Politics
Election: The bitter truth, facts, factors that’ll determine Enugu’s next Governor
BY PETRUS OBI
The race to the Enugu Lion building will automatically come to its end, Saturday, when the people of Enugu State visit the polling booths once again to cast their votes.
The campaigns have been scorching. Mud has been thrown. Lies have been fabricated and well decorated. Facts have been distorted. All in a bid to discredit one another.
Apart from some bitterness and hate speeches here and there, it’s been very interesting as the candidates tried to woo voters.
It is the first time Enugu is feeling this heat since 1999. This has been attributed to the effect of LP, it’s Presidential candidate Mr. Peter Obi and the OBIdient Movement.
The unexpected results of February 25th Presidential and National Assembly elections in the State just like other States in the South East have threatened the dorminance of the PDP in Enugu State.
Top contenders: PETER MBAH (PDP)
The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, candidate Barr. Peter Mbah is seriously in contention. If not for the Obi and Labour Party impact, it would have been a walk in the park for him. But no, the challenges cannot be ignored. It is visible, it’s real, it’s threatening. And the PDP is aware of the reality on ground.
After the abysmal performance in the National Assembly elections where it picked up only one out of the 8 Reps positions, and one of the two concluded Senate positions, the party is throwing everything it has into Saturday guber polls. Failure will be disastrous as a whole lot of politcial actors will be retired. It’s the last fight, as the movies would put it.
The party redoubled it’s campaign efforts and has massively mobilized Enugu voters ahead the guber polls.
The PDP candidate Barr Peter Mbah on his part has proven to be a good commodity. He has shown desire to govern. His manifesto has also been commended. He has promised to turn Enugu around in terms of development.
CHIJIOKE EDEOGA (LP)
The former Commissioner crossed over to Labour Party, after losing out in the PDP Guber primary election.
Going by last Saturday results, Edeoga is the candidate to beat on Saturday. The Labour, OBIdient revolution is a big advantage to the former Reps member and journalist.
Edeoga who hails from Isi-uzo LGA in Enugu East Zone is enjoying the overwhelming support of the Enugu North Zone (Nsukka). Isi-uzo and Nsukka zone share the same cultural affinity. Being a minority in the Nkanu dominated Enugu East Zone, the Nsukka people see them as being marginalized by the Nkanu people. They feel it’s time to align with Isi-uzo and ’emancipate’ them from the alleged Nkanu dorminance.
Frank Nweke Jnr. (APGA)
A fine gentleman and tested administrator. The former Minister has campaigned vigorously ahead the coming polls. He hails from Ozalla, in Nkanu West Local Government Area.
Nweke is a strong contender and may benefit from the “Nkanu vs Nsukka” direction which the campaigns had assumed. He is qualified and has a rich manifesto to enhance development in the state.
He has the experience and cannot be wished away as Enugu goes to the polls.
Uche Nnaji (APC)
His party may not be popular in the state but Nwakibie as he is fondly called is loved by his people.
The Akpugo born businessman cannot be wished away in this contest as he appears to be keeping his strategy close to his chest. Pundits are keeping an eye on the APC flagbearer believing he could pull a stunt somewhere, somehow.
His closeness to Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State is also keeping other parties on their toes.
However, the crisis in his party is affecting him as all the big wigs like former Senate President Ken Nnamani and former Governor Sullivan Chime have openly declared support for PDP’s Peter Mbah.
FACTS, FACTORS that will throw up the next Governor
Analysts believe that the guber poll in Enugu is a direct battle between the PDP and Labour Party. Yet, one would only ignore the APGA and APC candidates at his peril.
PDP has the structure to win Saturday’s election. They have the advantage of a sitting Governor. It is immense, and they are counting it should give them an edge going into the election. They also have a good candidate.
On the other hand, Edeoga, another good candidate with experience, has Labour Party and the OBIdient movement on his side.
He is also counting on the support of the Nsukka Zone who voted LP massively in the last election.
Nsukka has the highest voting power than other zones. Their six LGA’s plus Isi-uzo is seen as an advantage for Edeoga and his Labour Party.
Therefore, the ability of the PDP to turn the mind’s and voting fingers of Enugu masses against Labour can do the magic. If the band wagon voting for Labour continues, then there could be trouble.
Moreso, having three candidates from Nkanu, the vexed issue of Odenigbo and Amadi (the caste system) may also further split the votes of the Nkanu people.
The Urban Local Governments of Enugu East, Enugu North and Enugu South are also areas the PDP ought to watch.
The voting pattern in Enugu West where Edeoga’s running mate comes from will also play a vital role in who becomes the next governor.
Conclusion:
Going by the voting pattern on February 25, analysts are of the view that the onus is on the PDP to turn the tide in their favour. Analysts also believe it’s a mission possible, yet difficult.
But, to achieve this, the PDP has to look inwards with rumours of sabotage from within the party. Major stakeholders who ought to diver the party are believed to have long sold out to the opposition.
The PDP must also break the Nsukka votes to stand a good chance of turning the table against Labour and the OBIdient movement in the state.
It will be a tight contest that could go either way. Barring all other unforseen circumstances and factors.
The Court of Appeal in Abuja has upheld a Federal High Court judgment restraining the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from recognising state congresses conducted by committees appointed by the David Mark-led caretaker leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
In a split decision of two to one, the three-member panel affirmed the earlier ruling of the Federal High Court, holding that the congresses organised under the caretaker committee violated an existing court order.
Justice Okon Abang, who delivered the lead judgment, ruled that there was no basis to set aside the restraining order issued by Justice Joyce Abdulmalik on April 29.
The appellate court also upheld the lower court’s decision barring the caretaker leadership from interfering with the functions and tenure of the party’s duly elected state executive committees.
According to the court, the ADC Constitution vests the responsibility for conducting state congresses in the elected state executive committees, not the national caretaker leadership.
Justice Donatus Okorowo concurred with the lead judgment, while Justice Abba Mohammed dissented, arguing that the matter was an internal affair of the political party and therefore outside the jurisdiction of the courts.
The suit was filed by aggrieved members of the ADC, who challenged the legality of committees established by the David Mark-led caretaker leadership to conduct state congresses. They argued that the appointments breached the party’s constitution, insisting that only duly elected party organs had the authority to organise state congresses.
In its earlier ruling, the Federal High Court held that the four-year tenure of the ADC’s State Working Committees and State Executive Committees remained valid until fresh congresses and a national convention were properly conducted.
Justice Abdulmalik further ruled that neither the 1999 Constitution nor the ADC Constitution empowered the caretaker committee to appoint committees to conduct state congresses.
While noting that courts generally refrain from interfering in the internal affairs of political parties, the judge held that judicial intervention is justified where constitutional or statutory provisions are alleged to have been breached.
Affirming the lower court’s decision, the Court of Appeal declared the state congresses and national convention conducted by the David Mark-led caretaker leadership null and void for being carried out in defiance of an existing court order.
The appellate court stressed that once a dispute raises constitutional issues, it ceases to be merely an internal party matter and becomes subject to judicial review.
Consequently, the court dismissed the ADC’s appeal, upheld all the orders of the Federal High Court, and awarded ₦10 million in costs against the party.
By Chinedu Sabastine
A pro-Yoruba women group, operating under the banner of Yoruba Women in Politics (YWIP), has applauded the Deputy National Chairman (South) of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Benjamin Obi Nwoye, for strengthening the party across the Southern part of Nigeria barely three months he assumed office.
They said: “Dr. Benjamin Obi Nwoye is a very honest and open person. He has done considerably well,” the group said.
He was also praised for displaying high democratic ideals and delivering electoral victories for the ruling party in Southern Nigeria.
Chairperson of the women group Mrs. Dorothy Akinyele, in a statement issued in Akure, the Ondo state capital on Saturday applauded Nwoye “for his loyalty, strength of character, and consistency of purpose to the cause of democracy.”
They expressed delight and satisfaction “with the high degree of determination so far exhibited by Nwoye to applying the principle of fair play in treating all party members and asserting independence and neutrality in most cases.”
The highly revered South West women body also commended Nwoye “for deepening the party’s structures in the South-west, South-South and South-East, empowering women and youth and building a stronger APC and a more inclusive future for Nigeria.”
In particular, the women lauded Nwoye “for mobilizing support for President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 general election, preserving the progressive ideals upon which the APC was built and curtailing the abuse of democratic norms in the ruling party.”
According to them, “Dr. Benjamin Obi Nwoye is level headed, has milk of human kindness flowing in his veins and committed to the success of President Tinubu and the party in 2027 and beyond,” YWIP said.
It therefore, described Dr. Nwoye as “the influential exponent of national unity,” extolling him for ensuring a smooth internal
Democratic process in his home state Enugu, the coal city state.
The Presidential Candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has dismissed a public debate challenge from the Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, saying the minister must first become a presidential candidate before seeking such an engagement.
Obi made the remark during an interview with media entrepreneur Chude Jideonwo, where he responded to Umahi’s challenge following his criticism of the condition of Nigerian road.
The former Anambra State governor argued that presidential debates are reserved for candidates seeking the nation’s highest office, insisting that Umahi does not fit that category.
According to Obi, the controversy over the poor state of the roads had already produced results, noting that his criticism prompted repairs.
“If he is inviting me to a debate as a presidential candidate, then he has to become a presidential candidate first,” Obi said.
Drawing an analogy with international football, the NDC presidential flagbearer likened Umahi’s challenge to a team that failed to qualify for the FIFA World Cup inviting a qualified team to a match.“The World Cup is going on now. You cannot stay outside and invite a team that qualified for the World Cup to come and play against you simply because you think you are good. No. There is a qualification process,” he added.
Obi maintained that leadership should be measured by performance rather than rhetoric, suggesting that the repairs carried out after his criticism underscored the importance of holding public officials accountable.
His response comes days after Umahi declared that Obi posed no political threat to President Bola Tinubu or the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), while challenging him to a public debate over the state of federal roads and infrastructure across the country.
Ada Ogbu, who made the clarification in a statement posted on her official X account on Saturday, was responding to Keyamo’s ultimatum demanding that Obi apologise to airport officials, pay a ₦25,000 parking fine or face action by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).Executive Branch
Ogbu, who described herself as an eyewitness, maintained that she was among those who accompanied Obi to the airport on Saturday, July 4, and categorically denied the minister’s claim that the politician was driven by a police officer.
“As a member of the team that accompanied His Excellency @PeterObi to the Abuja airport on Saturday, July 4, I can state categorically that he does not have a police officer as his driver in Abuja. Therefore, if airport CCTV captured a police officer entering the driver’s seat of a vehicle, that vehicle could not have been Mr. Obi’s,” she stated.
She further argued that the incident highlighted by Keyamo was different from the one Obi narrated during his interview with media personality Chude Jideonwo.
According to her, Obi’s frequent travels across the country have exposed him and his aides to repeated hostile treatment by airport personnel.Government
“It is also important to note that Mr. Obi travels through as many as ten Nigerian airports every week. Over time, there have been several acts of hostility directed at him and members of his team by airport personnel across different locations,” Ogbu said.
She concluded that the aviation minister had referenced an entirely separate incident.
“Based on the account shared by the Honourable Minister, it is clear that the incident Mr. Obi referenced during his interview with @Chude did not occur on the date or at the airport cited by the Minister. They are plainly two different incidents.”
Her reaction comes hours after Keyamo released CCTV-based findings from an internal inquiry into the airport incident, insisting Obi must publicly apologise to airport workers and pay the prescribed parking fine within one week or risk further action by FAAN.
President Bola Tinubu on Friday formally retained Vice President Kashim Shettima as his running mate for the 2027 presidential election.
This was as political parties made last-minute moves to beat the Independent National Electoral Commission’s deadline for the submission of presidential and National Assembly candidates.
The ruling All Progressives Congress presented the nomination forms of Tinubu and Shettima to its National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, in Abuja for onward transmission to INEC, effectively ending months of speculation that the President could replace his deputy with a northern Christian.
The development came as INEC confirmed that it had received the presidential and vice-presidential nominations of the African Democratic Congress, Nigeria Democratic Congress, Social Democratic Party, Action Alliance, African Action Congress, Peoples Redemption Party and Young Progressives Party.
Meanwhile, several other political parties continued uploading the names of their candidates ahead of the commission’s Saturday midnight deadline.
The electoral commission had fixed July 11, 2026, as the deadline for political parties to upload the nomination forms of their presidential and National Assembly candidates through its online nomination portal in accordance with Section 29(1) of the Electoral Act, 2026.
The submission exercise, which commenced on June 27, covers Forms EC9 and EC9A to EC9E for presidential, vice-presidential, Senate and House of Representatives candidates.
According to the timetable released by the commission, political parties are expected to begin uploading the names of governorship and State House of Assembly candidates from July 18, with the exercise ending on August 8.
INEC is scheduled to publish the personal particulars of presidential and National Assembly candidates on August 1, while those of governorship and state assembly candidates will be displayed on August 29 to allow members of the public raise objections where necessary.
The commission also fixed August 22 as the deadline for the withdrawal and substitution of presidential and National Assembly candidates, while governorship and state assembly candidates have until September 19 for withdrawal or replacement in line with the provisions of the Electoral Act.
The July 11 deadline marks one of the most critical stages in the build-up to the 2027 general elections, as only candidates validly nominated by political parties through primaries monitored by INEC are eligible for submission.
The commission had repeatedly warned political parties against submitting the names of candidates different from those who emerged from duly monitored primaries, insisting that any nomination outside the provisions of the Electoral Act and its regulations would be rejected.
Against this backdrop, the APC used Friday’s presentation ceremony to publicly affirm its presidential ticket, signalling that it would head into the 2027 contest without altering the Muslim-Muslim ticket that secured victory in the 2023 presidential election.
Following President Tinubu’s emergence as the APC’s presidential candidate during the party’s convention, political discussions had intensified over whether the President would retain Shettima or opt for another running mate to broaden the party’s electoral appeal.
Those speculations gathered momentum in recent months amid reports that the ruling party was considering a northern Christian as vice-presidential candidate to address concerns over religious balancing.
Friday’s submission, however, ended the uncertainty, with the APC formally presenting Tinubu and Shettima as its flag bearers for the 2027 election.
The nomination documents were presented on behalf of the President by his Special Adviser on Political Matters, Ibrahim Masari, during a ceremony attended by members of the Progressive Governors’ Forum, the National Assembly, the Federal Executive Council, the APC National Working Committee, state chairmen of the party and APC governorship candidates.
Earlier, the APC National Organising Secretary, Sulaiman Argungu, described the event as the formal presentation of the duly completed nomination forms of the party’s presidential and vice-presidential candidates.
Argungu noted that President Tinubu had earlier secured the party’s presidential ticket through what he described as a transparent primary election, and urged party members to remain united ahead of the 2027 polls.
He also commended the President for what he described as the achievements of his administration before formally handing over the nomination documents to the APC National Chairman for onward submission to INEC.
Speaking on behalf of APC governors, Imo State Governor, Senator Hope Uzodimma, reaffirmed the governors’ support for President Tinubu and the party leadership.
“We are delighted that this event is coming after a well-organised and thoroughly supervised primary process. We reiterate our commitment to continue supporting President Tinubu and the party,” he said.
Uzodimma said the APC remained committed to internal democracy and inclusiveness, adding that the governors would continue mobilising support for the President across the country.
“We will continue to support him in the larger interest of Nigerians and to take the country to greater heights. To the National Working Committee, we reaffirm our support. Together, we are going to deliver victory for President Tinubu and ensure the party wins all elective positions, including the National and State Assemblies,” he added.
Receiving the nomination forms, APC National Chairman, Prof. Yilwatda, described the event as a reflection of the confidence reposed in President Tinubu by millions of party members across the country.
According to him, the President’s endorsement by members of the party demonstrated widespread support for his administration and its policies.
He stated, “Today is a reflection of the wishes of over 12 million members of the APC who overwhelmingly voted for Mr. President as the party’s candidate for the 2027 presidential election. We are proud that APC members across the country cast over 12 million votes for Mr. President and overwhelmingly endorsed him.
-
News4 days agoUS based Catholic Priest commits suicide to avoid being sent back to Nigeria
-
Crime4 days ago56 days in captivity: How the Oyo school children were rescued
-
Politics4 days ago
2027: Shettima retained as running mate as parties race to meet INEC deadline
-
News5 days agoBREAKING: Kidnapped Oyo pupils, teachers regain freedom
-
Foreign5 days agoIsrael Exposes Plot to assassinate Donald Trump
-
News2 days agoAlleged Certificate Forgery: Ex-Minister Uche Nnaji Pleads Not Guilty, Gets ₦20m Bail
-
Crime3 days agoAnambara Underworld: 25 Years After Onitsha was liberated from Deri Nwamama
-
Politics4 days ago
Keyamo’s Lies Exposed As Eyewitness Faults Claims Against Obi