Two strong pillars of the Alhaji Atiku Abubakar political structure in the North East yesterday dumped the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate to team up with the flag bearer of the All Progressives Congress (APC),Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.


They are Alhaji Jamilu Gwamna who, until now, was the North East Coordinator of the Atiku Campaign organization, and a former deputy governor of Gombe State, Charles Iliya.


The duo switched camps on a day the APC intensified its campaign ahead of the 2023 elections in several parts of the country including Maiduguri,Borno State and Benin,Edo State.

Gwamna ,who was also the runner up in the PDP governorship primary in the state in May, told reporters in Gombe that he saw no future for the party in the state essentially on account of the crisis trailing the governorship primary.

The primary was won by Jibrin Barde,who is currently locked in a running battle with intra party forces against his victory.

He dismissed them all as inconsequential to his ticket.

Speaking on the issue yesterday,Gwamna said the PDP was riddled with internal crisis, poor leadership, disregard for rule of law and disunity

He said his political ideology was anchored on unity, inclusiveness, fairness and justice and “if those are not found in the party then there is no reason to be in that camp.”

Gwamna who is also the Sardauna of Gombe said the PDP and its current leadership lacked the capacity to manage Gombe State.


“In politics, internal democracy is very key and if you cannot find that playing out, then practicing democracy on a larger platform such as governing the state becomes a big issue,” he said.

Gwamna said the APC was better organised in Gombe than any political party, and has managed its affairs in a more family-like manner.

He asked his supporters to mobilise voters at the grassroots to ensure victory for the APC at all levels and with a wider voting margin than that of 2019.

Gwamna said he has been appointed as state coordinator for both the governorship and presidential campaign of the APC in the state.

Iliya,who was deputy to former Governor Ibrahim Dankwambo was unveiled during the formal take-off of the APC presidential campaign and that of the re-election of Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya.

The former deputy governor was PDP’s strongman in Gombe South.

I’ll wipe out PDP from Gombe,vows Gov.Yahaya

Speaking at the campaign launch yesterday,Gov.Yahaya vowed to wipe out the PDP from the state.

He said the huge number of decampees received into the party was a testimony to the fact that the PDP no longer has a place in Gombe State.

“The history and story of any other party in Gombe State will be buried,” he said.

“There will be no more parties but one party, APC. As the dominant party, we shall deliver and we have no fear because we know God is with us.

“Coming through Gombe town, you saw for yourself what the APC has achieved. You saw happiness on the faces of our people. What we are saying is that we shall not fail you as a party and we shall not fail you as candidates.

“In 2019, we won 19 out of 24 House of Assembly members but now we are determined to deliver 24 over 24.

“Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu shall be president of Nigeria in 2023 by the grace of Allah and Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya shall be the Governor of Gombe State. Senator Danjuma Goje is our candidate for Gombe Central, Senator Sa’idu Alkali is our candidate for Gombe North and Senator Joshua Lidani is our candidate for Gombe South.”

Mammoth crowd as APC women campaign in Maiduguri

Addressing supporters at the flag off of the North-East Zone campaign of the Tinubu/Shettima Women Campaign in Maiduguri, the wife of the APC presidential candidate, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, pledged that youth empowerment and girl-child education would be given prime attention by Asiwaju Tinubu if elected next year.



“I can assure you that youth unemployment will be on the front burner of the Tinubu/Shettima administration,” she said.

Continuing, she said: “Also, women empowerment and the education of the girl-child will be tackled because education is very key to the growth of our women, not only in the North-East but in the country as a whole.

“When you educate one woman, you’ve done well for the entire household, much more the entire nation.”

She thanked the crowd especially women and youths from the North East for their overwhelming support for the party and the aspiration of its presidential candidate. She also assured them of her readiness to work with the wife of the APC vice-presidential candidate, Hajiya Nana Shettima, when their husbands are elected in 2023.


Also speaking Mrs. Shettima urged women and youths in the region to be united for the party’s victory come next year.

Mrs Tinubu and Mrs. Shettima were accompanied to the rally ground by the wives of the Speaker of House of Representatives, the First Ladies of Lagos, Kogi, Plateau, Kebbi and Cross Rivers states, and many other prominent women.

The event was hosted by the wife of the Borno State governor and North-East zonal coordinator of the Tinubu/Shettima Women Presidential Campaign Team, Falmata Zulum, at the Sports Centre, Maiduguri. APC Deputy National Women Leader, Hajia Zainab Ibrahim, and many high-profile women within the zone were also present. The North-East zonal rally is the fifth in the series of women’s rallies so far held by the women’s wing of the APC presidential campaign since its inauguration in October 2022.

I’ll not let down Shettima -Zulum

Borno State Governor Babagana Umara Zulum yesterday said the APC would win the state convincingly in next year’s election in what would be his reciprocation to Kashim Shettima’s political benevolence to him.

Zulum took over the affairs of the state from Shettima at the end of his two-term tenure.

“I have no other alternative than to deliver the state to the Tinubu/Shettima presidential team and the entire APC,” Zulum said.

“I will not let him (Kashim Shettima) down,” he added,and told the story of how Shettima ,during his tenure as governor,first made him Rector of the State Polytechnic,then a commissioner in his cabinet, before picking him as successor.

He promised to “work assiduously to deliver more than 95 per cent of the state to APC.”

Oshiomhole: Tinubu is most qualified candidate to win 2023 presidential election

Read Also: Atiku no threat to Tinubu in Northeast – Bayero

The Deputy Director-General of the All Progressives Congress’ (APC’s) Presidential Campaign Council, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, yesterday described Tinubu as the best qualified to win the 2023 presidential election.

Oshiomhole, a former governor of Edo State, spoke at the kick-off of Edo South Senatorial District APC’s campaign in Benin, where the senatorial candidate, the four House of Representatives’ candidates and those of the state’s House of Assembly were unveiled.

The former President of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) urged all Nigerians to massively vote for Tinubu and other candidates of APC, during the 2023 general elections.

The rally was attended by two former Edo Deputy Governors: Dr. Pius Odubu and Lucky Imasuen, who is the Director-General of APC Presidential Campaign Council in the state; APC governorship candidate in the 2020 election in Edo, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, and the state’s Chairman of the party, Col. David Imuse (rtd.).

Eminent politicians also at the rally included a former Minority Whip of the House of Representatives, Samson Osagie; ex-Speaker of Edo House of Assembly, Uyi Igbe; a former member of the House of Representatives, Patrick Obahiagbon; Edo Secretary of APC, Lawrence Okah; members of the State Working Committee (SWC) of the party; and other leaders from the seven local government areas that make up Edo South Senatorial District.

Edo chairman of APC said the people of the state would vote massively for APC as the leadership style of Governor Godwin Obaseki continues to deny the masses of the state access to basic amenities.

Imuse said: “The people governing Edo State today are pretenders. They have come to destroy Edo State. It is only in Edo State that they will destroy a library and turn it to supermarket. It is only in Edo State that they will convert a children’s ward in a hospital to another supermarket.

“Our markets are getting burnt. Last year Ekiosa market, Benin City got burnt, and today, a part of the market has been converted to Jara supermarket. They want to drive away our market women from their markets.

“We wanted to place campaign materials on billboards, they have refused to allow us to do that, but we have carefully selected our candidates. They will be led by Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, so that we will win at the presidential election and win all the elected seats in the state, from senate to the state House of Assembly.”

Odubu, in his remarks, stated that APC’s candidates in Edo were young people, while urging the youths to vote for all of them and pleaded with Edo people to be patient, and assured that they would soon witness good governance from APC’s government.

All these stories just to speak about their change of clothes?
More like wearing your shirt inside out
The party is PDAPC


What about key Northern Christians in APC that refuse to support APC?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuTtdfyKJNk