2023: Osinbajo divides RCCG, pastor seeks sacking of VP campaigner – Newstrends
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2023: Osinbajo divides RCCG, pastor seeks sacking of VP campaigner

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3 years ago

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Yemi Osinbajo

A youth pastor of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Dr Oche Otorkpa, has called on the leadership of the church to sack the Head of Politics and Governance, Pastor Timothy Olaniyan, who campaigned for the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo (SAN), ahead of the 2023 elections.

It will be recalled that Olaniyan openly declared support for Osinbajo at a public event over the weekend.

He said Osinbajo, as a pastor with the RCCG, will fulfil his electoral promise.

But reacting to the comment bu Olaniyan, Otorkpa demanded for his sack.

He said in the statement: “I was saddened when my attention was drawn to the statement credited to the Head of Politics and Governance of the Redeemed Christian Church, RCCG, ‘Pastor’ Timothy Olaniyan. This act reminds me of the tragedy promoted by many of my colleagues in the Redeemed Christian Church of God, who used the RCCG altar to promote Buhari as the only savior of Nigeria because Osinbajo also a Redeemed Pastor, was his running mate.

“Against all admonition by our father the General Overseer, these pastors choose to ignore an express order and promoted Buhari/Osinbajo using the RCCG pulpit in 2015 and the results are what we see today.

“While I have nothing personal against Osinbajo and those campaigning for him, our father, the General Overseer has made it clear to everyone that the church is a congregation of all parties and all are his children.

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“If truly the said ‘Pastor’ Timothy Olaniyan voiced such a one-sided opinion, then he should be ashamed of himself, and the many people who insulted Leke (Adeboye, the son of the General Overseer of the RCCG, Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye) for calling such people goats should apologize to him because this man’s action has not only ridiculed the mission but also the reputation of our father in the Lord.

“As one of those who fiercely defended the RCCG when concerned Nigerians labeled the newly created Politics and Governance directorate as an Osinbajo campaign arm of the church, I felt I owe it a duty as an ordained minister and someone who has spent close to 3 decades working to help achieve the church’s missionary objectives, to speak out.

“How can a Redeemed Pastor, saddled with the responsibility of promoting all, insist on a public forum that one person is the only child of God that could change the narrative of governance in Nigeria?

“This is someone who says he wants to consolidate Buhari’s legacies, a legacy characterized by banditry, kidnappings, massive killings, corruption, stealing and diversion of crude oil, unfulfilled promises, and borrowings that are about to throw us into a state of bankruptcy as a nation.

“Pastor Olaniyan claimed that politicians will promise heaven and earth, and at the end of the day, you see them giving N1000, N2000 to eligible voters. That was similar to what Osibanjo did the last time with Trader money prior to the elections, jumping from one market to the other.

“When it comes to failed promises, nobody beats Osinbajo and Buhari. They promised three million jobs per year, it is almost 8 years, and those who have jobs before they came to power are now jobless.

“Osinbajo and Buhari promised 20,000 MW of electricity within four years, but today, grid collapse and darkness are what Nigerians are battling.

“When Osinbajo and Buhari came to power on the 29th of May 2015, the naira was exchanged at N199 to the dollar. Today, the naira is exchanging at almost N600 when they promised to make it equal to the dollar.

“As I write this response, our youths and children are at home due to the ongoing ASUU strike, Osinbajo and Buhari had promised to give up to 20 percent of the national budget for the educational sector, they have never exceeded 6% since they took power. Even the foreign scholarship created by Jonathan for First Class students has been canceled by them.

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“They promised to clean our electoral system but ended up creating devilish inventions such as the inconclusive elections and the ‘remote control’ in the words of Buhari which they used on the people of Osun state to deny Adeleke his last mandate and Nigerians in the last general elections.

“They promised to reduce the fuel pump price to N40 per liter, this year, the price ranges from 165 to infinity depending on where you are buying. Even diesel that was very available has now disappeared, thanks to the change championed by some of our Pastors.

“Proverbs 12:22 says the LORD detests lying lips, but he delights in people who are trustworthy. When a pastor begins to brand deceptive people as the only ones being capable of changing the narrative of governance in the country, then you know there is a problem.

“While Pastor Olaniyan has the constitutional right to hold a political opinion, he clearly does not understand the sensitive nature of the office he occupies and the diversity of the interest and the people he is meant to manage.

“We therefore humbly call on the church leadership as a matter of urgency to remove ‘Pastor’ Timothy Olaniyan as the Head of Politics and Governance, to enable the unit to discharge its mandate without shamefully taking sides and dancing naked in the market square.

“May God Help Us to Help Ourselves.”

 

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PDP crisis: Two ex-Senate presidents lead fresh plot to oust Damagum

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8 hours ago

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December 21, 2024

By

Umar Iliya Damagum, Acting National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)

PDP crisis: Two ex-Senate presidents lead fresh plot to oust Damagum

Two former Presidents of the Senate, Chief David Mark and Dr Bukola Saraki are leading a fresh charge aimed at removing Amb. Umar Damagum as the Acting National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The push by Mark and Saraki has received the backing of prominent stakeholders, including the Plateau State Governor, Caleb Muftwang and other political office holders elected on the platform of the PDP.

Similarly, former governors from the Northcentral zone who served on the party’s platform have also aligned forces with the group.

Rising from a stakeholders’ meeting in Abuja on Thursday night, the party chieftains resolved to produce a candidate from the zone early 2025 to replace Damagum.

According to them, the move to replace Damagum with a substantive chairman from the Northcentral, has received the endorsement of key party stakeholders from the Northwest and the Northeast zones.

Among those being projected as potential candidates to take Damagum’s seat include Mark; a former Benue State Governor, Gabriel Suswam; and a former House of Representatives member from Nasarawa State, David
David Ombugadu.

A communique issued after the meeting, said the stakeholders
reviewed the festering crisis in the party following the exit of the erstwhile National Chairman, Dr. Iyorchia Ayu.

Ayu lost his seat to the crisis triggered by disagreements over the emergency of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar as the presidential candidate of the PDP in the 2023 general election.

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The crisis has continued to deepen with the apparent overbearing influence of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike on the Damagum-led national leadership.

The Northcentral stakeholders argued that Damagum’s continued occupation of the office breached provisions of the PDP constitution.

The communique states in part, “The PDP’s constitution clearly states that succession of offices in the party at all levels is largely to the extent that any vacant position can be replaced by appointment from the zone, as per Section 47 (6) of the party.

“The party is guided by its constitution at all times. Therefore, the leadership of the party needs to rise up to the occasion to restore goodwill and cohesion in the party by making necessary sacrifices and compromises to restore confidence and cohesion in the party.

“It is in the light of this that the stakeholders of the Northcentral Zone appeal to the conscience and goodwill of our compatriots in other zones of the Northern region to restore the seat of the chairmanship of the party back to the Northcentral Zone to serve out its tenure.

“That the stakeholders must strive to build consensus to get the buy-in to the position of Northcentral zone.

“The Northcentral is united and will strive to preserve the PDP as a veritable platform for good governance in Nigeria.”

The meeting, which was attended by Governor Muftwang, also had former Governors Jonah Jang (Plateau), Babangida Aliyu (Niger), Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara) and Idris Wada (Kogi) in attendance.

Others at the meeting included the Senate Minority Leader, Senator Abba Moro; incumbent PDP National Legal Adviser, Kamaldeen Ajibade (SAN); and a former Information Minister, Prof Jerry Gana.

Also at the meeting were former senators Tunde Ogbeha, Philip Aduda, Suleiman Adokwe, Dino Melaye, Mohammed Onawo and Peter Jiya.

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Similarly, former Ministers, Labaran Maku and Sarah Ochekpe also attended the meeting. Other stakeholders like Simon Mwadkwon, Mrs. Margaret Icheen, Mr. Raymond Dabo, Maika Jiba, and Isa Dobi were also present.

Damagum, who is from Yobe State in the Northeast zone, emerged Acting National Chairman in March 2023 following the exit of Ayu who is from Benue State in the Northcentral zone.

Damagum was the PDP Deputy National Chairman (North) before his appointment as Acting National Chairman.

By virtue of Section 47 (6) of the party’s constitution, he ought to have relinquished the seat for a substantive National Chairman from the Northcentral zone where Ayu hailed from.

The Section reads: “Where a vacancy occurs in any of the offices of the party, the Executive Committee at the appropriate level shall appoint another person from the area or zone where the officer originated from to serve out the tenure of the officer.”

Ayu was elected chairman in 2022 for a four-year tenure that should expire in 2026 before his tenure got truncated in 2023.

Several moves by critical organs of the party, including the PDP Governors Forum, the Board of Trustees (BoT) and the National Caucus to replace Damagum have been thwarted by the Acting National Chairman, allegedly with the backing of Wike.

Miffed by the development, the PDP Governors Forum, led by Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State, had, a few weeks ago, directed the Damagum-led leadership to convene the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting latest by February 2025.

The NEC meeting has suffered four postponements between August and November 2024, as Damagum, who is supposed to convene the meeting has been evasive.

The power to ratify any candidate chosen by the Northcentral zone to replace Damagum is vested only in the NEC.

 

PDP crisis: Two ex-Senate presidents lead fresh plot to oust Damagum

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PDP expels South-East national vice chairperson over anti-party activities

Published

2 days ago

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December 19, 2024

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PDP expels South-East national vice chairperson over anti-party activities

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Oguduokwor Ward, Onicha Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, has officially expelled Ali Odefa, the suspended National Vice Chairperson of the party in the South-East, following allegations of anti-party activities.

Odefa had been suspended on September 11, 2024, by the ward executives, a move that was later upheld by the Federal High Court in Abakaliki. In its ruling on November 29, 2024, under suit number FHC/AI/CS/182/2024, the court affirmed the legitimacy of his suspension.

On Wednesday, Onyeka Ovuta, the Acting Chairperson of the PDP in Oguduokwor, announced Odefa’s expulsion in a statement. Ovuta explained that the decision followed recommendations from the party’s disciplinary committee, which confirmed the allegations against Odefa.

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The party announced that Mr Odefa by the virtue of his expulsion, “ceases to be a member of the party.”

Reacting, Mr Odefa laughed off the expulsion, stating that those who announced it were “frustrated charlatans”.

He said the expulsion cannot stand because “it did not take place in the ward but in Abuja”. He said those who made the announcement against him were not ward executives of the party.

“Let them come home come and announce it. Or is our ward now located in Abuja?”

 

PDP expels South-East national vice chairperson over anti-party activities

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INEC recognises Sylvester Ezeokenwa as APGA national chairman

Published

3 days ago

on

December 18, 2024

By

APGA National Chairman, Sylvester Ezeokenwa

INEC recognises Sylvester Ezeokenwa as APGA national chairman

Sylvester Ezeokenwa has been reinstated as the national chairman of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA).

Ezeokenwa was reinstated by the leadership of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Tuesday, December 17.

According to Sam Olumekun, the National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee of INEC, the commission had been served with the judgement of the Supreme Court.

The apex court judgement with the Appeal No. SC/CV/824/2024 APGA & ANOR vs OYE & ORS was delivered on November 27, 2024.

The court ruled that Ezeokenwa should be recognised as the national chairman of the party.

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“In compliance with the judgement of the apex court, the Commission has restored Barr. Ezeokenwa as the Chairman of APGA and restored his name on our website accordingly,” the INEC commissioner said.

He also stated that the reisnstatmemt of the new chairman would automatically lead to the withdrawal of the recognition of Njoku as the national chairman of the party.

The court also upheld an earlier judgement of the appeal which did not confer any enforceable rights on Njoku.

If also awarded N20 million each against the appellaants.

INEC recognises Sylvester Ezeokenwa as APGA national chairman

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