….Northern Solidarity Gave Atiku Victory, Says Omokri


Festus Keyamo, Nigeria’s Minister of State for Labour and Employment, has congratulated Atiku Abubakar on his victory at the presidential primary of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, on Saturday.

Keyamo said he welcomes a ‘familiar customer’ to the 2023 presidential race.

The minister said this on his Twitter page.

Keyamo wrote: “Congratulations to Atiku on his emergence as the candidate of @OfficialPDPNig for the 2023 Presidential election.

“Unlike in 2019, we face different permutations and different circumstances for the general elections this time around. We welcome this familiar ‘customer’ to the race.”

Atiku polled a total of 371 votes to defeat his closest rival, Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State who garnered 237 votes.

Details of the votes scored by other aspirants are as follows: Bukola Saraki – 70, Udom Emmanuel- 38, Bala Mohammed -20, Pius Anyim- 14, Sam Ohabunwa -1, and Olivia Tariela- 1.

In the same, a socio-political activist, Reno Omokri has attributed the victory of former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar at the just concluded Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, presidential primary elections to “Northern solidarity”.

According to a post on his verified Facebook page, Reno explained that Atiku emerged winner of the presidential election following the decision of Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State to step down for the former Vice President.

Wike had supported the presidential ambition of Governor Tambuwal in the 2019 presidential election against Atiku.

Reno stated that the South needs to learn from the North on how to play such politics.

He wrote, “The South has a lot to learn from the genuine brotherly love and unity displayed by Northerners.

“Consider that though Wike backed Tambuwal against HE Atiku in 2019, the same Tambuwal has turned around to back HE Atiku against Wike in 2022. Northern solidarity! It is something that the South lacks.

“Tambuwal has shown that Northern solidarity is thicker and stronger than financial solidarity”.

Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu, the first lady of Ondo State and an APC senatorial candidate for Imo East, has revealed that she has withdrawn from the race.

According to her, the move became imperative following alleged intimidation meted out on her, as well as her supporters.

She announced her decision to quit the race in a statement entitled, “Notice of withdrawal from Senate race”, which she issued in the early hours of Sunday.

In a viral video on Saturday, the First Lady had cried out over plots to shut her out of the process, adding that she approached Governor Hope Uzodinma over the situation.

According to Akeredolu, information at her disposal revealed that arrangements had been concluded by some “high authorities within the party” to pick a particular aspirant.

“I must, at this juncture, appreciate Ada Owere team, all my friends and supporters who stood by me during this period. Special thanks to the delegates who believed in me but were denied the opportunity to express their support,” she said.

Former special assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on prosecution, Chief Okoi Obono-Obla has asserted that the ruling party in Cross River State, the All Progressives Congress, APC, has been fractured beyond redemption.

He also stated that the party had completely deviated from the ideals of the founding fathers.

In a public statement, Obono-Obla, who lost out during the Cross River central senatorial APC primaries yesterday, said that the powers that be were at a crossroads on what to do with him and had devised crude and inferior methods to edge him out.

The APC primary election for the Cross River Central Senatorial ticket for next year’s general election was won by the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Eteng Williams, who polled 152 votes.

He was followed by former chairman of Nigeria Ports Authority, Akin Rickets with 109 votes, while Obono Obla got 19 votes and Mary Ekpere got 35 Votes.

“The APC has completely deviated from the philosophy of its founding fathers. Let us see how the anointed aspirants will deliver the Party in Cross River State. As it stands, the Party is fractured beyond redemption,” he said.

Recall that there were allegations of doctored delegate lists to favour the “anointed aspirant“.

Obono-Obla said, “Every politically informed person was aware that a particular aspirant was the favorite of the powers that be. The brandishing of the name of one particular aspirant as the favored one weeks before the election amounts to intimidation.

“The potentate makes sure that you must have his endorsement before you can aspire to become a candidate.

“Aspirants that did not have the endorsement of the potentate, had sorts of obstacles thrown along their paths. I was the target from day one.”