Tag: APC

The National Working Committee (NWC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has adopted a direct mode of primary for the party’s governorship shadow election slated for February 17, 2024.

A decision to this effect was reached on Monday night, January 15, at the extended Edo State stakeholders meeting with the NWC on the state gubernatorial election at the party national secretariat in Abuja.

This came on the heels of Senator Adams Oshiomole’s disclosure of the resolve of the party to reclaim the state from the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the upcoming September 21 governorship election, amid 29 contenders vying for the party’s ticket.

Addressing newsmen on Tuesday, January 16, on the outcome of the stakeholders meeting, the deputy national publicity secretary, Hon. Duro Meseko who read the resolution said the NWC after consultation resolved to conduct the party’s primary through direct mode of election.

The meeting which was at the instance of the NWC resolved as follows: “After due consultations with Edo State APC stakeholders, the NWC has approved direct primaries as the mode of election to be used to produce the governorship candidate of the party for the state.

“Given the large numbers of aspirants jostling for the party’s ticket in Edo state, the NWC urged the stakeholders to unite in trimming the number of aspirants.

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“The NWC urged all the governorship aspirants to exhibit party discipline and patriotism by shunning the attitude of running to the Courts at every opportunity instead of exploring internal dispute resolution mechanisms, especially after Party Primaries.

“It was resolved that for the smooth running of the party, all members should ensure strict compliance with their financial obligations to the party, in line with the party’s constitution.

“The NWC also resolved that for want of time, the E-registration exercise of the party for fresh members be conducted after the primaries in order not to derail the smooth conduct of the Primaries.

“The stakeholders were urged by the NWC to promote unity within the ranks of the party to go into the election as one family bound by progressive ideals and fully geared to reclaim the party’s mandate in Edo state.”

 In attendance at the briefing were the Edo state APC publicity secretary, Peter Uwadie-Igbinigie and APC director of publicity, Bala Ibrahim.

Earlier during the consultative meeting on Monday night, Senator Oshiomole told the Abdullahi Umar Ganduje-led NWC that leaders and members of the party in the state have resolved to reclaim the state, which he said originally belonged to the party.

Oshiomole said: “We are particularly determined, as you can see everybody here has a robust past and even present. We are determined to reclaim Edo State. I used the word reclaim because Edo is ours. We lost it due to several factors some of which were caused by some APC elements.”

Stressing the resolve of the party to add Edo to the APC kitty, Oshiomole said stakeholders in the state have embarked on a series of dialogues with governorship aspirants to get their understanding for a rancour-free primary and eventually win the governorship election slated for September.

He said: “On our part, we have tried to initiate dialogue among our aspirants. It is no secret, that at the time we had the dialogue, I think they (aspirants) were 27. I learned it has increased to 29 now. The process is ongoing, and the struggle continues. So we are looking forward to a healthy deliberation.”

The former governor also appreciated the role the national chairman, Dr. Ganduje played during the last governorship election in the state and said that God will crown his interests this time around as the party rejoins the progressive family under his leadership.

Counselling the delegates, the APC chairman said the party must improve internal democracy for a popular and widely acceptable candidate to emerge as the flag bearer of the party at the party’s February 17 primary election.

He noted: “We have to improve our internal democracy – we have to deepen and widen it. We need to understand the party and its manifesto; its rules and regulations. We need to understand its philosophy.

“We need to move towards having a party ideology so that we w, will not be an ordinary political association whereby everybody can come in just to win an election.

“We have to be transparent and at the same time, we have to also adopt a guided democracy where we can discuss issues so that we limit if possible the number of contestants.

The chairman then assured that APC is taking Edo state back come September 2024.

He stated: “Edo is an APC state. Now we have to take Edo back. We have only one state from the South-South for the greatest party in Africa which is not acceptable. We were able to get only Cross River State; after crossing so many rivers we succeeded in getting Cross River. But Edo State, we Isha Allah must get it.”

Ahead of the upcoming February 17 All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship primary in Edo state, the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party is set to convene a vital meeting with stakeholders in the state on, Monday, January 15.

The meeting, called by the Abdullahi Ganduje-led NWC, is scheduled to take place at the NWC hall of Muhammadu Buhari House, the party headquarters in Abuja, at 8 pm.

The Nation gathered that the meeting was called to enable the party’s highest administrative organ (NWC), all state stakeholders and governorship aspirants to fashion out a workable free, fair and credible template for the conduct of the primary and for the eventual victory of the party in the September 2024 state governorship election.

It was further gathered that invitation letters have been sent out to the State Working Committee (SWC), all former governors, deputy governors, serving and former National Assembly members from the state and some identified governorship aspirants.

A source in the Directorate of Organisation of the party who spoke in confidence confirmed that the meeting was at the instance of the NWC chairman, Ganduje in line with his resolve to create a level playing ground for the best candidate to emerge for the party.

The source said: “This meeting is a crucial one. The chairman (Ganduje) and the NWC invited all the stakeholders in the state so that everybody will be on the same page ahead of the February 17 primary election.”

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When asked for those invited our source simply said: “Letters have been sent out to members of the State Working Committee, all former governors from the state, all former deputy governors, serving and former members of the National Assembly from the state as well as some identified governorship aspirants. It is an enlarged stakeholders meeting. Over 100 leaders from Edo state are expected for the meeting,”

He further said those expected at the include former APC national chairman and former governor of the state, Senator Adams Oshiomole, Prof. Oserheimen Osunbor, some governorship aspirants, which include Pastor Ize-Iyamu, former Minister of State for Budget & National Planning, Clem Agba, Hon. Anamero Dekeri, Blessing Agbomhere, the APC South-South Zonal Organizing Secretary and member representing Etsako Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon. Anamero Dekeri.

It will be recalled that the party recently released the schedule of activities and timetable for the state governorship election.

The schedule showed that sales of nomination and expression of interest forms and sale of delegates’ forms are fixed for 10th to 29th January 2024, while submission of completed forms and accompanying documents is slated for Monday, February 5, 2024.

Screening of aspirants is to be held on Thursday 8th and Friday 9th February 2024.

The delegates’ congress is fixed for Saturday 10th February and the party primary for the emergence of the party flag bearer will be held on Saturday 17th February 2024.

The party has also fixed the 24th of April for the commencement of the campaign by its standard bearer.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) on Sunday, January 14, vehemently denied trading off the Kano state governorship seat to the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP) to forestall any violence that might greeted its victory from the Supreme Court.

The party insisted that what played out last Friday, January 13, was purely a legal matter as decided by the apex court.

APC governorship candidate, Nasir Gawuna was earlier returned as the winner of the March 18, 2023 governorship election by the Kano State Governorship Tribunal, a decision that was also upheld by the Court of Appeal.

The Supreme Court however on Friday upturned the verdict of the tribunal and the appellate court.

The apex court declared Abba Yusfu of NNPP as the rightful winner of the state election.

However, speculations were rife that the APC may have deliberately traded off the governorship seat in Kano state as part of an arrangement to ward off any possible post-adjudication violence in the nation’s most populous state.

Reacting to the speculation on Sunday in Abuja while chatting with newsmen, APC Deputy National Organizing Secretary, Nze Chidi Duru, said the party would have loved to win the state, but as an institution that believes in the rule of law, it has it to bow to the decisions of courts.

Duru said: “The judiciary spoke and that is why we have the various tiers of the judiciary. You have the trial courts and then you have the Court of Appeal, thereafter you have the Supreme Court and that is not in any way to denigrate the understanding of the learned justices who were at the various levels of adjudication systems.

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“The trial court appreciated and pronounced the fact as they understood it and the same thing happened when they went to the Court of Appeal. It was also basically to that extent they appreciated the matter and those in the final court saw it differently and then of course pronounced judgment based on the facts that were before them.

“So, it does not in any way denigrate one section of the arm of the judiciary against the other and it is in the wisdom of our founding fathers that we have these various layers of adjudication process; that first, if you err at the trial court, then those at the higher courts may then look at it and find a different understanding based on the understanding that they have.

“I did not see any politics in it. I did not also see any arrangement based on that. What did happen was that at the trial court, they understood the fact differently, at the Court of Appeal they also understood it but more importantly at the Supreme Court which is the final arbiter in the judicial process, a different understanding was given to it and a pronouncement was made accordingly.

“Law is what it is. Law is based on law and then on facts and if for anything, I want to believe that we should applaud our judiciary for again rising to the occasion and then espousing the law in a way that “Nigerians are confident that you can take your differences and grievances to an impartial arbiter and there will be justice dispensed in a way that is satisfactory to all parties involved.

“It is also commendable in a way that it did also suggest that even if there is the suspicion of interference in the arm of government, Friday’s ruling and exposition on the part of the judiciary also did show that they are essentially independent. It gives confidence to both the political actors that the only way you can win an election really and frankly is to reach to the electorate; to canvass your views, your ideas and your ideals, share your manifestos with them and then when you win, you win fair and square.”

The Oyo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has criticized Governor Seyi Makinde for his recent condemnation of President Bola Tinubu’s decision to stop fuel subsidy payments, as stated in Tinubu’s inaugural speech on May 29, 2023.

Makinde, during an interfaith prayer session at the Agodi Government Secretariat on Tuesday, attributed the deteriorating economic situation in the country to the Tinubu administration.

The governor specifically mentioned that the removal of the fuel subsidy in May last year was done hastily and at the wrong time “thereby inflicting hardship on the citizenry.”

However, a press release from Oyo APC Publicity Secretary, Olawale Sadare, advised the governor to avoid grandstanding and instead take responsibility for his inability to enhance the state’s economy despite receiving substantial funds from federal allocations, internally generated revenue, loans, and grants over the last 55 months, with little to show for it.

The statement read: “We had waited a few days expecting Gov. Makinde to debunk or make clarification on the misleading statement credited to him in the media since Tuesday but this never happened.”

“It is then obvious that a governor, in his second term in office, actually put the blame of dwindling economy on a seven-month-old government at the centre even when the whole world knows he is part of the problem.’

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“As much as we would not delve into the culpability of Gov. Makinde in the mismanagement of the nation’s petroleum resources, it is important we ask him to withdraw his criticism of President Bola Tinubu on the courageous and heroic decision to stop fuel subsidy payment by the federal government since it has been established that the policy was not only fraudulent but also counterproductive and economically suicidal.

“It is an undeniable fact that things took worse dimension for the residents of the country since May last year when the federal government announced total removal of subsidy on imported petroleum products especially premium motor spirit otherwise known as petrol but there is no better time for the government to take the bold decision than when it was done while there is high hope that the situation would return to normal in no time.”

“Even all the leading candidates in the last presidential election had indicated their resolve to take similar steps if given the opportunity to rule Nigeria.”

“As a matter of fact, most governors are responsible for the growing poverty in the land and Gov. Makinde is not an exception. Why would poverty not spread when a governor deliberately grounded the third tier of government in his state and this, denies officials from using the funds accruing to their councils to serve the masses?”

“Why would poverty not spread in the land when a governor fails to create employment and wealth with the enormous resources at his disposal but he chooses to waste public funds on questionable contracts awarded at inflated costs?”

“How would Oyo not be among poverty-stricken states in Nigeria when we have a governor whose achievement on commerce is the extinction of the Agbowo shopping complex where thousands of residents used to make a living.”

“On agriculture, Gov. Makinde started by taking N7.6billion loan with a promise to build farm estates and he has nothing to show after four years but he blames Tinubu for removing fuel subsidy.”

“Last year, the same governor moved N3.35b out of Oyo state treasury ostensibly to purchase 105 units of plastic cars at the rate of a million per one, and less than 100 units were displayed months after. Nigerians should be the judge here.”