Prof. Philip Akpeni, the Returning Officer for Gwagwalada chairmanship election, who announced the results of the poll on Sunday in Gwagwalada, disclosed that Kasim of PDP polled a total of 22,165 votes and therefore declared him the winner.

“I am the returning officer for the 2026 FCT Area Council, Gwagwalada chairmanship held on February 21, 2026.

“That Mohammed Kasim of PDP, having certified the requirements of the law is hereby declared the winner and is returned elected,” he said.

Akpeni also said that the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Mr Yahaya Usman, scored a total of 17,788 votes, while Mr Biko Umar of All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, party scored 1, 687 to come third place.

The chairmanship election was conducted in 10 wards of the council, namely Paiko, Dobi, Gwako, Ibwa, Staff Quaters, Zuba, Ikwa, Kutunku, Gwagwalada Centre and Tunga Maje.

Source: NAN

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The post FCT poll: INEC declares PDP’s Kasim winner of Gwagwalada chairmanship election appeared first on Frontpageng.

He won in 19 local governments before the suspension of the collation of results by the Independent National Electoral Commissioner, INEC, in the early hours of Sunday.

Upon resumption of collation later Sunday morning, he was declared winner of the remaining two local government areas in the state.

Below are the results:

Ihiala LGA

APC: 4,425

APGA: 23,557

LP: 135

Anambra West LGA

APC: 16,595

APGA: 71,365

YPP: 2,871

ADC: 152

Dunukofia LGA

APGA: 14,892

APC: 3,284

LP: 71

ADC: 232

PDP: 16

Njikoka LGA

APGA: 22,213

APC: 5,687

ADC: 236

LP: 311

PDP: 47

YPP: 1,661

Awka North LGA

APGA: 15,895

APC: 3,661

LP: 299

ADC: 815

YPP: 308

Aguata LGA

APGA: 35,559

APC: 4,125

LP: 124

YPP: 2,746

ADC: 36

Orumba South LGA

APGA: 19,818

APC: 2,828

LP: 16

YPP: 877

ADC: 361

Orumba North LGA

APGA: 24,664

APC: 2,615

LP: 131

YPP: 1,519

ADC: 115

Oyi LGA

APGA: 18,882

APC: 5,118

LP: 3,641

YPP: 2,093

ADC: 167

Anambra East LGA

APGA: 14,665

APC: 3,108

LP: 304

YPP: 6,153

PDP: 207

Anyamelum LGA

APGA: 13,340

APC: 7,478

LP: 117

YPP: 2,500

ADC: 470

Nnewi North LGA

APGA: 20,320

APC: 541

LP: 1,140

YPP: 1,100

ADC: 553

Nnewi South LGA

APGA: 17,286

APC: 9,281

LP: 73

YPP: 562

ADC: 127

Ogbaru LGA

APGA: 22,803

APC: 3,768

LP: 347

YPP: 2,268

ADC: 465

Onitsha North LGA

APGA: 24,225

APC: 4,677

LP: 500

YPP: 2,419

ADC: 514

Onitsha South LGA

APGA: 15,742

APC: 4,156

LP: 615

YPP: 638

ADC: 231

Anaocha LGA

APGA: 20,118

APC: 5,956

LP: 483

YPP: 1,223

ADC: 255

Idemili North LGA

APGA: 25,498

APC: 638

LP: 1,275

YPP: 613

ADC: 722

Idemili South LGA

APGA: 7,224

APC: 6,015

LP: 276

YPP: 476

ADC: 213

Ekwusigo LGA

APGA: 18,749

APC: 2,973

LP: 194

YPP: 915

ADC: 261

Awka South LGA

APGA: 27,896

APC: 5,038

LP: 520

YPP: 1,201

ADC: 1,726.

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The post BREAKING: Soludo wins all LGs in Anambra guber (+ Results) appeared first on Frontpageng.

Although politics has been variously described as a dirty game, no self-respecting individual should be proud of the brand of politics coming out of Anambra State at the moment. It all began when the Governor of the State and the candidate of the All Progressive Grand Alliance, (APGA), Professor Charles Soludo, questioned the authenticity of Uche Ekwunife’s academic qualifications. Ekwunife is the deputy governorship candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC).

In a viral video from the campaign trail, Soludo launched a scathing critique of Nicholas Ukachukwu, the APC governorship candidate, branding him a “land grabber”, who, if defeated at the polls, would have to “return to sand mining” to make a living.

Hear the former CBN Governor: “I have gotten a job for him (Ukachukwu). I know that the land grabbing he is into, he will still be getting something from there. Otherwise, he will meet the people doing sand mining and he will take one tipper to drive because of all the roads I have been building. Tippers are now running smoothly.” Turning his fire on Ukachukwu’s running mate, Soludo accused Ekwunife of parading a fake doctorate degree obtained from a dubious American institution. “INEC has a column, where, if you are filling your form, you will swear in court that everything you filled is the truth and nothing but the truth, so this person wrote that she has senior secondary school certificate, then she also said that she has a PhD. But how can you have a secondary school certificate without a diploma, a degree, or a master’s, but suddenly a PhD?”

Soludo claimed an investigation revealed that the certificate was obtained from a “degree mill” that sold certificates for as little as $60, without any accreditation in the United States or recognition by Nigeria’s National Universities Commission (NUC). “It is a PhD certificate from a fake institution. Even as a vulcanizer, you can pay money and they will give you the certificate. That is what you’re parading. It is better for you to just write senior secondary school certificate because that is what you have, and it is enough.’’

The governor vowed to make fake certificates a campaign issue after the November 8 election. ‘’When we finish dealing with Okeite (ritualists). We will go after those with the fake certificates because they are confusing our children,’’ he warned.

While Ukachukwu is yet to respond to the tirade against him, Ekwunife would not allow the insult to go unchallenged as she has responded in kind, hitting Soludo below the belt. As enunciated by William Congreve, an English playwright in his 1697 play a line which reads ‘’Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned, nor hell, a fury like a woman scorned,’’ Ekwunife, in another viral video, went for the solar plexus of the governor. She not only dismissed the allegations about her PhD, but mocked Soludo’s own professorship and went personal, branding him “a smelling professor”.

“The fake professor that says he is governing a state, please leave me alone,” she shot back. “Soludo, you contested for governor twice and failed before Obiano supported you. For the past three years that you have been governor, it is only suffering and deaths that the state is passing through.”

Citing the deaths of two State Assembly members under what she described as “questionable circumstances”, she accused Soludo of failing to investigate or provide leadership.

“You are calling my names; you are saying that my certificate is fake, then go to court. Why are you waiting until November 8? You should have gone to court, now. You also said that I don’t have a master’s, UNIZIK is close to you; why not go to UNIZIK and ask them?”

Ekwunife went further, challenging the legitimacy of Soludo’s academic laurels. “It appears that your own professorship is different. I now understand what people have been saying; that your professor title is an award and you did not earn it. If you earned it, show us where and how you earned it. It is just an award that your department gave you, and you are making noise.”

She then descended into personal insults, alleging that the governor suffered from poor hygiene. “Soludo, has anybody told you that your mouth smells? You are the dirtiest governor in the whole of Africa. Go and tell your wife to buy deodorant for you. When you open your mouth to speak, the odour that comes out is so stinking and embarrassing for a governor.”

Ekwunife did not stop there as she also alleged that the governor’s wife, Nonye Soludo, had an affair with the former governor of Anambra State, Chinwoke Mbadinugu.

Now, Nonye Soludo has also been dragged into the mess as she has given Ekwunife 72 hours to tender unreserved apology or should be ready to meet her in court for defamation. In a strongly worded letter to Ekwunife, she said that she met her husband as a virgin and has remained truthful in her marriage.

‘’In my 55 years on planet earth, I have known only one man, Chukwuma Soludo. I married him as a virgin and my fidelity to him in 33 years of marriage and for life is ironclad. This may be difficult for an Uche Ekwunife to comprehend. Since Uche Ekwunife claims to be a converted Catholic, I challenge her for both of us to swear an oath of fidelity and chastity at any Cathedral in front of the Blessed Sacrament. You mentioned screenshooting someone’s name and putting in your Bible. So, you must know the efficacy of the Holy Book. We should also add the Bible with the Sacrament. I will swear (with my children) that in my 55 years on earth, I have known only one man—Chukwuma Soludo. On your part, you should also swear (with your children or your political ambitions) that since you got married, you have never cheated on your husband. Let us do this between now and mid October 2025.

Our political space is so toxic that no self-respecting professional would be willing to dabble into it, and the outcome is that we have left the governance field to touts and vagabonds

“I challenge you, Uche Ekwunife, for us to subject our children to paternity tests. Science has made life easy, and there are things you cannot lie about nowadays. To avoid any stories in Nigerian hospitals, let us do it in three reputable hospitals in London. You and your family are often in London. But I will pay the expenses. I watched part of your hilarious emotional outburst and infantile invectives on my husband. Laughable indeed! You know, and we know the source of your frustrations. But let me assure you that the globally celebrated professor is too clean, too decent, and too sophisticated to waste his time on low lives. Nwoke bu nwoke! Enough said for now”.

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The scenario in the political landscape in Anambra State has once again thrown into the spotlight, the type of people that govern us in Nigeria. What should be a debate about governance and ideas has transformed into a personal slugfest over credentials, integrity, and even hygiene.

Rather than focusing on issues such as infrastructure, security, economic revival, and improving the lot of its citizens, Anambra’s political heavyweights are engaging in an unprecedented public show of shame with each trying to out-do the other in dishing out insults.

Soludo and Ekwunife are leaders in Nigeria’s society. Soludo, before he became Governor, was a former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Ekwunife was a former Senator. They are parents and role models to others, yet they bat no eyelid in descending into the gutter on the altar of politics. Indeed, politics in Nigeria is not for the faint-hearted. It is a venture where you should be ready to kill or be killed. It is in the same Nigeria that former Senator Dino Melaye threatened to rape and assault another female Senator, Oluremi Tinubu, for allegedly calling him a thug. That was nine years ago. Today, Remi Tinubu is the First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. If Melaye decamped to the APC tomorrow, Mrs. Tinubu would probably be amongst those that will welcome him to the party.

Six years ago, while delivering the third Faculty of Engineering Alumni Lecture at the University of Lagos, the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, alluded to the fact that politics in Nigeria is not for the faint-hearted and invited professionals to join the fray. The topic of his lecture, ‘’Professionals in Politics: Panacea for Sustainable National Development” established a convergence between politics and technocracy, noting that there may not be a significant development in Nigeria if career professionals shy away from participating in political activities. But he failed to provide answers to how professionals and technocrats would survive the dog-eat-dog mantra that is the hallmark of Nigeria’s politics. It is a field where trading of personal insults, treachery, and name-calling are rife. It is a battlefield where alliances are fleeting, betrayals are commonplace, and survival is the only ideology that matters. If power were a chessboard, then the pieces are constantly being reshuffled, not according to any coherent strategy, but by an instinct for self-preservation.

Our political space is so toxic that no self-respecting professional would be willing to dabble into it, and the outcome is that we have left the governance field to touts and vagabonds. So, despite what God has given to us as a nation, we are still far behind when it comes to national development. All the indices point to the fact that Nigeria is still an under-developed country, where life is brutish and short because we have our third-eleven ruling over the rest of us.

At an event put together by the Saint Finbarr’s College Old Boys Association last year, former President Olusegun Obasanjo spoke on the topic: ‘’The Imperative of Moral Rectitude in Governance.’’

According to him, the foundation of good politics is moral rectitude, appreciation of right and wrong, and choosing to do what is right, and being righteous. He said: “It is not politics that is bad, but the politicians themselves. If we have men and women of no character in politics, you will have bad politics and bad governance. If you look clinically at the people in government today at both executive and legislative levels, some of them should be permanently behind bars for their past misdemeanours and criminal misconduct. You cannot expect thieves to give good judgment in favour of the owner of the property.’’

And it goes without saying that with people like Soludo and Ekwunife in governance, Nigeria should not expect anything good from the system. We have abandoned politics to those who should not be there and we should not complain whether they perform or not while in government.

Soludo should base his campaign on what he has done for the people of Anambra State in the last three years and what he intends to do going forward. Ukachukwu and his deputy, Ekwunife, should also tell the people what they intend to do to make life better for the people and stop the ugly spectacles presently ongoing in the state.

See you next week.

The post The ugly debacle from Anambra State, By Kazeem Akintunde appeared first on Frontpageng.

“Do you still remember Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida?”

“Which one?”

“How dare you! Do we have two Babangidas in Nigeria?“

“It is the way you pronounced the name as if it is Yoruba name!”

“And is it not Yoruba or, better still, was it not Yoruba before it was deliberately corrupted to hide its true origin?”

“How dare you! Call the name as the owner calls it…”

“They say the name originally was Gbadamosi and that the man originated from Ogbomoso in present-day Oyo State before he landed in Hausa or Fulani land…”

“Rumours!”

“Exactly! Rumours are potent sources of evidence! Have you forgotten that we journalists act on the basis that there is no smoke without a fire?”

“Rumours must be treated simply as such and not as facts cast in iron…”

“I agree but from experience, rumours are veritable sources of information. Anyway, do you still remember Babangida… “

“I will still ask you, which one? The one who…”

“Our people say two different birds do not answer the name ‘hawk’ in the forest”

“I see, but you know that in the Social Sciences, we always define our terms to avoid ambiguity. If we are talking of Babangida who recently celebrated his eighty-something birthday…”

“Forget about birthdays! I am bothered here about something more serious than birthdays…”

“But birthdays are also something very important, especially for someone whose health…”

“I say forget about birthdays, good health or whatever! By the way, did you see how our leaders were falling over one another to pour encomiums on the man? IBB of all persons!”

“You are just beginning to see my point! The birthdays of VIPs are celebrated with pomp and colour”

”Most unfortunate! Do you want to tell me that those people believed all the good things they said about the man”?

“Of course, not!”

“Why, then? Why not say the truth and let the devil be ashamed? After all, the man called himself the ‘evil genius’…”

“He did not! Some mischievous elements jumped into his throat and twisted his words…”

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“I see! But his works speak for him all the same, don’t they! Who also jumped into his head to twist those ones? That is not even what I am driving at here today. Do you remember what IBB said about our economy?“

“Yes, yes, yes! That was when every attempt to kill the economy failed! Unmitigated corruption, settlement syndrome, Gulf War oil windfall that vanished into thin air, IMF and World Bank crippling conditionalities, Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) without human face, to quote former military dictator Olusegun Obasanjo…”

“Nigeria’s economy is rugged! There is no killing the Beatle…”

“Is it the Beatles or beetles?“

“Whichever! We used to hunt and eat beetles those days when I was growing up. But I have not come across any in decades. Are you sure they have not all gone into extinction”?

“Ask the village people! Industrialization, which has fuelled rural-urban migration, is a two-edged sword…”

“Exactly! But JAPA will be worse. By the time we realize what hit us, it would be too late for many families to reverse the ugly trend…”

“You dare not warn them now, else they could think you are the enemy of their manifest destiny…”

“After all said and done and the Nigerian economy still failed to die, IBB marvelled. Do you remember what he said – that our economy defies logic?”

“Yes, oh yes! David Cameron, a one-time British Prime Minister, said if a percentage of the money stolen and taken out of the Nigerian economy happens in Britain, that country will collapse sharp-sharp!”

“Yes! He even described Nigeria as a fantastically corrupt country to Buhari’s consternation…”

“Oh! Blessed old Buha…”

“Stop! Are you also one of them?”

“I must warn you! Say no evil of… “

“Yes! Say no evil of the dead, but what of the living? The man IBB is alive, hale and hearty, but witness all the encomiums poured on him! If we are not allowed to say evil of the dead and we cannot also say evil of the living, when will anyone get his due recompense? “

“That is the country in which we find ourselves…”

“Then we must change it! Karl Marx said philosophers have interpreted the world. Our duty now is to change it or else…”

“You are always issuing threats!”

“Pardon me! We must ponder about alternatives! Nothing makes that more imperative than the last off-cycle elections in some parts of the country…”

“Yes, the bye-elections went peacefully all over the country. NNDP, APGA and PDP won in some states but the ruling APC won in most. ..”

“You called that bye-elections? They were buy-elections! The elections were sold and bought…

“I agree, but all the political parties won where they were strong. If you talk of rigging, there is hardly any party here that does not rig or attempt to rig elections, especially in their strongholds…”

“That is the point! I say, that is the point! It is not our economy alone that defies logic, our elections also defy logic. Elections are not won here on merit. Performance counts for nothing. You can perform and lose elections. You can do nothing and still coast home to victory. That has been our sordid experience in this country”

“What, then, is the purpose of elections…”

“Here, it is to give a semblance of democratic governance; a smokescreen and subterfuge that the people themselves choose their leaders when, in actual sense, that is far from being the truth…”

“Uumh! Elections also provide avenues for humongous corruption. Billions of Naira go into the election process at federal and state levels…”

“It is a huge racket – before, during and after elections. Even if you do not want to get involved, you are inexorably sucked into the vortex”

“I have learnt not to get involved. I always stayed glued to my television set on election days…”

”That is, if you have electricity! Or you have the money to buy fuel at N1000 or more per litre! Even at that, your apathy serves the purpose of those who do not want enlightened elements like you to participate in the first place; so they can better manipulate the gullible. So, head or tail, you lose.”

“Talking about electricity, did you watch the video making the rounds of the man saddled with the responsibility of giving us power? He appeared to be inspecting his sparkling new edifice that will put Buckingham palace to shame…”

“Yes, I watched it! The most unfortunate thing is that the same people he is marginalizing were the ones saluting him and urging him on!”

“I heard them call him ‘in-coming’; saluting his late father, a First Republic controversial politician; in-coming what?”

“In-coming governor! The next governor of his state! Are you JJC?

“I see! But what time, then, does he have for his present job when he is already busy gunning for the post of governor?”

“Is that the only puzzle? You should also ask where the money for his electioneering campaign will come from…”

“No! I usually don’t bother myself about that. Our people have a saying that it is public money that you expend to run for public office!”

“Can you see that our problem has deep roots? Even in our saying, we seem to legitimise the cankerworms of corruption!”

“Back to IBB, then! Not only our economy and not only our politics defy logic. Our people themselves defy logic!”

“And, as it is said, a people deserve the kind of leaders they get. In 2010, Professor Wole Soyinka established the Democratic Front for a People’s Federation, which aimed to address issues like corruption and improve education and healthcare in Nigeria but Nigerians snubbed him and his ‘ethical revolution’. Fela set up Movement of the People (MOP), but the people treated him and his MOP like ’were, asinwin’. What of Tunji Braithwaithe and his Nigeria Advance Party? He was mocked by our people for saying he would rid the country of cockroaches, rats and rodents (a euphemism for the malfeasance in the polity)! Gani Fawehinmi contested election but lost woefully. “Lover Boy” crooner-turned-pastor, Chris Okotie, and his FRESH party were told to go and sell fresh tomatoes, ‘atarodo’ and ‘tatase’ at Mile 12 market!”

“I think illiteracy is responsible…”

”Yes, but partially. Even among those who can read and write, there are also political illiterates. You will be surprised how supposedly literate people, even those with strings of degrees, think and argue sometimes”

“Poverty has been weaponized against the majority of our people…

“Ever before poverty became this accentuated, did the people behave better? Were our elections more credible?”

“There were the other demons of ethnicity and religion that truncated credible elections right from Day One”

“And those ones are still with us…

“What, then, is the prognosis for 2027?”

“Morning, they say, shows the day! For your information, two other buy-and-sell elections are coming up very soon, one in Ekiti and the other in Osun. That’s where the vultures are heading right now!”

“And shouldn’t we discuss that right away?”

No! Let it be a topic for another day’!

*Bolawole (turnpot@gmail.com 0807 552 5533), former Editor of PUNCH newspapers, Chairman of its Editorial Board and Deputy Editor-in-chief, was also the Managing Director/ Editor-in-chief of the Westerner newsmagazine. He writes the “ON THE LORD’S DAY” column in the Sunday Tribune and “TREASURES” column in the New Telegraph newspapers. He is also a public affairs analyst on radio and television.

The post In Nigeria, elections defy logic, By Bola Bolawole appeared first on Frontpageng.

The message of congratulation is contained in a statement issued on Sunday in a statement by the Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga.

The president commended the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, for the hitch-free elections, mostly devoid of violence.

Following the results declared by INEC, the All Progressives Congress, APC, won in 12 constituencies, the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, won in two, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, won in one, and the New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP, won in one.

President Tinubu congratulated the new APC National Chairman, Prof Nentawe Yilwatda, for the emphatic first victory recorded under his leadership.

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He also congratulated the APC governors and other leaders on the success of the by-elections.

“Chairman Nentawe Yilwatda has shown leadership capacity and demonstrated what is achievable when popular candidates are fielded and with unity of purpose among party leaders,” the president remarked.

“To all APC faithful and the electorate, thank you for the confidence reposed in our party. Be assured that our Renewed Hope slogan is not a mere slogan. Our destination is a better, more secure and prosperous Nigeria. We shall take you there, by the Grace of God,” he said.

President Tinubu commended all the political parties and candidates who participated in the election and enjoined them to continue to be guided by the spirit of sportsmanship, fair contest and magnanimity, which he described as enablers of enduring democracy.

The post Tinubu hails winners of by-elections in 12 states, commends INEC appeared first on Frontpageng.

Peter Gregory Obi, former two-term Governor of Anambra State, who dazzled the country in the 2023 presidential election on the banner of the Labour Party, is on the march again!

Obi, who has a foot in the Labour Party and the other in the African Democratic Congress, ADC, has promised to serve only for one term if he is elected as the president in 2027.

Not a few political watchers are convinced that Obi is dangling this carrot as a ploy to get the presidential ticket of the ADC.

Obi’s kinsman, Professor Charles Soludo, couldn’t believe his ears that anyone would have the audacity to say he would only serve for a term of four years when he is entitled to eight years.

Soludo who has managed the country’s finances as the Governor of the Central Bank seized the opportunity of his campaign for a second term to fire a harsh riposte at Obi.

Hear him:  “How can anybody with a brain… You think you are talking to fools… Any politician who says that must be sent to a psychiatric home because the person must have some mental problem.”

Indeed, the general consensus among Nigerians seems to be that you trust a politician at your peril.

Peter Obi may be a good man, but how do you trust him with the company he now keeps in the ADC, a party, some uncharitable critics have described as an Alliance of Disgruntled Candidates.

Political watchers easily recall that Obi did promise that it was only death that could do him part with the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA.

But analysts say hardly had Odumegwu Ojukwu’s third memorial been held when Obi dumped APGA and joined the PDP.

He dumped the PDP in 2023 for the Labour Party, when he couldn’t secure the Presidential ticket of the party.

Now, he is flirting with the ADC!

So, naturally, the question comes to mind: Can he be trusted to keep his word.

Doesn’t this sound like a desperation to be president?

Who was it that said when trust is betrayed, sorry, means nothing!

Obi has answered his critics by citing examples of the great Nelson Mandela of South Africa, America’s Abraham Lincoln and JFK Kennedy who were Presidents who shaped the destinies of their countries, despite the fact that, they didn’t serve for two terms.

For the record, Lincoln, the 16th President of America was elected for two terms. He was assassinated in his second term.

JFK’s first term was cut short by the assassin’s bullet.

Nelson Mandela on his part was 76 years old when he became the President of South Africa. The only assignment the old man gave himself was to unite a divided country. Besides, Mandela was a different human being. You could take his word to the bank.

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Critics have pointed out that comparing Obi to either Mandela or Lincoln is like comparing Saul to Paul!

Coming back home, it seems we have travelled this road before.

Goodluck Jonathan as president, promised his party the PDP in 2011 that he would only serve for a term of four years.

Based on these scenarios, Obi would then tell his party that he has heard from God, and God has told him to go for a second term.

The rest, as they say, is history!

When the day came to honour the pledge, the man who said he had no shoes but was then in a position to establish 10 shoe factories all over the country told the PDP chiefs to go and bring the agreement where he signed that he would only do one term!

Talk of the aroma of power.

Besides, even a compound fool knows that it’s near impossible to solve the problems of a country like Nigeria in four years.

Even the ascetic Muhammadu Buhari, who had given up after three unsuccessful attempts at being president,  couldn’t resist the allure of a second term in office.

By general account, out of a term of four years, political office holders, technically speaking, only have two years to govern.

Those who should know say, the first year is used for settling down, paying political IOUs and understudying the problems and people of the country. The last year of the four year tenure is used for the campaign for re-election.

When a gaunt Olusegun Obasanjo was released from prison in 1998, and the rumour mill was rife that he was being pencilled down for the Presidency, the former chicken-farmer vigorously denied that he was interested in the Presidency.

In fact, he asked rhetorically:  “How many presidents do you want to make of me?”

An obvious reference to the fact that he had been a former Head of State.

Again, the rest, as they say, is history.

By general consensus-although the man denies it – he tried unsuccessfully to amend the Constitution to get a third term.

Why would Peter Obi be different?

My opinion about the matter is this: it is difficult, if not impossible, for a  Nigerian of today to spend only one term of four years in office when he is entitled to two terms of eight years.

He will be persuaded, even if against his will, to have a rethink.

The reasons are not far-fetched.

Ethnic groups, religious groups, not to forget old boys network, all lay claim to the occupant of a public office.

If for the sake of argument, Peter Obi, a good man by all accounts, intends to keep his promise, his ethnic group, the Igbo, which have been longing for one of their own to occupy the post, would ask him if he had gone out of his mind!

The position they would remind him is not meant for him but for the race.

Of a fact, only the Igbo nation have not had their son or daughter in the executive position of the country’s driving seat since independence!

They would remind him that the other two major ethnic groups: the Hausa-Fulani and the Yoruba have had bites at the cherry. Why would he want to deny his race their rightful entitlement?

If he is not careful, they would drag him before the gods to purge him of the foolish idea.

Obi, I am told, is a strong Catholic.

His bishop would summon him and ask him why he wants to go against the Will of God. He will be reminded that it’s God that chooses leaders. Why then is he trying to go against the wish of God?

Based on these scenarios, Obi would then tell his party that he has heard from God, and God has told him to go for a second term.

As they say, if God is with us, who can be against us!

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Soludo was declared winner at the primary held at Dr Alex Ekwueme Square, Awka, amidst tight security and under the watch of the officials of Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

The governor, who is vying for a second term, polled 3,171 votes from the 3,175 accredited delegates across the 326 political wards on the state.

He was confirmed with a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ vote in the primary election.

While presenting the party’s nomination certificate to the governor, chairman of APGA Primary Election Electoral Committee, Chief Uchenna Nwegbo, said the process was in compliance with the Electoral Act, 2022.

Nwegbo said that Soludo’s unanimous adoption as the sole candidate of the party for the Nov. 8 governorship election also adhered to the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022.

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Reacting, the governor praised APGA officials for organising what he called a well-structured exercise.

He also commended the delegates for their disciplined conduct and expressed gratitude to the people for their trust and support.

“Never before in Anambra’s history has there been such a wide consensus. I am truly humbled, and I assure you that I will not let APGA and the people of Anambra down.

“We will continue to work to deepen our vision of infrastructure development, human capital investment, security and economic transformation.

“Anambra has not seen anything yet. Our agenda is loaded and we will continue the progress unbroken,” he said.

Soludo has re-nominated Dr Onyekachi Ibezim as his running mate for the forthcoming governorship election in the state.

Source: NAN

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A statement signed by Speaker of the House, Mr Emeka Nduka (APC Ehime Mbano), confirmed the incident.

Nduka described the lawmaker as “a ranking parliamentarian of note and a strong voice at the assembly.”

The speaker further noted that his death would create a vacuum in the house as he was one of the house’s “finest and best brains” and prayed for the peaceful repose of his soul.

Egwim was first elected into the eighth House in 2015 and had served as a chief whip of the house.

He had contested for the House of Representatives seat in the just-concluded National Assembly elections under the platform of All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, but failed.

Source: NAN

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INEC Returning Officer, Prof. George Onwudiwe, declared the result in Ayamelum on Sunday.

Onwudiwe said that Mr Abuchi Udemezue of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, scored 12,993 votes to defeat Okafor of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, who polled 11,445 votes.

“That Mr Abuchi Udemezue of PDP having satisfied the requirements of the law and scored the highest number of votes is hereby declared winner and is returned elected,” he said.

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Prof. Adele Jinadu,  the Chairman, CDD, said this at a news conference in its preliminary findings on the conduct of the elections in Abuja.

Jinadu said that INEC had fared better in the area of logistics deployment leading to prompter arrival of poll officials for the commencement of the elections.

He, however, said that vote buying and violence were some of the challenges that faced the elections.

“CDD observer data showed that across the Southwest zone, INEC officials arrived on time and promptly commenced the process in over 80 per cent of observed polling units.

“This trend is broadly consistent across the six geo-political zones. In Anambra State, 75 per cent of polling units had INEC officials who arrived on time with voting commencing on average at 8:41.

“There was even a report of INEC officials in Benue State having slept over at the polling unit to avoid late coming.

“However, incidents of vote buying, violence and intimidation during the polls were in Kano, Jigawa, Lagos, Enugu, Bayelsa, Rivers and Yobe states,” he said.

Jinadu said that CDD’s observation also indicated that the BVAS appeared to have largely worked well across the country.

Also, CDD Director, Idayat Hassan, said that data from  CDD’s deployed 1,500 observers showed that there were more instances of BVAS working during the Governorship elections compared to the Presidential election of February 25, with this reality reflected across all six geo-political zones.

“This might be a reflection of the heightened political environment around governorship polls, the importance of local personalities in state-level politics, and the shortages of fuel and naira,” she said.

Hassan said that the report also showed that in the North-West, observers in all seven states reported increased reports of vote trading, primarily by political party agents.

She said that money was used alongside other materials such as food items, wrappers and a ‘credit voucher’ to buy votes and those items were to be redeemed after the results.

“Similarly in the North-East, political party agents in Taraba infiltrated the queue, pretended to be voters and used the chance to offer cash for votes.

“In the South-East, there were reports of APGA and LP party agents using materials, phones and other souvenirs to entice voters in Anambra State.

“In the South-South, multiple states reported a desire for voters to show proof of their vote before being paid, with party agents reportedly compiling a list of their voters in Esan Central LGA, Edo State.”

Hassan said that CDD observers documented incidents of violence as well as voter suppression in some states.

Source: NAN

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