Politics

VP slot: Southern PDP divided, Wike’s silence unsettles Atiku, others

Published

2 years ago

July 5, 2022

Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike

The continuous silence of Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike in the face of the controversies engulfing the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) since the nomination of Delta Governor Ifeanyi Okowa as the running mate of the party’s standard-bearer, Atiku Abubakar, is unsettling the party and its leadership, Daily Trust has learnt.

The grievance is also polarising the ranks of the main opposition party in the South.

Sources said Wike’s silence and his refusal to meet with Atiku or his emissaries, have sent jitters down the spine of the PDP as nobody in the party knows his next move, especially considering the alleged overtures from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the emerging opposition Labour Party.

Wike’s major allies, including Abia State Governor Okezie Ikpeazu, Seyi Makinde of Oyo, Samuel Ortom of Benue and former Ekiti State governor, Ayodele Fayose, have not hidden their displeasure over the emergence of Atiku and his choice of Okowa as running mate.

Fayose insisted that power must return to the South in 2023, stressing that the PDP constitution provides for a rotational presidency.

Governor Ortom, in a recent interview, declared that he has not made up his mind to support Atiku, claiming that he is hibernating and waiting on God for direction.

An insider disclosed that Fayose and Ortom spoke the minds of Wike and his lieutenants within the party. He said strategic meetings were held in Turkey where Wike went for vacation.

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“The visit to Turkey was not just for vacation. Strategic meetings were held and decisions have been reached. The willingness of the party to negotiate will determine the next move,” he said.

Nobody can undermine Wike

Daily Trust recalls that Atiku and Wike met more than twice immediately after the former secured the presidential ticket of the party during the primaries, where Wike came second. However, both men have not been seen together since Atiku nominated Okowa as his running mate.

Some of the sources close to the governor who spoke on condition of anonymity said Wike is a strong political force that nobody will undermine.

“If you watch very carefully you will find out that the governor’s private residence has become a beehive of activities with high profile politicians visiting. First to visit was David Umahi of Ebonyi State followed by Labour Party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi and Governor Bala Muhammed of Bauchi State. The visits by these top politicians show that Wike is a strong force in the Nigerian political equation,” he said.

The source added that the Bauchi State governor was sent by Atiku and his group to appeal to Wike not to leave PDP while Ebonyi Governor and Obi visited to see how they could woo the governor to join their political parties.

Another source added, “I cannot say categorically if the governor wants to defect, but I can tell you that in politics there is no permanent enemy. In politics everything is possible. I think the governor is weighing all the options available to him and in no time he will come up with a far-reaching decision.”

However, a chieftain of the PDP in Rivers State said Atiku will be paid back in his own coin, noting that it was deceitful for the former VP to have jettisoned the recommendation of the committee he commissioned to nominate his running mate.

“As far as I’m concerned, there is no way we in Rivers State will support Atiku. He disappointed us and we will not support him. You cannot toy with our leader and go free. We will take a decisive decision on this matter and it will be far-reaching,” he said.

Okowa’s choice divides Southern PDP

The grievances over the choice of Okowa as Atiku’s running mate have polarised the party in the Southern region.

While a majority of the party’s chieftains in states like Delta, Edo, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Anambra and Imo have little or no resistance to the emergence of Okowa, his choice has been rejected by the party’s stalwarts from Rivers, Cross River, Enugu, Abia, Oyo and Ekiti.

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The Southern and Middle Belt Leaders’ Forum (SMBLF) recently described Okowa as a traitor for accepting his nomination as VP candidate to Atiku.

It was learnt that Wike has maintained that he has no issue with Okowa but how Atiku jettisoned the recommendation of the committee that was set up to screen the duo and Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom state.

“After the primaries, Wike was not interested in the VP slot, it was Atiku that mentioned it at one of their meetings. That was why Wike subjected himself to the committee that was set up by Atiku.

“The former VP could have told Wike during their meetings that he had made up his mind already. The act is deceitful and Wike is wary of working for somebody who cannot be trusted,” an ally of the governor said.

However, Okowa’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr Olisa Ifeajika, in an interview with Daily Trust, said it is unfair to accuse the Delta State governor of betrayal when it was his party, PDP that nominated him as running mate to Atiku.

He said the southern leaders didn’t object when the PDP threw its presidential ticket open while there was no record of Southern PDP governors agreeing on a consensus candidate during the primaries.

Ifeajika, who expressed optimism that the Atiku/Okowa ticket will emerge victorious at the 2023 poll, noted that all grievances would be addressed before the general elections.

Atiku will win – Party chieftain

A PDP chieftain in Lagos, Dr Layi Ogunbambi, while speaking with our correspondent, said the internal crisis in the PDP would be resolved before the electioneering campaign kicks off in September.

“For me, it is about managing the crisis and I have no doubt that they will resolve this,” he said.

He also said that many aggrieved APC chieftains would seek solace in PDP before the February 2023 election.

“PDP felt the only way you can have peace is to have zoning but somewhere along the line, we broke that chain,” he said.

According to him, despite the jettisoning of zoning, the PDP candidate would still get the support of the people in the South.

He decried the identity politics being played ahead of the 2023 general elections, saying he didn’t support the argument that because the outgoing president is a Fulani man, another person from his zone cannot take over.

He stated that Lagos PDP would still vote for Atiku, saying the important issue is to pin him down to “agree on certain fundamental things that will transform Nigeria.

“I also disagree with the opinion that Tinubu cannot be defeated. You can see there is a surge in the ongoing voters’ registration, especially by the young ones.

“Those young guys are waiting because of what happened to them during #EndSARS.”

A former PDP chairman in Lagos, Capt. Tunji Shele, said Atiku would win with a landslide in 2023.

Shele said the crisis over the running mate of Atiku would be resolved, adding that the North East, just like the South East, has never ruled before.

A prominent member of the Atiku campaign organisation said all issues about the nominations would be addressed before the election.

“The party has a robust mechanism for dealing with issues. There is an ongoing process to ensure that all grievances from the nominations are dealt with before the election,” he said on condition of anonymity.

However, Daily Trust gathered that Atiku and Wike may likely meet before the July 16 governorship election in Osun State.

A reliable source said consensus will be reached at the meeting as both parties are expected to present their demands going to the poll.

Related Topics:Atiku Southern PDP VP Slot Wike

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Politics

Damagun writes INEC to conduct by-election for 27 vacant Rivers assembly seats

Published

17 hours ago

November 26, 2024

Trends Admin

IIiya Umar Damagum

Damagun writes INEC to conduct by-election for 27 vacant Rivers assembly seats

Few days after governors on the platform of the Peoples Democracy Party (PDP) handed down an ultimatum for things to change in the party, the Acting National Chairman of the party, Umar Damagun has moved against the FCT Minister and his loyal lawmakers, the 27 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly.

Damagun in a letter addressed to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) dated 13th November 2024 and released on Sunday by the spokesperson of the Opposition Lawmakers Coalition, Ikenga Ugochinyere urged the electoral umpire to conduct a bye-election to fill up the 27 seats, they vacated to join the All Progressives Congress, APC.

Wike has been accused of being behind the crisis in the PDP over his disagreement with the Rivers State governor, Sim Fubara, his successor.

The crisis which started over control of resources divided the party in the state with 27 lawmakers in the state assembly siding Wike and defected to the APC following Wike’s acceptance to serve in the government of the APC.

He has also been accused of working in cahoots with Damagun to damage the PDP by not organising the National Executive Committee which would lead to the acting Chairman’s ouster.

After a series of agitation, the latest being from the PDP Governors’ Forum over the weekend, Damagun has demanded that INEC conduct elections as soon as possible, apparently moving against the FCT minister.

He argued in letter titled, ‘DEMAND FOR IMMEDIATE CONDUCT OF FRESH ELECTION IN 27 STATE CONSTITUENCIES OF RIVERS STATE WHICH HAVE BECOME VACANT PURSUANT TO SECTION 109(1)(g) OF THE CONSTITUTION’ that it’s “unlawful” for the 27 members to defect.

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The members defected to the APC on December 11, 2023.

Damagun said, going by provisions of the Constitution, the lawmakers are no longer members of the Assembly.

The PDP acting chairman therefore urged the Commission to perform its constitutional duties and begin the process of conducting fresh elections to fill the vacancies created in the 27 state constituencies by the unlawful act of the former Assembly members.

Parts of the letter read, “The Leadership of our great party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) wishes to draw the attention of the Commission to the gross violation of Section 109 (1)(g) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) by 27 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly following their unlawful defection from our Party, the PDP who sponsored their elections to the All Progressive Congress (APC) on Monday, December 11, 2023.

“The Commission may recall that our Party, the PDP nominated all our 32 State House of Assembly candidates in Rivers State for the 2023 General Election on the 7th of July 2022 via your electronic candidate election nomination portal (See attached acknowledgement).

“The Commission may also recall that following the nomination, the Commission conducted election into the Rivers State House of Assembly on the 18th of March, 2023 and our Party won 32 seats in the state Assembly. The elected State House of Assembly members were inaugurated and sworn-in on June, 2023.

“However, on Monday, 11 December, 2023 a period of just six (6) months after inauguration, 27 out of the 32 members publicly announced their defection from our Party to the All Progressive Congress (APC). This defection is a gross violation of Section 109(1)(g) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (As amended).

“The only two grounds of division and merger provided for in the Constitution that permit such defection are completely non-existent in our political Party. It therefore means that the defections of the 27 members are without lawful excuse and these members have vacated their seats in the Rivers State House of Assembly by the operations of Section 109(1)(g) of the 1999 Constitution.

“In view of the foregoing, we hereby demand that the Commission performs its constitutional duties and begin the process of conducting a Fresh Election to fill the vacancies created in the 27 State Constituencies by the unlawful act of the Assembly members. Find attached the list of the 27 State Assembly Members and their Constituencies.

“While thanking the Commission for its commitment to deepening democracy in our country, please accept the assurances of our highest regards.”

Damagun writes INEC to conduct by-election for 27 vacant Rivers assembly seats

Politics

Nigeria would have been better under Peter Obi, too much nepotism under Tinubu – Senator Abaribe

Published

20 hours ago

November 26, 2024

Trends Admin

Nigeria would have been better under Peter Obi, too much nepotism under Tinubu – Senator Abaribe

Nigeria would have been better than what it is currently if Peter Obi, candidate of the Labour Party (LP), had won the 2023 elections, the senator representing Abia South, Enyinnaya Abaribe, has said.

Abaribe, who spoke on ‘Politics Today,’ a Channels Television programme, on Monday, said Obi would not have been as nepotistic as the administration of President Bola Tinubu.

“Number one, he would not be as nepotistic as this government; he won’t; it’s not in him. That is just who we are; we feel for the other people.”

The lawmaker called attention to Tinubu’s appointment of four ministers from Ogun alone, noting that many other states have just one.

“I say it, and I don’t think so. We are seeing it everyday. I just gave you one example. How can Ogun state have four ministers? Why does he favour Ogun state? Oyo state has only one minister,” Abaribe said.

”The nepotism of Buhari, which nobody followed, has now deepened under President Tinubu because Buhari did it, and nobody said much. I was the only person shouting.”

He said that rather than waiting for presidents to be fair to the people of the south-east, it is high time people of the zone went back to revamp it, make it more livable, better, and more cohesive.

“It’s obvious that if we continue to look at whoever becomes president, they will look at us and do us right. Apart from Obasanjo and maybe Jonathan, I do not think that we have seen that same type of fairness,” he said.

Politics

Lagos 2027: Seyi Tinubu campaign team releases his life documentary

Published

1 day ago

November 25, 2024

Trends Admin

Seyi Tinubu

Lagos 2027: Seyi Tinubu campaign team releases his life documentary

Seyi Tinubu, son of President Bola Tinubu, has been tipped for the seat of Lagos governor in the 2027 governorship election.

This was according to a video making the rounds on various social media platforms, which Peoples Gazette saw on Sunday.

The video highlights the president’s son’s biography, focusing on his education, career, and humanitarian activities as a Nigerian. It also documents his involvement in youth development in the country.

This biopic comes on the heels of some groups’ endorsements of Mr Tinubu’s son as a potential successor to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu in 2027.

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On Tuesday, the Coalition of Nigerian Youth Leaders issued an endorsement in Owerri, Imo, suggesting that the younger Tinubu would be welcomed to contest the governorship seat in Osun or Imo.

He was also endorsed by Friends of Seyi, a group emphasising his vision and intellectual wherewithal to govern the country’s commercial nerve.

APC chieftain Joe Igbokwe, however, described the gale of endorsements as a ploy to undermine the president in a Facebook post.

“Who are these faceless people pushing Seyi Tinubu for Lagos governor? This is a needless distraction,” said Mr Igbokwe. “To pull PBAT down is their target. Ruling Lagos is not the job of boys.”