Headlines
Oyo PDP Leaders Distance Selves from Makinde over Atiku
Some leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party in Oyo State have opposed Governor Seyi Makinde following his declaration not to support the presidential candidate of the party, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.
They spoke in Ibadan on Wednesday at the emergency meeting of the leaders of the party from the 33 local government areas of the state.
They declared their support for Atiku, who Makinde and four other PDP governors are working against.
Makinde had on Saturday during a live radio programme said he and other aggrieved PDP governors would not work for the presidential candidate of the party for some reasons.
The five governors have not hidden their position and they had vowed not to work for Atiku except the National Chairman of the PDP, Dr Iyorchia Ayu resigned from office for a southerner to occupy the office.
One of the PDP leaders, a former Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Dr. Wole Oyelese, said Makinde was not speaking for the party in the state but speaking for himself.
He said PDP leaders would work and deliver the state for the presidential candidate of the party, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar in 2023.
Oyelese said, “A good politician will not speak like that. It doesn’t mean anything if Makinde says he will not work for Atiku. He is on his own! It is an empty threat! If he said we should not vote for Atiku, who are we voting for? We are too sophisticated for that in Oyo state. Makinde is a newcomer in Oyo State politics but we shall continue to work for our party.
“However, we are working for Atiku in a special way. My advice for any politician who wants to win in Oyo State is to come to the mainstream. Mainstream is the leadership of the party in the state.
“What is the position of Yoruba on this matter that Makinde is talking about? We don’t have a position. Pa Fasoranti is saying something and Baba Adebanjo is saying another thing. We are not having a position in Yorubaland. Our members remain steadfast and committed. This is our party and we cannot allow it to break down.”
Another PDP leader, Femi Babalola said the governor is also guilty of the points he raised against the presidential candidate of the PDP.
“He that comes to equity must come with clean hands. As an Engineer, I analyse issues. The first question I asked myself was is it good for a northerner to take over from a northerner?
“Another question is, is it good for an Ibadan man to take over from Ibadan man that spent eight years? So, for Makinde that benefited from such, why is he now antagonising another person? He didn’t see anything that is wrong in that but when it is Atiku, it is wrong,” he added.
Responding to an inquiry by our correspondent, the Chief Press Secretary to Oyo State Governor, Taiwo Adisa, said Makinde and the other aggrieved governors had never said they would campaign for any other presidential candidate.
He said, “Governor Makinde, and his colleagues including Governors Nyesom Wike, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, Samuel Ortom, and Okezie Ikpeazu have consistently said they will concentrate their campaigns on the PDP candidates in their states if the PDP system will not do the needful on the issue concerning the national Chairman.
“They have not said they will campaign for any other candidate at the Presidential level.”
Also, the PDP Publicity Secretary in Oyo State, Mr Akeem Olatunji, said in a separate interview with our correspondent that Makinde had never started campaigning for the candidate of another party.
He said, “Governor Seyi Makinde has said it at different fora that all PDP candidates would win in Oyo State. What else does anybody wants again?
“Do we have any other presidential candidate party from Alhaji Atiku Abubakar? There is no ambiguity in that except some people are just trying to seek attention. Probably, they are trying to be mischievous.
“All we know is that all hands are on deck that all our candidates win in Oyo State. Governor Seyi Makinde has never endorsed any other person as his own presidential candidate.”
The Punch
The National Working Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (NWC) has suspended the National Legal Adviser, Kamaldeen Ajibade; National Secretary, Samuel Anyanwu; Deputy Legal Adviser, Okechukwu Osuoha; and National Organizing Secretary, Umaru Bature for one month.
The suspension comes on the heels of the judgement of the Federal High Court On Friday, which stopped the party’s planned national convention.
The National Publicity Secretary of the party, Debo Ologunagba, told journalists in Abuja on Saturday, that the decision followed an emergency meeting of the national working committee, which was held in Abuja.
President Donald Trump of the United States on Friday designated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC), in response to allegations of widespread persecution and genocide against Christians.
Writing on his Truth Social account, Trump stated that Christianity faces a serious threat in Nigeria.
The US leader also added Nigeria to a State Department watch list.
“Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria. Thousands of Christians are being killed. Radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter,” Trump wrote.
According to the US president, he was placing Nigeria, Africa’s top oil producer and most populous nation, on a “Countries of Particular Concern” list of nations the US deems to have engaged in religious freedom violations.
According to the State Department’s website, the list includes China, Myanmar, North Korea, Russia, and Pakistan, among others.
Trump said he had asked US Representatives Riley Moore and Tom Cole, as well as the House of Representatives Appropriations Committee, to look into the matter and report back to him.
A Federal High Court in Abuja has removed Hon. Abubakar Gummi from the House of Representatives after he left the Peoples Democratic Party for the All Progressives Congress.
The lawmaker represented the Gummi/Bukkuyum Federal Constituency in Zamfara State.
Justice Obiora Egwuatu delivered the ruling, holding that Gummi’s defection breached the Constitution.
The court said the seat does not belong to any politician but to the political party that sponsored the election.
According to the judgment, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, is barred from recognising Gummi “as a member representing Gummi/Bukkuyum Federal Constituency.”
The judge also instructed the Independent National Electoral Commission to “conduct a fresh election” for the vacant seat within 30 days.
The case was instituted by the PDP and its Zamfara chairman, who insisted that Gummi’s move to the APC had no legal justification. They argued that there was no division in the PDP to support his defection, as required by Section 68(1)(g) of the Constitution.
Gummi, through his counsel, claimed he left the PDP due to internal crises which he said made it “impossible” to serve his constituents effectively. The judge, however, dismissed his arguments and granted all the reliefs requested by the plaintiffs.
Justice Egwuatu, in a firm comment, warned politicians against what he described as reckless party hopping.
“Political prostitution must not be rewarded,” he declared, adding that lawmakers must not transfer votes won on one party’s platform to another party.
The court also ordered Gummi to refund all salaries and allowances received from October 30, 2024, until the date of judgment. He is also barred from earning any further benefits as a member of the House.
Additionally, the judge imposed a N500,000 cost against the defendants in favour of the PDP.
