Tinubu’s allegation confirms plot by APC to rig Edo poll – PDP

Edo state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has told the national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, that his party can afford to lose Edo state and that heavens will not fall if that happens in the governorship election.
The PDP, in a statement issued Tuesday evening by its Publicity Secretary, Mr Chris Nehikhare, also wished that outgoing governor, Adams Oshiomhole, would live to witness and hand over the reins of power to its governorship candidate, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu on November 12, this year.
The statement reads: “The allegation by the APC national leader, Senator Bola Tinubu that the party’s governorship primary in Ondo State was rigged in favour of a particular candidate, once again brings to fore the desperate complexity of the new ruling party, and its penchant for unfair and undemocratic measures for winning elections.
“This allegation in which the national chairman of the APC, Chief John Odigie Oyegun is being accused of complicity, justifies the alarm raised by the PDP that the ruling party has put in place a machinery to rig the September 28 Edo state governorship election.

Edo guber: Anenih, Igbinedion, Ikimi, others under security watch – PDP

Edo state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)  has raised the alarm on the move by the Presidency to place its leaders under security watch.
The party said the move was to prevent its leaders from moving out of their homes after 10 o’clock tonight to embark on last minutes’ mobilisation of electorate for Wednesday’s governorship election.
Top on the list of those who have been purportedly watch-listed are former chairman of the Board of Trustees of the PDP, Chief Tony Anenih, former minister of foreign affairs, Chief Tom Ikimi, business mogul, Chief Gabriel Igbinedion, governorship candidate of the pay, Pastor Osagie  Ize-Iyamu and state chairman of the party, Chief Dan Orbih, among others.
A statement issued by the Publicity Secretary of the party, Mr Chris Nehikhare reads: “We have just received credible information from our very reliable inside source that the Presidency has

Makarfi’s meeting with me not a face-saving one – Sheriff

The two factional National Chairmen of the Peoples Democratic Party, Senators Ali Modu Sheriff and Ahmed Makarfi, again met on Tuesday in the bid to settle the crisis in the party.
Makarfi visited Sheriff along with the spokesman of the faction, Prince Dayo Adeyeye.
However, in a statement late on Tuesday, the Sheriff faction disowned a Facebook post saying the visit by Makarfi and Adeyeye was a face-saving one.
A statement by Sheriff’s spokesman, Inuwa Bwala, on the development, reads: “The attention of Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, National Chairman of the PDP, has been drawn to some posts earlier today on Facebook, which tended to portray a meeting he held earlier in the day with Distinguished Senator Ahmed Makarfi, Caretaker Committee Chairman of the PDP and Prince Dayo Adeyeye in bad light.
“I have the authority of Senator Ali Modu Sheriff to state for the avoidance of doubt that any

Rivers, Wike and the road revolution strategic plan

Availabilibity of accessible roads remains one of the key indices in measuring the performance parameter of any government in Nigeria given the nexus between portable roads and economic development.
Unfortunately, only a few state governments have lived up to that billing while majority are struggling to make a noticeable impact. In respective of this, many governments are usually quick to point at the number of kilometres of roads they had purportedly constructed when in the true sense, the attraction in that is often times powered by the culture of using the undertaking as a conduit pipe for embezzlement.
However, of Nigeria’s 36 states, Rivers State in the present dispensation, has so far, presented a fresh thinking to the road construction narrative in Nigeria. It is not the usual Nigerian story that is empty and full of noise, as empirical evidence abound on how a promise made during the electioneering period across the 23 Local Government Areas in the state, is being honoured.

Ikpeazu, Ogah oppose Alex Otti’s bid to join gov tussle at S’Court

The battle for the soul of Abia State Government House shifted to the Supreme Court where the incumbent governor, Dr. Okezie Victor Ikpeazu and another governorship aspirant, Dr. Samson Uchechukwu Ogah, yesterday opposed the bid by Dr. Alex Otti of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) to join the legal action.
Dr. Otti was the governorship candidate of APGA for Abia State in the 2014 governorship election now in dispute.
In opposing Otti’s application for joinder, the two politicians on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) informed the apex court that an attempt by the appellant/ applicant (Otti) to be included in the legal tussle would breach the law since he has no legal right for the request he was demanding before the apex court.
Counsel to Governor Ikpeazu, Chief Wole Olanipekun SAN objected to hearing of the appeal, by

PDP kicks as Jigawa Assembly extends council caretaker chairmen’s tenure

Jigawa House of Assembly yesterday extended the tenure of the state’s 27 local government caretaker committees by six months just as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has declared the action as illegal.
Speaker Idris Garba approved a bill to amend the 2015 local government administration law at yesterday’s plenary, which allows caretaker chairmen remain in office for six more months.

APC delegates Tambuwal to mediate in Tinubu, Oyegun face-off

The leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has nominated former Speaker of the House of Representatives and Sokoto State governor, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, to mediate in the crisis rocking the party.
The cold war within the party became public knowledge earlier this week when the national leader of the party, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, in a letter, called for the immediate resignation of its national chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun.
Whereas, Odigie-Oyegun has not made a definite pronouncement on the call for his resignation, saying he would only speak after the governorship election in Ondo State, sources within the party confirmed that the Presidency and some party stalwarts have since Sunday, been working round the clock to nip the crisis in the bud, leading to the nomination of Tambuwal to interface with the aggrieved Tinubu for an amicable resolution of the crisis.
Tambuwal, who went into action immediately, was at the Presidential Villa yesterday afternoon, to brief President Muhammadu Buhari on how far he has gone on his assignment and to take further briefing.

Edo guber: PDP House caucus express concern over INEC’s neutrality

Members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Caucus in the House of Representatives on Tuesday expressed concern about some arrangement put in place for the governorship elections in Edo State.