Politics

APC’ll Lose Edo Gov Poll Like Kano Defeat – PDP

Published

2 years ago

January 17, 2024

The Peoples Democratic Party, on Tuesday, told the All Progressives Congress to perish its thought of reclaiming Edo State in the upcoming September 21, 2024 governorship election.

The PDP was reacting to the vow by the APC National Chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje, and ex-Edo governor, Senator Adams Oshiomhole, that they were determined to reclaim Edo State, adding that the state belongs to the party.

While mocking Ganduje, the PDP said he and the APC were defeated in Kano State in the last governorship election, so would they be shamed in the upcoming Edo poll.

Ahead of the governorship election, the APC has fixed its primary to pick its governorship candidate for February 17.

The APC, through its Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Duro Mesoko, announced on Tuesday that the party had opted for direct primaries to produce its governorship candidate for the state.

Mesoko said, “After due consultations with Edo State APC stakeholders, the NWC has approved direct primaries as the mode of election to be used to produce the governorship candidate of the party for the state.”

The PDP, on its part, will pick its governorship candidate at a congress scheduled for February 22.

Speaking at a stakeholders’ meeting late Monday night in Abuja, the APC National Chairman, Ganduje, said the party was ready to reclaim Edo State.

The APC was the ruling party in Edo State until 2020 when Governor Godwin Obaseki defected to the PDP and won his second-term election on the opposition party’s platform.

Ganduje, speaking on Monday in Abuja, said, “Edo is an APC state. Now we have to take Edo back. We have only one state from the South-South for the greatest party in Africa, it’s not acceptable. We were able to get only Cross River State. After crossing so many rivers, we succeeded in getting Cross River State. But Edo State, we must get it,” he said.

Ganduje declared that it would not be business as usual, adding that the APC was a progressive party with clear-cut objectives.

He stated, “We have to improve our internal democracy; we have to deepen and widen it. We need to understand the party and its manifesto; its rules and regulations. We need to understand its philosophy. We need to move towards having a party ideology so that we will not be an ordinary political association whereby everybody can come in just to win the election. You have to believe in the doctrine of the party, become a full member of the party.

“To widen it, we need to increase our followership. So internal democracy is very very important. We have to be transparent and at the same time, we have to also adopt a guided democracy where we can discuss issues so that we limit, if possible, the number of contests. Even though it’s not a crime if we have a large number, the party will get more revenue but that’s not the issue.”

On the number of APC Edo governorship aspirants, Ganduje said, “The issue is that if we can leave it through agreement, the better for us.

“Some know that at this material time, maybe because of the location; maybe because of some antecedents, they may not be the best candidate at the moment. That doesn’t mean they will never be a good candidate but through that consensus, we will be able to narrow down so that we have candidates.”

Also speaking, Oshiomhole alleged that the APC’s defeat in the 2020 governorship was caused by some party members.

He said, “We are particularly determined; as you can see, everybody here has a robust past and even present. We are determined to reclaim Edo State. I used the word reclaim because Edo is ours. We lost it due to several factors some of which were caused by some APC elements.

“Nobody needs to lecture Mr Chairman on this because even as a governor of Kano State you offered to lead the last campaign and even relocated. Almost all the Kano State executive council members relocated to Benin for days just to ensure that the last governorship election that we won it, but unfortunately not everybody believes in party participation to the extent that you did.

“On our part, we have tried to initiate dialogue among our aspirants. It is no secret, that at the time we had the dialogue, I think they (aspirants) were 27. I learned it has increased to 29 now. The process is ongoing, and the struggle continues. So we are looking forward to a healthy celebration.”

But reacting, the PDP Deputy National Youth Leader,Timothy Osadolor, said Ganduje and Oshiomhole were living in the past.

The Edo State PDP chieftain said the APC and other political parties would come far behind in the poll.

He said, “The man, Comrade Aliyu Oshiomhole, is the man giving you the big and bogus talks. He should know that that era is long gone. That era was brought to an end by Oshiomhole himself and his dictatorial and godfatherism tendencies.

“The Edo people are a Republican set of people. They don’t bow to godfathers. They don’t take any nonsense from anybody who wants to serve as an overlord. The only overlord the Benin people recognise aside from God Almighty, I think is the Oba of Benin; every other person is equal before them.

“As such, if you need anything from them (Edo people), you must have the power of conviction and persuasion and not the power of coercion. The minute you start using coercion or intimidation, rest assured that the Edo man in every Edo man will rise and defeat you and that is what has happened to the APC.

“Ganduje and Oshiomhole are still living in the past. Edo is PDP, and PDP is Edo. As we speak today, 192 councillors in the last elections in the 192 wards were cleared by the PDP. The 18 local government councils of the 18 local governments in the Edo State were claimed by the PDP. It had never happened like that in the history of Edo State since 1999. So it shows an overwhelming confidence and capacity and belief in the PDP family by the Edo people.

“Let me remind Comrade Oshiomhole and his adventurous friend from Kano, Ganduje, and the APC that Edo is not Lagos.”

He queried how Ganduje who couldn’t win Kano for the APC, would win Edo for the party.

Osadolor added, “Edo people will vote for the PDP again and again because they are enjoying good governance today. Yes, the quality of roads, the quality of the health care facilities, and the primary health care facilities speak volumes. And the worldwide recognitions by world bodies speak volumes. And the governor in his frugal nature has made sure Edo is one of the most sustainable, most vibrant states economically in Nigeria today. So, all of these are things that are credited to PDP in Edo.”

Politics

2027: Daniel-Abiodun Feud Deepens Over Senatorial Ticket For Ogun East

Published

18 hours ago

May 13, 2026

Editor

… as Govt accuses Daniel of demonising consensus arrangement that made him Senator

…I will defeat Abiodun in free, fair primary – Daniel boasted

The rift between Governor Dapo Abiodun and the Senator representing Ogun East Senatorial District, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, deepened yesterday as the state government accused the senator of opposing the same consensus arrangement that paved the way for his emergence as the district’s senatorial candidate in 2023.

Daniel, despite the unanimous endorsement of Abiodun by some leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the zone as the party’s consensus candidate for the senatorial seat, still went ahead to obtain the party’s nomination and expression of interest forms to contest for a return to the Senate in the 2027 elections.

As at Tuesday, the party leaders also formerly formally presented and endorsed the governor as the consensus candidate of the zone for the 2027 senatorial election, describing the endorsement as a collective decision aimed at ensuring quality representation and sustaining party unity in the district.

However, Daniel argued that only a transparent and credible primary could settle the tussle between him and Abiodun to clinch the senatorial ticket of the party, expressing confidence that he would beat the governor in a free and fair primary election.

“Without any doubt, in a free and fair primary, I will not just win, I will win overwhelmingly” he said.

But, speaking on the development, yesterday, the Special Adviser on Media and Strategy to the Governor, Kayode Akinmade, accused the former governor and of demonising the same process of consensus arrangement that made him Senator simply because it no longer aligns with his personal ambition.

Akinmade expressed shocked that Daniel could resort to what he described as ” cheap propaganda and outright falsehood” move against the decision of the party because of his personal ambition after immensely benefited from the consensus arrangement that made him Senator in 2023.

“Daniel is simply fighting the same consensus arrangement and party structure that produced him as senator in 2023. It is shocking that someone who benefited immensely from the collective decision of the party is now demonising the same process simply because it no longer aligns with his personal ambition.

“The governor ensured a peaceful consensus arrangement that paved the way for Daniel’s emergence as the APC senatorial candidate. It is therefore ironic that the same individual now seeks to discredit the party and its leadership merely because he could not have his way politically,” he added.

Akinmade urged the people of the state particularly in Ijebuland from Ogun East Senatorial District to remain appreciative of the developmental strides of the Abiodun administration, especially in infrastructure renewal and road rehabilitation.

“Everybody in the state, especially in Ijebuland, appreciates the modest achievements of Governor Dapo Abiodun. Most of the deplorable roads abandoned by previous administrations have now been fixed, while about 29 major road projects have been completed in Ijebu Ode alone,” he said.

The SA also faulted the former governor’s comparison of federal allocations received during his tenure as governor with those accruing to the current administration, accusing him of deliberately ignoring prevailing economic realities and the sharp depreciation of the naira.
(GUARDIAN)

Politics

2027: APC Clears Delta Speaker, Disqualifies 36 Aspirants

Published

19 hours ago

May 13, 2026

Editor

The All Progressives Congress, APC, in Delta State has cleared the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Dennis Guwor and 45 others for the Assembly election primaries.

The party announced this after a two-day screening of aspirants at the APC Secretariat in Asaba.

The screening committee released the result in a statement signed by its Chairman, Dr Uche Uzochukwu, and Secretary, Dr Chiedozie Nwafor, and made available to the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, in Asaba, on Wednesday.

According to the committee, 82 aspirants appeared before the panel ahead of the party’s primary election.

It disclosed that 46 aspirants sailed through after detailed verification of the credentials and eligibility requirements.

The committee, however, disqualified 36 aspirants over alleged irregularities and violations of party guidelines.

It explained that Guwor emerged as the only aspirant cleared for Warri South-West.

Of the number, 17 serving lawmakers of the eighth Assembly seeking to renew their mandate were also cleared for the APC primaries, three former commissioners also secured clearance to continue in the race.

They include Funyei Manager (Bomadi), Harry Trakirlowei (Patani), and Orode Uduaghan (Warri North).

The committee listed attempt to induce and bribe panel members among reasons for the disqualifications, while others were accused of submitting unsworn affidavits and failing to present their Permanent Voter Cards.

Some aspirants were also disqualified for failing to provide valid APC membership slips as well as inconsistencies in dates of birth and differences in names on official documents.

The committee also accused some aspirants of failing to confirm payment of party dues.

According to the committee, some nomination forms contained irregular membership numbers and insufficient ward nominators.

The committee also raised concerns over alleged violations of zoning arrangements in some constituencies.

It warned that ignoring zoning agreements could affect the party’s chances during the 2027 General Elections.

The committee said that some aspirants failed to resign from political appointments as required under the Electoral Act.

Others allegedly submitted multiple or invalid affidavits that did not properly disclose facts about their records and certificates.

The committee maintained that the exercise was transparent and strictly guided by APC rules and the Electoral Act.

“The committee carried out its responsibilities with fairness, diligence, and utmost commitment to the integrity of the party.

“We ensured that only aspirants, who met the constitutional and procedural requirements of the APC, were cleared to proceed,” the statement said.

The statement further explained that the screening aimed to strengthen internal democracy within the party, ahead of the 2027 elections.

It congratulated successful aspirants and urged disqualified contestants not to see the decision as final.

According to the statement, dissatisfied aspirants could approach the party’s Screening Appeal Committee for redress.

NAN

Politics

2027: PDP Amends Timetable Ahead Of Primary Election

Published

19 hours ago

May 13, 2026

Editor

The Taminu Turaki-led faction of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has amended the timetable ahead of the party primary election.

This contained in a statement jointly signed by the fractional National Publicity Secretary, ini Ememobong, and National Organising Secretary, Theophilus Dakas Shan, on Wednesday.

The statement said the amendment became necessary due to appeals from stakeholders and aspirants across the country.

“In response to the appeals from stakeholders and aspirants across the country, the Interim National Working Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party has amended the earlier published timetable for activities culminating in the nomination of candidates activities as follows:

“End of Purchase of forms – 15th May, 2026

“Last date for the submission of completed forms – 18th May, 2026

“Screening of Aspirants – 19th May, 2026.

“Aspirants for National and State Assemblies will be screened at their respective states, while Gubernatorial and Presidential Aspirants will be screened in Abuja.

“Other activities will remain as previously announced,” the statement read.