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Tag: Political Parties

  • 2027: Atiku calls for merger of political parties to challenge APC

    2027: Atiku calls for merger of political parties to challenge APC

    Following his failed aspiration to clinch the presidential ticket, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has called on the opposition political parties to merge against the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of 2027.

    According to Atiku,  the opposing political parties should form a coalition because APC was pushing Nigeria into dictatorship and a one-party state.

    Atiku spoke while receiving a delegation from the national executive committee of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) on Tuesday.

    Continuing, the Adamawa born politician  noted that Nigeria’s democracy would suffer if there is no viable opposition.

    According to Atiku: “You have come here today to say that we should cooperate in order to promote democracy.

    “But the truth of the matter is that our democracy is fast becoming a one-party system, and of course, you know that when we have a one-party system, we should just forget about democracy.

    “We have all seen how the APC is increasingly turning Nigeria into a dictatorship of one party.

    “If we don’t come together to challenge what the ruling party is trying to create, our democracy will suffer for it, and the consequences of it will affect the generations yet unborn. The project of protecting democracy in our country is not about just one man.”

  • Stop distracting Tinubu over presidential election outcome – Group tells opposition

    Stop distracting Tinubu over presidential election outcome – Group tells opposition

    A group under the auspices of the Grassroots Governance Group (G3) has urged opposition parties to stop distracting President Bola Tinubu so he could deliver.

    A statement jointly signed by the APC G3 National Coordinator, Mr Amechi Oyema; Chairman, Advisory Board, Prof. Ojo Ademola and Chairman, Board of Trustees, Dr Jerry Igbokwe in Abuja on Saturday, said this is not the time for any distraction.
    It urged opposition political parties still in court over the outcome of the Feb. 25 presidential election to rather join the Tinubu administration to bring Nigeria out of its present economic woes.

    “We commend President Tinubu for headhunting and putting the right people in the right offices because the appointments made so far have been square pegs in square holes.

    “With pride, we commend the Minister of Works, Chief Dave Umahi, for bringing his professional qualifications as an engineer to bear in the task assigned to him.

    “We endorse the way the minister had been technically tackling road contractors who before this time had been holding the country to ransom.

    “We are proud of what  Nyesom Wike, Minister of the FCT is doing in the FCT.

    “He has showed uncommon zeal to do the right thing. The Minister of Interior, Mr Tunji Ojo, has shown that passports can be easily procured in Nigeria.

    “Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr Betty Edu, has been on the road putting smiles on the faces of the downtrodden.

    “Minister of State for Environment, Dr Iziaq Salako, has been doing everything to better our environment.
    “We cannot mention all the ministers, but APC G3 can boldly say that the “Renewed Hope’’ agenda is rightly on course.’

  • How PDP gave birth to all other parties in Nigeria- Atiku

    How PDP gave birth to all other parties in Nigeria- Atiku

    The 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar says the party is the mother of all other political parties in Nigeria including the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    The former Vice President went ahead to charge members of the PDP to remain loyal to the party.

    Atiku made the call on Thursday during a press conference to address the outcome of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal in which his petition challenging the victory of President Bola Tinubu was thrown out.

    Atiku however said despite the outcome, he is still standing strong and party members also have no reason to despair.

    “Let me finally give hope to some of the delusional or disappointed members of our party. I am one of the foundational members of this party, and I’m still strong.

    “This party gave birth to any other party you can think of in this country today. Whether you are APC, or APM—whatever you call yourself—your mother is the PDP.

    “What is most important for us is to make sure we remain loyal and faithful members of this historic party. This is the only party since the creation of Nigeria that is as old as it is today.

    “We have a record to protect, promote, and foster. You may be fathers today, but you will always be proud of your grandfather, not to mention your great-grandfather. Why will you not want to be proud to be a member of the PDP? There’s absolutely no reason.

    “I, therefore, want to urge our memes to remain loyal and dedicated and foster national unity and cohesion,” Atiku said.

  • More political parties to merge with APC – Ganduje

    More political parties to merge with APC – Ganduje

    The National Chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje, has revealed that some political parties were planning to merge with the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC)

    Ganduje spoke with reporters at the party secretariat in Abuja, shortly before receiving former Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike, a ministerial nominee, and some Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftains.

    According to Ganduje, Wike’s visit was the beginning of better things to happen to the APC membership drive under his leadership, adding that it was in line with his inaugural acceptance speech on August 3.

    Asked if Wike’s visit signaled his defection to the ruling party, he said: “We did not discuss the issue of his coming to APC or not coming to APC. That issue will arise later.”

    Ganduje however, said that if Wike defects, his defection will be an added advantage to the party’s electoral fortune in 2027.

    He stressed: “It will certainly improve the chances of this our party, especially in 2027, and not only that, we are coming out with a new blueprint to increase the followership of the party and this will include all strata of officials; those who are in APC and those who are in other political parties.

    “ I assure you very soon some of the political parties will even merge with the APC. We are doing that underground.

    Shedding light on what transpired between him and the minister-designate, Ganduje said: “You know Wike is an Honourable Minister-designate. So, he came, we discussed because I was looking for him to congratulate him for that and also he came to congratulate me and we discussed that when he becomes minister fully, he will work very hard to move the ministry he is giving forward and he is ready to cooperate.”

  • NLC president lambasts president Buhari, scores him low on all development indices

    NLC president lambasts president Buhari, scores him low on all development indices

    Joe Ajaero the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, has knocked president Muhammadu Buhari, saying that he performed poorly for eight years in areas of power supply, infrastructure, and industrial relations with aggrieved unions.

    Ajaero added that political parties also contribute to the poor performance in government, saying that politicians always underperform after being elected into office.

    According to him, political parties in the country lack ideologies.

    He added that he does not expect much from the incoming administration, since they are from the same party.

    He said this on Monday, when he paid a visit to the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees (AUPCTRE) head office in Abuja as part of his familarisation tour of unions.

    His words, “We want a government that Nigerians will enjoy and this level of underdevelopment will stop. Because what we are saying is that Nigeria is underdeveloping. We are rescinding everywhere. At the point that Buhari took over government, in the power sector, for instance, they were hovering between 4,000 to 5,000 megawatts averagely. And in the past eight years, it has been reduced to about 3,000. That is moving back from where we were.

    “ASUU strike used to be three to four months, under his watch, we started recording eight months of ASUU strike. We are rescinding.

    “If you check the infrastructure, it is still the same thing. If we were paying N50,000 for air ticket before, we are paying about N80,000 today. So, the new government, we are still waiting to get their own agenda. Because if we follow the manifesto of the APC, they will sustain what Buhari has done, and if it is underdevelopment that they are sustaining, then there is a problem. So the NLC will wait for the agenda of the new government before we comment.

    “You can see that parties no longer implement their manifesto. So that is why we are worried. We can’t talk about the agenda of any government. We can only wait for them to state their own agenda.”

  • Use only communication experts as Spokespersons, CoNCE advises political parties

    Use only communication experts as Spokespersons, CoNCE advises political parties

    The Consortium of Nigerian Communication experts (CoNCE), has recommended the appointment of experienced communication professionals as political party spokespersons as they give verdict on the 2023 Elections.

    The recommendation is part of a communique issued at the end of the fifth assessment workshop designed to examine the various uses of communication in the 2023 election cycle, where they called for the use of only duly registered Nigerian advertising and public relations agencies.

    They critically and objectively analyzed the recent presidential election campaigns and the results of the concluded voting, which left their wake some positive outcomes and other wrong developments.

    CoNCE is the umbrella network of academic and professional communication associations committed to the purposeful uses of communication to promote sustainable social development through research, education, capacity building and advocacy.

    The workshop was held virtually and attracted 145 discussants from diverse communication sectors and 13 speakers, who recommended that the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC) should improve its capacity to provide adequate public education on voting procedures to avoid failures in future elections.

    The communication experts recommended that INEC and the other information and communication organs of government, especially the National Orientation Agency, should collaborate closely and be guided by the public interest.

    “The regulation of election campaign advertising must be sustained and the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON), as both a government agency and a body created to propagate the ethical conduct of advertising, should be fully empowered to discharge its functions.

    “Greater use of communication professionals in all aspects of election campaigns is necessary for the attainment of desirable communication results in elections and subsequently in governance. That CONCE should, preparatory to future elections, organise relevant political communication training programmes for spokespersons of political parties and critical stakeholders,” the Communique said.

    The Association however, observed that many things went wrong during the recent presidential election campaigns and the results of the concluded voting, which had some positive outcomes, though.

    They listed among other things, divisive, unethical and unprofessional communication campaign strategies, tactics and messages that created unnecessary tension.

    The communication experts said INEC failed to live up to the voters’ expectations because of the delays in the delivery of voting materials in some centres and that the much-publicized benefits of the new technologies of BVAS and IREV were not realized due to man-made errors that could have been avoided.

    CoNCE also commended that this year’s elections have so far been peaceful, compared to previous Nigerian elections, even though the parties produced well-thought-out and colorfully designed manifestos, which they did not find much use for in the actual media campaigns.

    “In spite of the failures, there were free and fair voting and accurate reporting of results in many centres. The final results, as announced by INEC, showed that the major political parties performed along the same old traditional cleavages of religion, region, and ethnicity, even with the emergence of a third party that seemed to appeal more to the youths,” the communication experts said.

  • 2023: The World’s eyes will be on Nigeria, political parties must accept results – British Envoy

    2023: The World’s eyes will be on Nigeria, political parties must accept results – British Envoy

    British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Catriona Laing, has urged political parties to accept and respect the results of the forthcoming 2023 general elections and refrain from actions that would instigate post-election violence.

    Laing made this known while addressing newsmen on Thursday in Abuja, noting that the United Kingdom is fully in support of Nigeria’s political process.

    Laing urged the candidates and political parties to resort to the judiciary if they feel the process was not fair enough and wish to contest the results.

    The British Envoy also noted that the elections was not only important to Nigeria but West Africa, and the rest of the world, especially with the backsliding of democracy in the West African sub-region.

    “The election in Nigeria is really important, not just for all of you as Nigerian citizens, but for this region, West Africa where sadly, we have seen a lot of democratic backsliding, and for the world.

    “The World’s eyes will be on Nigeria, and are on Nigeria and what happens here will send a very strong signal.

    “Following the last elections, we have continued to invest in trying to create the right conditions for a free and fair, secured election, recognizing of course that it is a job for Nigeria.

    “But we try to play our part so we work very closely with INEC, Civil Societies, to ensure that they are fit for the purpose.

    “The head of the political parties in particular must commit to respect the outcomes of the votes and signal that to all of their supporters.

    “And if indeed they are going to contest anything, it should be done through the judicial process, not through any violence.

    “And so, the Peace accord which was signed on the 29th of September is so important and I am very pleased to see that there will be a second signing on the 23rd of February and I will be there representing the UK.

    “The UK remains absolutely in step with you as you continue your democratic journey,” Laing said.

    Laing said that following her engagements with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the UK government is confident of the process.

    She said that the new Electoral laws and the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) have further increased the confidence of Nigerian citizens in the system.

    Laing, however, expressed the fear of the UK government on voter’s suppression as she further appealed to political parties and the candidates against any form of voters’ suppression.

    The British Envoy said that President Muhammadu Buhari has also said on countless occasions that handing over to a successor through a peaceful election would be his biggest legacy.

    “In terms of INEC’s preparation, we are very confident that INEC has prepared early and is in good shape.

    “The security forces, from my discussions with the IGP, and others are also committed to play the impartial role they need to play.

    “We will be watching this closely and it is very important that these elections take place on time.

    “If it is brought to our attention, of where and where directly, that they are people inciting violence, moving hate speeches, or conducting violent acts, we will use our visa policies to restrict such individual’s ability to enter the UK.

    “Another thing we are worried about is post-election violence. As we saw in the past, I cannot remember the year, if any one of the party’s supporters feels this election is stolen, my candidate should have won, there is a risk of violence.

    “It is very important for Nigeria’s democracy that the people respect the result because that is the hallmark of democracy, somebody wins, somebody loses.

    “And if you feel for any reason the election in your area was not credible, transparent, there is a process and that is the court.

    “What will be tragic for Nigeria on this crucial democratic journey where you have been making great strides is if there is a repeat of the 2011 wide-spread post-election violence,” Laing added.

  • Umahi sanctions own party for contravening Executive Order

    Umahi sanctions own party for contravening Executive Order

    Ebonyi state Gov. David Umahi has ordered that the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state pays a fine of N5 million for contravening the provisions of the state’s Executive Order 3 of 2022.

    The Executive Order 3 prohibits political parties from using public places such as schools, parks, and markets among others for political activities without seeking and obtaining due clearance from the state government.

    The order, signed by the governor in November, also prohibits political parties from using critical infrastructures for pasting posters without obtaining state’s clearance.

    The order for the fine imposed on the APC in the state is contained in a statement signed by the Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Mr Uchenna Orji on Sunday in Abakaliki.

    He stated that Gov. Umahi was saddened by the parties’ continuous pasting of posters on electric poles, meridians, concrete roads, and on flyover bridges.

    “These parties include the APC, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) the Labour Party (LP) and the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).

    “When APC flagged off its presidential and governorship campaigns in the state, it littered the infrastructures with posters and that made other political parties to follow suit.

    “Most of the critical infrastructure have been littered with posters against the laws of the state government and the Executive Order regarding the pasting of posters and billboards,’’ the statement noted.

    Orji noted that Gov. Umahi had consequently decided to use his political party, the APC to set example as a deterrent to others.

    “The party is thus fined N5 million for contravening the law and the Executive Order.

    “The APC must pay the money to the state’s Internally Generated Revenue account and obtain a receipt.

    “The party should publish the payment in all media platforms including the social media before Dec. 31 or risk paying a default fee of 50 million,’’ the statement read.

    Gov. Umahi also ordered the APC to remove all posters on pasted infrastructures before Dec. 31.

    “The Governor has decided to forgive all other political parties and appeal to them to remove their posters on critical infrastructures before Dec. 31.

    “They are to desist forthwith from defacing our facilities or face similar penalty like APC in Ebonyi.

    “The governor appeals to all political parties not to take this benevolence as a sign of weakness.

    “Government will seal all secretariats and campaign offices of parties that fail to remove their posters or desist from continuous pasting of posters on critical infrastructure,’’ he warned.

    Orji stated also that Gov. Umahi had banned all street campaigns in the state.

    “He has directed all local government area chairmen, the Commissioner for Youths and Sports and the Commissioner for Education among other aides, to process all applications of political parties intending to use infrastructures for campaigns.

    “Any political party that is denied such opportunity and has complied with the laws of the state and the Executive Order must report to the state governor.

    “Affected parties can also report to the Commissioner of Police or the Director of the State Security Service within 24 hours for immediate approval,’’ the statement read.

  • 2023 Elections: You can’t solicit for funds from countries abroad – INEC to Political Parties

    2023 Elections: You can’t solicit for funds from countries abroad – INEC to Political Parties

    The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC has warned all political parties in the country  against soliciting for  funds from foreign countries for next year’s general election.

    Festus Okoye, INEC National Commissioner mentioned this while featuring on a political programme on Channels TV.

    He added that no party is allowed to solicit or receive funds from countries abroad.

    He explained that such was contrary to Section 225 of the Nigerian constitution which according to him, states that “no registered political party in Nigeria shall possess any funds outside the country,”

    Okoye insisted that if such funds are remitted to the political party from outside Nigeria, “that particular political party has a constitutional and legal obligation to turn in such funds to INEC within a period of 21 days from the date of receipt of such funds.”

    Recall that the Labour Party presidential candidate, Mr Peter Obi was recently accused of soliciting financial assistance from some foreigners to fund his campaign.

    The party had, however, debunked the allegations, saying it never begged anyone for funds.

  • Mr Macaroni discloses political parties he will never vote for

    Mr Macaroni discloses political parties he will never vote for

    Ace comedian and skit maker, Debo Adedayo popularly known as Mr. Macaroni has stated that he will never vote for Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) or All Progressive Congress (APC) in the 2023 general elections in the country.

    Macaroni didn’t specifically mention the party he would be supporting but speculations are rife that he could be rooting for Peter Obi’s Labour Party.

    He made mention of this via a tweet on his Twitter handle on Sunday.

    He tweeted: “I have been saying since October 2020 that I will never cast a vote for APC or PDP!!

    “I can’t speak for others but I can speak for myself and that is final!!”

    Carpeting his critics further, He added: “Do with this information whatever you wish to do with it.”