TNN.ng: Tinubu

Saraki Eats Humble Pie, Seeks Peace With Tinubu

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<b>LAGOS, NIGERIA - The battle of wills rocking the leadership of the All Progressives Congress may soon be ov</b>er.</div>
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Multiple sources have said that contrary to his public posturing of defiance, the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, had started reaching out to some of the aggrieved leaders of the party.</div>
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Saraki is one of the gladiators in the clash of egos and wills that followed the Senate leadership election on June 9 and subsequent appointment of principal officers.</div>
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The Senate President had earlier visited former President Olusegun Obasanjo to help him beg President Muhammadu Buhari.</div>
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He also reportedly met with the Emir of Kano, Lamido Sanusi, on the same matter.</div>
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During the week, some emissaries sent by Saraki met with President Buhari and sought forgiveness for the Senate President for acting contrary to the dictates of the party.</div>
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The emissaries included Senate Leader Ali Ndume, Senator Kabiru Gaya, Senator Adamu Aliero, Senator Danjuma Goje, and Senator Abdullahi Adamu.</div>
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A report in a national daily on Saturday also said the emissaries apologised to the President for the individual roles they played in the crisis.</div>
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However, sources in the party said on Saturday that the emissaries also had a brief to meet with the party's national leader and former Governor of Lagos State, Senator Bola Tinubu.</div>
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Many within the party see the crisis as a battle of wills with Buhari, Tinubu and some party leaders on one side of the ring and the Senate President and his backers on the other side. One of the prominent APC leaders that is believed to have backed Saraki is former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.</div>
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But sources told <b><a href="http://www.punchng.com/news/saraki-eats-humble-pie-reaches-out-to-tinubu/">The Punch</a></b> correspondent that Saraki, of recent, had made strenuous efforts to meet and appeal to Tinubu to sheathe his sword.</div>
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<i>The Punch </i>correspondents report that Saraki's olive branch to Tinubu may mark a turning point in the crisis as the Senate President, before now, had insisted that he would not 'beg' the APC leader.</div>
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But the sources added that Saraki might have changed his position when all his efforts to get President Buhari to forgive him for his defiance to the party and move on had been rebuffed.</div>
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It has been widely reported that Buhari has refused all entreaties to host the Senate President at the Presidential Villa since the controversial election in the senate. The President had also said the leadership of the senate should tow the party line.</div>
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Two APC officials who spoke to <i>The Punch </i>correspondent yesterday shed light on Saraki's last two attempts to reach out to the APC national leader. They said that one attempt occurred three weeks ago while the other took place on Thursday in Abuja.</div>
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"Three weeks ago he tried to get across to Tinubu through one of his aides. Of course, the aide couldn't have arranged the meeting. Tinubu's disposition to the matter is well known," the source said.</div>
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The APC national leader, sources said, had told some of Saraki's emissaries in the past that the senate leadership should toe the party line.</div>
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Another source said the last attempt took place during the week when the APC senators, who met with the President at the behest of Saraki, also tried to get across to Tinubu. A source close to Tinubu said while the former Lagos Governor was aware of the move, his position on the matter had not changed.</div>
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The source stated that Saraki needed a long-term strategy to pacify the aggrieved party leaders, adding that the Senate President is perceived as haughty by some of these leaders.</div>
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"It is a surprise that he is reaching out to Tinubu. Saraki has no respect for Tinubu. He is contemptuous of him. During meetings he refers to him contemptuously as 'Bola'. In fact there was a time that Tinubu wanted to explain a point to him and he shut him up," the source said.</div>
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The source may have alluded to the cultural norm in Tinubu and Saraki's Yoruba ethnic group where an elder is not addressed by his first name. Tinubu is 63 while Saraki is 52.</div>
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But the source close to the APC leader insisted that the national leader had no 'ego problem' with Saraki.</div>
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"Tinubu's take is that the senate should toe the party line. It is not a personal problem at all. If it were a personal problem, the President won't be reacting the same way."</div>
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The National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Mr. Lai Mohammed told one of <i>The Punch </i>correspondents on Saturday that the APC believes in party supremacy.</div>
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He said: "I can't comment on the story you are asking me about. However, the APC has made its position on party supremacy known."</div>
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The spokesman for the Senate President, Mr. Yusuph Olaniyonu, could not be reached on Saturday night. Calls and a text message sent to his line were not responded to.</div>
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Saraki Eats Humble Pie, Seeks Peace With Tinubu

LAGOS, NIGERIA - The battle of wills rocking the leadership of the All Progressives Congress may soon be ov er. Multiple sources ha...

Don't Interfere In New Ooni's Selection, Bode George Warns Tinubu

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<b>LAGOS, NIGERIA - A former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Bode George, has warned the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, against manipulating the emergence of the next Ooni of Ife.</b></div>
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Following the passage of Oba Okunade Sijuwade, ruling houses in Ife, Osun State, will meet as part of the process of picking a new monarch.</div>
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However, George, who is the <i>Atona Oodua </i>of Yoruba land, told <b><a href="http://www.punchng.com/politics/tinubu-mustnt-influence-new-oonis-selection-george/">The PUNCH</a></b> correspondent during an interview, on Monday, that Tinubu should not use his relationship with the Osun State Governor, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, to manipulate the process.</div>
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George said Tinubu should have learnt from the recent National Assembly crisis that undue interference in the affairs of established institutions could spell doom.</div>
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He said, “He will be making attempts to manipulate the process. They will do politics with it but it will blow up. They should allow the kingmakers to do their work. If he manipulates the process, he will create a huge problem in Yoruba land.</div>
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"Let him allow the kingmakers do their job. He should not set Yoruba land on fire. Aregbesola should, instead, focus on paying salaries."</div>
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Ife is considered to be a stronghold of the PDP in Osun State.</div>
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When asked to react to the late Ooni's closeness to former President Goodluck Jonathan, George said it had nothing to do with the process of the emergence of a king which is a sacred process.</div>
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George said the politics of Ife was not like that of Lagos and Tinubu should not set a bad precedence in Yoruba land.</div>
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"He (Tinubu) tried it at the National Assembly but came back with a slap. He should, therefore, not go out of his way to bring in an APC-inclined man as the next Ooni. We want an Ooni that will be fair and not connected with all these politicians.</div>
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"We need an experienced person. We want the person that the kingmakers will approve of. As the Atona Oodua, I know how these things are done."</div>
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George urged President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure that the South-East produced the next Secretary to the Federal Government.</div>
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The PDP leader said doing otherwise would make the people of the geopolitical zone feel left out.</div>
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However, Tinubu's spokesperson, Mr. Sunday Dare could not be reached for comment.</div>
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Don't Interfere In New Ooni's Selection, Bode George Warns Tinubu

LAGOS, NIGERIA - A former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Bode George, has warned the National Leader o...

[VIDEO]: President Buhari Breaks Ramadan Fast With Politicians

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<b>ABUJA, NIGERIA - President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday hosted Nigerian politicians from across the country to an Iftar - the breaking of Ramadan fast.</b></div>
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Politicians from about 14 political parties which collaborated with the governing All Progressives Congress (APC) during the March 28, 2015 presidential poll were among dignitaries at the event.</div>
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Below is a short video of the event courtesy of the <b>Nigerian Television Authority (NTA)</b>.</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="400" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZHlcFVBYZ28" width="700"></iframe></div>
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[VIDEO]: President Buhari Breaks Ramadan Fast With Politicians

ABUJA, NIGERIA - President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday hosted Nigerian politicians from across the country to an Iftar - the breaking of...

Tinubu at Aso Villa, Says He Remains Loyal to Buhari

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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwa3mOjbLF0z792MiF8e3o_9EZ3wNtAldw9d0BUXtSV5Y7XNd9woiph3aKSyi8XUB9O46FLksl8o_svTkekKrB49Gl9bBTHww0E3Rj7rko1bfXSHFs7KCvTB4walKH3rIH2sp9vSKwRUvj/s1600/PMB+Tinubu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwa3mOjbLF0z792MiF8e3o_9EZ3wNtAldw9d0BUXtSV5Y7XNd9woiph3aKSyi8XUB9O46FLksl8o_svTkekKrB49Gl9bBTHww0E3Rj7rko1bfXSHFs7KCvTB4walKH3rIH2sp9vSKwRUvj/s1600/PMB+Tinubu.jpg" /></a></div>
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<b>ABUJA, NIGERIA - A former Governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, on Tuesday said there is no truth in reports that he has fallen apart with President Muhammadu Buhari because he could not get what he has demanded from the party.</b></div>
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He said contrary to the speculations, he remains loyal to the President.</div>
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Tinubu said this in an interview with State House correspondents shortly after joining some All Progressives Congress (APC) chiefs for the breaking of Ramadan fast with the President at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.</div>
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The APC chief added: </div>
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I have no demand on the party. If you understand what party politics and leadership are all about, they are about loyalty and commitment to the values that leadership believes in. </div>
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I believe in what the President believes in. I respect him and I stand firmly loyal to his course. </div>
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You can go to any length of speculation that you might want. I have not responded to all of that because I understand the President and the President understands me clearly.</div>
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The former governor also broke his silence on the leadership crisis in the National Assembly, saying he backed the position of the party and the President on the matter.</div>
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While saying the party was supreme, Tinubu said leadership and followers must be disciplined.</div>
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Tinubu said:</div>
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That (the leadership crisis in the National Assembly) is an area where I am very cautious of my position and utterances. I still want to keep my side of interpretation or analysis to me to be able to achieve a resolution of the matter as quickly as possible. </div>
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I am backing all the President has carefully enumerated and articulated to the party. The party is supreme. The party must have disciplined leadership and followers. </div>
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The party's process must be respected because that is the confidence and the trust of the people. </div>
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However, in every political environment, you expect conflict. That is politics. Convict resolution mechanism will be applied to resolve all the problems. </div>
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There is honour in every struggle. In every competition or struggle, there must be honour in victory too.</div>
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Tinubu added that the APC government would not repeat the mistakes made by the Peoples Democratic Party.</div>
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He said the party understood what Nigerians wanted because the mandate given the APC was because of its manifesto.</div>
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“We know PDP’s mistakes and we will not repeat them because we are not PDP.  We understand what Nigerians want. They gave this party a mandate because of our manifestos. We are pro-people and progressives.</div>
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"We understand the hope of Nigerians and we respect that hope and believe in their expectation," he said.</div>
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Tinubu had earlier, during the breaking of fast, said those who were accusing Buhari of being slow, should know that the party did not campaign to be firefighters but to be meticulous planners.</div>
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He said the mess left behind by the PDP government could not be cleaned immediately, the same way a dirty latrine of 16 years could not be cleaned up in 30 days.</div>
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Tinubu at Aso Villa, Says He Remains Loyal to Buhari

ABUJA, NIGERIA - A former Governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, on Tuesday said there is no truth in reports that he has falle...

Group Canvasses Support For Atiku As APC BoT Chairman

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7W9HLz1wyqSYc2coAdkZxcBq8HXx0DdBrpSmyRLjbBAUJgkZX8YftDZ9TVZGj9gPbhC6ez70DMpCL9C4TlqfK3nUiyYIma_cGSRuAxZlxzQh1x0zM1JaVCgPiA74PlpmB96S_kZYjNa8i/s1600/Atiku+Abubakar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7W9HLz1wyqSYc2coAdkZxcBq8HXx0DdBrpSmyRLjbBAUJgkZX8YftDZ9TVZGj9gPbhC6ez70DMpCL9C4TlqfK3nUiyYIma_cGSRuAxZlxzQh1x0zM1JaVCgPiA74PlpmB96S_kZYjNa8i/s1600/Atiku+Abubakar.jpg" /></a></div>
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<b>ABUJA, NIGERIA - As the governing All Progressives Congress (APC) gets set to appoint a chairman for its Board of Trustees (BoT), a group with ties to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has called on the leadership of the party to appoint the former VP into the position.</b></div>
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APC is set to appoint the BoT Chair at a meeting slated for July 20 in Abuja and feelers from the party secretariat shows that the race to the chairmanship position is largely between Atiku and a former Governor of Lagos State, Bola Tinubu, a national leader of the party.</div>
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Adamawa Think Tank, comprising of politicians and professionals from Adamawa State, Saturday, said Atiku is the best bet because according to them, "he fits the office".</div>
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The chairman of the group, Danladi Danasabe, who spoke to <b><a href="http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/more-news/186486-apc-board-of-trustees-group-roots-for-atiku.html">PREMIUM TIMES</a></b> over the telephone said "the party at present is enmeshed in crisis following the election of new leaders for the national assembly and what we need is a person with experience in handling such issues to come on board and take us back on track".</div>
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He also said it would be wrong to "even consider Tinubu, because he is part of the problem".</div>
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"All that is happening now is because Tinubu tried to impose some people on our lawmakers and they rejected, so appointing him now with a view to solving the problem simply amounts to a judge presiding over his own case," Mr. Danasabe said.</div>
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He added although the former Lagos Governor made tremendous sacrifice leading to the success of the APC, he said, his "brand of politics and approach to issues may lead to a serious crash".</div>
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<a href="http://nigerianewsroom.blogspot.com/2015/07/tinubu-may-emerge-apc-bot-chairman.html"><i><b>The Nigeria Newsroom </b></i>(TNN) reported earlier that in spite of opposition from some members of the party's National Working Committee (NWC) odds still favour Mr. Tinubu</a>.</div>
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The paper reported that some NWC member fear that Mr. Tinubu may use the office to attack most them especially the National Chairman of the party, John Oyegun; as well as the Senate President, Bukola Saraki; and Speaker, House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, who are both in his bad books following the National Assembly leadership election.</div>
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Group Canvasses Support For Atiku As APC BoT Chairman

ABUJA, NIGERIA - As the governing All Progressives Congress (APC) gets set to appoint a chairman for its Board of Trustees (BoT), a gro...

Tinubu May Emerge APC BoT Chairman

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipLNAVx_IJEUbQ69qSZ9-FrXPc53bverN8rn2GmNXeUlghz17D4gvE_nEX_jY7CeIMqR4JLpD5Dz2lCS0_gp3duDmx93vtUMc9iZnq0Mcuto-YFld1Ezvv-yJw33TUZvx-TckLzM6MpYP4/s1600/Tinubu2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="433" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipLNAVx_IJEUbQ69qSZ9-FrXPc53bverN8rn2GmNXeUlghz17D4gvE_nEX_jY7CeIMqR4JLpD5Dz2lCS0_gp3duDmx93vtUMc9iZnq0Mcuto-YFld1Ezvv-yJw33TUZvx-TckLzM6MpYP4/s640/Tinubu2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b>ABUJA, NIGERIA- To further placate the national leader of the All Progressives Congress</b><b> (APC) Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, most forces in the party may have decided to influence his emergence as the Chairman, Board of Trustees (BoT) of the party, <i>Saturday Vanguard </i>gathered yesterday.</b></div>
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The party is due for the constitution of its BoT on June 20, 2015 following the rectification of the process by the party's National Working Committee (NWC) last week.</div>
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Tinubu who is a big brain behind the formation of APC by the four defunct political parties - Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), All Nigerian People's Party (ANPP), and a faction of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) - now known as legacy parties, apparently lost out in the power game when his candidates for the Senate Presidency and the Speakership of the House of Representatives were defeated at the National Assembly leadership election.</div>
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Speaking in confidence to <i><b><a href="http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/07/tinubu-may-emerge-apc-bot-chairman/">Saturday Vanguard</a></b> </i>in Abuja, a party source revealed that the odds favour Tinubu even though a former Vice President, Alhaji Abubakar Atiku is said to be angling for the portfolio.</div>
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"He is not likely to contest the position with anyone else. Many people want him for the office", the source said.</div>
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<i><b>The Nigeria Newsroom</b></i> (TNN) had earlier reported that both <b><a href="http://nigerianewsroom.blogspot.com/2015/07/tinubu-atiku-lock-horns-over-apc-bot.html">Atiku and Tinubu have locked horns over the party's BoT chairmanship</a></b>.</div>
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But even with this, it was also learnt that many people may not be comfortable with Tinubu occupying the office.</div>
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They fear that he may use the office to attack most members of the NWC among whom are the National Chairman of the party, Chief John Oyegun; the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki and Speaker, House of Representatives, Barrister Yakubu Dogara whose relationship with him has gone awry following the National Assembly leadership election.</div>
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Tinubu May Emerge APC BoT Chairman

ABUJA, NIGERIA- To further placate the national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, most forces in the ...

APC Crisis: Buhari To Pacify Tinubu With More Ministerial Slots

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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWuYVQ2fyKzH5gyM_sM_Ra1i4LxwTuw7mPzOAeyubP5W-TEVtWkFd1hLuFH9KSLvTKK1jI_afXuKkjzb-1SU6AFmPPbcqurJKnE1AAmw3S8IC8eQh0QV20O5R5dFbgvSHwE5HfpSMhZl2Q/s1600/GMB+Tinubu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWuYVQ2fyKzH5gyM_sM_Ra1i4LxwTuw7mPzOAeyubP5W-TEVtWkFd1hLuFH9KSLvTKK1jI_afXuKkjzb-1SU6AFmPPbcqurJKnE1AAmw3S8IC8eQh0QV20O5R5dFbgvSHwE5HfpSMhZl2Q/s1600/GMB+Tinubu.jpg" /></a></div>
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<b>ABUJA, NIGERIA - President Muhammadu Buhari is said to be considering some measures that would cement his relationship with former governor of Lagos State, Senator Bola Tinubu, following the cracks between the duo over the management of National Assembly leadership crisis.</b></div>
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Sources close to the APC confirmed to the <a href="http://tribuneonlineng.com/apc-crisis-buhari-moves-pacify-tinubu-ex-lagos-gov-get-more-ministerial-nominees">Nigerian Tribune</a> that the presidency had discovered lately that Tinubu was angry and had been putting some measures in place to pacify the national leader of APC.</div>
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Tinubu’s camp was said to have been angered by Buhari’s failure to back its strategies that would have ensured the emergence of candidates of the party for the positions of Senate president and Speaker of the House of Representatives.</div>
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It was learnt that Tinubu was particularly angry that Buhari did not make good his promise to address APC legislators at the International Conference Centre on June 9, leading to the emergence of Senator Bukola Saraki as Senate president.</div>
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It was also gathered that Tinubu's loyalists fingered Buhari’s men in the uprising that shut out the former Lagos governor from the last National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the party, held in Abuja, last week.</div>
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Though Tinubu is not a member of NEC statutorily, no one really made an issue out of that until Buhari assumed office.</div>
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Some Tinubu loyalists said they suspected the presidency might have given tactical backing to the group of former governors, who threatened to storm the meeting if Tinubu was allowed at the venue.</div>
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It was, however, gathered on Thursday in Abuja that Buhari had resolved to pacify Tinubu, so that the party would not break up under his watch.</div>
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A source said the presidency was considering giving Tinubu four ministerial slots, to compensate for the loss of House Speaker and Senate President.</div>
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It was also gathered that Buhari's late rally of Senator Ahmad Lawan group and loyalists of Honourable Femi Gbajabiamila was stemmed out of his belief that Tinubu had to be accommodated to further consolidate the APC.</div>
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But sources in the party said that there are some hardliners who were of the view that Buhari could continue to call Tinubu’s bluff, having assumed the position of party leader.</div>
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A former security chief and another retired secret service agent were said to be heading the crew of Buhari loyalists urging the president to call Tinubu’s bluff.</div>
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"A number of some hardliners in the party are insisting that Buhari should ignore anything from Tinubu, believing that the party can do without him," a source in the party said.</div>
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APC Crisis: Buhari To Pacify Tinubu With More Ministerial Slots

ABUJA, NIGERIA - President Muhammadu Buhari is said to be considering some measures that would cement his relationship with former gove...

Election Petition: Tinubu Backing Adeyemi At Appeal Court, Melaye Alleges

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKrnUkXTjzRT6ig7IUtzHch7qFvLnPLEibvNcDO7HhYQjHLTPtvbAf0SRyeL4IslGkkZZmQE7IEhcdn-yBuwcIxmKb2BWtzhL0WIZ69eiiwMJiJo2Gj7rUGQX1XC23tyFJCPRFORMVg2nn/s1600/Melaye1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKrnUkXTjzRT6ig7IUtzHch7qFvLnPLEibvNcDO7HhYQjHLTPtvbAf0SRyeL4IslGkkZZmQE7IEhcdn-yBuwcIxmKb2BWtzhL0WIZ69eiiwMJiJo2Gj7rUGQX1XC23tyFJCPRFORMVg2nn/s1600/Melaye1.png" /></a></div>
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<b>ABUJA, NIGERIA - The Senator representing Kogi West Senatorial District, Dino Melaye, on Sunday alleged that a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, had decided to offer support for Senator Smart Adeyemi, who is currently challenging his electoral victory at the Court of Appeal.</b></div>
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Melaye, an APC senator, told journalists in Abuja that Tinubu had contacted the immediate-past Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN), to take over the legal battle on behalf of Adeyemi.</div>
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He also said that Adeyemi, on the request of Tinubu, had forwarded details of the suit to Adoke, asking him to look for a judge in the Court of Appeal that would offer assistance.</div>
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But Tinubu, in his reaction, had asked Melaye to look elsewhere for people to blackmail.</div>
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Tinubu, who spoke through his Media Adviser, Mr. Sunday Dare, said it was nothing but a "kitchen of malicious lies".</div>
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Dare said: "This is another lie from their kitchen of malicious lies. They are all over the social and traditional media, spewing lies and planting stories. We are not about that. Nigerians are not as gullible as they think.</div>
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"He is aligned with people who want to kill the party, and we wish him luck, but they will not succeed because the party belongs to the Nigerian people.</div>
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"This blackmail, like other ones, will not work. It cannot stick. Adoke? Who is he? Tinubu cannot recall when last he saw him or even spoke with him. Dino should look elsewhere for people to blackmail."</div>
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Melaye had claimed that he incurred the wrath of Tinubu after refusing to back down from supporting the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, during the recently concluded election of presiding officers of the 8th Senate.</div>
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But Melaye said he had no regret over his role, leading to the emergence of Saraki as the Senate President.</div>
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He said: "I have no regret supporting Senator Saraki and my electoral victory was ordained by God and not by man. Therefore, no mortal can reverse it. In God I trust, no matter how desperate they might be.</div>
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"I am privy to an electronic mail sent to Adoke by an Abuja-based senior editor who is close to Tinubu in which he forwarded the court papers filed by Smart Adeyemi at the tribunal to Adoke.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
"In the said e-mail, Adoke was told to look for a trusted justice in the Court of Appeal who would be useful for Smart Adeyemi."</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It will be recalled that the Election Petition Tribunal in Lokoja had upheld the election of Melaye who was elected on the platform of the APC.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The tribunal had dismissed the petition filed by a former chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists and former chairman, Senate Committee on FCT, Adeyemi, because his lawyers filed their defence too late.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Delivering judgment in the suit, Chairman of the three-member tribunal, Justice Akon Ikpeme, described the petition by Adeyemi, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, as "incurably defective".</div>
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<b>SaharaReporters</b></div>
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Election Petition: Tinubu Backing Adeyemi At Appeal Court, Melaye Alleges

ABUJA, NIGERIA - The Senator representing Kogi West Senatorial District, Dino Melaye, on Sunday alleged that a chieftain of the All Pro...

NASS Crisis: Ekweremadu Must Go, APC Insists

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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt8hdj9yCPcD704HsLZGSNsrxNtUAc2pCGzevtDDXYDRabX-j4R-m9O5oN1-JeM28I-WjAKQqivOnhEvgW2FhYz1OFjaWnGcbb5KfZv0t-cxDKTtmpi7XXpI3olUWNq0zQwV8m9UzbBDut/s1600/Ekweremadu2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt8hdj9yCPcD704HsLZGSNsrxNtUAc2pCGzevtDDXYDRabX-j4R-m9O5oN1-JeM28I-WjAKQqivOnhEvgW2FhYz1OFjaWnGcbb5KfZv0t-cxDKTtmpi7XXpI3olUWNq0zQwV8m9UzbBDut/s1600/Ekweremadu2.jpg" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>ABUJA, NIGERIA - President Muhammadu Buhari is unhappy with the bi-partisan arrangement in the Senate, which has Senator Bukola Saraki of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as President and Senator Ike Ekweremadu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as his Deputy.</b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Sources at the 40-minute closed-door session of the party's National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting last Friday disclosed that President Buhari pointedly declared that the APC would not work with "enemies of the party."</div>
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As presently constituted, the APC has 59 Senators to PDP’s 49 members.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The source continued: "The president told us he cannot work with enemies of the party. He was angry that our party men in the Senate went against the wishes of the party and went to the chamber to work with the same people we defeated at the polls…"</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It was also gathered that the president urged leaders of the party to be vigilant as the PDP was not happy it was out of power after 16 years in the saddle.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Meanwhile, there appears to be no letup in the leadership crisis rocking the two chambers of the National Assembly at the weekend with the Senate Unity Forum insisting that Senate President Saraki respect the list of principal officers forwarded to him by the party.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
On Tuesday, June 23, National Chairman Chief John Odigie-Oyegun had sent to the Senate president a list of candidates for the remaining principal office positions of the majority party in the chamber.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
They are: Senate Majority Leader (North-east: Senator Ahmad Lawan); Deputy Majority Leader (North-central: Senator George Akume); Senate Chief Whip (South-west: Senator Olusola Adeyeye) and Deputy Chief Whip (North-west: Senator Abu Ibrahim).</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
At the meeting convened by Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha at the Imo Governor's Lodge in the Asokoro District of Abuja after the NEC meeting, representatives of the Forum insisted that the Senate president must concede one slot in the principal offices.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
A source close to the Forum loyal to Senator Ahmad Lawan disclosed to <i><b><a href="http://sunnewsonline.com/new/senate-leadership-crisis-ekweremadu-must-go-apc/" target="_blank">Sunday Sun</a> </b></i>that the group "stands by the decision of the party. The list of four principal officers is before the Senate president. He should do what the party expects of him. The Senate Unity Forum stands by its decision on party supremacy, nothing more."</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Asked what would now happen since the Senate president had read the names for the positions as forwarded to him by the various caucuses and the Senators had taken their seats in the chamber before the recess, he replied: "They should resign. If they are loyal party men, they should know that their party has taken a decision and the list is still before the Senate president. The national chairman has not withdrawn the list…The Senate president must reconcile his own principal officers' list with the party's list."</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Another senator privy to the series of "peace meetings" convened by party leaders on the matter disclosed that "arguments by the Senate president and the speaker that each geo-political zone must be represented in the body of principal officers, particularly as it concerns the majority party, does not hold water.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
"They should show us where it is in the Nigerian Constitution and the Standing Orders of the two Houses…"</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It was also gathered that leaders of the party are still angry with the Senate president for not reaching out to the party to explain why he did not act on the list of officers sent to him last month.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
"Some members of the party caucuses are still waiting for the Senate president to meet with them to explain his position on why he read letters from our caucuses and why he didn't carry out the wishes of our party through the letter the chairman sent to him."</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The meeting with the governors was also being concluded but for the insistence of some members that party leaders from the other side must be consulted before taking a firm decision on resolution of the crisis.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
"Their wishes were granted. That was why the meeting was shifted till next week with the belief that all contending interests in the party would be taken into consideration."</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
In a related development, supporters of the National Leader, Asiwaju BolaTinubu were said to be unhappy with the outcome of the NEC meeting last Friday.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
An earlier plan to get Oyegun suspended did not succeed. Rather than suspension, the party's National Working Committee (NWC) passed a vote of confidence on Oyegun.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The second plan was to have the Senate president and the Speaker Yakubu Dogara shut out of the NEC meeting, and the third was that even if the two were allowed to attend the NEC, since they are statutory members, they should have been made to apologize for going against the party's wishes regarding the leadership positions.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
There may be compromise, however, in the House of Representatives as the remaining four principal office positions were not filled before plenary was adjourned till July 21.</div>
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NASS Crisis: Ekweremadu Must Go, APC Insists

ABUJA, NIGERIA - President Muhammadu Buhari is unhappy with the bi-partisan arrangement in the Senate, which has Senator Bukola Sarak...

Tinubu, Atiku Lock Horns Over APC BoT Chairmanship

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFoqJ-hPbsn_OHhwWhpO_WJUXK6SvTyUSyd3mEspctGhI_aOJB3Leo2N3LYf2hUPxZpNilkSnCvtzFX2zsci5cZ03VjBk8wlR4KvDPF82QePDhSx_H4MnelbsI5e8BNZTC88j6JUwkTEK_/s1600/Tinubu+Atiku.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFoqJ-hPbsn_OHhwWhpO_WJUXK6SvTyUSyd3mEspctGhI_aOJB3Leo2N3LYf2hUPxZpNilkSnCvtzFX2zsci5cZ03VjBk8wlR4KvDPF82QePDhSx_H4MnelbsI5e8BNZTC88j6JUwkTEK_/s1600/Tinubu+Atiku.jpg" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>ABUJA, NIGERIA - Fresh crisis is brewing in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) over the chairmanship of the party’s Board of Trustees (BoT).</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It was learnt that a fresh crisis is rearing its head in the party over who will chair the BoT.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting held last Friday endorsed the constitution of the party's BoT. No date was set for that.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
An official of the party revealed to <i><b><a href="http://sunnewsonline.com/new/bot-chairmanship-atiku-tinubu-battle-for-apcs-soul/" target="_blank">Sunday Sun</a> </b></i>that some chieftains of the party are in the trenches over who heads the yet-to-be-constituted BoT.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
According to him, the initial permutation was that former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar would chair the advisory body. The move, he said was championed by former Lagos State governor and leader of the party, Bola Ahmed Tinubu who wanted the former Vice President to support his candidates for the National Assembly leadership.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
However, the APC stalwart who does not want his name mentioned said the music had since changed. According to him, the emergence of Saraki and Dogara as Senate President and House Speaker and the role allegedly played by Atiku in the controversial election had pitted Tinubu against the former Vice President.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
His words: "we may be working towards addressing the crisis in the National Assembly but I'm saddened that we may court a new crisis.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
"Power struggle is going on over chairmanship of our BoT. Initially Tinubu wanted the position to go to North-East. In fact he lobbied Atiku for it in exchange for his support for his candidates in the National Assembly.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
"When Asiwaju lost out in the National Assembly, he changed his earlier stand that Atiku should head the BoT. The reason is clear. He was disappointed that Atiku was one of the arrowheads that torpedoed all the plans made by him."</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Right now, the APC chieftain claimed that Tinubu's henchmen were wholly against either making Atiku the chairman of the body or giving it to any person from the North-East. He did not, however, state the zone or person the ex-Lagos State governor was rooting for. He only predicted that the fight over the office would soon take a messy dimension.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
"I will not be surprised if the struggle over the position takes a larger-than-life dimension. I think the matter will be decided by President Buhari who is the leader of the party", the source said.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
He said though some APC chieftains from the South-West were rooting for Tinubu to run for the position or nominate his ally from the zone to contest for it, such proposal would not work.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
According to him, the South had the position of National Chairman and could not be supported to produce chairman of BoT.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
He said: "the South is occupying the office of National Chairman, the BoT must go to the North. It will be difficult to bring up any argument that will change this equation."</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
On the possibility of Atiku clinching the position even in the face of opposition from Tinubu, the APC official said the Vice President enjoyed the support of most governors from the North who would nominate the BoT members.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
He said: "the former Vice President is playing his politics very well at the moment. He has the support of most Northern governors. You and I know that these governors are the ones who will nominate the BoT members again tomorrow night. So I believe we are making some progress, not that everything is signed, sealed and delivered."</div>
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Tinubu, Atiku Lock Horns Over APC BoT Chairmanship

ABUJA, NIGERIA - Fresh crisis is brewing in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) over the chairmanship of the party’s Board of T...

Tinubu Stands With Buhari, APC But... - Aide

<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqqy9f7MNjemtzuXebUA83Up1mxjeN9XLUwjPBzzt68Ht0BSrgblCEo4rr9T8fz_77JSnKYM94a3aQliAna6f5ujfdSIwX8RyrTOeRBEPLHpboDZutYNjqCctwXTefGxOfe_f1EWS1svWB/s1600/GMB+Tinubu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqqy9f7MNjemtzuXebUA83Up1mxjeN9XLUwjPBzzt68Ht0BSrgblCEo4rr9T8fz_77JSnKYM94a3aQliAna6f5ujfdSIwX8RyrTOeRBEPLHpboDZutYNjqCctwXTefGxOfe_f1EWS1svWB/s1600/GMB+Tinubu.jpg" /></a></div>
<b><br /></b>
<b>LAGOS, NIGERIA - The spokesman to Senator Bola Tinubu, the APC National Leader, Mr Sunday Dare has disclosed the chieftain’s take on the crisis rocking the ruling party. </b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This disclosure was made in a series of tweets by Dare who said:</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
After one week of political meetings Tinubu departed Lagos for Abuja at 3.30pm today with aides. Hours after APC meeting ended. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
Tinubu stands with the President and with the party but stands against all those in the party who disrespect APC. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
President Buhari has spoken. We know he stands for party discipline without which there can be no unity. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
It is only the leaders that led the APC to win the battle that can fight the war and win for Nigerians. Others are pretenders.</blockquote>
See his embedded tweets below:<br />
<blockquote align="center" class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
<div dir="ltr" lang="en">
After one week of political meetings Tinubu departed Lagos for Abuja at 3.30pm today with aides. Hours after APC meeting ended <a href="https://twitter.com/GbengaGOLD">@GbengaGOLD</a></div>
— Sunday Dare (@gebusites) <a href="https://twitter.com/gebusites/status/617008096347574272">July 3, 2015</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><br />
<br />
<blockquote align="center" class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
<div dir="ltr" lang="en">
Tinubu stands with the President and with the Party but stands against all those in the party who disrespect APC <a href="https://twitter.com/GbengaGOLD">@GbengaGOLD</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/olulateef">@olulateef</a></div>
— Sunday Dare (@gebusites) <a href="https://twitter.com/gebusites/status/617011010596118529">July 3, 2015</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><br />
<br />
<blockquote align="center" class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
<div dir="ltr" lang="en">
President Buhari has spoken.  We know he stands for party discipline without which their can be no unity <a href="https://twitter.com/NigeriaNewsdesk">@NigeriaNewsdesk</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/GbengaGOLD">@GbengaGOLD</a></div>
— Sunday Dare (@gebusites) <a href="https://twitter.com/gebusites/status/617011517519712256">July 3, 2015</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><br />
<br />
<blockquote align="center" class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
<div dir="ltr" lang="en">
It is  only the leaders that led the APC to win the battle that can fight the war and win for Nigerians. Others are petenders <a href="https://twitter.com/GbengaGOLD">@GbengaGOLD</a></div>
— Sunday Dare (@gebusites) <a href="https://twitter.com/gebusites/status/617012263472492544">July 3, 2015</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><br />
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Tinubu Stands With Buhari, APC But... - Aide

LAGOS, NIGERIA - The spokesman to Senator Bola Tinubu, the APC National Leader, Mr Sunday Dare has disclosed the chieftain’s take on the...

Tinubu, Akande Absent At APC NEC Meeting

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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqIgI1xnPPHKNGsigHOoMpQ4RUJSj7sg9n6K1JzQ7YL7RO0debt1JyzPkQxQK51Qg_wdlIcicMQcwxF9PnDBdGOPYnuoo0n8hZ3FT1gaMsip66RAFG5E-Z0pj4mxqxoEw43mUCtv4dhI51/s1600/Tinubu007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqIgI1xnPPHKNGsigHOoMpQ4RUJSj7sg9n6K1JzQ7YL7RO0debt1JyzPkQxQK51Qg_wdlIcicMQcwxF9PnDBdGOPYnuoo0n8hZ3FT1gaMsip66RAFG5E-Z0pj4mxqxoEw43mUCtv4dhI51/s1600/Tinubu007.jpg" /></a></div>
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<b>ABUJA, NIGERIA - National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and former Governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu is absent at the ongoing meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the party in Abuja.</b></div>
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Also, former interim National Chairman of the party, Chief Bisi Akande was also not present at the meeting.</div>
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Both leaders of the party have apparently not hiden their dissatisfaction with  the national assembly leadership election held on June 9.</div>
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The elections eventually plunged the party into crisis, eliciting verbal attacks and cold war amongst leaders of the party.</div>
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Early this week, Akande wrote a controversial open letter where he alleged a conspiracy of the north against the south west, warning that the party may lose future elections if the crisis was not nipped in the bud.</div>
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The letter has generated reactions within and outside the party.</div>
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Details later.</div>
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Tinubu, Akande Absent At APC NEC Meeting

ABUJA, NIGERIA - National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and former Governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu is abse...

APC NEC Meeting: Ex-Govs Back Saraki, Dogara; Want Tinubu Out of NEC

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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_ZR0j2Roxlg4tALvJjDeEEq84C-mA7ly0fU0XIH6RYG42NHr-ywIF4dMz0GyOEPXQllP4y929GFCu3WT-MFIVJ8r2hr6mEgXcVbfp4AfeyMyAKuVJC-LXSRoRPSd0sivNIPHuJpsGBCY7/s1600/Buhari-Saraki-Dogara.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_ZR0j2Roxlg4tALvJjDeEEq84C-mA7ly0fU0XIH6RYG42NHr-ywIF4dMz0GyOEPXQllP4y929GFCu3WT-MFIVJ8r2hr6mEgXcVbfp4AfeyMyAKuVJC-LXSRoRPSd0sivNIPHuJpsGBCY7/s1600/Buhari-Saraki-Dogara.jpg" /></a></div>
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<b>ABUJA, NIGERIA - The crisis rocking the All Progressives Congress (APC) may simply worsen during and after its much anticipated National Executive Council (NEC) meeting friday, as all indications point to likely tough exchanges between various interest groups within the party, in what has been described as political fireworks, which could lead to a stalemate.</b></div>
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This is fuelled by the belief that some former governors, who are members of the party, and a group of Northern stakeholders in the party have resolved to defend the elections of both Senator Bukola Saraki and Hon. Yakubu Dogara as Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives respectively.</div>
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Today's NEC meeting is expected to be attended by President Muhammadu Buhari, Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, Senate President, Speaker and Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Senate Leader, APC state governors, NWC members and APC state chairmen, among others.</div>
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Other prominent leaders of the party expected at the meeting are former governor of Lagos State Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Chief Bisi Akande, Chief Ogbonaya Onu and other leaders.</div>
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<b><i><a href="http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/apc-nec-may-be-deadlocked-as-ex-governors-back-saraki-dogara/213739/">THISDAY</a> </i></b>learnt that the former governors of the party met during the week and agreed not only to back the emergence of Saraki and Dogara as the Senate President and Speaker of the House but also to strongly advocate the restructuring of the party along the line of legacy parties.</div>
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This decision, <i>THISDAY </i>learnt, was spurred by the perception of the ex-governors as well as some Northern leaders that the protracted crisis in the National Assembly is being orchestrated from only the South-west chapter of the party.</div>
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There is the belief that the opposition to the leadership structure in the National Assembly is being championed by Bola Tinubu whose preferred candidates lost out in the struggle for the leadership of the national legislature.</div>
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Many suspect that the NEC meeting of Friday may seek to remove the elected leadership in the Senate, a development which could pose some legal problems to the party given the fact that the senate leadership which has fully crystalised had gone through  the normal legislative processes.</div>
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Any form of alteration to the emerged leadership structure can therefore be through impeachment which has to be done by two-thirds members of the Senate.</div>
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It was further learnt that the former governors, who are vehement in their resolve, have decided to force their way into the venue of the meeting today on the grounds that if a National Leader of the APC, Senator Tinubu, who is also a former governor, is allowed in, there is no reason they should be denied entry into the meeting.</div>
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The former governors are also insisting that there is no provision in the constitution of APC which accords recognition to the position of a National Leader with the argument that what is good for the goose is also good for the gander.</div>
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Hence, they said if Tinubu, who is their colleague is allowed in, they also possess the qualification to be part and parcel of the meeting.</div>
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However, one of the former APC governors, Dr. Kayode Fayemi who spoke to <i>THISDAY </i>last night denied knowledge of any plot to storm the NEC meeting or move against Tinubu.</div>
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"We are not members of NEC and I am not aware of any plan to attend the NEC meeting by former governors in the party. You know there are former governors and there are former governors."</div>
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Fayemi noted that it is possible perhaps to allow former governors into the meeting, but only as observers as they have no voting right, asking "so what is the essence?"</div>
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He further reasoned that none of the about 15 former governors is likely to do what has been suggested.</div>
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In order to achieve their objective, they said they had planned to assemble at the party’s national secretariat with a view to joining the meeting once Tinubu is granted access into the meeting venue.</div>
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<i>THISDAY </i>also gathered Thursday evening that the party leaders had resolved to uphold the sanctity of the party’s constitution by denying anyone who is not a legal member of the party's NEC access to the meeting.</div>
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On their part, northern stakeholders of the party were said to have been aggrieved over insinuations that the South-West chapter of APC was heating up the party with a warning that the National Assembly crisis "was gradually becoming a distraction to the party and could stall its manifesto of change."</div>
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The northern stakeholders flayed Chief Bisi Akande over his comment on Monday that the elections of Saraki and Dogara were sponsored by oil barons and that the northern elite were conspiring with Saraki to frustrate the South-West.</div>
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They described the allegation "as a failed attempt to pit the North against the South-West and it should be stopped before it does more havoc to APC".</div>
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However, governors elected on the platform of APC were scheduled to meet Thursday at the Imo Governor’s Lodge in Abuja so as to arrive at an initiative to resolve the current logjam in the National Assembly.</div>
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Another source of tension was the allegation of under-hand action levelled against the party's National Chairman, Chief John Odigie Oyegun which has been condemned by many of the stakeholders as false and selfish witch-haunt.</div>
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Although many of the party leaders have issued statements stating the contrary, fears and apprehension have indeed gripped many party members over what may likely be the outcome of the NEC meeting.</div>
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The party's national chairman, Chief Oyegun, who has been at the centre of the crisis that bedevilled the party in the National Assembly, described the bribery allegation against him as rubbish and an attempt by persons without conscience to smear his long-standing image.</div>
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Addressing a group of South-East and South-South Professionals who paid him a solidarity visit Thursday, Oyegun urged all the interest groups to accept compromise in the interest of the party and Nigeria generally.</div>
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When they say I'm taking money from a Senator, to do what? I am not a Senator, I cannot vote, I cannot by being chairman pronounce him as Senate President or Senate Leader so what is he giving me money for? How many people know me personally? It is annoying, it is dirty, it is crude, it is unbecoming and it can only be from people who are totally devoid of conscience at any level of humanity that can do things of that nature.</blockquote>
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There is nothing they have not said about me. But when you ask what has the man done, one of their reports said the present executive cannot win us elections in 2019, Good lord! You've not even finished with 2015, you are talking about 2019.</blockquote>
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The one that annoys me is the attempt to rubbish 75 solid years of a character that I've put together. They said I take gratification, gratification to what purpose? The only people who can say that are the people who don't know my background or history.  I was just over 30 when I started joining teams that were buying aircraft from Holland and Soato in United States. That could not corrupt me. I was on the board of the Railways, NPA and the rest of them, if all these did not make me corrupt, how can I at 76 take money, money from who to do what?</blockquote>
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At 75 years and having occupied various important positions both in government and out of it, I do not have a land in Abuja. If people are devoid of conscience, it should not make me lose sleep," he said.</blockquote>
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In a related development, the senator representing Niger East senatorial district, Senator David Umaru, said Thursday that the emergence of Saraki as Senate President and Dogara as Speaker of the House of Representatives was a fait accompli, recalling that members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) were the majority senators on the floor of the Senate when the election was held on June 9.</div>
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“They could have snatched the Senate Presidency from us," he observed.</div>
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He also debunked the belief that Senators of Like Minds, the group that is loyal to the Senate President, negotiated away the office of Deputy Senate President to the PDP, adding that the bulk of the senators present in the chamber during the election was from the PDP.</div>
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He insisted that the positions of the Senate President and the Speaker were “no longer negotiable even at the NEC meeting. What our party should know is that the outcome of the election could have been devastating”.</div>
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He said: "Whether you like it or not, the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) represents President Buhari, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) is represented by the Vice-President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) has the National Chairman, John Oyegun. It therefore follows that Saraki and Dogara represent the New PDP component in the party.</div>
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"The New PDP, with five governors, a former vice-president of the country cannot be ignored. At least, equity demands fairness and the elections of Saraki and Dogara represent that fairness."</div>
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In the same vein, the Deputy National Publicity Secretary of APC, Timi Frank, who spoke on African Independent Television (AIT), has urged the party to accept the outcome of the National Assembly elections and move on.</div>
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He reasoned that the PDP could have nominated themselves to be Senate President and Deputy Senate President, "and you cannot take that from them".</div>
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"We should thank PDP for what they did, for being democratic. They know they are not the ruling party, so they respected themselves by making sure an APC Senate President emerged. They unanimously gave their support to Saraki as we only had about seven or eight APC senators in the Senate as at that time.</div>
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"I see no reason anybody should blame Saraki for what has happened. We should be happy that he was there to at least save the situation at that time. If he wasn’t there, the situation could have been different," he said.</div>
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Querrying the flop of the APC by swarming to the International Conference Centre (ICC) on the day of the election, Frank said: “The question we should be asking is: Who asked 51 senators to go to the International Conference Centre? What did they go there to do? I don’t know who called for that meeting, as a party man. We should not blame Saraki for becoming Senate President. We should put the blame on the party and whosoever that called that meeting. Has the president come out to tell Nigerians that he called for a meeting and Senator Saraki wasn’t there? Even the president wasn’t at the International Conference Centre. Why did you expect Saraki to be there?</div>
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"Everybody is saying the president called (for a meeting). Who gave the directive for the meeting? So, this is the big question, a very critical question we should be asking."</div>
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He also denied that there was a trade off between Saraki and the PDP.</div>
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“To the best of my knowledge, this is a contest between two political leaders in the same party. Both of them were banking on the support of PDP senators because APC senators alone could not have made them Senate President. What happened was a victory for democracy, a victory for the people. You can’t take it away. The Senate or House (of Representatives) is an independent House. These people decide on what they want. They go for what they are comfortable with," he said.</div>
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He therefore urged his party to move beyond the crisis and forge a common front, adding that: “One of the APC senators that was present contested alongside Ekweremadu and lost. Not that they just asked Ekweremadu to be the Deputy Senate President. No! It was live on TV. PDP was more in number, so, they voted for their own. At the end of the day, Ekweremadu emerged as the Deputy President of the Senate”.</div>
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APC NEC Meeting: Ex-Govs Back Saraki, Dogara; Want Tinubu Out of NEC

ABUJA, NIGERIA - The crisis rocking the All Progressives Congress (APC) may simply worsen during and after its much anticipated Nationa...

[OPINION]: Tinubu And The Parable Of The ‘First Supper’ - By Mohammed Adamu

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<b>When I wrote the piece: ‘Tribute to Tinubu: A Parody of Shakespeare,’ a few friends and colleagues said I was un-characteristically ‘patronising’. Some wondered if I too had not fallen for the Tinubu ‘cult of the personality’; or as one of them put it, ‘cult of the insatiable power-seeker’. And to quite a few of those friends and colleagues whose opinion about my professional integrity I do give a damn about, I did vouchsafe some cogent explanation: first I said that even as I was sure they knew me not to ‘advocate for the devil’, yet they should not forget that I was not one either not to ‘give the devil his due’.</b></div>
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I should say, for the records, that I believed and I still do- that Tinubu deserved that tribute which I paid to him; that I still think him worthy of all the sentiments contained therein and that I still feel proud that I wrote that piece. Tinubu has fathered a peaceful political revolution in Nigeria which has not only moved our democracy beyond a notch by its shattering of the myth of the invincibility of incumbency, but it has saved the nation from the malignance of a ruinous era of political impunity which was bent on balkanising our country.</div>
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And let me say that if Tinubu, afterwards should, for any reason lend the instrumentation of his time, his prowess and his resources in the promotion of any contrary ideal odious or antithetical to the noble one of growing our democracy and developing our nation, I should also, with a measure of antipathy equal to the enthusiasm with which I had praised him, deploy the venom of my pen to harangue and to dis-approbate him.</div>
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But come to think of it, if you ask me whether I think Tinubu is ‘evil’ politically, I should answer as much with the affirmative ‘yes’ as with the negative ‘no’. For as ‘beauty is in the eyes of the beholder’, logically-speaking I think, so should ‘ugliness’ be also ‘in the eyes of the beholder’. And so to a bitter PDP whose defeat the Asiwaju’s deft, adept and adroit politics had caused, Tinubu is most definitely ‘evil’; and thus in the subjective eyes of members of PDP, Tinubu is uglier than the mythical Gorgon. But to the APC whose political fortunes Tinubu’s (even if) neo-Machiavellic master-tactic has now raised from ‘nothing’ to ‘everything’, the Jagaban is most definitely no ‘evil’ but ‘good’ and thus in the objective eyes of sincere members of APC, Tinubu should be the personification of beauty itself politically that is.</div>
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Alas, as we see presently in the treacherous hustle and jostle for political positions, this is not so with the hawks and vultures in the APC who now masquerade as altruistic progressive change-agents of the Buhari government. To these neo-conservative opportunists, all of a sudden, ‘Asiwaju’ ‘The Leader’ is now simply Tinubu ‘The meddlesome interloper’! He is as they now claim ‘unnecessarily interfering with our democratic processes’ and must thus be cut to size. And on this you cannot but have a sense of the poignantly disgusting and the de ja vu, especially if you recall what the then Rhodesia’s oppressive head Colonist Ian Smith said to the anti-colonial world of the 70s about Zimbabweans: “These blacks are spoiling my democracy!” ‘My democracy indeed!’</div>
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Or maybe if you have some appreciable knowledge of the UPN’s Second Republic politics when the then ‘Adedibu’ of that era’s Ibadan politics, Adelabu Adegoke, after a resounding UPN victory achieved through the instrumentation of  Adelabu’s political enfant terrible, was told plainly by Awo that since he had no western education, he could not be a commissioner!</div>
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Though academics is not the basis of this comparison, Adelabu’s reply aptly typifies, today, the mentality of those who have contributed next to nothing to the birth and ascendancy of APC, but whose hubris is now questioning the leadership of the man who almost singlehandedly formed, midwifed and nurtured it to power.  Adelabu was said to have asked rhetorically in Yoruba: <i>“Adiye da lori iresi, sugbon ko da npalo?”</i>, meaning: ‘So cooked chicken is good sitting atop a bowl of rice, but a live one is not good to grace the hallow of the parlor?’</div>
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They said that the Asiwaju wants to install surrogate leaders for the legislature so he can remote-control them. And I say: ‘assuming, without conceding, that this is true, to what end, if we may ask, would Tinubu want to remote-control the NASS?’ Is it to prevent it from passing good progressive bills that will give effect to the promise of ‘change’ by Buhari? Or is it to egg the NASS on to anti-Buhari tantrums so that the General’s government cannot effectively function? I really don’t get it!</div>
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And I even wonder more: did they not invest Tinubu with all the sobriquets and appellations of a ‘Leader’? Did they not say that he was the courageous ‘Jagaban,’ the one who led from the front? And did Tinubu not lead them from the front, selflessly giving his time, his energy and his resources? Did he not put his life on the line of a hysterically dangerous incumbency desperately angling to keep power by hook or crook? Did they not say that Tinubu’s was a goal-oriented and decisively go-getting ‘Leadership’?</div>
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And need one also ask: did we not, to the occasional rousing applause of Nigerians, see them severally winning one political battle after another under the leadership of the Jagaban? From when Tinubu fought to win series of judicial victories to restore the political control of the South West into the hands of the progressives; a feat which gave the earliest fillip to the initiative for the formation of a formidable coalition of opposition political parties?</div>
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Did we not see the series of political mutations afterwards initiated and set in motion from the pre-natal stages, the singular efforts of one man to corral several ideological eggs into one political embryo, so as to give life to a new all-embracing political Party around which both progressives and even repentant fascists could congregate to make practicable what was thought well-nigh impossible, namely enacting the parting of the political Red Sea to say to the behemoth PDP ‘let my people go!’</div>
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But maybe what we were seeing from aloof was different from what exactly was happening within! But I thought that we all saw Tinubu burning the political candle through nights and nights of vigils to disprove all the known theories of war which posit that more than one battle cannot be fought at a time; I thought we saw the Asiwaju take on both INEC and government in a proxy war with surrogate usurpers of the baptismal of the new political ideology, the A-P-C! -and which he won!</div>
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We thought that we saw Tinubu walk the miles from the North West to the North East; from North Central to the South East and from the South West to the South-South to build strong bridges of geo-ethnic and geo-political consensus; planning and strategising to form alliances, to create leagues of political amity and to  search out for men and women of weight and of mettle; political and non-political actors with diverse gifts and varying competences, to man the many points of the opposition’s political rudder.</div>
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These efforts were rewarded with successes in the creation of the first ever successful merger, the formation of the first ever peoples Party, the conduct of one of the most transparent Party Primaries, the emergence of the most popular presidential candidate, the running of the most competitive presidential electioneering campaigns, and the first ever defeat of incumbency by an opposition party in one of the most transparent presidential elections.</div>
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But now that the political dinner table is set, surrounded, unfortunately, by opportunistic political vultures and hyenas, they are telling us that although Tinubu is an excellent political cook, he is not as good in the culinary art of dishing. That the Party Leader must stay away from the Party’s First Political Supper! In fact, like Caesar, they accused the Asiwaju of ambition. The same Tinubu who had publicly announced that Buhari had offered him a chance to be on the presidential ticket an offer which he said he politely declined.</div>
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Tinubu does not deserve this kind of treatment. The Asiwaju as the Party Leader and the party are the veritable taproots of Mr. President. If they who care about Mr. President’s success are left at the mercy of the Party’s vultures and hyenas who only care about the spoils of politics, sooner or later the shrub of the presidency and its blooming foliage will feel the wilt. It is both morally and politically expedient that Buhari steps in to restore rank discipline and to assure the Asiwaju and the party hierarchy that he has ‘got their back’; just like they, through thick and thin, had always had Mr. President’s back.</div>
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[OPINION]: Tinubu And The Parable Of The ‘First Supper’ - By Mohammed Adamu

When I wrote the piece: ‘Tribute to Tinubu: A Parody of Shakespeare,’ a few friends and colleagues said I was un-characteristically ‘pa...

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