Politics
24 Hours After Atiku’s Ekiti Rally, PDP Factions Trade Blames Over Division
Published
3 years agoon
By
Editor
Barely twenty-four hours after the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar held his presidential campaign rally in Ekiti State, factions in the local chapter of the party are trading blames on the success or otherwise of Tuesday’s rally.
The rally was boycotted by former Governor Ayo Fayose, seven out of nine National Assembly candidates, many House of Assembly candidates and other leaders who are aggrieved over the current situation in the party.
The division in the party came to the fore during a radio programme on Wednesday monitored by DAILY POST in which the PDP Publicity Secretary in the state, Mr. Raphael Adeyanju and one of the media handlers of Fayose, Mr. Omotoso Okeya appeared as guests.
While Adeyanju claimed that the Atiku’s campaign rally in Ekiti “was a huge success,” Okeya, countered that the rally “was nothing to write home about as the division in the party which was responsible for its loss in the last governorship election was yet to be addressed.”
Faulting Adeyanju’s claim that the presidential campaign rally was a success, Okeya revealed that Fayose, seven National Assembly candidates and many House of Assembly candidates boycotted the rally because they were held in contempt by the party’s leadership who believed that “they were not important in the party.”
READ ALSO: 2023: Atiku, Tinubu In Fresh Battle Over Health Issues, Alleged Corruption
Okeya also disclosed that many party faithful especially those in Fayose’s camp shunned the rally because they were shortchanged by the national leadership of the party in arriving at the choice of the Presidential Campaign Committee (PCC) members and the way and manner funds were disbursed for the exercise.
The ex-governor’s loyalist added that admittance of Social Democratic Party (SDP) members into the PDP and giving them roles in the local PCC has been creating bad blood within the local chapter, having not shown remorse for working against the party in the last governorship election which contributed to a woeful third position at the poll.
But Adeyanju countered by holding Fayose and his loyalists responsible for the dismal performance of the PDP at the 2022 governorship poll accusing the former governor of “selling out the party to the opposition.”
The Ekiti PDP spokesman said the party had no choice but to make overtures to members who defected to SDP to return to their former party to make it stronger ahead of the forthcoming general elections and avert another poor performance if it goes into the election in its present state.
Adeyanju said the SDP members were accepted back into the party on the strength of the fact that the party came second in the governorship election noting that the return would strengthen the PDP for a strong showing in the forthcoming polls.
Okeya fired back by saying it would be foolhardy for anyone to believe that the SDP members would be working for the PDP when their party (SDP) has presidential, National Assembly and State Assembly candidates like PDP insisting that their interest would be in the flag bearers of their party.
He said: “There was nothing to celebrate about the (Atiku’s) rally of yesterday (Tuesday). Apart from former Governor Fayose, out of nine National Assembly candidates, only two were there while seven of them were conspicuously absent so it was not only Fayose that was not there.
“Absolute majority of the candidates were not there and that’s one thing you need to understand. I found it extremely difficult why some people are deceiving themselves, why some people are celebrating the presidential rally. Is presidential rally the ultimate?
“We could still recollect what happened during the last governorship election, the PDP lost woefully when we should have sat down. We should have ruminated over the likely causes of that poor performance. Then we can now ask ourselves have we addressed some of the reasons led us to that poor performance? The answer is no.
“The lingering crisis in the PDP has not been resolved, the PDP had not identified the problems that made the party to come a distant third at the last governorship election. Comparing yesterday’s rally with the one held in 2019, you will see that it was nothing to write home about.”
Adeyanju said: “I agree that we have factions in the party, we have identified the crisis and we are trying to solve it. Do you know that our votes were divided into two in the last governorship election in the state?
“The people who felt aggrieved by the management of our party broke away to the SDP and we thought that if we had allowed them remain in that SDP, there was no way any of our candidates can win the forthcoming elections.
READ ALSO: Ex- APC Chairman, Hundreds Of Party Supporters Join PDP In Abia
“Those who are in APC are still in APC and the majority of our party members are in SDP. Are you telling me that the remaining people in PDP can still win elections for your candidates at the grassroots level? The fact is that we need those people (in SDP) to come back home so that we can recover the votes that we lost the other time.
“That is what we have just done that those who went to SDP, we need to call them together so that we can have a common front. Are you telling me that with the present state of PDP without SDP members, can we win the election? We need to bring them back and if we have done that, what wrong have we done?”
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Politics
Marafa’s Loyalists Quit APC, Cite Neglect Of Zamfara
Published
8 hours agoon
August 29, 2025By
Editor
Supporters of former Zamfara Central Senator, Kabiru Marafa, have announced their resignation from the All Progressives Congress, citing what they described as injustice, marginalisation and deliberate neglect of the state by the ruling party and President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
The group, operating under the aegis of the Senator Kabiru Marafa Consultative Forum, met in Kaduna on Wednesday and Thursday, August 27 and 28, 2025, to deliberate on the worsening political, security and developmental situation in the state.
At the end of the meeting, the forum issued a communique signed by its chairman, Bashir Mafara, secretary Mannir Tsafe, and seven others, formally announcing their exit from the APC.
The communique partly read, “After broad consultations and critical review of the prevailing circumstances, the political structure of Distinguished Senator Kabiru Garba Marafa OFR, CON across the 147 wards in Zamfara State unanimously resolved as follows:
READ ALSO:Ekiti 2026: APC Aspirant Slams Oyebanji For Threatening Party Leaders
“The entire structure with all its supporters hereby formally resigns from the All Progressives Congress in protest against the sustained injustice, mistrust, marginalisation, and deliberate neglect of Zamfara State and its people.
“That we shall, in due course, announce our next political direction, guided by the collective interest of the good people of Zamfara State.”
The group expressed concern over the deteriorating security situation in the state, pointing to official data and community reports on rising kidnappings and killings.
“The Federal Government of Nigeria, under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR, hasn’t been able to address the persistent and senseless kidnappings and killings of innocent citizens in Zamfara State, despite the explicit promises made during the 2023 presidential campaign.
READ ALSO:Police Arrest Pastor, Wife Over Staged Self-kidnap In Ondo
“The situation continues to worsen, leaving communities devastated and hopeless,” they said.
The group claimed that reports indicate that out of the 4,722 people kidnapped over one year in Nigeria in 2024, 1,203 are from Zamfara State, followed by Kaduna State with 629.
It added that the Zamfara Circle Community Initiatives reported that 25 villages suffered attacks in one week after the just concluded by-election, with 145 people kidnapped and 21 killed.
The senator’s loyalists also accused the government of politicising insecurity for electoral gains.
On the alleged marginalisation of Zamfara in political appointments and projects, the communique added, “Despite the fact that Zamfara State was one of only two states in the entire North-West geopolitical zone that delivered victory to President Bola Tinubu during the 2023 presidential election spearheaded by Distinguished Senator Kabiru Garba Marafa OFR, CON as State Coordinator which the President himself categorically acknowledged during his speech shortly after his declaration as the winner of the 2023 election by INEC, the state has been sidelined in all facets of human developments including protection of lives and properties, infrastructural developments as well as fair representation in political appointments.
READ ALSO:APC Disowns Members Calling For State Secretary’s Resignation
“The state was given only a Minister of State, while most states in the Northwest got two slots.
“But more unfair is the allocation given to the Southwest that corners the entire financial sector, with some states getting multiple ministerial slots and countless agencies.
“For example, Lagos state, where President Tinubu lost the election, has enjoyed overwhelming patronage in terms of appointments and developmental projects, underscoring the deliberate marginalisation of Zamfara state, where Mr. President won.”
READ ALSO:Group Demands Edo APC Secretary Resignation Over Alleged Marginalision
The forum concluded by accusing the APC leadership of betraying its founding principles of fairness and justice.
“The above actions and omissions negate the fundamental principles of justice, fairness, equity and accountability upon which the APC was founded.
“Conscience demands that genuine progressives must stand for truth and resist injustice, no matter how uncomfortable,” it said.

Human rights activist, Deji Adeyanju, has explained why he would prefer President Bola Tinubu to Peter Obi if both men were to contest against each other in the 2027 elections.
Adeyanju, who spoke during an interview on Channels Television on Friday, said his position was not out of loyalty to the ruling All Progressives Congress, but a reflection of his personal convictions about democracy, tolerance, and political conduct.
“Why would somebody like me support the APC? Support the APC for what? If the opposition presents Peter Obi, I will vote Tinubu.
“This is because we cannot have a situation where, a man whose supporters cannot tolerate criticism, call people all sorts of names.
“Anybody who does not support their candidate is an enemy of Nigeria. Anybody that does not support the candidate has been paid, has been compromised in supporting the government.”
READ ALSO: Obi Blames Tinubu For 70% Investment Crash
The activist rejected claims that he was working with the APC to weaken the opposition, insisting that his political interventions had always been consistent and independent.
He recalled that in previous elections he had voted for different candidates across party lines, based on what he described as his personal judgment of their suitability.
“I have never voted for a bad candidate in my view. In 1999, I voted for Obasanjo. In 2011, I voted for Goodluck Jonathan. In 2015, I voted for Jonathan again because I couldn’t support Buhari, and in 2023, I voted for Omoyele Sowore,” Adeyanju said.
According to him, his decision to oppose Obi stems largely from his experience with the behaviour of some of Obi’s supporters during the last election.
He alleged that many of them resorted to online attacks and intimidation of those with dissenting views.
“What we are saying is that we must sanitise our polity, that we cannot have a country where people who terrorise others who do not appreciate that people have their rights.
READ ALSO:‘Na Only People You Gave Work Love You,’ Singer Speed Darlington Tells Tinubu
“Look at what they did to Joke Silva during the election. They had artists and Nollywood people supporting them. Nobody terrorised those people.
“But they terrorised that woman, and other people, because she decided to support Tinubu in the last election. People have the right, I have the right.”
Adeyanju stressed that opposition politics in Nigeria could only succeed if there was unity among the major players, warning that a divided front would always favour the APC.
He recalled that he initially found Obi’s candidacy “exciting,” particularly as it represented a chance for the South-East to aspire to the presidency. However, he said his enthusiasm waned as the campaign progressed.
“The idea of Obi’s candidacy excited me because the South-East has not produced a president since independence,” he said.
READ ALSO:2027: You Will Lose 80% Of Northern Muslim Votes If…, APC Forum Warns Tinubu
Adeyanju noted however, that he couldn’t reconcile with some of the things he observed in the movement.
He further argued that his activism over the years had been about defending democracy and free expression, even at personal cost. He noted that he had faced multiple arrests in the past under different administrations because of his advocacy.
“We have put our lives on the line for this country, for the preservation of democracy, at personal expense of prosecution. What kind of charges have we not faced in this country? At the time, I was almost charged with terrorism. They’ve charged me for all kinds of offences in this country,” he said.
He added that his decision to take a firm stance against Obi should not be mistaken for partisanship, emphasising that he remained committed to issue-based politics.
According to him, he is just expressing his views as a Nigerian. He noted that his opposition to Obi does not mean support for APC.
“Because we cannot have a situation in our country or in our polity where political extremism becomes the order of the day. And Nigerians are living witnesses to the things that eventually happened to the build-up of the last election,” he said.
Politics
Edo PDP Knocks Okpebholo Over ₦2.5b Donation To UBTH
Published
2 days agoon
August 27, 2025By
Editor
Edo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has condemned the approval of ₦2.5 billion to the University of Benin Teaching Hospital by Governor Monday Okpebholo.
The Governor announced the approval on Tuesday when the new Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Idia Ize-Iyamu, paid a courtesy visit to him in Government House, Benin.
Ize-Iyamu had requested the state government’s assistance in constructing a world-class Paediatric Centre worth N2.5 billion which the governor approved.
However, the PDP, in a statement by its Caretaker Committee Publicity Secretary, Chris Nehikhare said the governor should have invested the money on state-owned hospitals instead of a federal institution.
READ ALSO:He Could Barely Garner 300,000 Votes, Yet Promising Tinubu 2.5m Votes, PDP Mocks Okpehbolo
The statement statement partly reads, “This misadventure is not only reckless but a glaring example of the 2027 election fixation and desperate eye-service politics that has defined Okpebholo’s almost one year in office.
“Edo people are being made to suffer while their resources are squandered on federal facilities that are not the primary responsibility of the state.
“We align with the position of the Association of Resident Doctors under Edo State Government Employment, who have openly decried this misplaced priority. Their statement exposes what Edo people already know, our hospitals are collapsing, yet the Governor prefers to chase cheap popularity.”
The PDP said that Stella Obasanjo Hospital, which was rebuilt with state funds, remained locked with less than a tenth in use, wondering why the ₦2.5 billion was not channelled there.
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The statement added, “The Edo Specialist Hospital continues to cry for expansion and adequate support but has been ignored by a government obsessed with pleasing political benefactors and seeking headlines.
“The General Hospital in Abudu is no more than a mere patent medicine store, and yet, ‘₦2.5 billion that belongs to Odogwu is being given to Caesar.”
The PDP also noted that Edo doctors, who only recently suspended their strike, still have their legitimate demands unmet.
“Edo people obviously did not elect a Governor to act as a philanthropist to federal institutions. They elected a leader to fix our hospitals, build capacity, and ensure access to healthcare for all. By neglecting this sacred duty, Okpebholo has shown that he is unprepared, unserious, and out of touch with the realities of Edo citizens.
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“We in the PDP demand that this decision be reversed and that urgent attention be given to Edo-owned hospitals which directly serve our people. Edo deserves working hospitals, not political monuments built with eyes on the 2027 elections.
“This is not leadership. This is a reckless waste. And Edo people will not forget,” the statement added.
Efforts to get the government’s response proved futile, as a top official, who pleaded anonymity, said that a response will come on Thursday.
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