2023 general election
Bayero insists, Atiku is not a threat to Tinubu in North East
Lawal Bayero is the APC youths coordinator for Gombe State and a member of the APC youths Presidential Campaign Council for the northeast. In this interview with Sola Shittu in Gombe, Bayero said the former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who is the presidential flag bearer of Peoples Democratic Party PDP cannot be a threat to Tinubu in the North East Region.
Recently the 88 members of APC Youths Presidential Campaign Council were inaugurated, as the state Coordinator how would you describe it?
I will describe it as a huge success and an indication that we are on the right path to success in 2023. You are there and can see the huge turnout of youths at the ceremony. I am more than before convinced that APC is certain of victory for our candidate in the coming general election. There is no doubt that APC is the party to beat in this election. I cannot see any strong contender against Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, that I can tell you.
How sure are you of the victory of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu in this coming election?
Elections are won by people who have their feet on the ground. We have the largest numbers of Governors, Senators, House Representatives members and state Assembly members across the country. All these have sworn to ensure the victory of Tinubu in the coming election. Tinubu’s victory in the coming election means a lot to Nigerians. It means cohesion, unity and keeping to promise. This is a man that has spent almost all his life working for the emergence of a Presidential Candidate from the North.
What is your plan as youths leader for the general election?
Our party relies on the strength youths in this country, according to reports Nigeria’s population is about 75 percent youths and we have a huge chunk of that number in our party. If you can recollect in 2015 general election, it was the youths that successfully uproot the PDP Government of Goodluck Jonathan out of office and brought in President Muhammadu Buhari. It was the same youths that also gave him the second term and we are going to be the one to retain the party in power in 2023. The truth is without the youths their is no APC, talk of the change mantra in 2015 we are the one that champion the whole thing and we are ready to do the same thing for Tinubu and Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya in Gombe State in this general election.
With Atiku coming from this same region, how are you sure that Tinubu will hand in the North East in the election?
Atiku is not a threat to Tinubu in the Northeast, and you can quote me on that. What has Atiku done for the region in his eight years reign as Vice President for the region. Look at Gombe-Yola road. It has been like that since Atiku’s time as Vice President. It is a shame to Atiku that the only major road that links his home state to other parts of the country is bad, unmotorable, and still remains like that. The North East Region used to be Atiku’s stronghold because there was no Northeasterner on the ballot, but now, with the emergence of Senator Kassim Shettima on the ballot, it will no longer be so. And again, even though Atiku is coming from the region but it is the turn of the south to occupy the Aso Rock villa since the North West is about rounding up the slot of the North and it is only just and fair for power to return to the south and who is that person, a lover of the North East; someone that we have been very comfortable with and someone that we are sure we will be comfortable with when he gets to power; Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.
What gives you the confidence that the North East Region will leave their own son and vote for somebody outside the region?
Thank you for that question, I am so confident because I have never seen a lover of the North East Region like Bola Ahmed Tinubu. In 2007, we saw how he supported the current presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party PDP, Atiku Abubakar to emerge as the presidential candidate of the Action Congress and gave him the platform. Unfortunately he didn’t succeed. In 2011, he did the same thing with our brother from the same Adamawa state as Atiku, Malam Nuhu Ribadu as the presidential candidate of the ACN in 2011.
In 2015, we all knew that without the support of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, as the biggest coalition member of the APC, a Buhari Presidency may not be possible and he repeated it again in 2019 so today for us in the North it’s only fair for us to payback this man that has been a lover of the north. This is our payback time because he is a supporter of the North East. He has supported Atiku Abubakar from Adamawa state, supported Nuhu Ribadu from the same Adamawa state and picked Kassim Shettima from Borno state. I have never seen a bigger lover of the North East in the country than Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The North East used to be the stronghold of Atiku because there was no North East person on the ballot but now with the emergence of Senator Kassim Shettima on the ballot I don’t think the North East will continue to be his stronghold. Already, Borno and Yobe are in the kitty for us. Gombe, which used to be his stronghold, is now in the hands of Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya . He is not just the Governor of the state but also the North East Regional Director of the Presidential Campaign Council for Tinubu and Senator Kassim Shettima. So already we have three states in the region, because of the woeful performance of PDP in Taraba state everybody is praying for redemption. Already we have a very strong person in Taraba as the Governorship candidate and we are sure that he will deliver not just Taraba to himself but also to Asiwaju. Next is Adamawa and Bauchi that have been in the grasp of the PDP for four years. We all knew that we lost Adamawa and Bauchi due to the internal wranglings in APC and we are ready to put our house in order, we have met with critical stakeholders and they have vowed to work together for the victory of Asiwaju.
What is your take on the state of the youths in Nigeria as a whole?
The youths of this country are grossly underutilized by our leaders. If you look around us, most of our industries are not working, those ones we know through the 70s, 80s and 90s are no longer there. When I was growing up Afcot was a major company in Gombe here. Most of our youths were engaged by the company in the production of cottons and others. In my village, the Afcot officials will come to give us high yielding seeds, chemicals etc. There were a lot of opportunities for the youths then. Similarly, we also have a tomato processing company at Kumo doing the same thing for the youths but now, the two companies are no longer there. I can tell you all these because I am a direct beneficiary of this, we cultivate the cotton farm to get money and pay for our school fees and support our parents but today Afcot is no more. If these two companies are still working today, do you know how many youths will be engaged and making money from their sweat. If you go to Adamawa and Taraba, the same thing also happens there. Taraba is perhaps the worst among them because I used to see the youths roaming about the streets begging for money. So our leaders need to rise up and do something about the situation because of our fragile security situation. There is an adage that an idle hand is the devil ‘s workshop. The state of our youths currently is not helping our security situation.
Are you saying the collapse of these industries fuel the secury situation of the country?
Yes, of course. What do you expect from an idle grown up man, he will find somewhere to direct his energy and he may not care whether wherever he directs his energy is having positive or negative impact on the country. This is similar to what we are going through with regard to insurgency in the North East and banditry in the North West. It is when there is security that farmers can go to their farms, market women can go to market and the youths will also be gainfully employed. If we have security, we can invite our friends in Europe to come and invest in our country because of the massive land in the country and cheap labour. So this time around, I don’t want the youths of this country to get it wrong, the youths must stand up and vote for Tinubu because he is a rewarder of youths. Take for example how he brought up Fashola, the Minister of works, Rauf Aregebsola, the Minister of internal Affairs, Muiz Banire, the former National Legal Adviser of our party, former Governor Ambode of Lagos State and the present Governor of the state Sanwolu who is also a youth. I can tell you that he has been very consistent in rewarding youths for hard work. We have no doubt in Asiwaju’s capabilities to reward the youths. We have no doubt in his love for the youths, he has done it before and he is going to do it again. He is a rewarder of youths, he is a rewarder of loyalty. He is a builder of youths and we are certain that if the youths really give him their support he will surely reward them.
Let’s look at politics in your home state Gombe you’re giving support to Governor Inuwa Yahaya for a second term why?
Because he has done well. Go round the state you will see how he touched the lives of the people through infrastructural development programs. Look at the Industrial Estate at Dadinkowa, his reforms in education sector which now allows more children to go to school, the Gombe goes green project now planting more trees all over the state and the project eleven hundreds that is constructing 100 kilometers of road in all the eleven local government areas of the state. I give him kudos for that because the new road network is linking up our rural areas to the city. However like Oliver Twist, I still want him to do more in his second term especially for my people at Gombe South. We want to feel his impact more in the area of developmental projects for Gombe South and I am speaking the minds of my people on this. The condition they gave me is that the Governor has done well and we are still going to vote for him and his party for a second term but he has to remember us in Gombe South. The youths especially want him to engage them in a youth empowerment program that will directly touch the lives of Gombe South youths.
2023 general election
2023 polls: Abdulsalami Peace Committee opens up on pressure to ask for cancellation
The National Peace Committee (NPC) has opened up on pressure it faced to intervene in the 2023 Presidential Election results. During a report presentation in Abuja, led by General Abdulsalami Abubakar, the committee disclosed that it received numerous requests to push the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to halt results collation or cancel the election due to alleged violations of the electoral act.
Key issues included concerns about the 25% vote threshold requirement for the Federal Capital Territory, with some advocates calling for a runoff.
The NPC emphasized its role as a moral authority rather than a regulatory body, highlighting its mandate to promote peace and compliance with the law, without the power to arrest or punish violators.
The committee acknowledged a gap in public understanding of its functions and the importance of moral persuasion in fostering electoral integrity and peace.
Before presenting the report to the public, the committee had earlier met with the INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu and other management staff of the commission where it was briefed on the electoral umpire’s preparation for the forthcoming Governorship elections in Edo and Ondo states.
Other members of the committee are Okoh Ebitu Ukiwe (Vice Chairman); Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah (Convener); Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar III; John Cardinal Onaiyekan; business icons, Aliko Dangote and Femi Otedola; Vanguard Newspapers Publisher, Sam Amuka Pemu; Ameze Guobadia; Idayat Hassan; Dame Priscilla Kuye; Gen. Martin Luther Agwai; Mahmud Yayale Ahmed; Channels TV owner, John Momoh; Roseline Ukeje; and, Fr. Atta Barkindo, its Head of Secretariat.
Part of the report reads; “As the election day progressed, criticisms and counter criticisms became abundant. The NPC was already being faced with a flurry of phone calls and the need to call INEC to order.
“The Peace Committee was flooded with requests for intervention. Both the Chairman of the Committee, General Abdulsalami A. Abubakar, the Convener, Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah and the Head of NPC Secretariat, Fr. Atta Barkindo, were inundated with calls, requests, and petitions demanding the intervention of the NPC.
“Some of the requests wanted the NPC to prevail on INEC to stop collating election results because there were gross violations and lack of compliance with the electoral act. Others demanded that the tenets of the Peace Accord signed were not adhered to and therefore the Committee should call for cancellation of the election entirely.
“The most significant call was related to the 25% threshold for Abuja as the Federal Capital Territory. Some of the analysts who reached out to the committee asked that the final election result should not be announced because the resumptive president-elect did not score the required 25% as stated in the electoral act. If anything, there should be a runoff.
2023 general election
EU reports: LP says FG is feebly adopting face saving measures
***EU only hit the nail on the head
The leadership of the Labour Party has countered the Federal Government of Nigeria for discrediting the European Union’s conclusion on the 2023 General Election wherein it faulted the modalities by which the conclusion was reached.
It reiterated what it believed as the accurate testament of the European Union’s conclusion on the 2023 general elections which merely hit the nail on the head.
A statement by the National Publicity Secretary Obiora Ifoh said,
“Eropean Union’s Conclusion on the 2023 general elections are nit Jaundiced but accurate Testament of the outcome of the FG and INEC alliance to change the will of the electorate.”
“We see this face-saving measure by the Federal Government which is coming days after the submission of the report as feeble and medicine after death.
“It will interest the government to note that the European Union’s report is only one out of numerous submissions by other international Observers who have described the outcome of the election as a sham and an exercise that did not reflect the will of the majority of Nigerians.
“Labour Party stands by the position of the EU observation mission. We have always said that this election was massively rigged in favour of the APC and their candidate.
“What the FG is saying is just an afterthought and a shameless effort to mask the obvious. Even the blind can see, the deaf can hear and they know this election was manipulated.
“Huge pieces of evidence abound for even the deaf and the blind to hear and feel. We are only hoping that the judiciary will dispense justice without fear or favour in the interest of the nation and posterity.
“Nigerians already know the true winner of the 2023 presidential election and no amount of slandering, denial, or rebuttal can change the fact that the party in power has no mandate of the electorate.
“We must also note that whatever position the INEC has taken is with active connivance with the Federal Government to deny the electorate and it clearly shows that INEC is not in any way independent.
“The Commission’s action is at the whims and caprices of the government and we know it. But Nigerians looking to the Judiciary for justice. That’s where we stand.”
2023 general election
FG tackles EU over report on 2023 general elections
The Federal Government has countered the European Union’s report on the 2023 general elections, describing the conclusions therein as “jaundiced”.
The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Special Duties, Communications and Strategy gave the indication in a statement on Sunday.
“We urge the EU and other foreign interests to be objective in all their assessments of the internal affairs of our country and allow Nigeria to breathe,”
According to him, the February 25, 2023 presidential election was “clearly and fairly” won by Tinubu, the then candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC).
He also advised that the EU allow Nigeria to breathe and not meddle in the affairs of the country.
“We find it preposterous and unconscionable that in this day and age, any foreign organisation of whatever hue can continue to insist on its own yardstick and assessment as the only way to determine the credibility and transparency of our elections,” he said.
He said the presidency was not unaware of the “machinations of the European Union to sustain its, largely, unfounded bias and claims on the election outcomes”.
Alake further stated that there is no substantial evidence provided by the EU or any foreign and local organisation that is viable enough to impeach the integrity of the 2023 election outcomes.
“We would like to know and even ask EU, how it reached the conclusions in the submitted final report with the very limited coverage of the elections by their observers who, without doubt, relied more on rumours, hearsay, cocktails of prejudiced and uninformed social media commentaries and opposition talking heads,” he stated.
“We have many reasons to believe the jaundiced report, based on the views of fewer than 50 observers, was to merely sustain the same premature denunciatory stance contained in EU’s preliminary report released in March.
“We strongly reject, in its entirety, any notion and idea from any organisation, group and individual remotely suggesting that the 2023 election was fraudulent.”
The media aide said Nigeria has put the elections behind, and Tinubu is facing the task of nation-building.
“As a country, we have put the elections behind us. President Tinubu is facing the arduous task of nation-building, while those who have reasons to challenge the process continue to do so through the courts.”
On June 27, 2023, the EU presented its report on the 2023 elections in Nigeria to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The EU said the election exposed enduring systemic weaknesses and therefore signaled a need for further legal and operational reforms to enhance transparency, inclusiveness and accountability.
The EU also identified six areas for improvement in Nigeria’s electoral process moving forward.
Some of the key areas listed by the Mission are ambiguities in the law, the establishment of a publicly accountable process for the selection of the INEC members, ensuring real-time publication of results as well as access to election results.
It also highlighted the need for protection for media practitioners while decrying the discrimination against women in elective and appointed positions as well as impunity regarding electoral offences.
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