Politics
Ekiti 2022: Oni’s ambition suffers setback as Fayose, Olujimi settle rift
The governorship ambition of former governor of Ekiti State, Engr Segun Oni, may have suffered setback as the two contending groups in the People’s Democractic Party (PDP), the Osoko Political Assembly led by former Governor Ayo Fayose and another (Repositioning Group) led by the Senator representing Ekiti South, Biodun Olujimi have resolved not to support his ambition.
Our reporter was told that the two groups reasoned that Oni just returned to the party from the APC and he was not part of the Ekiti PDP Congresses and litigations, and therefore does not have any structure to support his ambition.
“Having failed to realize the governorship ambition in the APC that he decamped to eight years ago, he can’t come to the PDP to reap where he did not sow,” the source said Oni was told at the Lagos meeting.
The Fayose and Olujimi led groups have settled their rift and are said to have now resolved to support any candidate from either of their groups.
Credible source disclosed to our reporter that following the directive of the PDP National Chairman, Senator Iyorchia Ayu and other leadership of the party, a seven-man committee, comprising of Fayose and two persons from his group as well as Olujimi and two persons from her group met in Lagos last Monday. Oni was said to have been allowed to attend the meeting as an observer.
The Monday meeting was aftermath of the stakeholders meeting held in Abuja on December 20 and 21, 2021, in which it was established that there were only two groups in the PDP in Ekiti State.
The source said that at the Lagos meeting, the two groups said in his (Oni) presence that “he is on his own as far as his governorship ambition is concerned.”
The PDP Deputy Governorship candidate in the 2018 election, Hon Deji Ogunsakin and former House of Reps member, Hon Segun Adekola represented the Fayose group in the meeting while former Senator, Duro Faseyi and Otunba Yinka Akerele represented the Olujimi group.
“Fayose and Olujimi have resolved to work together and they have already put machineries in motion to bring all their supporters together and back whoever emerges as candidate from the aspirants in their two groups.
“This was also reiterated in the meeting with stakeholders, held in Ado Ekiti on Thursday, December 30, 2021. The meeting was attended by selected members from the two groups, with Oni and other aspirants in attendance,” the source said.
A former House of Assembly member, Hon. Olawale Onigiobi told our reporter that the coming together of Fayose and Olujimi appeared to have unsettled Oni’s camp in the last 48 hours.
Onigiobi said “they have embarked on campaign of calumny to the extent of generating letter on behalf of a faceless APC group to the party’s Caretaker Committee Chairman, Governor Mai Mala Buni, insinuating a working alliance between Fayose and Governor Kayode Fayemi.
“Also, they have been circulating series of negative write ups, accusing Fayose and Olujimi of working in alliance with Governor Fayemi and the APC.
“In other words, only those in Oni’s camp, most of who only returned to the party from the APC last year are desirous of victory for the PDP. Fayose, Olujimi and others that they met in the party do not want PDP to win. What a way to campaign for a party governorship ticket!
“Won’t PDP field a candidate who can win the Ekiti governorship election if he (Oni) had remained in the APC? And if Fayose and Olujimi are enemies of PDP as being painted, who then will PDP rely on to win the governorship election? Is it only Oni? And why did he not get the APC ticket in 2018 if he was that popular?”
Senator Olujimi, reacting in Ekiti PDP General WhatsApp platform said; “Just stumbled on this. I hope fmr Gov Oni is reading and taking notes. I don’t know where these faceless writers from the dark are coming from. Where were they when we started the movements? Do they know the pains we’ve been through? Are they aware of the issues? Do they think the folly on our faces are deeply entrenched in our being? Are we subservient to these vile writers? We kept the party alive, that’s why people can come and make aspiration their main focus. Some of us are quiet, not because we don’t know what to say or Commission stupid write ups, but because of our belief in the unity of the party.
“I laugh hard when I hear one person is the only one that can win! Some of us have been around long enough to tell the real stories. We are just decent and circumspect.”
Our reporter however gathered that a meeting will be held in Abuja tomorrow, January 3 where report of settlement between the two groups will be presented to the party leadership. The meeting was earlier fixed for December 29, 2021, but was shifted to January 3.
Meanwhile, Oni in his reaction, dissociated his campaign structures from the emerging campaigns of calumny and blackmails geared towards the governorship polls later in 2022.
Oni stated that he had no rift with the leading PDP leaders in Ekiti State, ex-Gov Fayose and Senator Olujimi, and therefore would not engage in campaigns inimical to PDP chances in the coming polls.
He noted that “At the meeting in Abuja, I apologised to Gov Fayose for any personal ill-feeling that he must have experienced based my relationship towards him and he stood up to embrace me. The interpersonal issues are over. We have put that behind us.
“My respect for Senator Olujimi is intact, and I enjoy a cordial relationship with her. She has done well for our state and the country at large.
“ I urge members of my team and supporters to campaign reasonably. Whoever wins all of us will support. We will also ensure that all the various people participate in government. We must stop abuses and play mature politics.”
Vanguard
Politics
PDP crisis: Two ex-Senate presidents lead fresh plot to oust Damagum
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
Politics
PDP expels South-East national vice chairperson over anti-party activities
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
Politics
INEC recognises Sylvester Ezeokenwa as APGA national chairman
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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