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APC Adopts Direct Primaries for Presidential Candidate, Allows States Choice of Selection

Published

8 years ago

August 30, 2018

Eric

The National Executive Committee of the All Progressives Congress on Thursday adopted the direct primary method for the selection of its presidential candidate, while states will be allowed to choose which of the methods best suits their peculiarities.

The party however said that states willing to use the direct primary method should write officially to the National Secretariat.

This was part of the resolutions reached by the party’s second highest decision-making body after its NEC meeting in Abuja on Thursday.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Governor Simeon Lalong of Plateau made this known while briefing the media at the end of the party’s sixth National Executive Committee meeting on Thursday in Abuja.

NAN reports that President Muhamnadu Buhari is APC’s preferred presidential candidate, as he has been endorsed by different organs of the party for a second term.

Lalong explained that the Constitution of the party “provides for either direct, indirect or consensus, but for the presidential election, we all agreed that we will adopt direct primaries.

“Also, a recommendation was made by the National Working Committee (NWC) that states should adopt the indirect mode, but there may be situations that this might be difficult in the states, looking at their peculiarities.

”But the general option is that we go in for indirect option but any state that has a problem and will want to deviate is at liberty to write, following the normal process, with a resolution from the State Executive to the National Executive,” he said.

Lalong said that the NEC meeting also discussed the mode and guidelines for the 2019 general election, funding and the necessity for unity within the party following recent defections by some members.

He, however, added that rather than affect the party negatively, the gale of defections had strengthened it more.

The governor disclosed that the party’s NWC had been mandated to look into issues of electoral sequence that was raised after deliberations in line with the Electoral Act.

He also stated that a standing committee had been set up to look at the party’s funding for the coming elections, and stated that automatic ticket for party members was not discussed at the meeting.

“We didn’t discuss the issue of automatic ticket, but we discussed that yes, patriotic and loyal party members should be rewarded but not necessarily with automatic ticket,” he said.

Lalong said that meeting also looked at the issue of N21 million Expression of Interest and Nomination Form fee for governorship aspirants in the party as proposed by the NWC.

He said the cost was debated and was left to the party’s NWC to consider the views expressed and come up with “a reasonable figure”.

The Punch

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Tinubu Nominates Oyedele As Minister of State for Finance, Moves Anite-Uzoka to Budget Ministry

Published

13 hours ago

March 3, 2026

Eric

A statement signed by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy Bayo Onanuga, has announced that “President Bola Tinubu has nominated Taiwo Oyedele as the minister of state for finance, replacing Doris Anite-Uzoka.

“Mrs Anite-Uzoka will now move to the Ministry of Budget and National Planning, as the Minister of State, her third portfolio in the administration.

“President Tinubu has today conveyed the nomination of Mr Oyedele to the Senate for confirmation in a letter to the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.

“Until President Tinubu nominated him as a minister, Mr Oyedele from Ikaram, Akoko, Ondo State, was the chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, which overhauled Nigeria’s tax system.

“Mr Oyedele, 50, is an economist, accountant and public policy expert.

“He attended Yaba College of Technology, where he obtained a Higher National Diploma (HND) in accountancy and finance. He attended Oxford Brookes University and earned a BSc in applied accounting.

“He also completed executive education programmes at the London School of Economics, Yale University, the Gordon Institute of Business Science, and the Harvard Kennedy School.

“Mr Oyedele spent 22 years of his working career at PwC, joining in 2001 and rising to become the Fiscal Policy Partner and Africa Tax Leader.

“Mr Oyedele is also a professor at Babcock University in Ogun State and a visiting scholar at the Lagos Business School.”

Featured

Defection: Atiku’s Son, Adamu, Resigns As Adamawa Commissioner

Published

19 hours ago

March 3, 2026

Eric

Adamu Abubakar, the first son of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, has resigned as Adamawa State’s commissioner for works and energy development, days after Governor Ahmadu Fintiri defected from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress.

Abubakar’s resignation letter, dated 2 March 2026, was addressed to the governor through the Secretary to the State Government. He gave no reason for his departure.

The timing is pointed. Fintiri announced his defection to the APC in a statewide broadcast last Friday, saying his cabinet and the PDP’s state structure had moved with him. Within 24 hours, 22 commissioners and special advisers publicly announced they were following suit. Abubakar, whose father remains one of the PDP’s most prominent national figures, was not among them.

In a statement issued Monday night, Abubakar’s media aide Abdulaziz Jauro said the former commissioner thanked the governor for the opportunity to serve and pledged continued loyalty to the administration’s developmental agenda. He also expressed gratitude to his father “for granting him the moral support and blessing to serve the people of Adamawa State” — a line that, read in context, suggests Atiku was consulted on the decision.

Abubakar said his resignation was not a withdrawal from public life. “This does not mark the end of his commitment to public service,” the statement read, “but rather the beginning of new avenues for developmental collaboration.”

The resignation leaves unresolved the question of whether it reflects a political break with the governor over his defection or a personal decision unconnected to the broader party realignment now reshaping Adamawa’s political landscape.

Featured

DSS Nabs Man over Assassination Attempt on Peter Obi

Published

21 hours ago

March 3, 2026

Eric

Nigeria’s Department of State Services (DSS) has detained a man in connection with the recent attack and alleged assassination threats targeting Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi.

According to AIT, the shooting incident took place on February 24, 2026, in Benin City, Edo State, during a political gathering attended by Obi and several figures from the African Democratic Congress (ADC). The meeting was hosted by former APC National Chairman, John Oyegun. Gunmen reportedly opened fire at the venue, causing panic and forcing attendees to disperse for safety.

According to security sources, shortly after the attack, an individual identified as Udeme Monday Stephen allegedly took to social media claiming responsibility and issuing additional threats against Obi, warning of further violence.

Intelligence officials reportedly initiated swift investigations, employing digital tracing and forensic tools that led to the arrest of the 26-year-old suspect in Rivers State. He is said to be a teacher at a private secondary school in the Eliozu area of Obio-Akpor Local Government Area.

The suspect remains in DSS custody and is expected to face prosecution. The agency reiterated its commitment to responding to credible threats and safeguarding lives and national interests without bias.