Politics
I’m not afraid of impeachment, says Shaibu
Ahead of the September 21 Edo State governorship election, the factional candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Mr Philip Shaibu, has vowed to carry on with his preparations even if doing so would cause his impeachment by the state House of Assembly.
Shaibu, the deputy governor of the state, said this at a press conference in Abuja on Saturday.
On Thursday, the returning officer in the PDP governorship primary and Governor of Zamfara State, Dauda Lawal, announced Asue Ighodalo as the winner of the delegate election, having polled a total of 577 votes.
However, in the parallel primaries that took place at the Benin residence of the Deputy Governor, the returning officer, Bartholomew Moses, declared Shaibu the winner, saying he won “with over 300 votes.”
Addressing journalists in Abuja, Shaibu described himself as the authentic candidate, noting that the primary that produced Ighodalo was nothing short of a social party attended by “people who wore aso ebi from all over the place.”
Shaibu, who defected to the PDP alongside the Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, in 2020 from the All Progressives Congress, said his office has been subjected to all manner of degrading treatment by the governor, adding however that he is the man to win the election for the PDP.
He said, “Even as we speak, my team has been calling me that, ‘Look at what these people are doing. They are saying they are going to impeach you, that you have gotten too far.’ They are threatening to impeach me.
“And I said, well, if fighting for my rights and all of us collectively triggers my impeachment, so be it.”
Shaibu, who described Ighodalo as “my far elder brother,” however, urged the PDP to know that the lawyer-turned-politician does not have what it takes to win the poll.
“If the party wants to win the election, they will not go for Ighodalo. If the party wants to win the election, the people have spoken, and they have spoken very loud and clearly.
“If people can stand bullets to say this is who we want, then the party should follow that direction,” he added.
The deputy governor also said that he has appointed former APC Deputy Chairman, Edo State Chapter, Pastor Kenneth Asekomhe, to chair a committee to reach out to Ighodalo’s camp to forge a common front for the PDP in the election.
“He is the chairman of the committee that I have set up to reach out to the Ighodalo group for us to have a discussion to see how we will go because it is only him that is not on board,” he further said.
Shaibu also said he is working with the National Vice Chairman (South-South), Mr Dan Orbih.
“The leader of the legacy coalition is Dan Orbih. We are working together and that is why it is important that Asue (Ighodalo) join the legacy coalition because the coalition is those that were in APC that moved to PDP to meet those that were already in PDP.
“Those that were in PDP that we met are the legacy. The coalition now is that we joined the old PDP moving together because we don’t want to hear new and old PDP and that is why we call it a legacy coalition,” Shaibu stated.
On whether the Independent National Electoral Commission monitored the primary election that produced him, Shaibu spoke affirmatively without going into details.
“INEC and the party were there but I will not disclose a lot. If we don’t go to court, fine. But if we do go to court, all this information will be unveiled,” he threatened.
Politics
Protest in INEC over demand for Ondo REC redeployment
By Francesca Hangeior
Scores of demonstrators from Ondo stormed the headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission in Abuja on Tuesday, demanding the immediate redeployment of the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mrs Oluwatoyin Babalola, from the state.
Waving banners and placards with messages such as “Mahmood: Redeploy Babalola Now” and “We Don’t Want a Repeat of Edo Fiasco,” the demonstrators blocked the entrance to the national secretariat, demanding a meeting with INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, to voice their concerns.
The protest comes a week after the Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, made a similar request, citing concerns over Babalola’s alleged links to the ruling All Progressives Congress. Speaking at a Peoples Democratic Party campaign rally in Akure, Makinde argued that Babalola’s background in Ondo may compromise the neutrality of the electoral process.
Supporting the governor’s stance, Ayo Adeyemi, Leader of the demonstrators and Convener of the Ondo Youth League, told journalists that while they had no personal issues with the REC, they could not risk any potential bias in the upcoming election.
Adeyemi stated, “Redeploying Babalola is in the best interest of our people and INEC to ensure a free and credible election.”
He added, “We urgently demand that INEC redeploy Ondo Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mrs Oluwatoyin Babalola, from the state. We respect her accomplishments, especially as a woman who has risen to such a prominent position. But for a free and fair election in Ondo, we can’t have Babalola overseeing the process. She grew up here, knows nearly everyone in the public sector, and is highly familiar with the state.
Babalola hasn’t done anything wrong; we simply want her reassigned to another state to avoid any possible conflict of interest.”
“We’re not here to criticise INEC’s operations; we just want an unbiased REC to oversee the upcoming governorship election.”
Responding to the protesters, INEC National Commissioner, Major General Modibbo Alkali (retd), commended them for their orderly conduct.
Alkali assured them that the commission would consider their concerns regarding Babalola’s position.
“We appreciate seeing you come here well-organised. INEC operates impartially, without alignment to any political party or candidate. We function under the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” he
said. “We’ve received your letter, and INEC will consider it thoroughly. Rest assured, your concerns will be analysed and addressed by the commission chairman.”
Politics
Bianca Will Not Get You Southeast Votes in 2027, She Has zero Values – Atiku’s Aide Tells Tinubu
The Special Assistant to former Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar on Digital Media Strategy, Demola Olarewaju, has criticized President Bola Tinubu for appointing Bianca Ojukwu as Minister of State for Foreign Affairs in his midterm cabinet reshuffle.
Olarenwaju stated that Bianca won’t help Tinubu get votes from the Southeast in 2027 because she has zero electoral value.
He described Bianca’s ministerial appointment as a political gambit to soften the ground amidst other moves to be made by Tinubu ahead of elections.
In a statement in his X page, Olarenwaju said: “Bianca Ojukwu has zero electoral value and not one sane Obidient voter in the SE will switch to BAT for her sake – not one.
The statement reads partly: “Understand first of all that Tinubu is nothing, if not political. Everything he does is about power. If he opposes subsidy in 2012 – it is power. If he upholds it in 2024, it is for power.
“He can say “Yoruba Ronu” to woo Yoruba ethnocentrists, but can also say “One Nigeria” when necessary. I’m not sure that man has had even one genuine friendship in the past three decades, unless there is some political leverage or advantage to be gained.
“Bianca is a ‘nobody’ in the political configuration of the SE. But remember, APC currently has governors in two states of the SE all three senators from Ebonyi, two from Imo and one from Abia, where Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu is from and where a Bola Tinubu University of Nigerian Languages may soon be sited.
“Recall also that Bola Tinubu/APC scored more votes in the SE than Atiku Abubakar/PDP – based on “it is the turn of the South/let Tinubu have it if not Obi, but not a Fulani.
“So Bianca is not at all likely to move any voter but she won’t need to – she is only one piece of a larger plan to provide an excuse for APCNEC (APC/INEC) rigging.”
Politics
Don’t proceed with LG polls, Kano APC cautions Gov Yusuf
The chairman of the Kano chapter of the APC, Alhaji Abdullahi Abbas, gave the words of caution in a statement issued on Friday.
On Tuesday, a Federal High Court in Kano presided over by Justice Simon Amobeda while ruling in a matter filed by Aminu Aliyu Tiga, and the APC disqualified Prof. Sani Malumfashi as the chairman of the Kano State Independent Electoral Commission.
The Court held that the chairman was a political party card-carrying member. It equally sacked five members of the commission for their ties with the New Nigerian People’s Party.
A Kano State High Court on Friday, however, granted the Kano State Independent Electoral Commission (KANSIEC) the authority to proceed with the local government elections scheduled for Saturday, nullifying all attempts by political parties to stop the exercise.
The presiding judge, Justice Sanusi Ma’aji, ruled that KANSIEC is empowered by the Constitution to conduct, supervise, and oversee local government elections across the 44 local government areas (LGAs) in Kano State.
In the fresh case brought by KANSIEC against the All Progressives Congress (APC) and 13 other political parties, Justice Ma’aji maintained that any effort to obstruct the process would be deemed null and void.
The APC Chairman, Kano State Chapter, in his statement, however, called on the state government to adhere to the directive of the Federal High Court in Kano, which had earlier on Tuesday restrained KANSIEC from holding the council poll after sacking the chairman, secretary, and commissioners of the agency.
The party noted that the call by the governor on NNPP supporters to ignore the court directive was a clear case of an invitation to anarchy and lawlessness.
“The governor should simply respect the laws. As law-abiding citizens interested in the growth of our dear state of Kano, the governor should desist from any act that could throw the state into chaos.
“Inciting people to take the laws into their own hands is not the hallmark of good leadership,” the party noted.
The APC further expressed concern over remarks attributed to Governor Yusuf at a rally in Kano City where he openly declared that he would proceed with the LG election.
The APC claimed that the remarks were inciting and unbecoming of someone who is supposed to be the chief security officer of the state.
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