Politics
Olurode recounts Awolowo’s ethics on Akande’s 85th birthday
Olurode recounts Awolowo’s ethics on Akande’s 85th birthday
‘Bis Akande is an exceptional politician’
A former National Commissioner with the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Lai Olurode, has extolling the starling qualities of an ex-Osun State governor, Chief Bisi Akande, as he turns 85.
In a statement, Olurode paid tribute to Akande, saying he belongs to the Chief Obafemi Awolowo political school of thought with the core values of being blunt and uncompromising.
“This school of thought is not after power or political office for personal aggrandisement or power for its own sake. Power is only pursued as long as it can serve the purpose of alleviating human sufferings,” he stated.
Olurode, a retired professor of Sociology at the university of Lagos, also remarked that central to the political philosophy of the school is education used as a social good, which all must have access to regardless of placement within the social structure.
According to him, health, shelter, rural development and provision of employment opportunities deserve utmost attention, if governance must be purposive and responsible.’
A third element which Olurode alluded to is his disdain for flamboyance and political jamboree.
He said, “For Awolowo political school of thought, political campaigns shouldn’t be driven by money but by the efficacy and sophistication of policies and ideas placed before the electorates.
“The school of thought believes strongly that in the market of political goods, it would corner the most market, if not all, except it is cheated by corrupt people.
“And when Chief Bisi Akande had the opportunity to serve as first, Secretary to the government of old Oyo State under Chief Bola and later as the deputy governor, he was guided by those political ethics which gave more attention to governance and substantive issues in place of the type of cars that officials of the state ride in.
“When he was elected as the governor of Osun State in 1999, this ethical approach to governance blossomed.
“Akande, in the course of the political campaign for election as governor didn’t spend up to two hundred thousand naira. He drastically cut down on the cost of governance.
“For him, the office of the first lady had no place in Nigeria’s and he didn’t allow this constitutional aberration. No wonder, Akande, in just four years as the governor of Osun State built a colossal state secretariat which eradicated the practice of hiring apartments all over the state to accommodate government officials.
“During the commissioning of the architectural masterpiece, the then President Olusegun Obasanjo, marvelled as to how Akande was able to achieve the feat without borrowing.
“Had Akande been desperate for political office, he would have secured a ministerial post under President Muhammadu Buhari for free.”
According to Olurode, ‘”Akande is loyal to his political associates. Through thick and thin, and even after the death of Bola Ige, his loyalty to him didn’t whither.
“And throughout the hectic and marathon campaign travels and travails of the then Senator Bola Tinubu, Bisi Akande, in spite of advanced age, stood by him.
“This man is an exceptional politician, indeed, out of the run of the mill. He deserves all the encomiums in a country where politics isn’t really about principle and service but centres around a rapacious money culture.”
Politics
Damagun writes INEC to conduct by-election for 27 vacant Rivers assembly seats
Damagun writes INEC to conduct by-election for 27 vacant Rivers assembly seats
Few days after governors on the platform of the Peoples Democracy Party (PDP) handed down an ultimatum for things to change in the party, the Acting National Chairman of the party, Umar Damagun has moved against the FCT Minister and his loyal lawmakers, the 27 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly.
Damagun in a letter addressed to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) dated 13th November 2024 and released on Sunday by the spokesperson of the Opposition Lawmakers Coalition, Ikenga Ugochinyere urged the electoral umpire to conduct a bye-election to fill up the 27 seats, they vacated to join the All Progressives Congress, APC.
Wike has been accused of being behind the crisis in the PDP over his disagreement with the Rivers State governor, Sim Fubara, his successor.
The crisis which started over control of resources divided the party in the state with 27 lawmakers in the state assembly siding Wike and defected to the APC following Wike’s acceptance to serve in the government of the APC.
He has also been accused of working in cahoots with Damagun to damage the PDP by not organising the National Executive Committee which would lead to the acting Chairman’s ouster.
After a series of agitation, the latest being from the PDP Governors’ Forum over the weekend, Damagun has demanded that INEC conduct elections as soon as possible, apparently moving against the FCT minister.
He argued in letter titled, ‘DEMAND FOR IMMEDIATE CONDUCT OF FRESH ELECTION IN 27 STATE CONSTITUENCIES OF RIVERS STATE WHICH HAVE BECOME VACANT PURSUANT TO SECTION 109(1)(g) OF THE CONSTITUTION’ that it’s “unlawful” for the 27 members to defect.
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The members defected to the APC on December 11, 2023.
Damagun said, going by provisions of the Constitution, the lawmakers are no longer members of the Assembly.
The PDP acting chairman therefore urged the Commission to perform its constitutional duties and begin the process of conducting fresh elections to fill the vacancies created in the 27 state constituencies by the unlawful act of the former Assembly members.
Parts of the letter read, “The Leadership of our great party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) wishes to draw the attention of the Commission to the gross violation of Section 109 (1)(g) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) by 27 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly following their unlawful defection from our Party, the PDP who sponsored their elections to the All Progressive Congress (APC) on Monday, December 11, 2023.
“The Commission may recall that our Party, the PDP nominated all our 32 State House of Assembly candidates in Rivers State for the 2023 General Election on the 7th of July 2022 via your electronic candidate election nomination portal (See attached acknowledgement).
“The Commission may also recall that following the nomination, the Commission conducted election into the Rivers State House of Assembly on the 18th of March, 2023 and our Party won 32 seats in the state Assembly. The elected State House of Assembly members were inaugurated and sworn-in on June, 2023.
“However, on Monday, 11 December, 2023 a period of just six (6) months after inauguration, 27 out of the 32 members publicly announced their defection from our Party to the All Progressive Congress (APC). This defection is a gross violation of Section 109(1)(g) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (As amended).
“The only two grounds of division and merger provided for in the Constitution that permit such defection are completely non-existent in our political Party. It therefore means that the defections of the 27 members are without lawful excuse and these members have vacated their seats in the Rivers State House of Assembly by the operations of Section 109(1)(g) of the 1999 Constitution.
“In view of the foregoing, we hereby demand that the Commission performs its constitutional duties and begin the process of conducting a Fresh Election to fill the vacancies created in the 27 State Constituencies by the unlawful act of the Assembly members. Find attached the list of the 27 State Assembly Members and their Constituencies.
“While thanking the Commission for its commitment to deepening democracy in our country, please accept the assurances of our highest regards.”
Damagun writes INEC to conduct by-election for 27 vacant Rivers assembly seats
Politics
Nigeria would have been better under Peter Obi, too much nepotism under Tinubu – Senator Abaribe
Nigeria would have been better under Peter Obi, too much nepotism under Tinubu – Senator Abaribe
Nigeria would have been better than what it is currently if Peter Obi, candidate of the Labour Party (LP), had won the 2023 elections, the senator representing Abia South, Enyinnaya Abaribe, has said.
Abaribe, who spoke on ‘Politics Today,’ a Channels Television programme, on Monday, said Obi would not have been as nepotistic as the administration of President Bola Tinubu.
“Number one, he would not be as nepotistic as this government; he won’t; it’s not in him. That is just who we are; we feel for the other people.”
The lawmaker called attention to Tinubu’s appointment of four ministers from Ogun alone, noting that many other states have just one.
“I say it, and I don’t think so. We are seeing it everyday. I just gave you one example. How can Ogun state have four ministers? Why does he favour Ogun state? Oyo state has only one minister,” Abaribe said.
”The nepotism of Buhari, which nobody followed, has now deepened under President Tinubu because Buhari did it, and nobody said much. I was the only person shouting.”
He said that rather than waiting for presidents to be fair to the people of the south-east, it is high time people of the zone went back to revamp it, make it more livable, better, and more cohesive.
“It’s obvious that if we continue to look at whoever becomes president, they will look at us and do us right. Apart from Obasanjo and maybe Jonathan, I do not think that we have seen that same type of fairness,” he said.
Politics
Lagos 2027: Seyi Tinubu campaign team releases his life documentary
Lagos 2027: Seyi Tinubu campaign team releases his life documentary
Seyi Tinubu, son of President Bola Tinubu, has been tipped for the seat of Lagos governor in the 2027 governorship election.
This was according to a video making the rounds on various social media platforms, which Peoples Gazette saw on Sunday.
The video highlights the president’s son’s biography, focusing on his education, career, and humanitarian activities as a Nigerian. It also documents his involvement in youth development in the country.
This biopic comes on the heels of some groups’ endorsements of Mr Tinubu’s son as a potential successor to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu in 2027.
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On Tuesday, the Coalition of Nigerian Youth Leaders issued an endorsement in Owerri, Imo, suggesting that the younger Tinubu would be welcomed to contest the governorship seat in Osun or Imo.
He was also endorsed by Friends of Seyi, a group emphasising his vision and intellectual wherewithal to govern the country’s commercial nerve.
APC chieftain Joe Igbokwe, however, described the gale of endorsements as a ploy to undermine the president in a Facebook post.
“Who are these faceless people pushing Seyi Tinubu for Lagos governor? This is a needless distraction,” said Mr Igbokwe. “To pull PBAT down is their target. Ruling Lagos is not the job of boys.”
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