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Road To 2023: Uncertainty Trails Goodluck Jonathan’s Candidacy In APC

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The consultation between former President Goodluck Jonathan and some leaders of the All Progressives Congress for Jonathan to emerge as the presidential candidate has been rejected by support groups working for some presidential aspirants of the party.

Groups loyal to presidential aspirants of the party, including the APC National leader and former Lagos State  Governor, Asiwaju  Bola Tinubu and Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo; in separate interviews dismissed the consensus plot for the ex-President.

It was also gathered that those who were behind the plot and some members of the National Working Committee of the party feared that it might not sail through.

It was learnt that although the plan had been announced, opposition to it was already swelling among members.

Besides Tinubu, Osinbajo, other members of the party in the presidential race include the Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello; the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi and the Ebonyi State Governor, Dave Umahi.

It was earlier reported that Jonathan had informed some APC leaders that he would only join the presidential race if he was directly endorsed by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari.

The information was revealed shortly after Jonathan’s posters flooded the national secretariat of the APC and some youth groups stormed Jonathan’s office in the Maitama area of Abuja, calling on him to join the Presidential race.

In his response, the former President had told protesters that he could not say for sure if he would declare or not but only advised his supporters to “watch out.”

It was subsequently gathered that there was a plan by some leaders in the APC and some elements in the Presidency to accede to Jonathan’s request.

A member of the APC National Executive Committee, who confided in one of our correspondents, said all presidential aspirants were aware of the plan to bring Jonathan in as the consensus candidate.

According to him, members of the Presidency cabal who were working on the plan were confused as they did not know if it would succeed.

He stated that they started working on the plan more than a year ago but when they ran into some challenges, they tried to adopt the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele.

The NEC member added that when they realised that Emefiele’s option might not work, they went back to the Jonathan arrangement.

The party chieftain stated, “I can tell you they are facing a tough task as far as Jonathan is concerned. Although from his body language, one can see that Jonathan is interested. However, his backers in the APC are confused about how to launder the public image of Jonathan whom they painted incompetent and clueless in 2015.

“Another tough task the party may face is how it will convince other aspirants like Tinubu, Osinbajo, Amaechi, Umahi and Bello to step down. Many members are not happy with the plot and are ready to shoot it down.”

When contacted for the party’s reaction, the APC National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, neither replied to a text message sent to his mobile phone nor responded to calls made by one of our correspondents.

It was gathered that the presidential aspirants were waiting for Jonathan’s backers to unveil their plan, which they vowed to resist.

Osinbajo group rejects Jonathan, optimistic VP will emerge consensus candidate

The Leader, Osinbajo Grassroots Organisation, Ekiti State, Femi Adeleye, said on Sunday that the party could not give Jonathan a waiver to contest the presidential election as a consensus candidate when there were competent and capable aspirants already.

Adeleye who said the presidential aspirants were already preparing for an indirect primary, however, said the party would adopt Osinbajo in case it considered a consensus arrangement.

He stated, “Even at that, if all the contestants agree within themselves and decide to step down for one of them, I am very comfortable that our principal, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, will be the one they will step down for. I am very comfortable with that.

“If some people are rooting for Jonathan, the party must accept him first. And for him to contest, he must have spent a year in the party and our primary will hold in the one month’s time. It will be very difficult for the party to say they want to give him a waiver and pick him as consensus candidate when there are competent hands already on the ground.”

Aspirants looking for consensus are lazy, nobody will impose candidate – Tinubu campaign group

The South West Agenda for Asiwaju 2023 known as SWAGA 2023, said that there was no possibility of a consensus presidential candidate in the upcoming primary election.

The Chairman of SWAGA 2023, Senator Dayo Adeyeye, explained this during a telephone interview on Sunday, adding that the presidential aspirants would await the results of the primaries.

He said, “The candidates for the presidential election await the primaries and the people will have to earn it. Don’t forget that under the new electoral law, you can only have consensus when all the candidates or aspirants have agreed in writing and I don’t see that happening. Those who are looking for consensus are the lazy ones who have not done any work.

“We are working and hoping to have free and fair primaries which I know that by the grace of the almighty God, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu will easily win. So, the issue of consensus candidacy should be forgotten completely. Nobody will impose the president on Nigeria, the party members will choose their candidates by themselves at the convention and the Nigerian people will be given the opportunity to elect the candidates of their choice in February next year.”

Adeyeye said the Presidential primary would not be like the national convention of March 26 because the primary is more complicated as it would involve a wider electorate.

The leader of the Grassroot Network for Asiwaju Tinubu group, Mr Abiodun Mafe, also told The PUNCH that Jonathan was not known to be a member of the APC hence he could not be the presidential candidate of the party.

“Jonathan has never been a member of the APC, so how will it be possible for anyone to say that he will be made a consensus candidate? Until he now proves to the whole world that he is a card-carrying member of the APC, it can’t be. Even at that, there is a process. Constitutionally, anybody who is a member of the APC has the right to contest but as far as I am concerned Jonathan is not a part,” Mafe stated.

Don’t go wrong, toe the part of law, Ajulo advises APC

On his part, the  Coordinator, Progressive Lawyers For Osinbajo, Dr Kayode Ajulo, in an interview, said to entertain the idea of Jonathan contesting was trying to violate the provision of the constitution.

He stated, “The advice I would give is that everything that should be done in accordance with the law. And as it is today, the extant Electoral Act, which is the electoral law in Nigeria, recognises the direct election, indirect election and the consensus. And if that one is sanctioned and allowed by the law, then that would be the way to go, but anything done beyond it is unconstitutional.

“I will advise the APC to continue to toe the line of law because when you do that you cannot go wrong. But in a situation where you want to do what is convenient and you want to toe the law of men, not the law as given and signed – the law of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, then things will go wrong.

Yahaya Bello will defeat Jonathan if he joins the presidential race – Campaign Council

But the spokesman for the Yahaya Bello Presidential Campaign Council, Yemi Kolapo, in an interview, said the Kogi State Governor would defeat Jonathan if he joined the APC presidential race.

She said, “What I will say is that whether Jonathan declares or not, whether he joins APC or not is not a threat. Yahaya Bello will get the ticket. Everybody has the right to vie for any position.

“So, whether he (Jonathan) wants to do that in APC or his PDP, it is his choice. That will not deter anybody. No matter what they do, no matter the number of people who come into the race at this time, Yahaya Bello will be on the ballot.”

Attempts to get a response from Jonathan’s Spokesman, Ikechukwu Eze, proved abortive as he did not respond to a text message on Sunday.

Nigeria needs President who can work – Obi

Meanwhile, one of the presidential aspirants of the Peoples Democratic Party  and

former governor of Anambra State, Dr Peter Obi, has said Nigerians should not allow the APC  government to continue.

He also said the consensus arrangement being promulgated by some aspirants was not what Nigeria needed, saying the country needed someone that would work to rescue the country to get out of its challenges, as the next president.

Obi stated this at meeting with the chieftains of the PDP in Ondo State, at the party secretariat in Akure, the Ondo State capital on Sunday, ahead of the forthcoming primary of the party .

He said, “The children can no longer eat, we are at high level of misery, we cannot allow them to continue.

“If nothing is done on Nigeria’s problem, it would consume all of us. It will consume our children too.

“We must not talk about the consensus now, we must talk about who will work. Nigerians want consensus that will solve the Nigerian problem.

“We want someone that will take Nigeria from consumption to production level. we must elect somebody that can do the work. We are not talking about who will become the next president of Nigeria but who will start working for this country called Nigeria.”

N100m: Falana slams APC as the party begins sale of forms tomorrow

In a related development, Human rights Lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, on Sunday slammed the APC for pegging the fees of its presidential nomination and expression of interest forms at N100m.

He argued that by asking the youth to pay N60m (being 40 per cent discount of the said N100m) the APC has made a mockery of the Not Too Young to Run Act enacted by the Federal Government under its control.

Citing several judicial precedents, Falana noted that the political parties had flouted Article 13(1) of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act which empowers every citizen to participate freely in the government of his or her country.

He, therefore, proposed that the APC and PDP should withdraw the “outrageous fees” and charge administrative fees of not more than N10,000 per aspirant.

In a statement he signed on Sunday titled, ‘Illegality of outrageous nomination fees,’ the activist noted that the apparent endorsement of the controversial nomination fees by Buhari reeks of hypocrisy because, in 2014, he had told Nigerians that he had to borrow N27.5m to purchase his nomination form.

Falana stated, “The APC ought to have realised that by restricting politics to the affairs of fat cats,  it has violated Article 13(1) of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act which states that ‘every citizen shall have the right to participate freely in the government of his country, either directly or through freely chosen representatives in accordance with the provisions of the law.’

“The apparent endorsement of the controversial nomination fees by President Buhari smacks of hypocrisy because, in 2014, he had told Nigerians that he had to borrow N27.5m to buy his nomination form.”

The senior advocate noted Section 87 of the Electoral Act which provides for the nomination of candidates by political parties had not prescribed that aspirants shall pay any fee.

“In this circumstance, political parties may only be permitted by law to charge administrative fees,” he said.

In a related development, It was learned that the sale of nomination and expression of interest forms of the APC scheduled for Saturday, April 23, 2022, will now kick off on Tuesday, April 26, 2022. The exercise was earlier called off due to some logistical bottlenecks.

Consequently, nomination forms for aspirants vying for the House of Assembly would be sold at the various state secretariats of the party nationwide while forms for other positions such as the House of Representatives, Senate, governorship and Presidency would be sold at the national secretariat, Abuja. 

 

BIG STORY

Made Kuti Releases Sophomore Album, ‘Chapter 1: Where Does Happiness Come From?’

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  • Set to hold listening party on July 27 at Afrikan Shrine

 

Grammy-nominated Nigerian Afrobeat multi-instrumentalist Omorinmade Anikulapo Kuti, popularly known as Made Kuti, has announced the release of his highly anticipated second album, ‘Chapter 1: Where Does Happiness Come From?.’

The highly anticipated album contains 13 songs and is available worldwide.

The sophomore album features socially conscious songs like ‘Take It All In Before The Lights Go Out,’ ‘I Won’t Run Away,’ and ‘Life As We Know It.’ Other songs are ‘Find My Way,’ ‘Pray,’ ‘Won Na Pa,’ ‘Our Own,’ ‘Wait And See,’ ‘You Can’t Hide,’ ‘Oya,’ ‘My Voice,’ ‘Story,’ and ‘After The Tears Flow.’ Made has encouraged fans and music enthusiasts to stream the album on all music platforms, embrace its powerful messages, and prepare for the exclusive listening party happening on Sunday, July 27, 2025 at the iconic Afrikan Shrine.

Building on the success of his debut For(e)word—a modern Afrobeat manifesto tackling issues like corruption and inequality—Made continues to showcase his talent as a singer, songwriter, composer, and multi-instrumentalist.

The album is coming three years after the release of his debut album, ‘For(e)word, a modern Afrobeat manifesto addressing issues like corruption, inequality, and police brutality. His debut album, which was released in a joint album, ‘Legacy+,’ alongside his father’s ‘Stop the Hate’ in 2022, earned him his first Grammy nomination for Best Global Music Album in 2022.

The upcoming event, FK Management noted, is not just about music – it’s a celebration of culture, creativity, and the next chapter in Made’s musical journey. Attendees are billed to experience an electrifying atmosphere filled with live performances, energetic dance, and a shared love for Afrobeat music.

It’s a rare opportunity for fans and music enthusiasts to connect directly with Made and immerse themselves in his new tracks within a vibrant, immersive setting.

As a proud third-generation Kuti, Made continues to push boundaries and elevate his craft, bringing the fire and passion that his legendary lineage is known for.

According to organizers FK Management, this promises to be a milestone moment for fans and music lovers alike—a night to remember.

Update HERE

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BIG STORY

Natasha To Serve Out Suspension As Senate Enters Recess

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Two days after Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan was stopped from resuming her duties, the Nigerian Senate adjourned plenary on Thursday for its annual break, which will last until September 23, 2025.

As a result of the recess, the suspended Kogi senator will now complete the remainder of her suspension before the next plenary session.

Akpoti-Uduaghan was handed a six-month suspension on March 6, 2025, after being accused of misconduct and insubordination during the February 20, 2025, plenary when she refused a seat reassignment.

The Senate had cautioned that her suspension might be reviewed if she failed to offer a formal apology.

Her punishment stemmed from the findings of the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions, which found her guilty after reviewing the complaints.

The suspension was due to end on September 6, 2025. However, the recess means she will serve the full term before the Senate returns.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday after being denied entry into the Senate chamber, Akpoti-Uduaghan criticised the Senate’s action as unlawful and revealed plans to challenge it in court.

“Even the suspension ab initio was fraudulent—the document was faulty,” she said.

“Going forward, I will have a meeting with my legal team so they can proceed to the appellate court to seek interpretation of what just happened. I am a law-abiding citizen.”

She also accused Senate President Akpabio of exceeding his constitutional powers.

With the recess in place, the Senate will not reconvene until her suspension has lapsed.

During plenary, Senate President Godswill Akpabio announced the recess, describing it as “chamber reciprocity” since the House of Representatives had already started its break in line with the legislative calendar.

“We have started a new calendar that will take us to next year, June. And so it has fallen within this period for us to go on for a break to enable us to undertake major oversights,” Akpabio explained.

He stated that while plenary would be paused, committee activities should continue during the break.

“All necessary committees—the diaspora committee, committee on reparation, committee on interior and others—this is the best time for you to undertake visits to prisons and all that.

“Do all your reports and make them available as soon as we come back,” he directed.

Akpabio encouraged senators to carry out oversight functions across the country, emphasising that their legislative responsibilities must continue.

“You are moving from plenary for the next few weeks, but you are not stopping your legislative functions, because that’s what your people elected you to do. Members are expected to travel to Sokoto, everywhere, to observe the road repairs that are going on.

“By the time we resume, you are expected to bring your reports, committee by committee, for us to look into. I want to wish you safe travels and for all of us to return in good health,” he added.

Akpabio also announced the passing of Prof Janet Plang, wife of Senator Diket Plang.

He said arrangements had been made for senators to attend her burial in Plateau State on Friday, with a flight scheduled to leave Abuja at 8 am.

Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele expressed appreciation to senators for their dedication to legislative duties.

“We thank all our colleagues for all they have done to ensure that the business of lawmaking on behalf of the government and people of Nigeria has progressed smoothly,” Bamidele said.

He then proposed postponing all remaining items on the order paper to the next sitting, which was unanimously accepted by the Senate.

Natasha delayed at airport

Separately, the suspended senator was reportedly held up at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja last Thursday while attempting to board a flight to the United Kingdom.

A family source disclosed that immigration officials claimed she had been placed on a watch list by order of the National Assembly leadership.

“She was told that the leadership of the National Assembly requested that she be considered a flight risk and placed on a watch list,” the source said.

“We are wondering why they treated her that way, given there is no court order restricting her movement and she has never missed any of her court appearances.”

Eyewitnesses said Akpoti-Uduaghan looked distressed and made several phone calls before being allowed to travel after her passport was stamped.

Speaking shortly before departure, the senator confirmed the incident, saying, “The aircraft is about to take off.”

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BIG STORY

It’s Not Bad Idea To Abandon Sinking Ship, Coalition Of Confusion  — President  Tinubu

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In what appeared to be a subtle jab at the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the coalition-backed African Democratic Congress (ADC), President Bola Tinubu encouraged more opposition politicians to align with the ruling party.

Speaking at the APC NEC meeting held in Abuja on Thursday, President Tinubu stated that the APC welcomes defecting politicians, noting that “it’s not a bad idea to abandon a sinking ship and be absent from a coalition of confusion.”

He also acknowledged the recent defection of Delta State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, and Akwa Ibom State Governor, Umo Eno, from the PDP to the APC.

“With the space that we have created to allow aspiring people to join us, our doors are still open and we should embrace them wholeheartedly,” the president said.

President Tinubu made these remarks shortly after the APC appointed the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Prof. Nentawe Yiltwada, as the new National Chairman of the party.

Yiltwada takes over from Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, who stepped down on June 27.

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