Oredo All Progressives Congress (APC) Concerned Group, has called for the resignation of the state secretary of the party, Lawrence Okah, over alleged marginalisation

The group, made up of card carrying members of the APC in Oredo, said the call became necessary following the “outright marginalisation of 11 wards and the favouring of only Ward 7 in Oredo Local Government Area where the APC State Secretary, Lawrence Okah comes from.”

Speaking at a press conference in Benin on Monday, coordinator of the group, Osamuyi Osadiaye, said the state secretary arrogated all political positions allocated to Oredo LG to his Ward 7, there by making the remaining 11 wards of the local government council irrelevant.

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He said: “Lawrence Okah disproportionately allocated key party and government positions to the people from Ward 7 of Oredo Local Government Area, Edo State, and thus sidelined the other 11 wards. These positions, which are disproportionately concentrated in Ward 7, are inimical to APC ideology as a party.”

Naming the political positions occupied by people from Ward 7 alone, Osadiaye said: “The State Secretary of APC. Local Government Party Chairman of APC. Assistant Treasurer of APC. Publicity Secretary of APC. Member of the state House of Assembly.”

He added: “Member representing Edo South in Oil and Gas, WHO HAPPENS TO BE THE SON OF THE STATE SECRETARY OF APC, MR LAWRENCE OKAH. Three Senior Special Assistants and 2 Special Assistants to the speaker, Edo State House of Assembly. 15 Oredo revenue collectors. Supervisory Councillor, Oredo, and many more.”

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Coordinator of the group, while appealing to “APC party leaders across Edo State to call LAWRENCE OKAH to order and give other wards in the LGA an opportunity to feature in the present dispensation, especially in the upcoming Local Government Election in Edo State,” lamented that “this imbalanced political appointment is threatening the unity and progress of APC in the council.”

He also called on “His Excellency, Governor Monday Okpebholo to ensure fair and inclusive appointments across all wards in Oredo.”

Reacting, State Publicity Secretary of the APC, Barrister Uwadiae Igbinigie, described the allegations as “foul cry far from the reality.”

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has defeated the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in the Ghari/Tsanyawa supplementary re-run election in Kano State.

Announcing the result on Sunday, the Returning Officer, Prof. Muhammad Waziri of Bayero University, declared APC’s Garba Gwarmai winner with 31,472 votes, ahead of NNPP’s Yusuf Maigado, who polled 27,931 votes.

The supplementary election was conducted after the initial poll was declared inconclusive.

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Hon. Gwarmai’s 3,541-vote lead marks a significant victory for the APC, further consolidating its political foothold in the state.

According to Tribune Online, the All Progressives Congress (APC), Kano State Chapter, had expressed concerns over alleged irregularities in the rerun elections for Ghari/Takai and Bagwai/Shanono Constituencies.

The 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of presiding over what he described as “a collapse in foreign direct investment.”

He blamed what he called “poor leadership, weak governance, and uncoordinated reforms” for the country’s economic woes.

Obi, in a statement shared on official X (formerly Twitter) handle on Friday, noted that going by fresh figures from the National Bureau of Statistics, FDI into Nigeria plunged by about 70 per cent in the first quarter of 2025, falling to $126.29m from $421.8m recorded in the last quarter of 2024.

“While the President, ministers, and other government officials continue their global galivanting in search of FDI, our poor performance in key governance indicators – such as rule of law, regulatory quality, government effectiveness, and voice and accountability – continues to prove that you cannot attract sustainable foreign investment with poor leadership and governance,” Obi wrote.

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While noting that the country’s investment inflows were largely speculative, Obi said, “Of the total capital importation of about $5.64 bn in Q1 2025, FDI accounted for only about 2.24 per cent, compared to 8.2 per cent in Q4 2024.

“Disturbingly, about 90 per cent of the imported capital went into speculative money market instruments, with negligible impact on industrial growth or job creation, given the ease with which such ‘hot money’ can exit the economy.”

He argued the sharp drop in manufacturing inflows further underscored the lack of investor confidence in the country.

“Capital flows to the manufacturing sector declined by 32.1 per cent, falling to only $129.92 million in Q1 2025 from $191.92 million in the same quarter of 2023. There is no better confirmation of the lack of trust in this government, whose reforms remain uncoordinated and largely reactive,” he said.

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The former Anambra State governor further compared the country’s performance with other African nations that recorded major gains.

“In 2024, while global FDI flows declined, Africa’s FDI rose by about 75 per cent to $97 billion,” he stated.

“Egypt alone attracted $46.58 billion. Ethiopia received $3.98 billion, Côte d’Ivoire $3.80 billion, Mozambique $3.55 billion, Uganda $3.30 billion, DR Congo $3.11 billion, South Africa $2.47 billion, Namibia $2.06 billion, Senegal $2.02 billion, Guinea $1.83 billion, and Morocco $1.64 billion.”

According to him, Nigeria has been left trailing far behind.

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“Most disappointingly, our dear nation, the so-called ‘Giant of Africa,’ received only $1.08 billion – about one per cent of Africa’s total FDI – representing a decline of about 42 per cent from 2023. Worse still, after that 42 per cent drop between 2023 and 2024, FDI to Nigeria has further declined by 75 per cent between Q4 2024 and Q1 2025,” Obi lamented.

He warned that unless Nigeria fixed its governance problems, it would continue to lose investment to more stable African economies.

“We cannot achieve sustainable growth and development with ineffective leadership and a weak government,” he said.