A former Governor of Ogun State and an elder statesman, Chief Olusegun Osoba has held a midnight South West caucus meeting with presidential aspirants from the region in the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The meeting, according to credible sources, was centered around the need for the Southwest to be united and speak with one voice going into the presidential primary election of the party.
A source who was privy to discussion at the meeting said Vice President Yemi Osinbajo is being persuaded to step down for the National Leader of the Party, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“Everything is looking good for Asiwaju (Tinubu). Naturally, the stakeholders are conscious of the fact that the Vice President has the right of first refusal considering the democracy we are practicing.
“However, on the strenght of the peculiarity of the situation, he (Osinbajo) is being persuaded to see the need to step down for Asiwaju.
“There is also the issue of the Governor of Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi who is believed to have the backing of some of his colleagues from the North.
“In the next few hours, we wait to see what pans out at the end of the day. But what I know is that we are all on the same page on the need to present a formidable candidate that can square up and defeat Atiku (Abubakar), the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP),” the source said.
The 11 northern governors under the platform of APC have asked Buhari to ensure that power is rotated to the South, saying that ceding presidency to the zone will engender fairness, justice and harmony.
This was contained in a statement released and made available to newsmen by the governors after a meeting with Buhari.
“APC governors and political leaders from the northern states of Nigeria today met to review the political situation and to further support our Party in providing progressive leadership amidst our national challenges. During our discussions, we welcomed President Muhammadu Buhari’s invitation to governors and other stakeholders to contribute to the emergence of a strong presidential candidate for the APC.
Waterfield Luxury Hotel, Akobo, Ibadan
“After careful deliberation, we wish to state our firm conviction that after eight years in office of President Muhammadu Buhari, the presidential candidate of the APC for the 2023 elections should be one of our teeming members from the southern states of Nigeria. It is a question of honour for the APC, an obligation that is not in anyway affected by the decisions taken by another political party. We affirm that upholding this principle is in the interest of building a stronger, more united and more progressive country.
“We therefore wish to strongly recommend to President Muhammadu Buhari that the search for a successor as the APC’s presidential candidate be limited to our compatriots from the southern states. We appeal to all aspirants from the northern states to withdraw in the national interest and allow only the aspirants from the south to proceed to the primaries. We are delighted by the decision of our esteemed colleague, His Excellency, Governor Abubakar Badaru to contribute to this patriotic quest by withdrawing his presidential aspiration.
“The APC has a duty to ensure that the 2023 elections offer a nation-building moment, reaffirming that a democratic pathway to power exists for all who value cooperation and build national platforms. This moment calls for the most sober and inclusive approach to selecting our party’s candidate, and we call on all APC leaders to fulfil their responsibility in this regard.
Signed, 4th June 2022:
Aminu Bello Masari Governor of Katsina State Abubakar Sani Bello Governor of Niger State Abdullahi A. Sule Governor of Nasarawa State Prof. B.G. Umara Zulum Governor of Borno State Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai Governor of Kaduna State Muhammad Inuwa Yahaya Governor of Gombe State Bello M. Matawalle Governor of Zamfara State Simon Bako Lalong Governor of Plateau State Senator Aliyu Wamakko Former Governor of Sokoto State Dr. A.U. Ganduje Governor of Kano State Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu Governor of Kebbi State”
ODUDUWA NEWS has gathered that there was a report of armed robbery incident at exactly 2am on Saturday at a private hostel located in Cooperative Estate, Adaba, Apete Ibadan.
The private hostel housing many Polytechnic Ibadan students including both males and females was said to have been raided by two-man robbery gang who raided room to room and carted away several valuable items including phones, laptops and money.
According to our correspondent, the armed robbers gained entrance to the hostel through the backyard fence, broke several doors and made their way to several rooms. The robbers according to eyewitness who spoke under condition of anonymity to ODUDUWA NEWS said, one of the robbers was sighted with a gun which he used to overpower male students living in the hostel.
The robbery incident was said to have lasted for 2 hours before the robbers later scaled fence and ran away having suspected move by some residents to descend on them.
It was learnt that a female resident was raped by the armed robbers.
Meanwhile, some of the students had lamented poor management of the hostel by the owner who had turned deaf ear to their request to attach importance to their security by erecting iron doors in the hostel.
The wife of the hostel owner who manages its affairs on behalf of her UK-resident husband, said to have alerted Nigerian Police for further investigation.
The Presidential aspirant under the platform of All Progressives Congress APC has claimed that the statement credited to him while he was addressing delegates at Abeokuta in Ogun State was error in translation.
This was contained in a statement released and made available to newsmen as read in part:
“The attention of the Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu Presidential Campaign Organisation has been drawn to the erroneous, misleading and mischievous interpretation of his address in Abeokuta, capital of Ogun State on Thursday.
“It is on record that the leading presidential aspirant in the forthcoming primaries of the APC, Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu addressed the national delegates of the party in Ogun State , with Governor Dapo Abiodun in attendance.
“In his effort to convince the party delegates to vote for him at the primaries, he went down memory lane to provide specific instances when he brought his political clout and strategic skills to assist individuals, groups and tendencies in the party to gain political power.
“These factual references are already in the public realm.
“They have been reported and analysed in the media in the last eight years.
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“While we recognise that recent unexpected interventions in the time table and the heat generated by the proximity of the event might have led to some anxiety, this campaign organisation believes that the main thrust of Asiwaju’s presentation, was that his huge contributions to the formation and electoral success of the APC should count in his favour as a true party man who desires to be the flag bearer.
“There is also no doubt that the fresh conditions proposed by President Muhammadu Buhari for the consideration of a presidential candidate of the party made it necessary for Asiwaju to labour to convince the delegates that he fits the bill.
“The campaign was surprised at the way the opposition and Tinubu’s traducers had turned his statement to give an interpretation Tinubu did not mean and did not say.
At no time did Tinubu play any ethnic card or denigrate any ethnic group. That is surely out of his character, as David Babachir Lawal, attested in his viral whatsApp statement.
Tinubu’s speech in Abeokuta did not demonstrate any disrespect to President Buhari, for whom he has a very high regards and whose re-election campaign he chaired in 2019. The campaign organisation hereby appeals to the media to avoid over-sensationaling issues of facts and play its role of informing the electorate”.
Honourable member representing Iseyin/Itesiwaju/Iwajowa/Kajola Federal Constituency, Hon. Shina Peller has claimed that he Jettisoned his plan to recontest for House of Representatives member in fairness to Iwajowa, Kajola LGs.
This was contained in a statement made available today via his official Twitter account as read in part:
“Many people wonder why I chose not to return to the House of Representatives for the second term. For the sake of integrity, my decision is based on my consideration of other local governments within my constituency- Kajola and Iwajowa who haven’t presented a representative for almost 16 years now. Returning to the House for the second term will mean denying them the opportunity to present a representative for twenty years.
“By 2023 when I will be completing my first term as a member of the House of Representatives, it will make it sixteen (16) uninterrupted years that Iseyin/Itesiwaju have been producing representatives for the constituency leaving out the people from Kajola/Iwajowa.
“My people from Kajola/Iwajowa feel the people from Iseyin haven’t been fair enough to them in this regard, and I share their pain. This was why I made up my mind to throw my weight behind choosing a qualified person from Kajola/Iwajowa to represent our federal constituency in 2023, while I am yielding the call of my people from Oke Ogun to opt for the Oyo North Senatorial District seat. And I cannot be seen leading the liberation of Okeogun people and not fair to the local govts within my Constituency.
“So, to those that feels I should return to the House of Reps, it’s not all about me alone; it’s about putting into consideration my integrity and overall interest of all”.
Ahead of the ruling All Progressive Congress’s presidential primary, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo was tipped as the favorite for the party’s ticket in a now-deleted survey conducted by TVC, a Nigerian media channel.
On its official Twitter account Wednesday, the Television Station, which is apparently controlled by Tinubu, held an APC primary-themed poll, asking, “Now that Atiku has emerged as the PDP presidential candidate, who should APC field as their flag bearer?”
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The list included Rotimi Amaechi, the former Minister of Transportation, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Senate President Ahmed Lawan, and APC National Leader Bola Tinubu.
After 1,721 votes, Osinbajo took the lead with 43 percent, followed by Tinubu with 40 percent, and Amaechi with 30 percent and Lawan with 9% of the total votes cast, the tweet was deleted, Quest Times reported.
In related news, a Twitter handle “BiggDaaddyy1” known to be a dogged follower of the Asiwaju camp, and who was simultaneously hosting a Twitter space, had to delete his poll which asked: “Refusing Bola Tinubu APC ticket is a betrayal; YES or NO?”.
A total of 1,763 people voted; 73 voted NO and only 27% voted YES.
This is not the first time the Vice President will defeat his opponents in an opinion poll, ODUDUWA NEWS reported.
The lawmaker representing Ede-North/Ede-South/Egbedore/Ejigbo Federal Constituency in Osun State at the House of Representatives, Bamidele Salam on Wednesday, 1st June held a protest walk against insecurity in Nigeria.
Waterfield Luxury Hotel Akobo Ibadan
Salam, who was dressed in black, walked barefooted from the Unity Fountain in the Maitama area of the Federal Capital Territory to the National Assembly Complex.
As the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) prepares for its special convention for Presidential Primary, the Chairman of the Southern Nigeria Governors’ Forum and Ondo State Governor, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu,SAN, has charged the party to work hard to retain power by rotating the Presidency to the South.
Waterfield Luxury Hotel, Akobo, Ibadan
Governor Akeredolu, who doubles as the Chairman of the Southwest Governors’ Forum, was on Wednesday evening announced as the Chairman of Security and Compliance for the party’s special convention.
In a short message via his personal Facebook page on Thursday, the Governor re-echoed the position of his colleagues in the Southern Nigeria Governors’ Forum that power should be rotated to the South.
Governor Akeredolu noted that the APC must be ready to rotate power so as to retain power, adding that to retain power, the party must rotate to the South.
“APC must work to retain power. We must rotate power to retain retain power !!! Rotate to the South. Shikena.” The message reads.
Kola Daisi who recently won Oyo South Senatorial ticket whose mandate was later overturned as a result of rerun primary election that saw Barrister Sarafadeen Alli emerging as the candidate has vowed that he would contest under the platform of APC because he does not recognize the purported rerun.
This was contained in a press statement made available to ODUDUWA NEWS as read in part:
“I thank you all for your support on this novel journey, culminating in the recently concluded Oyo South Senatorial Primaries of May 29, 2022.
At this primary election, I was declared the winner having scored the majority vote of 212 votes, while the closest other contender got 107 votes; even though irregularities were noted.
This election was however arbitrarily cancelled and within 24 hours, a rerun was scheduled to hold on the 31st of May, 2022.
While irregularities were noted at the election of May 29th, any review of the result of that election can only be done through the appropriate electoral appeal process. This appeal process would review any issues raised, invite interested parties to make representations and make decisions based on facts, the constitution of our party and also in accordance with relevant laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Furthermore, the appeal process requires obtaining necessary approvals within the party hierarchy to carry out its recommendations.
How all of this can happen without inviting aspirants and in less than 24 hours does not suggest fairness.
The party or its election committees should not unilaterally cancel an election without following due process.
We therefore distance ourselves from the sham of the primary election purportedly held on the 31st of May, 2022, that was tagged a re-run, and we did not participate in it
As far as we are concerned, we have been duly elected as the candidate of the APC for the Oyo South senatorial district having scored the majority votes and should be allowed to prepare for and contest for the general election scheduled for February 2023.
We joined the APC based on our conviction of its progressive policies; that everyone is equal, that every citizen deserves to benefit from the deeds of good governance, providing opportunities for young people, proffering workable solutions to establishing a welfare system for the less privileged, proportional redistribution of wealth through a fairer tax system, and developing innovative and people-centered policies aimed at adequate availability of public goods such as schools, hospitals and necessary infrastructure to make people’s lives easier.
Also, we believe the youth is the future of Nigeria and will be integral to our agenda. About 90% of our population is under the age of 50; therefore, decisions need to be made for the benefit of the next generation. This can only happen when we the youth get to positions where we can either influence or make policies.
On this journey, we toured the whole of Oyo South senatorial district, all the 9 local governments. From Beere to Ayete, Ita Baale to Igangan, Ido to Eruwa, we met our people in all the communities and we thoroughly enjoyed every single moment of this journey.
The events of the last few days have shown why so many youths are left disenfranchised and apathetic towards politics. The lack of internal democracy in political parties discourages willing participants. A fairer system will benefit our party significantly by bringing to the table different ideas as well as different perspectives to finding solutions to issues of today.
Still, I encourage all the youths who have an interest in politics not to lose faith. We need to get involved, our movement JÉKÁ DÁSI, typified by the amount of love and acceptance we received from all corners of the state, should be enough motivation to further fuel your desire to serve.
Our time is now.
I want to categorically state that our journey has only just begun. Not only for ourselves, but to give hope to every other youth looking to DÁSI (get involved) in Nigerian politics and governance for the good of country and the benefit of citizens. We will fight for fairness and we believe we shall be representing our party on the ballot as senatorial candidate for Oyo South come February 2023.
To my fellow aspirants, I say a big ‘Thank You’. It was a tough contest with intellectuals and persons of great standing in our state. We all conducted ourselves in the best manner despite the stiff competition. I learned a lot from most of you and I have thoroughly enjoyed the intrigues and gamesmanship of the contest.
A big thank you to my supporters, the media and everyone who has been following our journey and inspired by our movement. We could not have done this without you. Like I said, the journey has just started. We will continue to fight to represent the people of Oyo South senatorial district and advance the causes that are dear to us.
I thank my team, the DG, the KKD Cabinet (coordinators), the KKD Boys, KKD Babes, the KKD kids and all team KKD. You guys are the best. The road to 2023 is long but we shall make it an easy ride together.
To my family, I sincerely thank you for making this so worthwhile. I’ll surely make you proud”.
Hon. Shina Abiola Peller, the lawmaker representing Iseyin/Itwaiwaju/Kajola/Iwajowa Federal Constituency, has stated that his visit to Oyo New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) chieftain, Alhaji Adebisi Olopoeyan, has nothing to do with the state’s ongoing politicking.
Peller and Olopoeyan were reportedly in a closed-door meeting at the mansion of a political figure in Ibadan, according to ODUDUWA NEWS.
Waterfield Luxury Hotel, Akobo, Ibadan
Hon. Shina Peller told the press after the meeting that his visit to Olopoeyan was purely coincidental and had nothing to do with his senatorial ambitions.
” I went to see a political guru, a brother who used to be a close associate of my father while he was alive.
“Though you, Olopoeyan, are a well-respected politician, my visit here today is to pay tribute to a friend of my father’s who has passed away.”
“When asked if he is still contesting for Oyo North senatorial district since his party ticket has been won by the incumbent senator, Fatai Buhari, the lawmaker made an affirmation, saying he will surely contest for Oyo North senatorial district in 2023. In his statement about the meeting held with Oke-Ogun-born politician, Olopoeyan said, Peller’s visit was not about his issue in APC or his party, NNPP.
“I had a good relationship with his father during his lifetime, I and Shina have also built relations before now, he came today to pay an homage, nothing attached to it, presently Shina Peller is in APC, while I am in NNPP, but all the same, I will always wish him well in all his political journey because he is a fantastic young politician that every party wishes for to be a member.
