The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has lashed out at the cancellation of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s planned trips to South Africa and Angola over the recent wave of insecurity in the country.
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This was contained in a statement by the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong on Thursday, describing the move as a superficial gesture that fails to address Nigeria’s worsening security crisis.

Ememobong said the President’s decision, which was announced amid national outrage over the kidnapping of twenty-five schoolgirls in Kebbi State, is “the latest and boldest example of tokenism”.

According to him, the gesture may appear sympathetic but does little to confront the escalating insecurity across the country.

“If the APC led Presidency disagrees with this position, then we demand that President Tinubu temporarily relocate to Kebbi State and other theatres of armed conflict in Northern Nigeria,” he said

The party’s mouthpiece further stated that such a step would challenge security agencies to act more decisively and boost the morale of troops at the frontlines.

“As President and Commander in Chief, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, must not recline in the comfort of the Presidential Villa at a time when 25 schoolgirls have been abducted and their whereabouts remain unknown,” he added.

The party linked recent attacks in Kwara State to what it described as the daily reality of fear faced by Nigerians, accusing the administration of offering outright denials, rationalised explanations, empty assurances, and other superficial gestures such as the President’s cancelled trip.

Members of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Ibadan North West local government area of Oyo State have kicked against the elongation of tenure of the acting chairman of the party, Mr Olusola Tokunbo Adekanbi.

The members on Thursday unanimously enjoined the acting Chairman and his team to immediately vacate their positions to allow the elected Chairman, Jelili Asukuna and other elected officials to occupy their rightful positions.

The APC members made the call during an emergency meeting in Ibadan on Thursday.

The meeting was attended by hundreds of party members from the eleven electoral wards that make up the local government area.

A chieftain of the party in the local government area who moved the motion, Mr Adekunle Abass Akande, noted that the members have taken the decision in order to tackle all the problems facing the party in the local government area.

Akande while addressing journalists during the meeting said, “We will all benefit from this party. Why we are here is to find solutions to the problems affecting us. We will not allow them. How can we also benefit?

“We want the elected executives to occupy their rightful positions. Those who are ruling us are not the authentic executives. We want the authentic and recongnised Chairman and all other executive members to take over.

“We want the current acting Chairman to step aside. On this note, we have taken a position that they should step aside. We resolved that all the authentic executives to come to their positions. We elected them, they are the ones recongnised by the party at the national level. There is no crisis here.”

A former leader of Ibadan North West local government area legislative arm, Remi Ajanaku noted that the members decided to take the action to restore sanity in the political party.

He said, “Our resolution today is that we have asked the acting chairman to step aside and allow the authentic Chairman to take over. We have taken the decision today.

“We did this in order to restore sanity in the political party. There are some illegal things that are happening and we want to correct it”.

APC Ward 4 in Sagamu says it suspended Senator Gbenga Daniel because he refused to appear and defend himself over allegations of anti-party activities.

Speaking to journalists at the ward office in Sabo, Sagamu, the Ward Secretary, Hon. Oluwole Aduroja, said he spoke for the 19-member executive committee.

He explained that their clarification was necessary after a statement issued by MJS Partners on behalf of Senator Daniel, reacting to a November 17 letter from the APC National Secretariat.

Aduroja, who stood with the Ward Chairman, Hon. Adebayo Ismail, said the Ward Executive Committee agreed to suspend Senator Daniel because he failed to appear before a panel set up to review petitions against him.

The petitions accused him of working against the party.

He said the problem started during the last general elections, when Senator Daniel “acted in open defiance of the party and engaged in actions inimical to the interest of the APC and its candidates in Ogun State.”

Aduroja added that after the elections, the senator, “attempted to obstruct and frustrate the course of justice during the Election Petition Tribunal sittings through actions and interventions that were directly hostile to the interest of the APC and its candidates.”

He said these actions remain unchallenged.

Reacting to the position of the APC National Secretary, Senator Surajudeen Bashiru, in the November 17 letter, Aduroja insisted that the APC Constitution allows Executive Committees at all levelsward, local government, state, zonal or national to discipline any member.

He said Article 21(5)(vii) gives the National Working Committee the power to suspend members, but does not override the powers of Executive Committees at other levels, and does not require them to seek approval from the NWC.

He explained that “any disciplinary action taken by an Executive Council, including suspension, is subject only to appeal as outlined in Article 21(4).”

He added that nothing in the constitution makes their decision dependent on NWC review.

Aduroja said Ward 4 is committed to discipline, fairness and due process, and stressed that the suspension of Senator Gbenga Daniel remains in full effect.”