Connect with us

BIG STORY

APC National Executive Committee To Approve Ganduje, Basiru As Chairman, Secretary

Published

11 months ago

on

At its upcoming meeting, the All Progressives Congress’ National Executive Committee (NEC) is anticipated to approve the selection of Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje as national chairman and Senator Ajibola Basiru as national secretary.

Following the resignations of the previous chairman, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, and secretary, Senator Iyiola Omisore, the pair was unanimously selected as the new combination.

On the NWC’s request, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is anticipated to confirm the date of the NEC meeting.

Also, the NWC, NEC, and the governors agreed that there should be a smooth transition and continuity of the pre-existing zoning formula for the composition of the party leadership.

A source said the Progressives Governors’ Forum (PGF), led by Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma, met at Imo State Lodge, Abuja, and endorsed Ganduje and Basiru.

A day after, governors and other party leaders, particularly members of the National Caucus, held a meeting with Ganduje and Basiru.

According to the source, the National Caucus, of which President Tinubu is a member, is expected to communicate to the NEC the decisions of the APC governors and other party blocs before the new chairman and secretary assume office after the NEC ratification.

Already, the decisions have also been communicated to the state chapters and the parliamentary caucuses.

Although the two nominees are expected to be ratified by the national convention, the APC constitution has vested the NEC with the power to act in lieu of the convention in an emergency.

According to the party’s constitution, one of the essential functions of the national convention is to elect new national officers.

However, the NEC is also empowered to perform the functions of the national convention in between conventions.

Article 13(ii) of the APC constitution states that the final authority of the party shall rest with the national convention.

It has the power to ratify policies and programs of the party and elect or remove national officers.

Article 13.3 A (ii) vests in the NEC, which is the principal executive body of the party, power to summon or convene the national convention and prepare its agenda.

The NEC, under the constitution, can discharge all functions of the national convention in between national conventions.

Ganduje, a two-time governor of Kano State, is a household name in the party and country. He was Kano State deputy governor between 1999 and 2003 and between 2011 and 2015.

Basiru, who holds a doctorate degree in Law, served as Commissioner for Special Duties, and later Attorney-General/Commissioner for Justice in Osun State.

He was elected into the 9th Senate from Osun Central District in 2019 and was the spokesman of the Senate.

Adamu and Omisore resigned last week, following complaints about a lack of accountability and non-inclusive leadership.

The former chairman and secretary were also accused of sidelining critical party organs, by not calling regular NWC meetings and failing to respect the party constitution in respect of NEC.

Stakeholders never raised eyebrows over their exit, particularly because of the indictment in the party’s audit report.

APC National Vice Chairman (Northwest), Salihu Lukman, who reflected on Adamu’s voluntary resignation yesterday, told reporters in Abuja that it was not beyond expectation.

He said the party was not in a position to tolerate a disloyal and subversive leadership.

Although the Deputy National Chairman (North), Senator Abubakar Kyari, has been acting as chairman, party stakeholders resolved last week to choose new helmsmen without rupturing the North/South zoning arrangement.

Lukman: no room for subversive party leadership

Lukman, a member of NWC, said it has now been established in the ruling party that subversive acts cannot be condoned.

He maintained that the former chairman and secretary had to resign because they did not allow the statutory organs of the party to carry out their constitutional duties.

Lukman, in a statement titled: “APC and question of party building,” said Tinubu’s endorsement for Ganduje was understandable, adding that he will be a better chairman.

But, the vice chairman said Ganduje’s choice would violate micro-zoning to Northcentral because he is from Northwest.

He said: “One could only imagine how frustrating it was for President Tinubu to cohabit with a party leadership that was covertly subversive at the beginning of his administration.

“It will be very understandable if President Tinubu, therefore, will move to bring in a strong loyalist such as Abdullahi Umar Ganduje as the next national chairman, having experienced first-hand what a disloyal party national chairman can do to undermine a government produced by the party.”

The vice chairman, however, urged the party leadership to cede the office of the National Chairman to the Northcentral in line with the earlier agreed zoning formula.

Lukman said: “The situation we face today presents us with the opportunity to restore constitutional order in APC.

“Once we don’t use the opportunity properly and restore the sanctity of the APC constitution, we will be laying the foundation for worse things to happen under a new national chairman.

“As NWC members, we must be seen to be active in the debate on the way forward.

“A situation whereby President Tinubu and Progressive Governors are alleged to have decided on Ganduje as the next national chairman without consulting other power blocs in the party and without meeting any of the organs of the party, including the NWC, is very risky and potentially damaging to President Tinubu and the party.

“If this is associated with a President who comes from a military background, it will be understandable. But to be associated with President Tinubu, whose background is outright civilian, having led the struggle for democracy in Nigeria for almost four decades, will be highly unimaginable.

“We must, therefore, appeal to all those sponsoring this campaign to nominate Dr. Ganduje for the position of APC national chairman, especially His Excellency, Hope Uzodimma, Chairman, Progressive Governors Forum, to come to order and allow due process within the party to take its rightful course in the selection process.

“Nobody, including the PGF, should be allowed to seek to entrench arbitrariness and injustice in the determination of who emerges as the next National Chairman of APC.

“We must remind everyone, including President Tinubu, that so far, the agreed zoning formula in APC cedes the position of national chairman of the party to Northcentral.

“Therefore, the relevant section of the APC constitution concerning filling vacancies should be respected. Anything short of that will amount to illegality and will constitute an act of injustice against members of the party from North Central.

“A party envisioned to be progressive must not be associated with that, especially if one of our objectives now is to return the APC to its founding vision of emerging as a progressive party.”

Post Views: 492
Related Topics:
Advertisement
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

BIG STORY

Wema Bank Donates Brand-New Car To Winner Of Outstanding MSME Clinic Of The Year At National MSME Awards 2024

Published

5 hours ago

on

June 28, 2024

By

Wema Bank, Nigeria’s foremost innovative bank and pioneer of Africa’s first fully digital bank, ALAT, donated a brand-new car to Desoor Bags, the winner of the Outstanding MSME Clinic award—female category, at the National MSME Awards Night 2024. This Award Ceremony was held at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Thursday 27th June 2024, to commemorate World MSME Day.

The International MSMEs Day and MSME Awards Night 2024 is a twofold event organised by the Federal Government of Nigeria through the Office of the Vice President, to celebrate the successes in the Nigerian MSME Sector and develop sustainable solutions for the continuous growth and development of the sector, to ultimately boost the Nigerian economy. The first part of the event convened top reputable institutions and entities including Wema Bank, to brainstorm and proffer sustainable financial solutions to not only provide affordable loans and funding for MSMEs, but to also ensure that these financial solutions are easily accessible and available to MSMEs. The concluding part of the Event was the National MSME Awards 2024; the sixth edition of the annual celebration.

The Award Ceremony celebrated top performing MSMEs across various categories from different parts of the country, awarding them with gifts and cash prizes in show of support and in advancement of their businesses. Wema Bank, reputed for its positive impact across various areas including MSMEs and Women, not only contributed immensely to the solutions garnered in the daytime event but also sealed its commemoration of World MSME Day 2024 at the National MSME Awards 2024 by gifting a car to Desoor Bags, the winner of the Outstanding MSME Clinic award (female category). This remarkable gesture simultaneously reinforced the Bank’s role as an enabler for MSMEs and its reputation for championing women empowerment and promoting gender inclusion in Nigeria.

Presenting the award and car gift in representation of Moruf Oseni, the MD/CEO of Wema Bank, Tunde Mabawonku, the Bank’s Executive Director of Retail and Digital Business, highlighted the impact of the World MSME Day 2024 events, emphasising the need to provide tailored support for MSMEs and advocating for a seamless synergy of capacity development, financial and material empowerment, collaboration, as well as leveraging technology and digital, to build a supportive ecosystem for MSMEs to thrive. “First, I would like to congratulate Adesola, the Outstanding MSME Clinic Award winner in the female category of the 6th National MSME Awards. It should come as no surprise that we choose to reward a woman today, as Wema Bank has always demonstrated a strong commitment to empowering women and provided tailored solutions for them to thrive in their personal and professional endeavours. We continue to do it through our women-focused proposition, SARA, and today, we have chosen to support this outstanding woman-owned business with a car to reduce stress and increase efficiency for her as she continues to grow her business”.

“As we commemorate World MSME Day today, it is important that we set our sights forward on the future of MSMEs in Nigeria. This is why the conversations we’ve had today are very important and Wema Bank is more than glad to be part of it. As the Bank that is committed to empowering lives through innovation, we are dedicated to not only providing innovative solutions and resources for customers to thrive but also empowering them to make the most of these solutions we provide. Technology and digital are the future, and intelligence is here to stay so beyond providing financial resources for MSMEs, we are also focusing on empowering them with digital skills to ensure they are not left behind in this digital evolution. The goal is digital empowerment for scale. To maximise our impact, we will continue to innovate and collaborate to drive capacity development, financial and material empowerment, as well as technology and digital empowerment for MSMEs, to build an enabling environment for these MSMEs to thrive”.

Expressing irrepressible gratitude to Wema Bank for the remarkable show of support, Adesola Adedoyin, CEO Desoor Bags and Winner of Outstanding MSME Clinic Award (Female category) at the National MSME Awards 2024, added, “I cannot find the words to express how I feel right now. My business has been recognised on such a huge platform and on top of that, I am going home with N2,000,000 and a brand-new car, it feels so unreal. Thank you, Wema Bank, for supporting me and my business with this car. I can now transport myself and the resources Desoor Bags needs without struggling to ‘jump bus’ multiple times when I can fit it all in the car at once. I am beyond grateful. Thank you to the Federal Government for the opportunity and thank you, Wema Bank for all you do”.

In its authority as Nigeria’s most innovative bank, Wema Bank continues to prove its mettle not just as an enabler for MSMEs but also as the partner of choice for all. With the Bank’s diverse range of tailored solutions and its success in already providing single-digit loans for female MSMEs, among others, Wema Bank continues to push boundaries for the best and redefine standards in the banking and financial services industry.

Post Views: 34
Continue Reading

BIG STORY

Traders Lose Goods, Properties Worth Millions Of Naira As Fire Guts Karu Market In Abuja

Published

11 hours ago

on

June 28, 2024

By

The Karu market in the federal capital territory (FCT) has been razed by fire.

The incident occurred late Thursday after traders had closed for the day. The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained.

Millions of naira worth of goods and properties have been damaged by the fire.

One of the traders beseeched the government to intervene on their behalf, lamenting about her plight to reporters.

“Everything just got burnt. I don’t know where to start. This is where we feed from, pay rent and where I pay my children’s school fees from. It’s all gone. Over N20 million gone,” she said.

In March, a section of the popular Wuse market in Abuja was gutted by fire.

The fire was said to have been caused by some aggrieved youths.

The youths were protesting the death of a young man during a clash between officials of the FCT task force and some traders.

Post Views: 36
Continue Reading

BIG STORY

EFCC Chairman Olukoyede Orders Arrest Of Agency’s Operatives For “Assaulting Lagos Hotel Female Staff”

Published

14 hours ago

on

June 28, 2024

By

Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, has ordered the arrest of two officers of the agency for manhandling a female worker at the Regional Hotel in Ojo, Lagos.

Dele Oyewale, the EFCC spokesperson, in a statement on Thursday, said Olukoyede also ordered a detailed investigation of the operations carried out at the hotel.

A viral video shows some EFCC operatives invading the Regional Hotel on June 27 at about 4am while guests were asleep.

The officers were also seen in the video assaulting a female worker at the hotel while they reportedly fired shots and arrested some people.

“The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Mr. Ola Olukoyede, has ordered the arrest of two officers of the commission allegedly involved in the manhandling of a female staff member of the Regional Hotel, Ojo, Lagos,” the statement reads.

“The officers were sighted in a viral video assaulting the staff of the hotel in an early morning sting operation in Lagos. The operation yielded a sizable number of suspects who are still being profiled.

“The EFCC’s boss has also ordered detailed investigations of the operation carried out at the hotel and assured that appropriate disciplinary measures would be taken against any of the officers found to be culpable.”

Oyewale added that the EFCC chairman assured Nigerians that the agency would continue to carry out its duties “professionally and with profound respect for the rule of law”.

Post Views: 87
Continue Reading

Most Popular