Politics

FG, Atiku, Obi Trade Words Over Tinubu’s Victory

Published

2 years ago

May 1, 2023

The Federal Government and the presidential candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar; and Labour Party, LP, Mr. Peter Obi, were once again at one another’s jugular over the outcome of the 2023 presidential poll, yesterday.

The Federal Government through the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, fired the first salvo when it urged Atiku, Obi and other candidates to drop their petitions at the tribunal because they deserved to lose the election won the All Progressives Congress, APC’s, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.

Countering, the LP declared that the APC-led Federal Government “murdered sleep” by allegedly rigging the 2023 general elections.

Also, the PDP insisted that Atiku won the presidential balloting and alleged that the Federal Government was plotting to blackmail the President Election Petition Tribunal to rule in favour of Tinubu.

You deserve to lose 2023 elections, FG tells opposition

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, advised the opposition to stop their endless complaints over the 2023 presidential election which they lost woefully, saying they know very well that they deserve to lose the election because of their overconfidence and complacency.

In a statement issued in Abuja, the Minister said Mr. President’s analysis on the reasons for the opposition’s loss in the 2023 elections was incontrovertible.

He said the President deserves nothing but accolades for delivering undoubtedly the best election in Nigeria’s history, adding that the tempestuous but predictable reaction to the President’s comments by the opposition had shown them for what they are: shameless sore losers.

“President Muhammadu Buhari lived up to his billing by delivering a free, fair and credible election, and his legacy is assured.

“The President would rather lose his state and many of his party’s strongholds than tamper with the fidelity of the election, and that is why he provided a level playing field for all parties,’’ Mohammed said.

He said the opposition’s overconfidence going into the election stemmed in part from the blitzkrieg of social media propaganda as well as faulty and procured opinion polls, which were apparently meant to hoodwink their foreign backers and a section of the international media into uncritically reporting that they were coasting home to victory, when they were indeed heading into the ravine of defeat.

The Minister said the presidential candidate of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, won the presidential election fair and square, clinching the majority of the votes cast and surpassing the constitutionally-stipulated 25% of votes cast in each of at least two-thirds of all the states in the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory.

“Going by the results, none of the opposition parties met any of the conditions stipulated for winning the presidential election. They didn’t even come close, in spite of their pre-election grandstanding.

‘’They (opposition) keep leaning on some international observers to justify their fraudulent claim that the election was rigged. They conveniently forgot what Ambassador Johnnie Carson, the revered US diplomat who co-led the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and International Republican Institute (IRI) International Election Observation Mission to Nigeria said: that the APC candidate undoubtedly won the polls.

‘’They also forgot that the African Union Election Observation Mission to Nigeria said the atmosphere was generally calm and peaceful in 95% of the polling units visited,’’ he said, adding that it is on the strength of these reports that many nations, including the US and the UK, wasted no time in congratulating the victorious APC Presidential Candidate.”

Alhaji Mohammed slammed the opposition for continuously seeking to mislead the world by clutching at the weak straw that results were not immediately uploaded onto the IReV Portal, as if the portal has any role to play in the collation of results.

‘’The opposition’s insinuation that the failure to immediately upload the result of the presidential election onto IReV affected the credibility of the election is a fraud. It is an act of blackmail and deceit by desperate individuals.

‘’The opposition Labour Party, in particular, will go down in the history books as the first-ever distant third-place finisher in a presidential election anywhere to have bold-facedly claimed victory,’’ he said.

FG, APC murdered sleep by rigging 2023 polls — LP

Countering, Acting National Publicity Secretary of the LP, Obiora Ifoh, came down hard on Alhaji Lai Mohammed over his attempt to echo President Buhari’s thoughts on the outcome of the 2023 general elections.

It equally accused the Minister of “wasting scarce public funds junketing around the United States and the United Kingdom ‘’ in futile attempt to whitewash the disasterous 8 year rule of the outgoing Buhari administration.

Ifoh said: “We just want the Minister to know that by rigging the 2023 general election, himself, his party, All Progressives Congress and the leader of the party, President Buhari have murdered sleep and they do not deserve peace.”

The LP Spokesman explained that it was appalling that the Minister chose to progress in the error laden prognosis of his employer, President Buhari about the outcome of the 2023 general elections.

He said: “A few days after President Buhari made that heavily flawed and erroneous remarks on the outcome of the 2023 presidential election claiming that opposition parties lost the presidential election due to their “overconfidence, complacency and bad tactical moves”, it is heart-wrenching to hear the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, still progressing with that warped, illogical and incongruous concept.

“We would rather not join issues with a man who is famous for constantly prescribing doses of expired and ineffectual propaganda to Nigerians.

“ His ill-fated and hugely failed trip to United Kingdom and United States where he attempted to redeem the grossly battered democratic credentials of this present administration; spending millions of tax payers money to defend an indefensible action is yet another tragedy of President Buhari’s 8 years leadership.

“It is only the blind that will continue to insist that the 2023 presidential election which was massively rigged was free, fair and credible.

“As we have said earlier, the opposition political parties allegedly lost the election because the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC jettisoned the electoral act, having not uploaded the result from the polling unit in real time as promised and in so doing, created room for riggers to have a field day.

“The election witnessed unprecedented magnitude of violence, ballot snuffing, snatching and manipulations of result from the collation centres using thugs, security agencies, which included police, army amongst others.

“All these issues and a lot more were captured, well documented and have been taken to the appeal tribunal and the matters are ongoing. Mr. Lai Mohammed need not preempt the tribunal as his actions are contemptuous and could be used against him.”

On its part, the PDP has insisted that its Candidate, Atiku Abubakar, won the February 25, 2023 Presidential election based on the actual votes cast at the Polling Units across the country.

The party described claims by the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, that the opposition lost the election, as subjudice and part of a series of attempts by the APC-led Federal Executive to bully and blackmail the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal.

This was contained in a statement signed by the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Mr. Debo Ologunagba, in Abuja, yesterday.

Ologunagba said: “Nigerians are invited to note that Lai Mohammed’s comment is coming after President Buhari made a similar subjudice comment in his widely condemned attempt to justify the rigging of the Presidential election, which case is pending before the Tribunal.

“It is indeed appalling that Lai Mohammed could attempt to defend the outcome of a fraudulently conducted election which has been adjudged as the worst in the history of elections in Nigeria and which has attracted nationwide and international outrage against the Buhari administration.

“By stating that President Buhari deserved “accolades” for conducting a globally condemned Presidential election and describing well-meaning Nigerians as “shameless sore losers”, Lai Mohammed has further confirmed the complicity of the Buhari administration, in which he serves as mouthpiece, in one of the most reprehensible election swindles in the history of democracy. “

The party however said it was not surprised that Lai Mohammed will continue in the trajectory of the Buhari-led APC administration which is notorious for lying, deceit and falsehood.

This, the PDP said, was because Nigerians are aware that by the authentic results obtained from the Polling Units, Atiku Abubakar and not the APC candidate met all the conditions stipulated for the winning of the Presidential election.

According to the party, this situation explained why “the compromised Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) refused to transmit directly and announce results as obtained from the Polling Units as required by law.”

The opposition party stated further that ot was for the umpteenth time cautioning the APC and the Buhari-led Federal Executive against its furtive attempts to bully the judiciary in the handling of the Presidential election petitions pending before the Tribunal.

“The facts of the rigging of the February 25, 2023 Presidential election are well known to Nigerians and the PDP will not relent until it reclaims its mandate at the Tribunal.” Ologunagba added.
VANGUARD

Politics

2027: Oyo Gov, Makinde Speaks On Successor

Published

13 hours ago

October 9, 2025

Editor

Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State has said that the choice of who would succeed him in 2027 rests solely with the people of the state, not with political godfathers or entitlement claims.

Makinde said this on Thursday in Ibadan while flagging off the zonal stakeholders’ consultative forum and engagement meeting on the 2026 Budget.

According to the governor, the decision of who becomes the next governor of Oyo state rests on all eligible voters in the state.

“Oyo State has gone beyond the era of politics based on entitlement or propaganda.

“Rather, the people of the state are now more politically enlightened and they will only support leaders who present credible plans and demonstrate capacity for development,” he said.

Makinde, while reflecting on his own experience before coming into office in 2019, noted that leadership must be about accountability, not entitlement.

He recalled that many people doubted his capability when he first sought the governorship position, because he had not held any political office.

“In 2018, when I was consulting to become governor, there was no yardstick to measure me. I had never been a councillor or a local government chairman, but I asked the people to trust me and judge me by my actions,” he said.

The governor urged political leaders to focus on policies and projects that directly impact the lives of citizens rather than engaging in political theatrics.

He said his administration’s approach to challenges has been to present a clear roadmap for Oyo State’s development, “one that people can read, evaluate, and hold us accountable to.”

Makinde expressed optimism that the people of the state would continue to support leaders who prioritise progress, inclusivity, and the well-being of citizens over personal ambition.

Speaking at the 7th Stakeholders Consultative Forum, the governor said that his administration would continue to consult and engage with residents of the state on the making of the state’s annual budgets, with a view to knowing their aspirations and prioritising their needs.

He maintained that the stakeholders’ engagement was to enable his government to serve the residents of the state better through a bottom-up approach to development, noting that his administration began the tradition in 2019.

According to him, his government first separated the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning from the Ministry of Finance in order to ensure better management of the state’s resources and to avoid discrepancies.

He stated that the stakeholders’ engagement had resulted in better budget performances and economic development of the state.

Makinde reiterated that his government would continue to serve the interests of the people of the state by putting in place institutions that would ensure that the environment was safe and ready to attract investments.

He added that the state was growing rapidly and that this development had stopped rural-urban migration with the construction of Moniya-Iseyin Road, Iseyin-Ogbomoso Road, Oyo-Iseyin Road, among other infrastructural projects, which have opened rural communities.

Makinde is currently serving as governor for the second time.

The governor, whose term ends in 2027, had earlier this month advocated a single term of five or six years for elected political office holders across all levels of government in Nigeria, against the current double term of four years each.

He said a single term of five or six years is enough for any government to focus and serve the people and deliver on its mandate.

(NAN)

Politics

Court Extends Freezing Order On Osun LGs’ Bank Accounts

Published

13 hours ago

October 9, 2025

Editor

An Oyo State High Court sitting in Ibadan, presided over by Justice Ladiran Akintola, on Thursday, extended its earlier order, restraining the United Bank for Africa, Plc, from paying, releasing, or tampering with funds belonging to the 30 Local Governments in Osun State.

Akintola, who gave the order during the sitting in Ibadan, the state capital, said it would remain in force until tomorrow, Friday, October 10, 2025, when the case is scheduled for further hearing.

He explained that the extension became necessary to ensure that all parties in the case were granted the right to a fair hearing in line with Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).

In his ruling, the judge said, “The case is adjourned till Friday, October 10, 2025, for further hearing, while the interim injunction shall continue to subsist.”

Earlier, counsel to the plaintiff, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Musibau Adetunmbi, told the Court that the Peoples Democratic Party had filed an application seeking to be joined in the suit.

He, however, disclosed that his team would oppose the application.

“Even though the PDP has a constitutional right to a fair hearing under Section 36, we shall oppose their application for joinder. The case is narrow and straightforward; there is no need for multiple parties.”

The SAN also noted that Kasim Gbadamosi (SAN), who holds the brief of Kunle Adegoke (SAN), for the All Progressive Congress ex-council chairmen, had filed a fresh application in addition to an earlier one on the same matter of joinder.

Responding, Gbadamosi said he intended to withdraw the new application, arguing that the issue of jurisdiction did not require a formal application.

“I will withdraw the application. The issue before the court is jurisdictional, and as such, it doesn’t require a formal application.”

He further argued that the case before the High Court amounted to an abuse of judicial process since a similar matter was already pending before the Supreme Court.

“The matter is premised on a case already before the Supreme Court and should therefore be struck out,” he stated.

Also, the counsel to UBA Plc, Mutalib Ojo (SAN), aligned with the argument, urging the Court to adjourn the case sine die (indefinitely) pending the determination of the matter at the apex court.

“We observe that this suit is predicated upon a case already before the Supreme Court. Consequently, it should be adjourned sine die until the determination of that matter. UBA is not a party to the Supreme Court case; we are merely a neutral party in this process,” he submitted.

After hearing all arguments, Akintola adjourned the case till tomorrow, Friday, for ruling.

Recall that the court had earlier granted the following interim orders as sought by the claimants: An order of interim injunction restraining UBA from paying, releasing, disbursing, or tampering with funds in the disputed local government accounts.

An order of mandatory injunction directing UBA to place a “Post No Debit” restriction on all affected accounts pending the hearing of the substantive motion on notice.

The affected accounts include those of the 30 Local Governments in Osun State, from Atakumosa East to Osogbo, each identified by name and account number with UBA.

The suit, filed as Suit No. 1/1167/2025 before Court No. 5 of the Ibadan Judicial Division, is being handled by Olalekan Adeoye, Esq., on behalf of the claimants.

A second case on the same matter filed by the local government chairmen elected under the PDP was also adjourned for hearing tomorrow.
(PUNCH)

Politics

2027: PDP Northern Group Endorses Jonathan For Presidency

Published

20 hours ago

October 9, 2025

Editor

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Northern Support Group, a coalition of loyalists and affiliate organisations within the opposition party, has endorsed former President Goodluck Jonathan to contest the 2027 presidential election.

The endorsement was among the key resolutions adopted at the group’s 8th meeting held in Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State, between Wednesday and Thursday, October 8–9, 2025.

The meeting drew participants from all 19 northern states to deliberate on the party’s state and strategies to strengthen it ahead of the 2027 polls.

In a communiqué signed by the Northern Coordinator, Hon. Yusuf Abubakar, and the North-West Zonal Secretary, Hon. Adamu Ahmed Narayi, the group described Jonathan as a unifying figure and symbol of peace and progress.

It lauded his leadership qualities, democratic values, and continued loyalty to the PDP.

“There is no going back on Goodluck Jonathan to redeem our party’s image in 2027. He remains a loyal party man who never abandoned the PDP and continues to command respect across the country,” the communiqué stated.

The group dismissed debates over Jonathan’s eligibility to recontest, maintaining that the issue had long been settled.

It also urged the PDP to embark on a coordinated media and grassroots mobilisation campaign, especially in the North, to promote Jonathan’s candidacy and highlight the potential benefits of his return to power.

The communiqué reaffirmed confidence in the PDP National Chairman, Ambassador Iliya Umar Damagum, commending his ongoing reconciliation and peace-building efforts aimed at restoring unity within the party.

“We remain optimistic that the PDP is not beyond redemption. With genuine commitment and collective sacrifice, our great party will reclaim power at the national level and in other states currently under the APC,” it added.

However, the group expressed concern over what it termed “the negative conduct” of some party leaders allegedly undermining unity and reconciliation efforts. It accused certain National Working Committee (NWC) members of anti-party activities and “divided loyalties.”

The communiqué specifically mentioned the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, alleging that his actions were divisive and detrimental to the PDP’s cohesion.

“Minister Nyesom Wike’s actions have been detrimental to the PDP’s unity despite his claims of being a member. His continued recruitment of party members to sow discord is unacceptable and must be addressed decisively,” the group stated.

It urged the PDP leadership to take disciplinary action against members sabotaging reconciliation efforts or collaborating with the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Reaffirming its commitment to party supremacy, the group said its loyalty remains with leaders genuinely devoted to rebuilding the PDP into a strong and united political force.

“The PDP retains strong grassroots support across the North. The party must seize this opportunity to rebuild its structures, restore its lost glory, and take bold steps to ensure unity, discipline, and progress,” the communiqué concluded.