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  • APC primaries: Lagos East commences reconciliation process

    All Progressives Congress, APC, stakeholders in Lagos East Senatorial District at the weekend commenced a reconciliation process to heal the wounds created by the last party primaries among members of the party in the district. Speaking on the reconciliation, Senator Lanre Razaq said unlike the other two districts, central and west, which have since moved on after the heat generated by the primaries, the east has not been able to resolve its issues which was the purpose of the stakeholders’ meeting.

    Reading from a report of a meeting held by the leaders in the district on 31st May, Razaq said it was agreed that the district should be divided into three zones made up of Epe, Ikorodu and Kosofe zones. According to him, “We decided to have a senatorial leader and deputy senatorial leader as well as a district committee. The leader would be the Chairman then a zonal leader from Ikorodu and another one from Epe, and Kosofe would be members.”

    Senator Anthony Adefuye was appointed the new Senatorial Leader, while Alhaji Akanni Seriki (Baba Bamu) was appointed as the Deputy Senatorial Leader. For Ikorodu, Prince Abiodun Ogunleye is the Vice Chairman, while Omooba Sosanya would be Vice Chairman for Kosofe Zone, while Chief Lanre Rasak is the Vice Chairman for Epe Division. “Each Vice chairman would chair the meeting in their areas and nobody should break the chain of command in their area,” he said

    Also speaking, Adefuye denied the accusations in some quarters that the leaders of the party in the district did not make case for Governor Akinwunmi Ambode’s second term. He said all efforts the leaders made to meet with the governor when it was discovered there were issues on ground before the issue went out of hand were to no avail as “even the governor did not pick our calls.”

  • APC primaries: Uncertainty in Ogun over Amosun’s camp

    Current moves and actions of Governor Ibikunle Amosun’s aides and close associates give uncertain signals of their next political moves ahead 2019 elections, reports Assistant Editor, Dare Odufowokan

    AHEAD of the 2019 General Election in Ogun State, strong indications continue to emerge across the state for and against growing rumour that the state governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, and or his loyalists in the All Progressives Congress (APC) may dump the ruling party before the polls. While the embattled governor has left no one in doubt of his opposition to the choice of Prince Dapo Abiodun as the APC gubernatorial candidate in the state, uncertainties still cloud what his next political move could be.

    Many sources within and outside the party are warning that there could be a subtle move within the governor’s camp for his supporters across the state to dump the ruling party en-masse soon and contest the next general election on the platform of another party. The Nation gathered that the option of dumping the APC may have divided the governors’ camp into two.

    It was also gathered that Governor Amosun himself, barring a last minute change of strategy, may not join his supporters to defect. The plan is to have him remain in the APC so as to confirm his claims that he is a die-hard supporter of President Buhari. Some party sources however added that fear of being sanctioned by the ruling party may be the real reason for his decision to remain in the APC till the Election Day.

    “The signals emanating from the governor’s camp as at today are so confusing that it is impossible to categorically say this is what Amosun and his people are planning. But they have left no one in doubt that should Abiodun remain the candidate of the party, they will not work for his victory at the polls. Even Governor Amosun has said that severally.

    “To make matters worse, the list allegedly submitted to INEC by the APC has the names of many of Amosun’s men missing as candidates of the APC. This has further heightened the tension across the state. It has further enraged the governor’s supporters and those pushing for them to dump the APC are now having the upper hand. Less people are now in support of their remaining in the ruling party.

    “You can imagine the situation across Yewaland when news broke that Suraj Adekunbi, the Speaker of the State Assembly, has been dropped as the House of Representatives candidate for his constituency. Adekunbi is a leading politician in the district and his people love him greatly. He is also a strong Amosun ally. It is not clear where he currently stands in the debate for and against defection. But if truly his name is dropped, the party will have issues in Ogun West,” a party source told The Nation.

    We also gathered that at a meeting held at the governor’s private residence located at Ibara GRA, Abeokuta, the state capital, during the week, it was agreed that it is important for the group to take a decisive decision on what should be their next political move before it is too late. Our correspondent gathered that the unfavorable outcome of Amosun’s last visit to President Muhammadu Buhari formed the basis of the call.

    “They are politicians and they don’t want to be caught napping. But for the absence of the governor at the meeting, which had nearly all his top aides, within and outside government, in attendance, a decision on how they will respond to the choice of Dapo Abiodun as the APC gubernatorial candidate for the 2019 General Election in Ogun State, would have been taken by the Amosun political family at that meeting.

    “While it was clear that majority of the governor’s people are now in support of a mass movement out of the ruling party, the few opposed to the idea used the absence of Senator Amosun at the parley as a reason for the house to tarry a while in arriving at a conclusion. But everybody at the meeting seem to be united in their opposition to Abiodun’s candidature,” our source added.

    Leaders of the party from all local government areas of the state, who are loyal to the governor, top government functionaries in the state, as well as other leading chieftains of the governor’s political family, were at the meeting said to have been called to assess the current situation of things within the party as it relates to efforts to get the name of their preferred candidate, Adekunle Akinlade, on the list of APC governorship candidate.

    Old and new indications

    Giving fillip to the suspicion that Amosun’s men may be up to something unfavorable to the APC in Ogun State, among other indications, is the fact that the governor had, earlier in the month, threatened to pull out of the APC if the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party fails to uphold the candidacy of his anointed governorship candidate, Abdul-Kabir Adekunle Akinlade.

    The threat came few hours after Amosun met with Buhari and some other leaders of the ruling party in Abuja, to seek their intervention in the contentious gubernatorial primary in the state. Following his failed mission to Abuja, he returned home and issued the threat during a meeting with some party leaders and his loyalists across the 20 local government areas of the state held at his Ibara GRA, Abeokuta private home.

    According to sources who were present at the meeting, the governor, who briefed his loyalists on the outcome of his meeting with President Buhari as well as the national leadership of APC, informed them that the NWC even want him to share the national and state assemblies tickets with certain group of individuals, who, according to him, did not participate in both the governorship and legislative primaries.

    At the meeting, the Ogun governor, the source stated, made it clear that he could not work with Abiodun, who he said cannot win the election come 2019. Amosun, it was reported, vowed to leave the APC rather than waste his time working for a candidate like Abiodun in 2019. His position received the support of majority of his supporters at the meeting. News of Amosun’s threat to dump the APC caused a big stir within and outside the party until he made another visit to President Buhari and issued a rebuttal to reports that he is on his way out of the APC.

    But just as the stir he created was dying down following the rebuttal, Governor Amosun last week announced that he is under “enormous pressure” to defect from the ruling party over the outcome of the primary elections in the state. In spite of the governor’s efforts, Akinlade, his preferred choice as successor, did not make the list of candidates that the NWC certified for 2019.

    In a statement issued on his behalf by Dayo Adeneye, by the state Commissioner for Information, Amosun said, “It is true that enormous pressure was brought to bear on Governor Amosun to move to another party, because of the glaring injustice meted out to some party members at the recent primaries, but the governor maintained his stand that he would not decamp, especially on account of President Muhammadu Buhari, whose judgment and sense of justice, as the leader of the party, he cherishes and values immensely.”

    Adeneye, while justifying the pressure on his principal to quit APC, said those who know Amosun over the years, will confirm that his struggles are usually not about his own person but equity, justice and fairness for all, especially the downtrodden masses. He however added that because President Buhari represents this same spirit, Amosun will stand by him and with him in any party at all times and at all costs.”

    But all these were just as prominent supporters of the Governor who were aspirants at the primary election of the party across the state are now removing the APC logo from their campaign posters. According to reliable sources across the state, well known members of the Amosun political family are now printing new campaign posters without the APC logo in moves that are now being interpreted to suggest looming defections by observers.

    “Many of them are doing that now. One of such is Hon. Yinka Mafe, the Majority Leader of the State Assembly. The new set of online posters announcing his return to the race for the House of Representatives seat for Remo Federal Constituency is without the APC logo. He had, before now, dropped out of the race after losing the primary election to another aspirant.

    “Also, another House of Representatives candidate in Ado-Odo-Ota axis of the state and two House of Assembly aspirants in Ijebu-Ode area have similarly dumped the APC logo in their new posters. When asked the reasons for these unexpected moves, their aides and supporters claimed there is a huge possibility that the aspirants will take their political ambition to another political party soon.

    “From the look of things, APC has been hijacked by people who did not sow anything in the party before now. They want to reap but we will fight till the last drop of our blood. They have not only taken the governorship ticket, they have dropped the names of all our candidates for state and federal legislature. We cannot watch and see them do that to us, we are going to fight this till the end,” a counselor in Sagamu told The Nation on Thursday.

    Amosun de-marketing APC on purpose?

    But some observers of the politics of the state have accused Governor Amosun of intentionally de-marketing the ruling party ahead of the next general election. According to Chief Tele Akande, former State Secretary of the defunct Grassroots Democratic Movement (GDM), Senator Amosun and his supporters, either knowingly or unknowingly, have crossed the line of legitimate protests in their opposition to Abiodun’s candidature.

    “What they are now doing is nothing short of anti-party activities. They appear to have made up their minds to ensure that APC loses the next general election. They are de-marketing the ruling party on purpose. If not, how can women go topless in protest against their own party? The current deputy governor, Amosun’s deputy, rather than urge restraint, even offered to join the protesters! These people are working against the party,” he said.

    Akande, who is now a chieftain of the APC in Ogun West Senatorial District, called on the national leadership of the party and President Muhammadu Buhari to promptly rein-in the governor and his people into order if the party is to win the next elections in the state. According the politician, it is hypocritical of the governor to say he is in support of President Buhari while his people daily protest against the leadership of the ruling party.

    “I am surprised at what is going on. In totality, I agree with the APC spokesperson that our governor is a bad loser. He has not displayed any good sportsmanship since his preferred governorship candidate lost the APC primary election. Must he win at all times? He took the Ogun Central Senatorial ticket from a serving senator who has done only one term. What should that fellow do? Bring heaven down? Amosun must know that we don’t win all in life.

    “Across the state now, we see his people removing APC logo from their posters and talking about a new beginning. Many of his boys who lost the State Assembly and House of Representatives tickets are saying they are still in the race with or without APC ticket. One of them from Remo zone was on state radio recently where he said Governor Amosun’s popularity, and not APC as a party, is what is needed for victory in the 2019 General Elections.

    “The young man added that either on the platform of the APC or not, Amosun’s men will continue the good work they’ve been doing across the state since 2011. All these he was saying on a state owned radio station. These are gross anti party activities and it is enough for the governor and his co-travelers to be called to order. President Buhari must know that if things continue this way, he will lose in Ogun State come 2019,” Akande warned.

    But the man in the middle of the storm, Governor Amosun, insists he will neither leave the APC nor work against President Buhari’s 2019 presidential dream. Fielding questions from reporters after a closed door meeting with President Buhari, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Sunday, he dismissed as mischief the insinuation that he had defected from the ruling APC or planning to dump the party over political developments in the state.

    While insisting that he remains unsatisfied with the outcome of the primary election in his state, the governor said, “We will stock with (President Buhari) him. So, I want them to know that we are not going anywhere. “I’m going to be with the APC, we are in the APC and even after his second term, which by the grace of God and the support of all Nigerians, he will win,” Amosu said.

  • APC primaries: radicalism meets intransigence

    A LEADING chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) recently justified the acrimonious battles for nominations and positions in the ruling party on the grounds that such a behaviour was expected of a ruling party. The same intense battles have been witnessed in the struggle to secure the party’s tickets for various elective positions. In this election cycle, the struggles have not been as intense in the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as they were when the party grandiosely but inefficiently ran Nigeria between 1999 and 2015. On the surface, and given the antecedents of both parties in office, not to say the predictable behaviour of politicians jostling for offices, for power and for plum jobs, it admittedly sounds logical that fiercer battles will naturally be waged in the ruling party than in the opposition party. Convinced that nothing really tectonic was shifting in the APC in terms of political behaviour, in fact absolutely nothing unusual, the leading lights of the party have asked distraught members fearing the worst for their party to simply endure the battles and acquit themselves like strongmen.

    The logic in question is superficial, but it retains enough potency to persuade Nigerians and the combatants in both leading parties to endure the impossible, especially in this season of primaries. The battles may be fierce in the APC, but the PDP is also not inoculated against the rabid and deathly fights for tickets, influence, dominance and succession. Serving lawmakers seek a return to their various legislative seats, aspiring lawmakers seek a first-time entry, and outgoing governors, dreading the humiliating solitude that often accompanies life after office, seek permanent relevance, perhaps even solace, in the senate. (No governor ever contemplates confining himself to the dreary and lowly chamber of the House of Representatives). It is thus not surprising that the jostling for tickets on the APC platform has preoccupied the media and dominated the front pages of leading newspapers for weeks.

    It makes sense, therefore, to limit observations about the ticket battles to the APC, the archetypal political party demonstrating the ferocity of the wars and the inanity of the aforesaid logic. Zamfara State APC, unable to reconcile its warring groups, is in danger of disqualifying itself from the 2019 races. Except it can find judges to rule against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and compel the acceptance of the list of standard-bearers presented by the state APC in violation of electoral timelines, the opposition PDP will likely take the state lock, stock, and barrel in 2019. Despite satisfying the electoral timelines instituted by INEC, most other APC states have had to wade through hell to find a unifying list to submit. Some APC governors, having tyrannised their states and whimsically drawn up a self-serving list of standard-bearers, have found themselves at daggers drawn with their party’s National Working Committee (NWC).

    Last Thursday was the deadline for the submission of the lists. In one clumsy form or the other, the APC met the deadline. But it had had to shuffle its list so invasively that it is doubtful whether party leaders can tell accurately who is on the list or not. In drawing up the list, they have had to contend with various positions and arguments ranging from the fiat of the NWC to the amelioration of the party’s appeal committee, to the intense lobby and threats of some governors and party chieftains, and then on to the inscrutable, if not entirely discreditable, last minute shuffle by shadowy figures and chieftains. By yesterday, few knew who among the controversial aspirants had made it to the final list submitted to INEC. Party leaders in Ogun were left flabbergasted by the endless shuffles, with the governor, as powerful as he is in the party and influential with the president, appearing to lose out. He barely held on to his own ticket and managed to drag in a few factional acolytes. The Ondo State governor, all spruced up with dainty legal accoutrements, has engaged in all-out war with a few aspirants. No one is sure whether his enemies, particularly Senator Ajayi Boroffice, made it to the final list, considering that Like Sen Sani, he also got the party’s initial nod.

    Kaduna State Governor Nasir el-Rufai exemplifies the worst of the nomination battles raging within the APC. In fact, he vividly illustrates the unseen war between the official intransigence of the party and the radicalism of some of the aspirants. In Kaduna, Senator Shehu Sani, who has reportedly finally defected from the party, was a thorn in the flesh to Mr el-Rufai, as Sen Boroffice is a pain in the neck to Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State. Neither governor was opposed to the senatorial iconoclasts pricking their bloated balloons because of ideological or policy differences. The war is almost entirely about egos, with the controversial governors dead set against the nomination of the senators in question. The party’s NWC recognises the triviality of the struggles, the inanities of the opposition, and the pettiness and tyranny being elevated into an art in many of the APC states.

    Consequently, using its screening committees, the party bravely at first paved the way for their gifted senators, some of whom were prevailed upon not to defect to the opposition, to take the nominations. But the equally more cantankerous and suicidal governors were determined to take brinkmanship to its highest level and were bent on pushing out those not amenable to their dictation. But regardless of the efforts of the NWC and their bold and initial resoluteness, no one could tell last Thursday whether the party had had its way or the governors had browbeaten the party, or whether the radicalism of some of the aspirants had trumped the intransigence of the governors.

    When the details of the lists submitted to INEC surface eventually, the public will know who has triumphed, and in particular what the future holds for the APC. Would governors, some of them clearly disfavoured by the public but exercising full tyrannical powers, continue to pull the strings in the party and decide which direction it goes, even if that direction leads to complete ruin? Or would party leaders, particularly the NWC, find the courage and leeway to run the affairs of the party sensibly, fairly and pragmatically? The party still has a little room to substitute names on the list at the appropriate time. Will it, knowing what is right and just, seize the chance to make final amends? It is too early to tell. What is clear, however, is that the party’s chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, is treading gingerly on thin ice. He is pulled in different directions all at once. There is a suspicion that he knows what is right, but there is a greater suspicion that he does not quite possess the kind of courage needed to curb the obnoxiousness of some of the APC governors.

    Overall, the bitter and poisonous struggles for nominations in the two leading parties indicate that Nigerian democracy, not to say the cost of running it, is in tatters. Until the right structural framework for running Nigeria can be found, these intense and bitter struggles for power and influence will continue unabated, to the point of threatening the stability and unity of the country. The country’s political structure needs to change, and with it must come the reduction in the cost of operating democracy. There is simply no way, no matter how frugal or saintly the president is, that Nigeria can be run efficiently based on its present structure. It is a wobbly and dysfunctional organ. From about three regions on the 1950s, and later four in the 1960s, all with only three or four administrative organs, Nigeria is now operating 36 states, all with their costly and replicative administrative organs. The 19 northern states, for instance, had just one Northern Nigeria cabinet before the 1966 coup d’état. In its place now are costly, inefficient and unnecessarily replicative cabinets, which unavoidably impact negatively on the infrastructure of the states and welfare of the workers.

    Indeed, compare the parliament of the First Republic with the current National Assembly. Even though the First Republic parliament was in desperate need of fine-tuning in those days, the current legislature is not only hopelessly big and burdensome, it is needlessly expensive and inefficient. In just three years, between 2016 and 2018, the country allocated nearly N400bn to the National Assembly. It is senseless and reckless. The states will continue to be unable to pay salaries of workers, not to talk of paying a living wage, and roads, bridges, schools and hospitals will remain derelict. Patriots must shout from the rooftops that the current structure is untenable, even if no kobo is embezzled by elected leaders. The population is exploding, resources are shrinking, and global technological innovations, which Nigeria appears inured to, are bound to complicate the country’s problem, especially in the face of retrogressive and unimaginative leaders too fearful of the risk of balkanisation to see into and grapple with the future.

    There is no reason to have a 36-state structure, no reason to have a huge and expensive legislature, no reason to run bloated bureaucracies, and absolutely no reason to run a virtually unitary federal government, if not even a pseudo-military government. Changes are taking place all around Nigeria, but the country does not have leaders who can recognise and respond to the changes. Even within Nigeria, drastic changes are also taking place, and many violent indicators of the country’s dysfunctional status are daily popping up; but the country’s leaders see the problems as simply one of law and order. Will the next elections correct these anomalies? It is doubtful. But Nigerians must hope that even if the elections will not introduce corrections, they should at least not worsen or make inevitable the looming disaster.

  • Marafa: There was no consensus in Zamfara APC primaries

    Sen. Kabir Marafa (APC/Zamfara Central), has said that there was neither election nor consensus in the botched All Progressives Congress (APC), primaries in Zamfara.

    Marafa was responding to claims by the APC National Chairman, Mr Adams Oshiomhole, that the party arrived at a consensus in Zamfara before the Oct. 7 deadline set by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    INEC had written to the APC conveying its decision to bar the party from fielding candidates in Zamfara in the 2019 general elections, citing its failure to meet the deadline for the conduct of primaries.

    Responding through a letter dated Oct. 10, Oshiomhole had told the commission that although party members bickered over the conduct of the primaries, they arrived at a consensus.

    But Marafa, who was a governorship aspirant in the primaries, disagreed with the APC chairman, saying that Oshiomhole might have been misled by the committee sent to conduct the exercise.

    “The only thing I saw wrong in the letter is the assertion that there was consensus among the aspirants during the primaries.

    “The governorship ticket had nine aspirants. I recall that four withdrew, but there was no consensus among the five left, until the close of primaries by 7 p.m.

    “The primary election committee really tried to bring about consensus, but the two factions of the state chapter of the APC could not agree.

    “What I am saying is that if you force any consensus or say there was one, there is going to be revolt.

    “An aspirant forced out of the race on the ground of consensus has the right to go to court and contest that claim. I don’t want to see that happen.”

    Marafa said that if APC had the legal backing to field a candidate in Zamfara without election or consensus, it should go ahead, otherwise the party should explore other options.

    He said that INEC, in its letter to the party, cited relevant provisions of the Electoral Act as the basis of its decision to bar the APC in the state.

    He pointed out that any argument over the commission’s decision should be based on what the law says regarding the situation in Zamfara.

    “So, if APC has the right to field candidates without these two issues, so be it; we should be allowed to field candidates.

    “But, if we cannot, because of these two issues, then that means we cannot.

    “Any attempt to make it look otherwise will only put the party in a more precarious situation, which I think is avoidable.

    “So, if we are not allowed to do it, then we will look at other options. Those that don’t have other options can stay around for another four years,” he added.

    Marafa, however, refused to disclose the “other options” available to him.

    “I will keep the options close to my chest until the right time,” he said. (NAN)

  • APC primaries : Ribadu, Modi reject Adamawa gov primary

    Two of the Adamawa three governorship aspirants of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mahmood Ahmed (Modi) and Nuhu Ribadu, have declared the process was flawed.

    They said it was so flawed that no result from it would be acceptable to them.

    In separate briefings yesterday, the aspirants insisted the primary did not take place anywhere in the state.

    They expressed they were perplexed some of the results were already being bandied.

    Modi, who spoke at his ward in Yola town as the results of the primary were being collated at the APC state headquarters in Jimeta, asserted the entire process was fraudulent.

    He said its result could not stand even in a Banana Republic.

    Proclaiming he would reject the result of the primary even if he was declared winner, Modi said: “We are shocked they now say they are collating result when no election was held.

    “I condemn the exercise in its entirety. It isn’t just that it lacks credibility, the election didn’t happen.”

    Ribadu, at his campaign office in Jimeta, contended no election took place anywhere in Adamawa State.

    He said it was therefore impossible to declare any result.

    “Thousands of our supporters trooped to voting centres across the state but there was no election.

    “No officials to attend to them and no election materials,” Ribadu stated.

    He said he and his team were shocked to hear of collation of result, stating”The whole thing is incredible. How can you conduct a direct primary election in the night? It’s just not possible.”

    “The NWC should step in and save our party from this embarrassing situation.

    “We demand immediate cancellation of the process.  The electoral committee should be disbanded,” the former chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) stated.

    The electoral committee was yet to react to allegations as at the time of filling the report.

    Modi,Ribadu and Governor Muhammed Jibrilla (Bindow) were the aspirants.

     

  • APC primaries: Yari dares Oshiomhole, calls supporters out for protest

    Gov. Abdul’aziz of Zamfara, on Friday called out his supporters for a peaceful protest over the decision of the national leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to cancel the party’s governorship primaries held on Wednesday.

    “I am calling on all our members to come out and storm the state Police Headquarters tomorrow (Saturday) by 10 am for peaceful protest.

    “We will continue with this decision until the national leadership of our party do what is right on this matter,” he said at a press conference in Gusau.

    The governor is having running battle with eight governorship aspirants in the state over the conduct of direct primaries.

    The governorship primaries held on Wednesday was cancelled by the party’s national secretariat and a fresh one is expected to hold on Saturday.

    According to Abu Fari, chairman of the election panel, the cancellation was due to harassment and intimidation of voters and snatching of election materials by thugs sponsored by politicians.

    Yari however dismissed the claim by the committee as false and warned its members not to step into Zamfara again.

    “Our issue is with the National Secretariat of APC where Adams Oshiomhole continue be a dictator to party members, he acts as a mini god.

    “You know, there is ongoing issue regarding the APC governorship primaries in the state, where the national headquarters sent a committee to conduct the election.

    “It was very unfortunate that the committee canceled the election on Wednesday.

    “We heard that the National Working Committee had dissolved the APC executive in the state and also send the same committee to Zamfara to repeat the exercise.

    “I want to call on the national headquarters of the party that we will not accept the decision and we are not satisfied with the committee, we don’t have confidence in that committee.

    “I am warning members of that committee that they should never come to Zamfara, they should never put their legs in this state, and anything that happens to them, Adams Oshiomhole should be held responsible.

    “We will continue with this decision until the national leadership of the party are ready to do justice,” he stressed.

    The governor dismissed insinuations that he had dumped the APC, saying nothing will make him leave the party.

    “I remain in APC and I will never leave the party. No amount of pressure will make me to leave the APC.”

    The governor added: “I was among the founders of this party, I was in Lagos, Nasarawa states for meetings before we gave birth to the APC, therefore no amount of pressure will make me to leave the party.

    “You know, changing political party is not my tradition, therefore I will not change the party and the rumour going round is not true, I am not under any pressure to leave the party.”

    Yari’s travails began when he anointed his commissioner of finance as the sole candidate of APC in the state, a decision challenged by eight aspirants including his deputy, Ibrahim Wakala.

    The aspirants locally known as the G8, are a former governor of the state Aliyu Shinkafi, a serving Senator, Kabiru Marafa, and Minister of Defence, Mansur Dan-Ali.

    Others include, Aminu Sani Jaji, Alhaji Dauda Lawal, Alhaji Abu Mahaji and Sagir Hamidu.(NAN)

  • 2019: Hassan-Fulata wins Jigawa APC Reps ticket

    Alhaji Abubakar Hassan-Fulata has been elected as the All Progressives Congress ( APC ) candidate to contest for the seat of Kirikasamma/Guri/Birniwa Federal Constituency in Jigawa, in the 2019 elections.

    The Chairman of the Electoral Committee, Alhaji Ahmed Danzomo, made the announcement on Friday in Kirikasamma.

    Danzomo said Hassan-Fulata polled 648 votes to defeat his closest opponent, Alhaji Saleh Ahmed ,who scored 201 votes, while Alhaji Mohammed Mukhtar got 20 votes.

    He said there were 955 eligible voters in the election; 877 were accredited while the total votes cast stood at 877.

    He said 869 votes were valid and eight votes were invalid in the election.

    Read Also: APC NWC approves cancellation of Zamfara governorship primary

    In his remark after the election, Hassan-Fulata thanked the delegates for giving him the mandate, promising to give them good representation if elected.

    He commended his opponents for the maturity they had shown throughout the exercise, urging them to cooperate with him in the interest of the party and the constituency.

    The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Hassan -Fulata is the incumbent representative of the constituency in the House of Representatives.

  • Senate: Dimka, former CP, picks Plateau Central APC ticket

    Mr Hezekiah Dimka, a retired Commissioner of Police, on Thursday picked the APC ticket to contest the Plateau Central Senatorial seat in 2019.

    In the party’s primary election held in Pankshin, Dimka scored 1,306 votes to beat three others for the ticket.

    Dimka is seeking to replace Sen. Joshua Dariye, former Plateau governor, who is currently serving a 14-year jail term at the Kuje Prison.

    Further details of the results as announced by Demua Leedee-Demue, the electoral officer, showed that Diket Plang, Sam Piwuna and Manji Gontori scored 450, 68 and 46 votes respectively.

    In other primary elections, two PDP members of the House of Representatives – Solomon Maren and Timothy Golu – won their tickets to seek fresh tenures.

    Read Also: Osinbajo to Lead Discussion on Ease of Doing Business TAAC Forum

    Maren represents Mangu/Bokkos Federal Constituency, while Golu represents Kanam/Kanke/Pankshin.

    In the results announced Thursday morning, Maren polled 98 votes to beat Dr. Umar Mantu, who got 94 votes.

    Mr Jelka Danlami got 92 votes, while Nanbam Jacob-Lot got six votes.

    Golu, on his part, garnered 278 votes to defeat Danjuma Usman and Suleiman Hanssi, who got 51 and 27 votes respectively.

  • APC primary: Policemen at Airport Hotel, Lagos

    An army of policemen has surrounded Lagos Airport Hotel, Ikeja.

    It is not immediately clear why they are there, but a source said their presence may not be unconnected with the primary of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

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    Governor Akinwunmi Ambode and Jide Sanwo-Olu are in the race for the ticket.”WE suspects that the buses are moving in ballot boxes,” the source said.

    The Nation could not confirm the allegation.

  • Ambode receives NWC panel on governorship primaries

    ***task them on level playing ground

    ***panel assures of credible process

     

    Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode on Monday received members of the panel to conduct the Governorship Primaries in the State, which was postponed to Tuesday in his office at Alausa, Ikeja.

    The panel which is chaired by Mr. Clement Ebri was appointed by the National Working Committee (NWC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    The members of the panel include Alhaji Ahmed Mahmud Gumel as Secretary; Mr. Nze Chidi Duru; Chief Clever Egbeji; Senator Clever Ikisikpo and Ambassador Jerry Ugokwe.

    Speaking at the meeting, Ambode urged them to do all within their powers to ensure a level playing field for all aspirants in the contest on Tuesday.

    He said it was important that the election when conducted should be seen as free, fair and credible to all aspirants concerned, adding that it is only in such situation that democracy, which the party upholds is entrenched.

    Expressing confidence in the selection of members of the panel, Ambode said he has no doubt that the panel would live up to expectation and deliver a credible process, which according to him, will go a long way to determine the future of Nigeria and the greatness of Lagos in particular.

    “This is a very star studded election team, they are distinguished Nigerians in their individual and collective rights. There can’t be any better collection of a team to any State election monitoring in this country than the distinguished personalities brought to Lagos and it only shows us the importance that the National chairman of our great party attaches to what is happening in Lagos.

    “I must tell you that what you have taken up, may look like a political assignment, but history is on your side that at this very moment in the annals of the history of this country, today marking our 58th Independence anniversary celebration, you are being called upon to discharge a selfless service that would determine the future of this country and the greatness of this particular state.

    “I receive this election team as being acceptable and credible to me enough to discharge their civic responsibility to the best of their abilities and also to say that whatever it is that is the outcome of the primaries, your presence has also shown that this will be credible and this will be acceptable by me,” he said.

    The Governor recalled that he had gone through the same process with 12 other aspirants to emerge as governorship candidate of the APC in 2014, saying that it was not out of place to have other aspirants contest for the same ticket this time, however, the eventual process of choosing who flies the party’s flag must be seen to be fair to all concerned.

    “So it’s very clear to me, all I seek is credible primaries, transparent primaries and level playing ground that we will all be proud of the outcome at the end of the day.

    “There were issues that we have raised that we are also trying to correct. The bottom line is this, we are family, we must not go into the elections divided because this is the very first time that our party is controlling the centre and also the State, that is what I want us to continue.

    “The issues that I raised have been put in form of a letter which I would pass to their chairman and I believe the committee will look into it judiciously and also I welcome the stakeholders meeting which will allow you feel the pulse of what is going on in the State,” Ambode said.

    He also urged the panel to use its prerogative to decide the best possible time for the primaries election and make a public announcement on the time, date and venues of the exercise to enable members of the party partake in the process.

    Earlier, Ebri said the panel deemed it fit to pay a courtesy visit to the Governor as the number one citizen in the State and to also intimate him on the process for the conduct of the primaries.

    “As the number one citizen of Lagos, we felt obliged to come and see you particularly when you are contesting for the position of Governor for which we all believe you have done so well. We are the panel that has been constituted to conduct primaries. We are seven members and there are indications that there would be one or two additions due to the work load here.

    “We have come to intimate you that this exercise is going to take place in the next few hours. I also like to apologise for the delay, it had to be postponed as a result of logistics in Lagos, Imo and some other States because of the pressure and work load from the secretariat and other developments that have taken place,” the Chairman said.

    Ebri, a former governor of Cross River State, assured the Governor that he and his team were ready for the task ahead and would do everything possible to ensure that the process is seen to be free, fair and credible.

    “Lagos is more like a decider and like they say, when Lagos sneezes the rest of the country catches cold. So that is why we are very careful about what we are doing and the National Chairman asked me to send his best wishes to you and ask us to come and do the right thing to the satisfaction of all members, more so that the president of this country stands for transparency and detests corruption and a situation where no one feels manipulated.

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    “The process we are laying out is such that will ensure and guarantee transparency and credibility, we have people of integrity in this panel, these are not rookies in politics, they are people who have been tested. You can see senators, former governors, former deputy governor, former member of the House of Representatives, so this is a star studded team and I can assure you that we have all the experience that you want and you can think about to conduct this exercise. We assure you of our sincerity and transparency and we seek your cooperation in providing a level playing field.

    “I want to assure you that we have come here to do our work and to ensure that this party is given the greater control in the affairs of this country by getting the right persons to assume the mantle of office. We know that you have done so well and there is no doubt about it.

    “But you have a contestant and we have assured everyone that since this party stands for democracy and we want to ensure that there is a level playing field and everyone would be given an opportunity to test out his strength,” he said.

    He said the Stakeholders meeting fixed for Monday evening at the party secretariat in Acme was to enable aspirants and other concerned stakeholders voice their opinion concerning the primaries in accordance with the democratic principles of the party.

    He said the meeting would afford the panel a look at the possibility of conducting the primaries at the most convenient time and where there are still grey areas, “then we would contact the national headquarters and get the necessary approval to make the adjustments”.

    Ebri also sought the Governor’s assistance in ensuring the safety and security of members of the panel, a request which the Governor granted, assuring the team that adequate security would be provided to ensure a hitch free exercise.