Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, former Lagos state governor and national leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) on Monday visited President Muhammadu Buhari in Aso Villa where he informed him of his intention to contest the presidential election in 2023. Shortly after the meeting, he fielded questions from journalists on his mission and other issues of national importance. TEMIDAYO AKINSUYI who monitored the session brings the excerpts:

Could you please tell us the reason why you are here (Aso Villa)?

I will not answer that question when I have not lost my citizenship. I came to see the President on general issues concerning Nigeria, including our political party, APC, security issues, the achievement and the New Year Agenda. That’s all I can tell you. The new strategy that we must have party Congresses and all that.

President Buhari recently said he does not want to divulge his favourite for the APC 2023 presidential ticket. Nigerians will like to know, have you informed your President because they are urging you to come out and contest. Have you informed him about your ambition?

I answer that with categorical yes. I have informed the President of my intention but I have not informed Nigerians yet. I’m still consulting. And I have no problem consulting. And I’ve not set a parameter of limitation to the extent of how many people will I consult. You will soon hear, all you want to hear is the categorical declaration. You’ve gotten that truth from me that I have informed Mr. President of my ambition, and you don’t expect more answers than that.

What was his response?

That’s our business. He is a democrat. He didn’t ask me to stop. He didn’t ask me not to attempt and pursue my ambition,. It is a lifelong ambition. So, why do I expect him to say more than that? You are running a democratic dispensation, and you must adopt the principles and the values and the virtues of democracy. That’s it.

We have seen a number of support groups, drumming up support for your ambition, that of Vice President Osinbajo and Governor of Kogi State too. What’s your perspective of this? How do you see a potential race between you and this other persons for the APC ticket?

I don’t want to discuss individuals now. I must discuss myself. I have the confidence, the vision, the capacity to rule, build on the foundation of Mr. President, and turn Nigeria better. I have done that with commitment and unyielding you know, in Lagos State. You have seen that experience and the capacity to turn things around and that is what we are doing. You know, the confusion, the drift of the past in PDP is being corrected. And you can’t take away from that. As we are today, go back to the data on how many barrels of oil were we producing when we first came in and what it is today. We cannot even at the time we came in we did not pay the counterpart funds to start our rail line. Today you enjoy the comfort of having rail from Lagos to Ibadan, you have the Kaduna and you have the one for Kano State on the aggressive pipeline, you see excellent infrastructure. I just came from Azare and I have seen good roads, the carnage of dying on motor vehicles is reducing except you know, lack of compliance with a lot of Nigerian drivers and VIOs. Let us think back, let us be intellectually inquisitive as to the past and the present and what the future holds for Nigeria.

As Nigeria’s President, what do we hope to see?

You want my manifesto now? Not yet. Not yet.

I would like you to speak on the direct primaries and the convention. And secondly, what would be your response to those that say, the cap of being a kingmaker fits you more than you throwing yourself into the ring, you should remain a kingmaker?

First of all, the National Assembly and the president must be encouraged to review and review again. Whatever they come up with as electoral amendment is what we must comply with. There is no unlimited elasticity in what we face, because we have to plan and plan well, and be able to manage the time effectively. The great roadmap to success is ability of a leader to do what he must do at the right time that it should be done. So that to me, the electoral amendment point we will still look at that collectively. And it is our country. It’s our democracy. We had adopted it and we will push it rigorously.

About the cap of kingmaker. I’ve never seen the cap of a kingmaker before. That is the truth. And I’ve never seen where it is written in the rule book anywhere in any country that a kingmaker cannot be a king unless you commit murder. So, whatever is your attribute is your own opinion. Me, I want to pursue my ambition without the title of a kingmaker. You can write your literature and your story based upon your own perception.

Convention, it is certain that we are going to get it.

When? Next month?

Oh, well. I’m not a spokesperson for the party. And the President is the leader of the party. So, expect convention, maybe if that is added to your own anxiety, or the other party’s anxiety is good for us. We get it and we’ll get it done.

The Senator Abdullahi Adamu-led National Reconciliation Committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC) arrived in Kwara State on Monday, saying it has the mandate to listen to and reconcile all the sides in the “family feud” within the state chapter of the APC.

Speaking during a visit to Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, Adamu said it would meet first with the aggrieved members of the party and then listen to the party executives, stakeholders and elders led by the Governor in order to strike a balance and reconcile them.

He added that the committee will not accept any action or utterances that would deepen divisions or rubbish the APC-led administration in Kwara State.

“We are in Ilorin today to listen to complaints and grumblings that were expressed through the petitions received by us, and we felt a sense of duty as a committee to listen to those who are complaining, the issues they have, and see how best we can find a way out. Some of these (complaints) may be imaginary. Some of them may just be perceptions. But we don’t want to preempt what they mean until we listen to them.

“The essence is to avail the petitioners what is called a fair hearing. By the time we hear them, we will be able to place some judgements. The government is our government. And anything that will rock the stability of the ship of State we will take every precaution to ensure that we discourage that.

“We want to assure Your Excellency and the leadership of APC in the state that we will not accept anything that is planted to discredit the administration of the state. We will try our best to reconcile all the reconcilable.”

The governor received the team alongside his deputy, Kayode Alabi; Speaker Kwara House of Assembly, Salihu Yakubu Danladi; Senators Umar Sadiq (Kwara North) and Lola Ashiru (Kwara South); House of Representatives members Raheem Olawuyi Ajulo-opin, Ismail Tijani, and Umar Bio; Acting Kwara APC Caretaker Committee chairman Abdullahi Samari; Kwara APC chairman-elect Prince Sunday Fagbemi; Secretary-elect Mustapha Isowo; among others.

AbdulRazaq said the party and the government are always open to reconciliation and would support the committee in its “patriotic mandate” to unify the party.

BuhariAdvocate:
The people that seeking postponement of the conversation are the real enemy of the party they are only waiting for the downfall of the party the convention must hold in February.

President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday said the opposition can take over in 2023 if the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) fail to put its house in order.

The president who was responding to a question during an exclusive interview on Nigerian National Television Authority (NTA) monitored by Daily Independent on whether the APC can put its house in order before its national convention said the APC should learn from the fate that befell the PDP in the 2015 general elections.

According to him, the PDP which was then the ruling party was so arrogant and never believed that opposition parties could unite and come together to contest the presidential election.

He added that by the time the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) merged, it was too late for the PDP to realise its mistake.

“Well, we have a time frame. We have to work because the four-year cycle is constitutional; it cannot be interfered by anybody. So, if the party cannot agree, then the opposition can take over”.

“What did the PDP do? They thought that the opposition cannot agree and come together. But when the ACN, ANPP, CPC, APGA came together, they were off. They are still off. So, they can see it” he said.

Navy Captain Tunji Shelle (rtd), a former state chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Lagos state has advised Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, national leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to perish the thought of becoming Nigeria’s president in the 2023 general elections.

Tinubu few days ago had said he will not turn down the calls of those asking him to contest for president in 2023.

According to the former Lagos state governor, “I’m not going to turn them down but I will still effectively and widely consult, particularly brainstorm with my friends and find a date to come out openly to tell Nigerians.

But speaking with DAILY INDEPENDENT, Shelle said Tinubu should quit the stage for younger generations to grow.

He also said Tinubu has lots of political baggage which could be detrimental to the well-being of any society.

"Asiwaju Bola Tinubu has a lot of baggage to contend with which could be detrimental to the wellbeing of any society”.

“He is old enough to appreciate this fact and my advice is for him to leave the stage for the younger generations to grow. Nigeria cannot afford another setback at this critical time of our history”.

On the chances of the PDP, Shelle said the PDP will not disappoint Nigerians in the choice of a presidential candidate that will win the election and help restore the country’s image.

“We just need to work together as a team and strategise accordingly to ensure that APC does not manipulate and compromise the election results. The tide is very much in our favour”.

“PDP will not disappoint Nigerians in their choice of candidate for the Presidential election. The party is working towards presenting a credible, knowledgeable and acceptable candidate that will help restore the image and dignity of the country.
Nigeria needs to be reunited and repositioned and PDP will not fail in achieving this goal given another opportunity”.

Maxymilliano:
There is a difference between a Governor elected by the people and a stooge or puppet.

Sanwoolu has proven to be the latter ... Just look at how he was humbled by a CSP because of eye service

High Chief Raymond Dokpesi has said what Nigeria has become under the All Progressive Congress-led Federal Government of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (Retd.), which robbed the candidate of the People’s Democratic Party, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, of power in 2019, is a country flowing with blood of her children.

Dokpesi, who chairs a consultative technical committee for Atiku Abubakar’s presidential bid in 2023, stated this in Yola, during a meeting with stakeholders of the PDP, on the possibility of Atiku re-contesting for president in 2023.

Dokpesi also noted that giving the circumstances which the country has found itself, only a person with proven track record of performance and capacity as a unifier in the mould of Atiku would be able to stir the country out of its present quagmire.

He said, “Now that the 2023 is approaching again. Now that the economy of the country has totally collapsed, and our children cannot find employment. It is very glaring that we need somebody who is a unifier, who is very sound, who has business acumen,who himself has investment and wealth of experience and wherewithal to be able to properly lead the country out of its present quagmire like Atiku.”

According to Dokpesi, who noted that since 2019 when Atiku was deprived of the presidency, the country has been in trouble and in tatters.

He added that all the country has received following the outcome of that election is disunity, hunger and poverty in the land.

He said, “The country has never been disunited as we have it today, both on religious and ethnic lines. Our economy is in shambles. We have not borrowed as much money externally and locally as we have experience in the last six or seven years of the APC-led federal government.
“What we have under the Buhari administration is a Nigeria that is flowing with the blood of our children. The banditry and insecurity that is available is one which is unprecedented.”

Also speaking, the PDP chairman, Adamawa State chapter, Tahir Shehu, the chairman PDP, said Adamawa is sealed for Atiku. He said while it won’t discourage other presidential aspirants nursing presidential ambition in 2023, the party would support Atiku who isna son of the soil because he’s the only solution.

The National Reconciliation Com­mittee of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) will on Saturday visit Osun State where it is scheduled to meet with the state governor, Gboye­ga Oyetola, and his predecessor, Rauf Aregbesola, who is now the Minister of Interior.

A member of the reconciliation committee which is headed by Senator Abdullahi Adamu, a former governor of Nasarawa State, confirmed the de­velopment to Daily Independent.

According to him, invitations have been extended to both Oyetola and Aregbesola and the com­mittee is confident that both men will turn up for the meet­ing.

He, however, failed to dis­close the venue of the meeting.

Aregbesola and Oyetola have been at loggerheads for undisclosed reasons since the start of Oyetola’s tenure in 2018.

The feud has spread to their supporters and split the party in the state into different fac­tions with members attacking one another on different occa­sions.

While the governor’s loy­alists under the aegis of ‘Ileri Oluwa’ have alleged that Areg­besola wants to assume the position of a godfather over the governor despite not sup­porting him as APC flagbearer, the minister’s loyalists who are operating under the banner of ‘The Osun Progressives’ (TOP) have claimed that Oyetola is rubbishing all the legacies put in place by Aregbesola in his eight years reign.

Two weeks ago, Aregbeso­la’s loyalists who claimed that they are in total control of the APC structure in the state vowed to unseat Oyetola in the forthcoming governorship elec­tion scheduled to take place on July 16, 2022.

Also, three party leaders, immediate past deputy speak­er of the House of Represen­tatives, Hon. Lasun Yussuff; former speaker of the Osun State House of Assembly, Hon Najeem Salam, and former Secretary to Osun State govern­ment, Alhaji Moshood Adeoti, few days ago jointly declared that APC cannot win the 2022 governorship election if it fields Oyetola as candidate.

The governor, however, said he is not losing sleep over their plans to stop his reelection bid.

The situation has also prompted the Osun State law­makers to seek the help of the General Overseer of the Re­deemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, to help broker peace between the two political gladiators.

Speaking with Daily Inde­pendent, the APC reconciliation team member said they are confident that both Oyetola and Aregbesola will sheathe their sword at the end of the meeting.

“We are heading to Osun on Saturday where we hope to meet Governor Oyetola and Engr. Rauf Aregbesola. We are confident that a truce will be reached at the end of the meeting.

“We are going there in the name of the party leader, Pres­ident Muhammadu Buhari, and we believe they will respect that. Both men (Oyetola and Aregbesola) are also peacemak­ers and true progressives who want victory for our party in the forthcoming governorship election”, he said.

In a related development, the National Reconciliation Com­mittee of the APC in Abuja on Wednesday successfully rec­onciled Gombe State governor, Inuwa Yahaya, and his prede­cessor, Senator Danjuma Goje

The meeting between the two men was attended by the National Chairman of the APC Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Commit­tee and governor of Yobe State, Mai Mala Buni, and other par­ty bigwigs, including former speaker of the House of Rep­resentatives, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara, senators and former governors, among others.

A statement by Ismaila Uba Misilli, Director-General (Press Affairs), Government House, Gombe, said, “The meeting was held at the residence of the former governor of Nasarawa State and Chairman of the APC Reconciliation Committee, Sen. Abdullahi Adamu.

“Both Governor Inuwa Ya­haya and Senator Danjuma Goje were given opportunity to present their respective positions on the seeming mis­understanding and conflict in the APC in Gombe State and a robust discussion was held with a view to unravelling what the problems are, and how best to proffer solutions and resolve the differences as well as cement all cracks with­in the party in the state ahead of the national convention and preparatory to the 2023 general elections.

“This meeting was a contin­uation of the earlier one held in Gombe when the Abdullahi Adamu-led committee inter­acted with Governor Muham­madu Inuwa Yahaya and other senior party stakeholders, with a view to addressing perceived grievances and disagreements arising from the recently con­cluded party congresses in the State.

“Although after that meet­ing in Gombe, Sen. Adamu told journalists that it became clear to his committee beyond any reasonable doubt, that Gombe State APC is intact and stronger under the leadership of Governor Muhammadu Inu­wa Yahaya, he however indicat­ed that they will leave no stone unturned to explore all ways of cementing all cracks, integrat­ing members and strengthen­ing the unity in the party”.

Governors from the South, under the aegis of Southern Governors’ Forum (SGF), are no longer on the same page on their earlier resolution that political par­ties in the country, especially the rul­ing All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), must not field any Northerner as presidential candidate for the 2023 general elections, Daily Independent has gathered.

One of the Southern governors, who was present at the two meetings where the resolution was made, con­firmed the development to Daily In­dependent on Monday.

According to him, many of his colleagues have listened to the voice of reason and have “somehow agreed that throwing the ticket open to all as­pirants where the best person will emerge is the best thing to do in the interest of peace and development of the country”.

He added that some of his colleagues have also agreed with those who declared their resolution on zoning as un­constitutional and that Nige­rians should not allow ethnic or regional considerations determine who becomes the president in the 2023 general election.

It would be recalled that there has been a sharp division among the 36 state governors on the issue of zoning of the presidential tickets of the po­litical parties.

While the APC, PDP and All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) governors from the Southern part of the country insisted that the presidency must shift to the South in 2023, the PDP and APC governors in the Northern Governors’ Forum rejected the demand, saying it negates the position of the Nigerian constitution.

The 17 Southern governors from the APC, PDP and APGA at their meeting in Lagos in July, last year, had issued a com­muniqué where they agreed that the presidency should be zoned to Southern Nigeria in 2023 when President Muham­madu Buhari completes his second term.

“The forum reaffirms its commitment to the unity of Nigeria on the pillars of equity, fairness, justice, progress and peaceful coexistence between and amongst its people.

“The forum reiterates its commitment to the politics of equity, fairness and unan­imously agreed that the pres­idency of Nigeria be rotated between Southern and North­ern Nigeria and resolved that the next president of Nige­ria should emerge from the South.”

The governors, who again met in Enugu in September also reiterated their commit­ment towards ensuring that the major political parties com­plied with their resolution on zoning of the presidential tick­et to the South.

Ondo State governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, who is the Chairman of the Southern Governors’ Forum, had said any political party that fields a Northern candidate for presi­dency in 2023 risks losing the support of Southerners.

He argued that when Pres­ident Muhammadu Buhari, a Northerner, completes his second term in 2023, the next president should come from the South.

According to him, “There are about three political parties that are in the Southern Gover­nors’ Forum, we have the All Progressives Grand Alliance, Peoples Democratic Party and the All Progressives Congress. All of us are unanimous in our position that the next president of this country must come from the South.

“For us, we are unanimous. It (the forum) is not a political platform. I believe that any party that picks somebody from the North would have to face the whole Southern region because they will not support it.

“It has to come from the South. We are saying that there must be what I will call rotation. The justice of it and the fairness in it are what we are preaching. If my president – President Buhari — has been in office for eight years, it can’t be from the North. The next president must come from the South.”

In response, Chairman of the Northern Governors’ Forum and governor of Pla­teau State, Simon Lalong, in an 11-point resolution of the meeting, said, “Notwithstand­ing their comments, the Fo­rum unanimously condemn the statement by the South­ern Governors’ Forum that the presidency must go to the South.”

Speaking with Daily Inde­pendent, a governor from the Southern part of the country who was initially opposed to the move by the SGF said re­cent developments in the polity has vindicated him as most of his colleagues who were ini­tially insisting on zoning the presidency to the South have jettisoned the idea.

“I think I have been vindi­cated by what happened two days ago. One of our colleagues who was present at the South­ern Governors’ Forum where the resolution was made vis­ited one of our colleagues in the North and he said that the PDP stands a brighter chance of winning the 2023 election if they field our Northern col­league as candidate.

“If you are serious about the South producing the pres­idential candidate in 2023, why technically declaring support for a Northerner? I think they themselves have seen the fu­tility in pushing the idea of a Southern candidate.

“Political parties can zone but they should allow every qualified aspirant to partic­ipate in the primaries. That has been the norm since return of democracy in 1999. Asking qualified persons not to partic­ipate in the primaries is uncon­stitutional and that was why I never supported the move at the word go”, he said.

Chief Sunny Onuesoke is a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and former governorship aspirant in Delta State. In this interview with TEMIDAYO AKINSUYI, he speaks on his expectations from President Muhammadu Buhari in 2022, Electoral Act Amendment Bill and issues surrounding the forthcoming general elections. Excerpts:

What are your expectations from President Muhammadu Buhari in the new year?

Unfortunately, President Buhari has a penchant for dashing the expectations of Nigerians. This he has proven year in and year out since 2015. At this point there is really not much to be expected from a president that has consistently disappointed the people without showing any sign or remorse to do better next time. Going forward, I hope year 2022 would offer the president the opportunity to reflect on some his actions in the outgoing year that made life difficult for the people. President Buhari must shelve any plan of fuel hike in this year, reconsider his decision not to sign the amended electoral bill to pave the way for a free, fair and transparent election in 2023 and put on hold every form of borrowing this new year. Enough of the mortgaging of our collective future and that of future generations.

Do you see any major defections taking place in 2022 ahead of the 2023 general elections?

Being a penultimate year to the general elections in 2023, there will definitely be massive defections among politicians seeking for the best possible platform to pursue their aspiration which may not necessary be for the interest of the people. Defections would occur in both the ruling APC and the leading opposition party, PDP, all in a bid by politicians to outsmart one another.

There has been a back and forth between the Presidency and National Assembly over the Electoral Act amendment bill. Do you see President Buhari signing it into law?

One thing that would put the president In the good books of Nigerians is to sign the electoral bill. But unfortunately, President Buhari has on several occasions proven to Nigerians that he is not a man of integrity, hence I don’t see him assenting to that bill. Remember in 2015 he also refused to sign the amended electoral bill into law and yet again we are faced with such scenario again, why do you think he would sign it? I wanted him to sign it but I doubt if he will do so.

Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi recently said that the money left behind by former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015 could not last Nigeria for three weeks. Do you agree with him on this?

I strongly believe that Amaechi’s outbursts against former President Goodluck Jonathan is to divert attention from the failure of his Ministry, principal and party, the APC. He said the money left behind for Nigeria by former President Goodluck Jonathan at the point of his departure on May 29, 2015 was not enough to run the affairs of the country for three weeks. He also said bandits and all these people that kill is a question about poverty which did not start in the present of the present administration. I make bold to say that the allegation against Jonathan has no iota of truth but an attempt to divert attention of Nigerians from the failure of this present administration. It is also a move to tarnish the good image of former President Jonathan and PDP administration. If Amaechi says that the money left behind by the ex-President couldn’t sustain Nigeria for three weeks, where do they see monies they have been using to sustain the economy for the past years they have been in government?

It is embarrassing that a government that has ruled for two terms keep on blaming a government that ruled for only one term. When will the present government stop the blame game and concentrate on fulfilling the promises they made to Nigerians? How does a two term President keep blaming a one term President? It makes me feel they know they have failed hence the resort to heaping blame on Jonathan. They keep on blaming Jonathan because they see their failures staring them in the face.

blackpanda:


He gives directives, not supervise. There is an entire military architecture for that.

blackpanda:
It is not the job of the President to supervise army commanders. We are in civilian rule, not military rule.

Sai Baba, meanwhile

Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN), Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC) has said the body is not under the supervision of Abubakar Malami (SAN), the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice.

Speaking in an interview with DAILY INDEPENDENT, Sagay said, unlike the EFCC and ICPC which are under Malami, the Minister has no power or influence over PACAC.

He said, “PACAC is really not an agency under the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice. He has never initiated anything that we have to comply with”.

” What has been happening is like a mutual understanding between PACAC and the office of the Attorney-General. When they have programme, they invite us and when we have programme, we also invite them”.

” But he has no power, authority or influence over anything we have been doing. We are two separate organisations. He is an executive type of institution while we are more of a think-tank with some capacities for coordination of the anti-corruption agencies”.

” He has his own powers over them and we also have our own powers running on parallel lines but there is no hierarchy between us and them”.

“We are not above the Ministry of Justice and they are also not above us. They are running their own and we are running ours too but we cooperate where necessary”.

Conner44:
If Boko Haram can mount flags and collect taxes then it’s normally progressive for them to have a football team

Only their preferred type of ball would be bombs