Ahead of next weekend’s nationwide governorship and House of Assembly elections, Peoples Democratic Party and All Progressives Congress are planning strategies for electoral superiority in the various states and seeking ways to undercut each other. After penultimate Saturday’s presidential and National Assembly elections, which threw up upsets in many areas, the two main political parties are back to the drawing board. They are thinking about fresh ways to approach the polls to regain strength where they had lost, and reinforce their positions in areas they recorded strong showing.
The PDP national chairman, Adamu Muazu, said his party would rebound after losing the presidential election to APC. In a statement yesterday by his media assistant, Tony Amadi, Muazu said General Muhammadu Buhari’s defeat of incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan was a one-off victory that would have no effect on the next elections.
In response, however, APC vowed not to lose any ground to PDP in next Saturday’s elections. APC national publicity secretary, Lai Mohammed, told THISDAY by telephone that the party was determined to win more areas in the governorship and House of Assembly elections.
This was as 19 APC members of the 26-member Ekiti State House of Assembly levelled allegations bordering on gross misconduct against the state governor, Ayo Fayose, and threatened to commence impeachment proceedings against him soon. The 19 legislators had been suspended by seven members loyal to Fayose since November 17 last year, in a controversial move that was widely condemned and is being contested in the court. The APC lawmakers were also virtually banished from the state by thugs believed to be sponsored by the governor. But, apparently, buoyed by APC’s presidential election win, the 19 legislators reconvened at the Assembly complex on Wednesday, feeling confident that the shenanigans that had cost them their positions might not continue with the imminent assumption of power by a new commander-in-chief.
In a related development, unknown gunmen yesterday killed nine persons and injured many others at Obrikom and Oboh communities in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area (ONELGA) of Rivers State, in what appears to be a politically-motivated violence. The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Mr. Ahmad Muhammad (DSP), confirmed the incident, which was believed to have targeted
APC members, including the party’s House of Assembly candidate, Vincent Ogbuagu.
Muazu asked PDP governorship and House of Assembly candidates to go all out and re-enact the party’s winning ways in Saturday’s elections, while ruling out any bandwagon effect from penultimate weekend’s loss at the presidential poll. He said the next governorship election would provide PDP “a soft-landing after conceding the presidency” to APC in the presidential election on March 28.
Muazu asked PDP governorship and House of Assembly candidates to go all out and re-enact the party’s winning ways in Saturday’s elections, while ruling out any bandwagon effect from penultimate weekend’s loss at the presidential poll. He said the next governorship election would provide PDP “a soft-landing after conceding the presidency” to APC in the presidential election on March 28.
”I urge the PDP faithful to pick up the pieces and ensure that we return quickly to our old winning ways. There should be no room for voter apathy that was a major factor to our losing the presidential election. While our opponents are savouring their famous victory, we should out flank them and corner at least two-thirds of the states of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” Muazu said in the release by Amadi.
He said, “We have done it before and we can do it again. Nothing will be sweeter than PDP taking Lagos, our own Rivers State and Imo State. Our candidates in these states are first class material who have fully penetrated the political structures of those states and are set to win.
“Our target in this remaining election should be to retain our present states and then sink our teeth into the heart of our political opponents and show that their presidential victory is nothing more than a one-off that won’t be repeated in a long while.”
In a similar vein, Deputy Chief Whip of the senate, Hosea Ayoola Agboola, said at the weekend in Ibadan that PDP would bounce back in the 2019 general election, stressing that the loss of the presidency to APC is a temporary setback. Addressing supporters from the 13 local governments of Oyo North senatorial district at his home, following his loss in the senatorial election, Agboola told them to put the loss behind them and remain resolute, saying, “Tough times never last but tough people do.”
In a similar vein, Deputy Chief Whip of the senate, Hosea Ayoola Agboola, said at the weekend in Ibadan that PDP would bounce back in the 2019 general election, stressing that the loss of the presidency to APC is a temporary setback. Addressing supporters from the 13 local governments of Oyo North senatorial district at his home, following his loss in the senatorial election, Agboola told them to put the loss behind them and remain resolute, saying, “Tough times never last but tough people do.”
But the APC national publicity secretary said, “So far the electoral process is free and fair and we just hope that it will be free of violence. As long as it is a free and fair process, we are confident that they would not take a single state from us. For the case of Rivers State, we will insist that the process is free of violence and intimidation. We will also insist that the card reader is used in the states of the federation.”
Mohammed said APC was poised to win more states in Saturday’s polls.
PDP lost the presidential election to APC in all the six North-central states, except Plateau and Nasarawa, despite governing all the states in the zone apart from Nasarawa and Kwara. It lost in all the seven North-west states, even though it has governors in four of the states. In the North-east, PDP lost in all six states, but one, despite governing four states in the zone. PDP won the presidential poll in all the South-south and South-east states, though, APC governs two South-south states and one South-east state. In the South-west, APC won in all but one state. In 2011, PDP had won the presidential poll in all the six South-west states, except Osun.
PDP leaders have been meeting to try to regain their strength in places where they lost. Ondo State Governor Segun Mimiko, who only recently joined the party, was reported to have met party chieftains in the state last week in an effort to make amends and plan new strategies for the next election.
PDP lost the presidential election to APC in all the six North-central states, except Plateau and Nasarawa, despite governing all the states in the zone apart from Nasarawa and Kwara. It lost in all the seven North-west states, even though it has governors in four of the states. In the North-east, PDP lost in all six states, but one, despite governing four states in the zone. PDP won the presidential poll in all the South-south and South-east states, though, APC governs two South-south states and one South-east state. In the South-west, APC won in all but one state. In 2011, PDP had won the presidential poll in all the six South-west states, except Osun.
PDP leaders have been meeting to try to regain their strength in places where they lost. Ondo State Governor Segun Mimiko, who only recently joined the party, was reported to have met party chieftains in the state last week in an effort to make amends and plan new strategies for the next election.
Meanwhile, the APC in Bauchi State, has alleged that the ruling PDP in the state is intimidating traditional rulers and stakeholders to vote against APC in the forthcoming governorship election or lose their titles and entitlements. The APC governorship candidate in the state, Mohammed Abubakar, made the allegation yesterday in Bauchi while participating in a debate organised by the Nigerian Union of Journalists tagged “Bauchi Decides.”
Owing to the tension generated by the controversial changes in the Ekiti State House of Assembly in November last year, the leader of the pro-Fayose PDP lawmakers, Dele Olugbemi, who was made speaker by his seven supporting legislators, and the Commissioner of Police, Mr Taiwo Lakanu, had ordered the closure of the Assembly complex. But the 19 APC legislators, led by the speaker, Adewale Omirin, reconvened at the Assembly complex on Wednesday and yesterday released a list of impeachable offences against Fayose. They included impunity, brigandage, stalking, and other constitutional breaches contained in a letter to Fayose titled “Re: Notice of Allegations of Gross Misconduct,” dated March 9, 2015, and signed by the 19 APC legislators.
Fayose, who has since received the notice, was given seven days to respond to the allegations.
Fayose, who has since received the notice, was given seven days to respond to the allegations.
But the governor said the 19 APC lawmakers were merely clowning, in a statement yesterday by his special assistant on public communications and new media, Lere Olayinka. “The script being acted by the APC is a failed one because no one, no matter how highly placed, will be allowed to test the will of Ekiti people,” Fayose stated. The statement described the impeachment notice by the APC lawmakers as “joke of the century,” claiming, “The speaker of the Ekiti State House of Assembly is Hon. Dele Olugbemi and not Dr Adewale Omirin…
“Omirin is already in court, challenging his impeachment and common sense dictates that when you are challenging an action already taken in court, you have accepted the consequences of such action pending the determination of the suit you filed.”
In Rivers State, which has been a flashpoint since the beginning of campaigns for this year’s general election, a traditional ruler was said to be among the nine persons killed by gunmen at ONELGA, a major centre of oil and gas activities, at the weekend. But the police said no traditional ruler was killed.
In Rivers State, which has been a flashpoint since the beginning of campaigns for this year’s general election, a traditional ruler was said to be among the nine persons killed by gunmen at ONELGA, a major centre of oil and gas activities, at the weekend. But the police said no traditional ruler was killed.
The Nigeria Police spokesman in the state told THISDAY, “It was about 1930 hours of yesterday (Friday). Some unknown armed men invaded Obrikom/Oboh communities and went on shooting spree, killing nine, injuring two persons, and set ablaze the house of Vincent Ogbagu, an APC House of Assembly candidate.”
Muhammad said the traditional ruler of Obrikom community was not among the dead. “However, manhunt for the criminals is on as we appeal to the public to assist in making available credible information in this respect.”
In Benue State, APC and PDP are raising allegations and counter-allegations against each other about alleged plots to rig the April 11 governorship and House of Assembly elections. APC’s Samuel Ortom and Terhemen Tarzoor of PDP will be slugging it out at the polls on Saturday.
SOURCE: Thisdayonline news
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