APC Ticket: 2 Northern Govs Behind Jonathan’s Return Bid – Newstrends
Connect with us

Politics

APC Ticket: 2 Northern Govs Behind Jonathan’s Return Bid

Published

3 years ago

on

Goodluck Ebele Jonathan

Two influential governors from the northern part of the country are behind the return bid of former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, Daily Trust reliably gathered.

Multiple sources, who are in the know, said the two governors, close to President Muhammadu Buhari, have secured the buy-in of a section of the presidency to actualise their agenda of drafting the former president into the presidential race.

The sources mentioned the names of the governors but were withheld by this paper because our reporters were unable to get their reactions as they are out of the country.

 While one of the governors is from the North West, the other is from the North East geopolitical zone.  

The sources said the duo began the moves last year but that they jettisoned it to promote the candidature of the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele.

However, when the Emefiele’s project was not flying, the governors returned to the Jonathan bid. 

The two governors have been playing key roles in the affairs of the APC in the last few years.

The former president had since keyed into the move as evident in his body language.

READ ALSO:

He had last week told some of his supporters who were insisting he should declare to “be on the watch”, a disposition political pundits described as acceptance.

It was learnt that the Bayelsa-born former president is now waiting for the appropriate time to join the ruling party and declare for the race.

President Buhari had defeated Jonathan in the 2015 general election, ending the 16 years of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the country.  

In the last seven years, the former president has not been attending activities of his party. This is just as his romance with President Buhari and top shots of the ruling party takes the centre stage, a development that has pitched him against opposition leaders in the country. 

The move to return Jonathan

One of our sources, a former governor said the two governors have reached out and sold the Jonathan project to the presidency.

“It is (withheld) that are behind it and they are promoting it to checkmate Asiwaju Tinubu when they discovered that the vice president does not possess the structures to put up a strong challenge,” he said.  

Asked why the governors who are APC members are drafting the former president, he said, “They are doing it to advance their ambition. They want someone that would only be in power for a term. They also want him to pick one of them as running mate”.

An ally of the president, while corroborating the former governor’s statement, said the two governors brought the Jonathan project to advance their ‘’selfish interest.’’ 

But a source close to the former president claimed that Jonathan is being promoted by his successor.

“His number one backer is the president. Do you think he would start if he did not get the backing of Baba? He did not go and say I wanted to (vie for the presidency). He was asked to do so because they are more comfortable with him succeeding Buhari,” he said.

A former Chairman of the APC Elders Forum in Bayelsa State, Diekivie Ikiogha, said all is almost set for Jonathan’s exit from the PDP.

“His declaration would be based on an invitation by APC to come over and he is considering it. A lot of things have been done; the discussions are ongoing, so, he will be invited.

“We are persuading him and it is still going on, but I believe that he can yield to it. What I am telling you is that, when the platform is clear, he will contest. If it is clear, he will contest,” he said.

READ ALSO:

Also, a public affairs analyst, Mr David West, said though Jonathan had a few years ago announced that he was no longer interested in active politics, he has the constitutional right to contest for any office in the land. 

He, however, stated that he doubts if Jonathan will perform better than he did during his first tenure. He said: “For me, it is his constitutional right to belong to any political party if he wants and if he wishes to contest for any political office in the country. 

“I know if Jonathan is allowed to rule Nigeria again, he will not do more than four years tenure, because anything short of that will be a crisis.” 

Stakeholders reject plan to adopt Jonathan

The APC Presidential Support Group has said that the plan to adopt Jonathan as the APC presidential candidate for the 2023 election is a joke taken too far and unacceptable.

The Convener of the organisation, Mr Owolabi Dauda and Secretary, Abdullahi Bilal, told reporters on Tuesday in Abuja that adopting Jonathan by whoever is a disservice to the APC, especially that the importance of winning the 2023 presidential elections cannot be overemphasised, in the bid to ensure continuity in the laudable policies and initiatives of the APC led government in Nigeria.

 “We are constrained to lend our voice to an ugly plot that is being hatched by some members of the APC concerning adopting former President Goodluck Jonathan as the presidential candidate of the party in the 2023 presidential election.

“By all stretch of the imagination, this plot is ill-timed and not in the party’s interest at large. Such a move implies that the party might be heading towards a resounding electoral defeat in the presidential election,” the group said.

Lawyers differ on Jonathan’s legal obstacles

Lawyers have disagreed with the move by Jonathan’s handlers to draft him into the 2023 presidential election, pointing to legal issues.

Reacting, Professor Paul Ananaba (SAN) said Jonathan is not qualified to run for the office of the president because the constitution does not envisage that any Nigerian will be in office for more than eight years under any circumstance.

“If you add the four years – the two years under Yar’adua, and another four years – it will be more than eight years,” he said. 

Similarly, Buhari Yusuf said Jonathan is ineligible under the law saying the combined reading of sections 137(1)(b) and 182(1)(b) of the Nigerian Constitution, “Makes it practically impossible for someone who has taken the oath of office twice as president to come on the third one.”

According to him, “The fact that the president completed the first term of a demised president does not call you to read meaning into the section and I don’t think there is any manoeuvring space for somebody to escape.”

However, Murtala Abdulkareem (SAN) said the decision of the court in the case of Ayuba Sabo and Ahmed Abubakar vs Ibrahim Gaidam over the Yobe State governorship election of 2015 has resolved the issue. 

“He (Jonathan) can contest, but if he takes the oath in 2023, he will not be eligible to contest afterward,” he said.

Similarly, Okonache Ogar Esq said Jonathan is only ineligible to seek a fresh term after the forthcoming election not before as the constitution set out to correct the existence of a vacuum in the event of incapacity or death of the governor or president with the availability of the deputy governor or the vice president.

DAILY TRUST

Related Topics:
Advertisement

Politics

PDP crisis: Two ex-Senate presidents lead fresh plot to oust Damagum

Published

1 day ago

on

December 21, 2024

By

Umar Iliya Damagum, Acting National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)

PDP crisis: Two ex-Senate presidents lead fresh plot to oust Damagum

Two former Presidents of the Senate, Chief David Mark and Dr Bukola Saraki are leading a fresh charge aimed at removing Amb. Umar Damagum as the Acting National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The push by Mark and Saraki has received the backing of prominent stakeholders, including the Plateau State Governor, Caleb Muftwang and other political office holders elected on the platform of the PDP.

Similarly, former governors from the Northcentral zone who served on the party’s platform have also aligned forces with the group.

Rising from a stakeholders’ meeting in Abuja on Thursday night, the party chieftains resolved to produce a candidate from the zone early 2025 to replace Damagum.

According to them, the move to replace Damagum with a substantive chairman from the Northcentral, has received the endorsement of key party stakeholders from the Northwest and the Northeast zones.

Among those being projected as potential candidates to take Damagum’s seat include Mark; a former Benue State Governor, Gabriel Suswam; and a former House of Representatives member from Nasarawa State, David
David Ombugadu.

A communique issued after the meeting, said the stakeholders
reviewed the festering crisis in the party following the exit of the erstwhile National Chairman, Dr. Iyorchia Ayu.

Ayu lost his seat to the crisis triggered by disagreements over the emergency of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar as the presidential candidate of the PDP in the 2023 general election.

READ ALSO:

The crisis has continued to deepen with the apparent overbearing influence of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike on the Damagum-led national leadership.

The Northcentral stakeholders argued that Damagum’s continued occupation of the office breached provisions of the PDP constitution.

The communique states in part, “The PDP’s constitution clearly states that succession of offices in the party at all levels is largely to the extent that any vacant position can be replaced by appointment from the zone, as per Section 47 (6) of the party.

“The party is guided by its constitution at all times. Therefore, the leadership of the party needs to rise up to the occasion to restore goodwill and cohesion in the party by making necessary sacrifices and compromises to restore confidence and cohesion in the party.

“It is in the light of this that the stakeholders of the Northcentral Zone appeal to the conscience and goodwill of our compatriots in other zones of the Northern region to restore the seat of the chairmanship of the party back to the Northcentral Zone to serve out its tenure.

“That the stakeholders must strive to build consensus to get the buy-in to the position of Northcentral zone.

“The Northcentral is united and will strive to preserve the PDP as a veritable platform for good governance in Nigeria.”

The meeting, which was attended by Governor Muftwang, also had former Governors Jonah Jang (Plateau), Babangida Aliyu (Niger), Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara) and Idris Wada (Kogi) in attendance.

Others at the meeting included the Senate Minority Leader, Senator Abba Moro; incumbent PDP National Legal Adviser, Kamaldeen Ajibade (SAN); and a former Information Minister, Prof Jerry Gana.

Also at the meeting were former senators Tunde Ogbeha, Philip Aduda, Suleiman Adokwe, Dino Melaye, Mohammed Onawo and Peter Jiya.

READ ALSO:

Similarly, former Ministers, Labaran Maku and Sarah Ochekpe also attended the meeting. Other stakeholders like Simon Mwadkwon, Mrs. Margaret Icheen, Mr. Raymond Dabo, Maika Jiba, and Isa Dobi were also present.

Damagum, who is from Yobe State in the Northeast zone, emerged Acting National Chairman in March 2023 following the exit of Ayu who is from Benue State in the Northcentral zone.

Damagum was the PDP Deputy National Chairman (North) before his appointment as Acting National Chairman.

By virtue of Section 47 (6) of the party’s constitution, he ought to have relinquished the seat for a substantive National Chairman from the Northcentral zone where Ayu hailed from.

The Section reads: “Where a vacancy occurs in any of the offices of the party, the Executive Committee at the appropriate level shall appoint another person from the area or zone where the officer originated from to serve out the tenure of the officer.”

Ayu was elected chairman in 2022 for a four-year tenure that should expire in 2026 before his tenure got truncated in 2023.

Several moves by critical organs of the party, including the PDP Governors Forum, the Board of Trustees (BoT) and the National Caucus to replace Damagum have been thwarted by the Acting National Chairman, allegedly with the backing of Wike.

Miffed by the development, the PDP Governors Forum, led by Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State, had, a few weeks ago, directed the Damagum-led leadership to convene the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting latest by February 2025.

The NEC meeting has suffered four postponements between August and November 2024, as Damagum, who is supposed to convene the meeting has been evasive.

The power to ratify any candidate chosen by the Northcentral zone to replace Damagum is vested only in the NEC.

 

PDP crisis: Two ex-Senate presidents lead fresh plot to oust Damagum

Continue Reading

Politics

PDP expels South-East national vice chairperson over anti-party activities

Published

3 days ago

on

December 19, 2024

By

PDP expels South-East national vice chairperson over anti-party activities

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Oguduokwor Ward, Onicha Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, has officially expelled Ali Odefa, the suspended National Vice Chairperson of the party in the South-East, following allegations of anti-party activities.

Odefa had been suspended on September 11, 2024, by the ward executives, a move that was later upheld by the Federal High Court in Abakaliki. In its ruling on November 29, 2024, under suit number FHC/AI/CS/182/2024, the court affirmed the legitimacy of his suspension.

On Wednesday, Onyeka Ovuta, the Acting Chairperson of the PDP in Oguduokwor, announced Odefa’s expulsion in a statement. Ovuta explained that the decision followed recommendations from the party’s disciplinary committee, which confirmed the allegations against Odefa.

READ ALSO:

The party announced that Mr Odefa by the virtue of his expulsion, “ceases to be a member of the party.”

Reacting, Mr Odefa laughed off the expulsion, stating that those who announced it were “frustrated charlatans”.

He said the expulsion cannot stand because “it did not take place in the ward but in Abuja”. He said those who made the announcement against him were not ward executives of the party.

“Let them come home come and announce it. Or is our ward now located in Abuja?”

 

PDP expels South-East national vice chairperson over anti-party activities

Continue Reading

Politics

INEC recognises Sylvester Ezeokenwa as APGA national chairman

Published

4 days ago

on

December 18, 2024

By

APGA National Chairman, Sylvester Ezeokenwa

INEC recognises Sylvester Ezeokenwa as APGA national chairman

Sylvester Ezeokenwa has been reinstated as the national chairman of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA).

Ezeokenwa was reinstated by the leadership of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Tuesday, December 17.

According to Sam Olumekun, the National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee of INEC, the commission had been served with the judgement of the Supreme Court.

The apex court judgement with the Appeal No. SC/CV/824/2024 APGA & ANOR vs OYE & ORS was delivered on November 27, 2024.

The court ruled that Ezeokenwa should be recognised as the national chairman of the party.

READ ALSO:

“In compliance with the judgement of the apex court, the Commission has restored Barr. Ezeokenwa as the Chairman of APGA and restored his name on our website accordingly,” the INEC commissioner said.

He also stated that the reisnstatmemt of the new chairman would automatically lead to the withdrawal of the recognition of Njoku as the national chairman of the party.

The court also upheld an earlier judgement of the appeal which did not confer any enforceable rights on Njoku.

If also awarded N20 million each against the appellaants.

INEC recognises Sylvester Ezeokenwa as APGA national chairman

Continue Reading

Trending