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Tag: 2027 Elections

  • PRP opens up on merger talks ahead of 2027 elections

    PRP opens up on merger talks ahead of 2027 elections

    The People’s Redemption Party (PRP) says it will only merge with political parties of the same disposition.

    National Chairman of the party, Mallam Falalu Bello said this at a news conference in Abuja on Wednesday.

    Bello, who said that the party stood on certain principles, said: “We won’t merge  unless the principles of the other political parties aligned with that of the PRP.

    “We have been a political party in Nigeria since 1979. We stand for certain principles and we are not going to merge with any party that doesn’t believe in what we believe in.

    “We are in the left of the spectrum, we are not in the right. We are who we are. We have remained consistent as a party.

    “We don’t believe in what they believe. We believe in alliances, we believe in mergers. We should merge or have alliances with people of likemind, not with everybody. Our party is the party of the future.

    “PRP will thrive. We are not against mergers neither are we against electoral alliances.

    “Electoral alliances in PRP is nothing. We have done it before. We will do it again but based on principles.”

    He further said  the party believed in true federalism which he said would solve the problem of ethnic agitations.

    “True federalism will solve the problem of this country to a large extent. As a political party, we believe in true federalism as a panacea for solving our socio-economic problems.”

    Bello also called for the amendment of the Electoral Act to eliminate all ambiguities surrounding the electronic transfer of election results.

    “The electoral process is still far from being perfect and still requires reform if democracy is to survive in Nigeria.”

    Also speaking, Mr Kola Abiola, PRP’sv2023  presidential candidate, said that “the merger you see today is the coming home of candidates.

    “Party members just came together, may be they are thinking of consolidating their votes in the next election.

    “There is a big difference. That’s not a merger of parties. That is a reabsorption of people you have lost in your party. It’s a big difference. There is no principle behind that at all.

    “That’s not an alliance. We are for mergers but the principles have to be aligned.

  • How merger of parties will wrestle power from Tinubu in 2027 – Utomi

    How merger of parties will wrestle power from Tinubu in 2027 – Utomi

    Renowned Political Economist, Prof. Pat Utomi,  says his proposed merger of opposition parties to wrestle power from the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2027 is not for ‘machine politics’ but for genuine service to the people.

    Utomi, the Convener of the National Consultative Front (NCFront) and the BIG TENT disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday that the proposed merger party was not a hurried coupling together of interests.

    He was reacting to the comments by the Deputy National Organising Secretary of the APC, Nze Chidi Duru, on his merger plans.

    Utomi had said that three presidential candidates in the 2023 general elections, Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Peter Obi of Labour Party (LP) and Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), had agreed to form a formidable party that would sack the APC in 2027.

    According to the professor who is also a leader in the Labour Party, after having a conversation with the three political heavyweights, he agreed to form a mega party that would take over the country’s leadership.

    He said that Nigerians needed people who would make sacrifices for the development of the nation.

    However, while Duru described Utomi’s plan in negative terms, the National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Felix Morka, had also described him as a serial promoter of mega parties which never materialised.

    Reacting, Utomi expressed confidence that through the merger initiative Nigeria would rise up again.

    He said: “I read with interest the response by Nze Chidi Duru to speculations about what has been called a merger of opposition parties. That response itself is much evidence of progress.

    “To clarify, what I have been speaking to is not the hurried coupling together of interests to create a platform for machine politics like the Daley machine in Chicago to obtain desired elections outcomes and foist state capture on a wearied people.

    “What I have been speaking to is the founding of a real political party. This is something that has eluded this fourth republic.”

    According to him, their efforts begin with ideation that will birth a world view of this party. Some call it ideology.

    He added that his team would develop shared values around the approach to a people’s centered political party.

    Utomi said that the next would be a structure for community based solutions to the personal troubles of people and flow of what the people want into the policy process.

    “When agreement is reached on National Strategy, which from my agenda setting position, will be moving the country away from elite rent seeking and mindless corruption to production on value chains erected on our regional factor endowments in which we have latent comparative advantage .

    “The major issues we adopt such as constitutional reforms and the emphasizing the principle of subsidiarity and bottom up people’s entrepreneurial capitalism will be agreed to before people sign up for leadership roles.

    “Can old gladiators I have called out previously have a role?. If they do a mea culpa and accept that this is about Nigeria and not themselves there will be room for embrace,” he said.

    The NCFront leader pointed to the Malaysia feuds between Dr Mahathir Mohammed and Anwar Ibrahim who was his Deputy in 1997.

    He said that that led to imprisonment and much bad blood.

    “But when a very bad and corrupt government came up decades later, Mahathir Mohammed as a Nonagenarian, came out of retirement, founded a new party and in partnership with Anwar Ibrahim and won the election against the incumbent Najib Razak.

    “We are confident that through our efforts in this initiative Nigeria will rise up again,” Utomi said.

  • Atiku told not to contest 2027 presidential election

    Atiku told not to contest 2027 presidential election

    A political pressure group in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the Concerned PDP League (CPDPL) has urged the party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 presidential election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, not to contest again in 2027.

    The group gave the advice in Abuja on Sunday in a communiqué of a meeting signed respectively by the league’s National Secretary, Alhaji Tasiu Muhammed and acting National Director of Publicity and Strategic Communication, Mr Gbenga Adedamola.

    It also urged the Chairman of PDP Governors Forum, Gov. Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State not to nurse any ambition for the presidential office until 2031, to avoid a repeat of what happened to PDP in 2015 and 2023.

    The group in the communiqué said its advice was for interested aspirants from the North to understand that the South has eight years to do, before power returns to the North in 2031.

    “Our advice is also to ensure stability in the political system of the country,” the group said.

    It advised the party to be cautious of those factors responsible for its failure in the 2023 general election and avoid them as it prepares for the 2027 general election.

    “As we all know, the year 2023 was a very challenging year for our great party, with us losing the presidential election due to failure to abide by our party constitution 2017 as amended and failure of leadership.

    “Also, some unpatriotic and unappreciative members elected on our party platform defected with our mandate to other parties, and the courts allegedly transferred our votes to other political parties.

    “This year 2024, we want to plead with members and especially leaders of our great party to know that they will have to make great sacrifices, such as, withdrawal of court cases, grudges, suspension of personal and divisive interests.

    “This is for the interest and unity of the party, to enable us to defeat our common opponent, the All Progressive Congress (APC) in future elections, which has failed Nigerians beyond human imagination,” CPDPL said.

    The PDP group, in spite of the support for a Southern candidate for 2027 presidential election, condemned the statement credited to immediate past governor of Benue, Samuel Ortom, for declaring support for President Bola Tinubu’s undeclared ambition for 2027.

    This, the CPDPL said was at the expense of any presidential candidate the PDP would present for the 2027 presidential election.

    “We also vehemently condemn the overbearing attitude and actions of the immediate past governor of Rivers State and FCT minister, in PDP and in his state.

    “In the same vein, we strongly condemn the incumbent governor of Rivers for failing to acknowledge the role or intervention of the party in ensuring peace between him and his predecessor.

    “It is also unfortunate that the governor has deliberately failed to mention the party in his speeches since he became the governor.

    “He should have the courage to come out straight and tell us if he wants to defect to another party because his actions are confusing.

    “All we hear in his speeches is “the president or president Tinubu did this and that”, the group said.

    As regards the Rivers Assembly members that defected to APC, the group reiterated that their seats remained vacant, since the votes of PDP could not be transferred to APC.

    It urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to within the stipulated period in the law, conduct elections into those offices, in order not to deprive the people of those Rivers constituencies their representation.

    “We urge the NWC of our party to include section 109(g) to our expression of interest and intent forms for aspirants to sign with an affidavit attached to stop the stealing of our party mandate by ingrates,” it said.

    The group while congratulating all the PDP governors and their counterparts in the opposition, who were victorious in Friday’s Supreme Court judgements, commended the Apex Court justices for the courage to protect the peoples votes and choices in governorship appeal judgements.

    “The benefitting states are Adamawa, Bauchi, Plateau, Kano, and Zamfara states and we plead with them to display the same unbiased judgement in the remaining cases of Nasarawa and Rivers states before them, slated for Monday.

    “Let them remember that the supreme judge of all will judge both their judgements and other actions on the last day.”

    The group commended the party’s NWC under the leadership of the acting National Chairman, Alhaji Umar Damagum and his team for their efforts and contributions to the peace, unity and progress of the party.

    “We also commend other leaders and members who are supporting the NWC and silently and genuinely contributing to the unity and peace of the party.”

  • Labour Party to play active role in electoral reforms ahead of 2027 poll

    Labour Party to play active role in electoral reforms ahead of 2027 poll

    The Labour Party (LP) says it plans to play a active role in the reform of the Electoral Act, to prepare ground for free, fair and credible 2027 general election.

    Mr Julius Abure, the LP National Chairman stated this when he received the 2023 Enugu governorship candidate of the party Mr Chijioke Edeoga in Abuja.

    Mr Obiora Ifoh, the LP National Publicity Secretary, said this in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja.

    “We believe that the starting point is to begin early enough with the pursuit of electoral reform because we saw all  the antics that played out between the national assembly and the presidency in the past electoral reform.

    “As I speak with you, we are already constituting the committee that will give us the framework for the review.

    “We also decided that Labour Party will not be a spectator and that we will be the drivers of that processes,” he said.

  • How to remove Tinubu from power in 2027 – PDP Chieftain

    How to remove Tinubu from power in 2027 – PDP Chieftain

    Daniel Bwala, a former Spokesperson for the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) presidential campaign council has given insights on how Bola Tinubu can be removed as president in 2027.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Bwala to have said a coalition of political parties would be needed preparatory to the 2027 presidential election to oust Tinubu, who has not spent up to a year in office.

    Recall Tinubu was sworn into office on May 29 2023 after defeating Atiku Abubakar of the PDP and Peter Obi of the Labour Party in the presidential election of 2023.

    According to Bwala, a coalition will swallow up the teething problems political parties in the country are currently faced with to pave the way for a formidable front ahead of the next presidential election.

    Bwala, when he featured on Channels TV Politics Today on Tuesday, also spoke on how the influence of Nyesom Wike in the PDP will come to nought ahead of the next elections.

    “The truth of the matter is that there will be a coalition of political parties that will be very strong. This is a fact that I know and I don’t want to talk about the details.

    “The coalition that is coming will swallow some of the elements that are creating problems in various political parties.

    “If you want to remove Tinubu from power, it will never happen by you going to a 9 to 5 type of job. You must work 23 hours and 50 minutes.

    “Meaning that you have only 10 minutes to sleep and the 10 minutes you have to sleep is when Tinubu is sleeping.

    “Look at what is doing as a strategic action. If you look at his antecedents in Lagos, his method of leadership is that once he takes over government, he makes sure that the oppositions are either obliterated or they are weakened.

    “Look at what is happening with NNPP; some elements came out to say they are suspending the presidential candidate of the party. In Labour, you see one Apapa group; they will never allow somebody to rest. Then, in PDP, you see some elements.

    “So, he will want to ensure that all these political parties continue to have problems and problems but you see, once there is a coalition of the parties, some of these little people that are giving the headaches in the political parties would have been swallowed up.

    “For example, let’s talk about Wike; because once you solve the Wike question in PDP, you will find a solution to all of the problems.

    “Wike will come to a point where even in APC, they will become dissatisfied with him. They would have to ask him to either choose to be a rat or be a…there is this animal that is neither a rat nor a bird. They will ask him to choose one because he cannot approbate and reprobate.

    “Then secondly, when the political party, PDP organises the next congress where you have new leaders in the national working committee, it will be a paradigm shift.

    “So, these things are possibilities but without the coalition of political parties, Tinubu is going to spend the next 8 years for sure,” Bwala said.

    Atiku will run for president in 2027 – Bwala

    Meanwhile, Bwala confirmed that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who will be 81-year-old by Nigeria’s next General Election, will run for president in 2027.

    “Atiku Abubakar will run for president. He has the capacity. He has the wisdom. He has the knowledge. He has the energy and the zest and he is a president we never had because to be honest, if there is any politician who understands the private sector very well, it is Atiku Abubakar and our economy can only come alive if there is a private sector led economy,” he said.

    Bwala, meanwhile, warned that the quietness of some leaders of the PDP should not be mistaken for foolishness, adding that Atiku has to provide the leadership for the party.

    “Majority of them who have allegiance with Wike don’t want to hurt Wike. That is why they are quiet but there are other Governors who are more mature and they are focused on what they are doing and they don’t want to be entangled in the drama.

    “But then do not mistake the quietness of some leaders of the party for foolishness. But, Atiku Abubakar has to provide the leadership. The state of the party at the moment means he has to come in and provide leadership for the party,” he said.

    Fubara has fallen into a trap, they will remove him as Gov – Bwala

    “As for Rivers State, you only need to pray for that Governor. The Governor does not know what is even happening but only time will tell what is really behind what he is doing that are not clear.

    “But if he says that is the path he has chosen, you can only wish him well. You cannot govern the State; he is the Governor.

    “He says I want to violate the constitution, I want to restore the Speaker that was duly removed because he defected. I want to re-present the budget, I want to break the law. He says he wants to do it, one is a free moral agent, you have to allow him to do that.

    “But what I can tell you today is that the Governor of Rivers State has fallen into the trap that they want. It’s just a matter of time, they will remove him as a Governor,” Bwala said.

  • BREAKING: Senate agrees to make e-transmission of results mandatory in 2027 elections

    BREAKING: Senate agrees to make e-transmission of results mandatory in 2027 elections

    Ahead of the 2027 General Election, the Nigerian Senate has agreed to amend the Electoral Act 2022 to make electronic transmission of election results mandatory.

    The amendment, according to the Senate, will include mandating the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to upload polling unit-level results and result sheets used at different levels of result collation.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports the amendment will also create room to allow for diaspora voting, at least for presidential elections, to enable citizens, especially those on essential service abroad, to vote.

    These are part of resolutions reached at the end of a two-day retreat organised by the National Institute for Legislative Studies (NILDS) for Senators in Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State.

    A communiqué issued on Saturday at the end of the retreat noted that it was necessary to unbundle INEC to improve its efficiency and effectiveness in the preparation and conduct of elections.

    “Relating to the use of technology in elections, remove the ambiguity evident in Section 64 of the EA22.

    “Also, make electronic transmission of results mandatory from the next general elections in 2027, including the uploading of polling unit-level results and result sheets used at different levels of result collation.

    “Introduce diaspora voting, at least for presidential elections, to enable citizens to vote, especially those on essential service abroad, such as military, paramilitary, and other security personnel abroad, Embassy staff, and other citizens.

    “Relating to political parties; stipulate sanctions for failure to submit the register of party members not later than 30 days before the date of party primaries, congresses, or conventions in relation to Section 77(3) EA22, which the political parties have observed in the breach in the 2023 elections without penalty,” the communiqué reads in part.

    This is coming after INEC affirmed that results for Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi governorship elections will be uploaded on its Result Viewing Portal (IReV).

    TNG reports Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun represented President Bola Tinubu at the retreat.

  • I will not contest 2027 governorship election – Ogboru

    I will not contest 2027 governorship election – Ogboru

    The Governorship candidate of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in Delta State for the 2023 elections, Great Ovedje Ogboru has disclosed he will not contest the 2027 governorship election.

    Ogboru who made this known on Monday while addressing newsmen in his country home at Abraka, Ethiope East Local Government Area of the state said the 2023 Governorship Election was marred with irregularities.

    Speaking during his 65th birthday anniversary, the APGA candidate in the March 18, 2023, governorship election in Delta State said his birthday celebration is to give thanks to God Almighty for his blessings and protection to him and his family.

    Ogboru thanked all AGPA members and his teeming supporters for their support during the 2023 Governorship election.

    He also commended APGA candidates for various positions in the just concluded 2023 general elections but decried voters’ intimidation, violence, vote buying and other election irregularities during the general elections.

    Ogboru said it was worrisome and unthinkable for the youths to willingly sell their votes, noting that they have enslaved themselves and have no right to condemn the next administration if they are not satisfied with the governance.

    He congratulated the Delta State Governor-elect, Hon. Sheriff Oborewori and urged Deltans to give him the needed support for him to succeed during his tenure.

    Ogboru disclosed that he would not contest the 2027 Governorship election and thanked his supporters, especially those that have been with him politically  for over 2 decades.

    Responding to why he visited Sheriff Oborevwori after the Governorship election, Chief Great Ogboru revealed that he decided to support the Governor-elect because of his humility and respect for constituted authorities.

    Ogboru stated that his former party APC was hijacked hence he decided to contest the 2023 governorship election on the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA.