Politics
#Enugu Decides: Why I’m Most Qualified For The Job – Nwakaibie
– Promises to wipe out backlog of pensions, gratuity
As he rounds off his campaigns, the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Enugu state, Chief Uche Nnaji Nwakaibie has pleaded with the people of Enugu state to give him a chance to change the fortunes of the state by voting him as governor of the state in the March 11 scheduled governorship and House of Assembly elections.
He said that unlike others, he is the only candidate that has never worked as a public or civil servant, and therefore has never tampered with government money but has built his multi-billion business empire out of dint of hard work and grace of God.
Nwakaibie said that having leant the rope on how to create wealth, he would leverage on his wealth of experience in the private sector to industrialize the state, revamp agriculture, and tackle insecurity through employment creation.
The APC guber candidate, who spoke in a Dream Fm Enugu radio phone in programme, specifically promised to tackle the intractable suffering of pensioners who are owed several months of pension and gratuity even as many of them die through heartbreaks and frustration.
He said, “11th of March is yet another time for the people of Enugu state to say yes to good governance or no to good governance. They have started already, but it is important that Enugu realizes who is coming irrespective of the party, who is going to work.
“I have never been a civil servant all my life, I have never taken money from the government, I have never developed from the government. I have been a man on my own. All the resources I have earned are by hard work and by the grace of God. All those I have done for myself and I have been creating a lot for our people.
“I have industries going on and it is because of this thing not realizing that this money is for the government, this one is for you that people make mistakes of going to take the commonwealth of the people.
“We have had a series of so many accusations, we have had people who have taken plea bargains and yet they are running elections. This kind of thing should not happen; people should respect the constitution and the will of the people.
“If you have a plea bargain, plea bargain for God’s sake is plea bargain; give it 10 years and come up again, not in eight years you will be rushing to go and contest when it is not 10 years.”
He said that the pension situation in Enugu state was a mess, and vowed to wipe out backlogs of pension and gratuity in the state within his first six months in office, even if it entails borrowing money to do so.
Nwakaibie said, “Pension and gratuity in Enugu state is a mess because it’s not understandable, nobody can understand it that after serving the people, serving the state or federal that the pension is withheld. Atimes when we talk to these pensioners I tell them why stress yourself this much on this your pension, let’s be giving you N5000 every month instead of collecting N1000 from pension, they will say they need their pension more than my money.
“They are so attached to that pension and so many of them out of heartbreak die out of waiting for the pension and it is very unfortunate. So we are not going to allow it to happen, even if it means borrowing money to pay our mothers and fathers their pension and gratuity, Enugu state government under our watch, Nwakaibie will borrow money because it is painful.
“I don’t have parents that went through the civil service structure but it pains me as if they are my parents. It pains me to the bone marrow that people cannot get their pension and it’s not that it is the government that is paying them or doing them any favour, the government is holding their money deducted from their monthly salary. At the end of work when they are supposed to get their pension, they will not get it.
“So many people die out of frustration; so many people die because they cannot afford to bring even N5000 to treat themselves in the hospital because they are not getting their pension. This is the first thing we are going to do in government and God will help us within six months of our governance. We will reduce it drastically if we don’t pay all.
In the now-controversial post shared on his social media page, Osborne wrote: “In a sane clime president Bola Ahmed Tinubu would’ve respectfully and honourably resigned. I’m of APC but truth be told.”
The comment quickly generated reactions online before the Akwa Ibom State Government moved to terminate his appointment.
In a letter dated June 2, 2026, the Office of the Political Adviser to the Governor announced his immediate disengagement.
The termination letter, signed by the Political Adviser to the Governor, Prince Godwin Ntuk Udeh, stated that Osborne Ubong Okon had been relieved of his duties with immediate effect.Politics
According to the letter, the decision was taken over actions the office described as disloyal.
“You are hereby relieved of your engagement as a Media Aide to the Political Adviser to His Excellency the Governor, with immediate effect and from today, 2nd June 2026,” the memo read.
The letter further cited “actions bordering on disloyalty” and the need to keep the office “purified” as reasons for the dismissal.
The office also issued a warning to members of the public and government officials regarding future dealings with the former aide.
“Any person having dealings with the above-mentioned former Media Aide in relation to this office of his former engagement does so on his/her own peril,” the statement added.
The development has sparked fresh conversations about the limits of political expression for government appointees and the expectations of loyalty within public service, particularly when comments are directed at the presidency.
Neither Osborne nor the Presidency had publicly responded to the development as of the time of filing this report.
The decision was taken during plenary on Tuesday at the Assembly complex in Dutse, the state capital, as the party continues to deal with the fallout from recent primaries.
The action comes amid a wave of suspensions across Jigawa APC following the recently conducted primary election.
Several special advisers and special assistants have already been suspended statewide over alleged anti-party activities from state level down to local government level.
Maigari, who doubles as the councillor representing Auyo Ward, was suspended after the House considered a motion by the Majority Leader, Lawan Dansure.
The motion sought disciplinary action against the lawmaker for conduct deemed harmful to party cohesion.
Moving the motion during the Assembly’s plenary session on Tuesday, Dansure urged members to support the suspension.
He said the House must act to protect the integrity of the ruling party ahead of 2027.
According to him, the actions of the Speaker of Auyo Legislative Council are detrimental to the unity, stability, and progress of the All Progressives Congress in the state.
“His actions are detrimental to the unity, stability, and progress of the All Progressives Congress,” Dansure told the House.
He argued that anti-party conduct at the grassroots level could undermine APC’s performance in future elections.
He said the House could not fold its arms while party discipline was being tested.
“Hon. Haruna Maigari is hereby suspended as Speaker of Auyo Legislative Council over alleged anti-party activities,” Dangyatin announced during plenary.
The Speaker also said the House remains committed to party discipline at all levels of governance in the state.
Dangyatin then constituted an investigative committee to look into the matter and report back within two weeks.
“The committee is expected to establish facts and recommend further action based on its findings,” he said.
The Speaker also directed the suspended lawmaker to hand over all official documents in his possession to the Deputy Speaker of Auyo Legislative Council.
He said the handover must be done immediately to ensure continuity of council business.
Meanwhile, the House also received a formal notification from Governor Umar Namadi regarding an official trip.
“The governor is billed to attend a two-day West African Rice Investment Roundtable in Accra, Ghana,” the Speaker said during the plenary session of the Assembly.
Dangyatin, who explained that the governor’s foreign engagement will hold between June 2 and June 3, 2026, added that “the governor’s participation is aimed at attracting investment to Jigawa’s rice value chain.”
By Chinedu Sabastine
Mr. Samson Chukwu Nnamani has declared that he remains the authentic governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Enugu State ahead of the 2027 election.
Nnamani made this known on Friday during a press briefing held at the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Press Centre, Enugu.
Reacting to allegations that he was suspended from the party before the PDP governorship primary election, Nnamani dismissed the claim, questioning how a supposedly suspended aspirant could participate in the exercise and secure votes.
“The purported claim that I was suspended is very funny. If I was suspended as they claim, how can they attribute votes for me during their kangaroo primary,” Nnamani questioned.
Represented by his Media Director, Dr. Buchi Nnaji, the PDP chieftain said his authenticity derives from the present recognition of the Abdulrahman-led faction of the PDP by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), of which he is a member.
The clarification followed the emergence of multiple claimants to the PDP governorship ticket in Enugu State.
Nnamani insisted that the party was no longer factionalised following INEC’s recognition of the Abdulrahman-led PDP leadership, noting that the panel which declared him winner where sent from their headquaters, Abuja.
Nnamani expressed gratitude to PDP leaders and supporters whom he said turned out massively on Sunday, May 24, 2026, to elect him as the party’s governorship candidate.
He pledged to reposition Enugu State through infrastructure development, job creation and people-oriented policies.
“As the Peoples Democratic Party governorship candidate in Enugu State, I remain committed to the ideals of good governance, inclusive leadership, economic development, youth empowerment, quality education, improved healthcare and enhanced security for all residents,” he said.
He added that his aspiration was to build “a greater Enugu State where opportunities abound for every citizen, irrespective of political affiliation, religion or social status.”
According to him, his administration would prioritise infrastructure development, industrialisation, support for small businesses and welfare programmes aimed at improving the lives of the people.
“We shall also review and remove policies and practices that are truncating the wellbeing, economic survival and social advancement of the citizens,” he stated.
Nnamani further called on stakeholders, party faithful, youths, women, traditional rulers and the people of Enugu State to join hands in building “a united, peaceful and progressive state.”
“Together, we can achieve the Enugu of our dreams,” he added.
The Presidency has reacted following the circulation of an alleged WhatsApp voice note in which President Bola Tinubu reportedly claims he begged opposition figure Peter Obi to step down ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
The reaction came on Wednesday from Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to the President.
Onanuga condemned the audio file, labeling it a fabrication and called for legal action against popular social media critic VeryDarkMan who shared it.
“This VDM needs to face the weight of the law for being the conveyor and disseminator of a fake audio of President Tinubu. This is a clear case of an egregious abuse of the social media platform.,” Onanuga tweeted.
In the viral video, VeryDarkMan used the alleged leaked audio to urge Nigerians to vote against President Tinubu’s reelection bid in the upcoming 2027 polls.
Recall that just days ago, on Saturday, May 23, 2026, President Tinubu secured the presidential ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in a landslide nationwide direct primary election.
During that contest, Tinubu faced a lone challenger, Edo State businessman and APC chieftain Stanley Osifo. The President won with 10,999,162 votes from the 12,643,306 registered party members, while Osifo secured 16,503 votes.
Meanwhile, Peter Obi, who finished third in the 2023 election, is widely expected to fly the flag for the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC). Both Obi and Tinubu hail from the southern region of Nigeria and are set to face last year’s runner-up, Atiku Abubakar, who is expected to lead the ticket for the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
The governorship candidate of the People’s Democratic Party in Ebonyi State, Ifeanyichukwuma Odii, has accused Governor Francis Nwifuru of running the state like a personal family business.
Odii made the remark shortly after emerging as the PDP governorship candidate for the 2027 election following the party’s primary election conducted across the 13 local government areas of the state.
Speaking to party supporters in Abakaliki, Odii said the 2027 election would be about rescuing Ebonyi from poor governance and restoring economic growth and public welfare.
“Ebonyi can never be consumed. Ebonyi can never be conquered. Ebonyi can never become a personal family business, and we are here for the rescue of our dear state,” he stated.
The PDP flag bearer pledged to improve the welfare of civil servants and teachers while promising policies aimed at reviving the state’s economy.
Odii also dismissed fears over political opposition ahead of the election, insisting that his focus remained the development and progress of Ebonyi State.
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