Politics

2023: Tinubu Throws Jab At Atiku, Says Ex-VP Ethnic Bigot

Published

3 years ago

October 17, 2022

Editor

The All Progressives Congress presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, on Monday threw a jab at his main contender and presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, for playing the ethnic card ahead of the 2023 presidential election.

Tinubu, at an interactive session with the Arewa Joint Committee which was held at the Arewa House, Kaduna, on Monday, said he sees himself as a pan-Nigerian, having traversed all parts of the country.

He, however, noted, “You (apparently referring to Atiku) started from Uyo and now ended up in Kaduna and you are speaking to the North that you are the right candidate for the North; how do we reconcile that? You have lost the election.”

Tinubu went further to say that the PDP presidential candidate ought to have endorsed him, having supported him in 2007 for the presidency instead of competing with him for the same position.

“It’s payback time. Let Atiku endorse me instead of campaigning in Kaduna. I supported him in 2007,” he added.

The former Lagos helmsman told the gathering that comprised the Arewa Consultative Forum, Northern Elders Forum, Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation, Jamiyyar Matan Arewa, the Center for Historical Development Research (Arewa House) as well as the Arewa Research and Documentation Project, that he was also one of them.

“I am one of you. Yes. I am a city boy from Lagos,” he added.

Tinubu then recited the old National Anthem…’Though tribe and tongue may differ…’ to buttress his point of not portraying himself as an ethnic champion as his other opponent.

He said under his government, the rag-tag bandits terrorising the region would cease to exist, noting, “a rag-tag bandit will not defeat us. We will defeat them.”

Speaking further, Tinubu said if elected as President, he would mobilise all assets within “our national power” to secure Nigeria.

“As you are aware, security is a function of resources. I am committed to mobilising all assets within our national power to secure Nigeria.

“We did this in Lagos through many initiatives, especially the Security Trust Fund, through which we addressed many needs of our security forces which helped to sanitise Lagos State.

“As you may recall, when I assumed office as governor in 1999, the situation I met was basically a case of banditry where urban gangs ruled the streets.

“I returned law and order, tamed what could have been a huge ethnic war and made Lagos one of the safest states in Nigeria. I will replicate that across the country,” he said.

He added, “We will address the welfare and training needs of our security personnel and strengthen our security institutions with modern technology and equipment to better position them to respond to modern challenges that we face in a fast-changing world.

“Under my leadership, the Nigerian military will receive a much-needed injection of trained personnel to strengthen the heroic efforts of the troops that are currently in service.”

On the economy, the APC presidential hopeful said the country is sitting on a gold mine with abundant natural resources, adding that “with strategic investment in research and development and effective management, we will explore and exploit these resources to the fullest.”

He said under his leadership, the Nigerian government would be business-friendly.

According to him, “We shall support private businesses in our country and attract foreign direct investment to create jobs, re-industrialise our country and accelerate economic development.”

Politics

Amaechi: I Will Resign As FCT Minister If… Wike

Published

10 hours ago

July 4, 2025

Editor

Federal Capital Territory FCT minister, Nyesom Wike has begged President Bola Tinubu to release the report of the forensic audit on the Niger Delta Development Commission NDDC, which he said indicted the former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi.

Wike vowed to resign if the report is released and its contents do not indict Amaechi.

Speaking on ‘Politics Today’ on Channels Television monitored on Friday in Abuja, Wike who was responding to allegations by Amaechi that he was corrupt, said Amaechi’s wife received N4 billion monthly from the NDDC to train Niger Delta women.

He said, unlike Amaechi, he does not come from a poor background, hence his sophisticated taste.

Wike said, “First of all, Amaechi’s wife was not an industrialist. She has never been, and that is why I call on Mr President to release the forensic audit of NDDC.

“Amaechi’s wife company, every month, got N4 billion to train Niger Delta women. That is N48 billion in one year alone, and the forensic audit report is there. Who killed it? It was Malami, then the Attorney General.

“That is one of the people who is now talking. Mr President should help Nigerians. You see, this is what I have always said. Mr President should help Nigerians. Please, release the forensic audit of the NDDC.

“I have said, let Mr President please do us a favour to release that document. Former Attorney General, Malami, killed that document to protect those who were concerned.

“I am not just saying what I am saying, let them release the document. If what I am saying is not in the document, I will resign at the Minister of the FCT. I said I will resign.

“I don’t worship office. What I am saying, let them release the forensic audit of the NDDC. I didn’t say the forensic audit was right, but I said, release the report of the forensic audit.

“That is how the wife became an industrialist – N4 billion every month to train Niger Delta women”, he stated.

Wike challenged the academic qualifications of Amaechi, describing them as less than average, and also faulted Amaechi’s claim that a Senator gave him (Amaechi) a Rolls-Royce but that he does not use it.

According to the FCT minister, the vehicle was given to Amaechi by a contractor who was executing about -0 percent of the projects in Rivers state. In contrast, the former Transport Minister was the governor.

Politics

Coalition: Abure-led LP Gives Obi 48 Hours To Leave Party

Published

2 days ago

July 3, 2025

Editor

The Abure-led faction of the Labour Party has given the presidential candidate of the party in the 2023 election, Peter Obi, a 48 hours ultimatum to leave the party haven formally joined the coalition party.

This was contained in a statement signed by the faction’s National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, in Abuja, on Thursday.

He explained that the Labour Party under Abure’s leadership remains vehemently opposed to joining the coalition while dismissing members of the coalition as “power mongers whose only interest was self and not the people.”

The party warned Nigerians that the often mouthed ‘new Nigeria is Possible’ is a ruse and cannot be achieved with the assemblage of old, recycled, desperate and frustrated politicians in the coalition.

Ifoh said the party is aware that all those who mismanaged Nigeria over the years are the ones that gathered themselves in the coalition while noting that desperate politicians can’t birth new Nigeria.

He said, “We are aware of several nocturnal meetings between Peter Obi and some of our members, lobbying them to join him in his new party. We’re also aware that a number of them has refused to defect with him.

“Labour Party has consistently said it is not part of the coalition and therefore, any of our members who is part of the coalition is given within 48 hours to formally resign his membership of the party.

“Labour Party is not available for people with dual agenda, people with deceptive persona. The party will not avail itself to individuals who have one leg in one Party and another leg elsewhere.

“People who in the morning they will claim to be in the Labour Party and in the evening they are in coalition.

“Nearly 70 per cent of the Nigerian population are youths who are tired of the old order, tired of gerontocrats deciding their fate. The new Nigeria that the youths are dreaming of, is not what can be realized from what we are seeing in the coalition.

“These people are opportunistic politicians who are only interested in relaunching themselves into circle of power, people who are desperate to continue holding on to power.

“The new Nigeria of our dream can only be realised through the Labour Party, and the party is willing to lead Nigerians along that trajectory.

“I therefore urge all members of the party to remain loyal and keep the party structure intact ahead of future elections.”

Politics

Only A Formidable Coalition Can Salvage Nigeria, Says Peter Obi

Published

2 days ago

July 3, 2025

Editor

The presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 elections, Peter Obi, has given his full support for the coalition of opposition parties aimed at ending President Bola Tinubu’s rule in 2027.

He explained that it was a fact that no single group can change Nigeria alone, hence the need for people to come together to pursue the goal.

The former Amambra State Governor said this in a post on his verified X handle, on Thursday.

He said this just as the Julia Abure-led faction of the Labour Party has given him 48 hours within which to formally resign from the party or risk expulsion.

Obi in his post wrote, “Yesterday, the coalition members formally adopted the African Democratic Congress (ADC) for the 2027 Nigeria General Elections with Distinguished Senator David Mark serving as the National Chairman and H.E. Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola serving as the National Secretary.

“Our commitment is to sacrifice and work together towards the 2027 General Elections, ensuring that Nigeria gets a competent, capable, and compassionate leadership that will prioritise the nation’s future by putting the welfare of Nigerians first.

REAS ALSO: Peter Obi Speaks As Port Harcourt Refinery Begins Production

“This decision was not made lightly. It comes from deep reflection on where we are as a country and what must be done to move forward.

“No one group can change Nigeria alone. To dismantle the structures that keep our people in poverty and insecurity, we must build bridges, not walls even when those bridges are uneasy. A New Nigeria is Possible. -PO.”