The coalition of 28 groups which procured an All Progressives Congress APC Presidential Nomination and Expression of Interest forms for the President, African Development Bank AfDB, Akinwumi Adesina has said it did not have the consent of the continental public servant to purchase the forms. According to the coalition, 24 hours after paying for the forms, it has not been able to reach the banker. It however said Adesina remained the best man for the job and that the groups needed to procure the forms to meet with relevant deadlines before trying to convince Mr Adesina. This was as the Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu dismissed insinuations that he could one day enter the 2023 presidential race. Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Mr Rotimi Oyekanmi in a statement on Sunday said any such innuendo or proposition is preposterous. He said; “Our attention has been drawn to innuendoes in certain quarters that Nigerians should not be surprised if the INEC Chairman joins the Presidential race or urging him to do so. It is a preposterous proposition. It will not happen. “The Chairman remains an umpire committed to free, fair and credible elections. His constitutional responsibilities as the Chief Electoral Commissioner of the Federation and Returning Officer for the presidential election are onerous enough for him to even contemplate straying into extraneous matters at variance with the law, morality and his personal principles. “The Chairman will continue to discharge his responsibilities without affection for, or illwill against, any political party or candidate”. Adesina unreachable Speaking on Sunday after physically picking the forms at the International Conference Centre ICC in Abuja, the coalition said it has not been able to reach Mr Adesina. The coalition had earlier on Saturday paid for the forms and it said between the period it paid for the forms and when it picked them on Sunday, it was yet unable to get across to Mr Adesina. Leader of the Youth Arise Movement, one of the groups in the coalition, Babatunde Ademola, said they are very certain that Mr Adesina is a member of the ruling party. He said; “I am one of the group leaders of this team of 28 groups that have been working tirelessly and consulting across the country and even outside the country to ensure that we get him to come and obey the clarion call. “I will tell you significantly that we have tried to reach out to him, we have sent messages, we have looked at any which way we will get across to him. We have not gotten any definite response from him, but because we know the Constitution of Nigeria is very clear, and the Act that governs the umpire for electioneering is also clear, and we know that the timing is not on our side and we believe that for such person after we have looked at the situation of this country, we need Dr Adesina to come and solve Nigeria’s problem and because of this, we have put our resources together. “It is very certain that such a man who knows very well that when he was contesting for the AfDB, the President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, supported him wholeheartedly for the first time, supported him wholeheartedly for the second time, such person will not want to throw away the call of over 200 million Nigerians and also feel that he cannot defend the legacy and the goodwill of the President of Nigeria. “It is a time for him to come and reciprocate the good gesture that President Muhammadu Buhari has given to him by accepting this forms that we have struggled to purchase. “It is not easy to gather N100 million but we have ensured that we gather as many people as possible. Like he said, on the issue of if we are going to meet up, we have people on ground and we are very certain that he is a member of APC before we begin to do what we are doing. So, we are calling him to come out and accept this form from us. It is a gift to serve this country and solve our problems. We are calling Adesina because it is a call to save Nigeria and I think he is going to accept”. On when the coalition would present the forms to Mr Adesina, he said; “By the grace of God we will ensure that, we know that he is not available, right now. We have been trying to reach him, but when we get him we will inform you”. President of the One Nigeria Group, Mohammed Saleh who led the delegation said Adesina is a man of proven integrity and experience. “He has done so much for Nigeria as Minister for Agriculture. He has solved the problems of so many farmers, created so many jobs by solving the corruption in the agricultural sector. Particularly the fertilizer, which he brought the e-wallet for fertilizer which the farmers are enjoying now and it has created a lot of jobs. It has also helped millions of farmers in Nigeria which they are still benefiting and also as President, African Development Bank he has brought a lot of initiatives that solve Africa’s food security problem. So, we will like him to come back home and apply it here in Nigeria”. On whether Adesina is a member of the APC and if he would be able to get party delegates to vote for him, Mr Saleh said; “When we get there, we will cross that bridge, don’t worry about that. First, the most significant thing is for us to get him to agree and come and collect the forms, sign it for us and then join the race. That is the most significant thing at the moment. Issue of delegates, everybody and I know all Nigerians apart from not even the delegates even you, everybody in Nigeria knows that Adesina has the capacity to bring Nigeria back from

  Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano state has endorsed his deputy, Dr Nasiru Gawuna, as the preferred choice of the All Progressives Congress for the 2023 governorship election. It was gathered that the choice of Gawuna was made at a stakeholders’ meeting presided over by the governor on Saturday. The stakeholders were also said to have agreed that the former Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Murtala Sule Garo, should be the running mate of Gawuna in the election. It was gathered that it the took intervention of party leaders and elder statesmen to prevail on Garo to step down for Gawuna. Garo, who is believed to have control of the party structure at the local government level, was seen as the preferred candidate of the wife of the governor, Hafsat Ganduje. The incumbent governor had served as the deputy of Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso during the two terms he governed Kano. If Gawuna wins the 2023 governorship election, the tradition of deputy governors succeeding their principals would have been maintained in Kano’s recent political era. Meanwhile, Governor Ganduje is expected to pick the nomination and expression of interest forms for the Kano North Senatorial District on Monday. The senatorial seat is currently being occupied by Senator Jibril Barau, a strong member of the defunct faction of APC in the state that was led by former governor Ibrahim Shekarau.

  The National leader of the All Progressive Congress, APC, Bola Ahmed Tinubu has said he remains unshaken and very confident of winning the presidential ticket of the APC. The presidential hopeful who is in the race with over 20 other aspirants in the APC spoke weekend in Jalingo, Taraba state capital after an interface with delegates of the party. He explained that his chances of winning the presidential ticket are very high. According to him, “my chances of winning the ticket are incredibly high and I am very confident. I am sure I can and I will win it.” When asked if the option of a consensus arrangement sits well with him if his party eventually opts for it, Tinubu said he prefers democracy. In his words, “I want democracy. I am voting for democracy. One man, one vote.” Meantime, the governor of Sokoto State, Rt. Hon. Aminu Tambuwal who was also in the state to woo delegates of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, ahead of its presidential primary election hinted at agreeing to a consensus arrangement if his party considers the option. He explained that he and three other presidential aspirants under the platform of PDP from the North had earlier tried to work out a consensus arrangement among themselves but failed. He further noted that despite the failed attempt, he would not kick against a Consensus arrangement if his party sees it as the best option to select the presidential flag bearer of the PDP in 2023. He said, “I am sure you are aware that four aspirants from my party including myself came together voluntarily to try a consensus which we were unable to achieve. “I am not averse to anything the party may decide to come up with at the national level, but what I can say is that we have tried consensus in producing our national working committee members and leaders of the party. “The National Chairman himself, Prof. Iyorchia Ayu is also a product of consensus, so it is part of democracy. “If our party decides to attempt it, I will be ready to participate and be part of it.” Tambuwal also told the delegates at the instance of Taraba governor, Darius Ishaku, that he has all it takes to get Nigeria working if voted to fly the PDP’s flag at the presidential election in 2023.

  The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has dismissed the claim that Mahmood Yakubu, its chairman, may join the race for president. Owing to the report that Godwin Emefiele, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), is nursing a presidential bid and coupled with the growing list of presidential hopefuls, some Nigerians have insinuated that the INEC chairman may soon join the race. But reacting to this insinuation on Sunday, Rotimi Oyekanmi, spokesperson of the INEC chairman, said as a rule, Yakubu remains an umpire in the electoral process of the federation. He said the proposition is absurd, adding that the INEC chairman will not delve into matters at variance with the law, morals and principles. “Our attention has been drawn to innuendos in certain quarters that Nigerians should not be surprised if the INEC chairman joins the presidential race or urging him to do so. It is a preposterous proposition. It will not happen,” he said. “The chairman remains an umpire committed to free, fair and credible elections. “His constitutional responsibilities as the chief electoral commissioner the federation and returning officer for the presidential election are onerous for him to comtemplate straying into extraneous matters at variance with the law, morality and his personal principles. “The chairman will continue to discharge his duties without affection for, or illwill against, any political party or candidate.”

  A former vice president and presidential aspirant on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, Saturday said Nigeria had been wallowing in disunity because the All Progressives Congress (APC) government had been unfair to all parts of the country. He insisted that even during the civil war era, Nigeria was not as disunited as is being witnessed under the President Muhammadu Buhari government. Atiku spoke in Abeokuta, Ogun State, while addressing PDP delegates ahead of the presidential primary election of his party. He said, “As long as the country is not united, as long as there is no peace, you cannot govern even in your own home, not to talk of a complex country like Nigeria, which is multi-ethnic and multi-religious. He promised to unite Nigeria by giving every part a sense of belonging, tackle insecurity and implement his economic development blueprint towards transforming the country. He also assured that he would not disappoint Nigerians if elected president.