plant such discord that our Presidential candidate, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, was going to step down for another presidential candidate. Since that couldn’t fly, they have resorted to planting sundry stories against the party.

“As a political party, our mission and vision and that of our presidential candidate is very clear. That mission and vision is to win the presidential election next year and to take the country out of the woods, which it has been in the last seven years.

“The meritorious and distinguished credentials of our Presidential Candidate, Sen. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, in public service and all the political offices that he held are indisputable and no one can fault them.

“We do sincerely understand that it is the tree with the ripe fruits that attracts the attention of the people, the reason for the barrage of attacks against our party and its presidential candidate.

“However, we are moving, as the party is working in harmony and unity of purpose for what it’s doing.

“We remain focused and would not allow anybody to distract us by sowing seeds of disaffection in the party. NNPP remains the fastest growing party in the country.”

This article was originally published on Naija News

Veteran Nollywood actress, Joke Silva, is currently trending on the microblogging platform, Twitter over her campaign for All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu.

Naija News reports that the veteran actress was among the Nollywood stars who had publicly declared support for Tinubu.

She also joined the wife of the Lagos State Governor, Ibijoke Sanwolu and other women in Lagos today for a rally.

Joke Silva took to her Instagram page to share photos and videos of the APC women’s rally at Onikan Stadium.

Bearing in mind the series of attacks online from many youths and fans, the actress turned off her comment section as she may not want to respond to attacks from netizens.

She captioned the posts: “@kemskis and 1At Onikan Stadium for the womens APC rally. The HCC old girls Dr(Mrs)Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, @kemskis and my self. We co-opted Mrs Hamzat.Lagos Womens March for APC. And this is only the women oh”

Nigerians Reacts

This has sparked mixed reactions online as many Nigerians shared their thoughts over the actress’ decision.

@amuta_ann wrote: “I’m really happy Joke Silva closed her comments and other Tinubu supporters are in the closet and afraid to publicly support him/APC. This means we’re getting somewhere. There is shame in supporting greed, wickedness and failure, and I’m happy they recognize this.”

@DanielRegha wrote: “Mercy Johnson, Joke Silva & other public figures campaigning for Tinubu shouldn’t be ur problem, a lot of celebs will campaign for the APC. Nigerians talk big but at the end of the day, majority are only f!ghting for their self-interest; So don’t let anyone influence u. Be smart.”

@Nkemchor_ wrote: “You saw the last 7 years of the Buhari Administration and the decline in our quality of life as Nigerians. Joke Silva has lived out her best years so she has absolutely nothing to lose.
It’s the future of Young Nigerians that are being toyed with. My Advise – VOTE WISELY”

@MLS_ODG wrote: “Dear Joke Silva, history and posterity wouldn’t forget the position you took. You have children, they as well would have children. May the good Lord reward everyone according to their works, unto the third and fourth generations”

@yunglord10 wrote: “She’s a legend and we respect her but ain’t nobody voting someone cause joke silva said so. The streets dont fw her like that.”

@Benking452 wrote: “Nobody should drag Joke Silva, Mercy Johnson, Rahama Sadau, & other celebs in Tinubu’s Women Campaign Team. My life and my child’s life are at stake. So if you think you have the right to support support rubbish, I have the right also drag you and call you out.”

@TwittHarmony wrote: “So Joke Silva left Olu Jacobs to come and walk under the sun for someone she’s stronger than for free? That woman smart pass dat one. Lagosians, Collect your money”

@VictorIsrael_ wrote: “Everyone can not support Peter Obi. Joke Silva can support Tinubu if she wants no problem. She’s securing her bag; We are securing our future. May the best ‘Securer’ win.”Jok

This article was originally published on Naija News

Stakeholders in the Edo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have called for the immediate removal of Dan Orbih as the party’s Vice Chairman, South South.

Naija News reports that the stakeholders made the demand during a meeting in Benin City, which was attended by party leaders and chieftains from all the senatorial districts in the state.

A leader of the party, Omoregbe John claimed that critical stakeholders have discovered that the Vice Chairman, South-South of the PDP does not mean well for the party as his public statements and conduct has revealed.

He said: “The polarization has been actively fueled by Chief Dan Orbih for his personal gains and that of the dark interest he represents.

“When we expected that peace will return to Edo PDP after the avoidable litigations that climaxed at the Supreme Court and setting up of the reconciliation committee by the Governor of Edo State, Chief Dan Orbih and his cohorts have called meetings of their people to intimate them on their own moves, which negates the party’s constitution.”

He added, “the party constitution says no member or officer of the party should engage in any activity that will ridicule the party but Chief Dan Orbih went on air and social media space to ridicule the party and damage the image of the flagbearer of the party for the 2023 general election by sowing anger and doubt in the mind of both party members and the voting public.

“It is common knowledge that Chief Orbih and members of the National Working Committee agreed among themselves to draw housing allowance from the account of the party while trying to denigrate the PDP National Chairman, Senator Iyorchia Ayu.”

Omoregbe urged, “We are calling for the immediate sack or suspension of Chief Dan Orbih within seven days or we will, in conjunction with other stakeholders across the South-South region, occupy the state secretariat and put party activities on hold until our request is granted.

“Members will also converge at the party secretariat along First East Circular Road in Benin City to shut it down and lock it up if our demand is not attended to.”

“We are committed to working for the success of our presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and his running mate, Sen. Ifeanyi Okowa,” he reassured.

Naija News reports that Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State have been at loggerheads with Orbih, a staunch ally of Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State.

The Supreme Court in a recent judgement had backed the faction of the Edo State Governor on the PDP’s internal crisis.

This article was originally published on Naija News