The member representing Aguata 11 constituency in Anambra state, Hon Ikem Uzoezie, has dumped the All progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) for the All Progressives Congress (APC).
He has promised that other members of the state House of Assembly and top politicians would soon join the party in days to come.
Uzoezie, who lost the APGA House of Representatives ticket during the last elections, said he joined APC because it was a party that would take Anambra state to the next level
The National Working Committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC) is awaiting response from leaders of the party from the North East to fill the vacant position of National Secretary following exit of the former Secretary, Mai Mala Buni.
Buni, who was re-elected as national Secretary at the June 24, 2018 National Convention of the party, is the governor-elect of Yobe state, leaving the position vacant.
A highly placed source within the leadership of the party told The Nation that since the position is zoned to the North East, they would have to meet and agree on the next national secretary.
“The NWC has little or no role to play in that regard. The position is zoned to them and we are waiting for them to send the name of their preferred candidate for the position. When they do that, we will announce the name.
“The leaders and stakeholders of the party from that zone must meet to agree on a candidate and for now, we cannot say this is their choice because they have not informed us.”
However, contenders for the position have begun lobbying leaders of the zone on why they should be selected as the next secretary.
One of them, Muhammad Bello Mustapha, told The Nation he believes he was better placed to emerge as the APC national Scribe, saying he was not in the race to get appointment but to help create a formidable secretariat for the party.
He insisted he has made so much sacrifice for the party, dropping his ambition at every interval he is asked to do so.
“In 2014, I contested for the position of National Secretary and was asked to step down and I did. When Babachir Lawal left as National Vice Chairman, North East, I wanted to contest and again I was asked to step down and I did.
“I was the last to step down from the race during the last convention and that was after several states have voted at the convention.
“I am not in the race for the National Secretary position because I want appointment.
“I want to head the Secretariat of the party and bring my wealth of experience to bear. I am qualified lawyer who has worked as Company Secretary before. So I have the experience that is needed for that position.”
Reminded of the interest of other contenders especially from the Borno/Yobe axis with the likes of Kashim Imam and Arch. Waziri Bulama holding the upper hand, Mustapha said: “the position is zoned to the North East and not to Borno or Yobe states.
“Of all the states in the North East, it is only my state Taraba that has never had a representation in the National Working Committee.
“The highest position we have had is the position of Zonal Youth Leader. For the sake of equity, I think Taraba state should be allowed to produce the National Secretary.
“Borno and Yobe have always claimed everything coming to the North East and I believe this should not be the case.
“We are part of the one and should be given a sense of belonging. That is why people from Borno and Yobe state should not even be showing interest in the position.
“If you look at it, we, In Taraba don’t even have a minister in this government.”
He said expressed optimism that leaders of the party in the north east will do the needful and allow him become the National Secretary since he has gone round all to inform them of his ambition.
He insisted he would rather lose the position in a free and fair contest than step down again for any other candidate.
“When the position of National Vice Chairman, North East became vacant, they called all of us and we agreed for a consensus candidate.
“That was how Comrade Salisu got the position. I believe there should be a consensus in my favour also.
“But if that is not possible, I would prefer that we go to the poll. I am confident that I will emerge winner at the poll to become the National secretary.”
The All Progressive Congress (APC) in Anambra State, has called on the All progressives Grand Alliance APGA and the People’s Democratic Party PDP, to prepare for war in the next governorship election in the state in 2021
The party leaders in a unanimous decision Friday at the Milatel Hotels in Awka, vowed that what happened in the past during elections in Anambra State, will never repeat itself again.
It was during the presidential victory get together of the party, organized by the Buhari Youth Organisation, led by its Coordinator in the state, Hon Olisa Okamelu.
Speaker after speaker including the former Commissioner for information, Chief Charles Amilo, South East Youth leader of APC, Hon Olisaemeka Onyeka and party leaders from Imo and Enugu states, spoke in the same vein.
The State Acting party Chairman of APC, Chief Basil Ejidike, said the target of the party was 2021 governorship, adding that it would be the time for APC to stamp it’s authority in Anambra.
He apologized to party members for the party not living to its billing during the previous elections, nothing that the time to get it right would be in 2021 election in the state.
According to Ejidike “it will not be a problem again for us because we have identified some of the problems that held us back in the past”
“our coming political summit in May in Anambra will usher in a new dawn. So, the ruling party in the State and others should be ready to face APC because it’s now or never”
The state Coordinator of BYO (Buhari Youth Organisation) Hon Osita OKamelu, said with the leadership of the party under Ejidike, who he described as a political bulldozer, that APC was as good as winning in 2021
However, he agreed with other speakers like Okelo Madukaife, the party’s publicity secretary, Chief Amilo, Onyeka and others that there was an improvement during the presidential election unlike what happened before now.
For Olisaemeka Onyeka, the Southeast Youth leader of APC, there was need to review the proposed zoning formula in the party.
He said the party should give the Southeast either the Deputy Senate president or Deputy Speaker of the House of representatives, since the other positions had been shared, adding that the office of the Secretary to the government of the federation SGF was just an appointment.
The internal crisis rocking the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Plateau state on Wednesday led to the suspension of the chairman and his deputy by the state working committee.
All has not been well with the party’s internal structure since it lost the governorship contest to the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC).
While briefing newsmen at the party secretariat in Jos, publicity secretary of the party Hon John Akans said: “The Plateau state chapter of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has suspended its Chairman, Hon. Damishi Sango, Deputy Chairman, Hon. Amos Gombi Goyol over alleged diversion of Presidential campaign funds and N9.8 million meant for Internally Displaced Persons during the 2019 general elections”
Akans revealed the suspension of the principal officers has the backing of 16 members of the State Working Committee of the party.
Akans said the suspension takes immediate effect.
Akans who read the letter of suspension to journalists in said the Party’s vice chairman, Northern Zone, Hon. Chris Hassan has taken over the leadership of the party as acting chairman pending conclusion of the disciplinary committee’s investigation of the alleged funds.
“The Party Chairman Hon. Damishi Sango and his Deputy Hon. Amos Gombi Goyol have been suspended based on the reasons the resources send to the State for Presidential elections were not accounted for by the Chairman aided by the Deputy Chairman.
“The chairman concealed the amount sent by the Presidential Campaign Committee and created a fraudulent unseen template used as sharing formula unknown to the State Party structure.
“About N5 million raised and saved by the party to help Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) to help relieve their pains were also not accounted for up till this moment.
“No mention has been made of the said funds and it is worthy to note that the Deputy Chairman is the chairman Committee on IDPs for the party.
“Also, about N4.8 million meant for PDP Plateau State retreat was equally not accounted for by the Chairman and the Deputy Chairman.”
Akans said the party was plunged into confusion during the general elections due to the highhandedness of the chairman and Deputy Chairman of the party who disregarded advice from party’s elders and critical stakeholders.
In a swift reaction, Sango said he was not aware of all the allegations raised by the party.
He expressed surprise he was betrayed by people he considered close to him in the party.
“I am not aware that I have been suspended, I have not seen any letter to that effect.
“I am surprised that I was betrayed by people I considered close to me in the party.
“There was a State Campaign Council, which the Governorship candidate, Sen. Jeremiah Useni was part of it. All money was disbursed by the campaign council.”
A founding member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Prince Preye Aganaba has advised former Governor Timipre Sylva to shelve his second term governorship ambition and support any of the younger APC aspirants.
Speaking in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, Aganaba said Sylva and others that had been within the political corridor in the state for 20 years should give way for fresher aspirants ahead of the November 2nd governorship election in the state.
He, however, said if Sylva emerged in a free and fair APC primary election, the party would support him to win the state adding that the party would ensure credible internal poll.
Aganaba said: “Well, Sylva has a right to contest but if you ask me what I think, I think that we should give chances to another generation of Bayelsans to rule the state.
“Twenty years of the same political actors, you can’t do the same thing every time and expect a different result. We have seen the result of twenty years of the same person’s ruling the state.
“Yenagoa is a slum. You can’t compare Yenagoa to other states that were created at the same time with Bayelsa state. So they should give way to new actors.
“There are new actors in all the political parties. He has the right to contest, if he wins in a free and fair primaries, I am sure the party is going to support him and i know we are going to have free and fair primaries this time around.”
Analyzing the just-concluded general elections, Aganaba expressed satisfaction with the performance of the APC.
“In Bayelsa, in 2015, we got less than five percent of the votes. In 2015 it was a very poor outing.
“This time around we did very well, securing almost 40 percent of the votes.
“We were able to produce a Senator, two Reps members and some House of Assembly members. Some of our people are in court and we hope they win at the tribunal,” he said.
He asked the people of Bayelsa to thank the APC for giving them an alternative platform to unseat the old political order.
He debunked the allegations that the APC stole mandates of the PDP in the last elections and accused the PDP of committing electoral malpractices in the state.
Zamfara State Governor and Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF), Abdulaziz Yari, on Friday said that governors must cooperate with President Muhammadu Buhari because of the assistance he has given to state governments, especially in the areas of salaries payment.
He made the remark while speaking with State House correspondents after observing juma’at prayers with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
He also advised that the next leadership of the NGF must work based on the president’s agenda.
According to him, the present membership of the forum under his leadership had cooperated in full with the President who has been magnanimous enough to provide bailouts that enabled the states to pay workers’ salaries.
Asked what type of NGF leadership he would like to see emerge after him, Yari said: “I will like to see a leadership that will perform better than I did, the type that will work in tandem with the Presidency.
“I appreciate my colleagues for giving me the cooperation and within the forum, there was no break up, and there was no crisis between the presidency and the forum.
“We worked together for our economy to grow and to support the president on his agenda to fight corruption and insecurity.
“You are fully away of what the President has done to the state, the bailouts to ensure that workers can be paid their salaries. We are all from the states including Mr. President himself.
“I can give the governors pass mark. Mr. President has commissioned a number of projects in the states, at times he sent representative.
“So, I hope the NGF will remain united and work in tandem with the federal government’s agenda,” he said.
He attributed his electoral victory and that of the state governorship candidate who he supported, to his ability to manage the direct primaries adopted by the All Progressive Congress (APC).
He said “I have said it times without number, I am the first chairman, who oversaw the pioneer direct primaries in Osun State with 18 candidates contesting for the governorship position of the state.
“They were all high profile candidates including the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, many former permanent secretaries, the speaker of the state, the secretary to the government of the state.
“I have said it repeatedly that if my colleagues can accept direct primaries, it is the simplest system that will involve every member of the party.
“In my state, there were only seven or eight people contesting for the governorship position and I have said it that if I could preside over primaries where 18 people contested and succeeded, why can’t I manage eight, nine or 10 in my state?
“I have been on ground since 1999 to date and I know the system and how it works. I have been party secretary, party chairman, House of Representatives and a two-term Governor. It is with this experience that I was able to manage.
“Unfortunately there were a lot of misunderstanding between the party in the state and the national body but in the end, we ended in the court and the court gave the verdict and INEC compiled.
“Though it came late, but if you are with the grassroots, definitely, everything must work well. The people appreciated what we have been doing and when it came to voting, they voted wisely,” he said
He said that he was very delighted at the outcome of the Zamfara election and thanked the people of the state for their resilience.
He said, “I am very happy with the outcome of the elections. I also want to appreciate my people, despite the fact that some people felt I was carried away by the activities at the center, insinuating I abandoned the seat especially with the security problem, but the people are aware of what the administration has been doing and they appreciate it.
“Despite the daily attacks, the security agencies were up and doing and their presence in the state was well appreciated by the people and the people appreciate the efforts of Mr. President which took us to where we are. Like I said, only God could have done it,” he stated.
The governorship candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Mr Adebayo Adelabu and his African Action Congress (AAC) counterpart, Mr Akinwale Laosun has congratulated the winner of the Saturday polls in Oyo state, Mr Seyi Makinde of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The duo in their separate statements also congratulated the people of the state and thanked them for their support during the electioneering processes.
But while Laosun said he accepted the result of the election as announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Adelabu said his party (APC) is studying the incidents of violence and various reported cases of electoral malpractices to determine further course of action if necessary.
INEC on Sunday night declared PDP’s Makinde winner of the poll after scoring the highest number of votes in the election conducted.
Makinde scored 525,621 votes to beat Adelabu (APC) who scored 357, 982.
Laosun, speaking through his Campaign Office urged the Governor-elect to make sure he serves the people of Oyo State by bringing free education, youth employment, good and affordable health care to the residents.
He added that there is a need to improve the economy of the State and not plunge the state into further debt.He ended the address by praying for the governor elect that God will grant him wisdom and surround him with knowledgeable and selfless individuals who would work assiduously to improve the fortune of Oyo State residents.
Adelabu said “I am full of gratitude to God and to every single one of you for the journey so far. I offered myself up for service for the good of Oyo State. We ran a campaign that was issues based and was above board all through and I am quite proud of that.
“No life is worth being lost for any reason, I sincerely sympathize with the families of the bereaved, May their souls rest in Peace.
“While my party is studying the incidents of violence and various reported cases of electoral malpractices to determine further course of action if necessary, I congratulate Seyi Makinde of PDP.”
Governor Aminu Masari of the All Progressive Congress (APC) has taken early lead in the Saturday governorship election in Katsina state.
Results have started coming in from the 34 Local Government Areas of the state.
From the results already collated, the ruling party has burst into early lead by wide margin.
Results from the LGAs are: Dutsi APC 22482, PDP 10564; in Matazu APC scored 28253, while PDP scored10327. The APC also beat its closest opponent in the polls in Sandamu where it pulled 32193 as against PDP’s 11,912 .
APC also showed its strength in Kusada where it pulled 20799 to PDP’s 8080.
The ruling party also won in Ngawa where it scored 23, 905 and PDP 12, 602.
In Zango, APC scored 23,148 and PDP 11, 662. In Baure APC scores 41,076 and PDP 18,012.
In Katsina town, APC polled 64, 709 while PDP scored 16,734. The PDP however won in Rimi Local Government Area wih 12,496 as against APC’s 3,627.
APC had upper hand in Danmusa Local Government Area of the state scoring 26008 while PDP scored 10306.
In Mani APC 34259 while PDP 16476 while Jibia APC scored 30, 538 and PDP 12, 616
Following his alignment with the All Progressive Congress (APC) for the governorship election, the governorship candidate of the Action Democratic Party, Adebayo Alao-Akala was able to secure gubernatorial victory for APC in his unit.
In his area at Olukutun, Unit 13, Ward 7 in Ogbomoso north, APC won the governorship election with 201 votes while PDP and ADP had 82 votes and 23 votes respectively.
However, the former governor was able to deliver victory for his party, ADP in the House of Assembly election.
ADP led with 146 votes, while PDP had 70 votes and APC came third with 65 votes.
The All Progressive Congress (APC) National Leader Asiwaju Bola Tinubu has said that the violence that erupted during the Feb. 23 Presidential and National Assembly elections upset him.
Tinubu made the assertion during an interactive session with the media after he cast his vote at his polling unit Ward 3, Unit 047, Ikeja Lagos.
The APC chieftain, who came to the polling station around 12 noon, accompanied by some aides proceeded to cast his vote by 12:15 p.m.
Tinubu said that against the backdrop of painting the election as violent, it should rather be classified as peaceful, adding that the overall conduct of the election was fair.
“I take exception to what happened in Okota two weeks ago. I am very upset about that incidence placing Lagos as if we are violence-prone.
“We have about 1,325 polling units in Lagos State and only five units were affected in Okota. That should not mean that the election was a failure in the state.
“If we should rate it, the election should be about 97 per cent rate of success if right mentally. An incident in Okota should not be used to generalise the whole election in Lagos State.
“The success rate should have been the story not the ugly incident that should be the story,” he said.
Tinubu, however, cautioned the media against the hype given to negative stories saying that such attributes would not bring the necessary progress.
“For the media, how can five units out of 1,325 units constitute a violent election and were given hype that Lagos is violent; we cannot do justice to that.
“How can we have development to the economy and the medium of information? In terms of security, Lagos has always been ready to celebrate democracy and is violence-free.
“The security officials are doing well and the INEC has started well too with the logistics well managed.
“The voters came out en masse,” he said.
Tinubu said that the state would always continue to be home for all irrespective of wherever they came from.
“We will continue to welcome everybody to Lagos State. We cannot stop people from coming to the state. If Lagos is not good enough, they won’t come.
“If the state is plagued with disease or insecurity or unemployment, people won’t come. Those leaving their states to come to Lagos are welcomed, they are not a threat,” he said. (NAN)