News

Edo APC Crisis: Group Vows To Resist ‘Executive Rascality’

Published

5 years ago

February 4, 2020

Group known as Joint Forces for the Defence of Democracy in Edo State (JOFDES), has vowed to resist act it tagged “arrogance, unrestrained impunity and gross abuse of office” by the governor of Edo State, Mr. Godwin Obaseki.

JOFDES further vowed to resist any attempt by the “Governor to use his office to continuously incite political violence, harass members of the APC who he perceives are enemies and not in support of his second term ambition.”

A statement signed by co-conveners of the group, Barr Felix Osemwengie Isere, Esq, and Kola Edokpayi, which was delivered by Isere said Obaseki, being governor, does give him the sole power to decide people’s fate.

The statement titled: ‘Governor Godwin Obaseki Orders a Total Clampdown on APC Opposing Voices in Edo State and the National Chairman of the Party: President Buhari Should Save us From a Full Blown Doctorship’, Isere notes that the ‘unnecessary creation of the illusion of political tension in the state is to blackmail Comrade Adams Oshiomhole and every other aspirant.”

He said, “The obvious goal of the unnecessary creation of the illusion of political tension in Edo State is simply to blackmail Comrade Adams Oshiomhole and every other aspirant in Edo State and prevent those willing from pursuing their fundamental human rights of association and assembly and the pursuit of peaceful and lawful ambitions.

“We wish to uphold that being governor does not vest in anybody the suzainreity to decide the fate of others and put them under any duress to support him. Politics is ability to persuade and convince people to support you. Political support is not gotten by force or blackmail, but earned.

“We will resist the crass arrogance, unrestrained impunity and gross abuse of office by executive or sponsored agents. We wish to uphold that being governor does not vest in anybody the suzainreity to decide the fate of others and put them under any duress to support him.”

According to Isere, the Governor has “hidden behind an imaginary fight against Godfatherism to seek to muscle every other possible aspirant in the forthcoming gubernatorial elections.”

On the governor’s recent threat to the National Chairman of APC, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, the legal practitioner declared that the former governor, just like any other citizen of the state, has right to freedom of movement, association and assembly, hence restricting his movement to the state is abuse of his fundamental human rights.

“Comrade Adams Oshiomhole apart from being a former Governor of Edo State and the current and substantive National Chairman of the APC, is a citizen of Edo State who enjoys the inalienable freedom of movement, association and assembly like the Governor and every other person”, he Isere said.

Isere who accused the governor of “promoting thuggery, banditry and harassment of leaders and members of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in the state”, lamented that due to the governor’s intolerance to opposing voices from the party, he has subjected many of the party leaders to asylum seekers in Abuja.

“The Governor, in a desperate quest to get re’-election, has abused the decorum, honour and decency of that exalted office through his reckless statements, threats and directives have promoted barbaric acts of thuggery, banditry and harassment of leaders and members of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in Edo State who he believes are opposed to his quest to retire them from politics and create an exclusive political dynasty for himself in the party where no other person will contest the forthcoming APC primaries in Edo State with him.”

“Paradoxically, the governor has left no one in doubt about his commitment to foisting a political tyranny and imposing a regime of brutal affliction of legitimate and vocal voices in Edo State by his words and actions.

“A number of APC leaders and members are now living in emergency creeks or hibernating as asylum seekers in Nigeria, taking refuge in safer havens such as Abuja, the federal capital territory” he said.

According to him, in the governor’s “desperate quest to get re’-election has abused the decorum, honour and decency of that exalted office through his reckless statements, threats and directives.”

The legal practitioner therefore called on President Muhammadu Buhari, the National Assembly and international community to call the governor of Edo State, Mr. Godwin Obaseki to order “before it is too late.”

Responding, APC spokesperson in the state who is a loyalist of the governor said Oshiomhole is never a man of peace, stressing that his antecedents point to that.

He accused Oshiomhole of causing all the violence experienced in the state of recent.

News

First Female Lawyer In Mid-West Region Is Dead

Published

26 minutes ago

July 12, 2025

Editor

First female lawyer in the old Mid-West region, Grace Ogbemi, is dead.

She died in Lagos at the age of 89 just a week before her 90th birthday.

Before her death, she was a successful Itsekiri businessman and politician.

Born in Warri July 11, 1935 to Chief Reece Edukugho, Madam Grace Ogbemi was called to the English Bar in 1958, becoming the first female lawyer in the Mid-West Region, now Edo and Delta states.

She was a partner in the law firm of Godfrey Amachree Ogbemi & Co.

She got married to Franklin Ogbemi, a Chartered Engineer.

She died on July 5, 2025.

News

Why We Refused To Vote, Opted For Football – Lagos Youths

Published

1 hour ago

July 12, 2025

Editor

While election officials and stakeholders made repeated calls for civic participation in the ongoing local government polls in Lagos, some young residents of Alausa, Ikeja, chose football over voting.

Between 9am and 2pm on Saturday, during the peak of the electioneering process, groups of youths were seen at three different spots in Alausa engrossed in football matches instead of heading to polling units.

When approached by our correspondent, many of them cited a lack of trust in the electoral outcome as the reason for staying away from the polls.

“You can’t force me to vote. I chose to play ball, and why will I vote?” said Ayomikun Ola, one of the youths.

Another young man, Opeyemi Omoemi, was blunt in his response: “We all know that it’s the APC that wins all, as usual. So there is no need for me to disturb myself.”

Wasiu, also found on the field, said, “Bro, there is no need. I am satisfied with the football than the vote.”

Bayo, who joined the game, explained that he was underage. “I haven’t clocked 18, that’s why I didn’t vote. The best is to play football,” he said.

A young woman, Seriki Ganiyat, attending to customers at her shop nearby, said she could not afford to leave her business for the election.

“It’s not necessary. I have children to feed. Imagine if I had to leave my shop to go and vote. What for and what will my children eat this night?” she asked.

Their views reflect a broader pattern of low voter turnout and widespread apathy observed across many polling units.

At Polling Unit 003, Ward 7, only 61 out of 1,000 registered voters had voted as of 1:05pm.

Similarly, at PU 007 of the same ward, only 30 people had cast their ballots by 1pm., while PU 031 had recorded just four voters out of 29 by 1:12 p.m.

At PU 026, only one voter had shown up out of 21 registered. PU 027 recorded just five votes from 62 registered voters by 1:43pm.

In Ward F, PU 011, 45 voters turned up from a total of 908. PU 085 had no votes cast at all by 1:45pm, despite having four registered voters.

Ward C’s PU 004, with 913 registered voters, recorded just 30 ballots as of 1:47pm. At Ward F, PU 036, only 50 out of 986 had voted by 1:51pm.
(PUNCH)

News

JUST IN: Vote Counting Begins In Yaba

Published

1 hour ago

July 12, 2025

Editor

Vote counting has officially commenced at Polling Unit 024 in Ward B, Makoko area of Yaba, Lagos, marking the winding down of the 2025 local government election across the state.

However, the conclusion of the poll has been overshadowed by a pervasive low voter turnout, raising questions about the exercise’s overall impact.

“The lack of voter enthusiasm could impact the credibility and inclusiveness of the exercise,” an election observer noted, reflecting a sentiment shared by many watching the democratic process unfold.

This concern comes as officials at Polling Unit 002, located in the same Ward B, continued to await the arrival of voters even as counting began elsewhere.

Despite a generally peaceful atmosphere reported across various polling units, voter turnout remained significantly low in many parts of Yaba.

At Ward F, 012, situated along Iwaya Road, voting was still ongoing as of press time, with officials describing the turnout as notably lower than anticipated.

Similar reports echoed from other sections of Iwaya, where Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission officials observed a sluggish pace of voting activity throughout the day.

In contrast, Ward G at St. Timothy College presented a more active scene, with multiple polling units—including 001, 002, 003, 004, and 005—conducting voting in an orderly manner.

This provided a glimpse of the organised process, even amidst the broader challenges of voter engagement.

Election observers, while commending the largely calm and disruption-free process, reiterated their concerns that the palpable lack of voter enthusiasm could indeed impact the credibility and inclusiveness of the local government elections.

LASIEC officials have continued their efforts to encourage eligible voters to come out and cast their ballots before the scheduled close of voting at 3pm.
(PUNCH)