Governor Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra State says it took him a year to decide to join the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, in 2013.

Soludo disclosed this on Wednesday in Awka while welcoming 15,000 members of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Anambra, who defected to APGA.

He said: “The first political party I joined was the PDP and I was the flag bearer in the 2010 governorship election in Anambra. During that time, I worked with many of you.

“It took me one year to take the decision to join APGA in 2013 and when I joined they disqualified me as governorship candidate but I persisted because I knew it was my last bus stop.

“Today, I am a governor and the national leader of APGA. APGA is the first progressive party in Nigeria, registered in 2002.

“It is not just a political party but a movement in Anambra, where everybody is equal and no one is left behind.”

Soludo encouraged the new party members to register at the ward level to finalise their APGA membership and also be part of the party’s cooperative designed to empower its members.

Earlier, the State Chairman of APGA, Mr Ifeatu Obi-Okoye, welcomed and formally admitted the new members.

He also commended the governor for his leadership style, which had drawn members from other political parties to join APGA.

Mr Chukwudi Umeaba, the former state Chairman, PDP, who spoke on behalf of the former PDP members, stated that their decision to join the APGA movement was driven by governor Soludo’s people-oriented policies and initiatives.

“We decided to collapse PDP into APGA to join the winning team. Our goal is to support the governor in fulfilling his agenda for the development of Anambra,” he said.

Former presidential candidate,m of the Labour Party, LP, Peter Obi, on Wednesday said the party would correct mistakes of the past in 2027.

Obi said LP would ensure that the right people emerge as its candidates during the 2027 general elections.

He spoke during LP’s National Executive Council, NEC, meeting in Abuja.

Obi said, “Let’s do the right thing, let’s go from ward to local government to state, to zone and nationally, everybody is free to contest.

“We will ensure fairness and we want to build a party that will be fair, just, and a party people can look at and say ‘this is how this party is.’

“We want to go into the next election knowing fully well that we are offering Nigeria’s the best of people for House of Assembly, House of Reps, Senate, governors, and every form of election.

“We want to correct the mistake we made in the past, we are going to be sure that whoever wants to contest must be a Labour Party member and not on transit.

“It’s going to be a party of ideology and not a party where you just elect people and they b come whatever goes on.

“We must have senators who agree with us, even if we fail, we fail but it’s better to fail doing right than be on the side of wrong. We are going to do that for Nigeria.”

The Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt has scheduled May 21, 2025, to commence hearing on a suit filed by Belema Briggs and others against President Bola Tinubu, the National Assembly, the Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, the Sole Administrator of Rivers State, retired Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas, and the Nigerian Navy.

The plaintiffs are seeking a judicial interpretation of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), specifically Sections 1, 4, 5, 11, 180, 188, and 305.

They are asking the court to determine whether, under these provisions, President Tinubu has the constitutional authority to suspend an elected executive arm of government in Rivers State, which is constitutionally guaranteed a four-year tenure.

The plaintiffs are challenging the declaration of a state of emergency by President Tinubu on March 18, 2025, which resulted in the suspension of the Governor, Deputy Governor, and members of the Rivers State House of Assembly.

They contend that such actions may constitute a flagrant violation of the constitutional provisions listed above.

In their originating summons, the plaintiffs also seek the court’s interpretation of whether the National Assembly has the power, under Sections 5, 11, and 305 of the Constitution, to ratify the President’s proclamation that effectively suspended the executive arm of the state government.

Another issue raised for determination is whether President Tinubu has the legal authority, based on Sections 4, 5, and 305 of the Constitution, to appoint retired Vice Admiral Ibas as Sole Administrator to oversee the affairs of Rivers State.

The plaintiffs are also asking the court to declare whether the suspension of the elected executive arm and the subsequent appointment of a Sole Administrator amount to an unconstitutional takeover of a democratically elected government, which they argue is prohibited by Section 1 of the Constitution.

Additionally, the plaintiffs argue that the removal of the elected executive and legislative arms, and the appointment of Ibas as Sole Administrator, violates Article 13 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act, Cap A4.

The presiding judge, after confirming that all necessary parties had been duly served, adjourned the matter to May 21, 2025, for hearing.