Politics
Atiku lobbied to be Abiola’s deputy –Tinubu
The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, on Saturday slammed his counterpart in the Peoples Democratic Party, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, for allegedly stoking religious bias in a bid to win the 2023 presidential election.
Tinubu said the former vice president was a hypocrite for using the issue of a Muslim-Muslim ticket as a political strategy, adding that Atiku was exhibiting traits of desperation by stoking religious bias on national television to win the election.
The former Lagos State governor stated this in a statement by his media officer, Tunde Rahman, while reacting to claims by Atiku during an interview with Arise News on Friday that he dropped Tinubu as a running mate while running for president in 2007 because they were both Muslims.
“Atiku has no business raising the issue of a Muslim-Muslim ticket except as a hypocrite. Perhaps he believes people have forgotten his antics during the 1993 election. After he woefully lost his bid to be the presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party, what did he do? He canvassed and lobbied harder than anyone to become the running mate to late Chief MKO Abiola. When it benefitted him personally, Atiku did not see anything wrong with a Muslim-Muslim ticket. He saw everything right in such a ticket as long as he was on it.
“We are saddened to see such a man become unhinged from the truth. So obsessed is he with his quest for office, Atiku is willing to render any form of untruth if he thinks it might gain him a single vote. Atiku may want to be President. However, all he has shown is that he is pathological.”
“I feel sorry for dear old Atiku. Love of his own ambition has eclipsed his relationship with the truth and an honest account of the past. We formed the AC without his knowledge. When (former) President (Olusegun) Obasanjo virtually exiled him from the PDP, we lent him our support by giving him the Action Congress platform for the 2007 election,” the statement quoted the former Lagos governor as saying.
Tinubu further described Atiku as a man with a “paucity of character and love of intrigue”.
“Let me say openly that Atiku offered me the vice presidential ticket in 2007. Let me also say that my religion has not changed. When he offered the position to me, I was a Muslim and I believe he was aware of my religious faith at the time. Atiku’s calculations and deceit had nothing to do with religion or his sensitivity to it. His conduct has everything to do with what we discovered about his paucity of character and love of intrigue.
The APC national leader reiterated that he arrived at the choice of a former governor of Borno State, Senator Kashim Shettima, after weighing his options and due consultations with stakeholders of the party.
“All my life, the decisions regarding the team supporting me have always been guided by the principles of competence, innovation, compassion, integrity, fairness, and adherence to excellence. I was not going to depart from these principles at this important juncture. In fact, it was more important than ever before that I adhere to these principles,” the statement added.
Also, the National Chairman of the South West Agenda for Asiwaju 2023, Senator Adedayo Adeyeye, accused the PDP of distracting Nigerians by campaigning against the Muslim-Muslim ticket of the APC. Adeyeye said the bigger issue was the fact that the opposition party jettisoned its North-South power rotation formula prescribed by its constitution.
The senator said, “The PDP is trying very hard to put the issue of Muslim-Muslim ticket on the front burner. But to me and for any patriotic Nigerian, it is a mere distraction. It is a desperate attempt by the PDP to clutch at any straw at all when they are just too aware that they are headed for the dungeon.
“So, those who are promoting this should know too well that they are just desperate to clutch any straw to keep them afloat because it is their futile attempt to prevent their dropping into the bottom of the sea.”
FCT Minister Nyesom Wike has disclosed that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu provided about ₦50 billion to Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde to support the expansion and upgrade of Ibadan Airport.
Wike made the disclosure on Monday during an appearance on TVC News’ Journalists’ Hangout, while dismissing claims that he was the only member of the former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) G5 governors to benefit from the Tinubu administration.
According to Wike, Tinubu also extended financial support to Makinde despite their political differences.
“The president has also extended his hand of support to the governor of Oyo State by providing funds for him to expand Oyo airport with a whopping sum of 50 billion naira,” Wike said.
The minister also cited former Abia State Governor Okezie Ikpeazu and former Enugu State Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, who he said currently serve as Nigeria’s ambassadors to Spain and Greece respectively.
Wike argued that it was therefore incorrect to suggest that he alone among the G5 governors had benefited from the Tinubu administration, saying the President had supported other members of the group in different ways.
The G5 consisted of Wike, Makinde, Ikpeazu, Ugwuanyi and former Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom. The group opposed the PDP’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, during the 2023 election and backed Tinubu.
By Okey Maduforo, Awka
Ahead of the 2027 National Assembly elections, a mass protest voting movement may be building up in Anambra South Senatorial District, following reported moves by members of major political parties to support the candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Chief Ebuka Onunkwo.
The development is said to be linked to grievances among some members of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), All Progressives Congress (APC), African Democratic Congress (ADC) and remnants of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) over the treatment allegedly meted out to Onunkwo during previous political contests.
Onunkwo, who had previously contested the Anambra South senatorial seat under APGA, later emerged as the NDC candidate for the 2027 election.
Although the ADC is currently embroiled in legal disputes over the authentic candidates and the conduct of its primary elections, some members of the APC and APGA are also reportedly dissatisfied with developments within their respective parties.
It was gathered that a section of APGA members, in particular, are backing Onunkwo as a form of protest over the conduct of the party’s senatorial primary, while some members of other parties are also believed to be considering voting for him irrespective of their party affiliations.
Confirming the growing support for Onunkwo, the Chief Executive Officer of NOWAS Oil and Gas Limited and a major stakeholder in Anambra South politics, Chief Ignesus Ikechukwudere Nnubia, said the NDC candidate currently enjoys widespread acceptability across party lines.
Nnubia said the growing support for Onunkwo had made his party affiliation less significant, arguing that voters would ultimately vote according to their conscience and assessment of the candidates.
He said, “At the moment, the number of APGA members with him and supporting him makes one wonder what is left of that party. Even the remnants of the PDP have pitched their tents with him, while members of the ruling APC at the national level are also behind him.
“So, the party that he belongs to is not a factor at all. You know that it is a game of numbers, and people are going to vote according to their conscience and not necessarily because of the political party they belong to.
“People are not bound to vote for their party, and some of them are ready and willing to vote for him.
“We are not talking about the party because he will surely get votes from the NDC, APGA, APC and even other political parties that are already closing ranks to support him as their candidate.”
Nnubia further described Onunkwo as the candidate currently standing tall among the contenders for the Anambra South senatorial seat, expressing confidence that his emergence would usher in what he described as a “new dawn” for the district.
He said political parties should not be the major consideration for voters, stressing that what matters most is the ability of elected representatives to improve the lives of their constituents.
According to him, political parties exist because of the people, and therefore the influence of party structures and incumbency has its limits during elections.
Nnubia said those factors would ultimately be tested by the electorate in the 2027 election, which he described as a contest in which voters’ choices would determine the outcome.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate for the 2027 Ebonyi State election, Chief Ifeanyi Chukwuma Odii, has pledged to attract more than ₦2 trillion in private-sector investment to the state within six months of assuming office if elected.
Odii made the pledge while addressing supporters in Lagos ahead of the formal commencement of his campaign.
He said his investment strategy would cover key sectors of the Ebonyi economy, including mining, hospitality, real estate and manufacturing.
According to the PDP candidate, he has identified more than 2,000 prospective investors, each capable of investing about ₦1 billion in the state.
“I have over 2,000 people who can invest ₦1 billion each. When you multiply it, you will get over ₦2 trillion. This has been structured in such a way that all aspects of the economy will be involved,” Odii said.
He said the proposed investment drive was designed not only to inject capital into the state but also to create jobs, expand the productive base of the economy and provide opportunities for young people and entrepreneurs.
Odii said Ebonyi’s natural resources and strategic location placed it in a strong position to attract large-scale investments if its economic potential was properly harnessed.
He promised that his administration would prioritise private-sector participation, industrialisation and job creation while creating an enabling environment for both local and foreign investors.
The candidate also said existing businesses in the state would be supported to expand, while new investors would be encouraged to establish operations across various sectors.
His pledge comes amid growing political activities ahead of the 2027 governorship election, with economic development, employment generation and wealth creation featuring prominently in his campaign message.
The proposed ₦2 trillion investment target within six months, if achieved, would represent a significant boost to Ebonyi’s economy and rank among the most ambitious private-sector investment mobilisation plans proposed in the state.
By Okey Maduforo, Awka
The planned visit of the First Lady of Nigeria, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, to Anambra State has sparked controversy following a protest by the state Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Emma Anosike, that the party was not informed about the visit.
Anosike said the APC in Anambra was never consulted or briefed about the proposed visit, adding that the party was taken aback by reports that the wife of the party’s national leader and presidential candidate, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, would be visiting the state without recourse to the state chapter.
He said, “It is indeed strange that the First Lady of our presidential candidate is visiting Anambra State without recourse to the party in the state.
“The party wishes to state categorically that we are not part of the arrangements for the reception of our First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, because the party was never put in the picture.”
Anosike also dismissed the mantra that “The Progressives Are Working Together”, being canvassed by the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), describing it as a smokescreen by the ruling party in Anambra to hijack President Tinubu’s re-election from the APC.
He said, “For instance, the APGA-led government in Anambra State did not interface with us on the organisation of the visit, and the party wonders if the progressives are indeed working together.”
The APC chairman, however, said the development would not compromise the First Lady’s visit, urging all APC members and supporters in the state to turn out and give Senator Oluremi Tinubu a warm welcome.
He stressed that despite the party’s reservations over the arrangements, APC members remained committed to welcoming the First Lady to Anambra State.
Former Deputy Governor of Bauchi State, Sagir Saleh, has resigned his membership of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Saleh, who served as deputy governor under former Governor Isa Yuguda, announced his resignation in a letter submitted to the party leadership in Katagum Local Government Area.
He cited personal reasons for his decision but did not provide further details.
His exit comes amid growing disagreements within the Bauchi APC following the party’s 2027 governorship primary. Other prominent members, including former governorship aspirant Bala Jibrin and Sunusi Kunde, an associate of Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Ali Pate, have also reportedly left the party.
Jibrin, a former National Auditor of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), resigned on August 31, 2026, following his opposition to the emergence of former Bauchi Governor Muhammad Abubakar as the APC’s 2027 governorship candidate.
He had criticised the primary process and questioned how the candidate emerged.
Kunde also resigned from the APC in August, submitting his resignation to the party chairman of Beti Ward in Misau Local Government Area.
The latest departures are coming as efforts continue to resolve internal disputes and disagreements among APC members in the state.
