Displaying items by tag: Political Parties

Nigerian physician, politician and Presidential aspirant, Adedoyin Ajibike Okupe better known as Dr. Doyin Okupe, declared that he has been taught by two past presidents on how to be a President.

The cum politician made this know in a recent interview on CityTalks with Reuben Abati on City105.1 monitored by Abati media.

The former presidential spokesperson made his intention known to contest the 2023 presidential election on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in August 2021.

Other politicians on the list of the PDP who have expressed interest in the 2023 Presidential race are: Former Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar, Former Senate President and Secretary to the Government, Senator Ayim Pius, Veteran Journalist and Publisher of the Ovation Magazine, Chief Dele Momodu, and Former President, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, Sam Ohuabunwa

According to Dr. Okupe, the race for the President is beyond brandishing of Curriculum Vitae when it comes to national politics.

“I have worked with two major Presidents (President Olusegun Obasanjo and President Goodluck Jonathan) in this country, I have been with them in hard times and in good times, I have seen what their fears were and how things are done.    

“My situation is much better than those who came to gamble,” Dr Okupe said.

He stated that apart from Atiku Abubakar who was a former Vice President,” I am the most well positioned person to run the next administration after General Muhammadu Buhari,” he said.

In his view, “I have a lot of respect for Senator Anyim, he was a former secretary to government and I have the opportunity of working with him.

“Being a Senate President and a Secretary to the Government is far from being a President.

“Inspite of Ayim’s antecedents, I am still a better candidate than him,” Dr Okupe said.

He added, “there are different levels of government, the fact that you have occupied one does not mean you can do well in other areas.”

Dr Okupe blamed the failure of past Presidents in Nigeria on the lack of preparedness and he described the events where other people coerce others to vie for presidency as “idiotic.”

He alluded his interest to vie for the position of the President    on his preparedness and motivations.

His words: “I have done my research, I know where the government failed, I know the bottle neck, I have designed a roadmap.

“I have reached a point and I have reached an age that I can give my optimum best, particularly, to address the issue of poverty, the issue of insurgency and insecurity and to relieve the pain of the masses and those who are needy and poor.

“From day one; if sworn-in-as-Presidents, I will announce 10 ministers whose names are already on my mind.

“After the first Federal Executive Council meeting, I will announce the remaining ministers.”

Senator Shehu Sani, who represented Kaduna Central in the 8th Senate, has dumped the People’s Redemption Party (PRP).

Some sources revealed that the former Senator may join opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Sani, who joined the party in October 2018, made the announcement in a letter dated July 9 and directed to the PRP chairman in ward six, Tudun Wada, Kaduna.

The letter was titled, ‘Formal Notification Of My Decision To Step Aside From The Party’.

“I wish to formally notify you of my decision to step aside from the Peoples Redemption Party. This notice takes effect from today,” he said

Mr Sani added that “I hope we shall continue to relate in the spirit of our struggle, our shared history, and our common ideological principles”.

Some reports on social media had earlier said Sani had been holding consultation with opposition party, Peoples Democratic Party in the state with a view to joining them.

The PRP was created in the Second Republic and was led by the late elder statesman, Mallam Aminu Kano after his withdrawal from the National Party of Nigeria.

Mr Sani joined PRP days after he left the All Progressives Congress (APC), a platform through which he contested and won the Kaduna Central Senatorial District on 28 March 2015.

 

All Progressives Congress (APC) Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) has written to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to withdraw the initial notification of the timeline and schedule of activities it issued for its ward, state and national congresses.

The APC Caretaker Committee did not however, specify the new date the exercise would commence even as it expressed anger over the leakage of the correspondence with the electoral commission over the crucial exercises.

The ruling party, in its initial released timetable, had fixed sale of nomination forms for Ward Congress between July 1 and 7, inauguration of Ward/LGA Congress Screening/Screening Appeal Committees for July 10, 2021, Ward Congress for July 24, Local Government Congress for August 14, 2021 and the State Congress for September 18, 2021.

The correspondence from the party to the electoral commission dated July 6, 2021, and jointly signed by the chairman of CECPC, Governor Mai Mala Buni and Secretary, Senator John James Akpanudoehede, had specifically requested for the withdrawal and rescheduling of the congresses timetable without notifying it of a new date.

The letter tagged: “Re-Notice for the conduct of congresses,” with reference number APC/NHDQ/INEC/19/021/39 read: “We refer to our letter, reference number APC/NHDQ/INEC/19/021/20 dated 10th June 2021 on the above subject and wish to inform the commission that the party has rescheduled its congresses and national convention to a later date which will be communicated to you.

“This serves as a formal notification under the provision of Section 85 of the Electoral Act (2010) as amended,” the ruling party noted in the letter.

Sources equally revealed that the national leadership of the party might likely meet on Tuesday to discuss the development and fix a new timeline for the congresses and national convention.

Confirming the correspondence, the party’s chief scribe, Akpanudoehede, although he frowned at the leakage of the letter, he, however, claimed that the correspondence to INEC was not a complete postponement of the congresses but to fulfill the Electoral Act.

“The document in circulation does not intend a postponement of the congresses. How it leaked from INEC is strange. However, it is to cure the legal land mine occasioned by Section 85 of the Electoral Act on the issuance of 21-days notice to INEC, bearing in mind that the earlier date we released was not sacrosanct,” he quipped.

Indications that the congresses might be shifted became glaring on Wednesday last week when the national secretariat failed to distribute the nomination forms for election to various chapters of the party at ward, local government and state levels. Another challenge the party would have to contend with before the commencement of the congresses is the authentication and resolutions of the controversies trailing the membership registration and revalidation in some states.

SOURCE: The Sun

 

The crisis trailing the Governorship primaries of the All Progressives Congress and the People’s Democratic Party that produced their governorship candidates have taken another dimension.

The Young People’s Party, (YPP) has filed a suit before a Federal High Court in Awka, Anambra state to challenge the processes.

Senator Andy Uba and Valentine Ozigbo had emerged as the standard-bearers of the APC and the PDP, respectively, ahead of the November 6 governorship election in the South-East state. YPP candidate in the election is
Senator representing Anambra South, Ifeanyi Uba.

In the suit filed by YPP counsel, D.C Nwigwe, SAN, the party, amongst others prayers is asking the Court to determine the validity of the primaries conducted by the two major political parties in the country which produced their standard-bearers.

Citing Provisions of the 1999 Constitution and the Electoral Act, the YPP counsel noted that both documents were observed in breach by the political parties and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The YPP governorship candidate in the forthcoming election is asking Federal High Court to interpret Section 285 (14)(c) of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), Section 87(1) of the Electoral Act (2010) as amended, and the Regulations and Guidelines for the conduct of party primaries as provided by the INEC for the conduct of the 2021 Anambra State Gubernatorial Election in view of the primary elections that the PDP and the APC conducted in the state.

In suit No. FHC/AWK/C5/53/21 in which INEC, PDP and APC were joined as defendants, the YPP asked the Court to determine the validity or otherwise of the purported Primary which the PDP conducted on 26th June 2021. According to the YPP, in view of Rule 4.5.1 and 4.5.2 of the guidelines for the Conduct of Political Parties Primaries 2018, the court should determine if the PDP’s purported primary is valid following the party’s failure to submit its delegates list 7 days before the date of the primaries.

The party further referenced the judgement of the FCT High Court in Suit No. FCT/HC/BW/CV/160/2021 between Akaeze Ugochukwu Vincent and Peoples Democratic Party, and the decision of the Supreme Court in APC V. Marafa (2020) 6 NWLR (Pt. 1721) and asked the Court to determine if INEC is right not to have barred the PDP from holding the purported Primary on 26th June 2021 that produced Valentine Ozigbo as the party’s flag bearer for the state’s 2021 governorship election and from further participation in the process of nomination of candidates for the aforementioned election.

In a related development, the YPP on Friday, asked the Federal High Court, Awka to determine whether the purported Primary conducted by the All Progressives Congress (APC) on 26th June 2021 produced Senator Andy Uba as the party’s flag bearer is void or otherwise. In Suit No. FHC/AWK/C5/52/21, the party through D.C DeNwigwe, SAN, asked the Court to determine the validity of the aforementioned Primary in view of Section 285 (14)(c) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), Section 87(1) of the Electoral Act, 2010 (as amended) and Guidelines for the Conduct of Party Primaries as provided by INEC and the Commission’s Monitoring Committee Report on the purported Primary conducted by the APC.

Source: Tribune