Politics
EDO 2024: PDP slams Shaibu’s defection to APC, Ganduje boasts of victory

The membership of the Edo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress swelled on Saturday as the reinstated Deputy Governor of the state, Philip Shaibu, alongside prominent members with their supporters dumped the Peoples Democratic Party.
The decamping, which took place in Benin at the inauguration of the National Campaign Council by the APC National chairman, Abdulahi Ganduje, put an end to several months of speculation over Shaibu’s continuous stay in the PDP.
The deputy governor fell out with Governor Godwin Obaseki over his ambition to succeed his principal and was impeached after he lost to Asue Ighodalo in the PDP primary.
He was, however, reinstated by the court on Wednesday by the Abuja High Court and this has further caused division between Obaseki and him.
Speaking at the event, Shaibu said he was back to add value to the APC.
He said, “On behalf of the Legacy Group, I announce our movement to the APC. We have come to add value to the party.
“It is time to take back our state. We will not talk too much because action will speak for us. We are not afraid; we are ready to move forward.
“We, the home boys, are ready to take our state back through the APC governorship candidate, Monday Okpebholo and his running mate, Dennis Idahosa. We are not trouble makers but if it comes, we will use it to rub our body and move on.”
Ganduje, while inaugurating the National Campaign Council of the party for the September 21 governorship election headed by Cross River State Governor, Bassey Otu, received the defectors.
The APC national chairman said since Shaibu was a serving deputy governor, the party had 50 per cent of the people of Edo State.
He disclosed that the party would soon organise a grand rally in Benin to be attended by President Bola Tinubu, saying that the APC governorship candidate, Senator Monday Okpebholo, and his running mate, Dennis Idahosa “are not coming with MOUs but concrete plans to develop Edo State and to connect the state to the centre”.
Also speaking, Oshiomhole, a Senator representing Edo North, lamented that development legacy recorded by his administration in all sectors of the state had not been sustained by the Obaseki’s government.
He said Okpebholo’s major strength is empathy because he contributed millions to boost security in Esan land years back.
Speaking on the recent attack on Shaibu and Okpebholo convoy, which claimed the life of a police inspector, Oshiomhole called on the state Commissioner of Police, Funsho Adeboye to defend the integrity of his uniform by producing the killers of the police officer.
Wishing Shaibu well in the official endeavours, the Chairman of the PDP in the state, Tony Aziegbemi, said those who were calling to join the party after Shaibu’s exit were more than those leaving.
He said, “I wish them good luck in their official endeavours. The PDP cannot be depleted because of this.
“Every vote counts but those who are now coming to us because of his exit are more than those who are leaving the party, so we are good. People have been calling me since he left to say they want to join our party.
Text except headline courtesy of Punch
Politics
Rivers crisis: Why I won’t make peace with Fubara – Wike

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike, has revealed one of the reasons he can’t make peace with Governor Similayi Fubara of Rivers State.
Wike accused Fubara of removing a chief in his family and went ahead to make another person a chief.
The FCT Minister stated this on Wednesday while fielding questions from journalists at a media parley in Abuja.
According to reports, the statement comes amid the ongoing political crisis in the State, with Wike and Governor Similayi Fubara at the center of the feud.
“Sometimes when you people talk about this peace, you don’t take everything. You don’t just sit outside to talk.
“Look at me, a former governor, Minister of of the FCT, Governor (Fubara) had the temerity, the audacity, because he has money from federation account, because he has more Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), will enter my own family to remove a chief and make another person a chief,” Wike said.
News
Lagos HoA Crisis: Let Obasa Stay, Tinubu Tells Lawmakers

President Bola Tinubu has instructed lawmakers of the Lagos State House of Assembly to allow the impeached and reinstated Speaker, Mudashiru Obasa, to continue leading the house.
The President made this position known when he met with the lawmakers at the State House in Abuja on Wednesday.
As reported earlier, this is the first time President Tinubu is meeting the lawmakers since the crisis began in the house January 13, 2025.
One of the lawmakers told newsmen that ” Obasa is staying. We will obey the president. What we had was a family meeting. The President condenmed Obasa’s actions but blamed us for not carring him (Tinubu) along during the impeachement execrise”.
However, the lawmaker said President Tinubu warned Obasa to carry everyone along.
” He also warned him (Obasa) that if there were any future complaints from any quarters, he would be gone. “The President said he should let peace reign; and so based on that, we have accepted.”
On the pending matter in court, the source said: “The President has instructed him to withdraw it.”
Politics
Fubara not sincere, playing to gallery – Rivers Assembly

The Rivers State House of Assembly has disagreed with the claims by the State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, that he was blocked from entering the House to re-present his 2025 Appropriation Bill.
The House said it never received any official communication from the governor indicating his interest to bring his appropriation bill to the floor of the House.
Spokesperson of the House and Chairman, House Committee on Information, Enemi George, described the claims of the governor as a mere comedy skit scripted to paint the House in bad light.
George recalled that on March 3, the House of Assembly wrote to the governor requesting him to bring his 2025 appropriation bill to the lawmakers following the judgement of the Supreme Court.
He said: “We were the ones, who immediately after that judgement appealed to the governor to bring his appropriation bill. We acted immediately because we have the interest of the state at heart and didn’t want Rivers people to suffer any harm.
“Despite withholding our entitlements for over a year and demolishing our chambers, we still wanted him to hasten up the presentation in the interest of the progress of Rivers.
“We indicated our intentions in that letter and even gave him a timeframe because of the urgency of the matter. To regularise his appointments, we also urged him during our subsequent sitting to submit the names of his nominees for the positions of commissioners and some boards’ membership for screening and confirmation.
“But, the governor rebuffed our pleas. We sent employees of the Assembly to deliver these resolutions to him. But, as usual, they turned them down at the gate and even brutalized them. We resorted to engaging the services of a courier company.
“But, he still did not heed our call forgetting that there are essential services like hospitals, schools and others to be funded. Our intention was to finish everything about the budget on March 15, so that we could send necessary information and documents to relevant agencies of the government to allow the release of Rivers allocations at the end of March. But, with what he is doing, we don’t know what he wants to achieve.
“How can he turn around to claim that we blocked him from re-presenting his budget? This is the height of insincerity. We even need the budget to be passed because the governor has been owing us our entitlements for more than a year and without the budget, we can’t get our entitlements.
“The governor and his team simply and deliberately acted Wednesday’s drama with a singular motive to tarnish the image of the Assembly. The governor is simply playing to the gallery to whip up unnecessary sentiments. But, it has backfired because the truth has come out”.
Besides, George insisted that the letter the governor claimed that he sent to the Speaker never got to him, adding that it was after the Wednesday’s sitting that the lawmakers saw the letter flying on social media.
He said: “But, even the letter trending on social media was dated March 11. Does it mean that the governor purportedly sent a letter on Tuesday God knows when, and immediately mobilised to the Assembly Quarters on Wednesday morning, claiming he came to present his budget?
“That alone vitiates the claimed purpose. It is procedurally trite that after writing to the Assembly, the governor ought to wait for the letter to be acknowledged by the lawmakers, who will then invite him to appear before them and make his presentation. Governor Fubara ought to know this if he is sincere.
“But, all we know is that this Assembly will continue to uphold the rule of law and will remain committed to promoting the interest of Rivers State. We urge him to do the needful so that Rivers people can breathe. He is toying with the lives and livelihood of Rivers people.
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