Rivers won’t vote for president along party lines, says Wike – Newstrends
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Rivers won’t vote for president along party lines, says Wike

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Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike

Party affiliation, ethnicity or religion will not determine the February 25, 2023 presidential election in Rivers State, Governor Nyesom Wike said yesterday.

He also listed equity, justice and fairness as the conditions for truce between the leadership of his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the aggrieved Group of Five (G5) governors.

Apart from Wike, other G5 members are: Samuel Ortom (Benue); Seyi Makinde (Oyo); Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia) and Ifeanyi Ngwuanyi (Enugu).

They are asking Dr. Iyorcha Ayu to quit as PDP national chairman to pave the way for a Southerner to step in, arguing that Ayu (from the North) cannot hold on to the  position when Alhaji Atiku Abubakar (another northern) is the party’s presidential candidate.

Wike spoke yesterday when former Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole inaugurated a flyover located in Rumueprikon, his country home in Obio-Akpor Local Government Area, Port Harcourt.

The flyover is the eighth implemented by the Wike administration in the state.

The governor said Nigeria was in dire need of unity, justice and equity, adding that the next election would not be based on party, ethnicity and religion.

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He said it was unacceptable for anybody to say people should not be voted for because they were not from a particular ethnic group or religion.

Wike said: “What we require in this country today is united, one Nigeria. This how all of us can see ourselves as one and how we can see ourselves as our brothers’ keepers.

“We need a Nigeria that all us can be proud of, that I will know that truly I am not a second class citizen, that the same right you have is the same right I have, the same opportunity you have is the same opportunity that I have. There is no need of saying if you are not from this place people will not vote for you. We don’t want that.

On the condition for truce, Wike clarified that the group of five governors fighting for inclusiveness in PDP will spurn any reconciliation not based on the principles of equity, justice and fairness.

He renewed their position that elective offices must be shared equally between the North and the South in the opposition party ahead of the 2023 general election.

Wike said: “People will praise you but the day you say no, they will oppose you. I am sure those of them in my party, before they cannot say anything without mentioning Wike. But now because I said let the right thing be done, I have now become an enemy. These are people who are praising me everything.

“And some people believe they won’t obey an agreement but we say it must be done. We stand for equity, fairness and justice. That is what the G5 will continue to preach. We have said we are not against reconciliation but it must be based on equity, fairness and justice”.

Rivers governor regrets supporting Obaseki, apologises to Oshiomhole

The governor expressed regret for supporting the re-election of Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki.

He apologised to Oshiomole for all his utterances in the run-up to the election of Obaseki for second term.

The Rivers governor, however, recalled that Oshiomhole, when he held sway as the national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) vigorously opposed his relection in 2019, accusing the former Edo helmsman of deploying soldiers to frustrate him.

He said Oshiomhole’s ouster as the APC Chairman brought a lot of relief to opposition parties, describing the former chairman as tough and strong.

Wike said: “I use this opportunity to apologise to you. I came to Edo State to make sure your candidate didn’t win the election. I was virtually in charge of everything. And I said you wouldn’t win and you didn’t win. That assignment had been done and we now know who is who. I want to tell my people that I sincerely apologise to you. I want to sincerely apologise for all the things I said that time.

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“But you too, you peppered me here. During 2019 election, you sent all the soldiers, but the people stood firm and resisted it. So, you did me one and I did you one. So, we forgive ourselves. Now, we are friends. Let bygones be bygones. You did me, I retaliated.

“The Bible says when someone does you bad, you shouldn’t retaliate. But in politics, when someone does you bad, you retaliate because if you don’t retaliate, you don’t know whether you will survive the next one. Politics is not religion at all. If not that we were firm, your party needed this state badly.

“Your President has given us an award as the best in infrastructure. So, I don’t know again what you will use to campaign in the state again because I am carrying the certificate everywhere I am going to. So, you people should surrender. There is no need of campaigning in this state.

“People like you that had worked in your state are the people I invite to commission projects that impact on lives of the people. We know you, you always show strength and that is why when you were showing strength in your party, some people did not like it and they ganged up to remove you.

“Nigerians don’t like anything that is straight. They will find a way to circumvent it to make sure the person who is trying to do it is taken out. “But Gods time is the best. We were happy that you left because you were too strong. Anybody who watched you talk, sometimes the opposition did not know what to say again. So, the day you were removed, we thanked God because you gave us a lot of heat.”

The governor explained his choice of some key opposition leaders to inaugurate projects implemented by his administration.

He said no law stipulated otherwise, adding: “Party is like a conveyor belt. It is a vehicle to take you to your destination. You come down from that vehicle and focus on governance. Governance doesn’t know party. It doesn’t know ethnicity and it doesn’t know about religion. It is for everybody, those who supported you and those, who did not support you.

“Many people have been saying why am I inviting other people to come and inaugurate projects and I am not inviting people in my party. First, no law says I must only invite my party members to come and inaugurate my projects.

“When you invite other parties, they come and see really whether what they hear is correct. I am sure when Adams Oshiomhole goes back he will says all those things I heard, I went and saw and all are correct.

“In fact, tomorrow, Peter Obi is coming. He is not in my party. On Monday, Kwankwaso is coming.”

He said the eighth flyover and ninth flyover at Nkpolu-Oroworokwo that were awarded in July were all delivered at record time.”

He said: “This is the eighth flyover and the ninth flyovers will be commissioned tomorrow by Peter Obi. Last year June, July we flagged off the Nkpolu-Oroworokwo Flyover and the same period we flagged off this particular flyover. So within a year these two flyovers had been completed.

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“I want to say authoritatively that we are not owing a dime as far as this flyover is concerned. Before development there must be some discomfort. I have told the contractor to go and complete all other roads that had not been completed in my community before I leave office.

“This is my community, if I don’t do it now I don’t know who will do it. I don’t want to wait for my successor because he too has his community. Let me finish my community so that when he comes he will face his community. If everybody comes and work like that, the entire state will be developed.”

Inaugurating the project, Oshiomhole, distanced himself from any military invasion of Rivers during the 2019 election, saying he was never in charge of the armed forces.

He commended Wike for inviting him and some opposition leaders to inaugurate projects, saying that when he was the Edo governor, he invited Peter Obi to open some projects in his state.

Oshiomhole harped on the need for politicians to keep to their agreements and fulfill their promises.

Describing Wike as his Man of the Year for maintaining his steadfastness in demanding equity and justice in PDP, Oshiomhole said the governor merited the award conferred on him as best in infrastructures by President Muhammadu Buhari.

He said: “In a democracy, yes, we need political parties and we need to contest elections, but in doing so; when we make promises and people give us the benefit of the doubts, when the election session is over we should move away from politics to projects.

“Our is not very generous in praising people. He does not flatter people and that is why it took him seven years to confer his first national honours. He told me you don’t throw honours away. You have to honour people who rally merit it. You can see you are one of the very few and I think yours was particularly celebrated.

“The President Buhari finds in your person, in spite of your statements about his government, worthy of that honour as Mr. Project. I think Rivers people should be proud. Governor Wike has truly transformed this city. Even the worst critic will admit that Governor Wike has made a difference.

“You made a difference, not just in projects. I join you in saying that a country should not be governed by people who cannot be trusted; when politicians make statements, promises and agreements and refuse to obey them. When they default, they will say it is politics.”

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Why I can’t form coalition with Peter Obi – Sowore

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Peter Obi and Omoyele Sowore

Why I can’t form coalition with Peter Obi – Sowore

Omoyele Sowore, the African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate in the 2023 election, recently shared his reasons for not forming a coalition with Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s candidate in the same election.

In his appearance on the Honest Bunch podcast, Sowore asserted that, in his view, Obi is similar to other Nigerian politicians, describing him as “better at packaging.”

Sowore explained that his own journey in politics began long before Obi gained national recognition, emphasizing his dedication to advocating for systemic change in Nigeria.

During the podcast, co-hosted by Nedu, Husband Material, Deity Cole, and Ezinne, Sowore highlighted his belief in challenging the status quo, which he feels differs significantly from Obi’s approach.

Sowore said, “Before you discovered Peter Obi, I was already running for president. All these shouts about Peter Obi… He just knows how to package. Anyone can do it.

“If I form a coalition with Peter Obi, I will be going against what I have always stood for, which is that I will never support a Nigerian leader who has held any political office — whether at the federal, state, or local level — if I consider them non-performing.

“It’s the same reason I would never have joined hands with Atiku. And the Peter Obi you’re talking about was a vice-presidential candidate to Atiku when I was a presidential candidate in 2019.

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“So, what are we talking about? There is no lesser evil in my book. If you are evil, you are evil. If you are good, you are good. I have a general disdain for non-performance.”

He added that there is no such thing as “emotional attachment” in his dictionary.

“There was a friend of mine who kept saying, he doesn’t care if Peter Obi is Igbo, but that it is the turn of the Igbos. But it is beyond that; I have a natural disdain for poor performance,” he explained.

Sowore insisted that while many may not know it, he knew Obi before and during his time as governor, and he backed him.

“I had always known and supported him and stood against his removal when (Olusegun) Obasanjo wanted to use Andy Ubah to replace him—the twists and turns then.

“However, when Peter Obi finished his term in Anambra, the question I asked him was whether he could send his child to any university he had built in Anambra—he was mute and could not respond.

“I also asked him if he could enter any hospital he built in Anambra, which he governed for eight years, even if it was for the slightest headache—there was also no response.”

Sowore went on to challenge the four anchors or any other Nigerians, saying, “If they can pack their bags and head to Anambra for a vacation.”

PUNCH Online reports that President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress recorded 8,794,726 votes in the 2023 presidential election, followed by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party who secured 6,984,520 votes.

In third place, Labour Party’s Obi garnered 6,101,533 votes, and Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria Peoples Party secured 1,496,687 votes.

Why I can’t form coalition with Peter Obi – Sowore

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Why we want Jonathan to contest 2027 presidency – Northern group

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Goodluck Ebele Jonathan

Why we want Jonathan to contest 2027 presidency – Northern group

The Arewa Consensus for Jonathan, a political group in the North, has urged former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan to enter the 2027 presidential race.

Jonathan, who served as Nigeria’s president from 2010 to 2015, is widely regarded for his role in fostering democratic growth and his relatively peaceful exit from power after losing the 2015 election.
Despite his exit from politics, his name has remained a focal point in discussions about Nigeria’s future leadership.

The group’s leader, Munir Musa, who made the appeal during a press conference in Bauchi over the weekend, emphasised that Jonathan’s return to office was crucial to addressing Nigeria’s pressing economic and security challenges.

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He argued that Nigeria, grappling with severe economic downturns and rising security threats, needs a leader with Jonathan’s experience and competence to restore stability.

“The nation is at a crossroads, and we believe that Goodluck Jonathan is the right man to steer us out of the current malaise,” Musa told reporters.

He expressed confidence that Jonathan’s leadership could heal the country’s deepening wounds and usher in a new era of progress.

 

Why we want Jonathan to contest 2027 presidency – Northern group

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Afenifere, Council of Obas back Aiyedatiwa for Ondo gov

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Governor of Ondo State, Lucky Aiyedatiwa

Afenifere, Council of Obas back Aiyedatiwa for Ondo gov

Afenifere, the pan-Yoruba socio-political and cultural organization, has endorsed Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for the November 16 governorship election in Ondo State.

Sehinde Arogbofa, a prominent Afenifere leader, announced the support at the Olubaka of Oka land palace, Oba Yusuf Adebori Adeleye.

Arogbofa expressed confidence in Aiyedatiwa’s leadership and encouraged him to follow the values and legacy of Chief Adekunle Ajasin, Ondo State’s first governor. “Afenifere stands firmly behind your mandate… Strive to make Ondo State great again,” Arogbofa said.

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Oba Adeleye, speaking on behalf of traditional rulers in Akoko South West Local Government Area, also endorsed Aiyedatiwa, citing his masses-focused policies and the governor’s initiative to allocate five percent of local government funds to traditional institutions as a demonstration of his commitment to their welfare.

“The Council of Obas has decided that Governor Aiyedatiwa is our candidate,” Oba Adeleye stated, pledging their support for Aiyedatiwa’s election campaign.

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