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Even South-West Has Rejected Tinubu – PDP Campaign Council
The Peoples Democratic Party Presidential Campaign Council has described the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu as a rejected figure in the South-West, a geopolitical zone believed by many as his stronghold.
The PDP campaign council stated this in reaction to calls for the arrest and interrogation of Atiku Abubakar by the APC campaign council, over claims by a whistleblower, Michael Achimugu, that the ex-Vice President helped himself to public funds while in office from 1999-2007.
This is even as the campaign council chided the Tinubu Media team for attacking the duo of former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Atiku in a bid to promote Tinubu’s aspiration.
A statement signed by the spokesman for the PDP Campaign Council, Dino Melaye, urged Tinubu’s handlers to remember that Lagos where the APC flag bearer holds sway was only a part of the larger Nigerian nation, that he was seeking the support of millions of citizens to preside over.
The statement entitled, ‘Tinubu’s Media Gang and the Pity of Electoral Hallucination’, partly read, “The struggling marketers of Tinubu, rather than face the rejection that Tinubu is facing everywhere, are gloating on an empty prospect.
“With all the false claims of Tinubu that he holds the aces in the South West, it is now obvious that critical social structures like Afenifere, major stakeholders like Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, and faith cum political voices like Pastor Tunde Bakare, have all rejected him.
“A man who does not enjoy charity at home is now seeking that the hands of other well grounded and rounded candidates are tied to pave way for him. The game has just started!
“It is not surprising that Obasanjo and Atiku are now being set up for attack. The combined activities of the duo constitute the effective terminator of the misguided aspiration of Tinubu to inherit an office that has no ancestral link to Iragbiji. Obasanjo’s assertion that ’emi lokan’ is an immoral and misleading claim and Atiku’s pole position in the build-up to the February 25 election has made them objects of mudslinging and rabid attacks.
“Having been suffocated in the campaign space, and looking for a shortcut to a far-fetched and improbable electoral success, the media gang of Ahmed Bola Tinubu in pitiable agony, struggled to clutch to a straw by placing their hope in an empty vessel, who is capitalising on the desperation of the Tinubu and his dreamers to sell fairy tales for a fortune.
“The Tinubu media jesters have often equated Nigeria with Lagos, where Baba so’pe ( Baba said ) is all that needs to be bellowed for all kinds of untoward actions to be taken. They forget that Nigeria is a country of due process, where allegations don’t amount to conviction, and where any urchin can wake up on the side of a bed to throw tantrums without any reprehension.
“The failure of the Tinubu gang is evident in their failed blackmail and insinuation against the very vibrant Nigerian media.”
Former Military President, Gen Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB), is set to launch his long-awaited autobiography.
Reports said the memoir titled: ‘A Journey In Service’, will be released on February 20, 2025, at the Congress Hall of Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja.
The development is coming 32 years after IBB left office.
The regime of the former Head of State was negatively shaped and defined by the adoption of the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) policy, among other regulations, which sparked a nationwide riot by student union and other similar groups.
There was also the unresolved murder of the late journalist, Dele Giwa, and the June 12 annulment, among other controversial issues.
While in office, IBB was popular with the moniker “evil genius” and “Maradona”.
Explaining the nicknames, IBB said they were manufactured by the media because of his “deft political moves”.
“That’s the very good thing about the Nigerian media and Nigerian people. You have to anticipate them.
“If you anticipate them, then you live well with them. They call me ‘evil genius’, I marvel at that. The contradiction, you can’t be evil and then be a genius.”
“The definition of Maradona I got from the media is because of deft political moves. That’s the way the media described it”, he had said.
He succumbed to pressure in August 1993 when he “stepped aside” for the late Ernest Shonekan as the chairman of the Interim Government.
The late General Sanni Abacha would, however, topple the government in 1993 and would subsequently die in office in 1998.
Although IBB granted interviews to local and international media since leaving office, he has somehow found a way around some of these contentious issues that happened during his rule.
About seven years ago, he had expressed doubts about writing an autobiography, saying he was uncertain if Nigerians would “want to read about a dictator”.
He added that the public had a wrong impression of him, citing his role in the June 12 crisis, and some of the policies he unfurled between 1985 and 1993 as head of a junta.
However, he made a U-Turn and wrote the book.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will lead former Nigerian leaders and their counterparts in other parts of Africa to grace the much awaited autobiography.
According to an invite dispatched to dignitaries this week, the board of trustees of the IBB Presidential Library Foundation said the book launch will take place alongside fundraising for a Presidential Library.
The organisers said the event would be chaired by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, with President Bola Tinubu as the Special Guest of Honour.
The keynote address would be delivered by the former president of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo, while former vice-president Yemi Osinbajo would review the autobiography.
Other guests billed to attend include ex-presidents Muhammadu Buhari, Yakubu Gowon, Abdulsalami Abubakar, and Goodluck Jonathan.
A former Minister of Defence Gen. Theophilus Danjuma and Chairman of BUA Group; Abdul Samad Rabiu, are named chief launchers.
Members of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have expressed support for the recent court ruling that nullified the party’s congresses in Rivers State.
The NWC members made their position known during a visit to Governor Siminalayi Fubara at the Government House in Port Harcourt on Wednesday night, where they also held a closed-door meeting with the Governor.
The delegation included the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba.
Speaking after the meeting, the National Treasurer, Ahmed Mohammed, reaffirmed Governor Fubara’s status as the party leader in Rivers State.
He described their visit as part of an effort to realign the party and strategize for a comeback in the 2027 elections.
Mohammed stated their commitment to fostering unity, stability, and effective repositioning in the State.
He also expressed the NWC’s support for Ude Okoye, who was recently reinstated as the party’s National Secretary by the Court of Appeal.
Mohammed urged party stakeholders and governors to rally behind Okoye for the party’s progress.
The visit comes just days after PDP Youth leaders from across the country met with Governor Fubara in a bid to resolve internal party crises, with a focus on affirming his leadership in the state.
The court ruling that nullified the Ward, Local, and State congresses, which were won by allies of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has created ripples within the party.
The congresses, which were held last year, were marred by conflicting court orders, with a State High Court restraining the exercise while a Federal High Court allowed it.
Following the nullification, an interim committee emerged, saying it will oversee the leadership of the party in Rivers State.
Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke of the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, has denied the request of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to issue an arrest warrant for Dr Oba Otudeko, Dr Bisi Onasanya and others due to lack of formal service on the defendants.
The court addressed multiple motions during the session, including the Prosecutor’s request for a warrant of arrest, which the Judge rejected due to the lack of formal service to the defendants. The Judge, therefore, granted an application for substituted service.
Bode Olanipekun, appearing for Dr Otudeko, sought an order restraining parties from irresponsible use of the media, Thus, the Judge advised all parties to exercise restraint in media engagement and urged journalists present to ensure accurate reporting of court proceedings.
The case has brought the EFCC under scrutiny for allegedly flouting procedural norms.
Critics have faulted the agency for going public with the charges without first formally serving Otudeko and other implicated parties. Legal experts argue that this approach undermines the principle of fair hearing and could prejudice the public against the accused.
The case has been adjourned to February 13 for arraignment.
