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Tag: PDP National chairman

  • Worried by electoral hiccups, PDP set to review conduct of 2019 polls

    The leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has expressed concerns over hiccups in the conduct of the 2019 general elections.

    The party, at an emergency National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting in Abuja on Wednesday, complained about the inability of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conclude the elections in record time.

    The PDP chieftains were particularly miffed that almost two weeks after, INEC could not conclude the governorship and state assembly elections that were held on March 9.

    Winners of the governorship elections are yet to be declared in seven states where the polls were declared inconclusive. The affected states are Kano, Sokoto, Benue, Plateau and Bauchi states. The concluding part of the elections are billed to hold in the affected states on Saturday.

    The governorship election in Rivers state has become a subject of legal rigmarole by interested parties as a result of suspension of announcement of the results midway into the exercise.

    Also of grave concern to the main opposition party was the militarisation of the elections in many states in the South-South geopolitical zone.

    The party has resolved to do a post mortem of the general election after the supplementary elections.

    The PDP National Chairman, PDP, Prince Uche Secondus who presided over the meeting, called on the military not to allow themselves be called out again for what he described as illegal duties.

    He enjoined the military and other security agencies to resist any attempt to be dragged into paying manipulative roles in Saturday’s supplementary elections in the affected states.

    The party chair said that military institution in Nigeria is highly regarded and therefore has the responsibility to guard its reputation jealously.

    According to him, inconclusive terminology is a rigging strategy introduced by the INEC to aide the governing All Progressives Congress (APC).

    He expressed optimism that PDP candidates will emerge victorious in the upcoming supplementary elections in five of the six states that the election will take place.

    Secondus said that property will hold the INEC Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu responsible for the consequences of all his actions.

    President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki said the result of the presidential and state elections reflected the strength and character of the PDP and urged members to build on the foundation.

    Saraki said the victory of the APC in the presidential and state elections will be short-lived, adding that, “We have a great future ahead and I believe we will start that on Saturday to make sure that we defend those five states that are declared inconclusive.

    “If anybody believes that it is a loss to PDP, it is a loss to the country that history will not forgive. We said it many times here, that the worst to do is to do an election that our country, Nigeria will not be proud of.

    “We have done an election that no doubt anybody and even those that think they have won are ashamed of the kind of election that we did.

    “I think it is a shame to the country and to those that were given that responsibility to do. They have Saturday as their last opportunity to try as much as possible to reclaim part of their embarrassment to the country.

    “How can a country like Nigeria have this type of election? Ghana has done it, Congo and Zimbabwe have done elections. And we say we do elections, with seven inconclusive. We did elections in 2015, we did it in 2011 and 1999 and after so many years, this is what we can produce.

    “It is not a loss to the PDP, it is to the country. It just showed the level of desperation. I have confidence that this will be shortlived and as such, let us ensure on Saturday, that these fives states that as ours remain within the PDP and INEC should for once do what is right”, Saraki said.

    Also speaking at the meeting, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Yakubu Dogara, urged INEC to save the country the agony setting bad precedent for the country.

    Dogara said, “Elections are done all over the world, elections are conducted in Africa and at no time have we heard of these inconclusive elections in other jurisdictions. Ghana elections were held not long ago.

    “It will be very unfortunate if INEC, which is led by a first-class Professor set this very dangerous and unacceptable precedent in our political history. That I want them to take note of.

    “And also what has happened is pure evil, our consolation as members of this party is that evil does not last and no evil doer has ever escaped punishment.

    “If they do what others have done before, they will see what those who did evil saw. Definitely, they cannot escape from it. It’s a law of nature and in the scriptures of God, that whatever you sow so you shall reap.

    “This is also for those who believe in power for the sake of power, not because they want to empower people, not because they want to better the lives of our people.

    “There is also lessons they can learn from history. History is now replete with examples of all those who pursued power, for the sake of power. Their lives have always ended in semilar tragedy that awaits anyone who seeks power for the sake of power. We have seen that display in Nigeria.

    “For us as members of this party, I don’t want us to despair, even though we have inconclusive elections in some states. In five of those states, PDP clearly won the election in those states.

    “We will not despair, let us stand strong, let us face the rerun or supplementary elections as they called them. I sincerely believe that by the grace of God victory is ours and we will overcome.

    The PDP vice presidential candidate in the February 23 election, Mr Peter Obi, said besides blaming the INEC and the security agencies, the biggest shame goes to those who are directing them to do the wrong thing.

    Obi said, “If you choose to be a leader, especially with APC that claims integrity, the biggest corruption and the biggest show of a government that does not believe in integrity is to rig election. Because the process through which you come into office, is far more fundamental than what you do thereafter.

    “I think we should hold them responsible for what is happening in this country now. The examples we are setting for the young ones, I don’t know what they will tell a young man who is cheating in an examination in this country after seeing the ways our elections are conducted.

    “I don’t know what they will tell those who are robbing banks and kidnapping people, because we have seen the biggest of it by this election where people are happy after robbing the nation and their states.

    “The chairman said we will do a post mortem after the election. I thank the party, because it is the party that is going to court not just the presidential candidate going to court to challenge this rascality.

    “I as a person have always believed that the biggest enemy of freedom or progress are happy slaves. And thank God that this party has chosen this part, and we will all stand by it”.

  • APC has bastardised economy, says Atiku

    The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar on Sunday in Kano said the country is witnessing unprecedented economic setback under the All Progressive Congress (APC) government.

    Atiku, whose campaign train berthed in the ancient city of Kano in continuation of his presidential campaign, arrived the Sani Abacha stadium at about 5:55 pm before a mammoth crowd that anxiously waited for several hours.

    Speaking to the PDP supporters, Atiku said if given the mandate in next Saturday’s presidential election, he will support the revitalisation of agriculture and the economy, which he said are in shambles.

    According to him: “I will ensure that among my priorities would be the revitalization of agriculture, industries and commercial activities so as to boost the economy which has been killed by the APC government.”

    He noted that Kano, which is nerve center of commercial activities in the North, is experiencing backwardness in business and commerce.

    According to him: “If you vote for PDP from top to bottom and bottom to top, PDP government will revitalize business and the moribund industries in Kano. We will also boost agriculture.”

    Also speaking, the PDP national chairman, Prince Uche Secondus told the huge crowd of PDP supporters the Kano rally represents a revolution and a pointer that Kano people has embraced PDP.

    The Director General of Atiku Campaign Organisation, Senator Bukola Saraki lamented: “There is hunger in Nigeria. The APC government has brought hardship on the people. There is need for us to vote them out.

    “Today, Kano people have spoken and what we have seen in this unprecedented crowd today is that PDP has taken over Kano.

    “People have agreed to vote for PDP. A vote for PDP and a vote for Atiku will put food on our table.”

    Former Kano Senator Rabi’u Musa Kwankawso said the mammoth were sending a message to Aso Rock that PDP has already taken over Kano.

    He said: “Today, Kano people and particularly, the youths have shown that Kano is for PDP and Kwankwasiyya.”

    The Chapman of the party in Kano, Suleiman Rabi’u Bichi said that PDP will sweep the polls from top to bottom in Kano, “because Kano belongs to PDP.”

    Over 30 people fainted due to exhaustion and suffocation while three reportedly died during a clash among rival groups outside the stadium.

    Atiku, who was visibly elated over the mammoth crowd, was clad in Kwankwasiyya red cap and white Babanriga to match.

  • Fayose attacks Buhari for not sending him birthday greetings

    Fayose attacks Buhari for not sending him birthday greetings

    Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose has accused President Muhammadu Buhari of not sending him any message to congratulate him on his 57th birthday.

    Fayose said he deserved to be sent a congratulatory message from the Presidency as “one of the governors in Nigeria and a leading opposition figure in the country.”

    On the raging controversy on who emerges the next People’s Democratic Party (PDP) at the December 9 National Convention, Fayose said all chairmanship aspirants from all the geopolitical zones in the South are eligible and not only aspirants from the Southwest.

    Fayose has been accused by some PDP chieftains in Ekiti State of supporting Prince Uche Secondus from Rivers State for the post of National Chairman rather than a candidate from the Southwest to where the position had been zoned by the party.

    The governor spoke on Wednesday with reporters at the Government House, Ado-Ekiti, the state capital as part of the occasions to mark his 57th birthday.

    Fayose said “one of his greatest wishes on his 57th birthday was to have woken up this morning to receive congratulatory message from President Muhammadu Buhari or read such message in the media.”

    He said: “My wishes on my 57th birthday as Ayo Fayose are many but one of them which will interest you is that I wish ‎President Buhari’s congratulatory call would have woken me up today as one of the governors in the country, as a father of the nation and as a leading ‎opposition figure in the country.

    “(The President ought to congratulate me as) a fearless young man who believes that things should be done rightly to show himself (Buhari) as a father of all, preaching that we must extend love to everybody not only those in his political party.

    “The President would have made a difference if he had extended such gesture to others beyond his political party.  Such a congratulatory message should have been conveyed through his Minister of Information.

    “I would have loved to either wake up receiving a congratulatory call from him or read it in the papers. But since it is not coming, it is not a big deal to me and I take no offence on it.

    “I am not Buhari’s enemy; opposition is the strength of democracy, it ensures that the electorates get value for their votes. Those who criticize your government are not your enemies, they are catalysts to your growth as a government.

    “I remain a factor no one can ignore in this country. Apart from the fact that I am a leading opposition (figure), Nigerians respect my voice; they believe that I don’t compromise the truth no matter whose ox is gored.”

    On the confusion over who becomes the next PDP National Chairman, Fayose said: “Nobody can say some zone would hijack it because there is no election yet. You don’t know where the election would go. 24 hours is a long time in election.

    “What is important is that a credible candidate emerges as PDP chairman and the fact that we must as members, conclude this convention as one party.

    “You also remember that all our candidates have signed and agreed to remain one regardless of the outcome of the convention. That shows unity among us, the chairmanship is zoned to the south.”

    Responding to a question that his presidential ambition may rob the Southwest of the party’s national chairmanship slot, Fayose said: “How can only one man’s ambition rob others their own chance?

    “That is just cheap blackmail. You see when I wanted to be governor; there was nothing that could stop me because I was determined.

    “The aspirants for PDP chairmanship who have come from the South-West were determined, if not, they wouldn’t have come out. Let us say that expressly that we don’t know tomorrow, 24 hours is a long time in politics.”

    “The aspirants for PDP chairmanship who have come from the South-West were determined, if not, they wouldn’t have come out. Let us say that expressly that we don’t know tomorrow, 24 hours is a long time in politics.”

  • PDP governors ask Secondus to step down

    PDP governors ask Secondus to step down

    Governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have asked the party’s Acting National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus to step down.

    The governors directed Secondus to hand over the leadership baton to the party’s National Secretary, Prof. Wale Oladipo in line with provisions of the party’s constitution.

    In a communique issued at the end of a meeting in Abuja on Wednesday, the governors chided a former presidential adviser, Ahmed Gulak for what they described as his unacceptable conduct.

    Gulak had on Wednesday invaded the party secretariat where he declared himself the national chairman of the PDP.

    The governors frowned at the refusal of Secondus to respect the judgment of an Abuja high court ordering him to vacate the office for a member from the Northeast zone to take the position.

    “We take cognizance of the judgment by the court in Abuja which ordered the acting chairman to vacate office for any other person from the Northeast zone of Nigeria.

    “Our party constitution has enough provisions for that and the necessary process has been put in motion,” the communique said.

    Ondo State governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko read the communiqué on behalf of his colleagues.

    The governors flayed Gulak’s invasion of the party secretariat where he declared himself national chairman without recourse to the appropriate organs of the party.

    “The invasion of the party headquarters by Ahmed Ali Gulak who reportedly assumed the chairmanship of the Peoples Democratic Party is regrettable and condemnable,” Mimiko said.

    According to the governors, the issue of the chairmanship of the party would soon be resolved to enable someone from the Northeast complete the tenure of the last national chairman, Adamu Muazu who resigned in May 2015.

    “The appropriate organs of the party will meet soonest to elect a national chairman of the party from the appropriate zone,” he said.