Politics
2023 Presidency: C’River Agog As Wike Consults PDP Delegates …Blasts Advocates Of Consensus Candidate …Says I’m Not Running For President To Negotiate VP Ticket
Members of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Cross River State rolled out the drums and laid the red carpet to celebrate the coming of Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike to the state in continuation of his consultation visit across the country on his presidential ambition.
Thousands of ecstatic and excited party bigwigs and supporters, donning PDP hats, insignias, regalia and attires flooded the streets and roads, with their drums and trumpets to receive the leading PDP Presidential aspirant in the state capital, Calabar, last Wednesday.
Also, as a way of appreciating his efforts to boost the party in the state, officials of PDP displayed life-sized flex banners in strategic places to welcome the Rivers State governor.
One of the banners says: “We all say Thank You to His Excellency, Barrister Nyesom Ezenwo Wike for supporting Cross River PDP”.
An official, Ernest Effiom said, “Wike has done well for PDP not only for Cross River State but he has a special interest in our party in this state. Don’t forget he is the leader of the party, at least, in the South-South.”
He disclosed that Wike was visiting them as part of his aspiration to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari of APC next year, and to address some internal PDP issues bordering on governorship aspirants.
On whether, the state Governor, Prof Ben Ayade was aware of the coming of his colleague into his state since there were some ripples in February when he entered Calabar, reportedly without informing Ayade, Chief Press Secretary and Media Adviser to Governor Ben Ayade, Mr Christian Ita said Wike was coming in his personal capacity to consult on his presidential aspiration.
“I would not know whether Wike has reached out to his counterpart, my principal on a personal level that he is visiting Cross River State. But his coming cannot cause any implosion whatever.
“Wike is going round states to consult for his interest to seek for PDP ticket for next year’s presidential election.”
Addressing PDP delegates and leaders in Calabar, Governor Nyesom Wike faulted the arrangement for a consensus presidential candidate in the PDP.
Wike described the consensus arrangement as rubbish and fake news used in deceiving PDP members.
He said consensus could only happen through equity, justice, and fairness, and recalled telling a former Senate president that he would not support a consensus arraignment in PDP.
According to Wike: “I am not here for any consensus rubbish. I have told people not to deceive our party members with fake news about consensus. We all believe in consensus, but it must come with equity, justice, and fairness.
“When some of my colleagues led by the former Senate president came to me, I told them I would not fall into the consensus trap. If you want to run for election, please run, and if you are not ready, please go home.
“They want somebody who would come and bow down for them. But what the country needs now is fearless and courageous somebody.”
Wike further said his decision to run for the Presidency was not to negotiate the vice presidential ticket of the PDP.
The PDP presidential aspirant said he was in the state to meet party members and signify his seriousness to be Nigeria’s next president.
Wike also dismissed claims of picking the senatorial forms like other aspirants of the party have done secretly.
He said: “I am here to introduce myself to you. We have started the process, and I have made myself available to the people of Cross River State. I am running for the president, and I am not running for running sake. I will win the party’s ticket and win the Presidency of this country.
“I am not running to negotiate for vice president or for anything. I have not collected Senate form or any form in case I fail. Some people have sent in their cronies to collect Senate forms on their behalf in case there is a consensus.
“I came here for you to see me face to face. Some are sending people to talk to them. I have too much energy, and I am ready to go to every nook and cranny of this country. Trust people with energy and I have it.”
The likes of former Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, former vice president, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal, Bauchi State Governor, Senator Bala Mohammed, and some other aspirants have been clamouring for a consensus presidential candidate for the PDP.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has begun deploying non-sensitive materials to the zones as it prepares for the 2027 general election.
Acting Chairman of the commission, Prof. Rhoda Gumus, disclosed this in Abuja, yesterday at a bench-marking meeting with a delegation of Kenya’s Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).
“Right now, all non-sensitive materials are almost ready. In fact, today as we speak here, the non-sensitive materials have been lifted to some zones now,” Gumus said.
She said the commission had completed nine of its scheduled activities and was preparing for the next phase.
“We are preparing for the election next year and we have activities lined up. So far, we have been able to complete nine activities and we are still preparing for the next level of activities,” she said.
Gumus said the commission’s leadership had just concluded a tour of the country’s six zones to assess their level of preparedness.
“The purpose was to go round the zones to see how prepared we are, assess what the zones have put in place, their challenges and what to do. We concluded last week and we can see from our tour that we are really going towards the election proper,” she said.
On Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), the acting chairman said production had been completed and distribution to the states was well advanced.
“As of today, we can say that PVCs have been produced and the first, second batches, most of the states have received them. Their PVC collection is ongoing. All those who are supposed to be the voters are supposed to receive their PVCs, and if they don’t have them, it is also another challenge,” Gumus said.
She added that capacity building was under way for staff at the headquarters and in the states, and that the procurement and deployment of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System BVAS devices were also ongoing.
On diaspora voting, Gumus said the commission could not proceed for now because the law did not provide for it.
“Here, because we go by the law, in our electoral law, it is not included there, so we cannot go on for the diaspora voting for now until we amend the electoral law,” she said.
The acting chairman said the commission had arranged for its directors to hold an interactive session with the Kenyan team and present papers on the work of their departments.
Leading the delegation, the Kenyan High Commissioner to Nigeria, Isaac Parashina, said the IEBC team was in Nigeria to benchmark ahead of Kenya’s general election in August 2027.
He said the team was studying how Nigeria handled its diaspora population and special voting groups, as Kenya sought to widen voting rights for citizens living abroad.
“Currently we have about 12 of them who voted in the last general election, but there is intention to expand to around, I think, 26,” Parashina said, referring to the countries where Kenyans abroad vote.
He said the expansion was a constitutional requirement backed by Kenyan court rulings, and would be enforced progressively.
Parashina said Nigeria’s election, which he noted would come in two rounds, would be closely watched across Africa.
“Everyone is looking at what Nigeria will do because it is the biggest democracy in Africa. The success of Nigeria remains a great success to Kenya and indeed to the continent,” he added.
The High Commissioner thanked INEC for receiving the team despite a tight schedule and wished the commission success.
Governor Douye Diri has set a target of at least one million votes for President Bola Tinubu in Bayelsa State in the 2027 presidential election, while charging the newly inaugurated All Progressives Congress (APC) State Campaign Council to prioritise reconciliation, party unity and collective electoral mobilisation.
Governor Diri gave the charge at the inauguration of the 20-member campaign council at the APC secretariat in Yenagoa, where he warned that internal divisions could undermine the party’s efforts to secure victory for President Tinubu and other candidates at the federal and state levels.
Governor Diri urged party members who were not appointed to the council to support its activities by taking the APC’s message to communities, wards and polling units across the state.
He specifically charged the campaign team to mobilise at least one million votes for President Tinubu, arguing that Bayelsa’s voting strength had increased and should be reflected in the 2027 election results.
“I give you a target that in Bayelsa, we must not bring less than one million votes for Mr President. You are going to campaign, and you have a lot to talk about the President. He has done so much for our people,” the governor said.
He listed the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, the second phase of the Nembe-Brass Road, interventions in the power sector, federal appointments for Bayelsa indigenes and the establishment of the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy among the achievements the campaign should present to voters.
The governor particularly praised President Tinubu for the coastal highway project, arguing that it reflected federal attention to the development needs of coastal communities.
“No president, alive or dead, has remembered the coastal people and coastal states to say let us do this signature project from Lagos to Calabar. The first president to think about it is Bola Tinubu, and those were the demands of the Ijaw people,” he said.
Governor Diri also expressed hope that a second term for President Tinubu would provide an opportunity to advance demands for fiscal federalism, greater resource control and state policing, which he described as longstanding aspirations of the Niger Delta.
He said the President had shown indications of addressing some of the demands of younger Nigerians and argued that re-election would allow the administration to consolidate its reforms.
The governor further cautioned campaigners against personal attacks and abusive exchanges with political opponents, insisting that the APC should focus its campaign on issues, policies and achievements.
The governor’s mobilisation directive comes amid criticism from the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which has questioned his commitment to President Tinubu’s re-election campaign, alleging that APC campaign billboards erected across Yenagoa promote other party candidates without featuring the President.
The PDP, through its Publicity Secretary, Mr Ikaebimo Mark, said the billboards showed Governor Diri urging voters to support APC candidates for the National Assembly and State House of Assembly elections without identifying President Tinubu as the party’s presidential candidate.
Mr Mark described the omission as an indication that the governor was not fully aligned with the APC’s national leadership.
“When we said that the governor, Senator Douye Diri, is not supporting President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, we knew exactly what we were saying. Now Governor Douye Diri has erected APC campaign billboards across Bayelsa State without Tinubu’s picture. He is even afraid to associate himself with the photograph of the presidential candidate of his own party. How can this governor claim to be supporting President Tinubu?” he said.
The PDP, however, maintained that the governor’s public campaign posture raised questions about his commitment to the President’s re-election bid. Its allegation over the billboards now places the issue of the relationship between the state APC leadership and the party’s national campaign among the political questions likely to feature in Bayelsa’s preparations for 2027.
The PDP’s allegation has introduced a fresh political dimension to the APC’s preparations in Bayelsa, even as Governor Diri publicly called on party leaders and members to close ranks and mobilise support for all its candidates.
“Every person picked as a member of this campaign council was carefully scrutinised. I want to tell you that our campaign team is loaded. We parade the best candidates among all the parties in Bayelsa State, and there is no doubt about that,” he said.
He urged members to remain focused and united, warning that political opponents could exploit any divisions within the party.
“Our unity is very important because they would want to feast on our disunity. We will not give them that opportunity. Please, as you carry out this assignment, do not take your eyes off the target,” Hon. Ogoriba said.
SP Edafe explained that during the meeting, the organisers were briefed on the identified security threats and advised against embarking on an open-road procession.
Instead, the police reportedly recommended that the political activities be conducted at a designated venue where adequate security arrangements could be provided.
However, the Command alleged that the organisers disregarded the security advice and proceeded with the road procession.
Meanwhile, the Delta State Government has condemned the political violence that erupted in Asaba, the state capital, on Saturday, confirming that one person was killed while four others sustained serious injuries.
The government described the incident as unfortunate and unacceptable, warning political parties and their supporters against actions capable of threatening public peace, security and democratic participation in the state.
In a statement issued by the Commissioner for Works (Rural Roads) and Public Information, Mr Charles Aniagwu, the government reiterated its zero tolerance for political violence, intimidation and other forms of political misconduct.
Mr Aniagwu said the government had repeatedly cautioned political parties against engaging in activities capable of disrupting the peace, insisting that the incident could have been avoided if the organisers had followed security advice.
According to him, the police had advised the organisers to cancel the proposed street march and instead conduct their political campaign at a designated venue where adequate security arrangements could be provided.
He expressed concern that the advice was allegedly disregarded, resulting in a confrontation that claimed one life and left four other people seriously injured.
The government subsequently called on the police to conduct a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding the violence and ensure that anyone found culpable is brought to justice.
Mr Aniagwu further warned that the state government would not tolerate politically motivated attacks against any individual, regardless of political affiliation.
He maintained that Delta State remained safe for residents and visitors, stressing that the government would not allow the actions of individuals or groups to undermine the prevailing peace and security in the state.
The government also urged political parties, their leaders and supporters to conduct their political activities within the confines of the law and demonstrate respect for human life, public order and the rights of other citizens.
The latest development follows an attack on supporters of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) during a political procession in Asaba, which reportedly left several participants injured and campaign vehicles vandalised.
The government’s condemnation comes amid growing concerns over political violence and the safety of opposition supporters as political activities intensify ahead of the 2027 general elections.
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