Author: The Nation

• National chair dismisses suspension
• Wike backs action

By Emmanuel Badejo, Assistant Editor; Uja Emmanuel, Makurdi; Gbade Ogunwale, Abuja and Mike Odiegwu, Port Harcourt

The protracted crisis that has hit the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) took a legal dimension yesterday.

A Makurdi High Court in Benue State issued an interim injunction restraining Dr Iyorchia Ayu from parading himself as the national chairman.

The order came a day after Ayu was suspended by the executive committee of his native Igyorov Ward in the Gboko Local Government Area of Benue.

A resolution passed at the end of the Igyorov Ward meeting and read by its Secretary, Mr. Banger Dooyum, accused Ayu of causing PDP to lose the general election at the state, local government and ward levels.

The ward executives also passed a vote of no confidence in him.

The applicant, Conrad Utaan, in the case before Justice W. I. Kpochi, cited Ayu’s suspension in filing the motion.

The suit, numbered HC/85/2023, with Ayu and the PDP as defendants, has been adjourned to April 17 for a hearing.

Ayu yesterday dismissed his suspension, saying the ward executives lacked the powers to so act.

He cited Article 57(7) of the PDP Constitution which prohibits any organ from taking any disciplinary measure against a National Executive Committee (NEC) member.

Besides, 16 PDP ward officials in Ingyorov disassociated themselves from Ayu’s suspension and the vote of no confidence passed in him.

But, Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike asked Ayu to get ready because the war against him was just beginning.

The governor said it was unthinkable for someone who could not deliver his polling unit, ward, local government or state to the PDP during the last general election to preside over the party and control states won by the PDP, such as Rivers.

Former PDP Deputy National Chairman, Chief Olabode Goerge, blamed Ayu for the crisis that has engulfed the party.

“This is a dirty politics which Ayu started,” he said in reference to the court injunction.

Ayu restrained 

Ruling on the application to restrain Ayu, Justice Kpochi said: “Upon hearing Mr. M. T. Assoh and upon a dispassionate consideration of the facts placed before me in the pool of the affidavit evidence, and again, upon the consideration of the issues distilled in the written address by M. T. Assoh, it is my candid view that this is a proper case to grant the interim injunction as craved.

“Consequently, this application is hereby granted in terms of the reliefs captured in the motion papers as herein before reproduced. It is so ordered.”

The applicant had sought an order of interim injunction restraining Ayu from parading himself as national chairman having lost his membership.

He prayed that the order should subsist, pending the hearing and determination of the Motion on Notice.

Ayu: ward can’t suspend me 

But, Ayu has told the executive committee of his ward that it lacked the power to suspend him.

He said those who purportedly suspended him were illiterates and ignorant of the PDP constitution.

In a statement by his media aide, Simon Imobo-Tswam, the PDP national chairman said some of those who suspended him were forced to sign the resolution.

He also said they were being teleguided by those he described as political gamblers “to cause mischief and nothing more”.

According to him, some of the Exco members who refused to sign the resolution were being held hostage in an unnamed location in Makurdi, the Benue capital.

“The purported suspension is, therefore, an exercise in futility as it derives its strength majorly from gross illiteracy, ignorance, gambling and desperation. 

“It has only mischief, drama and propaganda value,” Ayu declared.

The statement adds: “We wish to state categorically and with all emphasis at our disposal thus:

“For starters, Article 57(7) of the PDP Constitution as Amended in 2017 expressly prohibits any organ of the party or executive committee of the party at the Ward or State Level from taking any disciplinary measure against any member of the party’s National Executive Committee.

“The purported suspension is, therefore, an exercise in futility as it derives its strength majorly from gross illiteracy, ignorance, gambling and desperation. 

“It has only mischief, drama and propaganda value.

“But more than this, the so-called suspension letter was written by an illiterate beforehand, and only given to the coerced members to sign somewhere in Makurdi.

“This is why the original date is ‘tipexed’ and 24 March imposed on it. And this is also why it states that the presidential/National Assembly and Governorship/State Assembly elections were held on the 25th and 18th March 2023 respectively.

“From what we know, the document itself is fraudulent as the signatures of the ward executives were forged or obtained under duress.

“The (ward) chairman, his deputy and legal adviser didn’t sign. The 14th person on the list didn’t sign too. She was at NKST Ambighir for the Holy Communion.

“In fact, the same applies to Nos. 5, 8 and 16. At the time, they were supposed to be in Makurdi with the other coerced, intimidated and induced members of the exco, they were actually in their villages, going about their normal businesses.

“Up till now, about nine members of the Ward Exco are still being held hostage in a location in Makurdi for obvious reasons. 

“And expectedly, their mobile numbers have been switched off. It is instructive.

“The general public is hereby advised to ignore rumours to this heinous effect. 

“Those behind the plot are only investing in expensive illusions.”

16 PDP ward EXCO disassociate selves

No fewer than 16 Ingyorov PDP ward officials disassociated themselves from Ayu’s suspension.

They informed the PDP chairman in Gboko that they were neither part of the meeting nor did they sign the resolution.

They stated: “The Executive Committee never discussed in any of our meetings prior to elections or post-2023 general elections about the conduct of the national chairman, Dr. Ayu.

“The Executive Committee has no knowledge of the letter of suspension and has not authorised anybody to generate such a mischievous letter on behalf of the Executive Committee.

“The purported signatures on the letter were forged and no Executive Committee member of Ingrorov PDP Council ward signed the letter, just as all their names were wrongly spelt.

“We, therefore, pass a vote of confidence on the PDP National Chairman Dr Iyorchia Ayu and urge members of the public to disregard the purported suspension.”

Wike to Ayu: the war against you has just started 

Wike, who spoke during the inauguration of the remodelled Community Secondary School in Okoro-nu-Odo, in Obio-Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers, accused Ayu of being responsible for PDP’s colossal failure in Benue and across the country during the general election.

He said: “Ask them, those who want to be chairman of this party (PDP), what do you have to give to the party now?

“Presidential election; you lost in your unit, lost in your ward, lost in your local government and lost in your state. Which party will you preside over now?”

Wike said it was God who hardened Ayu’s heart not to resign when the G-5 governors and members of Integrity Group demanded his resignation after the emergence of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar as the PDP presidential candidate.

He said if Ayu had resigned then, his cohorts, who were vehemently opposed to the zoning of elective and appointive offices, would have used that as an excuse for the party’s abysmal performance in the just-concluded general elections.

The governor said it would be morally offensive for Ayu to remain as the national chairman after the catastrophic defeat of the party under his watch in his unit, ward, local government, state and national levels.

Wike insisted that Ayu’s suspension was the beginning of the battle to save the party.

He said: “Those of you who are fighting his suspension, you have not seen anything yet. The fight has started. Ayu, the fight has just started.

“If you know him, those of you who are close to him, tell him, Iyorchia Ayu, the fight has just started.”

According to Wike, instead of Ayu using his position to strengthen PDP’s grip on Benue, he let it slip.

He said: “Will you preside over the one (Rivers PDP) I have secured victory for? 

“You want to come and preside over this state (Rivers) so that we will begin to donate money to the party?

“You, bring your own state to the party too, so that your state can contribute money to the national. 

“If you don’t deliver your state, you can’t preside over us. You cannot.”

Wike noted that already, some persons within the party were thinking of siding with Ayu to challenge his suspension.

“Somebody who engaged in anti-party activities is suspending people. 

“The chief priest of anti-party, native doctor of anti-party suspending those who have worked hard for this party.

“All of you who are joining Ayu, be prepared. Now, I have no other job.

“The job I have now is to put more heat on them and I will continue to do that,” the governor said.

Wike pointed out the nullity of the purported summoning of members of the National Working Committee (NWC) of PDP to Abuja to meet and pronounce the suspension as illegal.

He said: “If you like, let the national secretary rush to Abuja. 

“Let them meet this afternoon and say the suspension is illegal, you will see what you will face. 

“You are calling us small boys, you will see what small boys can do to you.”

George: Ayu began what he can’t finish 

Goerge, who faulted the gale of suspensions rocking the party, said it was wrong for Ayu to begin a process he cannot end.

The PDP chieftain, who spoke on Channels Politics Today, called for caution lest the party becomes history.

George, who noted that Ayu’s ward was not right to have suspended him, asked the PDP National Legal Adviser to approach the court to undo the order.

He said: “As a life BoT member of this party, when issues like this keep hitting your party, it is the right time for the elders in the party, I mean, the BoT, to come in and douse the tension.

“We warned very early as we were preparing for the national elections. You know two wrongs don’t make a right.

“So many mistakes have been made that completely differed from the perceptions of the founding fathers of this party.

“My appeal to all sides is to cool tempers. I believe that mistakes were made.

“If the ship of the PDP keeps taking in water and as an old sailor, I don’t want the ship to go down.

“This is not a military organisation and when you continue to act in whatever way you like because you are the executive chairman and whatever you say is the final, where are we heading to?

“These fellows in the chairman’s ward said they suspended him and they have now gone to the court where they claimed to have gotten an order.

“Normally, it is the NEC that can suspend or expel any member of the NEC. So, I am pleading with all the people to do the needful.

“I expect our National Legal Officer to approach the court and ventilate the party’s points to vacate the said order. 

“But if you don’t do that, you are also laying the foundation for disobeying a lawful order of the court.

“This is a dirty politics which Ayu started. So, if people are now throwing stones at him to make him feel as if he does not know what he’s doing, it is because he has begun a process that is now negatively affecting other members.”

To battle insecurity and terrorism, five West African countries will get $100 million aid from United States (U.S.), Vice President Kamala Harris announced yesterday in Ghana.

The other four nations that will benefit were not named.

Harris is on a weeklong three-nation African tour, which kicked off in Ghana.

The is to counter growing Chinese and Russian influence on the continent.

“President [Joe] Biden and I have made clear the United States is strengthening our partnerships across the continent of Africa,” Harris said during a joint news conference with Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo.

China has invested heavily in Africa in the past two decades, particularly in infrastructure, mining, timber and fishing while Russia’s private military contractor Wagner Group is providing security assistance in several countries.

Akufo-Addo, who alleged in December that its embattled neighbour Burkina Faso had hired the mercenaries, reiterated that he was concerned about Wagner’s presence in West Africa.

“It raises the very real possibility … that once again our continent is going to become the playground for great power conflict,” he said.

Several countries across West Africa and the Sahel region have been struggling to quell violence by armed groups that have caused humanitarian disasters and fuelled discontent, which contributed to military coups in Mali and Burkina Faso.

“We appreciate your leadership in response to recent democratic back-sliding in West Africa,” Harris told Akufo-Addo.

“To help address the threats of violent extremism and instability, today I am pleased to announce $100m in support of Benin, Ghana, Guinea, Cote d’Ivoire and Togo,” she said.

That money is in addition to $139m in assistance that the US intends to provide Ghana in the 2024 fiscal year, according to Harris’s office.

After Ghana, Harris will head to Tanzania and Zambia.

Harris was asked during the news conference whether she would be promoting LGBT rights during her tour, including in Ghana where a bill that would severely restrict those rights is going through parliament.

“I have raised this issue,” Harris said, adding that she felt very strongly about supporting freedom and equality for all people and that LGBT rights were a human rights issue.

Ghana’s draft bill would make it a crime to be gay, bisexual or transgender. Gay sex is already punishable by up to three years in prison under Ghanaian law although no one has been prosecuted in years.

The new bill would lengthen jail terms and force people to undergo “conversion therapy”, practises intended to change their sexual orientation. Parliament held public hearings on the bill starting in 2021. It is unclear when it will be put to a vote.

Akufo-Addo responded to a question about the bill from a US reporter by saying that it was not official government policy but rather had been put forward by legislators acting in a private capacity.

He also said the attorney general had submitted opinions to a parliamentary committee about “the constitutionality or otherwise of several of its provisions”.

“My understanding … is that substantial elements of the bill have already been modified as a result of the intervention of the attorney general,” he said without giving details.

“I have no doubt that the parliament of Ghana will show as it has done in the past … its sensitivity to human rights issues as well as to the feelings of our population and will come out with a responsible response to the proposed legislation,” the president said.

The All Progressives Congress (APC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Labour Party (LP) and other political parties are stepping up campaigns to increase their lawmakers in the 10th National Assembly.

The development followed an announcement yesterday by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that supplementary polls will hold on April 15 in two states (governorship); seven senatorial districts; 32 federal constituencies and some state constituencies.

According to the electoral umpire, the governorship rerun will hold in Adamawa and Kebbi states; senatorial polls in Kebbi (Kebbi North); Plateau (Plateau Central); Yobe (Yobe South); Zamfara (Zamfara Central); Sokoto (Sokoto East, North and South) districts.

Elections were declared inconclusive in the affected states, senatorial zones and constituencies by INEC after the February 25 Presidential/National Assembly polls and the March 18 Governorship/State Assembly elections following some infractions.

The April 15 supplementary polls will drop the curtain on the 2023 election cycle.

The governorship rerun in Adamawa will be a straight contest between incumbent Governor Ahmadu Fintiri of the PDP and APC female candidate Senator Aishatu Binani.

Before the Adamawa governorship election was declared inconclusive, Fintiri of the PDP had polled 421, 524 votes. His APC challenger Senator Binani garnered 390, 275.

The results tallied from 20 local government areas, showed Fintiri winning in 13 and the senator taking seven.

But the INEC suspended the collation of the results from Fufore Local Government Area, following reports that thugs had snatched the results sheet.

Both parties have been trading accusations of attempts to manipulate the results.

INEC said the difference between what he scored and what Binani scored was less than the number of registered voters in the area where the election was cancelled.

In Kebbi, APC candidate, Dr. Nasir Idris was ahead of the PDP contender Aminu Bande with 388,258 votes to 342,980.

So far, the APC has won governorship seats in 15 states, PDP, nine and LP and the NNPP in one state each.

In the Senate, the APC has 56 seats, PDP (32) and the LP (seven), Young Peoples Party (YPP) has one, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) got two; All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) has one and the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) has two.

In the House of Representatives, the APC has the majority of 162 seats, while the PDP has 102 and the LP,   34.

INEC National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee,  Festus Okoye, announced the supplementary elections  in Abuja yesterday.

Elections will hold in two federal constituencies in Akwa Ibom (Abak/Etim Ekpo/Ika and Ikono/Ini); Edo (Orhionmwon/Uhunmwode); Imo (Ikeduru/Mbaitoli and Isu/Njaba/Nkwere/Nwangele);  Kano (Doguwa/Tudun Wada and Fagge); Kebbi (Arewa/Dandi and Koko/Besse/Maiyoma);  Oyo (Ibadan North East/Ibadan South East and Oluyole); Rivers (Gokana/Khana and Port Harcourt II) as well as Zamfara (Gummi/Bukkuyum and Gusau/Tsafe).

There will also be supplementary polls in one federal constituency in Taraba (Takum/Donga/Ussa);  Kogi (Bassa/Dekina); Jigawa (Gumel/Maigatari/Sule Tankarkar/Gagarawa), Ebonyi (Ezza North/Ishielu), Bayelsa (Southern Ijaw) and Anambra (Igbaru).

Although House Leader, Alhassan Ado Doguwa was initially declared the winner of the Doguwa/Tudun Wada federal constituency, INEC withdrew the announcement, saying the results were declared under duress.

 Okoye explained in the statement that the commission met and reviewed the areas where supplementary elections were required to conclude the outstanding governorship, and national and state assembly elections across the country.

He recalled that 26 state governorship, 104 senatorial, 329 federal and 935 state constituency elections were concluded and winners declared.

The statement reads in part: “Supplementary governorship elections will be held in Adamawa and Kebbi, five Senatorial Districts, 31 Federal and 58 State Assembly constituencies.

“Owing to the competitive nature of the elections, especially for legislative seats, supplementary elections will be held in just a few polling units in some constituencies,” he said.

Okoye said the comprehensive list of the polling units by state, local government, registration area, registered voters and Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) collected would be published on the INEC website on or before Wednesday.

He appealed to all political parties, candidates and stakeholders to note the date and locations of the supplementary elections.

Okoye said the earlier accreditation for polling and collation agents, observers and the media still subsisted for the supplementary elections.

“The commission once again urges political parties, candidates and their supporters to see the exercise as an election and not war.

“They should avoid incendiary statements and negative mobilisation so that the elections can be conducted and concluded as scheduled.” 

Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson yesterday listed conditions that will make Nigerians realise their enomous potential.  

According to him, equality before the law, enforcementof laws without fear or favour, election of leader through free and fair process are necessary.

Other conditions are  prioritisation of education and freedom of speech.

Johnson spoke in Lagos at the 16th Osigwe Anyiam-Osigwe lecture series. It is with the theme: “Rehumanising human experience”.

The former UK leader, who was excited to be in Nigeria again, said the time had come for the both nations to work together to create more opportunities for their citizens, especially at a time more countries are drifting apart.

He said: “Now is the time. When the world is so uncertain, when some nations are disentangling, now is the time for the UK and Nigeria, two great democracies to work together.

“Nigeria can be a renewable superpower and still be a producer of oil and gas. We could be much more together.”

Johnson urged Nigeria to tap into the expertise he gained as a mayor and prime minister in the area of mass transportation.

According to him, people must be moved swiftly from one point and the other without wasting time.

Apart from seeking closer Nigeria-UK ties, he urged countries to unleash the potential of their citizens by prioritising education.

Johnson noted that the theme of the lecture was apt since not many people have had the opportunity to discover and activate their potentials.

He queried that with the population of Nigeria, how many citizens have been able to unleash their potential?

To achieve that, he said all people must be equal before the law and that the law must be enforced without fear or favour.

He canvassed the need for the citizens to elect their leaders through free and fair democratic process, calling for free speech, an open and tolerant society as well as the prioritisation of education by the government.

Johnson, who is still a member of parliament, said: “You need a society that is open and that is tolerant to develop human potential.”

Saying the Ukraine would triumph over Russia in the raging war, he said: “Putin got it wrong because he’s undemocratic. He has only yes-men around him.”

The event, chaired by former Commonwealth Secretary-General, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, was also attended by a former Lagos State Deputy Governor Olufemi Pedro, who represented the President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu; Lagos State Deputy Governor Kadri Obafemi Hamzat, who represented Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu; former External Affairs Minister, Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi; Chief Pascal Dozie; Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi; Senator Ben Obi; members of Anyiam-Osigwe family led by the matriarch, Chief Dorothy Anyiam-Osigwe; the Coordinator-General of Osigwe Anyiam-Osigwe Foundation, Chief Charles Anyiam-Osigwe; Chief Emmanuel Chukwuka Anyiam-Osigwe; Chief Anthony Anyiam-Osigwe; Mr. George Anyiam-Osigwe, Chief Kennedy Anyiam-Osigwe; Raymond Anyiam-Osigwe.

Director-General of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), Lagos, Prof. Eghosa Osaghae, was the rapporteur at the event

Anyaoku said the lecture series has become a well-established occasion for acknowledged and global figures to share with the Nigerian public their experiences in managing human affairs.

He thanked the foundation for organising the 16th  session of the distinguished lecture in the series, expressing his delight to welcome Johnson, who he described as a great author, a fantastic journalist, a remarkable British politician, who succeeded in exiting the UK from Europe after monumental negotiation.

He said:  ”I believe if we were to effectively pursue the theme of this 16th lecture series of the Osigwe Anyiam-Osigwe, namely: ‘Rehumanising human experience,’ consideration of the comprehensive welfare of the people should be the bedrock of policies and actions of politicians and actions across the world.”

Deputy Governor Hamzat urged Nigerians to be patriotic and avoid de-marketing the country.

“We will go nowhere if all we see about our country are the negatives,” he said.

Pedro said the president-elect, as a friend of the Anyiam-Osigwe family, would have loved to attend the event but was unavoidably absent, describing lecture’s title as “very apt and dear to Tinubu”.

He urged Nigerians to remain calm and support Tinubu to take the country to a greater height with renewed hope.

The Coordinator-General of the Foundation, George Anyiam-Osigwe, said the Lecture Series is not just an adventure in intellectual rhapsody; “it is not a memorial escapade to glorify an individual. No. It is an adventure within the bounds of the submission of Emmanuel Onyechere Osigwe Anyiam-Osigwe on how we can realise a better world order.

“It is in this construct that he variously espouses man as the primary moving force of sentient existence. In his fragments,’’ he says “man is the centre of the universe”. It is in this context that he evaluates the primacy of man as the driving wheel of sentient existence and its social order.

“In the view of Anyiam-Osigwe, in earthbound existence, whether in the development of the sciences, technology, architecture, environment, economics and economic policy, agriculture, industry, ethical sustainability, man is the organic factor in giving direction and determining the depth of development. “While the world is assumed to have vastly improved developmentally, the poverty scale, inequality gap, crises of poor management of the environment, economic structures of ownership, wealth distribution within the group mind compass, labour and productivity, remain fundamental points of disputations,” he said.

A pro-democracy group, The Natives, yesterday faulted the claim by the opposition parties that their mandate was stolen, following their defeat at the February 25 presidential poll.

The group said “no mandate was stolen”, adding that the election was won by Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The group also warned the opposition parties and their candidates to forget the thought of an interim government, saying that the nation already has a President-elect who will take it by May 29, 2023.

Also, the APC support group, led by Tosin Adeyanju, warned Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Labour Party (LP) against overheating the polity.

Addressing reporter in Abuja before embarking on a peaceful walk in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Supreme Leader of the Natives, Smart Edwards, appealed to Nigerians to allow democracy to grow by declaring their support for the President-elect.

“No mandate was stolen. It was either you (opposition parties) did not network with your people and Nigerians well, or your people did anti-party against you. Today we have witnessed PDP suspending its National Chairman, the man who campaigned for the party, that’s democracy.

“It is our turn, the Natives of Nigeria, to see a better Nigeria. It is our turn to see a working Nigeria. It is our turn to see a democracy that works. It is our turn to advance the country as Patriots. 

“Today, we are declaring absolutely that no mandate was stolen. INEC performed creditably and the election was free and fair. The election saw NNPPwinn the election in Kano state, APC though challenging the outcome but has decided to go to court, that’s democracy. PDP won the election in Rivers, Enugu, Taraba, Delta, Plateau states and others, and an APC candidate in Plateau has congratulated the winner, his party may choose to proceed to Court, that’s democracy. 

“In Benue, the APC has a Reverend Father who won the election overwhelmingly against the incumbent, that’s democracy. We saw Peter win won the election in Lagos state against the Landlord, that’s democracy. 

“We saw Labour Party won the election in FCT Abuja, that’s democracy. We saw an Okada man win an election in Kaduna state, that’s democracy. We saw a woman almost won an election in Adamawa but was declared inconclusive, that’s democracy.”

On the call for an interim government by the opposition, Edwards vowed that his group will resist the move.

“Those calling for interim government are jokers because when Shonekan was brought in, the people rejected it. Africa’s base for democracy in Nigeria. We have Goodluck Jonathan who is a symbol of democracy, we had late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, who was a symbol of democracy and we have General Gowon, who is also a symbol of democracy. 

“Other Nations in Africa are learning from Nigeria. So, what I am saying is that the Natives of Nigeria are of all tribes and colouration, and nobody can attempt an interim government. President Muhammadu Buhari has spoken clearly and that’s why we came out today in solidarity with what the President said that he will hand over to Asiwaju Tinubu.

“So, Please I appeal, let’s balance our emotions with Progressiveness. Let’s banish bigotry wherever it is found, whether in the East, West, South or Noth. Let us work together and I also call on all parties to sheath their swords and proceed to Court if they are still aggressive or allow it to be.

“We are telling the opposition parties and their supporters that in the National Assembly, we are seeing six different parties who won elections and will form the 10th Assembly, that’s democracy. I tell you, some Senators lost their seats, and some governors lost the election. 

“What we are saying is that the International community should ensure that Nigeria which is their base point to Africa and the world should be supported to grow its democracy.

“The people who were injured during these elections are Nigeria, citizens. They are also Natives. We are calling on the opposition, particularly because we want to correct the erroneous view of Peter Obi’s running mate Datti Ahmed that there is no President-elect. If he had said that during the days of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, he will never appear in public again.

“We call on everybody, whether the young people who are hurt or the APC who is also hurt or PPD who is hurt or LP, NNPP and others, to allow peace to reign and be patriotic. The elections are over, but the elections are still in Court, please give Nigeria a chance to grow.”

Picking holes from the call for the removal of Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, INEC Chairman, the group leader said “he is not going anywhere. This same man conducted the election where NNPP won, Labour Party won, PDP also won in some states.

“The spirit of June 12 is upon us, by June 12 this year it will be 30 years. The same military that truncated democracy at that time in Agbada led by President Muhammadu Buhari has recognised this election. We believe that MKO Abiola’s soul will rest in peace on the day Bola Ahmeat d Tinubu takes over from President Muhammadu Buhari.

“I am also appealing in the name of the Almighty God to all Nigerians to please give peace a chance. We cannot continue to be protesting on the streets every day.

“We will be marching to INEC headquarters to tell the Commission that no mandate was stolen Asiwaju won the election and it remained so. Only Tribunal and Supreme Court can change the decision of INEC.”

Adeyanju said the solidarity rally will continue until May 29, when the President-elect is sworned-in.

Describing the general election as the freest and fairest, Adeyanju appealed to Nigerians not to listen to enemies of democracy who are bent on delegitimising the presidential election.

Edo APC chieftain John Mayaki said the opposition should not be allowed to truncate democracy, adding that they are sore losers

The Deputy Director of the Artisans and Technicians Directorate of the PCC, Hajiya Hadiza Mamman Vatsa, said the opposition had become unruly in defeat. 

She condemned the attitude of the opposition who had resorted to frivolous litigations and unwarranted public protests.

She said: “APC accepted defeats in so many unexpected states, I wondered why it was a hard nut for the opposition to crack by accepting that the presidential and indeed all the elections have been won and lost, what next is not campaign or protests, but for all to come together and work for the progress of our country,” Vatsa advised.

Another member, Abdullahi Mai’agogo, said: “The victory of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu was as clear as a sunny day and one wonders why the waste of energy by the opposition over it.”

He also dismissed the assertions that there will be an interim government on the 29th of May.

Mai’agogo said: “The President-elect has been announced and President Muhammadu Buhari has openly said he would be handing over to the declared winner. All this noise about interim government is a figment of the opposition dream. Asiwaju will be sworn in to form a full-fledged administration come May 29.”