Politics

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

Published

3 years ago

May 18, 2023

Editor

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

PDP Issues Certificate Of Expulsion To Wike, Fayose, Anyanwu, Others

Published

1 day ago

December 3, 2025

Editor

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said it has issued certificate of expulsion from the party to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, and other 10 members earlier expelled from the party.

The party National Chairman, Tanimu Turaki, disclosed this while speaking with newsmen after the PDP National Working Committee (NWC) meeting in Abuja on Tuesday.

The other members, according to him, include the embattled National Secretary, Sen. Samuel Anyanwu, the Legal Adviser, Kamarudeen Ajibade, former Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose.

They also included Sen. Mao Ohuabunwa, Austin Nwachukwu, Abraham Amah Nnanna, George Turna and Chief Dan Orbih, expelled during the party National convention in Lagos.

Turaki said that the original copies of the certificate had been dispatched to the owners through a courier service to serve as proof that they were expelled from the PDP.

“We have taken note of the fact that Nigerian law frowns on dual membership of political parties, and so we have sought to make it easy for them.

“Now that they are no longer members of our party, and now that the National Convention, which is the highest decision-making organ of our party, has expelled them, we have decided to issue them certificates of expulsion.

“So, when they go to register with other political parties in Nigeria, they will show these certificates as proof that they are no longer members of the PDP.

“By that, those parties will not accuse them of trying to belong to more than one political party,” he said.

He called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies, including the Nigeria Police, the Department of State Services, and other government agencies, to take note.

“Very soon, members of the society will be informed via proper disclaimers that any person henceforth who decides to do business with them, any or all of them, does so at his or her own risk.

“They are no longer members of the PDP. They have been expelled,” he added.

He added that the NWC also reviewed some of the cases filed against the party and lawsuits instituted by the party, particularly the one that related to the “unlawful and illegal” closure of the party’s national Secretariat, the Legacy House, and the Wadata Plaza.

“The brief we received from our lawyers is that we are on sound ground, and that very soon, the law will take its course,” he said.

Turaki said the NWC was prepared to be saddled with the responsibility of performing its functions as the leading opposition party in Nigeria.

“We are going to provide a credible alternative to Nigerians. We are going to provide credible leadership to Nigerians by the special grace of God from 2027,” he said.

Politics

Adebayo Adedamola Wins Osun PDP Governorship Primary

Published

2 days ago

December 2, 2025

Editor

Adebayo Olugbenga Adedamola, popularly known as FRYO, has emerged as the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, candidate for the August 8, 2026 governorship election in Osun State.

The primary election took place in Osogbo on Tuesday amid heavy security presence.

Announcing the result, chairman of the primary election committee, Humphrey Abba, stated that Adebayo secured 919 votes out of 957 accredited ballots, giving him a clear victory in the contest.

Explaining that there were 20 void votes following the withdrawal of one of the candidates, believed to be Governor Ademola Adeleke, Abba added, “The candidate that got the remaining votes is Adebayo Adedamola with 919 votes and he stands elected and returned.”

DAILY POST reports that despite announcing his resignation from the party, Adeleke’s name appeared on the ballot paper for the PDP governorship primary.

Party officials said the exercise was conducted in accordance with established guidelines, with accredited delegates participating in the voting process.

Adeleke announced his resignation in a letter dated November 4, 2025, and addressed to the PDP leadership at his ward.

On Monday, Osun PDP chairman, Sunday Bisi, had announced that the governorship primary slated for Tuesday, December 2, 2025, has been postponed due to leadership crisis at the national level.

But a faction of the party went ahead with the exercise in Osogbo on Tuesday.

Politics

Gov Adeleke Resigns From PDP

Published

3 days ago

December 2, 2025

Editor

Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, has resigned from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ahead of the 2026 gubernatorial primaries of the party.

Adeleke’s resignation letter, dated November 4, 2025, sighted by Tribune Online was addressed to the PDP ward chairman for Ward 2, Sagba Abogunde, Ede, Osun State.

According to the letter, the governor’s resignation was based on “the current crisis of the national leadership of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).”

According to the letter, titled: “Resignation of my membership of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP)’ read, “Due to the current crisis of the national leadership of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), I hereby resign my Membership of the People’s Democratic Party with immediate effect.

“I thank the People’s Democratic Party for the opportunities given to me for my elections as a Senator (Represented Osun West) and as Governor of Osun State under the People’s Democratic Party.”