Tag: Atiku

  • Ganduje leads APC NWC to Buhari hours after Atiku, El-Rufai’s visit

    Ganduje leads APC NWC to Buhari hours after Atiku, El-Rufai’s visit

    National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdullahi Ganduje, alongside members of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC), visited former President Muhammadu Buhari at his residence in Kaduna State on Friday.

    The visit came just hours after a notable delegation of opposition leaders, led by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, also met with Buhari. That group included former Kaduna State Governor Nasir el-Rufai, former Sokoto Governor Aminu Tambuwal, and former Minister of Communications Isa Pantami.

    Speaking to reporters after the visit, El-Rufai insisted the meeting had no political undertones, advising “adversaries” not to lose sleep over it.

    The APC leadership has not disclosed the details of their discussions with Buhari. However, the visit follows closely on the heels of a similar one by a delegation of APC governors led by Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma, who delivered Sallah greetings and congratulated Buhari on the successful conclusion of Ramadan.

    Amid these back-to-back engagements, concerns have been rising over the potential defection of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) faction from the APC. The CPC, one of the four parties that merged in 2013 to form the APC, counts Buhari among its key founding members.

    Despite the swirling speculation, Buhari has reiterated his loyalty to the ruling party, stating that he has no intention of leaving the APC.

  • 2027: Tread softly, perish your presidential ambitions, APC cautions Atiku, el-Rufai

    2027: Tread softly, perish your presidential ambitions, APC cautions Atiku, el-Rufai

    Abuja—The National Vice Chairman (North West) of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Garba Muhammad, has cautioned former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, and ex-governor of Kaduna State, Nasir el-Rufai, to tread softly ahead of the 2027 general election.

    Muhammad, who hails from Kaduna State and served as a member of the House of Representatives, representing Sabon Gari federal constituency for 16 years, had in an open letter, told Atiku to “perish the thought of another presidential contest” and remain the statesman he was, noting that he had been contesting for the presidency since 1993.

    Muhammad said: “As we approach the next general elections, you are at it again. However, this time around, having sensed that your party, the PDP, may not cede the presidential ticket to you, you are now considering joining forces with some aggrieved politicians to form a coalition to challenge President Bola Tinubu in 2027.
    “For you, Alhaji Atiku, our former vice president, my free-hearted advice is, in your best interest and the interest of Nigerians, it is better you drop the idea of contesting for president in 2027, by which time you would have already turned 80 years.

    “The Wazirin Adamawa, you should rather remain the elder statesman that you currently are. Methinks you shouldn’t waste your time and resources. At least, you should take your cue from another former Vice President, Arc. Muhammad Namadi Sambo, who has been operating in the background and remains an elder statesman since he left office in 2015.”

    Muhammad said Atiku should not listen to some politicians, such as former Kaduna governor, El-rufai who “are dangling the carrot of a coalition” to him ahead of 2027.

    “In truth, even if you contest, you have nothing new to offer. Remember, you are also a proponent of subsidy removal. It is on record that, as vice president, you spearheaded the privatisation of some key national assets when you chaired the committee on privatisation during Obasanjo’s administration, while former Governor El-rufai was the Director General of the Bureau for Public Privatization, BPP.”

    To el-rufai, the APC chieftain, who is also the chairman of the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency, NESREA, Governing Board, he urged the former Kaduna State governor to reconcile with the APC since he was a founding member of the party who toiled to see its success.

    The former lawmaker said: “It is on record that you were part of the founding members of the APC. Having worked for the party tirelessly and served as governor under its platform for eight years, it is rather worrisome that you decided to leave APC at this critical point.

    “While still serving as governor in 2022, during one of your media chats, you averred that “the moment I leave APC, then I have quit politics altogether.” At this critical point, you should ponder and reconcile with the APC or quit politics altogether.

    “The world knows that it was you who announced that you were not interested in any position in the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration. Why should you turn to a critic overnight just because you perceived things were not going your way when you had unfettered access to the leadership of the party and the president?”
    “As someone who was once close to you, I want to advise you to refrain from using emotions, sentiments and unsubstantiated claims/allegations in politics.

    “I would like to tell you for free that no PDP governor will join the SDP because their party already has a structure on ground. Who will leave certainty to uncertainty? You may end up committing a serious political miscalculation.

    “Frankly speaking, I think you should reflect deeply. One would expect that as a leading figure who supported the presidency to go to the South in 2023, you would support the zone to finish its eight years before canvassing for the rotation of the position to the north.”

    He said both Speaker Abbas Tajudeen and Governor Uba Sani had been working assiduously and harmoniously for the benefit of Kaduna State.

    “Governor Uba Sani’s leadership style also attracted the likes of former governor, Alhaji Mukhtar Ramalan Yero; Senator Danjuma Laah; Senator Caleb Zegi; former PDP national organising secretary, Abubakar Mustapha; Amb. Sule Buba; Prof. Dogara Mato; member representing Zangon Kataf/Jaba federal constituency, Amos Magaji Gwamna, and the member for Igabi federal constituency, Hussaini Jalo, among others.

    “We enjoy relative peace in Kaduna State today due to the kind of inclusive leadership of Governor Uba Sani, especially the rural areas,’’ he added

    He stated further that the North West had never had it this good under any administration, saying “currently in the North-West, we have speaker of the House of Representatives from Kaduna State and the Deputy President of the Senate from Kano State.

    ‘’It has never happened in the history of Nigeria where two presiding officers of the National Assembly came from the same zone. We also have the national chairman of our great party from Kano State.

    “Additionally, the North West also got 12 ministerial appointments, some of whom are manning critical ministries, such as the two ministers of defence; budget and national planning; environment; two ministers of housing; culture and creative economy; ministers of state for FCT, education and works etcetera.

    ‘’The zone also has the two service chiefs – the chief of defence staff from Kaduna State, and the chief of air staff from Kano State.’’

  • ‘Drop merger talks’ – El-Rufai tells Atiku, Obi, Aregbesola to join SDP

    ‘Drop merger talks’ – El-Rufai tells Atiku, Obi, Aregbesola to join SDP

    Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has called on former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and ex-Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi to join the Social Democratic Party (SDP).

    In a recent interview with BBC Hausa which went viral on Saturday, El-Rufai dismissed the idea of a merger, instead urging key opposition figures—including former Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola and former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi—to join the SDP to unseat President Bola Tinubu in 2027.

    “My wishes and prayers are Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, Rotimi Amaechi, Rauf, all opposition leaders to come and join SDP, not to do a merger or to register a new political party,” he said.

    El-Rufai explained that he initially supported Tinubu in the 2023 presidential election because of the former Lagos governor’s accomplishments, hoping he would replicate similar success nationwide.

    “What pains me is that the government we supported and had confidence in would do well because we saw what Tinubu did in Lagos despite his challenges,” he said.

    “We all know about his issues in Chicago, but we thought if he could replicate his work in Lagos for Nigeria, let’s support him. However, he failed.”

    Addressing speculation about his presidential ambition in 2027, El-Rufai stated that the decision was not his to make but would depend on the party and the will of the people.

    “It is not for me to decide; it is the party and the people that will decide. Even when I was contesting for governor, it was people that met and convinced (Muhammadu) Buhari, and he called me and asked me to contest,” he said.

    El-Rufai resigned from the All Progressives Congress (APC) on March 10, citing a misalignment of values with the ruling party.

  • Natasha: Atiku, PDP caution Senate leadership

    Natasha: Atiku, PDP caution Senate leadership

    Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has said that Nigerian leaders are not creating an environment that enables women to thrive and contribute to the country’s development.

    Atiku, a former presidential candidate of the PDP, stated this on Friday through his media adviser, Paul Ibe, following the suspension of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan (PDP/Kogi Central) by the Senate.

    Akpoti-Uduaghan was on Thursday suspended for six months for flouting Senate rules after she rejected a new seating position assigned to her and accused Senate President Godswill Akpabio of sexual harassment on live TV.

    Atiku described the Senate’s decision as an attack on affirmative action.

    “Has there been an investigation? No. So, Atiku’s position hasn’t changed. Whichever way you look at this, there is a concern. Any society that does not optimally use the assets available to it, particularly by giving women the opportunity to thrive, is failing,” he said.

    “About half of our population is women, and if we don’t deliberately create an environment conducive to promoting women’s interests—whether in politics, business, or any other human endeavour—we are underutilising our potential.

    “We’re not providing half of our population the opportunities to thrive and add value to society. With International Women’s Day coming up on March 8, it raises serious concerns. The Senate’s action of suspending Natasha for six months without conducting an investigation is an attack on affirmative action.”

    Also, former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi, who spoke through his ex-media aide and the National Coordinator of the Obidient Movement Worldwide, Tanko Yunusa, also frowned on the development.

    “The situation is quite disappointing,” he lamented.

    PDP Deputy National Youth Leader, Timothy Osadolor, criticised Akpabio for not stepping down to allow an independent investigation into the sexual harassment allegations against him.

    Osadolor described the six-month suspension imposed on Akpoti-Uduaghan as shameful.

    The PDP youth leader equally dragged opposition lawmakers for failing to speak out and make their voices heard when it mattered most.

    He stated, “The Senate President should have excused himself; he wasn’t truly a man of integrity. He should have stepped aside and allowed the investigation to proceed. I was deeply moved by this, and I’m sure every person of goodwill would be as well.

    “Natasha could have been our sister, our wife, our daughter, or our mother. To see them all gang up and use state power and bureaucracy to silence her voice is shameful. For me, it was even more shameful for the opposition members on the floor of the Senate. They failed to speak up when it mattered.

    “They were trying to stay in Akpabio’s good books. Looking at the whole situation, no one could stand up to be counted because they didn’t want to be kicked out or labelled as rebels. It’s a shame. But I believe Natasha has made her points. Though the majority will have their way, the minority will also have their day.”

  • Atiku praises Adeleke for proceeding with LG poll despite FG’s caution

    Atiku praises Adeleke for proceeding with LG poll despite FG’s caution

    Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has praised Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke for moving forward with the state’s local government elections.

    In a post shared on his official X handle on Saturday, Atiku urged for a peaceful and incident-free election. He also called on security agencies and electoral officials to carry out their responsibilities with utmost dedication and fairness.

    “As residents in Osun State go out to the polls today to elect council chairpersons, I once again urge for a peaceful and hitch-free exercise,” Atiku stated. “The local council election is the heartbeat of a democratic system, given that its outcome impacts closely on the lives of the citizens. I commend Governor Ademola Adeleke for going ahead with the exercise and urge security agencies and polling officials to perform their duties with the highest sense of responsibility to the public.”

    Despite Atiku’s support, the Federal Government, through the Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, and the Nigeria Police, had called for the suspension of the election, citing credible intelligence suggesting potential violence and security threats if the polls were to proceed.

    A statement issued by the Force Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, highlighted these concerns, stating that intelligence reports indicated a high risk of unrest if the elections were held as scheduled.

    Osun State Government dismissed the security concerns raised by the Nigeria Police, arguing that the call for suspension was politically motivated. In a statement signed by the Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Kolapo Alimi, the government maintained that the elections must go ahead, upholding the principles of the rule of law and rejecting any perceived partisan interference.

    Backing the state government’s position, an Osun State High Court in Ilesa ruled on Friday that vacancies existed across all 30 local government areas (LGAs) in the state. The court ordered the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission (OSSIEC) to proceed with filling these positions.

    Justice Adeyinka Aderibigbe, presiding over a motion filed by the PDP against OSSIEC and its chairman, Hashim Abioye, directed law enforcement agencies to provide security during and after the elections.

    This ruling follows a previous judgement by the Federal High Court on November 30, 2022, which invalidated the council elections held on October 15, 2022. The Federal High Court’s decision was later upheld by the Court of Appeal on January 13, 2025, reinforcing the need for fresh elections to address the vacant council positions.

  • Why Atiku, Wike weren’t before us — PDP disciplinary committee

    Why Atiku, Wike weren’t before us — PDP disciplinary committee

    ABUJA—The National Disciplinary Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has said its mandate affects only persons who have petitions against them.

    Chairman of the committee, Chief Tom Ikimi, said this while answering questions from journalists in Abuja yesterday.

    He was asked if the committee was dealing with cases of alleged anti-party activists by party leaders from as far back as 2015.

    Names of high-profile party leaders, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Senator Bukola Saraki and Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Minister, Nyesom Wike, have been linked to such activities, which led to PDP’s successive losses in elections between 2015 and 2023.

    Ikimi, who was flanked by ten members of the committee including Chief Eyitayo Jegede, Patrick Ifo and two ex-governors, Ibrahim Shekarau and Sam Egwu, took time to explain that the panel’s jurisdiction wasn’t restricted to the 2023 polls.

    He said: “Whether acts were committed against the party in 2015, 2019, 2020 or any other year, we can do nothing about them, except there are petitions sent to this committee. This committee does not write petitions, we only attend to petitions that are sent to us.

    “So, if there’s no petition against somebody, we are not going to do anything about it because that is not our business. I’m not out here to write petitions or deal with what is seen in newspapers.”

    He explained that the committee was prepared to take the testimonies from former Benue State governor, Samuel Ortom, and embattled National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, but noted that both could not appear.

    “Last week Wednesday, we went through the various petitions before us and two petitions were slated for hearing today; one petition was against the National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, and the other against some members of the party from Benue State, including former governor of Benue State, Dr. Samuel Ortom, and ten others.

    “We were prepared to hear the petition today (yesterday), the petitions were served on them directly and through courier and we have evidence that the petitions arrived at their destinations.

    ‘’However, we could not proceed due to correspondences received from these two persons we were supposed to meet.

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    “Former Secretary, Senator Anyanwu, sent us a letter indicating that he was not well and that he had medical challenges, and a medical appointment for today; he backed that up with a letter from his hospital and his doctor, so he, therefore, asked for another date.

    “In the case of Samuel Ortom and others, they claimed that they had not received the petitions which were sent to them but the petitions were sent and we have evidence that they were sent to them.

    “However, the committee has met and because we believe that we should give everyone fair hearing and that we should not ignore issues like health challenges, we have decided to the defer the hearing by another two to three weeks so that they will assure that they received the petitions sent to them.

    “So, we have deferred the hearing to March 4; we believe all will be well and the committee is going to be fair to everyone.”

  • 2027 Realignment: New move spells out role for Atiku, Obi, el-Rufai, Kwankwaso

    2027 Realignment: New move spells out role for Atiku, Obi, el-Rufai, Kwankwaso

    The 2027 general elections are about two years away and the realignment of forces to dislodge the All Progressives Congress (APC) from power, especially at the federal level appears to be on the upswing.

    In an interview published by Sunday Vanguard, last week, a former presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party, Adewole Adebayo, spoke about the inroads his party was making into the North in search of new political allies, hinting that the SDP leadership had met top politicians from that part of the country, including former Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State, for talks.

    In another development, a former top member of the APC, Alhaji Salihu Lukman, speaks of similar efforts gathering steam. Lukman, a former Deputy National Chairman of the APC (North), in an interview monitored on Arise News, elaborates on his scheme, saying key opposition figures in the country have a role to play as they have to jettison their presidential aspirations ahead of the 2027 and provide leadership for a new political party to confront the APC.

    He urges former Vice President Atiku Abubakar who flew the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) presidential flag in the 2023 elections, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, LP, in the elections, Mr Peter Obi, and the New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP, standard bearer, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, to prioritize party building over personal ambitions.

    Lukman, who has since quit the APC, also extends the advice to former party members and opposition figures, including Mr Rotimi Amaechi, a former governor of Rivers State but later served as Transportation Minister under the Buhari administration; El-Rufai; Dr. Kayode Fayemi, a former governor of Ekiti State, and Senator Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, a former governor of Sokoto State.

    According to Lukman, who was also one-time Director General of the Progressive Governors Forum, if these

    leaders set aside personal ambitions, it will prevent the imposition of candidates in 2027 and foster a stronger political alternative. Excerpts:

    You have been a key member of the APC, now you are saying Nigeria needs better leaders. What are your grievances? What do you think is wrong with the APC that you are asking all the critics and opponents of the administration to come together and push the same party out of power?

    What is wrong with the APC is what is wrong with Nigeria in my view, and I think the view of most Nigerians is that our democracy should give something much better than what we have today. I am not making any new proposals.

    If you have been following the debate during the merger negotiations that produced the APC, all these arguments have been raised about the kind of leadership a political party should have and what is required for a party to really position itself to direct elected representatives to meet the expectations of citizens. If we argue that APC has failed, the failure of APC is largely due to its inability to meet a number of some of those criteria.

    Yes, I was a member of the NWC of the APC, I was part and parcel of the APC from formation to possibly the present day but that does not disqualify some of us from highlighting some of the limitations of the APC and I think in terms of the problem of democracy, what was first the problem of Nigeria with PDP that led to the defeat of PDP in 2015? The major issue is that there was no competition within the party.

    The culture of imposition has taken over the party so much so that it is predictable anybody who has close relationship with Abuja, with the Presidency can pick ticket at any level of the party without bothering to contract relationships with other members of the party, and I think that those were some of the issues that we used to campaign against the PDP and made the APC popular and Nigerians trusted us and believed that we were capable of producing a party that could drive the process of changing Nigeria which was the campaign mantra in 2015.

    Unfortunately, I am not shy to say that we failed largely because we ended up with another variant of PDP, the culture of imposition took over.

    Yes, we fought and this is part of my grievance with President Tínubu. Asiwaju knew very well that we stood up and faced what you call the cabal in the Presidency under former President Buhari and ensured that a level-playing field was provided within the party which enabled him to win the ticket and become the presidential candidate of the party.

    So, having done that, our expectation was that we return the party to its founding vision and begin to build a party that can now implement all the campaign promises and direct all elected representatives but instead, what we see is that a more superior variant of imposition took over so much so that the party became a parastatal of the Presidency, and of the government.

    Leadership of the party cannot say anything contrary to what the President wants and so long as that is the case, we can’t make progress. Now, coming back to some of the issues which you highlighted which I raised in the last piece, is basically like an appeal to our opposition leaders (Atiku, Obi, Kwankwaso, Amaechi, Fayemi, El-Rufai, Tambuwal, among others) because if we continue to play politics the old way, then Nigeria

    is not going to get any better. We are not going to produce better leaders.

    We will produce a new set of leaders which may continue the practice of imposition and become emperors so much so that everybody is now rushing to them to access favours in government and what have you and that is not what democracy should be about. I think one of the most important things that came out of the conference that was held last week was the statement by the former Vice President of Ghana and also a former presidential candidate.

    He made the point that politicians must be able to subordinate their personal ambition to the bigger interest of the country and I think that is where we are today and, as far as I’m concerned, if that is the case and several time, I hear people lamenting about how in the Second Republic we had an NPN (National Party of Nigeria) where the president, when it comes to party meeting, is an ordinary member and Chief Augustus Akinloye, who was the party Chairman, was the leader of the party.

    Now if we are going to get back to that, it’s not going to be after the election and after defeating Tínubu and producing a president with that mentality. It’s now that we should begin to align ourselves and ensure that in the whole campaign to defeat APC, we are not replicating exactly the mistake APC has made.

    We must tell all leaders to first drop their ambitions and, in dropping their ambitions they must also be ready to make the needed sacrifice, to commit to building the party. If your strategy is all about let’s have a party and, after having a party we will ensure that we impose our surrogates to become leaders of the party, then we are going back to square one.

    I think Nigerians should begin to watch and when they see some of these leaders taking positions in the

    party, that should give them confidence that, yes this is a new party and it’s a serious business. It is going to depart from the old ways and to that extent, therefore, the prospect of meeting the expectation of citizens will be high; other than that, I think we may just be deceiving ourselves and Nigerians and imagining that we can produce anything better.

    You’re talking about how the previous or past leaders are part of the problems that we currently have and why those responsible for the failures should be humble enough to take a backseat in an effort to build a strong coalition to strengthen Nigerian politics. What if they are not ready to take a back seat, what other alternative would you propose?

    First, I will say that it’s not a question of trying to get rid of the old guards, no. I think, fundamentally, my view and I have said that, several times, that what we have now made it only possible for leaders to show their bad side and that the only way to push leaders to put their best side, their right foot in the business of leadership will be to create the framework, strengthen the structures of political parties that will subordinate them and make them accountable.

    I have said so several times that from former president Jonathan to Buhari and now Tínubu, I believe under a different condition they may turn out to be better leaders. Unfortunately, they also contribute to a situation where they turn out the way they did. So, if we are going to depart from that, which is why I’m saying, first and foremost, we must build a political party that everybody will subordinate themselves.

    It’s possible. I give you for instance, if Atiku Abubakar, Rabiu Kwankwaso, Peter Obi, Rotimi Amaechi, and many others can subordinate themselves and go through competitive primary… because part of the problem, is that a number of them, were not able to develop the kind of relationship that will enable them to access even good advice, you know, the strategy is basically that I want you to subordinate yourself to me but once you turn it the other way around they may turn out to be better leaders.

    Sincerely speaking, I think we should not beg the question; Nigeria deserves much better and current leaders must answer the question: What is their vision for the country? Is their vision for the country only to become president of Nigeria? We have seen that with Buhari and we have seen it now with Tínubu.

    They have become presidents, they have achieved their vision and, in the end, it’s debatable whether they are any better in terms of public standing. My appeal and my prayer is that within our lifetime we’ll be able to produce leaders who will work for the country, and on the basis that citizens who love them, and generations to come will continue to remember them.

    But you knew that President Tínubu had the conviction of “I just want to be president” when you supported the APC in the last election. Now you are talking about idealism, would you expect anything different from him?

    Well, I will continue to debate all these issues. Yes, I supported President Tínubu; however, whether I am aware his ambition was just to become president, I can say publicly that I had the conviction that Tínubu is truly a progressive politician and a democrat and which was why I invested my support for him but I didn’t wait once I saw he was departing from those beliefs I had; I didn’t wait any longer and I was not pushed by anybody.

    In fact, if anything, most of the criticism I received today is people telling me that it’s a mistake for me to have resigned, that I should have waited to fight inside. I mean, I could have only waited to compromise myself and become part of the establishment and become part of the physical structure of APC and, at the end of the day, damage myself.

    I am humble enough to admit that yes, my judgment was wrong and I said it’s a challenge to President Tínubu to prove many of us wrong and if he did that, I will be the first to come out and apologize publicly and say again I was wrong, but to the extent that he continues arrogantly in the direction he’s going without remorse, that he has departed from all the promises he has made to Nigerians, I have no apology to him.

    I’ll continue to stand and campaign against both the APC and its administration but in doing that, which leads me to your second question, life is about making choices.

    I will not shy away from making a choice simply because I made mistakes in the past. I’ll continue to make choices with my eyes wide open so as not to repeat past mistakes, which is why today I am standing where I am engaging all our political leaders in a direction all of them also should not put themselves in the line of repeating the same old mistake previous leaders have made. We are all human, nobody is perfect.

    They may have made mistakes in the past but to the extent that they are able to admit that the old ways are wrong and come and work together to produce a new reality which will now begin to push them to show their good side, I will have no problem and I think as Nigerians, we must have confidence that we can be able to get things right.