Dele Momodu accuses Tinubu of repackaging Abiola’s manifesto – Newstrends
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Dele Momodu accuses Tinubu of repackaging Abiola’s manifesto

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Dele Momodu, publisher of Ovation magazine, has accused Bola Tinubu, presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), of repackaging the manifesto of MKO Abiola.

The APC’s presidential candidate released his 80-page manifesto tagged ‘Renewed Hope 2023’ on Friday.

The ruling party promised to solve Nigeria’s security and economic problems if reelected next year.

Momodu — who is the director of strategic communications of the PDP presidential campaign — criticised the document in an article published on Sunday.

In the article titled ‘APC: Renewed hope or forlorn hope?’, he said the document is filled with “half-thoughts, poor reasoning, and copied notes” from Abiola’s ‘Hope ’93’ manifesto.

Abiola was the presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the 1993 election.

He was adjudged to have won the presidential poll before it was annulled by Ibrahim Babangida, then head of state.

Momodu emphasised the difference between Abiola and Tinubu, describing the latter’s presidential bid as a “forlorn hope”.

He said the manifesto was “an insult to the sensibility and needs of Nigerians” and accused the authors of “copy and paste”.

 

The full article:

“After carefully reading through the much-awaited APC Presidential Campaign Manifesto that was released over the weekend, we cannot but conclude that the elephant has given birth to an ant. After such a long delay, what the APC Presidential candidate has come up with is a series of platitudes, half-thoughts, poor reasoning, and copied notes packaged and presented as “Renewed Hope”. The APC and its Presidential candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, could not even come up with something original: “Renewed Hope 2023.” Really? This is again, another attempt by the APC candidate to appropriate Bashorun MKO Abiola’s Legacy. It would be more salutary if he were to run on his own steam instead of copying the memory of a man whose life trajectory was uncommon and whose hope for Nigeria was noble. And the APC candidate should be reminded that 1993 is far different from 2023,” the Ovation publisher said.

“The late MKO Abiola was known for industry and brilliance. Shall we ask what the APC candidate is known for? Whereas MKO’s Hope ‘93 was a genuine course; for the APC and Nigerians, it’s a forlorn hope ~ and that’s the message of Bola Tinubu and the APC campaign in 2023

“In all honesty, the 80-page document that the APC has put together comes across as a little more than an insult to the sensibility and needs of Nigerians.

“At a time when the country is in dire need of clear leadership with vision and courage, all the APC seems capable of doing is to generally copy and paste regurgitated ideas of others with nothing original or breathtaking. Asiwaju says he “knows the way”. With due respect, he does not. On more than one occasion, he has advertised himself as the architect of the victory of the APC in 2015. Their party’s slogan then was “Change.”

 

“In eight years, they have not been able to change anything positively. They have led Nigeria into a ditch. Inflation is close to 21%. Unemployment rate is 33%. The Naira is one of the worst-performing currencies against the dollar in the world. The suicide rate in the country has risen terribly, because the people have lost hope. Divorce rate too because the APC and its leaders have castrated families, and ruined “the other room:”. Thus, they have worsened the condition of Nigerians. Now, in 2022, Tinubu says he wants to take Nigerians on a journey. A journey to nowhere, most certainly; or, to be precise – to perdition. A week ago, he promised that he would ensure the continuity of the current administration. What does he want to continue? If I may ask: the poverty, agony and cluelessness that the APC have imposed on Nigerians?

 

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“Like a crafty student trying to avoid being caught in the act of plagiarism, the authors of the document have tried to rewrite some unoriginal ideas. The authors of the document do not only offend Nigerians with their collection of cliches and pedestrian ideas but they offend, expose and indict the APC candidate Chief Bola Tinubu. I urge you in the spirit of fairness to interrogate what the APC calls a manifesto. You will see that they are promising exactly what they have not been able to achieve in eight years.

“Chief Bola Tinubu is not new to Nigerian politics. It is sad that he allowed some people to copy and repackage, without tact or grace, the Abiola Hope ’93 manifesto and mixed it with the 2015 APC/Buhari manifesto for him. They even have the impudence to tag it ‘Renewed Hope’. Nigerians do not need a copy and paste manifesto. They want details and original ideas. The way this country is right now, offering the people empty promises would not take us forward. The question for every Presidential candidate is how? How will you solve the problem? We all know what the problem is. Tell us how? For eight years, Bola Tinubu has projected himself as the power behind the throne. His party has failed to lead Nigeria forward. They must stop blaming the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). They must stop blaming the world and COVID 19. The duty of government is to provide leadership and solve problems. Leadership is about managing people and resources. Nigeria urgently requires a leader with exemplary capacity and ability to lead a nation in confusion with distinction and never with untested experimentation. We’ve already gone through calamitous experiments in the last eight years. The APC government is the only government that blames others and the past for its lack of innovation and creativity.

 

“I insist that the authors of the APC manifesto exposed and indicted both APC and Chief Bola Tinubu. The authors of the document, whoever they are, seem so disrespectful of Nigerians that they do not seem to care or know that Nigerians will ask where was Chief Bola Tinubu and his running mate when the current administration was getting things wrong with a similar game plan and manifesto? What did they and other APC members say or do in private or public to warn the government about their underperformance? What did they say or do in private or public to remind the outgoing APC administration that they failed to keep the promises they made in 2015? What advice or suggestions did they offer the outgoing administration to keep the lives and properties of Nigerians secure? What advice or suggestions did they give to grow our economy, create wealth and jobs? What strategies did they offer the outgoing administration to fight corruption? Were they just patiently and cynically waiting for the current administration to fail so they can say “I can do it”? Were they too scared or too engrossed with their ambition to tackle the government for the sake of Nigeria?

“I have used the phrase “authors of the document” advisedly because the APC is well-known to dial back, even on its own promises and it is one party whose candidates may not even know the content of their own manifestoes. After the 2015 general elections, the APC openly rejected some of the promises in the party’s manifesto, and that was long after they had been declared winner. This is probably why their 2023 manifesto this time around is long on promises and short on details. As a concerned citizen, I don’t think Nigerians should be taken on another bad ride.

“No other election in recent Nigerian history can be more important than the 2023 elections. The time for progress has come, and 2023 must be a referendum on the APC. My appeal is that voters must vote wisely. And I hope that going forward, Chief Tinubu would make himself available to attend debates and respond to questions that would be raised to do so, and when he does so, he should please refrain from his predilection to reduce serious conversations to vague proverbs and metaphors. Nigerians are not looking for a ‘dibia’. They want a leader with a clarity of purpose and vision.”

 

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2027 election: Shehu Sani declares bid for Kaduna central senatorial seat

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Former Kaduna Central Senator, Shehu Sani

2027 election: Shehu Sani declares bid for Kaduna central senatorial seat

Former Kaduna Central Senator, Shehu Sani, has officially announced his intention to contest for re-election in the upcoming 2027 general elections.

Sani made the declaration on Sunday while delivering his Eid-el-Fitr message at his residence in Kaduna. The former senator, known for his vocal stance on national issues, expressed his commitment to representing the people of Kaduna Central once again and addressing key challenges facing the region.

“Any politician contesting an election depends on the political equation that determines the position to vie for. If the conditions are right and the equations are favorable, I will offer myself to contest specifically for the Kaduna Central senatorial district,” he stated.

He further emphasised that his ambition remains secondary to ensuring the re-election of Governor Uba Sani for a second term.

“For now, our priority is to see that the incumbent governor, Uba Sani, is re-elected. We will work with all our might and strength to achieve this. We know there will be challenges and opposition, but we are well prepared for all forces,” he added.

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Sani also used the occasion to urge Muslims to pray for Nigeria’s peace and unity during the Eid-el-Fitr celebrations. Additionally, he condemned the recent killing of hunters in Edo State, calling on security agencies to apprehend the perpetrators.

“If citizens cannot move freely across the country, then we are not truly a nation. If individuals take the law into their hands for any reason, it means there is no government or authority,” he lamented.

He called on all Nigerians who desire a better country to work towards peace and unity for the preservation of democracy, despite the challenges being experienced.

Sani also urged the government to uphold fundamental human rights, particularly the right to life, as a crucial step towards national stability and development.

2027 election: Shehu Sani declares bid for Kaduna central senatorial seat

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Wike’s aide slams Atiku, says it’s too late to buy integrity

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Former Vice President of Nigeria, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar

Wike’s aide slams Atiku, says it’s too late to buy integrity

Lere Olayinka, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media has alleged that one Nigerian that can never be found in the gathering of men of character and integrity is former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.

Olayinka said this while reacting to statement by the Atiku Media Office that Atiku rejected the choice of Wike as his Vice Presidential candidate in the 2023 election of his character.

This was in spite of the fact that a committee set up by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to select a Vice Presidential candidate for the 2023 election had recommended Wike.

However, Olayinka said rather than Wike, it’s Atiku that that lacked character as attested to by his former boss, Olusegun Obasanjo, in his book; My Watch.

According to Olayinka, it was already too late for Atiku to buy ‘character and integrity that he has lacked from birth’.

He said no one could have knew Atiku better than President Olusegun Obasanjo, under whom he served as Vice President for eight years.

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Olayinka said; “One of the reasons Wike first rejected Atiku’s offer to have him as his running mate was his not too impressive character and integrity rating, until he was prevaied upon. And this, Atiku exhibited when he rejected the decision of committee the party set up to pick his running mate even after telling everyone that the decision of the committee will be bidding on him.

“Now, after his lies that he picked his running mate based on the committee report that placed the former Governor of Delta State, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, as number one was bursted, he is now sermonising about character and integrity, which he, himself does not have.

“Funny that the same Atiku, that his boss described as a ‘blatant and shameless liar,’ is the one talking about character.

“For the records, Obasanjo said in his book, ‘My Watch’ that ‘What I did not know, which came out glaringly later, was his parental background which was somewhat shadowy, his propensity to corruption, his tendency to disloyalty, his inability to say and stick to the truth all the time, a propensity for poor judgement, his belief and reliance on marabouts, his lack of transparency, his trust in money to buy his way out on all issues and his readiness to sacrifice morality, integrity, propriety, truth and national interest for self and selfish interest.’

“Up till today, Atiku has not debunked what his boss said about him.

“Unlike Atiku, Wike does not hide or pretend on where he stands on issues. He is not one that will do a tweet on major issues and rush to delete it. He didn’t pretend about his position on the 2023 election and he won’t pretend on where he will stand in 2027.

“It is Atiku, that should start being truthful and reliable, especially now that he is old, because everything should not be about desperation to be president.”

 

Wike’s aide slams Atiku, says it’s too late to buy integrity

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Atiku says he’s not sure about contesting 2027 presidential election

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Former Vice President of Nigeria, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar

Atiku says he’s not sure about contesting 2027 presidential election

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has said that he does not know if he will contest the presidency in 2027.

Atiku made the remark in a yet-to-be-aired interview for a television show, Untold Stories, with Adesuwa Giwa-Osagie, scheduled for broadcast today but exclusively obtained by Daily Trust.

The former presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) recently announced the formation of a coalition of opposition leaders to wrest power from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2027.

However, there has been widespread speculation about who will lead the coalition and emerge as its presidential candidate, with former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi and former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, being considered among its key figures.

When asked if he would be running for the presidency in 2027, Atiku said: “I don’t know because there has to be, first of all, a viable platform, more than any other time in the political history of this country, particularly since the return of democracy.”

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Atiku, who has run for the presidency a record six times, did not rule out the possibility of contesting again in 2027.

“I have not seen Nigeria in dire need of, you know, an experienced and credible leadership than this time.

“We had a similar, you know, what would I say, merger in 2014. About four of us or is it three? We all ran for president and one of us emerged, and we all supported the one who emerged, and he won,” he said.

He agreed with former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s assertion that Nigeria’s democracy is deteriorating, saying the situation is “very dire.”

“No doubt about that,” he said.

Atiku also expressed his disappointment with the country’s political leadership.

“The next generation after me, many of them had been governors, had been senators. Instead of me to see an improvement in the level of governance at the state level and so on and so forth, I don’t see it. So I feel a little bit distressed.”

Atiku also questioned the credibility of the current legislative leadership, especially as it relates to the National Assembly’s ratification of the state of emergency in Rivers State

“I am not surprised,” he said, alleging that they are corrupt.

 

Atiku says he’s not sure about contesting 2027 presidential election

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