Politics

Speakership: Low Turnout As Gbajabiamila Launches Campaign For Tajudeen

Published

1 year ago

May 18, 2023

Editor

Members-elect for the 10th House of Representatives, on Wednesday, failed to honour the invitation of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, for the sole aim of launching a campaign for Representative Abbas Tajudeen.

Tajudeen is one of the aspirants for the position of the Speaker for the 10th Assembly.

The All Progressives Congress, APC, and the President-elect, Bola Tinubu, had adopted Tajudeen, a member representing Zaria Federal Constituency of Kaduna State, for the position of Speaker in the next Assembly.

DAILY POST learnt that zoning of the number four citizen’s position to the North West and the subsequent adoption of Tajudeen, was the brainchild of Gbajabiamila, who allegedly prefers to continue holding grip of the 10th House of Representatives, thereby, making it possible for Tinubu to control the incoming Assembly.

But Gbajabiamila, during a meeting organized Wednesday night by the Joint Task Force for the 10th Assembly, an umbrella body for the actualization of Tajudeen’s ambition as Speaker, denied ever influencing the choice of the Kaduna-born politician.

He explained: “North West geopolitical zone alone contributed 30% of the total votes for APC in the last elections and if you conduct a proper research, the North West zone has not been considered for the number four position in the history of our parliament.”

He was, however, shocked to see a hall filled with support groups, journalists and spectators as the target audience, members-elect, who possess the voting powers, largely boycotted the meeting.

Sensing that the little number inside the hall might not necessarily be members and members-elect, whom he has sought to address, Gbajabiamila requested for an executive session, apparently to see if he has enough numbers to make his anointed candidate Speaker; only to be bewildered that only 73 members and members-elect honoured the invitation.

The visibly angered Speaker was seen leaving the Osun Hall of Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja, just two minutes after asking for an executive session.

A lawmaker who was in attendance and spoke with DAILY POST on the condition of anonymity, explained that: “Gbaja was not happy seeing the number of lawmakers in attendance and I think he has sensed danger, as an experienced politician, that his preferred candidate won’t fly”.

Asked if he was going to support Tajudeen, the lawmaker who just won his election under the Labour Party, said he was actually at the meeting, like some of his friends, who got an invitation that Rep. Gbajabiamila was going to address both returning and new Members, only to see that it was a forum to sell the candidacy of Tajudeen.

“Some of my colleagues understood the reason for the meeting, but innocent me, like few of my friends I interacted with in the hall, didn’t get the notion behind the invitation until we got here and we decided to sit and listen to whatever they had to say. I was personally disappointed seeing just a few Members in attendance because I had thought they got all the votes since it’s their party that selected this man for Speaker.

“But since their own Members cannot honour their party and most of them stayed off, is it we from the minorities that would support APC? Even though we are more than them in number, we would not be used to project mediocrity or support the composition of a rubber-stamped Assembly. The institution of the National Assembly is supposed to be an independent Arm of Government and not an appendage of another arm of Government.

“The minority caucus has been meeting lately and we shall make our stand known soon. We shall throw our weight behind anyone we feel have the capacity and independent mind to make the 10th House work for the people of Nigeria and not for an individual. We shall support such a person, regardless of any region or State he or she comes from. About 358 Members are going to cast their votes to decide the next Speaker and I don’t think, this number I’m seeing here tonight can make one-quarter of the deciding votes”, the member-elect added.

Politics

JUST IN: Ex-PDP Deputy National Chair, Oyedokun Defects To APC

Published

1 day ago

May 16, 2024

Editor

A former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Alhaji Shuaib Oyedokun, has resigned his membership of the party and announced defection to the All Progressives Congress.

Oyedokun, a notable personality within the political circle in Osun State and beyond, said he decided to dump the PDP after consultation with his loyalists.

He said he would be joining APC, where his experience, efforts, and leadership roles would be valued and appreciated.

His resignation letter addressed to the National Chairman of the PDP through the ward, local government and state chairmen of the party obtained late Thursday further read, “As a functional member and leader of PDP (Ward 13, Jagun/ Osi-Bale Ode, Odo-Otin South Local Government, Osun State,) whose high electoral productivity and value have been credibly and positively acknowledged in my ward, across the local council, state and country-wide for the enhancement of the fortune of the PDP, I have the honour (though with pain) in announcing the renunciation of my membership of the party on principle, having observed that the ideals of we, founding members, had been sorely contaminated.

“In taking this step which is not even without due consultation with my teaming loyalists in the PDP, I have consequently decided to shift my allegiance to the All Progressives Congress (APC) where I believe my experience, efforts and leadership roles would be valued and appreciated.”

Oyedokun’s defection to the APC is coming at the time the aspirant he supported during the 2022 Osun governorship primary of PDP, Mr Dotun Babayemi is also moving to the national ruling party.

Osun APC said on Wednesday that Babayemi and his supporters would be dumping PDP and joining the party at a rally scheduled to be held in Osogbo on Friday.
PUNCH

Politics

Poll: APC Has No Sellable Candidate, Nothing To Campaign On – Edo Govt

Published

4 days ago

May 13, 2024

Editor

The Edo State Government claimed on Monday that the All Progressives Congress, APC, has no credible candidate for the September 21 governorship election.

This was an assertion made by the Edo State Commissioner for Communication and Orientation, Chris Nehikhare, at a press conference in Benin City.

Nehikhare also alleged that the party is using lies and propaganda as its campaign strategy.

According to him: “The only APC strategy for the governorship election is to resort to lies and propaganda. When a party takes lies and propaganda as an election strategy, it means it has nothing to offer the people. The party lacks people with character, capacity, and intellect.”

The commissioner who took journalists through a screened shot WhatsApp chat said: “What we have here is the official APC WhatsApp platform, their own people screenshot their discussion. One of them who has a conscience asks, is this the only thing we have?”

Nehikhare, who said APC is ashamed to campaign for its candidate, noted that, as of today, nobody had heard of what the party has for the state.

“All we heard is how they are going to help their paymaster, lies and propaganda that will not help the state,” he added.

He opined that lies and propaganda are not strategies the opposition party, like APC, can use to win the September 21 governorship election.

The commissioner, who warned against misinformation and fake news ahead of the governorship election, urged media practitioners to be neutral in matters concerning lies and propaganda.

He, however, noted that Governor Godwin Obaseki’s administration has a lot of achievements to market and sell its candidate for the election.

Politics

Defection: Edo Govt, Ex-PDP BoT Member, Idahosa In Verbal War

Published

4 days ago

May 13, 2024

Editor

Edo State government and a former member of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Board of Trustees, Charles Idahosa, on Monday traded words over the latter defection to the All Progressives Congress, APC.

Recall that Idahosa resigned
formally resigned who had last month resigned from PDP, rejoined the APC on Monday in Benin City.

Speaking during his formal presentation to the APC in Benin City, he noted that he left the party four years ago due to internal crisis.

Idahosa added that he dumped the PDP because of what he described as the “damning deeds of the Obaseki-led administration in the last four years”.

He took a swipe at Obaseki for saying that PDP would win the forthcoming September governorship election with 80 per cent of votes.

“I thank God, four years later we all are wiser now. Like the Secretary said, I was a founding member of ACD, ACN and APC. The damage we did four years ago, the APC never remained the same.

“But I am glad we are back to the family. I was nominated to the Board of the Railway when I was in the APC. When I moved to the PDP, I wrote to resign my membership but it was rejected and showed my wide acceptance.

“At 71, I am not here to contest position with anybody, I am here to work. I want to urge APC to keep their eyes on the ball. It is not over until it is over.”

While lambasting Governor Obaseki for his comment that those leaving PDP have been given money, he noted that his greatest regret was not allowing the governor to resign after his first four years in office.

“When he came to beg me like a weather beaten chicken, how much did he give to me? Anytime he goes religious gathering he would say those leaving PDP have been given money.

“He came to me three times in my house to say he wants to resign, that he was tired of being governor but I appealed to him, telling him it was not about him but Benin interest.”

But in a swift reaction, the state Commissioner for Communication and Orientation, Chris Nehikhare alleged that Idahosa was never a PDP member.

Nehikhare noted that Idahosa was also never a BOT member of the party, because the party in the state rejected his nomination.

He alleged that it was as a result of the rejection that he found his way back to APC.

“I heard that he claimed to be a member of BOT of PDP but I want to challenge him to tell us when he was sworn in as a member of PDP BOT. He was not a fit and proper person. Even though he was nominated he was shunned by the party.

“It was this that drove him back to APC which he never left in the first place. He was holding on to the board appointment which was offered him while in APC prior to 2020 governorship election.

“He has reached the end of his political career. He has nothing to offer any political party or any group he joins because he believes in bread and butter politics,” Nehikhare said.