Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has chaired a colloquium organised in honour of the 60th birthday celebration of the immediate past governor of Imo state, Emeka Ihedioha.
The event was held at the Ladi Kwali Hall of the Abuja Intercontinental Hotel in Abuja on Monday, March 24.
Bishop Kukah speaks on democracy
Also at the event was Bishop Matthew Kukah, Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, who delivered the keynote address which was titled: “Is Democracy Failing in Africa?”
Other dignitaries in attendance were Emeka Anyaoku, the former secretary-general of the Commonwealth; Atiku Abubakar, the former vice president to Obasanjo; Peter Obi of the Labour Party; Aminu Tambuwal, the immediate past governor of Sokoto state as well as his counterpart from Katsina, Aminu Masari.
Atiku, who recently announced a coalition against President Bola Tinubu ahead of the 2027 election, disclosed that the former Imo governor has remained loyal to him, even when they found themselves on different political platforms.
Atiku speaks on loyalty of Ihedioha
The former vice president described Ihedioha as a dedicated and focused ally, adding that the two of them have kept their relationship and that remained the testament to his kind of personality. His statement reads in part:
“When he told me about this event I was almost complaining, I said ‘Emeka, this is Ramadan. We’re in the last 10 days of Ramadan. In the last 10 days of Ramadan, we don’t sleep at night we sleep during the day. He said, ‘But oga try and make it.’ And I said, ‘Ok I will make it.’ Here we are today.”
While dinner is scheduled to round off the celebration on Monday night, March 24, it is pertinent to note that Atiku’s recent announcement of coalition was welcomed by many opposition leaders and he and his former boss, Obasanjo, have recently been seen in moves ahead of 2027 election.
Atiku had explained that the coalition was ready to sack President Tinubu in the 2023 election. The former vice president commented at a recent press conference in Abuja, which was attended by Nasir El-Rufai, the immediate past governor of Kaduna state, who dumped the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
See the announcement here:
Buhari’s loyalists planning to dump APC
Legit.ng earlier reported that the APC is set to be faced with a gale of the defection of top members, who were alleged to be loyalists of the immediate past president, Muhammadu Buhari, ahead of the 2027 election.
This revelation came days after the former governor of Kaduna state, Nasir El-Rufai, dumped the ruling party for the SDP.
Buhari’s loyalists are said to be leaders of the defunct CPC, a faction that merged with others to form the APC before the 2015 general election.
