Politics
As crisis in Kwankwaso’s NNPP festers, Shekarau flirts with Tinubu
- To meet today in Abuja
Crisis brewing in the Rabiu Kwankwaso-led New Nigeria Peoples Party may result in some of its new members ditching the party soon.
Already, members of the party have met with leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party.
A former governor of Kano State, Ibrahim Shekarau, is set to meet the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu, on Wednesday.
This was confirmed in a Premium Times report on Tuesday by Shekarau’s spokesperson, Yau Sule,
Sule said the former Kano governor, who is currently senator for the Kano Central District, would meet with Tinibu in Abuja to explore the option of returning to his former party with his followers and what they stand to benefit.
This is coming three months after leading his associates from the APC to the NNPP with fanfare in Kano.
Sule said Shekarau’s followers had been made unhappy by happenings in the NNPP since their defection to the party.
The group had reportedly been demanding that the party implement the terms of the agreement it reached with it before the defection of its members.
Sule said both sides had agreed that an unspecified number of the former governor’s associates would be awarded nomination tickets for the general elections.
“Before accepting the offer to join the NNPP, we presented our proposals to the NNPP, which they accepted. Unfortunately, they deceived us. None of the agreements reached before defecting to the NNPP was fulfilled by Kwankwaso,” the spokesperson said.
A founding member of the APC, Shekarau had moved to the NNPP with thousands of his supporters on 18 May, following a disagreement with incumbent Governor Abdullahi Ganduje over the leadership of the ruling party in the state.
Shekarau was the presidential candidate of the defunct All Nigeria People’s Party in 2011 and was one of the leaders of the party in the alliance talks with the leaders of the other legacy parties that resulted in the formation of the APC in 2013.
However, he defected from the party to the then ruling PDP in 2014, in protest against the new party handing over its structures in Kano to then Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso, who had defected with some other governors and lawmakers from the PDP.
But Shekarau rejoined the APC in 2018 after the party dissolved its Kano State Executive Committee and constituted a caretaker committee to absorb the associates of the same Kwankwaso, who returned to the party that year.
It was a surprise when Shekarau led his group to join Mr Kwankwaso who had left the PDP once again to run for the president on the ticket of the NNPP.
Although he was awarded the senatorial ticket of the party, it emerged from the list of candidates submitted by the NNPP to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that his associates got none.
The tension in the NNPP aggravated following the closure of substitution of candidates by INEC.
Rival political parties, including the APC and the PDP, have since been reaching out to the group to exploit the situation.
Shekarau and his associates have since met with the PDP, presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, and the party’s national chairman, Iyorchia Ayu.
He has also met with the vice presidential candidate of the APC, Kashim Shettima and has scheduled another meeting for Wednesday with Tinubu.
Sule said Shekarau called a meeting of the Shura Council, the group’s highest decision-making body, on Sunday to brief the members on the challenges with the NNPP. and the proposals that had been made to the group by both the APC and the PDP.
Sule said because the meeting could not agree on whether to move into the PDP or the APC, it set up a 30-member committee to look into the development and recommend a way forward.
“The 30-member committee will present its recommendations this Thursday. So, it is after that our next line of action will be made public,” he also told Daily Trust.
Politics
Atiku says he’s not sure about contesting 2027 presidential election
Atiku says he’s not sure about contesting 2027 presidential election
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has said that he does not know if he will contest the presidency in 2027.
Atiku made the remark in a yet-to-be-aired interview for a television show, Untold Stories, with Adesuwa Giwa-Osagie, scheduled for broadcast today but exclusively obtained by Daily Trust.
The former presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) recently announced the formation of a coalition of opposition leaders to wrest power from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2027.
However, there has been widespread speculation about who will lead the coalition and emerge as its presidential candidate, with former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi and former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, being considered among its key figures.
When asked if he would be running for the presidency in 2027, Atiku said: “I don’t know because there has to be, first of all, a viable platform, more than any other time in the political history of this country, particularly since the return of democracy.”
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Atiku, who has run for the presidency a record six times, did not rule out the possibility of contesting again in 2027.
“I have not seen Nigeria in dire need of, you know, an experienced and credible leadership than this time.
“We had a similar, you know, what would I say, merger in 2014. About four of us or is it three? We all ran for president and one of us emerged, and we all supported the one who emerged, and he won,” he said.
He agreed with former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s assertion that Nigeria’s democracy is deteriorating, saying the situation is “very dire.”
“No doubt about that,” he said.
Atiku also expressed his disappointment with the country’s political leadership.
“The next generation after me, many of them had been governors, had been senators. Instead of me to see an improvement in the level of governance at the state level and so on and so forth, I don’t see it. So I feel a little bit distressed.”
Atiku also questioned the credibility of the current legislative leadership, especially as it relates to the National Assembly’s ratification of the state of emergency in Rivers State
“I am not surprised,” he said, alleging that they are corrupt.
Atiku says he’s not sure about contesting 2027 presidential election
Politics
Africa’s democracy is govt by small for small number of people – Obasanjo
Africa’s democracy is govt by small for small number of people – Obasanjo
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has advanced reasons for what he called abysmal failure of democracy in Africa.
According to him, African presidents work with a clique and wield enormous powers with little or no resistance from perpetuating illegalities and abuse of office.
The ex-President said the democracy being practised in Africa does not aligned with the people’s values, culture, and way of life.
Obasanjo said spoke on Monday at a colloquium in Abuja to mark the 60th birthday of Emeka Ihedioha, a former governor of Imo State.
The former Nigerian leader, who chaired the event, referencing Abraham Lincoln’s definition of democracy as “government of the people, by the people, for the people,” said the system should work for all citizens rather than a privileged few.
He however wondered if African countries are practising true democracy or only adopting Western Liberal democracy.
He said, “If you are talking about democracy failing in Africa, democracy in Africa has failed. And why has it failed?
“Because in context and in content, it is not Africa. It does not have any aspect of our culture, our way of life, what we stand for, what we believe.
“Today, we have democracy, which is the government of a small number of people, by a small number of people over a large number of people who are deprived of what they need to have in life. That is not democracy that will endure.
“It is ‘I am because I can grab.’ What sort of democracy brings you, and you grab everything and then illegally, corruptly, and you say go to court? When you know that even in the court, you cannot get justice.
“It’s not that democracy is failing, democracy is dying and if we are going to make democracy not to die, we have to look at democracy in the context and in the content of Africa. I hope that we will get to that stage so that democracy which will deliver will be the democracy that we will have in Africa.”
Obasanjo was Nigeria’s military ruler from 1976 to 1979 and democratically elected president from 1999 to 2007.
Politics
Atiku, Obi, El-Rufai’s coalition can’t unseat Tinubu – Shekarau
Atiku, Obi, El-Rufai’s coalition can’t unseat Tinubu – Shekarau
Former Kano State Governor, Ibrahim Shekarau, has cast doubt on the ability of a newly formed opposition coalition to unseat President Bola Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2027 elections.
Shekarau described the alliance, which includes former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate Peter Obi, and ex-Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, as a gathering of individuals with personal political ambitions rather than a structured and unified opposition front.
His remarks came just two days after the coalition’s formation was announced, with the stated goal of challenging Tinubu’s administration.
In a statement by his spokesperson, Dr. Sule Yau, Shekarau remarked, “This is just a gathering of certain individuals with political ambitions; none of them has officially consulted their party leadership.”
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He further argued that a coalition featuring prominent figures does not necessarily equate to an effective political alliance.
“The coalition of opposition figures is a good development, as seen in their recent meeting under what they call an opposition alliance. However, none of the key figures involved represents their party leadership,” Shekarau stated.
Emphasizing the legal framework for political mergers, he pointed out that only registered parties could formally unite, making the recent gathering an informal arrangement rather than an officially recognized coalition.
Atiku, Obi, El-Rufai’s coalition can’t unseat Tinubu – Shekarau
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