Connect with us


The Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led reconciliation efforts in the ruling All Progressives Congress APC may have been twart following the decision of the party leadership to scale up crisis mediation efforts ahead of the 2019 General Elections.

Buhari had weeks ago mandated Tinubu to reconciled aggrieved party members, in the APC.

But the party now seems ready to resolve its crisis its own way in spite of the Tinubu led committee.

The former Lagos State governor had on February 14 visited the Chief John Odigie-Oyegun led National Working Committee NWC of the party at its secretariat in Abuja to intimate them about the commencement of his work as well as solicit their support in delivering on the presidential mandate given to him.

At the meeting, Tinubu was alleged to have listed several terms including asking the party leadership to stand down all ongoing reconciliation efforts in order not to work at cross-purposes with his team.

Tinubu on his own in a letter he wrote to Chief Odigie Oyegun days after the meeting, said he had also requested for documents on the state of affairs of the party in some States, a request he said had not been granted as promised.

He had also asked the party to appoint a liaison officer to interface with him and the party in the course of his troubleshooting assignment, a request that had since been granted by the party through the appointment of the APC Director of Organization, Alh. Abubakar Kyari.

It is not known whether Tinubu has named his full team. However, Saturday Vanguard learned that the party has been making efforts to resolve its crisis, a move that has left the Tinubu committee with nothing much to do.

“Kogi is one of the flash point states that Tinubu is so much interested in. Even in his last letter to the national chairman, he stated it. Now, the NWC has insisted that the status quo ante bellum be maintained in the state, meaning that Haddy Ametuo, obviously favoured by Tinubu against Gov.

Yahaya Bello’s choice of Alh. Ibrahim Ahovi, remains the chairman of the party in that state”, said a national officer of the party who did not want his name mentioned in the report.

In Kaduna, the party had recently set up a committee headed by its Deputy National Chairman, South, Engr. Segun Oni to wade into the crisis Sen. Suleiman Hunkuyi” the party in the state. Other members of the fact-finding committee were the National Auditor, Chief George Moghalu and National Woman Leader, Hajia Rahmatu Aliyu.

The team was to “ identify the remote and immediate causes of the disagreement and circumstance that led to the demolition of the house of Sen. Suleiman Hunkuyi” among other issues.

Apart from mediating in the crisis in other states including Cross River, the party leadership earlier in the week took its efforts a notch higher by wading into the continued altercation between the National Assembly and the Executive when it visited its Senate Caucus on Wednesday.

Consequent upon discussions at the parley, the NWC and the senators resolved to set up what could appear as a parallel crisis mediation team to resolve all the crises in the party.

At the end of the meeting which lasted about three hours, Senate Leader, Ahmed Lawan said the party would soon constitute a caucus, comprising members of the executive, the legislature, governors and the party leadership, to resolve issues confronting the party.

“The discussions centered around so many things, including the issue of election sequence. We are coming to a situation where that can be resolved.

We are hoping that as soon as that caucus is constituted, this kind of issue will easily be addressed and resolved. Senators took the opportunity to express problems bedeviling the party.

The party will soon constitute a team that will comprise the Executive, Legislature, governors and the party itself. The meeting was worthwhile and the party was happy to be here this afternoon. It was a frank discussion.

“The idea of bringing everybody to the table is to ensure that we are able to resolve any issue; issues at party, National Assembly and at the executive levels and with some of our governors.

Should there be any issue, we should be able to discuss and dispense with it as quickly as possible.

“When you have everybody on the same page, you would have reduced misunderstanding to its barest level or eliminated it completely.

There may be times when there will be disagreements. Such disagreements must not be allowed to become a clog in the wheel of progress.

“This is our government. This is our administration. We should not be fighting dirty in the public.

If we have misunderstanding, we should be able to deal with it inside our house. It is not as if a political party will not have problems, what makes the difference is for the political party to manage such challenges that will arise from time to time.

We are on top of the situation. We are going to resolve all our problems.”Describing the visit of the NWC to the Senate “as a father visiting his family”, Lawan said the NWC had requested for an interaction with the party’s Senate caucus to review events in the party and the country.

BIG STORY

Nigerian-American Oye Owolewa Re-Elected To US Congress

Published

on

Oye Owolewa, a Nigerian-American Democrat, has been re-elected as the shadow representative for the District of Columbia (DC).

Owolewa, a PhD graduate from Northeastern University in Boston, made history in November 2020 when he became the first Nigerian-American elected to Congress.

He secured 164,026 votes, or 82.84 percent of the total votes cast in DC.

His role, while not officially recognized by the US government as a full member of Congress, is to advocate for the district’s interests, particularly its bid for statehood.

On Thursday, Owolewa expressed his gratitude to DC voters via a post on X, thanking them for their continued support.

“Thank you DC again for giving me chance to serve. I also want to thank the organizations that have supported, partnered with and endorsed me,” he wrote.

While shadow representatives like Owolewa do not have voting power in the US House of Representatives, they play a key role in pushing for recognition and state-level advocacy for DC residents, who are otherwise disenfranchised at the federal level.

Owolewa has consistently championed the cause of DC statehood, which has become a central focus of his work.

The re-election took place on November 5, the same day as the US presidential election.

In that election, former President Donald Trump defeated Vice-President Kamala Harris, securing over 270 electoral votes to win a second term.

Continue Reading

BIG STORY

Joe Biden Urges Americans To Accept Trump’s Victory, Promises Peaceful Transition

Published

on

United States President Joe Biden has urged Americans to accept the victory of Republican Party candidate Donald Trump in the presidential election.

On November 6, Trump won the presidential election after surpassing the magic number of 270 electoral college votes.

Trump defeated Kamala Harris of the Democratic Party, who received 219 electoral college votes.

Harris has congratulated Trump on his electoral victory.

During a speech on Thursday at the White House Rose Garden, Biden said, “We accept the choice the country made.”

“I know for some people, it’s time for victory to state the obvious. For others, it’s a time of loss,” the US president said.

“Campaigns are contests of competing visions. The country chooses one or the other.

“I’ve said many times, you can’t love your country only when you win. You can’t love your neighbour only when you agree.

“I will do my duty as president. I’ll fulfil my oath and honour the Constitution. On January 20, we will have a peaceful transfer of power here in America.

“Remember, defeat does not mean we are defeated. We lost this battle. The America of your dream is calling for you to get back up.

“The America experiment endures. We are going to be okay, but we need to stay engaged. We need to keep going. Above all, we need to keep the faith.”

Continue Reading

BIG STORY

Donald Trump Defeats Kamala Harris To Win US Presidential Election

Published

on

Republican candidate Donald Trump has won the United States presidential election, surpassing the crucial 270 electoral college votes needed for victory.

With Wisconsin now secured, Trump has reached 276 electoral college votes, clearing the threshold required to claim the White House.

Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate, who currently holds 219 electoral college votes, is preparing her concession speech, which will be delivered shortly.

Trump successfully flipped several blue states to red and defeated Harris in key battleground states.

The Republican candidate is making a return to the White House after serving as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.

“This was a movement like nobody has ever seen before. We overcame obstacles that nobody thought possible,” Trump said just before the networks declared him the winner.

“Everyday, I will be fighting for you with every breath in my body. I will not rest until we have delivered the strong, safe and prosperous America that our children deserve. This will truly be the golden age of America.”

“We are going to help our country heal. We have a country that needs help, and it needs help very badly. We are gonna fix our borders, we are gonna fix everything about our country. We made history for a reason tonight.”

Trump based his campaign on issues such as immigration, the economy, and border security, frequently criticizing the Democratic Party as being “weak” on these fronts.

Continue Reading

Most Popular