Ahead of Saturday’s Osun state Governorship Election, the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Dr. Iyorchia Ayu, and the party leadership party will on Thursday, storm Oshogbo, the Ogun state capital, for a mega rally in support of its candidate, Sen. Ademola Adeleke. Adeleke, will, once again, square against the incumbent Governor of Osun state, Adegboyega Oyetola, on July 16. Ayu will be leading Adeleke’s renewed attempt to defeat the incumbent governor in order to take over Government House, Oshogbo. Party heavyweights expected at the rally include: the PDP presidential candidate, Alh. Atiku Abubakar, and his running-mate, Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta state. Others include: former Osun State Governor, Olagunsoye Oyinlola, as well as all governors elected on the platform of the PDP, members of the NWC as well as other organs of the party. Speaking ahead of the mega rally, Ayu appealed to all party stakeholders in Osun state, to come out en mass to not only grace the occasion but also mobilize support for the party’s candidate ahead of the polls. He said, “I charge every lover of democracy and good governance to come out and identify with the PDP candidate, Sen. Ademola. He is the face of positive change.”

  Festus Keyamo, minister of state, labour and employment, says Nigerians should not allow clerics of any faith to influence their voting pattern in the 2023 presidential election. Bola Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) had, on Sunday, announced Kashim Shettima, former Borno governor, as his running mate for the 2023 elections. The announcement came shortly after Ibrahim Masari stepped down as the “placeholder” running mate of Tinubu. The Muslim-Muslim ticket had elicited criticism from some Nigerians who described it as an injustice to the Christian community.   Following the announcement, Keyamo had described Shetima as the “perfect” running mate for Tinubu. However, Babachir Lawal, former secretary to the government of the federation (SGF), criticised the decision, saying it was a “disastrous error and grave injustice”. However, in a series of tweets on Wednesday, Keyamo asked Nigerians to shun religious sentiments and be focused on performance when voting in 2023. “No one should deceive us, as ordinary Nigerians, be it a pastor or Imam, to vote or not to vote for anyone based on the religious colouration of the ticket,” Keyamo tweeted. “Let the debate begin as to the PERFORMANCE of Bola Yinubu as Gov. of Lagos State and not the issue of same faith ticket.”

  Wednesday signed a peace accord toward the peaceful conduct of the July 16 Osun governorship election. The political parties included the All Progressives Congress (APC), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and Action Alliance (AA). Speaking at the ceremony organised by the National Peace Committee in Osogbo, Bishop Mattew Kukah, urged all political parties featuring in the election to work toward peace. Kukah said Nigeria was in need of a peaceful environment and hence the need to encourage political actors to think toward peace. He said that violence has been one of the fundamental threats to Nigeria’s democracy. According to him, civil society organisations, religious groups, traditional institutions and other key actors have a role to play in achieving peace in Nigeria. Kukah urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), political actors and other stakeholders to ensure that the election was free, fair and peaceful. INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, said that the success of the peace accord depended on all stakeholders. Yakubu said that INEC has taken steps to ensure a credible election on July 16 and appealed to all candidates to strive hard to abide by the peace accord. The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr Usman Baba, promised that the election would witness an improved security situation over that of Ekiti. Baba, represented by Deputy Inspector General (DIG), Mr Johnson Kokumo, assured of level playing ground for all candidates. (NAN)

  The presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has told Nigerians that time has come to vote for “a human being who has conscience and trust” to lead the country. Obi who stated this Wednesday in a remark at the on-going National Convention of the Assemblies of God Nigeria at Okpoto, Ebonyi State, said people should not vote based on tribal sentiments but on competence and performance. The presidential hopeful urged Nigerians to look beyond tribe and vote for candidates based on what they can offer. His words: “Put all of us on a scale; let’s know who we are; let’s ask questions who we are; let’s verify who we are. ” Don’t say: Because Peter Obi is from the South East, I will vote for him. Do not vote for me because I’m an Igbo man. Don’t vote for anybody because he is from the West. Do not vote for anybody because he’s from the North. ” This is time to vote for a human being who has conscience and trust”.

‘Hon Serguis OgunA group, Organisation for Global Youths Peace Empowerment and Development Initiative ,OGYPEDI, has said the choice of running mates by the presidential candidates of All Progressives Congress, APC, and Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Messrs. Bola Tinubu and Atiku Abubakar, has paved the way for Peter Obi’s victory. In a statement by its National Coordinator, Mr. Japhet Omene, the group questioned why Atiku didn’t accept the recommendation of PDP committee set up to choose a running mate.   He said picking someone against the position of the party wasn’t a good thing to do. His words: “It is no surprise that a lot of Nigerians are already seeing Atiku as an unserious person and as someone who does not heed counsel. Tinubu on the other hand, committed the worst political blunder by choosing to disregard the sensitive nature of Nigeria’s religious diversity. He willfully committed the worst political blunder by his choice of a Muslim-Muslim ticket. The decision is already dividing Nigeria across religious lines. We hope he is aware of the implications because Nigerians are now left with no other choice but to massively vote for Peter Obi who has been prudent in ensuring that Nigerians do not find faults in his candidacy.”

  John Oluoma, priest of the Catholic archdiocese of Abuja, says Nigerians who are worried about the Muslim-Muslim ticket fielded by the All Progressives Congress (APC) are not ready to make an informed choice in the 2023 elections. Bola Tinubu, APC presidential candidate, on Sunday, announced Kashim Shettima, former governor of Borno, as his running mate. The unveiling of Shettima who is a Muslim like Tinubu elicited mixed reactions from Nigerians, with Christian groups kicking against the decision. The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in the north had issued a statement criticising Tinubu’s decision, saying the ruling party “has no regard for our diversity” as a country. Also, some members of the APC have resigned from the party over the development. In a series of tweets on Tuesday, Oluoma said Nigerians should not be agitating over APC’s decision to field two Muslims for the 2023 presidential election because there are other candidates. “I honestly do understand why some persons feel scared about it, however, I refuse to validate or consolidate that fear for some reasons. APC is just one party, we have other parties in Nigeria. One of the beauties of democracy is the availability of options,” he wrote. “Crying over APC’s candidates in the midst of other candidates questions our readiness to change the status quo or our capacity to make and accept informed decisions.” The clergyman said the ruling party fielded two Muslims for the top offices in the country for the sake of “electoral victory”. “There’s only one major reason behind the Muslim-Muslim ticket by APC — electoral victory. Without a Muslim VP, the APC will lose significant votes from the North and probably lose the entire presidency. This is the fear and the reason for a Muslim VP,” he said. “Don’t let anyone beguile you to make it a religious problem, if you do, you will keep losing the big picture. I’ll never reduce this issue to a religious problem, it’s more of political dexterity. APC chose electoral votes over religious sentiments. “Of course, APC knows a number of Christians will be offended, but they still went ahead probably knowing that the mathematics of more votes favour them in this issue more than feelings. If you don’t like it, you are right. “If you don’t like it, you are right crying and bemoaning it? That’s where you and I separate. There’s Labour Party driving a political revolution with Peter Obi, invest in it, be part of it, preach it and convert others if Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar and All progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu don’t appeal to you. “Whether this is a smart move by APC or not depends on voters. If it’s a bad strategy, it’s the APC that should bemoan it, not you an independent voter. Even card-carrying members of a party are not forced to vote for the candidates of their party. “In the midst of these, I wish to state the following implications: If Tinubu, a Muslim from the south cannot win an election with a Christian VP from the North, northern Muslims, southern Muslims and northern Christians don’t need me to spell it out for them”. The clergyman said Nigerians should not “relegate religious sentiments only when it’s convenient for your particular goal, let’s get thorough and rigorous about it for the good of our country. Actually, Nigeria and Nigerians stand to gain better when we throw away all these sentiments”.