Tinubu, Osinbajo Adamant As S/West Elders Intensify Consensus Effort – Newstrends
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Tinubu, Osinbajo Adamant As S/West Elders Intensify Consensus Effort

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3 years ago

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The moves by the South West elders to come up with a consensus presidential aspirant for the region seem to have hit the rock as Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and the National Leader of the party, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, are said to be adamant, Daily Trust gathered from credible sources.

Political leaders from the South West geopolitical zone on Sunday continued with their moves to present a common front ahead of the presidential primary of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) slated for Tuesday.

Promoters of the consensus move in the South West including former APC Chairman, Chief Bisi Akande, and former Ogun State Governor, Olusegun Osoba, had met with the aspirants at the residence of Chief Osoba.

The meeting, which was attended by the aspirants from the South West, governors and elders of the region ended without them reaching a consensus.  

The duo of Akande and Osoba had last month met with the aspirants in Lagos, where it was agreed that they should conduct their electioneering campaigns devoid of hostility, free of rancour and in an amicable manner.

President Muhammadu Buhari had on Saturday urged presidential aspirants of the APC to consult, build consensus and come up with a formidable candidate ahead of the party’s presidential primary. The directive of the president came around the same time when northern governors asked him to source for his successor from the southern part of the country.

The President’s consultations continued yesterday with the National Advisory Council of the party.

The meeting, held at the State House, Abuja, was attended by Osinbajo, Senate President Ahmad Lawan, Akande, his successor, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, the APC National Chairman, Senator  Abdullahi Adamu, National Secretary, Senator Iyiola Omisore, and some governors including those of Borno, Babagana Zulum; Plateau, Simon Lalong; Zamfara, Bello Matawalle and David Umahi of Ebonyi State. 

In a statement last night by his spokesman, Femi Adesina,  Buhari had appraised the series of consultations held so far towards getting a widely acceptable presidential standard bearer and said they were on the way towards winning their third straight victory since 2015.

The president said, “I am optimistic that the outcome of this consultation with the National Advisory Council will in addition to sharpening our focus, help to fortify the positive democratic principles, practices and culture that already exists within the party system.

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“In the course of these consultative processes, I have already met separately with the Progressive Governors and with all our eminent members who are aspiring to become the presidential flag bearer for our party during the 2023 elections.

“I am pleased to inform you that those meetings have been fruitful and indicative of a party that is prepared and marching towards a third straight victory since 2015, at the presidential polls.”

Daily Trust learnt that the meeting was convened to consider the possibility of coming up with a consensus presidential candidate among the 23 aspirants.

Multiple sources told our correspondents that while the meeting was ongoing yesterday, the duo of Osinbajo and Tinubu were not ready to shift grounds as they have continued to intensify their consultations and engagements with delegates. 

The aspirants from the South West region include Osinbajo, Tinubu, former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole, Ekiti State Governor, Kayode Fayemi, Ogun State Governor, Chief Dapo Abiodun, Senator Robert Ajayi Boroffice and Pastor Tunde Bakare.

Sources said while some of the aspirants were ready to shift grounds, Osinbajo and Asiwaju are not.

“We expect both Asiwaju and VP to slug it out as efforts to persuade one of them to step down have not yielded results as of now,” a source who does not want to be named, hinted.

The duo of Akande and Osoba, who have been making efforts to arrive at a consensus among aspirants from the South West, have rejected several efforts to comment on the move.

The Director of Media & Communications, Tinubu Campaign Organisation, Bayo Onanuga, said the party is looking forward to a free and fair contest at the convention.

“We are going into the convention for a free and fair contest. Everybody is looking out for a delegates’ election,” he said.

 Protest in North, jubilation in South over govs position  

Mixed reactions have continued to trail the statement of the northern governors across the country. While they are being applauded in the South, their action is receiving condemnation in some quotas in the North.

The leadership of Ohanaeze Ndigbo worldwide yesterday said that the accord to cede the presidential ticket to the southern region by the ruling party was a true demonstration that the party had the concept of national unity than the PDP.

The apex socio-cultural group, however, reminded the leadership of APC, Mr President and the stakeholders of the need to choose the presidential aspirants of Igbo extraction, noting that one of their sons in the person of the former Minister for Science and Technology, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, was the first to conceive and bear what today is known and called APC.

Secretary-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro made this known while briefing journalists at the end of their meeting held in Abakaliki on Sunday.

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 “We shall forever be grateful as said earlier to Mr President and the northern governors including the leadership of the party for yielding to their voices of Nigerians,” he said.

 However, the Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG) expressed displeasure with the northern governors, describing what they did as treacherous. 

The group’s spokesperson, Abdul-aziz Suleiman, in a statement, said the decision was also clearly a brazen breach of the standard democratic practice by what he called “The selfish northern governors who see power as an end in itself.” 

 He said, “For the APC governors from the North to take such a weighty decision at the expense of the collective interest and future of the North, amounts to arbitrary treachery and blatant abuse of privilege.

“The move, aimed mainly at serving the vice-presidential ambitions of the state governors, without minding its unforeseen consequences on the future of the larger population of the North, is not only undemocratic but a betrayal of the region’s past leaders who toiled and paid with their lives to ensure a strong, prosperous region,”  he said.

Similarly, a coalition of northern youth groups under the APC has disagreed with the decision of the governors, insisting that the presidency should be retained in their zone.

The youth groups, APC Progressives Youth Elements and North-East Youth Forum of APC, staged protests carrying placards with inscriptions such as: “It’s North or Nothing”, “We are not in support of power shift to South”, “We will not accept the decision of eleven governors”, “It’s in their selfish interest”. 

The President of APC Progressives Youth Elements, Alamin Bala Mai’auduga, said that it’s not time for the South to rule the country. 

 On his part, the leader of the APC North East Youth Forum, Ibrahim Hashim Abdullahi alleged that the governors opted for such an option so that one of them would benefit from being picked as vice president. 

In Kano, the concerned APC Youth Group, also staged a peaceful protest condemning the governors’ decision.

 Buhari’s consensus request supersedes other decisions – Lawan 

Senate President Ahmad Lawan has said that the request by President Buhari that all aspirants should consult among themselves and come up with a formidable candidate supersedes any other decision.

Speaking through Iyke Ekeoma, the spokesperson for Ahmad Lawan Campaign Organisation, the Senate President said until the aspirants reached a consensus, he will remain in the race. 

Iyke Ekeoma said: “The statement by President Muhammadu Buhari on Saturday urging all the party’s presidential aspirants to consult, build consensus and come up with a formidable candidate suffices and supersedes any other decision. 

 “It is not a question of whether one person is withdrawing from the race or not. It is up to the aspirants to build consensus among them as requested by the president until that happens.”

 Kwara, Yobe govs’ missing in power shift statement

Daily Trust reports that questions are still being asked on why Governors Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq of Kwara State and Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State did not append their signatures alongside their northern colleagues on the need to move power to the southern part of Nigeria.

Efforts to speak with Kwara’s Abdulrazaq on why he did not sign the statement issued by his colleagues on the southern presidency yielded no result as there was no response to calls and text messages sent to him.

However, his aide on Political Communication, Bashiru Adigun, explained that the governor was not part of the signatories because he was at a wedding function.

“The governor was at a different occasion, he was at his niece’s wedding in Abuja along with the Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello. 

“He was there along with many chieftains of the party. That was why he was not part of the signatories. There is nothing to it,” Adigun added. 

It was also gathered that the Yobe State Governor, Mai Mala Buni was not part of it because the president and the party have not taken a position on zoning.

A source close to him said it was the agenda of the 11 governors and not that of the party. 

“Secondly, he has been in the forefront of Lawan’s ambition and it would not be good for him to abandon the Senate President overnight,” a source close to the Yobe governor, said.

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How Tinubu outsmarted Buhari to become president – Ojudu

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2 days ago

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January 1, 2025

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President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and ex-President Muhammadu Buhari

How Tinubu outsmarted Buhari to become president – Ojudu

Babafemi Ojudu, a former Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters, has claimed that ex-President Muhammadu Buhari did not endorse the presidential aspirations of his former Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, or his political ally, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Speaking on Edmund Obilo’s State Affairs podcast on Monday, Ojudu stated that Buhari withheld his support from Osinbajo, despite the latter’s qualifications, and also refrained from backing Tinubu.

According to him, Tinubu managed to secure the presidency by “outmaneuvering” Buhari in various ways.

Ojudu, who previously worked in Osinbajo’s office, expressed confidence in his former principal’s ability to lead, asserting that Osinbajo could have delivered a more effective administration than the current leadership.

His words: “I knew Osinbajo was going to lose the primary, I saw it coming.

“Because of the system we operated and still operating, I kept saying at our meeting that all of the efforts we are making like traveling around, convincing people, and addressing delegates is only 40 percent.

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“60 percent of it lies in Buhari’s hands unless and until Buhari mobilizes people around him, the governors, his aides, we are going nowhere.

“I used to refer to Buhari as a one-man majority and he never mobilized his team towards Osinbajo and I think Tinubu outsmarted him in so many different ways.”

Speaking further, he likened the failure to elect Professor Yemi Osinbajo during the last presidential election to missing a second chance at the leadership of Chief Obafemi Awolowo.

“I supported Osinbajo to be president. I was convinced because having seen him up close,” Ojudu said.

“The way he worked, his philosophy, his breadth of knowledge and the kind of patriotic verve in him I just think that he was the best person at that time to govern Nigeria that I have seen up close to be on the part of danger.

“Osinbajo would have been good for this country. For me, it is like losing Awolowo for a second time because he was at Awolowo’s level in terms of capacity, ability, dedication and commitment.”

During the APC primary in the buildup to the 2023 elections, Bola Tinubu secured 1,271 votes to clinch the party’s presidential ticket, while former Transport Minister Rotimi Amaechi garnered 316 votes. Former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo received 235 votes, finishing third, while Senate President Ahmed Lawan obtained 152 votes.

How Tinubu outsmarted Buhari to become president – Ojudu

(Vanguard)

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Seyi Tinubu death threat: Court fixes Jan 6 on Olamide bail application

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2 days ago

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December 31, 2024

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Olamide Thomas

Seyi Tinubu death threat: Court fixes Jan 6 on Olamide bail application

A Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday, fixed Jan. 6, for ruling in a bail application filed by Olamide Thomas, who allegedly threatened Seyi Tinubu with death threat on social media.

Justice Emeka Nwite fixed the date after T.J. Aondo, who appeared for Thomas, and the lawyer to the prosecution, Victor Okoye, made their submissions for and against the bail application.

Upon resumed hearing, Okoye told the court that the matter was slated for the hearing of the bail application and that he had filed and served his counter affidavit on the applicant’s lawyer.

Moving the bail motion, Aondo said the application, dated Dec. 20, was served on same date.

He said it was brought pursuant to the 1999 Constitution and Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015.

The lawyer said the application prayed the court for an order admitting Thomas to bail pending the hearing and determination of the charge before the court.

He urged the court to admit his client to bail on liberal terms, assuring that she would not jump bail.

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But Okoye, who said a counter affidavit was filed on Dec. 30, prayed the court to refuse Thomas bail application.

Okoye equally urged the court to discountenance the exhibits attached to the bail request.
He argued that the documents were extracted from the internet in contradiction with Section 84 of the Evidence Act.

He further argued that any newspaper publication sought to be rendered in court ought to be certified by the National Library.

“We submit that those printouts are not worth admitting as evidence,” he said.
Okoye also argued that Thomas claimed that she was suffering from an ailment without attaching any medical report.

He urged the court to discountenance the submission.

But Aondo interjected, arguing that Okoye cannot orally speak on Thomas ill-health, having failed to state this in their counter affifavit.

The senior lawyer also argued that the entire affidavit filed by the prosecution did not meet the requirements of Section 115 of the Evidence Act.

He cited Paragraph 17 of the affidavit which he said equally fell short of Section 115 of Evidence Act.
He said the prosecution argument cannot stop the court from exercising its discretionary power under Section 6(6) of the constitution to grant his client bail.

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He said the power of the court to admit the defendant to bail cannot even be premised on her production of medical report, citing Sections 35 and 36 of the 1999 Constitution.
Also citing a Supreme Court decision on the admissibility of newspaper publications, Aondo argued that an affidavit presumed to be on oath is already certified.

He said the prosecution did not raised any issue on whether Thomas will not escape if granted bail.
Aondo, therefore, prayed the court to exercise its discretionary power in favour of Thomas.
Justice Nwite adjourned the matter until Jan. 6, 2025 for ruling.

The judge, who hinted that the case file would be remitted back to the chief judge after the ruling, said his duty as vacation judge would end on the date.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Thomas was, on Dec. 20, arraigned and remanded at Suleja Correctional Centre after she pleaded not guilty to the three-count charge preferred against her by the Inspector-General (I-G) of Police.

Thomas was arrested on allegations bordering on harassing and threatening Seyi Tinubu; the I-G, Kayode Egbetokun and the Police Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, in a viral social media post

In the charge marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/636/2024 dated and filed on Dec 18 by the police team of lawyers led by A.A. Egwu, Olamide was sued as sole defendant.

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NAN reports that in count one, Olamide was alleged to have, sometime in 2024, knowingly and intentionally transmitted communication in the form of video recording through computer system or network on her social media platforms wherein she made remarks in Yoruba Language.

In the video, she was alleged to have stated “that Mr Seyi Tinubu would die this year, and misfortune and calamity had befallen the Tinubu family, with intent to bully, threaten, harass the person of Mr Seyi Tinubu.”

The communication was said to have placed Seyi in fear of death, violence or bodily harm.
The offence is contrary to and punishable under Section 24 (2) (a) of Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc.) (Amendment) Act, 2024.

In count two, the defendant was alleged to have intentionally transmitted communication in the form of video recording wherein she made remarks in Yoruba Language to bully, threaten, harass the person of Mr Egbetokun.

The communication was said to have placed Egbetokun in fear of death, violence or bodily harm.
The offence is contrary to and punishable under Section 24 (2) (a) of Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc.) (Amendment) Act, 2024.

In count three, Olamide was accused of intentionally transmitting or causing the transmission of communication in the form of video recording wherein she made remarks in Yoruba Language, stating that the children of Adejobi would all die before his eyes.

She was quoted to have also said that “he (Adejobi) will bury all his children in a single day, with Intent to bully, threaten, harass the person of Mr. Muyiwa Adejobi.”

The communication was said to have placed Adejobi in fear of death of his loved ones.

The offence is said to be contrary to and punishable under Section 24 (2) (a) of Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc.) (Amendment) Act, 2024

Seyi Tinubu death threat: Court fixes Jan 6 on Olamide bail application

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Kwankwaso says no power-sharing agreement with Atiku, Obi

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3 days ago

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December 30, 2024

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Kwankwaso says no power-sharing agreement with Atiku, Obi

Presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in the 2023 elections, Dr. Rabiu Kwankwaso, has reacted to speculations of power-sharing agreement with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and a former Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi.

Kwankwaso spoke in an interview with the BBC Hausa Service, monitored in Abuja, on Monday.

He said he had not held any discussions with either of the two politicians in recent times.

According to him, he chose to remain politically neutral until the end of this year in order to allow governments at all levels to concentrate on the task of governance without any form of distraction.

He accused the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), of trying to use manipulative tactics to secure northern votes in future elections.

The former Kano State Governor explained that any future political arrangement must take into cognisance historical facts and must be put in context.

Kwankwaso said, “For me to accept any arrangement, we have to go back to history; I understand PDP in totality.

“I know their plan is to procure a party or be beating around the bush in other parties, bring us together, and make northerners vote for them.

“But what we are asking them is what have they done to the North? These are the kinds of things that will come into play. But in my mind, we have witnessed the worst of humiliation from these people.

“We loved this party; we wanted to rejig it so that we could prosper, but they made us to leave by force. Kwankwaso left, Peter Obi left, Wike left and others too, there is no estimate to those who left. Yet, they are the same people coming now to the fore expressing interest to be made president.

“This is appalling; maybe they are remorseful, or they are thinking they want to seek forgiveness or something related to that, but we have really been humiliated by those people.”

He further said, “I heard from a source that PDP brought in scholars—about 45 of them—and claimed there was a consensus that Atiku will rule for four years, I will rule for another four years, and Peter Obi will rule for eight years. This is a complete lie and has no basis in reality.”

He expressed disappointment that elder statesmen in their 70s and 80s would be among those spreading such mischievous falsehoods.”

Kwankwaso quipped, “Such deceit is part of what led me and others to leave the PDP. These actions have destabilised the party

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