Politics

APC Crisis: Discontent Over Tinubu, NEC Confirmation Of Same-faith Appointments

Published

2 years ago

August 4, 2023

The decision of the National Executive Committee NEC of the ruling All Progressives Congress APC to appoint a same-faith National Chairman and National Secretary for the party on Thursday was met with a wave of discontent, as some chieftains of the party described the action as “terribly insensitive”.

Wednesday’s night meeting of the National Caucus of the party had recommended the immediate-past Governor of Kano state, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje for the office of National Chairman, and spokesperson of the 9th Senate, Ajibola Basiru as National Secretary.

Their nominations followed the recent forced resignation of the erstwhile National Chairman, Senator Abdullahi Adamu and National Secretary, Senator Iyiola Omisore.

Two officials of the party who spoke to Vanguard off the records said while the development could not be immediately reversed, it must be on record that the APC has now yielded itself to a particular religion.

“We know what we went through with the Tinubu/Shettima Muslim-Muslim ticket. As if that was not enough, we were on the verge of producing a Muslim Senate President until many of us protested. That said, we still have a Muslim Speaker.

“We did not force Adamu out only to be replaced by another Muslim. If you read the statements of the former National Vice Chairman, Northwest, Salihu Moh. Lukman one of his consistent demands was that Adamu be replaced with a Christian from the North Central.

“Now, you did not do that but went ahead to even distort the zoning formula by taking that office to the North West.

“And to add salt to injury, the new National Secretary is also a Muslim. These are the two main people who run the party. There should be religious sensitivity”, he stated.

At its 12th meeting in Abuja on Thursday, the APC NEC mandated the National Working Committee NWC to consult with all relevant stakeholders, evolve an acceptable zoning formula and fill other vacant positions within its fold.

Some of the vacancies the NWC was mandated to fill include Deputy National Chairman, North, National Woman Leader and National Legal Adviser. The office of the National Vice Chairman, Northwest, was not listed as Vanguard had earlier reported that the NWC was yet to accept the resignation of the occupant, Salihu Moh. Lukman.

Vanguard gathered that the National Legal Adviser of the party, Ahmed El-Marzuk had resigned from the party’s NWC earlier in the week but kept his resignation under wraps.

It was learned that he resigned his appointment following insistence by some of his colleagues that he could no longer be in office due to some grave allegations against him which had prompted his interrogation by one of the anti-graft agencies.

However, a man who identified himself as “Special Adviser to the National Legal Adviser”, AbdulHalim Adamu in a statement said his principal resigned to allow for the ongoing “reconfiguration of Party offices for national cohesion and adequate regional representation”.

He said; “In light of the recent developments within our great Party the All Progressives Congress APC, with the emergence of His Excellency, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje and Senator Ajibola Basiru as National Chairman and National Secretary and the reconfiguration of Party offices for national cohesion and adequate regional representation, the National Legal Adviser found it pertinent that he resigns his position within the Party to allow for a smooth reconfiguration of the party’s leadership”.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio had at the commencement of the meeting moved a motion for an amendment of the agenda to empower the NWC to make realignments and take care of some vacancies, but was roundly rejected with shouts of “No, No”.
VANGUARD

Politics

Atiku, El-Rufai Coalition Seeks INEC Registration For New Party

Published

1 minute ago

June 21, 2025

Editor

The National Opposition Coalition Group, led by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and ex-Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has formally applied to the Independent National Electoral Commission for the registration of a new political party—the All Democratic Alliance.

The application, dated June 19, was acknowledged by INEC on Friday, signalling the coalition’s determination to float a new platform instead of aligning with any existing political party.

The formation of ADA, backed by some other key political heavyweights, including former Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi and Umar Ardo, convener of the League of Northern Democrats and former aide to President Olusegun Obasanjo, seeks to capitalise on mounting public dissatisfaction and political realignments to stop President Bola Tinubu at the next poll.

The application comes just a few days after INEC warned political groups that no amount of pressure or public sentiment would override the need for strict compliance with constitutional and electoral guidelines.

The commission reiterated that party registration remains a rigorous constitutional process—not merely a political declaration.

With Thursday’s application, the national opposition coalition has now put an end to weeks of speculation about whether it would revive a dormant political platform or launch a fresh one altogether.

A copy of the application letter, obtained by our correspondent in Abuja, was jointly signed by the association’s Protem National Chairman, Chief Akin A. Rickets, and Protem National Secretary, Abdullahi Elayo.

The letter partly read, “We respectfully write to the Independent National Electoral Commission, requesting the registration of our association, the All Democratic Alliance, as a political party.

“This is a sequel to the decision taken by the Nigerian National Coalition Group to sponsor our association for full registration.

“The name of the party shall be All Democratic Alliance with ADA as our acronym and ‘Justice for All’ as our slogan.”

The coalition also submitted relevant documents, including the party’s constitution, manifesto, logo, and minutes of its foundational meetings.

The party’s symbol prominently features a maize (corn), which the applicants say represents abundance, resilience, and sustenance—core ideals they hope to promote.

“We have further attached our manifesto encompassing details of our party ideology and our constitution providing the legal framework that defines our identity, structures, and organisation,” the letter continued.

Politics

Rivers LG Administrator Appointed By Ibas Resigns

Published

6 minutes ago

June 21, 2025

Editor

The administrator of the Ahoada East Local Government Area of Rivers State, Goodluck Ihemnacho, has resigned.

Ihemnacho is one of the administrators appointed by the state Sole Administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd.), for the 23 LGAs of the state.

The resignation was contained in a letter dated June 20, 2025, addressed to the state sole administrator and obtained by our correspondent.

In the letter which has flooded the social media space, Ihemnacho said his resignation was informed by his desire to return to the private sector.

The resignation letter partly read, “I humbly write to your noble office to convey to you my resignation as the administrator, Ahoada East LGA.

“My sincere gratitude goes to the government of Rivers State and the good people of Ahoada East for finding me worthy to serve as Ahaoda East LGA from 11th day of April 2025 to 20th day of July 2025.”

Meanwhile there are speculations that Ihemnacho resigned to pave the way for him to contest the forth-coming LG elections in the state, though this has not been verified.

Politics

Why I left Tinubu’s Govt — Former Aide Aliyu Audu Declares

Published

4 days ago

June 16, 2025

Editor

A former Senior Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Public Affairs, Aliyu Audu, has revealed that he resigned from the administration in order to actively campaign against Tinubu’s re-election bid in 2027.

Speaking on Monday during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, Audu said his decision was driven by a matter of “principle and conscience,” as he accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of attempting to turn Nigeria into a one-party state.

“It confirmed it on one hand, and on the other hand, it strengthened my resolve to not work for him in 2027,” Audu said, referring to Tinubu’s Democracy Day speech where the president claimed to enjoy seeing the opposition in disarray.

“I couldn’t in all honesty and in my conscience be in his government knowing I’m plotting against removal in 2027, because I will, and by God, we will remove him. Collectively, Nigerians will install a leader that will be our chosen, not his chosen. Not emilokan (my turn), but awa lokan (our turn), in fact, gbogbo wa lokan (all of us).”

He also criticised the inclusion of Nyesom Wike, a PDP member and current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, in the APC-led government, questioning his loyalty and the legitimacy of such a move.

“What is Wike doing in our government? If he’s going to leave the PDP, he should leave. If we’re doing a government of national unity, you deal with the party, not individuals. The party is what we vote for — not Bola Tinubu but APC; not Atiku but PDP; not Peter Obi but Labour Party.”

Audu’s resignation letter, dated June 8, criticised the APC’s political trajectory and warned against what he described as a deliberate silencing of opposition voices. In a follow-up statement, he clarified that while he does not support the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), he would not lend himself “as an instrument to reduce Nigeria to a one-party state.”

“If we now begin to silence or crush opposition simply because we have the upper hand, then we are no different from the very system we once criticised under Obasanjo in 2003,” he said.