Ahead of 2023 general elections, women group of the All Progressives Congress (APC) under the aegis of 774 Women for BAT-KASH 2023 disclosed yesterday that arrangements have been concluded for the mobilization of over 10.689 million women voting bloc for the party’s presidential joint ticket of Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his running mate, Senator Kashim Shettima.

As part of moves to actualize the project, Senator Binta Masi Garba who represented Adamawa North in the 8th Senate has donated an office complex to the ‘774 Women group for BAT-KASH’.

Speaking at the unveiling of the occasion located at the BGT House, Gwarimpa Abuja, Senator Binta Garba who is the North-East leader of the 774 Women for BAT-KASH 2023 said that the group would achieve the set objective through the mobilisation of 60 women in each of the 176, 846 polling units in the country to ensure that candidates of the APC, both Presidential, Governorship, Senatorial, House of Representatives, among others emerge victorious in the forthcoming 2023 elections.

Speaking on the office Complex, the Senator explained that the gesture was geared towards boosting the commitment by the women towards mobilization of votes for our party’s candidates in the 2023 presidential and other elections.

She said, “Their record success and capacity to get over ten million block votes from women in the 176, 846 polling units across the country compelled me to identify with them and donate the office for the smooth running of their activities.

Senator Garba noted that women are an essential component to the coming elections. She expressed confidence that the target or mobilising over 10 million bloc votes, said that the 778 Watnen for BAT-KASH Is a group committed to grassroots mobilisation of votes “for our party’s candidates in the 2023 presidential and other elections.”

On the mobilisation of over 10.689 million women vote bloc for Tinubu, Chairman, National Organising Committee of 774 Women for BAT-KASH 2023, Hon Faith Pakuma disclosed that they received 2,500 decampees from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Port Harcourt, Rivers State at the launch of its South-South zonal body the previous day, said the 774 Women for BAT-KASH 2023 is an umbrella for women; a grassroot movement for BAT-KASH, an initiative that is designed to support the candidature of Tinubu/Shetima.

Pakuma said, “We want to achieve 60 women as polling unit commanders in each of the LGAs across the country to work with us and help mobilise support for all the candidates of the party in the coming elections.”

Also speaking at the event, the Chairman, advisory committee of the body and chairman of NDLEA, Gen Buba Marwa (rtd) who noted that Tinubu and Shettima are the preferred candidates in the 2023 general election, said that the target of mobilizing 60 women of voting age with their passport photographs and relevant details across the 176, 846 polling units in the country is both laudable and achievable by November 2022.

Represented by the former DG of the agency, Otumba Lanre, Marwa who urged the group to get down to work by partnering with other support groups, said “it is essential to be strategic in our approach” with an enduring and credible structure in all the wards and polling units, said, “As the chairman of the advisory committee for this group, | urge you to remain committed, steadfast, and focused on success come 2023. I am prepared and available to share practical ideas with you based on my wealth of experience.”

Also speaking, the Nigeria High Commissioner to Jamaica and the South South Coordinator of the group, Dr. Maureen Tamuno who assured that the group has put everything in place to mobilize millions of women for the Tinubu/ Shettima ticket, vowed that the APC will win in the South South geo- political zone of the country.

According to Tamuno, their membership is drawn from all the local government areas in the country pointing out that the 774 Women for BAT-KASH 2023 and the body is an umbrella platform for women for grassroots mobilization to support the APC presidential candidate and his running mate in 2023.

Also speaking at the occasion, the Minister of state for Niger Delta Affairs, Sharon Ikeazor, commended Senator Binta for her gesture while assuring of her support for all female candidates during the 2023 general elections.

She promised to “give you all my support,” she said, adding, “apart from the presidential candidates, let us support all female candidates nationwide to ensure the possibility of more women in position by 2023.”

On her part, Wife of APC national chairman, Barr Kadija Abdullahi Adamu urged the candidates of the party to ensure they give the women folk its recommended 35 percent representation in government, adding, “We will make good use of the opportunity to mobilise support for BAT-KASH candidacy.”

Controversial Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, on Monday said Nigeria needs an experienced politician to succeed the President, Muhammadu Buhari as his tenure ends in 2023.

Gumi noted that Nigerians should do away with ethno-religious politics in the 21st century to build a united country.

Speaking to journalists in Kaduna, he argued that the next President should be one with experience.

While assessing the three leading presidential candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar; the All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu; and Labour Party, Peter Obi, the fiery cleric said Nigeria does not need a novice as president, but an experienced politician.

Assessing Atiku for the 2023 presidency, Gumi argued that though the former Vice President might have contested several times, “Nigeria needs an experienced politician. We don’t need a novice to be President. The situation in Nigeria today needs an experienced politician to solve it.”

On Tinubu, he said, “It is not proper for him to say it is his turn. There is no question saying it is my turn. Don’t say it is my turn because if people like you, they will vote for you. He is a good administrator, he can do it.”

On Obi, the cleric said, “Youths following him are divided like the adults. He needs to reach out to other segments of Nigerians. Relying on youths is not enough. He has to be all over the place, and not leaving politics to one region.

Gumi also noted that Nigeria has gone beyond talking about North or South, adding that in America, “nobody is talking about power rotation.”

Labour Party Presidential Candidate, Peter Obi has said that APC Presidential Candidate, Bola Tinubu is not healthy, stressing that his (Tinubu) supporters are only after his money.

Obi who made the remarks in a viral video also questioned Tinubu’s source of wealth Tinubu.

His words: “Somebody said to me that this candidate fought Abacha regime to stand still. That he even lost everything. I said, but he has two planes now. Where is his company?”

“Once he comes here and gives you money, you will say Jagaban is the best candidate even when the man is not well. That’s the problem of the country,”.

“My brother, we are in a crisis. That’s why I’m pleading to all of us. Let us go and take back our country and run it like any other country where the leader is responsible to the people. The people can question the rascality and the behaviour of their leader. Bad behaviour has become a measure of success in our system.”

It will be recalled that the health of the APC presidential candidate has continued to generate concerns among some groups in the country.

However, Tinubu has dismissed the concerns, saying he is healthy to govern the country.

Governor Rotimi Akeredolu has begged the Christain leaders to support the presidential ambition of Bola Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in the 2023 presidential election.

Mr Tinubu, a Muslim by faith, is from the South-West. A region agitating for a power shift at the end of President Muhammadu Buhari’s tenure in 2023. The former’s running mate is a Muslim northerner, Kashim Shettima. Mr Shettima is a former governor of Borno.

“All of us here have lived together for years, and we didn’t allow religion to bring fight among us. We have Muslims in our families, and there is no fight. We have many leaders in Yoruba land who have both Muslims and Christians in their families, and there is no fight,” the Ondo governor explained, trying to persuade the congregation at the 40th Holy Ghost Convention Dinner of the Sword of the Spirit Ministries held at the International Conference Centre, University of Ibadan, Agbawo, Ibadan.

“So, we want to appeal to our people that this is our time. I want to appeal to all our senior pastors and general overseers to help talk to their followers,” he explained. “We politicians can only do little. This is our time. Please, don’t be angry. So, I understand our feelings because I am one of you. I am a Christian. All of us here are worried. What will be our gain, and that, why is my party, the APC throwing up a Muslim-Muslim ticket.”

According to him, the Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket is a big issue within the fold of the ruling APC ahead of the 2023 presidential election. Mr Akeredolu explained that the Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket was worrisome for APC members.

“It has been an issue for us. We have debated it, fought it, and we have done so many things about it. I have always said to people: my fight was for Southern president,” he admitted.

According to Mr Akeredolu, his primary concern is getting the South-West to win the presidency with Mr Tinubu.

“Will I now throw the baby away with the bathwater? Can I, in all honesty, do it? Should I, in all honesty, do it? We call it a matter of coincidence. It is a matter of conscience. All of us are here. Why don’t we look at it from one angle?” the governor reasoned. “The buck stops on the table of the president. Do we have a capable hand who can manage the affairs if given the opportunity? Do you have a man who is bold enough to challenge incursion into our land? That is it.”

The issue of the same religion ticket adopted by the APC has generated widespread reactions and continued to heat the polity as Nigerians prepared for the 2023 presidential election.

In May 2022, the president of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, Wale Oke, promised to mobilise his church members to vote massively against any political party adopting the same faith tickets ahead of the 2023 general elections.

The Interim Coordinator of Bola Ahmed Tinubu Ambassadors, Chief Jamiu Ekungba, has said the group has begun a door-to-door campaign for the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu.

Ekungba, in a statement, titled, ‘BAT Ambassadors Mobilise Grassroots Support for Tinubu/Shettima’ on Saturday disclosed that the BAT Ambassadors at present had representatives in 12 states of Nigeria, adding that 1,407 working executives in the states were also appointed.

On how the campaign group has been working in line with its objectives, he said two major strategies had been devised.

He said, “The max movement strategy that will involve room-to-room campaign through reaching out to every Yoruba man and woman, boy or girl on a one-on-one basis, we also plan to use social and conventional media to engage the people.

“This is to meet the challenges of the youth who are glued to their handset and computer 24/7. We have developed a very robust and comprehensively dynamic media architecture to bombard the social and conventional news media.”

Ekungba added that the group was rooting for Tinubu’s presidency because they saw in him practical and demonstrable evidence of performance, which if allowed to be replicated at the national level, would in the shortest possible time produce the Nigeria many have dreamt of.

“We need a man with the courage to pilot the drifting ship of Nigeria and in the current dispensation, we see in Tinubu the demonstrable evidence of that type of courage. We mean the courage to take hard decisions where it will hurt for the benefit of the nation,” he added.

Governor Dave Umahi of Ebonyi State on Friday said that only God can decide the fate of the Labour Party’s presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi and other candidates in the 2023 elections.

Governor Umahi said that the Obidient Movement, which is the political group working for the election victory of Mr. Obi is anchored on fairness and equity.

The governor stated this while speaking with State House correspondenrs after he had a closed-door meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari, at the presidential villa Abuja

Although he said that he was encouraged by the Obidient Movement and the acceptability of the LP’s Presidential candidate, he noted that the acceptability does not translate to victory, expressing the optimism that his All Progressives Congress, APC, would win the 2023 presidential election.

The Governor, who said that he was at the Presidential Villa to invite President Buhari to commission what he described as a legacy project, Ebonyi lodge in Abuja, said that the 2023 general elections would be a different ballgame

Asked if the Southeast is ready for the presidency, Umahi, who constested the presidential ticket of the APC said, “What happened during the primaries of PDP and APC, were a kind of miscalculation by people but to say whether they’re ready for the presidency of the country anytime, I think that the movement of Peter Obi is an eye opener.

“That’s why I said, I love what he’s doing. I’m encouraged by what he’s doing. Because if he’s not doing what he’s doing, it means that South East would have been forgotten. So why my party (APC) takes the victory, he would have prepared a very good ground, for the Southeast Presidency, so that nobody is going to write us off.

“And you can see the level of his acceptability, which does not translate to victory over APC. I’m sure of that, but it’s a good movement.

“And it reassures the southeast people and the entire country that, we are accepted, that we will one day become the president of this country. It is very important.”

Asked if he was dismissing Peter Obi’s movement, he said, “Peter Obi’s movement and all the movement are anchored on God’s will, is only God who knows who will win, but there must be a wish. As a party man, I would wish that our party wins. And if God says no, the next person I wish that should win is Peter Obi because I believe strongly and I will say it anywhere in this north/south presidency after the north has taken eight years, there is no moral justification for the north to be seeking to take another eight years, it should go to the south.

“And so I’m not wishing Peter Obi away. God has the final say and he has the power and gives to whomever He wishes.”

Further asked if Peter Obi has any chance of winning the 2023 presidential election, he said, “Everybody has chances of winning and chances of losing but you must always have a wish. Yes.”

Fielding question as a critical stakeholder of the APC, the critical selling points of his party in the southeast when campaign starts, he said that it was going to be a different thing.

According to him, “when campaign starts, yes, the interest of our people in terms of presidency is there, you can’t wish it away. But everyone in southeast holding the ticket of their party is going to be struggling and he’s going to be fighting.

“You will not tell the guy that has the ticket of House of Assembly to look at the bigger picture of Igbo presidency. He may not see it but that is not to say that Peter Obi is not going to get substantial votes in Southeast.”

Asked to react to the impression by some social critic that since Peter Obi’s Movement started wanton killings in the Sputheast has reduced unlike what was witnessed about six or seven months ago, he said:

“You cannot technically assign the killings because of Igbo presidency. You can see that security generally is improving in the country and it has nothing to do with the movement of Peter Obi.

“Peter Obi movement is a movement that is anchored on equity, justice and fairness. It may not translate to outright win because I must defend my party, I must wish my party well and I’m having the ticket of my party. So whether what he is doing has meaning in there, not only southeast, it does have meaning. So we must never attribute the killings and in southeast to this kind of movement.”