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2023: Ex-ACF Secretary-General, Sani advises against Muslim-Muslim ticket
An elderstàtesman and immediate past Secretary General of the influenctial Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Anthony Sani has advised the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential flag bearer, Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the leadership of the party to pick a Christian from the North as vice President. This, according to him, is the surest way to peace and unity in view of the pervading realities in the country.
He urged Tinubu not to be intimidated by anyone under any pressure to fall for what can bring disunity and increased suspicion in the country.
According to him, the former Speaker of the Federal house of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara fits perfectly into the new consideration.
He said, “Dogara is a young man with sufficient public intelligence with a rich electoral asset. If you look at his electoral value he has never lost any election”.
Sani stated this on Monday in Jos the Plateau state capital while speaking to Journalists ahead of the 2023 general election.
He argued that the former speaker was able to command national respect because of his liberal disposition and because of that, given his liberal posture, “I am tempted to recommend him for the position of the Vice President of Nigeria”.
“My suggestion does not mean that I have influence on Tinubu and the leadership of APC, but Tinubu has earlier said he knows how to hunt for his first eleven and as far as I am concerned Dogara can make his first eleven.”
Sani also wondered why the controversy on whether he should pick a Christian northerner or a Muslim, adding that the constitution is very clear on it in respect to the federal character which says “no group should dominate as such a thing will not promote unity of the country.”
“As far as Nigeria is concerned the dividing lines today are about three, ethnicity, religion and regions and there is no way the President can pick his running mate from his region.
He further stressed, “So if there are three dividing lines, for instance, if the President comes from a region, the Vice President from the other side. If the President is coming from the South, naturally the Vice President should come from the North.”
He argued that because religion is also part of the three dividing lines, the Constitution expect that the Vice President should come from opposite of the president’s religion.
“Some people have been saying, it should not happened that way, but the country today is being divided along ethnic, region and religious line. So there is no way Tinubu will pick his Vice from the South nor Northern Muslim as Vice President.
According to him, Tinubu has made it very clear that he is coming to unite the country and not to divide it and if people are talking of Muslim, Muslim ticket he wonders if you they are mindful of the federal character.
“With the way I perceived Tinubu, he wants to unite the country so that it will be peaceful for the younger generation to inherit, he is not expecting Tinubu to pick a Muslim from the North as his running mate”, he said.
Senator representing Kogi East Senatorial District, Jibrin Isah Echocho, has congratulated Muslim faithful for the successful completion of this year Ramadan fast, urging them to celebrate the Sallah in love, and unity across our communities.
Echocho in a statement madeavailable to CAPITALPOST in Lokoja o Sunday, described the Ramadan period as stressful, but deserving, because it is the only period for spiritual reflection on abstinence from immorality, sincere sacrifice and supplications to Allah.
He added that, Ramadan symbolises Allah’s way of teaching humanity on virtuous living, where people keep away from all forms of comfort to appreciate what the less privileged experience and deprivation they suffers daily.
He task Muslims to extend the lessons of Ramadan to the way we live with our neighbours.
“Let’s seek peace at all times and promote unity of purpose in our society” the Lawmaker demanded.
“May the celebration brings sustainable peace to our homes, my district, Kogi State and Nigeria, he concluded.
The President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio has commended Senator Basheer Lado, for redefining the Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Senate Matters, stating that, for the first time in a long while, the office is fully meeting its expectations.
Speaking during his visit to the office of the Special Adviser to the President on Senate Matters accompanied by distinguished senators, Akpabio described the visit as a significant step in strengthening Executive-Legislative relations.
He praised the Special Adviser and his team for maintaining the confidentiality of communications between the President and Senate, and also, ensuring a seamless flow of information. He further emphasized that the office is now more result-oriented.
Additionally, he acknowledged the office’s diligent efforts in tracking all Bills passed by the Senate and assented to by the President, underscoring its critical role in legislative efficiency.
Expressing his satisfaction, Akpabio noted that he and the Senate delegation were proud of the office’s achievements and looked forward to sustaining the existing cordial and productive relationship between the Executive and the Legislature throughout the administration.
In recognition of his exemplary leadership, Senator Lado presented an Award of Excellence to Senator Akpabio.
In his remarks, Senator Lado reaffirmed his commitment to fostering a harmonious working relationship between the Executive and the Legislature. He lauded Akpabio for his unwavering dedication to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda—defending it with clarity, articulating it with passion, and advancing it through legislative action.
Ahead of the 2025 political party Congresses, Plateau State Chapter of the Labour Party (LP) stakeholders has endorsed the defection of the candidate of the party in the 2023 general elections and the leader of Justice and Rebirth, Barr Gyang Zi SAN, to the All Progressive Congress (APC) with the view to key into the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu.
They made the call in a communique issued at the end of the enlarge meeting of the stakeholders from Plateau North senatorial zone at the residence of Barr. Gyang Zi in Rayfield Jos.
The communique which was jointly signed by Dr. Ayiki Sati Director General, Justice and Rebirth and
Barr. Samuel Galadima- 2024 Chairmanship candidate of Jos East LGA among others said the call became imperative on the sideline of the leadership tussle at the National Level which violates the core principles and values for the formation of the Party as an alternative for Nigeria for the protection, sustenance of democracy and Social Justice.
They regretted that the leadership tussle has also divided the party into factions leaving party loyalists and supporters in the state of despondency and confusion not knowing where they belong.
Our correspondent reports that the gathering included LP candidates from the 2023/2024 general elections, party executives, and support groups from the six local government areas of the Northern Senatorial District.
Besides, the focus of the discussions was centered on the state of the Labour Party at both national and state levels and the need for political realignment ahead of the 2025 party congresses and conventions.
The stakeholders further frowned at the structural weaknesses in LP and resolved to advise Barr Gyang Zi, to leave the party and join the APC while expressing confidence that the APC would provide him with a platform to advance good governance in the state .
The communique also emphasized the importance of political consultations, particularly with APC leaders at both state and national levels. It called for collaboration with Plateau State APC leaders, including Minister of Humanitarian Affairs Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda Goshwe, Sen. Simon Bako Lalong, Sen. Diket Plang, and other party officials.
According to the communique, supporters of Barr Gyang Zi also pledged to mobilize grassroots support for the APC, stating that their leader’s defection would strengthen the party in the state.
They urged the APC leadership to formally receive Gyang Zi and his supporters into the party, marking their official transition from the Labour Party.
Stakeholders also reiterated the need for inclusive governance, ensuring that youths, women, and less privileged individuals are sidelined in the democratic process and accordingly officially denounced their membership in the Labour Party, declaring their support for the APC.
They assured that all LP structures aligned with Gyang Zi would follow suit, shifting their loyalty to the ruling party in the state and at the National level.
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