Former President Olusegun Obasanjo appears to have dumped the Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Alhaji Atiku Abubakar as he argued that the next Nigerian president after the incumbent, Muhammadu Buhari must be a southerner.
Politics
Obasanjo dumps Atiku says next president must come from south
Why next president must be southern: Since Buhari is from the north, Obasanjo held that he should be succeeded by a candidate from the south.
Why this news story matters: Atiku, who was Obasanjo’s deputy from 1999 to 2007, is the leading northern candidate in the 2023 race.
Obasanjo spoke when he hosted the leaders of the Mzough U Tiv (MUT) from Benue State in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital over the weekend.
All Obasanjo said: According to a statement by his media aide, Kehinde Akinyemi, Obasanjo said he is in support of rotational presidency, saying power must return to the south in 2023.
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He charged Middle Belt leaders to keep advocating for rotational presidency for the country, urging Nigerians not to vote based on emotions that could destroy the nation.
Earlier in his words, the Tiv leader, Iorbee Ihagh, had requested Obasanjo to support a power shift from north to south.
Ihagh said the Mzough u Tiv and the Middle Belt Forum had resolved to support the power shift for fairness, justice and true federalism.
He expressed hope that the Middle Belt would produce the president in 2031.
What you should know: Atiku Abubakar was Obasanjo’s deputy from 1999 to 2007.
They both fell out after winning their second term in 2003 and their relationship deteriorated till they left office in 2007 when Atiku contested the presidential election against Obasanjo’s anointed successor, the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.
Earlier this year, Obasanjo said one of the mistakes he made was picking former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as his running mate during the 1999 presidential election. Pulse
Politics
Court reinstates members of dissolved Benue APC executive
Court reinstates members of dissolved Benue APC executive
A Makurdi High Court has ordered the reinstatement of Austin Agada and other elected executives of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Benue chapter, whose tenures were terminated by the party’s national working committee.
The presiding judge, Justice Tertsegha Kume, gave the order on Thursday in his verdict in a suit filed by Agada and eight others against APC.
Mr Agada and the eight others challenged the abrupt termination of their tenure in office as Benue executives of the party.
They dragged the party to court to determine whether it was right to terminate their tenures midway without giving them a fair hearing.
The plaintiff’s counsel, M. T. Alyebo, told the court that the party’s NWC was wrong to disregard the provisions of Articles 12(11), 17(i), and 21.1 of the Constitution of the APC 2022 (as amended).
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Mr Alyebo argued that the NWC decision was also in contravention of Section 223(2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (As Amended) by not giving them a fair hearing before unlawfully terminating their tenures.
He therefore urged the court to make an order reinstating his clients until the expiration of their tenures on February 2, 2026.
However, counsel for APC, Matthew Burkaa, urged the court to dismiss the suit, arguing that the court had no jurisdiction over the matter as it was an internal affairs of the party.
The presiding judge, however, dismissed the argument of the respondents’ counsel and granted the reliefs sought by the applicants.
He declared that the tenure of office of Agada and other elected executives of the APC in Benue is still valid and subsisting till the completion of four years.
Court reinstates members of dissolved Benue APC executive
NAN
Politics
PDP suspends lawmaker over alleged insubordination
PDP suspends lawmaker over alleged insubordination
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Bauchi State has suspended Habibu Umar, the lawmaker representing Kirfi Constituency in the State House of Assembly, for alleged insubordination.
In a letter addressed to the Speaker of the Bauchi State House of Assembly, PDP State Chairman Samaila Burga confirmed Umar’s suspension, barring him from all party activities until further notice.
The decision was based on findings that Umar violated sections 58 (9) (1) and (f) of the PDP Constitution (2017 as amended).
According to the letter, Umar was issued a query on November 5, 2024, following accusations of misconduct. A disciplinary committee was subsequently established on November 11 to investigate the matter.
After a thorough review, the committee found Umar guilty and recommended his immediate suspension under sections 59 (4) and (5) of the party’s constitution.
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The suspension, which was signed by members of the Beni Ward EXCO, highlights the party’s commitment to enforcing discipline and upholding its internal regulations.
“Effective from today, November 25, 2024, Hon. Habibu Umar is barred from participating in any party activities until further notice,” the chairman stated.
In another development, a former member of the Bauchi State House of Assembly, Adamu Bello, has officially rejoined the PDP after leaving the All Progressives Congress, APC.
Bello, a founding member of the APC in Bauchi State and a key figure in the Bauchi North Senatorial District, served as the Sole Administrator of Giade Local Government Area.
The former APC leader, who played a crucial role in securing a victory for the APC in Giade LGA during the last general elections, cited the ongoing support of Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, for his people as the primary reason for his decision to return to the PDP.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, Adamu Bello explained that his constituents urged him to join the PDP in order to better advocate for the community’s interests.
“I have always been a voice for my people, and they have asked me to take this step so that we can continue to progress,” Bello remarked.
PDP suspends lawmaker over alleged insubordination
Politics
Breaking: Supreme Court affirms Sly Ezeokenwa as APGA National Chairman
Breaking: Supreme Court affirms Sly Ezeokenwa as APGA National Chairman
The Supreme Court, on Wednesday, affirmed Mr. Sly Ezeokenwa as the authentic National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA.
A five-member panel of the apex court, in two unanimous judgements, invalidated Chief Edozie Njoku’s claim to the national leadership position in the party.
It held that its earlier verdict on the appeal marked: SC/CV/687/2021, delivered on October 14, 2021 and corrected on March 24, 2023, which Chief Njoku purportedly relied on to lay claim to APGA Chairmanship, did not confer any enforceable rights on him.
In the lead decision that was read by Justice Stephen Adah, the apex court stressed that the reliefs it granted on the protracted APGA leadership tussle, in 2021, were only declaratory and not executory.
The court noted that it particularly held that that issue of leadership or who becomes the Chairman of a political party, was an internal matter that is not justiciable.
Justice Adah held that it was wrong for Njoku to have gone before the lower court to enforce a judgement that had nothing to be enforced as no executory relief was granted to him.
He faulted the lower courts for wrongly relying on the previous decision of the Supreme Court to declare Njoku as the National Chairman of APGA.
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Consequently, Justice Adah vacated the judgement the Court of Appeal in Abuja delivered on June 28, 2024, which upheld the verdict of a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory that declared Njoku as the National Chairman of APGA.
Besides, the Supreme Court awarded a fine of N20million each, against two members of the Njoku-led faction of APGA that were listed as 1st and 2nd respondents in the matter.
The court held that a third appeal relating to the APGA leadership tussle, would abide by its decision in the matter.
Breaking: Supreme Court affirms Sly Ezeokenwa as APGA National Chairman
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