Politics

2023: PDP calls emergency meeting over Governors, others’ gang-up against Atiku

Published

12 months ago

September 22, 2022

Advocate News Nigeria

• Wike, Atiku and Ayu

The leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party on Wednesday convened an emergency meeting following the withdrawal of Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, his Oyo State counterpart, Seyi Makinde, ex-Information Minister, Prof. Jerry Gana, and other prominent party chieftains from the party’s presidential campaign council.

The Wike camp announced their plan not to participate in the campaign council which was scheduled for inauguration next Wednesday after a meeting at Wike’s private residence in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on Wednesday morning.

They hinged their decision on the failure of the party’s Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu to resign from office, insisting that the position must come to the South for balance, justice, and equity.

Sequel to the development, the main opposition party went into a marathon meeting to deliberate on the impact of the withdrawal on the party’s plans.

The party spokesman, Debo Ologunagba confirmed to The PUNCH on Wednesday that the party had been meeting since Wike’s camp announced their withdrawal from the campaign council, adding that the National Working Committee would announce their decision today (Thursday).

“As a party, we need to take a firm position to rebuild and rebrand our party. We have been in a marathon meeting since morning (Wednesday). But one thing is clear, no one has rejected our presidential candidate; that is very important. The meeting will continue tomorrow (today) and after the meeting, we will make our position clear,’’ he stated.

But the Wike camp insisted that only the removal of Ayu would make them rescind their decision.

The PUNCH reports that Wike, who lost the presidential ticket to former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar in the May primaries, has so far refused to be swayed by entreaties to work with Ayu.

Reacting to the withdrawal from his campaign council on Wednesday, Atiku in a statement he personally signed reiterated his decision not to interfere in the demands for Ayu’s removal.

The statement titled, ‘Let us join hands and move on with the task of nation building,’ read in part, “Early this morning (Wednesday), my attention was drawn to a news clip in which several very senior and influential members of our great party, the Peoples Democratic Party, addressed the press and, amongst other things, declared that they are withdrawing forthwith from the Presidential Campaign Council set up by our party to judiciously plan and prosecute the general elections set to hold in February and March 2023, on the one hand; and reiterated their earlier calls for the resignation or removal from office of the national chairman of our party, Dr. Iyorchia Ayu, on the other hand.

“The people that addressed the press must have their reasons for withdrawing from the Presidential Campaign Council, and I will not speculate as to what those reasons may be.

“Personally, I am quite surprised with this withdrawal because, as I have been informed by officials of our party, apart from the Rivers State chapter of the PDP, all the remaining states of the federation submitted names of people who they wanted included in the Presidential Campaign Council.

“On the calls for the resignation or removal from office of our national chairman, however, I must reiterate what I have said severally in public and in private: the decision for Dr. Iyorchia Ayu to resign from office is personal to Dr. Ayu and, neither I nor anyone else can make that decision for him.’’

The presidential candidate further said that as a committed democrat and firm believer in the rule of law and democratic tenets, and the party being one set up, organised and regulated by law and constitution, it is his belief that everything must be done in accordance with, and in conformity to the law and the PDP constitution.

He noted, “If Dr. Ayu is to be removed from office, it must be done in accordance with the laws that set out the basis for such removal. In any event, you will all recall that the very body that is empowered by law to initiate his removal from office has already passed a vote of confidence in him.’’

He, therefore, appealed to the party members to join his drive to lead the country and rebuild the nation.

Atiku also urged the party members that announced their withdrawal from his campaign council to have a rethink.

However, a member of the party’s National Executive Committee, Chief Olisa Metuh, said Atiku would go on with the campaigns even as he berated a member of Wike’s camp, Chief Bode George, for his “hatred for Atiku.”

He told The PUNCH, “Bode George has been consistent in his advocacy for the South but Nigeria is made up of the South and North. He has also been consistent in his hatred for Atiku.

“Atiku will go on with the campaigns because not doing so would be a victory for those who don’t want him to succeed. Truth is, Atiku has no power to remove Ayu.

“Dismissing the Wike’s camp’s demands, a member of the PDP National Working Committee, Timothy Osadolor, carpeted the Rivers governor for allegedly holding on to his grudges for too long, warning that his ego might be his undoing.

Osadolor said the call for Ayu’s sacking was a plot to sabotage the party’s chances in the 2023 elections.

He stated, “The situation is being taken too far; Wike is crying too much for a matured person. I don’t know why Wike with all the experiences he had achieved in life cannot get over the loss of the primary. Ego is good but ego to some candidates can lead to destruction.’’

The NWC member further stated, “Why did you want to bring down the house because of your interest? Calling for the sacking of Iyorchia Ayu and supporters at his whims is not possible which he knows is not possible at this time which is not even what he wants.

“I believe calling for the sacking of Iyorchia Ayu is to sabotage the general elections and I believe he is already manifesting in his actions.” (The PUNCH}

Politics

Tribunal sacks Kano Gov, Yusuf, declares APC’s Gawuna winner

Published

23 hours ago

September 20, 2023

Advocate News Nigeria

The Kano Governorship Election Petition Tribunal has sacked Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, declaring the All Progressives Congress (APC) winner of the March 18 election.

Yusuf, who contested on the platform of the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP), was declared winner of the election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

While Nasir Gawuna, his APC rival congratulated him, the party proceeded to court.

On Wednesday, the three-man panel ordered withdrawal of certificate of return which INEC presented to Governor Yusuf and directed a certificate of return to be issued to Gawuna.

The court deducted 165,663 votes from Gov Yusuf total as invalid votes, stating that the ballot papers (165,663) were not stamped or signed and therefore declared invalid.

Details later…

News

Peter Obi files 50 grounds of appeal against Tinubu’s victory

Published

2 days ago

September 19, 2023

Advocate News Nigeria

•LP Presidential Candidate Peter Obi

The presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr Peter Obi, has appealed against the judgment of the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) which upheld the victory of President Bola Tinubu.

Obi in a 50 grounds notice of appeal by his lead counsel, Dr. Livy Uzoukwu, SAN, filed in the Supreme Court, challenged the decision of the presidential election tribunal.

Obi, in his appeal, maintained that the PEPC erred in law and thereby reached a wrong conclusion when it dismissed the petition he lodged to challenge the outcome of the presidential poll that was held on February 25.

Among other things, he contended that Justice Haruna Tsammani-led five-member panel of the Court of Appeal, wrongly occassioned a grave miscarriage of justice against him, when it held that he did not specify polling units where irregularities occurred during the election.

He further faulted the PEPC for dismissing his case on the premise that he did not specify the figures of votes or scores that were allegedly suppressed of inflated in favour of President Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.

Obi equally accused the Justice Tsammani-led panel of erring in law when it relied on paragraph 4(1) (d) (2) and 54 of the First Schedule to the Electoral Act 2022 to strike out paragraphs of his petition.

While accusing the lower court of breaching his right to fair hearing, Obi, insisted that evidence of his witnesses were wrongly dismissed as incompetent.

He told the apex court that the panel unjustly dismissed his allegation that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, uploaded 18, 088 blurred results on its IReV portal.

More so, he alleged that the lower court ignored his allegation that certified true copies of documents that INEC issued to his legal team, comprised of 8, 123 blurred results that contained blank A4 papers, pictures and images of unknown persons, purporting same to be the CTC of polling units results of the presidential election.

“The learned justices of the court below erred in law and occasioned a miscarriage of justice when they held and concluded that he failed to establish the allegation of corrupt practices and over-voting,” Obi added. (NAN)

Politics

Kogi Guber Election: Only the insane will vote for APC – Dino Melaye

Published

5 days ago

September 16, 2023

Advocate News Nigeria

• Dino Melaye

‘Today, no local government in Kogi can dig a well’

Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the November governorship elections in Kogi state, Senator Dino Melaye, says the people of the state have suffered unjustly on account of the “maladministration” of the Yahaya Bello-led government.

Speaking during the public presentation of the PDP policy document for the state at a brief ceremony at the PDP National Secretariat, Abuja, on Friday, Melaye said only the insane will vote for the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the November election as a result of the level of poverty, hunger and deprivation inflicted on the people of the state by the outgoing administration of Yahaya Bello.

Melaye said among all the candidates and parties participating in the governorship election in Kogi State, only the PDP is working on a policy document.

According to him, the PDP policy document was a product of a scientific research on the sections of the state economy requiring urgent attention in order to revive the economy and set the state on the path of growth.

“The civil service in Kogi State will be reformed and we will pay salaries 25th of every month and it will be full salary.

“Today in Kogi there is no middle class, it is only the rich and the poor and today those in government are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer.

“Two billion was released to Kogi State Government as palliatives by the federal government, but today not one person in Kogi has benefited from that money. Instead they sat down and appropriated it and said others would be used for road construction.

“By the grace of God, local government money will be local government money under the incoming PDP government. Fifteen, ten years ago, local government areas in Kogi State were doing projects, rural roads, today no local government in Kogi can dig a well.

“Local government have no vehicles, salaries were not paid, some LG secretariats are under lock and key. But we are saying that a new day is coming.

“Kogi is too blessed to be poor, i brought people from outside Nigeria who did a scientific research and gave me the mineral resources in Kogi State.

“We have 52 mineral resources in Kogi State out of which only one has been tapped, limestone.

“The rest are just there, we have Uranium, we have the largest deposit of Uranium in Nigeria in Kogi State. Yet we are participating in this market. He have others in commercial quantity.”

Melaye lamented that the people have suffered so much in Kogi State.

“In the history of the state, we have the largest number of missing persons in Nigeria, even the PDP Chairman of Okene local government area for four years we are still looking for him.

“You can only imagine the number of missing persons in Kogi State, not to talk of those murdered in broad daylight.

“These shows that we have a lot of work to do because the state has been completely bastardized, economy in shambles, hospitals are mere consulting clinics, no roads, the great water works done by former governor Ibrahim Idris, today it is eleven months, no water in Lokoja the state capital.

“That is the type of state we are going to inherit.

“We promised when we got the mandate of the people that we are going to do things differently.

“What we are doing here is to announce to Nigerians that the incoming government in Kogi State, by the grace of God will do things differently.

“No any other party is talking about policy document apart from the PDP. I have looked at this document, I have read it, it is not only robust, but a solution book.”

While promising to look inwards in order to increase the state’s internally generated revenue, Melaye revealed his plans for the monthly allocation from the Federation Account if he wins and is sworn into office as governor.

“Everyone is rushing to Abuja for federal allocation and the money collected did not even reach lokoja, it is shared in Abuja.

“When we take over the government by the grace of God. The allocation from Abuja will be dedicated to paying salaries of civil servants, pension and gratuities and promotion that will be cash backed, training and re training. We are going to raise the IGR without tasking poverty for the development of the state.

“Kogi State is a state where you enter the capital one way and go out one way. Things will be different and that is why we want the Independent Kogi Economic Development Commission, because it will be independent and we will look for credible people who will look into the Governors eye and speak the truth to power to manage and that will take us out of the present situation by the grace of God to the promise land.”

Earlier in his remarks, chairman of the policy document committee, Prof Sam Amadi said, “The policy is over a hundred pages based on hardwork by members who are from different fields.

“The committee recommended that there must be an Independent Kogi Economic Development Commission and when he becomes the governor we are insisting that the people that will constitute that committee should be above board and should have influence on the activities of the Governor.

“The commission should be independent of the Governor, it should be people with pedigree, integrity, so that where it is going wrong, he will be put right.”