Politics

2023: Tinubu’s Camp Worries Over Lukewarm Attitude Of Presidency [ANALYSIS]

Published

2 years ago

January 30, 2023

In less than one month to the 2023 presidential election, there are still indications that all may not be well between the presidency and the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu.

Despite being members of the APC, President Muhammadu Buhari, his Vice, Professor Yemi Osinbajo and other members of his cabinet appear to be showing lackadaisical attitudes towards the presidential ambition of the former Lagos State Governor.

Since he started his campaign a few months ago, the presidency has not shown a serious level of commitment towards ensuring the victory of Tinubu and the APC. While Buhari has attended very few campaign rallies, Osinbajo has totally abstained.

Many are yet to understand why those at the Aso Rock Villa, including some leaders of the APC, are not really interested in whether Tinubu wins or not. In fact, there are rumours that some governors are surreptitiously hobnobbing with the opposition ahead of the general election.

As the Jagaban could no longer pretend about the unfavourable development, he was compelled to let the cat out of the bag during his recent visit to Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, exposing the level of infighting tearing the party apart underneath.

Tinubu had tackled the Buhari-led government over the new naira notes redesign and the lingering fuel scarcity, alleging that some individuals were sabotaging his presidential ambition through the two developments.

According to Tinubu, they were deliberately hoarding petrol and naira notes, a situation he speculated was to affect his chances negatively.

“With our PVC, we will wrest power from them. Even if they said there is no fuel, we will trek. They are full of hanky panky. They are cleverly creating fuel scarcity. Let the fuel continue to be scarce, they know where they hoard it.

“You hoard the naira, you hoard fuel, but we will vote and we will win. You can even change the ink on the naira notes, we will win. They sabotage fuel supply. Whether they supply fuel or not, we will go and vote. This is a superior revolution. You know me. We are going to win,” Tinubu said in Yoruba.

After making the statement, the media space was awash with comments from the opposition, who saw Tinubu’s words as an attack on President Buhari and his party, the APC.

The moment he realised the statement could breed chaos within the party, Tinubu and his campaign team immediately embarked on damage control, saying the presidential candidate was actually attacking the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and not the APC-led Federal Government.

But, many are seeking to know if the PDP is in charge of the Ministry of Petroleum or President Buhari. They also want to know if the Central Bank of Nigeria is under the control of the PDP or the Federal Government. The answer to this is clear enough to know who Tinubu was referring to during his campaign in Abeokuta.

The question on the lips of some Nigerians is, why is the presidency less concerned about Tinubu’s presidential race?

Buhari’s anointed candidate

Before the APC primary, there were indications that President Buhari had an anointing candidate among those eyeing the presidential ticket. Apart from Osinbajo, a sizable number of Buhari’s kitchen cabinet members, his allies and others, were in the race for the ticket.

Before the primary, Buhari had met with governors of the party, telling them to allow him choose his successor the same way they choose theirs.

Buhari told the governors: “In keeping with the established internal policies of the party and as we approach the convention in a few days, I wish to solicit the reciprocity and support of the Governors and other stakeholders in picking my successor, who would fly the flag of our party for election into the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 2023.

“We gave governors re-election tickets or an opportunity to pick their successors; allow me to pick my successor.”

Though Buhari did not name his choice, but as Tinubu realised that he was not likely to be the anointed candidate of Buhari, he began to talk tough.

The Abeokuta comment

In the buildup to the June 2022 APC presidential primary, Tinubu was in Abeokuta to seek the support of party delegates. At the Presidential Lodge in Ibara Housing Estate, where he met party leaders, Tinubu went back memory lane to recount how he helped Buhari to power after the former Army General had cried on live television.

He also said he was the one who nominated Osinbajo to be Buhari’s running mate after Bukola Saraki kicked against the Muslim-Muslim ticket.

Osinbajo, at that time, was also contesting the APC ticket with Tinubu, the main reason he was being described as a “betrayer” in the Tinubu camp.

“He tried the first time and failed. He tried a second time and failed. He tried a third time and failed. He even cried on television that he will never run for president again. I went to meet him and told him this is not a crying matter: ‘we will support you and you will be president’. If not for me, he wouldn’t have become the president,” Tinubu said in Yoruba.

His comment was said to have angered the President and his appointees, who replied Tinubu, telling him not to claim he was the one who single-handedly made Buhari president.

A statement by a presidential media aide, Garba Shehu, partly read: “There are those who advised the president to run again; those who decided to build a political party – the APC – that could finally be the political vehicle capable of delivering victory where all other opposition parties and alliances before it had failed.

“Those decisions may have been agreed upon by a few. But they were delivered by thousands and voted for by tens of millions. No one can or should claim to have made this possible.”

It was believed that Tinubu’s angry comment in Abeokuta in June helped him in getting the APC ticket, as it caused the president to steer clear of whatever happened at the APC convention.

However, it is left to be seen if the latest Abeokuta comment from Tinubu would also earn him a positive action from the presidency.
DAILY POST

Related Topics:#Presidency #Tinubu Buhari

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Politics

Coalition: Otti Speaks On Report Of Leaving LP

Published

6 hours ago

July 2, 2025

Editor

Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, has denied rumours suggesting he is planning to defect from the Labour Party to either the All Progressives Congress or the proposed opposition coalition party ahead of the 2027 elections.

Speaking at a dinner in Umuahia on Tuesday to mark the start of the 2025 mid-year retreat for government appointees, Otti reaffirmed his commitment to the Labour Party, insisting he has not attended any coalition meeting and remains focused on delivering his mandate to Abians.

‎He said, ‎“I will just spend a few minutes talking about what some members of the Global Economic Council have been asking me. One of them is the report about five governors decamping to the APC. I’m still a member of the Labour Party and I’m not looking for where to decamp to.

‎“The second point is about coalition, and a lot of people have been asking me, are you a member of the coalition? And my response is, have you seen my name? Have you seen me attending the coalition meeting?

‎“We are just busy doing the work that Abia people have given us. So, we are not attending any coalition meeting, I have not attended any one, and nobody has invited me.

‎“I am happy where I am. Yes, we had issues. If you don’t have issues, you are dead So, you wake up and there is one problem or the other, you solve the problem. You don’t run away from a problem and pretend to have solved it.”

The governor added that while the party had faced internal challenges, those issues were resolved at the Supreme Court.

Otti also dismissed claims that his administration had been borrowing to run the state, saying Abia has not taken any new loans since he assumed office in May 2023.

‎Otti said, “There is nothing wrong with criticising the government, but you must criticise with facts. Opinions are free, but facts are sacred.

‎“Some people have come out to say that we are borrowing; they are lying. Did I borrow from them? I saw a report yesterday that says that 26 out of the 36 states have actually reduced loans in the last 12 months, and Abia came first, having reduced its debt profile by 57.20% in one year.
‎
‎“So, when we say we have not borrowed, we know what we are talking about. But that we have not borrowed doesn’t mean we will not borrow. We will borrow when we need to borrow. We will borrow for regenerative investments. We will not borrow to eat. We will not borrow to consume. We will borrow for capital expenditure.”

The governor announced that providing potable water is the next major focus of his administration, with projects set to be flagged off in Aba and Umuahia in the coming weeks.

“We want to get to that level where you open your tap and you have public water running. In the next few weeks, we are going to flag off the water project in Aba around CKC. There is also another one in Umuahia and a lot of other places. We will get there,” the governor added.

He said a new Project Implementation Bureau has been established, headed by Onyinye Nwosu, a former General Electric employee in Canada who returned to contribute to Abia’s development.

The event also marked the first anniversary of the Abia Global Economic Advisory Council, a 20-member team of professionals guiding the state’s development strategy.

Earlier in her speech on behalf of the Council, the Co-Chair of the Abia Global Economic Advisory Council, Prof. Ms. Arunma Oteh, said that it was a pleasure to serve in the Economic Advisory Council.
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‎The Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Kenneth Kalu, thanked the members of the Council for their sacrifices to help the administration succeed.

Some members of the Council present during the event were Prof. Ms Arunma Oteh – Co-Chair, Mrs Ifueko Okauru – Chair, M&E Committee, Mr Victor Onyenkpa – Chair, Financing/roadshow Committee, ⁠Mrs Ezinwa Okoroafor – Member, Mr Chidi Ajaegbu – Member, and Dr Olugbenda Adesida – Member, including members of the State Executive Council and political appointees.

Politics

Coalition Won’t Be Easy, But We’re Ready – Mark

Published

6 hours ago

July 2, 2025

Editor

The newly unveiled National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress, David Mark, has acknowledged that the efforts by the 2027 coalition to unseat President Bola Tinubu will be challenging.

However, he emphasised that they are ready to make sacrifices for Nigeria’s survival and progress.

Mark made this statement on Wednesday at the Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja during the unveiling of the ADC as the 2027 opposition coalition platform to challenge Tinubu.

He said, “This coalition goes beyond seeking power; it is about rebuilding Nigeria.

“We are under no illusion that it will be an easy task. However, we are ready to embark on this journey as a sacrifice for our fatherland.

“This coalition aims to prevent our country from descending into a one-party state.

“Today marks the beginning of what we believe will be a long, difficult and tedious journey.

“However, it is a journey that we are prepared to undertake, united in our collective belief that no price or sacrifice is too high in the service of our fatherland.”

Mark and former Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola, were unveiled at the event as interim national chairman and interim national secretary of the ADC respectively.

Their appointments followed the resignation of the party’s founding National Chairman, Ralph Nwosu, and other national officers to pave the way for the coalition’s takeover of the party structure.

Mark said, “The blatant destabilisation and infiltration of all major opposition political parties is aimed at achieving only one objective: to enhance total state capture and leave Nigerians with no alternative or options in 2027.

“This coalition is to prevent our country’s descent into a one-party state.

“We have never seen a government so much at home with corruption, a government that disdains accountability in all ramifications. A government more concerned with the next election rather than the survival of the ordinary Nigerians.

“A government so totally consumed with politicking that governance is abandoned, while the majority of our people wallow in hunger and poverty.

“We have never seen this level of insecurity across the length and breadth of our nation. Bandits and kidnappers kill Nigerians at will and on a daily basis. Yet, this ongoing tragedy has not moved the government to any action that would stop these mindless killings and stem the tide of needless bloodshed.”

Mark stated that Nigerians deserve a government that ensures their safety and makes them feel secure in their own homes.

He added, “Equally disturbing is the total emasculation of the legislative institution. Never in our history have we witnessed a National Assembly where legislators, the trustees of the very bastion of our democracy, saddled with the sacred duty to protect Nigerians from misuse of executive power, are reduced to cheerleaders and praise singers of the President, head of the executive arm.

“Without doubt, the transformation of Nigeria’s National Assembly to a mere appendage of presidential authority is a dangerous conspiracy against the Nigerian people.

“It is the reason why the government is able to get away with various whimsical, unconstitutional policies and actions or inactions that have reduced more Nigerians to abject poverty and widened the boundaries of insecurity and fear.”

The ADC Interim National Chairman accused the APC-led government of undermining the sacrifices of Nigeria’s founding heroes and affirmed that the coalition party belongs to all Nigerians.

He stated, “This coalition is determined to offer Nigerians a path to security, prosperity, peace and progress.

“Coming from various party affiliations, we are united in our resolve to present a constructive alternative to the hardship, insecurity and waste that has become the hallmark of the current APC government.

“As we proceed this day, we acknowledge the practical implications of imminent bye-elections and one state governorship election for some of our coalition partners in their respective legacy political parties. However, all of us remain firmly united under the ADC banner for the 2027 general elections and beyond.”

Among those present at the unveiling and involved in the coalition effort are the 2023 presidential candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar and the Labour Party, Peter Obi.

Other key figures include the National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, Victor Umeh; former PDP National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus; Labour Party’s 2023 Vice Presidential candidate, Datti Baba-Ahmed; former APC National Chairman, John Odigie-Oyegun; and former Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar.

Others present include Senator Dino Melaye, former Youth Minister Solomon Dalung, former Ekiti Deputy Governor Kolapo Olushola, media mogul Chief Dele Momodu, Senators Enyinnaya Abaribe, Suleiman Nazif, Lee Maeba, and Alhaji Kashim Iman.
(PUNCH)

Politics

Coalition: Why ADC Leaders Stepped Down — Nwosu

Published

6 hours ago

July 2, 2025

Editor

The founding National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress, Ralph Nwosu, said leaders of the party voluntarily resigned to allow former Senate President, David Mark, and ex-Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola, to take charge and lead efforts to reposition both the party and the country.

Nwosu stated this on Wednesday at the unveiling of the ADC as the platform for the 2027 opposition coalition to challenge President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

The event was held at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja.

Mark and Aregbesola have been announced as the interim National Chairman and Secretary of the ADC-backed coalition, respectively.

Nwosu stated, “We all decided to resign so that Mark, Aregbesola and others can lead us to the Villa.

“We also approved Mark as National Chairman and Aregbesola as the National Secretary of the party.

“When you look at the two of them and their commitment to this country, you’ll see that this is a new beginning. They will reposition the party and Nigeria.”

Coalition leaders at the venue of the meeting on Wednesday, July 2, 2025
Nwosu said the opposition coalition was not about seeking power but moving Nigeria to “global reckoning.”

He added, “The ADC has always been about the rejuvenation of Nigeria and Africa. This journey started about 18 months back, and we have had over 12 NEC meetings.

“When we were consulted, we said we have also been consulting because we are a party that believes in coalition.

“A day like this shows that we are ready to sacrifice anything for Nigeria. We don’t have any doubt in the man, we all have decided to resign.”

Among those present at the unveiling and involved in the coalition effort are the 2023 presidential candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar; the Labour Party, Peter Obi; and former Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola.

Also in attendance were former Governors Nasir El-Rufai (Kaduna), Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers), Gabriel Suswam (Benue), Abdulfattah Ahmed (Kwara), Aminu Waziri Tambuwal (Sokoto), Oserheimen Osunbor (Edo), and Celestine Omehia (Rivers), along with former Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, and former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal. Others present include Senator Dino Melaye, former Youth Minister Solomon Dalung, former Ekiti Deputy Governor Kolapo Olushola, media mogul Chief Dele Momodu, Senators Enyinnaya Abaribe, Suleiman Nazif, Lee Maeba, and Alhaji Kashim Iman, among others.
(PUNCH)