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Tag: All Progressives Congress

  • House officers: APC Caucus members opt for election

    Ahead of the resumption of plenary today at the National Assembly, members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Caucus in the House of Representatives have opted for either a straw poll or outright election of their principal officers instead of adopting the recommended nominees by the party.

    Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila is under pressure to either accept the party’s recommendations or bow to the demand of the members.

    It was learnt that after series of talks last night, APC members in the House resolved to alter the party’s zoning formula.

    The Speaker has been trying in the last 72 hours to douse the tension over the formula foisted on APC Caucus.

    The National Working Committee (NWC) of the APC on Friday decided to zone principal offices as follows: Majority Leader to Kano in the Northwest (being contested by ex-Chief Whip, Ado Doguwa and  Goro Aminu Suleiman); Deputy Leader, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha(South-East); Chief Whip,  Peter Akpatason  (South-South) ; and Deputy Chief Whip,  M. T. Monguno (North-East).

    But horse-trading last night revealed that members have changed the zoning formula to read:  Majority Leader,  M. T. Monguno (North-East);  Deputy Majority Leader,  Peter Akpatason (South-South);  Chief Whip,  Ado Doguwa or Garba Datti (North-West);  and Deputy Chief Whip,   Nkeiruka Onyejeocha (South-East).

    A top source, who spoke in confidence, admitted that all is not well within the APC Caucus in the House because of alleged unilateral imposition of principal officers.

    The source claimed that the NWC meeting on Friday did not consider the interest of members.

    The source said: “The truth is that the APC did not really gauge the mood of members of its caucus in the House before picking the rest principal officers.

    “We are demanding either a straw poll or outright election by APC members to determine the principal officers of the House. The party should leave us to iron things out amicably.

    “We knew the political permutations which led to the emergence of Speaker Gbajabiamila; we don’t want a situation whereby we will be forced to go back to our fault lines. We want a stable Ninth House of Representatives.”

    According to Wikipedia, “A straw poll or straw vote is an ad-hoc or unofficial vote. It is used to show the popular opinion on a certain matter, and can be used to help politicians know the majority opinion and help them decide what to say in order to gain votes. Straw polls provide dialogue among movements within large groups.”

    The source gave insights into the intrigues in the APC Caucus in the House on principal officers.

    The highly-placed source added: “For instance, most APC members have preference for  M. T. Monguno, who is a fourth term member of the House. Apart from being a favourite of Gbajabiamila/ Wase Campaign Committee,  he was supposed to be Gbajabiamila’s deputy in 2015 before they were defeated by Yakubu Dogara- Yusuf Lasun alliance. Now that Gbajabiamila has become the Speaker, members believe it is befitting to make Monguno the House Leader.

    “In terms of experience, Monguno has come a long way. When Gbajabiamila was the House Minority Leader, Monguno was his deputy. There is likely to be disunity in the House if Monguno does not emerge as the Leader because the Northern members will rate the Speaker as betraying Monguno.

    “So far, Monguno has been solely adopted for the office by the North-East Caucus in the House.”

    But, to a member from the North-West, it will amount to inequality to have the Senate President from the North-East and House Leader from the same zone. “It is only the North-West that has been disadvantaged so far because we were fortunate to produce the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” he said, adding:

    “Since 2015, the Northeast has been favoured by President Muhammadu Buhari. There is need to redress this power imbalance.

    “The Northwest deserves the House Leader. Even among us, we do not want Kano/Jigawa axis to produce the House Leader. So, the APC was wrong to ask Hon. Ado Doguwa and Hon. Suleiman Goro from Kano to vie for the slot among the 24 members from Kano State.

    Read Also: APC suspends lawmaker-elect in Edo

    “We know Governor Abdullahi Ganduje is lobbying to have the House Leader slot for Hon. Ado Doguwa. We want power shift to Kaduna/ Katsina axis. We are making a strong case for Hon. Garba Datti (Kaduna State) as the House Leader from the North-West.”

    Responding to a question, the source added: “If they are conceding Chief Whip to the North-West again, we are of a strong opinion that Doguwa should step down for Garba Datti.”

    Another member claimed that members were unhappy that Hon. Nkeiruka Onyejeocha(from Abia in the South-East), who defected from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to APC before the last general election might be compensated with the office of Deputy Leader.

    The ranking member added: “Hon. Nkeiruka might be a fourth term member of the House, she cannot have her cake and eat it. She defected to APC, we accommodated her and gave her a ticket to return to the House.

    “Emerging a Deputy Leader will be too much concession to Hon. Nkeiruka. We know she is the only ranking House woman member from the Southeast; she deserves to be a principal officer. But we are proposing her for Deputy Chief Whip.

    “We won’t send a wrong message to the coming generation of politicians that defection pays. Nkieruka should also sacrifice.”

    Gbajabiamila and Deputy Speaker Idris Wase have been engaging the aggrieved members in the APC Caucus.

    “There is pressure, no doubt, on Speaker Gbajabiamila and Wase but consultations are ongoing. If it will create crisis on Tuesday, we will not mind to defer the choice of principal officers until a consensus is built.

    “We will certainly address the challenges amicably. At worst, we will go for outright election of these principal officers as a popular option,” a third term member of the House said.

  • Party dismisses media reports on appointments

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) has dismissed media reports that it has selected principal officers for its caucus in the National Assembly, saying such reports were false.

    Its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Lanre Issa Onilu, said in a statement that the party was still consulting with relevant stakeholders and would make their consultation public once that is concluded.

    There have been reports that the party has zoned the principal officers’ positions in both the Senate and House of Representatives, with a former Nasarawa State governor picked for the position of Senate Leader and the House Leader is zoned to Kano State.

    Read Also: APC challenges PDP to offer quality opposition

    Onilu said the party has always been open in all its decisions and will not act differently in to case of principal officers of the National Assembly

    “Consultations are ongoing and in our typical style, we will come out to formally announce the party’s decision on the appointments.

    “With the prevalence of fake news, we urge the media to always wait for and rely on official statements from the party other than unofficial sources. The media should please take due note of this on future issues that involve our party,” the statement said.

  • APC challenges PDP to offer quality opposition

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) has challenged main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to first put its house in order and offer quality opposition rather than embarking on shadow chasing with baseless allegations against.

    APC’s National Publicity Secretary Mallam Lanre Issa- Onilu told the PDP in a statement that it should engage the ruling party on issues of good governance rather than interfering in other party’s affairs.

    The APC described as laughable that the PDP, who could not rally its members to support its preferred candidates for National Assembly principal officers’ positions was talking about infighting in the APC over appointments.

    Issa-Onilu said President Muhammadu Buhari will always appoint people of proven integrity who are loyal to the programmes and mandate of the party and government into positions of authority.

    The statement reads: “Judging by the latest antics and laughable allegations of the PDP, it is now clear that the rejected party has again resumed its idle chatter and specious remarks. How long will it take PDP to learn proper opposition politics?

    Read Also: NASS: We have not selected principal officers – APC

    “PDP’s allegation of ‘infighting’ within the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Presidency over appointments is the latest of shameful interventions of PDP in our nation’s affairs.

    “The party that was sent into a state of shock following the outcome of the National Assembly election is now accusing APC of infighting. The accusation is coming from the PDP that failed to rally its members to support its own candidates for principal offices at the National Assembly.

    “Perhaps, to the delusional PDP, it is a sign of division within our rank to successfully mobilize our members behind our candidates for the National Assembly election.

    “In other words, PDP had proved ultimate unity within its rank with several of its members disregarding the directive to vote for its adopted candidates. Here you have a party wallowing in denial.

    “As contained in PDP’s latest statement, odious practices like looting, booty-sharing and power-grabbing are not practices that the APC wishes to continue from the wasted PDP years.

    “Nigerians voted against these devious practices of PDP in 2015 and 2019 and opted for Change, which APC represents. We, therefore, call on the PDP to do better as opposition by engaging our party on issues of good governance and matters that would better the lives of the people. This is the least Nigerians expect from the main opposition party.

    “While the APC does not owe the PDP any explanation on the modalities for appointments, we assure Nigerians that the President Muhammadu Buhari administration would always appoint deserving individuals, who share our progressive ideals and Change Agenda into positions.”

  • Bello, Audu, Dichie and struggle for Kogi APC ticket

    No fewer than 42 aspirants are struggling for the governorship ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kogi State. Who becomes the flagbearer for the November 16 poll? Correspondent JAMES AZANIA examines the intra-party contest.

    Eyes are on the Kogi State All Progressives Congress (APC) as it prepares for the governorship primary billed for next month. No fewer than 42 aspirants are in the race. According to the Independent National Electoral Commission, the election will hold on November 16.

    Unlike in the ruling APC, where the mode of primary has become contentious, between those rooting for direct primary and advocates of indirect primaries, not much noise has emanated from the PDP mode of primary to be adopted. However, the frenzy and jostling for parties’ tickets has has taken off.

    Governor Yahaya Bello has unfolded his second term ambition. His supporters are already on the field. His rivals-Admiral Usman, Yahaya Audu, Tim Dichie, Hadiza Ibrahim- are challenging him to a duel. The primary will be tough.

    Bello

    Despite widespread vilification, Bello appears the most formidable of the lot. Not only is he presently in the saddle the Lugard House, he appears to hold the magical wand, just has he has eaten deep into the psyche of the people, to the extent that virulent criticisms hauled at his administration have not deterred him or his zeal for a second term.

    Bello has as his foot soldiers political appointees and the sole administrators of the 21 local government areas who are expected to deliver for him, when the time comes.

    His critics accuse him of non-performance, non-payment of backlog of workers’ salary, sidelining of party chieftains and other alleged infractions. But, the Ebira born governor remains a moving train that is determined not only on picking his party’s ticket, but being returned for a second term. Barring any unforseen circumstances, Bello may be the man to beat.

    Admiral Usman Jubril (retd).

    A former Chief of Naval Staff, Jubril, since his entrance into the race, has presented himself as a formidable challenger for the ticket. Hr is believed to have the backing of powerful chieftains, who see him as an alternative to Bello. During his tenure as the naval chief, he engineered the citing of the Navy Secondary School, in Okura, Kogi East, where he hails from.

    Jubril has not been seen selling his aspiration in Kogi, and not much of him has been seen by the people. But, his myriad of support groups and others that have endorsed him continue to swell.

    In one of the endorsements, Youths of Dekina/Bassa Local Government of Kogi State described him as the best man for the job.

    The youths in a statement by Mohammed Abdullahi, president of the Bassa/Dekina Youth Progressive Union for Good Government, said Jibril is well equipped to rescue Kogi State and restore its glory.

    According to them: “The liberation of our people and society has become imperative, since in place of authorities over the years could not do little or much to help salvage our lands from the status of backwardness and underdevelopment. It is on this assertion we the youth of Dekina/Bassa LG deem it necessary to support our amiable, purposeful, pragmatic, God sent leader and to ask him to contest for the position of governorship of Kogi State, come November 16, 2019.

    “This is in view of his immense contribution to the people and society at large. Every society or people must discover its own mission; its either betrayed or fulfilled. We believe Usman Jibril shall fulfill the desire, yearning and aspirations of our people by 2019. He is a detribalized Kogite, whose friendship and acceptability cuts across frontiers of age, sex, religion or tribe. He shall attend to the needs of our people. We therefore want to usher him as our sole candidate for the job.

    Read Also: Of Kogi’s “bread and butter” royal fathers

    “We believe that he has the credentials and the experience in the management of the affairs of Kogi State, and removing from out of the woods”.

    Jubril stands a bright chance of getting the ticket.

    Prince Yahaya Audu

    Audu, younger brother of the late Prince Abubakar Audu, the flagbearer  in 2015, is said to have garnered the support of some political appointees in the cabinet of Governor Bello. About six commissioners and other aides of the governor are set to join Audu who aspired for Kogi East Senatorial seat during the last election.

    Those purportedly teeming up with him are said to have adduced the failure of the governor to pay workers and pensioners and hardship faced by some of the appointees, as some of the reason for so doing.

    Audu’s cannot be ignored.

    Tim Nda Dichie

    Not a few were taken by surprise when Dichie, a former member of Bello’s cabinet, resigned as Commissioner for Agriculture, when he was barely a year in office.

    From the minority Bassa–speaking tribe of Kogi East, Dichie is an experienced politician, philanthropist and business magnate. He was one of the aspirants during the 2015 primary.

    The Basange high chief who prides himself as a “symbol of unity between the majority/minority dichotomy at the moment, for the state,” has articulated his motivation for the contest. He said God has positioned him to be next governor of Kogi, and that the financial strength of other aspirants would not change God’s plan.

    He is seen as one of those that may spring a surprise.

    Sank Lulu, a former chairman of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFA), Mona Audi, Gen. Patrick Akpa (retd.) and Saidu Mohammed Ogah, from Kogi East and Hadiza Ibrahim, are other APC governorship aspirants.

    The main opposition PDP, ousted from power in 2015, parades no less than a dozen aspirants, including former Governor Idris Wada and Abubakar Ibrahim, son of former Governor Ibrahim Idris (Ibro) and a woman, Hajia Halimat Alfa.

    Others include Ibrahim Wada, Senator Dino Melaye, Dr Victor Adoji, Ameh Joe Erico, Hassan Adamu Enape, Emmanuel Omebije, Aminu Abubakar Suleiman, Mohammed Shaibu and Zakari Alfa.

    Of the lot, Wada appears to have more weight, but that is only on paper, as not a few lay the blame for the party’s ouster at the last election at his feet.

    A gentleman and silent achiever, Wada while in office allowed some of his aides to run riot, resulting in the sinking of the PDP ship in 2015, after over eight years in the saddle.

    Other aspirants that parade themselves, to borrow from the parlance of the pro Bello APC supporters, can at best be described as Diaspora politicians, who have lost the verve to truly challenge for the position, despite the presence of core and diehard PDP members that abound in Kogi, coupled with the watered down impact of the state party executive, which is very much unlike the days of Hassan Salawu on the saddle. It would appear a long short for the Kogi PDP to return as landlord at Lugard House, four years after departure.

  • Osun has bright future under Oyetola – APC

    The All Progressives Congress in Osun State has assured the people of the state of bright future under the leadership of Governor Gboyega Oyetola.

    The APC said the people of the state have good reason to exercise hope and trust in the ability of Governor Oyetola to put the Osun on a high socio-economic and political pedestal, assuring that with the governor, Osun is in safe hands.

    In a statement by its spokesperson, Kunle Oyatomi, the party said: “In less than a year of being mandated by the people of the state to succeed Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, the governor has continued to put Osun on the progressive lane of development that distinguishes it from many states in the country.”

    “Recently, the World Bank gave a clean bill of health to the state of Osun and 20 others for their transparent and accountable management of their states’ finances.

    “As a result, the World Bank is now packaging development grants for all the states cleared by the Bank. Imagine a probable evil event of PDP winning the last governorship election and the APC’s accountable and transparent management of the state finances had been discontinued as the PDP had promised before and during the campaigns, Osun would have been tragically removed from that list by the World Bank.

    “But that this tragedy didn’t happen is one of the glorious outcomes of APC victory in last November’s election. It secured continuity and guaranteed international assistance”, the APC said, adding that;

    “It would have been a tragedy of monumental proportion if the contrary had happened”  according to a statement from the directorate of publicity signed by its publicity director, Barr Kunle Oyatomi and circulated to the media in Osogbo today.”

    Read Also: Osun monarchs meet over insecurity

    Acknowledging the Oyetola-led APC government’s consolidation on the  healthcare delivery in the last six months which has brought the health services to all the electoral wards in the state, the APC said:

    “This is what you get from the government that is determined to continue with the good work of the past administration as opposed to a reckless People’s Democratic Party’s alternative ready to dismantle all the marvelous achievements of the APC under the exceptional leadership of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola. Only a satanic twist of event would turn such progressive table around.”

     

  • Delta APC berates PDP over attack on Omo-Agege’s choices of aides

    A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, Hon. John Halims Agoda, on Saturday, lashed PDP stalwart, Mr. Latimore Oghenesivwe, for attacking the Deputy Senate President, Sen. Ovie Omo-Agege’s choices of media aides, describing his attack as myopic, lacking in knowledge and exposure.

    Agoda who is the 2019, House of Representative candidate, Ethiope Federal Constituency under APC, made this statement while reacting to publications in national dailies, credited to Mr. Fred Latimore Oghenesivwe, saying that it is the sole prerogative of the Deputy Senate President, Sen. Omo-Agege to appoint who should be his media aides.

    Speaking further, Agoda said, “The Urhobo nation are profoundly grateful to all the senators who elected him as deputy senate president and we as Urhobo people have been conferred with participatory inclusiveness in the art of national parliamentary democracy.

    “It may interest Mr. Latimore Oghenesivwe to know that former President Goodluck Jonathan and the former governor of Rivers and Minister of Transport, Amaechi had in the past appointed their media aides from Delta State, (Ughelli North and South) and it was never read in pages of newspapers, so, l dont know what is the business of Latimore Oghenesivwe over who Omo-Agege appoints as his media aides.

    Read Also: Omo-Agege seeks re-organisation of Southsouth APC

    “When fate throws up new player of significance in the political realm at the national level, dysfunctional discordant sentiments are spewed by persons in the opposition camps, considering the recent effusive diatribe dripping with hate-tears by persons who believe Omo-Agege should have called a town-hall meeting to deliberate on who to be appointed as media aides.

    “This is a misconception and a poverty of knowledge of the fundamentals of national political engagements, as the deputy senate president was elected from among senators and by senators of equal mandate across the nation, so the realms of the functions and authority of Omo-Agege preclude exclusionism as such new roles transcend catering only to his home constituency.”

     

  • Trouble looms in Senate over choice of principal officers

    The Senate reconvenes plenary on Tuesday after three weeks break following the inauguration of the Ninth National Assembly.

    With the seamless election of presiding officers, the question on the lips of National Assembly watchers is who becomes Senate Leader, Deputy Senate Leader, Chief Whip and Deputy Chief Whip?

    This is even as senators’ scheming and jostling for headship of juicy committees have begun in earnest.

    Insiders said that the constitution of the 64 standing committees of the upper chamber will be the first litmus test for the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan and the Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege.

    Multiple sources informed that lobbying for the key positions of Senate Leader and others “is getting more and more intense by the day” as the Tuesday date for the resumption of plenary draws near.

    The Senate President is expected to announce the occupants of the top Senate positions on Tuesday if the trouble shooting efforts of the All Progressives Congress (APC) yields fruit, it was learnt yesterday.

    The important positions, which will form part of the leadership of the upper chamber, also referred to as the “Selection Committee” are said to be the duty of the majority party in the Senate to decide who becomes what in line with its zoning arrangements.

    The Senate President is the chairman of the Selection Committee which allocates committees to senators.

    At the last count, Senators Abdullahi Adamu (Nasarawa West) and Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi (Niger North), both from North Central, are the top contenders for the slot of Senate Leader.

    With just three days to resumption of plenary, insiders said yesterday that APC is yet to take a position on who to choose as Senate Leader.

    Findings showed that while those rooting for the Niger North Senator to emerge Senate Leader are banking on “the work and the risk he took for the emergence of Lawan as Senate President,” those angling for Adamu are pushing what they describe as the Nasarawa West Senator’s “rich experience on legislative matters.”

    It appears that the main battle is the position of Senate Leader as other principal officers’ slots are said to “have been sorted out by the party.”

    A North Central APC senator insisted yesterday that the party “must do what is right in its selection process to avoid setting senators against themselves and breeding bad blood in the Senate.”

    According to the senator, who is also part of the lobby group of one of the contenders, “what remains sacrosanct is that the Senate Leader’s position has been zoned to the North Central but the race is still open as to who will be announced on Tuesday when we reconvene.”

    Unease in PDP over minority whip position

    The camp of opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which many thought had got it right with the selection of Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe (Abia South) as Minority Leader is already boiling.

    The National Working Committee (NWC) of the PDP is said to have concluded arrangements to tinker the list of selected principal officers of the minority party in the Senate.

    Unconfirmed reports on Tuesday said that the NWC of the PDP is pushing to drop the Edo Central Senator, Clifford Ordia, who was earlier selected as the party’s Deputy Senate Whip.

    A South-South governor is said to be behind the move to shove Ordia aside in place of Senator Sahabi Yau from Zamfara State.

    Those who emerged with Abaribe at a meeting held in the Abuja home of the National Chairman of PDP, Uche Secondus, included Emmanuel Bwacha, who represents Taraba South Senatorial District, as deputy minority leader.

    Senator Philip Aduda, Federal Capital Territory, emerged as the minority whip while Ordia emerged as the Senate deputy minority whip.

    Read Also: PDP swaps minority positions in Senate as Saraki leads peace move to Edo

    It was reliably gathered that the attempt to drop Ordia is being fiercely resisted by other PDP South-South senators.

    Ordia himself is said to have been livid when the news broke that he might be dropped to make way for a Zamfara Senator.

    Some South-South senators are threatening a showdown with the PDP NWC, vowing to resist what they called a plot to impose Yau on them without due consultation.

    PDP has 16 senators from the South-South geopolitical zone while APC has two.

    Senators from Edo, Cross River, Delta and Akwa Ibom states are insisting that the South-South cannot be without holding a principal position in the upper chamber.

    One of the aggrieved South-South senators explained that election was conducted at a meeting held at the Abuja home of PDP National Chairman, Secondus, on June 14.

    He added that nominations were also made before winners emerged. According to him, those who emerged were unanimously backed by the various PDP organs.

    He claimed that the plot to drop Ordia does not have the backing of the caucus of the party.

    He said: “Under the rules of the Senate, it is not the responsibility of the National Working Committee to select principal officials.

    “It is the responsibility of the senators themselves to select who leads them. The minority senators have freely elected those they want and nothing will change it.

    “The argument that they want to represent every part of the country is false.

    “There are eight positions open to the PDP in the two chambers of the National Assembly. Even if you share one to each geopolitical zone, two will still get an extra slot.

    “Those we selected are known to us. They are the people we can work with. Some governors causing this division don’t know how the Parliament operates. They want to control everything in the party for their selfish interests.

    “Maybe the NWC has not learnt its lessons. The APC tried this imposition in the eighth Senate and they paid for it dearly.

    “It is up to the PDP to allow us have our way or allow strangers destroy its fold in the Senate.

    “The wish of senators must be respected for sustainable peace in the Senate.”

    APC and PDP senators’ caucus meetings are said to have been scheduled to hold ahead of the resumption of plenary on Tuesday.

    Although the agenda of the meetings are not known, they may not be unconnected with the need to reconvene a crisis-free Senate on Tuesday.

  • Bauchi Assembly: A tale of two Speakers

    Two lawmakers have been laying claim to the speakership position in the Bauchi State House of Assembly, following the parallel inauguration of the house, which produce the two All Progressives Congress (APC) contenders. The ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had thrown its weight behind one of the contenders in a contest seen as proxy battle between the APC- dominated assembly and the Governor Bala Mohammed-led executive. A settlement is however in the offing. David Adenuga reports.

    Former Governor Muhammad Abubakar has waded into the House of Assembly crisis at a meeting in Kano.

    At the meeting, the contenders for the Speaker resolved to support former Speaker Kawuwa Damina.

    Two All Progressive Congress (APC) lawmakers were laying claims to the Speaker last week.

    The contenders are; Abubakar Suleiman representing Ningi Constituency,  the former Speaker Shehu Damina representing Darazzo Constituency, and former  majority leader, Tijjani Aliyu representing Azare/Mangala Constituency.

    The PDP has thrown its weight behind Abubakar.

    Apparently, the drama that played out at the inauguration where two Speakers emerged underscored the battle between the PDP, led by Governor Bala Mohammed and the APC, led by former Governor Mohammed Abubakar.

    The former  governor had held a secret meeting  with some APC lawmakers where an agreement was reached and the three contenders were asked to step down for the former Speaker, Kawuwa Damina.

    The meeting, however, failed to work out because one of those asked  to step down refused.

    He outsmarted the ex-governor  has he got the support of the PDP. He later got votes from  11 of 31 lawmakers at the inauguration.

    The 11 lawmakers comprises  of  eight members of the PDP, two APC lawmakers and the only member of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP.

    A quorum of 11 of 31 lawmakers was formed when Suleiman Abubakar became Speaker.

    The APC has 22 members, PDP has eight, NNPP has a member.

    Other 18 aggrieved APC lawmakers who were outwitted held a parallel election to elect the former Speaker Damina, after they were reportedly prevented from gaining access to the chambers by security personnel.

    But, an  APC chieftain, who spoke in confidence, said the former Damina is not popular among his colleagues. “He only enjoys the support of the former governor“ he said.

    He said his APC counterpart  Suleiman Abubakar, elected by 11 lawmakers, appears to be the favourite to occupy the seat.

    The source said that Suleiman Abubakar may have betrayed the former governor.

    The source said the former governor allegedly wooed the APC lawmakers, but things did not work out as planned.

    The source described the situation as a national embarrassment, saying the governor ought to not have let matters generated.

    Read Also: Ex-Bauchi Gov spent N1.2 billion on burials, says Aide

    He said the  governor ought to have also wooed the majority of APC lawmakers to his side before the inauguration like his predecessor did in Kano.

    The APC secretary, Bako Hussaini, alleged that the government employed tactics to create a situation similar to what played out in 2015  at the National Assembly to install the minority over the majority.

    He said constitution did not empower a governor to suspend the inauguration of the legislature.

    Hussaini condemned the alleged removal of the Clerk of the House of Assembly, few days  to the inauguration.

    But, the PDP dismissed the allegation of masterminding the drama that played out at the inauguration.

    The Chairman, Hamza Akuyam,  said his party was not interested in imposing leaders on the Assembly. He said PDP was committed to the democratic process.

    He clarified that the inauguration of the house was postponed due to inadequate logistics.

    Akuyam said since the APC is the majority, there was no way, the PDP could have manipulated the  inauguration.

    The Assembly leadership tussle   may now be left for the court to decide.

    A high court sitting in Bauchi which has retrained the factional Speaker, Kawuwa Damina, and his Deputy, Tukur Ibrahim, from parading themselves as speakers had adjourned the case to July 2nd 2019.

    Delivering Judgement, Justice Karim Madaki granted an order of interim injunction following an order filed by Abubakar Suleiman and  12 other lawmakers.

  • Obaseki to Oshiomhole: You’re biased, hear from all sides before taking sides

    Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State on Saturday, rejected his indictment by the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, for the crisis in the State House of Assembly.

    Obaseki, who succeeded Oshiomhole as governor of the state, accused the APC chair of showing bias with his view that he (Obaseki) played a role in the emergence of the leadership of the State Assembly.

    The governor, in a statement through his Special Adviser on Media and Communication Strategy, Mr. Crusoe Osagie, said Oshiomhole “needs to hear from all parties in a matter before taking sides.”

    Osagie in the statement said: “We read with utter astonishment a statement credited to the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, with respect to Governor Godwin Obaseki’s alleged role in the inauguration of the Edo State House of Assembly.

    “Apart from the fact that he based his conclusion on a totally false and baseless premise, we believe that he could have shown that he does not have a vested interest by simply inquiring from his friend, the governor directly, or any official of the State Working Committee of our party as to what actually transpired.”

    Osagie said Oshiomhole’s “failure to satisfy the basic tenets of natural justice, which makes fair hearing from all sides of a matter mandatory, has clearly exposed his bias in this issue.”

    Read Also: Archbishop Idahosa writes Obaseki, urges governor to shun detractors

    He added: “For the avoidance of doubt, all the decisions relating to the leadership of the Edo State House of Assembly recently elected by the House were taken by the State Working Committee and leaders of the party from across the state.”

    He added: “In deference to the rule of party supremacy, which the National Chairman so eloquently professes, the governor and all party members are obliged to respect the party’s decision, as we expect the National Chairman to also do.”

    Oshiomhole had, on Friday in Abuja, described the circumstances which produced Mr. Frank Okiye as the State Speaker as a shame.

    “I am ashamed to talk about it but there is nothing to hide,” he said and wondered why ‘somebody’ wanted minority members of the House to pick the Speaker, while leaving out the majority. “In our own case we have 24/24 all of them APC but somebody wants a particular person as a Speaker, 19 out of 24 are opposed to this person,” he said.

    The Bauchi legislators had gone to brief him on how the PDP minority members of the State Assembly allegedly acting in concert with a few APC members and Governor Bala Muhammad met secretly and picked the Speaker of the House.

  • Kogi’s indirect primary

    As Kogi State All Progressives Congress (APC) indirect primary jinxed? Is the party going to handover the state to the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) on a platter of gold?  I think there is a saying that once bitten twice shy; is Kogi APC going the way of Zamfara and Rivers State again?

    There is an adage in Yoruba parlance that “when a child falls, he looks forward but when an elderly person falls he looks backward to find out what prompted him to fall.”  APC as a party is now power drunk, it cannot think right again. This is what made the party to lose Zamfara and Rivers states to PDP and they are about to allow history to repeat itself in Kogi again by conducting an indirect primary without allowing internal democracy to prevail (by using direct primary), by the time APC loses Kogi State to PDP, the party will be blaming non existing political enemies, while APC is the number one enemy of herself.  The PDP as a party knows how to play politics; they will always plant a black sheep among APC members to destabilise the party’s administration such as what happened in Rivers and Zamfara states. If the APC fails to read the writing on the wall, PDP will capture half their territory before 2023 because they have already failed to guard their loins.

    Read Also: APC governors insist on indirect primaries

    It is because APC as a party always succumbs to bend administrative guide lines because of a particular candidate to the detriment of the party. This was what happened in Zamfara and Rivers in 2019 that made Gov Nyezom Wike to win election in Rivers without strong opposition and the same mistake gave Zamfara PDP a free ride to Government House.

    There are some powerful individuals in the party hierarchy who are always insisting on fielding their own candidates against the right candidates of the party. They are in the habit of overruling the entire party decision to install their puppet as the party’s choice to the detriment of the party. I feel that if a man uses his bare palm to fetch fire and got burnt, he should be wise not to try it the second time but that is not the case with the APC. The party has seen a farm bedevilled with rabbit before they started to plant groundnut in it. If the party allows internal democracy to prevail, the people of Kogi, who know where their shoes pain, will have the opportunity to make their choice.

    • By Israel Oyegbile,

    Sabo Tasha, Kaduna.