Aggrieved Kwara APC members dump party, form ‘Third Force’ – Newstrends
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Aggrieved Kwara APC members dump party, form ‘Third Force’

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3 years ago

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Thousands of aggrieved members of the All Progressives Congress in Kwara State have dumped the party and formed a new political group, Kwara Third Force.
This followed years of irreconcilable crisis that has polarised the party that won last general elections, including the governorship poll, on a sweeping ‘O to ge’ movement.
A faction loyal to Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq had been at loggerhead with that of the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, Minister of State for Transportation, Senator Gbemisola Saraki, and other splinter groups, over the control of the party, leading to the replacement of Bashir Bolarinwa with Sanmari Abdullahi as the state chairman of the party.
The aggrieved APC members, who included senatorial chairman, ward chairmen, local government chairmen, women leaders, youth leaders, as well as APC party stalwarts across all the 16 local government areas, among others, in IIorin accused the national leadership of the party of supporting the political agenda of the governor.
They also accused the state governor and his loyalists in the party of alleged disenfranchisement in the recent membership registration and revalidation exercise.
The people tore their APC membership cards and burnt the party symbol of brooms.
He said, “As you are all aware, Kwara APC has been enmeshed in one crisis or the other almost immediately after the party’s primary, stretching into the campaign period and lingering up to date.
“The crisis has got to its peak with the recent concluded APC membership revalidation and registration exercise in the state that was flawed with deliberate policies and grand orchestration to deregister and disenfranchise selected members of the party.
“The success of a political party is anchored on its popularity, intra party membership cohesion, integrity and sincere commitment to the service of the masses. All these are glaringly diminishing in Kwara APC as it is now.”
He also said, “A grand design that denied majority of party members the opportunity to register and revalidate their membership across the state is a 2023 permutation agenda. We can never cross our fingers and watch the game from the sideline.

“The deliberate inaction to address the lingering crisis in Kwara APC has become obvious to all discerning minds that the agenda to deregister and refusal to revalidate thousands of members across the state was a grand plot that has the backing of the National Caretaker Committee of the party.
“From the highlighted points above, we the over 20,000 card-carrying members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) which includes Senatorial chairman Kwara Central, local government party chairmen, local government women leaders, youth leaders, ward chairmen, as well as APC party stalwarts across all the sixteen local government areas in the state hereby denounce APC and form a Kwara Third Force for the yearning and betterment of Kwarans at large
“We are, therefore, calling on all well-meaning Kwarans to shun violence, unnecessary struggle and agitation on account of desperation to belong to a party that has thrown away a large chunk of its members.”

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PDP bigwigs plot Gov Adeleke’s removal, dump party for APC (Massive crowd photos)

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2 days ago

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May 18, 2024

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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)

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Only my party can stop me from contesting 2027 presidential election – Atiku

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3 days ago

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May 18, 2024

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former Vice President Atiku Abubakar

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

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Six political parties plot against APC, meet in Kaduna

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4 days ago

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May 17, 2024

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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.”

Six political parties plot against APC, meet in Kaduna

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