As a fallout of the Supreme Court judgement which upheld victory of the Osun state Governor elect, Ademola Adeleke in the primary election conducted by the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) the party has declared plaintiff in the suit, Dotun Babayemi as persona non grata.
The party on Thursday announced the expulsion of Dotun Babayemi after the Supreme Court judgment that ruled in favour of Ademola Adeleke as the party’s candidate in the gubernatorial primary election.
Babayemi had sought the court’s intervention in appealing against the PDP gubernatorial primary election which produced Adeleke.
This is as the party also praised the judiciary for living up to its expectation as the house of justice.
A statement signed by Adekunle Akindele, the Osun PDP caretaker chairman in Osogbo, said that Babayemi had since ceased to be a member of the PDP.
The party also warned against any accommodation of the expelled politician in PDP matters.
The statement reads “As we are rejoicing, we must note very strongly that a mole among us who was an active agent of the APC had since lost his membership of PDP.
“No organ or affiliates of the party should accommodate him or his agenda again within this party.
“Any member of the party who continues to romance the expelled member risks being charged with anti-party activities and may face appropriate sanctions. “We must get rid of fifth columnists by descending heavily on them. We must uproot them and cut down their branches.”
It was celebration galore in the camp of the Governor-elect of Osun State, Ademola Adeleke, as the Supreme Court dismissed a suit filed against him by Dotun Babayemi.
Babayemi had prayed the Apex Court to set aside the decisions of the lower courts and declare him the PDP candidate for the July 16, 2023 Governorship election in Osun State.
The five-member Justices of the apex court, presided over by Justices Amina Augie held that the appeal, as filed by the appellant was filed out of time as a pre-election matter is time-bound.
While stating that “a pre-election matter has a period of 14 days, and like a rock of Gibraltar, cannot be moved”, the court added that there was nothing before the court to invoke its jurisdiction.
Efforts by Counsel to the appellant, Adebayo Adelodun (SAN), to convince the Panel to take a look at the merits of the appeal proved abortive as the court held that it lacks jurisdiction to entertain the matter.
The Appeal, having been withdrawn by the counsel to the appellant, the court consequently dismissed it.
It would be recalled that prior to the Osun Guber polls, different primaries produced Babayemi and Adeleke but the National Working Committee of the PDP and the Independent National Electoral Commission recognised Adeleke as the authentic candidate of the party.
Babayemi challenged the recognition of Adeleke as the candidate of the party before the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal Court but lost and he approached the Supreme Court after Adeleke emerged the authentic candidate of the party because right delegates voted for him.
In his judgment on the matter on May 18, Justice Nathaniel Ayo-Emmanuel of a Federal High Court, sitting in Osogbo, upheld the governorship primary that produced Adeleke.
Also, the Court of Appeal, Akure Division, in its judgment of July 20 on the appeal filed against the decision of the Federal High Court, Osogbo, aligned with the lower court and dismissed Babayemi’s appeal.
Babayemi then, appealed to the Supreme Court, asking it to set aside the judgments of the lower courts and declare him the governorship candidate of the PDP for the Osun state governorship election.
His appeal has now been declared dead on arrival by the Justices of the Supreme Court in a unanimous decision of the five-member panel of the court that was delivered by Justice Amina Augie.
When the row between Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, and his party, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), spilled onto the streets after the party’s presidential primaries in May, I argued that to solve Wike, one had to first fix the candidate, Atiku Abubakar.
In light of Wike’s no-holds-barred interview last Thursday, things may have fallen apart, irretrievably. That interview, perhaps only comparable in seismic scale and onomatopoetic resonance with Julian Assange’s WikiLeaks, has shaken the PDP to its foundations.
The fallouts may well remain the biggest threat to the PDP’s electoral chances next year.
But what was the point, really? Was it to set the records straight? To take his pound of flesh? To avenge the betrayal of his ancestor – Peter Odili – sold down the river under similar circumstances? Or just to bring the roof down and, if possible, escape with the rubble as a trophy?
Wike is not done yet. Still, even in the midst of the wreckage left behind by his last interview, the inescapable question would be: what is his endgame?
I’m not sure his interview would significantly damage either party Chairman Iyorchia Ayu or Atiku. Verbal attacks that would damage politicians will kill them first. And their gift for taking disasters in their stride gets even better during campaign sessions when, to use the title of Simon Kolawole’s imaginative new book, most people would simply say, “It’s all politics!”
But even if Wike’s targets feel any discomfort at all, it still doesn’t answer the question: what is his endgame?
My guess is that his objective is to severely damage both the candidate and the party that neither would be worth anything at next year’s poll. This might sound ridiculous, since the state PDP has fielded at least 48 candidates, believed to be his close allies, for next year’s election under the party’s flag.
Wike is not a fool. If he thought he would be unable to survive and make something for himself or his supporters from the party – whole or in ruins – it’s unlikely that he would play hardball.
Since it’s too late to switch parties at this time, my guess is that he would secure his base in Rivers State where he appears to be very much in control at this time. After the elections, he might for his spectacular labours of sitting in and pissing in, then use his base to negotiate with the party at the centre. That, of course, is assuming the APC wins the presidency, otherwise he would be dead meat.
We saw this arrangement work before when Bola Tinubu’s Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) made a deal with Goodluck Jonathan in 2011 to turn a blind eye during the presidential election while securing Lagos during the state election. For parties not separated by ideology or principles, how Wike manages his post-election affairs, even if he succeeds, might yet leave him with a permanent label of “buyer beware.”
The conversation has, of course, not been framed in the stark terms I have used here. Wike, who might have been an excellent opposition leader in a parliamentary system, has said that this is not about himself.
According to him, he feels obliged to compel the party to honour its constitution on zoning, particularly since Ayu (a Northerner) accepted that he would step down, if a northerner emerged presidential candidate.
Those on the other side say that was not exactly how Ayu put it. According to them, he said he would step down if the party (meaning the NEC) asked him to do so. In any case, they argue, why is Wike complaining or, to use campaign spokesman Daniel Bwalya’s phrase, playing God? After all, not only did he bring former Chairman Uche Secondus and later also instigate his removal, he also brought Ayu!
Nyesom Wike
Now, that is where the story gets interesting. Inside sources informed me that Wike indeed brought Ayu, but it was an assignment executed for him by his ally and Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom. A source familiar with what happened said Ayu had assured Wike at the meeting in his house in Abuja that not on his watch as chairman “will one Fulani succeed another”.
At that point, well before the primaries of course, Wike had obviously told himself that he had the party exactly where he wanted it: he would be the inevitable PDP presidential candidate. But the last politician who kept his word was the one who never gave it.
When the sale of the party’s form started in March, it became an open sesame. To forestall a Northern coup, pro-Wike forces set up the Bala Mohammed committee which then took on a life of its own. It spent months looking for a secret in plain sight: that regardless of what the constitution said, it would be an “open contest!”. The rest, of course, is history.
But was there a chance that Wike and Atiku may have patched things up, especially after the famous but highly secretive London meetings? Improbable.
Sources familiar with the outcome of the meetings said even though Atiku seemed disposed to ditch Ayu, he was concerned about a) the impact, especially so close to elections, and b) that he might be unable to get the NEC to do it.
Of course, Wike allegedly assured him it wouldn’t be a problem. He, Wike, had done it before and the head of Secondus on a platter was proof. In case there was any question about a viable replacement this time, however, former Ondo State Governor, Dr. Segun Mimiko, was on standby.
But there was an elephant in the room – the disposition of the “owners” of the party. When Atiku returned to Abuja from the London meetings and broached the matter, the “owners” declined. They expressed the view that Wike had crossed the line. He would be tackled at the “appropriate time”. No deal.
Two credible sources said the “owners” in question were former military head of state, General Abdulsalami Abubakar; former National Security Adviser, General Aliyu Gusau; a former Director General of the State Security Services, suspected to be Lawal Daura; and a shadowy but immensely consequential figure at the Villa likely to be Mamman Daura (President Muhammadu Buhari’s relation). A media mogul in the PDP also lent his voice.
Ayu is saved for another day not only by the vital intervention of some of the “owners” of the party but also by his “old boys’” network, reinforced by the promise that either himself or former Senate President Bukola Saraki could become the next Secretary to the Government of the Federation, if the PDP wins.
Now, back to the question: what is Wike’s endgame? To avenge his displacement from within while securing the positions of his allies who are already carrying the PDP flag into the next election. His destination – if not by words, but by conduct – is APC. Everything in-between is in translation.
And my guess is that he might not be a total stranger there. Not only because the main parties are largely different only in name, but also because some members of his cabinet and allies are refugees from APC, a party that has downgraded its funder-in-chief of yesterday, Rotimi Amaechi, from Buhari’s campaign DG to Tinubu-Shettima’s “adviser on infrastructure.”
Pundits may worry about the possible consequences of Wike’s actions on the fortunes of the PDP in Rivers State, and perhaps elsewhere that he may have clout. My guess is that the combined effect of Labour Party’s Peter Obi and Wike activities would prove quite daunting, especially in the South East and South South that have been the mainstay of the party in about two decades.
If we have seen anything in Nigeria’s politics in the last 23 years, however, we know that in the end, feuding parties know where their interests lie, whatever pundits may think. And, as we say in my neck of the woods, they will be alright!
The Minister of Transportation, Mu’azu Jaji Sambo, has said that proliferation of sea ports in Nigeria will afford the country opportunity to export its rich minerals.
The Minister reiterated the commitment of the Federal Government to in no distant time, make a ‘Port Declaration’ of the proposed Ondo Deep Sea Port to herald commencement of other processes at the port.
Media aide in the ministry, Ebenezer Adeniyan disclosed that the Minister, gave the indication when he received the Governor of Ondo State, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN, in Abuja.
He commended the steps so far taken by the state government to prepare for the port declaration.
After listening to a technical presentation by the Consultants to the Ondo State Government, the Minister said once all the prerequisites established by the extant laws are met, the federal government will not hesitate to make Port Ondo Declaration, pursuant to Section 30 of the Ports Act.
“We want to see this port come to life before the end of this administration”, adding that having another deep sea port will do a lot of good to the blue economy policy of the federal government.
Addressing those who posit that there’s a flurry of sea ports in the country, Sambo said it is actually a positive thing, as the presence of the atlantic ocean, the Rivers Niger and Benue, puts the country on a better pedestal to harness, explore and export its rich minerals to other countries.
The Minister stressed that there are only two deep sea ports in Nigeria, while all others are river ports, including Apapa and Tin-Can ports, adding that the development of the Deep Sea Port in Ondo is a welcome development to the country at large.
Speaking earlier, the Governor of Ondo State, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu SAN, said the reason for the visit was to acquaint the Transport Ministry with the vision of the State Government on the development of deep seaport in Ilaje area of Ondo in accordance with the federal government’s module of Public Private Partnership.
Akeredolu, who said the port will bring enormous socio economic benefits to the Federal Government, the State and the host communities, added that Dubai Port, China Habour are among the many international partners who have signalled their interest in developing the port.
Also speaking at the event, the Minister of State for Transportation, Prince Ademola Adegoroye, said the Ondo State Government has made a compelling case for the port and thanked the Transport Minister, Mu’azu Jaji Sambo, for his support.
According to Adegoroye, the Minister is a seasoned technocrat having been ventured across board the Nigerian Ports Authority and the National Inland Waterways and does not need the conviction of others as to the importance of the Port Ondo project.
Adegoroye assured the Ondo governor that Transport Ministry will attach priority to the project as he himself had earlier stated that he would like to see the Port come to life before the end of tenure as Minister.
The All Progressive Congress, (APC) has explained that the relationship between the National Chairman of the party, Senator Abdullahi Adamu and Presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu is cordial.
“The National Chairman of our Party and our Presidential Candidate maintain cordial and effective communication channels, and enjoy full liberty of open and frank conversations on matters of interest to the Party and our Presidential Campaign. “
National Publicity Secretary of APC, Felix Morka, in a statement on Thursday, maintained there is no rift between the two leaders of the party.
There is a report in the Social Media to the effect that Adamu and Tinubu disagreed over the list of Campaign Council Members, which led to postponement of the inauguration of the council.
Morka, in the statement said: “Our attention has been drawn to a “DRAFT” letter in circulation purportedly written by His Excellency, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, the National Chairman of our great Party, addressed to His Excellency, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Presidential Candidate of our great Party, expressing dissatisfaction over the recently released list of the Presidential Campaign Council (PCC).
“To be clear, the “DRAFT” letter did not emanate from the Party. An UNSIGNED letter that marks itself as a ‘DRAFT’ cannot and should not be attributed to its purported author.
“The National Chairman of our Party and our Presidential Candidate maintain cordial and effective communication channels, and enjoy full liberty of open and frank conversations on matters of interest to the Party and our Presidential Campaign.
“As such, an unsigned “DRAFT” letter of the kind in circulation is patently unnecessary and of no qualitative value to engagement between the Party and the PCC.
“We will not be distracted by the wishes and actions of detractors that wait gleefully but in vain for some kind of crisis to erupt between the Party and the PCC.
“We stand united, as a Party, in our resolve and commitment to execute a focused and issue driven campaign to persuade Nigerians to renew our mandate in next year’s general election.”
Ahead of the April 2023 national headcount by the National Population Commission, Governor of Imo State, Senator Hope Uzodimma has appealed to all citizens of the State to make themselves available to be counted.
He has also appealed to the National Population Commission to ensure that the integrity and proficiency of the technology to be deployed for the exercise is accurate and reliable.
Many people see the Governor’s appeal as a call to avoid a repeat of the disastrous situation in the South-east during the last Census. At the time, MASSOB, one of the Groups agitating for an independent Biafra Republic from the Federal Republic of Nigeria, had prevailed on the Igbo not to present themselves to be counted. Quite a number of people, especially in Anambra and Imo State, adhered to it. The result is that the Igbo came out as the least populated ethnic group among the major ethnic groups in Nigeria. This has affected the Zone in no small way in the distribution of Nigeria’s commonwealth.
Governor Uzodimma made the call while flagging off a Stakeholders Summit on the 2023 Population and Housing Census in Owerri on Wednesday, September 28 2022.
He said that he is pleased with the NPC and considered the summit “germane to the realization of our future plans as a government and as a people.”
The Governor bemoaned a situation where citizens see census as “a mere collection of data and the number of human beings and sometimes houses,” emphasising that “National Census includes the collection of demographic, social and economic data which the government uses to formulate economic policies.”
He noted: “The data generated serve as a useful guide in the distribution of social amenities and infrastructural projects. In other words, population census is at the heart of the planning for the future by government based on the figure obtained during the census exercise.”
“A properly conducted population census, therefore, saves the government from planning blindly.”
The Governor went said that “the importance of National Census cannot be over emphasized because it helps in planning for the health, demography, social welfare, infrastructure and general sustainability of the society, it serves as a road map towards the orderly planning and implementation of government policies and programmes.”
The Governor informed that statistics got from population census helps to formulate sartorial polices for good governance and expressed delight that the current administration led by President Muhammudu Buhari has resolved to hold the National Population Census in April next year, notwithstanding the capital outlay and human resources involved.
Governor Uzodimma then urged the people to be more prepared for the exercise appealing to them to be proactive and ready to participate actively in the exercise.
He regretted the facts that “in the previous exercises our people were either nonchalant or indifferent and therefore refuse to participate in the exercise based on ignorance.”
“For us to come out from complaints of marginalization, low revenue income, and social amenities we must participate effectively in the upcoming population census.”
He reminded the citizens: “The outcome of any census is bound to impact on us positively or negatively. This is because the Federal government uses the figures derived from census for revenue allocation, and allocation of social infrastructure needed for the welfare of the people.”
The Governor went philosophical: “When we fail to participate fully in a census exercise the consequence is that we are undercounted. And when we are undercounted we are short changed in the distribution of national resources. It is therefore our civic responsibility as stakeholders to carry the message down to our people in the rural areas and encourage them to participate fully in the national population census exercise.
“A reliable census figure will guide the government in policy making and economic planning. When we know the exact number of youths in the State and what percentage of them are unemployed it will help the government in designing more effective youth empowerment programmes.”
The Governor, therefore, directed the Sole Administrators of the LGAs, the Town Union Presidents and their Traditional Rulers and all Leaders in the State to take up the challenge of sensitizing the people and the need to participate in this all important exercise.
He noted that “unlike voter registration exercise which has age limit of 18 years and above, the population census is for everyone including a day old baby. What this means is that nobody should be excluded as it is neither political nor sectional.”
He therefore assured the National Population Commission in the State that his government will give them every support they need to ensure that the exercise turns out to be a huge success and wished all participants on the summit a successful outing.
In his goodwill message, the Speaker Imo State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Emeka Nduka who described the theme of the census “2023: Getting People Involved” as relevant and timely called on the politicians, the Academics, and Captains of industries to join hands to create the awareness and shun all cultural, religious, political or ethnic reasons and participate fully in the exercise.
The Speaker assured that “effective participation will save the South East from marginalization as the 2023 census offers another opportunity for the people of Imo State and other South Eastern States to stand up and be counted to prove their numerical strength which is key in planning, political representation and allocation of resources.”
Nduka recommended that “any individual, group of persons, association or organization that discourages our people from active participation and housing census should be seen as an enemy of the State and Zone who is doing a great disservice to us as a people.”
He finally submitted that Imo people are anxiously looking forward to a generally acceptable exercise come 2023.
In his welcome address earlier, the Federal Commissioner National Population Commission Imo State, Prof. Uba Nnabue said that the goal of the State Stakeholders summit is to broaden state level support base for the successful conduct of the 2023 census.
“The specific objectives are; to create public awareness on the conduct of the 2023 census. To promote robust and informed conversation on the processes and procedures for the census.
“Other objectives include: to solicit the cooperation and support of the State level Stakeholders for the conduct of the census and to promote a platform to offer clarification and receive feedback and suggestions and salient issues and concerns related to the conduct of the 2023 National Population and Housing Census.”
Nnabue thanked the Governor for all the support his Commission has received from the State and assured Nigerians, especially Imo people and the development partners, that “the Commission remains committed to the conduct of a credible and acceptable census that will be transforming and meets international standards.”
He promised that “based on the technology to be deployed in the 2023 census everyone will be counted in the right way, at the right place and time, and for the benefit of all persons resident in Nigeria.”
The Chairman Imo State Council of Traditional Rulers thanked the Commission for factoring the Traditional Rulers as major stakeholders of the summit and urged them to always give them early information on what they want to do so that they will start early to mobilize and sensitize the people at the community level.
There were also goodwill messages from the National Orientation Agency, and the Catholic Archdiocese of Owerri at the summit where they commended the commission for embarking on the laudable project and pledged their support in mobilizing the people towards the laudable exercise.
Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, on Wednesday, presided over the valedictory session of the state Executive Council, with clarification that members will remain in office till last day, which is October 15.
The session, which was attended by members of the Council as well as members who served between 2010 and 2014, took place at the state executive council chamber, Governor’s Office, Ado- Ekiti. Some former members also participated virtually via Zoom.
Governor Fayemi thanked all past and current members of the Council for their sacrifices, patriotism, diligence and committment to the development of the state.
He said Ekiti State made appreciable improvement in all aspects of development, through the collective contributions of members of the Council.
“Let me thank all of us, this is a historic day and we must start by thanking God Almighty for making this day possible.
“We’ve worked hard for the success of our state, for the development and growth of our people over the past few years and all of us have contributed immensely in the various capacities we have served Ekiti and I am glad that everybody was able to honour the invitation extended by the cabinet secretariat to this valedictory Executive Council meeting.
“ I thank all of you, yes, the Governor takes all the credits and also takes all the blames, but the reality is that there is nothing we were able to do in government that I have done alone. You have all contributed your quota to the development of our dear state.
“This certainly is not the Ekiti we met when we came in October 2010. Things have improved, the GDP per capital in our state has gone up to about $3Billion, population has also gone up.
“We see some evidence of significant progress on maternal mortality, child mortality, school enrolment, school performance record and on a whole range of indices that clearly depict that we have made significant progress.
“I must thank you for your service, your sacrifice to Ekiti State and to our people, some of them may not be recognized now but in future they will be recognized.
“We also have to thank Ekiti people for giving us the opportunity to serve and for also rendering the services to the best of our ability.
“Resources are not always unlimited and as a matter of fact we have to struggle over the years to maintain all of what we have done. Be that as it may, we’ve delivered on our own task, posterity would judge us one way or the other.” He said.
EXCO members spoke glowingly about their experiences as members of the highest decision making body in the state and saluted Fayemi’s visionary and exemplary leadership.
The Governor later adjourned the council meeting sine die after a motion to that effect was moved, thus marking the end of the weekly meetings of the state executive council for the tenure which ends on October 15th.
Ekiti State Governor-elect, Mr Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji, who was the immediate past Secretary to the State Government and Cabinet Secretary, was in attendance at the valedictory session.
He also lauded the visionary leadership of Governor Fayemi as well as his commitment to the development of the State, declaring that ” I will follow in JKF footstep.”
Former Deputy Governor, Prof Modupe Adelabu, who led members of the 2010- 2014 EXCO to the meeting, also praised Governor Fayemi for the giant strides recorded in the last four years, which she said dwarfed the achievements of the JKF first administration.
Meanwhile, while Wednesday’s valedictory session marked the end of executive Council meetings for the administration, which winds down on October 15th, commissioners and cabinet members would continue with government activities till the very last day of the administration.
The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN has threatened to send the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC after farmers who failed to pay back loans obtained under the Anchor Borrowers Programme. The federal government has loaned out over N1 trillion to farmers under the agriculture interventionist programme in the last few years, according to checks by the Magazine. Speaking on Wednesday, on the efforts of the federal government to recover loans under various interventionist finance programmes the Director, Development Finance of the CBN, Yusuf Yila said “every person(s) or state that took that loan (ABP) is going to pay”. He said the apex bank has started deducting the loans directly from debtors’ accounts. For instance, Yila disclosed that state governments have already liquidated over N400 billion out of the N700 billion they obtained from the CBN, through the Federation Allocation Account Committee, FAAC. It has been very difficult recovering the loans from farmers who benefitted from the ABP as well, as the Commercial Agric Credit, CAC, he said, adding that the apex bank would do Al in its powers to ensure that the loans are fully recovered. He spoke during a post-Monetary Policy Committee, MPC in Abuja on Wednesday, assuring that the apex bank is poised to recover loans from states and farmers who were beneficiaries of any of its interventions. According to him, the CBN will activate its powers under the Global Standing Instructions, GSI to ensure that money kept in various banks by defaulters are recovered to pay their loans. The recovery, he explained, will continue for six months, Yila said, “Under the ABP, the CBN gave out about N1 trillion but recovered only N400 billion. But under the CAC, the bank lent out about N800 billion and recovered N700 billion,” he added. “We have started recovering loans from state governments. We have been doing a loan workout programme with them, and we are debiting their monthly FAAC accruals directly for the loans. “If a state government has taken N1 billion and is already in default, over six months, we debit them N150 million every month. So, we’ve started that programme. “So, every single loan that has been given out through any of our intervention programmes must be paid back. “There is absolutely no mercy. We have started; we are in recovery mode. At the development finance department, we have begun to recover the loans. “There is the ABP which is a primary consumption element of our interventions. We lent out N1 trillion for the ABP, of which we have gotten over N400 billion back. “Every single person or state that took that loan (ABP) is going to pay. We have their BVN. In fact, we have started implementing the Global Standing Instruction (GSI). “We will continue to pull the account in the bank that they lent to or whichever bank that they have. Anytime we see money in that account, we will recover it. “We are working with the EFCC. The CBN governor has approved the collaboration with the EFCC on loan recoveries.”
The letter written by the chairman of the ruling APC Abdullahi Adamu to the presidential candidate of the party, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is causing serious ripples within the top echelon of the party.
In the letter to Tinubu, who is currenly in London for an undisclosed reason, the APC National Chairman accused the presidential Flagbearer of sidelining members of the party’s NWC which he heads from his presidential campaign team.
The Tinubu’s Presidential Campaign Council, PCC released the list of members of the council with President Muhammadu Buhari as it’s chairman, and Governor Simon Bako Lalong of Plateau State as it’s director general, amongst others.
The ruling party has since withdrawn the list owing to complaints by some chieftains of the party that they were sidelined.
The magazine also learned that the controversy caused by the list forced the party to postpone the official kick off of its campaign earlier scheduled for Wednesday, September 28 indefinitely.
The reason, insiders in the party said is to enable the party’s leadership to harmonise major interests and build confidence before the campaign starts full throttle.
Adamu had warned in his letter to Tinubu that he cannot win the president election next year without everybody on board, saying “that winning election is a cooperative as well as a collaborative effort, that is done in a transparent and disinterested manner by all parties concerned, by respecting established boundaries and acknowledging the contributions of everyone”.
He said he was surprised that Tinubu breached an agreement he reached with him to appoint members of the NWC to hold key positions in the 422- members PCC.
The APC chairman said the list released last week was in breach of the agreement Tinubu reached with him after he emerged the presidential candidate of the party that everybody will be brought on board for the party to win the 2023 president election.
“The purported list not only came as a complete surprise to the NWC and the Party’s leadership, but also contravened the principles and purposes of the arrangements that you and I had led towards the adoption of the Organogram of the PCC, and its principal officials,” Adamu said.
He described the current division in the party as “manna from heaven” which the opposition could capatalise on to defeat the APC next year.
The Letter
“On behalf of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC), I present my compliments to Your Excellency, and have the honour to convey to you, in truth and respect, the Committee’s opinion and position, regarding the above-mentioned subject matter, with a view to having a clear understanding about the respective roles and responsibilities of the principal organs of the Party charged with the duties of conducting the campaigns in the forth-coming general elections,” the letter reads.
“This correspondence has become necessary in view of developments that took place over the last few days around the purported appointments into the Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) that was announced precipitately by officials of the Council, without making recourse to the NWC for approval. All along, the NWC had been disposed towards the campaign in a cooperative spirit that is driven by the overall interest of the Party and the singular desire of victory for our candidates, in the persons of your esteemed self and your running mate.
“It is against this background that the NWC received with astonishment and regret, the press release by the PCC on 23rd September 2022, in which a purported list of appointees was announced, which effectively served as the approved roster of participants in the Party’s Presidential Campaign Council.“The purported list not only came as a complete surprise to the NWC and the Party’s leadership, but also contravened the principles and purposes of the arrangements that you and I had led towards the adoption of the Organogram of the PCC, and its principal officials.
“Perhaps it has become necessary owing to the passage of time, that I should draw Your Excellency’s attention to the agreements that we reached in principle around the final adoption of the PCC list, based on the understanding that it was a work in progress, until such a time that the Joint NWC/PCC Committee that was established to formalise the structure and populate the list, submits its report.
“Your Excellency will no doubt recall our meetings in my office and also at the NWC Conference Room at the Party’s National Secretariat, on Wednesday, 7th September 2022, during which we discussed the details of the Organogram of the PCC and its composition, as a collaborative project between the two entities. Our recollection of those meetings clearly leaves us in no doubt that a breach of agreement has occurred, and that a return to the principles of cooperation and respect for each other is required.
“In Your Excellency’s own words, which I take the liberty to quote here, which I also hold dearly, you stated that “there is a burden on everyone’s shoulders towards delivering the elections to the Party and the candidate”. This has been the view of the NWC and myself all along since Your Excellency’s emergence as our Great Party’s Flagbearer.“The NWC is striving under trying circumstances to keep faith with this vision, and to take our Party and candidates to victory, not only in the Presidential elections but in all others across the elective strata of offices.
“May I, therefore, point out to Your Excellency, that winning election is a cooperative as well as a collaborative effort, that is done in a transparent and disinterested manner by all parties concerned, by respecting established boundaries and acknowledging the contributions of everyone. The NWC believes that any sign of disarray in the Party’s ranks will undermine the spirit and ethos of the campaign and give the undue alarm to faithful members and followers of the Party across the country.
“At the same, such a development would undoubtedly come as “Manna from Heaven” for the opposition parties, whose only desire when all else fails, is to see the introduction of rancour, division and disinclination in the leadership of our Great Party.“I am sure Your Excellency will agree with me that this is an eventuality that we must do all in our power to prevent from happening. You will also agree that we owe it a duty as leaders to provide guidance by example to the rest of the Party including the PCC, to abide by agreements and adhere strictly to the work ethos that has been adopted by all of us. It is only by doing so that we will establish the premise for victory and gain the trust and confidence of our dear countrymen and women.
“Without further admonishment or complaints, I wish hereby to call upon Your Excellency to restrain the PCC from undertaking solo projects of this nature and agree to work with all stakeholders towards taking our Party to victory. I shall not find it necessary to reiterate the importance of the Party in the overall scheme of things in these campaigns, and the singular position of the NWC in driving the process towards our securing of victory in the polls.
“It suffices for me to convey the general and overwhelming sentiment of the NWC with regards to the ill-timed and unfortunate release of the PCC list, which confounded rather than pleased the members and whose withdrawal will assure the NWC of Your Excellency’s respect an
“It suffices for me to convey the general and overwhelming sentiment of the NWC with regards to the ill-timed and unfortunate release of the PCC list, which confounded rather than pleased the members and whose withdrawal will assure the NWC of Your Excellency’s respect and disposition towards the Party, as well as the magnanimous spirit of cooperation towards achieving victory together with the NWC.
“Please accept, Your Excellency, my own personal regard and consideration, as well as the assurances of the of NWCs’ warm and sincere felicitations”.
Former Edo State Governor, Adams Aliyu Oshiomhole, who is the Deputy Director-General of the Bola Ahmed Tinubu Presidential Campaign Council of the All Progressive Congress, APC, Adams Oshiomhole, on Wednesday night explained the reason for the delay in the commencement of the party’s campaign inauguration.
He attributed the rescheduling of the landmark event to the absence of President Muhammadu Buhari and the Director-General of the Campaign Council, Governor Simon Lalong, who were both in New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly.
Oshiomhole made this disclosure when he appeared on Channels TV’s Politics Today on Wednesday.
He said, “As far as I know, the campaign council has not been inaugurated because the Chairman of the campaign Council, President Muhammadu Buhari was not in the country.
“He was in New York to address the United Nations General Assembly. The Director General of the Campaign was also in New York for the same purpose and there is no way you want to inaugurate a Campaign Council in the absence of the President who is also the Chairman of the Campaign Council.
“What do you expect of the Council when the Director General who heads the operational wing of the campaign is also out of the country?”
Oshiomhole also confirmed that he is not aware of the present location of the Presidential Candidate of the party, Bola Tinubu, as he doesn’t report to him directly.
“Well, I don’t report to him (Bola Tinubu) every day so I am not sure if he is around or not.” he stated.
When asked about the possible date for the campaign inauguration, the former Edo Governor stated that consultations would be made to fix a new date.
“I am aware the President is back now. I am also aware that the DG is not yet back but will be back by the weekend and I expect that upon his return, there will be consultations looking at the President’s and DG’s schedule. And once we have a clear date, that will be done,” he said.
