Atiku/Wike peace talks run into fresh hitch – Newstrends
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Atiku/Wike peace talks run into fresh hitch

Published

2 years ago

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Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar

  • Adamawa gov: We’re making progress

  • Rivers gov’s camp: Nothing concrete yet

The latest emissary of the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP’s) presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, to Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, on moves to resolve their differences may have departed Port Harcourt empty handed, The Nation can now reveal.

Mr.Ahmadu Fintiri, governor of Atiku’s home state of Adamawa, arrived at the Rivers State capital on Thursday at the behest of the former vice president to pacify Wike.

Fintiri left Port Harcourt on Friday morning and told reporters in Yola,the Adamawa State capital yesterday that progress  was being made in the reconciliation process.

“I’ve just returned from Rivers State where I met with my brother Governor Wike and I can assure you that we’ve started talking and very soon we’ll be crossing the t’s and dotting the i’s,” Fintiri said.

He added: “Politics is all about discussions, meetings, give and take; and I can assure you that the reconciliation process is going well and PDP will come out of it successfully.

“We are focused and the reconciliation is up and progressing. I am the chairman of the reconciliation committee between Atiku and Wike on Atiku’s side, and I can assure you that we will get over it very soon.”

He said he was in a good position to help resolve the disagreement between Atiku and Wike because “I am an embodiment of both men.”

He spoke of ‘encouraging signs’  from the Port Harcourt meeting  but also conceded that the task was a difficult one.

Wike, according to him, has contributed enormously to the growth of the PDP and wondered  whether the Rivers State governor would allow all his contribution  to the party go down the drain if he failed to support Atiku for the 2023 polls or dump the PDP for APC .

“Who are his friends in the APC? Are you telling me those who are now romancing with Wike love him? “ he asked.

“I can assure you that with God, the party will put its house in order before the 2023 elections.
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“Even Wike knows he has been by far the biggest investor in the party. Can he now walk away from all of his investment?

“We recognise he loves his people and I can assure you that he will have a fair deal if it comes to that, just to put the crisis behind us.”

However, political sources told The Nation in Port Harcourt yesterday that Fintiri may have exaggerated the success of his  mission to Rivers State.

One of the sources  confirmed that Fintiri was indeed in Port Harcourt on Thursday and met behind closed doors with Wike.

The source said the meeting did not achieve much because while it was ongoing some anti-Wike forces in  Atiku’s camp  scripted a report that the governor had removed all PDP flags in the Government House.

Said the source:”Fintiri is Wike’s friend. Atiku sent him on Thursday to talk to the governor. They met behind closed doors. But you know that day something happened:the same anti-Wike forces in Atiku’s camp sponsored a post on social media that the governor ordered his CSO to pull down all PDP flags in Government House.

“I don’t think the meeting achieved its desired results and that was why the governor spoke out on Friday. Fintiri left the state on Friday morning. So, everyday people behind Atiku are widening the crack and these people are very close to Atiku.”

The source  said it was the same complaint the governor made to Atiku when both of them met recently in the Abuja home of a former Minister of Information, Prof. Jerry Gana.

“But I believe that soon they will find common ground to resolve their differences. Atiku should do more in calling his attack dogs to order,”` he said.

Another source said: “The crisis is not unusual in any party. But I have the confidence that it would be resolved and the party members will move on in peace. It is not a matter of Atiku paying a visit to Wike.

“This is a matter of the ability of the elders of the party and leaders of the party to do the right thing. If the party could survive the Sheriff’s era, it can resolve any issue that comes.

“I believe that the governor and the other leaders of the party especially the presidential candidate will be able to find a common ground and many party members believe that too. Both aggrieved parties have good intentions for the survival of the PDP.”

Yet another source drew attention to the statement made by Wike about Atiku on Friday during the inauguration of the Rivers State   House of Assembly Quarters.

According to the source, the tone of the governor on that day did not suggest in any way that  both camps had made up.

Among other things, Wike said: “I have kept quiet and busy delivering dividends of democracy for my party to win election; people are busy plotting how they will win election, but others are busy trying to see how they will lose election.

“If they lose election nobody should call my name. I have told the candidate, you will lose this election and you will win this election because of people around you. Anybody who knows me knows that if I was going to court, I would have gone to court within two weeks after the primaries because it is a pre-election matter and after two weeks you can’t go to the court.

“The legal adviser of the party called me and I told him you know there is  mischief going on;  you know me very well if I am going to court it is not those kind of lawyers I would have used and I don’t even know the lawyers. I want to tell the candidate (Atiku) that it is his group that are doing all these things. Let the world hear.

“They are the ones plotting all these things thinking that they would spoil my name. You cannot. The other day they said I removed all PDP flags in Government House. We are supposed to be talking about how you will win election, not about these people. They are not doing him any favour, rather they are trying to make him not to win election.But if that is what they want, I wish them good luck.

“But after my commissioning of projects nobody should say Wike has started. When I start, I have been on my own, they are looking for my trouble. Allow peace to reign. If you say your mother will not sleep, you too you will not sleep at the appropriate time.

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“I told Atiku the other day, all these governors you think are good with you what happened in 2019? Nobody wants to say the truth. Today instead of plotting how to win an election, they are talking about Wike. Wike is not important, why are you worried? Allow Wike to rest.”

Asked last month in a television interview to confirm  claims by Atiku that he had reached out to him, Wike  said: “When people tell lies, it is most unfortunate. Some senators called me and said Atiku Abubakar said he sent Saraki to me. That is unfair. It is not correct.

“I was in Spain, Bukola came to me and said ‘my brother how do we settle this problem?’. I asked, ‘were you sent by Atiku Abubakar’?, he said no. I said okay, ‘what do you want me to do? Look at the issues’. He said he didn’t know this and that. He said the matter was serious”.

He recalled that prior to the primaries, Atiku visited him in Port Harcourt to solicit his support, and wondered whether Atiku no longer knew the road to his house after winning the ticket.

Wike said: “Abubakar has never reached out to me.Forget about sending scavengers.Some of them will call my friends and say tell your guy to support us. It has reduced to that level. Some of them, I don’t know, would call me and be begging me not to leave the party. Who is talking about leaving the party?

“Atiku Abubakar came to my house and asked me to support him. So he doesn’t know my house again? Now, people I don’t even know are calling me to support him. They are trivialising issues. No way. I will not accept that. Atiku Abubakar cannot say he has sent somebody to me. Let one person say he was sent to me by Atiku Abubakar.

“Every day I read on newspaper you sent a committee to come and see me. I love this party and I have remained committed and I have been able to build this party. I am not one of those who are running around the presidential candidate. They are all scavengers looking for how they will survive.”

Atiku and Wike’s disagreement stemmed from the former vice president’s choice of Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa as his running mate in preference to the Rivers State governor.

The Nation

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

Published

1 day ago

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December 21, 2024

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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.

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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.

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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

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

Published

3 days ago

on

December 19, 2024

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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.

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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

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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.

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“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

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