‘ Apex Igbo socio-cultural organization, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, on Thursday, debunked a report by a section of the media describing as “national calamity” the emergence of former Governor of Lagos State, Bola Tinubu as the Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC. Some section of the media (not Vanguard) reported that Ohanaeze called Tinubu’s emergence as APC presidential flag bearer “national calamity”. ADVERTISING However, in a statement, the spokesperson, Dr Alex Ogbonnia, said they had no hands in the content, describing the information as “unfortunate”. According to the statement titled: “Remarks on Bola Ahmed Tinubu – A Disclaimer,” Ohanaeze said those behind the reckless comments are mischief-makers and impostors doing so for unlawful monetary interests. It reads: “The attention of Ohaneze Ndi Igbo has been drawn to a statement circulating in some sections of the media, attributed to our organisation, describing the recent election of Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu as a ‘national calamity, considering the enormity of the baggage he is burdened with’. “We wish to quickly state as follows: “The statement did not originate from Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide. We have no hands in the content, context, comprehension and delivery of the unfounded statement. “Ohanaeze read the message with sadness and views its contents as unfortunate, especially the attacks in that statement on the person and health status of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. “The statement is very unfortunate, irresponsible, diversionary and most reprehensible. We had earlier stated that those behind such fake press releases are mischief-makers, impostors, charlatans and unscrupulous social climbers who have shamelessly leeched on the invaluable footprints of Ohanaeze Ndigbo to issue press releases for narrow, perverse and illicit pecuniary interests. “It is such unwholesome activities by some maladjusted, impish scaremongers that have been the bane of Igbo cohesion. “We state clearly that the author of the unfortunate statement is not the Secretary General of Ohaneze Ndi Igbo. “The Secretary General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide is H.E. Okay Emuchay and not the impostor that authored the ill-informed, ill-advised statement.” Our position The group further stated that it has no personal issues with Tinubu to deserve the reckless remarks on his person, adding that it has been monitoring political developments unravelling in the country, and will make its position at the appropriate time. It reads further: “For the avoidance of doubt, Ohanaeze has no personal issues with Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu to warrant the careless comments on his person although we certainly have issues with the current political arrangement and structure that appear to be an orchestrated policy to alienate, isolate, exclude, marginalize and frustrate Ndigbo in a country that bears eloquent testimonies of Igbo sweat, sacrifice, ambience and transformation. “On the unfolding political developments in the country, we wish to inform all Nigerians and Ndigbo at home and in the Diaspora that Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide led by Ambassador Professor George Obiozor is following the political developments very closely with keen interests and will make its position public at the appropriate time.”

  The presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has received the certificate of return following his emergence as the flagbearer of the party in the 2023 presidential election. The certificate of return was handed over to Obi on Friday. This is contained in a tweet posted to the party’s Twitter page, @NgLabour, on Thursday. The tweet stated, “Mr. Peter Obi Receives Labour Party Certificate of Returns as its Presidential Candidate for 2023 presidential elections. Congratulations!!” The PUNCH reports that the National Secretary of the Labour Party, Umar Ibrahim, had earlier said that Peter Obi remained the party’s presidential flagbearer and that there was no faction in the party. In an earlier tweet, the party announced the arrival of its presidential candidate at its national office, Abuja, for the collection of the certificate of return. The party tweeted, “Dr. Peter Obi arrives Labour Party National Office Abuja to receive his Presidential Certificate of Returns as Labour Party Presidential Candidate. Stay tuned..”

  The quest by the former Governor of Akwa Ibom state, Godswill Akpabio, to return to the Senate might have hit the rock as there is an indication that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) does not recognise his emergence as the All Progressive Congress (APC) candidate for Akwa Ibom North-West District for the 2023 Elections, according Premium Times Report. The former minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Thursday night “won” the primary for the district conducted by a faction of the APC in Akwa Ibom State that is loyal to him. The electoral umpire was not aware of a new primary for the district and did not monitor the exercise, the newspaper said, quoting a source at the commission. The source, who did not want his name mentioned in the report because he was not authorised to speak on the matter, said the commission only recognises Udom Ekpoudom, a retired deputy inspector general of police, as the APC candidate for the district. The primary “won” by Mr Ekpoudom was conducted on May 28 by another faction of the APC in the state. INEC monitored the exercise. The APC in Akwa Ibom has been torn into two factions because of a protracted battle between Mr Akpabio and the former national secretary of APC, John Akpanudoedehe, over the control of the party structure in the state. The faction that conducted the primary, which Mr Ekpoudom “won”, is loyal to Mr Akpanudoedehe. Mr Akpanudoedehe, a few days ago, defected to the New Nigerian Peoples Party and secured the party’s governorship ticket in Akwa Ibom after he was outmaneuvered by the other faction which got Akanimo Udofia, a man who joined the APC in less than a month, to be elected the 2023 governorship candidate of the party in the state. As it is, Mr Akpabio’s ambition to return to the Senate in 2023 may not be realised, unless the former minister challenges and defeats INEC in court. Mr Akpabio, a former governor of Akwa Ibom, was elected a senator in 2015 under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party. He later resigned from his position as the minority leader and defected from the PDP to the APC. He, however, failed to win the senatorial election in 2019 under the APC, and was compensated with an appointment as the minister of Niger Delta Affairs by President Muhammadu Buhari. The former senator resigned as minister to contest the APC presidential primary, but stepped down at the last minute for the former governor of Lagos State, Bola Tinubu, who emerged as the party presidential candidate for the 2023 election.

  After losing his bid to emerge the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Governor Dave Umahi of Ebonyi State has emerged the candidate of the party for Ebonyi South Senatorial district general election in 2023. The governor contested the presidential primary of the APC but lost to Bola Tinubu at the party’s convention in Abuja. Umahi’s younger brother, Chief Austin Umahi, had emerged as the winner of the election two weeks ago. The party cancelled the senatorial primary election for Ebonyi South and rescheduled it for Thursday night The rescheduled Ebonyi South APC Senatorial primary election was held at Afikpo North Local Government Council, with Governor Umahi clinching the party’s ticket.

  Presidential spokesperson, Femi Adesina, has revealed why President Muhammadu Buhari refrained from imposing or naming a consensus candidate for the All Progressives Congress as his successor. He said the ruling party’s special convention and presidential primary that produced the former Lagos State governor, Bola Tinubu, as the party’s flagbearer was a litmus test for the President, hence his neutrality. Adesina, who is the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, stated these in a piece titled, ‘Knock, Knock! Who’s there?’. The presidential spokesman said despite his indication that he had a favourite candidate, the President walked the talk of his promise that he would leave a legacy of a free, fair and credible process for the country. Adesina added that while one of Buhari’s predecessors in office allegedly imposed his successor, the President was nondiscriminatory and allowed due process to take order of the day. He wrote, “Let me first talk of the last one week that led to the primary election of the APC. In an interview he granted in January, this year, President Muhammadu Buhari had indicated that he had a favorite candidate. Would he name the person? He balked, saying he would be exposing the individual to too much risks, including possible elimination. “It was human to have a favorite in such situation, and the President did no wrong. But would you unduly favor the person? Would you throw your weight around, ride roughshod over the others, and impose your favored one on your political party and the nation? We have seen it before. Former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, did it with Umaru Yar’Adua. He did same, though to a lesser extent with Dr Goodluck Jonathan. Can Buhari do it and remain a democrat, fair, impartial? Knock, Knock! Who’s There? “That was the matter of interest in the week before the primary election. There were at least 23 aspirants. Who would the President give the nod? Could he remain neutral, non-aligned? At least, he had confessed he had someone in mind. Would he remain even-handed, detached, non-discriminatory? “There were at least four consultative meetings, towards getting an acceptable candidate for the party. One was with the APC Governors, called Progressive Governors Forum. The other was with the presidential aspirants themselves, then with the National Advisory Council (formerly called Board of Trustees), and finally with the Northern Progressive Governors Forum. “The main thing on the agenda was usually who would be the preferred aspirant. What part of the country would he come from? Would the President name his favorite, or leave it to democratic principle of voting? How did the President do it? How did he remain neutral, when he had earlier confessed that he had a favorite? It’s a test of fairness, being a democrat or not, and the President passed it, despite all the odds. “Each time a consultative meeting ended, there were twists and contortions to whatever the President said. They imported and imputed all sorts of interpretations, mostly unfounded and incorrect. Oh, this is what he meant. He said this and that. This is what he was actually saying. He just didn’t come straight. The man held his peace. “Primary Election Day came. And the President still remained neutral, despite having confessed that he had a favorite aspirant. How did he do it? Strange. Supernatural. Curious. Knock, Knock! Who’s There? But President Buhari remained unobtrusive, demure, self-effacing, till a candidate finally emerged. “While the process lasted, I had observed people who were core Buharists, but now on different sides of the divide, go for one another’s jugular. Some were virulent, odious, descending to the level of indecency. But now that the race is over, can they sheathe their swords? Is there anything in life that should make us become indecent, uncouth in both language and action? Fie! Fie, I say. “The day of decision will come in February. May God spare us till then, and beyond. President Buhari has done his level best for his party, and the country. He has been beleaguered by some forces and interests since 2015, and it had largely been about the quest for power. He is exiting decently, orderly, doing his best till the last day. The onus is now on Bola Tinubu, Atiku Abubakar, and the other candidates to answer the ring at the door. Knock, Knock! Who’s There?”

  Bola Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), says his choice for a running mate is in his pocketbook. Following his victory in the APC presidential primary election, speculation has been rife about the identity of the vice-presidential candidate of the party. Several APC governors are believed to be in contention for the position, but there has been no official decision yet. Speaking after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the state house on Thursday, Tinubu was asked to divulge where he was leaning towards. In response, he said: “I won’t tell you that. That is my right, it’s in my pocketbook.” Tinubu, who polled 1,271 votes to defeat 13 other contenders, also praised the president for not “tinkering” with the presidential primary. The former Lagos governor said Buhari showed that he is trustworthy by not endorsing any of the presidential hopefuls. “He promised the entire country and the world that he will build a legacy of transparency and consistency, the legacy of a level playing ground for all the candidates, that he will be committed to democratic principles and values and he did so,” Tinubu said. “He did not endorse anybody, he did not impose anybody, and he did not at any time attempt to tinker with the process of this election to favour one tribe or the other. He was steadfast, trustworthy, dependable and a great leader. “It is not my victory that is important, it is the process and management of that election that gave it to President Muhammadu Buhari.” The APC presidential candidate said he is ready to take over the mantle from Buhari while reeling out some of his attributes. “I am brilliant, I am experienced from the private sector to the public sector and ready to hit the ground running the same day — and not mess up the legacy of progress and honesty that has been left behind and handed over to me by President Buhari,” he said. He also advised members of the ruling party to celebrate the outcome of the primary with moderation, noting that the real work has just commenced. “All APC party members should celebrate in a limited manner. We’ve just begun the hard work, the work ahead to win the victory for our party is a hard one and we will win,” he said.

  Babachir Lawal, former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), says a Muslim-Muslim ticket for the 2023 Presidential election is dead on arrival. The presidential candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and other parties are currently searching for running mates. On Thursday, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) gave them a week to submit the names of their running mates. When he featured on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme, Lawal said the consideration of a Muslim president and a Muslim vice president in the country in 2023 is dead on arrival. He said it is out of place for anyone to consider such a thought considering the peculiarity of the nation’s political atmosphere which is divided along regional and religious lines. “You can have the best ticket but if you don’t win the election, it’s a waste of time. So, we must bear in mind that the vice (presidential candidate) is going to contribute to winning that election.” “Extending that consideration to the Muslim-Muslim ticket, I live among the Christians, and I know that among the Christians, the question of Muslim-Muslim ticket is a no-go area; it is dead on arrival. “Buhari himself, even at that time, had to drop this present presidential candidate because of that tension of a Muslim-Muslim ticket, and we have not seen anything in the country that has changed significantly to allow that to happen. On the contrary, it has worsened.” According to Lawal who is an ally of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, APC Presidential candidate, a political party is in the business of winning elections, and to win elections, one must get the votes to beat the opponents. He stressed the need for the party to make the necessary considerations before choosing its vice president ahead of the coming polls. “The religious divide has increased, the tribal division has increased, the regional division has increased,” said the former SGF. “So, it will be a good thing if APC will settle for a Muslim-Christian ticket because we know the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), that is what they will do.” Asked if he would like to be Tinubu’s running mate, he said, “God has not told me to aspire for that position. If you reach the level of Christianity that I am, you should be able to seek God’s opinion on everything that you do and get the indication. “I will consider it. I have been in government before, and I have not seen any personal merit or advantage to me being in government. Since I left government, I have had a very good life and basically, a businessperson, and I have lived well. I am happy, my children are happy.”