2019 Election: Middle Belt Want David Mark For President

As clock ticks for the 2019 presidential election, the campaign posters of former Senate President and the senator representing Benue South, David Mark have flooded the social media sphere.

The posters show Mark in a red and black traditional Idoma cap over a grey agbada.

The development came four days after the PDP zoned its presidency slot to north.

An inscription of ‘WANTED’ is boldly written over the top of the poster with PDP logo and another write up entitled ‘change the change.’

Below the poster, sponsored by Middle Belt Volunteers is another inscription which reads, “Senator Dr. David Mark Alechenu Bonaventure Mark (GCON) for President 2019.”

Aside social media, DAILY POST reports that the posters have been spotted in some places in Abuja, Igah Ikeje, Okpo in Kogi State as well as some parts of Kaduna State.

Speaking with our correspondent, an official of the group, Sunday Argah said Mark happens to be the strongest person to challenge the current government since the PDP had zoned presidency slot to the northern Nigeria.

“Yes, we are presenting him (Mark) as our candidate in 2019. He is the man to beat,” he told our correspondent.

James Oche, the coordinator of Mark campaign organisation, Door to Door, did not reply to text sent to him as at press time.

The Idoma people in Benue State had in 2015 asked Mark to join the presidential race.

His ambition reverberated during a reception in his honour by the Idoma League of Professors, ILP, led by Prof. Owoicho Akpa where they asked the former military general to run for president.

By Ameh Comrade Godwin

Our Delegation Met Buhari In London, We Will Fight To Retain The Presidency In 2019 – Arewa Youths

The Arewa Youth Forum has warned that the North will not accept anything other than the presidency in 2019.

The youth group gave the warning in a statement by their National President, Alhaji Gambo Ibrahim Gunjunju yesterday in Abuja.

The youths said they were aware of the “political games” some political leaders in the South-West were playing over the health of the President to edge him out and take over.

The Northern youths said the South-West politicians were using Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose and a PDP chieftain to champion their cause.

They maintained that the North would resist any attempt to take over power from them now or in 2019.

“These South-West people think that we do not understand the politics they are playing but we want to assure them that we perfectly understand their game and will shock them when the time comes.

“It is annoying and disappointing that while we in the North are making efforts to stabilize the country against the backdrop of the recent call for the expulsion of those from the North, some people want to show us that they understand the game of politics more than us. But they are in for a surprise.

“Let us reveal that after our recent meeting in Kaduna, a delegation was sent to London. We sent that delegation because we wanted to to know the truth of the situation.

“We met with the President and he told us some things. All we can say now is that our President will soon be back and people would witness drastic changes in the country. Many people will be surprised when he comes.

“Also we want it on record that youths from the North will not accept a repeat of what happened during the late Umaru Musa Yar’adua presidency. In 2019, the North must complete its eight years.

“This region can no longer continue to be taken for a ride”‎, he vowed.

By John Owen Nwachukwu

Supreme Court Judgement: PDP Will Win 2019 Election - Fayose

The Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, on Wednesday said the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, will reclaim party from the President Muhammadu Buhari-led All Progressives Congress government in 2019.

Fayose, who is the Chairman of PDP Governors Forum expressed optimism ahead of 2019 while reacting to the ruling of the Supreme Court which affirmed Ahmed Makarfi as the leader of the opposition party.

The Supreme Court had earlier affirmed the former Borno State Governor as the Chairman of the party. 

Speaking with DAILY POST through his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, the governor said Makarfi’s victory shows that democracy has come to stay in Nigeria.

According to Olayinka, “The ruling of the Supreme Court shows that democracy has come to stay in Nigeria.

“You can see that the whole nation stood still waiting for this ruling. This is a welcome development for our democracy.

“This ruling is an indication that PDP will bounce back in 2019. The Buhari-led government should start packing their load, we will reclaim power in the next election.”

On if Fayose and other major stakeholders will allow the former Chairman of the party, Ali Modu Sheriff back into the party, Olayinka said, “Fayose is not in a position to make such a decision. The party will sit down and decide if Sheriff will be allowed into the party.

“At the party level, decisions are made after due consultation by relevant stakeholders.”

Giving further reasons why he was optimistic PDP will reclaim power in 2019, he said, ” Nigerians are tired of this government. The very vibrant economy left for this government has been destroyed. Just few days ago, Etisalat announced they had left the country. It’s that bad and sad.”

By Seun Opejobi

2019: We Will Not Support Only Buhari - ACF

The Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF, has stated that it would not support only President Muhammadu Buhari as a candidate for 2019 election.

According to ACF, other northern candidates that joined the race would also be supported.

The ACF was responding to a request by a pro-Buhari group from Kano, under the aegis of Muhammadu Buhari Legacy Implementation Initiatives that only President Buhari should be supported for election in 2019.

Vice Chairman of ACF, Senator Abubakar Girei said the forum would not shut its doors against other candidates from the region if they indicated interest in the presidential seat.

Girei told the group: “I don’t agree with you that by next election North does not need any other person, I suggest that you reconsider your position.

“Secondly, you don’t need to tell us about Buhari’s honesty because we know, that was why Nigerians voted for him. What you can do now is to bring out the legacies or achievements of Buhuri, which Nigerians don’t know so that the people can appreciate him and his kind of character.”

Also responding to the request, National Legal Adviser of ACF, Hajiya Halima Alfa, as well as a member of its National Executive Council, Senator Joseph Waku, told the group that ACF was a wrong place for their campaign.

Alfa said, “This is ACF. In our constitution, we say we are not partisan, and so on, so whatever we do, we should do it in line with our constitution because here we are with Buhari legacy group urging us to vote for Buhari as President, and another time may come, and we may not know who is watching and listening, and for this body to pick Buhari as an individual to campaign for Buhari in 2017, I think it is wrong for this August body.

“I feel this is not the right place for you to extend this cause because in 2014/2015 when Buhari was coming, I will want you to note that this body ACF vouched for Buhari, and today is history.

‘’So, I will not support, according to our constitution, to come here in 2017 to canvass for Buhari in 2019. This is not the right place for this.

“For what the constitution of ACF stands for, we have to be very mindful because even in 2015 when Buhari was contesting, he was not the only northern candidate, we had about four of them from Arewa.

“If any one of them should come here and say they too want to portray the legacies of whoever they stand for, then we have to listen to all. We have to very careful and mindful of what we do”, she said.

In his own reaction, Senator Joseph Waku told the group: “This is a wrong place for your group to make a first stop, particularly for measuring two political parties in our midst. We are not here to assess political party that is strong or weak.

‘’Therefore, we welcome you democratically, freedom of speech, freedom of association, you are entitled to it.

“Having said that, Buhari became President of Nigeria because he is Buhari, it is not because of you, not because of APC, not because of PDP, it is because he is Buhari. And I keep telling Nigerians that APC did not win election, Buhari won election. And, therefore, coming to lecture us about Buhari legacy, you are in wrong place.

“We should go back to our states to pray for Buhari, and after that, we can talk about election. When Nigerians voted for Buhari, they didn’t know you and your group. We are not here in ACF for cheap publicity.”.

The Chairman, Muhammadu Buhari legacy Implementation Initiatives, Ado Mohammed, had earlier explained: “After Muhammadu Buhari was elected President in 2015, we decided that we should go round the whole country to implement Buhari’s legacies, assisting him from outside the government.

“We opted to look at his commitment, dedication, patriotism and sincerity of purpose to good governance and development of Nigeria.

“We are going to go round the 36 states of the country, beginning from Kano, to mobilise for the President. We have started consultation with the 44 local government areas of Kano State, all the 434 wards are involved.”

By Ameh Comrade Godwin

Kwara APC Opens Up On Saraki's Campaign Posters

The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kwara State has disclaimed “a fake and photo- shopped” banners of the Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, which has been circulating on the internet.

The banners are purportedly calling on Saraki to contest the 2019 presidential election.

Saraki had during his recent visit to Ilorin told Nigerians to wait till May, 2018 to know his next political ambition.

The APC, in a statement by its state Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Sulyman Buhari, said: “We had initially chosen to ignore the banner as we believed it was fake, and especially coming from somebody not well known among the supporters of the senate president.

“However, we later realised with dismay that certain otherwise credible media houses have latched onto the signpost issue and are making news stories out of it.”

“Before the issue of this fake and photo-shopped banner becomes an object of political mischief, on behalf of Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki and the Kwara State chapter of the APC, we hereby totally dissociate the senate president from the fake banner, its contents and whatever it represents,” he said.

By Ameh Comrade Godwin