Politics

Edo In Serious Crisis, Obaseki Has Destroy Enviable Legacies, APC Laments

Published

3 years ago

October 20, 2022

The Edo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Thursday, alleged that Edo State is in serious crisis due to the continuing destruction of legacy left behind by past administrators.

The party attributed this to bad governance on display by Governor Godwin Obaseki’s poor understanding of democratic governance.

The state chairman of the party, Col David Imuse (retd.), while addressing journalists in Benin, further alleged that “Edo’s glory has been brutalized in the last 6 years by the “confused factional PDP government led by Mr. Godwin Obaseki.”

“In six years, Governor Obaseki has signed more MOUs, partnerships and agreements with individuals and organizations, than any state governor in Nigeria since 1960. Obaseki’s Benin Enterprise and Industrial Park, Gelegele seaport, Ossiomo Power Plant, Ologbo Modular Refinery, Benin Technical College, Edo Tech Park, Edo Innovation Hub, Benin Creative Hub, University of Innovation, Edo North Airport project, EMOWAA are a few of the comical results of these MOUs. Yet Mr. Obaseki who has less than two years in office is proposing a scam he calls 30-year development plan for Edo State with a 2050 result date”, Imuse added.

Besides, he accused Obaseki’s government of boosting the domestic debt of the state since 2016 by N75 billion, exclusive of the State’s foreign debt of over $280 million from available records, making the state the second most indebted state in the country, even as he stated that Governor has just forwarded a bill the State Assembly for additional N25 billion bond to further impoverish generations of Edo citizens yet unborn.

Imuse also told journalists that the Obaseki government has sold the state owned Nigerian Observer Newspaper to his cronies under a dubious Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement, adding that the government was concealing the fact about the position of the Newspaper.

“After failing to set up a Board of Directors for the Newspaper in a record six years, Governor Obaseki closed it down in June 2022, promising to reopen it under one month after restructuring it. But in the last four months, Governor Obaseki has not only autioned it’s press, he has deployed all its staff to various Ministries, turned the Newspaper into an online medium and renamed it ‘ECHO’.

“He also demolished sections of the Newspaper office complex, occupied since 1968, imported a moribund and non-functional printing press with billions of Naira and employed a private individual who has employed a new set of staffs, as Consultant.The truth is Mr. Obaseki has sold the Nigerian Observer to his cronies under a dubious PPP arrangement that will die a natural death soon”, the APC chairman said.

But reacting to the APC’s claim, Edo State Commissioner for Communication and Orientation, Mr. Chris Nehikhare, said Edo was not the second most indebted state.

“On the issue of the most indebted state, it shows how lazy APC is. If you Google, you will know which state is most indebted or the party should contacted Debt Management Office (DMO) to get their facts right”.

He explained that borrowing money was not a bad thing as long as it is to improve the state infrastructure.

On the Observer Newspaper, he said the establishment is still 100 percent owned by the state government, adding that government was reorganising the Npaper and giving out to new management in order to make it competitive with other private media outfits in the country.

The Commissioner, while describing the APC as ‘unserious party’, urged it to do more research on how to be an opposition party.

Politics

Fubara: Mistakes Of 2023 Will Not Be Repeated In 2027 – Wike Vows

Published

15 hours ago

January 6, 2026

Editor

Amid renewed conflict between him and Rivers State governor Sim Fubara, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike, has vowed that mistakes made in the 2023 elections will not be repeated in 2027.

Wike made the vow while speaking during a visit to Akuku-Toru and Degema Local Government Areas on Tuesday.

He emphasized the importance of acknowledging past errors and taking corrective action.

He stated, “As for Rivers state, let me make it clear what’s important in life is that you make a mistake and come out to tell people, ‘I made a mistake, and therefore I want to correct the mistakes we made.

“The mistake we made in 2023 will not be repeated. Where we voted in the state is not where we will vote again in 2027.”

Tho comes after the minister declared “total support” for President Bola Tinubu, even as tensions brew between him and leaders of the All Progressives Congress, APC.

Politics

We Are Not Traitors, PDP Is Dead – Bagos

Published

18 hours ago

January 6, 2026

Editor

Former Federal House of Representatives member, Dachung Bagos, has explained that his recent defection, along with other politicians, is a result of the Peoples Democratic Party’s failures.

Bagos made the remarks on Tuesday during an interview on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief, shortly after announcing his move from the PDP to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

“We are not jumping parties for political ambition. We are jumping parties because of the platform that wants to give our people a voice, and leadership that says, ‘You can trust us to be able to address this very issue,’’ he said.

His statement comes amid the increased wave of defections from the PDP to both the APC and the African Democratic Congress.

Bagos, who served as the representative for Jos South/Jos East Federal Constituency, Plateau State, from 2019 until November 2023, officially joined the APC on January 4, 2026, alongside other key figures loyal to Plateau State Governor Caleb Mutfwang.

This move followed Governor Mutfwang’s own resignation from the PDP and subsequent defection to the APC, citing the opposition party’s ongoing internal crises and the need for clearer direction.

Rejecting suggestions that the defections were motivated by sycophancy, Bagos emphasized principle as the driving factor.

“We are not jumping parties because of sycophancy. We are jumping party because the PDP has failed at this particular moment, and it is irredeemable at this particular moment, so the platform that we see that goes with our own ideology is where we are today,” he said.

Bagos explained that his decision to join the APC was based on the party’s agenda, which he believes aligns with the aspirations of the people of Plateau State.

He underscored that governance goes beyond party lines. “Governance is beyond party lines. It is about those agendas on the table that you can make your people believe and understand that, look, this is the solution,” he said.

He highlighted President Bola Tinubu’s focus on key governance issues such as state police and local government autonomy.

“Our governance has now keyed into the issue of state police,” he said, adding, “If he has re-emphasised the issue of local government autonomy and to ensure that every state has local government elections.”

Bagos also spoke about the importance of creating opportunities for ordinary citizens and engaging young people in politics.

“We want the son of nobody to be a local government chairman, we want the son of a to be this and that, and we want to see the youth that have never believed in politics to believe in politics,” he said.

Politics

Joe Igbokwe Reacts As Wike, APC Secretary Lock Horns Over Fubara

Published

1 day ago

January 5, 2026

Editor

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, and social media commentator, Joe Igbokwe, has condemned the verbal war between the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, and the National Secretary of the ruling party, Ajibola Basiru.

DAILY POST reports that following the renewed hostility between Wike and the Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, the APC Secretary had expressed support for the governor.

However, during an event in Rivers State on Monday, Wike asked the APC National Secretary to stay away from Rivers politics.

Reacting, Basiru, in a statement, asked Wike to resign his appointment and focus on what he described as an “obsession” with Rivers State politics.

Wading into the matter, Igbokwe, in a post on Facebook, said the face-off is uncalled for and unnecessary.

He said, “The altercations between Hon. Minister FCT, Nyesom Wike, and the National Secretary APC Nigeria, Ajibola Basiru, are totally uncalled for and unnecessary. It is a needless distraction.

“If out of annoyance you remove your cap and throw it away, a made man will pick it up and use it forever. Let the misunderstanding cease to exist now.”