Politics

History Will Judge Fasoranti For Endorsing Tinubu – MBF

Published

3 years ago

November 6, 2022

The Middle Belt Forum has slammed a leader of the pan-Yoruba socio-cultural organisation, Pa Reuben Fasoranti, for endorsing the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, saying that history will judge him (Fasoranti) for his action.

Crisis rocked Afenifere when the group reportedly declared its support for Tinubu during the former Lagos State governor’s visit to leaders of the group in Akure, Ondo State.

Fasoranti and other Afenifere chiefs were also said to have prayed for the APC presidential candidate.

The endorsement was, however, dismissed by the acting leader of the socio-cultural group, Pa Ayo Adebanjo, who maintained that the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, remained Afenifere’s choice, adding that Fasoranti had no constitutional authority to act as the leader of the organisation.

But the President of the Middle Belt Forum, Pogu Bitrus, said in an interview with The PUNCH, “It’s an unfortunate development because we believe leaders of the socio-cultural groups are people who have gone beyond the levels of parochial ethnic and whatever consideration, looking at things passionately at the national level.

“Pa Fasoranti, with his age and everything, we respect him. We know that he left that office about two years or so ago and Pa Adebanjo is the leader. His coming back to make such an issue out of the context of Bola Ahmed Tinubu is an unfortunate development and I think history will judge him, not because we are of different views.

“That is not the reason; the reason is we believe that at a stage in life, one goes beyond some level of being parochial, but act as a statesman. I want him to reconsider his stance.”

Bitrus, who said the MBF did not see Fasoranti’s endorsement of Tinubu as an attempt by politicians to cause confusion within Afenifere and divide it, urged him (Fasoranti) to consider whether his action was in the best interest of Nigeria.

Asked whether the Middle Belt Forum was open to engaging with presidential candidates, he said, “We have already declared our stand. Right before the primaries, we said we would not support a northern candidate because we believe it is the turn of the South. While we were open to all southern candidates, Bola Ahmed Tinubu did what we believe we cannot accept.

“In Nigeria, where Boko Haram, Fulani herdsmen, militia and many other insurgent groups are of Islamic extraction, fielding a Muslim-Muslim ticket is not acceptable; so, as far as we are concerned, he (Tinubu) is out of the consideration because we have to look at things that will benefit the nation, not just considering things based on sentiment.”

However, the Pan Niger Delta Forum said it had not endorsed any presidential candidate for the 2023 general elections.

PANDEF said although it met with Peter Obi on August 23 in Lagos, it made it clear that it would engage with other southern presidential candidates

The spokesperson for the group, Ken Robinson, said, “There has been no consensus on Peter Obi. PANDEF has not endorsed any presidential candidate. PANDEF agreed that the next president should come from southern Nigeria.

“As was communicated in the last extraordinary meeting that was held on the October 20, we made it clear that we were open to engaging with all presidential candidates from southern Nigeria; it is after those engagements that PANDEF will communicate its decision on who to support.

“Our position at the meeting of the Southern and Middle Belt Forum which was held on June 25 was and remains that we shall engage with all southern presidential candidates.

“Let me also add that before the primaries, the Southern and Middle Belt Forum, based on the issues of fairness, justice, fairness, and equity, and inclusiveness, had added a caveat to our demand for power shift to southern Nigeria by saying preferably to the South-East and that did not indicate any presidential candidate at the time.”
PUNCH

Politics

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

Published

4 hours 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

4 hours 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

5 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.