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Why I changed my mind on threat to leave Nigeria – Bode George

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Bode George, ex-deputy national chair (south) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), says he would have left Nigeria if President Bola Tinubu did not send Femi Gbajabiamila after him. 

In January 2022, after Tinubu announced his presidential bid, George threatened to flee Nigeria.

“I will move away from Nigeria. I’ll leave because he will be your representative in the international plane. Which investment will he bring here? I am not talking because I have any hatred for him,” he said.

“This is not the kind of person we can hand over this massive country to manage. He will be the greatest joke on the international plane. We should bother who should lead us.

“If by whatever chance he gets to the villa, I won’t be part of this country. And I am not joking. I can go to Ghana and be watching with binoculars from afar. You will see what will happen.”

It was the umpteenth time George had threatened to leave Nigeria for good in the event of a Tinubu presidency.

Speaking in an interview with Arise TV on Wednesday, George said it took Gbajabiamila, the president’s chief of staff, to get him to change his mind.

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“During the campaign period I stated it and I meant it; that if by whatever measure Bola Tinubu wins this election, I was going to get out,” he said.

Once they heard that, Tinubu sent his chief of staff, who is my little brother from Lagos state, Femi Gbajabiamila, to appeal to me.

“He came to say: ‘my boss said I should tell you, please be calm’. They knew they had wronged me. They said they were sorry.”

PDP CRISIS
George said the crisis in the PDP began during the buildup to the 2023 presidential election.

He also asked Nyesom Wike, minister of the federal capital territory (FCT); and Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the PDP in the 2023 election; to sheathe their swords and work toward a resolution of the internal crisis.

“The last convention — the presidential convention — was when everything started. Instead of arresting it, they were exacerbating it,” George said.

“With all that, you cannot have the chairman of the party and the presidential candidate from one side of the divide — they didn’t listen.”

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George recounted how he confronted Iyorchia Ayu, ex-party chair, over his promise to step down if a northern presidential candidate emerged.

“Ayu made a public statement that peradventure the presidency comes from the north, he would resign. But when the results were announced, he said, ‘I have four years; I’m not going anywhere’.

“This is breach of trust! Of course, people would react to that. It’s against the party constitution to have the chairman of the party and the presidential candidate from the same zone — it is an anomaly.

“I want to appeal to the leaders of the various groups in the party that it is time to shelve your personal ambitions and let us rebuild the party.

“There is no organisation in the world without crisis but the ability to rebuild the crisis is needed.

“This crisis didn’t start now; it started from the presidential convention and nobody was able to manage it.

“Atiku and Wike should calm down and let us go to the elders meeting where we would start this discussion, to trace this crisis back to that convention, because that was where everything started going in the wrong direction.”

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George recalled expressing dismay at the party’s disunity ahead of the election and noted that a crucial meeting was held two days before the poll.

“Two days before the general election, we had a meeting in Abuja, and it was only Oyo governor and Wike that came,” he said.

“They told us the stories of what they were going to do, and Wike said, out of the two candidates from the south, ‘I think we can go with Tinubu’. I said, at this meeting?

“I looked around and said there is nobody that knows Tinubu better than me, and I can’t do that; it would be wrong for you to leave this meeting and have a communique issued that our group has agreed to support Tinubu.

“They further asked me what my suggestion was and I told them they should take the discussion to their respective states to discuss whether they wanted Peter Obi or Tinubu.”

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Monday Okpebholo sworn in as Edo governor

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Monday Okpebholo, a serving senator, has been sworn in as the governor of Edo state.

Okpebholo took his oath of office at about 1pm on Tuesday at the inauguration ceremony in Benin, the state capital.

As candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Okpebholo won the September 21 off-cycle governorship election in the state.

 

He polled 291,667 votes to defeat Asue Ighodalo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who came second with 247,274 votes.

 

Olumide Akpata, candidate of the Labour Party (LP), came third with 22,763 votes.

Dennis Idahosa was also sworn in as Edo deputy governor.

Dignitaries including Vice-President Kashim Shettima, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, chair of the governors forum; Philip Shaibu, reinstated deputy governor of Edo; and other governors under the aegis of the party were in attendance as Okpebholo took the oath of office.

 

The new governor rode in an open-top van round the stadium afterwards while acknowledging cheers from supporters.

READ  2023 Presidency: 95m voters to determine next president – INEC

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I don’t belong to any political party – Obasanjo

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Former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, has said he is not a member of any political party. He described himself as “a no-party statesman”.

He also raised the alarm that Nigerians were facing several challenges at the moment, but preached hope and optimism.

 

Obasanjo said these today in Abuja during a thanksgiving service at the Methodist Church Nigeria, Cathedral of Unity, Wuse, Zone 3.

The service was for the 80th birthday of journalist and former Chairman of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, Chief Onyema Ugochukwu.

The former President hailed the celebrant for being a loyal and supportive person during his 1999 election campaigns despite the fact that Chief Alex Ekwueme also contested for the same position in the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

Obasanjo urged Ugochukwu to remain with the Lord and be committed to humanity throughout the rest of his life

 

He said: “But remember what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 13. Your faith must not diminish. You must never lose hope. Even when things are as gloomy as they are in Nigeria today, we must remain optimistic and hopeful.

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“And finally, you must live and continue to live a life of love. Love for your family.

“Love for friends and foes. Love for your community. Love for your state. Love for your country. Love for humanity. And love for God.

… in 1999
“When we came together, it was during the campaign. I’ve known a little bit about you by your reputation. We were two candidates competing in PDP – myself and Alex Ekweme.

“And right from the word go, you decided who you would be with. Some Yoruba elements in our campaign saw you as a spy. The Igbo elements on the other side saw you as a bastard.

“Why should you be with a Yoruba man when an Igbo man is contesting? And you stood your ground. You were unshaken and unshakable.

“You remained totally loyal. And I appreciate it. And you remain with me. Not 99.9% loyal, but 100% loyal. Throughout my tenure. I will be eternally grateful to you.

READ  PDP crisis: Ayu must resign, south must produce chairman – George

“When you went in, as the bishop said, to contest the election, and they overturned the election, you didn’t take revenge on anybody. You were not bitter. You didn’t even move out of the party. You remained.

“Some people would have moved out of their party. And you know some who are in our party, close to us, who did that.

My stand – OBJ
“Over the years, whether I am in or out, whether people are abusing me or oppressing me, I know your stand. I know I can count on you. Not only as my supporter, but for the party that we all built together.

“Even though now I’m a no-party statesman. I want to emphasise what the bishop said. At 80, what more do you want? Do you need it?

“All I will say is that you need to continue to serve humanity and serve God. And there’s no end to that. And the bishop said you should enjoy yourself. I will concur with that.

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“But don’t over-enjoy yourself. Because one can overdo it. Once again, happy birthday, many happy returns. You will celebrate 90. And I will be there. You will celebrate 100. I will not be there. But wherever I am.”

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Political parties, candidates sign peace accord for Ondo guber

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Political parties and candidates have signed a peace accord in Ondo state ahead of the governorship election on November 16.

The signing took place on Friday at the International Culture and Event Centre in Akure, the state capital.

Speaking at the event, Mahmood Yakubu, chair of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), told political parties and candidates that their signatures on the peace accord document alone will not guarantee a peaceful election.

“Your commitment to its implementation is critical. Therefore, as you sign the peace accord, you should commit yourselves to its implementation and pass the message to your supporters at all levels for compliance,” he said.

He said the commission had taken measures to address election day challenges, especially the perennial challenge of logistics.

“Over the last four days, I have engaged with our own officials, security agencies, and transport service providers here in Ondo State to assess our readiness and perfect our arrangements for the movement of over 17,000 ad hoc and regular officials as well as large quantities of materials to 4,154 voting and collation locations (3,933 polling units, 203 Ward and 18 LGA collation centres),” he said.

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“In the case of Ondo state, this task is to be accomplished by boat in the two riverine local government areas of Ese Odo and Ilaje, and by a combination of trucks, four-wheel vehicles and motorcycles in respect of the mainland areas of the State.

“You should therefore expect to see a remarkable improvement in Election Day logistics. Voters in Ondo State should also expect to see similar improvement in result management.”

On his part, the inspector general of the Nigeria Police Force, represented by Sylvester Abiodun, deputy inspector general of police (DIG), said over 36,000 officers have been deployed to secure all 18 LGAs.

He said this effort will be supplemented by officers from other security agencies, totaling 43,157 personnel.

Abdulsalam Abubakar, chair of the national peace committee (NPC), commended members of the inter-agency consultative committee on election security (ICCES) for maintaining peace and security in Ondo state.

He urged politicians who signed the agreement to fully commit themselves and their parties to the letter and spirit of the accord.

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“Shun violence and intimidation, and remember that as politicians you must demonstrate the spirit of sportsmanship, as that is a key trait of good leadership,” he said.

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