Politics

Jubiliation as Shaibu emerges as candidate in a PDP parallel primary

Published

1 year ago

February 22, 2024

Edo State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP,) on Thursday, Feb. 22, held a parallel Congress that produced the Deputy Governor of Edo State, Philip Shaibu, as the winner of a factional PDP primary election.

While some delegates were being accredited to proceed to the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium venue of the primary election, another set of delegates met in a facility in Commercial Avenue where they announced Shaibu as the elected candidate of the PDP.

Shaibu was declared the party’s candidate for the September 21, 2024, governorship election with 301 votes out of the total number of 559 votes cast at the primary.

The first set of delegates claimed that they went to the venue for accreditation but were chased away by security agencies. They also alleged that the list of delegates published by the national leadership of the party was not the authentic one, alleging that they saw names of people from Bayelsa state and names of people who are members of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Declaring Shaibu winner of the election, Bartholomew Moses said “During the counting of this primary election, Philip Shaibu has a score of 301 votes and therefore, we hereby declare Philip Shaibu as the authentic elected candidate for this election in the PDP”

The exercise was barely over when gunmen alleged to be personnel of the Edo State Security Network, ESSN, invaded the venue. They were dressed in vigilante outfits and came in several vehicles including two black unmarked Toyota Hiace Truck, an unmarked white Sienna, a white Hilux and several other vehicles.

They were shooting sporadically into the air and the people scampered in different directions for safety.

Before the election, the delegates led by Festus Owu had protested at the deputy governor’s official lodge where they complained to him that they had been disenfranchised.

Speaking to the protesting delegates, Shaibu said “I appeal to all of you to be peaceful I don’t want anybody to be injured, I don’t want anybody molested and I am happy the way you have conducted yourselves peacefully and have come to report to me that you were not allowed to be accredited but I want to tell you that no one man can determine the destiny of a people and by the grace of God they cannot disenfranchise you people. The law is clear that you people are the authentic delegates. Now that they have pushed you away, they want to go and replace you but I assure you that your vote must count, they cannot change and replace your names. I assure you that I will take your protest to the committee that is coming but you must remain peaceful in everything you are doing.”

Speaking to journalists later, Shaibu said, “I saw the crowd outside and I asked who they are and they said they are delegates, I said they should be directed to the venue of the accreditation but they said they were protesting because they have been sent away from the venue of accreditation and they won their election and they have their results. The election will hold and if a winner emerges with fake delegates, the election will not see the light of the day but if a winner emerges with the authentic delegate, there will be no problem, I am sure.”

Politics

Shettima: Presidency reveals when Tinubu will choose running mate

Published

15 hours ago

June 20, 2025

Ekwutos Blog

The Presidency has disclosed that President Bola Tinubu will choose his running mate in the 2027 election only after formally accepting the All Progressives Congress’ nomination during its convention in 2026.

Special Adviser to the President on information and strategy, Bayo Onanuga, disclosed this on Thursday in an interview with Daily Trust newspaper.

Onanuga dismissed the concern that presidency has remained silent over the omission of Vice President Kashim Shettima from a wave of endorsements for Tinubu.

According to him, the speculation of a rift between Tinubu and Shettima was baseless.

“When I read the report, I dismissed it as a non issue. In a presidential system, the candidate emerges first and then selects a running mate. That’s what happened under Buhari – he was nominated first and later picked his running mate. You don’t do both at once.

“Once INEC releases the timetable, the party convention will hold, and if the president is nominated again, he will choose his run-ning mate,” he said.

Politics

BREAKING: Atiku, El-Rufai opposition coalition seeks INEC registration for new party, ADA

Published

17 hours ago

June 20, 2025

Ekwutos Blog

The National Opposition Coalition Group, has formally applied to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, for the registration of a new political party, the All Democratic Alliance, ADA.

The opposition coalition is led by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and ex-Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai.

The coalition’s application dated June 19, was acknowledged by INEC on Friday.

This indicates the intentions of the coalition to float a new platform.

The formation of ADA, backed by some other key political heavyweights, including former Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi and Umar Ardo, convener of the League of Northern Democrats and former aide to President Olusegun Obasanjo, seeks to capitalise on mounting public dissatisfaction and political realignments to stop President Bola Tinubu at the next poll.

The application comes just a few days after INEC warned political groups that no amount of pressure or public sentiment would override the need for strict compliance with constitutional and electoral guidelines.

The application letter was jointly signed by the association’s Protem National Chairman, Chief Akin A. Rickets, and Protem National Secretary, Abdullahi Elayo.

The letter partly read, “We respectfully write to the Independent National Electoral Commission, requesting the registration of our association, the All Democratic Alliance, as a political party.

“This is a sequel to the decision taken by the Nigerian National Coalition Group to sponsor our association for full registration.

“The name of the party shall be All Democratic Alliance with ADA as our acronym and ‘Justice for All’ as our slogan.”

The coalition also submitted relevant documents, including the party’s constitution, manifesto, logo, and minutes of its foundational meetings.

The party’s symbol prominently features a maize (corn), which the applicants say represents abundance, resilience, and sustenance, core ideals they hope to promote.

“We have further attached our manifesto encompassing details of our party ideology and our constitution providing the legal framework that defines our identity, structures, and organisation,” the letter continued.

Politics

All Democratic Alliance, ADA: Anti-Tinubu coalition writes INEC for registration of new party

Published

18 hours ago

June 20, 2025

Ekwutos Blog

After weeks of deliberations, the Nigeria National Coalition Group, NNCG, has formally applied to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, seeking for the registration of a new political party with the name All Democratic Alliance, ADA.

The application letter, dated 19th June, 2025, was stamped received by INEC on 20 June, 2025.

A copy of the letter, which was signed by the association’s Protem National Chairman, Chief Akin A. Rickets, was sighted by Vanguard in Abuja on Friday.

The letter read in part: “Application For Registration As A Political Party.

“We respectfully write to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, requesting the registration of our association, the All Democratic Alliance, ADA, as a political party.

“This is sequel to the decision taken by the Nigerian National Coalition Group to sponsor our association for full registration.

“The name of the party shall be All Democratic Alliance with ADA as our acronym and ‘Justice for All’ as our slogan.

“The National Secretariat of the party is as stated at the bottom of the association’s letterhead used in this application.

“We have further attached our manifesto encompassing details of our party ideology, and our constitution providing the legal framework that defines our identity, structures and organization, regulates our affairs and guides our actions in alignment with Section 40 and 222 of the Constitution, Section 75 of the Electoral Act (2022) and global democratic principles and objectives.

“Please find attached the following documents: our party flag depicting our name, acronym and slogan, manifesto, constitution and minutes of meeting.

“While we eagerly await further action from the commission on the next step forward towards attaining our desired goal, please accept the consideration of our highest respect. Thank you yours most sincerely; Chief Akin A. Rickets, Protem National Chairman.”

Members

Members of the anti-Tinubu coalition include: Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar; ex-Rivers State governor, Rotimi Amaechi; his Kaduna State counterpart, Nasir El-Rufai; the convener of the League of Northern Democrats, Dr. Umar Ardo, and a host of others.

The group had considered joining an existing political party which saw the African Democratic Congress, ADC, and the Social Democratic Party, SDP, jostling to out do each other to be considered.

However, several members of the coalition expressed concerns over the internal wrangling within existing parties, which in some cases had led to litigations.

The coalition subsequently set up a committee to also consider the option of registering a completely new platform where all members will start on equal footing in terms of membership.

The committee, which was headed by former Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi submitted its report about a week ago with a recommendation in favour of registering a new party.