Politics
APC Crisis: Pro-Oshiomhole Govs Declare War Against Fayemi, Others
The travail of the embattled National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole, has split the APC Progressive Governors Forum (PGF).
A reliable source close to the pro-Oshiomhole governors’ camp told The Tide source that as a result of the crack, about 13 APC governors have declared support for the former Edo governor.
The source said the pro-Oshiomhole governors have declared war on Governors Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti) and Abubakar Atiku Bagudu (Kebbi), vowing to remove them both as helmsman of Nigeria’s Governors Forum and chairman of Progressive Governors Forum, respectively.
Oshiomhole has consistently maintained that some governors and a minister were behind his ordeal.
According to our source, “after all these days, the other faction of the NWC have been parading a letter they claimed was approved by Mr President to convene NEC meeting, all the Progressive Governors loyal to Oshiomhole have gone to meet Mr President who denied authorising such letter.
“The President assured them that he is fully with Oshiomhole and not part of any plot to remove him. He also told them that he believes in him.
“Some of the governors that were previously anti-Oshiomhole decamped because they initially thought the governor of Kebbi, Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, meant well in his schemes. They realised that the plot against Oshiomhole is not good for the party and an unnecessary distraction for Mr President.
“They essentially noted that these governors fighting Oshiomhole are working for their selfish personal interest against the interest of the party. They said the forces against Oshiomhole were based on flimsy excuses of the claim that he is a dictator and highhanded. Most of them realised that those against him were pursuing narrow interests.
“That was how the pro-Oshiomhole governors resolved to support him and will not be part of any antics to remove him. They have constituted themselves into a camp to battle the anti-Oshiomhole governors.
“They said having tried everything to make the other governors understand and failed largely because they think that they are more PGF than them, they are going to prove to them that they don’t have monopoly of anything.
“Let me confirm to you that 13 governors are now backing and fully in support of Oshiomhole. They are not only going to fight them but I can confirm to you that they have resolved to move against Bagudu who has been using the PGF DG to embarrass Oshiomhole. They want to show them that Mohammed Badaru and Kayode Fayemi of Jigawa and Ekiti states respectively and Bagudu are not the only governors. They have resolved to put machinery in motion to remove Bagudu as chairman of PGF and Fayemi as Governors Forum chairman. They now see them as agents of destabilisation,” the source noted.
Similarly, the embattled APC national chairman has replied his detractors that resigning his office is the last option he is considering.
Apparently replying his detractors through a source in his camp he said: “Quitting is the last thing Oshiomhole will do. On the contrary, he is more prepared to battle his detractors more aggressively now than before.”
The camp of the APC boss has failed to confirm if he would report to office on Monday after securing the court order in Kano State to vacate his suspension.
But reacting to the plot by the pro-Oshiomhole governors against Fayemi, a top politician close to the NGF chairman who did not want his name in print said the whole story was concocted.
He told our source that Fayemi is the chairman of the 36 state governors and not of the APC alone, hence, plotting against Oshiuomhole would not confer any advantages on those planning, if any.
Meanwhile, fresh crisis is looming over who replaces Oshiomhole. While the governors are backing the former governor of Cross River State, Clement Ebri, the legislators are considering former Senate leader, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba.
Ebri who was a governor in 1991 stepped down for Oshiomhole at the last convention while Ndoma-Egba was secretary of the convention.
However, some party members are also rooting for the acting National Secretary to be considered for the position of acting National Chairman.
Former Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar has resigned from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Alhaji Abubakar disclosed his intention to leave the opposition party in a letter addressed to the PDP ward chairman in Jada, Jada Local Government Area (LGA) of Adamawa state.
Alhaji Abubakar described his departure from the PDP as “heartbreaking”, saying the party has strayed from the ideals on which it was founded.
“I would like to take this opportunity to express my profound gratitude for the opportunities I have been given by the Party,” Alhaji Abubakar said.
“Serving two full terms as Vice President of Nigeria and being a presidential candidate twice has been one of the most significant chapters of my life.
“As a founding father of this esteemed Party, it is indeed heartbreaking for me to make this decision.
“However, I find it necessary to part ways due to the current trajectory the Party has taken, which I believe diverges from the foundational principles we stood for.
“It is with a heavy heart that I resign, recognising the irreconcilable differences that have emerged.
“I wish the Party and its leadership all the best in the future”, he added.
Alhaji Abubakar’s resignation from the PDP comes days after the opposition coalition politicians adopted the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as their political platform for the 2027 elections.
Among the coalition leaders are Rotimi Amaechi, a former Transportation Minister; Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 election; Nasir el-Rufai, former Kaduna State Governor; and John Oyegun, former Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Others include Sule Lamido, former Governor of Jigawa State; Uche Secondus, former PDP National Chairman; Babangida Aliyu, former Governor of Niger State; Sam Egwu, former governor of Ebonyi State; Aminu Tambuwal, former Governor of Sokoto State; and Liyel Imoke, former Governor of Cross River State, among others.
A group, ‘Concerned Bayelsa Stakeholders Forum (CBSF),’ has intensified calls on the State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, to leave the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The CBSF which comprises members of various political parties, non-partisan citizens and residents of the state also has non-indigenes and people from different religious organisations as members.
Speaking at a world press conference held in Yenagoa, the State capital on Tuesday, the group, through its convener who doubles as Technical Adviser to the Governor on Media/Public Affairs, Snr. Comrade Wisdom Ikuli, passed a confidence vote on Governor Diri, commending his selfless service to the State and the Ijaw nation.
Mr Ikuli averred that there was need for the state to align with the federal government. Citing the benefits of having a government at the centre that can attract development to the state, he noted that the PDP at the national level had been long enmeshed in crisis.
“The current leadership of the PDP under whose platform the governor is leading the state has been hijacked by few individuals. This poses threats to the interest of the state.
“Presently, our state is standing alone as the only PDP state in the whole of the South South region. The above may not be too much an issue. The greatest challenge here is the hijack of the PDP by few individuals and the very dangerous traps that they have set for Bayelsa in 2027, particularly those that intend to fly the flag of PDP.
“There are concluded arrangements to hide under the excuse of crisis and countless court cases in PDP at different levels to work to nullify the nomination of all candidates that will emerge under the party platform. So, we can imagine the pains, agony and disarray that the state shall experience if the state remains in PDP.
“The ongoing Coalition is also an embodiment of people who conspired to deny Bayelsa State and indeed the entire Ijaw Nation, a second term at the Presidency in 2015. Thus, the coalition can never be an option.
“ It is based on the above that we unanimously appeal to the Governor to defect to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to show southern solidarity with other southern governors who are with Mr. President”, the group said.
“But as we move forward, one of the greatest priorities in the alliance with the centre should be the actualisation of the Agge Seaport that will help to boost the state economy and also bring about unimaginable transformation and prosperity. In the next few days we shall begin a daily rally on the streets of Yenagoa to prevail on His Excellency to do the needful.
“Finally, His Excellency should ignore all opposing voices against his defection. We say this because they are all fighting to protect their individual political interest without prioritising that of the state and the entire Ijaw nation.
“ We wish to reassure His Excellency that vast majority of Bayelsans are with him and together, we shall move forward”, the CBSF added.
The group thanked President Bola Tinubu for appointing Ijaw sons and daughters into key positions, including Senator Heineken Lokpobiri as Minister of State for Petroleum Resources; Chief Samuel Ogbuku as Managing Director of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC); Chief Ebitimi Amgbare as Managing Director, Niger Delta Basin Development Authority (NDBDA), amongst others.
Meanwhile, the CBSF has also charged Governor Diri to prioritize the actualization of the Agge Deep Seaport project, saying it will boost the economy of the state and bring about transformation and prosperity, noting, however, that plans have reached advanced stages for the CBSF to hit the streets of Yenagoa with rallies with a view to prevailing on the governor to defect to the APC.
Ariwera Ibibo-Howells, Yenagoa
The Speaker made the call on Wednesday while hosting councillors from the 13 local government areas of the State in his residence in Lafia, the state capital.
Rt Hon. Jatau said that a good working relationship among the arms of government at the council level was key to development, hence, the need for his call in that direction.
He appreciated the councillors for condoling with him over the death of his younger sister, Hajaratu Jatau, and prayed to God to bless them abundantly.
“I started as a councillor, and today I am the Speaker. There is the need for a good working relationship between you and the elected chairmen for development to thrive at the grassroots. It is in view of this that I want to call on you to give your elected chairmen all the necessary and needed support to succeed. For development to thrive at the grassroots, you must embrace one another and see yourselves as team players,” the Speaker said.
Rt Hon. Jatau also called on them to coexist peacefully among themselves and continue to drum up support for Governor Abdullahi Sule’s administration to succeed.
Besides, he assured them that the state government would soon organise training for them to deliver effective service.
Rt Hon. Jatau also assured them that the state government would pay them their furniture allowance, as well as other benefits, to enhance their legislative work.
Earlier, the chairman of the Nasarawa State Councillors Forum, Mohammed Madaki, who is the Leader of Lafia LGA Legislative Assembly, said that the visit was to identify with the Speaker over the death of his sister.
The leader of the delegation urged the Speaker to see the death of his sister as an act of God and bear the irreplaceable loss.
Mr Madaki assured the Speaker of their loyalty and support at all times.
The chairman, however, appealed to the Speaker to intervene in the training of the councillors as well as the payment of their furniture allowance.
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