Politics

10th NASS Leadership: Tension As APC NWC Throws Contest Open

Published

2 years ago

May 18, 2023

Barring any last-minute change, the National Working Committee, NWC, of the All Progressives Congress, APC, will declare a free contest for principal officers of the 10th National Assembly.

The APC had zoned the Senate presidency to the South-South and the speaker of the House of Representatives to the North-West.

It announced Senator Godswill Akpabio, as its consensus candidate for Senate presidency and Senator Jibrin Barau, as the next Deputy Senate President in the 10th Assembly.

Similarly, the party zoned the speakership of the House of Representatives to a Kaduna lawmaker, Tajudeen Abbas, while Ben Kalu, a reps-elect from South-East, clinched the Deputy Speaker slot.

The APC zoning, however, elicited angry reactions from lawmakers-elect who had declared their intention to contest.

APC NWC recommends a free contest

Multiple sources told Vanguard that following the APC NWC’s suspicions that its proposed zoning may be thwarted, it is, however, recommending that the contest be thrown open.

A source, who spoke to Vanguard in confidence last night, said: “It appears the NWC is suspicious that their plan may not go as planned and that is why they are recommending a free contest.

”Secretly, they have recommended a free contest because they (NWC) have intelligence that the G-6 aspirants have already adopted a consensus candidate among themselves but they have not revealed the identity of that person.

”The G-6 aspirants are confusing the party, the Gbaja boys are also confused because they don’t know who they are throwing up.”

Another source said that the G-6 speakership aspirants might have settled to pick a deputy speaker from the South-South geo-political zone.

“Secondly, they have got concrete information that the G-6 is going to the South-South to pick their deputy,” the source told Vanguard.

G-6 aspirants close in on consensus, ahead of inauguration

“There are issues and they need to be confronted because the more we delay in solving the issues once and for all, the more we keep on having fresh ones.

“For instance, we have credible intelligence that the aggrieved aspirants who have formed the G-6 are already in an alliance with the opposition parties.

“Initially, we thought it was not going to work but we gathered credible information that they swore to themselves not to betray one another and went ahead to concede the deputy speakership slot to the opposition parties.

“We first considered it an act of indiscipline and anti-party but in a second thought, we needed to be smart to throw the contest open to all aspirants. Whoever wins at every point is after all a party man.

“Some suggested that they should be sanctioned but we looked at the bigger picture because we must learn from experience as party administrators. What are the consequences for those aspirants? And what are those consequences on the party as a whole?

“So, the message the party chairman gave to Senator Akpabio and his team when they visited was a coded message. It is left for them to decode it because it is difficult to do another rejoinder to repudiate what we had said earlier on zoning.

“More importantly, our initial thought was that the aggrieved aspirants would quickly adopt someone amongst them but they are also smart enough not to do so for now.

“That keeps the suspense high and it will be risky to allow them to do the damage by allying with the opposition parties swiftly on the floor of the parliament that day.

“Of course, we know too well that most of the people milling around Akpabio or Abbas are playing politics. So, what is the guarantee that all are with us?

“So we have decided to slow down and lower our tone on streamlining to individuals; let all those interested come out to contest because if we don’t allow that to happen, the gang up of the aggrieved APC aspirants and the opposition will be too risky for us”, a lawmaker-elect told Vanguard.

Politics

Two PDP, LP Reps Dump Parties For APC

Published

15 hours ago

June 24, 2025

Editor

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Labour Party (LP) on Tuesday lost one lawmaker each in the House of Representatives to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

The defectors — Hon. Peter Akpanke and Hon. Paul Nnamchi — formally announced their switch during plenary, with their defection letters read by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas.

Akpanke, who was elected on the PDP platform, represents Obanliku/Obudu/Bekwara Federal Constituency of Cross River State. Nnamchi, elected under the LP, represents Enugu East/Isi Uzo Federal Constituency of Enugu State.

Both lawmakers attributed their defections to internal crises within their former parties and their desire to support and align with the policies and programmes of the APC-led Federal Government.

Their decision was greeted with applause by APC members in the chamber, as Speaker Abbas congratulated the duo on their new political move.

Politics

JUST IN: SDP Suspends National Chairman Gabam, Auditor, Youth Leader

Published

17 hours ago

June 24, 2025

Editor

The National Working Committee (NWC) of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) has approved the immediate suspension of the National Chairman of the Party, Shehu Gabam, along with two members of the National Working Committee (NWC), Nnadi Clarkson, National Auditor, and Chukwuma Uchechukwu, National Youth Leader, over allegations of gross financial misconduct, embezzlement, misappropriation and diversion of party funds.

Their suspension was contained in a statement issued and made available to Vanguard by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Araba Rufus Aiyenigba.

It reads, “The decision followed resolutions made by members of the National Working Committee (NWC), where overwhelming evidences were presented linking the suspended officials to a series of unauthorized financial transactions, personal enrichment schemes, and movement of funds from the party’s accounts without any approvals of the NWC.

“This development first came to light when it was discovered that the National Chairman had sent an unauthorised Financial Statement to INEC as demanded from all political parties.

“A summary of the fraudulent account was also published in the Newspapers. When the NWC got to know this, it made a resolution to report the fraudulent abnormalities to law enforcement agencies.

“The action of the NWC to suspend the National Chairman and two members of the NWC involved in the gross financial misconduct will also demonstrate to the general public that the Party, generally esteemed by Nigerians as a disciplined party and a credible alternative political platform for national redemption has zero tolerance for corruption and abuse of office.”

According to Aiyenigba, “The decision to suspend the National Chairman and other implicated NWC members is to allow for a thorough, investigation. Our integrity as a political party must be upheld at all times,” the statement read.

“An interim investigative panel has been constituted to audit all financial records and recommend further disciplinary or legal actions.

“In the interim, the Deputy National Chairman (North), Dr. Sadiq Umar Abubakar has assumed leadership of the party as Acting National Chairman as per the provisions of the Constitution of the party.”

Aiyenigba alleged that “the misappropriated funds amount to hundreds of millions of naira, including donations and resources realised from the sales of nomination forms in the 2023 general elections and other funds from the party accounts.

“The suspension of these officers has been communicated to the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) and all relevant agencies.”

He said that “the suspension of Alhaji Shehu Musa Gabam, Nze Nnadi Clarkson, and Uchechukwu Ogbonna Chukwuma takes immediate effect.”

Politics

Drama As PDP Staff Shut Offices, Reject Anyanwu’s Return

Published

19 hours ago

June 24, 2025

Editor

In a dramatic fashion, management and staff of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, National Secretariat, yesterday shut their offices and staged a mass walkout in protest against Senator Samuel Anyanwu’s attempt to forcibly reclaim his position as national secretary.

The protest came after the party’s National Working Committee, NWC, appointed Setonji Koshodeo as acting National Secretary, an appointment the staff had earlier pledged to support.

According to multiple sources who spoke to Vanguard in Abuja, Anyanwu arrived at the party headquarters with suspected thugs and tried to take control of the national secretary’s office.

But staff members, determined not to recognise or work with him, quickly mobilised and vacated the premises, leaving Anyanwu stranded and visibly embarrassed.

One of the protesting staff members said: “Anyanwu and his people entered the building. It wasn’t just an attempt, they actually went straight into the national secretary’s office with some of his aides.”

As the standoff continued, the PDP secretariat remained deserted, with staff insisting they would not return until Anyanwu vacated the office.

The protest was a show of loyalty to the NWC. Back in May, the staff had publicly pledged to support the committee’s decision, insisting that Koshoedo’s appointment followed the party’s internal procedures.

Another source revealed that Anyanwu was later advised by his aides to leave quietly to avoid further humiliation.

“We had all left our offices and walked out in protest. That firm action led to his exit,” the source said.

Explaining further, the staff added: “When he realised the atmosphere was hostile and there was no one left to work with, apart from the few people he came with, his aides advised him to leave, rather than remain in such an awkward situation.”

The incident has triggered accusations within the party, with some staff alleging that Anyanwu is a ‘mole’ planted by the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, to cause chaos within the PDP, ahead of the 2027 elections.

Although unconfirmed, these allegations have added to growing tension within the party.

The walkout has raised fresh concerns about the PDP’s internal unity and its preparedness for the 2027 general elections.

As the main opposition party, some fear its credibility could suffer if the leadership crisis is not quickly resolved.

The situation highlighted the growing factionalisation within the party and the challenge of staying united.

The PDP has not yet issued an official statement on the matter. Attempts to reach the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, were unsuccessful as he did not answer calls to his phone.