INSTANT NEWS

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has alleged that the All Progressives Congress, APC, is planning to use its armed thugs to violently attack the collation center for the ongoing governorship election in Edo State to manipulate results.

A statement on Saturday night by the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Hon. Debo Ologunagba claimed that the APC is mounting pressure on the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, and the Edo State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) to suspend the collation process.

According to PDP, the move was to “make way for the manipulation of the INEC Portal and replace the real results from the Units with fabricated figures in favour of the APC.

“Our Party has also been made aware that the APC is mounting pressure on the Military to withdraw from their positions so as to enable the APC to convey its armed thugs to disrupt and manipulate the collation process.”

“The PDP in very strong terms cautions INEC and the APC to note that the people of Edo State already have authentic results from the Polling Units across the State and that any attempt by anybody or group whatsoever to alter the results will inflame the already charged situation with very severe consequences on perpetrators,” the party said

Five aggrieved members of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in Kaduna State, have obtained an ex parte order from an Abuja Federal High Court, restraining the party and the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC from holding state congress and elections scheduled for Saturday, September 21, pending the determination of motion on notice for an interlocutory injunction.

The counsel to the aggrieved party members, M. A. Mahmud (SAN), filed the ex parte motion.

In a letter to the INEC chairman, dated September 18, Mahmud SAN, requested the commission to restrain itself from participating and monitoring the state congress in Kaduna, scheduled to be held on Saturday, September 21, 2024.

The aggrieved PDP members are Nura Waziri, Mutari Shuiabu, Yusuf Suleiman, Mallam Mansur Alasan and Ja’afar Abubakar.

The Action Peoples Party, APP, has vowed to appeal the judgement of the Federal High Court declaring the decampment of 27 sacked Rivers State lawmakers as a pre-election issue.

The Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday dismissed a defection suit instituted by APP against the 27 former members of the Rivers State House of Assembly loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.

The party, in a statement by its national chairman, Uche Nnadi, rejected the ruling, insisting that the former lawmakers remain sacked until a higher court rules otherwise.

He stated that the court ruling is against the constitution, noting that if the court says that the matter is a pre-election issue, then how can someone who’s yet to win an election be a legislator and as well defect?

Nnadi added that the party is already filing an appeal and that Oko Jumbo remains the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly.

He said: “So decampment is now a pre-election matter? That’s not what the Constitution says.

“The pending cases in that federal high court before Justice Omotosho were on trying to stop the National Assembly from taking over the functions of the Rivers State House of Assembly.

“No court has declared that the illegal decampment of the sacked lawmakers is valid. They can’t come through the back door. The matter is being appealed. And going by subsisting judgements of the courts, Oko Jumbo remains speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly.”

A week to the September 21, 2024, governorship election in Edo State, Senator Francis Alimikhena and Hon Omoregie Ogbeide-Ihama have formally dumped the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the All Progressives Congress (APC).

INSTANT NEWS reports that the duo were in the 8th and 9th National Assembly, respectively.

Alimikhena is the immediate past senator representing Edo North Senatorial District, while Ogbeide-Ihama is also the immediate past representative of Oredo Federal Constituency.

The duo were both received into the party by the National Chairman, Alhaji Abdullahi Umar Ganduje.

Speaking, Senator Francis Alimikhena, who said he was glad to be back in the APC, assured that he would mobilize his followers to vote for the party in the governorship election.

On his part, Ogbeide-Ihama said he had earlier advised his former party, the PDP, against its decision when it brought in Governor Godwin Obaseki in 2020, but they didn’t listen to him.

“In 2020, I advised the PDP against impunity when they brought in Governor Godwin Obaseki through the back door. In 2024, Governor Godwin Obaseki, who came through the back door, went to Lagos to bring Asue Ighodalo through the same back door.

“The man only joined the party in September last year. That impunity must stop.

“All those who supported the impunity, the National Working Committee, they should come with their Voter Cards on Saturday, while those who didn’t face their states and said that the governor must produce his successor should also come on Saturday.

“The governor and I are from the same local government. The results will tell. We did that to him in 2020; we will do it again for Monday Okpebholo in 2024,” he said.

INSTANT NEWS recalls that Francis Alimikhena contested the senate seat with Senator Adams Oshiomhole on the platform of the PDP.

INSTANT NEWS also recalls that President Ahmed Bola Tinubu had, on August 19, 2024, appointed Omoregie Ogbeide-Ihama as the new Executive Director (Strategy & Commercial) of Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC)

Ahead of the United States, US, Presidential election, President Joe Biden stirred controversy when he wore a red cap belonging to the Republican presidential candidate, Donald Trump.

Biden wore the Make America Great Again, MAGA, cap at an event to commemorate the 23rd anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

During a visit to firefighters in Pennsylvania on Wednesday, near where one of the four hijacked planes crashed, videos showed the president having a friendly chat with a Trump supporter before they swapped headgear.

In the video, Biden offers a Trump supporter donning a campaign cap another hat with the presidential seal on it, saying he would autograph it.

The man then asks Biden if he would sign it with his name on it.

Responding jocularly, Biden said “I don’t remember my name, I’m slow.”

After an exchange about his age, Biden hands the man the autographed cap and offers to trade it for the Trump hat, which he wore briefly, drawing cheers from the crowd.

The action immediately drew comments from social media users, with Trump’s campaign thanking Biden for the “support”.

But, a statement issued by the White House said Biden’s gesture was a way to underline the unity theme of the day.

The deputy White House Press Secretary, Andrew Bates said: “As a gesture, he gave a hat to a Trump supporter who then said that in the same spirit, POTUS should put on his Trump cap

Former lawmaker, Senator Shehu Sani has said Senator Dino Melaye and the national leader of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Rabiu Kwankwaso, differed on the crisis plaguing the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

Sani stated that while Melaye was of the view that the PDP was murdered, Kwankwaso submitted that the party died naturally and went on to declare himself as the ‘messiah’.

The former lawmaker, in a post on his X handle on Sunday, suggested that Kwankwaso’s comment on the PDP attracted angrier reaction than that of Melaye, his former colleague in the Senate.

He said: “Senator Dino lamented that PDP was murdered while Senator Kwankwaso submitted that PDP died naturally and declared himself as the messiah. The latter appears to attract more angrier reactions. A coroner is needed.”

Instantnews reported that Kwankwaso, the NNPP’s presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, who came fourth in the election, said he will win the 2027 presidential election.

Kwankwaso also claimed that the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, is already dead.

“I wish to remind you that Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is already dead, because we were in the party, since they have gone out of the line, we decided to check out,” he said.

Meanwhile, Melaye, a chieftain of the PDP, in a post on X recently decried the crisis plaguing the party, saying it has been destroyed by the acting chairman, Umar Damagun and others.

“End of the road for PDP as Damagun, Bature and Anyanwu irredeemably destroyed the party. We will talk about the commercialisation and privatisation of PDP. PDP is now once upon a time,” he wrote

Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State has said he brought the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, presidential candidate, Asue Ighodalo, because he needed a competent hand to pilot the affairs of the state.

Obaseki said electing an incompetent governor would be a disservice to the people of Edo State.

He spoke during PDP’s campaign in Etsako East Local Government Area of the state.

The governor explained that he brought Ighodalo to continue the good works of his administration.

According to Obaseki, Ighodalo is not a “push-and-start” candidate.

Obaseki said: “Asue Ighodalo is not a ‘push-and-start’ candidate. The state needs competent hands to pilot its affair, given the level of suffering currently ravaging Nigeria today.

“So, it will be a big disservice to the state to elect somebody who is grossly incompetent and incapable of managing it.

“Edo is already enjoying good governance and that is why I brought Asue Ighodalo and Osarodion Ogie to continue the good work I am doing.”