2023 general election
Muslim president of the senate will not fly, Says Kalu, insists its his turn
***Advocates for real-time electronics voting
The Chief Whip of the Senate, Orji Uzor-Kalu has indicated that the 10th senate can not afford to vote for a Muslim Senate President for the reason that Nigeria remains a secular nation.
This is coming against the backdrop that the President-elect and his vice are of same faith(Muslim-Muslim), the party National chairman also a Muslim
The former Abia Governor who said he was in support of the Muslim-Muslim Presidential ticked of the APC which has produced Ahmed Bola Tinubu and Kasim Shettima as President-Elect and Vice-President elect respectively
however, denounced the possibility of having another Muslim as Senate President because he said it will not augur well for the country
“In a secular state, you will need to accommodate interest and spread to be able to maintain the secularity of the country.
“I believed in a muslim-muslim presidency, but I do not believe in a Muslim Senate President because it will not go fine for our country.”
Kalu who indicated interest to contest for the Presidency of the 10th Senate it is his turn
Kaku said:
“I will not be comfortable with a muslim Senate President because this is a secular state.”
Kalu said he was ready to run for Senate President if the party zones the position to his South East geopolitical zone because the party’s decision was supreme.
“And So I will like the party to zone it to my zone, to my village in Igbere because President Tinubu needs people of high character to turn around the economy and work for for the masses, make laws that will enable him turn around the economy, because, I am an economic person, an entrepreneur.”
Kalu said he had sponsored bills that can boost the economy like the railway bill that would enable state governments and private sector entities to build railways.
The former Abia state governor said he is the most qualified senator for the position based on Senate rules and his pedigree.
“The Senate has rules, let me be honest with you, if we practice true democracy, I should not be in contest with any body, because apart from the Senate President, Deputy Senate President,the Senate Leader, I am the next ranking member in the Senate going by the position I occupy today in the 9th Senate.
“It is virtually impossible that the Senate will elect or zone it for a new member to the Senate.
“The Senate is an established institution that needs somebody with experience, some one with the skills that will be able to relate.”
On the conduct of the general election, Kalu said no election all over the world is perfect, saying that there were lapses in some aspects of the election.
“We have some lapses, there is no democracy that is perfect, but we must move on, INEC has done the job they can do, it is left for us as lawmakers to tighten the noose in the act where there is a mistake and come back for amendment in the electoral act.
“And I want the media to promote where there is lapses .”
He said President-elect Bola Tinubu, when sworn in would stand firm in giving good governance, and would also stand firm with the 10th assembly to amend the constitution to make for an electronic voting process and do away with paper works in elections.
“For me no election is perfect, and President Tinubu is talking about fairness and he will work with the National Assembly in line with human rights to address the issues of economy, electoral processes, police and security and remove the issues around our electoral processes.”
Kalu said he had been part of team Nigeria, and would always be there for Nigerians at all times.
“And I hope that Nigerians will pray for me to be the next Senate President because it is my turn,” Kalu said.
2023 general election
Labour Party Denies Alliance with Tinubu, Challenges Defamation Claims
The Labour Party has dismissed allegations of a partnership with President Bola Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the 2027 elections.
The accusations were made by lawyer Deji Adeyanju, who claimed that the party’s leadership, including its National Chairman, Barrister Julius Abure, is collaborating with the ruling party.
In a statement issued by the Labour Party’s National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, the party described Adeyanju’s remarks as defamatory, baseless, and harmful to its reputation.
The party affirmed its commitment to its role as the leading opposition, citing its continuous critique of government policies and its push for reforms in Nigeria’s political system.
“The Labour Party has remained visible and vocal in interrogating system failures and proposing solutions. Our National Chairman, Barrister Abure, has been at the forefront of this effort,” the statement read.
The Labour Party highlighted key initiatives, including the formation of an Electoral Reform Committee to advocate for transparent elections and the introduction of e-membership registration to promote participatory democracy.
The party called on Adeyanju to provide evidence to substantiate his claims or withdraw his statement and issue a public apology.
It also warned against actions that could harm the party’s reputation and undermine its efforts to strengthen Nigeria’s democracy.
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.”
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