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‘Results were ready before election’ — Smart Adeyemi faults Kogi APC guber primary

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Smart Adeyemi, senator representing Kogi west, has faulted the primary election of the All Progressives Congress (APC) which produced a governorship candidate for the party.

On Friday, Patrick Obahiagbon, secretary of the Kogi APC primary election committee, announced Ahmed Ododo, a former local government auditor-general in Kogi state, as the winner of the governorship primary.

Ododo scored 78, 704 votes to beat six other contestants including Adeyemi who came seventh with 311 votes.

The governorship candidate is believed to be the preferred candidate of Yahaya Bello, governor of the state.

Faulting the conduct of the election during a news conference in Abuja on Saturday, Adeyemi said results were already prepared before the election.

“We witnessed a new phenomenon of electoral malpractices and embedded corruption in the electoral process of our country,” he said.

“I have heard of riggings of elections but I have not heard of the new phenomenon which we must do all we can to stop in this country.

“The governorship primary election was scheduled for yesterday (Friday). As expected, all of us were in our various wards.

“What we heard was that election result was already announced. Results were prepared, even before the commencement of voting.

“Announcements were made and I was taken aback. This is the worst malpractice; the worst form of rigging and unprecedented in the history of Nigeria.

“If there was an election and it was rigged, we will know it was rigged, but where there was no election at all, and for someone to have the audacity to write result and went ahead to announce it.”

The senator added that the national secretariat of the APC and the resident electoral commissioner (REC) in Kogi must be prepared and explain to Nigerians, whether or not elections held in the state.

“The primary election was not conducted. All of us mobilised our members. Behold non of the officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) nor even the panel that was to conduct the election was there,” he said.

“The chairman of that panel, the Gov. of Zamfara, Bello Matawalle, was the one that by the constitution of the APC, was to announce the result.

“He came we saw him, but Matawalle was not happy with the way and manner, so he left,” Adeyemi said.

“By the constitution of APC, if the chairman of the panel fails to announce the result, the secretariat is supposed to send another chairman, not the secretary announcing the result.

“There is a guideline, but the secretary went ahead, and announced the result.

“The primary election in Kogi was just allocation of votes.”

Politics

Edo PDP opposes suspension of LG bosses by state assembly, says ‘It’s unconstitutional’

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The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo says the suspension of all the chairpersons and their deputies in the 18 LGAs of the state is “unconstitutional”.

The chairpersons and their deputies were suspended on Tuesday by the Edo state house of assembly for two months over alleged misappropriation of funds.

Blessing Agbebaku, the speaker of the house, said Monday Okpebholo, governor of Edo, had written a petition to the assembly regarding the chairpersons’ refusal to submit the financial records of their LGs to the state government.

In a statement, Anthony Aziegbemi, chair of the PDP in Edo, said the “illegal” suspension is a disregard to a supreme court decision that affirms the autonomy and independence of local governments.

“How can the governor direct the State Assembly to suspend democratically elected chairmen of the 18 local councils for insubordination when these elected officials enjoy autonomy and independence as enshrined in the constitution and are not subordinates of the governor, the state assembly, or any other arm of government?,” he said.

“We are also aware that the chairmen and their vices were not even given the opportunity to be heard in their detence and were suspended unheard on watery trumped up charges, in total disregard to the constitution.

“We want to restate that the constitution remains supreme, and any attempt to undermine its provisions or disregard the judiciary and its rulings is not only illegal but also a direct attack on democracy and the rule of law.

“The speaker of the Edo state house of assembly and the entire assembly have clearly overstepped their constitutional mandates with this illegal action and we urge them to immediately reverse its decision, in respect to the rule of law and democratic governance.”

Aziegbemi said the suspended officials should report to their councils on Wednesday and carry on with their normal duties.

Also speaking on the issue, Anthony Ehilebo, a PDP chieftain, said Okpebholo has no legal backing to request the financial records of the LGAs.

“In fact, the governor and the assembly members are in contempt of the supreme court,” Ehilebo said when he appeared on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme.

“The purported suspension of the local government chairmen by the state assembly is as absurd as the president asking the national assembly to suspend state governors because they refused to submit statements of accounts to him.

“This is a witch hunt. The LGA chairmen are all PDP members.”

The lawyer said the suspension “is unknown to law and will be ignored”.

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Politics

Ex-sports minister Bolaji Abdullahi resigns from PDP

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Bolaji Abdullahi, a former minister of sports and youth development, has resigned from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

He disclosed his intention to resign in a letter dated December 16 and addressed to the PDP ward chairman in Ubadawaki, Kwara state.

Abdullahi confirmed the development to TheCable on Monday.

The ex-minister also said he is yet to decide which political platform to pitch tent with.

“The decision of what to do and where to go will be taken in the future that’s left to God,” he said.

In the resignation letter, Abdullahi said he reached the “difficult” decision after days of reflection and introspection.

“I write to formally resign my membership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP),” the letter reads.

“I have had ample time to reflect, and I have come to the difficult conclusion that this is the only tenable option for me at this time.

“Mr. Chairman, please permit me to express, through you, my gratitude to the leadership of the party for the opportunities that I have had to serve the state and the country on its platform, and for the great moments we have shared.”

Abdullahi was the PDP candidate for the Kwara central senatorial district election in 2023. He lost the race to Salihu Mustapha of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

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Politics

PDP debunks inviting Jonathan to contest 2027 presidency

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The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says it has not extended an invitation to former President Goodluck Jonathan to contest the presidency on its platform in the 2027 election.

Speaking with BBC Hausa, Ibrahim Abdullahi, deputy spokesperson of the country’s main opposition party, said no ticket has been issued to the former president.

Abdullahi said the party has many eligible people who can contest for the presidency on its platform, adding that a recent interview he granted was interpreted to mean that Jonathan he asked to run on the PDP platform.

“The report that PDP has issued its presidential ticket to former President Goodluck Jonathan or invited him to contest the 2027 presidential election is not true,” he said.

“What happened is this, I had an interview with a journalist where we discussed some issues.

“But in the course of the interview, he mentioned President Jonathan, asking about our opinion of him, because there are reports that he is being urged to run for the presidency.

“I responded by saying that he (Jonathan) is eligible to contest the election, because he is a Nigerian and has the right to do that by the provision of the law, and he still has one more term left.

“So, there is nothing wrong about him contesting the presidential election because he is eligible in the face of the law.”

The deputy spokesperson said the ticket would be given to someone who has shown interest in running for the presidency.

Jonathan, then in the PDP, lost the presidential election to former President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015.

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Bodex F. Hungbo, SPMIIM is a multiple award-winning Nigerian Digital Media Practitioner, Digital Strategist, PR consultant, Brand and Event Expert, Tv Presenter, Tier-A Blogger/Influencer, and a top cobbler in Nigeria.

She has widespread experiences across different professions and skills, which includes experiences in; Marketing, Media, Broadcasting, Brand and Event Management, Administration and Management with prior stints at MTN, NAPIMS-NNPC, GLOBAL FLEET OIL AND GAS, LTV, Silverbird and a host of others

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