With about three days to the governorship and House of Assembly elections across the states of the federation, state governors have tightened the noose on opposition elements in their domain.
This, LEADERSHIP gathered, is in a bid to avoid a repeat of the upsets recorded by opposition parties against the governing parties in their respective states in the presidential and National Assembly election held on February 25, 2023.
For instance, All Progressives Congress (APC) governors, including those of Gombe State, Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya and Governor and Bello Matawalle of Zamfara States, are seeking reelection in states where the opposition parties recorded major upsets in the presidential and National Assembly polls.
It was learnt that there is growing apprehension within the APC over states like Lagos, Katsina, Plateau, Gombe, Nasarawa, among others, where opposition parties won the presidential and National Assembly polls despite the fact that the states are being controlled by the governing party.
Sources within the party told our correspondents yesterday that the APC governors and stakeholders of the party in the states are running from pillar to post to avert gales of defeat by the opposition as it happened on February 25.
To this effect, chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF) and Kebbi State governor, Atiku Bagudu, and his Jigawa State counterpart, Abubakar Badaru, yesterday met with national chairman of the APC, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, ahead of the governorship and state Houses of Assembly elections.
LEADERSHIP gathered that the party’s governorship candidates in Rivers, Benue, Bauchi and Delta States were also at the meeting which held behind closed doors at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja.
Also at the meeting were members of the National Working Committee (NWC).
Though details of the meeting were still sketchy at the time of filing this report, it was gathered that the meeting may not be unconnected with last minute bid to avoid upsets in some states against the APC in the forthcoming governorship and legislature polls.
The case is the same in Rivers State where following high powered consultations the chairman of Labour Party (LP) in the state, Dienye Pepple, and some executives from the 23 local councils have adopted the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state, Siminalaye Fubara.
This is even as the LP national chairman, Julius Abure, announced the dissolution of the Pepple-led executive of the party, over alleged compromise during the just concluded presidential and National Assembly elections in the state.
Pepple, in a statement made available to journalists in Port Harcourt yesterday, said their endorsement of Fubara was for equity and fairness to the Rivers South-East senatorial district that has not produced any governor in the state, adding that the decision is in line with the ideals of the party.
He said, “While our leader head to the court to resolve the issues that concern the outcome of the polls, we must not lose sight of the opportunity to once again demonstrate the values that define him, define us as a people, and define our noble party. The values of Equity, Fairness, Justice, and Balance.
“In the past few days, the party in the state was hit by a major shock of an unknown person surfacing and claiming to be our gubernatorial candidate, coupled with the news making rounds on social media that our gubernatorial candidate Comrade Mrs Beatrice Itubo has stepped down and adapted the APC candidate.
“In order for us not to remain in the dark, the party in line with the 23 LGA’s chairmen has decided to support a credible candidate irrespective of the party affiliation, a candidate who must be young and vibrant and must hail from the senatorial district that haven’t produced a Governor before in the state.
“All through the history of this great and outstanding state, the Rivers West district has produced the Governor once in person of Sir. (Dr.) Peter Odili. The Rivers East Senatorial District has produced the Governor thrice, while the district of Rivers South-East has never had this opportunity, thereby flouting and negating the values of Equity, Fairness, Justice, and Balance. Values that are both foundational and intrinsic to the Labour Party.
“As Labour Party members, and as Obidient adherents to the aforementioned values, we must come out and support a region that has never in the history of the state produced a Governor.
“Voting a Riverine candidate in the person of ‘Sir Siminalayi Fubara’ from the South-East Senatorial district of the upcoming gubernatorial polls, ensures that the Labour Party and her members are defenders and ambassadors of the values that have set her and the Obidient movement apart from all other parties.
“We urge all Labour Party members, supporters and our Obidient team to come out in their numbers on Saturday 11th March 2023 to vote Sir. Siminalayi Fubara from the South East Senatorial District of Rivers State for Governor, and voted for all other Labour Party candidates for the state House of Assembly in their various constituencies’ ‘.
Meanwhile, the national working committee of the Labour Party (LP) has dissolved its executive council in Rivers State.
LEADERSHIP reports that the decision came after some party members in the state had endorsed the gubernatorial candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the state.
A statement issued by national chairman of the LP, Barr Julius Abure, said the decision to dissolve the party executive is with immediate effect.
He said the officials were dissolved over gross anti-party activities and corruption in the management of Labour Party funds.
“The National Working Committee arising from an emergency meeting today in Abuja believes that it is in the interest of Labour Party and the Obidient movement in Rivers State that those who were at the helm of affairs in Rivers State when our presidential mandate was openly stolen in Rivers State should step aside until full investigation on what happened on that day is completed.
“The National Working Committee has lost confidence in the ability of the compromised State Executive Council led by Mr Deinye Pepple to lead the campaign for the gubernatorial and State House of Assembly elections come March 11th.
“The National Working Committee urges all Obidients in Rivers State to disregard every comment made by the disgraced State Chairman of the Labour Party, Deinye Pepple, on the election of March 11th and reiterates the full backing of the Labour Party on the candidacy of Comrade Beatrice Itubo of the Labour Party as the next Governor of Rivers State.
“The National Working Committee therefore enjoins all Obidients to come out massively on March 11th to vote for Comrade Beatrice Itubo of the Labour Party,” the statement added.
Meanwhile, a Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt, has summoned the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Attorney-General of Rivers State, to appear before it today, Wednesday, March 8, 2023, to prove why the governorship and National Assembly elections should not be postponed in Rivers State.
The presiding judge, Hon. Justice Adamu Turaki Mohammed, gave the directive yesterday in the suit brought by the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and its governorship candidate, Chief Tonte Ibraye.
The suit, FHC/ABJ/CS/246/2023, was filed at the Federal High Court on February 22, 2023, but was transferred to Federal High Court, Port Harcourt based on the directives of the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Hon. Justice John Tsoho.
Joined in the suit are the governor of Rivers State and the PDP.
The ADC and Ibraye had approached the court seeking for an interim injunction to postpone the March 11, 2023 elections in the state.
The applicants also sought for an interim injunction stopping the implementation of the Executive Orders 21 and 22, which were assented to by Governor Nyesom Ezenwo Wike.
They prayed for “an Order of interim injunction restraining the first defendant by itself, it’s representatives, agents, privies, and/or anybody acting through it from implementation and enforcement of the Executive Order 21 2022 issued on 4th October, 2022 and Executive Order 22 2022, issued on 11th November, 2022, by the first defendant pending the determination of the motion on notice before this Honourable Court.”
12 Parties Collapse Structures For Niger APC Flagbearer
The governorship candidates of five political parties have adopted the APC candidate, Alhaji Umar Mohammed Bago, even as 12 political parties collapsed their structure for the candidate.
The leader of the coalition of the governorship candidates, and the candidate of the Allied People Movement APM, Aliyu Mohammed, flanked by others said they have resolved to work for the APC candidate.
He stated yesterday at a News conference in Minna that the other governorship candidates who decided to work for APC candidate are Barrister Buhari Yakubu Yarima of Social Democratic Party SDP, Hon Mohammed Isah Bello Maikujeri of Action People Party APP, Abdulazeez Salaudeen of Accord Party and Mohammed Aliyu Balaji of Action Democratic Party ADP
Mohammed said apart from the parties whose governorship candidates have stepped down for Bago, the officials of Action Democratic Congress (ADC), Boot Party (BP), Progressives Grand Alliance APGA, Young People Party YPP, Labour Party (LP), Zenith Labour Party ZLP, and African Action Congress have collapsed their structures to work for the APC candidate’s victory.
He said, “Though we all have our respective agenda /Manifestoes, we have over time come to realize that we share many things in common in our respective aspirations”.
“We have keenly studied the agenda of Hon Umar Mohammed Bago with genuine attention to detail and we have realized that our respective agenda/ Manifestoes are embedded in the encompassing agenda of the APC Gubernatorial candidate”.
Mohammed said that they have discovered that Hon Bago has shown commitment to the birth of the new Niger state.
“Hence we have resolved to endorse him, step down our respective aspirations for him, and mobilize all our structures statewide to vote for him”
He said Bago is a bridge between the old and the youth, who have more space for inclusiveness, pledging that they will continue to offer their support even after the victory of Hon Bago.
PDP Plotting To Subvert Voters’ Will In Enugu, CUPP Cries Out
Meanwhile, the Coalition of United Political Parties, (CUPP) has alleged plot by some individuals to unleash wide-scale violence in Enugu State during the March 11 governorship election.
The chairman of CUPP in the state, Festus Ogbonna, who raised the alarm cautioned the ruling party against turning Enugu into a theatre of war.
The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) governorship candidate, Frank Nweke (Jnr), had earlier accused the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of arming thugs ahead of the polls.
However, Ogbonna who called on security agencies to brace up for the challenge ahead equally alleged of a sinister move by the PDP to compromise officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
He said, “There are unending claims that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is plotting a state-wide attack in Enugu State in a desperate bid to retain the state.”
Ogbonna said it was worrisome that a key member of the ruling party had been issuing all manner of threats to Catholic priests.
“This is quite worrisome; this is not the Enugu State of our dreams. Those desirous of positions of authority should seek the people’s mandate rather than cut their throat to have their way. This is what the PDP leaders are enthroning in Enugu and it is quite condemnable,” he cautioned.
The coalition took on INEC, which it said was in an illegal romance with the PDP
“There are also allegations and boasts from the PDP circle of their alliance with the key officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC), and security agencies.
“They are said to have compromised the said INEC officials with the purpose of truncating the credibility of the electoral process.
“This is why we are sounding a note of warning to the INEC and their collaborators that we are not going to accept a situation where the will of the people will be truncated,” CUPP declared.
It further claimed that corrupt INEC officials would come to polling units with fake result sheets, stressing that “the essence of this plot is to give the voters a semblance of credible election, only to swap the fake sheets with the original version after the exercise has ended.”
“Having examined these critical allegations, we in the CUPP hereby warn the INEC not to toy with the future of the millions of Enugu residents.
“The INEC must without compromise bring all the authentic result sheets to the various polling units in the state.
“They must also without fail transmit the results real time at the polling units,” he said.
The director of communications, PDP Campaign Organisation, Nana Ogbodo, had earlier dismissed the allegations as baseless.
