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Gabon Holds First Presidential Election Since 2023 Coup

AFP reports that Around 920,000 voters are eligible to cast their ballots from 7:00 am (0600 GMT), with the polling stations closing at 6:00 pm and final results expected on Monday.

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Gabonese voters began casting ballots on Saturday in a presidential election with eight candidates that is widely expected to make junta chief Brice Oligui Nguema the oil-rich central African country’s first elected leader since his 2023 coup.

AFP reports that Around 920,000 voters are eligible to cast their ballots from 7:00 am (0600 GMT), with the polling stations closing at 6:00 pm and final results expected on Monday.

Oligui, the general who led the August 30, 2023, putsch that ended 55 years of iron-fisted dynastic rule by the Bongo family, who were accused of looting Gabon’s wealth, has been leading in opinion polls.

Oligui has predicted a “historic victory” in the election.

Snaking queues were seen outside polling stations in Libreville, the seaside capital.

Aurele Ossantanga Mouila, 30, voted for the first time ever after finishing his shift as a croupier in a casino.

“I did not have confidence in the earlier regime,” he said.Oligui took the role of transitional president while overseeing the formation of a government that includes civilians, tasked with drawing up a new constitution.

The country of 2.3 million people is casting ballots at a time of high unemployment, regular power and water shortages, a lack of infrastructure and heavy government debt.

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Fubara in closed-door meeting with Wike and Loyalists in Port Harcourt

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Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara met with his predecessor and current Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike, on Saturday in Port Harcourt for a closed-door discussion. The meeting, held at the residence of elder statesman Chief Ferdinand Alabraba, included several political leaders loyal to Wike and lasted into the early hours of Sunday.

The gathering came shortly after a valedictory session on Wednesday for members of the dissolved Rivers State cabinet, during which Governor Fubara directed commissioners and appointees affected by the Supreme Court ruling on the state’s political crisis to step aside. Eight others unaffected by the ruling have since resumed their duties.

Although the meeting’s specifics were not disclosed, sources indicate that Fubara and Wike are aligning efforts to uphold the peace accord brokered by President Bola Tinubu during the recent six-month emergency rule in Rivers State.

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Federal Court declares Pat Utomi’s shadow govt illegal

In the judgment delivered by Justice James Omotosho, the court held that the concept or formation of a shadow government/cabinet is alien to both the 1999 Constitution, as amended, and the presidential system of government that the nation is practising.

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The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Monday declared the decision of a former presidential candidate, Prof. Patrick Utomi, to form a shadow government in the country as illegal and unconditional.

In the judgment delivered by Justice James Omotosho, the court held that the concept or formation of a shadow government/cabinet is alien to both the 1999 Constitution, as amended, and the presidential system of government that the nation is Federal

Consequently, it issued an order, restraining Prof. Utomi and his associates from proceeding with the plan, saying they could not hide under their right to criticise or hold the government accountable, to engage in unlawful activities.

The judgement followed a suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/937/2025, which was brought before which was brought before the court by the Department of State Services, DSS.

The court held that the agency acted appropriately by approaching it to stop an action capable of posing a threat to national security.

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2027: Jonathan will contest presidency, return to Villa — Jerry Gana

Gana confidently told journalists shortly after the PDP Congress in Minna, Niger State, at the weekend , that Nigerians have experienced two other leaders after Jonathan and were now yearning for his returns.

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The former Minister of Information and Orientation, Professor Jerry Gana, has disclosed that the former President Goodluck Jonathan will contest the 2027 presidential election on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Gana also expressed optimism that Jonathan would defeat President Bola Ahned Tinubu to reclaim power after 10 years.

Gana confidently told journalists shortly after the PDP Congress in Minna, Niger State, at the weekend , that Nigerians have experienced two other leaders after Jonathan and were now yearning for his returns.

He said : ” In 2015, former President Goodluck Jonathan said his ambition was not worth the blood of Nigerians. After him, another President ruled for eight years, and now another has ruled for two years.

“Nigerians have seen the difference, and the difference is very clear. Nigerians are now asking us to bring back our friend, former President Goodluck Jonathan,” Gana said.

“I can confirm that Goodluck Ebele Jonathan will contest the presidential election in 2027 as PDP candidate, and we should be prepared to vote for him to return as President again,” he added.

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