By Okey Maduforo, Awka
The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Anambra State have scheduled a joint meeting for November 1 to strengthen collaboration and mobilise support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election bid in 2027.
The planned meeting comes amid claims that the two parties are not working together in the state to advance Tinubu’s second-term ambition.
The meeting, convened by Anambra State Governor, Professor Chukwuma Charles Soludo, in his capacity as the state coordinator for Tinubu’s re-election campaign, is expected to bring together leaders and members of both parties, including serving and former political officeholders and members of their respective national and state working committees.
The APC State Chairman, Senator Emma Anosike, also confirmed the meeting, telling reporters that he would lead members of his party to attend the gathering.
The development is expected to counter claims of disunity between the two parties over the president’s re-election project in Anambra State.
According to an announcement dated October 22 and signed by Dr Ben Nwankwo, Chief of Staff to the Governor and Coordinator of the Secretariat for the Presidential Campaign Council in Anambra State, the meeting will take place at the International Convention Centre, Awka.
Proceedings are scheduled to begin at 1 p.m., while accreditation will commence at 10 a.m. Participants have been directed to arrive early, as the doors will be closed once the meeting begins.
Attendance is restricted to duly accredited invitees drawn from designated categories of political officeholders, party officials and other stakeholders who remain members of APGA or APC.
Those invited include serving and former governors and deputy governors of Anambra State; members of the national, zonal and state working committees of both parties; and serving and former members of the National and State Assemblies from the state.
All APGA and APC candidates for the 2027 general elections who are members of either party have also been invited.
Other participants expected at the meeting include serving and former political appointees in the state and federal governments, members of the PBAT/APC Presidential Campaign Council from Anambra State, as well as serving and former elected local government chairmen, mayors and transition committee chairmen affiliated with either party.
The invitation list also covers current and former members of the boards of trustees of APGA and APC from Anambra State, coordinators of Tinubu support groups, and serving local government chairmen, secretaries, women leaders and youth leaders of the two parties.
Elected councillors, ward chairmen of APGA and APC, as well as members of the state working committees of the Accord Party and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), are also listed among the invitees.
The announcement further stated that selected stakeholders nominated by the state chairmen of APGA and APC, alongside individuals nominated by the state coordinator of the Presidential Campaign Council, would attend the meeting.
It explained that the notice was intended to ensure that all eligible stakeholders were informed of the gathering, adding that anyone who falls within the specified categories would be deemed invited.
The joint meeting is expected to provide a platform for the two parties to coordinate their political activities in Anambra State ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
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…Ebonyi Democratic Movement Blames Police Commissioner, Demands Immediate Redeployment

The campaign convoy of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate for Ezza South State Constituency in the Ebonyi State House of Assembly, Barr. Rollins Offia Nwali, has reportedly come under armed attack at two separate locations in Amaezekwe Community, Ezza South Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, leaving one person feared dead and several others injured.
The attackers, suspected to be political thugs, also reportedly set ablaze a 2024 Toyota Hilux vehicle belonging to the campaign convoy.
According to preliminary accounts, trouble began when Nwali, who was scheduled to meet with his polling unit canvassers, received information that some government officials allegedly accompanied by armed hoodlums had stormed the meeting venue.
The officials reportedly warned that they had received orders from above to prevent opposition candidates from holding campaign activities during the swearing-in ceremonies of local government chairmen in the state.
Sensing danger, Nwali reportedly directed his convoy to turn back a few metres from the venue.
However, suspected political thugs riding motorcycles and tricycles allegedly opened fire on the convoy, resulting in an exchange of gunfire involving security personnel, including operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) attached to the candidate.
About five persons reportedly sustained gunshot injuries, while one person was feared killed during the confrontation.
The casualty figures could not be independently verified.
In another attack a few metres away, a separate group of suspected hoodlums, reportedly operating in a Mercedes-Benz vehicle and tricycles, allegedly intercepted the retreating convoy, opened fire and set one of its Toyota Hilux vehicles ablaze.
A state government appointee was accused of leading the second group of attackers.
Reacting to the development, Chairman of the Ebonyi Democratic Movement, Chief Emmanuel Igwe Chidi, condemned the incident and accused the Ebonyi State Commissioner of Police of failing to address what he described as recurring political violence against opposition figures in the state.
Igwe alleged that the failure of the police to prosecute individuals previously implicated in electoral violence, despite several petitions submitted to the state command and the Inspector-General of Police, had emboldened suspected political thugs.
He recalled that the movement had earlier organised a nationwide protest over alleged persecution of opposition members and the deteriorating security situation in Ebonyi State.
The EBM chairman consequently called on the Inspector-General of Police to immediately redeploy the Ebonyi State Commissioner of Police, arguing that the measure had become necessary to restore public confidence in the neutrality of the police ahead of the 2027 general elections.
He also demanded a comprehensive investigation into the Amaezekwe attacks, insisting that all those found culpable must be identified and prosecuted irrespective of their political affiliations or positions in government.
Igwe further urged security agencies to guarantee adequate protection for opposition candidates and their supporters, stressing that no government official or political interest has the authority to prevent citizens from exercising their constitutional rights to political participation.
He warned that democracy would be endangered if political competition was allowed to degenerate into intimidation, gunfire and destruction of property rather than being determined through the ballot box.
The allegations against government officials and the police, as well as the circumstances surrounding the reported death, remain unverified. The accounts provided did not include responses from the Ebonyi State Government or the Police Command.
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The All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council has dismissed allegations linking President Bola Tinubu to an alleged plot to assassinate former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The council described the allegation as baseless and politically motivated, insisting that neither President Tinubu, the Presidency nor the ruling APC had any involvement in any purported plan to harm Atiku or other opposition figures.

Spokesman of the council, Dele Alake, made the clarification while reacting to allegations raised by Timi Frank, a member of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), the platform on which Atiku is expected to seek the presidency in 2027.

Alake challenged Frank to submit any credible evidence supporting his claims to the appropriate security agencies rather than resort to what he described as unsubstantiated public accusations.

He also dismissed reports suggesting that security personnel attached to Atiku had been withdrawn, maintaining that the former Vice-President remained under the protection of the Nigeria Police Force and the Department of State Services (DSS).

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According to him, President Tinubu had directed relevant security agencies to strengthen security arrangements for presidential, vice-presidential, governorship and deputy governorship candidates ahead of the forthcoming elections.

The APC spokesman accused those promoting the alleged assassination plot of attempting to generate political tension and attract international attention through what he termed “typical opposition rabble-rousing.”

He urged political leaders and their supporters to exercise restraint in their public utterances and refrain from making inflammatory statements capable of creating unnecessary anxiety in the country.

“Let our political competition be peaceful, lawful, and focused on the big issues that matter to Nigerians, not character assassination or wild, baseless allegations,” the statement read.

The council further appealed to political parties and candidates to uphold democratic principles and concentrate their campaigns on issues affecting Nigerians rather than engaging in personal attacks and allegations capable of undermining public confidence in the electoral process.

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Political economist and former presidential candidate, Professor Pat Utomi, has warned that Nigeria could be plunged into civil unrest, potentially escalating into a civil war, if political leaders attempt to manipulate the outcome of the 2027 general election against the wishes of Nigerians.
Utomi raised the alarm on Sunday, October 18, 2026, following an impromptu town hall meeting in Manchester, United Kingdom, where he attended a luncheon to which former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, was invited.

In a post on his X account, the professor disclosed that what was originally planned as a social gathering unexpectedly turned into an extensive discussion about Nigeria’s political future, particularly concerns surrounding the credibility of the 2027 elections.

According to him, participants expressed deep anxiety over what they perceived as the growing audacity of public officials who speak about the forthcoming elections as though the results had already been predetermined.

“I am in the middle of an accidental town hall meeting in Manchester in the UK. I came to a Lunch to which Peter Obi was invited. I found food I looked forward to deferred for questions on the trouble with Nigeria,” he wrote.

Utomi explained that much of the discussion centred on fears of electoral manipulation and the determination of Nigerians to resist any attempt to undermine the democratic process.

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“Many of the questions suggest worry about the boldness of public officials in projecting rigging with results of elections of 2027 considered in the pocket,” he stated.
The political economist warned that the level of determination expressed by participants suggested that Nigerians might no longer tolerate attempts to impose electoral outcomes on them.
“The determination to do whatever will prevent election malpractice suggest we may see a civil war if power tries to muscle the will of the people this time,” Utomi cautioned.
His warning comes amid increasing political activities ahead of the 2027 general election, with concerns over electoral transparency, institutional credibility and public confidence continuing to dominate discussions about Nigeria’s democratic future.
Utomi’s remarks underscore the potential consequences of electoral malpractice and the need for authorities to guarantee a transparent, credible and peaceful electoral process that reflects the genuine choice of Nigerians.

Former South-East campaign spokesman to President Bola Tinubu, Denge Josef Onoh, has dismissed claims that Peter Obi and the Obidient movement are obstacles to the emergence of a Nigerian president of Igbo extraction in 2027.
Onoh, who is Chairman of the Forum of Former Members of the Enugu State House of Assembly, described the position credited to political commentator Segun Sowunmi as misleading and inconsistent with Nigeria’s democratic realities.
Reacting to Sowunmi’s comments on the Selah Meditate Podcast in a statement made available to journalists in Lagos, Onoh insisted that the South-East required no permission from any political bloc to pursue its presidential ambition.
He argued that Obi’s performance in the 2023 presidential election had already demonstrated that the Obidient movement enjoyed nationwide acceptance beyond ethnic and regional considerations.
Citing Obi’s victories in Lagos, Nasarawa, Plateau and the Federal Capital Territory, Onoh maintained that portraying the movement as an exclusively Igbo political platform amounted to a distortion of electoral facts.
“Peter Obi did not run a regional or ethnic campaign,” he declared, stressing that the movement attracted Nigerians across religious, ethnic and geographical divides.
Onoh also accused Sowunmi of double standards for attempting to hold Obi responsible for the activities of some Obidient supporters while allegedly ignoring similar conduct among supporters of other political parties.
According to him, the Obidient movement is a decentralised, citizen-driven political force whose millions of independent supporters cannot reasonably be subjected to the personal control of one individual.
He further rejected suggestions that the entrepreneurial success of Igbo people across Nigeria should weaken their demand for political inclusion and equitable representation.
“An ethnic group’s resilience, entrepreneurial drive, and ability to survive in a hostile economy do not strip them of the right to demand good governance,” Onoh stated.
He maintained that the contributions of Igbo entrepreneurs to banking, aviation, real estate, commerce and other sectors of the Nigerian economy should not be used as justification for denying the region its legitimate political aspirations.
While acknowledging that some individuals from the South-East occasionally conduct themselves inappropriately in their host communities, Onoh argued that such isolated actions should not be deployed to undermine the collective political rights of the region.
He insisted that the South-East must not be compelled to apologise for its democratic choices or abandon its ambition to produce Nigeria’s president.
“The South-East does not need a permission slip from political actors who are stuck in old ways of doing things,” he declared.
Looking ahead to the 2027 general election, Onoh urged political stakeholders to recognise the momentum generated by Obi’s 2023 presidential campaign as an opportunity to strengthen national alliances rather than portray it as a threat to Igbo political advancement.
He maintained that the region’s presidential ambition must be pursued through democratic engagement, competence, strategic partnerships and the ballot box, rather than political concessions dictated by individuals or sectional interests.