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Nigeria Opinion Politics USA/Europe

US 2024 : DESPITE CLOCKING 82, JOE BIDEN DECLARES RE-ELECTION BID, POISE TO BE US OLDEST PRESIDENT

PUSH NEWS 24 INTERNATIONAL: April 25th, 2023

US 2024 : DESPITE CLOCKING 82, JOE BIDEN DECLARES RE-ELECTION BID, POISE TO BE US OLDEST PRESIDENT

President Joe Biden speaks during a ceremony honoring the Council of Chief State School Officers’ 2023 Teachers of the Year in the Rose Garden of the White House, Monday, April 24, 2023 in Washington. President Biden announced 2024 reelection bid Tuesday.

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Tuesday formally announced that he is running for reelection in 2024, asking voters to give him more time to “finish the job” he began when he was sworn in to office and to set aside their concerns about extending the run of America’s oldest president for another four years.

Biden, who would be 86 at the end of a second term, is betting his first-term legislative achievements and more than 50 years of experience in Washington will count for more than concerns over his age. He faces a smooth path to winning his party’s nomination, with no serious Democratic rivals. But he’s still set for a hard-fought struggle to retain the presidency in a bitterly divided nation.

The announcement, in a three-minute video, comes on the four-year anniversary of when Biden declared for the White House in 2019, promising to heal the “soul of the nation” amid the turbulent presidency of Donald Trump — a goal that has remained elusive.

“I said we are in a battle for the soul of America, and we still are,” Biden said. “The question we are facing is whether in the years ahead we have more freedom or less freedom. More rights or fewer.”

While the question of seeking reelection has been a given for most modern presidents, that’s not always been the case for Biden, as a notable swath of Democratic voters have indicated they would prefer he not run, in part because of his age — concerns Biden has called “totally legitimate” but ones he did not address head-on in the launch video.

Yet few things have unified Democratic voters like the prospect of Trump returning to power. And Biden’s political standing within his party stabilized after Democrats notched a stronger-than-expected performance in last year’s midterm elections, as the president set out to run again on the same themes that buoyed his party last fall, particularly on preserving access to abortion.

“Freedom. Personal freedom is fundamental to who we are as Americans. There’s nothing more important. Nothing more sacred,” Biden said in the launch video, which painted the Republican Party as extremists trying to roll back access to abortion, cut Social Security, limit voting rights and ban books they disagree with. “Around the country, MAGA extremists are lining up to take those bedrock freedoms away.”

“This is not a time to be complacent,” Biden added. “That’s why I’m running for reelection.”

As the contours of the campaign begin to take shape, Biden plans to campaign on his record. He spent his first two years as president combating the coronavirus pandemic and pushing through major bills such as the bipartisan infrastructure package and legislation to promote high-tech manufacturing and climate measures. With Republicans now in control of the House, Biden has shifted his focus to implementing those massive laws and making sure voters credit him for the improvements, while sharpening the contrast with the GOP ahead of an expected showdown over raising the nation’s borrowing limit that could have debilitating consequences for the country’s economy.

But the president also has multiple policy goals and unmet promises from his first campaign that he’s pitching voters on giving him another chance to fulfill.

“Let’s finish this job. I know we can,” Biden said in the video, repeating a mantra he said a dozen times during his State of the Union address in February, listing everything from passing a ban on assault-style weapons and lowering the cost of prescription drugs to codifying a national right to abortion after the Supreme Court’s ruling last year overturning Roe v. Wade.

Buoyed by the midterm results, Biden plans to continue to cast all Republicans as embracing what he calls “ultra-MAGA” politics — a reference to Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan — regardless of whether his predecessor ends up on the 2024 ballot. He’s spent the last several months road-testing campaign themes, including painting Republicans as fighting for tax cuts for businesses and the wealthy while trying to cut social safety net benefits relied on by everyday Americans and roll back access to abortion services.

Biden, speaking over brief video clips and photographs of key moments in his presidency, snapshots of diverse Americans and flashes of his outspoken Republican foes, including Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, exhorted supporters that “this is our moment” to “defend democracy. Stand up for our personal freedoms. Stand up for the right to vote and our civil rights.”

Biden also plans to point to his work over the past two years shoring up American alliances, leading a global coalition to support Ukraine’s defenses against Russia’s invasion and returning the U.S. to the Paris climate accord. But public support in the U.S. for Ukraine has softened in recent months, and some voters question the tens of billions of dollars in military and economic assistance flowing to Kyiv.

The president faces lingering criticism over his administration’s chaotic 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan after nearly 20 years of war, which undercut the image of competence he aimed to portray to the world, and he finds himself the target of GOP attacks over his immigration and economic policies.

As a candidate in 2020, Biden pitched voters on his familiarity with the halls of power in Washington and his relationships around the world as he promised to return a sense of normalcy to the country amid Trump’s tumultuous presidency and the deadly COVID-19 pandemic.

But even back then, Biden was acutely aware of voters’ concerns about his age.

“Look, I view myself as a bridge, not as anything else,” Biden said in March 2020, as he campaigned in Michigan with younger Democrats, including now-Vice President Kamala Harris, Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. “There’s an entire generation of leaders you saw stand behind me. They are the future of this country.”

Three years later, the president now 80, Biden allies say his time in office has demonstrated that he saw himself as more of a transformational than a transitional leader.

Still, many Democrats would prefer that Biden didn’t run again. A recent poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows just 47% of Democrats say they want him to seek a second term, up from 37% in February. And Biden’s verbal — and occasional physical — stumbles have become fodder among the GOP, which has sought to cast him as unfit for office.

Biden, on multiple occasions, has brushed back concerns about his age, saying simply, “Watch me.”

During a routine physical in February, his physician, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, declared him “healthy, vigorous” and “fit” to handle his White House responsibilities.

Aides acknowledge that while some in his party might prefer an alternative to Biden, there is anything but consensus within their diverse coalition on who that might be. And they insist that when Biden is compared with whomever the GOP nominates, Democrats and independents will rally around Biden.

For now, the 76-year-old Trump is the favorite to emerge as the Republican nominee, creating the potential of a historic sequel to the bitterly fought 2020 campaign. But Trump faces significant hurdles of his own, including the designation of being the first former president to face criminal charges. The remaining GOP field is volatile, with DeSantis emerging as an early alternative to Trump. DeSantis’ stature is also in question, however, amid questions about his readiness to campaign outside of his increasingly Republican-leaning state.

To prevail again, Biden will need to revive the alliance of young voters and Black voters — particularly women — along with blue-collar Midwesterners, moderates and disaffected Republicans who helped him win in 2020. He’ll have to again carry the so-called “blue wall” in the Upper Midwest, while protecting his position in Georgia and Arizona, longtime GOP strongholds that he narrowly won in his last campaign.

Biden’s reelection bid comes as the nation weathers uncertain economic crosscurrents. Inflation is ticking down after hitting the highest rate in a generation, driving up the price of goods and services, but unemployment is at a 50-year low, and the economy is showing signs of resilience despite Federal Reserve interest rate hikes.

Presidents typically try to delay their reelection announcements to maintain the advantages of incumbency and skate above the political fray for as long as possible while their rivals trade jabs. But the leg up offered by being in the White House can be rickety — three of the last seven presidents have lost reelection, most recently Trump in 2020.

Biden’s announcement is roughly consistent with the timeline followed by then-President Barack Obama, who waited until April 2011 to declare for a second term. Trump launched his reelection bid on the day he was sworn in in 2017.

Biden is not expected to dramatically alter his day-to-day schedule as a candidate — at least not immediately — with aides believing his strongest political asset is showing the American people that he is governing. And if he follows the Obama playbook, he may not hold any formal campaign rallies until well into 2024. Obama didn’t hold a reelection rally until May 2012.

On Tuesday, Biden named White House adviser Julie Chávez Rodríguez to serve as campaign manager and Quentin Fulks, who ran Sen. Raphael Warnock’s reelection campaign in Georgia last year, to serve as principal deputy campaign manager. Reps. Lisa Blunt-Rochester, Jim Clyburn and Veronica Escobar; Sens. Chris Coons and Tammy Duckworth; entertainment mogul and Democratic mega-donor Jeffrey Katzenberg; and Whitmer will serve as campaign co-chairs.

On the heels of the announcement Tuesday, Biden was set to deliver remarks to union members before hosting South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol for a state visit at the White House. He plans to meet with party donors in Washington later this week.

Biden’s formal go-ahead comes after months of public incredulity that the president would seek another term despite plentiful signs that he was intent on doing so.

Ahead of the president’s announcement, first lady Jill Biden expressed disbelief at the persistent questions about her husband’s intent to run.

“How many times does he have to say it for you to believe it?” she told The Associated Press in late February. “He says he’s not done.”

AP Press

Categories
Nigeria Opinion Politics

WITH LOVE TO CHIEF EMMANUEL IWANYANWU, WE ARE SLOW TO ANGER BUT IRRESISTABLE IN BATTLE – FFK

PUSH NEWS 24 INTERNATIONAL : March 26th, 2023

WITH LOVE TO CHIEF EMMANUEL IWANYANWU

The fact that our reverred leader and one of the fathers of our nation, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, can sit there and say nothing when Chief (Dr.) Emmanuel Iwanyanwu, an elderstatesman who I have always respected, describes the entire Yoruba race as “rascals” that the Igbo “will DEAL with” tells me that the rumour that he is NOT a fully-fledged Yoruba man and that his father was an Igbo may well be true.

Whatever the case this is not the OBJ I once knew, loved, defended and worked so hard for. Something has gone wrong.

No-one could have made a statement against ANY tribe in the presence of the old OBJ that we all knew and respected and got away with it. He would have got up and told them off.

As for Iwanyanwu I will not respond to him or to all those that were at that event and that collectively rubbished our people because they are my in-laws and because my four sons are half Igbo.

There is nothing Iwanyawau can say that will make me turn against the Igbo because I have blood and family ties with them and I will continue to love them despite this outrageous provocation.

Apart from that there are millions of Igbos who do not share Iwanyanwu’s views and who have shown nothing but the greatest respect for the Yoruba race and our Northern brothers and allies.

Amongst them are dear friends and brothers like John Nwodo, Orji Uzor Kalu, Chimaroke Nnamani, Ifeanyi Ugwainyi, David Umahi, Hope Uzodinma, Innocent Chukwuma, Emeka Offor and so many others.

Iwanyanwu does not represent them when he calls us rascals and neither does he represent the wives of Seyi Makinde, Rotimi Akeredolu, Ademola Adeleke, Gbadebo ‘Chinedu’ Rhodes-Vivour, David Adedeji Adeleke (AKA Davido) and yours truly who all happen to be Igbo.

What I will say though is that those Igbos that think like Iwanyanwu need to be careful and appreciate the fact that those so-called “Yoruba rascals” have shown the Igbo race more love, respect, admiration, fraternity, solidarity and courtesy over the last 63 years than ANY other tribe in Nigeria and millions of Yoruba men have Igbo wives.

Again many Yoruba leaders stood with and supported Peter Obi in his ill-fated quest to become President of Nigeria including Pa Ayo Adebanjo, OBJ, Afenifere, Akin Oshuntokun, Gbadebo ‘Chinedu’ Rhodes-Vivour, Babatunde Gbadamosi and so many others. I wonder if they are “rascals” too?

We extended our hand for a handshake across the Niger a few years back and we built bridges with the east.

Chief Iwanyanwu, Ohaneze and Afenifere were at that conference and so was yours truly.

As a matter of fact we all made resounding and inspiring speeches seeking for a closer relationship and greater collaboration between our people.

It was a wonderful occasion and a great experience.

We were in full solidarity with the Igbo then and lamented the injustices they had been subjected to over the years.

I even went as far as to declare that Nigeria owes the Igbo an apology for the genocide they were subjected to during the civil war and the pogroms before the war. I maintain that position till today and so do many other Yorubas.

The only thing we asked for in return was a little respect and for them not to describe Lagos as a “no man’s land”. This is a very emotional issue for us. The assertion that Lagos is not part of Yorubaland is deeply offensive and insulting to us.

We also chose to support Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a proud son of the Yoruba, for the Presidency.

These two things have caused a handful of misguided Igbos to now display hatred towards us, to insult us at every turn, to unleash their youth against us in the Media space and to describe us as “rascals”.

With those words and that attitude the bridge between our two people may soon be broken and the handshake across the Niger may soon be withdrawn.

That would be a tragedy of monumental proportions and a negation of all we stand for. We must not let it happen.

We must be restrained and careful not to destroy the love and trust we have built over the years.

The Yoruba are not a people that can easily be insulted and we do not take such things lightly.

We are kind, welcoming, accomodating, civilised, generous, cosmopolitan, liberal and open-hearted to a fault.

We are also slow to anger but irresistible in battle.

We have long memories and when we choose to take a stand and fight it goes from generation to generation.

I pray Chief Iwanyanwu and those that share his views can cultivate the prescence of mind and courage to have a rethink before it is too late.

Millions of Igbos reside in and have their businesses in Lagos and we should preach love, peace and unity between our people and not resort to calling each other names or indulge in racial profiling or stereotyping.

We choose to overlook what Chief Iwanyanwu has said this time and look the other way but it must NEVER happen again.

A word is enough for the wise.

(FFK)

Categories
Nigeria Opinion Politics

FEMI ODERE ADDRESSES CHIEF IWUANYANWU’S PROVOCATIVE AND IRRESPONSIBLE OUTBURST

PUSH NEWS 24 INTERNATIONAL : March 24th, 2023

PRESS STATEMENT

CHIEF IWUANYANWU’S PROVOCATIVE AND IRRESPONSIBLE OUTBURST

Our attention has been drawn to the comments made by Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, the Chairman, Council of Elders of Ohaneze Ndigbo in a video clip that has gone viral. Chief Iwuanyanwu made these comments on Saturday, March 25th at a ceremony in Anambra State where he was a special guest of Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s one-year commemoration in office.

In the video, Chief Iwuanyanwu said, “I want our people in Lagos to know that on Wednesday, I called a meeting of the Ohaneze Council of Elders worldwide and we x-rayed the events in Lagos…We have resolved that never, never again can we allow anybody to take the life of an innocent Igbo person. All of us are going to fight the person. Never again. We are going to fight the person.”

“We are in Nigeria. And we have invested in Nigeria. Our investments are so much. We are not going to take the pressure of people telling us to go. We are not going anywhere. And I want to tell those in Lagos to realize that there’s no war between us and Yorubas. Yorubas are just political rascals. And we’re going to handle them.”

Although it is tempting to go toe-to-toe with Chief Iwuanyawu in what we believe was a deliberately made provocative, irresponsible, and condescending statement in our response, which would also have disparaged the entire Igbo people. But we won’t.

We would have blamed Chief Iwuanyanwu’s outburst on some cheap whiskey taken at the event where he made this negative, utterly annoying remarks. Or perhaps his morbidly obese body constitution could be the culprit as this might be affecting his capacity to think clearly and speak intelligently. But we wager that what happened at the Soludo event was another one of those predetermined, calculated attempts to draw the ire of the Yoruba people in order to create an unstable sociopolitical atmosphere in the polity to achieve their pathological fixation for an Interim government. We’re too discerning to fall for that bait.

The invective of Chief Iwuanyanwu, and by extension, his Ohaneze Ndigbo clan against a people whose only sin is the fact that they are too loving and accommodating for their liking (because they lack these virtues) should be seen within the context of someone having a withdrawal symptom after working himself into a frenzy for so long that his candidate would win the recently concluded presidential election without any empirical and intelligent political permutations to justify his delusion.

We should therefore brace ourselves for more of this senseless and idiotic vituperation as the inauguration of President-elect Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu draws closer.

We urge our people to resist any attempt to be provoked because their overarching game plan is to create a crisis atmosphere so that our democracy can be truncated. They know that their court case is wooly at best. Let us continue to take the insults and abuses from the likes of Chief Iwuanyanwu and his Igbo travelers while Asiwaju and his team concentrate on an inauguration that will usher in a new dawn of unprecedented accomplishments across the country as he did in Lagos, which gave them the platform for their much-touted and overdramatized investments, towards a more perfect nation.

FEMI ODERE
Spokesperson
Tinubu/Southwest Media Veterans Support Group

Sunday, March 26, 2023

Categories
Nigeria Opinion Politics

OBASANJO’S SUPPOSED “IGBOPHOBIC” COMMENTS, ANOTHER ILL-CONCEIVED ATTEMPT TO TRUNCATE NIGERIA’S DEMOCRACY

PUSH NEWS 24 INTERNATIONAL: March 26th, 2023

OBASANJO’S SUPPOSED “IGBOPHOBIC” COMMENTS, ANOTHER ILL-CONCEIVED ATTEMPT TO TRUNCATE NIGERIA’S DEMOCRACY

Nigerians in Diaspora have reacted to a comment by former President Olusegun Obasanjo in a recent event where he tried to lament about what he term “Igbophobia” – a term he used to describe a deliberate stimatisation of the South Eastern people of Nigeria.

Obasanjo at Akwa has tried to paint a picture of stimatisation of the Igbo nation during the one year in office event of Governor Charles Soludo as Anambra State Governor.

Obasanjo at the event while struggling to eulogized Soludo was also subtly painting a sour image of how some Igbos were allegedly been attacked drawing from pots of incidents that took place during the elections with particular focus on Lagos State.

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. – Staff Sgt. Randolph Elder was posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for his service as a Montford Point Marine, among the first African Americans to enlist in the Marine Corps after it was desegregated in 1941 by President Franklin Roosevelt. His sons, Larry and Kirk Elder, received the nation’s highest award to civilians on his behalf. Pictured left to right: Col. Jason Q. Bohm, 5th Marine Regiment commanding officer, Larry Elder, U.S. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, California 48th District, Kirk Elder, and Sgt. Maj. Alberto Ruiz, 5th Marine Regiment sergeant major.

In a swift reaction, President of Nigerians in Diaspora Coalition UK/US Provice), Bar (Sir) Ken Awa, has tackled the former President Olusegun Obasanjo over his statement at the event which he termed is aimed at truncating and further heating up of the democratic progress in Nigeria.

Awa a legal luminary, in a statement made available to Push News 24 International on Sunday, described Obasanjo’s statement as insincere and destructive to Nigerian unity.

While observers have questioned Obasanjo’s motives over who becomes the next president of the country, it will not be out of place to conclude that this has also always been the tradition since he was out of office as President.

Obasanjo earlier alleged that the results of last February 25th, 2023 presidential election had been doctored and manipulated due to his failed attempt to install Peter Obi as President.

Awa who was miffed by why a man of his age and caliber will continue to clandestinely issue statements that will truncate the little progress achieved so far in Nigeria.

While Awa hailed President Muhammadu Buhari for ensuring a free and fair electoral process, he saluted the courage of law abiding citizens of Nigeria for not taken to the streets to burn- down the country.

The US trained lawyer have advised Obasanjo to be true to his words by leaving politics finally and pleaded to him to enjoy his retirement in peace.

Categories
Nigeria Opinion Politics

NIGERIA ’23 : STATES ATIKU, TINUBU, KWANKWASO AND OBI ARE PROJECTED TO STRONGLY WIN

PUSH NEWS 24 INTERNATIONAL: February 2023

In less than 12 hours, Nigerians will vote for the next president of the continent’s largest nation.

The nation has been presented with 18 presidential candidates; however, if campaign spreads and activities are any indication, the race is shaping up to be a four-horse race.

The candidates who have been campaigning across the country are Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Bola Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP), and Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP).

In this analysis by the main stream media firms we will examine the factors that will determine the outcome of the election in each state, taking into account the party structures and historical voting patterns of the states

The campaigns have been plagued by ethnic and religious tinges; for instance, the Labour Party candidate has been criticised for visiting churches, while Tinubu and Atiku have been criticised for making ethnically-tinged remarks.

For a candidate to win, he or she must obtain a simple majority of the votes cast and 25 percent of the vote in 24 states and the FCT, as stipulated by the constitution of 1999.

South East

The region has five states- Abia, Ebonyi, Anambra, Enugu and Imo states and due to ethnic colouration, are expected to go to the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, who is a former Governor of Anambra State. However, these states are traditional PDP voting states and the Labour party has no single governor in the region.

Poor turnout may be expected in the region due to the activities of the unknown gunmen and IPOB. It would be recalled that Simon Ekpa, the factional leader of the group, declared a sit-at-home order in those states.

Anambra State

In Anambra, Peter Obi is expected to perform well because of home advantage. In 2019, as the running mate to Atiku, they polled 524,738 votes representing 86.63% of the total votes. However, that may be a bit hard now because PDP has some strong senatorial candidates like Chris Uba, Stella Oduah and Mary Ekwunife. Also, the governor of the state, Charles Soludo openly opposed the candidacy of Obi, saying there is no path to victory for him. But that being said, Obi is expected to pick the state. Likely parties PDP, APGA/APC

Abia State

This traditional PDP voting state is faced with the obedient movement and the G5 governors’ influence. Governor Okiezie Ikpeazu is a member of the rebellious PDP governors that have refused to endorse the presidential candidate of the PDP, although the governor has refused to endorse anyone. The reason could be that the Obidient movement threatens his political structure, as voters may vote LP across the board, a decision that may affect his senatorial ambition and others in the PDP.

Also, there is former Governor Orji Uzor Kalu in Abia North, whose effort in the last election afforded the APC over 25% of the total votes. LP, PDP, APC That said, Obi is expected to win the state.

Ebonyi State

Ebonyi is also another state that Obi is expected to win, but he will have to battle with the structure of the APC, where governor Dave Umahi, for the very first time, is running on a platform that is not PDP.

The PDP is suffering from internal conflict in the state, but with strong National Assembly members and historic voting prowess, PDP cannot be totally written off. LP is expected to carry the state, but not with blown out margin In this order LP, APC, PDP

Enugu State

If Obi had not been in the race, this state would have been called for the PDP, but fortune is not smiling on the PDP in the state. The governor is a PDP member but also a member of the G5, and like all other G5 governors, he refused to campaign for Atiku. Even though Sen Chimaroke Nnamani is supporting Tinubu openly, the Labour Party is projected to win the state.

However, security remains a major concern in the state, considering that a Labour Party senatorial candidate was killed barely 72 hours before the election. LP, PDP, APC

Imo State

In Imo State, Governor Hope Uzodinama has a top job to deliver the state for the APC, a tall order considering the circumstances of his emergence as governor of the state through the Supreme Court. PDP won the state during the last presidential election with 65% of the total votes cast, while APC got 27.5 percent.

As in most other states, Labour Party can be considered a disruption in most southeast states, therefore, the party is expected to win this state. However, if Uzodinma keeps traditional APC voters, they may maintain second, but the second position is too close to call between APC and PDP, but the odd favours PDP. LP, APC/PDP

Northcentral

No one has won the presidential election without winning the Northcentral. Although the region does not boast of bloc votes like the Northwest, however, because of the diversity of the people there, it tells of the acceptability of a candidate.

The region is not homogeneous— not united by language, culture or religion; to show how competitive the region is, all the candidates are popular here. Another thing is that it appears PDP and Labour are going after the same sets of voters

Benue State

A number of polls have called the state for the Labour Party and the endorsement of Obi by Governor Samuel Ortom have been seen as significant. However, several factors make the state too close to call. While Ortom is the governor, however, other PDP bigwigs like former Governor Gabriel Suswan and Senator Abba Moro are on the ballot on Saturday as candidates of the PDP, including the governor himself. Even the national chairman of the PDP, Iyorchia Ayu is from the state. However, the anti-Fulani rhetoric of the Governor may present a challenge, as the PDP will have to market Atiku to voters. On the part of the APC, there is the factor of Father Hyacinth Alia that appears to be some sort of movement in the state; he has equally been campaigning for the candidate of the APC, Tinubu.

Even the daughter of former Senate President, David Mark is in the APC, and it is hard to underestimate her; she defeated her uncle in the last election when she contested on the platform of APGA. It could be any of the candidates: APC/PDP/LP

Plateau State

Labour Party candidate is expected to win Plateau State particularly due to the enthusiasm of the young people; however, there is a common thread when analysing supporters of LP, they are mostly urban youth and women. His ability to win the state depends on the work done in rural places outside the capital because the PDP is also strong in the state and there is the APC factor, where governor Simon Lalong is a senatorial candidate in Plateau South. The APC may get backlash due to the party’s Muslim/Muslim ticket. Even in the Muslim community, the votes will be between PDP and APC. LP but with a slim margin— APC/PDP

Nasarawa

This state is another clear example of LP and PDP chasing similar voters. In Nasarawa State, PDP will have to rely on party structure to deliver the state, as voters in Mararaba, Masaka and other places close to Abuja in Karu Local government area of the state may vote Obi. APC will rely on the National Chairman, Abdulahi Adamu, Governor Sule Abudulahi and Tanko Almakura to deliver the state for the ruling party. Because of the division in the opposition, APC is projected to take the state by a slim margin, while the second place is too close to call. APC, LP/PDP

Kogi State

In the last election, APC won Kogi State by a slim margin with 54.8% of the total votes cast; with the recent economic situation and the Naira scarcity, the state should have been a battle ground, however, there is the impact of Peter Obi in this election that may take youths that ordinarily would have voted Atiku and the PDP.

There are also concerns about electoral violence in the state and the incidents of bomb blasts in Okene. All these may discourage some voters in the state.

Natasha Apoti and some PDP bigwigs are expected to make waves for Atiku, but the APC may enjoy some enthusiasm in Kogi West— particularly in the Okun speaking part, who may sympathise with Tinubu. It will be a battle between Dino Melaye and James Faleke in Ijumu LG. Because of the Obi factor, APC may win the state. APC, PDP, LP

Niger State

Niger state, a state that is always mentioned at every presidential election, because any serious candidate must visit Abdulsalam Abubakar and Ibrahim Babangida at their hilltop mansions.

Niger State is currently a battleground between the APC and the PDP, where both held rallies with massive crowds. Ordinarily, APC would have been the favourite because of its structure in the state. In the last election, the state cleared every single elective position, and APC won with over 71% of the total votes cast in the election during the presidential election. And there is the incumbent governor of the State, Abubakar Sani of the APC. However, many believe that all is not well within the APC in the state. Umar Bago, the governorship candidate of the APC emerged despite not being the candidate of the governor. Although the governor claimed that he did not anoint any candidate for the primary, however, there were indications that the governor backed Mohammed Idris, the publisher of Blueprint newspaper, but was defeated.

The odds still favour the APC in the state, however, it is fair to state that it is too close to call. APC/PDP and LP.

Kwara State

The state will be facing the review of the “O to ge” movement that displaced the Saraki Dynasty in the state. The PDP, led by former Senate President Bukola Saraki is proposing “O su wa” a Yoruba phrase that means “we are tired”. The APC in the state has gone through internal combustion that broke it into three— APC, SDP and YPP.

Also, Saraki has intensified his campaign around the state on a ward to ward level, and the decision of his party to zone the governorship ticket to Kwara North, a zone that last produced a governor in 1992, may be a huge advantage for the party ahead of the election. Both SDP and YPP have fielded strong senatorial candidates that may affect the party in rural areas. All these factors favour the PDP, however, there is the factor of Tinubu’s name in the state. It is a household name. APC is projected to win, but after a strong battle. APC, PDP

FCT

Because of the cosmopolitan nature of the FCT, the LP candidate has been projected to win the FCT, a good call considering the factor on the ground, however, FCT has large rural components across the territory. LP will be getting votes from traditional PDP voters and first-timers. LP is expected to take the FCT but it will be hard to underestimate long-term senator, Philip Aduda of the PDP and Zakari Angulu of the APC, both running for senate seats. APC is expected to pull some numbers in Abuja South— Gwagwalada, Kwali, Abaji and Kuje, although Hassan Sokodabo, the PDP rep member in the constituency and urban voters in Gwagwalada may further hurt the APC.

That being said, LP is projected to win with a slim margin, the second position is too close to call.

South-South

South-south is another battle ground in this election that many would not have envisaged 12 months ago. The political map of Nigeria has tremendously changed in the last 12 months.

There are the G5 governors and the Obi factor. These two factors turned the zone into a battle ground. Ordinarily, PDP would have swept this region leaving the APC to fight for 25%. Edo State In 2019, APC polled 47% of the total votes cast, however, the fortune of the party has changed since then; it lost the governorship seat after the governor defected to PDP before the governorship election.

Now, the APC has been reduced to Edo North Senatorial district where Adams Oshiomhole is the senatorial candidate of the party. Unfortunately for the PDP, the party will have to share its fortune with the Labour Party, particularly among the youths. While Governor Godwin Obaseki is always quick to dismiss the movement, his prediction that the movement will fizzle out is yet to be seen.

Then, there is the internal crisis within the PDP where a group led by Dan Orbin receives orders from the Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State. The State is hard to call, a candidate with less than 35% of the total votes cast may win the election. Ordinarily, APC should not be in consideration, but in a three-horse race, if APC keeps its traditional voters while LP and PDP share spoils—a surprise may not be far away. LP/PDP—Not ruling out APC completely.

Delta State

State of the vice presidential candidate of the PDP is one interesting state in this race. This state will go to the PDP because the party is obviously strong and there is more incentive for voters to turn out because of Okowa. Among the young people, the LP has significant sympathy. Also, there is the APC, where the party polled 26% of the total vote cast in the last election. But in the current cycle, it is hard to see how the APC can flip the state, particularly with its Muslim/Muslim ticket and the naira policy. Meanwhile, there is the reported cold war between Okowa and former Governor James Ibori over the governorship seat, however, not much movement has been observed from that quarters to suggest PDP losing the state. One question that remains- will the total vote cast in Delta State cross a million votes? PDP, APC/Labour

Akwa-Ibom State

Governor Emmanuel Udom is the Chairman of the Atiku Presidential campaign team, and he is expected to deliver the state. To do so, he will have to outmatch the Obidient movement, while keeping in mind former Governor Godswin Akpabio of the APC. In 2019, Akpabio was able to get 30% of the votes cast in Akwa-Ibom, but the recent crisis in the APC presents a challenge for him; however, there is a great deal of uncertainty hanging over the PDP, particularly as regards the governorship candidate. That said, the PDP is expected to win the state. PDP, LP, APC— it will be a close contest between LP and APC for the second position.

Bayelsa State

This state is going to be a strong battleground between the PDP and APC as some sort of a litmus test for the governorship election. Governor Diri Douye will have to use this election to establish his status in the state considering that he lost the governorship election in November 2019 against David Lyon; it took the intervention of the court for Douye to emerge. As it stands, Lyon and the minister of petroleum resources (State), Timipreye Sylva have already procured the N50 million nomination and expression of interest forms. Local politics will determine the outcome of this election, but odds favour the PDP to win the state, however, the race is too close to call.

Cross River State

Governor Ben Ayade will fancy his chance to for the first time deliver the state for the party; however, like most south-south states, Cross River has consistently voted PDP, and with Labour Party making waves among the young people, it is going to be an interesting battle. To exercise caution, it is best to declare that the state is too close to call.

Rivers State

There is a serious battle going on in Rivers, it is PDP vs PDP, so the question remains, who is going to reap from the division, is it APC or LP. Events in the past couple of weeks show that there is a deliberate attempt by Governor Nysome Wike to deliver the structure of the state to Tinubu, however, there are people still loyal to Atiku. Wike appears not to be taking chances against them. It would be recalled that a member of the House of Representatives, Chinyere Igwe was arrested by the police on Friday with about $500,000. But while this battle is ongoing, LP may take the state due to popular support. Therefore, Rivers is too close to call.

North West

This region has the highest block votes and the famous KKKK states (Kano, Kaduna, Kebbi and Katsina), that can alter the fortune of any candidate. Without Buhari not on the ticket, PDP, APC and NNPP are in serious battle to take the states.

Jigawa State

In Jigawa State, the battle is between Governor Abubakar Badaru and former Governor Sule Lamido. Whoever wins the battle will take the state. APC had to grapple with post primary election defections, and there is the entry of the NNPP into the picture. Although APC remains strong, it is hard to call. APC/PDP could take it to the wire— while NNPP will be close by Kano State Kano State has essentially turned into a two-horse race between APC and the NNPP, a rehearsal of the last governorship battle between Ganduje and Rabiu Kwankwaso’s inlaw. It will not be strange if the two parties get 1 million votes apiece.

NNPP is strong in Kano Central, while the APC is strong in North and South. PDP has not been able to cause enough stir in the state, even the decamping of former Governor Ibrahim Shekarau has not caused sufficient excitement. Too close to call, but odds favour Kwankwaso, however, it remains a tough battle.

Zamfara State

Every single power bloc in Zamfara seems to be in the same party, APC, except perhaps Gen Mohammed Gusau who remains in the PDP. The feelers from the state show that APC will probably win the state, but the margin is not that clear as the impact of the Naira redesign policy has to be put into consideration. APC is projected to win, PDP and NNPP are to follow closely.

Katsina State

It may sound crazy, but Katsina State may go with the PDP due to a number of factors, one is the anger over insecurity and economic hardship. Secondly, the crisis in the APC has led to the migration of several members of the party. The question is, is the president’s influence sufficient to get the win for the APC? Therefore, PDP may likely take the state, however, PDP is equally battling with its challenges, particularly the former Governor of the state, Ibrahim Shema, who has refused to endorse the governorship candidate of the PDP, in response, Governor Aminu Masari and the state decided to discontinue the N11 billion corruption case against him. PDP, APC, NNPP

Kebbi State

The situation in Katsina is similar to what is happening in Kebbi; former Governor Adamu Aleiro and former Senate Leader, Yahaya left the APC over ticket, and they were given the tickets in PDP. Although APC remains strong, the fight remains tough and therefore difficult to call. APC/PDP, NNPP

Kaduna State

Kaduna State is historically divided into North and South, and for the past two election cycles, APC has retained the North, while PDP is strong in the Southern part of Kaduna. With LP making strides in the South among Christians, this could further divide the votes of the PDP. This development tilts the election to APC. APC, PDP and LP/NNPP

Sokoto State

StateIf incumbency and ethnicity were the only factor in Sokoto, then PDP would be the obvious choice, but the local politics in Sokoto State, particularly the rivalry between Governor Aminu Tambuwal and his predecessor, Wamakko has turned the state into a battleground. This state could swing in any direction, therefore, the state is too close to call.

North East

The NorthEast geopolitical zone presents the battle between APC Vice Presidential candidate, Kassim Shettima and Atiku Abubakar.

Borno and Yobe.

These two states have similar voting patterns and are expected to go in the direction of the APC because of the influence of the vice presidential candidate, who is a Kanuri man. But the PDP is expected to do better in this election now that Buhari is not on the ballot. However, with Peter Obi trying to poach minority voters in Southern Borno, the PDP may be concerned.

It is yet to be seen how Muslim/Muslim ticket of the APC will cause dissatisfaction in those states, but the APC will win by a considerable margin. APC, PDP, LP/NNPP

Adamawa State

Adamawa State, the state of Atiku, should deliver a large margin for the PDP, unlike in 2019 where Buhari got substantial votes, this time around, APC may have to target the 25% requirement. The Labour Party will depend on Babachir Lawal to get Christian voters, however, the target will be 25%.

Bauchi and Gombe

In Bauchi State, Governor Bala Mohammed has the popularity to deliver the state; Atiku is also popular in the state, and with Buhari out of the way and Yakubu Dogara seeking to punish Tinubu for the Muslim/Muslim ticket, PDP will definitely take Bauchi.

In Gombe State, it is a battle between Atiku Abubakar and the Governor of Gombe State, Inuwa Yahaya of the APC. The state is too close to call.

Taraba State

This is one state many expect Peter Obi to win because of religious sentiment, however, the structure of the PDP and APC is strong in the state. The odds favour the PDP because of the internal crisis in the APC; however, it will be a close contest. It is LP, PDP, and APC.

Additional reports NAN, EyesGist, Vanguard

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Entertainment Nigeria Opinion Politics

AMUWO ODOFIN: A VALENTINES’S GIFT FOR EVERYONE – PLS

PUSH NEWS 24 INTERNATIONAL : February 24th, 2023

AMUWO ODOFIN’S UNITY : A VALENTINES’S GIFT FOR EVERYONE – PLS

The origins of St. Valentine’s Day celebrations are found in selfless love, says All Progressives Congress (APC) Candidate for Amuwo Odofin Federal Constituency, Prince Lanre Sanusi (PLS).

Sanusi has called on Amuwo Odofin Constituents and Nigerians to show more love towards each other and extend Valentine Day 2023 sentiments beyond mere amorous attraction.

A popular celebration in Africa’s cities Valentine’s Day, sometimes also known as St. Valentine’s Day, is celebrated worldwide on 14 February. On this day, lovers express their romantic affection with greeting cards and gifts. Sometimes Valentine gifts include chocolate, red roses or a romantic dinner.

The true origin of the holiday is vague. The day was celebrated as one of romance in the 14th century. Many legends have been attributed to the start of the holiday. The day may have taken its name from a priest martyred about 270 AD by the Roman Emperor, Marcus Aurelius Claudius ‘Gothicus’.

In recent years Valentine’s Day has become popular in many big cities of Africa. No doubt fuelled by commercial interests, the holiday has expanded to expressions of affection among relatives and friends.

According to PLS, Jesus has set the gold standard for love.

“It is, yes, so, so legitimate to love and seek to be loved at Valentine. But there must be something greater and more rewarding than all that,” says the Awori born Prince extraordinaire as he wishes for love to prevail in a country reeling from killings by terrorists, widespread kidnappings and the spiralling cost of living.

The US trained Financial Advisor and Tax Expert continues, “I fancy the American educator and orator, Booker T. Washington, who said: ‘If you want to lift yourself up, lift someone else.’ However, the gold standard for that was set long ago by Jesus of Nazareth when he said: ‘In truth, I tell you, in so far as you did this to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me’ (Matt. 25: 40). There is no doubt that love strewn further afield will always return with even more abundant reward for the lover,” said Sanusi.

“Well, now, love is in the air. Valentine Day is here again. I affirm that the trying period that Nigeria is experiencing actually calls for true Valentine love. This type embraces Lenten virtues like self-denial, sacrifice and laying down of one’s life for others in need,” said Sanusi.

He added, “Indeed, there is need now more than ever before to reflect on the lent in the Valentine celebration. There is Lent in VaLENTine, and I mean that literally. The origins of the Valentine celebration are found in selfless love anyway. True Valentine celebrations will always be intertwined because true love involves self-denial and sacrifice. ‘No one can have greater love than to lay down his life for his friends (Jn 15:13)’,” the Sanusi affirmed.

“Many people need love in our Constituency, hence, my legislative mandate to the Green Chamber is premised on my love for the people and emphaty for the low in our community “

For PLS, “If indeed, Valentine is a time for sharing love and care, then all people of goodwill must feel compelled to extend Valentine Day 2023 sentiments beyond mere physical, amorous attraction. The sick, the poor, the marginalised, the captives, the bereaved, the persecuted, and the refugees all around us need a chunk of the tremendous quantum of love energy available all around at Valentine. We just must admit that far too many people need love in our country today and so make your Valentine goodies a surprise package for someone needing help out there,” Sanusi encouraged.

He concluded: “Happy Valentine celebration to the sick and needy, and that might just mean….all of us.”

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Nigeria Opinion Politics

ATIKU ABUBAKAR IS NOW NIGERIA’S PUBLIC ENEMY NUMBER ONE – APC

PUSH NEWS 24 INTERNATIONAL: January 5th, 2023

PRESS STATEMENT

ATIKU ABUBAKAR IS NOW NIGERIA’S PUBLIC ENEMY NUMBER ONE

The current sabotage of the Naira notes swap and fuel scarcity that have caused untold hardship to millions of Nigerians across the country revealed the true character of Peoples Democratic Party Presidential Candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar as public enemy number one.

Nigerians will recall that since the Central Bank introduced its current cash-limit and new Naira notes swap policies, Atiku Abubakar and PDP maintained opportunistic silence with the hope they will benefit from the discomfort the policies will create for Nigerians and the resentment they will generate for the ruling APC.

While Atiku and PDP were in bed with the saboteurs and fifth columnists among the operators of Money Deposit Banks and oil marketers who created the current logjam to force the outcome of the February 25 Presidential election in favour of the former Vice President, our candidate Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu courageously pitched his tent with the poor masses who have been most negatively impacted by the antics of these evil doers.

Having realised they have lost the initiative and their antics exposed to Nigerians by Asiwaju Tinubu at the APC Presidential Campaign rally in Abeokuta, Atiku made a half-hearted appeal to CBN to ‘slightly’ extend the deadline for the currency swap.

We are currently at a loss to understand what informed the current call of Atiku on CBN not to extend the February 10 deadline despite the unmitigated hardship still being faced by many Nigerians who could not meet their basic daily needs as a result of lack of cash from banks and the empty ATM machines.

Any one who lives in Nigeria and not Dubai and visits banks and ATM locations will feel sad that the CBN is making our people suffer for its badly timed Naira swap policy.

The bank’s latest fire brigade approach in approving payment of N20,000 at the counter is far from offering relief as queues are still long, agony and frustrations widening, an invitation to riots.

This poorly implemented policy has turned Nigerians to destitutes because they cannot access their own money in their bank accounts. People cannot get money to give their kids to school or pay for daily needs at corner shops, fruit shops, including buying newspapers. Transactions in market places have plummeted.

The CBN governor gave insight into the nature of the problem when he revealed in Daura last Sunday that out of the N3.3 trillion in circulation, only N500 billion is in the bank vaults. So far only N1.9trillion had been received by the banks for swap.

But people are not getting the new notes to spend, thus triggering the huge anger in the land against Emefiele.

We thus find it ludicrous that a man who joined the call for an extension of the deadline last week is championing a new campaign against further extension because he feels the suffering of Nigerians will serve his own political end to become president at all cost.

Atiku said callously: “There should be no further postponement of the new naira regime after the expiration of the February 10 deadline.”

Anchoring his objection on the wrong reason, he said further: “The CBN and the Presidency should be steadfast. The merits of the new naira policy far outweigh the little inconvenience we are experiencing.”

In passing off the suffering of our people as “Little inconvenience”, Atiku only comes across as a political leader disconnected from the Nigerian people that he is campaigning to govern. Certainly, living comfortably in Dubai for many years has drained Atiku of all empathy.

This is a man who wants to be President and does not mind even if he presides over the graves of Nigerians as long as his inordinate ambition materialises in line with the prophecy of his marabouts.

It is crystal clear to every Nigerian of conscience now that Atiku Abubakar and PDP do not mean well for our country. PDP and Atiku have become desperadoes who will wish calamity on the country as long as it makes them win an election they are destined to lose, spectacularly.

Atiku is now public enemy number one in Nigeria. He is evil personified and must be rejected at the polls on 25 February.

If Atiku Abubakar has the poor people of our country at heart like Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the PDP candidate will not be advocating for adherence to a policy that has become a burden too heavy to bear for our people.

Bayo Onanuga
Director, Media and Publicity
APC Presidential Campaign Council
February 3, 2023

Categories
Nigeria Opinion Politics

AMUWO ODOFIN : AGAIN INEC FAILS TO PUBLISH LABOUR PARTY CANDIDATE NAME ON WEBSITE AS IT ISSUES A DISCLAIMER

PUSH NEWS 24 INTERNATIONAL: January 31st, 2023

AMUWO ODOFIN : AGAIN INEC FAILS TO PUBLISH LABOUR PARTY CANDIDATE NAME ON WEBSITE AS IT ISSUES A DISCLAIMER

The Independent National Electoral Commission INEC has disclaimed a report that it released a fresh “final list” of presidential and National Assembly candidates, urging the public to discountenance the report.

The National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee of INEC, issued the disclaimer Monday in Abuja.

A national newspaper had on Monday reported that the commission on Sunday published the final list of candidates for the election but the electoral body has said all political parties have been formally notified of activities and aside the last list published on their site in November 10th, 2022, no other list is to be published before the due dates for the 2023 general elections.

Push News 24 International had reported earlier that the first list published by the electoral body and uploaded on the commissions website did not feature the name of the Amuwo Odofin Federal Constituency Labour Candidate, Mr George Adegeye, likewise the list published on the 10th November 2022, in pursuant to obeying Court Orders did not also capture the name of the Amuw Odofin Federal Constituency Labour Candidate.

INEC issuing a disclaimer has put to rest the hope of any further release as elections are less than 23 days.

Labour Party in Amuwo Odofin have made several claims and publications affirming its Candidate Mr George Adegeye as the authentic candidate brandishing a Court order to the effect but the electoral body appears unperturbed leaving the populace to seek more information.

Push News 24 International seeks to enquire – Can the Commission on its own disqualify a candidate or forcefully remove the name of any candidate nominated by a political party?

“Who determines the validity or otherwise of party primaries?”

” Is the Commission constitutionally and legally permitted to reject the list and personal particulars submitted by political parties?”

These are the germane issues and a clear understanding and resolution of the issues requires an examination of the powers of the Commission in relation to the conduct of Congresses, Conventions and Primaries by Political Parties.

Push News 24 International findings reveals that political party primaries and the nomination of candidates for various elective positions are governed by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), the Electoral Act, 2022, the Regulations, Guidelines and Manuals of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as well as the constitutions, rules and regulations of the different political parties.

In carrying out its regulatory activities, it is constitutionally and legally imperative that the regulatory body must remain impartial, above board and act within the confines and ambit of the constitution and the law both in its monitoring activities and application of the law. Fidelity to the electoral legal framework is paramount in constitutional democracies founded as they are, on the rule of law and due process.

Therefore, an Electoral Management Body and in this particular instance the Independent National Electoral Commission must, on no account, much less on the basis of perceived infractions of the law by candidates and political parties, seek to exercise the powers donated to other agencies or organs of government by the constitution and the law.

Basically, the Constitution as well as the Electoral Act have assigned and delineated the powers of the Commission in the conduct of party primaries and the nomination of candidates. The roles assigned to the Commission are limited as the conduct of party primaries is basically and fundamentally within the domestic realm of political parties subject to their observing the tenets of the Constitution and the law. In other words, the law expects political parties to be democratic and act democratically in the conduct of their Congresses, Conventions, Meetings and Primaries.

The Constitution and the law expects and obligates political parties to abide by and respect their own rules, procedures and guidelines in the conduct of their primaries and nomination of candidates. The law and the Constitution does not permit the electoral management body to micromanage them. The law only mandates the Commission to monitor the conduct of the congresses, conventions, meetings and primaries, and to ensure that their activities are conducted in accordance with the Timetable and Schedule of Activities released by the Commission as well as the constitutive legal instruments guiding and regulating elections.

Meanwhile, Party Chair, Ebele Nwuzor, in a statement: ‘No Controversy: George Adegeye is Labour Party candidate for Amuwo-Odofin Federal Constituency’, said no blackmail by Ejike Metu, will debar Adegeye’s victory.

Nwuzor cited a judgment which affirmed Adegeye as the flag bearer, stressing the party, armed by this legal backing, will ensure Adegeye’s victory.

The statement reads: “It is expedient to inform the public, and electorate in Amuwo-Odofin Federal Constituency, on the action of some persons in Labour Party in Amuwo Odofin to misinform them about the party’s candidate for the constituency seat.

As it is the Labour Party in Amuwo Odofin Federal Constituency have continued to campaign and promote it’s House of Representatives Candidate, Mr George Adegeye regardless of the actions or in actions of the electoral umpire with the firm conviction that its Candidate will be listed on the ballot paper come February 25th, 2023.

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Nigeria Opinion Politics

SPV’s ALLEGATIONS : APC TO INITIATE A JUDICIAL PROCESS SEEKING OUTRIGHT DISQUALIFICATION OF ATIKU ABUBAKAR FROM 2023 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

PUSH NEWS 24 INTERNATIONAL: January 16th, 2023

MONDAY, JANUARY 16, 2023

WORLD PRESS CONFERENCE BY THE JOINT MEDIA DIRECTORATES OF THE TINUBU/SHETTIMA PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN COUNCIL OF THE ALL PROGRESSIVES CONGRESS:

ENOUGH OF PLAYING THE OSTRICH REGARDING THE “SPECIAL PURPOSE VEHICLE (SPV)” SAGA:

WE STRONGLY DEMAND THE IMMEDIATE ARREST AND/OR INVITATION, INTERROGATION AND POSSIBLE PROSECUTION OF ALHAJI ATIKU ABUBAKAR

Gentlemen of the press,

FACTS OF THE MATTER

For about a week now, Nigerians have been in deep shock over the grave revelations by a whistle-blower, Mr. Michael Achimugu, who has provided the nation with iron-cast evidence of letters of appointment by Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, emails, documents, audio clips, sworn affidavit and direct oral evidence as to how Alhaji Atiku Abubakar (who happens to be the Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party) during his tenure as Vice-President of Nigeria between 1999 and 2007, colluded with his then boss, President Olusegun Obasanjo, to fleece the country and steal public funds using what he termed “Special Purpose Vehicles” (SPVs).

Those SPVs were companies Atiku admittedly registered upon assumption of office as Vice-President (with the approval of President Olusegun Obasanjo) using “trusted allies” as shareholders and Directors. The purpose was to divert government contracts to these companies as “consultants” and then paid monies into these companies and used those monies to fund the PDP and their private businesses and family activities. We can all vividly recall that during that tenure, both President Olusegun Obasanjo and Atiku Abubakar built the Bells University and American University respectively. Now, we know from where the funds came.

We hereby make available Certified True Copies of the affidavit sworn to and released to the public by the whistleblower, Mr. Michael Achimugu, giving graphic details of all that transpired, including attached documents. Let us also play to you the voice recording he did of Atiku Abubakar. Note that he provided the time of the call, the phone number used and the emails immediately preceding the call.

POSSIBLE INFRACTIONS OF THE LAW

From the oral account of the whistle-blower, the voice notes and all other supporting documents, these are the possible infractions of the law Atiku Abubakar has committed and we urge his prosecution along these areas:

  1. OFFENCES AGAINST THE CODE OF CONDUCT FOR PUBLIC OFFICERS

Sections 5, 10, 13 & 17 of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act states as follows:

  1. “A public officer shall not put himself in a position where his personal interest conflicts with his duties and responsibilities.
  2. (1) A public officer shall not ask for or accept property or benefits of any kind for himself or any other person on account of anything done or omitted to be done by him in the discharge of his duties.

(2) For the purposes of subsection (1) of this section, the receipt by a public officer of any gifts or benefits from commercial firms, business enterprises or persons who have contracts with the government shall be presumed to have been received in contravention of the said subsection (1) of this section, unless the contrary is proved.

  1. A public officer shall not do or direct to be done, in abuse of his office, any act prejudicial to the rights of any other person, knowing that such act is unlawful or contrary to any government policy.
  2. A public officer who does any act prohibited by this Act through a nominee, trustee or other agent shall be deemed ipso facto to have committed a breach of this Act.”
  3. OFFENCE OF MONEY LAUNDERING.

Section 18 (2) of The Money Laundering (Prevention And Prohibition Act), 2022

(2) “Any person or body corporate, in or outside Nigeria, who directly or indirectly—

(a) conceals or disguises the origin of,

(b) converts or transfers,

(c) removes from the jurisdiction, or

(d) acquires, uses, retains or takes possession or control of any fund or property, intentionally, knowingly or reasonably ought to have known that such fund or property is, or forms part of the proceeds of an unlawful act, commits an offence of money laundering under this Act.”

  1. OFFENCE OF CRIMINAL BREACH OF TRUST

Section 311 of the Penal Code Law reads thus-

“Whoever, being in any manner entrusted with property or with any dominion over property, dishonestly misappropriates or converts to his own use that property or dishonestly uses or disposes of that property in violation of any direction of law prescribing the mode in which such trust is to be discharged or of any legal contract express or implied, which he has made touching the discharge of such trust, or wilfully suffers any other person so to do, commits criminal breach of trust.”

  1. OFFENCE OF CONSPIRACY Section 96 (1) of The Penal Code Act In Nigeria

“When two or more persons, agree to do or cause to be done

(a) an illegal act ; or

(b an act which is not illegal by illegal means, such an agreement is called a criminal conspiracy.”

ATIKU DOES NOT ENJOY IMMUNITY SIMPLY BECAUSE HE IS A PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE

We understand that the law enforcement agencies may be reluctant to act simply because of the perception of persecution of a Presidential candidate that this may evoke.

However, facts are sacred. The facts so far presented to the world clearly indicate that Atiku Abubakar has a case to answer. In other climes when such serious allegations arose in the middle of campaigns, the law-enforcement agencies acted decisively. You may recall that, in 2016, in the middle of campaigns for the exalted office of the Presidency of the United States, the FBI opened investigation into allegation of misuse of private emails against Hillary Clinton when she was Secretary of State. In fact, the case was referred to the Justice Department for likely prosecution few weeks to actual voting. Though, she was later cleared, it bears restating that a sane and dispassionate system never allowed such side talks to dissuade or distract them from initiating a process of investigation. It is the minimum expected in a constitutional democracy. That is what we call on the authorities to do in the case of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.

RECOVERY OF ALL MONIES IN MARINE FLOAT ACCOUNT

The issue of the Marine Float Account is not new to Nigerians. In the voice note, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar can be heard boasting that the issue of that account was thoroughly investigated by EFCC, yet then he was smart enough to escape.

However, we note that in 2006, at the height of his public quarrel with Obasanjo over the sharing of money, the same PDP officially asked Atiku Abubakar to refund N500million taken from that account.

In the circumstance, since the nation now knows that the Marine Float Account and other similar accounts were ‘SPV’ accounts, it follows that all payments made into that account were monies stolen from the public coffers. Therefore, we call on all security agencies to recover all monies withdrawn from that account by anyone for that matter.

ATIKU MUST APOLOGISE AND RENOUNCE HIS AMBITION

In the light of these very grave revelations, we call on Atiku Abubakar to IMMEDIATELY tender an unreserved apology to the Nigerian people and step down from the Presidential race forthwith, whilst handing himself over to the law enforcement agencies.

What is now clear to the Nigerian people is that between 1999 and 2007:

(a) President Obasanjo and Atiku ran a criminal enterprise and an empire of fraud in Abuja at the same time Asiwaju Bola Tinubu was toiling very hard, dutifully and meticulously laying the foundation to rebuild Lagos State.

(b) That following these revelations, it becomes clear that Atiku Abubakar has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO CAMPAIGN ON AGAIN AS THE PERIOD OF 1999 – 2007 that he always relies on can now be described by Nigerians as the “SPV years” when they ran Nigeria aground.

(c) That whilst President Obasanjo and Atiku deprived the good people of Lagos State their Local Government monthly allocations even after the Supreme Court ordered the release of the funds, they were busy stealing the nation’s resources by stealth in Abuja.

(d) That the real, dark reason for the seemingly irreconcilable quarrel between President Obasanjo and Atiku Abubakar is disagreement over monies they both stole in the ‘SPV’ accounts at that time.

PROTECTION FOR THE WHISTLE-BLOWER

When President Muhammadu Buhari came to office, one significant policy he adopted was that of whistleblowing. You are all witnesses to the fact that the policy has recorded tremendous success with the recovery of millions of dollars from various hidden sources. One was the famous Ikoyi apartment heist. These recoveries have been used by the Buhari administration to fund our budgets and build the infrastructure we see springing up everywhere in the country today. We also recall that recently, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved a Bill to be forwarded to the National Assembly for legal backing to the policy and legal protection for the whistle-blower

It is in the light of the above, we call on all well-meaning Nigerians and the law-enforcement agencies to protect Mr. Michael Achimugu, who has blown this whistle on Atiku Abubakar. No harm must befall him or members of his family. We suspect that some goons of Atiku Abubakar are planning to eliminate him and harm members of his family. We shall hold Atiku Abubakar responsible if anything befalls this patriotic Nigerian or members of his family. We also encourage him to reveal to Nigerians those “earth-shaking” revelations he is withholding for the sake of this nation and the future of our children.

CONSPIRATORIAL SILENCE

So far, we are disillusioned, but not surprised at the conspiratorial silence of a section of the media over this grave issue of national importance. Even after seeing court processes in form of a sworn affidavit, we observe an embarrassing silence yet from a section of the media. We have consistently made our case against the unethical and partisan antics of some media houses and this development vindicates us.

When it was the case of the spurious and dead case of drug dealing leveled against our candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, these media platforms threw caution to the winds and zealously feasted on it. Of course, we gallantly came out and vigorously disproved all the tissue of lies against our candidate. But, now, the Press has gone strangely quiet. Well, whether they keep quiet or not, it is our firm belief that the judiciary is the last hope for the hopeless. In this case, the judiciary will not be quiet as we shall clearly take steps in the next few days to initiate a judicial process seeking the OUTRIGHT DISQUALIFICATION OF ATIKU ABUBAKAR from the race based on these facts. He is clearly ethically challenged, morally damaged for the highest office of the land.

We call on the Fourth Estate of the realm to resist the temptation of partisan recruitment this moment, rise to a patriotic call this defining hour and save the nation from this candidate that serially abused his office as Vice-President of Nigeria.

Thank you.

Signed:

Mr. Dele Alake

Special Adviser, Media, Communications and Public Affairs

Mr. Festus Keyamo, SAN
Director, Public Affairs and Chief Spokesperson

Mr. Bayo Onanuga
Director, Media and Publicity

Mr. Femi Fani-Kayode
Director, Special Media Projects/New Media

Alhaji Idris Mohammed
Director, Strategic Communications

Categories
Nigeria Opinion Politics

DASUKIGATE : HOW ARISE NEWS BOSS AND REUBEN ABATI BENEFITED FROM DIVERTED SECURITY FUNDS – ONANUGA

PUSH NEWS 24 INTERNATIONAL : December 12th, 2022

PRESS STATEMENT

NDUKA OBAIGBENA AND HIS THISDAY/ARISE NEWS’ HYPOCRITICAL GRANDSTANDING ON PUBLIC MORALITY

It is laughably tragic that the Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of THISDAY and Arise News Television, Mr.Nduka Obaigbena, has the temerity to pretend to be a guardian of public morality in contemporary Nigerian media practice.

The fact that this character is an unscrupulous hustler and blackmailer who has done tremendous damage to the journalism profession in the country, is well known within and beyond the profession.

Hiding under his media houses so-called Board of Editors, Obaigbena, who is one of the most irresponsible media owners in the country, with scant regard for corporate good governance and ethics, issued a statement Monday accusing the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) Director of Media and Publicity, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, and Adviser, Media and Communication, Mr. Dele Alake of attempting to silence independent media and bully the press ahead of next year’s general election.

This allegation is baseless.

The statement published on the front page of THISDAY is illustrative of the penchant of the two media houses under Obaigbena’s corrupting influence to peddle falsehood and engage in brazen political partisanship, contrary to the ethics of journalism practice.

It is instructive that Obaigbena’s media group is isolated in making this frivolous allegation against the duo. Not only does THISDAY newspaper publish unfounded rumours masquerading as truth, many of its columnists substitute vile and vulgar abuse for sound logic and informed analyses while its television anchors heckle and harass their guests, particularly those of the APC in their jaundiced, flagrantly unprofessional programmes.

We recall that both THISDAY and ARISE Television sought to bully and compel the APC presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, into attending its Town Hall meetings with presidential candidates, despite the media team’s explanation that it would not attend such programmes organised in a haphazard and uncoordinated manner by individual media houses.

Each candidate’s campaign team has the right to adopt its own strategies for reaching out to and interacting with Nigerians. As we have repeatedly said, the Tinubu campaign will not succumb to the blackmail, intimidation and harassment of Obaigbena and his media group.

THISDAY’s attempt in the said statement to justify its false news report on the purported death of one Mueez Adegboyega Akande and the attempt to insinuate mischievously that he died in suspicious circumstances failed abysmally. Rather than apologise for this professional lapse, it resorts to tendentious rationalisations. Its futile attempt to link Asiwaju Tinubu to a drug case in the United States, even when as far back as 2003, the United States government had categorically stated that the candidate has no criminal records in that country, shows the depths of mischief the newspaper is willing to descend in its bid to bring down the APC candidate at all costs. This campaign of calumny is doomed to fail as it always has.

Our candidate is focused and will not be distracted by this diversionary tactics to throw mud at him simply because he is the obvious front runner in this race and some believe that the only way to stop him is to peddle falsehood against him.

While pretending to be a public trust, THISDAY and ARISE descend into the political arena by publishing lies in a way that does such a great disservice to journalism. Last month the paper was sanctioned by NBC over a fake report that INEC had ordered a probe of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, over the platforms’ equally fake narrative about our candidate.

Nduka Obaigbena tries to cast aspersion on the professional and personal integrity of Mr. Alake and Mr. Onanuga. They stand on a higher moral and professional pedestal than he can ever aspire to. It is astonishing that a man like Obaigbena can even pretend to be protecting public morality and the public interest. How does this media owner run his media outfits? He is notorious for not paying the salaries of his staff or fulfilling his pensions’ obligations, forcing most of the journalists in his stable to resort to the most unethical practices to survive. This model of media practice, which he exported to South Africa in 2003-2004, failed spectacularly as he had to flee that country as a result of his unethical business practices. His short-lived THISDAY left unpaid debts to staff and the printers and the South African tax office.

He exported the same irresponsible business practice to the UK where he operated his Arise TV as a registered company since 2012. In 2021, judge Raquel Agnello disqualified Obaigbena from serving as a company director in the UK for seven years; in a case brought by the official receiver of the Insolvency Office in the country.

The application for disqualification was made under Section 6 of the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986 and arose from the compulsory liquidation of Arise Networks Ltd of which Obaigbena was the sole director since its incorporation.

According to the judgment, the company by 2016 had garnered a total debt of £25,671,167, which included debt to trade creditors and staff, estimated at £5,850,730. Judge Agnello found Obaigbena’s conduct as sole director of Arise TV to be unfit and that the company had continued to trade despite “complete uncertainty” about its funding.

In Nigeria, Obaigbena is notorious for owing his staff their salaries. He is also notorious for owning newsprint suppliers for years without payment. This sharp practice led to the ill-health of one of his suppliers, Afilaka, who suffered massive stroke.

While Alake and Onanuga, were known to have endangered their lives in the struggle against military dictatorship and the enthronement of the democracy we enjoy today, Obaigbena was known to have collected substantial sums of money from the military junta to campaign against the June 12, 1993 elections, widely acknowledged as the freest and fairest polls in the country’s history. He even featured on the CNN to justify the annulment of the election and the continuation of military dictatorship. Yet, this man dares to preach on public morality and the national interest. He even claims that Alake and Onanuga are envious of him! How preposterous!! What is there to be envious from a man whose business practices and personal lifestyle offend every known decency. Mr. Alake and Onanuga can never be jealous of a man who uses extortion, subterfuge, and cheap blackmail as his working capital. Here is a publisher who deployed his media group in aid of the immoral and illegal presidential ambition of a sitting Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) even when this flagrantly violated and threatened the integrity of that critical institution.

It is absurd when Obaigbena uses his media outfits to push the false narrative of Tinubu’s link with narcotics in the US, when a member of his Board of Editors and Arise TV anchor, Dr. Reuben Abati, was a running mate in 2019 to the governorship candidate of the PDP in Ogun State, the late Senator Buruji Kashamu; a man who had been indicted for narcotics trafficking in the US and was a fugitive from the laws of that country until his death. The same Abati remains a card carrying member of the PDP and yet, shamelessly pontificates and postures on ARISE TV as a dispassionate analyst.

Lest it be forgotten, Abati was Media Adviser to former President Goodluck Jonathan and was detained by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in 2015 for reportedly collecting N500 million from ex – National Security Adviser, Colonel Sambo Dasuki purportedly on behalf of the media.

Obaigbena himself was detained for weeks and made to refund N600 million by the EFCC, which was part of the diverted funds for arms purchase for the Nigerian military under Jonathan. Obaigbena as president of NPAN also collected millions of Naira meant as compensation for the media owners whose papers were seized by overzealous security agents during the Jonathan presidency. Many newspapers reported that they did not get the money.

It is a sad commentary on the state of the Nigerian media that a man with no moral scruples whatsoever like Obaigbena will boldly pose as a publisher who can preach morality to others.

Here is a man who has done such grave damage to media practice in Nigeria, posturing as defender of free speech.

Unless media practitioners begin to treat him like the plague and cancer he constitutes to the industry, the future of the industry will be endangered.

It is well known that many private sector corporate executives pay him huge sums of money as retainership to avoid being blackmailed by him. It is also a pity that many of the journalists who work as his employees pose as self-righteous saints who criticise others and keep mum on the unhidden moral deficits and shenanigans of their boss

Issued by DELE ALAKE and BAYO ONANUGA on behalf of the APC Media and Communication Directorates, December 12, 2022