Politics
Enugu Guber: History’ll be kind to Ugwuanyi if there’re no violence Saturday – Edeoga
Ahead Saturday’s Governoship and House of Assembly elections, he said the LP had been justified with the recent arrest of some suspected hoodlums in several locations across the state.
Plot for violence;
Edeoga said: “Evidences abound of the determination of the PDP to cause trouble in Enugu State. In Isi-Uzo Local Government, a combined team of the military and the police, after due surveillance, swooped on a government guest house, where heavily armed imported mercenaries were arrested.
“They were kept for some time at the Divisional Police office in Ikem, from where they were moved to the State CID.
“Shortly before then, a combined team of Nigeria police, the military and the DSS stormed another hideout in Igbo-Eze North Local Government and arrested heavily armed men; those people have been kept there to begin to fire gunshots on Friday to the election, to cause panic and apprehension.
“Yesterday, the security agencies were also informed of another presence of heavily armed men imported from outside Enugu and kept in a government facility in Agbani.”
He alleged further that it was the scenario in Uzo-Uwani, Ekwegbe in Igbo-Etiti, as well as other locations in the State.
“It is obvious that the council chairmen behind this are acting under instruction from above, which implies that these men are spread in the various 17 LGAs in Enugu State. These matters call for concern,” he stated.
He said he had earlier asked for an audit of the pump action guns approved for forest guards and neighbourhood watch groups in Enugu State, noting that “we have course to believe that the pump action guns recovered from the suspects arrested in Isi-Uzo may be traceable to the pump action guns approved for vigilantes and forest guards.
“We use this forum to ask that an immediate audit be done; a count should be done because we are worried about these developments, these heightened insecurity in the State.
“We also have it in good authority that some other persons in Nsukka LG have been coerced into accepting to work as clearing houses to unleash terror in the Nsukka zone. All these will not happen without the tacit approval of the state government.”
Appeal to Gov. Ugwuanyi
Edeoga then begged the Governor of Enugu State, Rt. Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, “to exit with honour because anything untoward, if there are deaths, if there are injuries, if there are destruction of properties, as the Chief Security Officer, he will be blamed.
“We appeal to him to look at his place in history; it is our wish and hope that history will be kind to him; exit is as important as the point of entry. I hope that his exit from office will not be trailed by avoidable massacre.
“I implore the governor to allow the people of Enugu State to freely choose who will govern them. 2023 is not 2003, the people have become more conscious. The communities are ready to defend their franchise from external invaders or even from homegrown miscreants. It is better for all of us that things go well.”
INEC must not toy with people’s will
The LP candidate equally had some words for the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, asking it to save its reputation.
“I also appeal to the INEC, its reputation has been punctured substantially by the controversies that trailed the presidential election; our candidate, His Excellency, Peter Obi is in court and we believe he will reclaim his mandate.
“But before then, we ask INEC to be above board, there are speculations of stratagems aimed at frustrating electoral choices of our people; one of which is that electoral materials will be delayed, with some INEC people working in cahoot with some local council chairman who we understand are providing logistics for evacuation of materials; we don’t want to believe that it is true.
“Enugu people have determined that it is time for change; so INEC should not do anything that will constitute an obstacle to free expression of the will of our people. Any stratagem aimed at delaying the movement of materials to polling units should be resisted; in the reverse order, it is intended to cause problems. If materials arrive late, movement to collation centres will be delayed.
“When materials arrive late at polling units, INEC officials will now claim that because of time, these materials will now move to local government collation centres; the intention of the PDP is that already prepared results will be smuggled in.
“We have enlightened our people to be obedient to the laws of the land; to cast their votes and wait, before then, everyone is enjoyed to make sure that result sheets come to the polling units with the electoral officers, any polling unit officer who has any reason at all not to come with the result sheet should be resisted and seen as an agent of subversion of electoral will.
“No matter whatever time that the voting ends, the votes must be counted at the polling units, results announced there and given to the agents of the parties and the results uploaded. For no reason at all should results not be uploaded, even if it means that people will sleep there till the following day.
“I enjoin all residents to remain resilient; vigilance is the prize of liberty. I ask all voters, all observers to make sure that the right things are done.
“From the polling units, proceed to collation centres; if they say there is no light, everyone should arrange for light; on no account should results move from the collation centres unless they are collated and announced.
“Freedom march will happen in Enugu, on Saturday into Sunday morning, into Monday morning if necessary until the results are announced.”
LP optimistic of victory
Meanwhile, Edeoga, who is certain that the LP will win the election, told Enugu voters to wrestle power through a democratic means from the cabal who he said had fed fat on the resources of the people.
He said the preference for the LP “was expressed in the manner the good people of Enugu State voted during the Presidential/National Assembly election. We all saw the clear outcome where Labour Party won seven out of the 8 House of Reps seats
“Out of the two Senatorial seats, LP won one, while the other one, the matter is already in court, because there was obvious and clear evidence of over-voting.
“The other one, Enugu East, the victory of LP was aborted by the assassination and incineration of the corpse of our Senatorial candidate, Oyibo Chukwu; there was no doubt whether he would have won, that is why pundits link his elimination to the position.
“I urged the good people of Enugu State to come out en-masse and vote for the liberation of our dear State.”
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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