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Edo Polls: Protest Rocks APC Headquarter in Abuja over alleged Election Irregularities

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A member of the House of Representatives, Dennis Idahosa, alongside the Youth Leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Edo State, Anthony Edun, popularly known as Tony Kabaka have led supporters to protest at the party’s Headquarters in Abuja on Saturday against the primary won by Senator Monday Okpebholo, which they tagged election irregularities.

The protesters could be seen carrying placards with different inscriptions including, ‘Our mandate cannot be stolen or monetised’, ‘Mr President, call APC NWC to order’, ‘NWC, reward loyalty in Edo APC’ and ‘We say No to fictitious results.’

Three of the aspirants were claiming to have won the just concluded primary conducted to produce candidate for the governorship election scheduled for September 21.

Idahosa appealed to President Bola Tinubu to call the National Working Committee (NWC) to order, while threatening to drag the APC to court if justice is not done.

Idahosa said he has submitted a protest letter to the APC Governorship Appeal Committee, adding that he will take his time to go through the process after which he would proceed to court to fight for his right against the party.

His statement reads: “I am not here to make trouble, I am a lawmaker but one thing is that we want is justice. Today, I might be a young man but it might be the children of NWC members tomorrow. We have to do the right thing, if we continue to do what is wrong as a country, we are not going to move forward.

“So I am calling on Mr. President to call the NWC to order. Elections were held on February 17 what they did on 22 was just selection. I challenged one of the LGA returning officers to give me, show me a picture of him in the Local government Headquarters where he said he collated the results and he was just blabbing, there was nothing because I know that they were in the same Hotel in Benin, that’s where they wrote all the results.

“So my fellow party members, I am not here to make trouble, I am only here to seek justice, whatever they have done, if it is not properly managed, I have written yesterday to the appeal panel committee and I know they will do justice, even if whatever they did, I just want to go through the process, having exhausted the party’s resolve mechanism, I will go further, I will seek justice in the court of law and I will not allow this to stand.”

Also speaking, a lawyer and chieftain of the party from Edo State, who accompanied Idahosa alongside other party members, Bernard Ekun, said the party was trying to deliberately avoid APC from providing or getting a candidate for the election.

According to him, when something is inconclusive, it invariably means some places have been identified for primaries to be done in those places, adding that sadly enough, first, nobody came to the field from the other end.

He said, “The Governor who was in charge of the purportedly selection primaries said that it was going to be a fresh election. Between me and you, when you know the issue of INEC, there is supposed to be 21 days notices from INEC for that primary. Nothing of such and we are out of time.

“Are you people saying that the selection process you have done, which you called a fresh election should be acceptable to us? No. Our demands is that the 17 February 17 primaries stands. That is known to Law. What they have done is kangaroo selection.

“What these people have done is that they have sold their responsibility, the excellence in them, they have sold as reasonable men. They have sold it for a Chinese Cuisine, they have sold it for egg fries. But if you want to go to the Bible, they have sold it for a pot of porridge. And it will not stand!

“People were in the hotel sleeping, how will they have been able to get a result? Even INEC did not observe this selection, kangaroo thing they said they were doing. So what you have seen  is that there is no election, we stand on 17th because that is the only one that is duly observe and fallen between the ambit of the law.

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NGE Condemns Arbitrary Closure of Badeggi Radio Station by Gov Bago for allegedly promoting violence

Governor Bago acted outside his powers to order the closure of a radio station.

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• Eze Anaba, NGE President

The Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) strongly condemned the closure of Badeggi Radio by Governor Mohammed Umar Bago of Niger State.

In a statement signed by Eze Anaba, NGE President, and Onuoha Ukeh, General Secretary, they said that the closure of the radio station was a blatant attack on press freedom and democracy in Nigeria.

Ohibaba.com garhered that Governor Bago accused the owner of the Station for incitement of the people against government and directed that the license of the Radio station be revoked.

The governor directed the Commissioner for Homeland Security and the Commissioner of Police to seal the radio station, and emphasised the need for the security operatives to profile the owner of the radio station as his station promotes violence”, Ibrahim Said

According to the Guild, this act of censorship and intimidation undermines the fundamental principles of a democratic society, where free press is essential for holding those in power accountable.

The association referred to section 39 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) guarantees freedom of expression and press freedom.

The power to sanction television and radio stations only lies with the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC) after a thorough investigation of any alleged breach of the Code.

Also, Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which Nigeria is signatory to, also guarantees press freedom and freedom of expression.

Said the statement : ” The closure of Badeggi Radio, a vital platform for public discourse and information dissemination, is a worrying trend that threatens the very fabric of our democracy.

Governor Bago acted outside his powers to order the closure of a radio station.

The power to sanction television and radio stations only lies with the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC) after a thorough investigation of any alleged breach of the Code.

We are happy that the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mallam Mohammed Idris, has pointed this out. This should go beyond observing the anomaly.

The federal government should order the unsealing of the premises of the radio station, while investigation is carried out.

Government officials should know that we are in a democracy and therefore, the act of arbitrary order for the sealing off and closure of a radio station is unacceptable. Arbitrary closure of media houses reminds us of the dark days of military rule, which ended 26 years ago.

Governor Bago’s allegation of incitement of violence by the radio station is a serious issue, which has to be investigated and proven before any action can be taken.

We urge the media to operate under strict adherence to the code of ethics of journalism, with responsible conduct at the back of the minds of the professionals.

We also call on the authorities to take measures to respect the rights of citizens to access information and express themselves freely.

Badeggi Radio should be reopened while the investigation continues.

The Guild reiterates that a free and independent press is essential for a functioning democracy and demands that governments at all levels respect and uphold this fundamental right.”

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NLC rejects FG’s new policy stopping frequent industrial strikes

” We are in shock that from a catalogue of hundreds of workplace issues contained in the National Industrial Relations Policy, the Federal Government singled out industrial strikes as its headache.

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• Joe Ajaero, NLC President

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has expressed concerns over the newly adopted National Industrial Relations Policy by the Federal Government.

In a statement made available to newsmen on Saturday in Abuja, Mr. Joe Ajaero, NLC President, said the new policy would make embarking on strike a criminal issue and silence trade unions.

In a statement made available to newsmen on Saturday in Abuja, Mr. Joe Ajaero, NLC President, said the new policy would make embarking on strike a criminal issue and silence trade unions.

NLC considers the statement by the Federal Government that the newly adopted National Industrial Relations Policy is aimed at stopping frequent industrial actions, particularly strikes by trade unions, as very reprehensible.

“The statement was part of the press release by the Federal Government at the end of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, which took place on 31st July 2025.

“We are in shock that from a catalogue of hundreds of workplace issues contained in the National Industrial Relations Policy, the Federal Government singled out industrial strikes as its headache,” he said.

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Olumuyiwa Adejobi Becomes Deputy Commissioner of Police

The promotion, approved by the Police Service Commission, underscores DCP Adejobi’s exceptional service, professionalism, and unwavering dedication to the ideals of policing in Nigeria.

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The Nigeria Police Force has announced the elevation of its Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO), Olumuyiwa Adejobi, from the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) to Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP).

The promotion, approved by the Police Service Commission, underscores DCP Adejobi’s exceptional service, professionalism, and unwavering dedication to the ideals of policing in Nigeria.

Adejobi was first appointed in acting capacity on 16th February 2022 as a CSP and took over from then CP Frank Mba. He was later confirmed by then IGP Usman Alkali (Rtd).

DCP Adejobi has served as the image maker of the Nigeria Police Force with distinction.

Since his appointment as FPRO, he has led several strategic initiatives to rebuild public trust, improve accountability, and modernize the force’s communication channels.

DCP Adejobi studied Archaeology and Geography (Combined Honours) from the University of Ibadan.

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