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Party Chieftain Mocks Former Senatorial Candidate over Petition against APC Chairman

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…..Party Chieftain Mocks Former Senatorial Candidate over Petition against APC Chairman

From Attah Ede, Makurdi

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), in Benue State, Chief Martinez Ibn Tyotsumeh, on Sunday took a swipe at Comrade Daniel Onjeh, the party’s senatorial candidate for Benue South Senatorial district in the 2023 General Elections over his recent petition against the chairman of the ruling party in the State Comrade Austin Agada.

The former senatorial candidate had petitioned the party’s National Chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje, alleging that Agada, was involved in anti-party activities which resulted in his inability to win the last senatorial elections in the Benue South axis of the State.

However, in the petition which was sighted by our correspondent in Makurdi, Onjeh alleged that the Benue State APC Chairman and his “acolytes rigged the 2023 senatorial election in Benue South” in favour of  Senator Abba Moro of the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP).

Reacting to this development, Chief Tyotsumeh, who is a stalwart of the party in Benue, described Onjeh allegations as baseless and unfounded, stating that, comrade Onjeh who is highly respected in the party, is always in the habit of throwing blames after losing election.

Tyotsumeh in a statement he issued and made available to Daily Asset in Makurdi on Sunday,  said Onjeh’s persistent blame game, targeting both the state chairman and national assembly candidates of the party for his electoral setbacks, raises doubts about the credibility of his accusations.

According to him, comrade Onjeh was at one time a gallant comrade but has now turned to ‘a pushover and cry baby and enjoined the leadership of the party to call comrade Onjeh to order before he throws the APC in Benue into chaos.

Parts of the statement read: “I have been an ardent follower of Benue State politics for a while now, not too long but long enough to witness the genesis of Daniel Onjeh and the intricacies that have played out since 2011 to date.

‘I have also noticed how Onjeh has turned into Agada’s greatest challenge since Agada assumed the role of Benue State All Progressives Congress (APC) Chairman in October 2021.

“In his criticisms of Austin Agada, Daniel Onjeh has consistently attempted to present a distorted picture of rationality and objectivity. The truth, however, lies in the carefully crafted words Onjeh uses to further his unresponsive vendetta.

“We lose the essence of our humanity when we adamantly refuse to take responsibility for our actions. Onjeh’s major flaw is his tendency to assign blame to others for his failures without acknowledging the support he received from individuals like Austin Agada, Morgan Okpeh, and Joe Poxy Idoko, who played pivotal roles in bringing him into politics.

“Setting aside the claims and separating facts from fiction, Comrade Agada assumed the role of State Chairman of the APC in Benue State at a time when the state had a sitting Governor from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), 3 Senators, 7 out of 11 House of Representatives Members, and 23 of the 30 State House of Assembly Members, among others.

“Under Agada’s leadership, the APC’s political footprint in the state has significantly expanded, with notable achievements, including delivering Benue State to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, especially in a state where religious considerations heavily influence elections.

“There are two things consistent with Comrade Onjeh: losing elections and blaming others. In 2011, Onjeh was the candidate of the ACN for the House of Representatives; he lost.

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“He then proceeded to contest for Ogbadibo Local Government Chairman on the platform of ACN, and he lost that election as well. In 2015, he was the Senatorial Candidate of the APC, an election that led to a rerun in 2016.

“It is on record that in one of the major campaigns in Oju where I was standing in the scorching sun waiting for his arrival, he snubbed the party leadership and the governor at the venue, leading to his major loss. In all this chronology of his losses, Austin Agada was not the chairman, so who is to be blamed?

“If not being delusional and having the propensity to blame everyone except Dan Onjeh, how can one accuse the state chairman of an opposing party in the state of funding a senatorial candidate of the PDP, which has a Governor, and sound reasonable?

“Onjeh should have rather tried to prove if the Senatorial Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Comrade Abba Moro, paid Austin Agada. This is a man who lost his ward, and was Agada that influential to have made him loose.

…..Party Chieftain Mocks Former Senatorial Candidate over Petition against APC Chairman

POLITICS

Ozekhome Kicks Against Creation of Additional States

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By Mike Odiakose, Abuja

Constitutional and human rights lawyer, Prof Mike Ozekhome, SAN, has kicked against the agitation for the creation of additional states.The legal luminary maintained that most of the states that make up the Federal Republic of Nigeria, today are not viable and as such saw no reason why more states should be created in the country.

Ozekhome, in an interview, blamed the conditions of the states on the “skewed federal template” being operated in form of a unitary system of government and called for a complete overhaul of the 1999 Constitution.
According to him, the present Constitution is not only cumbersome with the center vested with too much powers and responsibilities but was a product of the military class which has ruled Nigeria for quite some times.
He spoke at a “Walk for Wellness” campaign embarked upon by the Mike Ozekhome Chambers (MOC) in Abuja.”Some of us are now saying rather than create more states we should collapse the present structure into about six geopolitical zones, which should serve as regional government.”A parliamentary system of government operating on regional bases will be more beneficial to the people because it will catalyze development and competitiveness among the regions. Right now, no state is competing, all of them just go to Abuja at the end of the month to take from the federation account to share”, he said.The senior lawyer lamented that Nigeria has become a sharing country which is not baking anything because they don’t care or even know how to bake anything.According to him, while Nasarawa has the highest mineral deposits of over 36 items, followed by Plateau with 28 items with Sokoto and Kaduna States in that order, the entire country still rely on crude oil “which is fast losing its value across the world.”I will suggest that if we are to retain the state structure, we should retain the states as a federating units, thus having two tiers of government” he said, leaving local government to the states.Adding: “the only state I will have said should be created right now should be in the South East, to bring them to equity with other geopolitical zones in the country.”

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POLITICS

2027: APC Kicks As Opposition Backs Single Day Polls 

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A major political storm is brewing over a fresh proposal to amend the 1999 Constitution to allow all elections in Nigeria to be conducted on the same day in 2027.

While leading opposition parties — the Peoples Democratic Party, Labour Party, African Democratic Congress, and New Nigeria People’s Party — have thrown their weight behind the move, the ruling All Progressives Congress has rejected it, warning of dire consequences.

The proposal, spearheaded by the House of Representatives Committee on Constitution Review, chaired by Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu, is being considered as part of broader constitutional amendments following zonal consultations across the six geo-political zones.

If passed, the amendment would mandate the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct presidential, governorship, National Assembly, and state assembly polls in a single day — a move touted to drastically cut costs and reduce post-election bandwagon effects.

Backing the initiative, the National Publicity Secretary of the NNPP, Ladipo Johnson, argued that same-day polls would be both cost-effective and efficient.

He said, “The costs of elections are too high, just like those of governance. And any reasonable thing to reduce the costs should be looked at. Even for the political parties, it is cheaper and more efficient for them to do their elections in one day.”

On concerns over rigging, Johnson dismissed fears, saying, “If these people are going to rig, they will rig. But if you have all your elections in one day, all your candidates are able to pool together resources so that the polling unit is properly manned.”

The Labour Party also gave its full backing. National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, said the proposal would eliminate staggered elections and reduce bandwagon effects.

He noted, “The Labour Party aligns itself with the position that all elections should hold the same day… It’s also going to help reduce the cost of funding elections, logistics, and bandwagon effect where some voters, after knowing who wins the presidential poll, will start moving towards that direction in subsequent elections.”

For the PDP, Deputy National Youth Leader, Timothy Osadolor, welcomed the idea but warned against manipulation.

“It is a welcome development if it is done with sincerity, clear intent and purpose. The truth is that the bogus amount that the government spends on elections is mind-boggling. There’s no rational reason why we spend over $350 billion conducting elections in this country, where at the end of the day, you don’t get value for the outcome of such votes,” he said.

The ADC, through its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, also declared support but with a caveat.

“Our support for doing the election on the same day is contingent on INEC logistics being top notch. At the moment, we don’t see any evidence that INEC is committed to improving its logistics,” he said.

But not all stakeholders are convinced. The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) warned that the logistics could be chaotic.

APGA spokesman, Ejimofor Okpara, declared that “As laudable as it sounds, we believe it will be chaotic. Our elections, as they are, already appear too cumbersome, logistics-wise, for INEC. One can only imagine the outlook if these major elections are held in one day.”

Lawmakers are also split. North-West caucus leader, Sada Soli (APC, Katsina), backed the bill, describing it as “an idea whose time has come.”

But Osun lawmaker, Oluwole Oke, disagreed, insisting, “It’s INEC’s prerogative to decide which date to conduct elections.”

Lagos lawmaker, Babajimi Benson, added, “I strongly believe that this decision should be included only in the INEC Act so as to make amendments easy… This (proposed) amendment in the constitution may make it very difficult in the future.”

The APC formally opposed the proposal, describing staggered elections as the better option.

Deputy National Organising Secretary, Nze Chidi Duru, warned, “To hold all elections on the same day puts a lot of pressure on the institution that is governing elections in Nigeria.

“You’re going to be holding elections at the State Assembly, House of Reps, Senate, governors, and the President. After those four years, INEC now sits back and literally does nothing.”

He added that staggered polls would keep INEC “active year-round” and reduce the risk of system collapse.

Also reacting, a former Director of Voter Education at INEC, Oluwole Osaze-Uzzi, condemned the plan, recalling that a similar attempt in 2003 was rejected by the courts.

“This is not a new idea. They tried this before when we were in INEC, and we actually went to court before the 2002 and 2003 elections. We won the case then,” he said, warning that Nigeria lacked the logistics and literacy levels required for such an exercise.

However, prominent lawyers see merit in the idea.

Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Lekan Ojo, argued: “From the economic perspective, it is a cost-saving measure… But it may be very clumsy. The electoral officers may be overwhelmed and that may lead to a floodgate of litigations.”

Another SAN, Wale Balogun, was more sceptical: “If our experience is anything to go by, then I’m afraid for Nigeria. I don’t think we have the capacity to do so.”

For Adedayo Adedeji (SAN), the move would “drastically reduce the cost of conducting elections,” though he warned of doubts over INEC’s capacity.

Civil society leaders, including Auwal Musa Rafsanjani of the Transition Monitoring Group and Debo Adeniran of the Centre for Accountability and Open Leadership, endorsed the proposal, insisting it would cut costs and make elections more transparent.

Adeniran said, “There is nothing stopping us from conducting all the elections in one day, except for those who are thinking of how to manipulate elections.”

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POLITICS

2027: No Vacancy in Aso Rock – APC Chairman 

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The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda has said he is very confident that the opposition parties including the African Democratic Congress (ADC) will fail in their bid to unseat President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the forthcoming 2027 election.

Yilwatda who was addressing hundreds of supporters of the ruling party under the aegis of the APC league of Professionals, who were on a solidarity visit at the national secretariat of the party on Tuesday in Abuja, said the gains recorded already under the Renewed Hope Agenda of the President Tinubu led administration as basis for his position.

He further assured that the party would ensure that the entire candidates of the party contesting for governorship, National and State Assemblies seats across the country were victorious.

The Plateau state born academic who described himself as the bridge between the old and the young gave example with the students loan, and several other empowerment programmes being undertaken by the President Tinubu led administration that has impacted on the lives of Nigerians positively.

“The child of the poorest man in Nigeria can now go to school to the peak without borrowing from anywhere. The government has made provision for that. This is the only time we’ve had that in the history of Nigeria. Government has dropped N1.5 billion Naira in Bank of Agriculture (BOA) to support young men that want to go into agriculture.

“Never before, never before, never before have we had this opportunity. We have the youths fund being given for the youths. Never before has any government done this. And I can tell you that the opportunity for the young people is right under our President.

What I can show you first is a thank you for this support, a thank you for standing by our party, a thank you for believing in this party.

“Our manifesto targets people like you. The Renew Hope Agenda targets people like you. And I look forward to working with you to ensure that 2027 will deliver the President, will deliver the Governors, will deliver the Senators, House of Assemblies and House of Representatives members.”

Earlier in his address, leader of the group and the pioneer Secretary of the Bayelsa state chapter of the APC, Hon. Marlin Daniel said was confident that Prof. Yilwatda will take the party to the next level of development.

Daniel also expressed gratitude to President Tinubu and the Sen. Hope Uzodinma led Progressives Governors Forum (PGF) over the choice of Yilwatda as the National Chairman of the party.

He expressed optimism that the Chairman will deliver candidates of the party at the coming elections given his experience as a technocrat and politician of several years standing.

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