Politics

APC, PDP Post-Primary Crises Hit States

Published

3 years ago

June 2, 2022

Editor

The contest by politicians for party nominations is expected to be a family affair, as members of the same political leaning seek tickets to represent the party at the general poll. However, the last primary elections conducted by the two major political parties in the country have been anything but civil. In some places, deaths were recorded from the violence witnessed during the primaries while parallel exercises were held in other places.

In Lagos State, two aspirants – Wale Oluwo, a former commissioner and Mr Abdul-Ahmed Mustapha, a former permanent secretary in the state – were prevented from attending the governorship primary election at Mobolaji Johnson Arena (Onikan Stadium). The chairman of the APC Electoral Committee/Returning Officer in the state, Alhaji Adamu Yuguda, said the aspirants were disqualified by the APC screening committee, thereby leaving incumbent Babajide Sanwo-Olu as the sole aspirant in what was expected to be a three-horse race.

The aspirants, who got the nomination forms for a whopping N50m each, are calling for the cancellation of the exercise. They were screened on May 14 but were not informed of their disqualification until the primary exercise on May 26.

In the PDP, it was not better either as four of the six governorship aspirants withdrew before the commencement of the exercise over accusation of doctored delegates’ list. One of the aspirants who withdrew from the race and PDP governorship candidate in 2011, Ade Dosumu, has moved to the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP).

The Lagos State chapter of PDP urged the party’s National Working Committee to cancel the House of Assembly and House of Representatives primaries conducted by the party.

The PDP chairman in Lagos State, Phillips Aivoji, who addressed a news conference alongside other state executives and party leaders in Ikeja, said the ad hoc delegates’ list brought by the electoral committees for both primaries were compromised.

The party produced two governorship candidates in Ogun State while the third contestant, Jimi Lawal, has demanded for another primary to be conducted.

Lawal threatened legal action if the party failed to investigate the allegation, cancel the primary and order for another, pointing out that the delegates list used at the primary was fake.

A former member of the House of Representatives from Remo Federal Constituency, Oladipupo Adebutu and the 2019 spokesman of the Atiku Abubakar Presidential Campaign Organisation, Segun Showunmi emerged at the two primaries.

Adekunle Akinlade and Biyi Otegbeye, who contested the APC governorship primaries in Ogun, faulted the delegates’ list and the appointment of Wale Ohu as the chairman for the exercise, thus rejecting the poll that returned Gov. Dapo Abiodun as the candidate of the party.

In Osun State, supporters of a former governor of the state and Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, are calling for the cancellation of the national/state assemblies primaries over alleged malpractices.

Following the crisis from the conduct of PDP primaries in Ebonyi State, the NWC of the party approved the cancellation of all the party’s primaries in the state.

Over voting was recorded in Oyo South Senatorial rerun primary election of the APC. A total of 489 votes were cast, whereas the number of delegates was 488.

Assassination, thuggery, victimisation

A member of the House of Representatives from Iseyin/Itesiwaju/Kajola/Iwajowa federal constituency, Honourable Shina Peller, who contested for Oyo North senatorial ticket of APC, said there was a plot to assassinate him during the primaries in Oyo State.

Peller, who lost the ticket to Senator Abdulfatai Buhari, accused the governorship candidate of the party in the state, Senator Teslim Folarin, as the alleged mastermind of the attempted assassination plot.

Although Senator Folarin has denied the allegation, pointing accusing fingers at Gov. Seyi Makinde of plotting to malign his integrity, the spokesman of Oyo PDP, Akeem Olatunji, has urged security agents, especially the police, to investigate the senator over the alleged assassination attempt on Peller’s life.

The first lady of Ondo State and APC senatorial aspirant for Imo East, Betty Akeredolu, was forced to withdraw from the race over allegations of intimidation by the leadership of the party in the state.

“This decision has become necessary following brazen irregularities, use of force and intimidation meted out on my person and supporters,” she said.

Disruptions of the exercise were also witnessed in most of the states in the region. Some of the disruptions led to deaths and injuries.

No fewer that three persons were killed during the conduct of the primaries in Lagos. In a viral video, thugs were seen engaging in a free-for-all wielding weapons at Ikotun-Igando Local Council Development Area secretariat during the APC House of Representatives primaries in the area.

In Bayelsa, Michael Isaiah, nicknamed ‘Tompolo’, was reportedly shot dead at the PDP’s primary for Constituency One in Ogbia LGA.

In Delta, gunmen shot sporadically at the venue of the primaries in Isoko constituency, forcing party members, delegates and security operatives to scurry for cover.

In Ibadan North-East/Ibadan South-East Federal Constituency for the House of Representatives, some of the aspirants said hoodlums chased them away from the venue of the primary election at Orita Aperin area of Ibadan.

In Osun, delegates were allegedly abducted, according to PDP South West Zonal Youth Leader, Seyi Bamidele, who contested for the Boluwaduro/Ifedayo/Ila Federal Constituency.

“The whole exercise has been marred with anomalies. Some delegates that were to vote in the House of Assembly primary for an aspirant for Ifedayo State Constituency PDP ticket held at Iya ni o se Hall, Oke Ila were abducted. They were later released after the exercise had been completed,” he said.

Media scholar and political analyst, Dr. Tunde Akanni blamed the desperation of politicians on the desire for accumulation of material gains from the office, instead of service to the people.

“Money is the root of all evils; I dare echo philosophers. In other words, if candidates believe in truth and fairness, they are not likely to subscribe to heavy monetisation as we witnessed. The simple signal from the spectacle of shame we call primaries is that they’re all too ambitious to mortgage the rest of us, indeed, foreclosing any future for the country. It’s therefore up to us all to rediscover our traditional values which never attached so much importance to money,” he said.

DAILY TRUST.

Politics

Wike Gives Update On Rivers Emergency Rule Expires Date

Published

5 hours ago

August 30, 2025

Editor

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, on Saturday said he was optimistic that the state of emergency declared in Rivers State would expire on September 18.

He disclosed this after casting his vote in the ongoing local government election in the state.

Wike noted that the expiration would pave the way for the state House of Assembly to resume its legislative duties.

“As far as we are concerned, this election is peaceful, people are trooping out and at the end of the day the election has been conducted successfully and peacefully.

“I do know that by September 18, the state of emergency will expire and the state assembly will come back to their job and we will have a government at the grassroots level,” Wike said.

The minister said the conditions were right for lifting the state of emergency since both state and local governments now had representation.

He added, “The coast is clear for the state of emergency to be lifted, being that the state government has its representative and the local government has its representatives, so we are good to go.”

President Bola Tinubu had earlier imposed emergency rule in Rivers to prevent a political crisis, suspending Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, and the State House of Assembly for six months.

Politics

APC Mocks Jonathan As ADC Woos Him For 2027 Race

Published

10 hours ago

August 30, 2025

Editor

There were reports on Friday that a powerful group within the African Democratic Congress (ADC) is wooing ex-President Goodluck Jonathan for the 2027 presidential race.

A source close to both the former president and the ADC told Saturday Tribune on Friday that the former president is seriously considering running in the coming presidential polls.

The source confirmed that key figures in the ADC were comfortable with having Jonathan as their presidential candidate and had, in fact, reached out to him.

He, however, said the former president was torn between his loyalty to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) “which made him” and the ADC which, he said, had the potential of winning the election if it gets the right candidate.

“Former President Goodluck Jonathan is worried that certain persons with strong links to the Villa may still be in control of the PDP and may mess him up if he seeks the ticket of that party,” the source said.

He added that Jonathan’s only issue with the ADC is that “he does not want to contest against Peter Obi because he believes that the Igbo people supported him in 2015 even more than his own Ijaw people.”

While saying emphatically that Jonathan would run except he could not find a platform, the source added that “if he chooses our party (ADC), we will zone the presidency to the South. If he does not come to us, we will have no option than to go to the North because politics is about numbers and winning.”

Jonathan can’t defeat Tinubu —APC

Meanwhile, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has said that former President Goodluck Jonathan cannot defeat its candidate, Bola Tinubu, in the presidential election coming up in 2027.

The Lagos State chapter of the party said on Friday that it had observed with keen interest the growing speculations surrounding the possible return of former President Jonathan to the 2027 presidential race, and therefore made the submission.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Jonathan, who lost his re-election bid in 2015 to the late President Muhammadu Buhari, is being persuaded by supporters to seek reelection in 2027 general elections.

NAN reported APC’s spokesman in Lagos State, Mr Seye Oladejo, in a statement on Friday as noting that the former president’s political relevance to unseat President Bola Tinubu, remained in doubt.

“While we acknowledge the former president’s role in the peaceful democratic transition of 2015, an act that rightly earned him praise at home and abroad, we must state, in clear terms, that Nigeria has since moved beyond the politics of sentiment, nostalgia, and symbolism.

“The challenges of today and the future require bold, capable, and forward-thinking leadership, not a return to the comfort of a past that was far from perfect.

“Let it be clear: good luck alone is not a governance strategy,” he said.

Oladejo alleged that the Jonathan administration, from 2010 to 2015, left behind a country grappling with severe structural weaknesses, from unchecked corruption to alarming insecurity and economic inertia.

“While some may look back on those years with rose-tinted glasses, we must remind ourselves that nostalgia is not a policy platform.

“Emotion cannot drive economic reform, and sentimentality will not fix power generation, insecurity, youth unemployment, or education sector decay,” the APC chieftain said.

Oladejo said that the party also noted the constitutional and political complications of a potential Jonathan candidacy.

According to him, having completed more than one term in office, any return bid will inevitably trigger legal contention and political instability — distractions Nigeria cannot afford in a time when decisive action is needed across all sectors of national life.

“Moreover, the former president’s political relevance has been complicated by his recent engagements across party lines.

“His flirtation with the APC and absence from PDP’s strategic rebuilding efforts raise questions about his loyalty, clarity of vision, and political intentions,” he said.

According to him, the APC remains focused on consolidating progress, implementing reforms, and engaging the Nigerian electorate with fresh ideas and credible candidates who reflect the aspirations of a dynamic, youthful population.

“We believe the future of Nigeria does not lie in recycled leadership but in visionary governance rooted in integrity, innovation, and resilience.

“Former President Jonathan remains a respected elder statesman. His legacy as a peaceful democrat is assured. But legacies are not manifestoes, and nostalgia is not governance.

“We urge Nigerians to reject emotional shortcuts and stay focused on the need for capable, accountable and transformative leadership.

“As 2027 approaches, let us not reach backwards in desperation, but move forward with courage and clarity,” Oladejo said.

Politics

Marafa’s Loyalists Quit APC, Cite Neglect Of Zamfara

Published

1 day ago

August 29, 2025

Editor

Supporters of former Zamfara Central Senator, Kabiru Marafa, have announced their resignation from the All Progressives Congress, citing what they described as injustice, marginalisation and deliberate neglect of the state by the ruling party and President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

The group, operating under the aegis of the Senator Kabiru Marafa Consultative Forum, met in Kaduna on Wednesday and Thursday, August 27 and 28, 2025, to deliberate on the worsening political, security and developmental situation in the state.

At the end of the meeting, the forum issued a communique signed by its chairman, Bashir Mafara, secretary Mannir Tsafe, and seven others, formally announcing their exit from the APC.

The communique partly read, “After broad consultations and critical review of the prevailing circumstances, the political structure of Distinguished Senator Kabiru Garba Marafa OFR, CON across the 147 wards in Zamfara State unanimously resolved as follows:

“The entire structure with all its supporters hereby formally resigns from the All Progressives Congress in protest against the sustained injustice, mistrust, marginalisation, and deliberate neglect of Zamfara State and its people.

“That we shall, in due course, announce our next political direction, guided by the collective interest of the good people of Zamfara State.”

The group expressed concern over the deteriorating security situation in the state, pointing to official data and community reports on rising kidnappings and killings.

“The Federal Government of Nigeria, under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR, hasn’t been able to address the persistent and senseless kidnappings and killings of innocent citizens in Zamfara State, despite the explicit promises made during the 2023 presidential campaign.

“The situation continues to worsen, leaving communities devastated and hopeless,” they said.

The group claimed that reports indicate that out of the 4,722 people kidnapped over one year in Nigeria in 2024, 1,203 are from Zamfara State, followed by Kaduna State with 629.

It added that the Zamfara Circle Community Initiatives reported that 25 villages suffered attacks in one week after the just concluded by-election, with 145 people kidnapped and 21 killed.

The senator’s loyalists also accused the government of politicising insecurity for electoral gains.

On the alleged marginalisation of Zamfara in political appointments and projects, the communique added, “Despite the fact that Zamfara State was one of only two states in the entire North-West geopolitical zone that delivered victory to President Bola Tinubu during the 2023 presidential election spearheaded by Distinguished Senator Kabiru Garba Marafa OFR, CON as State Coordinator which the President himself categorically acknowledged during his speech shortly after his declaration as the winner of the 2023 election by INEC, the state has been sidelined in all facets of human developments including protection of lives and properties, infrastructural developments as well as fair representation in political appointments.

“The state was given only a Minister of State, while most states in the Northwest got two slots.

“But more unfair is the allocation given to the Southwest that corners the entire financial sector, with some states getting multiple ministerial slots and countless agencies.

“For example, Lagos state, where President Tinubu lost the election, has enjoyed overwhelming patronage in terms of appointments and developmental projects, underscoring the deliberate marginalisation of Zamfara state, where Mr. President won.”

The forum concluded by accusing the APC leadership of betraying its founding principles of fairness and justice.

“The above actions and omissions negate the fundamental principles of justice, fairness, equity and accountability upon which the APC was founded.

“Conscience demands that genuine progressives must stand for truth and resist injustice, no matter how uncomfortable,” it said.