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Ndume Raises Alarm Over ‘Kakistocrats’ In The Presidency

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Senator Ali Ndume, representing Borno South, has urged President Bola Tinubu to take decisive action against what he described as “kakistocrats” dominating the Presidency, warning that their continued presence could undermine his administration.

 

Ndume spoke while reacting to the composition of the All Progressives Congress (APC) 2027 Presidential Campaign Council, saying the structure did not address his concerns about the competence of some officials working around the President.

“My concern remains that the President has so many kakistocrats dominating the presidency. Unless he does something about it, they will continue to mess him up,” the senator said.

Ndume cited recent controversies involving a government agency and the suspension of a permanent secretary in the Presidency as evidence of what he described as weaknesses within the administration.

“We had a fake agency operating with an office, and after the ICPC investigated, they discovered even more. A permanent secretary in the presidency had to be suspended,” he said.

The senator, however, credited Tinubu for allowing the investigation to proceed but argued that the President needed to do more to prevent such incidents.

“That is where I give the President credit, but I insist that if he had capable hands, all this mess and embarrassment wouldn’t be happening. He is still not taking the appropriate action on it,” Ndume said.

On the APC campaign council, the lawmaker questioned the decision to include Tinubu as chairman, arguing that the party should take the lead in campaigning for its presidential candidate.

“People put up the presidential campaign committee. If I had the ear of Mr President, there was no need for a presidential campaign committee,” he said.

Ndume argued that the APC national leadership should instead be responsible for selling the achievements of the administration to Nigerians ahead of the 2027 election.

“The President is the product of the party. The owner of a product should be the one selling the product, not the product selling itself,” he said.

He added: “He shouldn’t be on it; it should be the National Chairman of the party.”

The senator also suggested that Tinubu might not have been fully involved in the process that produced the campaign council, pointing to the controversy that followed its announcement.

“From what happened, you can see that even the President was not fully aware. Why would there be complaints?” Ndume asked.

He said his concerns were not motivated by personal or partisan interests, but by the need to strengthen Nigeria’s political system.

“I know the man. But why am I worried? It’s not about my party; it’s about politics in Nigeria,” he said.

Ndume also defended some of the difficult economic decisions taken by the Tinubu administration, particularly the removal of petrol subsidy, saying the decision itself was necessary but its consequences had created significant hardship.

He said many Nigerians supported the removal of subsidy but were now bearing the impact of higher living costs.

“The President himself acknowledged that there is hardship as a result of the policies, but promised Nigerians that there will be light at the end of the tunnel,” Ndume said.

According to him, the prolonged hardship had become a major challenge for the APC ahead of the 2027 elections, with Nigerians becoming increasingly anxious about when the expected economic relief would materialise.

He also blamed some presidential aides for worsening public perception of the administration, accusing them of responding to criticism with personal attacks rather than addressing the issues raised.

“We are saying that the staff or people he has around him are the major problem. Instead of talking about ideas and events, they have small minds and talk about people,” Ndume said.

He urged presidential spokespersons to engage critics based on the substance of their arguments instead of resorting to insults.

“When anybody makes a statement, the President’s spokespersons rush on TV to insult the person and call them names. That is not it,” he said.

“You take the points that person made about the system one after the other.”

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2027: Lagos APC Inaugurates Campaign Council Today.

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The formal inauguration of the Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC)campaign council is scheduled for today, Friday, September 18, at the APC Secretariat on ACME Road, Ikeja, Lagos.

 

The APC Lagos chapter, had earlier unveiled its campaign council structure ahead of the 2027 general elections, with Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and former governors Babatunde Fashola and Akinwunmi Ambode among those listed in key positions.

The structure was released on Thursday by the Kadri Obafemi Hamzat Media Centre.

Prince Tajudeen Olusi is listed as Chairman of the Governance Advisory Council, while Sanwo-Olu will serve as Advisory Council Chairman. Fashola and Ambode were named as Co-Chairmen.

Other members of the advisory structure include President Bola Tinubu’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila; Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa; and former Minister of Health, Senator Adeleke Mamora.

At the main campaign council level, Sanwo-Olu is listed as Chairman, with his deputy, Kadri Obafemi Hamzat, serving as Deputy Chairman.

Cornelius Ojelabi is named Vice Chairman I, Obasa as Vice Chairman II, while Damilola Sonayon James will serve as Vice Chairman III.

Former Senator Musiliu Obanikoro is listed as Director-General of the campaign council, with Rasaq Ajala as Deputy Director-General and Adekunle Olayinka as Campaign Secretary.

The campaign structure also includes directorates and sub-committees responsible for legal and compliance matters, party and inter-party affairs, administration and logistics, traditional institutions, diaspora engagement and residents’ associations.

Lawal Pedro, SAN, is listed to head the Legal and Compliance Directorate, while Moshood Mayegun will oversee Party and Inter-Party Affairs. Other officials were assigned responsibilities across the various specialised units.

The structure also provides for grassroots coordinators across the state’s local government areas and Local Council Development Areas.

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Ejigbo LCDA Empowers Over 700 As Stakeholders Back Tinubu, Hamzat, Other APC Candidates.

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The Executive Chairman of Ejigbo LCDA, Aare Taoheed Adebayo Taiwo, has attributed the many achievements recorded so far by his administration , to President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda which he said,had provided a stronger framework for grassroots development, adding that the support of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu under the THEMES Plus Agenda had also created room for the council to take greater responsibility for development within its communities.

The Chairman made the revelations on Thursday, at the presentation of his Council’s Renewed Hope Mega Empowerment Programme to 700 residents of the area at the Council Secretariat, Ejigbo, during which major stakeholders in the LCDA, including politicians, traditional rulers, religious leaders and business owners, declared their support for the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidates in the forthcoming 2027 general elections, including President Bola Tinubu, Dr. Kadri Hamzat and other candidates contesting various elective positions

Taiwo said in collaboration with the state government, the council had embarked on free medical and mental health outreaches, providing support for tuberculosis screening, measles-rubella vaccination, as well as maternal and child nutrition initiatives

 

He said more than 600 youths and women had graduated from the vocational training programme facilitated by the council in partnership with the Blessed Gumpat Foundation, equipping participants with practical skills to improve their livelihoods.

Recent reporting similarly puts the number of graduates from the council’s skills acquisition programme at more than 600.

Two beneficiaries of the first empowerment programme, who openly testified at the event, said the initiative had been a turning point in their businesses and family lives.

Items distributed at the event under the Mega Empowerment Programme included sewing machines, generating sets, cooking gas, grinding machines, hairdressing materials and wheelchairs.
Ten residents who emerged from a rigorous screening process also went home with ₦500,000 each to support their businesses, while another set of beneficiaries received ₦100,000 each alongside POS machines to commence business transactions.

While declaring their surport for APC candidates in the coming elections, stakeholders at the event pledged to embark on a rigorous house-to-house campaign to mobilise massive support for the APC ahead of the 2027 elections.

 


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Addressing the gathering, the Guest of Honour and Chairman of the Governance Advisory Council, Prince Tajudeen Olusi, appealed to members of the party to work together in ensuring victory for the party’s candidates at the polls.

Olusi recalled that the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo had tried but failed to emerge as President of Nigeria, adding that the people of the South-West should rally around President Tinubu to continue the ongoing reforms aimed at improving the lives of citizens.

Describing himself as a son of the soil, Olusi recalled that he attended school in the area decades ago and commended the infrastructural development recorded under the stewardship of Aare Taoheed Adebayo Taiwo.
In his remarks, High Chief Muraina Akanbi Taiwo solicited continued support for the leadership of the council to enable it to deliver on its campaign promises.

The Lagos State Chairman of the APC, Pastor Cornelius Ojelabi, noted that the council chairman had deepened democratic practice by ensuring that no one was left behind in the implementation of people-oriented policies.
He told the gathering that the chairman had not betrayed the trust reposed in him since assuming office, assuring that every vote in Lagos for President Tinubu in 2027 would encourage him to continue serving the state and the nation at large.

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Ogun 2027: Unity Tops Agenda As Abiodun Inaugurates APC Campaign Council

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Ogun state Governor, Dapo Abiodun has charged members of the State Campaign Council of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to embrace unity, which he registered , is not the absence of differences”but the wisdom to ensure our differences do not become greater than our common cause,” 

 

The governor made the charge in Abeokuta on Thursday, while inaugurating the state’s campaign council of the APC, even as he directed the campaign organisation to operate as one coordinated political machinery, with leaders providing direction, committees translating strategy into action and grassroots structures sustaining engagement with voters.

He warned against factionalism, indiscipline and sabotage, stressing the need for proper reporting, early identification of challenges and prompt resolution of emerging issues.

The Governor also urged members to immediately commence consultations, grassroots mobilisation and sustained engagement with voters across the state.

Abiodun, who is the Chairman of the Campaign Council, said the inauguration marked the beginning of a new phase in the party’s preparations for the 2027 general elections.

He directed members to translate the council’s organisational structure into effective action across the state’s 20 local government areas, 236 wards and polling units.

The governor charged the council to work for the success of all APC candidates, including President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the party’s governorship candidate, Senator Olamilekan Adeola, popularly known as Yayi, his running mate, Alhaja Kudirat Adegunwa-Balogun, as well as the party’s candidates for the Senate, House of Representatives and State House of Assembly.

Speaking further Abiodun directed members to hold their inaugural meeting immediately and commence consultations and campaign activities without delay.

The governor said elections were not won merely through political reputation or the size of rallies, but through “scientific, deliberate and intentional preparation, organisation, vigilance and sustained engagement with the electorate.”

He urged members of the campaign council to take the APC message to markets, farms, workplaces, religious communities, professional associations, neighbourhoods and homes, stressing that effective mobilisation must involve listening to the people and understanding their concerns.

“Our campaign must be based on ideas, achievements and a credible vision.

“We must reach every Local Government Area, ward, polling unit and community,” he said.

He called for unity and discipline within the party, saying the ability of the APC to manage competing interests during the processes that produced its candidates demonstrated the importance of putting the collective interest above individual considerations.

“Unity is not the absence of differences. It is the wisdom to ensure that our differences do not become greater than our common cause,” he said.

Abiodun said the campaign council brings together party leaders, strategists, professionals and grassroots organisers from across the three senatorial districts, with committees responsible for strategy, mobilisation, reconciliation, finance, security, media, youth and women engagement, welfare, transportation, digital communication, protocol, as well as traditional and religious affairs.

He cautioned members against treating their appointments as mere titles, saying membership of the council carried a responsibility requiring discipline, strategic thinking and humility.

“These appointments are not decorative titles. They are instruments of service and responsibility,” he said.

The governor charged the campaign organisation to effectively communicate the achievements of his administration in infrastructure, education, agriculture, healthcare, security, investment promotion and social intervention.

He noted that the Gateway International Airport remained central to the state’s vision of developing an integrated aviation, agriculture, industrial and logistics hub, while other interventions had contributed to improving the business environment and positioning Ogun as a leading industrial and investment destination.

“These are not abstract promises. They are visible on our roads, in our schools and hospitals, in our agricultural communities and in businesses expanding across our state,” Abiodun said.

He warned that achievements could be misunderstood if they were not properly communicated, urging the campaign council to counter misinformation with facts, humility and clarity.

“Good work that is not effectively explained may be misunderstood, while falsehood repeated without challenge may begin to appear credible,” he said.

Abiodun also charged APC members to maintain issue-based and civil communication throughout the campaign, rejecting insults, violence and intimidation.

“Political victory loses its value when purchased at the expense of peace, because leadership cannot build upon the ruins of a divided society,” he said.

The governor expressed appreciation to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his leadership and partnership with Ogun State through the Renewed Hope Agenda.

He also acknowledged the contributions of former Governors Olusegun Osoba, Gbenga Daniel and Ibikunle Amosun; former Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Ambassador Sarafa Tunji Isola; Deputy Governor Noimot Salako-Oyedele; APC State Chairman, Chief Yemi Sanusi; Adeola; Adegunwa-Balogun; Director-General of the Campaign Council, Senator Lekan Mustapha; and other party leaders.

The governorship Candidate, Adeola, in keeping with the governor’s call for an inclusive grassroots campaign, urged party members across the state to regard the 2027 election as a collective responsibility.

He assured that those whose names were not included in the campaign council that they remained part of the party’s mobilisation structure.

Adeola stressed that the campaign council was established to provide coordination and direction, rather than to exclude other members of the party, urging all APC members to remain active in their wards and local government areas.

He called for sustained consultations and grassroots engagement, urging party members to take the party’s message to communities and work collectively for all APC candidates, from the presidential election to the governorship and legislative contests.

Earlier, former Ogun State Governor and APC National Leader, Chief Olusegun Osoba, urged members of the party to close ranks, present a united front and work collectively for the success of the APC in the 2027 elections.

Osoba appealed to aggrieved members to “shield their swords” and work for the party, assuring them that their contributions would not be in vain.

Abiodun thereafter formally declared the campaign council inaugurated and charged members to commence work immediately towards the party’s objectives in the 2027 general elections.

“Let us speak with one voice, work with one purpose and march in one direction,” he said.

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