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…both cite party unity as reason for pulling out

The Governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara has pulled out of the Rivers State governorship primary saying his decision was based on deep reflection and wide consultation with his family and friends.

Also, another Frontline aspirant, Tonye Cole pulled out of the primary election.

Read Fubara’s reasons:

“After deep reflection and extensive consultations with my family, friends, and associates, I have taken the difficult but necessary decision to withdraw from the APC gubernatorial primaries.

” I do so with a full heart and with a firm commitment to support whoever emerges as the candidate of our great party.

“Leadership is ultimately about sacrifice. There comes a time when personal ambition must yield to the greater good of the people. Rivers State is bigger than any individual, and at this critical moment, the peace, stability, and unity of our dear state must take precedence over every personal interest.

“To my supporters who stood firmly with me throughout this journey who gave their time, resources, prayers, and unwavering hope, I offer my deepest gratitude.

“I understand the disappointment, the anger, and the pain many of you may feel. Much has indeed been invested and much sacrificed along the way. But please know that your loyalty and trust were never in vain. My silence over this period was deliberate and strategic, guided always by the higher interest of our state and our people.

“As our elders say, not everything a hunter sees in the forest is spoken of in the marketplace. Some truths are best borne quietly, not out of fear, but out of wisdom and restraint for the sake of peace and a greater purpose.

“It is enough to say that I have faced immense pressures and difficult choices, but my love for Rivers State remains greater than anything else.

“I sincerely thank our great party, the All Progressives Congress, for the platform and support extended to me throughout this process. I also express my profound appreciation to His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, for his support and encouragement.

“The APC remains our collective home, and I urge all party faithful and supporters to remain steadfast and committed as we continue to build a stronger and more united future together.

“Let it be clearly understood that I stepped aside from participating in the upcoming River’s state Gubernatorial election not out of weakness, fear, or surrender, but out of conviction and sacrifice so that Rivers State may move forward in peace and unity and I remain committed to serving the good people of Rivers state till the end of my term.

Tonye Cole:
Tonye P. Cole has announced his withdrawal from the Rivers State All Progressives Congress (APC) gubernatorial primaries scheduled for tomorrow.

In a statement released on Wednesday evening, Cole said the decision was taken in the overriding interest of peace, reconciliation, and the supremacy of the party following extensive consultations.
“I have taken the decision, in the overriding interest of party unity, peace, and collective progress, to respect the supremacy of the party and withdraw from the forthcoming primaries,” Cole stated.

Cole, who described himself as a committed democrat and advocate for strong institutions, pledged his full support and cooperation to whoever emerges as the party’s candidate at the end of the primaries.

“This decision was not made lightly. It is the product of deep reflection, patriotism, and an unwavering commitment to the stability, growth, and success of our great party and our beloved state,” he added.

The aspirant expressed profound gratitude to his teeming supporters, including party faithful, women groups, youths, elders, and well-meaning Rivers people who stood by him throughout the process.

He urged all his supporters to remain calm and peaceful, and to fully cooperate with the leadership of the party.

“Let us unite and work together to secure victory for our President, our party, and all APC candidates in the 2027 General Elections,” Cole said.

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Desmond Elliot, the Nollywood Actor and three terms member, Lagos House of Assembly finally withdrew from the All Progressives Congress (APC) House of Assembly Primary Election on Wednesday, even as he complained that his supporters were not allowed into the venue of the election at Ward G2, Alaka Housing Estate, Surulere, Lagos.

However, the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, described the primary election as peaceful, fair, and orderly.

Gbajabiamila spoke with newsmen after participating in the primary election at Ward G2 (Adeniran Ogunsanya Ward 5), situated at Alaka Housing Estate, Surulere, Lagos.

The former Speaker of the House of Representatives said he was impressed by the conduct of party members and the peaceful atmosphere that characterised the exercise.

“You know, this is my ward, Ward G2, and I have been voting here in Ward G2 for as long as I have been in politics. And anytime I come to vote, whatever office or election it is, my reaction is always the same. When I see peaceful, fair, credible, orderly elections, I am always very happy. And that is exactly what I have seen today,” he said.

Gbajabiamila noted that the turnout for the exercise was impressive despite the fact that it was a party primary election. “The turnout, considering that we are talking about primaries here, has been very impressive. People have been peaceful and orderly.
The election has been free and transparent, and I am happy to see that. So, I congratulate the people of Ward G2,” he said.

The presidential aide added that reports reaching him from other wards indicated that the exercise was peaceful across the constituency. “From what I am hearing, the feedback I am getting, it is the same across the board,” he said.

Mr Ekundayo Decker, Chairman of the Leaders Forum in Ward G2, described the exercise as a reflection of good internal democracy within the APC. He said the process was conducted peacefully without any form of violence or disruption. “Well, this is a pure democratic process. We have seen that the numbers are more and the voting went fine. There was no fight, there was nothing, no problem, nothing,” he said.

On his advice to aspirants participating in the primary election, Decker urged contestants and their supporters to embrace sportsmanship and accept the outcome of the process in good faith. “It is a game of sports. Any side that wins, good. The other side should please embrace the winner,” he said.

However in a viral video, Desmond Elliot made his withdrawal from the race known, saying his supporters were not allowed into the venue of the primary election.

NAN reports that Surulere Constituency I was a flashpoint in Wednesday’s APC primaries.

In the constituency, a female party and Gbajabiamila-backed aspirant, Mrs Barakat Odunuga-Bakare is battling for the APC ticket with a third-term incumbent lawmaker, Desmond Elliott, who is seeking a fourth-term at the State Assembly (NAN)

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***As Asiwaju Youth Group Insists No Elections Held in Parts of Ekiti North Fed. Constituency II

As the direct primaries exercise of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) continues to elicit reactions across the country; some stakeholders of the party from Ekiti State have called on President Bola Tinubu and the leadership at the national level, to urgently intervene, to save the soul of the party in the state.

This was, even as, the most formidable support group for the President in the state, Ekiti Network of Asiwaju Youths (ENAYo) decried gross malpractices in the conduct of the party’s primaries across the state, especially, in Ekiti North Federal Constituency II, where they argued elections were not held in some wards but results were written and declared.

Ekiti North Federal Constituency II is one of the six Federal Constituencies in Ekiti State, comprising Ido-Osi, Ilejemeje, and Moba local government areas, and currently being represented in the 10th House of Representatives by Hon. Akinlayo Davidson Kolawole.

In an open letter written to President Tinubu on Wednesday, the Concerned Ekiti APC Stakeholders bemoaned the activities of some state actors, which they described as “undemocratic and unprogressive”.

In the letter signed by the Coordinator, Alhaji AbdulRaman Agboola, and Secretary, Hon. Daniel Fatoriji, the APC Stakeholders condemned in totality, the act of “writing election results and declaring same, even when glaringly the blind could see that, elections were not held in those areas”, stressing that such act was dangerous to the very peace, unity and tranquility that existed in the party.

“We are raising this alarm because, we are the nucleus of the party in Ekiti state. We did not join the party, we formed it and we were the foundation members before others came in. And no matter what, we shall still be the ones here to save the soul of the party during the general elections, after angry party members would have left, courtesy of the misdemeanors of the party leadership in the state.

“That is why we are calling on our dear President, His Excellency, Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, and our indefatigable national Chairman, His Excellency, Professor Nentawe Yilwatda Goshwe, to quickly address this issue before it gets out of hand.

“Take for instance, in Ekiti North Federal Constituency II, the young man who we all elected in 2023, and agreed to return him in 2027, due to his contributions to the party and his laudable achievements in the constituency, the state actors ganged up against him with all manners of machinations.

“First, his Media Aide who went home for the primaries was arrested by the Nigerian Police, a day to the election, and accused him of staying in the same hotel where some hoodlums were arrested with guns. As we speak, the young man is currently being held by the police, even in the face of glaring fact that those arrested have no business with the Media Aide. Even the arrested suspects also testified that they don’t know him. The Police is currently holding him with the motive to tie him to his boss, whom they are all working against.

“Even on the day of the direct primaries, there were no elections in Usi ward, Ward 5 of Ido-Osi LGA, same in Ifaki ward 1 & 2, Ilogbo ward, Otun ward 1 & 2, Igogo ward 1, and other wards that are strongholds of Hon. Akinlayo Davidson Kolawole, like Ifaki ward 1 and 2, and all the wards in Ilejemeje LGA, no election was held. And where elections were held and genuine results emerged that he won, the returning officers would go to Ado Ekiti and announced another person. This is not the original ideology of our party. This very act is alien to us. We must hult it before it hurts us in the general elections”, the stakeholders added.

Also in a statement released on Tuesday and signed by the Spokesperson, Comrade Joseph Olaitan, the Ekiti Network of Asiwaju Youths (ENAYo) called on the national leadership of the party to roundly reject any result emanating from Ekiti North Federal Constituency II, saying the people are currently angry for refusing to allow them vote for their preferred candidate.

According to the statement, “party supporters, elders, youths, turned out in their numbers to exercise their rights as party members, but those who believe they are more powerful than the masses, hijacked materials in some wards, leaving the people stranded and wailing till night”.

The Asiwaju group alleged that, in most places where elections were genuinely held and results announced, the returning officers would return different results in the state collation center.

“We have video evidences and result sheets showing that the current Member representing Ekiti North Federal Constituency II, Hon. Akin Kolawole actually won the election overwhelmingly, where results were actually collated, but getting to Ado Ekiti, it is Alhaji Ibrahim Olanrewaju’s name we are seeing, even places like Ward 5, Ward 6 and other places where the people were not allowed to vote, we saw them allocating figures on the result sheets. How did we arrive at this shambolic stage in our party?

“To worsen situation, one of our youth in the land, a gentleman who has been working with Hon. Akinlayo Kolawole as a media aide, Ibitola Babatope (Sugarito) was arrested by the police on the eve of the election, in a manner believed to be a set up by the power that be. As we speak, the boy is still being held.

“We are not violent people in Ekiti, we are peace loving people. Those who think they can introduced militancy into our body polity should reexamine their steps. God Almighty is watching everybody on earth. No one will be Governor, chairman or Commissioner forever. Everything on earth has an expiry date!

“We are fully ready to deliver our dear President and other APC candidates in Ekiti come 2027, but we will not be responsible for anyone who tries to force his way into power against the popular will of the people. Let the party leadership do the needful before it degenerates into something else”, the statement reads.