Politics

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

Published

4 years ago

June 6, 2022

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.

Related Topics:consensus Featured Osinbajo S/West Tinubu

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Pantami Re-emerges as PDP Governorship Candidate in Gombe After Fresh Primary

Published

4 hours ago

September 30, 2026

Trends Admin

Prof Isa Pantami

Pantami Re-emerges as PDP Governorship Candidate in Gombe After Fresh Primary

Former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Ali Pantami, has re-emerged as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Gombe State for the 2027 election, after winning the fresh primary ordered by the Federal High Court.

Pantami secured 2,054 votes in the rerun conducted across the 11 local government areas of Gombe State on Tuesday, September 29, defeating Khamisu Ahmed Mailantarki, who polled 389 votes, and Aliyu Usman Garry, who scored 112 votes.

The result was announced at the Gombe State PDP Secretariat by the chairman of the party’s Governorship Primary Election Committee, Johnbull Shekarau.

The fresh primary became necessary after the Federal High Court in Gombe nullified Pantami’s earlier emergence as the PDP candidate.

In a judgment delivered on September 24, Justice Amina Aliyu Mohammed ordered the PDP to conduct another governorship primary within 30 days, holding that the earlier process did not comply with the party’s internal rules and relevant provisions of the Electoral Act 2026.

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Pantami had initially emerged as the PDP governorship candidate at the party’s May 26 primary through a voice affirmation. That process was challenged by Mailantarki and Garry, who questioned the procedure through which he was selected.

The court subsequently nullified the original primary rather than simply restoring or confirming Pantami’s first ticket. It ordered the PDP to conduct a fresh exercise in which eligible aspirants could compete.

The court also declined a request to disqualify Pantami or remove him as a PDP member over allegations concerning his previous membership of the All Progressives Congress (APC). Pantami had joined the PDP after withdrawing from the APC governorship contest, following the emergence of Jamilu Isiyaku Gwamna as the APC’s consensus candidate in Gombe.

Following the judgment, the PDP cleared Pantami, Mailantarki and Garry to participate in the fresh primary held on September 29.

The rerun was conducted across 114 wards in the state’s 11 local government areas, with the three aspirants contesting for the party’s ticket.

Pantami’s latest victory therefore gives him a new PDP mandate to contest the Gombe governorship election, rather than a restoration of the ticket produced by the earlier, nullified primary.

However, the legal issues surrounding the contest may not be completely over. Lawyers representing some of the aspirants had previously notified the PDP of an appeal against aspects of the Federal High Court judgment and sought further legal relief. (Channels Television)

With the fresh primary concluded, Pantami is now the PDP’s declared governorship candidate in Gombe, subject to the completion of the applicable electoral and legal processes.

The development marks another stage in the PDP’s preparations for the 2027 Gombe governorship election, after the party was forced to repeat its earlier primary following the court judgment.

Pantami Re-emerges as PDP Governorship Candidate in Gombe After Fresh Primary

Politics

Obi Drops Bombshell, Vows to Bring Back Petrol Subsidy

Published

1 day ago

September 29, 2026

Trends Admin

Peter Obi

Obi Drops Bombshell, Vows to Bring Back Petrol Subsidy

Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), has pledged to restore petrol subsidy if elected president in the 2027 general elections, saying his administration would first tackle corruption in the system.

Obi made the declaration on Monday, September 28, 2026, at an NDC town hall meeting in Sokoto attended by his running mate, Rabiu Kwankwaso, party leaders and supporters.

He said the major problem associated with the fuel subsidy system was corruption, insisting that his administration would address the loopholes that had allegedly allowed public funds meant for the sector to be mismanaged.

Obi said his government would eliminate corruption and ensure that any subsidy provided by the state directly benefits Nigerians.

The pledge represents a change from a position Obi expressed earlier in 2026, when he supported the removal of petrol subsidy and argued that mismanagement of savings from the policy should not be used as a reason to restore it.

His latest position came shortly after Kwankwaso proposed that an NDC administration would reintroduce fuel subsidy in a different form if elected.

Obi subsequently backed the proposal, explaining that the planned arrangement would be accompanied by greater transparency in the petroleum sector.

He said an NDC government would establish mechanisms for monitoring crude oil production, petroleum transactions, imports, exports and government revenues to ensure that government intervention in the sector was transparent and beneficial to Nigerians.

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The proposed policy comes against the background of the petrol subsidy removal implemented by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration in 2023.

The removal has remained one of Nigeria’s most contentious economic policies, with its supporters arguing that it freed government resources for other purposes, while critics have pointed to the impact of higher petrol prices and living costs.

The issue has also become a major subject of debate ahead of the 2027 presidential election, with opposition candidates putting forward different proposals on how to reduce fuel costs.

Atiku Abubakar, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, has also proposed a form of subsidy focused on supporting locally refined petroleum products.

Obi, however, said his proposed system would be different from the previous arrangement because it would be backed by stronger monitoring and transparency.

Beyond the fuel subsidy debate, Obi used the Sokoto engagement to outline other priorities of a potential NDC administration.

He listed education, security and national unity among his key priorities and said education would receive particular attention.

He also pledged greater investment in job creation, poverty reduction, vocational training, healthcare and the empowerment of young people and women.

On infrastructure, Obi promised to connect all Nigerian state capitals by railway, saying improved rail transportation would facilitate the movement of people and goods and stimulate economic activity.

Kwankwaso, while addressing the gathering, highlighted the security challenges facing communities in the North-West, particularly kidnapping and banditry.

The former Kano State governor said security would be a major focus of an NDC administration.

The delegation also visited the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, who urged politicians and their supporters to maintain peace as preparations for the 2027 elections intensify.

Obi’s subsidy proposal leaves several policy questions to be answered, including the structure of the proposed intervention, its projected cost, how it would be funded and the specific safeguards that would prevent the corruption he identified as a major problem with the previous system.

For now, the NDC’s position is that a future subsidy would be accompanied by stronger monitoring of the petroleum value chain, rather than simply returning to the exact arrangement that existed before the 2023 subsidy removal.

Obi Drops Bombshell, Vows to Bring Back Petrol Subsidy

Politics

2027 Presidency: Atiku Asked Me to Make Obi His Running Mate — Babachir Lawal

Published

2 days ago

September 28, 2026

Trends Admin

2027: Babachir Lawal Reveals Why He Prefers Tinubu's 'Devil' to Atiku's Presidency

2027 Presidency: Atiku Asked Me to Make Obi His Running Mate — Babachir Lawal

Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, has disclosed that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar once sent him to persuade Peter Obi to accept the vice-presidential slot on the African Democratic Congress (ADC) platform ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

Lawal made the disclosure during an interview with Diaspora Digital Media, while recounting the negotiations among opposition figures before the coalition eventually fractured.

According to the former SGF, Atiku wanted Obi to return to the political arrangement and become his running mate under the ADC.

Lawal said Atiku’s proposal was not limited to a conventional president-vice-president arrangement. He claimed that Atiku envisaged serving for four years and then working towards an amendment of the Constitution to introduce a single six-year presidential term, with provisions for rotational leadership.

He said Atiku specifically asked him to approach Obi because of his relationship with the former Anambra State governor.

Lawal recalled that he travelled to meet Obi despite heavy rainfall.

“They say you have influence against Peter Obi, I want Peter Obi to come back and be my vice presidential candidate,”

Lawal quoted Atiku as telling him, adding that he subsequently explained the proposal to Obi.

According to Lawal, however, Obi was not enthusiastic about the arrangement and declined to accept the proposal.

Obi previously disputed the account

The latest disclosure comes against the background of a previous statement by Obi in which he denied that he had rejected a formal vice-presidential offer from Atiku.

During an interview with Arise TV earlier in September, Obi said he did not know where the claim originated and maintained that he was not in a position where such an offer had formally been made to him and rejected.

Obi said discussions about a possible opposition alliance had moved beyond individual politicians and would have to involve the political parties themselves.

The differing accounts mean that Lawal’s latest recollection represents his account of the discussions, while Obi has publicly disputed the characterization that he received and rejected a formal VP offer.

Coalition split

The disclosure also provides another glimpse into the political negotiations that preceded the breakdown of the opposition coalition ahead of the 2027 election.

Atiku eventually emerged as the ADC’s presidential candidate, while Obi subsequently became the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC).

Lawal himself left the ADC in June after alleging that the party’s presidential primary had been manipulated in Atiku’s favour. The allegations were rejected by Atiku’s camp.

In September, Lawal joined the NDC and publicly backed the Obi-Kwankwaso ticket, further marking his movement away from the political camp led by Atiku.

The latest revelation is therefore likely to attract fresh attention to the behind-the-scenes negotiations that preceded the eventual emergence of separate presidential tickets for Atiku and Obi ahead of the 2027 election.