Politics

I and my running mate, Kashim will take Nigeria to greatness, Tinubu vows

Published

2 years ago

October 22, 2022

Presidential Candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu

The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, on Friday promised that he and his running mate, Senator Kashim Shettima, were more than ever ready to hit the ground running from day one if elected Nigeria’s President.

Tinubu made the solemn pledge at the State House Banquet Hall during the unveiling of his campaign policy document and the inauguration of APC Presidential Campaign Council by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.).

While describing himself as a veteran in nation-building, Tinubu restated that the country needed an “experienced torchbearer” to unlock the doors of security, prosperity and greatness.

According to him, his experience as Lagos State Governor where he transformed the state to one of the leading economies in Africa places him in the best position to help achieve this with his running mate.

He said, “This Plan is not only a roadmap to a prosperous future, it serves as notice to the Nigerian people that, if elected, Senator Shettima and I shall work tirelessly to reach that promised future from the first moment of the first day we enter office.

“The doors to security, prosperity and greatness are open to us. We must step through these portals, guided by a torchbearer with the experience and mettle to shoulder the task ahead. Nothing short of this will suffice.

“I seek to become the next president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria because I know the way. My experience and past performance assure that. It will be through collective effort and national endeavour that we join hands, cross divides, and achieve our vision,” he said self-assuredly.

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An excited Tinubu told the audience that his campaign roadmap was borne out of interactions with Nigerians whose needs and aspirations he shared in the course of travelling across the country.

This is even as he promised to consolidate on the gains of the president once they are elected into office.

“Based on the foundation established by the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, we shall build a Nigeria where sufficient jobs with decent wages create a better life for all and a future of promise for our youth.

“We shall revive our manufacturing industries and place Nigeria back on the path of industrialisation and job creation as well as to generate, transmit and distribute sufficient, affordable electricity to give our people the necessary power to drive their businesses and brighten their homes. Power is key to unlocking the potential of our national economy.

“We also look forward to delivering food security and affordability by continuing to prioritise agriculture and assist farmers and other players in the agricultural value chain through enlightened policies that promote productivity and guarantee robust incomes.

“I ask you to join Senator Shettima and I on this journey. We have traversed every part of our nation, listening to the concerns and yearnings of Nigerians for a more prosperous and equitable society – better able to acknowledge and nurture the dreams of her people. We share the peoples’ desire for a peaceful Nigeria where we all coexist in fairness, prosperity and with balanced representation in positions of authority,” he said.

He said he and his running mate, Senator Kashim Shettima, were more than ever ready to hit the ground running from day one if elected Nigeria’s President.

“It is, therefore, fitting that we are unveiling the Tinubu/Shettima Action Plan for a better Nigeria today. This plan is not only a roadmap to a prosperous future, it serves as notice to the Nigerian people that if elected, Senator Shettima and I shall will work tirelessly to reach that promised future from the first moment of the first day we enter office.

The APC presidential flag bearer said his campaign roadmap was borne out of interactions with Nigerians across the country who shared their needs and aspirations with him and Senator Shettima in the course of their travelling round the country.

“After visiting and meeting our compatriots; young and old, poor and rich, educated and uneducated, Christian and Muslim; we recognize that no Nigerian wants empty answers to hard questions at this hour.

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“The country does not need fancy promises or foreign experiments. Nigerians seek sustained progress and reform through stable governance and proven leadership.

“We need true and innovative solutions that address the specific challenges of each of our 36 states and our over 200 million people. We need our own Miracle on the Niger River,” he added.

This, he said, his administration would achieve by building on the foundation laid by the President Muhammadu Buhari administration.

He added, “Based on our unshakable faith in our people and standing on the foundation established by the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, we shall build a Nigeria where sufficient jobs with decent wages create a better life for all and a future of promise for our youth, revive our manufacturing industries and place Nigeria back on the path of industrialisation and job creation

Meanwhile, President Buhari has said that the APC-led Federal Government has ”managed to make Nigeria stable,” laying a solid foundation for progressive growth despite socio-economic challenges facing the country.

The president, while inaugurating the PCC as well as unveiling the Action Plan of the APC Presidential Candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, pledged to be at the forefront of electing the former Lagos State governor as his successor.

He affirmed that electing Tinubu would consolidate the achievements of his administration as the presidential candidate has the capacity, visionary leadership and track record to do more.

”It will be disastrous to allow a situation that will lead to the reversal of the progress our country has made. Let me add that I joyfully accept the position of the Chairman of the campaign council we are unveiling today.

“Our candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu is too well known for his capacity and can-do spirit.

”He stands tall in his track records as a democrat, a champion of the rule of law, a man at home in every part of our country, and a truly visionary leader. All you need to do is think of Lagos in 1999 and 2022!

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Politics

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

Published

23 hours ago

December 21, 2024

Trends Admin

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

Politics

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

Published

3 days ago

December 19, 2024

Trends Admin

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

Politics

INEC recognises Sylvester Ezeokenwa as APGA national chairman

Published

4 days ago

December 18, 2024

Trends Admin

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.