Politics

APGA Guber Candidate, Nweke Reveals How PDP Plans To Rig Enugu Election

Published

3 years ago

March 3, 2023

Editor

The governorship candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, in Enugu State, Mr. Frank Nweke Jr., on Friday, alleged that the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has perfected plans to rig the March 11 governorship election.

Recall that the PDP suffered a heavy defeat during Saturday’s Presidential and National Assembly elections in the State.

Nweke, who spoke to journalists at his campaign office, said he had alerted all the various arms of security agencies.

He alleged that there were plans by the PDP in Enugu State “to compromise INEC officials and adhoc staff to bypass the use of BVAS and generally disrupt the governorship and house of assembly elections in the state through the use of thugs to cause mayhem, with a view to dispersing voters at polling units in order to have opportunity to rig the elections, subvert the will of the people to achieve victory at all costs.”

He said since suffering massive losses across the state on February 25, 2023, “the PDP has held series of meetings at various locations to perfect their nefarious plans to ensure that they disrupt the electoral process, compromise INEC staff and deploy maximum violence.

“A source that attended the meetings reported that they lamented that they were falsely led into believing that BVAS was impregnable by INEC and that manual voting was impossible.

“According to them, events in Port Harcourt and some parts of the country had demonstrated otherwise, and that they must now take advantage of it by deploying sums of money to compromise INEC staff, buy votes and cause maximum violence to scare voters who do not vote for them and intimidate others into voting for them against their will.

“They have therefore resolved to buy INEC staff to sabotage the elections as described above, and also to specifically ensure that the original result sheets are neither brought to the polling units nor the ward and local government collation centres.

“Since the IREV malfunctioned last Saturday, they reasoned that they would calmly write new results when the representatives of other political parties disperse at various collation centres in the belief that results had been announced.”

Nweke mentioned a female INEC staff, who he said had for several years been the liaison between the PDP and INEC officials.

“It would appear that the relationship has been groomed for years in preparation for this election.

“We have also been informed that sums running into hundreds of millions have been exchanged over the years and through third-party agents to conceal the money trail,” he claimed.

He added that the said INEC was under obligation to do everything in her power to ensure the declaration of Peter Mbah as the next Governor of Enugu State.

“Currently, INEC maintains a secret office at a located at Independence Layout for this purpose.

“They have also reportedly recruited the security agencies into their plot. The role of the security services is purportedly for them not to show up when they start causing mayhem at polling units and collation centres until they have accomplished their wicked plans.

“Furthermore, they have secured substantial numbers of ‘election duty’ stickers and plan to use that to evade security by moving around in vehicles on which these stickers are pasted.

“They have also produced Security Systems Uniforms for thugs to disguise as escorts to INEC personnel from the point of dispatch to a pre-arranged location where rigging will be carried out using the non-collected PVCs of voters across the 17 Local Government Areas.”

He vowed that the APGA in Enugu would do all that is possible “to guarantee the safety of our people, ensure that you exercise your right to vote on March 11 and see that your vote is protected.

“We will not take lightly any plans to subvert or abuse the democratic process.”

But reacting, the Director of Communications/Spokesperson

Enugu PDP Campaign Council, Barr. Nana Ogbodo said Nweke was already giving excuses for his expected abysmal performance in the forthcoming election.

The party described Nweke’s allegations as a disingenuous effort at preemptive excuses for his expected abysmal outing in the election.

It said Nweke’s impact on the March 11 polls “ends with making preposterous conjectures, nothing that the race is clearly above his ken as he has all the while been boxing above his weight.”

The party said Nweke had only succeeded in making the ballot papers longer than necessary.

The statement read in part: “We would ordinarily not dignify Nweke with a response because his impact on the forthcoming general elections begins and ends with congesting and making the ballot papers longer than necessary.

“He is therefore only laying the formwork of excuses for his expected abysmal outing in the governorship poll.

“Nweke went into APGA ostensibly on the wrong permutation that PDP’s governorship ticket would go outside Nkanu land so he could harvest from the expected anger of the people. Unfortunately for him, events mocked at his foresight as that was not to be.

“We therefore advise Nweke to climb down from this high horse and first present himself for a popularity test in his hometown, Ozalla, before pursuing an illusionary governorship ambition.

“Perhaps, as a former Minister of Information, who defended perceived electoral deficits in the 2007 election and engaged in hot exchanges with the then Senate President, Ken Nnamani and the international communities on the conduct of the election in Enugu or as former Chief of Staff, who may have meddled with the electoral processes as he alluded in his press release, Nweke is still unaware that the Electoral Act 2022 has effectively put a stop to whatever ignoble roles he might have been playing in the past.

“We also reckon that Nweke, who has been a senior stakeholder and a major beneficiary of successive PDP governments until March 2022 when he embarked on his delusional governorship voyage on the platform of APGA will ultimately return to the umbrella after his crushing defeat on March 11.”

Politics

Tinubu Under Fire Over Presidential Pardon For Drug Offenders

Published

1 day ago

October 13, 2025

Editor

Opposition parties and political figures, including the African Democratic Congress and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, have condemned President Bola Tinubu’s recent decision to grant presidential pardons to dozens of convicted criminals, including drug traffickers, describing the move as a grave setback to Nigeria’s anti-drug campaign and a dangerous affront to justice and morality.

The Presidency on Saturday released a detailed list of 175 individuals granted the 2025 presidential pardon, among them the late nationalist Herbert Macaulay, the late Major General Mamman Vatsa, and Maryam Sanda, who was sentenced to death for killing her husband.

The pardon, which also included presidential clemency, covered more than 30 convicted drug offenders and several others jailed for crimes such as homicide, fraud, and illegal mining. The development has sparked widespread criticism and debate across the country.

In a statement on Sunday, ADC National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, described the move as “pathetic and a national disgrace,” arguing that it undermines the nation’s war against drugs, encourages criminality, and damages Nigeria’s international reputation.

“The African Democratic Congress finds as pathetic and an act of immense national disgrace the recent presidential pardon and clemency granted to several convicted criminals by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” the statement read.

“It amounts to a most irresponsible abuse of the presidential power of prerogative of mercy to grant express pardon to dozens of convicts held for drug trafficking, smuggling, and related offences—especially when most of these convicts have barely served two years in jail for crimes that attract life imprisonment.”

The party said the decision sends a disturbing message that remorse and token rehabilitation are now sufficient grounds for freedom, even for serious crimes.

“According to official statements, it appears that all it takes to get presidential clemency for even the worst of crimes in Nigeria—including drug trafficking, gun running, and murder—is to show remorse and learn skills,” ADC said.

It added that the purpose of pardon and clemency is to correct miscarriages of justice and reintegrate those who have genuinely paid their debt to society, not to excuse dangerous offenders.

“We wonder what Nigeria stands to gain from this act of clemency to convicts serving life sentences who have barely served two years.

“For years, NDLEA officers have risked life and limb to combat this problem,” the party said. “Granting clemency to individuals convicted under such laws makes a mockery of their sacrifice and gives the world the impression that Nigeria, under President Tinubu, is sympathetic to drug dealers and a safe haven for traffickers.”

Also, Atiku said the pardon had “rightly sparked nationwide outrage.”

Atiku said while the presidential power of mercy is intended to balance justice with compassion, its misuse weakens confidence in the rule of law.

“Regrettably, the latest pardon issued by the Tinubu administration has done the very opposite,” Atiku said. “Extending clemency to individuals convicted of grave crimes such as drug trafficking, kidnapping, murder, and corruption diminishes the sanctity of justice and sends a dangerous signal to both the public and the international community.”

He described the decision as “shocking and indefensible” at a time when Nigeria is grappling with insecurity, moral decay, and a surge in drug-related crimes.

“Particularly worrisome,” he added, “is the revelation that 29.2 per cent of those pardoned were convicted for drug-related offences, even as our youth are being destroyed by narcotics and our nation continues to battle the global stigma of drug offences.”

In a pointed criticism, Atiku said the pardon raises “moral irony” given the lingering questions about Tinubu’s past in relation to a U.S. drug-related forfeiture case, noting that “it is therefore no surprise that this administration continues to show tolerance for individuals associated with criminal enterprise.”

“A presidential pardon should symbolise restitution and moral reform. Instead, what we have witnessed is a mockery of the criminal justice system, an affront to victims, and a demoralization of law enforcement.

“Clemency must never be confused with complicity. When a government begins to absolve offenders of the very crimes it claims to be fighting, it erodes moral authority and emboldens lawlessness.”

Atiku called for a review of the clemency process to ensure transparency, fairness, and respect for public interest, insisting that “Nigeria needs leaders who defend justice, not those who undermine it.”

Politics

Umahi Fires Back At Makinde Over Lagos-Calabar Highway Cost

Published

3 days ago

October 11, 2025

Editor

The Minister of Works, David Umahi, has fired back at Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, over his recent comments questioning the cost per kilometre of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, insisting that the governor misunderstood the technical details of road construction and cost evaluation.

Speaking during an inspection tour of the Keffi Bridge and the Nasarawa–Toto Road projects, alongside the state governor, Abdullahi Sule, on Saturday, Umahi said the cost of the highway had been carefully computed in line with global engineering standards and should not be reduced to “political soundbites.”

Governor Makinde had queried the minister’s estimated figures on the cost per kilometre of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, which is one of the signature infrastructure projects of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

Makinde, who spoke at an event in a viral video on Friday, said there was no need for the Minister of Works, David Umahi, to be “dancing around the cost” of the project.

He said, “These are elementary questions. And it makes no sense (sic). A process is ongoing, payment has been made, and you are saying, ‘How has this money been utilised?. The money is meant for the project, and it will be paid according to the work done.

Responding to the inspection tour, the former Ebonyi governor described Makinde as “a brother and friend” but said it was improper for him to publicly accuse him of “dancing around” figures.

“I heard that my brother and friend, Governor Makinde of Oyo state, said something about the cost per kilometre. I don’t want to join issues with him. I think he is an engineer, I think he is an electrician, they call it ‘elect-elect’. But this road construction matter, ‘elect-elect no reach there’,” Umahi said.

He continued, “I am his senior both in governance and in engineering practice. So, anything he doesn’t understand, he should call me and ask. I have great respect for him as my friend and brother, but he should withdraw the statement that I’m dancing around. I never danced around. If he insists, he should come for a debate, which is very important.”

Defending the project further, Umahi explained that there was no ambiguity in determining the cost per kilometre, stressing that it must be understood in both estimated and average terms.

“There is no ambiguity in cost per kilometre,” he said. “I am teaching them that cost per kilometre can be divided into estimated cost, which has elements of variance, and average cost, which is definitive. The average cost of a definitive project and the estimated cost are probable elements.”

He explained that the estimated cost includes allowances for contingencies and variation of price, which may not eventually be utilised.

“When the project is completed, and you remove what you didn’t use, such as contingencies and VOP, then you have your actual cost,” he added.

Umahi expressed amusement that some critics had resorted to asking Artificial Intelligence to explain the difference between estimated and average cost, only for the AI’s response to align with his explanation.

“When somebody who is dangling without knowledge goes to ask AI what the difference is between cost per kilometre and average cost, I’m happy that AI told him exactly what I said,” the minister quipped.

He also cited the National Universities Commission’s clarification on who qualifies as a professor, noting that practical experience in the field also counts as expertise.

“I’m happy that the NUC programme on who is a professor also made me right. You can become a professor by the reason of your practice. And I think God has made me one when it comes to practical, field engineering programmes, that’s what it is; you can’t take it back,” Umahi said.

Politics

Enugu Gov Mbah Set to Dump PDP

Published

4 days ago

October 10, 2025

Editor

Enugu State Governor Peter Mbah is set to dump the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, for the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, next week.

National Chairman and Deputy National Chairman, South-East, of the APC, Nentawe Goshwe Yilwatda and Emma Eneukwu, respectively, broke the news in Abuja on Friday.

The APC national leadership revealed Mbah’s imminent defection to the ruling party while swearing in the newly inaugurated members of the Enugu State caretaker committee, led by former state chairman, Ben Nwoye, at the party’s national headquarters in Abuja.

The governor is expected to announce his defection at an event schedule to hold in the state next week.

Chairman of the newly inaugurated caretaker committee, Nwoye, who confirmed the development, said the governor will join the ruling party alongside all his appointees.

There are speculations that Taraba State Governor, Agbu Kefas, is also set to join APC.