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Tag: 2023 General Elections

  • 2023 Election: Mohammed Abacha drags INEC, PDP to court

    2023 Election: Mohammed Abacha drags INEC, PDP to court

    In Kano state, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) factional governorship candidate, Muhammad Sani Abacha has sued the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC; Sadiq Aminu Wali, PDP, and Shehu Wada Sagagi, the State Chairman of the party before a Federal High Court in Kano.

    In a concurrent originating summon filed on Thursday, the plaintiff, Mohammed Sani Abacha, is asking to be declared as the Kano governorship candidate of the PDP and validate the primary election that produced him monitored by the first defendant, INEC.

    Muhammad Abacha is asking the court to make him the substantive gubernatorial candidate of the party in Kano following his authentic party primary elections which were witnessed and effectively observed by INEC.

    Abacha is quoting Section 85 (1) & (5) (b) (i) & (ii) of the Electoral Act 2022 to based his case.

    Mohammed Abacha is the eldest surviving son of Nigeria’s former military ruler, the late general Sani Abacha, and his wife Maryam Abacha.

  • Gov. Masari appeals to APC flag bearers to embrace primary elections losers

    Gov. Masari appeals to APC flag bearers to embrace primary elections losers

    Gov. Aminu Masari of Katsina State has appealed to flag bearers of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to embrace those who lost primary elections as a preparatory to the 2023 general elections.

    The governor made the appeal when he hosted a stakeholder meeting with the Northwest APC Consultative Committee on Wednesday in Katsina.

    He emphasised that unity among party members had always been the gateway to victory at elections.

    The governor appreciated the leadership of the party in the state for constituting reconciliation committees to heal the wounds of losses at its primary elections.

    Masari urged chairmen of the 34 local government areas in the state to work towards the victory of the party at the 2023 general elections.

    APC’s National Vice-Chairman Northwest, Alhaji Salihu Muhammed, who was in attendance, said the meeting aimed at reconciliation as a way to victory in the 2023 general elections.

    He said the consultative committee already presented a preliminary report from five states earlier visited to Masari at an earlier meeting held in Abuja.

    APC Chairman in Katsina State, Alhaji Sani Aliyu, commended Masari for constituting a reconciliation committee in the state.

    Aliyu said the party in the state also constituted 15 committees to consult with aggrieved members and bring about reconciliation.

    He was represented at the meeting by his deputy, Alhaji Bala Musawa.

  • 2023: Rivers state governor, Wike speaks on preferred candidate

    2023: Rivers state governor, Wike speaks on preferred candidate

    Rivers State,  governor, Nyesom Wike has openly declared his support for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)  in the state, stating that it will win the general election coming up in 2023.

    The governor said this during the signing of a contract with Julius Berger Plc, at the Government House, Port Harcourt, for the construction of the 11th Flyover in the state.

    He explained that the party has done well to earn the people’s trust and vote in the coming election in the state.

    He further revealed that PDP had done well in the state to raise Rivers to a higher pedestal of development adding that those who are interested in governing Rivers must have something to offer the state.

    Wike asserted that he can count some of the things he brought to Rivers State when he was Minister of State for Defence, reiterating that a former governor from the state brought nothing, yet he wants to bring somebody to govern Rivers State.

    He went on to accuse the politicians of the state from the ruling national party of being responsible for the looting in Rivers.

    “They came, they wanted us to be partners, how can we be partners in crime?” he declared.

    The governor questioned what they will tell the people of Rivers State to convince the people that they want to govern the state.

    He reaffirmed that the PDP would win Rivers, stating that the next governor of the state was sitting at the event.

    He said that people in other parties are going to waste their money. According to Wike, “for those in other parties, I wish them bad luck.”

    Wike claimed that he can count some of the things he brought to Rivers State when he was Minister of State for Defence, reiterating that a former governor from the state brought nothing, yet he wants to bring somebody to govern Rivers State.

    The governor questioned what they will tell the people of Rivers State to convince the people that they want to govern the state.

    He reaffirmed that the PDP would win Rivers, stating that the next governor of the state was sitting at the event.

    He said that people in other parties are going to waste their money. According to Wike, “for those in other parties, I wish them bad luck.”

  • 2023: APC set to unveil vice presidential candidate, Kashim Shettima

    2023: APC set to unveil vice presidential candidate, Kashim Shettima

    The ruling  All Progressives Congress (APC) is set to officially unveil its vice presidential candidate, Kashim Shettima ahead of the 2023 general elections in the country.

    The presidential candidate of the party, Bola Ahmed Tinubu had earlier announced Shettima as his running mate.

    The former Borno governor and Senator will be presented to the Nigerian public on Wednesday.

    This was development was conveyed via a statement signed and released by the  National Organising Secretary of APC Sulaiman Argungu on Tuesday in Abuja.

    The event is billed to take place at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja.

    The party invited members of the National Executive Committee (NEC), Progressives Governors’ Forum, APC Caucus in the National Assembly, Federal Executive Council (FEC), and Diplomatic Corps.

    Others are presidential aspirants at the June 2022 Special National Convention, APC State Chairmen, Secretaries, and Organizing Secretaries.

    However, the Muslim-Muslim ticket presented by APC has sparked a lot of reactions from the CAN and other Christian bodies in the country.

  • Senator Aguariavwodo chairs Delta PDP expanded Peace Committee

    In a bid to put its house in order before the 2023 general elections, the Delta State Peoples Democratic Party, PDP has set up a peace reconciliation committee to address irreconcilable differences that may tear the party apart before the polls.

    TheNewsGuru.com, (TNG) reports five members each were drawn from the state’s three senatorial districts as contained in a statement issued by the party’s publicity scribe Ifeanyi Osuoza.

    TNG recalls that after the guber primary membership of the party was balkanised and this could spell doom if not checkmated now.

    The terms of reference hinged on:

    “To meet and reconcile aggrieved members of the PDP.

    “To look at the circumstances that led to their grievances and recommend ways to forestall future re-occurrence and ensure lasting coexistence within the party.

    “To report back to the State Working Committee within Four (4) weeks from the day of their inauguration.

    Read full statement below:

    PRESS STATEMENT

    29TH JUNE, 2022

    DELTA 2023: DELTA PDP INAUGURATES PEACE AND RECONCILIATION COMMITTEES

    Following the peaceful conduct and successful completion of our party primaries and the overall endorsement of the exercise by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, the Delta State Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP), has today, Wednesday, June 29th, 2022, set the machinery in motion to reconcile, harmonize and engender unity of purpose in the party, ahead of campaigns for the 2023 general elections, with the inauguration of the Peace and Reconciliation Committees for the three Senatorial zones, in the State.

    A statement by Dr. Ifeanyi Osuoza, State Publicity Secretary of the Party, disclosed that the inauguration and composition of the Committees, was contained in a Memorandum titled: DELTA STATE PEACE, RECONCILIATION COMMITTEES, and signed by the Delta PDP State Secretary, Engr. Dan Ossai, which reads thus:

    “Arising from a meeting of the State Working Committee, which held on 24th June, 2022, at the Party Secretariat, Asaba, the following persons have been appointed as Chairmen, Secretaries, and members of the above committees:

    DELTA SOUTH

    (1). CHIEF P.Y BIAKPARA – CHAIRMAN.

    (2). HON. DANIEL MAYUKU –

    SECRETARY.

    (3). CHIEF IDU AMAIDE – MEMBER.

    (4). DR. JOSEPH OTUMARA – MEMBER.

    (5). MR. TROPHY KIRIFAGHA – MEMBER.

    DELTA NORTH

    (1). CHIEF EDWIN UZOR – CHAIRMAN.

    (2). DR. FRANK NWAUGO – SECRETARY.

    (3). CHIEF GODSWILL OBIELUM – MEMBER.

    (4). CHIEF NKEM OKWUOFU – MEMBER.

    (5). MRS. EVELYN OROGUN – MEMBER.

    DELTA CENTRAL

    (1). SENATOR EMMANUEL AGUARIAVWODO – CHAIRMAN.

    (2). CHIEF BENSON OKORODUDU – SECRETARY.

    (3). CHIEF, MRS. TESSY TORRU – MEMBER.

    (4). CHIEF JAMES AGUOYE – MEMBER.

    (5). HON. SOLOMON GOLLEY – MEMBER.

    TERMS OF REFERENCE

    1. To meet and reconcile aggrieved members of the PDP.

    2. To look at the circumstances that led to their grievances and recommend ways to forestall future re-occurrence and ensure lasting coexistence within the party.

    3. To report back to the State Working Committee within Four (4) weeks from the day of their inauguration.

    “Delta PDP wishes to reiterate that our primaries was a family affair, conducted with the best intentions for the party and in which everybody is a winner.

    “The party is now stronger and more united than ever before and we appeal to our teeming, loyal, and committed members to identify with the Peace and Reconciliation Committee in each zone, as we embrace the healing and harmonization process which binds us together as a formidable, united force.

    “Delta PDP is one big family and like we predicted before the primaries, our loyal and committed members have once again proven this beyond doubt and the exercise we conducted has ended in praise for one and all, both at State and National levels.

    “As we prepare to hit the campaign trail, covering every Local Government, Ward, and Unit in our usual robust and comprehensive manner, we charge all our members to remain calm, focused, and unwavering in our quest to achieve the main objective, which is landslide victories in all our elections in 2023.

    “Delta is PDP and PDP is Delta.

    “PDP! Power to the people!!!”

    Dr. Ifeanyi M. Osuoza
    State Publicity Secretary,
    PDP, Delta State.

  • We didn’t endorse Peter Obi for President – NMA

    Nigerian Medical Association, NMA says it has not endorsed Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi.

    The NMA clarification is coming on the heels of reports which  it insinuated the body had endorsed Mr Obi.

    The NMA was categorical in refuting the report, saying it is non-partisan and has not endorsed any presidential candidate for next year’s polls.

    ALSO READ: NMA nominates Sen. Chris Ngige for meritorious service award

    President of the association, Dr Uche Ojinmah, said NMA is not against any candidate and wished all of them well.

    He expressed hope that Nigerians would make a wise choice for a better nation in 2023.

    “Our agenda for the next president for the country is we would have someone that would place importance on implementing the annual 15 per cent budget allocation to the health sector agreed in 2001 by African Heads of States in Abuja.

    “Nigerians are hungry and a hungry person cannot be a healthy person.

    “Nigerians are jobless, there’s nothing to do. A man that has nowhere to go in the morning cannot sleep well and obviously cannot have a good mental balance and, therefore, cannot be healthy.

    “A man that will go out and he’s not sure of coming back alive cannot have enough courage to go fend for himself and his family, and he cannot be healthy. So if there’s no good economy, security, jobs, and food security, there will be ill-health and mental instability.

    “NMA is interested in the health of this country and its citizens.

    “We are tired of them not fulfilling the 2001 Abuja Declaration of allocating 15 per cent to the health sector but they end up giving us 4 per cent.

    “Every day people are blaming the Chief Medical Directors for the woes in the health sector but have you bothered to ask how much they’re allocating to the health system?

    “We are tired of medical tourism; we are tired of brain drain, so we need the next president to focus.

    “The next president should know that the economy is bad. The next president must understand the system before coming in and they should hit the ground running.”

  • Delta APC warns Okowa against funding Atiku’s campaign with state fund

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) Gubernatorial Campaign Organisation in Delta state, has warned Delta State Governor, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, against using state funds to finance the campaign and political activities of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.

    The warning was contained in a statement issued by the APC Governorship campaign organisation, on Friday by the Director, Communications and Media Strategy.

    The warning came following the announcement of gov. Okowa as the running mate of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar for the 2023 general elections.

    According to the statement, “the use of taxpayers’ funds and collective resources of Deltans to fund personal political ambitions was unacceptable, callous and inhuman”.

    “It is said that on a day the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, approved the immediate payment of outstanding gratuities, pension arrears and death benefits for retirees of Rivers State Public Service, the Delta State House of Assembly approved N25 billion loan for Governor Ifeanyi Okowa allegedly to plant palm trees,” the statement read in part.

    “This is coming barely 49 days after the embattled PDP candidate, Okowa’s yes-man and Speaker of the state Assembly, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori or Francis, approved a controversial N150 billion loan.

    “We have sufficient grounds to suspect that these loans are being taken to prosecute Atiku’s presidential campaign. We will not stand by and watch Okowa impoverish our people in order to enthrone a man who has nothing to offer Deltans in particular and Nigerians in general.

    “If Governor Okowa had devoted half of the time he used in pursuing his Vice Presidential ambition to focus on governance, we wouldn’t be where we are today.

    “As of today, the government is owing retirees over seven years of gratuities, pension arrears and death benefits while the state goes on autopilot for Okowa to pursue his personal ambition. Most retirees have resorted to a commercial tricycle, popularly called Keke, for survival, some are bedridden, others have resigned to fate or even died while waiting for the present administration to pay their entitlements after 35 years of meritorious service to state and country.”

    According to the Delta APC Governorship campaign organisation, “the path of backwardness and crippling debts which the Okowa government has sentenced the state was undeserved given the huge, abundant human and natural resources that Delta is blessed with”.

    It, therefore, charged Governor Okowa to borrow a leaf from his counterparts in Rivers, Borno, Ebonyi and other states “that are blazing the trail with legacy projects, turning their states into massive construction sites, while paying outstanding gratuities and pensions, rather than take loans with nothing to show at the end of the day”.

     

  • We will retrieve power from APC in 2023 – Okowa

    Delta state Governor and Vice presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Ifeanyi Okowa has said that  the party will get back to power in 2023.

    Okowa emphatically expressed confidence that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) will be displaced come 2023.

    The Vice presidential candidate of PDP  spoke with reporters after his announcement as the party’s running mate for the 2023 presidential election.

    Okowa reiterated that the PDP will retrieve power from the APC, rescue the country and rebuild it.

    “I am truly very excited that I have been asked to join that ticket to be able to work as the vice-presidential candidate”, Okowa said.

    He commended Atiku and party leaders for finding him worthy for the position.

    “Mr President in waiting, I must truly thank you for finding me worthy to be on this ticket. I do know that it was a very tough decision.”

    Okowa thanked God that among my very qualified colleagues, “even those more qualified”, he found favour.

    “By the special grace of God, we will work hard to ensure victory. There is no doubt that there is a great work ahead of each and every one of us.”

    Okowa said the build-back process would be collective and urged all of members to be part of the story.

    The Governor said Atiku is the only one that has been able to come out with a document that can be trusted.

    “In the next few weeks, you will be hearing a lot from our campaign organisation”, he added.

  • 2023: Ohaneze attacks PDP over Okowa, says Igbos will not vote for them

    Igbo apex socio-political group, Ohanaeze Ndigbo has criticized the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) over it’s choice of Okowa as the vice presidential candidate.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that PDP has announced Delta state Governor as the running mate to presidential candidate Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.

    However, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro the Secretary-General, of Ohaneze has described Okowa as a minus to Atiku.

    This was contained in a statement that he signed and released on Thursday, shortly after Okowa’s emergence, adding that it means the Igbos would not vote for Atiku in the forthcoming general election.

    Isiguzoro described  Okowa’s choice as Atiku’s running mate as a chaotic selection for “a party not ready to win the 2023 elections.”

    His statement reads in part: Okowa is the “reward for a serial betrayal whose inescapable actions will never add national integrity and value to the progress of PDP in 2023, Ifeanyi Okowa is a minus for Atiku, as his choice will decline PDP’s fortunes in Delta and Southern Nigeria.

    “A man who misled the Southern Governors agenda will never be trusted for the votes of Ndigbo; Igbos will never vote Atiku and Okowa”

    Ohanaeze Ndigbo is an Igbo socio-cultural organization in Nigeria. The group aims to represent the interests of all Igbo communities within and outside Nigeria.

  • Disregard reports on VP candidate – PDP urges Nigerians

    The  Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has urged Nigerians to disregard reports in some sections of the media,  purporting that it had dismissed the reported emergence of Gov. Nyesom Wike of Rivers as its Vice-Presidential Candidate for the 2023 general elections.

    The party in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr Debo Ologunagba in Abuja on Wednesday night,  described the report as mischievous and misleading.

    The party said that the misleading reports quoted Ologunagba as stating such while addressing some journalists in Abuja on Wednesday.

    It stated that for the avoidance of doubt, Ologunagba did not at any time address journalists on the said subject matter as quoted in the misinforming reports.

    “To set the records straight, the National Publicity Secretary was a guest on Arise TV Morning Show on Wednesday morning, where he answered questions on PDP’s preparedness for the 2023 general elections as well as June 18, 2022 Ekiti Governorship election

    “In the course of the interview, the presenters requested some clarifications on reports in the media that the PDP had concluded its processes on its vice-presidential candidate.

    “In response the national publicity secretary stated that the PDP is a party of process and that consultations and discussions were still ongoing in the selection process.”

    The PDP said it was therefore mischievous to claim that the Ologunagba made any reference to Wike.

    It added that clearly, such distorting claim in a section of the media was the design of mischief makers who were bent on destabilising PDP ahead of the 2023 general elections.

    “If anything, our party reiterates its confidence in Wikes’s outstanding ability and commitment to the ideals and values of the PDP.

    “His records of achievement as a Local government area  chairman, Chief of Staff to the Rivers governor, minister of state for education, currently governor of Rivers  and the first runner-up in the PDP presidential primary election, stand him out as possessing requisite qualities, qualifications, capacity and wide acceptability for the position of the vice-presidential candidate of our party.

    “The various positions creditably held by Wike distinguished him as an excellent team player in public governance.

    “In fact, governor Wike’s energy, brilliance, commitment and passion were acknowledged by the National Working Committee (NWC) of our party and he is adjudged as the foremost candidate in consideration for the position of the vice-presidential candidate of the PDP.”

    It added that while the PDP noted the interest of the media and  public in the party’s choice of vice-presidential candidate, it was imperative to state that as an organic party, all PDP processes would be followed through in strict adherence to its procedures before any official announcements.

    “The PDP urges Nigerians to disregard the mischievous reports aimed at undermining our party’s unity at this critical time.”