*’Has Tinubu himself being in one party since 1999 when the vehicle of Alliance for Democracy (AD) brought him to office as Lagos governor? Is his present party, the All Progressives Congress, same as AD?’
*Ardo Claims He Warned Obi, Kwankwaso Not To Join NDC
By our reporters
Allegedly targeting Northern voters ahead 2027, the Presidency has criticized the credibility of Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential aspirant, Peter Obi, who has vowed to serve only one term, if voted into office next year.
Obi had repeatedly publicly said he intends to stay in office for one term (2027-2031) to serve the remainder of the Southern slot for which President Bola Tinubu has so far enjoyed one term, which ends in 2027, and is reportedly interested in being re-elected.
Obi said by 2031, it would be the turn of the North, to stay two terms of eight years.
To give teeth to his promise, Obi struck a pact with former governor of vote-rich Kano State, Engr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, a charismatic politician with a grassroots Kwankwasiyya Movement, apparently to serve as his running mate in the 2027 poll.
Reports said his words had caught on in the North, including the far North, with many northerners said to be queuing up to register with NDC, boosting the party’s membership.
However, Presidential Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, pooh poohed the one term idea -yet again.
Pointing to Obi’s political history, Onanuga alleged that the former Anambra State governor had in the past pledged loyalty to the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) upon which he was elected governor of Anambra State, before later leaving the party.
The presidential aide further stated that Obi had moved across different political platforms over the years.
Interestingly, political watchers noted that Onanuga was silent on his principal, President Tinubu’s own political party membership trajectory from the days of Alliance for Democracy (AD) through to the present, ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
“Has Tinubu himself being in one party since 1999 when the vehicle of Alliance for Democracy (AD) brought him to office as Lagos governor? Why did he not stick to AD all along to date? There must be a reason or reasons. Is his present party, the All Progressives Congress, same as AD?
“Don’t point fingers when you’re ‘guilty’ of same matter you accuse another of. The holy Book says ‘remove the beam in your own eye first before you ask your brother to remove the log in his’,” Ademola Adejobi, an Abuja-based political analyst told People&Politics.
In a post on his X handle, Onanuga said: “If you believe Peter Obi’s promise to serve only one term as president, you’ll believe anything.
“Consider his record: while in APGA, he famously placed himself under a self-curse, vowing never to leave the party that made him governor. He gave his word to the Ikemba, even on his deathbed, swearing loyalty and fidelity to APGA.
“By his own actions, Peter Obi has shown that his word cannot be trusted. His promises are as fleeting as his political allegiances.”
Recently, Obi defected to NDC from the opposition African Democratic Congress (ADC), citing internal and legal crises tearing at the party, which also accommodates heavyweights like former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar; former governor of Osun State, Ogbeni (Engr.) Rauf Aregbesola; former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, and others.
On 9 May at the party’s National Convention in Abuja, the nation’s capital, NDC zoned its presidential ticket to the South, declaring that it is for a single term and that its presidential slot would, in 2031, be the turn of the North.
The party’s action was seen, especially in the North, as an institutional gesture of faith to convince the zone that Obi’s one term pledge would stand.
Before You Defected, I Warned On NDC’s Troubles, But You Would Not Listen -Umar Ardo To Obi, Kwankwaso
Meanwhile, a fresh strand to the challenges facing Obi and Kwankwaso has come as leader of a political group, All Democratic Alliance (ADA), Umar Ardo, said he warned both men not to join the NDC as the arty’s legal crisis had not been settled as of then.
Seaking on Morning Show, a programme on Arise Television, today, Ardo said even before Obi and Kwankwaso joined NDC after it was registered by electoral umpire, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on 6 February, he had opposed the party’s registration.
Alleging irregularities in NDC’s registration, Ardo disclosed that on noticing that Obi and Kwankwaso might cross over to the party, he contacted unnamed persons he said are close to Obi, advising against his defection to the party as there exist other available political parties.
The ADA leader claimed that he personally met with Kwankwaso over the planned defection and further reached him just before the former Defence Minister moved, to dissuade him against the then planned action –all to no avail.
Ardo’s words: “A day after INEC announced NDC’s registration, I was here in your studio. I was opposing it on the 6th of February.
“So it is not about Peter Obi. It is not good at all whatsoever. What was my business with Obi? What was my business with Kwankwaso?
“And when I had these facts, I communicated to, I don’t have Peter Obi’s line to discuss with him directly, but I communicated to all those who have been close to Obi, telling them to tell him that if they are considering going to another political party, there are other political parties to go in, not NDC, because this is the problem NDC is facing.
“And I sat down with Kwankwaso, and I told him. And I also called him a day or two before they moved in.
“I also told him that these are the problems that this NDC is facing, but they refused. They went and entered.
“So the fact that they entered doesn’t mean that it has changed the situation. The situation is as bad as it has always been.
“So I have no motive whatsoever other than to stop, you know, a national fraud on the country. You cannot come through this way and expect people to vote for you.”
*PHOTO CAPTION: Kwankwaso (l) and Obi.
