Politics
Wike, Fubara face-off splits PDP, 60 Reps demand chairman’s resignation
Sixty members of the House of Representatives elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, on Monday, demanded the resignation of the party’s acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum.
The development was a fresh twist in the political war between the Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
The 60 lawmakers hinged their call for Damagum’s resignation on his alleged silence amid the political crisis between Wike and Fubara in Rivers State.
Fubara and Wike’s loyalists have been at loggerheads in a political crisis in Rivers State.
Last October, 27 lawmakers loyal to Wike moved to impeach Fubara, a move he vehemently fought against and survived.
An intervention by President Bola Tinubu last year helped to douse the tension for a while, however, the political gladiators seem to be back in the trenches lately, signaling the breakdown of the agreement reached at the meeting presided over by Tinubu.
Last week, the 27 pro-Wike lawmakers threatened to reactivate the impeachment move against Fubara, a situation that has seen the governor’s supporters pushing back and questioning the legitimacy of the 27 lawmakers on the grounds that they had defected from the PDP to the All Progressives Congress in the heat of the crisis last year.
On Monday, 60 lawmakers led by the PDP member representing Ideato North/Ideato South Federal Constituency, Imo State, Ikenga Ugochinyere, demanded the resignation of Damagum, accusing him of, among others, siding with Wike and working for the ruling APC, a party that gave Wike the FCT ministerial appointment.
The 60 lawmakers alleged that the 27 pro-Wike lawmakers seeking to impeach Fubara had Damagum’s backing.
Speaking on their behalf, Ugochinyere said, “Have Nigerians wondered why Damagun kept quiet while 27 members of Rivers State House of Assembly elected on the platform of PDP left the party? He kept quiet while they were threatening to impeach a governor in his party. Nigerians will be shocked to hear that Damagun was consulted and is fully aware of the entire details of the plots to impeach the Rivers State Governor and he gave his approval to the plot, yet he refers to himself as a chairman of a party. The shamelessness in this entire episode is limitless.
“If Rabiu Kwankwaso could leave the PDP and build a party and win Kano State with several federal and state lawmakers and Peter Obi also left the PDP to grow the Labour Party to win Abia State as well as several federal and state lawmakers, then Damagun and his allies could as well leave the PDP and go ahead to support the APC since their spirit is already out of the PDP.”
The 60 PDP Reps accused Damagum of plotting to use the Federal High Court to legalise the extension of the tenure of Rivers State Local Government Areas Chairmen believed to have the ears of Wike.
“We have now received credible intelligence of a plot to use the Federal High Court to secure a secret ex parte order that will attempt to legalise the illegal extension of the about-to-expire tenure of LGA chairmen in Rivers State, which was carried out by the former members of the state Assembly who lost legitimacy as lawmakers, the very moment they decamped to the APC knowing full well that there was no crisis in the PDP, hence, their seats as lawmakers became vacant immediately the remaining legitimate members declared the seats vacant.
“We are raising this alarm in view of the legitimacy of the desperate move which if not halted can lead to anarchy and collapse of constitutional governance. We want to call on the Chief Judge of Federal High Court, Justice Omotosho and other eminent judges to be aware of these plots that those behind it are already celebrating that the ex parte order is in their pocket awaiting release to the media even when the case has not been heard.
“To our respected Chief Judge, we are compelled to publicly bring this shocking development to your attention for the interest of justice and preservation of the image of our nation’s judiciary,” the group further said.
But the Minority Leader of the House, Mr Kingsley Chinda, who is a known political associate of the FCT Minister, was conspicuously absent at Monday’s briefing, fuelling insinuations that the war between Wike and Fubara had extended beyond the shores of Rivers State.
The lawmakers demanded that Damagum should immediately leave to pave the way for the emergence of a new PDP Chairman from the North Central zone of the country.
Damagum became the PDP acting National Chairman after Wike orchestrated the removal of the party’s acting Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, who is from Benue State in the North Central geopolitical zone.
Ahead of the PDP’s 98th National Executive Committee holding on April 18, the governors elected on the party platform are divided over who will replace and complete Ayu’s tenure.
Speaking further, Ugochinyere said, “We demand the immediate resignation of Damagun as acting National Chairman of the PDP for anti-party activities. The North Central zone should be allowed to produce the acting Chairman as clearly stated in the PDP Constitution. Watch us reconsider our membership of the party in the months ahead if the right thing is not done.
“We also call for the removal of Damagun by the National Executive Committee of the party with further sanctions against him for his anti-party activities.
“It is our call on Damagum to immediately resign so that the party can ‘midwive’ a process and hand over to someone from the North Central in line with the provisions of our great party.
“It is also our call to the leaders of our party from the North Central, Governor Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau, Senators David Mark, Bukola Saraki, Abba Moro, Gabriel Suswam and Babangida Aliyu, to rise up now and save the soul of the part.”
More allegations
The 60 Reps further accused Damagum of “doctoring of caretaker committee members lists in Rivers state and at least 10 other states.”
Ugochinyere said, “This story is quite unfortunate and I can confirm to you all that it is not a rumour but fact.
“We have obtained very credible intelligence on the ongoings in our party’s Wadata House National Secretariat and it does not sound right at all. We currently have in the PDP a national leadership that is in bed with the APC and is working extremely hard to hand over the party to the APC.
“Following the removal of Iyorchia Ayu as National Chairman of our party and assumption of office by Damagun, who was elected as Deputy National Chairman to act in his stead, the party has only known misfortune and has abdicated its responsibility as the leading opposition party in the country. That role, which Nigerians would have loved the PDP to play as an institution it truly is, has been abdicated for a plate of porridge.”
Describing Damagum as unfit to lead the party to battle, the lawmakers said the Yobe politician “was only constitutionally allowed to step in, hold the forte and ‘midwive’ the process through which the North Central zone, where the chairmanship of the party was originally zoned, should present another person who would complete the slot of the North Central.
“Not only did Damagun hold tight unto the seat for well over a year now, he has abdicated every responsibility of the office of the chairman of PDP and is very comfortable serving APC interests.
“There had been an agreement of a broad spectrum of the party leadership when it became clear that Damagum was not interested in conducting elections but to appoint caretaker committees in at least 19 states where the tenures of the state and local government leaders were expiring to extend the tenures of these officials by three months.
“This decision, which was made to cover every state, was the wisdom that restrained Damagum from announcing a wholesale list of a majority of caretaker committees populated by APC agents masquerading as PDP members.
“However, despite that decision to retain everybody, Mr Damagun went ahead and received a list of APC agents and announced them as members and leaders of the PDP local government caretaker committees wholesomely in Rivers State and partially in at least 10 other states. This is a direct attempt to kill the PDP and ensure it goes into extinction.”
The lawmakers also accused Damagum of failing to retain most of the states in the South-East, noting that currently, the party is only in charge in Enugu State, “which it literally snatched from the jaw of a lion.”
The aggrieved lawmakers added that the party “lost Benue, Abia and Sokoto states. The PDP leadership kept mute while PDP state and federal lawmakers lost their seats at the tribunal and Court of Appeal on grounds that were obviously untenable, which have since been upturned by the Supreme Court.
“If the party had spoken up and raised the necessary alarm, all our colleagues in Imo and Plateau states, particularly, would have been with us in the Assembly today.”
Addressing the National Chairman frontally, Ugochinyere said, “You have a chance to resign immediately, leave or be embarrassed out of the party. At least 60 of us in the PDP in the National Assembly will sever all relations with the Damagun leadership until he leaves office. At the scheduled National Executive Committee meeting, if Damagun, by any maneuvering, however, conjectured, remains in office with the help of his APC friends at the end of the day, the party is now heading to the final slaughter shed.”
At the briefing were lawmakers representing Okehi/Adavi Federal Constituency, Kogi State, Abdulmaleek Danga; member representing Askira-Uba/Hawul Federal Constituency, Borno State, Midala Balami and and member, representing Ikara/Kubau, Kaduna State, Aliyu Abdullahi.
A former spokesperson of the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), Chief Anabs Sara-Igbe, has called on the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to arrest and investigate the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, over his reported pledge of N10 million to each of Rivers State’s 319 councillors for delivering their respective wards to President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 general election.
Sara-Igbe described the alleged pledge as a threat to the integrity of Nigeria’s electoral process, insisting that Wike’s position as a serving minister should not shield him from investigation.
Wike, a former governor of Rivers State, reportedly made the promise during a media chat last week, urging the councillors to ensure that President Tinubu wins their respective wards in the 2027 elections in exchange for N10 million each.
With 319 councillors representing the state’s 319 wards across 23 local government areas, the proposed financial commitment would amount to N3.19 billion if fully implemented.
Speaking in an interview with The Southern Examiner, Sara-Igbe questioned why the FCT Minister had not been invited for questioning by security agencies and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over the reported statement.
He argued that the alleged pledge raised serious concerns about compliance with electoral laws, particularly provisions relating to financial inducements and electoral malpractice.
“We are not in a banana republic where anything goes, no laws. Our security personnel must prove to Nigerians and the entire world that our laws are not implemented haphazardly, depending on who is involved,” he said.
The Kalabari elder also criticised INEC for what he described as its silence over the matter, insisting that electoral regulations must apply equally to all Nigerians, regardless of their political influence or official positions.
Sara-Igbe, who acknowledged that Wike was once his close associate, said Nigeria’s democracy could only develop when citizens rejected injustice, unfairness and inequality.
He warned that political statements capable of encouraging financial inducements could undermine public confidence in the electoral process.
“Utterances such as the one Wike spewed out from his mouth could truncate our hard-won democracy and expose our nation to public ridicule. This is why the matter should not be swept under the carpet. Wike must be made to pay for such an unguarded statement,” he added.
Meanwhile, Sara-Igbe denied allegations that he was involved in instigating the renewed political disagreement between Wike and Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara.
He also dismissed claims that his position was motivated by ethnic considerations, maintaining that his disagreement with Wike was based on political principles and what he described as the need to protect Rivers State’s interests.
He accused Wike and his supporters of attempting to undermine Fubara’s administration, arguing that the governor should be allowed to exercise his constitutional mandate without undue political interference.
Sara-Igbe further disclosed that his political position informed his decision to support the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, and the party’s Rivers State governorship candidate, Chief Dumo Lulu-Briggs, ahead of the 2027 elections.
He described Lulu-Briggs as a candidate with the capacity to pursue economic development in the state, highlighting proposals to decongest Port Harcourt, develop other urban centres such as Ahoada, Omoku and Bori, and harness Rivers State’s tourism potential.
He also criticised the Rainbow Coalition over what he described as the introduction of ethnic considerations into the search for an APC governorship candidate in Rivers State.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has fixed November 28, 2026, for a nationwide mock accreditation and voting exercise ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The exercise is aimed at testing upgrades to the commission’s Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and electronic results transmission ahead of the polls.
The development comes as INEC disclosed that it had commenced the distribution of non-sensitive election materials to some states in preparation for the 2027 general elections.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan (SAN), announced the planned mock exercise on Thursday during a dialogue at Chatham House in London.
The event, organised in partnership with the Kimpact Development Initiative, was themed, “Nigeria’s 2027 Elections: Democratic Trajectory and Regional Stability Beyond the Ballot.”
According to a statement issued in Abuja and signed by the Chief Press Secretary and Media Adviser to the INEC Chairman, Adedayo Oketola, Amupitan said the exercise would simulate the presidential election and enable the commission to assess the efficiency of its accreditation and electronic results transmission systems.
“On the 28th of this month, we will conduct a mock accreditation and voting exercise across all states of the federation to simulate the presidential election and verify that we have gotten both accreditation and electronic result transmission right,” the INEC chairman said.
Amupitan also disclosed that the commission had introduced additional technical safeguards to prevent inaccurate polling unit results and figures indicating over-voting from being uploaded to its Result Viewing Portal.
He said the measures were part of efforts to strengthen the credibility, transparency and reliability of the electoral process ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The Deputy National Organising Secretary of All Progressives Congress, Chief Emeka Okafor Esq, has called on Voters of Igbo Extraction living in Ondo State to come out in their numbers and vote massively for APC and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on 16th of January 2026.
Chief Emeka Okafor made the call in Akure during the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Rally which took place in Akure, Ondo state.
The Deputy National Organising Secretary stated that South East and Ndi Igbo have benefitted massively from the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and All Progressives Congress. He opined that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu meant well for the Country and the President’s reform is yielding the necessary results.
Barr Emeka Okafor stated that Ndi Igbo has always been part of National Party. “Being with the Party at Centre has always been beneficial to Ndi Igbo and 2027 will not be an exception. He urged Igbo Voters in Ondo to support APC and Mr President’s re-election bid.
The chieftain also urged stakeholders to support all APC candidates for the National and State Assemblies in the forthcoming elections, saying party members must work hard to deliver the desired results.
Barr Okafor made the appeal as He joined the Vice President Kashim Shettima, Senator Abdulaziz Yari, other APC leaders and stakeholders at the party’s campaign rallies in Akure, the Capital of Ondo state.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has cautioned political actors against the use of the controversial slogan, “Rig and Die”, ahead of the 2027 general elections, warning that such inflammatory rhetoric could trigger electoral violence and endanger innocent lives.
The Commission also warned that electoral officials, including ad hoc staff, who compromise the integrity of elections would face prosecution in accordance with the law.
INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of its Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Kudu Haruna, gave the warnings during a media engagement forum for journalists and media executives from the South-East, South-South and South-West geopolitical zones held in Enugu.
Haruna expressed concern over the increasing use of inflammatory political statements and threats, noting that such utterances could put the lives of presiding officers, electoral ad hoc personnel, party agents and election observers at risk.
He urged political parties and their supporters to embrace peaceful participation, stressing that grievances arising from election outcomes should be addressed through established legal channels, including INEC, security agencies and the courts, rather than through violence.
The National Commissioner also called for stronger collaboration between INEC and the media to promote credible, peaceful and transparent elections in 2027.
He described the media as an indispensable partner in the electoral process, noting that public confidence in elections depended largely on accurate, balanced and professional reporting.
Haruna warned journalists against publishing unverified results, manipulated videos, misleading projections and sensational political narratives capable of misleading the public and undermining confidence in the electoral process.
He specifically cautioned against premature result announcements, insisting that only INEC, through its duly appointed returning officers, had the authority to declare election results.
“Results are declared only by the Commission through its duly appointed returning officers. Projections and unofficial figures must be clearly labelled as such,” he said.
He further advised media organisations to verify allegations against the Commission through appropriate channels before publication and exercise caution when reporting electoral incidents.
Haruna also advocated inclusive election coverage, urging journalists to give adequate attention to women, youths and persons with disabilities, particularly the challenges affecting their participation in the electoral process.
He encouraged media organisations to intensify voter education on Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), accreditation procedures, electronic transmission of results and peaceful participation.
Journalists Urged to Uphold Professional Ethics
In a separate presentation on ethical and professional standards in election reporting, resource person, Mr Osaretin Imahheyierobo, urged journalists to familiarise themselves with the Electoral Act 2026, INEC’s election coverage guidelines and the Nigerian Broadcasting Code.
He expressed concern that some journalists covering elections were not sufficiently conversant with the legal and regulatory frameworks governing electoral reporting.
Imahheyierobo urged media organisations to establish dedicated election desks, develop editorial guidelines and strengthen fact-checking mechanisms ahead of the 2027 polls.
He also stressed the need for journalists to understand INEC’s technological innovations, particularly the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV), to ensure accurate reporting of accreditation, voting and result-management processes.
He warned media practitioners against compromising professional ethics for financial inducements, commonly referred to as brown envelopes. He maintained that political candidates should be subjected to objective scrutiny rather than having their claims and manifestoes amplified without proper examination.
The resource person also called for equitable media coverage of all political parties and candidates, noting that voters relied on credible information to make informed electoral decisions.
Earlier, the Enugu State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Dr Chukwuemeka Chukwu, disclosed that INEC had received approximately 35,000 Permanent Voter Cards for distribution across the state’s 260 wards.
He appealed to journalists to support public enlightenment campaigns to ensure that eligible voters collected their PVCs ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Chukwu described the media as a strategic partner in voter education, public opinion formation and institutional accountability, warning that misinformation could erode public confidence in the electoral process.
While acknowledging the media’s independence and watchdog responsibilities, the REC urged journalists to uphold accuracy, objectivity, fairness and professionalism in their coverage of electoral activities.
He assured stakeholders that the Commission remained committed to conducting credible, transparent, inclusive and peaceful elections in 2027, adding that it was open to constructive criticism and recommendations from media practitioners.
NUJ Raises Concerns Over Election Logistics
In his remarks, the Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Enugu State Council, Comrade Obinna Ogbuka, commended INEC for organising the engagement but regretted that the initiative had not commenced early enough to accommodate more journalists before the election cycle gathered momentum.
Ogbuka also raised concerns over the apparent lack of adequate budgetary provisions for journalists’ logistics during election assignments, stressing that media practitioners required sufficient support to perform their duties effectively.
He further called on INEC to take deliberate steps to rebuild public confidence in the Commission ahead of the 2027 elections.
Participants at the engagement commended INEC’s preparations but urged the Commission to address weaknesses observed in previous elections, particularly the technical challenges that affected the electronic transmission of results during the 2023 presidential election.
They also called on INEC to recognise journalists as critical stakeholders in the electoral process and involve them more meaningfully in its preparations for the 2027 general elections.
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has defended his promise to reward councillors with ₦10 million each for delivering their respective wards ahead of the 2027 general elections, insisting that the offer is a reward for political commitment and not an attempt to buy votes.
Wike made the clarification on Tuesday during an inspection tour of ongoing infrastructure projects in Abuja, dismissing criticisms of the proposed incentives.
He argued that rewarding political mobilisers for their hard work and electoral performance should not be confused with inducing voters to influence election outcomes.
The minister had reportedly pledged ₦10 million to each councillor who successfully mobilises support and delivers their ward, a promise that sparked concerns over the possibility of vote-buying ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Responding to the criticism, Wike said he never instructed the councillors to share money among voters in exchange for their votes. Rather, he challenged them to demonstrate commitment and deliver the expected electoral results.
“I didn’t tell them, ‘Take this money and go and buy votes.’ I said, ‘Go and work. Show commitment. Demonstrate that you really mean what you are talking about. When you win, come and we are going to reward you,’” he said.
To justify the offer, Wike compared the proposed political incentive to rewards given to athletes who win international competitions, arguing that such promises motivate people to achieve outstanding results.
He cited instances where athletes are promised houses and other benefits for returning from competitions with trophies, questioning why similar incentives in politics should automatically be considered bribery.
The FCT minister also faulted sections of the media for what he described as their failure to distinguish between legitimate performance-based rewards and vote-buying.
He argued that political parties and candidates routinely spend money on campaign advertisements without attracting similar criticism.
Wike challenged journalists to examine the distinction between financial inducements intended to influence voters and rewards promised to political organisers for meeting mobilisation targets.
Meanwhile, the minister expressed satisfaction with the progress of ongoing infrastructure projects in Abuja, including Interchange Section 2 (ISEX 2), the Southern Parkway and the S1 Road, which incorporates a fire station.
He said the projects were expected to be completed by December 15, ahead of the January 16, 2027 general elections.
Wike further argued that the infrastructure achievements of President Bola Tinubu’s administration would provide a strong basis for its re-election campaign.
He maintained that his support for Tinubu was driven by the administration’s development agenda rather than party affiliation, insisting that Nigerians who genuinely desire progress should support policies and programmes aimed at national development.
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