Politics

Will the centre hold in Nigeria’s ruling party, APC, as fresh details emerge on internal wrangling

Published

3 years ago

March 8, 2022

News of a leadership tussle in Nigeria’s ruling political party – All Progressive Congress (APC) broke yesterday as Niger state governor, Abubakar Bello, hinted he is taking over as the Chairman of the Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee party.

The development poses questions for keen observers as the party crisis takes a new twist. All Progressive Congress (APC) has been unable to host her party convention in a while.

One party observer, Salihu Moh. Lukman said “between November 2021 and January 2022, the APC Convention has been postponed three times because of deliberate refusal to initiate most the processes required, such as booking the venue for the Convention and serving the statutory three weeks’ notice to INEC”

There have been other serious allegations against the leadership of His Governor Mai Mala, which include the discovery that his group, since November 2022, had obtained a Court injunction against the Convention and are waiting until three or two days to the Convention before serving it on the party to succeed in blocking the March 26 APC Convention from holding.

Some news platforms reported yesterday that Bello’s move to take over the Caretaker Committee of the party is strongly backed by President Muhamadu Buhari who want Buni sacked because of many allegations of sharp practices as APC CECPC Chairman and replaced him with His Excellency Abubakar Sani Bello as Sole Administrator.

A source in the party revealed that “the plot is that His Excellency Mai Mala wants to continue to run the affairs of the party and conduct the party’s primary where candidates for 2023 elections would emerge”.

“Based on that there are specific allegations of His Excellency Mai Mala striking some deals with some Presidential aspirants to ensure their emergence as the Presidential Candidate of APC for the 2023 elections.

“Some of the allegations suggest extorting money from these aspirants, including someone who is yet to join the party. It is being alleged that campaign offices for the aspirant are already being opened even before such a person joined the party”

“All these highlight problems of trust, which the leadership of His Excellency Mai Mala represented. A good confirmation of why it will be difficult for party leaders and members to continue to invest any trust on the His Excellency Mai Mala leadership of the Caretaker Committee is the attempt to constitute another zoning Committee after there is decision between President Buhari and Progressive Governors on zoning, based on which stakeholders of the party at zonal levels are to finalise negotiations on positions to go states”.

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Politics

Ivory Coast: Ex-minister challenges ex-Credit Suisse boss Thiam for presidency

Published

1 hour ago

October 26, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Jean-Louis Billon, the former commerce minister of Ivory Coast, announced on Friday that he would challenge party head and former CEO of Credit Suisse, Tidjane Thiam, for the opposition PDCI party’s candidacy in the country’s 2025 presidential election.

The PDCI party, which dominated Ivory Coast from independence until the late 1990s but has had difficulty regaining power because of internal strife, may become even more divided due to Billon’s choice to run.

Thiam just won the PDCI leadership contest and returned to the country that produces the most cocoa worldwide.

His triumph stoked rumours that he may challenge or succeed President Alassane Ouattara. Neither man has made an official announcement about his plans.

Historically, the PDCI’s presidential candidate has been the organization’s leader.

The 59-year-old Billon was Ouattara’s trade minister and the former head of SIFCA, Ivory Coast’s leading agro-industrial organisation. In order to fairly choose the party’s presidential candidate, he demanded that a PDCI convention be held.

“I hope that this convention will be democratic, honest, and transparent, with no tricks or favouritism, no violence, and free from any tribal bias,” Billon said in a statement

Politics

Sources suggest Sahel jihadis finding safety in Ghana

Published

2 days ago

October 24, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

According to seven sources cited by Reuters, Islamist militants in Burkina Faso are covertly utilising Ghana’s north as a medical and logistical rear camp to maintain their insurgency. This could allow them to increase their presence in West Africa.

According to the sources, which include regional diplomats and Ghanaian security officials, Ghanaian authorities seem to be largely ignoring the insurgents who are crossing over from neighbouring Burkina Faso to obtain food, fuel, and even explosives, as well as to receive medical attention for wounded fighters.

However, they said that strategy runs the risk of enabling terrorists to establish themselves in Ghana and recruit in some marginalised local areas, even though it has so far spared the country from the kind of devastating Islamist attacks that have afflicted its neighbours.

Ghana and Burkina Faso, which is at the centre of an insurgency that has killed thousands, displaced millions, and, according to some experts, made the Sahel region the epicentre of global terrorism as groups loyal to al Qaeda and Islamic State increase their presence, share a 600-kilometre (372-mile) border.

With the rise of JNIM, a pro-al Qaeda organisation, Burkina Faso has lost control of more than half of its territory. This week, a JNIM senior told French station RFI that the organization’s goal was to expand into Ghana, Togo, and Benin. Unlike Benin and Togo, Ghana has not experienced a significant attack.

Ghana’s ambassador to Burkina Faso, Boniface Gambila Adagbila, told Reuters that the militants were exploiting Ghana’s open borders and viewed the country as a “haven.”

However, he refuted claims that the government had inadvertently reached a non-aggression pact with the jihadists.

According to him, Ghana and Burkina Faso were collaborating to “flush them out”.

Since the beginning of October, attacks on companies have resulted in at least three fatalities and four injuries, according to an official.