The first task for the Amotekun, a regional security outfit, launched with fanfare in Akure, Ondo state, last week, is to find and free two travellers , kidnapped in the Akoko area of the state, Saturday evening.
The suspected kidnappers, fully armed, reportedly, kidnapped one Surajudeen Alao, a native of Oba Akoko and another yet to be identified person.
The two friends, fun seekers, were said to have been abducted along Ikun–Oba Akoko road, while returning from Ikun day festivities.
Ikun and Oba are neighbouring towns in Akoko Southwest local government area of Ondo state.
Report has it that the incident is causing anxiety among residents of the two communities, while families of the victims said they were yet to receive information about their whereabout.
Ondo state governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, CAN, had launched Operation Amotekun last week with an assurance that the security outfit was out to reduce crime rate, especially kidnapping to their barest minimum.
Speaking at the ceremony, the Governor maintained that community police had better understanding of their terrain and languages, hence the formation of Amotekun corps to compliment the efforts of the conventional security outfits in the state.
Now, the Kidnappers have fired the first. The people are waiting for a response from Amotekun.
One of Nigeria’s star Actors, Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde, is in a COVID-19 Isolated Centre in Lagos.
She tested positive for COVID-19, and had to move to an isolation centre for adequate care and full recovery. She is already on her way to full recovery.
Omotola revealed her COVID-19 status herself, in an Instagram post.
She wrote:
“Hello All, I know most of you have been wondering where I’ve been.
Well, I contracted Covid. I have been ill, in Isolation and now, getting better. More on this details of this soon.
“However, I have been reading of the devastating News of how our Youths are needlessly dying, getting crushed by Trailers/containers !. This is disheartening, and has made my heart really troubled!. This can happen to ANYONE, and enforcements can’t be taken lightly on this Gov @jidesanwoolu!!!
Please do something!! I am releasing this video that was shot some time ago now as I feel the need to.”
She did not, however, disclose how, and when she contracted the Virus, the Isolation centre she is in, or when she is likely to be discharged.
The Southern Nigeria, Middle Belt and Northern Minorities Forum, SNMBF, has call on President Muhammadu Buhari to be proactive and provide adequate security for Nigerians, especially in Southern Kaduna and the North East where Boko Insurgents and alleged Fulani settlers and Herdsmen have been terrorizing.
The Group alleged President Buhari’s kinsmen, the Fulani Ethnic Group are largely responsible for the violence and killings in some parts of the country, most especially in Southern Kaduna.
In a letter addressed to the President, the Group said that in the post COVID-19 era, Nigeria may face downturn in the number of her citizens living abroad returning to their homeland.
The letter submitted to President Buhari was signed by the Group’s President, Sidney Imohbio, based in New York, United States of America.
Early in August the group had submitted a petition to the United Nations, (UN) Secretary General, Antonio Guetters asking the world body tp appoint a Special Rappateur on Nigeria.
The Group blamed the President for pampering his ethnic nationality group, the Fulani and attempting to place them above other ethnic groups in Nigeria through his political and economic policies.
It noted that while millions of Nigerians are not ready to return home even for holiday, millions at home are desperate to leave the country due to insecurity and economic downturn.
“The glory of our country is being pulled down by you. Nigerians abroad are not willing to return home and those at home are chocked, desperate to leave the country and prefer to relocate abroad through the dangerous Atlantic Ocean even if it means being eaten by Sharks. Investors are leaving the country and new ones are scared of the emerging state of blood” the group said.
The Group said millions of Nigerians abroad are now scared to come back to their homeland due to violence, corruption and general insecurity in many parts of the country.
The group said some Nigerians living abroad who came home have either been kidnapped or killed by bandits. SMBNNF said the recent reports of extremist groups planning to invade Southern Nigeria have further heightened the prospect of Nigeria becoming a failed state unless drastic efforts are taking to stem the tide.
“Millions of Nigerians will not come home again. We are returning to 1993 when the country was ruled by fear, violence and trembling. With the mass killings, adductions and murder without respite, Nigerians abroad are not willing to come back home to help build their fatherland”, the group said.
The group told Buhari that though his government placed emphasis on fighting insecurity as a campaign slogan but that in recent times, the country has assumed a violent territory where human lives are like cockroaches on the sidewalk.
The group said “Everywhere abroad, from Asia to America and Europe, the question we are asked is why is Nigeria such a violent country. Though we fought a civil war, we never had history of violent terrorism. Today, people are slaughtered daily in Nigeria. No Nigerian abroad is anxious to come back home because of the killings”
According to the group, Nigeria is assuming the status of a terrorist country similar to Afghanistan. “Nobody wants to go to Kabul. If you do not change the ways things are in Nigeria, very soon, nobody would wish to come to Abuja”, the group said.
Sidney, a lawyer, said to end violence in the country, the Federal and State Government should take decisive actions which includes the mopping up illegal weapons said to be in millions in the country and restructuring of the country to reflect its plural nature.
The group said the proliferation of arms in the hands of non state actors pose a great threat to the stability of the country.
The group said “We the members of Southern Nigeria, Middle Belt, and Northern Minorities Forum resolved and state that Nigeria will be greater if it remains indivisible and indissoluble,
but very negotiable. We must be focused, steadfast, and resolute not to be deceived, or fooled in this 21st century. Nigeria is a beautiful country with beautiful people.
The group said the problems in Nigeria are from the leadership.
“We allowed just a few handful wicked, greedy, and selfish people to subjugate, oppress and maltreat us like second class citizens or idiots. The South South, South East, South West, Middle Belt and Northern Minorities should wake up from their slumber.”
The group blames the recurrent violence on a section of the armed Fulani people working hard to conquer the country.
The group said “North of West Africa to Sokoto and labeled Hausa leaders as corrupt leaders. With the help of the indigenous Hausa traitors he conquered their leaders. This was in 1800s more than 200 years ago. How can we allow the same thing to happen to us again in the same country, and in the 21st-century? What would be our excuse? The Hausa state has never known peace since the conquest by Fulani. I am quite sure we don’t want that. Let us come together and restructure Nigeria without fear of being killed now or we will all perish in the hands of Fulani.”
The group told Buhari that his co-political travelers came into power in 2015 because the Nigerian electorates believed the party’s slogan.
“The purported purview of the slogan was to address four cardinal points in the manifesto of APC: 1) Security, 2) corruption, 3) poverty and 4) unemployment. Of the four, corruption and security situation were regarded as serious matters and therefore needed immediate attention. You promised that corruption and insecurity would be a thing of the past if he was voted for. After five years, we are yet to see how the FG plans to tackle corruption. In fact, the situation has since deteriorated. Corruption has now become a problematic monster seed whose taproot is very difficult to uproot. It is now endemic in the daily affairs of almost all Nigerians.”
The group said Buhari has failed to tackle corruption without bias. “We would want to encourage and suggest that it should be a wholistic address without fear or favor. There should be no sacred cows whether dead or alive. It may be pertinent to remind our President that claims against corruption have no statute of limitation, restrictions or respects for anyone who contravened the law-EFCC vs Sami Abacha. Corruption has many faces: a) tribalism, b) Sectionalism, c) Bribery, d)nepotism,e)favoritism, f) ethnocentrism, g)pervasion of justice, h) refusal to render account, i) stealing, and j) rigging of elections are all corruption. Then who is not corrupt in Nigeria”
The group said further “The stylish and restricted definition given to corruption in Nigeria is deceitful, dubious, misleading and unacceptable. The definition of corruption should not be made for a section of the public. Let the head and all the leaders of government first lead by good examples before they are qualified to label others as corrupt people. It is an aberration to make scape goat of people perceived as opposition”
It said in a democratic society,no one arm of government should play god and perform the functions of the three arms as is practiced in Nigeria. The president is all in one. Hence he can decide who is or not corrupt. He can hire and fire.
An unnamed Nigerian, in India, has been arrested by the Indian Police, and taken into custody, for claiming Biafran Nationality.
When he was accosted by the Police, along with another Nigerian, an alleged drug runner, he told the Police he was a Biafran citizen.
The Times of India reported that the arrest took place in Gao, In India’s South-western coast.
Even though no drugs were found on him, as was found on the the other Nigerian, he was arrested because he could not support his claim of being a Biafran citizen.
When the Police asked him to produce documents to support his claim, he could not because he had neither passport nor anything to identify himself. He was immediately taken into custody for entering, and staying in India without documents.
The other Nigerian was nabbed for carrying 510kg of Indian Hemp, and 8.2kg of suspected cocaine.
It could not be confirmed what fate awaits the ‘Biafran’, as he must have travelled with a Nigerian passport.
Speculation is that if he still has his Nigerian passport, and other valid papers, his case may not be taken seriously. He may be charged for Just lying to the Police.
The death sentence passed on a Nigerian singer from Kano State, Yahaya Sharif-Aminu, could earn Nigeria a punishment from Britain.
A political party, the United Kingdom Independent Party, UKIP, a well known Eurosceptic right wing populist party, has asked the British Government to cut off all aids to Nigeria, including humanitarian aids, unless the death sentence is lifted.
The Singer was sentenced to death, by hanging, on August 10, for an alleged blasphemy against the Holy Prophet Mohammed, in a song he posted on WhatsApp.
An Upper Sharia Court in Kano, sentenced the 22 year-old after he pleaded guilty.
The death sentence on him is a double tragedy for his family. Before his arrest and sentence, a group of youths had razed down his family house, and rendered everybody homeless.
The death sentence on him has caused an outrage within and outside Nigeria, but with commendation by some Islamic groups and individuals.
The sentence is subject to appeal within 30 days.
Shekau, the Boko Haram Leader, condemned those who sentenced the singer to death, dismissing them as infidels. He said they were as guilty as the person they sentenced to death. True Muslims, he chided them, do not give time for trial, or appeal, in such cases, the person is immediately “slaughtered”
But UKIP is asking the British Government to stop all kinds of assistance to Nigeria, as a kind of pressure.
In a statement it released, the Party said:
“Nigeria, a major recipient of UK aid, sentences young man to death for a trivial offence. United kingdom’s tax payers, via the Department for International Development, (DFID), are major contributors of aids and investments to Nigeria, totalling well over £200m annually. Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country, and second largest economy.
“UKIP hopes that Her Majesty’s Government would use whatever influence it can muster, to have Mr Sheriff released. In doing so, our government must not hesitate to openly use the vast amount of ill-afforded, tax payers’ money which is poured into Nigeria as a lever to encourage the Ngerians to act honourably.
“Nigeria and many other African countries may be profitable trade partners for the UK, but this does not excuse us conniving with state-let assaults on human rights among these partners.”
It expressed shock that a Nigerian Sharia Court in the city of Kano would sentence a 22-year old to death “for what, in any civilised country, would not even be considered an offence.”
Recall that one of the reasons World powers are not selling arms to Nigeria, is alleged human rights abuses. A couple of days ago, the Nigerian Government cried out on that, through Minister for Information, Lai Muhammed.
One of those abuses is the type of death sentence passed on Sharif-Aminu.
Meanwhile, a Pan-African CSOs, and a number of other Civil Society Groups, have asked that the singer be released immediately.
He has been in solitary confinement since the sentence was passed on him.
Neither the Kano State Government, not the Federal Government, has said a word on the case.
Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu has expressed sadness over the death of a member of the Governor’s Advisory Council (GAC) of the Lagos State All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Lanre Razak. He passed away on Saturday morning at the age of 74 after a brief illness.
Governor Sanwo-Olu, who described late Razak’s death as a rude shock, said the deceased was a great politician, a strong party man and an advocate of masses oriented programmes.
Chief Razak, the Balogun of Epe, died at the high brow Reddington Hospital, Lagos after a brief illness.
Governor Sanwo-Olu, in a condolence message, issued by his Chief Press Secretary (CPS), Mr Gboyega Akosile, said the deceased, during his lifetime, stood for what was right, always championing policies that would impact positively on the lives of the poor masses.
Sanwo-Olu added that the late Razak, popularly called KLM, did not hide his love and support of his administration especially the Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s T.H.E.M.E.S. agenda.
He said: “I am saddened by the death of one of our political leaders in Lagos APC, Chief Lanre Razak. He was a loyal party man and committed democrat, with a deep understanding of the state’s political landscape. He was an extremely loyal politician, who did his best for our party, the All Progressives Congress.
“Chief Razak served his people and Lagos State passionately as Chairman of Epe Local Government Area and Commissioner of Public Transportation. He brought a lot of development to Epe as a council boss and also made a lot of positive contributions to turn around public transportation in Lagos during his tenure as member of the State Executive Council.
“Chief Razak was a great politician, a strong party man and an advocate of masses oriented programmes. His support for our T.H.E.M.E.S. agenda was exemplary. He always propelled us to do more for the people of Lagos State.
“There is no doubting the fact that he would be missed by the entire political class, particularly the people of Epe, the Lagos East Senatorial District and the State as a whole.”
The Governor also condoled with the immediate family of the departed, the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu; other GAC members, Lagos APC and the entire people of Epe, praying God to grant the soul of the beloved Chief Razak eternal rest in Aljannah firdaus.
In a surprise about-turn, former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Dr Obodiah Mailafia, has declared himself a fan of President Muhammadu Buhari.
He spoke on Thursday on the British Broadcasting Service, Hausa Service while answering on his earlier allegations against the President and his Government.
Mailafia became an instant news sensation after he granted an interview to an FM Radio station, Info Nigeria, and made many allegations concerning the activities of the Boko Haram insurgents.
He alleged that a Northern Governor is a Commander of the insurgent group, among other very serious allegations, including assassination plans, and the breaking of a civil war in Nigeria in 2022.
He said his information came from repentant Boko Haram Commanders with whom he spoke on a number of times.
The interview earned him an invitation by the Directorate of State Services, DSS, which released him on bail after grilling him.
But speaking to the BBC Hausa Service on Thursday, Malaifai said he regreted what he said, and declared himself a fan of President Buhari but added: ” There are bad people who don’t give him advice to help him”
He said he never knew his interview would go viral, and that it was misunderstood.
Apologising profusely, he confessed that he got his information from Fulani traders in a market, admitting he made a mistake, and would never repeat such a mistake.
The DSS has warned it would never tolerate such misinformation again, and accused Mailafia of playing to the gallery.
The Northern Governors’ Forum, on its part, insists on an investigation, saying the allegations by Dr Mailafia were so weighty it should not be swept under the carpet.
There is palpable tension in Akinyele Local Government Area of Ibadan, Oyo State Capital, following the escape of a 19-year-old Sunday Sodipe, a serial killer.
Sunday escaped from Police Custody, this, putting job of many Police officers in the line.
Members of the public are angry. They are alleging Police connivance. And are protecting, threatening fire and brimstone.
Sodipe, on arrest, confessed to killing no fewer than six persons for ritual purposes in different communities in Akinyele Local Government Area of the State.
The alleged serial killer made this confession on Friday July 17th, 2020, during interrogation by the Police.
It, however, came as a surprise when the news of his escape broke. It evoked anger amongst the residents of Ori-Oke Olorunkole in the Local Government Area.
Residents took to the streets, and stormed the Police Station where the accused allegedly escaped from, to protest, and were bent on unleashing mayhem at the Police Station.
On Friday, morning, residents woke up to hear the news that a middle-aged woman, simply identified as Olufunmilayo, was hacked to death.
The development made the youths in the local government to take to the streets on Friday, protesting the return of ritual killings to the local government and the alleged escape of Sodipe, who was earlier paraded before journalists by the Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Nwachukwu Enwonwu, barely a month after his arrest.
The angry youths were said to have pelted some policemen that attempted to go to Akinyele town with stones, and made it difficult for the police to access the crime scene.
The woman was said to have been macheted in four places, and died at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan later in the night.
But the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Olugbenga Fadeyi, when contacted on the development, confirmed the death of the Woman, saying the police have begun investigation on it, but he could not confirm the allegation that Sodipe escaped from Police custody.
“I will get back to you on that”, he said. He failed to get back at the time of filling this report.
The protesters argued that nobody was safe any longer in the local government, and alleged that the police might have combined with Sodipe for the escape.
He, allegedly escaped without being taken to to court, when the police went to give him food.
The protesting youths alleged further that the development has shown that some very powerful people must be supporting the ritual killings in the local government area.
The Alakinyele of Akinyele, Oba James Odeniran, who condemned the return of ritual killings in the town, said the father of Barakat Bello, a female student of the Department of Science Laboratory Technology (SLT), Federal College of Animal Health and Production, Moor Plantation, Ibadan, that Sodipe confessed he killed on June 1, this year, informed him that he saw Sodipe in Akinyele town.
“I was surprised. It was after the incident here that the man called Baba Barakat came to my Palace to tell me that the boy that killed Barakat, he saw him at Elewure, in this Akinyele yesterday and today. I said no, I can’t believe it. He said he saw him and I said no. I sent the Palace boys to go and investigate where they said they saw him, they came back to tell me that it was true. The problem with our people is that by the time they saw that boy, they did not inform anybody. I was not informed.
“Later, I phoned somebody that I learnt this boy has been released and he said no, the boy escaped from Police custody. The boy escaped from police custody and nobody was aware? I said he has done another thing in Akinyele, he has killed somebody again.
“They said we should find means of apprehending him. Since that yesterday (Thursday), I called all the youths. Then, all the Soludero Hunters and we sent them out to be on the lookout for that boy. Since yesterday evening, up till this morning, we could not locate the whereabouts of that boy.”
The Caretaker Chairman of Akinyele Local Government, Taoreed Adedigba, also said: “We heard that the woman was attacked with machete. She was rescued immediately and taken to UCH. So, we heard the report that she died this morning. That was what prompted residents to embark on a mass protest.
“Unfortunately, the peaceful protest was hijacked by hoodlums. The hoodlums went to the extent of pelting security operatives with stones and other objects. But with the help of God, peace is gradually returning to the area and it is under control.
“I have called the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Operations) and he has deployed more officers to the area. Also, I called the Area Commander and Federal SARS and other security operatives and local security agents such as Soludero Hunters and others have arrived the area to calm the situation. The Alakinyele of Akinyele, Oba James Odeniran was also on ground to rescue few police officers that the hoodlums manhandled.
“The killing was carried out by suspected ritualists. Residents suspected a ritualist, who was reportedly arrested by the police, but allegedly escaped from their custody; he was seen in Akinyele two days ago and yesterday, the residents had to raise the alarm and people are suspecting he was the one that carried out the dastardly act.”
The battle for the soul of Cross River PDP, multiple party sources have disclosed, is being orchestrated by a powerful elements in the party bent on humiliating Governor Ben Ayade “for having one leg in our party, and one leg in APC”
“We Don’t Know How to Classify Him”
Many PDP eggheads, especially, the majority members of its National Leadership, the magazine was informed, regard the Governor as a mole in the party and, therefore, are determined to divest the Cross River structure of the PDP from him.
“We don’t even know how to classify him, but all we know is that he is APC body and soul, and only PDP in name.
“You can hardly find him at PDP events, not even during South South PDP leaders’ meetings, but he is always quick to speak elegantly of Buhari and his APC government, and this is a man who is supposed to be an opposition governor”, a member of the party’s National Working Committee, NWC, who pleaded anonymity told The source in Abuja.
He further claimed that “Ayade was billed to defect to the APC alongside Senator Florence Ita-Giwa when she left PDP but he decided to stay back at the last minute for a reason best known to him”
Recall that Senator Ita-Giwa has since returned to the PDP after a short spell in the APC.
One of the National Assembly members squaring up against the governor confirmed the alleged PDP gang up against the governor:
“Look at it this way. In terms of financial war chest, the governor has enormous resources at his disposal to run all of us out of the party, but this fight is not one money can sway, the battle to rescue Cross River PDP is being directed from above. Its therefore, not our personal fight, it’s the party’s fight”, he told the magazine.
Former Governor Imoke: Ayade is leader of the party
Ayade Versus Cross River NASS Members
The elements within the national leadership of the PDP against Ayade are the same people, allegedly, primed on handing over the structure of the party in Cross River to some members of the National Assembly from the state.
The arrowhead of the National Assembly members’ take over plot is Jarigbe Agom Jarigbe, representing Ogoja/ Yala Federal constituency in the House of Representatives.
Not only is Jarigbe insistent on the initial ward Congress list which was heavily skewed against the governor, he has also thrown his hat in the race for the Cross River North Senatorial bye- election to replace the late Senator Rose Okoh who died in April. But, it is not likely to be east for him.
Ayade’s choice for the bye election is the state’s SUBEB Chairman, Dr.Stephen Odey.
Odey’s choice, it was gathered, was anchored on the belief that he would not rock the boat when it matters most.
This magazine has been informed that Odey’s triumph would be a major boost for Ayade’s dream of returning to the Senate after a tour of duty as governor in 2023.
It is believed that Odey will easily yield the position to Ayade in 2023, and not seek a re- election thus paving the way for the return of the governor to the Senate. Ayade represented Cross River North in the senate between 2011 and 2015
Jarigbe’s aspiration is therefore, a direct affront on the governor’s political interest.
Not all the National Assembly members from the state are, however, trenchantly feuding with the Governor over the ward congress list.
Some of them, like Senator Gershon Bassey, representing Cross River South, are preaching inclusiveness and consensus arrangement to resolve the crisis.
The 2023 Nexus
Who succeeds the Governor in 2023, this magazine has learnt, is also at the heart of the Cross River PDP crisis.
“A faction of the party in the state prodded on by some NWC members, are actually plotting to ensure that the Governor does not install his successor, The Source has been told.This, it has been learnt, is the major genesis of the congress’ list brouhaha.
“The intention is to take away the structure of the party from the Governor, and render him a king without a kingdom”, a source told the magazine.
Party sources informed this magazine that those against the governor are also trying to stop him from producing the next State Party Chairman.
Ayade is throwing up his loyalist, and Director-General of the state’s Due Process Office, Barrister Alphosus Ogar Eba as his candidate.
Like Odey, Barrister Eba hails from Yala Local Government Area of the state, the home local government of the late Senator Okoh
External Influence?
Fingers are pointing at a South south PDP Governor as the unseen figure behind the crisis.The said governor is, allegedly, working to install one of the Senators as Governor in 2023 in utter negation of the unwritten governorship rotational arrangement in the state.
In accordance with the arrangement, another round of rotation will commence in 2023 with the next governor coming from Cross River south, the three Senatorial districts having taken their turns since 1999: Donald Duke (south, 1999- 2007), Liyel Imoke (Central, 2007- 2015) Ayade (North, 2015-2023).
Senator Gershon Bassey: Preaches consensus
Defection on Ayade’s card?
Speculations are rife that the Governor will abandon the PDP if his traducers in the party succeed in hijacking the party’s structure from him.
So far, Ayade has maintained sealed lips concerning the rumoured defection, but a former Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-Kayode, has threatened, that many PDP bigwigs, including himself, will leave the party should Ayade be forced to defect.
Alluding to an external influence in the Cross River PDP crisis, the former minister said: ” “It would be a big mistake for the National Working Committee of the PDP to take the party structures in his state away from Ben Ayade, the Governor of Cross Rivers state, and hand them over to anyone else. If this is done and Ayade leaves the party be rest assured that many of us will leave with him.
“You cannot and must not undermine a sitting Governor or attempt to humiliate him in his own state and before his people. Some of those that are advocating and behind this nonsense would never allow it to happen in their own states. A word is enough for the wise.
“No-one, no matter how big or powerful, should think that they own the PDP. If there is any attempt to undermine Ayade it will spark off a crisis in the party that will split it right down the middle and the consequences will not be limited to Cross Rivers state.”
Amicable settlement underway
Meanwhile, there are indications that party leaders, at the National and State levels, are desirous of settling the crisis to the satisfaction of all the parties involved.
You will recall that the state congress was scheduled for August 8, but the need to have a united house in Cross River made the NWC to postpone it by one week to allow for amicable settlement. The reason also accounted for the latest postponement of the congress” a party source told the magazine.
Few days ago, Senator Gershon Bassey spoke of his solidarity with Ayade in the effort to find a middle course solution, denying that there were plans to hijack the party structure from the governor.
He said:“There were several contenders for several positions, so the leader of the party in the state, who is the Governor, decided that we should go for consensus. He has started talking to all stakeholders to achieve consensus.
“Sometimes consensus works because it means there is no victor, no vanquish, everybody has to queue into it. It makes the party stronger.
”You know we are in a political party and not a Church organization, there must always be a different point of view, that is normal for any political party. PDP and PDP in Cross River can be no different.”
Ayade is the Leader of Cross River PDP- Imoke
Meanwhile, former Governor Imoke has declared that Governor Ayade is the leader of PDP in the state, and must be recognized as such. He, however, advised the Governor to also accord Federal Lawmakers from the state their due as critical stakeholders in Cross River PDP.
Imoke’s position was contained in a press statement he released last week ahead the postponement state congress of the party.
Imoke : “Since the emergence of this democratic dispensation in 1999, Cross River State has always been a PDP stronghold. In 2019, our Party had an overwhelming victory at the polls, winning elections at all levels. The glory for that victory goes to God and to the support of the good people of Cross River State who have shown commitment and strongly supported the PDP through time.
“Over the last few months we have all observed the seeming dispute and differences within our great Party which emerged after the elections, in the build up to the Party Congresses. We have a tradition of managing and resolving disputes. I strongly believe that this one is no different from all the others.
“I hereby call on all stakeholders and party leaders to sheath their swords. This is a time to close ranks and not create factions. We need to work as a team under the leadership of the Governor. As Leader, it behoves the Governor to accommodate and protect the interests of all stakeholders and ensure balance and fairness. This has always been our way and I am confident that His Excellency will provide the necessary leadership. He should be accorded his due as Governor and Leader of our Party.
“I urge all our leaders at every level to use the opportunity of the State Congress to meet in caucus and resolve all differences, emerging as one united family. Every leader, from the Senators, members of the house of representatives, to the state assembly members and below, should be accorded their due and not be disrespected. They should reciprocate same to His Excellency. Our tradition of stakeholder consultation and concensus building should be applied over the next few days to guarantee successful outcomes”
Multiple party sources have informed The Source that vested interests within the All Progressives Congress, APC, have shifted their battle for the control of the party to Edo, and is now using the September 19 gubernatorial election in the state as a dress rehearsal for the titanic battle for the party’s soul ahead the 2023 election.
“We Will Ensure Edo is Out of Their Reach”
A faction of the party opposed to the National Leader, Ahmed Bola Tinubu, and the deposed National Chairman, Adam Oshiohmole, this magazine has been told, is bent on denying the pro- Tinubu/ Oshiohmole faction a foothold in Edo.
A party insider quoted a very senior party chieftain, and one of the prime movers of the anti- Tinubu/Oshiohmole faction, as vowing thus: “Tinubu and his allies, including our former National Chairman, remain members of our great party, but their plot to annex the party and pocket it has been effectively checkmated.Therefore, we will ensure that Edo is out of their reach, even if it means cutting our nose to spite our face, so be it”
A Gathering Storm
A credible party source informs that the anti- Tinubu/Oshiohmole faction is working from within to ensure that the APC candidate for the Edo election, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, is defeated by governor Godwin Obaseki who is now a PDP governor having defected to the party last month, following his disqualification from the APC guber primary, by the now sacked Oshiohmole led National Working Committee, NWC, of the party.
“What is currently playing out in APC, as regards the Edo governorship election, is “APC against APC”, our source revealed.
Continuing, he further informs: “The internal APC forces against Oshiohmole and Tinubu are, also, by extension against the victory of Ize Iyamu.Therefore, they won’t mind Obaseki’s victory in order to thwart Tinubu/Oshiohmole ascendancy”
“Ize-Iyamu’s Victory is Tinubu/Oshiohmole”
Some elements within the APC who fought to dethrone Oshiomole are emphatic that he was sacked as National Chairman to prevent him from handing over the party’s structure to Tinubu.They allege that before he was sacked, Oshiohmole was working towards handing the 2023 APC Presidential ticket to the former Lagos state governor.
A party chieftain told The Source: “Having succeeded in stopping Oshiohmole on his track, it will be bad politics to support anything, or anybody, capable of giving him a lifeline, politically.
Oshiohmole: His traducers are bent on finishing him off
“Its a common knowledge that Ize-Iyamu is his candidate, his victory, therefore, means Oshiohmole’s victory; it will also be Tinubu’s victory. Edo in the kitty of the Tinubu/Oshiohmole alliance could alter the 2023 calculations as regards our party’s presidential ticket and we won’t allow this happen. And we will be ready to sacrifice Edo to stop it”
Some National Assembly Members, Governors, others won’t Campaign for Ize-Iyamu
Competent sources close to the national leadership of the party confided in the magazine that as a result of the wide crack on the APC’s wall, some party stalwarts, listed as members of the APC campaign council for Edo, have distanced themselves from the Ize-Iyamu campaign.
Said one of the sources: “Though the governor Mai Mala Buni-led National Caretaker leadership of APC has inaugurated Edo Governorship Campaign Council, I can tell you, for free, that many of those listed as members including National Assembly members, Governors and party senior chieftains who are not in the Tinubu/Oshiohmole faction, have since distanced themselves from the Ize-Iyamu campaign.
“They are neither openly, nor discreetly, supporting the APC guber candidate financially and morally”
Anti- Ize-Iyamu Court Case Looms
This Magazine learnt that as part of the bid to scuttle Ize- Iyamu’s chances, and by extension, hurt the Tinubu/Oshiohmole faction, a faction of the party in Edo still loyal to Governor Obaseki, is being positioned to obtain a restraining order from a High court, a day to the election, stopping the APC candidate from contesting in the election on the grounds that the Edo APC faction that granted him waiver, was illegally constituted at the time it gave him the waiver.
Ize-Iyamu, a founding APC member, defected to the People’s Democratic party, PDP in 2016 under which platform he contested that year’s Edo governorship election. He, however, returned to the APC a few months ago to contest the September 19 election.
The Broom is Still Closely knitted, Solidly Behind Ize-Iyamu
Meanwhile, a member of the National Caretaker Committee of the APC has pooh-poohed insinuations of internal insurrection against Ize- Iyamu, insisting that every single APC member is solidly behind him.
“Like every big political party, there are minor family disagreements in the APC, but that is not to suggest that internal insurrection is in the offing, especially as it concerns the Edo election.
I can assure you that the the broom is still a formidable bunch, still closely knit, and solidly behind its candidate in Edo. Every single APC member is solidly behind Ize-Iyamu”, he told The Source.
