Politics
Dogara impersonating Christian leaders, using religion to cause disaffection for Tinubu, Shettima – APC
The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has accused a former House of Representatives Speaker Yakubu Dogara of using religion to cause disaffection for the party’s presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his running mate, Senator Kassim Shetimma.
The party’s Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), which made the accusation, said Dogara has been making surreptitious moves to cause problems for its candidates.
The council noted that since the former Speaker lost the party’s presidential ticket, he had resorted to whipping up emotions to ignite unnecessary religious rivalry.
In a statement yesterday in Abuja while reacting to the outcome of a purported meeting of Northern Christian Leaders in APC, the Director of Media and Publicity of the APC Campaign Council, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, described the meeting as “fraudulent” and its convener and the attendees as “impostors”.
The council noted that before now, the former Speaker had spearheaded a campaign of vitriol and hate against the party, using religion as camouflage, after he lost the vice presidential candidacy to a better-qualified Senator Shettima.
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It noted that Dogara has lost his mind since he could not realise his self-imposed ambition to be on the presidential ticket of APC.
According to the campaign council, “on account of this, he (Dogara) has certainly become a reprobate and demagogue, delivering hate speeches and whipping up emotions, to set our country ablaze”.
The statement added: “The Tinubu-Shettima Presidential Campaign Council is, therefore, not surprised by media reports about a meeting of some so-called Northern Christian leaders, who claimed to be members of our All Progressives Congress that were championed by Dogara and his ilk.
“The claim was fraudulent.
“Yakubu Dogara, the peripatetic and politically unstable politician who organised the meeting, left our party officially and unceremoniously weeks ago. And those who attended the meeting were representing themselves, their selfish agenda, not Northern Christians.
“A careful reading of the people who attended the unholy meeting he called also showed that they were all Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members, masquerading as APC members.”
The statement said the council was not surprised by the resolutions adopted at the meeting but expressed concern that the media failed to read through their smokescreen.
“The APC PCC wondered how the assembly of strange bedfellows hoped to foster unity and cohesion in our country when their candidate represents the antithesis of the goal, having emerged the greatest divider of our polity, between the North and the South.
“All Nigerians are aware that Atiku’s emergence as the PDP presidential candidate grossly violated a power rotation code between the North and the South. His insistence on snatching and retaining what rightly belongs to another political region has triggered a crisis within his party, making him run from Port Harcourt to London to mend fences.
“We want to assure Dogara and his co-travellers fanning hate campaign against our presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and his running mate, that they will fail spectacularly at the polls.”
The Nation
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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