Politics

Wike recants! Why I won’t make my choice of presidential candidate public

Published

1 year ago

February 2, 2023

Nigerians waiting for the much advertised choice of candidate of the G-5 Integrity Group, for this month’s presidential election, may have to wait forever, as a volt-face by Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, the arrowhead of the group, indicates that no such announcement, would be made, at least not publicly.

Wike, recanting what was believed to be his earlier position, said on Wednesday that he never promised to make the announcement, publicly on the mass media, adding that he had since disclosed same to the people of the state.

“I never told anybody one day, I will bring a camera and announce to you this is who will go. I said I will tell Rivers people the candidate they will support,” said, after promising in December last year that he would start campaigning for his choice presidential candidate by January.

“From January next year, I will campaign to my people who they will vote for. So, all of you who have been suspects and have been saying all kinds of things and abusing me, wait. January has come,” he had said.

But at a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) campaign in Port Harcourt, Wike, who has been at loggerheads with the party’s candidate, Atiku Abubakar, refusing to be part of his campaign, for failing to support the dethronement of Iyorchia Ayu as the National Chairman of the party, said people of the state knew who to support for the presidential election.

“I never told anybody one day, I will bring a camera and announce to you this is who will go. I said I will tell Rivers people the candidate they will support. I did not tell you the method of saying it. I did not tell you I will bring live coverage and say it. But Rivers people know.”

Wike, who came second to Atiku in the PDP presidential primary, held on May 28, 2022, had failed to clinch the position of the running mate to the former Vice President, who in choosing Ifeanyi Okowa Governor of Delta State, was said to have bypassed the preference of the PDP apparatchik, which favoured the Rivers Governor.

Regardless, the governor, who swore that both incidents had nothing to do with his present agitation, saying he had forgotten about the stiff contest, has remained resolute that Ayu, must be ousted from his position, because he came from the same North with Atiku, against the spirit and letters of the PDP constitution, which forbids both positions from being domiciled in the same section of the country.

Apart from Wike, his colleagues, Seyi Makinde of Oyo, Samuel Ortom of Benue, Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia, and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu, had teamed up with other party chieftains to battle the Atiku camp over the matter.

News

BREAKING: Five days after sacking Ganduje, Kano judge reverses self

Published

4 days ago

April 22, 2024

Whirlwindnews

Justice Usman Mallam Na’Abba, of the Kano State High Court, on Monday, reversed himself five days after making an order barring Abdullahi Ganduje National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), from parading himself or performing any official function in that capacity.

In vacating the order made ex-parte, following a plea by Haladu Gwanjo and Laminu Sani Barguma, who claimed to be the Chairman and Secretary of the APC Ganduje Ward in Dawakin Tofa Local Government area of the state, for the suspension of the former Governor of the state from his present job, Na’Abba said he relied on fresh arguments made on the matter.

The fresh applications were brought by Glory Adah, a litigation secretary at the law firm representing the APC boss in a motion ex-parte, accompanied by a 27-paragraph affidavit in support, and a written address dated April 22^nd, countering the grounds of his previous orders.

Na’Abba, who adjourned the case to April 30 for the hearing, said: “An order of interim injunction is hereby granted staying the execution of the order of interim injunction contained in the ruling of this court delivered on 17h April 2024 directing parties to maintain status quo ante as at the 15th day of April 2024 in relation to the suspension of the 4th respondent/applicant from the 1st respondent by the Ganduje Ward Executive Committee pending the hearing and determination of the 4th respondent/applicant motion on notice.”

News

We don’t know about any removal order, Ganduje remains Chairman – APC

Published

1 week ago

April 19, 2024

Whirlwindnews

There is no valid order stripping Abdullahi Ganduje of his position of National Chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC), known to the party and therefore, he will continue his duties as prescribed, the National Working Committee (NWC), has insisted, debunking that he is no longer a member of the party by the orders of the courts.

Felix Morka, spokesman of the party, who made this declaration on Wednesday, on Arise Television, maintained that neither Ganduje himself nor the party, was served with the orders, said to have been obtained against the party boss by his ward in Kano State, where he served as a two-term governor between 2015 and 2023.

Insisting that Ganduje’s position remained intact, explained that the ruling party would disregard the said court order affirming Ganduje’s suspension as APC national chairman and only honour the recent Kano Federal High Court ruling ordering a stay of the order.

The declaration is coming on a day Justice AM Liman of the Federal High Court, Abuja overturned the said suspension of Ganduje by his ward executives in Dawakin Tofa Local Government area of Kano State.

The party boss, had obtained the ruling through another ex-parte motion in which he sought to enforce his fundamental right to a fair hearing, in a suit, in which he also joined the Nigerian Police Force (NPF), Department of State Services (DSS ), Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and nine other individuals.

Morka told his hosts: “The order issued by the first court was very disturbing, for some reasons. First, the plaintiffs who purportedly filed that action are not recognised members of our party and therefore shouldn’t have the locus standi to invoke the authority of the court to make any such order.

“Secondly, every lawyer in this country is aware that from the Supreme Court up to the NJC, there is this cautiousness that judges don’t make orders that are far-reaching in effect on an ex parte motion or application”

News

LP convention: How Abure disobeyed Obi *Search for peace continues – Tanko

Published

4 weeks ago

April 1, 2024

Whirlwindnews

Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), did his best to resolve the crisis in the party, but his suggestions for lasting peace was ignored by the National Chairman, Julius Abure.

This much was revealed by Yinusa Tanko, Chief Spokesman for the Obi-Datti Campaign Organisation, who made the revelation, said that the current crisis rocking the party, could have been prevented if the leadership had taken the advice of the former Governor of Anambra State.

A guest on The Morning Brief, a breakfast programme on Channels television, on Monday, the former campaign spokesman, said: “His Excellency, Peter Obi, has made a concerted effort in trying to intervene at any point we have this particular issue and trying to improve.

“When the issue of the national convention came up, he (Obi) suggested to the national chairman that because we are bigger now, we need to have a wider consultation: meet with responsible and interested people such as the TUC and NLC, stakeholders, the Obidient group – young generation people who are interested in seeing Nigeria work – meet with leaders who have different ideas that can midwife us into a greater height.

“All of these were the suggestions that he (Obi) made, and not only did he make those suggestions, he practicalised them because he met with the members of the National Assembly. He (Obi) met with the leadership of the party recently in Asaba trying to give them ideas on how he thinks certain things could be done and you could improve our situation but of course, you know how politics is, sometimes, people may be trying to encourage people, but they do something different.

“You can only take a horse to the river, but you cannot force it to drink water. So that’s exactly what Peter Obi has done. He has done so greatly to see if we can find a solution to some of the problems we find ourselves.”

Tanko, who argued that Abure had the right to contest the national chairmanship position again, it was only proper that the right things are done by opening the door for more people to be part of the process, noted however that the party boss went outside an initial agreement to have an all-inclusive national convention which ought to start from the ward, local government and state levels before the national level.

He said that the convention held in Nnewi Anambra State that returned Abure as the party’s leader did not conform with that agreement and therefore was not acceptable to everyone within the party.

Asked if the crisis in the party could be a problem for Obi in the next election, Tanko said Obi is a brand of his own and that he and other people would always move with him wherever he went to.

At the convention of the Labour Party held on March 27 in Nnewi, Abure was re-elected as the National Chairman for a second term by a unanimous affirmation of delegates despite strong opposition by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC). The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had also said none of its officials monitored the convention while the party’s Board of Trustees insisted that Abure’s tenure had expired.

Before the controversial convention, the NLC called for Abure’s resignation as party chairman and the immediate constitution of a caretaker transition committee to organise a legitimate and all-inclusive national convention for the party.