Politics

Majority Of Nigerians Suffering Under APC Misrule – Atiku

Published

3 years ago

June 3, 2022

The former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar has said that his victory as the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the 2023 election, is a victory for the party and the vast majority of Nigerians suffering under the misrule of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Speaking on Wednesday shortly after receiving his Certificate of Return at the party secretariat, Atiku said, “this victory is a victory for all of us, for our party, and for the vast majority of Nigerians suffering under the misrule of the APC. It was a collective effort, and I’m very grateful for everybody’s contributions.”
Atiku further said he was honoured and humbled to receive the certificate of return, adding, “I am honoured and humbled to receive this Certificate of Return having emerged as our party’s candidate in our just concluded special convention.”
The former Vice President attributed his emergence to the collective effort and thanked the National Convention Organising Committee led by the former President of the Senate, David Mark, for a rancour-free and successful convention.
The former Vice President also thanked the National Working Committee for how they had steered the affairs of the party.
He said: “I am particularly grateful that you kept your word and gave us contestants fair treatment, despite what might have been a difficult situation. Your integrity and even-handedness must be commended.
“My chairman, my dear friends, while I’m excited and happy for this opportunity to bear our party’s flag again, let us all remember that what just happened is a contest within a family to decide how to put our best foot forward.
“The main contest is the one to win the presidency of our country for our party. It will require the entire PDP family and other supporters and sympathizers. We must pull everyone together. Nobody should be excluded, I beg of you.
“I have already visited some of those who contested against me, as a way to lead in that effort to unify the party so that we can face our real opponents, defeat them in the elections and begin the process of rescuing and rebuilding this country from the colourless and dangerous APC misrule over the past seven years which is there for everyone to see.
“However, we should not take that or their defeat for granted. We must unite and work extremely hard for every single vote in this country. There is so much to do.”
Earlier in his remarks, PDP National Chairman, Senator Iyorchia Ayu, pointed out that a united party will take over power from a colourless, clueless APC government.
Ayu said that the presidential primary election where Atiku emerged as the winner was a victory for the party, as there was no victor and no vanquished.
He said: “Within the PDP family, we had a minor contest, a small contest within the family. There were no victors, there were no vanquished, and the party won. It is the party that won. Atiku Abubakar is not yet victorious. He has only been produced as our candidate, the candidate of the whole party.
“As we marched forward, we need all of you because each one of you had a supporter and all of you plus all your supporters, we want you all to fuse into one happy political family.
“It is this family that will face the battle ahead. We have only started a journey. We shall end this journey sometime next year. By the first of June next year, we should take over power from the colourless and clueless government that has destroyed this country.
“All of you are aware of what has happened to our country in the last seven years. I don’t need to repeat issues of insecurity, destruction of the economy, and total disunity of the country.
“We have never been as divided as we are today as a country. Families are divided, and communities are divided against each other. There is no trust among ourselves.”
Ayu assured that Atiku “will lead us to reunite the country. He will lead us to rebuild the economy. He will lead us to get rid of bandits and terrorists. He will re-enforce the armed forces. He will give us respect in the international community.”

Politics

INEC Denies Registering New Political Parties

Published

3 days ago

June 20, 2025

The Tide

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it has not registered any new political parties.

The commission gave the clarification in a statement on its X (formerly Twitter) handle last Wednesday.

It described the purported report circulated by some online social media platforms on the registration of two new political parties by INEC as fake.

“The attention of INEC has been drawn to a fake report making the rounds about the registration of two new political parties, namely “Independent Democrats (ID)” and “Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM)”.

“For the avoidance of doubt, the commission has not yet registered any new party. The current number of registered political parties in Nigeria is 19 and nothing has been added,” it stated.

The commission recalled that both ID and PDM were registered as political parties in August 2013.

INEC further recalled that the two were deregistered in February 2020 in accordance with Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The commission, therefore, urged the public to disregard the said report.

Politics

You Weren’t Elected To Bury People, Tinubu Tells Alia

Published

3 days ago

June 20, 2025

The Tide

President Bola Tinubu has asked Governor Hyacinth Alia to work more for peace and development of Benue State, saying he was elected to govern, not to bury people.

The President said this while addressing stakeholders at the Government House, Markudi, last Wednesday.

He also called on the governor to set up a peace committee to address some of the issues in the state.

The meeting included the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume, traditional rulers, and former governors of the state.

The governors of Kwara, Imo, Kogi, Plateau, Ondo, and Nasarawa states also attended the meeting.

“Let us meet again in Abuja. Let’s fashion out a framework for lasting peace. I am ready to invest in that peace. I assure you, we will find peace. We will convert this tragedy into prosperity,” he said.

President Tinubu urged Governor Alia to allocate land for ranching and directed the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security to follow up.

“I wanted to come here to commission projects, to reassure you of hope and prosperity, not to see gloomy faces. But peace is vital to development.

“The value of human life is greater than that of a cow. We were elected to govern, not to bury people”, he stressed.

He charged Governor Alia on working with the Federal Government to restore peace.

“Governor Alia, you were elected under the progressive banner to ensure peace, stability, and progress. You are not elected to bury people or comfort widows and orphans. We will work with you to achieve that peace. You must also work with us”, he said.

In his remarks, Governor Alia appealed to the Federal Government to establish a Special Intervention Fund for communities affected by repeated violent attacks across the state.

“Your Excellency, while we continue to mourn our losses and rebuild from the ashes of pain, we humbly urge the Federal Government to consider establishing a special intervention fund for communities affected by these incessant attacks in Benue State,” he said.

Governor Alia said the fund would support the rehabilitation of displaced persons, reconstruction of destroyed homes and infrastructure, and the restoration of livelihoods, especially for farmers.

He reiterated his support for establishing state police as a lasting solution to insecurity.

The governor pledged his administration’s full commitment to building a safe, stable, prosperous Benue State.

Also speaking at the meeting, the Chairman of the Benue State Traditional Rulers Council, Tor Tiv, Orchivirigh, Prof. James Ayatse, praised President Tinubu for being the first sitting President to personally visit victims in the hospital in the wake of such a tragedy.

He thanked the President for appointing notable Benue indigenes into key positions, including the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and the Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Professor Joseph Utsev, while expressing hope that more appointments would follow.

Politics

Gowon Explains Why Aburi Accord Failed

Published

3 days ago

June 20, 2025

The Tide

Former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon (ret’d), says the Aburi accord collapsed because Chukwuemeka Ojukwu wanted regional governors to control military zones.

Gen. Gowon was Nigeria’s military ruler from 1966 until 1975 when he was deposed in a bloodless coup while Ojukwu was military governor of the then Eastern Region in that span.

In a live television interview recently, Gen. Gowon narrated what transpired after the agreement was reached in Aburi, a town in Ghana.

The meeting that led to the accord took place from January 4 to 5, 1967, with delegates from both sides of the divide making inputs.

The goal was to resolve the political impasse threatening the country’s unity.

The point of the agreement was that each region should be responsible for its own affairs.

During the meeting, delegates arrived at certain resolutions on control and structure of the military. However, the exact agreement reached was the subject of controversy.

The failure of the Aburi accord culminated in Nigeria’s civil war, which lasted from July 6, 1967, to January 15, 1970.

Speaking on what transpired after the agreement, Gen. Gowon said the resolutions should have been discussed further and finalised.

The ex-military leader said he took ill after arriving in Nigeria from Aburi and that Ojukwu went on to make unauthorised statements about the accord.

Gen. Gowon said he did not know where Ojukwu got his version of the agreement from.

“We just went there (Aburi), as far as we were concerned, to meet as officers and then agree to get back home and resolve the problem at home. That was my understanding. But that was not his (Ojukwu) understanding,” he said.

Gen. Gowon said Ojukwu declined the invitation, citing safety concerns.

“I don’t know what accord he (Ojukwu) was reading because he came to the meeting with prepared papers of things he wanted. And, of course, we discussed them one by one, greed on some and disagreed on some.

“For example, to give one of the major issues, we said that the military would be zoned, but the control… He wanted those zones to be commanded by the governor.

“When you have a military zone in the north, it would be commanded by the governor of the military in the north, the military zone in the east would be commanded by him. Of course, we did not agree with that one”, Gen. Gowon added.

Ojukwu died on November 26, 2011 at the age of 78.