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Atiku Abubakar, a politician and businessman, has stated that elected members who defect to other political parties must resign from their seats and that party members cannot disregard party supremacy and regulations.

He participated in a national conference on bolstering Nigerian democracy on Monday in Abuja. The conference was organized by the National Peace Committee (NPC), the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD), the African Centre for Leadership, Strategy and Development (Centre LSD), the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), and the Peering Advocacy and Advancement Centre in Africa (PAACA).

He asserted that those who disregard party regulations must face repercussions.

He said that election misconduct should typically be penalized rather than praised, saying, “That should not be open for discussion or debate when it happens.”

“These are essential for maintaining political integrity.” He went on.

Regarding coalition, he clarified that opposition parties need to understand that it is more challenging to overthrow a ruling party, regardless of how unpopular it is or how tired the populace may be of it.

“For the opposition to increase its ability to accomplish that objective, coalition building and outright mergers are essential. That is demonstrated by both our own history and international instances,” he continued.
He maintained that strong political parties, particularly opposition parties, are essential to the survival of democracy.

“Parties must possess the strength and democracy necessary to carry out their functions. Democracy is the antithesis of party ownership by or submission to particular great men.

Party dominance is essential. However, the way our parties are currently funded does not allow for party supremacy.

He said funding by governors and a few wealthy individuals is not a democratic model.

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The music is determined by the person who pays the piper, as is well known. It is necessary to democratize funding. Parties require members to co-own and invest in them.

“When people start from the point of view that “Tinubu is rich or Peter Obi is rich or Atiku is rich, so I don’t have to contribute”, they surrender to the big man’s dominance of parties.

“In more effective democracies, parties and candidates raise funds from the mass of members and supporters.”

He urged citizens to invest in funding their political choices.

“When people invest in something, they tend to be more engaged with it. So, our people, especially party members need to be enlightened.

“The transition to truly democratised parties won’t be easy but must be begun. Could we consider some public (government) funding of parties during the transition period? Perhaps proportionate to each party’s elected officials in the legislatures to avoid parties springing up just to collect public funds?”, he quizzed.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s decision to designate Abdullahi Ganduje, the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as Chairman of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) Board has sparked discussions over how it will affect his standing as the party’s leader.
Ganduje, a former Kano State governor, was included on a list of 42 people appointed to federal boards and agencies, along with a number of members of the APC National Working Committee (NWC). This dual job may be a first step toward more extensive party reform, according to some, while others see it as a standard administrative choice.

The North Central zone views Ganduje’s new post as a chance to regain the APC presidency, which it has been vying for since Senator Abdullahi Adamu resigned.

Citing past zoning accords, stakeholders contend that the chairmanship need to return to the area.

“We are slowly approaching 2027. A party insider in the area told Daily Trust that Mr. President should reverse the chairmanship to the North Central.

“The President must correct this imbalance by restoring the chairmanship to the North Central,” stated Sale Zazzaga, the Chairman of the North Central APC Forum, in order to underscore this demand.

Additionally, the forum has sued Ganduje, claiming that his appointment breaches zoning agreements prior to the 2023 election.

Despite these rumors, reliable APC sources claim that Ganduje’s appointment has nothing to do with his responsibilities as the party’s chairman, just like that of other members of the National Working Committee (NWC).

Ganduje’s appointment, according to political observers, might be a component of a broader plan to get ready for a leadership change before the 2027 elections.

“These appointments could serve as soft landings for Ganduje and other NWC members ahead of their potential exit,” said APC chairman Chief Jackson Lekan Ojo.

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In order to make room for a new leadership structure, he also proposed that the APC National Executive Committee (NEC) disband the NWC at its upcoming meeting.

The APC, however, has denied allegations that Ganduje’s chairmanship is compromised by his new position.

APC National Director of Publicity Bala Ibrahim called the accusations baseless.

Ibrahim said, “Ganduje’s responsibilities as national chairman are unaffected by this appointment.”

He called the rumors unfounded and charged that the detractors were trying to discredit Ganduje’s importance. “They come up with permutations that don’t happen every day,” he said.

He further emphasized that the North Central’s zoning concerns were without substance, noting that Prof. Kana, the region’s current National Legal Adviser, held the position.

Ibrahim said, “The critics should ask themselves if the legal adviser will also be sacked.”

The Lagos State House of Assembly has declared that it will look into claims of money mismanagement and fraud against former Speaker Mudashiru Obasa.

The House spokesperson, Olukayode Ogundipe, revealed the information in an interview with The Punch.

He said the investigation will start as soon as Obasa returns to work at the Assembly.

“The other accusations against him will be addressed once he is physically present,” Ogundipe stated.

We have also heard additional reports regarding the various sums of money that he has been spending. We were unsure of how they obtained the records of those, but when he is sitting with us, we will take action with the ones we have.

“That will be expatiated when he’s on the ground, probably a committee will be set up to look into it or probably it will also be looked at by the leadership of the House,” the Assembly spokesperson said when asked if the Assembly would submit a petition to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to investigate the former Speaker.

“Those procedures-based formalities will be strictly adhered to. When the time comes, you can be confident that the House will respond to that.

More than two-thirds of the 40-member legislative chamber impeached Obasa on January 13 due to allegations of financial offenses and malfeasance.

Obasa, however, has refuted these accusations, asserting that he is still the legitimate Speaker and that his dismissal was improper.

Ogundipe, the spokesperson for the Assembly, has insisted that Obasa’s dismissal was legal and compliant with the constitution.

According to him, the House will decide on the next course of action, including a potential investigation, once Obasa returns to his duties.

“I want to say that the process of his removal was constitutional, and the former Speaker, Rt Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, is still and will continue to be one of us,” Ogundipe stated.

As previously stated, the constitution is quite explicit regarding the procedure for bringing him in—the same procedure we used to dismiss him—should we wish to alter the guard. The procedure was properly followed, and we are aware of what we observed. We planned to switch guards, and we did just that.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) is allegedly giving opposition party leaders N50 million apiece in an attempt to sabotage Nigeria’s democratic process, according to former vice president Atiku Abubakar.

Atiku warned that the country’s democracy was in danger of collapsing if immediate action wasn’t taken while speaking in Abuja on Monday at a national summit on bolstering democracy that was hosted by a number of civil organizations.

“I want to publicly state it here. The leadership of one political group in the current opposition informed me bluntly that they receive N50 million apiece from this government when we met,” Atiku disclosed.

“If we are not careful, we are talking to some of you here, but you are recipients of the N50 million from the APC government,” he said, casting doubt on the opposition parties’ dedication to democracy. Do we genuinely wish to defend democracy?

Atiku bemoaned the decline of democratic principles, casting doubt on the legitimacy of Nigeria’s electoral arbiter and denouncing the present National Assembly as a “rubber stamp” for the administration.

He pointed to Turkey as an example of integrity Nigeria should follow, where the electoral authority declined to declare a president-elect who did not receive the necessary number of votes.

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He reflected on his decades-long fight for democracy, calling for opposition parties to come together and mentioning personal sacrifices such as being exiled, having his enterprises seized, and having his life attempted.

“We risk having no democracy at all if we don’t band together and act. “God forbid,” Atiku said in closing.