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  • Kalu urges Tinubu to accelerate reconciliation of aggrieved APC members

    Former Abia governor, Dr Orji Kalu has called on the National Leader of the All Progressive Congress ( APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, to accelerate efforts toward reconciling aggrieved members of the ruling party.

    Kalu made the call on Sunday night while speaking with newsmen at the Murtala Mohammed Airport, Lagos.

    He said the task given by President Muhammadu Buhari to Tinubu was very apt because there was an urgent need to reconcile feuding members of the party.

    According to him, the situation whereby a serving governor and a minister who belong to APC are engaged in bickering at a time concerted efforts are needed to return the party to victory in 2019 is not good.

    Kalu said: “I have reported this to the highest authority of the party that it is not proper for a governor and minister in Ibadan to go two parallel ways.

    “It is not to the benefit of the president and neither is it to the benefit of the party, it is not the benefit of Nigerians; the synergy needed to accelerate cohesion in the ruling party will not be there.

    “We need to thank Mr President in his wisdom in giving the mandate to the national leader of APC the opportunity to reconcile members of the party.

    “I am very excited that such a thing is happening. I am confident it will be a good beginning for my brother and friend, Tinubu to execute the reconciliation task very well.

    “I am confident Tinubu will be blunt to settle feuding members of the APC.”

    He noted that Buhari had the constitutional right to seek for re-election, adding that the only reason the president might not run in 2019 would be solely on health grounds.

    According to him, Buhari is an honest man and will let Nigerians know whether he will contest or not at the appropriate time.

    “Buhari is an honest man. If he is interested in running, he will tell Nigerians that he will run. We pray that his health gets better and that his doctors give him a clean bill of health.

    “You know Buhari is also a man of conscience; if he feels his health will not allow him to seek re-election he will not go ahead, but if he feels he is capable of running, he will seek re-election.

    “It is his decision, it his right, he is entitled to second term,” he said.

    The ex-governor, who commended the president for the ongoing construction of the Second Niger Bridge, stressed that he had done well in his first term and there was also room for improvement.

    Kalu also asserted that Buhari would win the 2019 election if he decides to run with or without the support of the Northern elite because he had a huge following by the masses.

    “If the elite refuse to support Buhari, the masses will support Buhari. The elite are few in number, the people that will support Buhari are the masses, who sincerely believe in Buhari.

    “They are people who not know any other thing other than Buhari. By my assumption, If President Buhari had 12.5 million supporters in the last general election; there is an additional 10 million supporters in the bank.

    “That is what we call reserve, it is still there,” he said.

     

  • Doom awaits APC if Tinubu fails – Senator Sani

    Sen. Shehu Sani has said that avoidable doom awaits the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the 2019 polls, should Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu fail to reconcile aggrieved members.

    Sani, a chieftain of the APC who represents Kaduna central in the Senate, stated this on Sunday in Abuja in an interview with newsmen.

    It was his own reaction to Tinubu´s recent appointment by President Muhammadu Buhari to lead the APC team of consultation, reconciliation and confidence-building.

    Tinubu’s assignment, among others, is to forge cohesion within the APC ahead of the 2019 general election. It involves resolving disagreements among party members and leaders.

    It also involves reconciling political office holders in some APC-controlled states and addressing crises in the party`s chapters in Kano, Kogi, Kaduna, Bauchi and other states.

    ´´It is going to be a tragedy if he fails. This is what I know and I can speak in parables,´´ said Sani who has not been in a good relationship with Governor Ahmad Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna state.

    According to him, the Kaduna state governor has pocketed the party and wants to impose his will and unleash terror on members, by exploiting his proximity to the President.

    He said Tinubu´s appointment has halted, for now, the defection of most APC members to other political parties.

    Sani said it is no more news that the APC is faced with crises in some states where it holds sway, adding that the crises have defied solutions for over two years.

    The Senator noted that efforts made in the past have failed to address the multi-state crises.

    Sani while confirming that the Kaduna state chapter of the party is now having a parallel executive, said it was left for the Tinubu team to address the situation before it gets out of hand.

    ´´It is left for Asiwaju to build the bridges. Lagos is known for bridges; therefore we hope that there will be Seventh Mainland Bridge to connect the divide, but we are not sure of this.

    ´´Right now, the party is already divided in Kaduna and it is for the national secretariat to note this and we have said it in clear terms.

    ´´The problem has defied solution for two years, but we believe that Asiwaju can do a lot of reconciliation.

    ´´We hope that he will be able to achieve a lot, because if he fails, it is going to be doom for the party.

    ´´In the process where reconciliation is taking place now, I think it is in our interest to put our ambitions in our pockets according to what Mr President said and wait for Asiwaju to address the problem,´´ he said.

    Sani advised the Tinubu reconciliation team not to take sides but to give equal treatment, especially as far as Kaduna state is concerned, in the interest of the party and its members.

    He expressed confidence that Tinubu´s appointment could most likely address the fundamental issues that were confronting the party at both the national and state level.

    The Senator, however, maintained that nobody could have solved the party´s many problems other than President Buhari through Tinubu.

    This according to him, was especially so because APC state governors, Senators and members of House of Representatives could not solve the problems because they were all parties to it.

    He added that even the party at the national level could not solve the problem because there had been disrespect and disregard for the party´s leadership in the last two years.

    Sani noted that the very fact that the APC had been inhibited with lack of funds and other challenges, made it impossible for it to bring to order the situation.

    While noting that the APC crisis started earlier, the Senator said addressing the situation would prevent more damages that could affect its fortunes in 2019.

    ´´It is of concern that a party that came to power with so much goodwill, and hope has found itself in a civil war with itself.

    ´´Right now, the APC is both the government and the opposition, because most of the criticism and opposition that is going on in the country is within the APC itself,´´ he said.

    Sani blamed the situation in the APC to lack of party supremacy and internal democracy which he said was evident in South Africa and Ethiopia as was recently displayed.

    ´´In Nigeria, there is no supremacy of the party because people holding position of executive power think that the party should be under them and not them being below the party.

    ´´Political parties in the Nigerian setting, seem to be parastatals of the state governments and that is totally unacceptable. There is also the syndrome of ‘the party is our own’.

    ´´If a clique of people believe that they founded the party and other people are strangers, then the recipe for crisis has been set,´´ he said.

    The Senator warned that if all party members are not treated equally and fairly, there would be problem.

    He recalled that the PDP was not destroyed from the outside, but from the inside, adding that it was the marginalised and oppressed elements within the party that became the final nail on its coffin.

     

  • Party strength depends on crisis resolution – APC chieftain

    Alhaji Sani Sha’aban, APC gubernatorial aspirant in Kaduna State, says the strength of any political party depends on its mechanism for resolving internal crisis.

    Sha’aban, an ex-member of the House of Representatives, stated this on Sunday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Zaria, Kaduna State.

    He said that crisis in a political party was an ingredient of democracy, adding that politics was all about solving crisis.

    “Therefore, crisis in political parties is normal but it all depends on how best a party resolves such crisis,” he said.

    Sha’aban, however, commended President Muhammadu Buhari for appointing Chief Bola Tinubu to chair the reconciliation committee.

    “Chief Bola Ahmed Tinubu is capable and suitable for the post. I am confident that he will definitely deliver the goods successfully.”

    On his political ambition, Sha’aban said his politics always incline toward the masses, identifying their needs and devising measures to address such problems.

    “I am among the founding fathers of the ruling party, APC. As far as I am concerned, it is where we started, where we stopped and where we shall continue.

    “There are of course a lot of agitations, people are saying that I should come out and contest, and we have been getting ourselves ready.

    “I belong to the masses and my politics is for the masses; where they go is where I belong,” he assured.

    On the 43rd anniversary of Emir of Zazzau, Dr Shehu Idris, which was celebrated recently, Sha’aban said the Emir’s reign was a blessing not only to Zazzau Emirate but Kaduna State and Nigeria at large.

    “These 43 years are years of blessing to the people of Nigeria. Remember how many primary schools, secondary schools and tertiary institutions we have before the emir was turbaned?

    “Now, how many schools do we have? Apart from that, how many institutes do we have presently in Zazzau emirate? All these achievements were witnessed under His Royal Highness, Dr Shehu Idris.

    “Talk about business, Zaria is famous especially with establishment of different industries, all these are possible as a result of good leadership from the emir who always promote peace among the people,” he said.

     

  • Buhari is ‘God-sent’, purposed to heal wounds of Nigeria – Oyegun

    The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, on Saturday called on Nigerians to shun those casting aspersions on President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration and the party.

    Oyegun made the call at a grand rally to welcome People’s Democratic Party (PDP) members who defected to the APC on Saturday in Lokoja.

    The National Chairman said the President was God sent to heal the wounds of Nigerians adding that his administration has made tremendous improvement in the socio-economic and political development of the country.

    He said that the administration has diversified the Nigerian economy from being oil-dependent to being an agriculture-based.

    He said there was an ongoing expansion of the rail network and power generation has stabilised at 7,000 Megawatts from 3,000 megawatts at the inception of the administration.

    “It is only the beginning of good things that are yet to come,” he said.

    Oyegun urged Nigerians not to listen to detractors of the President but be patriotic and support him to achieve more and make life worth living for every Nigerians.

    “Kogi will be one of the major sponsors on the day President Muhammadu Buhari decides to go for second term. They say we are quarrelling, they say we are fighting, but credible people are trooping into APC”, he added.

    He advised Kogi people to support the administration of Gov. Yahaya Bello, saying the governor has positively affected every facet of the state economy.

    “I am happy to be here today. I noticed one of the billboards when I was coming in saying, ‘A New Dawn for Kogi State’.

    “Kogi People, I want to congratulate you for having an energetic governor in Yahaya Bello. This is a governor that is a good organiser, restless, energetic and full of ideas. I can feel a new energy in Kogi State”, Oyegun said.

    Speaking Gov Yahaya Bello urged Buhari to run for a second term in 2019.

    “We urge Mr President to run and fly in 2019. Twenty-four APC governors are ready to support you under the leadership of the National Chairman of the party, Mr John Oyegun.”

    Bello welcomed PDP members from the three senatorial districts of the state who defected.

    He said the APC was where they belonged in the first place adding, “come and sin no more.”

    He urged those still in PDP to come back home.

    Prof. Stephen Ocheni, Minister of State for Labour and Employment said the crowd was a testimony of the strength of the party in the state.

    Mr Edward Onoja, Chief of Staff to the governor said the party started with nine members of the state House of Assembly and 100,000 members, but now has 19 legislators and 500,000 members.

  • 34,826 PDP members join APC in Niger

    Chief John Oyegun, National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), on Saturday received 34,826 members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Niger, who moved to APC.

    Among the defectors are the state Deputy Chairman of the PDP, Alhaji Aminu Yusuf, former Speaker of the state Assembly, Alhaji Adamu Usman, a former Attorney General, Alhaji Abdullahi Wuse among others.

    Oyegun said in Minna at a rally to receive the defectors that Nigerians must shun sentiment and support the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari to set the nation on a new path of growth and progress.

    He said that the country require “people of principle’’ to help fight for the success of the programmes of the APC.

    “APC needs sincere soldiers as leaders, people who are ready to join the fight, because God entrusted Buhari to us to salvage the nation and its economy,” he said.

    He therefore urged the new APC members to support President Buhari in the efforts to restore the economy through the revitalisation of agriculture and solid minerals sectors.

    Oyegun noted that already, government support to agriculture had helped to drastically bring down rice importation.

    The APC national chairman stressed that the Buhari administration had also raised power generation to 7,000 megawatts and that the figure would go up by 50 percent after the completion of the Mambila hydro power project.

    He noted that the increase in power supply would help boost industrialisation and job creation in the country.

    Alhaji Aminu Yusuf, PDP state Deputy Chairman, said they joined the APC to assist in developing the state.

    “By the time elections are over, you don’t talk about parties anymore, instead you talk about development of the state.

    “The party approached me to come and join them and assist the government build the state. We are coming with our skills and experience to assist the government in developing the state,” he said.

  • APC leaders, Tinubu to meet Buhari in Daura today

    President Muhammadu Buhari is billed to meet Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and other leaders of the All Progressives Congress at his country home in Daura, Katsina state today, a day after he received the party’s governors.

     

    NAN reliably gathered that the APC leadership and top chieftains of the party would be converging in Daura to commiserate with the President who recently lost two members of his extended family.

     

    NAN reliably gathered that the APC leadership and top chieftains of the party would be converging in Daura to commiserate with the President who recently lost two members of his extended family.

     

    Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and Chief Bisi Akande had on Feb. 13 met with President Buhari behind closed doors at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

     

    Akande, who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria after the Tuesday meeting with the president, dismissed the speculation that they met with the president over 2019 presidential election, adding that they came to condole the president.

     

    Tinubu, who also spoke to newsmen after the meeting, expressed his commitment towards ensuring electoral victory for all APC candidates in the forthcoming 2019 general election.

     

    He also commended Buhari for appointing him to lead the consultation, reconciliation and confidence building efforts toward improving cohesion within the APC.

     

    However, a source confided in NAN that the second meeting of Tinubu with the president in Daura on Saturday might go beyond mere condolence visit.

     

    “Look, in the next few weeks and months the president will continue to receive different groups and organisations whose sole aim is to put much pressure on him to declare his intention for re-election in 2019.

     

    “So, those Nigerians calling on him to seek reelection would continue to seek audience with the president with hope that he will finally agree with them to sustain continuity in APC-led administration, come 2019,’’ the source said.

     

    According to the source, which preferred to remain anonymous, the meeting between the president and the APC chieftains might also deliberate on some socio-political matters affecting the country.

     

    The APC governors who met with President Buhari on Friday in Daura included the Chairman of the Governors’ Forum and Zamfara Governor, Alhaji Abdulaziz Yari; Rochas Okorocha (Imo); Abubakar Muhammed (Bauchi); Kashim Shettima (Borno); Abiola Ajimobi (Oyo); Aminu Masari (Katsina) and Malam Nasir El-Rufa’I of Kaduna State.

     

    Others are Gov. Badaru Abubakar of Jigawa, Abdullahi Ganduje (Kano); Godwin Obaseki of Edo; Yahaya Bello (Kogi); Atiku Bagudu (Kebbi); Abubakar Sani-Bello (Niger) and Tanko Al-Makura of Nasarawa State, while the governors of Benue, Osun and Ogun were represented by their deputies.

     

    The governors of Benue, Ogun and Osun were represented by their deputies while Yobe and Plateau were also represented by top government officials at the meeting.

     

    NAN observed that the meeting of the APC Governors’ Forum with President Buhari was first of its kind outside the Presidential Villa, Abuja

    2019: Has Atiku entered another ‘One Chance’? – Mideno Bayagbon

     

  • APC has failed, PDP will return to power in 2019 – Jonathan

    APC has failed, PDP will return to power in 2019 – Jonathan

    Former President Goodluck Jonathan has said the All Progressives Congress, APC, has failed in governance while expressing strong convictions that the Peoples Democratic Party will return to power come 2019.

    Jonathan spoke when he received the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Prince Uche Secondus who led members of the National Working Committee, NWC, on a courtesy visit to the Headquarters of the Jonathan Foundation in Yenogoa, the Bayelsa state capital and was contained in a statement by Secondus’ spokesperson, Ike Abonyi.

    The former President also commended the newly elected Prince Secondus led NWC for drawing back confidence in the party, pointing out that those who left will soon return.

    According to the statement, Jonathan expressed optimism that members who left the party would return.

    He said, “I believe that PDP will return to power in 2019 if we continue to build confidence especially as the ruling party has failed to meet up their promises and give hope to the people.

    “Propaganda may help you win election but can’t help you govern and that is what APC has seen in the last 32 months.”

    Earlier, the PDP National Chairman, Prince Secondus had briefed the former President on the activities of the NWC since December when they were elected into office as he solicited for his support and that of other leaders of his status.

    Secondus said that the new leadership already engaged in a number of activities aimed at rebranding, and repositioning the party with a view to regaining power in 2019.

    The PDP boss said that the focus of the party is on youths and women, pointing out that the leadership will soon come up with a new program.

  • APC governors storm Daura for meeting with Buhari

    Governors on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, APC, have arrived President Muhammadu Buhari’s hometown of Daura, Katsina State.

    According to speculations making the rounds in the media, Buhari is likely to inform the governors of his intention to seek reelection or not in 2019.

    Buhari had arrived Daura yesterday after inaugurating a project in Kaduna state.

  • 2019: APC queries El-Rufai, suspends three key allies over illegal party activities

    The Kaduna State Working Committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC), on Thursday, said it had issued a query to Governor Nasiru El-Rufa’i for alleged anti-party activities.

    A statement by the party’s Acting State Chairman, Danladi Wada said the decision was taken after full investigation and consultation with stakeholders and elders of the party.

    “His Excellency, Mallam Nasiru El-Rufai has been queried and we are expecting him to answer the query within 48 hours. Failure to do that, the state working committee will seat down and deliberate.

    “We queried Mallam Nasiru El-Rufai for his anti-party activates and anti-human activities.”

    Wada also announced the suspension of the Special Adviser to the governor on Political Matters, Uba Sani; the Commissioner for Finance, Audu Kwari, and the party’s Acting Secretary, Yahaya Baba-Pate.

    He explained that the three allies of the governor were suspended for 18 months.

    “The letters would be delivered to these personalities today,’’ the acting APC chairman said

  • Kaduna APC queries El-Rufa’i, suspends 3 key allies

    The Kaduna State Working Committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC), on Thursday said it had issued a query to Gov. Nasiru El-Rufa’i for alleged anti party activities.

    A statement by the party’s Acting State Chairman, Danladi Wada said the decision was taken after full investigation and consultation with stakeholders and elders of the party.

    “His Excellency, Mallam Nasiru El-Rufai has been queried and we are expecting him to answer the query within 48 hours. Failure to do that, the state working committee will seat down and deliberate.

    “We queried Mallam Nasiru El-Rufai for his anti party activates and anti human activities.”

    Wada also announced the suspension of the Special Adviser to the governor on Political Matters, Uba Sani; the Commissioner for Finance, Audu Kwari, and the party’s Acting Secretary, Yahaya Baba-Pate.

    He explained that the three allies of the governor were suspended for 18 months.

    “The letters would be delivered to these personalities today,’’ the acting APC chairman said.