fergie001:

You never said Ikpeazu will lose, nobody saw that coming.

Presidential election is gone, this is Governorship! Every Party here is picking up the pace.

fergie001:
It will be tough but one consensus rn is that you can't interview 5 people and you even hear 1 say PDP or APC.

garfield1:


I heard abia apc has abandoned emwnike for mascot

The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, on Thursday, said the presidential bid of his Labour Party, counterpart, Peter Obi is premature.

Atiku, who stated this while addressing a press conference in Abuja, insisted that he remained the stepping stone to the aspiration of the Igbo to produce Nigeria’s President.

He said, “When I ran in 2019, I picked an Igbo man as a running mate simply because I felt that after any other zone again, the next zone must be South-East. In 2011, I also picked another Igbo man. And in 2023, I also picked another Igbo man. And I have always said that I will be a stepping stone to an Igbo Presidency.

“Because there is no zone alone in this country that can produce a President on his own. I have always told my Igbo compatriots that you negotiate for power, you don’t fight for it.

“So, for anybody to think that I have anything against Labour Party, I think Peter (Obi) was in a rush. Do you know why I say he was in a rush?

“When the campaign started and our PDP governors said that they must produce the president among them, they must produce the vice-president among them, they must produce chief of staff amongst them, Peter got scared and left.

“I did not get scared, I stood up against the governors. When we formed the PDP some of them were perhaps in secondary school or in university.

“So, why should I be afraid and I stood up and fought them and I won the primaries.

“So, if he were there, nothing would have stopped him from becoming a running mate because I had the right of choosing who would be my running mate.

Speaking further, Atiku said Obi “wounded” his outing in the election by taking away the votes he would have gor from the South-East and South-South.

He also said his party was ready to have an alliance with the LP if Obi was willing.

“The question of whether I will work with Peter or not, or whether Peter wounded the PDP; yes, to some extent, he did because all the votes he carried were PDP votes in the South-South and the South-East. Agreed, he took our votes from the South-East and South-South, that, of course, will not make him President. You all know that to be President of this country, you need votes from everywhere. So, as far as I am concerned, Peter is welcome to have a dialogue with the PDP

“We are ready to have a dialogue with him. I don’t think we will have any problem if he wants to have a dialogue with PDP either to form an alliance or not.”

The immediate-past Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio, of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has won the Akwa Ibom North-West election to return to the Senate.

Akpabio won in the majority of the 10 LGAs making up the Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District (Akwa Ibom North-West) including Ikot Ekpene, Essien Udim, Etim Ekpo, Ika, Oruk Anam and Abak LGAs, while his major challenger and former National Legal Adviser of the PDP, Emmanuel Enoidem, won in Ini and Obot Akara LGAs only.

The overwhelming victory of Akpabio, LEADERSHIP learnt, followed the resolution of some factions of the Young Progressives Congress (YPP), the ruling PDP and other political parties to surrender their structures to the former Senate Minority Leader.

techWriter3:
InterestingWaiting to listening from Cross River also

Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike yesterday recalled how the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, turned down offers to work against the reelection of President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019.

Wike said after meeting with a former Senate President, Bukola Saraki, and the Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal, in Paris between 2017 and 2018, he was sent to the Bourdilion, to persuade Tinubu to join the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and work against Buhari.

The governor commended Tinubu for his steadfastness and loyalty to President Buhari, despite the challenges he had faced in the ruling party.

He said: “I came to your house in Bourdillon. I came and said to you sir, look at the way the country is moving. There is no way we can allow the current president to continue in 2019.

“You now asked me, okay, what are the alternatives? I said sir, we have Atiku, we have Tambuwal, we have Bukola. You laughed. You said, look, I will remain with Buhari. If these are your alternatives, I will remain with Buhari, that I don’t know them.”



The governor spoke when Tinubu, his running mate, Senator Kashim Shettima, and APC National Chairman Senator Abdullahi Adamu, visited him in Government House, Port Harcourt.

On Tinubu’s entourage were, Governors Abubakar Atiku Bagudu (Kebbi) ; Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu (Lagos), David Umahi (Ebonyi), former Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi, Minister of State for Petroleum, Timipre Sylva and Tony Okocha.

Wike commended the APC governors for their insistence that power must return to the South after President Buhari’s tenure.


He said: “I thank APC governors for standing firm to say the unity of this country is more paramount. If you want to be president, without peace, does it make sense? You must be president when the country is united and you will enjoy being president.”

The governor described the APC presidential candidate as a man of character and courage, saying such attributes were what the country desperately required.

He said: “I wish you good luck. I support the principle of fairness, equity and justice and that is what G-5 stands for. G-5 does not stand for anybody.”

He urged Tinubu to prevail on the Federal Government to ensure that 2023 general election was not truncated.

Wike noted that the Central Bank flagrant disregard to the Supreme Court on the naira swap policy should worry the APC-led Federal Government amidst the forthcoming poll.

Wike, who thanked God that the APC presidential rally in the state was devoid of violence, however, expressed reservation whether the APC-led Federal Government was interested in conducting the election particularly with the lingering naira swap crisis.

He said: “Do you people really want this election to take place or not; or you have an agenda to truncate this election? I don’t know. Look at what is happening in Oyo today, Edo, Delta. See what is going on.”

The Rivers State governor maintained that the abrupt naira redesign and the tactless implementation of the naira swap policy by the CBN smacked of pure politics.

He insisted that irrespective of the politics, the ruling APC must ensure the conduct of the election.

He said: “I believe your party should make sure this election holds. You people are in power. Ensure that this election holds. Nobody can solve the issue of corruption in two-three months. It is not possible . This thing is purely politically motivated.”


Wike took a swipe on the governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, for his blatant disregard to the Supreme Court.

He said: “How can you people be in government at this time, governor of a Central Bank disrespecting the Supreme Court. Where has it happened in any democracy? Governor of Central Bank thinking of whether to obey Supreme Court order. Where has it happened?

“I am not talking about Federal High Court order, not Court Of Appeal. I am talking about Supreme Court. Supreme Court said do not do this and everybody is folding hand begging Central Bank to obey Supreme Court order. Which country has it ever happened? When the order of Supreme Court is not obeyed, what are you telling the poor people on the street?

Wike, who described himself as an unrepentant member of the PDP, said it was abominable for two PDP states, Bayelsa and Edo, to join the Federal Government as defendants in the suit brought before the Supreme Court by some states challenging the naira swap policy.

He said: “For the first time I have seen a government procuring opposition to join them to defend their policy. A policy that is anti-people. You are now the ones procuring we (PDP) to defend something that is totally wrong. I have seen anything like this in my life. It is a big shame.”

Wike advised Tinubu and the national leadership of the APC not to invest resources in any of the party’s candidate in the state, because none of them would win a single seat in the election.

Tinubu informed Wike that the courtesy visit was necessitated by his sheer regard and admiration for his advocacy that power should rotate to the South.

He said he joined the race to lead the country on the philosophy that power should return to the South, as consistently advocated by Wike.

Tinubu said: “Our courtesy call, not to personalise it, is out of the respect I have for you. You worked hard and you voiced loudly your commitment to unity and the critical part to that unity in Nigeria, you never advocated a division of our country. You followed history. You respect the country.”

Senator Adamu explained that APC had deliberately resolved that power should rotate to the South at the end of President Buhari’s tenure.

According to him, the decision resulted in the emergence of Tinubu as the presidential candidate for the 2023 election.

He commended the Rivers State governor for his advocacy that power should shift to the South.

According to him, Wike had by his stance on power shift, demonstrated that he was a man of conscience.

Niger State Government has filed a suit against the Federal government on the Naira redesign policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) at the Supreme Court.

Rivers State governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, has lauded the Supreme Court judgement, which suspended plan by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to ban on old naira notes from February 10, 2023.

Wike gave the commendation on Wednesday while speaking during the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) campaign rally at Abua, headquarters of Abua/Odual local government area of the State.

The governor said: “Let me on behalf of the government and people of Rivers State commend the Supreme Court of Nigeria for what they have done today to save the masses from suffering and to save our democracy.

“Today the Supreme Court has stopped the Central Bank of Nigeria from embarking on something majority of Nigerians know is anti-people.

“Like I have said before, our democracy can only survive with the support of INEC, security agencies, and the judiciary. With what happened today, the Supreme Court has futher shown that the hope of the common man lies in the judiciary.

“Let me commend Kaduna State, Zamfara State, and Kogi State that took it upon themselves to challenge the Federal Government at the Supreme Court. Rivers State will join them in that suit to challenge what the CBN is doing against the masses.”

Also, speaking during the rally, PDP governorship candidate in the State, Siminalayi Fubara, said he will sustain the current peace in Abua/Odual Local Government Area, and bring more infrastructural development to the area when he comes on board as governor of the State.

Fubara said: “When the Council Chairman was speaking, he said something very important. He said some years ago some people used to claim that they own the votes in Abua/Odual local government area, but the story has changed today.

“He said if it is only one vote, that vote belongs to PDP, if it is 10 votes or one million votes, they all belong to PDP. The only reason for that is because we have brought peace to Abua/Odual people.

“It is only when there is crisis that these people can claim they have the votes, if election is peaceful, they cannot win any reasonable vote.

“Now that we have peace, PDP will win the day. We have to make sure that we sustain that peace. We will work with your political and traditional leaders to provide adequate security in this LGA because no meaningful development can come without peace.

“Presently, the administration of Governor Nyesom Wike is embarking on two major projects in this LGA, one is in Abua and the other is sited in Odual. There will be more development in Abua/Odual when these projects are completed.

“We are assuring you that we are going to give you more road networks in Abua/Odual LGA. The growth of every society depends on its physical infrastructure, and that’s what we are bringing to you.

“We have several other things that we will do for you. We will consult with your leaders to know the critical areas you want us to come in, and we will come in and address it, but for now what we need from you is your support, if you support us, we will continue to support you with better development.”