Politics

2023 Election: Dogara joins PDP

Published

10 months ago

December 5, 2022

A former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, has dumped the ruling All Progressives Congress for the Peoples Democratic Party.

This comes barely 48 hours after Dogara and some aggrieved northern APC leaders declared support for the presidential candidate of the PDP, Atiku Abubakar.

This followed several months of political permutations as the Northern Elders Consultative Forum, including the Christian leaders in the All Progressives Congress in the North on Friday formally adopted Atiku.

According to them, Atiku was adopted following the resolve of the Northern Christian leaders to work with their Muslim counterparts to adopt one of the presidential candidates in a bid to defeat the same-faith presidential ticket of the APC.

Dogara was received into the party during the presidential campaign by the party’s presidential candidate and former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar in the nation’s commercial capital, Lagos State.

The development back then was announced to State House correspondents by the chairman of the APC Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Committee, Mai Mala Buni, who said the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), was happy seeing Dogara return to the party.

Dogara, alongside former President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, and some governors had left the APC for the PDP ahead of the 2019 general election.

Fast forward to 2022, Dogara not only declared support for Atiku but has defected to the opposition party, after the Dogara-led Northern Elders Consultative Forum, claimed the Muslim-Muslim ticket of the APC was a minus to the ruling party.

The group had said the leaders took consideration of the existing structure of the PDP, capacity of the candidates, evidence of national penetration, religious and ethnic balance, among others to arrive at the decision.

It was observed that the APC and PDP are almost at par in terms of political structure, but the compounding albatross on the neck of APC is the “unfortunate self-inflicted divisive same-faith-ticket which cannot guarantee the desired peace, unity and cohesion in Nigeria, a decision that has been kicked against by a huge population of Nigerians.”

Dogara was appointed as a member of the PPD Campaign Council on Sunday.

In a statement on Sunday, Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State, who also doubles as the Director-General of the PDP PCO, said the appointment was with immediate effect.

Part of the statement read, “The leadership of the PDP Presidential Campaign Council wishes to formally announce that Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara, has been appointed as a member of the Presidential Campaign Council with immediate effect.

“This is part of our continuous effect in joining hands with our presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, to recover our great country, Nigeria.”

Politics

Kaduna Governorship Election Declared Inconclusive

Published

6 days ago

September 28, 2023

Yinka Rahman

Tribunal Declares Kaduna Governorship Election Inconclusive

The Kaduna Governorship Election Petition Tribunal has declared the governorship election in the state held on March, 18 as inconclusive.

In a split decision of a ratio of 2:1, the tribunal declared the election inconclusive and directed that a supplementary election should be held by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) within 90 days. INEC is to conduct election in 7 wards in 4 Local Government Areas.

LAGOS READY TO DRIVE YOUR PASSION, SANWO-OLU TELLS YOUNG CEOS IN TECH SPACE

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is challenging the election of Uba Sani as the Governor of Kaduna State on the grounds of alleged irregularities and electoral fraud, saying that its Candidate (Isa Mohammed Ashiru) won the election.

During the hearing of the petition, the PDP and Ashiru called 24 witnesses and presented claims and documents to prove their case.

More details later

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Politics

Lagos Governorship Elections: Rhodes-Vivour Takes Next Step After Tribunal Verdict

Published

1 week ago

September 27, 2023

Yinka Rahman

Lagos Governorship Elections: Rhodes-Vivour Takes Next Step After Tribunal Verdict

The governorship candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in Lagos, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour has announced his intention to appeal the verdict of the Lagos Governorship Elections Petitions Tribunal.

Rhodes-Vivour stated this in a press release on Tuesday while sharing his stance on the judgement.

He insisted that the essence of democracy not only lies in one’s ability to vote but also the capacity to defend the votes.

The essence of democracy lies not only in our ability to vote but also in our capacity to defend the integrity of that vote.

“Consequently, our laws allow Governorship candidates to challenge the decisions of the electoral tribunals at the Court of Appeal, and up to the Supreme Court. In light of this, my lawyers have been instructed to appeal this judgment, as we remain confident of getting substantial justice at the appellate courts,” he said.

While urging his supporters and Lagosians in general to remain calm, peaceful, and law-abiding, Rhodes-Vivour expressed the hope of getting substantial justice at the appellate courts.

“In these trying times, your unwavering support means the world to us, we must remain united, vigilant, and hopeful.

The ultimate victory may take time to come our way, but it is, we strongly believe inevitable as we have come to understand that the wheels or justice may sometimes grind slowly but it definitely grinds to a sure end,” the LP candidate added.

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Politics

I’ll continue to fight – Atiku breaks silence on tribunal judgement

Published

4 weeks ago

September 5, 2023

Yinka Rahman

The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the last election, Atiku Abubakar, has vehemently rejected the verdict of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT).

We recall that PEPT on Wednesday struck out the petition filed by Atiku and his Labour Party (LP) counterpart, Peter Obi, challenging the victory of President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the February 25 election.

The tribunal held that the petitions by the candidates and their parties lacked merit, upholding the election of Tinubu.

The judgement was delivered by the chairman of the tribunal, Justice Haruna Tsammani, assisted by other members of the panel, namely justices Monsurat Bolaji-Yusuf, Stephen Adah, Moses Ugo, and Abba Mohammed.

Reacting, Atiku, in a press conference in Abuja on Thursday, rejected the verdict, saying the battle to upturn Tinubu’s victory continues.

The former Vice President, who called himself a fighter, said he had instructed his legal team to file an appeal at the Supreme Court.

He said:

“I am here today to give my official reaction to the judgement delivered yesterday by the Presidential Election Petition Court on the 2023 presidential elections.

“As you already know, I approached the court following the declaration by the INEC that the APC and its candidate are the winners of the February 25 elections. My decision to go to court was anchored in my belief that the court is the sanctuary of justice.

“Indeed, I am no stranger to legal battles. I can say that I have a fair idea of how the court system works. All through my career as a politician, I have been a fighter, and I will continue to fight.

“Our aim of conducting credible elections in the country was compromised by INEC through the way it managed the presidential election.

“I am afraid that the judgement of the PEPT yesterday failed to restore confidence in our dream of free and fair elections devoid of human manipulation.

“I am here to tell you that though the judgement of the court yesterday is respected, it is a judgement that I refused to accept.

“I refuse to accept it because I believe it is devoid of substantial justice. I have asked my lawyers to constitutionally activate the guaranteed right to appeal in the higher court.”