Demands action on escalating attacks in Kaduna, Plateau

The leadership of Evangelical Church Winning All, ECWA, has condemned the rising cases of violence, banditry, and kidnappings in Kaduna and Plateau states, urging the Federal Government to take urgent action.

General Secretary of ECWA, Rev. Ayuba Asheshe, at a press conference in Jos, said the Church had already spent over N300 million in ransom payments, adding that over 50 of their members remain in captivity.

His words: “ECWA expresses its profound grief and deep concern over a surge of violent incidents impacting its members and communities in Kaduna and Plateau states. These interconnected crises, marked by banditry, kidnappings, and brutal militia attacks, demand immediate and decisive intervention from government and all stakeholders.

“In Kaduna State, the Kwassam DCC of the Kauru Local Government Area has been ravaged by relentless banditry and kidnappings in recent weeks. Over 20 lives have been lost, and over 100 individuals, including Church members and community residents, have been abducted.

“The Church has already spent over 300 million Naira in ransom payments, yet over 50 individuals remain in captivity, placing an unbearable financial strain on the Church and affected families, many of whom have lost their livelihoods. The targeting of predominantly farming communities in the region further exacerbates the crisis, posing a significant threat to food security in the affected areas and neighboring communities due to the disruption of agricultural activities.”

The Kano State government said it has uncovered an anomaly in the March salary payroll system and leading to the recovery of over N28m paid to 247 dead or retired workers. 

The government, through a committee, a pay parade committee established in the state, uncovered the anomaly following a validation exercise on the March salary payroll system.

In a statement by the Press Secretary to the Secretary to the Kano State Government (SSG), Musa Tanko Muhammad, said the disturbing irregularity was uncovered within the payroll system of Local Government Councils which the findings revealed that 247 individuals have either retired from service or dead, yet have been appearing in the payroll and their salaries running.

The Government, however, assured of its commitment to purging the payroll system of irregularities, while the individuals found to be involved in the fraudulent activity will be identified and held fully accountable in accordance with the law.

According to the statement, “In a decisive move towards cleansing the State Payroll, the Kano State Government, under the leadership of Governor Abba Yusuf, has recorded a major milestone in its ongoing efforts to reform the salary administration system within the State civil service.

“As part of the reform process, a Pay Parade Committee has been established and will commence its operations shortly. In preparation for the full implementation of its mandate, the Committee deemed it necessary to involve all stakeholders. Consequently, the Committee printed the March 2025 payroll vouchers and requested all Ministries, Departments, Agencies (MDAs) and Local Government Councils to study the Payrolls and make necessary observations as a prelude to a comprehensive Pay Parade scheduled to be flagged off on Monday the 28th of April. Arising from the validation exercise, a disturbing irregularity was uncovered within the payroll system of Local Government Councils. The findings revealed that 247 individuals have either retired from service or dead yet, yet have been appearing in the payroll and their salaries are running. These fraudulent salary payments amount to the sum of ₦27,824,395.40 for March 2025 alone.

“In a prompt and effective response, and while further due diligence is being conducted to determine the extent of this apparent fraud and the perpetrators, the amount has been recovered and returned to the Local Government Treasury.

“This significant recovery underscores the administration’s unwavering dedication to entrenching governance, transparency, and responsible management of public resources,” the statement however, reads.

Interview

Last week’s defections of Governor Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta State, his deputy, Sir Monday Onyeme, predecessor in office, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, and their supporters from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to the All Progressives Congress, APC, increased concerns that Nigeria is headed for a one-party state. One of the founding fathers of the party, Senator Chris Ekpenyong, identifies where PDP got it wrong. Ekpenyong, who served as Deputy Governor of Akwa Ibom State under the Attah administration from 1999 to 2007, says the party may find it difficult to rise again,

As a founding father of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, what can you say about the defections of Delta State governor, among others, to the APC?

It means Tinubu has killed the PDP. I’m sure Akwa Ibom may follow soon. Everybody wanted former VP Atiku to clearly state that he wasn’t going to contest, but his persistence has forced people to make their own decisions. This is dividing the North and the South. What do we do now? The party has been destroyed. I honestly don’t know how they can rebuild it to challenge the APC in the future.

Does this mean the elders of the party didn’t do enough to prevent these high-profile defections that are about making Nigeria a one-party state?

Who do I talk to? The people we could talk to are no longer interested. The first mistake PDP made was handing over the party to the governors. That was the mistake founding fathers like Obasanjo made. Obasanjo seized the party. The only ones who stood up to him were the late Chief Sunday Awoniyi and former Vice President Alex Ekwueme, who actually founded the PDP. We joined Ekwueme when the party evolved from G34 to PDP. My boss, former Governor Victor Attah, benefited from that transformation. Chief Don Etiebet, who brought PDP to Akwa Ibom, left as far back as 2001 because of how he was treated after Attah took power. PDP ruled Nigeria for 16 years. Some people once said PDP would rule for 60 years. But where are they now? The party was left in the hands of governors, who now control everything. They know why they’re defecting, it’s mostly to protect themselves from the EFCC. We’ll wait and see what happens when Tinubu finishes his two terms. Will the North use APC for their own turn? We are heading for a one-party state. It’s left to them. I no longer have the locus standi to fight back. Those who looted the nation’s wealth have done their worst.

Was there ever a time you foresaw the decline of the once-powerful PDP?

Of course, yes. The moment the party was handed over to governors, it was clear. During the Second Republic, the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) wasn’t controlled by governors. If it had been, I wouldn’t have become a member of the House of Assembly at such a young age, even while serving as a Youth Corps member. I had no money. I considered joining the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN), where things might have been easier, but I chose NPN because my people were conservatives—and I even defeated an incumbent. Back then, the party was run by the people, who contributed to its funding. Now, the governors run everything.

It was learnt that more PDP governors, especially those seeking second term, might also defect…

My state governor, Eno, has already declared support for Tinubu. He’s also backing the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio. What next? I called Fubara (suspended Rivers governor), he didn’t answer. But I sent him a message. I told him that since Tinubu was in France, he should visit him because this whole battle is about delivering Rivers State votes to Tinubu. The young man is being humiliated by Wike, and the President has done nothing. Instead, he installed an administrator in the state. This is clearly about votes. Fubara has to survive politically, if not, he’ll be rubbished.

The current set of PDP governors seem to be capitulating. Does this show a lack of spine?

They are weak. All they care about is power and their own survival. A few governors from the North might jump ship too. Atiku is the problem. He should have focused on rebuilding the party instead of always aiming for the presidency. What can he do now? My governor wasn’t even nominated to attend the NEC meeting in Kano in August. I don’t see any hope for the opposition. Tinubu has already neutralized them. As things stand, only a movement from the people can bring real opposition. What’s happening now is the requiem for the PDP. I spoke to Okwesilieze Nwodo, a former governor and party National Chairman. We had a long discussion.

He said he was hopeful the issues would be addressed at the Convention—but what’s likely to come out of it now? Many people who benefited from PDP don’t even care anymore. Those who could have helped revive the party in the North are dormant. It’s over. Tinubu already controls the South, and the North has no choice but to give him votes. PDP made a huge mistake after late President Yar’Adua’s death. They should have let someone from the North continue. But they insisted it was the South’s turn. That disrupted the balance. I don’t see PDP coming back. Maybe after Tinubu’s tenure, people will decide to create a new party.

But the Constitution doesn’t provide room for independent candidates…

If you choose to contest as an independent and they eliminate you at the last minute, what can you do?

In Lagos, the most populous city in West Africa, nothing is a waste in the hands of those who can see value in it.

Despite inherent risks, particularly those that have to do with human safety and public health, when the opportunity to make cash or profit presents itself, the love of money is prioritised above all.

While the city generates an estimated 5.46 million tonnes of waste annually, some of these wastes often find their way back to the market.

Among these arrays of wastes that find their way back to market include used wigs which have been disposed of by residents across the state, investigations by PUNCH Healthwise revealed.

Our correspondent who visited three dumpsites in Lagos, including Olusosun in Ojota, Dumping in Ikorodu and Solous in Igando, saw how the scavengers sorted the used wigs and repackaged them for onward transfer out of the dump.

It was gathered that while the market for secondhand wigs, particularly those picked from the dumps, is not thriving in Lagos, it is a booming venture in the far northern part of the country.

But despite the opportunities, senior health experts warned that the unseen health risks associated with the practice far outweigh whatever economic value such endeavours would create.

Underhand trades

In the heart of Ikorodu’s dumpsite in Ewu-Elepe, popularly known as Dumping, where the air is thick with decay and the ground littered with waste, lies the booming market for different items picked from the facility.

The scavengers and businessmen nestled in the several makeshift erected on the dumpsite have created an enterprise in what others have thrown away.

These include scraps of metal, tattered clothes, and broken appliances. But a rather unusual sight caught the attention of our correspondent – used wigs, tangled and matted, which were being sorted by a young man.

When approached by our correspondent, the man who refused to disclose his name, told our correspondent that the used wig market is booming in the north.

He explained that while the used wigs are underpriced in Lagos, they move well in the north and have commercial value.

“It is being packed for onward transportation to the north. We will send it to the north and it will be sold out in no distant time.

“Unlike in Lagos where it is underpriced and doesn’t move well, it is well loved in the north and that is why we prefer transporting to the north to sell,” he said.

When our correspondent asked what the wigs are used for in the north, he looked bewildered, wondering why I had to ask him such.

“Na woman dey use am nah. They buy and wear it,” he said in pidgin English.

Scavenged beauty

PUNCH Healthwise gathered that for a fraction of the price of new hair, customers often claim their secondhand beauty, unknown to them the unseen dangers lurking in each strand.

Unaware of the wigs’ origins, shoppers run their fingers through the strands, often wowed by their texture when they are displayed on roadside markets in the evening and at night.

The wigs, which must have been reborn by a bit of oil and straightener, are reintroduced back to society and the buyers adorn their heads with the lush hair picked from waste.

Beneath the scavenged wigs lie unseen germs and parasites that pose a threat to the skin and health of the new owner.

When our correspondent posed as a customer and approached a food vendor on the dumpsite on why the scavengers were trading in used wigs and clothes, she said it was happening because there was a ready market for it.

Popularly known as Iya Tinubu in the dump for being an unapologetic supporter of President Bola Tinubu, the food vendor explained that some of the scavenged items are being resold in some roadside markets in Ikorodu.

According to her, many retailers come to the dump to buy clothes and wigs and other things picked by the scavengers across markets in Ikorodu.

“Don’t be surprised about what you are seeing. Many people selling okrika (local name for used clothes) come here to pick them.

“They come here and buy it in bulk, they wash it and resize it sometimes before they go back to selling it to people.

“Look at that woman (pointing our correspondent to a woman selecting clothes from dealers in the dump) she will sell what she’s picking right now in the evening in the Sabo area of Ikorodu,” the food vendor said. 

Probing further, our correspondent asked about the wigs, she explained that if people can buy the clothes picked from the dump, wigs are not an exception.

“Why are you sounding this surprised? Is this your first time here? There’s nothing wrong with it. It’s a business and people patronise it well and you can still see the woman I showed you shopping there.

“Though mostly, the wigs are transported to the north. I heard it is taken to an area in Niger State where it is well regarded and has commercial value,” Iya Tinubu told our correspondent.

Not satisfied, our correspondent approached the retailer that the food vendor had pointed to him, posing as someone who just wanted to start the business.

The woman, who appeared to be in her late 30s, advised our correspondent to ensure he picks the best from the bales, adding that customers also look for the best among clothes on display when they get to the market.

 “The prices also vary. Women’s clothes are not as expensive as men’s. From N200 to N500 you’d see good ones for women while men’s own ranges from N700 to N1000 upward.

“You know everything is now expensive. The prices used to be lower than these before but the recent economic reality has also affected this business,” she said while sifting through the bales of dirty clothes with her bare hands.

However, when our correspondent approached some of the northerners selling used clothes to the retailers, they declined to comment.

Used wigs users risk fungal, bacterial infections — Dermatologists

Meanwhile, skin health experts have warned that people who buy and wear wigs picked from the dumpsites are at risk of several health complications, including fungal and bacterial infections.

The dermatologists, who spoke separately with PUNCH Healthwise, explained that there were several side effects to wearing things picked on the dump, adding that such items would predispose individuals to health risks which can greatly impact their skin’s health.

A Consultant Physician and Dermatologist, Dr Roli Madubuko, explained that using wigs scavenged from dumpsites is associated with several dermatological consequences.

Madubuko, who is also an Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Benin, Edo State, listed the health risks to include infections, infestations, and allergic reactions.

She said, “One of the primary health risks is infection, which could be either fungal or bacterial. These wigs may harbour fungi and bacteria that can lead to conditions like ringworm. In dermatology, we call this Tinea capitis, but most people know it as ringworm. In some parts of South-South Nigeria, it is locally referred to as Lapalapa. This is a fungal infection that affects the scalp.

“Bacterial infections can also occur, leading to scalp boils, a condition known as folliculitis. These appear as painful, inflamed lumps on the scalp. If these boils become severely infected, they can develop into abscesses. Another bacterial infection that may arise is impetigo, which presents as fluid-filled blisters on the scalp.”

According to her, the wigs may also harbour head lice and mites and these parasites can survive without human contact for up to three weeks, making it possible for them to remain on discarded wigs.

“When someone wears an infested wig, they may experience persistent itching, redness, and irritation of the scalp,” she said.

The consultant dermatologists explained that many wigs contain chemicals used for dyeing, treatment, or cleaning, adding that they can predispose users to some health risks.

“Some of these chemicals can cause skin irritation, leading to a condition known as contact dermatitis. This is a form of skin reaction triggered by allergens in the wig material.

“Wigs picked from dumpsites may have been designed for specific head sizes. If they don’t fit properly, they may cause friction, leading to irritation, redness, and in some cases, hair loss. Additionally, tight wigs can obstruct blood flow to the scalp, affecting hair growth and causing long-term scalp damage,” Madubuko added.

Also, a Consultant Dermatologist at University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu, Dr Nkiruka Onodugo, said the side effects of such practices are enormous, warning that women should be careful of the wigs they purchase.

“You’re going to predispose yourself to infections, fungal infections, bacterial infections, even parasitic infections because some of these parasites will live in these wigs,” Onodugo said.

According to her, even the substances used to disinfect these wigs (for those who even try to disinfect them) may actually be a source of irritation for the users.

“This means that every wig you see in the market now is a suspect because sometimes, you don’t even know which one was scavenged and which one was not scavenged. So, it’s really a very bad situation.

“I think every woman should be very careful. We should be much more careful about what we put on our heads. Don’t just go and buy anything from anywhere, all in the name of fashion, put it on your head, and expose yourself to all sorts of risks, all in the name of keeping up with the trend. It doesn’t make sense. You’ll be better off with your natural hair,” the consultant dermatologist advised.

A study by Nigerian researchers, Dike Ijere, J. N. Okereke and E. U. Ezeji titled ‘Potential hazards associated with wearing of synthetic hairs in Nigeria’ in 2022 and published in the Journal of Environmental Science and Public Health found that there are contaminants hiding in synthetic hairs.

“We found that the synthetic hair samples were contaminated with 11 chemical compounds which are pesticides. The levels of these chemicals found in the hair exceeded permissible limits, making them dangerous to health

“Exposure to the toxic chemicals that we found in synthetic hair can have serious health consequences. Apart from damage to vital organs, they can cause infertility, birth defects, asthma, bronchitis and cancers. They also lead to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, endocrine system disruption and respiratory diseases, among others.

“People who wear synthetic hair should consider these risks, especially as chemical substances and heavy metals can be harmful even at low levels,” the researchers said.

However, efforts to get a reaction from the Ministry of Health proved abortive.

Calls to a Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Dr. Segun Agboye, were not picked and messages sent to him on WhatsApp were yet to be responded to as of time of filing this report.

The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement has expelled 902 Nigerians since the start of fiscal year 2019, according to data from the agency’s 2024 Annual Report​.

This is as 3,690 more remain in limbo with removal orders hanging over them.

Although removals fell from 286 Nigerians in 2019 to 138 in 2024, reflecting a 51.7 per cent decline over the six years, ICE’s country-by-country deportation ledger showed Nigerians removals spiked during Donald Trump’s first two full years in office, 2018 and 2019, and may spike in 2025 under renewed crackdown.

Senegal was in second place with 716 removals, with 410 of those in 2024 alone.

Ghana sits third with 582 removals, followed closely by Mauritania with 491 removals.

Removals to Mauritania rose from 58 in 2023 to 353 in 2024.

The report attributed the spike to the Electronic Nationality Verification expansion programme, which shortened the paperwork cycle by allowing consular officers to clear identity checks electronically rather than in person​. Officials say the ENV cut manifest-approval times from weeks to days and allowed weekend-chartered flights to countries such as Mauritania, Senegal and Ghana.

Other African countries on the list were Egypt (467), Somalia (406), Democratic Republic of Congo (395), Liberia (379), Kenya (335), and Guinea (294). The rest were scattered among Angolans (293), Cameroonians (288), The Gambia (22), Sierra Leone (165), Morocco (161) and Ethiopia (141), amongst others with smaller caseloads.

Outside Africa, the highest removals are to America’s near neighbours.

Mexico topped the deportation chart with 434,827 removals between fiscal 2019 and 2024, more than double that of any other nationality on the agency’s books.

Analysts say enforcement activity remained high in the Northern Triangle, with Guatemala recording 185,713 expulsions and Honduras 142,349, while El Salvador logged 65,268 during the same period.

Colombia accounted for 30,724 returns and Ecuador 26,847 due to a surge in charter flights in 2023. Peru followed with 11,554​. Caribbean and Bolivarian states recorded smaller but still significant totals: the Dominican Republic saw 13,904 deportations, Nicaragua 13,350 and Venezuela 4,962 over the six-year period. ICE reports attributed this to a mix of travel-document diplomacy and a surge in border encounters.

Together, the 10 countries accounted for almost three-quarters of the 271,484 people ICE says it deported in 2024, the agency’s busiest year since before COVID-19 .

According to ICE, legal authority for such removals rests on the Immigration and Nationality Act.

It said foreign nationals might be expelled for unlawful entry, overstaying visas, fraud, certain criminal convictions or national-security grounds.

In January 2017, President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 13768, which broadened ICE’s enforcement to include anyone without lawful status.

ICE arrest numbers jumped 30 per cent that year as Nigerian removals rose accordingly.

In 2019, ICE carried out 267,258 removals, the highest yearly total in nearly a decade​.

That year, Nigerian removal numbers rose to 286. This was part of a long list of 3,690 Nigerians whom ICE had identified and placed on its non-detained docket by late 2020, as revealed in January 2025.

Nigeria had the second-highest number of nationals facing deportation in Africa then, after Somalia’s 4,090 cases​.

In 2021, President Joe Biden directed ICE to prioritise the most serious criminals and recent entrants for removal, leading to a sharp drop in deportation numbers.

ICE removals fell to about 59,000 in 2021, the lowest in decades, and Nigerian removals dropped to 78 that year​.

The following year, even fewer Nigerians (49) were sent home amid pandemic-related travel restrictions and continued cautious enforcement. But a Supreme Court ruling in July 2024 allowed the Department of Homeland Security to fully reinstate those guidelines, prioritising public safety and national security cases.

ICE defines “removal” as the confirmed compulsory movement of a non-citizen out of the United States following an order of removal​. This often follows a final removal order by an immigration judge or administratively via mechanisms like expedited removal at the border.

ICE says the journey from arrest to repatriation typically runs through a patchwork of local jails, immigration courts and consular clearances.

Once an order of removal is final, ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations division must secure travel documents, field medical clearances and book a commercial seat or, more commonly for West-African returns, a dedicated charter flight.

The agency says electronic verification has shaved days off that timeline, which is one reason the 2024 total dwarfs the previous two pandemic-ridden years.

In carrying out Trump’s recent deportation order, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have raided several establishments suspected of harbouring illegal immigrants and made arrests.

At a meeting with US Ambassador to Nigeria, Richard Mills Jr., in February, Nigeria’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, called on the United States to ensure a humane deportation process for Nigerians.

“We are asking as a country whether they will be given ample time to handle their assets or will they just be bundled into planes and repatriated?” she queried, highlighting concerns over the emotional and financial impact on deportees and their families.

She argued that deportations, particularly for persons with no history of violent crime, should not be traumatic or abrupt.

The Nigerians in Diaspora Commission had earlier said it was ready to welcome Nigerians deported from the US.

“The Federal Government has set up an inter-agency committee, comprising the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, NiDCOM, Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Office of the National Security Adviser, should there be mass deportation of Nigerians from the US,” NiDCOM’s Director of Media and Corporate Affairs, Abdur-Rahman Balogun, said in an interview.

Alarm in Ibori’s camp as Oborevwori,Okowa, negotiate with APC

Rivers is next bull’s eye,  A-Ibom unclear; Edo, Cross River in the kitty

For those conversant with the penetrating manoeuvrings of  President Bola Tinubu and his carefully chosen strategists to commandeer the six states of the South-South ahead of 2007, Governor Sheriff Oborevwori’s cataclysmic wreck of the  People’s Democratic Party (PDP) ship in Delta State, and boarding the All Progressives Congress (APC) yacht on Wednesday was stroke of a genius.

The PDP controls four states of the South-South region up to last Wednesday when Oborevwori, joined by his predecessor, and vice-presidential candidate in the last presidential election, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, and other leaders reduced it to three apiece with the APC.

The PDP-controlled states in the region presently are Bayelsa, Rivers and Akwa Ibom states while the APC presides over Edo, Cross Rivers and now, Delta State.

Tinubu started the South-South “capture” last year with Edo when he halted the immediate past governor of the state, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, from fulfilling his desire to crown a PDP successor, Dr. Asue Ighodalo.

A former governor of the state and senator representing Edo North, Adams Oshiomhole, who had scores to settle with his erstwhile friend, Obaseki, supervised the takeover Edo arrangement.

Obaseki, who fell out with Oshiomhole in his first tenure, dumped the APC for the PDP when Oshiomhole, as then National Chairman of the APC, denied him a second-term ticket.

He triumphed and led the PDP to take over Edo from the APC in 2020 with the then sitting president, Muhammadu Buhari, not interfering in the electoral process.

But Tinubu was not prepared to allow such in 2024.

He authorized the Oshiomhole–led team to terminate the Obaseki plan.

From the security to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials, instructions were reportedly passed from above.

Obaseki cried blue murder after the election, shouting that the PDP won, but in the court, it became clearer to him that the power to decide what happens lies somewhere.

Governor Oborevwori, Senator Okowa, and other PDP leaders were involved with Obaseki in the fierce political combat to see the PDP retain Edo, and what ensued was clear to them.

APC leaders bragged about the plot before the election, and, according to the grand design, Delta is the next to go.

Political lesson

 A close associate of Tinubu and former governor of the state, Chief James Ibori, who Okowa, as governor, sidelined in his choice of Oborevwori as successor, was more than ready to teach Okowa a political lesson.

Ibori’s daughter, Hon Erhiatake Suenu-Ibori, representing the Ethiope Federal Constituency, dumped the PDP in Delta and joined the APC last year.

Ibori did not officially announce his exit from the PDP, but his sympathy lies more with the APC since Okowa chose Oborevwori over his candidate, David Edevbie.

Oborevwori and Okowa unmistakably understood what Tinubu would do in 2027 if they refused his plot to commandeer Delta State.

The president had discussed separately with Oborevwori, other South-South and South-East PDP governors, and made his propositions on 2027 known to them.

Most of the PDP first term governors agreed to work for the president in 2027 while Tinubu also helps to guarantee their re-election.

Deal

 The arrangement later changed from supporting the president as PDP governor but abandoning the PDP for the APC for a foolproof deal.

Many PDP political strategists in Delta State struck down on the plan when they heard about it.

The governor and PDP leadership in the state denied media reports linking him to a plan to defect to the APC.

But since December or thereabouts, last year, Oborevwori, Okowa and their inner circle have reviewed and re-appraised the proposal, and the inescapable conclusion was that with their party (PDP) in tatters, no thanks to the former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, who sees the presidential ticket as his life entitlement, the PDP stands no chance against Tinubu in 2027.

Mobilizing the PDP stakeholders to wreck the party in the state was an uphill task, but the actuality that whether they agree or not, the APC would still take over the state in 2027, made the majority to bow to pressure. 

The rest is history as the resolution to bury the PDP in Delta State glided with an undersized opposition last Wednesday at an expanded meeting in the Government House, Asaba.

  Fear

 However, there is a palpable fear that the APC strategists cleverly lured Oborevwori and Okowa into their fold and destroyed the PDP, and would uncover their real plan in the party’s primary for the 2027 governorship election.

Actually, sources told Sunday Vanguard that there was no deal on the ground with the APC leadership detailing who gets what under the new arrangement as it naturally should be because the governor, by the virtue of his position, should be the leader of his new party in Delta.

“But let us assume that the governor will naturally assume the leadership of the APC in the state, what happens to his supporters. How will they be accommodated in the new scheme of things?” one of the sources said.

“Now don’t forget that there are big politicians in the APC that the governor and his people are coming to meet in the party. 

“You have people like Senator Omo-Agege and Minister Festus Keyamo among others. 

“How will the interests of these politicians be married with those of Oborevwori and his teeming supporters?”

Sunday Vanguard learnt that barring last minute change of plans, negotiations on how to accommodate the governor’s supporters in the APC with the party’s leadership may begin this week.

Another issue that may prove contentious, according to sources, is how the Ibori camp may take the defection of Oborevwori and Okowa into the APC in Delta.

Recall that Ibori had related with the APC in Delta more than the PDP since the run-up to the 2023 elections when Okowa blocked his candidate (David Edevbie) from succeeding him on the platform of the PDP.

“Being a friend of President Tinubu, Ibori has, for some time now, associated more with the APC than the PDP. It is only that he has not officially defect to the APC”, a source said.

“Now, the question is, how will Ibori, Okowa and Oborevwori see eye to eye in the APC after this defection”.

Following the Oborevwori, Okowa and supporters defection to the APC, it was gathered that Ibori may be under pressure to return to active participation in the affairs of the PDP in Delta.

  Will Fubara Capitulate?

 As the gale of defections in Delta State blows, supporters of the suspended governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara, have become apprehensive over the possibility of his defection from the PDP to the APC.

In the wake of the political crisis in 2023, it was rumored that Fubara wanted to dump the PDP for the APC as a way of seeking presidential cover from the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike, to escape impeachment threat.

But Wike’s strong collaborator, Chief Tony Okocha, became the caretaker committee chairman of the APC in Rivers State and did not look like he would grant the governor’s indulgences in the party.

Meanwhile, feelers from London, United Kingdom, where Tinubu and Fubara ostensibly met in a closed-door meeting for close to four hours, indicate that both men discussed the probability of curbing the six-month duration of the emergency rule in Rivers.

Tinubu, in a desperate and predisposed move to douse the political tension in Rivers, declared a state of emergency on March 18, as the 27-man House of Assembly members loyal to the FCT minister and Fubara’s estranged political godfather, Wike, escalated the plot to impeach the governor.

The declaration led to the undemocratic suspension of Fubara, his deputy, Prof. Ngozi Ordu, and the entire House of Assembly.

Barely 24 hours later, Tinubu announced the appointment of Vice Admiral Ibok-Etteh Ibas (retd.) as the Sole Administrator of the state.

London pact

 Our source hinted that the meeting with Tinubu in London was at the behest of Fubara, who departed Nigeria for Frankfurt, Germany, en route to London last week to seal a pact with the president to save his political career.

According to a source, Fubara was allegedly given two conditions to facilitate his early return to power.

One of the conditions was for the governor to dump the PDP and join the APC, and if he must stay in the PDP, he must ensure that Tinubu garners 25 percent of the votes cast in 2027.

Rt. Hon. Evans Bipi, the director-general of Simplified Movement Worldwide (SMW), a grassroots political group of Fubara, responded that the story of the governor’s defection “is in the realm of speculation, and we cannot say anything categorical on that.”

Emeka Idika, media aide to Evans Bipi, said, “There is no official statement from the Presidency or the governor himself. Everything is a rumor, and we are unable to confirm this with certainty. However, we can assure you that we stand by the governor no matter what.

“We are there wherever he is. The governor’s grassroots political organization is called SIM. We are unable to deviate from the governor’s course. For him, that is our collective position”

.Eno indistinguishable

 Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State has been fraternizing with Tinubu and the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, since his assumption of office in 2023.

But before now, he used to assure Akwa Ibom people that his close relationship with the APC leaders was merely to get favour from the centre by attracting federal presence to the state, especially infrastructure, such as the construction of the Ibom Deep Sea port project. 

At a media briefing, last year, he had claimed that the people were misreading his body language by speculating that he was planning to dump the PDP for the APC.

However, Eno’s recent remarks on his unwavering support for Tinubu’s re-election bid have forced many observers of political happenings in the state, and ardent supporters of the PDP, to ponder if he was being truthful or merely trying to douse tension over his hobnobbing with the APC. 

The majority of Akwa Ibom people have come to conclude that Eno’s consorting with the APC leaders indicates that the APC was blackmailing him for reasons only known to him and his predecessor, Udom Emmanuel.

About two weeks ago, while flagging off the 65km Akwa Ibom section of the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway in the  Nsit Atai local government area,  the governor openly declared his support for the re-election of Tinubu in 2027.

His words: “Let me end by assuring our people-loving president that he will complete eight years because we will stand by him, and this is the truth. He cannot start this work and abandon it. Somebody else may not finish it. 

“Our prayer is to pray for Mr President for good health to complete what he has started, and not abandon the East-West Road”.

Also while addressing attendees at the ‘Easter Evening of Hymns’ held Easter Monday at the International Christian Worship Centre, Uyo, Eno had asserted, “Tonight, as a servant of God that God has given the privilege to serve Akwa Ibom as governor, I want to say that I have fulfilled my ministry of reconciliation that God laid in my hands for Akwa Ibom.

“While I was campaigning, I said by the grace of God, we will bring all of us as Akwa Ibomites under one roof. Tonight, that dream is fulfilled. We have heard the PDP choir sing here tonight.

Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, on Friday met with the presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, in Abuja, amidst speculation that Kwankwaso may soon defect to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

According to Leadership Newspaper, the two prominent political figures were spotted together after Jumaat prayers at a mosque in Abuja.

El-Rufai, who was accompanied by his eldest son, Bello El-Rufai, exchanged pleasantries with the former Governor of Kano State.

Naija News reports that the meeting has come amid growing speculation that Kwankwaso, alongside his political base in the NNPP, may soon announce a move to the APC.

Recent reports indicate that Kwankwaso and the NNPP are currently weighing their political options, including a potential alliance either with the APC or the opposition coalition led by Atiku Abubakar.

A source with knowledge of the situation, who spoke to Punch on the condition of anonymity, confirmed that Kwankwaso and the NNPP were unlikely to contest the 2027 elections independently, as they did in 2023.

“What I can confirm is that Kwankwaso and the NNPP will not contest independently as they did in the 2023 elections. Considering the current political landscape, they are weighing the possibility of either joining President Tinubu’s APC or aligning with the coalition led by Atiku, el-Rufai, and others,” the source disclosed.

NNPP National Publicity Secretary, Ladipo Johnson, also confirmed in an interview with Punch that the party was indeed considering these political options.

He stated, “Well, so far, what I’ll say is this: in the NNPP, we tend to, at least from our own history as the Kwankwasiyya movement, wait till midterm. May 29th will be the midterm for this administration. It will be two years down, and two years to go. That is when we believe that proper politicking will commence.

“So, yes, we are talking, and we’ve been talking. But you’ll recall that at that time, I told you I didn’t want to mention specifically the groups or persons or movements that are in conversation with us. That is still the position now.

“You’ll recall that there have been many publications in newspapers and online, insinuating that Senator Kwankwaso is moving to the APC, that it is imminent and all that. That is just the nature of the game. Some people are pressing or pushing that narrative for their selfish reasons.

“But the bottom line is that very soon, they will begin to hear from us. We will tell our supporters what we are doing. There are basically three cards on the table: either we remain in the NNPP and continue with those who joined us all the way or we form some sort of coalition with Atiku, others; or we form an alliance with the ruling party. I am not saying any of these is the case now. But these are the three basic options that could happen.”

The Senator representing Ogun West Senatorial District at the National Assembly, Solomon Adeola, has credited President Bola Tinubu for rescuing Nigeria’s economy from potential collapse, citing the removal of the fuel subsidy and the floating of the naira as pivotal actions in stabilising the country’s finances.

Speaking on Saturday during the 2nd Edition of his Town Hall Meeting, Mega Empowerment, and Thank You Tour held in Ayetoro, Yewa North Local Government Area of Ogun State, Adeola emphasized the gravity of the economic challenges faced by Nigeria under the previous administration, particularly the heavy borrowing required to maintain fuel subsidies and stabilize the naira.

Adeola explained that the previous administration of President Muhammadu Buhari borrowed heavily to fund fuel subsidy payments and defend the naira against the dollar.

“Not less than $400 billion was borrowed under the immediate past administration of President Muhammadu Buhari to stabilize the naira against the dollar, and this is a fiscal policy that has really left our country’s economy in a bad state,” Adeola stated.

He further revealed that the Buhari government also borrowed trillions of naira to fund the fuel subsidy, which, he argued, disproportionately benefited less than 1% of the Nigerian population.

The massive borrowing, he said, had put the country’s economy under immense pressure and set the stage for the urgent need for reform.

Naija News reports that Adeola commended President Tinubu for his decisive action in removing the fuel subsidy and floating the naira, actions he described as crucial steps toward rescuing the nation’s struggling economy.

“All the reforms being undertaken by the incumbent administration in the country are to secure the future of the unborn generations of Nigerians,” he said.

The senator stressed that while these reforms may have come with short-term challenges, they were necessary to address the structural issues that had plagued the country’s economy for years.

He urged Nigerians to be patient with the Tinubu administration, assuring them that the current economic policies were already beginning to show positive results.

A former Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar Adamu, has officially announced his intention to run for the Nasarawa State governorship in the 2027 general elections on the All Progressives Congress (APC) platform.

Adamu, who served as IGP from 2019 to 2021 under the Muhammadu Buhari administration, made the declaration during a meeting with members of the State Working Committee of the APC in Lafia.

The former IGP stated that his decision to run was motivated by a “clarion call” from the people of Nasarawa. According to him, the people have expressed their belief in his leadership abilities and experience.

“I am answering the call of my people who believe I can serve and move Nasarawa forward. My administration, by the grace of God, will be inclusive, transparent, and focused on delivering tangible development across all sectors,” Adamu pledged.

His declaration adds another significant name to the growing list of aspirants eyeing the governorship seat in 2027. Governor Abdullahi Sule, the incumbent governor, is currently serving his second term in office under the APC.

The Oyo State Police Command, in a major operation, uncovered a human trafficking ring in Ibadan, the State capital and rescued 83 individuals, including a child.
Naija Naija learnt that the victims were held for an undisclosed period in a house at the Orogun area of the state.

The police in a terse statement disclosed that the victims, believed to be nationals of the Democratic Republic of Congo, were lured to Nigeria under the pretence of being offered employment opportunities.

The perpetrators reportedly extorted significant sums of money in dollars from the victims’ parents and relatives as part of the elaborate scheme.

The rescued individuals are currently at the Police Headquarters in Eleyele, Ibadan, where authorities are conducting further investigations to ascertain the full details of the case.