Politics

Intrigues As Tinubu, Osinbajo, Amaechi Camps Emerge In Senate

Published

4 years ago

April 17, 2022

Ahead of the 2023 presidential election, strong indications have emerged that senators elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, APC, are sharply divided over the ambitions of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and the Minister of Transportation, Mr Rotimi Amaechi.

The division has been glaring before the March 26 National Convention of the APC when the senators were divided over the aspirants for the National Chairman against the backdrop that the APC had zoned the position to the North-Central.

Prior to the emergence of Senator Abdullahi Adamu as the National Chairman of the ruling party via consensus, senators were not on the same page as some supported Adamu while others were divided between Senator Sani Musa, APC, Niger East and Senator Tanko Al-Makura (Nasarawa).

Similar scenario is rearing its head in the Senate as camps are emerging for Tinubu, Osinbajo and Amaechi.

Preparatory to the APC National Convention, it had been alleged that the senators in the camp of Adamu were also working for the emergence of Amaechi as the presidential candidate of the party, even as it was alleged that they have chosen Adamu because of their belief that nobody would be able to influence whatever decision President Muhammadu Buhari wanted him to take ahead of the 2023 elections.

An indication to the split among the senators was displayed when Adamu, before the Convention, unveiled his Campaign Office in Area 11, Opposite Radio House.

Senators who attended the ceremony and spoke at the occasion included Deputy
President of the Senate, Senator 1 Omo-Agege, APC, Delta Central; Senate Leader, Yahaya Abdullahi, APC, Kebbi North; Chief Whip, Orji Uzor Kalu, APC, Abia North; Adamu Aliero, APC, Kebbi Central and Ali Ndume, APC, Borno South.

They all spoke clearly about their belief in Adamu and the fact that he had the competence and capability to lead the party.

Soon after the Convention and with the emergence of Adamu as the National Chairman of the party, Amaechi declared for the 2023 presidency and, barely 48 hours after his declaration, he made Ndume the Director-General of his Campaign Organization.

This is a masterstroke as many analysts believe Ndume has what it takes to pull many senators to support his candidate against the backdrop that he is a likeable personality.

Ndume has been around in the National Assembly for a while; he was in the House of Representatives, he was Senate leader before contesting with Senator Ahman Lawan for the position of the President of the Senate and the chairs a very strong Committee that is Committee on Army.

Meanwhile, as part of his consultations for the 2023 presidency, Tinubu, on March 16, visited the Senate Caucus of the APC during which he vowed that if he becomes President, he will not step on the toes of Buhari, but step into his shoes.

He asked the Senate Caucus of the party to support his lifetime ambition to be President.

The APC National Leader was received by Lawan with almost all senators of the party in attendance.

Tinubu, who noted that he was at the Senate for counsel, partnership and support, said, “Nigerians have come to that stage where we need a change of baton. “Election is coming up in February. We have various programmes including the nomination process, primary process and all of that. I can’t do it by myself and I can’t do it by sitting at home expecting that many friends I have here will do it for me.

“I believe jointly we can do it. You can back me successfully for the nomination of my lifetime ambition to become President. My ambition is not blind to the extent I will step on the toes of the President. I just want to step into his shoes and not on his toes.”

According to Tinubu, if elected President, the country will remain united and “we will use that unity, the symbol of our party to cleanse Nigeria of unrealisable potential.”

Responding, Lawan, who assured Tinubu that senators would continue to remain united to ensure the success of the Buhari administration, however, explained that external factors were mainly responsible for the social and economic challenges the country has been facing since the APC took over power in 2019.

Also carrying his 2023 presidential campaign to senators, Osinbajo, on April 12, invited the federal lawmakers and the Caucus to celebrate Iftar at his official residence.

Iftar is the meal Muslims eat after sunset during Ramadan to breakfast for the day

At the meeting, the VP solicited the support of the APC Caucus in the senate in his quest to succeed his boss in 2023.

Recall that Osinbajo made an audio declaration for the presidency last Monday morning after hosting the Progressive Governors Forum on Sunday.

Now that Tinubu is vying for the presidency with his political son, the battle line is drawn and senators, especially those from the South-West, are working in opposite directions.

Presently in the Senate, Tinubu is sure of support from his wife, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, APC, Lagos Central; Senator Olamilekan Adeola, Lagos West; Senator Adetokunbo Abiru, Lagos East; Senator Kashim Shettima, Borno Central; Senator Ajibola Bashiru, Osun Central; and Senator Adeyemi Oriolowo, Osun West.

In Ondo State, the only APC senator, Robert Ajayi Boroffice, Ondo North, may not support Tinubu because Governor Rotimi Akeredolu is said not to be in the same camp with Tinubu.

In Ogun State, the three senators there are also believed not to be pro-Tinubu against the backdrop that Senator Ibikunle Amosun, APC, Ogun Central is also said to be nursing presidential ambition and there is a political war between him and Governor Dapo Abiodun.

One other thing that may work against Tinubu concerning Ogun senators is that even though he was instrumental to the emergence of Abiodun as governor, the federal lawmakers may throw their weight behind Osinbajo as an Ijebu man from Ikenne as their own son. The other senators from Ogun besides Amosun are Olalekan Mustapha, Ogun East and Tolulope Odebiyi, Ogun West.

In Ekiti, it is not clear if Governor Kayode Fayemi, who is not on good terms with Tinubu while also nursing presidential ambition may sway the two APC senators, Opeyemi Bamidele, Ekiti Central and Olubunmi Adetumbi, Ekiti North, in favour of his ambition or to anyone he may be supporting.

In Delta, the two APC senators are Omo- Agege, Delta Central and Senator Peter Nwaoboshi, Delta North. Omo- Agege may be in the same camp with Ndume in this case while Nwaoboshi may also swing to the same direction and that is towards Amaechi.

In Kano State, Governor Abdullahi Ganduje is a strong supporter of Tinubu, but Senators Ibrahim Shekarau, Kano Central and Jubrin Barau, Kano North are presently engaged in a political fight with the governor and, with this, they may not go the same way with Ganduje, but Senator Kabiru Gaya, Kano South may support Tinubu.

In Katsina State, President Muhammadu Buhari’s home state, former Senator Abu Ibrahim and Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, among others, are strong forces and may influence senators from the state: Senators Baba Kaita, Katsina North; Bello Mandiya, Katsina South and Barkiya Abdullahi, Katsina Central.

The senators will be divided because the Emir of Katsina is said to have endorsed Amaechi. Abu Ibrahim is a strong supporter of Tinubu.

Kogi Senators Smart Adeyemi, Kogi West; Yakubu Oseni, Kogi Central and Jibrin Oseni, Kogi East are sharply divided between Tinubu, Osinbajo and Amaechi because of the presidential ambition of Governor Yahaya Bello, just as governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State determines where the two APC Senators Suleiman Kwari, Kaduna North and Uba Sani, Kaduna Central will be.

VANGUARD.

Up Next

2023 Election: Group Raises Alarm Over Alleged Plot To Destabilise PDP In Bayelsa

Don't Miss

INEC In Dilemma Over Prosecution Of 1.1million Multiple Registrants

Comments

Politics

Wike: Why Removing Fubara Will Be Difficult – Ex-Commissioner

Published

21 hours ago

January 9, 2026

Editor

A former Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communication, Austin Tam-George, has said that attempts to impeach Governor Siminalayi Fubara would be difficult to sustain, citing what he described as the governor’s performance record and the lack of concrete allegations against him.

Tam-George made the remarks on Thursday while speaking on Prime Time on Arise Television, arguing that the impeachment process being initiated against Fubara was to scuttle his chance for a second term.

According to him, Governor Fubara has continued to place the needs of the people at the centre of his administration, with visible interventions in rural development, housing, education and healthcare.

He said this, in his view, has made it difficult for opponents to justify moves to remove the governor from office.

Tam-George also called on the All Progressives Congress, APC, to intervene, arguing that the party should not allow what he described as the humiliation of a sitting governor.

He said: “Well, all I think he needs to do is to do exactly what he’s been doing from the beginning, which is to place the people at the center of gravity of his administration, prioritize the needs of the people, so that the people can see the direct impact of government action in their lives.

“And that’s exactly what he’s doing in terms of rural development, in terms of housing sector transformation, which I mentioned that he is doing the same in education sector and in health.

“So if he continues, if he persists in placing the people’s need at the center of focus of his administration, there is no way they are going to be able to justify this kind of shenanigans.

“Because, if you look very carefully at the so called articles of impeachment, you will see that there is no specificity in terms of any infraction by the governor or his deputy.

“What they are trying to do is to make sure they scuttle the administration so that the governor doesn’t then get to the point where he will be seeking a second term.

“Let me be clear, just two days ago, Nyesom Wike was at one of the local governments, and he made it clear in a moment of epiphany, he made it clear that, look, if Governor Fubara were to get a second term in office, it will amount to his own political burial.

“So all of these things that we are seeing the so called impeachment proceedings they’ve initiated, it’s actually an effort to try to scuttle the prospects of the governor coming for a second term, and I don’t see how they will succeed.

“If you look at the so called articles of impeachment, as I said, they lack specificity in terms of the kind of infraction that they allege that the governor has committed. He has done nothing wrong, and they will see how the process will play out.

“My sense, and in fact, if I were to advise the governor, my sense is that he should just maintain the people, retain the people at the center of gravity of his administration, meet their needs, run a transparent administration as he always done, and then the truth will come out, and he will be able to defend the administration.

“I think the the governing APC should also step in because they can’t possibly allow the governor of the office with probably one of the best performance records in the country to be humiliated by some of these members of the assembly.”

Politics

Wike A ‘Pestilence’ On Rivers, I Resigned Because Of It – Ex-Commissioner

Published

21 hours ago

January 9, 2026

Editor

Austin Tam George, a former Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communication, has described the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, as a destabilising force in Rivers State, accusing him of attempting to exert godfatherism over the state’s political affairs.

He argued that the move to impeach the governor is a calculated attempt to reassert political control and reduce Fubara’s growing influence.

Tam George, who served under Wike’s administration, made the remarks on Thursday while speaking on Prime Time on Arise Television.

He said he resigned as commissioner due to what he described as Wike’s propensity for chaos and instability and the reduction of governance to a personality-driven system.

According to him, the current political tension in the state is the culmination of Wike’s long-standing approach to power, which he said is now manifesting in efforts to control the state for personal political influence.

He said: “Nyesom Wike has been a complete pestilence on Rivers state. I served in his administration as commissioner for information. As you know, I resigned precisely because of these, his propensity for chaos, for instability and reducing government to a personality cult, more or less. And I’m so disappointed that this propensity has now crystallized today to a stage where the state is now held by the juggler by person who thinks that he will be political godfather over the rest of Rivers state.

“But what I think is going to happen in this final phase of this struggle is that Rivers’ people ultimately are going to resist and defeat this tendency to want to privatize the state, to want to capture the state for his own personal aggrandizement.

“Governor Fubara has been an excellent administrator. I have to say he’s spending money building people’s capacity, lifting communities out of poverty. Money you would have expected that he would have diverted to political godfathers are now being spent in critical sectors such as education, where he’s completely transforming the sector, in health where almost all the tertiary health care systems are revived, 122 primary health care centers spread across the 23 local government areas.

“There is a total transformation happening on a sector by sector basis, and this has endeared the governor to the people of the state.

“Now there is a strong likelihood that he may be seeking a second term to expand his legacy and to consolidate his achievements for the benefit of all. And this will mean that there is going to be, you know, a reduction of Wike’s influence.

“So what you see as an impeachment move is an attempt to try to reassert what they consider to be their leverage against the governor.”

Politics

Why We’re Impeaching Fubara — Rivers Assembly

Published

1 day ago

January 8, 2026

Editor

The Rivers State House of Assembly has given reasons for the ongoing impeachment proceedings against Governor Siminalayi Fubara.

The Majority Leader of the Assembly, Major Jack, said the decision to impeach the governor and his deputy was based on their alleged persistent violation of the peace agreement brokered by President Bola Tinubu.

Jack made the allegation during plenary on Thursday while presenting the report detailing acts of misconduct against the governor.

According to him, Governor Fubara and his deputy had repeatedly disregarded the resolutions reached during reconciliation efforts aimed at restoring stability in the state.

He accused the two leaders of running the affairs of government without commitment to transparency and good governance.

“The governor and his deputy have continued to act in a manner that undermines democratic principles and accountability,” Jack said.

He further alleged that the peace deals facilitated by President Tinubu were breached on several occasions, including agreements reached during reconciliation meetings held in December 2023 and another in 2025.

Jack insisted that the continued failure of the governor and his deputy to honour the terms of the peace accord necessitated the impeachment process currently before the Assembly.