Politics

We Are Ready To Face Sanwo-Olu In Primary – Ambode Group

Published

2 years ago

May 2, 2022

Editor

Akinwunmi Ambode Campaign Organisation has said that structures are in place to challenge Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu for the Lagos All Progressives Congress governorship ticket.

The group also said there are plans to send Sanwo-Olu out of office in 2023.

The chairman of AMCO and former Commissioner for Energy and Mineral resources, Wale Oluwo, made this known during a radio programme, CityTalks with Reuben Abati.

He explained that Ambode has been working “silently” to put structures in place that would displace the leadership of Sanwo-Olu in Lagos State in 2023.

This is coming about a week after the Governor’s Advisory Council reportedly endorsed Sanwo-Olu for the second term in office.

The former governor’s group leader faulted GAC for endorsing Sanwo-Olu, saying the position of GAC is not a reflection of Lagos APC members, The PUNCH reports.

“GAC doesn’t have such powers. Ambode did well. AMCO candidates will pick the nomination forms next week. We want to be the driver of that change in Lagos,” he said.

According to him, though they are in support of Ambode, he may not emerge as the group’s candidate.

Oluwo said, “Ambode is seriously interested in what happens in Lagos in 2023 and that “interest aligns with the expectation of the people. We will lead people to their expectations.”

On how Ambode would displace Sanwo-Olu despite being silent for almost four years, Oluwo said, “Ambode might have been silent but he is very effective in organising AMCO and his people. The result of that will be seen very soon.

“You don’t need a federal appointment to fight for your space in your state. You just need the right strategy and funding. AMCO is not bereft of that. AMCO is a major group in APC, we will participate in the election and be victorious by the grace of God.

“We are back to implement the change we desired in 2019. Our people have been collecting the nomination forms. Making noise about the forms collected doesn’t add any value to your form. We will collect governorship form next week.”

Oluwo also noted that Bola Tinubu is not his preferred presidential aspirant.

When asked what could be Ambode’s game plan after failing to win the party’s ticket in 2018, he replied, “We cannot compare 2019 with 2023, they are not the same. This is because the national leadership of the party we had in 2019 is not the same that we have in 2022.”

He claimed that a study had been conducted and the outcome showed Lagosians are not getting dividends of democracy under the present administration compared to what was obtainable during Ambode’s administration in the state.

He noted that Ambode would be guided by a suggestion that he (Ambode) should “communicate more with the people when we return to power”.

“Performance for performance, the administration of Sanwo-Olu cannot be compared to what Ambode achieved. You have to start with security and infrastructure, we can show a lot of things now. But for this government, well this is not the time to start tearing ourselves apart,” he said.

“The way that the GAC sponsored its candidate is the same way that we will do that for our own candidate too. And members of the party will have the option of determining which of the candidates, either AMCO or GAC, they will like to vote for. We acknowledge that Sanwo-Olu has picked his nomination form, the AMCO candidate will also do his own; and the primary will happen.

“For AMCO, we are participating at all levels of the election. From governorship to the House of Assembly. We will field candidates for all positions. Our candidate will not be Akinwunmi Ambode. We will ensure internal democracy. We will present our own aspirants and they would challenge the governorship and other seats in Lagos.

“The process of presenting our own candidates is almost concluded and I can assure you that by early next week, the candidates will be announced. The GAC is only promoting their own interests by announcing Sanwo-Olu as their candidate.

“I regard GAC as an NGO – Non-Governmental Organisation. They picked the incumbent to promote the interest of their members. We will pick our own and go to the field to determine who the party’s candidate will be.

“We have confidence in the national leadership today that there would be fairness, justice and level-playing ground for all groups.

“What is happening today is that a group forces candidates on the party. That is not internal democracy. We should agree to a consensus. 100 per cent of the party’s position has been assigned to just a group and that is not sustainable. That is still being contested.”

When asked if Ambode would pick the governorship form and challenge Sanwo-Olu, the AMCO leader laughed and said, “We don’t annoint. We practise internal democracy within AMCO itself. We are participating at every level of the election. The group will determine who will be its candidate and he will go and contest in the primary. It could be any person.”

Responding to how AMCO would displace GAC’s candidate, Oluwo said, “We have the structure. Those structures are populated by our people. Our approach is not that of godfatherism. We are taking power back to the people and the youths. Our philosophy and direction are clear.

“Our strategy is not to join PDP. We are within the APC. Our interest is to contest the primary of the party and get the governorship and other tickets. APC will win Lagos and that will be the APC of Ambode campaign organisation.”

Asked what structure AMCO has within APC to upstage the current administration, he replied, “APC structure in Lagos State is incomplete and that’s why no ward executive has been sworn in. Only the Lagos APC chairman has been sworn in in Abuja. The implication is that a new list will come out that will harmonise all the tendencies within the party.”

AMCO started in 2014 and played a major role in ensuring the success of Ambode as the Governor of Lagos State.

Related Topics:Ambode APC Babajide Sanwo-Olu

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Politics

Edo Guber: Ex-Speaker Rejoins APC With Over 2000 Followers

Published

19 hours ago

May 20, 2024

Editor

A Former Speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly, Francis Okiye, rejoined the All Progressives Congress.

The former Speaker had resigned his membership of the People Democratic Party on May 10, assuring that he would announce his next political move in the coming days.

Speaking at a rally in Edo Central, he said that about 2500 people moved to APC in Esan West, Esan Central, Esan North East, Esan South East and Igueben.

He said, “About 2500 people from Labour, PDP joined the APC on Sunday. Prior to today (Sunday), we had met, discussed and asked Governor Godwin Obaseki led PDP government to address the issue of alienation, disillusionment and high handedness and despotic tendencies.

“Nothing has been done to address the issue, so we the “aborigine” PDP, have just given the Obaseki led PDP a red card.

When asked how his return to APC will help the party, he said, “My movement to APC will help the party and I will be simple with my analysis.

“In a democracy, votes matter. So my exit from PDP is a minus to the party whether anybody likes to interpret other wise. If they are Democrats, they will know that at least they have lost my vote not to talk of many others that moved with me to APC.

“With what happened today, they have lost a minimum of 500 votes and these 500 people also have people they can convince to work for APC.

“We will begin the house to house campaign soon and let people know why they must leave PDP and join in the APC. They musy vote a candidate that is humane and not business people who are in the state to make profit,” he added.

Politics

Atiku Hints On Supporting Obi For 2027 Presidential Race

Published

2 days ago

May 18, 2024

Editor

The 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, has said that if in 2027, the party decides that it is the South-East’s turn and selects Peter Obi as its candidate, he will readily offer his support.

“I have said repeatedly and I even said it before the 2023 general elections that if the PDP decides to zone the presidential ticket to the South or South-East specifically, I won’t contest it. As long as it’s the decision of the party, I will abide by it. But I contested the 2023 presidential ticket because it was thrown open to all members of the party.

“If the party decides that it’s the turn of the South-East and Peter Obi is chosen, I won’t hesitate to support him,” Atiku declared in a recent interview with BBC Hausa Service.

He added that a merger between the PDP and Labour Party is possible.

Atiku added that members of the party would decide his fate in the 2027 general elections.

The former Vice President mentioned that his recent meeting with Obi might indicate a possible alliance leading up to the 2027 general elections.

Responding to questions about the meeting with Obi, Atiku said, “It’s just a normal friendly meeting that we often have, particularly among us in the opposition parties. Such meetings are healthy for Nigeria’s democracy and in the country’s interest.”

On whether this will bring about a merger, he said, “Yes, it’s very much possible. We can merge to achieve a common goal. So, it’s possible, and nothing can stop it if we wish to achieve that.”

The former Vice President, who denied that the choice of presidential candidate might frustrate the merger discussion, said, “That’s not true. That challenge will not arise. I can tell you that the choice of who will fly the flag of the party won’t be an issue.”

On why he’s still in active politics, Atiku said, “Yes, we can’t keep quiet and watch things go wrong. People are suffering and we are committed to making Nigeria a better place.

“It means you are not tired of politics of Nigeria? Not at all. I am still in active politics in Nigeria, at least, as long as God permits.

“My age doesn’t stop the young ones from testing their fate. Everybody, irrespective of age, is allowed to aspire to be anybody in the society, politically or otherwise.”

Regarding his 2027 Presidential ambition, the former Vice President said “That would depend on the decision of my party. I can’t make any categorical statement on that. It’s the duty of the party to decide on the way to go in the next election.

“Until that time comes. Let’s just wait and see how it will turn out.

“It must not be interpreted like that. I must not be eyeing elections to have meetings with political friends and associates. Currently, we are practising democracy in this country which we fought for with our blood.”

Last week, Obi held a private meeting with Atiku and some other PDP leaders in Abuja.

Obi also met separately with former Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido and former Senate President Bukola Saraki, sparking speculation about a possible coalition for the 2027 general elections.

Obi was a PDP member until 2022, when he left to pursue his presidential ambitions with the Labour Party.

He finished third behind Atiku in the February 23 presidential election, which was won by Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress.

Atiku blamed Obi’s departure from the PDP for his loss to Tinubu.

Analysts argued that Atiku’s 6,984,520 votes combined with Obi’s 6,101,533 votes could have secured a win against Tinubu, who received 8,794,726 votes.

Monday’s meeting marked the first public interaction between Obi and Atiku since the election.

Social media and online platforms were flooded with viral photos of Obi’s meetings with the three PDP figures on Monday.

In 2019, Atiku and Obi ran together on the PDP ticket but were defeated by former President Muhammadu Buhari of the APC.

However, due to internal conflicts, Obi, who was Atiku’s running mate in 2019, left the PDP and ran as the Labour Party’s candidate in the 2023 presidential election.

Politics

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

Published

4 days 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