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SouthEast Bishops Declare Enugu Governor-Elect Unfit, Ask Police to Arrest Him for Forgery

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Three days after the Southeast Zone of the Network of Evangelical Bishops of Nigeria (NEBN) accused the Enugu state branch of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of being composed of “a tiny band of buccaneers” planning to “kidnap the finances of the state”, it has described the party’s gubernatorial candidate in the March 18 election, Peter Mbah, as unfit for public office.

“Mbah is fast gaining the reputation of a forger and blackmailer”, declared the bishops in a statement in Enugu today in reference to the National Youth Service Corps Discharge Certificate A808297 purportedly signed on January 6, 2003.

The NYSC director general, Brigadier General Yushau Dogara Ahmed, was on Arise Television on Friday morning to mark the organisation’s 50th anniversary and used the opportunity to refute the claim that the discharge certificate Mbah submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (NYSC) emanated from it.

The police should arrest Mbah immediately and prosecute him for forgery, according to the NEBN.

“He is not a fit and proper person to hold public office, let alone the exalted office of the Enugu State governor”, they stated.

“The NYSC DG has corroborated the statement by the NYSC Director of Certification, Alhaji Ibrahim A. Muhammadu, on February 1, 2023, that the certificate is false and forged”, said the bishops in the statement signed by their president, Bishop Samuel Ani, and the acting secretary, Bishop Emmanuel Eneh.

Mbah had on May 15 obtained an ex parte order from Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja to stop the NYSC from testifying on the authenticity of the discharge certificate and has even announced a N20bn libel suit against the NYSC for its position that the certificate is not genuine.

“Only a pathological liar, forger, and blackmailer would have the audacity to announce to sue the NYSC for N20b for telling the truth which everyone knows”, the religious leaders observed.

“Only a person with integrity can sue for libel where he or she will prove that his reputation has been tarnished by a publication.

“A forger has no reputation to protect and, therefore, does not have the grounds to sue for libel or slander”.

The bishops continued: “The PDP candidate is merely striking postures meant to cow the public institutions and our society at large, so that he can find himself into Government House on May 29 and begin to use the state resources and apparatus brazenly to barricade himself against the long arms of the law”.

On January 13, 2020, as David Lyon of the All Progressives Congress (APC) was preparing to be sworn in the next day as the Bayelsa State governor, the Supreme Court passed a judgment shattering his ambition because it was discovered that his deputy, Biobarakuma Degi-Eremioye, had presented false documents to the INEC.

President Muhammadu Buhari’s first Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, was forced to resign on September 14, 2018, after it was reported that she presented a forged NYSC Discharge Certificate in her curriculum vitae (CV).

“Mbah can run, but can’t hide”, said the bishops who reiterated their position that “he is not the Enugu State governor-elect because he did not win.

“Hiring an almost countless number of the most paid Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) from different parts of the country with resources of the Enugu State people to intimidate the judiciary in the name of representing him at the Election Petitions tribunal can’t help him.

“The Enugu people voted overwhelmingly for the Labour Party, the party that defeated Mbah’s foremost backer, Governor Ifeanyi Lawrence Ugwuanyi, in his polling booth, polling unit, and local government area when the outgoing governor sought to be voted into the Senate on February 25 on the PDP platform”.

The bishops also took a swipe at Justice Inyang Ekwo for granting Mbah the ex parte motion stopping the NYSC from testifying against the PDP candidate’s credentials and asked the National Judicial Council (NJC) to punish the judge.

“An ex parte order can be granted only in an emergency, but Nigerians are unable to see the emergency which prompted the order in this case”, they stated.

“For failing to heed the counsel by different Chief Justices in Nigeria over the years against granting frivolous injunctions, the National Judicial Council needs to remove people like Justice Inyang immediately from the Bench in the overriding national interest”.

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ICPC Appoints Okesanjo Resident Consultant for Strategy, Communications

Mrs Okesanjo brings over 16 years of combined experience in the public and private sectors to the role.

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•Mrs Temilade Aderemi Okesanjo

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has appointed Mrs Temilade Aderemi Okesanjo as Resident Consultant (Strategy and Communications).

ICPC Spokesperson and Head of Media and Public Communications, Okor Odey,said that the appointment, which takes immediate effect, marks the first time Strategy has been formally integrated into a Resident Consultant portfolio at the Commission, underscoring ICPC’s evolving forward-looking approach to prevention, institutional integrity, and impact-driven governance.

He emphasised that the new role is designed to strengthen the systematic integration of strategy into ICPC’s day-to-day activities, while ensuring that the Commission’s priorities and interventions are clearly articulated and responsibly communicated to stakeholders and the public.

Mrs Okesanjo will support the Commission’s work in two core areas.

On Strategy, she will help ensure that ICPC’s priorities, engagements, and interventions are deliberate, coherent, and fully aligned with its statutory mandate.

On Communications, she will drive clarity, consistency, and credibility in how these priorities are conveyed, with a view to building trust and sustaining public confidence.

Mrs Okesanjo brings over 16 years of combined experience in the public and private sectors to the role.

She began her career in the financial services industry at Ecobank Nigeria before moving into public service, where she served in the Ministry of Transportation as well as the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

In 2018, she resigned from the civil service to establish Woodford Consulting Company, through which she has led high-level strategy and implementation advisory engagements for public sector institutions and development-focused organisations.

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Four beheaded in Ebonyi communal clashes

Local sources linked the attack to a decades-long land dispute between Oso Edda in Edda Local Government Area and Amasiri in Afikpo Local Government Area of the state.

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Many residents are feared dead while several others have been abducted following a deadly attack on Okporojo Community in Oso Edda, Edda Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.

The State Commissioner for Internal Security, Chief Etta Ude, confirmed the incident and said security had been reinforced in the affected area to prevent escalations.

It was gathered that the attack occurred on Thursday, when unidentified armed men stormed the community, shooting sporadically and setting houses ablaze.

Community sources claimed that at least four persons were beheaded during the assault, with the attackers reportedly taking away the severed heads.

Many other residents were said to have sustained varying degrees of injuries, while an unspecified number remain missing.

A viral video circulating on social media showed houses engulfed in flames as distressed residents cried out for help, appealing to the Ebonyi State Government and security agencies to urgently intervene.

Local sources linked the attack to a decades-long land dispute between Oso Edda in Edda Local Government Area and Amasiri in Afikpo Local Government Area of the state.

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‎‎Wike begs court to jail striking FCTA Workers

The substantive matter has been adjourned to March 25, 2026.

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‎‎

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has asked the National Industrial Court to commit striking workers of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) to prison for alleged disobedience of a subsisting court order.‎‎

The workers resumed their strike despite a January 27 order by Justice

Subilim directing them to suspend industrial action pending determination of a suit filed by the Minister.‎‎

To enforce compliance, Wike’s legal team, led by Ogwu Onoja SAN, obtained Form 48 — a “Notice of Consequence of Disobedience of Court Order” — warning the workers they could face contempt proceedings and imprisonment.

The notice, dated January 29, was signed by the Registrar of the Industrial Court, Olajide Balogun.‎‎

Justice Subilim had earlier ruled that strikes must halt once disputes are referred to the Industrial Court, citing Section 18(1)(E) of the Trade Disputes Act.

He emphasized that public interest in maintaining industrial peace outweighs any inconvenience caused by suspending strikes.‎‎

Despite this, the workers continued their action, arguing they had filed an appeal against the ruling.

Wike’s counsel countered that only an express stay of execution could justify resuming the strike, insisting court orders must be obeyed.‎‎

The substantive matter has been adjourned to March 25, 2026.

The strike, which began January 19, has disrupted operations across FCTA Secretariat, departments, agencies, area councils, and parastatals.‎‎

The standoff now sets the stage for possible contempt proceedings, as the Industrial Court weighs enforcement of its authority against the workers’ defiance.

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