Featured

Why I left PDP – Obasanjo

Published

6 years ago

July 15, 2018

Eric

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, on Saturday, vowed to lead the coalition that would unseat President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019.

The former President, however, advised the 39 political parties and associations, which signed a Memorandum of Understanding in a grand alliance ahead of general elections last Wednesday, to be cautious of external forces which he believed might want to destabilise the arrangement.

Obasanjo spoke during a closed-door meeting with a 21-man team, led by the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Prince Uche Secondus, which visited him in Abeokuta on Saturday.

The meeting was held at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, Abeokuta, the Ogun State captial.

Among those at the meeting were the Chairman, Board of Trustees of the PDP, Senator Walid Jibrin; a former Deputy National Chairman of the party, Chief Olabode George; a former Governor of Osun State, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola; and members of the National Working Committee of the PDP.

A source at the meeting, who spoke with one of our correspondents on condition of anonymity, said the ex-President told the gathering that he was ready to lead the coalition that would sack Buhari in the 2019 presidential election.

Obasanjo was also said to have told them that he played a prominent role in the formation of the coalition that met in Abuja last week where the parties signed a Memorandum of Understanding to field a single presidential candidate in 2019.

The source added, “The former President asked the attendees (at the MoU signing) to get ready for a fight in 2019 and that he is ready to lead the coalition.

“He told us that it would not be a tea party, and that we should be ready to field a single presidential candidate and that all others would line up behind such candidate.

“He also warned us against saboteurs and that we must be ready to make sacrifices.”

It was also gathered that the former President told his visitors why he left the PDP.

According to multiple sources at the meeting, Obasanjo said he left the former ruling party when a sitting governor was busy abusing him and the leaders of the party refused to caution him.

“He said he decided to leave because the governor (name withheld ) was abusing him and we refused to caution him. He said the governor was also mobilising people to remove him as the chairman of the BoT. He said he decided to leave when we didn’t do anything about these,” the source added.

However, the media aide to the ex-President, Kehinde Akinyemi, in a statement after the meeting, quoted Obasanjo to have advised his guests that all members of the political parties in the PDP-led alliance “must be cautious of fake news, rumours, blackmail and seeds of discord that may be sown among them from external quarters.”

The PDP, African Democratic Congress, the Reformed All Progressives Congress and 36 other political parties had, last week, signed a MoU to forge a grand alliance ahead of the 2019 general elections.

Obasanjo, who expressed confidence in the arrangement, advised that the individuality and independence of each political party must be respected by all parties concerned.

He had added that “it is also desirable that in the process of implementing the MoU to achieve the set objective, solidarity and focus on the objective must be maintained.

“The MOU for grand alliance is what it says – a grand alliance. It is not a merger nor an absorption of any political party by any political party.”

According to the statement, in the delegation were some members of the NWC of the PDP, who apologised to the former President for the way he was treated by the former ruling party.

While the former President told them he would no longer play partisan politics, he stated that his doors would remain opened to those who might need his advice on the way to move the country forward.

While speaking with journalists after the meeting, Secondus said though Obasanjo was no more a member of the PDP, his advice would help the party as the 2019 elections draw near.

He said, “Obasanjo is a national leader in this country. He is a father of the nation. So, we came to consult him. Our deliberation, although a little bit private, is connected to the 2019 polls.

“Yes, it is true Baba is no longer a member of the PDP, but he is a father of the nation. I believe that regardless of political parties, his direction is highly needed now to rescue Nigeria.”

George equally said the grand alliance was needed to rescue the country from the precipice, saying good managers were needed to manage the affairs of the country better.

The Punch

Featured

Stay Away from CBT Centres, JAMB Warns Parents, Threatens Arrest

Published

5 hours ago

April 18, 2024

Eric

As this year’s Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) begins on Friday, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has vowed to arrest parents found near any Computer-Based Test (CBT) centre during the 2024 UTME exercise.

The directive was issued at the final briefing of the CBT centre owners, which was held virtually on Wednesday, 17th April, 2024.

The spokesman for JAMB, Fabian Benjamin, said this directive became necessary following the intrusive disposition of some parents during the Board’s previous exercises.

Benjamin, who quoted JAMB Registrar Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, said any parent, who disobeys the order would not only be arrested but his ward would also be disqualified from sitting for the examination.

Oloyede explained that this measure became necessary as it has been discovered over time that many of these intruding parents are facilitators of examination infractions while others have, by their actions, disrupted the Board’s examinations in the past.

He added that some miscreants also disguise as parents to infiltrate the centres to perpetrate all forms of infractions.

“The Board’s helmsman noted that going by the extant national policy on education, a candidate for the examination must have attained the age of 17 years.

“Therefore, it is evident that these parents had not allowed their wards to pass through the classes as defined in the document, hence the desperation to follow their wards to the examination venue with the aim of compromising examination officials.

“At any rate, it is clear to any discerning observer that these parents deserve to be sanctioned as they had obviously ‘smuggled’ underage children into the ranks of those scheduled to sit the examination,” the Board note through a statement.

Furthermore, the Registrar said all arrangements have been concluded for the conduct of the 2024 UTME, which will be held in over 700 CBT centres across the nation.

He disclosed that the Board expects a seamless exercise but it has nevertheless made adequate provision to tackle any technical glitch that might occur in the course of the examination.

He, however, warned that if a session experienced any technical challenge, candidates in subsequent sessions would be allowed to sit their examination as scheduled while the candidates in the challenged session would be rescheduled for the last session for the day or the following day or even further depending on the centre schedules.

Featured

Oyo Govt Demolishes Operational Base of Yoruba Nation Agitators

Published

5 hours ago

April 18, 2024

Eric

The Oyo State government, on Wednesday, demolished a building serving as the operational base of the Yoruba Nation agitators led by Modupe Onitiri-Abiola, in Ibadan.

Onitiri-Abiola, one of the widows of late Bashorun M.KO Abiola, had declared the creation of the so-called Yoruba Nation in a video posted online, which has been widely condemned.

Last Saturday, some armed men in military uniforms invaded the Oyo State Secretariat, with the motive to forcefully take over the State House of Assembly, before they were dislodged by the combined efforts of police and troops for the Nigeria Army 2 Division..

Mr. Fatai Owoseni, Special Adviser on Security Matters to Governor Seyi Makinde, confirmed the demolition of the house located at Toye Oyesola Street in Ibadan South West Local Government Area.

Already, no fewer than 29 suspects – including a lecturer – arrested in connection with the foiled armed invasion were on Wednesday arraigned by the police before a Chief Magistrates’ Court in Ibadan.

In a case with charge number Mi/520c/2024 between the Commissioner of Police and the 29 suspects, they were accused of a seven-count charge of treasonable felony, unlawful society, illegal possession of firearms, and conduct likely to cause breach of peace.

Inspector Bakare Rasaq, the Investigative Police Officer (IPO) at the State Criminal Investigation Department, Iyaganku, Ibadan, said the offence contravenes, and is punishable under Section 516 of the Criminal Code, Cap 38, Vol. II, Laws of Oyo State of Nigeria, 2000.

Featured

PDP BoT Queries Damagum, Anyanwu’s Continued Stay in Office

Published

5 hours ago

April 18, 2024

Eric

The Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party has queried the continued stay in office of the party’s acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum, and National Secretary, Samuel Anyanwu.

Recently, many party members have raised concerns about the ongoing tenure of Damagum and Anywanwu in their respective positions.

Previously serving as the PDP National Deputy Chairman (North), Damagum assumed the role of acting National Chairman following the court’s suspension of the party’s National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, in March of the preceding year.

With the National Secretary being selected as the PDP candidate for the Imo State 2023 governorship election, the South zone has been grappling with nominating a replacement. Despite this, he, along with other party leaders, contested and retained the position of party secretary after losing to Governor Hope Uzodinnma.

The Punch