September 12th: Weekly Catch-Up On Naija’s Political Drama: “We Will Continue Fighting Inside PDP” – Wike; Osinbajo Missing From Tinubu’s Campaign List; Tinubu Blast Yoruba Leader For Endorsing Peter Obi; Others

“We Are Not Going Anywhere, We Will Fight Inside PDP” – Wike.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is experiencing a heavy crisis at the national level and Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike has declared that he and his party faithful will not leave the party, but will continue their fight in the PDP.

On Thursday, Wike addressed the PDP stakeholders at a meeting in the state’s capital, Port Harcourt.

He claimed that the purpose of the meeting was to inform the party’s leaders of recent events within the party and to inform them of his intention to address the status of the PDP in the country.

At the gathering of the party leaders from the state’s 319 wards, Wike claimed that backing down from a fight would be a sign of weakness.

He said, “One thing I have always told people is if anybody is thinking, doing anything to think that we will leave PDP, foul. We will do the fight in the party. We are not like them when in 2014 they walked out of Eagle Square. They’ve forgotten. They walked out and joined APC. Is it not correct? Did they remain to fight inside the party? But we remained, they ran away. Now, there is a fight in the party, we will not run.

“We will fight it at this party. Those who run away from the fight are weak people. We will not. So everybody should know this is the state where we are. So that nobody tells you all kinds of stories.”

The governor and his team had decided on Wednesday that they would not take part in the election’s campaign unless Iyorchia Ayu, the PDP’s national chairman, resigned.

2023: Osinbajo Missing From Tinubu’s Campaign List.

Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the APC presidential candidate for 2023, has released a list of names in his Presidential Campaign Council (PCC).

At a convention in Abuja in June, the party’s co-founder and former governor of Lagos secured the 2023 presidential ticket.

The list was published on Friday by the PCC Secretary, federal lawmaker James Faleke, which has 422 names in total.

However, there were omissions of some party heavyweights, few of whom have feuded with Tinubu and engaged in a cold war over his preference for the divisive Muslim-Muslim ticket.

They include Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; former speaker of the house of representatives Yakubu Dogara; former secretary to the government of the federation Babachir Lawal; former minister of state for education Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba; and one of Tinubu’s sweatshop owners, Adebayo Shittu, who is in charge of one of his largest support groups, the Asiwaju Tinubu-Shettima Coalition for Good Governance.

After winning the APC presidential candidacy, Osinbajo’s camp distanced itself from the former governor of Lagos, and the pair of Dogara and Lawal continued to question Tinubu’s choice of Senator Kashim Shettima, a fellow Muslim, as his running mate.

However, President Muhammadu Buhari was appointed Chairman of the campaign council, with Tinubu serving as the Deputy Chairman, and the APC National Chairman as the second Deputy Chairman.

Kashim Shettima, the vice presidential candidate is the Vice Chairman. Simon Lalong, the governor of the Plateau, is the Director General, Adams Oshiomhole is the Deputy Director of operations and Hadiza Usman is the Deputy Director of Administration.

Rotimi Amaechi, a former transportation minister and first-place finisher in the primary election, was appointed special adviser on infrastructure, with hundreds of current and former Governors, Senators, members of the House of Representatives, and Ministers also making the list.

The remaining individuals include politicians, party elders (Campaign Patrons) and chieftains in States, women leaders, youths, and actors.

Tinubu Criticises Leader Of Pan-Yoruba Sociocultural Group For Endorsing Peter Obi.

Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, has taken a hit at Pa Ayo Adebanjo, the leader of Afenifere for saying that the pan-Yoruba sociocultural group has endorsed Peter Obi, the candidate of the Labour Party (LP).

In a statement released by Bayo Onanuga, the Director of Media and Publicity of the APC’s Presidential Campaign Council, Tinubu said that Adebanjo, in his capacity as Acting Leader, had converted Afenifere into his “personal estate.”

According to Tinubu, Adebanjo, as an individual, cannot be compared to Afenifere.

He said, “Papa Ayo Adebanjo does not speak for Afenifere. He is free as an individual to support anyone he likes, in furtherance of his democratic right.

“We know for a fact that Baba has turned Afenifere into his personal estate as Acting Leader. We are also certain that there was nowhere Afenifere, as we know it, met and took a decision to adopt Peter Obi as a candidate for the 2023 presidential election.

“We respect the age of Baba Adebanjo, but he cannot turn Afenifere into his personal franchise for any political alliance.

“We are very much aware that Baba Reuben Fasoranti, the real leader of Afenifere, had stated clearly that Pa Adebanjo has always been speaking for himself on many national issues using the name of the group.

“It is our well-considered position that Pa Adebanjo cannot appropriate Afenifere. Baba is just an individual who is free to support any politician of his choice. As an individual, he cannot equate himself with the socio-cultural and socio-political organisation.”

“Tinubu Invited Me To Join APC” – Wike.

Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has revealed that Bola Tinubu, the APC’s presidential candidate, approached him to join the party.

This comes months after Wike and a few governors elected on the APC platform met in Port Harcourt, the capital of Rivers State, ahead of the 2023 elections.

On Friday, September 23, Wike said that Tinubu had promised him a senatorial seat, which he turned down despite Atiku Abubakar, the PDP presidential candidate, breaking his promise after winning the party’s primary.

He declared that he will stay in the PDP, as he did not run in the primaries to accept a vice presidential or senatorial ticket.

Wike said, “I didn’t contest so I can become a vice presidential candidate, I am not like others who were not serious and bought senatorial form alongside presidential form and that’s why when Tinubu offered me senate slot, I didn’t go for it.’’