A group loyal to Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the South West Agenda for Asiwaju (SWAGA) Thursday officially launched in Lagos State.
Tinubu, a leader in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), was governor of Lagos State between 1999 and 2007.
Tinubu is rumoured to be interested in succeeding incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari in 2023 after the expiration of his second term in office.
However, despite a campaign by these loyalists, Tinubu is yet to make any public pronouncement about his ambition.
Meanwhile, Thursday’s public launch of SWAGA in Lagos was attended by the state Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and hundreds of Tinubu loyalists across the country.
“With serious determination to succeed, Lagos shall stand still for Swaga 23,” said the leader of the group Dayo Adeyeye.
In the last few months, the APC leader has been in London where he is recuperating after undergoing surgery.
SWAGA’23 has already been launched in Oyo, Ogun, Osun, and Ekiti.
“It is indeed a payback time for our national leader, who through his years of service contributed to the lives of many others and today you can see his footprints across the country.
“We shall continue to appeal to him to contest for the position of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria because governance is not what to be experimented with.
“Therefore, we need a viable, experienced and a man who understands the diverse nature of the Nigerian economy,” SWAGA said in a statement.
Governors have turned Nigeria to Turn-by-Turn Plc – Peter Esele
A public affairs analyst, Peter Esele has accused governors of turning Nigeria to Turn-by-Turn Plc ahead of the 2023 general elections.
The ex-Trade Union Congress (TUC) President told them to focus on the emergence of the best presidential candidate rather than the zone.
Esele told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that governors should be more concerned about the development of their states and security challenges in the county.
The former labour leader told them to disagree on services delivery to the people who put them office and not political matters.
Esele warned that arguments based on ethnicity, region or religion would polarize the nation and its citizens.
“What you have now is governors from the North and South, indirectly by commission or omission, dividing this country into republic of Northern and Southern Nigeria.
“These governors have not met in the South to say this is a roadmap to security we should adopt and implement for the safety of our region; same with governors from the North.
“What they are always quarreling about is, it is my turn, it is your turn. They have turned Nigeria to a Turn-by-Turn PLC”, he declared.
Dr. Doyin Okupe, a Former Presidential spokesperson, has formally declared his intention to contest the 2023 presidential election on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party.
He disclosed this in a statement issued by his media office, titled, “2023: Doyin Okupe promises a government that prioritizes the needs of the poor as he officially declares presidential ambition.”
Okupe said, ‘’I believe I have the knowledge, the requisite national political experience, and intellectual capacity and wisdom to halt the social and economic decadence, insecurity, and pervasive poverty that has nearly made living meaningless in Nigeria.’’
‘’Step Down From Leadership, It is Time For Youths To Take Over’’ – Hon. Comrade Ahmadu Jibril Oludare
The Young Parliamentarians Forum (YPF) of the National Assembly have expressed the readiness of youths in Nigeria to take over the affairs of the nation during a two-day national retreat held in Lagos.
The retreat themed ‘Youth Alliance – Towards 2023 General Elections’ is aimed at bringing Nigerian youths together for the purpose of ensuring that power is handed over to the young ones in all sectors of the Nigerian society.
During the event, dignitaries that include the Vice President prof Yemi Osinbanjo, Speaker of the house of Assembly Rt Hon Femi Gbajabiamila, Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi state amongst Speakers of various state house of assembly and federal and state legislators.
During his speech, Hon Jubril Oludare who represented Kogi state governor reacted against the notion that Nigerian youths are not ready to lead the country. He explained that at the moment, the country has lots of young governors and parliamentarians doing well in their various capacities.
While citing Gov Yahaya Bello of Kogi state as an example, He made it known that the state is enjoying the dividend of having young people in governance as shown in his youthful and purposeful leadership in the state.
He noted that the legacy Nigeria celebrates today were built by our founders when they were youths, hence, the need for them to step down from leadership and provide mentorship to guide the youths coming on board.
He frowned at the rumors by scared political opponents as the momentum for the call for Gov Yahaya Bello to answer the call of the youths to represent them for the glorified seat in villa intensifies. Haven proven to be a young performing Governor and has mustered the necessary experience in Governance to lead our dear nation in this trying times.
He said ” if Yahaya Bello accepts the call to lead our Nigeria youths in the 2023 polls it can only be for the seat of the President. For the youths have come of age to grab that which truly belongs to them”
Although, He recognized the part old leaders play in advising the young ones but reinstated the fact that the youths are now ready to take the entirety of the country come 2023.
‘‘I see all young faces here and I begin to ask myself, how will people say the youths are not ready when we have experience youths on board in governance? We have state governors that are young who are doing very well, we are evident of it in Kogi. We have parliamentarians that are young and are doing the needful. I look at a forum or opportunity where in 2023 as election unfolds, we will take over the entirety of this country’’
‘’In USA, barrack Obama was produced by students, Macron of France was the youngest among those that contested because the youths know what they stood for and ensured he emerged’’
‘’The legacy we celebrate today as Nigerians were built by our founding fathers when they were youths, you cannot be a youth yesterday, a youth today and a youth tomorrow, it’s a process. As you ruled in the era of being youths and advanced into an older age, the best you can do is provide mentorship to guide the youths coming on board’’
‘’We are not disrespectful to our elders as young executives in governance, they are people who have also consulted for guidance but as young people, we need to make our voice known now, we need to sting our feet firm on the ground and say enough is enough, the youth is ready to take over Nigeria’’
Other dignitaries in the event include young members of the national assembly, Speaker of Lagos house of assembly, Hon Mudashiru Obasa, Speaker of Oyo house of assembly, Hon. Debo Ogundoyin, Speaker of Plateau House Of Assembly , Abok Izam, Speaker Of Gombe House Of Assembly, Abubakar Muhammad Luggerewo,Youngest Chief Whip in Nigeria, Honourable Muktar Bajeh, SSA to Governor Yahaya Bello On Entertainment, Hon Juwon ‘Jumabee’ Olorunipa.
‘Why I Called Tinubu Mr. President In London’ – House Of Rep Member Opens Up
The lawmaker representing Suleja/Tafa And Gurara federal constituency of Niger State in the House of Representatives, Abubakar Lado Suleja has been identified as the person who addressed Asiwaju Bola Tinubu as Mr. President recently in London.
It will be recalled that some Northern lawmakers last week, visited the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Tinubu in London.
The legislators were led on the visit by the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Ahmed Idris Wase.
However, a video emerged and went viral of one of the lawmakers during the visit, addressing Tinubu as Mr. President, to which the former Lagos Governor also responded thank you as captured in the video which went viral on the internet.
“Mr President, see you soon,” the lawmaker had said and Tinubu responded by saying “Thank you.”
With Nigerians eager to know the face behind the words, Honourable Suleja has now been revealed as the one who called Tinubu ‘Mr. President.’
When contacted for a confirmation and clarification, the lawmaker acknowledged calling Tinubu Mr. President but, however, added that he put Insha Allah which means ‘by God’s grace.’
Suleja stated this when he was questioned by the Daily Trust correspondent who reached out to him on whether his statement doesn’t imply that Nigeria now has two presidents.
He said: “No, we don’t have two presidents, maybe you didn’t listen to the video very well because when I said Mr President, Insha Allah followed it, which means by God’s grace.”
The lawmaker added that it is their wish for Tinubu to become the next President of Nigeria in 2023.
“We are praying for him to become the future president of Nigeria. We have only one president who is President Muhammadu Buhari, who is the leader of our party and our mentor but we are praying for Asiwaju to be the next president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and continue from where President Buhari will stop. That is what I meant.”
He also denied speculations that the lawmakers were in London to endorse Tinubu for the 2023 presidency, saying it was rather a visit to check up on him healthwise.
He said it would be wrong to assume they were there for the purpose of endorsement, adding that such a position will insinuate that everyone who had visited Tinubu in London including President Muhammadu Buhari himself were there for endorsement purposes.
“The purpose of our visit was to see his health condition, to pray for him and wish him well. He is very okay and as you can see from the video clip, he looks fine. He stood for almost one hour addressing us.”
He added that, “No, the visit was not for endorsement, we are his loyalists, fans and he is our leader. If people are saying it is for endorsement, then it will mean President Buhari has endorsed him because it was President Buhari who first visited him.”
2023: Badagry traditional rulers endorse Tinubu for president
Traditional rulers in Badagry have jointly endorsed the national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu for President in 2023.
The traditional rulers made the pronouncement at a town hall meeting organised by the South West Agenda (SWAGA’23) on Sunday in Lagos.
Oba Momodu Afolabi Asafa, Onijanikin of Ijanikin, commended both attendees to the event and the SWAGA’23 team. “I thank every one of us, especially those who are working tirelessly in order to achieve a greater Nigeria. When an individual walks aright, such a person will arrive his or her destination on time. Any group of persons that value the unique roles of traditional rulers towards national development will always succeed. I, therefore, commend the SWAGA’23 team for a job well done,” Oba Asafa said.
According to the Commissioner, Lagos State Audit Service Commission, Kafilat Ogbara, who is also the Secretary of Lagos SWAGA’23, the team will move to Ikorodu and Epe divisions of Lagos on Tuesday 5th, October 2021 and will be hosted to a dinner at the State House in Marina.
The SWAGA’23 team will on Wednesday 6th, October 2021 meet with stakeholders and prominent personalities in the state to chat a way forward while the official inauguration of SWAGA’23 in Lagos will take place on Thursday, 7th October, 2021.
Meanwhile, the National Chairman of SWAGA’23, Senator Dayo Adeyeye thanked the Badagry traditional rulers for gracing the event. He said: “I want to specially thank all our Royal fathers for their support so far. We read in the media that traditional rulers in Lagos met and endorsed Bola Ahmed Tinubu for Presidency in 2023. We all know that the adminstration of President Muhammadu Buhari will come to an end in 2023 and it will be fair that the Presidency should be zoned to Southwest.
“I want to categorically say that Tinubu’s case has gone beyond Lagos State Affairs as most political parties have endorsed him in Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ekiti, and Ondo States. It is widely known that Tinubu’s philanthropic gestures is second to none. He equally fought for Nigeria’s democracy and performed brilliantly as a governor. I therefore urge all our traditional rulers to key into this project as charity begins at home,” Adeyeye said.
The SWAGA train also visited Badagry to pay homage to the Akran of Badagry, His Royal Majesty De Wheno, Aholo Menu- Toyi I OFR, and other Obas to seek their Royal blessings and endorsement for the APC leader. Reacting to the Prayers, the Akran of Badagry spoke through Oba Agano Toniyoni Aholu of Agbamathen said, “ We are strongly behind Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and we pray that God will make our request a dream come through. Even the blind and deaf in the country can attest to his good deeds. We are also optimistic that Nigerians in their large numbers will give him the necessary support.”
The visit was honoured by Oba Oyekan Ilufemiloye, Possi III, Alapa of Apa kingdom; Oba Moses Ayinde Agboke Joye, Onilogbo of Ilobbo Kingdom; Oba Friday Oladele Kosoko Oniworo of Iworo kingdom, Aholu Saheed Adamson, Aholu of Ajido Kingdom; Oba Isreal Adewale Okoya Okikiola, Onibereko of Ibekereko Kingdom; Oba Abraham Ogabi Oyikilu Ajagun of Imeke Kingdom; Oba Olalekan Ogungbe James Okiki, Arolagbade II, Aholu of Kuweme Kingdom.
Other royal fathers were, Oba Samuel Owolabani; De-Yeti I, Aholu of Ajara Topa kingdom; Oba Agano Toniyoni, Aholu of Agamathen Kingdom; Oba Ebenezer Koshoedo; Thalunno I of Ajara Vetho Kingdom; Oba Samuel Olusegun Wheto, Aholu of Dale-Whedakoh; and Oba Jimoh Fabiyi; De-Sano I, Aholu of Ikoga Kingdom.
Yahaya Bello Dumps 2023 Presidential Ambition, Eyes VP Slot
Kogi State governor, Yahaya Bello, has dumped his ambition to contest the 2023 presidential election on the platform of the rulingAllProgressivesCongress (APC), DailyIndependent hasre¬liably gathered.
The governor, who has not hidden his desire to succeed PresidentMuhammaduBuhari, recently said Nigerians were askinghimtocontestfortheseat of thepresidencyin2023general elections.
He also said that he believes he has the necessary qualities to perform excellently aspresident, especially in uniting the nation, which, according to him, is seri¬ously divided.
“Theyouthsandwomenand all Nigerians, including very objective elite, are asking me to run for president in 2023. And I believe that it is high time that we looked into capacity — who can do the job? Who is going to unify this country? And I think they are seeing something in me that they are asking me to come and unite and fix this country,” he said.
However, speaking with Daily Independent, a serving Commissioner in Kogi State, who is a close ally to the gov¬ernor, said the governor has toned down his presidential ambition “given a strong feel¬ing that the APC might pick its presidential candidate from the South”.
Healsoaddedthattheresolve by the Southern Governors’ Fo¬rum (SGF) that they will work against any political party that picks a presidential flagbear¬er from the North in 2023 has really caused a major setback to Governor Bello’s ambition, even though he is yet to formal¬ly declare.
“Yes, the governor has not given up but he is lying low now. Many youths and other Nigeri¬ans are still asking him to run in 2023andmanysolidaritygroups are still springing up every day declaring support for him.
“However, recent develop¬mentsin the polity, especially the resolution by the Southern gov¬ernors that they won’t support any Northerner has made him to tone down on his ambition. While some people in the APC are calling for the presidential ticket to be thrown open, the majority of party members are calling on the party leadership to zone it to the South, given the fact that President Buhari who is from the North will be completing eight years in 2023.
“So, the governor will formally make his position known soon on whether he will contest the presidency or not but he has not given up, especially with mas¬sive support and endorsement he keeps receiving throughout the country.”
Another credible source in the party, however, informed Daily Independent that the gov¬ernor has already begun consul¬tations with party leaders on be¬coming the running mate of the would-be presidential candidate of the party, if the presidential ticket is eventually zoned to the South.
“I am aware he is leaving his options open for running mate to the presidential candidate if the ticket is zoned to the South because naturally the vice-pres¬idential candidate will be picked from the North. But that is also hinged on many factors. If the presidential candidate is a Mus¬lim, can Nigerians afford to vote for two Muslims on the same ticket?”
When contacted, Kingsley Fanwo, the state’s Commission¬er for Information, declined to respond to our enquiries on whether the governor has given up on his presidential ambition.
Kogi State governor, Yahaya Bello, has dumped his ambition to contest the 2023 presidential election on the platform of the rulingAllProgressivesCongress (APC), DailyIndependent hasreliably gathered.
The governor, who has not hidden his desire to succeed PresidentMuhammaduBuhari, recently said Nigerians were askinghimtocontestfortheseat of thepresidencyin2023general elections.
He also said that he believes he has the necessary qualities to perform excellently aspresident, especially in uniting the nation, which, according to him, is seriously divided.
“Theyouthsandwomenand all Nigerians, including very objective elite, are asking me to run for president in 2023. And I believe that it is high time that we looked into capacity — who can do the job? Who is going to unify this country? And I think they are seeing something in me that they are asking me to come and unite and fix this country,” he said.
However, speaking with Daily Independent, a serving Commissioner in Kogi State, who is a close ally to the governor, said the governor has toned down his presidential ambition “given a strong feeling that the APC might pick its presidential candidate from the South”.
Healsoaddedthattheresolve by the Southern Governors’ Forum (SGF) that they will work against any political party that picks a presidential flagbearer from the North in 2023 has really caused a major setback to Governor Bello’s ambition, even though he is yet to formally declare.
“Yes, the governor has not given up but he is lying low now. Many youths and other Nigerians are still asking him to run in 2023andmanysolidaritygroups are still springing up every day declaring support for him.
“However, recent developmentsin the polity, especially the resolution by the Southern governors that they won’t support any Northerner has made him to tone down on his ambition. While some people in the APC are calling for the presidential ticket to be thrown open, the majority of party members are calling on the party leadership to zone it to the South, given the fact that President Buhari who is from the North will be completing eight years in 2023.
“So, the governor will formally make his position known soon on whether he will contest the presidency or not but he has not given up, especially with massive support and endorsement he keeps receiving throughout the country.”
Another credible source in the party, however, informed Daily Independent that the governor has already begun consultations with party leaders on becoming the running mate of the would-be presidential candidate of the party, if the presidential ticket is eventually zoned to the South.
“I am aware he is leaving his options open for running mate to the presidential candidate if the ticket is zoned to the South because naturally the vice-presidential candidate will be picked from the North. But that is also hinged on many factors. If the presidential candidate is a Muslim, can Nigerians afford to vote for two Muslims on the same ticket?”
When contacted, Kingsley Fanwo, the state’s Commissioner for Information, declined to respond to our enquiries on whether the governor has given up on his presidential ambition.
Presidency Reacts As Ethiopian Prime Minister ‘Becomes’ Buhari’s Personal Driver In Addis Ababa
The President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari has arrived in Addis Ababa, the capital of the East African country of Ethiopia.
As earlier reported, Buhari is billed to attend the inauguration of the Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali for a second five-year term in office on Monday.
Buhari, who departed Abuja and arrived the Ethiopian capital on Sunday, is scheduled to deliver a goodwill message at the inauguration ceremony.
He is also expected to attend a State Banquet in honour of visiting Heads of State and Government.
Naija News reports that upon arrival in the East African country, the Ethiopian Prime Minister, His Excellency, Abiy Ahmed Ali opted to drive President Muhammadu Buhari out of the airport as he arrived in Addis Ababa ahead of the Prime Minister’s inauguration tomorrow.
Buhari in Ethiopia
Reacting to the development, Buhari’s personal assistant on digital/new media Bashir Ahmad gushed about the respect and honour the Nigerian leader elicits from other African leaders.
Taking to his Facebook account on Sunday, he wrote; “The respect most of African leaders have for President Buhari is second to none, the Ethiopian Prime Minister today after receiving the President at the Airport also offered to personally drive him to where he’d be staying in Addis Ababa.”
APC postpones Anambra campaign in honour of Akunyili, others
APC has postponed the flag-off of its Anambra governorship campaign scheduled for Saturday in Onitsha, Anambra, in honour of victims of various attacks in the state.
Governorship election holds in the state on Nov. 6.
The governorship candidate, Sen. Andy Uba, announced the postponement in a statement issued on Saturday in Abuja.
He noted that there had been several attacks by gunmen in Anambra over the past weeks, leading to destruction of properties and killings.
This, he stated, included the recent murder of Dr Chike Akunyili, widower of late Dora Akunyili, ex-minister of Information and Communications among others.
“As a mark of respect and honour for all those who have lost their lives I, in consultation with the leadership of our party and campaign council, have decided to cancel the campaign flag-off rally scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 2, 2021 in Onitsha.
“You will all agree with me that our culture and tradition hold lives sacred.
“It follows, therefore, that the safety and preservation of lives of our people must at all times take precedence over any political interest, activities and or associations.
“I, Sen. Andy Uba, will be the very last person to sacrifice or play politics with the lives of our people. Neither will I allow anybody to do so under my watch,’’ he stated.
He added that like every other well-meaning member of the public, he had followed with much sadness and grief, the recent unfortunate and mindless state of violence and insecurity in Anambra.
“I have also watched with disdain, obvious breakdown of institutional capacity and inability of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA)-led state government to address security challenges and prevent the state from further descent into anarchy and chaos.
“My sincere condolences to all who have lost loved ones in the on-going politically motivated killings in Anambra.
“To `Ndi Anambra’ who are living in fear of their lives and property as a result of the on-going mayhem, I bring you a message of hope.
“Hope in God under whose divine protection as Christians we go about our daily activities; hope in our collective capacity and republican nature to resist all forms of evil,’’ he stated.
Uba, however, charged residents of the state to go about their normal lawful businesses, adding that they should be vigilant and take necessary precaution to ensure that their lives and property were not put in harm’s way.
He assured that he would ensure that politically-motivated killings in the state were brought to an end to enable the people of Anambra to go about their lawful businesses without fear of any sort.
Zoning may leave us with useless presidential candidates in 2023 – Sanusi
Former Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi has expressed fear of zoning leaving Nigeria with two “useless presidential candidates” in 2023.
In an interview with Arise TV, Sanusi stated that he has always opposed the idea of rotational presidency. He noted that what Nigeria needs at the moment is a President who can deliver.
The former Central Bank of Nigeria Governor said;
“I have always objected to this idea that we should focus on where the president comes from. We have got southern governors saying we want the presidency and some northern governors saying that they want it in the north. Have you noticed that nobody has given the name of what they want?
“This whole thing is to corner the presidency to one part of the country and the big masquerade will come out. And that is why at the end of the exercise, you end up as Nigeria… presented with two useless candidates. Those who want to be president should show their face either from the north or the south.
“Meanwhile, we have before us very serious issues. You have a simple issue of electronic transmission of results which is designed to make the electoral process fairer and you have people saying that they do not want it, shamelessly announcing to the country that they want to rig. Why are we not talking about these issues?
“The greatest weakness we have as a country is that we do not think. We are very smart when it comes to making money by doing our work but we do not apply critical intellect to and these guys just take the entire country for a ride.
“Give me a president from any part of the country who can deliver and we should vote for him. He is not taking the presidency to his hometown.”
On distribution of funds, Sanusi noted that though he is an advocate of less money at the centre, governors are also guilty of not distributing funds to the local government.
He said;
“I don’t want to talk about this matter because it’s in court but what we need is to learn how to distribute our resources properly.
“I’m a strong advocate of less money at the centre because this puts too much concentration on money from Abuja but the bulk of this Tax problem comes from not implementing what we have.
“These governors fighting for VAT are extremely undemocratic they hold on to money meant for the local government yet keeps complaining.
“The state governors complain what federal government do to them but don’t care about what they do to the local government, thereby ignoring the constitution.
“If we really want to put in for federalism we need to respect our constitution and do it at all tiers of government then I believe our constitution can work.
“ Let’s make what we have work and we’ll see this constitution is not that bad.”
