APC presidential primary compromised, says Yahya Bello campaign group – Newstrends
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APC presidential primary compromised, says Yahya Bello campaign group

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Kogi State Governor Yahya Bello has reacted to the All Progressives Congress primary election that produced Bola Tinubu as winner today in Abuja, saying the process was compromised but maintains that he (Bello) remains a hero.

The reaction came through the campaign organisation of the governor, who was one of the 22 aspirants in the primary that lost to Tinubu.

This was made known in a statement on Wednesday titled, ‘Yahaya Bello remains the hero of the oppressed’.
In the statement issued by the group’s Director, Media and Publicity, Yemi Kolapo, it stated that Bello lost to the enemies of democracy that had held the country down for years.

The statement in full:

The All Progressives Congress’ presidential primary elections have come and gone. The process was largely peaceful but highly compromised. This is however not new in a country where democracy is defined as the government of the oppressors by the oppressors and for the oppressors.
It is sad to note that those who should know and who many progressives had thought of as leaders with integrity are the ones working against the people they were (s)elected to represent for egocentric reasons.
In this process, one leader stands out, according to the majority of Nigerians. And that leader is one that has proved to the downtrodden and those regarded as “Nigerians without surnames”, that regardless of agelong intimidation by the elite, the best of our people can stand tall without compromising the values that we should have been known for as a nation.

That leader, I say with all sense of fairness, is Governor Yahaya Adoza Bello of Kogi State. He is the hero of this process and has made his point loud and clear to the admiration of even his worst enemies.

If there was a clear, desperate gang-up by northern governors and the leaders of a party against one person, and that person never for once disappointed his teeming supporters but rather fought to the very end, not minding the crooked process, then he should be celebrated by the constituency he represents – the youth.

A mode of primaries whereby delegates who have largely been pocketed by their paymasters and who defer to the highest bidder are made to choose flagbearers of a political party is as warped as the process itself.

It is obvious that in a bid to prove that he is not one of them, enemies of this project, Nigeria, went beyond speaking with delegates and oiling their palms to ensure that votes that did not represent Yahaya Bello’s popularity were counted against his name. But they have unwittingly made him the hero of the moment.

We do not have to talk much but to pray that God Himself would deliver Nigerians from the hands of enemies of democracy.  Poverty is a tool they have used for long to keep Nigerians poor. At the right time, however, this jinx must break!

We only wish that this obvious crack in the ceiling would not eventually make the ceiling cave in.

We want to thank the media immensely for their solid support in spite of persecution and mischievous information being churned out by detractors. You are indeed partners in progress.
Yahaya Bello remains the hero of this process.

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6 Labour Party lawmakers defect to PDP

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6 Labour Party lawmakers defect to PDP

Six Labour Party (LP) members of the Enugu State House of Assembly have officially defected to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

They made their defection known on Thursday in Enugu in a letter read by the Speaker, Chief Uche Ugwu, during plenary.

The defectors include the Majority Leader, Mr Johnson Ani (Enugu North); the Chief Whip, Mr Ejike Eze, (Igbo-Eze North 1); and the Deputy Chief Whip, Ms Princess Ugwu (Enugu South Rural).

Others are Mr Pius Ezugwu (Nsukka East); Mr Williams Amuka (Igbo-Etiti West); and Mr Osita Eze (Oji River).

The defectors, in the letters, said their defection was as a result of the existence of irreconcilable division, incessant crisis within the labour party at the national level and across all the state chapters.

They regretted that the party had evolved into perpetual discord with various factions embroiled in legal battles, which undermine its ability to effectively serve the interest of the people.

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According to them, the Labour Party, once considered a beacon of hope for progressive ideas, have regrettably become synonymous with internal squabbles, thereby reducing its capacity to fulfil the aspirations of electorates.

They cited the cases of Mr Julius Abure and Mr Limido Apapa factions as well as the national treasurer as some of the divisions within the party.

They expressed the hope that the PDP would give them the platform to continue to serve the interests of their people and thanked the leaderships of Labour Party for their supports.

The defectors also acknowledge that the letters were sent to the office of the Speaker by themselves, adding that they would work wholeheartedly for the progress of their new party in Enugu State.

In his remark, the Speaker welcomed the defectors into the PDP and promised that they would be carried along in the legislative activities of the House.

With the defection, the PDP now had the majority in the House with 17 members while LP had only six members.

6 Labour Party lawmakers defect to PDP

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More drama at LP as BoT announces takeover

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More drama at LP as BoT announces takeover

  • NLC rejects Abure re-election
  • INEC disowns national convention

The Board of Trustees at the Labour Party says it has taken over the administration of the party, indicating a fresh trouble in the LP’s internal crisis.

This was announced on Thursday in a statement issued in Abuja by the party’s BoT Chairman, Sylvester Ejiofor.

He said the takeover of the party came after the expiration of Julius Abure’s tenure as LP’s national chairman

Abure was re-elected as chairman t the party’s national convention held in Nnewi, Anambra State, on Wednesday, amid leadership crisis.

All members of the National Working Committee were returned at the convention.

But the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has described Abure’s re-election as “an illegality”.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) also disowned the exercise on the grounds that it did not monitor the national convention.

INEC spoke through Rotimi Oyekanmi, media aide to INEC chairman Mahmood Yakubu, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

The BoT’s statement read in part, “Following the expiration of the tenure in office of the immediate past National Working Committee of the LP headed by Mr. Julius Abure, the BoT, in line with the party’s constitution, has stepped in to steer the affairs of the LP.

“This step is to avoid any leadership vacuum in the LP.

“Furthermore, the BoT of the LP, in consultation with major stakeholders in the party, will soon communicate the processes for the conduct of an all-inclusive and expansive national convention of the LP.

“This is in line with the March 20, 2018 Federal High Court consent judgment delivered by Justice Gabriel Kolawole which recognised the Nigeria Labour Congress as the owners of the LP and mandated that an all-inclusive and expansive national convention of the LP be held.

“The decision of the BoT is also in furtherance of the agreement signed between the former national chairman of the LP, Mr. Julius Abure, and the NLC and the Trade Union Congress on June 27, 2022, which was mediated by the Independent National Electoral Commission.

“Unlike the charade that took place today in Nnewi and in tandem with the principles of popular democracy, the all-inclusive national convention will start with grassroots congresses at ward, local government, state and ultimately at the national level.

“This process will not leave any genuine member of LP out and will be held in the full view of the Independent National Electoral Commission, media, civil society, security agents, and the general public.”

The Abure-led executive of the party had not responded to the new development as noon on Thursday.

 

A chieftain of the party was quoted in a report by The PUNCH as saying it was a hatchet job.

“Since many of you journalists have been covering this party, have you heard anything about LP Board of Trustees before? It is non-existent.

“How can one Sylvester Ejiofor wake up one day, tag himself as BoT chairman, and issue a statement that he has taken over the affairs of the party? Let him come over to the secretariat and take over then.

“Too many people and mercenaries are just bent on causing conflict in the party,” he said.

 

 

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BREAKING: LP Re-elects Julius Abure As National Chairman

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Julius Abure, the national chairman of the Labour Party

BREAKING: LP Re-elects Julius Abure As National Chairman

The Labour Party (LP) has re-elected Julius Abure as its National Chairman for a second term in office.

Abure was re-elected by a unanimous affirmation of delegates at the party’s National Convention in Nnewi, Anambra State.

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The Chairman of the National Convention and Deputy Governor of Abia State, Ikechukwu Emetu declared him the winner during the event attended by party leaders and members.

More to come…

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