*LP, NNPP, SDP yet to announce Campaign Council
*LP fully ready for campaigns – Nat. Chairman
The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), and main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have yet come out of their threatening crisis, as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declares today, September 28, 2022, as commencement date for political party campaigns ahead of the 2023 general elections.
INEC had earlier in the Time table of political activities released months back noted that campaigns by political parties and their candidates will begin today.
The commission announced that while the Presidential and National Assembly elections have been slated to hold first on February 25, 2023 the governorship and State Assembly elections will be held on March 11, 2023.
The INEC chairman said the dates followed the signing of the amendments to the Electoral Bill by President Muhammadu Buhari.
As political campaigns flag off today, only the opposition PDP has officially constituted its Presidential campaign Council (PCC), with Governor Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto state as the chairman
The opposition party is however going into the campaign as a divided house in crisis following the disagreement between the Governor Nyesom Wike led group and the presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, over the call for the resignation of the party’s national Chairman, Senator Iyorchia Ayu
Wike and his group, which has held several meetings with both the presidential candidate of the ruling APC, Bola Tinubu and his Labour Party (LP) counterpart, Peter Obi, have insisted that the resignation of Ayu will be the only condition for 6them to support Atiku’s presidential bid
The ruling APC, which had last Friday released a list of 422 Presidential Campaign Council, wasted no time to withdraw the list, after the inauguration of the members suffered two surprise postponements
Facts emerged that the controversies had trailed the released list of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), leading to is eventual withdrawal and indefinite suspension of the inauguration which failed to hold on Monday and Wednesday as earlier planned
Sources at the APC National Secretariat informed that the 422 man list, which was earlier released by the PCC was rejected by both the APC Governors and party’s national Working Committee (NWC), who accused the APC presidential candidate, Bola Ahmed inubu of snubbing them in the composition of the PCC list
It was gathered further that delay in the composition of the list as a result of disagreement between the NWC, APC Governors and he Tinubu group, over the sharing of positions in PCC
The APC Governors, who had earlier accused the presidential candidate of not carrying them along in his campaign activities, further protested the non inclusion of their nominees in the council
They noted that the PCC which asked them to submit five names each for he campaign council, failed to list their nominees, and went behind to pick peoples from their states outside their own list
The disagreement informed the visit of Tinubu and his running mate, Kashim Shettima to the NWC, where a three man NWC member was constituted to liaise with the Tinubu group to harmonize the list
The NWC ea mitt was further gatherer failed to agree with the Tinubu group of the sharing of positions before the list was first released, leading to reports that the NWC had already disassociated itself from the earlier scheduled council inauguration citing the impunity of the PCC.
Director, Media and Publicity for the APC PCC, Bayo Onanuga, in a statement, had announced that the council inauguration earlier scheduled for Monday, would be conducted on Wednesday (Today).
“The APC PCC wishes to inform all the 422 members nominated to serve in the various directorates to report at the campaign headquarters on Wednesday Sept. 28, 2022 at 8 a.m. Nominated members are expected to participate in the special prayer sessions marking the commencement of the 2023 presidential election campaigns,” Onanuga said.
But in another statement which was released early Tuesday, Director-General, Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Governor Simon Lalong, announced an indefinite suspension of the inauguration of the PCC
The Plateau State Governor explained that the decision to postpone the inauguration and other activities of the campaign council indefinitely was to accommodate new additions.
Governor Lalong, who announced the cancellation of the activities for the inauguration in a statement he titled; ‘Adjustment of the timetable of activities earmarked to commence campaigns by the Tinubu/Shettima presidential campqign council” however promised that; “a new date and timetable of events will be announced soon.”
The statement read: “recall that we had earlier earmarked a peace walk and prayers for Wednesday, September 28, 2022, to officially kick-off our campaigns for the 2023 presidential elections.
“We had also announced that the members of the Campaign Council report at the Campaign Headquarters on that day to collect their letters of appointments.
“However, due to the expansion of the list to accommodate more stakeholders and interests within the APC family, we have decided to adjust the time-table of these activities in order to ensure everyone is on board before activities officially commence. Consequently, the activities earlier announced for the 28th of September will no longer hold,” he emphatically announced.
Reacting further, Governor Lalong quipped that; “as the ruling and most attractive party in Nigeria, we understand the sacrifices and understanding of our teeming members who are more than willing to volunteer themselves for this great task ahead. It also shows the enormous love that the party members have for our candidates.”
Also the Labour Party and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi is yet o consiue is Presidenial campaign Council as campaign ac6tiviies have begun, Also other political parties like he New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP), Social Democratic Party (SDP), are not talking of having any form of campaign council
…Labour Party ready for campaigns
Meanwhile despite not having a campaign council on ground, the Labour Party has insisted that it is ready to commence campaign activities ahead of the 2023 elections, in line with the Independent National Electoral Commission’s guidelines.
The national chairman, who remained silent on the constitution of campaign council by the LP, also commended the INEC on its position on incumbent political office holders who use the power of incumbency to deny opposition parties access to public facilities for campaigns, an action which the Commission said was illegal and would attract sanctions as spelt out in the Electoral Act 2022.
He described the position of INEC as germane with the recent attacks on the supporters of Labour Party candidates across the nation particularly in Ebonyi, Enugu, Kastina and Kaduna amongst other states.
“It is a fact that the popularity and influence of Labour Party recently has been astonishing wherein it has witnessed exponential and geometric growth across the states, the fear factor being expressed by the other political parties which has pushed them into resorting to obstructing and in some cases manhandling of otherwise, Labour party supporters who have been embarking on peaceful rallies, is a threat to our democracy.
“As a political party, we promise Nigerians that the party would run an issue based campaign. We have also put our house in order, and we will be coming up with a formidable team that will run the campaign and that will deliver power to the real owners, the people.
“The Labour Party will continue to maintain that when we form government in 2023, the party will hold our presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi and other candidates contesting on the platform of the party accountable if they renege on the social contract entered with the people
“This 2023 general elections and the campaign is all about the people, tjey are the ones that will drive the process. They are the ones already driving it as you can see across the length and breathe of Nigeria. We are only giving direction to it,” he stated.
Gov. Ikpeazu, Sen. Nnamani absent as Atiku declares self shortcut to Igbo presidency
The Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, on Tuesday, solicited for the support of the Igbo of South eastern Nigeria, as he told the stakeholders that gathered to interact with him in Enugu that his administration would ensure a South east president after him
Atiku, who made the declaration as he met with PDP stakeholders from the Southern in Enugu, as part of his consultation, reminded the Igbo that he remains their in-law, having had three children from his Igbo wife
The stakeholders meeting was however boycotted by Governor ofAbia State, Okezie Ikpeazu, Enugu East senator, and former Governor Chimaraoke Nnamani, and some other South-East stakeholders of the PDP.
While, Ikpeazu, a strong ally of Rivers Governor, Nyesom Wike, is among those calling for the resignation of the PDP national chairman, Iyorchia Ayu as a condition for hem to support Atiku, former Enugu sae Governor, Nnamani, a PDP senator. Has not hidden his support for the presidential candidate of the APC, Bola tinubu, as against Atiku
The former Governor who was listed as a member of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Presidential campaign council, was still showing his admiration for the APC presidential candidate, Ahmed Bola Tinubu on his social media pages, while the Atiku meeting with stakeholders was ongoing.
He wrote: “HE Tinubu is my friend, brother and colleague. I have great respect for him, his political antecedents and strides in governance. And I am very proud and well pleased with him. Anybody belly aching should go himself.”
Atiku, who spoke during a crucial meeting with PDP South East stakeholders at the BASE Event Centre, said he has severally demonstrated his readiness to hand over to the people of the zone if they support him to ascend the office of the presidency in 2023, describing himself as the stepping stone to Igbo presidency.
“I am the stepping stone for Igbo to become President of Nigeria,” he said, maintaining that he would win the 2023 presidential polls.
Atiku said he would prioritise developmental projects in South East and other regions of the country, saying that any project sited in any state of the federation is not a favour to such state rather a favour to Nigeria.
“The second Niger Bridge in Onitsha is not a favour to the South East; rather it is or should be seen as a favour to Nigeria. This is because it is not only the people of the South East that use the bridge,” Atiku said.
On his relationship with the Igbo, the former Vice President said that he had close relationship with the Igbo which influenced his choices of Senator Ben Obi and Mr. Peter Obi as his running mates in his two previous outings as Presidential candidate, adding that he has chosen another Igbo (Ifeanyi Okowa) for the third time as his running mate.
Atiku added: “I have three Igbo children and I am saying this for the very first time in public.”
