Politics
2023: Christian Leaders To Meet Presidential Candidates
Ahead of the 2023 elections, plans for a meeting between presidential candidates of various political parties and Christian leaders under the aegis of the Nigerian National Christian Coalition have reached an advanced stage, our correspondent has learnt.
“Come the 2023 election, you must meet the church, or you’ll fail. The leadership must know that life and peace matter and we all will have a nation that we all can be proud of”, they said.
The parley would bring the church and politicians together for an engagement to lay down the interests of Christians and negotiate with politicians for the inclusion of the church in project Nigeria.
The meeting would enable the Christian leaders to negotiate on behalf of Christians in Nigeria.
The leaders said the discussion with presidential candidates, especially that of the major political parties, would top the agenda for their “Meet The Church Summit”, scheduled for September 20 at the International Conference Centre, Abuja.
READ ALSO: 2023 Election: Atiku Addresses PDP Crisis Amid Wike’s Opposition
The convener of NNCC, Titi Oluwadare, stated these during a press conference on Friday.
According to her, Christians can no longer be spectators in the country, warning that any politician who fails to meet the church “would fail in 2023”.
Oluwadare in an apparent reference to the Muslim-Muslim ticket adopted by the All Progressives Congress despite the national outcry said the imbalance must be corrected before the country falls over and tips over the precipice.
She stressed the need for national interests to be above parochial interests such as religion and ethnicity.
According to her, Christians represent a big chunk of Nigeria but has failed to articulate a political vision and engage together to horn it into interests and ideas.
Oluwadare said, “The church is now awake and we are ready to constructively engage with other stakeholders in the Nigeria project. We are discussing with people of all faith, tribe and tongue in a bid for peace, national healing as well as national rebirth.
“Across the political system of Nigeria, there are three key interests and focal areas. These are the Christians, the Muslims, and the Tribal interests. The Muslims in Nigeria have effectively translated their Interests into ideas and political strategies and policies.
“The reality is that interests need to be harmonised, pursued, and transplanted or transformed to Politics, Ideas and Ideologies before strategic engagement and policies can evolve positively from there. Muslims have done this effectively Christians have not even started.
“The tribal interests have also been harmonised across Nigeria. We have Biafra, the Arewa and the Oduduwa interests politically. These interests erroneously has buried the National interest and identity and are causing Division amongst the youth because tribal interests have been superimposed as the main and exalted interest above National interest and identity.
“We are also saying we will no longer be ignored, used and dumped, manipulated as a block, enslaved, dictated to and disregarded.
“The NNCC recognises however that until the church engages and brings forth her interests and drives it into ideas and fashions out political strategy, the system will not be sanitised, neither can we play the role of responsible citizens who engage to turn around the tides in the favour of the common man, or who even engage to level the playing ground in our Nation and act as a voice of reason to check the excesses of other interests represented in the dynamics of political power in Nigeria.
“Therefore if this continues Nigeria will continue in the circle of retrogression, impunity and lack of accountability in the nation and the situation will continue to deteriorate even further.”
READ ALSO: BREAKING: PDP Govs’ Forum Chair, Tambuwal, Resigns
She said that church leaders had been widely consulted is to use NNCC as a pressure group and political negotiation tool for Christians.
The NNCC Executive Director in charge of (Politics), Uzuka Chukwuemeka, said if the nation can get the right kind of leadership, then it has solved a large chunk of its problems.
He said, “If church leaders are made to understand that indeed we are the light, then we can get to where we want to be. The narrative that Christians should not engage in politics because it is dirty has to change. The spiritual and the physical must be harnessed for impartation.
“If we get the right kind of leadership, our prayer points as a people will reduce drastically because we have solved half of our problems as a nation.”
Politics
PDP Reacts To Fubara’s Defection To APC
The Kabiru Turaki-led Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has reacted to the defection of Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi FubaraGovernor, Siminalayi Fubara, to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), describing the move as a “self-inflicted injury” and a culmination of choices the governor “willingly embraced.”
Fubara on Tuesday defected from the PDP to the ruling APC.
He announced his decision during a stakeholders’ meeting held at the Government House in Port Harcourt on Tuesday. Fubara joins several of his colleagues who have also switched to the APC this year.
Recently, 17 members of the House of Assembly, loyal to former Governor Nyesom Wike and led by Speaker Martin Amaewhule, announced their defection from the PDP to the APC, thereby altering the balance of power in the legislature.
READ ALSO:JUST IN: Fubara Dumps PDP For APC
In a statement issued Tuesday night by National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, the PDP said Fubara’s exit merely affirmed the legal maxim volenti non fit injuria—”to one who is willing, no harm is done.”
According to the PDP, the governor’s political troubles and eventual departure were products of his own decisions.
“Everyone who has followed developments that culminated in this uneventful defection will recall that the Governor willingly travelled the path that took him to this destination,” the statement read.
“Having done so voluntarily, he cannot turn around and accuse our party or any person or group of failing to protect him.”
The party insisted that at every stage of the crisis that engulfed Rivers politics over the past year, civil society groups, democratic actors and Nigerians across political divides stood in Fubara’s defence until he “capitulated.”
READ ALSO:Fubara Names New Rivers SSG
It added that rather than blame others, the governor should acknowledge the support he enjoyed before choosing his new path.
Expressing concern about what it described as Fubara’s political capitulation, the PDP warned against the “Stockholm Syndrome”, a condition in which a victim develops affection for their oppressor—suggesting that the governor may have succumbed to pressures from forces aligned with the Federal Government.
“In all, despite these, we pity the Governor and wish him well,” the party added.
READ ALSO:BREAKING: Gov Fubara Dissolves Rivers Pension Board
The PDP further used the development to highlight what it called the “dysfunctional nature of Nigeria’s democracy,” lamenting a political environment where individuals wield power beyond institutions and allegedly deploy federal might to overwhelm opponents.
It warned that such tendencies threaten democratic stability and should be condemned by all well-meaning Nigerians.
With Fubara’s defection, the opposition party renewed its accusation that the ruling APC is bent on creating a one-party state and shrinking Nigeria’s political space.
“Democracy is under severe attack,” the statement noted, urging Nigerians and the international community to resist what it called a slide toward electoral authoritarianism.
Politics
JUST IN: Fubara Dumps PDP For APC
Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State has defected to the All Progressives Congress, APC, dumping the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
Fubara announced this at a stakeholders meeting at the government house in Port Harcourt.
“We can’t support President (Tinubu) if we don’t fully identify with him, not just backyard support.
“Our decision this evening is that we are moving to the APC,” Fubara said as he announced his defection from the PDP to the APC.
READ ALSO:JUST IN: Tinubu Holds Closed-door Meeting With Rivers, Ebonyi Govs
The development comes amid political tension in the oil rich Niger Delta state.
Recall that President Bola Tinubu on Monday
held confidential discussions the with the Governor.
The engagement, held at the State House in Abuja, came against the backdrop of escalating political friction in Rivers State and ongoing uncertainties regarding Fubara’s standing within the PDP.
Politics
Tinubu, Six APC Governors Hold Closed-door Meeting At Aso Villa
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Monday met with six governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in a closed-door session at the State House, Abuja.
The purpose of the meeting was not immediately disclosed, and details of its agenda remained unclear at press time.
In attendance were governors Umar Namadi (Jigawa), Monday Okpebholo (Edo), Biodun Oyebanji (Ekiti), Usman Ododo (Kogi,) Aliyu Sokoto (Sokoto) and Dr. Nasir Idris (Kebbi), who arrived at the Presidential Villa separately.
The meeting, held in the President’s office, lasted almost two hours.
Although no Presidency official offered insight into the agenda, the consultations come amid rising security concerns across the country and ongoing political engagements within the ruling party.
The governors declined to speak to journalists after the meeting.
READ ALSO:JUST IN: Navy Officer Who Had Altercation With Wike Reportedly Escapes Assassination Attempt
President Tinubu has recently intensified his focus on national security by convening a series of high-level meetings involving key security stakeholders, including the service chiefs of the Army, Navy, and Air Force, as well as intelligence coordinators and senior officials from various security agencies.
This increased engagement comes in response to a worrying upsurge in banditry, kidnappings, and violent crimes that have spread across multiple regions, causing widespread public concern and escalating pressure on the federal government for urgent and effective intervention.
These strategic meetings, frequently conducted in secrecy to ensure confidentiality and candid discussion, have aimed to undertake a comprehensive review of ongoing security operations nationwide.
Discussions have prioritised enhancing coordination and communication among military, police, and intelligence units to foster a more unified and cohesive response to security challenges.
In addition, the sessions have explored innovative and tactical measures that leverage intelligence gathering, rapid deployment, and community engagement to dismantle criminal networks and restore order.
READ ALSO:JUST IN: Tinubu Holds Closed-door Meeting With Rivers, Ebonyi Govs
Throughout these consultations, President Tinubu has underscored that safeguarding the lives and property of Nigerians is paramount.
He has called on the security apparatus to move beyond reactive measures and adopt more preventive, intelligence-driven strategies that anticipate threats before they escalate.
The administration’s renewed approach signals a commitment to reinforcing national security architecture and improving the operational effectiveness of all agencies involved in the fight against crime and insurgency across Nigeria.
In other news, the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, has expressed optimism that the security challenges – terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, and other violent crime – Nigeria has been facing for almost three decades now will be overcome.
READ ALSO:Tinubu Submits Fresh Ambassadorial List To Senate, Ibas, Dambazau Make Cut
The NSA described those behind the “painful and unnecessary” challenges as “evil” and vowed they would be defeated.
Ribadu made remarks during the opening of a one-day dialogue organised by the National Peace Committee, in partnership with the delegation of the European Union to Nigeria and the U.S., on “a whole-of-Society Approach to the Prevention of Violence and Conflict in Northern Nigeria,” on Thursday in Abuja.
“This (security challenges) also shall pass. We are going through tough times. This will also go.
“But it’s very, very painful, what we are going through. It’s unnecessary.
They are very unfair to us, those who are responsible for this. They are evil.
“But they will be defeated. It’s a matter of time, and peace will be restored. That one we can assure you. Because there are people who are working, not necessarily making noise.
“There are people who are making sacrifices. Every single day, we go to bury our own deaths. Painful as it is. But most people don’t talk. Sacrifice is ongoing,” the NSA said.
