Politics
2023: Resign, Pursue Your Ambition, APC Chieftain Tells Buhari’s Ministers
A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kaduna State, Yusuf Ali, has said that the continuous stay in office of President Muhammadu Buhari’s ministers seeking to contest for various elective positions is unethical and immoral.
Ali, who made the remarks while speaking with newsmen in Kaduna, said the honourable thing for them to do is to resign and pursue their political ambitions.
“I am aware that some of Buhari’s ministers have ambitions to contest for one office or the other. In fact, some have even openly declared their interest to contest for elective positions yet they are pretending to be unaware of the moral burden on them to resign and prosecute their campaigns.
“Hiding behind the court judgement on the provision in the electoral act for them to resign before the party convention is neither here nor there because there was a precedent even in the Jonathan administration when seven ministers tendered their resignation months to the PDP’s primaries to contest for various offices,” he said.
The APC chieftain said the concerned ministers don’t need any presidential directive or court judgement to resign, stressing that they should be conscious enough to know that their continuous stay in office is a liability to the party and the government.
“At the moment some of them are distracted already and government functions that have to do with the security and welfare of citizens are suffering. Take the issue of the Transport Minister, who has literally turned himself into the Minister of Railways, we need someone who can concentrate on supervising the operations and construction of the rail-lines without any distraction at least up to the end of the Buhari administration.
“In another clime, he could have even resigned without prompting because of his failure to ensure security of the rail-lines, which caused calamity to many families as I am talking now.
“While Nigerian students are languishing at home because of the protracted strike by Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), the man in charge of negotiating to ensure that the strike is called off is busy consulting across the country to run for office.
“This is immoral and we should not continue to run our country like this. There has to be the irreducible minimum we should not cross,” he said.
Ali however, commended state governments for getting it right by directing those with political ambition to resign, saying the reverse is the case at the federal level.
He said it will be difficult to convince Nigerians that those Ministers are not using public funds to pursue their political ambitions.
“With N100 million pegged for presidential nomination form, what’s the salary of a Minister of the Republic? While they remain in office, how are we sure that they are not going to use the public funds at their disposal to buy the presidential nomination form and pursue and their electoral ambition,” he said.
He said the main reason why public officials are encouraged to relinquish their offices before contesting elections is to ensure that they do not take undue advantage of their offices to pursue personal ambitions to the detriment of public interest.
He called on President Buhari to do the needful by directing the Secretary to the Government of the Federation to issue a circular directing all public officials at the Federal Level to relinquish their offices in order to pursue their political ambitions.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has extended the deadline for political parties to submit the list of candidates for the 2027 governorship and state Houses of Assembly elections from Saturday, August 8, to Tuesday, August 11, 2026.
The commission announced the extension in a statement issued on Saturday and signed by the National Commissioner and Chairman of its Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Haruna.
According to INEC, the decision followed appeals by political parties for additional time to complete the submission process through the dedicated online portal.
“The submission window, which according to the revised Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the General Election was originally scheduled to close on Saturday, 8th August, 2026, has been extended to Tuesday, 11th August, 2026,” the commission said.
In a a related development, INEC announced the suspension of PVC collection in Osun State ahead of the August 15 governorship election.
The commission said voters who applied for replacement of lost, damaged or defaced Permanent Voter Cards would have until midnight on Sunday, August 9, to print downloadable copies of their cards.
The electoral body explained that the deadline was necessary to enable it compile data on downloaded PVCs and produce final statistics on the total number of cards collected ahead of the election.
INEC said PVC collection in Osun commenced at the Registration Area level from July 22 to 28, 2026, but was extended to July 31 following complaints about large crowds and difficulties experienced by voters at collection centres.
The exercise subsequently moved to the local government level and ran from August 1 to 7.
The commission also disclosed that replacement downloadable PVCs had been made available to voters in Odo-Otin and Ife Central Local Government Areas following the theft of cards during attacks on the two collection centres.
It stressed that the stolen cards could not be used to vote.
INEC reassured Osun residents of its preparedness for the August 15 governorship election.
“The commission reiterates that the stolen cards cannot be used to vote.
“INEC reassures the people of Osun State of its readiness to conduct a free, fair, credible and inclusive governorship election on 15th August, 2026,” the statement said.
The commission said the deadline, initially set for Saturday, 8 August, has been extended to Tuesday, 11 August 2026, following appeals from political parties for more time.
INEC also announced that the window for voters who applied to replace lost, damaged or defaced PVCs to download their replacement cards will close at midnight on Sunday, 9 August.
The move is to enable the commission compile final PVC collection figures ahead of the 15 August Osun governorship election.
INEC said replacement downloadable PVCs have also been provided to affected voters in Odo-Otin and Ife Central Local Government Areas after hoodlums carted away cards from two collection centres, stressing that the stolen cards cannot be used to vote.
The commission reaffirmed its readiness to conduct a free, fair, credible and inclusive election in Osun State.
Gov. Kefas made the remarks over the weekend at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jalingo, during the flag-off of the second phase of the Renewed Hope Medical Outreach in Taraba State, organised as part of activities marking Prof. Yilwatda’s 58th birthday.
The governor commended Prof. Yilwatda for choosing to mark his birthday by providing medical care to people in need.
“What Professor Nentawe did is a powerful demonstration of what leadership should be,” Gov. Kefas said.
He assured that his administration would continue to support initiatives that complement government efforts to improve healthcare delivery and the wellbeing of residents.
Speaking at the event, Prof. Yilwatda called on Nigerian leaders to embrace the culture of giving and use their positions to touch the lives of the less privileged.
He said his decision to celebrate his 58th birthday in Taraba State was deliberate and informed by the needs of underserved communities, particularly people who face difficulties accessing healthcare because of distance and financial constraints.
According to him, the intervention followed a needs assessment and was extended across the three senatorial districts of the state.
He said the exercise commenced on August 3 at Takum General Hospital and covered the Federal University Teaching Hospital, Wukari; First Referral Hospital, Sunkani, Ardo-Kola Local Government Area; General Hospital, Bali; General Hospital, Gembu; and FMC Jalingo.
Prof. Yilwatda said the intervention provided medical services to thousands of beneficiaries, including people who required surgical procedures.
He said sustainable national development could only be achieved when strong institutions placed Nigerians at the centre of development.
“Leadership is about service,” he said, urging political and public leaders to make giving back to society an important part of their responsibilities.
He reaffirmed his commitment to serving Nigeria and its people, saying his personal vision was to make every day of his life useful to humanity.
“Every day that I live, the vision is: let it be useful to humanity,” he said.
The Taraba State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Bordiya Buma, commended the initiative, saying it was consistent with the Renewed Hope agenda and efforts to strengthen healthcare delivery in the state.
Dr Buma said the second phase followed the successful completion of the first phase, which was conducted simultaneously in six local government areas, with two LGAs selected from each of the three senatorial districts.
According to him, more than 10,000 patients were attended to during the first phase, including people with medical and surgical conditions.
He disclosed that 327 general surgeries, 71 eye surgeries and 575 dental procedures were carried out during the exercise.
The commissioner expressed appreciation to President Bola Tinubu for the Renewed Hope Medical Outreach and thanked Prof. Yilwatda for supporting the initiative and choosing Taraba State as a beneficiary.
The Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, also commended Prof. Yilwatda for choosing Taraba State to mark his 58th birthday through a medical outreach.
Prof. Pate said making healthcare the centrepiece of the birthday celebration was significant because health affects everyone.
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