Politics

2023: Confusion In APC As Goodluck Jonathan Struggles To Enter Through Back Door

Published

4 years ago

May 12, 2022

Confusion is brewing in the ruling All Progressives Congress, especially, in its South-South and South-East zones over the sudden emergence of former President Goodluck Jonathan in the presidential race.

The N100 million nomination and expression of interest forms of the ruling party were reportedly bought for former President Jonathan by ‘Normadic Herders and Almajiris Community on Monday.

Although the Bayelsa-born politician came out to distance himself from the group and their forms, Jonathan, on the same evening, reportedly paid a visit to the National Chairman of the APC and former Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Adamu, at his residence in Abuja.

Insiders confirmed that the former President was at Adamu’s residence to seek assurance of the party’s support before he decamps from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to APC and make his intention to return to the office again public.

While Jonathan was in the meeting with Adamu, sources privy to their discussions told DAILY POST that although the APC Chairman welcomed the former President to the ruling party, there was absolutely no assurance that he could be handed the party’s presidential ticket.

Adamu, however, assured the ex-Nigerian leader that there would be a level playing field for all aspirants on the party’s platform during the primaries if he declares.

However, many Nigerians believe that Jonathan or people very close to him actually purchased the forms to beat the deadline for the sale of forms by the APC which actually ended yesterday.

A source from the ruling party said, “Yes, the former President was here at night on Monday but there was absolutely no commitment from the party Chair.

“What I’m trying to say is that Adamu did not assure him on automatic consensus ticket. Jonathan was specifically at Adamu’s residence to seek assurance on his intention to pick the party’s ticket.

“That’s all I know for now and I can categorically tell you that Adamu welcomed Jonathan to our great party and made him understand that there’s a level playing ground for everyone.”

Another source said that Jonathan had earlier met with President Muhammadu Buhari, where he also sought assurance from the President. However, details of their meeting have remained speculative.

“I’m aware that Jonathan has been doing some secret consultations among party bigwigs. He met Buhari at the Presidential Villa but I have no idea what the President told him,” the source said.

However, Jonathan’s entrant or what could be seen as appearing in the race for the APC Presidential ticket is reportedly shaking the foundation of the party as some aspirants from the South, especially the South-East and South-South are seeing the move as detrimental to their own aspiration.

Many, among the 23 aspirants of the APC see Jonathan as a strong force and would easily claim the party’s ticket and are unhappy about the move as they also believe that the former President would shortchange the South, having only four years to preside over the country after which he returned power to the North.

Jonathan is at the moment causing anxiety among other aspirants such as former Governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi, who is widely seen as his political foe.

The Transportation Minister had declared his interest, picked his forms and has been on a nationwide consultation while the likes of Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipreye Sylva and Minister of Niger Delta Affairs Senator Godswill Akpabio are also said to be anxious about the development.

Prominent among aggrieved aspirants from the South East is the Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, who is said to be a long term friend of President Buhari and Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige and the Governor of Ebonyi State. These aspirants have one reason or more to believe that the President would give them the nod.

They feel that the sudden emergence of Jonathan will now reduce the thickness of their chances going by the fact that Jonathan has a special place in Buhari’s heart for giving him the opportunity to see his lifelong dream of ruling Nigeria come to pass in 2015 when he willingly handed over government to him.

A chieftain of the APC in Rivers State and South-South, who would not want to be mentioned, told DAILY POST it was actually a scary moment for all the presidential aspirants in the party.

According to him, “it is true that Amaechi and others made a huge impact on President Buhari’s becoming the president but Jonathan has a big place in Buhari’s heart.”

“And the aspirants, seeing what is happening now, feel that Buhari may end up endorsing Jonathan because it even favours him as a Northerner.

“But meetings after meetings are going on as some well-meaning elders are trying to make Jonathan understand the gameplan of the North but as you know, it’s a game of interest. It’s Jonathan first before any other individuals but here we expect him to put the interest of the region ahead.

“Yes, Jonathan’s emergence caused disarray in the camps of some aspirants but some others want to see what the party’s decision would be. They believe that the decision of APC leadership is sacrosanct.

“I don’t know how true but I understand that the Presidency knows about the presidential forms obtained for Jonathan. I don’t want to speculate. And since then, the body language of our politicians here [Old Eastern Region] has slowed down a bit. As I said earlier, they want to see what the party would decide.

“Well, it would be courageous enough for Jonathan to properly enter the race but as a Southetner, I would plead with him to.forget about it .”

Meanwhile, Jonathan has been warned by some individuals and groups against returning as Nigerian President at the expense of the entire South.

Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, HURIWA, had before told Jonathan to shelve the plans of entering the race for the 2023 presidency.

They believe that Jonathan is being used as a tool by Northern APC chieftains, to reduce the number of years the South will stay in power.

Emmanuel Onwubiko of HURIWA warned the ex-President to avoid such a move, adding that contesting the election would be seen as a betrayal of the Igbo nation.

“So, Goodluck Jonathan should not replay that hatred that they showed to the Igbo after the war because if he accepts to be candidate of APC and become the president, it means he has short-changed the Igbo who gave him their all,” Onwubiko said.

“If he does that, the South-South and the South-East will never have peace or trust each other for life. Because of what happened to us after the war in the 60s, when we lost so many housing assets, they have not been forgotten.

“So, if he tried a second betrayal by accepting APC’s enticement to become President for only four years, he is doing it because he wants to short-change the Igbos.”

Also, David Umahi of Ebonyi had cautioned Jonathan to avoid embarrassing himself by entering the presidential race.

Umahi said on Tuesday that if Jonathan attempts to run for the coveted office of President, it would most likely be regarded as one of the wonders of the century.

According to Umahi, “those prodding Jonathan to run for the presidency, may be plotting to embarrass him politically,” noting that “such ambition does not even align with the programmes of the APC.”

Apex Igbo socio-cultural organization, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, while reacting to the purchase of form for Jonathan by the Northern Coalition, told the ex-president not to forget the sacrifices Ndigbo made for him in the past.

“There is no going back to the 2023 Nigerian President of Igbo stock and anything contrary to it amounts to a denial of equity, fairness, and justice,” Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, the organisation’s Secretary, said.

Isiguzoro said “there are frantic endeavors and backstage activities to pitch Ijaws against Ndigbo, a repeat of 1966 gimmicks aimed at the resuscitating the age-long enmity between the two ethnic groups of old Eastern region, which was demolished in 2011 when Igbos adopted Jonathan as our own.”

Politics

Mass Defections: Ndume Predicts Implosion In APC

Published

6 hours ago

November 18, 2025

Editor

Former Senate Leader, Mohammed Ali Ndume, has raised the alarm over the wave of defections by governors and lawmakers from opposition parties to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), warning that the party may be courting an internal collapse if the trend continues unchecked.

Ndume, who represents Borno South in the Senate, spoke on Sunday night at the late Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe Annual Award Lecture, held at the NICON Luxury Hotel, Abuja, where he received the honour of Most Outstanding Legislator and Advocate of National Unity.

In a candid acceptance speech that drew murmurs from the audience, the outspoken lawmaker dismissed many of the defectors as political lightweights with little or no value to add to the governing party, insisting that the APC is becoming “overloaded” with “mostly empty cargo.”

Checks by The Guardian revealed that the gale of defections accelerated within the last year, leaving the opposition parties badly depleted.

No fewer than five governors, including those of Delta, Bayelsa, Enugu and Taraba, have dumped their parties for the APC. Also awaited is the defection of the Plateau State governor.

Ndume, in a metaphor-laden address, warned that the rising influx poses structural danger to the ruling party.

“I have warned that the APC is becoming overloaded. And when you overload a ship, especially with mostly empty cargo, it risks capsizing,” he declared.

Describing the defections as a coordinated assault on Nigeria’s democratisation, the organisation said it amounted to a calculated attack on political pluralism and a betrayal of voters’ mandate.

Politics

Oshiomhole Criticises Obaseki’s Govt, Scores Okpehbolo High

Published

2 days ago

November 16, 2025

Editor

The Senator representing
Edo North District at the National Assembly, Adams Oshiomhole, has criticised the immediate past administration in the state over what he described as ground-breakings that yielded no meaningful projects, including the failed Gelegele Port and abandoned housing schemes.

The former governor of the state spoke while fielding questions from journalists over the weekend in Benin.

Oshiomhole also criticised the EdoBEST programme as “deceptive,” alleging that most schools lacked electricity or Wi-Fi to support its digital monitoring claims.

He further accused the past administration of neglecting public schools and reducing teacher numbers drastically.

Oshiomhole, who
sharply criticised the media for relying on what he described as political ancestors in the opposition, noted when asked questions on PDP: “You ( journalists ) had a meeting with PDP ancestors, because that party is politically dead. In this part of the world, when you are dead, you join the ancestors.

“So, did they speak to you from their graves? I answer questions from the living, not the dead. And I do not intend to join them anytime soon. So please, leave PDP out of it.

“If you must ask me a question, then I also have the right to ask you a counter-question: What did the PDP accomplish in their first year?

“They performed numerous so-called groundbreakings—Gele-Gele Port that mysteriously shifted into Benin when it rained, housing estates, and many others.

“They broke the ground so much that Edo almost became an earthquake zone. Fortunately, God designed our soil well”, Oshiomhole added.

Assessing Governor Okpebholo’s performance in one year, Oshiomhole stated that the governor inherited a state abandoned for eight years but has already delivered visible and verifiable projects.

He pointed to the Ramat Park flyover project as a major intervention that will significantly reduce traffic congestion and improve economic productivity in Benin City.

He praised Okpebholo for rehabilitating long-abandoned schools and providing better learning environments, referencing images recently displayed by the governor during a public presentation.

The senator highlighted the revival of Ambrose Alli University (AAU), Ekpoma, which he said almost collapsed due to inadequate subvention under the past administration.

He commended Okpebholo for raising the institution’s monthly subvention to ₦500 million, resolving long-standing academic disruptions.

Oshiomhole also applauded the restoration of subvention to Edo University, Iyamho, increased from zero to ₦250 million monthly, describing it as a strategic investment in higher education.

He added that the governor has shown leadership by restoring peace to the traditional institution and resolving lingering tensions in the Benin Kingdom.

He maintained that Okpebholo’s one year in office has brought relief across the state, with major roads being reconstructed and abandoned institutions revived.

According to him, the governor’s humility, firm leadership and ability to hire and fire when necessary have restored discipline in government.

Oshiomhole said the governor has allowed his achievements to speak for him, noting that “action speaks louder than voice.

Speaking on his primary duty as a senator, Oshiomhole said that, although, senators come from specific districts, their legislative duties extend to the entire country.

He explained that all motions, bills and appropriations passed in the Senate must be designed with national application, adding that his focus has always been on contributing meaningfully to Nigeria’s development.

The former governor reiterated that during his 2023 senatorial campaign that his priority was federal intervention for Edo would be the rehabilitation of the Benin–Auchi–Okene Road.

Oshiomhole narrated how the road, once a smooth 90-minute journey from Iyamho to Benin, had deteriorated so badly that travellers sometimes spent seven hours or even slept on the route.

The Iyamho-born political tactician said the industrial expansion in Okpella, now a major cement hub hosting BUA and Dangote plants, had further increased the pressure on the highway.

“You will also recall that during my campaign, those who had time to listen would remember, because during elections, journalists are oversubscribed. I stated clearly that the most important federal project I wanted addressed was the Benin–Auchi–Okene road.

“When I was growing up in Iyamho, it took about an hour and a half to get to Benin City. At one point, it began to take about seven hours, and if you were unlucky, you could even get trapped and sleep on that road. With the heavy movement of trucks, the situation became worse.

“This happened partly because of the industrial growth around Okpella. That axis has become the cement hub of Edo North, hosting production plants for Dangote and BUA.

“Moving these products around adds to the congestion. That is why, as soon as I got to the Senate, the very first motion I moved was on the Benin–Okpella–Okene road.

“Working with the then Senator Monday Okpebholo, now the Governor of Edo State, we mounted pressure on President Tinubu to think outside the box on how to fund and complete the road”, he said

Oshiomhole revealed that there was a heated exchange with the Minister of Works, Engr. David Umahi, during the 2024 budget defence when only ₦200 million was initially allocated to the major highway, insisting that the government had to treat the road as a priority.

Speaking on Tinubu’s administration, the Edo Senator said the state is benefiting from the Tinubu administration’s nationwide social protection programmes, though, he maintained that the state still requires increased federal presence.

Politics

BREAKING: Nigerian Senate Approves Tinubu’s N1.15tn Loan Request

Published

6 days ago

November 12, 2025

Editor

The Nigerian Senate has approved the request of President Bola Tinubu to raise N1.15 trillion from the domestic debt market to cover the unfunded portion of the 2025 budget deficit.

This comes after the adoption of a report by the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debt during plenary on Wednesday.

According to the committee, the 2025 Appropriation Act provides for a total expenditure of N59.99 trillion, representing an increase of N5.25 trillion over the N54.74 trillion initially proposed by the Executive.

The expansion created a total budget deficit of N14.10 trillion. Of this, N12.95 trillion had already been approved for borrowing, leaving an unfunded deficit of approximately N1.15 trillion (N1,147,462,863,321).

In a related development, a motion by Senator Abdul Ningi was adopted, directing the Senate Committee on Appropriations to intensify its oversight to ensure that the borrowed funds are properly implemented in the 2025 fiscal year and used strictly for their intended purposes.

Recall that President Tinubu had on November 4th requested the approval of the National Assembly for a fresh N1.15 trillion borrowing from the domestic debt market to help finance the deficit in the 2025 budget.

The President’s request was conveyed in a letter. According to the letter, the proposed borrowing is intended to bridge the funding gap and ensure full implementation of government programs and projects under the 2025 fiscal plan.