Politics

El-Rufai, PDP In A Fight To Finish In Kaduna

Published

2 years ago

March 16, 2023

Editor

As the Saturday, March 18 date for the governorship and state assembly elections approaches, political observers project that the seeming redrawing of Nigeria’s electoral map, which began during the February 23 presidential and National Assembly elections, could continue.

That means the reign of some gladiators in some political parties and states will be determined at the polls. So, it is either they guard their ‘political kingdom’ and win their turf for their parties or they are dethroned.

Governor Nasir El-Rufai’s Kaduna State presents one such interesting scenario. During the February 25 elections, the Peoples Democratic Party almost rendered the governor, a king without a kingdom with his ruling All Progressives Congress getting a thorough beating at the polls.

The PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, defeated the APC candidate, Bola Tinubu, in the state.

Atiku garnered 554,360 votes to beat Tinubu, who got 399,293 votes to come second while the Labour Party’s Peter Obi polled 294,494 votes to claim third position.

El-Rufai has been the governor of the state since 2015 under the APC. But, under his reign, the APC lost the three senatorial seats to the PDP at the National Assembly polls.

The main opposition party also won 10 seats out of the total 16 seats for the House of Representatives in the state.

The Central North Senatorial district seat was won by Lawal Usman of the PDP who polled 225,066 votes to defeat the former Chief of Staff and Commissioner for Budget and Planning to Governor El-rufai, Abdullahi Sani, of the APC, who garnered 182,035 votes.

According to the Returning Officer, Prof. Haruna Adamu of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, the candidate of the Labour Party, Ibrahim Sani, came third with 87,510 votes while Umar Tijjani of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, polled 24,395 votes to place fourth.

The PDP also clinched the Kaduna North Senatorial District won by its candidate, Khalid Mustapha, who defeated the incumbent, Senator Suleiman Kwari, of the APC.

Mustapha scored 250,826 votes to defeat Kwari, who got 190,008 votes.

The governorship battle

Against the above backdrop, many see the Saturday governorship election in the state as both challenging and of course interesting, a battle to finish between El-Rufai’s APC candidate and the PDP.

The PUNCH reports that no fewer than nine governorship candidates in the state on March 6 endorsed the candidate of the PDP, Isa Ashiru, as the consensus candidate.

Under the platform of the ‘Kaduna State Rescue and Rebuild Gubernatorial candidates Forum,’ they claim that the Muslim-Muslim ticket of the APC is a mere ploy to divide the state along religious lines.

The nine parties comprised the Young Progressives Party, Action Alliance, Allied Peoples Movement, All People’s Party, All Progressives Grand Alliance, and National Rescue Movement as well as the leadership of the Accord Party, ADP and the Zenith Labour Party.

Addressing a press conference in Kaduna, the Chairman of the Forum, who’s also the governorship candidate of the YPP, Sani Yaya, said they decided to endorse the PDP candidate because he remained the best man for the job.

Going by how people voted in the state during the presidential election, pundits believe the PDP could have its best outing since 2015 this time around. If the pattern of voting continues, the PDP might cruise to victory again on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the idea of a Muslim-Muslim ticket strategy introduced by El-Rufai, which worked for him in 2019, may also be in favour of the APC governorship candidate, Uba Sani.

Before his election as senator in 2019, Sani had served as political adviser to El-Rufai in 2015. He is the incumbent senator for Kaduna Central senatorial district

His campaign jingles and programmes dominate virtually all local radio stations in Kaduna.

He promises to review and build on El-Rufai’s achievements in the past seven and half years, though citizens of the state do not seem to generally be in agreement on the governor’s achievements, especially, Christians, who might have reservations. The APC’s Muslim-Muslim ticket is what the opposition parties are exploiting to campaign against the APC.

Meanwhile, as much as the election is majorly between the APC and the PDP, there is also a major factor which is the growing influence of the Labour Party.

The LP governorship candidate, Jonathan Asake, was the President of the Southern Kaduna Peoples Union, which makes him popular in Southern Kaduna. Asake is an obstacle which the APC and the PDP have to deal with.

No doubt, the major contest will be between the APC and the PDP on Saturday, and while the PDP will want to capitalise on the success it recorded in the presidential election in the state, the ruling APC will be doing everything to spring back into reckoning from the February 25 defeat and save the outgoing governor from a devastating political misfortune.
PUNCH

Politics

CSO, PDP Bicker Over Fagbemi’s Stand On Osun LG Crisis

Published

21 hours ago

June 27, 2025

Editor

An Osun-based civil society group, The Osun Masterminds, has urged the State Government to respect the opinion of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, regarding the leadership crisis rocking local government areas in the state.

The group said Fagbemi, being the number one law officer of the federation, his opinions on issues relating to law are not just official, but are also binding.

This was disclosed by the Executive Director of the group, Prof. Wasiu Oyedokun-Alli, while speaking with journalists at the monthly media briefing of the organisation held in Osogbo on Friday.

Oyedokun-Alli, who said accused the state government of disregard for, not just the Appeal Court, but also the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation, adding that the group has studied several legal positions on the Osun local government disputes and came to the conclusion that the government was swimming against the tide of clear court pronouncements.

“We are to point out, however, that the utter disregard for, not just the Appeal Court, but also the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation, by the Osun State Government is a matter of grave concern. Where we understand that the Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, is the number one Law Officer of the Federation, we must realise that his opinions are not just official, they are also binding.

“We have studied several legal positions on this matter, especially from highly revered silks who have dissected the pronouncements of the Court, and one thing remains obvious – the Osun State Government is swimming against the tide of clear Court pronouncements.

“The question that begs answers, however, is why the Osun State Government is so unwilling to work with Local Government Chairmen elected under a different political platform. Where we respect the principles of separation of powers, should we not be willing to work together even if the political parties are not the same? Has the APC-led Federal Government refused to work with the Adeleke Government because it is of the PDP?”, Oyedokun-Alli said.

Calling on the stakeholders to prevail on the Osun State Government to end the LG crisis, Oyedokun-Alli, however, urged the residents, regardless of party affiliation, to cohabitate in peace.

Responding to issues raised by the group, the spokesperson for the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, Oladele Bamiji, said TOM was a partisan organisation that has consistently supported the All Progressives Congress in the state.

Bamiji further said, “Their so-called ‘civil society’ posturing has long collapsed under the weight of its hypocrisy and shameless servitude to the dictates of APC in Osun and beyond, and it is sad they are dead to their dented image out there.

“TOM has again confirmed to the people of Osun that it is nothing but a busy body propaganda irritant of the APC, issuing monthly rankings, not out of civic concern but to earn its monthly stipend from its political sponsors.

“We find it laughable and frankly disturbing that any group claiming to possess civic literacy would hold binding the personal opinion of a political appointee like the Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, over and above the ruling of a competent court of law.”
(PUNCH)

Politics

BREAKING: Confusion As APC Chair, Ganduje Resigns

Published

1 day ago

June 27, 2025

Editor

National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, has resigned from his position, Saturday Vanguard has learned.

Although the exact circumstances surrounding his resignation remain unclear as of press time, a senior party official confirmed the development, stating simply, “Yes, it is true. He has resigned.”

Sources revealed that Ganduje’s personal belongings were earlier moved from his office at the APC national secretariat, further fueling speculation.

The development has thrown the party’s headquarters into confusion, with staff and visitors visibly shocked by the unexpected news.

Politics

‘Peace Has Returned To Rivers’ — Wike, Fubara Speak After Meeting Tinubu

Published

1 day ago

June 27, 2025

Editor

After months of political tension and division in Rivers State, Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, have publicly declared an end to their rift, assuring residents that peace has finally returned.

The truce followed a meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa on Thursday night, where both leaders, along with other stakeholders, reached a resolution to work together for the state’s progress.

Speaking to journalists after the meeting, Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, expressed gratitude to God for the breakthrough.

Wike said, “I want to give God the glory that today is the 26th of June 2025, that peace has finally returned to the state. We all agreed to work together with the governor, and the governor also agreed to work together with all of us. We are members of the same political family.”

He acknowledged that disagreements are part of politics but emphasised that the resolution marked a fresh start for the state.

He said, “Just like humans, you have disagreements, and then you also have a time to also settle your disagreements, and that has been finally concluded today, and we have come to report to Mr President that is what we have agreed.

“So for me, everything is over, and I enjoin everybody to work together with everybody. There is no more acrimony; there is nothing to say. We have disagreed; we have all agreed on everything, so thank God. For me, it’s a day we have to thank almighty God.”

Governor Fubara, who also spoke to journalists, said the return of peace is crucial to the state’s development.

He said, “For me, it’s very important that this day has come to be. What we need for the progress of Rivers State is peace, and by the special grace of God this night, with the help of Mr President and the agreement of the leaders of the state, peace has returned to Rivers State.”

Fubara pledged to do everything within his power to sustain the peace, describing it as a step toward lasting stability and governance in the oil-rich state.