Atiku seeks Jonathan’s intervention in fresh move for truce with Wike – Newstrends
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Atiku seeks Jonathan’s intervention in fresh move for truce with Wike

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1 year ago

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n what appears a fresh move aimed at resolving the festering rift with the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has sought the intervention of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

Atiku, accompanied by his running mate, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, had, on Thursday night, paid a private visit to Jonathan at the ex-President’s Abuja residence.

Party sources observed Atiku to be deeply worried by Wike’s recent actions and utterances, which seek to undermine the PDP candidate and hurt his presidential bid.

Although details of the meeting were not made available to the media, a reliable source in the Atiku/Okowa Campaign told our correspondent on Friday that it was not impossible that Atiku indeed went to seek Jonathan’s intervention.

The source, who did not want his name in print because he was not mandated to speak to the media on the matter, said Atiku and his team believed that Jonathan could prevail on Wike to soft-pedal.

The source affirmed the strong ties between the ex-President and the Rivers State Governor, stressing that the latter has great respect for the former and also holds strong allegiance to him.

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He said: “In case you didn’t know, Wike parted ways with his friend and predecessor, Rotimi Amaechi because Amaechi decided to work against Jonathan in the run up to the 2015 election.

“Even though it was Amaechi that nominated him for ministerial position under Jonathan, Wike chose to stick with Jonathan, ditching Amaechi in the process.

“So, outside their disagreement over local politics in Rivers State at the time, Amaechi’s irreconcilable differences with Jonathan accounted for the sustained animosity between him and Wike till now.”

It was also gathered that Jonathan may not be well disposed to wading into the Atiku-Wike rift bearing in mind the role Atiku played in frustrating his re-election bid in 2015.

Atiku and many other PDP bigwigs had dumped the PDP for the All Progressives Congress (APC) to work against Jonathan, leading to his defeat by General Muhammadu Buhari of the APC.

Even though Jonathan campaigned for candidate Atiku when he contested the 2019 presidential election on the platform of the PDP, the ex-President has stayed away from the activities of the party since then.

Many recall that Jonathan did not attend the September 28, 2022 inauguration of the Atiku Presidential Campaign Council even though he was invited to be the special guest of honour.

Speaking on the visit, Atiku’s Media Adviser, Mazi Paul Ibe, said the meeting had nothing to do with the rift between his principal and the Rivers State Governor.

Ibe, who spoke with our correspondent on the telephone yesterday, said the visit was part of Atiku’s consultation with stakeholders in the pursuit of his presidential project.

Ibe said: “We all know that as a former President who was elected on the platform of the PDP, Dr. Jonathan is a statesman and a highly respected leader in the PDP.

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“The visit was part of consultations on topical national issues like restructuring, which is one of the key programmes of Atiku’s action plan.

“He went to tap from Dr. Jonathan’s knowledge and experience because the former President had been there before.

“For instance, when we talk about restructuring, there are a number of options on the table. It may come through executive pronouncement, reforms or negotiation.

“That is why there must be broad consultation with relevant stakeholders across all geopolitical zones. I can assure you that there will be more of such consultations in the days and weeks ahead.”

Corroborating Ibe’s position, one of the spokespersons of the Atiku-Okowa Campaign, Mr. Charles Aniagwu, also said the meeting was part of ongoing consultations embarked upon by the PDP presidential candidate.

Aniagwu added that the consultation is not restricted to only PDP leaders, saying that relevant stakeholders, regardless of party affiliation, would also be consulted as time goes on.

The campaign spokesperson, however, did not rule out the probability of the Wike issue coming up during the meeting.

Aniagwu said: “What I can say is that it was a total package in the sense that they couldn’t have gone to meet with Jonathan because of one person. It’s part of ongoing consultation that will be extended to diverse stakeholders.”

The Nation

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Aregbesola, Oyetola’s camps disagree over Osun shares

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1 day ago

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April 22, 2024

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Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, Gboyega Oyetola

Aregbesola, Oyetola’s camps disagree over Osun shares

Fresh uproar has hit the camp of the former Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola and Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, over the selling of the shares of Osun State at Omoluabi Bank, to private investors.

The Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Osun State, Sunday Bisi, alleged that Oyetola sold the shares while he was the governor of the state.

A leader of All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ijesaland, Adebayo Adedeji, yesterday insisted that Aregbesola sold the shares before leaving office.

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Adedeji said in a statement: “In 2013, the government of Aregbesola went to the Nigerian Stock Exchange in order to increase the company’s share capital by N1.65billion so as to be above the N2.5billion minimum capital requirement set by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for mortgage banks in the country.

“Wale Bolorunduro, who was recently nominated as chairman of the bank by Governor Adeleke, was the Commissioner of Finance in the state under Aregbesola. He has knowledge of it.”

Aregbesola, reacting to the claims through his media aide, Sola Fasure, in a terse message said: “It’s between Oyetola and the PDP administration in Osun. We don’t want to be dragged into it. But you may seek clarification from Dr. Wale Bolorunduro. He’s the new chairman of the bank.”

Aregbesola, Oyetola’s camps disagree over Osun shares

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Ondo APC: Aiyedatiwa declared gov primary winner, other aspirants kick

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1 day ago

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April 22, 2024

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Governor of Ondo State, Lucky Aiyedatiwa

Ondo APC: Aiyedatiwa declared gov primary winner, other aspirants kick

Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa of Ondo State has secured the nomination of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the forthcoming November 16 governorship election, following his declaration as the party’s candidate.

Aiyedatiwa clinched the nomination with a resounding victory, amassing a total of 48,569 votes in the primaries. His closest contender, Mayowa Akinfolarin, trailed behind with 15,343 votes, while Chief Olusola Oke secured the third position with 14,865 votes.

The announcement was made by the Chairman of the Governorship Primary Election Committee and Governor of Kogi State, Ahmed Ododo. Governor Ododo, reflecting on the competitive nature of the primaries, highlighted the rigorous contest that characterized the electoral process.

The primaries, held across the 18 council areas of Ondo State, witnessed fervent participation from party members and supporters.

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With the nomination secured, Aiyedatiwa and the APC now shift their focus to consolidating support and rallying behind their candidate as they prepare to face off against opponents in the November election.

Returning officer in lfedore, Oliver Okpala said violence marred the exercise in the area, hence no voting in all the wards.

Speaking before the party’s electoral officers reeled out the results from the 18 council areas, Governor Usman Ododo said, “Let’s remember that the real election lies with all of us as members of this great party, the All Progessives Congress.

“We must always reflect on the words of our father and leader, President Bola Tinubu, who has maintained that a political contest is a quest to serve by brothers and sisters from the same family but leaving in the same room and must therefore live in the same house after the election has been won and lost.

“In our own room today, we are all in the same room as a family, and as such, we have no need to abandon the party, irrespective of today’s outcome.

” We must set aside our differences and unite behind our candidate.

“In our unity, we shall continue to find strength, and our victory lies in our solidarity as party men and women.”

Ondo APC: Aiyedatiwa declared gov primary winner, other aspirants kick

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Rerun Ondo APC gov primary records low turnout after inconclusive poll

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2 days ago

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April 21, 2024

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Rerun Ondo APC gov primary records low turnout after inconclusive poll

The rerun of the All Progressives Congress governorship primary election in 13 wards of the Okitipupa Local Government Area of Ondo State on Sunday recorded a low turnout.

The APC had declared the primary election earlier conducted on Saturday inconclusive.
The Governorship Primary Election Committee had thus fixed the rerun for Sunday (April 21) in affected areas due to extremely late arrival of materials and personnel.

The party held the governorship primary election in the 203 wards in the state on Saturday, April 20.
The election involving 16 governorship aspirants was conducted by a seven-member committee headed by the Kogi State governor, Usman Ododo.
A statement issued by the chairman of the Ondo Primary Election Committee, Ododo, in Akure, said that the primary in the council area was rescheduled following logistics reasons.
He said, “Having received reports of the primary election from the 203 Wards in the 18 Local Governments of Ondo State, the Primary election Committee has decided that election will be conducted in all the 13 Wards of Okitipupa Local Government with total validated registered members of 9,515.”
According to him, this is because of validated reports that the exercise did not hold in the Local government due to late arrival of materials and personnel as a result of logistics challenges.
“Election in Okitipupa Local Government shall be conducted 12 noon on Sunday 21st April 2024. “The final collation of the results will be done thereafter.”

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