Politics
Politicians Misrepresent My Visits To Tinubu – Jonathan
Former President Goodluck Jonathan has said his visits to President Bola Tinubu have been misinterpreted by politicians.
Jonathan stated this on Wednesday in a statement by his Special Assistant on Media, Ikechukwu Eze.
The former President said the visits were intended to brief Tinubu, who has just been elected Chairman of the Authority of ECOWAS Heads of State and Government on the recent developments in the sub-region.
Recall that Jonathan himself is the Chairman of ECOWAS Council of the Wise.
Jonathan urged Nigerians to ignore what he termed ‘mischief makers’ and their web of fake news because of the danger they “pose to the peace and healthy growth of our nation”.
He said, “Our attention has been drawn to a strange allegation in the media claiming that former President, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, is seeking to nominate a minister from Bayelsa State for the government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“We would have ordinarily ignored the falsehood, given that neither the authors who are shadowy characters nor their nebulous organisation, Bayelsa APC Elders Council, which is unknown to the structure of the ruling party, the All Progressives Congress, command any credibility.
“However, we have continued to receive calls from friends and well-wishers who are concerned that some innocent Nigerians might be misled by the duplicitous fabrication; hence this rebuttal.
“We state without equivocation that the publication is false, malicious, preposterous and unnecessary. It is instructive that the authors of the hackery who are quick to spin such unfounded narrative could neither provide any clarification on the nature of the alleged consultations nor name the beneficiary of the envisaged nomination.
“We can only guess that a handful of faltering low profile politicians might have wrongly misinterpreted Jonathan’s recent visit to the Presidential Villa in Abuja, even when the former President, who is ECOWAS mediator in Mali and Chairman of ECOWAS Council of the Wise, clearly explained that he had gone to brief President Bola Tinubu, who has just been elected as the Chairman of the Authority of ECOWAS Heads of State and Government, on the recent developments in the sub-region.
“The publication is simply a tactless ramble by some benighted politicians seeking to draw attention to their hopeless plight by raising malicious allegations against the former President.
“Howbeit, they have failed in this bid because most astute politicians within and outside Bayelsa State are well aware of Jonathan’s selfless and exemplary disposition to politics and statesmanship.
“Such people will never subscribe to the cheap blackmail from the so-called Bayelsa APC Elders Council.
“Why do we think that their futile antics sounded familiar? It is because the spurious allegation seems to have been cut out of the same worn fabric woven by those unfortunate politicians who regularly hurled the most acerbic missiles at Dr. Jonathan, while he was in office as President.
“Today, they remain pitiable characters because all their efforts to sully the reputation of the former President have been in vain, as his image has continued to soar both locally and internationally.
“While we once again dismiss the claim as untrue, we advise Nigerians to ignore mischief makers and their web of fake news because of the danger they pose to the peace and healthy growth of our nation”.
Politics
LP Crisis: Ex-NWC Member Dumps Dumps Abure Faction
Mr Ojukwu, who recently returned to the interim National Working Committee led by Senator Esther Nenadi Usman, noted that the party had 34 elected members in the House of Representatives, eight Senators, and 80 members at the state Houses of Assembly after the 2023 general elections.
“Now we lost all of them,” he said. “I don’t think we have as many as five members in the National Assembly.”
The former national officer of the LP talked to journalists in Abuja and said he chose to join the caretaker committee led by Senator Nenadi-Usman because they are now the officially recognized leaders of the Party.
“I chose to work with the caretaker committee to help save the Labour Party, for the benefit of the party. I also want to use this chance to ask my colleagues at the national, state, and local government levels to come together and help rebuild our party.
“Another election is around the corner. We lost everything we have. They have left to other political parties. So I’ll reach out to all my friends in the other group to get together and work on making this party stronger again.
“The caretaker committee has formed a reconciliation committee. Let’s come together and talk so that we can restore the first opposition political party in Nigeria.”
Mr Ojukwu, who was part of the Julius Abure’s group, said there are no more factions in the LP.
He added, “There is a court ruling, and since it is valid, the right people are in the correct positions.”
He urged Barr Abure and others to drop the legal cases they have filed because they are not helping the party.
“Litigations are killing political parties”, he said. “They’ve seen many political parties disappear because of legal battles, and the Labor Party is losing support every day, which makes me feel sad.”
Mr Ojukwu said he did not think joining the Senator Nenadi-Usman’s NWC was a betrayal of the Abure group, describing himself as “the oxygen” of that faction.
“I’m with this group because of the verdict. But I never betrayed anybody. Rather, I was betrayed,” he added.
