APC

By Uzair Adam Imam

Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 election, has lambasted President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over alleged false academic records.

Our reporters gathered that Tinubu’s credentials show that he graduated from Chicago State University (CSU) in 1979 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration, accounting and management.

However, Abubakar, who was the former Vice President of Nigeria, challenged Tinubu for not attending primary and secondary schools.

The Daily Reality learned that Abubakar had recently approached a U.S. court for an order compelling CSU to release the academic records of Tinubu.

Taking to his Twitter account on Sunday, Abubakar wondered how President Tinubu attended Chicago State University without primary and secondary education.

Atiku wrote, “I woke up this morning wondering how we got to this cul de sac. In 1999, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu claimed he attended St. John’s Primary School, Aroloya, Lagos, before proceeding to Children Home School in Ibadan.

“According to him, his next port of call in his educational journey was Government College Ibadan and, Richard Daley College and Chicago State University in the United States.

“Curiously, in 2023, Tinubu settled with attending only Chicago State University. I am scratching my head. How is that possible?

“Methinks that all well-meaning Nigerians should be as confused as I am with Tinubu’s declaration that he had no primary and secondary education, yet he has a university degree.

“You may wish to #AskTinubu how he attained this feat so that we can learn from his ingenuity,” he added.

By Zayyad I. Muhammad

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has assigned portfolios to his Ministers-designate, bringing an end to weeks-long speculation but also bringing to the fore new discussions and analyses on the ministers’ portfolios and the new ministries created. A journalist and an editor, Jaafar Jaafar, said, ‘The Northwest has many ministers but no weight’.

While a chieftain of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Adamu Garba, said, “It is one of the most balanced ministerial portfolio allocations of recent history. Adamu also pointed out that “President Tinubu – dedicated Infrastructure and Finance to the South. While Agriculture and security are to the North. Soft infrastructure like health and education to the North, and Humanitarian and Innovation to the South. Productivity and Job creation in the North- The North needs more security and agricultural productivity to grow and industrialise, while the South is good with services and infrastructure.”

 In Tinubu’s ministerial portfolios, there were surprises, and there were no surprises, so to speak.

In most democracies, ministers are selected from politicians who contributed to victory at the polls and from technocrats with strong professional track records. Cabinet ministers are not just a team but a collection of great thinkers—silicon valley-thinkers—men and women who can move the government with the speed of the imagination of most Nigerians, and their sense of judgment must be centred on the challenges of unlocking the future for ordinary Nigerians. and also bring new thinking and synergy to the public sector’s role in providing for the needs of all Nigerians.

Most Nigerians expect Tinubu’s ministers to be not just members of the cabinet but to add value to governance; they must be propellers for greater equality of opportunity for all Nigerians. They must be able to build a system that will swing the government away from the traditional methodology of concentrating on only the ‘off-the-shelf way of improving society. 

Some Nigerians are complaining that Tinubu’s cabinet has too many politicians. However, the truth is a right-thinking President brings on board top-notch grassroots politicians to hold the political front for him when the need arises. President Tinubu and the Dr Abdullahi Ganduje-led APC should, as a matter of ‘need’ maintain and ‘oil’ that area. This is where the synergy between the Executive and party supremacy comes into play.

President Tinubu and the APC, as a matter of policy and politics, should make sure that those appointed as ministers know what is expected of them. A ministerial appointment is a call for a national assignment. Nigerians expect ministers not only to saddle themselves with the responsibilities within their respective portfolios but also to be team players that will bring feasible ideas and be at par with local and global realities. Nigeria will be keen to see new ideas for fighting poverty, tackling the skyrocketing prices of food commodities, improving electricity supply, and finding new ways to fight insecurity in the north and southeast, etc.

On the political side, apart from supporting the president, ministers should see themselves as the ‘faces’ of the APC in their respective communities; their political presence and contact with locals are very important. For example, during the 2019 presidential elections, most of Buhari’s first-term appointees, especially from the north, became mere spectators in their states due to their weak link with the grassroots. Tinubu’s ministers may find themselves in such situations if they operate with weak links with the grassroots and poor rapport with the public. In this regard, in the weeks to come, many eyes will be on Nyesom Wike, FCT, and Ministers, whether he will remain ‘a PDP’ or crossover to the APC.

On the other hand, there are some young people in Tinubu’s cabinet, so many eyes will be on them. Their performance or underperformance will greatly impact youths’ participation in governance and politics, as well as give the Tinubu government the ‘strength’ to boast that youths are adequately represented in the government. This will also create a strong link between the government and the youth, who form more than half of Nigerian voters. This would also serve as an impetus for a good image and a sound political strategy for the All Progressive Congress (APC) because young people’s political participation and engagement in governance are essential at this moment.

Lastly, President Tinubu should, as a matter of importance, be firm in assessing every member of his cabinet. Non-performing ministers should be replaced quickly so as not to lose time and also keep others on their toes.

Zayyad I. Muhammad writes from Abuja via zaymohd@yahoo.com.

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

Nigerian President, Bola Ahmad Tinubu, has reportedly disclosed the names of nominees for the Federal Executive Council, FEC.

In a report credited to Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele, the list of Tinubu’s ministers would be ready by Thursday, and it includes notable former governors and other distinguished Nigerians.

According to the report, immediate-past governors of Rivers, Kaduna, Osun, and Cross River States have been shortlisted as ministerial nominees. The nominees include Nyesom Wike, Nasir El-Rufai, Gboyega Oyetola, Ben Ayade, and Senator Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso from Kano, who is also the NNPP national leader.

Also in addition to the list of nominees to be presented on the floor of the Senate this Thursday morning are prominent individuals such as President Tinubu’s top aide, Dele Alake; Lateef Fagbemi, SAN; APC national woman leader, Dr Betty Edu; former Lagos State Commissioner for Budget Planning, Wale Edun; ex-Minister of State for Health, Prof. Ali Pate, and former Deputy Governor of CBN, Adebayo Adelabu from Oyo State.

By Salisu Uba Kofar Wambai

Atiku Abubakar made campaign promises about tackling border closure which seriously ushered hardships, especially in the North. He equally rolled out plans to liberate Nigeria from the shackles of foreign loans President Muhammadu Buhari immersed it into.

PDP is the party that has formidable and unnerving politicians who fought tooth and nail for democracy to thrive in this country. The party people know the long walk to freedom they walked, and their 16-year dispensation spoke for them. 

PDP mastered campaigns for the creditors to give us waivers, which prevented the country from such loan spells. They ensured Nigeria hadn’t been submitted to total external control like we see today with APC’s inexperienced and heartless dispensation.

PDP has think tanks that guide their foreign relations which made sure we did not accept in toto any development strategy which could undermine the welfare of citizens in the long run. Thanks to their inclusion of technocrats both from home and outside in their socioeconomic and political decision makings 

Atiku was an integral part of all these goodies mentioned; that’s why we suggested northern voters vote for him during the 2023 presidential campaigns. As a northerner who willingly gave power to the South from 1999 to 2015, I thought it was economically stagnant due to the selfish allocation of federal government projects under OBJ and GEJ. The North had expected Buhari to compensate the region for even development of the country.

However, Buhari seemed to have failed and was ignorant of why power was being rotated at the centre. He favoured the South in many aspects of development project allocations like railways, good roads, bridges and electricity. 

Most of the projects Northerners have been clamouring for, like Mumbila Power Plants, Baro Port, Ajakuota Steel Company, KKK gas pipeline projects, and roads linking states of the region, have not seen the lights of the day. And how could North continue to support power-sharing and shift these injustices, shabbiness and iniquity?

The southern PDP governors under Nyesom Wike led a mischievous campaign against their party candidate PDP to work for the southern presidency. They were not a bunch of idiots like some undesirable elements of the northern politicians who selfishly sold out the region for their egocentric notions.

Now that Nigerians are paying the price of what they had bought by bringing APC to power again, we must remind our people how to become politically smart next election season. And many folks from this part of the country cannot still see things as they are. Sad.

Salisu Uba Kofar Wambai writes from Kano State and can be reached via salisunews@gmail.com.

By Muhammadu Sabiu 

Reports reaching the Daily Reality have indicated that Senator Abdullahi Adamu has resigned as the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC). 

According to reports, he tendered his resignation on Sunday night. As of the time of this publication, neither the APC chairman nor the party had officially confirmed the story, and party officials have declined to confirm or refute it. 

However, according to party sources, a press conference is scheduled for Monday at noon. The resignation is anticipated to be made official at that time, and an interim National Chairman will be selected. 

The briefing is anticipated to follow the present meeting of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC). According to Channels TV, Senator Adamu will be thrown out of office through a vote of no confidence, according to some party insider sources, if he does not quit by himself.

By Uzair Adam Imam

The reservation of some slots to the opposition parties by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu could be seen as a move afoot to get a better Nigeria which was one of the things his administration promised Nigerians since his victory.

The Daily Reality recalls that Tinubu promised to run an inclusive government that would thrust Nigeria into greatness.

Speaking as the president-elect in March, Tinubu said he was seeking a better country not just for himself and his supporters but for all Nigerian people, regardless of their political affiliations.

The Kwara State Governor and Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, relayed the news about the slots reservation to journalists at a meeting of the forum in Abuja on Tuesday.

He said that Tinubu reserved some appointments in the governing boards of agencies, parastatals, institutions and government-owned companies for members of the opposition Labour Party and the Peoples Democratic Party.

Abdulrazaq stated that the President asked the governors to nominate competent persons to serve on the boards and parastatals of Federal Government agencies which were dissolved last month.

According to him, Mr Tinubu dissolved the boards last month, which left no fewer than 2,000 vacant positions expected to be occupied by new nominees.

He added that “Among the agencies are the North-East Development Commission with 12 vacant board slots, Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission with seven board seats; Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, seven; Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria, 21.

“Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund, 12; National Universities Commission, 21 and Transmission Commission of Nigeria, 14; National Health Insurance Authority,12

“Others are the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau, 7; Nigerian Meteorological Agency, seven; Nigerian College of Aviation Technology,8; Nigerian Police Trust Fund, 8; Nigerian Natural Medicine Development Agency,10; Federal Institute of Industrial Research, 11 and National Centre for Technology Management, 11 among others,” he stated.

By Mohammed Kabir

The title of this piece was adapted from “A Physician’s Diary,” a Daily Trust’s column written by my friend Dr. Fatima Damagum. Titled “First, Do No Harm”, Dr. Damagum counselled her fellow medical practitioners to do no harm to patients with chronic and complicated illness when they are not so sure the prescribed treatments would improve the patients’ conditions. I am myself a victim of harmful decisions taken by medical personnel when I first lost my hearing at the age of 9.

The same principle applies to the newly sworn-in President of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu. If his predecessor, former President Buhari, had done no harm after carrying out exhaustive analysis of the underlying challenges facing Nigeria when he assumed office in 2015, he would not probably have left the country worse than he met it. I know some people may argue that Buhari had left Nigeria better than he met it. That’s their opinion and they are certainly entitled to it.

Tinubu has achieved his lifelong ambition to become Nigeria’s President. He admitted it is the proudest moment of his life. However, he was quick to add that the proud moment is not for himself but for all the people of Nigeria. I sincerely pray and hope so. Nigerian leaders have penchant for making insincere political statements. Former President Buhari’s (in)famous “I belong to everybody and I belong to nobody” is still vivid in our memories.

President Tinubu must quickly assemble his team and hit the ground running. There is no time to waste. Nigeria is currently in an ICU. It needs urgent diagnosis and quite possibly multiple surgeries. Sectors that need immediate priority attention include security, economy, power and national unity. This is not to say that other sectors like education, health, agriculture and foreign policy are insignificant.

On security, the President should sack the present crop of service chiefs he has inherited from his predecessor and replace them with more competent ones. If he and his team cannot identify qualified high ranking officers in the military and police to fill the top positions and drive his national security agenda, he should just manage with the current ones. The new President should please do no harm. Any thoughtless attempts to replace the service chiefs with indolent or incompetent ones will spell greater disaster for our country and worsen the prevailing security situation.

On the economy, the President needs to rescind his ambiguous statement regarding fuel subsidy removal. I am not sure it was a carefully thought-out policy statement. A first-hand and
more painstaking analysis is necessary to decide whether or not the fuel subsidy should be sustained. Former President Buhari who repeatedly called the fuel subsidy a scam before his ascension to power could not do away with it for eight long years. I am sure there is more to it than what the anti-subsidy elements are telling us.

It may be absolutely true that the fuel subsidy has been benefiting the affluent class. However, the reckless and ill-timed removal has translated to exponential rise in fuel price and caused a general galloping inflation. Nigerians are already fed up with the incoherent policies of the ruling party under former President Buhari and any attempts by President Tinubu to push for policies that will further aggravate the already precarious situation of the masses is likely to trigger nationwide anger and discontent.

President Tinubu should focus on blocking leakages in the oil sector, place a total ban on smuggling of petroleum products through our ever-porous borders and impose severe penalties on smugglers. The new administration should liaise with the Dangote Refinery to ensure availability of petroleum products, support the completion of the ongoing BUA Refinery, encourage the development and operational efficiency of modular refineries, and make concentrated efforts to revive our ailing refineries. Otherwise, President Tinubu should retain the subsidy payments and do no harm.

Still on the national economy, the President’s order for sacking the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria and the directives given to the relevant law enforcement agencies to immediately arrest and prosecute him for economic crimes and sabotage is a timely idea. No apex bank governor in the history of Nigeria has done so much harm and caused chaos and suffering to the unsuspecting citizens of Nigeria like Mr. Godwin Emefiele. The President’s statement on the unification of exchange rates is a good move but should be done with caution. His economic management team must come together and help him make informed decisions. Otherwise, he should just maintain the status quo and do no harm.

On power, the new President should declare state of emergency, set up a high-powered committee to review the current arrangements pertaining to the generation and distribution of electricity nationwide. The recent dispute between market operator and distribution companies caused avoidable intermittent blackouts across the country and crippled businesses worth billions of Naira. It is becoming quite obvious that a cabal has hijacked the power sector and it is fraudulently profiting from the present generation and distribution arrangements. The President should maintain status quo and do no harm if he cannot implement urgent reforms needed to guarantee uninterrupted power supply and foster the growth of SMEs.

On national unity, the country has never been so polarized. The Muslim-Muslim ticket generated enormous anger and pitted so many millions of Nigerians against one another. The new President should initiate people-oriented policies and programs that foster harmonious coexistence among Nigerias from diverse backgrounds. President Tinubu should work with the national assembly to enact relevant legislations that will transform the present six geo-political zones into six regional development agencies and foster inter-regional cooperation, as well as healthy inter-regional competition. If the president has no interest in prioritizing national integration and harmony, he should do no harm by allowing his belligerent supporters and overzealous political associates to calumniate and disparage members of the opposition and anyone who criticizes his policies.

On a final note, it appears the president is someone who is so eager to make statements. He should be made aware that the office he now occupies demands the highest level of restraint. His words must be carefully chosen in order not to jeopardize our staggering economy or the already fragile national unity. However, still President Tinubu needs to speak regularly to Nigerians about his policies and programs but also avoid making statements that are open to unnecessary speculations and allusions. Once again, president Tinubu, please do no harm. If you are not so sure about the feasibility, workability and sincerity of any proposed policy or action, just maintain the status quo ante bellum. So many millions of Nigerians, including those who did not vote for you are sincerely rooting for you and praying that you succeed.

Mohammed Kabir sent this article from Kaduna and can be reached via mohammedkabir.ibrahim@gmail.com

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

Immediate past Nigeria Interior Minister and two-term governor of Osun State, Abdulrauf Aregbesola, has disclosed that he is back to restructure the All Progressives Congress (APC), in Osun State.

On Wednesday, Aregbesola made his intention public while addressing party faithfuls at the Nelson Mandela Freedom Park, Osogbo.

The former governor sought forgiveness of the party party members and stated that it is time for restructuring and reconciliation in the party.

He noted that he did not offend anybody, but said, “whoever feels that we offend him or she should forgive us.

“We seek forgiveness from those who thought we offended and those who sought our downfall.”

“We were here in 2019 after the Supreme Court affirmed the mandate of the former governor, Gboyega Oyetola. I called for unity in the party. I warned that disunity will not produce any good result. But devil didn’t allow them (those who handled the party affairs) to listen.

“We seek forgiveness from those who are smearing our image, though we never offended them.

“We supported them with all I have to see to their success. I didn’t ask for anything from them. I need to emphasize that I didn’t ask for anything from them. But they chose to repay evil for good.

“However, we are here for the restructuring of the party. That is why we are begging anybody that feels that we offended him or her to forgive us.”

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

President Bola Ahmad Tinubu, on Friday, had a meeting behind closed doors with governors of the All Progressives Congress, APC.

President Tinubu, in a Facebook post, posted about the meeting with the governors at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

“Today, I had the delight of welcoming distinguished Governors from our great party, the APC, to the State House.

“Together, we reaffirmed our commitment and united efforts in realizing our cherished vision for Nigeria. With every hand on deck, We are resolute in our pursuit of a prosperous nation.” the post says.

The governors were led to the State House by Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodinma, who recently assumed the role of Chairman of the Progressives Governors Forum, PGF.

Seventeen of the twenty APC governors were in attendance. However, conspicuously absent from the meeting were Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State, Abiodun Abayomi Oyebanji of Ekiti State and Dr Nasir Idris of Kebbi State.

By Muhammadu Sabiu
 
The Labour Party (LP), the Peoples Democratic Party, and their presidential candidates’ requests for a live broadcast of the election petition proceedings in court have been declined by the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal in Abuja.
 
On Monday, Justice Haruna Tsammani, the Tribunal’s head, denied the request for live coverage of the court proceedings, adding that the request lacked merit.
 
The All Progressives Congress candidate, Bola Tinubu, won the presidential election on February 25.
 
Atiku Abubakar, the PDP’s candidate for president, submitted a request on May 8 for live coverage of the court proceedings in his case.
 
Peter Obi, who was also running for president in the election, had also submitted a request for a live broadcast of the court hearings related to the election petition.