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“In Enugu There is No Honour Among Political Thieves”, Say State Stakeholders

Enugu State stakeholders have described the absence of erstwhile Governor Chimaroke Nnamani at the inauguration on Monday of Peter Mbah as the new state governor as a manifestation that there is no honour among those they call political brigands in the state.
“There is honour even among thieves, but it is not so among the swindlers in our state who robbed the people of the mandate they freely gave the Labour Party on March 18”, declared the Enugu State Stakeholders Forum (ESSF) in a statement today signed by its president, Professor Joseph Aneke, and the secretary, Dr Ifeanyi Agbo.
Outgoing Senator Nnamani brought out the “purported governor-elect from nothing and placed him on a high pedestal”, observed the stakeholders,“ yet he did not find it worthy of attending Mbah’s swearing-in as governor because they could not keep their agreement to shortchange the Enugu people”.
The stakeholders recalled how the then-governor made Mbah his Chief of Staff fresh from school and later appointed him the Commissioner for Finance.
The statement alleged that Mbah and Nnamani, both from the Nkanu sub-ethnic group, parted ways even before the conclusion of the 2023 general elections because of their “crass selfish interests which turned out to be mutually exclusive”.
The former governor has publicly been accusing fellow PDP leaders in the state of betrayal since he lost the Enugu East senatorial race on March 18 to little-known Sir Kelvin Chukwu of the Labour Party, a younger brother of Chief Oyibo Chukwu of Labour Party who was assassinated three days to the National Assembly poll, a development which compelled the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to postpone the Enugu East senatorial election to three weeks later.
Dr Nnamani has in a series of statements accused the immediate past governor, The Right Honorable Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, and Mbah of masterminding the rigging of the gubernatorial poll in favour of their party but refused to rig for him during the senatorial election for fear that the reaction of the people would be too severe for the PDP to bear.
“It was Senator Nnamani who convinced Ugwuanyi that Mbah is the right person to protect his interests after leaving office on May 29 as governor and should, therefore, anoint him as his successor”, claimed the stakeholders.
“Still, both Mbah and Ugwuanyi had no scruples in ditching him when it mattered most because there is no honour among the political scavengers of our state”.
The ESSF described the parting of ways between Mbah and Nnamani as paradoxical because Mbah stoutly refused to betray him when he was arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) after serving as the finance commissioner.
Though a lot of assets including a number of properties, a radio station and a telecommunications company belonging to Dr Nnamani were confiscated by the EFCC which told the court that they were acquired with proceeds from corruption, Mbah is reputed to have done well to avoid implicating his former boss.
“His performance at the EFCC impressed Nnamani so much that he decided to reward him with a higher political position at the right time”, said the stakeholders.
“He had no difficulty convincing the then governor to adopt Mbah as his candidate in the PDP primaries, all the more so since Mbah has made so much money through his Pinnacle Oil and Gas Company and was eager to spend a lot of it in order to become the Enugu State governor”.
With Ugwuanyi’s support, Mbah secured the PDP gubernatorial ticket by a landslide on May 26, 2022, at Nnamadi Azikiwe Stadium in Enugu, scoring 790 out of the 807 votes.
The ESSF advised Senator Nnamani to testify honestly at the Enugu State Election Petitions Tribunal where Chijioke Edeoga, the Labour Party gubernatorial candidate, is contesting the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC’s) declaration of Mbah as the elected governor.
“The testimony will not be borne out of vengeance against his party but to free his conscience and help liberate the state from brigandage”, stated the stakeholders.
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2027: Hurdles Before The Coalition, By Emeka Monye

The 2027 presidential election in Nigeria is shaping up to be a crucial contest between the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and a potential coalition of opposition parties. Several hurdles need to be overcome for the opposition coalition to succeed.
The political class is already preparing for this quadrennial event, holding consultations, meetings, negotiations, among other contending factors.
The ruling party, The All Progressive Congress, appears to be the most beautiful bride at the moment as members of other opposition parties have been courting the party, in a gale of defections, in what many political pundits and analysts described as a political tsunami.
While the APC seems to be enjoying the foray of defections by other party members into their fold, the main opposition party, The Peoples Democractic Party, PDP, appears to have lost its steam in the run of play.
The once dominant party is plagued by a series of internal crises which many political analysts believe will be the party’s undoings.
The once largest political party in Africa and oldest in Nigeria since it was created in 1998 by some elder statesmen, is now a shadow of itself, living in past glory and trying to win its way back to national prominence.
Already, some past and present leaders of the party have been consulting, negotiating, discussing, even though they have agreed yet, all in a bit to wrestle power from the stronghold of the Bola Tinubu-Led APC at the centre.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Former Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 General elections, Peter Obi, former Governor of Kaduna state, Nasir El-Rufai, among other bigwigs, are believed to be in talks with one another of how to build a possible coalition to edge the ruling APC in the power game.
Although, no concrete decision has been reached by the major actors, their negotiations and their inability to reach a consensus remain critical factors that might endanger the birth of a viable coalition.
Factors like who will step down for who as the realignment begins, remains a major issue, taking into consideration their individual experiences, exposures, skills, knowledge, capacities and egos.
Except this issue is resolved in the run up to the 2027 presidential polls, it will be a mirage for them to unseat the Tinubu-Led government.
While the running party is busy strategizing ahead of the 2027 presidential polls, the other parties are still grappling with their internal crisis.
Some analysts believe that Atiku’s past experience as Vice President under the regime of Olusegun Obasanjo, might give him an edge, while others think Peter Obi’s popularity in the South could bring a geographical balance to the ticket.
For them to form a strong force against the APC, then, they must find common platform and agree on a candidate, which might be challenging given their different ideologies and interest.
Other factors which some political analysts have highlighted that may pose as a stumbling block agents the coalition is the timing. The time between and 2027 is quite a short time for the coalition to gather and make the desired impact.
This of course, is no brainer. Any merger of alliance must be arranged within a reasonable timeframe to be effective. Also, the coalition will have to convince the Nigerian voting public of its purpose and demonstrate a clear vision for the country’s future, particularly in the area of addressing the economic misfortunes of majority of the people. Another hurdle that would be staring the coalition in the face remains the issue of power rotation.
While the south believe it’s that turn to complete their second term in 2027, the north on the other hand argue that they have been short-changed in the governance structure of the country – in terms of number of years – since the return of democracy in 1999.
Out of the total 26 years, the north has ruled for 11 years, with the south 15 years. The issue remains a key factor that would affect the coalition to birth.
The coalition, must as a matter of urgency, decency decide on this unwritten agreement about rotating power between the North and the South, potentially present a southern for one term to allow the South to complete its own two terms for the office of the president.
In conclusion, the coalition, if it really wants to win power in 2027, must make a compelling case for itself, highlighting its unique strengths and vision, rather than just criticizing the incumbent.
It needs to differentiate itself and show Nigerians that it has a better alternative.
Emeka Monye Is A Journalist And Works With ARISE NEWS.
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Mauritania’s Tah succeeds Adesina as 9th AfDB President
Tah was elected to succeed Adesina after rounds of voting conducted by the AfDB Board of Governors during the Bank’s Annual Meetings held in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.

Mauritania’s Sidi Ould Tah has been elected as the ninth president of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) as Nigeria’s Akinwumi Adesina prepares to bow out.
The Bank announced his election on its website on Thursday.
Adesina’s 10-year tenure will end this year and Tah is expected to assume office on September 1, 2025.
Tah was elected to succeed Adesina after rounds of voting conducted by the AfDB Board of Governors during the Bank’s Annual Meetings held in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
The Board comprises finance ministers and central bank governors from the Bank’s 81 member countries.
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JUST IN: Appeal Court Affirms Okphebholo as Edo Governor

The Court of Appeal in Abuja has affirmed Monday Okphebholo as duly elected in the September 21, 2024 Edo Governorship polls, as it affirms the decision of the Tribunal which on April 2 dismissed the petition of Asue Ighodalo of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) for lacking merit.
A three-man panel of the Appeal court, presided over by Justice Mohamed Danjuma, restated the position of the Tribunal which held that the PDP failed to provide sufficient and credible evidence to substantiate their claims of electoral malpractice, irregularities, and non-compliance with the Electoral Act.
The panel held that the PDP failed to provide sufficient and credible evidence to substantiate their claims of electoral malpractice, irregularities, and non-compliance with the Electoral Act.
The Appellate Court agrees with the Tribunal that the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) Machines which the appellants tendered were merely ‘dumped’ as they weren’t demonstrated to prove overvoting.
This the Court held after it earlier expunged the 133 BVAS machines admitted in evidence at the Tribunal stage of the Governorship tussle.
Ighodalo and the PDP were further faulted by the Appellate Court for failing to tender the voter register to prove overvoting.
The Court further adds that BVAS extract doesn’t constitute items with which to prove overvoting. It says the documents tendered by the PDP at the Tribunal did not, on their own, prove overvoting, non-holding or cancellation of elections at the polling units.
To further puncture the case of the PDP, the panel says the 19 witnesses called by the appellants during the Tribunal hearing didn’t help their case.
It says the majority of them did not witness what they spoke about. Moreso, it adds they were insufficient to prove irregularities in polling stations at over 4,000 locations.
Nigeria’s electoral body, INEC, had declared Okpebholo the winner with 291,667 votes, against Asue Ighodalo of the PDP who garnered 247,274 votes.