Politics

Independent Campaign Council rolls out plans to ensure APC victory in Lagos

Published

9 months ago

January 12, 2023

• ‘We’re complementing party’s efforts, not working at cross purposes’ – Tayo Ayinde

The Independent Campaign Council (ICC) working for election of the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and the re-election of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu in Lagos State has launched a data driven campaign strategy to ensure the success of the party in the State.

The support group said it would leave no stone unturned in galvanising and mobilising the electorate at the grassroots level in order to deliver five million votes promised the APC candidate in next month’s presidential election.

At its inaugural meeting held in Alausa on Wednesday, the group’s Director General, Mr. Tayo Ayinde, charged members of all directorates to intensify their activities across the local councils, while using the ICC structure to promote the party’s achievements.

The meeting, attended by directors of all the directorates within the group, was chaired by the ICC chairman, Cardinal James Odunmbaku, popularly known as Baba Eto.

Ayinde, who is the Chief of Staff to Governor Sanwo-Olu, said the selection and appointment of the directorates’ leaders was based on the testimony of their loyalty to APC and their capacity to deliver their polling units.

The group’s Director General said the ICC would be adopting a bottom-up approach to garner support for the APC’s candidates, as direct response to the evolving voter demographics and electoral rules.

He reminded the ICC directors that stakes were higher, because of the desperation of the opposition parties to use “cheap blackmail and empty rhetoric” to hoodwink undecided voters.

Ayinde said: “APC has a pedigree of incomparable electoral success in Lagos, which has become the home of progressive politics in the federation. The party’s electoral successes have also been matched with trail-blazing, proactive governance for the common good of the majority of the citizens since 1999. The current responsibility of ICC is to take the messages of ‘Awa lo kan’ and ‘a Greater Lagos Rising’ to every nook and cranny of Lagos, to every stakeholder, to every voting block and every voter.

“Our campaign must be robust, enlightening, issues-based and focussed on competence, pedigree, the need for structural continuity and public trust. Our products are not only good but they are the best. The manifesto and programmes of our candidates are already available to the public as reference and tool for selling them to the electorate. Like every good product, we have a responsibility to soft-sell our candidates to Lagosians by highlighting their competences and promises.

“We are not unmindful of the fact that there is a big gap to fill between our existing electoral results and the current target. There is a big gap between the previous data of registered voters, active voters and the current equivalents. We are determined to run a data-driven campaign towards retaining our core voters, identifying undecided voters and bridging the gap for the success of APC in Lagos. We shall assign, record and review our activities to ensure this objective is realised.”

The ICC Director General, however, hailed APC campaign council for its commitment towards promoting the party’s successes.

Ayinde dismissed the notion that the ICC was initiated to work at cross purposes with the APC campaign council structure in the State, noting that the independent group and the party were not in competition except working in complementary roles to achieve the same objective.

He said many of the ICC directors were party leaders, while the field officers selected to work in the directorates belonged to various grassroots organisations.

The Director General charged them to adopt effective strategies and tactics to reach out to potential voters.

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

7 days 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.”