NRTC Political Roundup

Roland Bayode examines Nigeria’s political landscape and brings us highlights from the last couple of weeks.

Northern governors slam southern colleagues ahead of 2023 election

The Northern States Governors’ Forum held an emergency meeting on Monday, 27th of September in Kaduna State. In a statement, they said that only a candidate with majority votes would become the next President of Nigeria.

The Governor of Plateau State, Simon Lalong, who is also the Chairman of the Forum, signed the release.

The 19 northern governors criticized the assertion of their 17 southern colleagues, that a southern candidate should succeed President Buhari.

PDP floors APC in Kajuru Local Government chairmanship election

The opposition party in Kajuru LG area in Kaduna State, said that the Peoples Democratic Party won the chairmanship election.

The Returning Officer, Dr Ibrahim DanMaraya from Kaduna State University, confirmed that Ibrahim Gajere polled 14,432. The immediate past chairman, Honourable Cafra AB Caino of APC trailed behind with 9,095 votes.

Also, PDP won nine councilorship positions, while the ruling party, the All Progressives Party won only one seat. Honourable Gajere gained the highest number of votes and won the election.

APC will sweep Plateau LG polls – Governor Simon Lalong

Local government elections in the 17 council areas of Plateau State will take place on October 9, 2021. Ahead of that, Lalong has said that his All Progressives Congress party will sweep the polls.

The governor spoke on Saturday, 25th of September while campaigning for the party in the Shendam Local Government Area.

The governor said, “APC is the party of choice in Plateau State just as it is being embraced by people from other parties at national level. I am very optimistic that we will sweep the elections because we don’t have opposition in Plateau State, thanks to our performance. We have shown leadership that is centred on the peace and progress of Plateau.”

Age limit recommended for Presidential post

Mr Peter Obi has recommended a 60-80 year age range for aspirants vying for the office of President of Nigeria.

In his speech at Aguata on 24 September, Obi pointed out numerous projects he did across the state. He appealed to the people to vote in Val Ozigbo for possessing the capacity and youthful age to deliver.

He also said that the other two contestants have had the opportunity to help their people and did nothing. Peter Obi claims that the difference will be clear with Ozigbo in office. He went on to say that two of the major contestants were over 60 years, while Mr Ozigbo is 50. Obi concluded that Val possessed the ideal age for governorship at sub-national level, which he put between 40 and 60.

He also inferred that, “it is the experience garnered at that (governorship) level that would contribute to the success of leadership at presidential level’.

Encourage members to contest for political offices – Gov Wike tells church leaders

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has called on Nigeria’s Christian leaders to encourage their members to contest for political positions. This statement was disclosed in an official statement signed by the governors’s media aide, Kelvin Ebiri.

Wike made the call on Wednesday, 22nd of September as he advised that churches should encourage their members to be part of the governance process.

He said, “You must be part of choosing leadership. Don’t say you have no role, you have a role. When you don’t participate, bad leaders will emerge and when bad leadership emerges, you are part of it.

“You must encourage your people to be part of leadership. I didn’t go to any school to study leadership. Nobody should say that as a Christian you cannot be a governor, no.”

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“The head of SUBEB in my state is a priest. And you can see the leadership he has given to that agency today. You will feel proud about it. That used to be the most corrupt agency. But today it is headed by a priest and you can see the difference,” the governor stated.

Northern Elders Regret Getting Rid of Jonathan to Elect Buhari

The Northern Elders Forum has said that it regrets getting rid of Nigeria’s former number one citizen, President Goodluck Jonathan in the 2015 elections.

The group expressed their dissatisfaction, revealing that President Buhari has let down millions of Nigerians. He has abused the trust of the All Progressives Congress who voted for him years back.

The Northern Elders Forum Director of Publicity and Advocacy, Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed revealed this on Arise TV’s ‘The Morning Show’ last Tuesday. .

He said, “Is there any Nigerian who is not disappointed in President Buhari including diehard APC people? Is there anybody who would not tell you he wished President Buhari had done much better?

“We raised huge expectations. We told people, “Get rid of Jonathan, put Buhari there. He will fix corruption, insecurity, the economy (but) look at where we are now.”

“How can anybody say they are happy with the record of President Buhari? Even the people very close to him would tell you that they wished he could have done much better. And he could have done much better but he hasn’t.”