Politics

2023 Presidency And Rumbles In APC

Published

3 years ago

March 19, 2021

Yahaya Bello, the Governor of Kogi State is perhaps, the highest ranking stalwart of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) from the North that has so far indicated a presidential ambition come 2023. While some members of the party have expressed their desire for the presidential ticket of the party to be conceded to the Southern part of the country, the two term Kogi State Chief executive insists that he would not be breaching any rule of the party if he contests for the ticket, even though he comes from the same Northern region of the country as the present occupant of the number one office of the land, Muhammadu Buhari.

The APC is yet to make any official statement with regard to the zoning of the presidential seat in view of the forthcoming 2023 presidential election. However, equally high-ranking and powerful figures in the party as Governor Bello and from the same regional extraction as himself have also been openly canversing their preference for a presidential candidate from the South to fly the flag of the party.

One of such notable figures is Ali Ndume, the chairman, senate committee on Army.

Speaking with newsmen last Saturday in Abuja, the senator representing Borno South Senatorial District categorically spoke against any chance of zoning the presidency to the North ahead of the 2023 election by the party.

The federal lawmaker said any move in the direction of the North retaining the office of the president would offend the spirit of fairness, equity and justice, insisting that any part of the South should produce the next presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress.

According to him, it would amount to remaining in office for a third term if another candidate from the North emerges after President Buhari completes his second term.

“I am against APC producing its presidential candidate from the North. The APC presidential candidate should come from the South. I have said it before and will still say it again that if we have a Northerner as APC presidential candidate, to me, it is tantamount to third term, and it is not constitutional.

“The (APC) constitution says the president shall serve two terms, and we said then that the North should serve two terms. If you say the North should produce the presidential candidate again, it means you are going for third term which is not fair and I believe in fairness, justice and equality. Let candidate from the South, and that means South-South, South-East and South-West clinch the ticket”, he said.

On this part, governor of Kano State, North-West Nigeria, appearing on a television network last month described zoning as a strategy for winning election in the country and advised his party to strongly consider the unwritten code in its planning towards the 2023 election.

He said though contestants from all parts of the country jostled for the prized ticket with Muhammadu Buhari in 2015, he believes the current president clinched the ticket because of the understanding that the position had been conceded to the North. He added that the situation became clearer in 2019, coupled with the fact that the party, was already in power and Buhari in office.

“The zoning system, even though it is not in the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, but it is a strategy for winning election. I think APC as a party should do a lot of research and planning to see what is the best option to win election. But from my understanding, zoning is a strategy for winning election and zoning has been adopted in the party”, he affirmed.

Governor Ganduje said, “when Buhari contested in 2015, he did not contest alone, he contested with people from the North, he contested with people from the South-East. So, if zoning was adopted, one hundred per cent, then only Northerners would have been allowed to contest. But there was still the understanding of zoning even though the party did not prevent others from contesting as it happened in 2015”.

He expressed the hope that though the party may not restrict or sanction anyone for indicating interest and taking part in the contest for the ticket, it would reach a consensus as regards the part of the country it would prefer its presidential candidate to come from.

“In this 2023, I believe there will be a consensus, even if people are allowed to contest from all parts of the country, but I know there will be a consensus on who should be allowed to contest. I think the zoning should be respected as strategy for winning election”, he said, adding that he would personally prefer that the ticket is zoned to “the southern part of the country but that should be a consensus of the members”.

Recently, the Arewa Youth Forum (AYF) paid Governor Bello a courtesy visit at Government House in Lokoja with the singular purpose of asking him to consider presenting himself for election as president in 2023 under the platform of the APC.

Led by Comrade Gambo Gunjungu , president of the AYF, the youth body, said “after thorough research and evidence of the numerous antecedents” of Bello, they decided to call on him to run for president, adding that they were tired of “recycled leaders” and that they needed a youth to take over the country’s leadership “like many other young Nigerians wanting to change the narrative of political bandwagon and recycled politicians, we are looking up to him as the hope of the Nigerian youth. We are discussing with our patrons and we already have the network it would take to propagate their message all over the nation”, Gunjungu was quoted to have said.

In his response, Governor Bello is reported to have only told his guests that the discussions and events ahead of 2023 presidential election were in the hands of God to decide.

In spite of initial denials by his Commissioner for Information, Kingsley Fanwo, last year when his campaign poster first surfaced in some Northern states, the 45-year-old governor’s political associates had gone ahead to further canvass the presidential agenda.

Shortly after the governor presented his 2021 budget proposal to the Kogi State House of Assembly, the lawmakers passed a resolution, urging him to run for president and early this year, they took the message to their counter parts in Plateau State for support. They have since also visited Kawara State lawmakers and also interfaced with Governor AbdulRazaq AbdulRahman on the need to support Bello to become Nigeria’s president come 2023.

Although the Kwara State governor did not give an outright endorsement, he is said to have nevertheless offered a clue that Bello can always count on him. As the rumbles continue and conflicting signals emanate from the ranks of the APC, the leadership of the party has maintained a studied silence on the issue of the zoning of the 2023 presidential election. The feeling in certain quarters is that the APC is waiting for the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to make its move in this regard in order for it to take its own bearing.

However, there is another school of thought that strongly believes that the ruling party is simply confused and does not have the ideological strength to boldly make decisions based on its own convictions.

They say the party is so afraid and uncertain about its probable disastrous outcome of the forthcoming 2023 presidential election, especially without a rallying figure like Muhammadu Buhari that achieving the consensus talked about by governor Ganduja will be an order too tall for it to attain.

By: Opaka Dokubo

Politics

Rivers Lawmakers’ Defection, ‘Monkey Politics’-CSO

Published

3 days ago

April 18, 2024

The Tide

Civil Society Coalition for Good Governance, Budget and Accountability has condemned the defection of the 27 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Executive Secretary, Civil Society Coalition for Good Governance, Budget and Accountability, Amb. Emmanuel Nkweke, who said this in an interview with The Tide in Port Harcourt also described as illegal all legislations passed by the defected lawmakers.
Amb. Nkweke described the defection as “monkey politics’, queried the rational behind the action of the lawmakers few months after being sworn into office, adding that members of the civil society community were yet to be told reasons for the defection.
“Up till now, we are yet to be told why they defected just few months of being sworn into office. For me, that is monkey politics”, he said.
He urged the lawmakers to go back to their former party and beg Rivers people for forgiveness, adding that if that is done, they may be welcomed back.
Amb. Nkweke also cautioned the lawmakers not to allow themselves to be used to do the bidding of an individual, adding that the present administration in the state needs the support of all to move forward.
Meanwhile, the Executive Secretary of the group has commended Governor Siminalayi Fubara for giving civil societies the latitude to operate freely in the state.
He alleged that civil societies were caged in the last eight years, adding that there was no breathing space for civil societies in the last eight years in the state.
Amb. Nkweke described civil society as the engine room of democracy as it engages in sensitisation on the policies and programmes of government, regretting, however, that their inputs were never taken into considerations.
“Civil societies give signals, civil society creates the awareness and sensitize the people towards achieving a reliable democracy.
‘’i want to let you know, very frankly, that civil society space in Rivers State, for the past eight years, was suffocated. There was no breathing space, they didn’t breathe. Civil society was dead completely”, he said.
Amb. Nkweke said the situation also affected upcoming activists as some of them had to operate from hideouts.

By: John Bibor

Politics

Sack Incompetent Officials In Your Govt, NANS Urges Tinubu

Published

3 days ago

April 18, 2024

The Tide

The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has called on President Bola Tinubu not to condone incompetent personalities in his government.
Addressing newsmen in Abuja, NANS President, Comrade Pedro Obi, expressed concerns about the competence of the Minister of State for Youth Development and the SSA to the President on Student Engagement.
Comrade Obi, after staging a peaceful protest at the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), reiterated that the NANS will not be intimidated and will continue to fight for the interests of Nigerian students.
He said, “The message is very simple, we have incompetent people who have been appointed to offices. It’s unfortunate and it’s not the President’s fault, of course he believes in Nigerian youths and has also given us the opportunity to showcase our capacity in various roles that he has given us.
“We have the SSA to the President on Student Engagement, who has shown incompetence. He cannot continue to hold that office and we are calling on Mr. President that he should be sacked with immediate effect.
“Also we have the Minister of State for Youth Development. We are also calling that immediately he should be sacked, because he has left what he ought to do and has dabbled into the affairs of NANS.
“These people have displayed incompetence and are destroying the youth community. There are so many competent youths that President Tinubu can pick from.
“NANS can never be intimidated. This is an organisation that we grew up to meet and we will continue to protect the dignity of this organisation.”
Receiving the NANS on behalf of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, the Permanent Secretary, General Services Office in the SGF, Dr. Maurice Nnamdi Mbaeri, assured the NANS of relaying back their complaints to the SGF which he said will land on the listening ears of President Tinubu.
According to him, “I have listened to the complaints you raised. I assure you that your complaints will get to the listening ears of Mr. President.
“Let me assure you that I’m happy this was also re-echoed in the NANS President’s speech that President Tinubu has indebt love for the youths of Nigeria and also for the students of Nigeria. This has been demonstrated by polices that (has) been put in place for the youths.
“I want to assure you that the President has your concerns in his heart and he’s always ever ready to attend to your needs.
“With this, I am going to report back to my boss the SGF, who will take up the matter with the President. I urge you to continue to maintain peace and tranquillity. Don’t do anything that will make Mr. President feel bad about you.”

Politics

Ayu Withdraws Case Against PDP Ahead NEC Meeting

Published

3 days ago

April 18, 2024

The Tide

Former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Iyiorchia Ayu, has withdrawn the court action he instituted against the party over his controversial removal from office barely two years into his four year term.
His action has removed legal impediments likely to militate against the emergence of his replacement from the North Central.
Several meetings have been held and being planned following this new development.
On Tuesday, the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) passed a vote of confidence on the Ag. National Chairnan, Amb. Umar Damagum, whom members said has discharged his functions creditably.
It was gathered that the North Central Caucus of the party had long before now started mobilizing to ensure that the zone produces Ayu’s replacement to complete his tenure which expires in 2025.
In a related development, Amb. Damagum has held series of meetings with various groups to perhaps shore up his chances of retaining his seat as acting chairman.
He led the members of the NWC on Wednesday to interact with the PDP National Ex-officio ahead of the NEC meeting.
Immediately after the meeting with them, he led the NWC members to another meeting with the State Party Chairmen from the 36 States, including FCT, Abuja.
The meetings were held at the NEC Hall, PDP National Secretariat at Wadata Plaza, Wuse Zone 5, in Abuja.