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Tag: tinubu

  • APC chieftain defends Tinubu over handshake saga

    APC chieftain defends Tinubu over handshake saga

    Erstwhile chairman of Surulere Local Government, Hon Tajudeen Ajide, has defended  Sen. Remi Tinubu over the handshake episode with Senate President Bukola Saraki. Sen. Tinubu had reportedly refused to shake hands  with Saraki on the floor of the house following the later perceived anti-party activity which led to his emergence as the president of the 8th Senate.

    Speaking in Lagos , the grounded grass roots administrator, said the handshake issue was blown out of proportion,  saying politicians need to exhibit a good level of honesty and decorum in public service. “Even among thieves, it is said that there is honour, ” Ajide said.”Sen Tinubu is an honourable politician who has demonstrated honesty in all ramification and has a right to show her grievances about an insincere politician.”

    The ex-footballer is  of the opinion that the Sen Tinubu and her husband, APC leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu have paid their dues in the party and to Nigerian politics at large and deserve to air their opinions without prejudice. “They have done so much for Nigerian politics right from the grass roots right to the federal life level. They deserve kind words and respect from Nigerian politicians which is lacking in our politics and it is a shame,” he added.

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • ‘Stop conspiracy against Tinubu’

    The Action Group caucus of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has decried the gang-up against the party’s National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

    It said those deriding Tinubu after gaining immensely from his political sagacity and financial support would live to regret their action.

    In a statement by its spokesperson, Segun Dipe, the group said some elements believe that they could maintain their popularity only by denigrating Tinubu.

    “These conspirators are filled with venom and they consist of too many craven and irresponsible politicians.

    “Their game plan will not stand the test of time. They are parasites with superficial roots, which will soon rot.

    “We are all advocates of change, we worked very hard to attain it, and they also joined us to chant and chorus “APC…CHANGE”.

    “Yet deep down in their hearts, they did not want a change in the status quo. Rather they are only after a change that will improve their fortune and betray their benefactors.

    “Tinubu has been there for a while; he is a long-distance runner and will surely survive their intrigues.”

  • Tinubu and parable of the ‘first supper’

    When I wrote the piece: ‘Tinubu: A Parody of Shakespeare’ a few friends and colleagues said I was un-characteristically ‘patronizing’. Some wondered if I too had not fallen for the Tinubu ‘cult of personality’; or as one of them put it ‘cult of the insatiable power-seeker’. And to quite a few of those friends and colleagues whose opinion about my professional integrity I do give a damn about, I did vouchsafe some cogent explanation: first I said that even as I was sure they knew me not to ‘advocate for the devil’, yet they should not forget that I was not one either not to ‘give the devil his due’.

    I should say, for the records, that I believed –and I still do- that Tinubu deserved that tribute which I paid to him; that I still think him worthy of all the sentiments contained therein and that I still feel proud that I wrote that piece. Tinubu has fathered a peaceful political revolution in Nigeria which has not only moved our democracy beyond a notch by its shattering of the myth of the invincibility of incumbency, but it has saved the nation from the malignance of a ruinous era of political impunity which was bent on balkanizing our country.

    And let me say that if Tinubu, afterwards should, for any reason lend the instrumentation of his time, his prowess and his resources in the promotion of any contrary ideal odious or antithetical to the noble one of growing our democracy and developing our nation-, I should also, with a measure of antipathy equal to the enthusiasm with which I had praised him, deploy the venom of my pen to harangue and to disapprobate him.

    But come to think of it, if you ask me whether I think Tinubu is ‘evil’ –politically, I should answer as much with the affirmative ‘Yes’ as with the negative ‘no’. For as ‘beauty is in the eyes of the beholder’, logically-speaking I think, so should ‘ugliness’ be also ‘in the eyes of the beholder’. And so to a bitter PDP whose defeat the Asiwaju’s deft, adept and adroit politics had caused, Tinubu is most definitely ‘evil’; and thus in the subjective eyes of members of PDP, Tinubu is uglier than the mythical Gorgon. But to the APC whose political fortunes Tinubu’s (even if) neo-Machiavellic master-tactic has now raised from ‘nothing’ to ‘everything’, the Jagaban is most definitely no ‘evil’ but ‘good’ and thus in the objective eyes of sincere members of APC, Tinubu should be the personification of beauty itself –politically that is.

    Alas, as we see presently in the treacherous hustle and jostle for political positions, this is not so with the hawks and vultures in the APC who now masquerade as altruistic progressive change-agents of the Buhari government. To these neo-conservative opportunists, all of a sudden ‘Asiwaju’ ‘The Leader’ is now simply Tinubu ‘The meddlesome interloper’! He is as they now claim ‘unnecessarily interfering with our democratic processes’ and must thus be cut to size. And on this you cannot but have a sense of the poignantly disgusting and the de ja vu: especially if you recall what the then Rhodesia’s oppressive head Colonialist Ian Smith said to the anti-colonial world of the 70s about Zimbabweans: “These blacks are spoiling my democracy!” ‘My democracy indeed!’

    They said that the Asiwaju wants to install surrogate leaders for the legislature so he can remote-control them. And I say: ‘assuming, without conceding, that this is true, to what end, if we may ask, would Tinubu want to remote-control the NASS?’ Is it to prevent it from passing good progressive bills that will give effect to the promise of ‘change’ by Buhari? Or is it to egg the NASS on to anti-Buhari tantrums so that the General’s government cannot effectively function? I really don’t get it!

    And I even wonder more: did they not invest Tinubu with all the sobriquets and appellations of a ‘Leader’? Did they not say that he was the courageous ‘Jagaban’; the one who led from the front? And did Tinubu not lead them from the front? Selflessly giving his time, his energy and his resources? Did he not put his life on the line of a hysterically dangerous incumbency desperately angling to keep power by hook or crook? Did they not say that Tinubu’s was a goal-oriented and decisively go-getting ‘Leadership’?

    And need one also ask: did we not, to the occasional rousing applause of Nigerians, see them severally winning one political battle after another under the leadership of the Jagaban? From when Tinubu fought to win series of judicial victories to restore the political control of the South-west into the hands of the progressives; a feat which gave the earliest fillip to the initiative for the formation of a formidable coalition of opposition political parties?

    Did we not see the series of political mutations afterwards initiated and set in motion from the pre-natal stages, the singular efforts of one man to corral several ideological eggs into one political embryo, so as to give life to a new all-embracing political party around which both progressives and even repentant fascists could congregate to make practicable what was thought well-nigh impossible, namely enacting the parting of the political Red Sea to say to the behemoth PDP ‘let my people go!’

    But maybe what we were seeing from aloof was different from what exactly was happening within! But I thought that we all saw Tinubu burning the political candle through nights and nights of vigils to disprove all the known theories of war which posit that more than one battle cannot be fought at a time; I thought we saw the Asiwaju take on both INEC and government in a proxy war with surrogate usurpers of the baptismal of the new political ideology, the A-P-C! -and which he won!

    We thought that we saw Tinubu walk the miles from the North-west to the North-east; from North-central to the South-east and from the South-west to the South-south to build strong bridges of geo-ethnic and geo-political consensus; planning and strategizing to form alliances, to create leagues of political amity and to  search out for men and women of weight and of mettle; political and non-political actors with diverse gifts and varying competences, to man the many points of the opposition’s political rudder.

    These efforts were rewarded with successes in the creation of the first ever successful merger, the formation of the first ever peoples party, the conduct of one of the most transparent party primaries, the emergence of the most popular presidential candidate, the running of the most competitive presidential electioneering campaigns, and the first ever defeat of incumbency by an opposition party in one of the most transparent presidential elections.

    But now that the political dinner table is set, surrounded, unfortunately, by opportunistic political vultures and hyenas, they are telling us that although Tinubu is an excellent political cook, he is not as good in the culinary art of dishing. That the Party Leader must stay away from the party’s first political supper! In fact like Caesar they accused the Asiwaju of ambition. The same Tinubu who had publicly announced that Buhari had offered him a chance to be on the Presidential ticket –an offer which he said he politely declined.

    Tinubu does not deserve this kind of treatment. Asiwaju as the Party Leader and the party are the veritable taproots of the President. If they who care about the President’s success are left at the mercy of the party’s vultures and hyenas who only care about the spoils of politics, sooner or later the shrub of the presidency and its blooming foliage will feel the wilt. It is both morally and politically expedient that Buhari steps in to restore rank discipline and to assure the Asiwaju and the party hierarchy that he has ‘got their back’; just like they, through thick and thin, had always had the President’s back.

  • ‘Tinubu, others must ensure APC survives crisis’

    ‘Tinubu, others must ensure APC survives crisis’

    Former All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Lagos State, Ambassador Nurain Mumuni, has pleaded with the National Leader of APC, Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu, President Muhammadu Buhari and other APC stalwarts to rise to the challenges of returning the party to the path of sanity and discipline in order to restore the confidence reposed in it by Nigerians.

    Speaking in an interview with The Nation, Mumuni disclosed that the likes of Tinubu, President Buhari and other APC stalwarts should not stand and watch helplessly while the party they built with their sweat and blood is being threatened by avoidable controversies and mudslinging that might lead to its disintegration.

    According to Mumuni:  “I just want to appeal to our leaders in the party, especially Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and President Buhari, not to allow the ongoing acrimony triggered by the outcome of the election of the National Assembly principal officers to degenerate further, hence the need for them to ensure that all the grievances in the party are amicably resolved.

    “Both Buhari and Tinubu have committed so much to the successes and eventual victory of the party at the just concluded presidential election, and no matter the situation, they remain strong forces and rallying points in the party. Most of us look up to them as role models and liberators of the common people.’

    “I’m inclined to think that in an attempt to gain recognition or place themselves in lucrative positions of relevance, some party leaders would not be bothered whether their actions and utterances are inimical to the well-being of APC. They have been blindfolded by their individual ambition which has compounded problems for APC. They’re in a hurry and short sighted too. They’re never concerned about the fate and integrity of APC. But I still want to plead with Asiwaju Tinubu not to relent in his efforts; he should not cave in to cheap blackmail. He must not allow the party to disintegrate, because that is the plot of the opponents.”

     

  • Tinubu can resolve APC/NASS leaderships crisis – Majekodunmi

    Tinubu can resolve APC/NASS leaderships crisis – Majekodunmi

    A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Femi Majekodunmi, on at the weekend expressed the confidence that the crisis within the party resulting from the emergence of the leadership of the eighth National Assembly would be resolved soon.

    Majekodunmi said the National Leader of APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has the political sagacity to handle the matter and urged him to begin the process of reconciling all the parties involved in the crisis.

    The medical doctor – cum politician, who spoke with reporters in Abeokuta at the weekend, said given the immense contribution of Tinubu to the successes recorded by the party, the onus is on him to save the ruling party from what could lead to its factionalisation.

    According to him,  the former Lagos State governor has the skills needed to call a meeting of the major stakeholders of the party where the crisis which erupted over the election of Senator Bukola Saraki as Senate President and Hon. Yakubu Dogara, as Speaker, House of Representatives respectively, can be settled once and for all.

    Majekodunmi, a close associate of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, maintained that going to court by the aggrieved party will bring further damage to the APC.

    He said, “It is important for the leadership of the party to learn from and also move a step ahead of what happened when both Hon. Dimeji Bankole and Hon. Aminu Tambuwal were elected Speaker of the House of Representatives even when they were not the preferred candidates of their party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which did not sanction them.

    “With what Asiwaju Tinubu has done in the past, the time has come for him to deploy his political know-how to tilt the leadership of the party towards genuine reconciliation through a meeting of the necessary stakeholders which will make Nigerians not to regret voting for the party in the last general elections.”

    The Baagbile of Egbaland further enjoined the APC National Leader not to have any candidate for any position among members of the party, stating that his role in the present political dispensation should be that of father to all with no preferred or anointed member.

    He said the APC has to be careful not to give room for the opposition to come to limelight, noting that the PDP will always be happy to capitalise on the foibles of the ruling party to catch the attention of Nigerians.

     

  • NASS: Tinubu can resolve APC crisis – Majekodunmi

    NASS: Tinubu can resolve APC crisis – Majekodunmi

    A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Femi Majekodunmi, on Friday expressed the confidence that the crisis within the party resulting from the emergence of the leadership of the eighth National Assembly would be resolved soon.

    Majekodunmi,  said the National Leader of APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has the political sagacity to handle the matter and urged him to begin the process of reconciling all the parties involved in the crisis.

    The medical doctor – cum politician who spoke with  reporters in Abeokuta at the weekend, said given the immense contribution of Tinubu to the successes recorded by the party, the onus on him to save the ruling party from what could lead to its factionalisation.

    According to him,  the former Lagos State governor has the skills needed to call a meeting of the major stakeholders of the party where the crisis which erupted over the election of Senator Bukola Saraki as Senate President and Hon. Yakubu Dogara, as Speaker, House of Representatives respectively, can be settled once and for all.

    Majekodunmi, a close associates of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, maintained that going to court by the aggrieved party will bring further damage to the APC.

    He said, ”  It is important for the leadership of the party to learn from and also move a step ahead of what happened when both Hon. Dimeji Bankole and Hon. Aminu Tambuwal were elected Speaker of the House of Representatives even when they were not the preferred candidate of their party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which did not sanction them.

    “With what Asiwaju Tinubu has done in the past, the time has come for him to deploy his political know-how to tilt the leadership of the party towards genuine reconciliation through a meeting of the necessary stakeholders which will make Nigerians not regretting voting for the party in the last general elections.”

    The Baagbile of Egbaland further enjoined the APC National Leader not to have any candidate for any position among members of the party, stating that his role in the present political dispensation should be that of father to all with no preferred or anointed member.

    He said the APC has to be careful not to give room for the opposition to come to limelight, noting that the PDP will always be happy to capitalise on the foibles of the ruling party to catch the attention of Nigerians.

    “It is in the interest of the leadership and teeming members of the party not to play into the hands of the opposition party whose major prayer will be for the APC to fail and disappoint Nigerians through its actions and in-actions,” he said.

  • ‘June 12 challenges us to guard our democracy‘

    ‘June 12 challenges us to guard our democracy‘

    ALL Progressives Congress (APC) National Leader Asiwaju Bola Tinubu has urged Nigerians to jealously guard the nation’s burgeoning democracy, in the spirit of the June 12, 1993 Struggle.

    In his goodwill message to lovers of democracy on the 25th anniversary of the annulment of a presidential election, adjudged to be the most freest and credible, Asiwaju Tinubu said the greatest honour Nigerians can give to the late Chief MKO Abiola is to protect the present dispensation from being scuttled by fifth columnists.

    The message titled: “June 12 challenges us to guard our democracy,” reads: “As we remember the June 12 struggle, we are challenged to guard our hard-won democratic freedom and prevent any hijack or abuse of the very principles of constitutional democracy.

    “This anniversary offers us another reminder that this country is one set for greatness. Chief Moshood Abiola the symbol of June 12 struggle is one of the greatest Nigerian to ever live.

    “Through his life, we glean selfless service and commitment to people. Through his political struggle, we glean courage and incorrigible commitment to principles of the just, free and humane society.

    “Today, our democracy thrives on the selfless sacrifices he made. His politics was without bitterness and rancor.  His patriotism was devoid of tribal marks and nepotism.

    “It will be said, here lies a man who did his duty on earth; it is what we should all strive for. We owe it to Abiola and all the fallen patriots of the June 12 struggle to make sure our democracy never falters and this current government succeeds.

    “We must also make sure that the People remain the focus of our policy and politics. This is the commitment the new APC government has made to the people of this great country and by Gods grace we intend to keep it under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari.”

  • Senator Tinubu urges unity, prayer on June 12

    Senator Tinubu urges unity, prayer on June 12

    Senator Oluremi Tinubu has urged Nigerians to remain united and prayerful as they mark the anniversary today of the June 12 1993 presidential election presumably won by Bashorun Moshood Abiola.

    In a statement she personally signed yesterday, titled: Goodwill message, Senator Tinubu said the election “marked the date Nigerians spoke with one voice through the ballot in what was widely acclaimed as a free and fair election by voting for the late Chief MKO Abiola.”

    According to her, Nigerians indicated their desire for unity, peace and progress in that election.

    The statement said: “The events that followed the annulment of the election led to loss of lives and drove many of us into exile where we agitated for the return of peaceful democratic rule.

    “Twenty two years on, the declaration of results and inauguration that was refused by the military has birthed yet another democracy while our nation has witnessed the wind of change in the emergence of President Muhammadu Buhari.

    “Those of us privileged to witness this period in history would forever remain grateful that the agitations of June 12 have not been in vain. We must however, not forget the martyrs of the struggle, who lost their lives because they believed in a democratic Nigeria.

    “We honour our heroes when we remember those that made the ultimate sacrifice to allow us enjoy the present democratic dispensation. Nigeria’s democratic foundation continues its consolidation with the recent emergence of the new government.

    “We can now look forward to a Nigeria where insecurity will be combated; electricity will be constant, where every institution works and where citizens understand their rights, responsibilities and obligations.

    “Doing this will unite our interests and beliefs for an undivided nation; as we are bound in freedom, peace and unity.”

  • NASS: Dogara, Gbajabiamila for Speaker

    NASS: Dogara, Gbajabiamila for Speaker

  • Saraki dumps APC to run with Ekweremadu

    Saraki dumps APC to run with Ekweremadu

    • Bloc votes
    • plan collapses
    • Ex-Kwara governor shuns Ndume, Goje, others

    Plans to get Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) senators-elect and members of the House of Representatives-elect to vote en bloc for principal officers during today’s inauguration of the Eighth National Assembly collapsed yesterday.

    There was also a split among the PDP governors on who to support between Senator Ahmed Lawan and Senator Bukola Saraki for Senate president.

    But The Nation learned this morning that at a meeting of PDP Senators-elect in Abuja, 28 agreed to back Saraki/Ike Ekweremadu ticket; 17 agreed to back Lawan/Akume ticket. That was after Saraki decided to work with PDP in a desperate move to win the race.

    Some senators and members-elect rejected the suggestion by Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose that PDP senators should vote Saraki.

    Lawan at the weekend emerged the choice candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) after a mock election by the party’s senators-elect. But the Saraki camp rejected the straw poll and vowed to contest for the position on the floor today.

    The APC is the majority party in the Senate, with 59 senators-elect. The PDP has 49 senators.

    It was learnt that at a meeting held by the PDP caucus on Sunday night in former Senate  President David Mark’s residence in Apo, Abuja, the divided PDP senators-elect and their governors were said to have threatened to draft one of them into the race if the APC failed to agree on a consensus candidate.

    Some of the PDP senators said to be rooting for Saraki allegedly suggested that they should forge a vibrant opposition on Tuesday by voting against the APC consensus choice as a signal of what form of opposition to expect in the Senate in the new dispensation.

    The PDP senators were said to have contended that voting against APC’s preferred candidate would signpost a resolute stand to keep the PDP alive.

    A source at the meeting said a former principal officer in the Seventh Senate was the brain behind the proposal.

    The source said most of the senators disagreed vehemently with the suggestion.

    Those opposed to the suggestion, it was learnt, averred that toeing the line of action would only serve the interest of a few, particularly the governors, rather than that of the PDP as a party.

    The source noted that most of the senators agreed that “we should wait and see what the APC senators will come up with”.

    He said: “The surprise of the night was that some of the governors who former President Goodluck Jonathan laboured to install were those at the vanguard of the Saraki project, a man who practically destroyed PDP.

    “Most senators at the meeting viewed supporting Saraki as robbing Peter to pay Paul.

    “They contended that it will be bad politics to reward a man who took up arms against his party, destroyed it and moved to build another one.”

    The meeting was said to have ended without the Senators taking a final decision on who to back for Senate president.

    A former acting National Publicity Secretary of PDP Chief Bode Ojomu, yesterday warned the party against supporting any of its defectors from either being the Senate President or the Speaker.

    Another source said: “At the end of the day, we could not agree on bloc votes for any of the candidates for the Senate and House of Representatives. Governor Fayose pleaded with party leaders to see the battle as one between the PDP and Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. He begged the party to ‘clip’ Tinubu’s  wings.

    “But some senators-elect warned Fayose against going personal. They queried the morality behind PDP supporting candidates who defected from the party to the APC. They alleged that their defection led to the defeat of PDP at the polls.

    “The governors were also split on who to back for the National Assembly offices.”

    “At the end of the day, we could not reach a consensus on casting our votes en bloc for either of the candidates. I can tell you that everyone is on his own.”

    The difficulty in arriving at a consensus has created an upset in Saraki’s camp.

    It was gathered that those who are pro-Saraki were trying to strengthen the accord between their candidate and the immediate past Deputy President of the Senate, Chief Ike Ekweremadu.

    The latest plot will lead to Saraki dumping Senator Ali Ndume as his favourite for Deputy President of the Senate.

    Another source added: “They will continue to sell a dummy to Ndume that he will be Deputy President of the Senate if Saraki gets the ticket.

    “But as soon as Saraki wins, they will nominate Ekweremadu who is expected to deliver the bloc votes of the Senators-elect from the SouthEast in collaboration with Senator Andy Uba.”

    Uba and Ekweremadu could not be reached for comments last night.

    It was gathered that the collapse of consensus by PDP has created a serious setback for Yakubu Dogara who is seeking to contest for Speaker of the House of Representatives with the party’s candidate, Femi Gbajabiamila.

    Dogara could only garner support from 55 out of the 209 APC members-elect for the House of Representatives.

    Another source said: “Dogara had banked on permutations that 120 PDP members-elect will vote for him but his hope was dashed last night by the split in the party.

    “In fact, to earn the support of PDP, he was mandated to mobilise at least 70 members-elect from the APC. But Dogara is stranded as he could only secure the backing of 55 members-elect from the APC.

    “As it is now, the moves to frustrate Gbajabiamila’s aspiration have failed. This is why they have resorted to blackmail and wild-chase in the court.

    “Some pro-Dogara members-elect were also last night whipping up religious sentiments to set the core North against the party’s candidate.”

    Ojomu warned the PDP against supporting any of its defectors from either being the Senate President or the Speaker.

    He said those who defected from PDP to APC could not turn back to the party they decimated for succour.

    Ojomu, in a statement, warned the PDP against playing politics of “pay back time” against the APC.

    The statement said: “It is worrisome to observe that many of those who walked out were former PDP members who joined the APC and are acting out exactly the same script of ‘give a dog a bad name to hang it’ adopted as strategy to exit from the PDP for their safe landing in the APC.

    “Today, by their actions and inactions alongside, other several factors left PDP comatose and one wonders if everybody acted like them who will be PDP senators and House of Representatives members to be now courted to defend their interest for victory at all cost against their ruling party’s official position.

    “They decimated the PDP and now want to rely on it as strength to climb to number three and four in our nation. That’s crass opportunism and the PDP leaders in the Red and Green Chambers should not provide themselves as ready tools for self-serving pursuits.

    “Strengthening party supremacy, party discipline, national stability and cohesion in government are the gains of PDP in National Assembly, standing firm that any political party official position or policy shall stand.

    “Nigeria needs men of stable character. After all, those who stand for nothing fall for anything. The men and women that constitute the Nigeria’s Legislature must stand for something and in these circumstances it is principled position on party supremacy, notwithstanding that the former A.C.N botched that principle in the choice of speakership in 2011.“

    Ojomu said the APC had the right to put forward those who should be on its platform in the National Assembly leadership.

    The statement said: “Let it be noted that if the party was ever right to sponsor senatorial/House of Representatives candidate for election, it must also be right to determine who to put forward on its platform.

    “No responsible political party in a democratic process that outlaws individual, independent candidate for elective offices will abdicate its historical and natural responsibility to present a sole candidate for each of the NASS Principal Offices.

    “It will be unconventional for APC to watch helplessly for its members to contest in a free for all manner in the Red and Green Chambers.

    “The gladiators need to drop sophistry in their argument and be educated that there is nothing undemocratic in the ruling party adopted open balloting process as opposed to secret balloting that was preferred by contending parties. Option A4 adopted in the Third Republic with SDP and NRC was adjudged one of the best democratic processes this country has ever witnessed. You queue behind your preferred candidate or party.”