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2023: Focus On Osinbajo — Support Group Warns Members Against Disparaging Other Aspirants

Supporters of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo have been warned against making disparaging comments about other candidates in the forthcoming 2023 presidential election.

Director of Operations for Pro-Osinbajo group, The Progressive Project (TPP), Alhaji Usman Aliyu Usman, gave the warning while receiving some eminent personalities into the support group in Abuja on Thursday.

“Our focus as progressives is on effective strategies towards ensuring the candidature of Prof Yemi Osinbajo and an eventual victory in 2023; no member of our team is allowed to get involved in disparaging any former, present or serving leader who is in APC,” he said.

Eminent personalities received into the Osinbajo fold include former National Secretary of Labour Party Mr, Kayode Ajulo and Mr. Dapo Akinosun (SAN) who is a member of the Chartered institute of Arbitrators UK, American Bar Association and the International Bar Association

Others include former Managing Director of Africa Petroleum Plc, Shettima Abba-Gana and former military administrator of Katsina State, Colonel Joseph Akaagerger who served as Senator from 2007 to 2011.

While welcoming them into the support group, Usman enjoined them to participate in the forthcoming programmes like the New Tribe for Osinbajo’s Uyo rally and the Abuja March being planned by the Osinbajo Grassroots Organisation (OGO).

He reiterating Shettima Abba-Ghana’s view that no matter how good a product is, it must be consistently marketed.

He said “TPP will remain the coordinating body for the efforts of all support groups and we enjoin you to contribute to one another’s success.

“Among efforts being undertaken now is the constitution of a few strategic teams or committees to work on well thought-out ideas,” Usman said.

On his part, Mr. Dapo Akinosun noted that the generation that fought the civil war is on its way out, while emphasizing that special strategies and tactics with deep foundations in the nation’s laws are being analyzed to make the collective effort a reality.

Similarly, Kayode Ajulo maintained that one of the areas to be addressed strategically is about the norms or principles regarding the ‘right of first refusal’, adding that in view of his intellect, capacity and experience,”.

According to Ajulo, his recent suggestion that an APC presidential aspirant should step out of the way has led to incessant threats, including unsettling phone calls to his 86 years old mother who lives in one of the southern states.

“For someone to co-pilot a complex country like Nigeria is no joke; that is why some of us are talking about right of first refusal but if there is anyone who stands shoulder-to-shoulder with Professor Yemi Osinbajo on integrity, capacity, experience and other qualities, let us have a good debate,” Ajulo remarked.

In the same vein, Hajia Rabi Dauda who leads the Coalition of Women for Osinbajo said that women are pushing for Osinbajo’s candidature “solely in the interest of a better future for Nigerian children and generations yet unborn.

“This mobilization for Osinbajo is a special project aimed towards positive impact on the history of Nigeria and this time around, ethnicity, moneybag politics and other base things of the past no longer matter to Nigerians who love Osinbajo,” Hajia Dauda stated.

Ekiti 2022: Ex-Governor Segun Oni Dumps PDP For SDP

Former Governor of Ekiti State, Segun Oni, has dumped the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
Society gazette reports that the former governor of the state made this known during an interview on private radio in Ado-Ekiti on Wednesday.

Oni disclosed that his decision to join the SDP was due to the alleged electoral malfeasance and irregularities during the PDP primary on January 26.

The former governor added that he joined the party due to the continued call by the people for him to contest the June 18 governorship election as a third force.

He revealed that some aggrieved aspirants in the APC and PDP are supporting his governorship aspiration in the new political party.

Speaking further, Oni said the necessary paperwork for him to become SDP’s candidate and his running mate would soon be concluded with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The former governor, however, opined that the will and aspirations of the people are the most important structure needed to win the upcoming governorship poll.

He said: “I have chosen to advance my ambition in the Social Democratic Party(SDP) because we are looking at the future, not the present.

“The party has been around for years and won elections in this country, it is a well-known party, that is the reason I chose SDP to contest the June 18, 2022 governorship election in Ekiti state.

“We have seen the potential in SDP because we believe it is easier to sell as a third force for Nigerians. The process to make me a candidate is ongoing and will soon be completed.

“I want to say without any forms of contradictions, that we politicians are coming together for this project coupled with the opinions of people in the streets. We are looking at a familiar terrain and a party with potential and also we are getting support from people that are well known in Ekiti’s political terrain.

“Let me say that for those who are in APC, four aggrieved aspirants are working with us. In PDP, the people called repositioning group, majority of them are working with us. Also, we are working with SWAGA members, SWAGA is a strong force in APC with a strong membership base.

“It is going to be a grand collation that will definitely benefit the people of Ekiti. I believe the goodwill of repositioning group, SWAGA and Segun Oni is almost enough to win election in Ekiti”.

Police, NSCDC Disagree, Release Different Statements Over ‘Attack’ On Aregbesola In Osun

Two security units in the country have presented different statements on the reported attack on the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola.
This follows the reports that some political thugs attacked the convoy of the Minister and former Osun State governor on Monday.

The shooting was said to have occurred at the Old Garage area to Oke Fia Area of Osogbo, the state capital on Monday.

But as earlier reported, the Osun Police Command has denied reports that the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, was attacked by some political thugs in Osogbo, the state capital.

The state police spokesperson, SP Yemisi Opalola, in a statement issued on Monday said that there was no such incident in the state as reported by some media platforms.

Opalola disclosed that some of the minister’s security escorts shot into the air without provocation, causing panic in the area and making people scamper for safety.

She stated the investigation into the matter was ongoing and a full report would be made available at the end of the investigation.

The police spokesperson, however, noted that no casualty was recorded during the incident and normalcy has returned to the area and the state in general.

However, in its own reaction, the Osun State Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, said hoodlums attacked the Interior Minister but were repelled by his security team.

The NSCDC statement issued by its Osun State Command spokesperson, Olabisi Atanda reads: “unknown hoodlums attacked the convoy of the former Governor of Osun State and Minister, Federal Ministry of Interior Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola today at about 1840hrs around Old Garage area in Osogbo, the State Capital.

“However, the security details of the Minister were able to disperse the hoodlums and bring normalcy to the area.

“Commandant Emmanuel Ocheja said Osun State is a peaceful state and the Command will continue to render excellent and all–inclusive security services in the State, in line with the statutory mandates and functions of the Corps. Professionalism and impartiality is the watchword of NSCDC at all times.”

Meanwhile, the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola has thrown his weight behind ex-secretary of Osun state government, Moshood Adeoti to become Governor.

The ex-governor media adviser, Sola Fasure on Monday explained in a statement that the governor gave his pledge of allegiance to Adeoti at Ijebu Ijesa while addressing party members and stakeholders in the state ahead of the All Progressives Congress (APC) primary on Saturday.

He also urged other party members to show their support for Adeoti in the upcoming elections.

Police Accuse Aregbesola’s Bodyguards, Political Thugs Of Unprovoked Shooting In Osogbo

The police have debunked the claim by a faction of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Osun chapter, that some political thugs attempted to kill the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, during a roadshow in Osun State on Monday.

The Osun police command said contrary to APC’s claim, it was Aregbesola, his bodyguards and political thugs that attempted to disrupt the peace of the state by “shooting sporadically into the air without any provocation” while moving in a convoy in Osogbo, the state’s capital.

Earlier, the spokesperson of the APC faction, Abiodun Agboola, had claimed that Aregbesola’s convoy was attacked by armed political thugs at Orisunmibare, Osogbo while coming from Ilesa.

“Today’s attempt on the life of the minister is a confirmation that Osun is no longer a safe state.

“We can only pray that the Almighty would keep the good people of Osun and her well-wishers safe,” Agboola had said.

But reacting in a statement, the Osun police command refuted the claim and accused Aregbesola of disturbing public peace.

Aregbesola Seeks Ambode Treatment For Oyetola As Gov, Minister Clash Over Shooting

“Today, Monday, at about 5.40 pm, the Minister of Interior, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola was moving in convoy of personnel of NSCDC, Correctional Service, Immigration, as well as some unidentified armed people, suspected to be political thugs along Orisumbare/MFS Road, Osogbo.

“Suddenly, some of the security escorts of the minister started shooting sporadically into the air without any provocation nor attack, thereby causing members of the public to scramble for their safety.

“Thirteen empty shells of G-3, assault, and AK-37 rifle were recovered along the road after the minister’s departure. No casualty, however, was recorded,” the command’s spokesperson, SP Yemisi Opalola, said in a statement.

According to reports, the shooting incident happened shortly after Aregbesola, who is the immediate past governor of Osun State, openly declared support for the governorship ambition of Alhaji Moshood Adeoti, a former Secretary to the Osun State Government (SSG).

The minister was said to have indirectly attacked his estranged political godfather, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, while also calling on the people of the state to reject the re-election bid of the incumbent Governor Gboyega Oyetola in the July 16 governorship election.

“It is possible some share your ideals and it’s also possible some do not. This happened in Lagos recently. There was a governor, who wanted to seek re-election and the party declined and showed him the way out with their votes. So, the same way it was in Lagos then, is exactly the way it is in Osun today. What is good for the goose, is also good for the gander. It cannot be the turn of your younger brother now and you change the rules,” Aregbesola had said in reference to Tinubu’s alleged role in stopping Akinwunmi Ambode from being re-elected as Lagos governor in 2019.

Emefiele Is Focussed On Supporting President Buhari On Economy Not Runing For Office, Group Says

Friends of Godwin Emefiele, Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), have declared that he is not planning to run for president in 2023 but focused on delivering on his mandate as governor of the apex bank.

The group, which called itself Friends of Emefiele, said it met with the CBN governor following media reports urging him to run for president to clarify the true situation.

The group in a statement on Tuesday said Emefiele disclosed to them that he had no such plans, except what God has willed for him.

The statement urged those sponsoring a “campaign of calumny to impugn the character of the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria” to desist and allow him focus on his mission to support President Muhamnadu Buhari in reviving the Nigeria economy.

The group frown at what it called “sponsored media reports on the purported interest” of Emefiele, “in the 2023 presidential race, leading to stampede by interested parties and vested interests who are resorting to all sorts of blackmail, sponsored articles and choreographed comments on social media targeted at tainting Godwin Emefiele’s image, impugning his character and legacy.”

They noted that Emefiele has not confirmed to anyone he is running for President even as he is
constitutionally qualified to do so, and has been under pressure in the past few weeks due to “unsolicited campaign for his candidacy”.

The group explained that after meeting with Emefiele on Monday, he told them he remained focused on his job and will continue to support the President Buhari-led
Federal Government’s economic recovery drive.

According to the group, the CBN governor said he had never lobbied for a job in all his career trajectory.

Emefiele told the group that after his appointment as the CBN governor in 2014 by former President Goodluck Jonathan, he remained “humbled by President Muhammadu Buhari’s decision to grant him an unprecedented second term as CBN Governor- again without lobbying.”

Emefiele told the group that he believed “it’s the prerogative of President Muhammadu Buhari to plan his succession in line with global best practices for good governance for the continuing peace and progress” of Nigeria, “as such he will play his part to stabilise the economy for an orderly transition.”

Taking a historical account of when Emefiele assumed the position of the CBN Governor in June 2014, the group pointed out that “he has calmed the waters and put
Nigeria back on the path of growth,” despite challenges.

After the sharp fall in crude oil prices and a 13-month recession, he initiated major monetary policies that supported the Buhari administration and all 36 State governments, ensuring salaries were paid to steer Nigeria away from crisis.

The group pointed out that the second recession the country entered in 2020 was as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, yet CBN under Emefiele supported fiscal authorities with N100 billion health sector credit facility, one-year extension of a moratorium on principal repayments for CBN intervention facilities and reduction of the interest rate on intervention loans from 9 percent to 5 percent.

According to the group, Emefiele also strengthened Loan to Deposit ratio policy, created N400 billion target credit facility for affected households and small and medium enterprises, granted regulatory forbearance to banks to restructure terms of facilities in affected sectors among other interventions.

The Friends of Emefiele noted that ‘those behind the sponsored negative reports are afraid of Emefiele’s towering personality and
service to Nigeria.

“But they must understand that he cannot be stampeded any way. He is focused on delivering the mandate of the Central Bank; he is rebuilding the economy of the country through import substitution policies and using agriculture to create a new rural middle class from ground up.

“Those who continue to criticise the rice pyramid are too ashamed of giving glory to whom it is due.

“Emefiele is focused on his unfinished job and should not be distracted.”

Tinubu’s Camp Speak On Alleged Pee On Cloth

A pro-Tinubu coalition, the Support Groups Management Council has released a statement concerning the alleged pee on the APC chieftain Asiwaju Bola Tinubu’s attire.
Recall that the politician had visited some top traditional rulers in Ogun State with the goal of consulting on his 2023 presidential ambition.

However, after the meeting a video had surfaced on social media of the chieftain in a wet dress which some alleged to be pee.

In a statement signed by its Director of Media and Publicity, Biodun Ajiboye, the group stated that the picture was a plan cooked up by the politician’s haters to discredit and question his health. They maintained that Tinubu is healthy and ready to win the 2023 election.

“This time it is that he wetted his dress!

“Assuming without conceding that is the case, so is it the back of his knees that would be wet and not the bum area? So if he wetted his babariga, he would not cover it and would still move to be flat to greet the Awujale of Ijebuland in the full glare of everyone present?” The coalition wondered.

“It was the usual photoshop manipulations and shallow mental agility that pushed them to dispense a feeble narrative that made no iota of sense.

“Yet as their video showed, it was after their wetting incident that he went ahead and prostrated to Kabiyesi.

“We want to assure Nigerians that Asiwaju Bola Tinubu is healthy and strong enough to undertake the responsibilities involved in the expected rigours of campaigns and politicking when the time comes.”

EXPOSED: APC Convention: Gov. Fayemi, Badaru, Bagudu Plot To Impose Stooge As National Chairman

A group, the All Progressives Congress (APC) Youth Development and Solidarity Forum (APC- YDSF) has alleged that it has uncovered a plot by Governors Mohammed Badaru of Jigawa, Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi and Dr. Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti state to impose Senator Sani Musa as the next national chairman of the party ahead of the February 26 convention.

The Secretary General of the Forum, Mr. Tobias Ogbeh disclosed this while addressing a press conference on Sunday in Abuja.

He warned that the alleged imposition may lead to imposition of the party.

The group noted that the plots perpetrated in the past months by the said governors are geared towards illegally winning public offices at the highest level.

It added that it was for this reason that it was raising the alarm so that Nigerians would know that people with less than sincere interest are on the verge of hijacking the APC and consequently impose a presidential candidate on Nigerians, while using the popularity of the APC to win election and then capture power to the detriment of Nigerians.

The APC stakeholders stressed that Nigerians are all witnesses to how the APC has been plunged into a needless crisis because of the overbearing activities of some governors.

The group also alleged that some governors of the ruling party have hijacked before the party’s national convention before by the way they fixed a February 26, 2022, date for the event, which it said was in flagrant disregard for the preferences expressed by stakeholders.

The group stated: “Governor Mohammed Badaru Abubakar of Jigawa State, Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State, Governor Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi state and their other desperate allies that include serving ministers have perfected plans to ensure that Senator Sani Musa is imposed as APC National Chairman alongside other lackeys that would be named to other positions at the convention.

“Senator Sani Musa would in turn deliver Bagudu as APC presidential flagbearer and Kayode Fayemi as his running mate. They have cooked up what they called “unity list” to package their plot as something positive and desirable for the party and the country when the contrary is the case.”

“Sadly, things are now clearer. The governors in question never bothered about what stakeholders thought, wanted, or demanded, because for them the National Convention is a fait accompli.”

The group stressed that the convention envisaged by these political actors was one at which they would merely coerce delegates to rubber stamp the decisions that have been taken.

“At this point it is fair to point out that the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami is with them alongside a few unpatriotic ministers that are equally playing overlords in states that are not controlled by the APC.”

2023: Zulum Reveals Those That Will Decide APC Presidential Candidate

Governor Babagana Umara Zulum of Borno State has revealed those who will decide the presidential flag-bearer of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2023 general election.
He said President Muhammadu Buhari, APC governors and other party leaders will decide who becomes the party’s presidential candidate in 2023.

Zulum made this known on Friday when he received members of the Progressive Consolidation Group (PCG) at his office in the Government House in Maiduguri, the state capital.

Zulum said: “I am solidly behind initiatives aimed towards enhancing the unity of our party and progress of Nigeria; at this crucial time, no one and nothing will prevent the party from moving in unison.

“We have to identify the right individuals to lead the nation and the task requires governors, party hierarchy and the President working together in concert.

“Individual aspirations may have to be downplayed because we all have to concur with the decision of the leader of our party.

“Borno state under me will promote unity and all efforts to ensure the success of APC; we shall work with the party hierarchy, our leaders at the National Assembly and our party leaders at ward and state levels, to arrive at the best solutions for taking the country forward.”

Earlier, the Chairman of the PCG, Aliyu Rabiu Kurfi, stressed the need for Zulum, other state governors, and party leaders at the ward, state and federal levels to forge a consensus towards making Professor Yemi Osinbajo Nigeria’s next president.

“The Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo deserves the right of first refusal and even in a crowded race with great individuals, he stands out as an insider with the right level of competence and intellect to do the job better than all others,” he said.

Leave Emefiele out of politics, Economists warn propagandists

The North-South Economists’ Forum, NSEF, a focus group of development economists, has warned propagandists and information hawkers feasting on a phoney ‘Emefiele for President’ campaign not to drag the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, governor into the murky water of partisan politics.

Recently, some online news platforms flew a kite purporting that a group of top private sector players and some sitting governors were working on a script to install Mr. Godwin Emefiele as the next Nigerian president in the 2023 presidential election.

The report claimed that Emefiele may likely resign his appointment as CBN governor this month to throw his hat into the Presidential ring.

But the CBN has stoutly rebutted the story as disingenuously false, lacking in substance and therefore a figment of the imagination of its purveyors.

CBN spokesman, Osita Nwasinobi, described the report as a distraction from the CBN’s focus on its mandate of minding monetary policies, financial stability and supporting government programmes.

“I don’t know where that platform got their news from. We discuss monetary policies at the Central Bank and how to support the government, we don’t discuss politics. All these distractions, they should leave us out of them so that we can do our job,” Nwasinobi said.

However, the North-South Economists’ Forum said having done its independent investigation and consultations among highly placed Nigerian entrepreneurs some of whom were said to be among those promoting the Emefiele for President movement, it has discovered that the story was false in its entirety.

The body of Economists in a statement on Wednesday signed by its Chairman, Malam Ahmed Abdulkadir and Secretary, Dr. Chima Eboh, noted that “what was perceived to be a political meeting promoting Emefiele Presidential ambition was actually a meeting of governors, ex-governors, non-political actors, business people with proven economic management background, civil society organisations and the media, whose sole aim was to forge a new pathway for the growth and development of the nation.

“Emefiele was not on the agenda neither was he singled out for discussion at the meeting,” NSEF said.

The Economists urged the CBN governor to stay focused on his economic reengineering of the nation’s monetary policy framework to engender financial stability especially at these times when the nation is facing grave economic challenges.

NSEF charged those calling for Emefiele’s head and accusing him of playing partisan politics on the basis of a fake news to desist from such ill-advised adventure, adding that it ‘was childish and logically infantile to base their conclusion on a faulty premise.

“We have watched how the CBN under Emefiele has constricted the space for economic vampires who take advantage of the nation’s weak primary sector to import all manner of commodities into the country using forex sourced from CBN for local production of goods only to divert same to importation of the same products they originally claimed to manufacture in Nigeria.”

The group linked the renewed attacks on Emefiele to the economic crooks whom he has through the CBN policies of zero-forex for importation of commodities that can be easily grown in Nigeria and dozens of economic interventions by the CBN. It urged Emefiele not to be deterred by the headwinds created by this brood of economic saboteurs who have found easy recruits in some faceless organisations.

“Dragging Emefiele into politics is a show of aberrant mental indolence which does not advertise the propagandists as intelligent or persons given to critical thinking. As a body of Economists with strong bias for development, we consider it an effusion of ingratitude to ever imagine or conjecture that CBN under Emefiele is favouring one political party over another. That is the height of unreason,” the statement said.

2023: Tinubu Appoints Northerner As National Media Coordinator (PHOTO)

Society gazette reports that the National Leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), and presidential aspirant, Bola Ahmed Tinubu has appointed Muhammad Mahmud, from Borno State, as his National Media Coordinator.

While addressing newsmen recently in Maiduguri, Mahmud, 31, solicited support from everyone to ensure that the ambition of the former Lagos State Governor, is actualized ‘in order to consolidate on President Muhammadu Buhari’s unprecedented transformation and development’.

“I received with joy my appointment as the National Coordinator, Tinubu Media Support Group.

“Without doubt, this is a daunting assignment taking into account that our principal is a game-changer of Nigerian politics. He is as well a man of many flanks.

“Therefore, our approach shall be very tasking, as we aren’t oblivious of the fact that with the support of well-meaning Nigerians and prayers, we will wither the storm insha’Allah (By God Grace),” Mahmud said.