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Tag: Abubakar Atiku

  • 2027: Opposition coalition faces major test as Atiku, Obi clash over ADC ticket

    2027: Opposition coalition faces major test as Atiku, Obi clash over ADC ticket

    A brewing feud between former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and ex-Governor of Anambra State Peter Obi has intensified divisions within the opposition coalition that recently adopted the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as its platform for the upcoming 2027 general elections.

    The coalition, which includes notable political figures such as former Senate President David Mark (acting National Chairman), former governors Nasir el-Rufai and Rauf Aregbesola (acting National Secretary), and ex-Transport Minister Rotimi Amaechi, has come together to present a unified front against the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

    The unity of the coalition is currently being challenged by disagreements over who should secure the presidential ticket. While many believe that the presidency should return to the South in 2027, Atiku, who hails from the North, has expressed his intention to run for president again. In a video shared on Saturday through his verified X account, the former vice president hinted at his potential candidacy, stating, “We will decisively deal with anyone who says he will steal or engage in any corrupt practice.

    “We will fight him, I swear. Enough is enough! Every nation is progressing but Nigeria’s growth is hindered by a few elements.”

    Atiku in the caption stressed that the coalition was determined to turn things around for Nigerians:

    “Nigerians cannot continue to suffer amidst an abundance of resources owing to bad governance. The coalition of opposition leaders under the ADC umbrella will work hard to transform the lives of Nigerians.”

    Atiku’s supporters argue that he is the most experienced and battle-tested politician capable of defeating President Bola Tinubu, especially given the growing public dissatisfaction with the current administration. However, some members of the coalition, particularly supporters of Peter Obi, disagree. Obi’s running mate in the 2023 election, Datti Baba-Ahmed, cautioned that Atiku might not be the most strategic choice for the 2027 election.

    “If you bring out Atiku, they know how to work against Atiku,” Baba-Ahmed said during a media appearance.

    “He is welcome to win. If he wins, we will support him. But you need that candidate they can’t understand, they don’t know where to catch — that is how to win an election.”

    The former senator further argued that Obi, having garnered over 10 million votes in 2023, should not settle for a vice-presidential role again.

    “With due respect to Atiku, he has consistently contested all the last six elections, and this will be the seventh.

    “Tell me who among us is willing to step aside and support another for eight years before taking a turn?

    “Tinubu did it — he supported Buhari before working his way to the presidency.”

    “The position of VP is very big. Anyway, I wanted to be, and I was rigged out. But I think Peter Obi should not be a VP, having gotten a disputed 10 million votes.”

    The division spilled onto social media, with a top Obi supporter simply identified as ‘Nefertiti’ issuing a warning on X that millions of Obi’s supporters could walk away if the coalition fails to give him the ticket.

    “If the Coalition fails to give Peter Obi their ticket, I and the millions that voted wisely will bail,” she wrote.

    “This is 2025. Nigerians want the best man for the job.”

    She also dismissed the importance of the vice presidency in Nigeria’s power structure:

    “The Constitution of Nigeria assigned no specific roles to a Vice President.”

    Atiku’s spokesman, Paul Ibe, however responded swiftly, cautioning against threats and urging a democratic process.

    “It is a fundamental dictate of democracy for the minority to have their say and majority to have their way,” Ibe said.

    “Tickets are not given. They are contested for. Tickets are not earned by threats. They are earned by persuasion. Tickets are not earned through crisis. They are earned by consensus.”

    He further advised Obi’s supporters to build bridges rather than burn them:

    “It is within your democratic rights to pitch for a candidate of your choice. But it is anti-democratic to threaten, intimidate, or harass others who are also entitled to canvass for the interest of their own preferred candidates.

    “Commence the process of building a consensus and not a conflict around the candidate of your choice.”

  • Atiku proposes rotational presidency

    Atiku proposes rotational presidency

    Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has propose for a rotational presidency between Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones.

    In a letter dated August 30, 2024, and addressed to Senator Barau Jibrin, Deputy President of the Senate and Chairman of the Senate Committee on Constitution Review, Atiku outlined his recommendations aimed at strengthening the country’s democratic framework.

    The recommendations are aimed at addressing key pitfalls in the current electoral laws and promoting a system that fosters national unity and fair competition for political offices.

    One of the key highlights of Atiku’s proposals is the introduction of a rotational presidency, which would ensure the office alternates between the North and South, with each zone serving a single six-year term.

    This measure, Atiku argued, will promote equity and national unity in the highest office of the land.

    “The office of the president shall rotate among the six geopolitical zones of the Federation on a single term of six years, flowing between the North and South,” Atiku stated in his proposal, recommending amendments to Section 130(1) of the 1999 Constitution.

    He also suggested changes to Sections 135(2) and 137(1)(b) to reinforce this structure.

    Beyond the rotational presidency, Atiku’s recommendations focus on reforms aimed at enhancing internal democracy within political parties and tightening the legal framework governing elections in Nigeria.

    The former Vice President and presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 election, emphasized the need for stronger regulations to prevent the manipulation of party structures and breaches of electoral laws.

    Atiku proposed raising the minimum educational qualifications for candidates running for political office and instituting stricter oversight of party operations to curb violent takeovers and ensure compliance with electoral rules.

    He noted that indiscipline within political parties has often led to chaos, undermining democratic principles.

    “These amendments will enthrone the discipline that is needed in a democracy,” Atiku said, highlighting how the lack of internal control has contributed to Nigeria’s electoral challenges.

    The Wazirin Adamawa’s recommendations also addressed broader issues within Nigeria’s electoral system, calling for constitutional amendments that reduce the tendency of political parties to breach electoral laws and the Constitution.

    He stressed that without these changes, the nation’s democratic system would continue to face instability.

    His call is coming against the backdrop of the ongoing efforts by the National Assembly to revise the 1999 Constitution.

     

  • Planned Protest: Daniel Bwala knocks, Atiku, PDP

    Planned Protest: Daniel Bwala knocks, Atiku, PDP

    Daniel Bwala, a former spokesperson for the Atiku Campaign Organization during the 2023 Presidential election, has criticized former Vice President Atiku Abubakar for supporting a proposed nationwide protest.

    After meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, Bwala addressed reporters, stating that the planned protest was unnecessary.

     

    Bwala described the protest as politically motivated and urged opposition party members to look beyond politics and support President Bola Tinubu’s efforts to transform Nigeria’s economy.

    He also encouraged Nigerians to give the President more time to achieve his goals for the country, emphasizing that the President is aware of the economic hardships facing the nation.

     

    “I was delighted to meet with Mr. President today to show solidarity with him for his tireless efforts in addressing the problems confronting the Nigerian people,” Bwala said. “Mr. President is genuinely concerned about the plight of our people and is working hard to address them. Let us keep faith and hope alive, knowing that there is light at the end of the tunnel.”

     

    While Bwala acknowledged the constitutional rights of people to carry out peaceful protests, he expressed concerns that the nationwide protest might not end peacefully.

    He also revealed that he had officially left the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and planned to rejoin the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), where he was a member before joining the PDP in 2022.

     

    Reports have emerged that youths are planning a nationwide protest between August 1 and 15 against the rising cost of living and economic hardship in the country. On Tuesday, Atiku Abubakar urged the Federal Government to allow Nigerians to exercise their constitutional rights to organize a peaceful protest.

    He criticized the administration of President Bola Tinubu for attempting to suppress the protesters, calling it an “exercise in futility” and noting the irony that those stifling protest rights in 2024 had been protest leaders in 2012.

  • Finally, US Judge orders CSU to release Tinubu’s credentials to Atiku within 48hrs

    Finally, US Judge orders CSU to release Tinubu’s credentials to Atiku within 48hrs

    Judge Nancy Maldonado of the U.S. Court for the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago has ruled that Chicago State University (CSU) should release all documents about Nigerian President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu to Atiku Abubakar, the 2023 Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Nigeria’s main opposition party.

    Judge Nancy Maldonado in the ruling, ordered that all relevant and non-privileged documents of President Tinubu from Chicago State University should be released to Atiku as requested by the PDP Presidential Candidate. The US judge also ordered that the deposition of CSU’s cooperate designee must be completed on Monday, the 2nd of October 2023 by 5 pm max.

    President Tinubu and Atiku have been at loggerheads over the discrepancies in the Nigerian leader’s CSU records, as the institution in response to a previous subpoena in 2022, released documents showing a female Bola Tinubu from South West College was admitted to the school to pursue a degree in accounting.

    Also at issue was CSU’s adamant refusal to authenticate the diploma Tinubu submitted to Nigeria’s electoral body, INEC, to be genuine or falsified, which has fuelled allegations of forgery and perjury for which Mr Abubakar is seeking to void Mr Tinubu’s election victory at Nigeria’s Supreme Court.

    Further confusing Atiku were the signatures on the diploma that Mr Tinubu submitted to INEC, which were those of two women, Elnora Daniel and Niva Lubin who joined CSU in 1998 and 1996, nearly 20 years after the president graduated in 1979.

    “The June 22 diploma has indicia of forgery,” Angela Liu, the U.S. attorney representing Abubakar, told the court on Wednesday.

    Recall on September 20, 2023, another US Judge Jeffrey Gilbert had ordered CSU to release Tinubu’s records but the Nigerian President begged Ms Maldonado to delay the order’s enforcement, pleading severe and irreparable damage to his life.

    The presidential elections petitions tribunal upheld Tinubu’s election victory on September 6. However, Atiku strongly believes the decision was deeply flawed and a miscarriage of justice, leading him to file an appeal at the nation’s Supreme Court where he plans to use the CSU records to show the president may have committed forgery and perjury, two serious allegations that, if proven, would not only result in Tinubu’s dismissal but also could permanently dent his political career.

  • Deliver Justice without fear or favour – Timi Frank tells Tribunal Judges

    Deliver Justice without fear or favour – Timi Frank tells Tribunal Judges

    Timi Frank a former Deputy National Publicity Secretary, has appealed to the justices presiding over the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) to be resolute and remain faithful to their oath of office and allegiance by dispensing justice without fear or favour.

    Frank, in a statement issued on Sunday, urged the Appeal Court Justices to use the opportunity afforded by the revelation by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that the Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar won 21 states to redeem the lost image of the judiciary.

    Recall that INEC had, in its response to Atiku and PDP’s joint petition, revealed that the PDP presidential candidate won 21 states of the federation in the February 25 presidential election.

    The 21 states listed by INEC as won by Atiku and PDP are Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Borno, Delta, Ekiti, Gombe, Jigawa, Kaduna, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Nasarawa, Niger, Osun, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe and Zamfara.

    Frank said now that INEC has voluntarily admitted on record that Atiku won 21 states instead of the 12 states it earlier credited to him, the Tribunal need not look further but to declare the former Vice President as the authentic winner of the February 25, 2023, presidential election.

    “This definitely shows clearly that Atiku’s results were swapped with that of Tinubu to make him win, albeit fraudulently. The justices owe it to themselves, Nigerians and God to declare Atiku the rightful winner of the 2023 presidential election.

    “We know the justices of the Appeal Court hearing the petition challenging the declaration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the winner of the presidential election are under tremendous pressure coupled with vile threats and intimidation to maintain an illegal status quo, but they must not succumb because the pressure of God that will be on them should they neglect this material fact would be more than the pressure from men.

    “It must never be said that the man who won the least number of states and votes became president as against the man who won majority of states and votes.

    “We cannot afford to go back to the era of impunity in this country when the Nigeria Governors’ conducted an election and declared that man who won 15 votes winner rather than the man that won 19 votes.

    “The Justices must be resolute and remain faithful to their oath of office and allegiance by carrying out their assignment without fear or favour,” he said.

  • INEC is taking sides with Tinubu – Atiku’s camp

    INEC is taking sides with Tinubu – Atiku’s camp

    One of the legal representatives of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Chris Uche has said that Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is taking sides with Bola Tinubu in his quest to prove that the president-elect’s electoral victory was flawed and marred with irregularities.

    Recall that Atiku has called for the live coverage of the tribunal proceedings, a request that INEC, Mr Tinubu and All Progressives Congress (APC) have vehemently opposed.

    Displeased that INEC opposed his client’s application, Mr Uche expressed doubts about the electoral body’s neutrality.

    “INEC is fighting a proxy war on behalf of Tinubu, which a neutral body should not do,” asserted Mr Abubakar’s lawyer.

    He urged the panel of five justices chaired by Simon Tsammani to discountenance INEC’s response.

    “We mostly urge our lordship to dismiss this application in its entity as well as to discountenance the INEC reply on points of law as being a gross abuse of court process as my lord would see in the entire two processes all INEC had done is to apply to strike out two different applications against Tinubu,” prayed Mr Uche.

    The court is expected to give a ruling on the application of live broadcast of proceedings filed by aggrieved presidential candidates Mr Abubakar and Labour Party’s Peter Obi today.

  • Atiku will take over from Tinubu 6 Months after inauguration – Bwala

    Atiku will take over from Tinubu 6 Months after inauguration – Bwala

    A Chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) and spokesperson of the Atiku Abubakar presidential campaign council, Daniel Bwala, has said Atiku will take over power from the president-elect, Bola Tinubu, six months after may 29.

    Tinubu, the candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress, (APC) was declared as the winner of February 25 presidential election.

    He scored a total of 8,794,726 votes, the highest of all the candidates, while Atiku of the PDP came second with a total of 6,984,520 votes in the election.

    Bwala while speaking in an interview yesterday with ARISE TV about the petition, was asked what he would say about the accusation by the APC that the PDP has electoral malpractice in the country.

    He said, even though he could not entirely dismiss those accusations, PDP had tried to redeem itself by apologising to Nigerians and pledging to do better if given the chance to rule again.

    “PDP has over the years admitted that they made so many mistakes. I remember Secondus one time when he became the chairman of the party taking a campaign across the country to tell Nigerians that PDP is sorry. Has APC ever said “We are sorry”?

    “This is a party that wants to make lies a statecraft. They announced that the president-elect was traveling on an official visit where he’ll meet with investors, where he’ll do this and that. How many days has he been away? We haven’t seen a picture of him alighting from a plane or investors receiving him.”

    Speaking further on his optimism over PDP’s chances of victory in court, he said that after Tinubu is inaugurated on May 29, he will be in office for only six or seven months before he would get sacked and the PDP would take over power.

    “When he (Tinubu) becomes president on May 29, he’ll have about six or seven months before he’ll be sacked and then we’ll come and take over the power.”

     

  • Atiku speaks on anointing a candidate for Kogi PDP guber primary election

    Atiku speaks on anointing a candidate for Kogi PDP guber primary election

    The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has distanced himself from anointing any candidate ahead of the PDP governorship primary election in Kogi State.

    Atiku made this statement while reacting to many calls and media reports indicating that he is trying to influence the PDP gubernatorial primary elections by forcing a particular candidate on the party.

    In a statement signed by his media aide, Paul Ibe, said, “We wish to state categorically that such media reports are false and gross fabrication.

    “Atiku is a consummate democrat and the hallmark of his political struggles has been for the enablement of internal democracy in party politics.

    “It is therefore absurd to suggest that Atiku has a preferred candidate in the primary election to produce the governorship candidate of the PDP in the Kogi State election – or in any primary election, for that matter.

    He therefore urged anyone amongst the candidates to desist from peddling influence with his name and, indeed, calls on the media not to lay prostrate to any blackmail against him.

    “Atiku believes that all the aspirants in the election are up to the task of flying the flag of our great party, the PDP and the electors should be given the unfettered rights to perform their constituted duty of electing the best person for the PDP,” he said.

  • Election tribunal: Tinubu’s camp confirms receipt of Atiku, Obi’s petitions

    Election tribunal: Tinubu’s camp confirms receipt of Atiku, Obi’s petitions

    The camp of the President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has disclosed that they were officially served on Tuesday with copies of the petitions filed at the election tribunal by Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi and his counterpart in the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar.

    The development is coming one week after Obi and Atiku formally filed their petitions to the elections tribunal to protest the outcome of the February 25 poll.

    Their petitions came four weeks after the contentious presidential and National Assembly elections that produced the President-elect.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports that both the PDP and LP candidates had accused Tinubu of deliberately avoiding being served the petitions.

    In the complaints filed before the tribunal, they alleged that several attempts made to serve the petitions on the APC candidate proved abortive.

    The Legal Director of Tinubu-Shettima Presidential Campaign Council, Babatunde Ogala, also admitted in a phone chat on Monday that his principal was not served with any notice before he travelled out of the country for vacation in France last week.

    In a phone chat, the spokesman for the Obi-Datti Presidential Campaign Council, Yunusa Tanko, had lamented that, “That man (Tinubu) practically ran out of the country after evading being served the notice. But our party will serve him the notice through the APC. I am sure they must have received it by now.”

    Obi and Atiku’s legal teams later obtained leave to serve the petitions on Tinubu by substituted means, i.e. via the APC.

    Speaking on Thursday, Ogala disclosed that the camp of the President-elect officially received the notices on Tuesday.

    “Yes, we received copies of both Atiku and Obi’s petition yesterday,” he said.

    On when they hope to file a response in preparation for a hearing date to be given by the court, the Senior Advocate of Nigeria maintained that there was no need for them to rush.

    “Go and look at the laws. It says we have up till take 21 days to respond. You journalists shouldn’t put unnecessary pressure on us. I mean, how can they serve me on Tuesday and you are asking when I will file my response when I have a whole 21 days to do that?

    “I will suggest that you wait for the day we will file it. You will surely get to know about it,” he stated.

    The Spokesman for the APC PCC, Festus Keyamo, also told our correspondent that: “We are working on it.”

    Meanwhile, APC legal adviser, Ahmad El-Marzuq, also confirmed that the ruling party had been served.

    “Of course, we have received the copies of the petition and we are planning to respond. We are on top of the situation,” he said.

  • “Be concerned only about the unity of the country and the interest of Rivers State” -Wike tells newly-elected reps members

    “Be concerned only about the unity of the country and the interest of Rivers State” -Wike tells newly-elected reps members

    Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has charged the recently elected National Assembly members in the state to be concerned only about the unity of the country and the interest of Rivers State and not the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Working Committee when inaugurated.

    Wike said the party’s leadership did not contribute to the success of their elections, therefore, the lawmakers must only be concerned about the unity of the country and the interest of Rivers State.

    Governor Wike stated this when the House of Representatives members-elect on the platform of the PDP visited him to present their certificates of return.

    The governor said he is optimistic that the PDP in the state will perform well in the next election as it did in the February 25 polls, even as more groups endorse the party for the March 18 election.

    Wike’s comments came a few hours after he mocked the campaign team of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, over their protest of the outcome of the February 25 poll.

    Atiku came second in the keenly contested presidential election, polling 6,984,520 votes, while winner Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) got 8,794,726 votes.

    On Monday, the former Vice President led a “black uniform” protest to the national headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Abuja that also included the PDP National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu; and Atiku’s running mate, Ifeanyi Okowa.

    Following INEC’s declaration of Tinubu as the President-elect last Thursday, Atiku slammed the conduct of the elections, saying the umpire’s inability to upload results on the INEC Results Viewing Portal (IReV) is a “rape of democracy”.

    But Wike mocked the PDP leaders while speaking at the commissioning of Igwuruta internal roads in the Ikwerre Local Government Area (LGA) of Rivers State.

    “I won three of the Senate seats – three over three. Ask them, did they win three over three? You cannot win!” the governor said.

    “I told them; they said they would conspire against me. Those who said they’ll conspire against me are those wearing black. I am wearing white and they’re wearing black.”

    Wike, who is a member of the G5, the group of five aggrieved PDP governors who abstained from campaigning for Atiku on the grounds that his candidacy allegedly violated the party’s constitution.

    In the build-up to the presidential election, the rift between the G5, a group of five aggrieved PDP governors, including Wike, and the party’s national leadership proved irreconcilable.

    "Be concerned only about the unity of the country and the interest of Rivers State" -Wike tells newly-elected reps members

    Unequivocal about the presidential seat returning to the South, the governor is widely believed to have spearheaded the APC’s unprecedented win in Rivers.

    He however denies being involved in any anti-party activity, saying he fought for the unity of the country.

    To him, the alleged anti-party actions belong to “them at the national level in PDP”.

    Wike pondered what could be “more anti-party” than party members abandoning the provisions of their constitution that talk about zoning of elective and appointive offices.

    “[Between] you that refused to obey the constitution of your party because of impunity, because you think you have the number, you refused to obey the provisions of the constitution of your party, and we that say Nigeria must be one, Nigeria must be united, Nigeria must work for our people, [and] let everybody have hope, who committed anti-party [activities]? They are the ones who committed anti-party [misconduct],” he said.

    On the fallout of the election, Wike assured PDP supporters the first phase of “the war” is over, adding that the second phase is about to begin.

    “The second phase of the war: We must chase out the buccaneers and vampires. We are going to chase them out of the party and take our party and rebuild our party,” he said.