Malami, others in CPC started plotting against Tinubu in 2024  —  Obono-Obla - Newstrends
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Malami, others in CPC started plotting against Tinubu in 2024  —  Obono-Obla

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Okoi Obono-Obla

Malami, others in CPC started plotting against Tinubu in 2024  —  Obono-Obla

Okoi Obono-Obla, former special adviser on public prosecution to ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, says members of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) bloc led by Abubakar Malami have been plotting against President Bola Tinubu since April 2024.

He said some members of the bloc recently criticized the president and their purported plan to dump the ruling All Progressives Congress started less than a year into Tinubu’s administration.

Obono-Obla accused Malami of initiating the plan, adding that the former Attorney-General of the Federation should not be speaking for the CPC because he is not a founding member of the bloc.

“He has no right. Malami cannot speak for CPC. He came from PDP. He had even ran for election in 2007 under the platform of PDP,” Obono-Obla.

Recounting the early days of the CPC, he said, “I was among the people who put the political association known as CPC together.

“When we went to register that association as a political party, I was among the national officers who went to INEC to register that political association as a political party. That was in 2008. He was not there.

“I became the national interim adviser from 2008 to 30th December 2010. And then the party was already registered by INEC in 2010. We were going to have our first national convention.

“So they asked those of us who were interim officers and interested in contesting in the national convention to resign, and I resigned.”

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After the party was registered by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in 2010, Obono-Obla said he held the national deputy secretary in 2011, while Malami served as the party’s national legal adviser until the CPC was dissolved.

How Malami’s plot against Tinubu started

Obono-Obla revealed that some members of the CPC bloc started a move to undermine Tinubu’s government at a dinner in a hotel in Abuja.

“This thing did not start because President Bola Tinubu is not doing well,” he said.

“Last year, 28th of April, Emeka Nwajiuba, who was minister of state for education, he was also a member of the CPC merger committee.

“He’s from Imo state. He invited me for a meeting. He said, ‘Obla, come, we want to have dinner in a hotel in Maitama, Abuja, to celebrate Sallah.

“So I went, innocently. I didn’t know what they were going to do. I just went to have dinner.”

He said Malami, former CPC state chairmen, and individuals previously expelled attended the dinner.

“All those people were there, and something told me that this thing is political.”

According to him, the dinner quickly turned political as Nwajiuba and Malami criticised the Tinubu administration.

“That government was not yet up to one year in office. It was on the 28th of April, 2024. Then Malami spoke. Then the people they invited, some of them were very unhappy, they were angry.

“They said, ‘Look, we put you in government, ministers for eight years; you were very powerful.

“Somebody like Abubakar Malami, he was very powerful. ‘What did you do to help CPC as a party? What did you do to ensure that CPC is not marginalised? Why are you now coming to us?”

He said it became clear to him that the grievance was longstanding and politically motivated.

“They couldn’t say anything, and so they started planning this thing since last year. It’s not today,” he added.

Obono-Obla maintained that the recent move by some CPC bloc members against the President was planned.

“It’s planned, it’s not because the current president is not doing well. They have something that is disturbing them, and we don’t like it.”

Meanwhile, founding members of the CPCP, Farouk Aliyu, former minority leader of the House of Representatives and Osita Okechukwu, former director-general of the Voice of Nigeria, have refuted the claim that the CPC bloc within the ruling party plans to defect ahead of the 2027 elections.

The ruling party chieftains said the CPC bloc remains committed to supporting Tinubu’s second-term bid.

 

Malami, others in CPC started plotting against Tinubu in 2024  —  Obono-Obla

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Politics

2027: Sowore Promises ₦500,000 Minimum Wage, Free Education, 24-Hour Electricity

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2027: Sowore Promises ₦500,000 Minimum Wage, Free Education, 24-Hour Electricity
Omoyele Sowore

2027: Sowore Promises ₦500,000 Minimum Wage, Free Education, 24-Hour Electricity

African Action Congress presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore has unveiled an ambitious agenda for the 2027 presidential election, promising a ₦500,000 monthly living minimum wage, 24-hour electricity, free education and the construction of one million public mixed-income homes if elected president.

Sowore said the proposals were part of the AAC’s 2027 agenda, which he described as a programme focused on improving living standards, expanding access to essential services and fundamentally changing the way Nigeria’s economy is managed.

At the centre of the proposal is a ₦500,000 minimum wage, which Sowore said would give Nigerian workers a more realistic income in the face of rising living costs.

He argued that workers should not continue to receive wages that are inadequate to meet basic needs while the cost of food, housing, transportation, healthcare and education continues to increase.

Sowore’s proposed wage would represent a substantial increase over Nigeria’s existing statutory minimum wage and would have significant implications for both public-sector finances and private employers if implemented nationwide.

The AAC candidate also promised to deliver 24-hour electricity, making reliable power supply a central pillar of his economic programme.

Sowore argued that Nigeria cannot achieve meaningful industrialisation when businesses and households remain heavily dependent on generators because of unreliable electricity supply.

He said his administration would prioritise the power sector to ensure that electricity becomes a dependable foundation for industrial production, small businesses, job creation and economic growth.

The presidential hopeful also promised free education at all levels, arguing that poverty should not prevent Nigerian children and young people from accessing quality education.

He said his proposed education policy would seek to remove financial barriers that prevent families from keeping their children in school, while improving access to educational opportunities.

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Housing is another major component of Sowore’s proposed programme.

He promised to construct one million public mixed-income homes, saying the initiative would help address Nigeria’s housing shortage while providing more affordable accommodation for people across different income groups.

He also proposed reforms to the country’s tenancy system, including measures to address the widespread practice of demanding lengthy rent advances from tenants.

Sowore said his government would treat healthcare as a right rather than a privilege, with increased investment in the country’s health system and measures designed to reduce the need for Nigerians to travel abroad for medical treatment.

His economic programme also includes plans to industrialise Nigeria, expand agriculture, improve infrastructure and create more dignified employment opportunities.

Sowore said agriculture would receive greater attention under his proposed administration, particularly through increased local production, processing and value addition.

He has argued that Nigeria should move away from excessive dependence on the export of raw commodities and instead develop industries capable of processing its agricultural and mineral resources locally.

The AAC candidate also promised reforms in the security sector, including improved welfare for security personnel and greater use of technology in combating terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and other forms of criminality.

He proposed the deployment of modern technologies, including drones and intelligence systems, as part of efforts to strengthen security operations.

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Sowore has positioned his campaign as an alternative to Nigeria’s established political order, arguing that successive governments have failed to adequately tackle poverty, corruption, unemployment, inequality and poor public services.

He said Nigeria’s resources should be used to improve the quality of life of ordinary citizens rather than being concentrated among a relatively small political and economic elite.

The AAC candidate has also said his campaign would seek financial support from ordinary Nigerians, rather than relying heavily on wealthy political patrons.

According to Sowore, a people-funded campaign would allow the party to maintain greater independence and remain accountable to citizens rather than powerful sponsors.

His proposals come as political parties and presidential candidates begin positioning themselves ahead of the 2027 Nigerian presidential election.

Sowore is seeking to build on his previous presidential campaigns and present the AAC as a distinct alternative to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and other established political parties.

The scale of his latest promises is likely to generate debate over their cost, funding and implementation.

A ₦500,000 minimum wage would significantly increase personnel costs for governments and could also place additional pressure on private-sector employers. Its implementation would therefore require careful consideration of productivity, inflation, government revenue and the ability of businesses to absorb higher labour costs.

Delivering 24-hour electricity would similarly require substantial investment in power generation, transmission and distribution, as well as reforms to address longstanding challenges involving gas supply, infrastructure, electricity pricing and distribution efficiency.

The proposed construction of one million homes and the provision of free education would also require significant public funding, planning and institutional capacity.

Sowore’s campaign is therefore placing a combination of higher wages, reliable electricity, free education, affordable housing, healthcare, industrialisation, job creation and security reforms at the centre of its 2027 message.

As the political contest gathers momentum, the feasibility and funding of competing candidates’ promises are expected to become important issues for voters assessing the various options ahead of the election.

2027: Sowore Promises ₦500,000 Minimum Wage, Free Education, 24-Hour Electricity

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“Beyond 100%”: Governor Dauda Lawal Backs President Tinubu for 2027

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Zamfara leadership commits full support to the re-election bid as Campaign Director-General Abdul’aziz Yari meets with local stakeholders.

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Opinion

2027: Competence, Not Zoning, Should Decide Nigeria’s Next President — Imasuagbon

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Nigerians should look beyond ethnicity, region and the longstanding debate over rotational presidency when choosing the country’s next leader, according to a chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Kenneth Imasuagbon.

The former Edo State governorship aspirant said the priority ahead of the 2027 election should be finding a president with the ability to confront Nigeria’s economic, security and infrastructure challenges.

Speaking to journalists in Benin, Imasuagbon argued that presidential rotation is not a requirement of the Nigerian Constitution and should therefore not outweigh the question of competence.

He said voters should be more concerned about replacing poor schools with better ones, improving healthcare and addressing hardship than debating where the next president comes from.

Imasuagbon specifically appealed to voters in the South to support former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who is contesting the 2027 presidency on the ADC platform.

According to him, Atiku has demonstrated the experience and determination needed to improve the country, describing the former vice president as someone capable of promoting national unity and fairness.

He also accused the Bola Tinubu administration of worsening economic pressure through policies including the removal of fuel subsidy, while expressing concern about the condition of roads, electricity and other infrastructure.

Imasuagbon argued that the next administration must focus on practical improvements in areas such as power, transportation, employment, security and public services.

The ADC chieftain also dismissed the idea that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) would automatically benefit from its incumbency advantage in 2027.

He maintained that the electorate ultimately determines the outcome of an election, arguing that voters could change the political direction of the country if they were determined to do so.

Imasuagbon further criticised what he described as regional and ethnic considerations in the distribution of political appointments and opportunities, insisting that the next president should give Nigerians across different parts of the country a sense of belonging.

His comments come as political parties and their candidates intensify preparations for the 2027 presidential election.

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