The All Progressives Congress (APC) has postponed its presidential primary election to Monday, June 6 and Tuesday, 7.
TheNewsGuru.com, (TNG) reports the APC announced the postponement after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Friday evening bowed to pressure by political parties to extend the dates for the conduct of primary elections.
INEC in a statement on Friday, extended the dates for primaries by six days.
Details shortly…
Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has given possible explanations why former Anambra Governor and the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) presidential aspirant, Peter Obi dumped the party for a yet-to -be disclosed party.
Recall that Peter Obi had on Wednesday said that recent developments within the party made it practically impossible for him to continue participating and making constructive contributions.
Speaking on Channels TV on Thursday evening, Nyesom Wike said that peter Obi does not have integrity and only left because he knew he would lose in the presidential primary election.
“Peter Obi leaving the party is not surprising to me. He knows that there is no way he would have won the presidential primaries. Forget about what Doyin Okuope said about sharing money.
“How can someone who has gone to almost all the states telling them about how he is a trader and how he wore one shoe and does not allow people carry his bag leave a party three days to the primaries?
“From what I read on social media, he wants to join NNPP, but Kwakwaso wants to be president. So, does he want to be Vice President? This is what I am saying, in everything you do, integrity and character is very important. You can be the best economist but you don’t have character.”
The FCT Police Command has assured safety of lives and properties before, during and after the May 28th Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) primary Elections.
It further stated that it had designed a robust security arrangement defined by a generous deployment of officers across the city for the purpose of the presidential primary election of the party,
The primary elections had been scheduled to hold on May 28 and 29 at the MOSHOOD Abiola National Stadium Abuja.
As expected, the event would be characterized by a high influx of people, particularly party stakeholders, into the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to participate in the election.
The Police Command further stated that it would be enforcing the “maintenance of clear road access, robust stop and search at strategic points around the suburbs and city centre, effective crowd control, and intelligence”.
The Commissioner of Police, FCT Command, CP Babaji Sunday while briefing the Divisional Police Officers, heads of the various Tactical and Intelligence Units of the Command scheduled for the operation, charged them to be on top of their games, discharging their duties with the utmost respect for Fundamental Human Rights and by standard best practices.
He also tasked residents of the territory to go about the discharge of their lawful duties without the fear of harassment or molestation of any kind from any quarters.
“To adequately complement the crime-fighting effort of the Command within and beyond this period, the good people of the FCT are therefore urged to remain vigilant and report any suspicious or abnormal occurrence to the Police.
A Lagos based prophet Bisi Olujobi of the Wisdom Church International has forseen the outcome of the All Progressive Congress (APC)’s presidential primary outcome and has prophesied that the party’s national leader will be humiliated out of the party.
The Christian cleric stressed that the vision was shown to him by God, further revealed other events that will happen in the course of the year.
In a statement on Wednesday, he declared: “Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu will not clinch the APC presidential primary election that is slated for the end of this month, May.”
Olujobi noted that the leading All Progressives Congress (APC) aspirant “will be shocked as there are strong conspiracies waiting for him”.
“I see Tinubu cheaply humbled and humiliated. His plan to shift tent to another party will also not work, as it is not in the mind of God for him to rule this nation.”
The cleric further revealed that the outcome of the APC primary and the consequent conspiracy will be too heavy for him to bear.
The religious head further urged Tinubu, the APC national leader, to seek God’s face concerning his life.
He, however, maintained that no level of permutation or arrangement will work in the 2023 presidential election as witnessed previously.
On the Osun governorship election, he said the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Ademola Adeleke will defeat Governor Gboyega Adetola of the APC.
“I hear Jimoh Ibrahim is struggling for Ondo senatorial seat. The man should stay back and enjoy his money. He will be shocked.
“Pastor Tunde Bakare has left the needful and busy chasing shadows. The spirit of God has left him long ago and that is why he fumbles up and down.”
Olujobi said Bakare cannot win a local government councilor election, let alone become Nigeria’s President.
The presidential primary of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has been moved to May 29, 2022.
The primary was initially scheduled to hold between May 30 and June 1, 2022.
The revision of the schedule of activities and timetable for the 2023 general election is the third review in two weeks.
Addressing newsmen after the National Working Committee (NWC) meeting, National Publicity Secretary of the party, Barr. Felix Morka said the APC has approved a revised timetable and schedule of activities.
A presidential aspirant, Okey Uzoho, has sued the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for allegedly denying him the opportunity to contest in the May 28 presidential primary.
Uzoho, a lawyer and a card carrying member of the PDP, hinged his denial to vie for the election on the high cost of the expression of interest and nomination forms imposed on aspirants by the party.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the the party had fixed its expression of interest and nomination forms at N40 million for aspirants vying for the office of the president.
The lawyer, in an originating summons marked FCT/CV/144/2022 and filed at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), sued the PDP and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as 1st and 2nd defendants respectively.
The plaintiff said that the action of the PDP setting a monetary condition as additional qualification and criteria for aspirants was in violation of the 1999 Constitution and Section 84(3) and (4) of the Electoral Act, 2022.
Uzoho said he was desirous of contesting for the office of the president of Nigeria in the 2023 election as a flag-bearer of the party.
In an affidavit in support of the suit, the lawyer said it was disheartening that he was denied the opportunity of actualising his aspirations.
This, he said, is on grounds that he could not submit a bank draft in the sum of N40 million, being a condition for acquiring the expression of interest and nomination forms for the party’s presidential primary election.
He told the court that he had met all the qualifications and requirements set down by the 1999 Constitution and extant laws for participation in the presidential primary of the party for the 2023 election.
He also said that he was not caught up by any of the disqualification criteria set down in Section 137 of the 1999 Constitution.
He, however, asked the court to determine wether having regard to Section 131 read along with Section 1(1) and (3) of the 1999 Constitution, the PDP is entitled to impose or interpose as additional qualification/s the payment of N40million, as further qualification to seek the party’s sponsorship for election to the office of president of Nigeria.
The plaintiff who demanded N50million as compensation for the anxiety, inconvenience, loss of valuable campaign time occasioned by the denial to participate in the presidential primary.
He also sought for an order of perpetual injunction restraining the defendants from excluding him from the presidential primary.
He further asked for an order of injunction compelling the PDP to provide him with all the necessary facilities to ensure his participation in the party’s presidential primary election.
No date has been fixed for the hearing of the suit.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP National Working Committee (NWC) has changed its schedule and adjusted its activities in preparation for forthcoming general elections.
In the adjusted timetable, the Local Government Area (LGA) Congress to elect one National Delegate per LGA and one person living with disability in the 774 local government areas now holds Tuesday, May 10, 2022.
Whilst the State House of Assembly (State Constituency Congress) now hold on Wednesday, May 18, 2022
Hon. Debo Ologunagba, the party’s National Publicity Secretary revealed on Wednesday that the House of Representatives Primaries is expected to hold Friday, May 20, 2022.
According to the statement, the Senatorial District Primaries will be held on Saturday, May 21, 2022. Then Governorship Primaries will hold Monday, May 23, 2022.
Meanwhile the presidential primaries remain unchanged, it would hold on the 28th and 29th of May, 2022.
The statement reads in part“All aspirants to various positions, critical stakeholders, members of our Party across the country as well as relevant agencies of government should please take note,” .
Crisis brews in the All Progressives Congress APC as plot to bar members of the National Assembly from partaking in the presidential primary designed primarily to rubbish some presidential aspirants in the party.
This trend is not really going down well with NASS members who have vowed to rubbish the move to bar them from the presidential primary.
As it is now, all serving and former members of the APC are allowed to participate in the party’s convention but this could change should the amendment scale through.
Section 12.1 of the current APC constitution says members of the national convention shall include: members of the Board of Trustees, national chairman and all members of the national executive committee, serving and past presidents, vice presidents, serving and past governors and deputy governors who are members of the party.
Others include: serving and past members of the National Assembly who are members of the party, serving and past Speakers, Deputy Speakers and other principal officers of the Houses of Assembly and all serving members of the Houses of Assembly who are members of the party, party chairmen in the states and members of the States’ Working Committee.
A copy of the proposed amendment of the APC constitution showed that in the proposed amended constitution, only principal officers which include- Speaker, Deputy Speaker, Senate President, Deputy Senate President, Majority Leader, Deputy Minority Leader, Chief Whip, Deputy Chief Whip, Minority Leader and Deputy Minority leader would be allowed to attend party conventions.
For the National Assembly, the amended Section 12 identifies the national convention members as “the President and Deputy President of the Senate, who are members of the party, the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, who are members of the party, Majority or Minority Leader, party whip and their deputies in the Senate and House of Representatives, who are members of the party, two serving senators from each geo-political zone of the country, who are members of the party, to be nominated by senators from such zone, one member of the House of Representatives from each geo-political zone of the country, who is a member of the party, to be nominated by members of the House of Representative from such zone.”
This means the highest possible number of APC federal lawmakers that would be able to attend a party convention and vote at a Presidential primary would not be more than 30
A member of the National Assembly said that the move would be challenged by the over 373 APC members in the legislative arm of government.
The lawmaker said it was obvious that the APC Caretaker Committee led by Mai Mala Buni was out to punish lawmakers for defying the party’s wishes when it amended the Electoral Act.
He further alleged that the Buni committee was seeking to whittle down the influence of the House of Representatives, many of whom had already endorsed the Presidential ambition of APC leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.
“You will recall that many members of the northern caucus as well as the South-West caucus have declared their support for Tinubu. The National Assembly, which constitutes not less than 40 per cent of the total representation of the Presidential primaries, will now be pushed aside because of Buni and his clique? We will never accept this,” he said.
Meanwhile, the APC is also seeking to drop its slogan ‘change’ and adopt ‘progress’ as its new slogan.
When contacted, the Secretary of the APC Caretaker Committee, Senator John Akpanudoedehe, said the proposal was just a document and everyone was free to make amendments.
Akpanudoedehe said he would not respond to any further questions when he was asked to explain the rationale behind the decision to bar National Assembly members from future conventions.
“Make your submissions. That’s what this (proposal) is all about. That is a proposal. You write your contributions, we will look into it. It is not for me to answer. It is not my document. It is the document of the party,” he noted.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said that the success of it’s just-concluded presidential primary election had demonstrated it’s strict adherence to democratic rules, principles of transparency and fairness.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar won the PDP Presidential ticket with 1532 votes to defeat other contestants including Gov. Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State who came second with 693 votes, and President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, who placed third with 317 votes.
The result was announced by Sen. Ifeanyi Okowa, Chairman PDP 2018 Special National Convention Planning Committee, at the end of the party’s convention on Sunday in Port Harcourt.
The party made the remark in a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, on Sunday in Abuja.
Ologbondiyan said the success showed that citizens, irrespective of their individual and group interests, were capable of holding peaceful and credible elections that met global standards.
“Simply put, in the PDP Presidential primary, every vote counted.
“We invite the whole world to note that the PDP conducted its presidential primary and a clear winner, Atiku Abubakar, emerged, without any form of disagreements or reliance on heavy security.
“This shows that Nigerians are peaceful, orderly and desirous of credible processes at all levels of political engagement.
Ologbondiyan restated PDP’s determination to dismantle rigging machinery and return credible processes in all spheres of Nigeria national life.
Festus Keyamo, Spokesperson of President Muhammadu Buhari 2019 presidential campaign has welcomed the choice presidential candidate of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2019 general election.
TheNewsGuru (TNG) reports former vice president Atiku Abubakar on Sunday emerged the choice presidential candidate of the PDP in the party’s presidential primary election held at the Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium in Port Harcourt, capital of Rivers State.
“We welcome H.E, Atiku Abubakar to d 2019 campaign trail. Nigerians would now decide b/w a candidate with a history full of CREDIBILITY crises, damning reports on CORRUPTION, both home, abroad & from his former boss & another candidate with an unblemished record in public service,” Keyamo said.
We welcome H.E, Atiku Abubakar to d 2019 campaign trail. Nigerians would now decide b/w a candidate with a history full of CREDIBILITY crises, damning reports on CORRUPTION, both home, abroad & from his former boss & another candidate with an unblemished record in public service
— Festus Keyamo, SAN, CON, FCIArb (UK) (@fkeyamo) October 7, 2018
Atiku polled 1,532 votes to beat his closest rival, Aminu Tambuwal to emerge as the Presidential candidate of the PDP for the 2019 general elections.
Declaring the result, Chairman, Planning Committee for the Special National Convention, Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, stated that Alhaji Tambuwal got 693 Votes.
Other aspirants who contested at the Convention otherwise known as the PDP Presidential Primary election were, Senate President Bukola Saraki (317 votes), Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso (158 votes), Governor Ibrahim Dankwambo (111 votes), Dr. Datti Baba-Ahmed (05 votes), Senator Ahmed Makarfi (74 votes), Senator David Mark (35 votes), Alhaji Sule Lamido (96 votes), Alhaji Attahiru Bafarawa (48 votes), Senator Jonah Jang (19 votes) and Kabiru Tanimu Turaki (65 votes).
Speaking shortly after declaring the winner at the Convention witnessed by former President Goodluck Jonathan and his Vice, Alhaji Sambo, Chairman of the PDP, Prince Uche Secondus, among other prominent Nigerians, Governor Okowa stated, “all the agents have endorsed this document and signed, I wish to declare that Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has been elected the Presidential Candidate of our party in the 2019 general elections.
He congratulated the winner, those who participated in the Convention and the Chairman of the party, Prince Uche Secondus, adding, “we thank God for His grace; our National Chairman will invite our Presidential candidate to make his acceptance speech.”
Alhaji Abubakar in his acceptance speech, said, “today, we are witnessing a landmark event, I thank the Chairman of the Organising Committee, Governor Okowa – this is the most credible, transparent and fair primaries; let me also commend my co aspirants for the display of a sense of unity, a sense of purpose, they have shown that the interest of this party and interest of our country is paramount to personal interest.”
“I cannot do it alone, I need your support, I need your assistance, it is not a one man job, it is a collective responsibility, together we will succeed and after we succeed, we will be partners in the success story,” he said, adding, “this is the most innovative electoral process this party has had since 1998 and we have learnt a lot from this exercise.”
He continued, “we cannot afford to fail Nigerians at this point, because Nigerians are yearning for the PDP to return to power, they have seen the mismanagement of the government of the APC government, through collective efforts, PDP shall return to power in 2019.”
The Presidential candidate disclosed that it was not just enough to identify the challenges of the country but, the PDP shall proffer solutions to those challenges.
Senate President, Bukola Saraki on behalf of all the Presidential aspirants congratulated Alhaji Abubakar, pledging to work with him to achieve results.
According to Saraki, “today is a great day for this party because it has shown that the interest of this party is more than our personal interest; we thank Governor Okowa for organising a free and transparent election; we congratulate Alhaji Abubakar for the victory, we are here to work with you (Alhaji Abubakar) to achieve success because we all know what Nigerians are yearning for.”
Prince Secondus, said, “for the first time in the history of our country, a political party have conducted a free and fair election; with all of us here, we want to let the All Progressive Congress know that we are set to take back our country; we expect the Independent National Electoral Commission to learn from this process; I believe the PDP is now united to carry the most civilised campaign to reclaim our mandate in 2019.”