Politics
Ekiti Poll: Oni Defects To SDP
Former Governor of Ekiti State, Chief Segun Oni, has defected to the Social Democratic Party (SDP) to contest the June 18 governorship election in the state.
This new development put to rest the rumour makings the rounds in the state that he had joined the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA).
Oni who was governor between 2007 and 2010 in the state was defeated in the January 26 Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship primary by former Chairman of the party, Bisi Kolawole, but subsequently dumped the party over alleged electoral malfeasance and irregularities during the primary.
Oni, while speaking on a private radio in Ado-Ekiti on Wednesday revealed that the necessary paper work by the national leadership of the SDP for him to be the party’s candidate and his running mate would soon be concluded with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
He noted that his decision to move to the SDP was as a result of the continued call by the people for him to contest the June 18 poll as a third force, saying that aggrieved politicians in the two dominant political parties are supporting him in the new political party.
The Ifaki-born politician disclosed that no fewer than four aggrieved governorship aspirants in the All Progressives Congress (APC), members of a factional group in Ekiti APC, the South West Agenda for Asiwaju 2023 (SWAGA); members of the repositioning group in the PDP and others are forming what he described as a grand collation to win the election.
“I have chosen to advance my ambition in the Social Democratic Party(SDP) because we are looking at the future not the present. The party has been around for years and won elections in this country, it is a well known party, that is the reason I chose SDP to contest the June 18, 2022 governorship election in Ekiti State. We have seen the potential in SDP because we believe it is easier to sell as a third force for Nigerians. The process to make me candidate is on going and will soon be completed,” he said.
When asked how the SDP would win without a known structure less than four months to the election, the former governor maintained that the will and aspirations of the people were the most important structure needed to defeat the APC and PDP in the state.
He expressed optimism that his achievements when he was governor coupled with the alleged impunity and injustice in the two dominant parties would sway the votes in his favour
According to him, “I want to say without any forms of contradictions, that we politicians are coming together for this project couple with the opinions of people in the streets. We are looking at a familiar terrain and a party with a potentials and also we are getting supports from people that are well known in Ekiti’s political terrain.
“Let me say that for those who are in APC, four aggrieved aspirants are working with us. In PDP, the people called repositioning group , majority of them are working with us. Also, we are working with SWAGA members, SWAGA is a strong force in APC with strong membership base.
“It is going to be a grand collation that will definitely benefit the people of Ekiti. I believe the goodwill of repositioning group, SWAGA and Segun Oni is almost enough to win election in Ekiti”.
Speaking further, Oni said, “We must come to reality of how a party is properly managed, if it is not properly managed, it won’t attract good people, that is the fact. I believe whatever is right is right . I have been around for sometime, my antecedents is there for us to see, I am not looking for what to eat but service to the people, that is how I see politics.
“It is the people that will challenge the parties, the people are superior than the APC, PDP. It is what Ekiti people want not the political parties, we are listening to what the people are saying in the streets. I worked for the people with everything I had between 2007 and 2010 when I was governor and the citizens can testify to my achievements.”
Oni who advised the people of the state to reject vote buying and other forms of inducement ahead of the poll, stated that everything possible would be done to discourage voters from trading their future on the altar of peanuts.
“We are ready for Ekiti election. We will campaign against vote-buying because it is illegal. We are not going to fold our arms and allow it work here. This condemnable act is against the people and our people must learn from what happened in the past. We must support those who can help our society to develop.
“Will the people still be eating what they got on election day for four years ? It is bad and we will campaign against it because the people are not better now in the last four years in the state, “ he said.
On what transpired during the PDP primaries, Oni reiterated that the party’s guidelines on the secret ballot system were violated, adding that he reacted to the injustice by leaving the party.
“The PDP primary election was manipulated and devoid of known guidelines in any democracy in the world. What is bad is bad, and we must not be afraid to say the truth at all times.
“The guidelines say it is a secret ballot but the ballot is being shown to the former Governor Ayodele Fayose by the delegates.
“Let me say, If a party cannot manage their processes, it is the party that should be blamed, not the people reacting to injustice. We are only reacting to the obvious injustice.”
Reacting to Oni’s claim, the Ekiti SWAGA Coordinator, Bamigboye Adegoroye, described the former Governor’s statement as untrue
According to Adegoroye, “That is not true. Members of SWAGA cannot form a coalition with Segun Oni to win any election”
“The Chairman of SWAGA in Ekiti State is Senator Tony Adeniyi, I am the coordinator of SWAGA in Ekiti State, So, nobody else could have moved SWAGA in Ekiti to anywhere. Nobody has that capacity. Segun Oni was in the PDP, Segun Oni has no capacity to talk about SWAGA at all.
“He can’t talk about SWAGA at all, he left PDP. You can see the act of desperation. Last week, he (Segun Oni) was talking about APGA, this week, he is talking about SDP, maybe he will be talking about Labour Party next week.
“That is the act of desperation of Segun Oni that we are talking about which people have to guard against. He should not be taken seriously. He sounds a little confused and so you don’t take him seriously”.
Politics
Senegal: Faye Set To Become Youngest Elected African President As Rival Concedes Defeat
Senegalese politician, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, (44), is set to become the youngest elected leader on the African continent.
While Faye’s main rival, Amadou Ba, from the ruling coalition had said a run-off might happen to determine the winner, at least five of the 19 candidates in the race had issued statements to congratulate Faye as of early Monday.
“For our part, and considering the feedback of the results from our team of experts, we are certain that, in the worst case scenario, we will go to a run-off,” Ba, a former Senegalese Prime Minister, had said.
But as Faye’s lead got wider, Ba called to concede victory in Sunday’s presidential elections, BBC quoted a government official to have said.
Faye’s lead had spurred his followers to troop out in celebration on the streets of the capital, Dakar, on Sunday.
Reports revealed that millions took part in a peaceful day of voting to elect Senegal’s fifth president after three years of unprecedented political turbulence that triggered violent anti-government protests and bolstered support for the opposition.
Faye is a Senegalese politician and a former tax inspector, who also served as the General Secretary of dissolved PASTEF.
He contested the highest political position in the West African country in place of disqualified candidate Ousmane Sonko.
Senegalese voters had a choice among 19 contenders to replace Sall, who is stepping down after a second term marred by unrest over the prosecution of opposition leader Sonko.
The incumbent was not on the ballot for the first time in Senegal’s history. His ruling coalition picked Ba, 62, as its candidate.
In a country of over 18 million people, 7.3 million people were registered to vote, and about 71 percent voter turnout was recorded, Senegal’s State TV reported.
Politics
Writing Judgment For Presidential Election Tribunal Allegation, FG Arraigns One
The Federal Government has arraigned one Chike Ibezim for allegedly defaming Babatunde Fashola, former Minister of Works and Housing.
Ibezim is one of three individuals who alleged that Fashola had written the judgments of the Presidential Election Petitions Court (PEPC) that dismissed the petitions by the Labour Party (LP) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in favour of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Ibezim was arraigned on Monday before a federal high court in Abuja on a six-count charge.
The charge, marked FHC/ABJ/CR/434/2023, borders on criminal conspiracy, cyberstalking, and defamation, among others.
The matter is before Bolaji Olajuwon and has been adjourned till April 15 for continuation of trial.
Count one of the charges reads: “That you Ibezim Chike Victor, male with Jackson Udeh, Nnamdi Emmanuel Ibezim and Reportera.ng (body corporate) now at large on or about 05/08/2023 at Abuja, did commit an illegal Act to wit: criminal conspiracy; when you jointly agreed to publish a defamatory statement of false allegations in your online social media, the reportera.ng news, against His Excellency Babatunde Raji Fashola SAN, CON, without justification, you thereby commit offence punishable under Section 27(1)(b) of the Cyber-crime Prohibition, Prevention Act 2015.”
However, Fashola said the allegation was “baseless and defamatory”.
The former minister described those behind the allegations as “agents of destabilisation”.
Politics
Soludo’s Performance Assessment, APGA Tackles LP Chieftain
The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) has faulted a chieftain of the Labour Party (LP), Valentine Ozigbo, over his comments that the performance of Anambra State governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, after two years in office, was “not impressive.”
Mr Ozigbo, who was the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2021 Anambra State governorship election, now a chieftain of the LP, stated during an interactive session with journalists last weekend that he was not impressed about Governor Soludo’s performance and has therefore decided to contest the 2025 governorship election in the state.
He said, “We have seen the leadership of Soludo in two years, and some of you may be impressed, but I am not. After the last election in 2021, I called and wished him well and moved on, and we have never spoken again. My decision was to assess him after two years, and having seen it, I am not impressed, and I want to start holding him accountable.
“I am here to share my thoughts with you, what I think, and no matter how you see what he (Soludo) is doing, you will be more proud when I mount the saddle.
“We need to change the narrative and look for a way to survive. We must fight to rescue Anambra. I am a non-transactional politician. I have several things I can do, but my worry is how we can recover the state and put her on the path of development.
“Zoning is a good thing. But it must be combined with competence to make sense. Don’t pick a renegade just because he is from a certain zone, and don’t pick the best, when you know you can pick one that is better.”
Mr Ozigbo said further, “I respect zoning, and I will be making a case for a single term of four years. Anyone who sees what Alex Otti is doing in Abia State will know that four years is enough time to do a lot of work.
“I will honour that principle of zoning, and I will not need anyone’s push or prompting to do otherwise. I will be ready to do an agreement and do an undertaking that I will do just one term. I also wish to tell you that Peter Obi has been consistent that a southerner who emerges will only do one term.
“It is a settled matter that I intend to run for just one term. I intend to keep faith with the agreement.”
But reacting to the development in a telephone interview with The Tide’s source on Monday, APGA spokesman, Tony Olisa-Mbeki, dismissed Mr Ozigbo’s utterances, insisting he has nothing to offer the people of the state.
Mr Olisa-Mbeki said, “He is a political stooge. What could he possibly bring in? Last I checked, he only managed Transcorp Hotel. Is that a qualification to be a governor in Anambra State? Soludo runs an inclusive government in Anambra; that is why he holds town hall meetings with different sectors. What other approach to governance is Ozigbo talking about?
“Anambra State governance is not for learners like Ozigbo. Ozigbo can’t even give a good lecture; he would be better suited working as a PA to any governor. Ozigbo’s aspirations in the previous gubernatorial contest in Anambra found him trailing in third place under the banner of the PDP, despite the staunch endorsement from former APGA governor, Peter Obi.
“That alone should tell him that APGA is like an apostle’s creed to Ndi Anambra. However, what reforms could Ozigbo propose? Anambra State, under Governor Soludo’s leadership, is a testament to political and socio-economic ingenuity.”
-
Oil & Energy4 days ago
Nigeria Hosts Global Confab On Oilfield Sustainability, Hydrocarbon Accounting
-
Sports4 days ago
Iheanacho, Dessers Applaud Finidi’s Tactics
-
Rivers4 days ago
Group Begins Massive Support Drive For Fubara
-
News2 days ago
Reps Member Pledges Support, Loyalty To Fubara, Joins SIMplified Movement
-
Maritime4 days ago
Illegal Migration: NIS, NIWA Move To Strengthen Partnership
-
News4 days ago
Insecurity: Arrest Gumi Within Seven Days, Group Tells FG
-
Rivers2 days ago
Bonny Ward 12 Endorses Council Boss For Second Term
-
News2 days ago
New Kalabari Monarch To Emerge Soon -Regent