Politics

Political gladiators to watch in 2025

In the New Year, state actors who wish to remain relevant as President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration progressively inches towards its midterm are likely to step up their strategies through the formation of new alliances and realignment of forces preparatory to the 2027 general elections.

In doing so, some political players will consolidate their hold on power, while the ensuing process may also throw up new faces.

 

KWANKWASO

 

Below is the list of gladiators Nigerians will watch out for in the months ahead.

Tinubu

All eyes will be on President Tinubu to implement his ambitious budget.

Apart from its bogus figures, the budget also proposes some mouth-watering relief measures aimed at addressing the hardship in the country. Among other things, the budget has projected reducing the current inflation rate from 35 per cent to 15 per cent.

MARK

 

To most analysts, this sounds rather rhetorical. 

As Nigerians grapple with the challenges of the economy, insecurity, and rising food inflation, all eyes will be on the president to see how he will surmount these problems.

During the height of the food crisis that faced the nation in the outgoing year, several hunger protests were held to compel the government to review some of the policies believed to be creating hardship for the common people like the fuel subsidy removal. However, nothing significant was done to alleviate the difficulties arising from the reforms of the administration.

In the wake of the #EndBadGovernance protests that rocked many states of the federation,  President Tinubu announced the gathering of a 30-day national youth conference to address critical issues facing the youths, including unemployment, education, and political participation.

 

Soludo

 

This has been fixed for February 2025.

“The conference aims to provoke meaningful dialogue and empower our young people to participate actively in nation-building.

“By ensuring that their voices are heard in shaping the policies that impact their lives, we are creating a pathway for a brighter tomorrow,” the president had said in his October broadcast.

Nigerians will be looking forward to seeing the results of some of these initiatives.

Damagum

Since the loss of the last presidential election, the People Democratic Party (PDP) has been embroiled in leadership crisis.

As a result, the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party has been roundly blamed for the lingering crisis. However, to give the party a new leash of life, some stakeholders have called for the removal of the acting National Chairman, Ambassador Umar Damagum, but the doomsday has been postponed till the party’s February convention.

The decision to hold the 99th NEC meeting of the party in the first week of February, 2025, was taken at the PDP Governors Forum held in Jos, which also had in attendance Damagum and other leaders.

They also passed a vote of confidence in his leadership.

Political watchers will like to see the politics that will play out during the scheduled February meeting.

Damagum assumed the position of acting national chairman after former Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, was ousted by the court for failing to enact necessary reforms.

Some people believe that Damagum is being used by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, to fight a proxy war against the sympathisers of the presidential candidate of the party in the last general elections, Atiku Abubakar.

Bukola Saraki

Following the ouster of Ayu, some concerned stakeholders, including the Plateau State governor, Caleb Muftwang, former Senate Presidents David Mark and Bukola Saraki, alongside other bigwigs from the North-central, have called for the return of the party’s national chairmanship to their zone to complete its tenure.

Consequently, some governors and members of the National Assembly elected on the platform of the PDP are said to be putting pressure on a former Senate President, Dr Abubakar Bukola Saraki, to accept to lead the party in the capacity of national chairman.

The move is part of the plan for a total reorganisation of the party. Whether or not he will accept the offer, time will tell. 

David Mark

Another name that is being touted as a possible replacement for Damagum is Senator David Mark. There has been underground work to draft the former Senate President into the national chairmanship race.

The same force behind the plot to remove Damagum is also the same people believed to be spearheading the candidature of Mark for the job.

As they are angling to get rid of the acting national chairman of the party, they are also working for Mark to replace him as the substantive chairman. Apart from the retired Brigadier General, a former governor of Benue State, Gabriel Suswam is also said to have indicated interest in the position.

These are intrigues that will shape the future of the PDP as a vibrant opposition in the months ahead.

Fubara

Rivers State governor, Siminalayi Fubara, and his predecessor, who is now the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, are the two dramatis personae dominating the politics of the oil-rich state.

Earlier in the year, the face-off between the duo had led to the defection of 27 members of the state House of Assembly loyal to Wike to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

The ensuing litigation battle is still ongoing. A Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, has adjourned till January 21, 2025, to rule on applications in a suit filed by the Labour Party seeking to declare vacant the seats of the 27 lawmakers.

The suit also asked the Independent National Electoral Commission to conduct a by-election to fill in the vacant seats of the lawmakers to enable the LP and other interested parties to participate.

As the peace deal earlier brokered by President Tinubu could not resolve the impasse, the final judgment of the judiciary will determine the stability of the tenure of Governor Fubara. 

Wike

Wike is one of the gladiators around which the crisis bedeviling the PDP revolves on.

Due to his recalcitrant attitude towards all entreaties, political watchers and public affairs commentators view the FCT Minister as a lost member of the PDP, working to weaken the party.

However, the BoT Chairman, Senator Adolphus Wabara, has revealed that the body will persist in its efforts to end the crisis in the party by holding a meeting with the former Rivers State governor in January.

Wabara has also expressed concern over the inability of the NWC to convene NEC meeting, noting that the delay is eroding the trust and confidence of PDP members.

People will like to see how far the committee can go in reconciling Wike with the party.

Soludo 

The tenure of the incumbent governor of Anambra State, Prof Charles Soludo, will end in 2025 and the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC has fixed Saturday, November 8, 2025 for the Anambra State governorship election. The formal notice for the election was published on November 13, 2024, in line with the requirements of the Electoral Act 2022, which mandates that the notice for any election be issued no later than 360 days before the election date.

Soludo, who is seeking a re-election, will be slugging it out with candidates of other opposition parties notably Labour Party and APC.

There is anxiety that the lingering leadership crisis facing the All Progressives Grant Alliance (APGA), the platform upon which Soludo contested and won the governorship seat, may affect the chances of his victory in the forthcoming poll.

Kwankwaso

Lately, the presidential candidate of the New Nigeria People Party (NNPP), Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, has been searching for a new alliance ahead of the 2027 general elections.

His recent visit to his counterpart in the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, has fuelled the speculation. 

All things being equal, they might resolve to work together to form a new party to wrest power from President Tinubu in 2027.

On what terms and condition, nobody can predict until it happens. To a large extent, the workability of such a merger arrangement based on the current permutations is a remote possibility.

Lack of trust will always be an issue between Obi and Kwankwaso, as neither of them will be willing to concede his ambition to become president of the country. 

Peter Obi

The Obidient Movement which served as a formidable driving force for Peter Obi’s presidential campaign in the last general election is still lurking around the corner waiting for the right time to commence mobilization.

Currently, Obi represents the voice of opposition against the present administration of President Tinubu.

Many Nigerians will be looking forward to seeing the role he will play in holding the government accountable to the people as the policies of the administration take its toll on the masses.

However, there is fear that the LP’s crisis could deal a death knell on Obi’s ambition if not properly managed.

Atiku

The presidential ambition of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar is fast losing steam.

But the hardy perennial contender is never tired of contesting. The seemingly insurmountable crisis that led to the defeat of the PDP in the last general elections has been roundly blamed on his obsession with power, leading to the current impasse between him and Wike.

Atiku has allegedly thrown his weight behind the plot to unseat Damagum.

This has divided the 13 state governors elected on the PDP platform into two camps. While seven governors, led by the Bauchi State governor Bala Mohammed, are pushing for Damagum’s removal, the remaining others led by Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, are supporting his retention.

Regardless of the mounting opposition against his presidential ambition, Atiku is still eyeing the presidential ticket of the party for the 2027 general elections. By and large, how the clash of interest between the two titans will be resolved will determine the fortune of the PDP in any future election.

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