Ekiti: Aggrieved aspirants pick Aluko, reject Fayose

Senator Gbenga Aluko, one of the 13 aggrieved governorship aspirants of the Peoples Democratic Party in Ekiti State has emerged as the the consensus candidate of the party on Friday night after he emerged the winner of the election done among the 12 aspirants.

This is coming seven days after the party conducted a primary election which produced former Governor Ayo Fayose as the governorship candidate.

Confirming the news, the Director General of Senator Gbenga Aluko Cakpaign Organisation, Mr. Tunji Olatunde said all the 13 aspirants who were clamouring for a consensus arrangement to select the flag bearer of the party participated in the selection of Aluko except former Deputy Governor Bisi Omoyeni.

He added that all the 11 aspirants congratulated him and assured him of their support for the June 21 governorship election in the state.

Aluko while speaking with journalist said the Chairman of the PDP in Ekiti State, Mr. Makanjuola Ogundipe supervised the election which produced him ( Aluko) as the consensus candidate of the the party.

He said, they are going to meet the President and the group would present their consensus candidate to him.

Efforts to get the PDP chairman in Ekiti State proved abortive.
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"We Can Defeat APC, PDP Combined"

The Unity Party of Nigeria says with the help of the masses, it will defeat the All Progressives Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party in the next election even if the two parties merged.

The UPN, which has not been registered by the Independent National Electoral Commission, said this in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Adedeji Salau.

The statement read in part, “Although the UPN leadership is aware of recent cases of realignment among the registered parties and defections by political opportunists, it will not be deterred in its commitment to bringing the dividends of democracy to the common man.

“If the whole of the PDP joins the APC, or the whole of the APC joins the PDP, the UPN will successfully dislodge them from power with the support of the masses who have been agonising under this present dispensation imposed by these parties at all levels of government.”

The UPN said although it had not been registered by INEC, it would still participate in the Ekiti and Osun state elections.

The party said it had fulfilled necessary requirements for registration, and expressed confidence that INEC would quickly issue it (UPN) with the registration certificate to enable aspiring members contest in the polls.

“Everything that UPN should do, it has done.  The question to ask INEC is, what is holding the UPN from registration. This inexplicable delay is causing fear and worry among the public,” the statement said

According to the INEC timetable, the first round of elections will hold this year on June 21 with the Ekiti polls followed by the Osun governorship poll on August 9.

Next year, the Federal elections open with presidential and national assembly elections slated for February 14, while the state governorship and state houses of assembly polls come up a fortnight later on February 28.

The UPN said the party would be registered early enough for the party and its contestants to take part in all the coming elections.”
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Why Obasanjo Cannot Stop Me From Supporting Jonathan, PDP – Kashamu

The Chairman of the Organisation and Mobilisation Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party in the South West and sole financier of PDP in Ogun State, Prince Buruji Kashamu on Sunday vowed that no amount of criticism or attack on his person by former President Olusegun Obasanjo will deter him from supporting President Goodluck Jonathan’s re-election in 2015.

Kashamu also said that the recent letters written by Mr. Obasanjo in which he made reference to him had only made him even more popular.

Speaking with newsmen at the end of an emergency meeting of the state chapter of the party held in his Ijebu-Igbo country home, Kashamu accused Obasanjo of alleged plan to “hijack” him from mobilizing the people of the South West zone for Jonathan in the 2015 election.

The former president had written a letter to the National Chairman of PDP, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur and President Jonathan informing them of his decision to withdraw his activities from the party at all levels following the imposition of Kashamu, who he described as a wanted fugitive abroad, as the leader of the party in the Southwest.

But according to the man at the eye of the storm, “You ought to know the strategy of Obasanjo that he [Obasanjo] wanted to hijack me from Jonathan, that if I don’t support Jonathan in South West, the South West would be easier for them. How many times has he called me? How many times Obasanjo has sent people to me that why am I so stubborn? Many that he had sent, I did not answer them because I am not a betrayer.

“When I love somebody and believe in the leadership of somebody, whatever happens I accept that I will go with the person. I believe in the leadership of Jonathan, I believe in the government of Jonathan and in his transformation agenda and I believe in his wise management”.

He further stressed that no one could stop him from his continued support for the president’s reelection bid in 2015.

“It’s only Jonathan that can open his mouth and say don’t support me again. What I’m doing is for the party, for Jonathan and the country. Jonathan is a good president, he is loyal to Nigeria, he’s a complete gentleman, transparent and a believer in due process. We are ready to go the extra mile in delivering the South West to him.

“You know when it comes to mobilizing the people, I’m a grassroots person. I’ve already opened offices all over the South West. In Ogun State over two million registered in the last election but only 400,000 voted. In each state, I have registered in my data over 20,000 supporters. Tell me which grassroots does Obasanjo have? The last election we did, they beat him flat. I have 80 per cent of PDP leaders in Ogun”, Kashamu said.

The Ogun PDP chieftain, however, said that he was unperturbed by Obasanjo’s continued attack, saying rather than rubbish his personality as envisaged by the former president, it has rather made him more popular.

“When I heard yesterday (Saturday) about Obasanjo’s latest letter, I started dancing that my popularity has gone up again. I never knew I could become this popular until Obasanjo started his series of letters. Obasanjo would mention my name in his letters and the president too in his reply”, he said.

Kashamu also vowed to continue to oppose Obasanjo’s alleged penchant for imposing his loyalists on party members in the South West zone.

“The same strategies we have been using in Ogun we have taken to Osun, Oyo, Lagos and others”, he said.

Accused PDP member vows to sue Obasanjo over letter

Abuja - A Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) member allegedly accused of being a criminal by former President Olusegun Obasanjo in the letter written to President Goodluck Jonathan has vowed
to sue him, Premium Times reports.
Buruji Kashamu, a leader of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Ogun State was referred to as a criminal wanted by U.S.
authorities for drug trafficking and money laundering.
Kashamu said it was wrong of Obasanjo to call him a drug baron knowing quite well he was surrounded by criminals as closest
allies, during his two terms as civilian president of the country.
Read more at Premium Times

PDP declares Friday work free day

Abuja - The National Working Committee (NWC) of the People's Democratic Party (PDP) has declared December 13 a work-
free day in all PDP offices across the federation.
This is contained in a statement issued invAbuja on Wednesday by Olisa Metuh, the party`s National Publicity Secretary.
He said that the day was in honour of Solomon Lar, the party's pioneer national chairman and elder statesman who was also the first executive governor of Plateau.

He said that NWC had also postponed it's weekly meeting in honour of the late Lar.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Lar, who died in a U.S hospital on October 9, would be buried on December 13, in his home town in Plateau.

The deceased PDP stalwart midwifed the formation of the party in 1998 and led it to victory in the 1999 general elections.

Lar, born in April 1933, was regarded as an emancipator of the less privileged and a politician who stood out among others.
He was also a member of the first
National Parliament when Nigeria gained independence in 1960.

The late Lar was Parliamentary Secretary to Prime Minister Abubakar Tafawa Balewa before the January 1966 coup
which brought in the military.
At the inception of the second republic, Lar was a co-founder of the Nigerian People's Party, and was nominated the party’s presidential candidate in 1978.

He later won the governorship election in Plateau and became the first executive governor of the state in 1979.

APC accuses Jonathan of punishing its governors

Ilorin - The All Progressives Congress (APC) has accused the Presidency of starving APC states of funds, according to Nation .
The Interim National Publicity Secretary of APC, Lai Mohammed, told journalists on Monday in Ilorin, that N2 billion was secretly given to the 16 Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) states .
He said that that this was done to deny APC states necessary funds for development.
Mohammed said that the APC have
documents to prove their allegation, adding that the move is an indication of confusion and panic in the PDP.

2015 : INEC Promises Improved Voters Register

Yesterday, Professor Attahiru Jega,
Chairman of the Independent
National Electoral Commission,
defended the electoral register usedbat the recently concluded,
controversial Anambra State
governorship election. His
explanations follow public outcry by opposition politics who described the Register as lacking in integrity and demanded to cancel the election.

He spoke at the Fourth quarterly
meeting with registered political parties in Abuja.

While acknowledging that the Registerbstill has flaws, Prof.Jega said people of Anambra state refused to make use of the opportunity offered to them by INEC to make the register work.

First-hand

"As we are all aware, complaints were made about the Register of Voters in the aftermath of the Anambra Governorship
election, with at least one political party/ candidate alleging that the Register is lacking in integrity and calling for the cancellation of the election essentially on
account of this," INEC Chairman said.
"Let me use this opportunity to
categorically affirm that while our
Register of Voters is not perfect, it has requisite integrity and it compares favourably with any Register of Voters on
our continent.

"It is certainly not as bad as some are strenuously trying to make it appear.
Nonetheless, we have to keep on
improving upon it and we have planned to keep doing so through the continuous
voter registration processes. Our CVR programme provides opportunity for registering all those who have become 18 years old since the last registration
exercise; and it also provides an
opportunity for all those with missing essential biometric details on the electronic register to be recaptured.
"INEC offered these opportunities to the people in Anambra state last August, before the governorship election.
Regrettably, many did not utilize it.
"As we move towards 2015, all
stakeholders have a joint obligation to
ensure that the CVR is utilized maximally to update and improve upon our Register
of Voters."

"Mutual trust"

The Chairman told the politicians the quarterly meeting with them through the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) has been affording the Commission vital
ideas towards strengthening mutual trust ahead of the 2015 elections.
In his own remarks at the occasion, the IPAC chairman, Yunusa Tanko said political parties were alarmed over the magnitude of complaints from discrepancies in the Anambra state governorship election as regards the voters register and public enlightenment
in the recent poll.
Tanko observed that registered political parties in the country are ready to work and abide by the relevant laws in the conduct of their activities and expressed
hope that INEC would also stick to its electoral rules guiding its affairs.
Nevertheless, all political parties at the meeting applauded INEC over the permanent voters register and it's handling of the Anambra state
governorship election, except the All Progressive Congress (APC), which described the governorship election as a 'travesty of justice.'

All registered political parties attended the meeting with INEC but for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Sokoto Deputy Gov. declines to join APC

Sokoto - The Sokoto State Deputy Gov., Alhaji Mukhtari Shagari, has said that he remains a loyal member of the PDP in spite of the defection of Gov. Aliyu
Wamakko to APC.
Shagari said this in Sokoto on Monday while addressing the media.
Shagari said that he had been a loyal and supportive member of the PDP since 1998 and would remain so.
According to him, “I am not aware of anyvmove by Gov. Aliyu Wamakko and other
members of the PDP to defect to the APC until today.”
“I was never consulted by anybody and it was only today that I knew about the
move.”
“I have also been loyal to my governor and the party since we were elected in
2007 till date.”
He said that he owed the responsibility and respect to be contacted on this issue.
“In politics, there is always room for
dialogue, negotiations, mending fencesband discussions.”
“I joined PDP voluntarily and not becausevof anybody,” Shagari said.
The deputy governor said that he was abhighly principled person.
“If I give my words, I give my words. I don't have the habit of jumping from one party to the other.”
NAN recalls that the state executive
council, on Monday at its enlarged
meeting presided over by Wamakko, approved a “mass defection” of the people of the state, including all commissioners and special aides, to APC.
- NAN

2 Defected Govs Surprisingly Appear At PDP Meeting

The two governors of the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP), who have
recently defected to the All
Progressive Congress (APC) surprisingly appeared at the Sunday peace meeting called by President Goodluck Jonathan.

The said governors are Rabiu Kwankwaso of Kano State and Aliyu Wamakko of Sokoto State.

The defected governors who were at the premises of the First Lady Conference Hall, Presidential Villa at about 9pm, arrived the venue in the same car.

Kwankwaso and Wamakko arrived at the venue of the meeting when one of the aggrieved governors, Babangida Aliyu of Niger state had already been there for 1 hour.

It was learn that Chief Tony Anenih, the Chairman, Board of Trustees of the PDP, who had also arrived earlier, engaged the president in a private meeting and only after that returned to the venue.

Some PDP governors who had earlierbconverged at the Akwa Ibom State Governors Lodge in Asokoro also stormed the meeting. They were led by their Chairman, Godswill Akpabio. They
include, governors of Abia, Kebbi, Kogi,bKatsina, Bauchi, Plateau, Enugu, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Delta, Ebonyi, Kaduna and Taraba States.

Meanwhile Sule Lamido of Jigawa State, who is yet to declare for APC, seemed not to have attended the meeting.

PDP lashes media over senator walkout reports

The People’s Democratic Party
(PDP) refuted reports in the media that some senators walked out on its National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur when he visited the Senate to meet with ruling
party’s senators earlier this week.
PDP National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, said such reports were “totally false and deliberately planted by the enemies of the PDP to mislead the public and impede efforts by the leadership to
achieve total reconciliation in the party.”

“For the avoidance of doubt, no senator walked out on our National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur during the meeting with senators at the National Assembly on Wednesday. The leadership of our great party was well received and had a very peaceful and fruitful meeting with our members in the Senate. The fact remains that our elected and appointed officers including our governors share the same ideals and principles with the most administrators of the party and remain unflinchingly committed to the visions of the founding fathers,” he said in a statement.

The statement continued, “The PDP is not only a political party but a belief which cannot be easily jettisoned. It is a belief in National interest; a belief in the unity of the country and in satisfying the interests of the common man. These ideals remain greater than any personal interest and will outlive us all. In this regard, the National Working Committee restates its resolve to ensure that all
issues are handled along the lines of these ideals and in accordance with the provisions of the PDP constitution, the constitution of Nigeria and the laws of the land. We reiterate that no unlawful means will be used under any guise whatsoever in handling the issues.”

Metuh said the party was engaged in negotiations and discussions with all major stakeholders including the aggrieved governors.

He urged all its members to remain calm and focused adding that the party would emerge fro the current challenges stronger than ever.

– CAJ News

PDP Negotiating With Amaechi, Other Aggrieved Governors, Metuh Reveals

The Peoples Democratic Party on
Thursday said that it was still
negotiating with the party`s major
stakeholders including the aggrieved governors who defected to the opposition, All Progressives Congress (APC).
This was contained in a statement by Olisa Metuh, the party`s National Publicity Secretary.
The statement also debunked media, reports that some senators walked out on the party`s National Chairman, Bamanga Tukur, when he visited the Senate to meet PDP senators on Wednesday, Dec. 4.

The party described the reported
walkout as "totally false and deliberately planted "by its enemies to mislead the
public and impede efforts by its
leadership to achieve total reconciliation of its aggrieved members.
According to the statement, the National Working Committee of the PDP had received solved to ensure that all issues were handled along the lines of the party's constitution and ideals, the 1999 constitution and other laws of the land.

The party therefore urged all its
members to remain calm and focused to enable it to come out of its current challenges stronger than ever.
Meanwhile, Amaechi and the other
aggrieved governors while reacting to Tukur's comment on their defection advised the PDP to face issues rather than chasing shadows.

They insisted that they had left the
PDP for good.