APC may sanction Amosun, Aregbesola, Shekarau, others over parallel congresses – Newstrends
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APC may sanction Amosun, Aregbesola, Shekarau, others over parallel congresses

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3 years ago

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Prominent chieftains of the All Progressives Congress (APC) that promoted parallel congresses in last Saturday’s state congress of the party organised to elect members of the State Working Committees may be sanctioned.

Already, Daily Trust reports that intense pressure is being mounted on Chairman of the national caretaker committee of the and Yobe State governor, Mai Mala Buni, to punish Ibrahim Shekarau (Kano), Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun), Rauf Aregbesola (Osun), Rochas Okorocha (Imo), Akinwunmi Ambode (Lagos), minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed (Kwara) and minister of Niger Delta, Senator Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom) that reportedly organised parallel congresses in their respective states.

Sources in the party told Daily Trust that governors of states where parallel congresses were held had been reaching out to the national caretaker committee to wield the big stick on those who sponsored the exercise.

Parallel congresses were organised in 12 states such as Kano, Lagos, Ogun, Kwara, Osun, Plateau, Niger, Akwa Ibom and Enugu.

The development has further polarised the ruling party ahead of the national convention. Also, contrary to the warning of the party and President Muhammadu Buhari, the camp of Aregbesola has dragged the party to court over the congresses.

A party source said the committee was under pressure to sanction them to serve as deterrent to others and forestall a repeat of the scenario during the forthcoming national convention.

“Governors are pushing that they should be punished but the committee is in a tight corner because the promoters of the parallel congresses are bigwigs that cannot be easily reprimanded,” the source said.

Another source at the party’s secretariat said members of the congress committee who sided with the promoters of the parallel congresses would be sanctioned.

“Yes, pressure is being mounted on the national secretariat on this matter but the first thing that will be done is the sanctioning of members of the congress committee who attended the parallel congresses. They aided it.

“Our constitution is very clear. The leaders of the party in states are governors. Congress committees are supposed to be with the governors, not parallel committees. The members of the Kano committee that went to parallel congress are going to be punished,” a party leader at the national secretariat said.

It was also gathered that the issue would first be presented to the appeal committee of the congress and the Senator Abdullahi Adamu reconciliation committee before it would go to the national caretaker committee for a final decision on the matter.

A chieftain of the party and former presidential candidate, Chief Chekwas Okorie, said the party should match its words with action by applying some disciplinary measures against those who conducted parallel congresses.

Secretary of the APC caretaker committee Senator John James Akpan Udo-Edehe had described the ‘parallel’ congresses as futile activities, saying the party will not hesitate to wield the big stick on perpetrators.

But media aide to Governor Buni, Mamman Mohammed, denied that the governor was under some pressure.

“We are not aware of any pressure. The party under his leadership will meticulously follow due process in the administration of the party,” he said.

Kano State Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje has however said moves are on to reconcile with members of the party led by a former governor, Ibrahim Shekarau, who parted ways with his (Ganduje) leadership of the APC in the state.

The governor, according to a statement by Abba Anwar, his chief press secretary, said this on Wednesday before the commencement of the State Executive Council meeting.

The statement said Ganduje noted that “Politics is all about this kind (reconciliation) of development, anyway.”

Recall that former governor of the state, Ibrahim Shekarau, had led a group now called the G-7, comprising of Senator Barau Jibrin (Kano North), four House of Representatives members and a party stalwart, to challenge Ganduje’s leadership of the party.

In Lagos, Mrs. Beatrice Omotayo Tugbobo, who emerged as chairman from the parallel congress conducted by the group affiliated to former governor Akinwunmi Ambode in Lagos, insisted that her group has the real APC members.

Members of the group under the aegis of Akinwunmi Ambode Campaign Organisation (AMCO) stormed the Baptist Academy, Obakoro, venue to conduct the exercise.

About four parallel congresses were conducted in the state.

But Tugbobo, in a statement, admitted that there are factions in Lagos APC and that the exercise was conducted in line with the party’s constitution.

She said, “According to the constitution of APC, you can conduct your congresses whether by consensus or by voting and the agreement from the national headquarters of APC constitutionally is that we hold our congresses in a consensus manner.

“Other factions can be holding their congresses elsewhere, yet we are holding our own here, which is AMCO, the group belonging to former Governor Akinwunmi Ambode.”

In Abeokuta, Ogun State, there was outrage on Wednesday following the arrest of six loyalists of a former governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, over the violent Saturday’s parallel congresses of the party.

Hoodlums had disrupted a parallel congress organised by Amosun’s faction at Ake palace, leading to shootings.

The two major factions battling for the soul of the state’s APC are led by Amosun and Governor Dapo Abiodun.

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Breaking: Supreme Court affirms Sly Ezeokenwa as APGA National Chairman

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9 hours ago

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November 27, 2024

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Sly Ezeokenwa

Breaking: Supreme Court affirms Sly Ezeokenwa as APGA National Chairman

The Supreme Court, on Wednesday, affirmed Mr. Sly Ezeokenwa as the authentic National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA.

A five-member panel of the apex court, in two unanimous judgements, invalidated Chief Edozie Njoku’s claim to the national leadership position in the party.

It held that its earlier verdict on the appeal marked: SC/CV/687/2021, delivered on October 14, 2021 and corrected on March 24, 2023, which Chief Njoku purportedly relied on to lay claim to APGA Chairmanship, did not confer any enforceable rights on him.

In the lead decision that was read by Justice Stephen Adah, the apex court stressed that the reliefs it granted on the protracted APGA leadership tussle, in 2021, were only declaratory and not executory.

The court noted that it particularly held that that issue of leadership or who becomes the Chairman of a political party, was an internal matter that is not justiciable.

Justice Adah held that it was wrong for Njoku to have gone before the lower court to enforce a judgement that had nothing to be enforced as no executory relief was granted to him.

He faulted the lower courts for wrongly relying on the previous decision of the Supreme Court to declare Njoku as the National Chairman of APGA.

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Consequently, Justice Adah vacated the judgement the Court of Appeal in Abuja delivered on June 28, 2024, which upheld the verdict of a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory that declared Njoku as the National Chairman of APGA.

Besides, the Supreme Court awarded a fine of N20million each, against two members of the Njoku-led faction of APGA that were listed as 1st and 2nd respondents in the matter.

The court held that a third appeal relating to the APGA leadership tussle, would abide by its decision in the matter.

The three appeals were marked: SC/CV/824/2024 : APGA  & another vs. Chief Victor Ike Oye & others; SC/CV/825/2024: Chief Victor Ike Oye vs. Otunba Kamaru Lateef Ogidan & 2 others, and Chief Victor Ike Oye vs. Otunba Kamaru Lateef Ogidan & 2 others.

Meanwhile, reacting shortly after th e judgement was delivered, Mr. Ezeokenwa commended the Judiciary for effectively putting an end to the leadership dispute in the party and for affirming him as the bonafide Chairman.

He said the court has through its judgement, proved that it is indeed the hope of the common man.

“We should not always be saying bad things against the Judiciary. Today, I am very proud of our Judiciary as the last hope of the common man.

“like I have always said, our Judiciary will always come through to save our nation when the need arises. That is what it has done today with the erudite judgments delivered today by the Supreme Court concerning the leadership of our party.

“Like our lead counsel, Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN) said, what ought not to have taken place was created and has been dragged up to the Supreme Court. It is unfortunate. Money has been expended and party’s  structures distabilsed just because of someone’s selfish and inordinate ambition.

“The judgments today have affirmed the convention that brought us to office and that we are in charge of the running of the party’s affairs.

“So, there no longer speculation or doubt about the actual leadership of APGA. By the judgments, I, Barrister Sly Ezeokenwa has been affirmed as the Chairman of APGA,” Ezeokenwa added.

 

Breaking: Supreme Court affirms Sly Ezeokenwa as APGA National Chairman

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Damagun writes INEC to conduct by-election for 27 vacant Rivers assembly seats

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2 days ago

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November 26, 2024

By

IIiya Umar Damagum

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

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Nigeria would have been better under Peter Obi, too much nepotism under Tinubu – Senator Abaribe

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2 days ago

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November 26, 2024

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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.

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