Politics
Muslim-Muslim ticket: Tinubu, Shettima frustrating reconciliation, says Lawal
A former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, has again spoken against the Muslim-Muslim ticket of the All Progressives Congress, stating that Christian politicians in Northern Nigeria would remain steadfast in their stand for justice, equity and fair play.
According to him, any nation or political dispensation built on injustice would crumble because justice and equity settle all other disputes.
Lawal, in a statement on Sunday titled, “Why we are doing what we are doing,” pleaded with Nigerians to understand the position of the Northern Christian politicians on the Muslim-Muslim ticket of the All Progressives Congress for the 2023 presidential election.
He said neither the APC presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, nor his running mate, Kashim Shettima and the political party has seen anything wrong in their choice of a same-faith ticket for the presidency in the coming election, to make peace with or assuage the feelings of northern Christian politicians.
The statement read, “We have so far not taken the road to reconciliation because, in the first instance, neither the APC as a party nor its presidential candidate has bothered to seek us out for reconciliation even though early on, our doors were left open for such.
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“There are of course some ‘Christian’ turncoats and ‘Judases’ who, driven either by moral turpitude, poverty or greed, have hired themselves out as agents and spoilers of this noble Christian cause.
“To this group, I wish to recommend the study of the biographies of Judas Iscariot and Ahithophel in the Bible. Be careful to note how their lives ended.
“It seems that Tinubu/Shettima’s preferred approach is to attempt to counter our position through insults and sponsored fake Christian organisations to create the impression that there is a division within the Christendom on this matter.”
He noted that the strategy has failed with them becoming the butt of jokes in church gatherings across the country.
“This approach has also portrayed the duo as arrogant and pitiable people whilst also exposing them to the public as people with unimaginable deficiencies of noble character,” he added.
“And, broken they will be indeed. We noticed this trend in APC right from its registration in 2014 up to the 2022 convention, where the overriding goal seemed to have been to exclude northern Christians from all the organs of the party.
PFN backs CAN
The Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria has said that the Pentecostal Bishop’s Forum of Northern Nigeria, under which some bishops met with Tinubu, in Abuja on Friday does not exist within the PFN.
The Deputy National Secretary of the PFN, Bishop David Bakare, while disowning the group, told newsmen in Kaduna on Sunday that there was nothing like “Southern or Northern Pentecostal Bishops” in the PFN.
“The meeting between Tinubu and the Pentecostal Bishops Forum of Northern Nigeria has nothing to do with the PFN.
“I am speaking to you officially and authoritatively to say that the rank of the Christian community and, of course, the PFN, which I represent, is not broken at all.
“The Pentecostal Bishops Forum of Northern Nigeria is not known to the PFN,” he noted.
The forum does not have any affiliation or relationship with the PFN that is registered with the government of this nation.
“The position of the PFN on a same-faith ticket still stands as it did in the beginning, and we have not, for any reason, shifted our position on that matter.”
Bakare also noted that PFN was just one body under which all bishops, pastors, and members are lined up behind Bishop Francis Wale, the President.
Politics
PDP bigwigs plot Gov Adeleke’s removal, dump party for APC (Massive crowd photos)
PDP bigwigs plot Gov Adeleke’s removal, dump party for APC (Massive crowd photos)
Prominent leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Osun State including its ex-National deputy Chairman Shuiab Oyedokun and governorship aspirant Prince Dotun Babayemi, have crossed over to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The defectors with their supporters were formally welcomed into the APC fold at the party’s Secretariat by national leaders, including Minister of Marine and Blue Economy Adegboyega Oyetola, and National Secretary, Senator Ajibola Basiru.
Speaking at the event, Oyetola emphasized the APC’s track record of governance success.
He said, “APC has done so well. People are starting to see that when it comes to governance, the progressives know how to.”
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He highlighted the significance of veteran politician Baba Shuiab’s defection to the APC, noting that it signalled the diminishing influence of the PDP in Osun.
Oyetola expressed confidence in the APC’s prospects for victory in the 2026 governorship election, citing growing support and the influx of political heavyweights into the party.
Echoing Oyetola’s sentiments, Senator Basiru called for seamless integration of the new APC members into the party’s structure without discrimination.
He said, “Baba Shuiab and Prince Dotun Babayemi were members of the APC in the past. They’ve seen things. They’ve seen the difference between progressive and conservative, and they are back into the party.”
In his address, Babayemi highlighted the end of good governance in Osun following Oyetola’s departure as governor but expressed optimism that with his presence in the APC, the party would reclaim power in 2026.
Governor Ademola Adeleke of PDP came to power in Osun after defeating the APC under Oyetola in 2022.
Adeleke is serving his first term in office.
PDP bigwigs plot Gov Adeleke’s removal, dump party for APC (Massive crowd photos)
Politics
Only my party can stop me from contesting 2027 presidential election – Atiku
Only my party can stop me from contesting 2027 presidential election – Atiku
Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has hinted of his plans to contest again in 2027 for the president of Nigeria.
He however said he would withdraw from the race should his party zone the position to another region of the country.
He confirmed that an alliance of major political parties and influential politicians was in the works ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
Atiku, who was the presidential candidate for the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 general elections, disclosed that his recent meeting with the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, was a sign of positive things to come.
He said the meeting could be a launchpad for the possible alliance in the build-up to the 2027 general elections.
Atiku met with Obi; former Senate President Bukola Saraki, and former Governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido, in separate visits earlier last week.
He also dismissed the assertions that their alliance would be unable to produce a consensus candidate.
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He also said he would happily back a presidential candidate of the South-East extraction should the PDP zone its presidential ticket to the region.
Obi is from the South-East and, with the speculation of his imminent return to the PDP following his meeting with Atiku and other bigwigs of the party likely, he might clinch the ticket.
“I’ve made it clear since last elections that if our party members had a consensus that southeast should produce the candidate, we would all agree. And if our parties also had a similar agreement, then so be it,’’ Atiku said.
Last week, Paul Ibe, media adviser to Atiku Abubakar, former vice-president, says Nyesom Wike, minister of the federal capital territory (FCT), frustrated and sabotaged plans by the PDP to zone its presidential ticket to the South-East for the 2023 election.
He said the move effectively led to Obi’s exit from the party.
Only my party can stop me from contesting 2027 presidential election – Atiku
Politics
Six political parties plot against APC, meet in Kaduna
Six political parties plot against APC, meet in Kaduna
Six political parties converged in Kaduna State on Thursday in preparation to dislodge the governing All Progressives Congress, APC, ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The summit, with the theme, ‘Solid political party structure critical to the sustainability of the democratic process,’ was convened by the African Democratic Congress.
In attendance were the New Nigeria People’s Party, the People’s Redemption Party, the All Progressives Grand Alliance, the Social Democratic Party, the KOWA Party, as well as the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), and the Coalition of United Political Parties.
Lawal Nalado, chairman of the summit, decried what he described as “unbearable hardship” faced by Nigerians across the country, saying that the gathering was all about discussing the nation’s barrage of problems and ways to move forward.
He refuted insinuations in some quarters that the summit was convened to form a merger or a coalition amongst parties.
He added that the opposition parties needed to mobilize voters at the grassroots by way of reaching out to the downtrodden with political enlightenment messages, capable of changing their mindset that politics should not be about money, religion or ethnicity but voting for the right candidates to uplift the social and economic status of the society.
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The National Chairman of PRP, Falalu Bello, while speaking, stressed the need for effective mobilisation of the electorates by opposition parties, stressing that fielding credible candidates was not enough to win elections but mass mobilization.
Represented by Prof. Sule Muhammad, Bello listed inadequate resources, lack of internal democracy, decayed transparency, and interference by the ruling party among others as problems bedevilling opposition parties in the country.
Also, Ahmed Tujjani, the chairman of ADC and IPAC Kaduna State, opined that the summit was aimed to chart a course to address socio-economic and political parties’ problems with the motive of proffering realistic solutions.
According to him, “This is not a gathering for a merger or forming a coalition ahead of 2027 but rather a summit to discuss our common problems and suggest solutions of addressing them.
“We will call you again by tomorrow to read out our communique which will be a summary and possibly a mini-working document of solving our problems ahead of 2027.”
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