Politics
Ambode: Our move to take over Alausa gets brighter – PDP
Chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are excited about the ongoing drama playing out in the camp of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State.
The crisis they say, is providing for them on a platter of gold, the Lagos State Government seat which they lost narrowly in the last election to the now deeply embattled governor of the State Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode. Authoritative sources within the opposition say members are fervently praying that the Lagos State APC leadership remain adamant in its move to successfully oust Mr. Ambode and are once again singing, “I can see everything turning around”.
The development has re-energized the PDP’s candidate at the last election, Mr. Jimi Agbaje to come out from his shell and re-present himself for the coveted office. Mr. Agbaje narrowly lost the last election to Ambode – a seasoned technocrat, who though untested at the time, endeared himself to the masses by his intimidating academic and professional track record, untainted character and good public conduct. Ambode’s choice as the APC candidate was at the time, generally viewed by political analysts as an excellent move by the party’s controversial leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
A thoroughbred politician, Tinubu is respected for providing astute leadership as the governor of the State, but even more for his ability to groom worthy successors. When the renowned APC leader initially unveiled Mr. Babatunde Fashola, his then relatively unknown Chief of Staff, as the ‘Actualiser’, many derided his plan to hand over to a neophyte. The excellent performance of Fashola as the Executive Governor of Lagos State soon proved Tinubu right and earned him immense respect, an accolade that suffered a setback when he was accused of undue interference in Fashola’s government and envy of his protégé’s rising profile.
The Jagaban Borgu, raised more dust subsequently when he similarly anointed his erstwhile Accountant General, Akinwunmi Ambode as Fashola’s successor and fiercely supported him to clinch the coveted office. He dubbed Ambode ‘the CONSOLIDATOR’ and paid tribute to him as the man who bailed out Lagos State when it was starved of funds by then President Olusegun Obasanjo who withheld the State’s statutory allocation for many years.
Ambode no doubt has lived up to his high-flying credentials, endearing himself to Lagosians with his reputation as a man of few words and more action, clearly setting Lagos on a path of transformation into a rapidly evolving mega city.
Consequent upon Ambode’s performance, APC was cruising to a ‘no-contest’ easy win election while the PDP and its past gubernatorial candidate Jimi Agbaje remained under-ground and showed no interest in contesting the up-coming gubernatorial election in 2019 as it seemed clear that they had no chance of winning against the APC, at least, not in the next four years.
Unfortunately and very sadly, all these collaterals have in the wake of dirty political shenanigans within the APC, been thrown to the winds by the party, handing a lifeline to the PDP who cannot believe its good fortune.
The party’s calculation insiders say, is that the Otedola-Sarumi-Agbalajobi saga is playing out again, as people who had given up on their political interests, like Jimi Agbaje and even those with no known political aspirations such as billionaire businessman Mr. Femi Otedola, are waiting for the platter of gold gift from the embattled ruling party.
Interestingly, Ambode the man at the centre of the intrigue, is taking everything in his stride. Sources close to him say he has prevailed on his very incensed followership not to respond to all the cooked up negative stories and fake news being churned out daily by desperate politicians seeking to take his coveted office by all means.
The governor they say remains focused on delivering his mandate to the good people of Lagos State and is unwavering in his loyalty to his political mentor and National Leader of the APC, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Oladotun is a Lagos-based entrepreneur and public analyst
By Augustine Akhilomen
President Bola Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala, has described the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, presidential candidate, Peter Obi as a “miracle centre presidential candidate.”
Bwala was reacting to Obi’s recent interview where he gave condition before agreeing to debate with the Minister of Works, Dave Umahi.
In an interview with media personality, Chude Jideonwo, Obi had said he would debate with Umahi when he qualifies as a presidential candidate of a political party.
He made the remark against the backdrop of the minister’s declaration that he was ready to debate with Obi over road infrastructure.
However, Bwala in a post on X, questioned how Obi emerged as presidential because he never went through the process of primary election.
Bwala wrote: “Peter Obi is telling Chude on his podcast that if H.E Dave Umah wants to debate him, he should first qualify as a presidential candidate first.
“Funny; the Peter Obi @PeterObi how did he qualify to be a presidential candidate? Did he (Peter Obi) participate in any presidential primaries?
“In fact has he ever participated in any presidential primaries? Imagine a miracle centre presidential candidate questioning a successful governor and performing minister on qualifications.”
The Peoples Democratic Party faction led by FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, has announced the successful upload of the names of its presidential candidate, running mate and National Assembly candidates to the Independent National Electoral Commission’s Candidate Nomination Portal ahead of the 2027 general election.
The party’s National Chairman, Abdulrahman Mohammed, disclosed this in a statement issued on Sunday.
Mohammed said the submission demonstrated the party’s commitment to participating fully in the 2027 general election.
“I am pleased to inform all PDP members and Nigerians that our great Party, under my leadership, has successfully uploaded the names of our Presidential Candidate, his Running Mate, and our National Assembly candidates onto the INEC Candidate Nomination Portal,” he said.
“This is a clear demonstration of our commitment to the promise we made that, under my leadership, the PDP will fully participate in the 2027 General Elections. Today, we have taken another decisive step towards fulfilling that promise,” he added.
A screenshot from the INEC PCR Portal accompanying the announcement shows the PDP dashboard with 410 new candidate forms registered, of which 367 have been submitted, and 42 remain pending.
The PDP chairman said the party was awaiting the completion of the upload of its governorship and State Houses of Assembly candidates.
He congratulated members of the party on the completion of the latest phase of the nomination process.
“As we await the conclusion of the upload of our Governorship and State Houses of Assembly candidates, I, on behalf of the National Working Committee of our Party, extend my heartfelt congratulations to all PDP members across Nigeria and around the world,” he said.
“Together, we will continue to build a stronger, more united Party and a better future for our nation.”
The development comes hours after INEC extended the deadline set for political parties to submit the names of their presidential and National Assembly candidates through the commission’s online nomination portal.
It also follows the announcement by the ruling All Progressives Congress that it had completed the upload of its 471 candidates, including President Bola Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima, 109 Senate candidates and 360 House of Representatives candidates, to the INEC portal.
The All Progressives Congress has announced the successful upload of its 471 candidates for the presidential and National Assembly elections to the Independent National Electoral Commission’s Candidate Nomination Portal, confirming President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima as the party’s presidential ticket for the 2027 general election.
The submissions comprise the presidential and vice-presidential ticket, 109 Senate candidates and 360 House of Representatives candidates, completing its nominations for the offices covered by the portal.
The announcement was made by the APC National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, in a statement on Sunday, a day after the close of INEC’s portal for the submission of presidential and National Assembly candidates.
Yilwatda congratulated the party’s candidates, leaders and members on the completion of the exercise.
“I congratulate our candidates, leaders, and members of APC on the successful 100% upload of our Presidential, Vice Presidential, Senate, and House of Representatives candidates on the INEC Candidate Nomination Portal (ICNP),” he said.
He added, “With this milestone achieved, our focus now shifts to mobilisation and preparations for a successful campaign and decisive victory at the polls.”
The upload confirms Shettima as Tinubu’s running mate for the 2027 presidential election, ending months of speculation over whether the APC would retain its current presidential ticket.
The development comes after INEC fixed 6 p.m. on Saturday, July 11, as the deadline for political parties to submit the nomination forms of their presidential and National Assembly candidates through its online portal.
According to the commission’s timetable, political parties received access codes to the portal on June 26, while the submission of Forms EC9 and EC9A to EC9E commenced on June 27 in line with Section 29(1) of the Electoral Act, 2026.
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