Ibekimi Oriamaja Reports
The main opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, unveiled its own count last week, putting pressure on the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, to finish work on the makeup of its presidential campaign committee.
Despite the fact that Yahaya Bello of Kogi was just named the national youth coordinator for the APC Presidential Campaign Council, some party leaders are reportedly embarrassed by the fact that the APC consistently trails the PDP in the schedule of events for the 2023 general election.
Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s wife, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, requested stronger support for her husband’s presidential campaign, arguing that Nigeria is too crucial to be in the hands of amateurs.
Unhappy with the development, a party official claimed that the APC leadership is slow to respond to problems. “In this manner, the period for the nomination of candidates expired, and we failed to nominate candidates for around 25 legislative seats. We should quit playing catch up, he continued, even though having a council in place is not necessary.
There is no pressure on us, Keyamo
Festus Keyamo, the spokesman for the Tinubu Presidential Campaign Council, asserted that the APC is not under duress and is taking all stakeholders along with due diligence. He added that the party has “enough time to compose the team before the campaigns start on September 28.”
One of the most significant and appropriate appointments made by Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, he said, was Governor Bello. It is politically astute and wise from a strategic standpoint. The current youngest governor in Nigeria is Yahaya Bello. This is a square peg in a square hole, so to speak.
His selection “further unites our house as he was one of the tough aspirants that ran against Asiwaju Tinubu during our primaries,” he continued, noting that Bello enjoys a considerable support among APC youths.
Keyamo responded to pressure on the campaign council’s whole makeup by saying, “We are not under any pressure. The PDP’s acts and activities, which are collapsing day and night, do not control or direct our actions or activities. Our ability to carry all stakeholders along and our activity schedule are the only factors that guide our decisions. When the time is right, we will inform everyone about our campaign council. Before the campaigns begin, we still have time to accomplish it.”
Similarly, a member of the National Working Committee, or NWC, headed by Senator Abdullahi Adamu claimed there is no cause for concern but asked to remain anonymous.
“Being late is preferable to rushing through everything and making existential mistakes. In any case, there is no schedule that we are behind. We can still reveal the entire roster of our campaign council even after the restriction on campaigns is lifted. There is no legal requirement that we reveal anything prior to the lifting of the embargo. In addition, a council is already in place. The directorates just need to be filled with qualified individuals, he said.
Tinubu: Nigeria is too crucial to be in the hands of inexperienced politicians.
Oluremi Tinubu, a senator for Lagos Central Senatorial District, made a case for her husband during her speech at the young leaders’ summit yesterday in Abuja.
“Young people have been in the forefront of promoting our party and our candidates right from the formation of the APC,” she remarked. The numerous youth-led efforts supporting the candidacies of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Senator Kashim Shettima can already be sensed even as the campaigns have yet to begin.
The APC’s vice presidential candidate Nana Shettima attended the event in Tinubu’s place. Shettima acknowledged the importance of young people in advancing the party and urged them to focus on grassroots mobilization.
Asiwaju Bola Tinubu has a history of supporting young people, according to Tinubu, who asked the party’s thronging youth population to engage their peers in order to ensure that they cast the proper vote in the election.
She said, “I hereby urge all our youth leaders and youth-focused support groups, many of whom are represented here today, to ensure that efforts to mobilize support for the Tinubu/Shettima presidential campaign are targeted at the grassroots – right from our polling units to our wards and local governments – as that is where the real voters are.
Tinubu-Shetima will bring back Nigeria’s greatness, claims Kogi Governor
Also yesterday, Kofi State Governor Yahaya Bello said Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the APC presidential candidate, has the potential to put Nigeria back on the path to greatness if elected.
In an interaction with APC ward, local government chairman, candidates, and other stakeholders from Idah federal constituency of Kogi State, which includes Idah, Ofu, Igalamela, and Ibaji council areas, Governor Bello announced this at the Government House in Lokoja.
“Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been consistent with the party,” said Bello. He has demonstrated the direction and leadership the country needs to confront its problems; as a result, party loyal must vote en masse for him in 2023.
The governor declared that Kogi State was completely for Tinubu and that he would do everything in his power to assure the victory of both the presidential candidate and all other APC election candidates.
The governor also disclosed that he had been designated National Youth Coordinator by the BAT campaign organization.
In a letter dated August 8, 2022, Tinubu emphasized that Bello, a candidate in the party’s presidential primaries held in June 2022, deserved the appointment because of his outstanding political accomplishments and his leadership qualities as both the governor of his state and a party member. Tinubu also emphasized that Bello was a candidate in the primaries.
The former governor of Lagos State continued, “The party can run a successful, message-driven campaign, which would lead to victory in the 2023 Presidential election. I am convinced that the Kogi State Governor will do his best in the new responsibilities handed to him.
