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Why APC May Lose Ekiti Guber Election Plus the Tinubu, Aregbesola Connection

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By Eric Elezuo

While a lot of tough talks has been generated from the camp of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as regards the July 14, 2018 Ekiti governorship election, TheBoss can reveal that all is not well with the party, and that the possibility of losing woefully the governorship election is very strong.

From all corners, stalwarts of the party have lent their voices in the optimistic call for a change of the Ayo Fayose government, but the reality on ground has proved that all amounts to barefaced propaganda. This is even as notable chieftains are working underground against the emergence of the party in the state.

The party took the first wrong step when it was impossible for them to trim down the governorship aspirants. A whooping 33 persons were accredited to contest. The move was a clear testament to the ‘desperation’ of most of the party members as testified to by the incumbent Ekiti State governor, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, in mockery.

As a prelude to the expected loss of the party at the polls, the party was involved in a disgraceful outing on May 5, 2018 when the over 33 aspirants gathered to seek the approval of the over 2000 delegates who were accredited to vote. It only took about four local governments to vote before all hell was let loose, and the exercise was disrupted with skirmishes of casualties recorded.

The aspirants had blamed one of their own, a former governor of the state and the current Minister of Solid Minerals, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, of causing disaffection among delegates and introducing ‘money politics’ into the game. The exercise, which one of the aspirants, Senator Ayo Arise, described as “unfortunate and total embarrassment” was postponed to Friday, May 11, and later to Saturday May 12, by the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) after much deliberations.

But the crisis notwithstanding, most party members remain optimistic that the party will triumph, and flush the PDP government out of office. One of such people is Arise, who represented Ekiti North at the Senate between 2007 and 2011. His optimism, no doubt is not without the element of absolute pessimism.

“What happened was a shame because those who were supposed to conduct a free and fair election couldn’t do it. Some people were allowed to be exchanging cards, money, and promissory notes where being given for collection of cash after voting while the election was going on, and I believe this is the immediate cause of the reactions that we have all seen that has put us in Ekiti in a very bad light,” he said

He continued: “But I want to say that if such anomalies continue, it is very likely that we would still be getting the same result.”

The meeting the aspirants had with the South West leadership of the party did not produce much in terms of compromise as the number of aspirants remained 33, with no one willing to shift ground for the other.

However, after about 48 hours, one of the aspirants, Senator Babatunde Ojudu, withdrew his candidacy during a press briefing, citing his intention to bring about peace. But the tone of his address expresses the fact that all was not well. In his speech, he noted that “…you never can tell the man who will attempt to destroy what many others have built from one who will aspire to elevate that which is thrust into his hands.”

The dust of the botched primary was yet to settle when the hitherto rested new Peoples Democratic Party of 2013, sprung up like a colossus, penning a letter addressed to the party national chairman that portends more crises. In the letter, co-signed by Chief Olagunsoye Oyinlola, who is a South westerner, the group threatened to re-enact their act of 2013 if an ultimatum to address their grievances and draw the president’s attention to them is not achieved in seven days.

The letter proved to be a notice of call to resign from the APC as Oyinlola promptly resigned his Federal government appointment as Chairman of NIMC, and followed it up with dumping the APC. His departure from the party will surely have an adverse effect on the outcome of the Ekiti governorship polls, though Oyinlola is from Osun State.

It is also of great interest to note that for once in the history of South West election, the self-acclaimed kingmaker, and Jagaban of Borgu, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed, has not openly or otherwise supported any of the 33 aspirants. In other words, the former Lagos State governor has no person of interest in the July 14, 2018 debacle in Ekiti State. The implication is that the APC in Ekiti State is on their own as far as this election is concerned. And if the Jagaban is not interested, his cronies will definitely toe his line, and show no interest. And that is where the Governor of Osun State, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, comes in.

Aregbesola is not in any form of dilemma as regards where his loyalty lies in the forthcoming election. If for anything, investigation reveals that the Osun State helmsman has a long standing relationship with the maverick governor of Ekiti State, and will not hesitate to give an arm to see that the candidate of the outspoken governor carries the day. Consequently, with his principal not backing any candidate in the real sense of it, Aregbesola, who is due to leave office later in the year, has no loyalty to any individual candidate.

Many has argued that much as Tinubu had a candidate during the Ondo State governorship election in 2016, he still lost out, and APC won, the Ekiti experience will not be any different. But political followers have said that Ondo issue did not come with much discountenance as is presently being experienced neither were there an avalanche of contestants in the ring.

APC’s impending doom is also a function of the orderliness with which the PDP has held its own version of the primary. In the case of the PDP, the number was trimmed to three prior to the day of the election, and further reduced to two on the election day when Senator Abiodun Ogunjimi stepped down for the former PDP spokesman, Dr. Dayo Adeyeye, who eventually lost to Fayose’s anointed candidate, and Deputy Governor of Ekiti State, Mr. Kolapo Ishola.

Though Adeyeye has decamped after his loss to Ishola, calling the party Poverty Development Party, the larger than life image of Fayose holds the ace as the decider for the election.

For Kolade Ishola and his fellow contestants, the month of June will definitely be the busiest for them in their entire life, but much as the PDP is favoured to win, all the candidates are wished the best in their quest to sit on the big chair of Ayodele Fayose.

 

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Pastor Tunde Bakare: Celebrating a Visionary Preacher @70

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By Eric Elezuo

He is visionary, blunt, articulate, passionate, fiery, evangelical, fearless, controversial and the newest septugenarian. He is the Founder and Presidng Pastor of the Citadel Global Community Church (CGCC), formally known as the Latter Rain Assembly. He is Pastor Tunde Bakare.

A thought provoking preacher, social commentator, legal expert and politician, Tunde Bakare has come of age in the business called Nigeria.

Born on November 11, 1954, Pastor Bakare is regarded as not only a prophetic-apostolic pastor, but a social and economic image maker, whose contributions to the originality, truth and oneness of the nation cannot be overemphasized.

Originally a Muslim, who embraced the Christian faith in 1974 at the age of 20, Bakare has contributed his quota as a nation builder, seeking both the Vice president and president positions of the nation on two different occasions.

Pastor Bakare started his educational life at All Saints Primary School, Kemta, Abeokuta, and subsequently Lisabi Grammar School, Abeokuta, where he obtained both the School Leaving Certificate and the West Africa Examination Council certificate

After his secondary education, he was admitted into the University of Lagos where he studied Law between 1977 and 1980 before attending Law School in 1981, and was subsequently called to the Bar and following his time in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).

Bakare kickstarted his career when he started practicing law at the Gani Fawehinmi Chambers. His dexterity on the job propelled him to Rotimi Williams & Co., and later to Burke & Co., Solicitors.

In October 1984, he went solo, and established his own law firm, Tunde Bakare & Co. (El-Shaddai Chambers). Within the preceeding periods, he combined his legal duties with pastoral functions working as a legal adviser at the Deeper Life Bible Church, and later moving to the Redeemed Christian Church of God, where he became pastor and founded the Model Parish.

Following his time at the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Bakare left to start the Latter Rain Assembly Church in 1989, known today aa CGCC, where he presently serves as the General Overseer. In addition to his time in the church, he zeroed into part time politics, serving as the running-mate to presidential candidate Muhammadu Buhari in the 2011 presidential election. Bakare has been critical of Nigeria’s leadership and has sparked controversy with comments considered inflammatory regarding Muslims and other spiritual leaders.

Also in 2019, Bakare announced his intention to run for president of Nigeria following the end of Buhari’s second term with a total conviction that he has a direct mandate to do and will surely become the next president of Nigeria. He joined the All Progressives Congress (APC) but, lost at the primaries conducted at Eagle Square, Abuja, in May 2022. He launched his then political trajectory under the New Nigeria Progressive Movement.

While expressing his intentions to run for the 2023 presidential election towards becoming the next president of Nigeria to church members in 2019 when he was quoted as saying, “I will succeed Buhari as President of Nigeria; nothing can change it. I am number 16, and Buhari is number 15. I never said it to you before. I am saying it now, and nothing can change it. In the name of Jesus, he (Buhari) is number 15. I am number 16. To this end, I was born, and for this purpose, I came into the world. I have prepared you for this for more than 30 years.”

Bakare also presides over the Global Apostolic Impact Network (GAIN), a network of churches, ministries, and kingdom businesses committed to advancing the Kingdom of God on earth as well as the President of Latter Rain Ministries, Inc. (Church Development Center) in Atlanta, GA, USA, a ministry committed to restoring today’s church to the scriptural pattern. He was given a Doctor of Ministry degree by Indiana Christian University under the leadership of his mentor, Dr. Lester Sumrall, in 1996.

Bakare has been instrumental to some uprisings in the country that challenge unhealthy administrations. It would be recalled that his Occupied Nigeria Movement led the protest against the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan in January 2012 after minor increase in fuel price. The protest was a total success, and led to reduction in fuel pump price.

Also a social critic, Bakare is critical of Miyetti Allah, labeling the Fulani herdsmen as a group of terrorists who rape, murder, and kidnap innocent civilians. Several Fulani Islamic scholars criticized Bakare’s comments about Fulani herdsmen as Islamophobic. Bakare had said that Fulani herdsmen were driving Nigeria towards a civil war.

He also holds a yearly state of the nation address to set the stage for the future and review national issues of the year past.

In his 2019 address, he stated, “We can therefore confidently state that, over the past thirty years, we have faithfully executed our God-given mandate to the nation from this platform. Over the past thirty years, we have deployed appropriate tools for appropriate occasions, from prophetic declarations to confrontational advocacy and from political activism to propositional policy advisory. Over the past thirty years, we have done this consistently, sometimes at the risk of being misunderstood by friends and foes alike.

“We have been motivated not by wavering
opinions of men but by our unshakeable faith in our national destiny and an unalloyed commitment to seeing that destiny fulfilled.”

Reports have it that he was arrested in March 2002 after preaching sermons critical of Nigeria’s then-president, Olusegun Obasanjo.

No matter how it is viewed, and the direction of his controversies, one thing is obvious, Bakare has stood on the side of truth, hope, and justice, and has remained consistent over the years.

The Serving Overseer has been very vocal, his trademark, over the recent hardship in the country, condemning the politicians for preaching what they cannot practice.

He said Nigerian politicians were not living lean or sacrificing like the rest of the citizens whom they asked to sacrifice for the country by enduring economic hardship.

Bakare said this while delivering the keynote address with the theme: “Cultivating a Culture of Dialogue: Nurturing Understanding in a Culturally and Socially Diverse Nation” at Wilson and Yinka Badejo Memorial Lecture 2024.

He is a strong believer in the theory that the pen is mightier than the sword. He write in an essay of same title that:

“The likes of Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Kwame Nkrumah, and Chief Obafemi Awolowo, armed with no other weapon, mobilised the Queen’s language in the struggle for independence from the Queen. They fought their battles through such media as West African Pilot, Accra Evening News and The Tribune. Decades after independence, when free, fair and credible elections were annulled, and a tyrannical dictatorship held sway, the Nigerian press took up the baton and contended against the sword of oppression by deploying the armoury of vocabulary. I am so glad that the labours of these pen warriors and all others who fought for the democracy we enjoy today have not been in vain after all.”

For seven decades, Pastor Bakare has remained a voice in Nigeria politics, religion and socio-economic circle, relating with with Nigerians according to where the matter lies.

On this occasion of your 70th Birthday, we celebrate your consistency, focus and leadership acumen that has affected the people positively.

Congratulations sir!

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US Polls: Tinubu, UK PM Starmer Congratulate Trump

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President Bola Tinubu has extended his heartfelt congratulations to President Donald Trump on his re-election as the 47th President of the United States of America.

A statement by Special Adviser to the President (Information & Strategy), Bayo Onanuga on Wednesday, said President Tinubu looks forward to strengthening the relations between Nigeria and the United States amid the complex challenges and opportunities of the contemporary world.

Donald Trump claimed victory on Wednesday and pledged to “heal” the country as results put him on the verge of beating Kamala Harris in a stunning White House comeback.

President Tinubu said: “Together, we can foster economic cooperation, promote peace, and address global challenges that affect our citizens.”

According to President Tinubu, Trump’s victory reflects the trust and confidence the American people have placed in his leadership. He congratulates them on their commitment to democracy.

President Tinubu believes that, given President Trump’s experience as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021, his return to the White House as the 47th president will usher in an era of earnest, beneficial, and reciprocal economic and development partnerships between Africa and the United States.

Acknowledging the United States’ influence, power, and position in determining the trend and course of global events, the Nigerian leader trusts that President Trump will bring the world closer to peace and prosperity.

Meanwhile, the British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, has congratulated Donald Trump on his “historic election victory”, adding that the UK-US special relationship would “continue to prosper”.

“As the closest of allies, we stand shoulder to shoulder in defence of our shared values of freedom, democracy and enterprise. From growth and security to innovation and tech, I know that the UK-US special relationship will continue to prosper on both sides of the Atlantic for years to come,” he said.

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Just in: Chief of Army Staff, Taoreed Lagbaja is Dead

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The Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, is dead.

Lagbaja died after battling an undisclosed ailment. He was 56 years of age.

He was appointed COAS by President Bola Tinubu on June 19, 2023.

On October 20, the army dismissed rumours that Lagbaja had passed on, adding that the army chief was undergoing medical treatment abroad.

On October 30, Tinubu appointed Olufemi Oluyede as the acting COAS.

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