Politics
Declare Abaribe’s seat vacant, Abia APGA tells Senate
March 20, 2026
The All Progressives Grand Alliance in Abia State has called on the Senate to declare the seat of the Senator representing Abia South, Enyinnaya Abaribe, vacant following his resignation from the party.
The party made the call on Thursday during a press briefing in Umuahia, where its leadership, led by a former member of the Abia State House of Assembly, Obinna Ichita, insisted that Abaribe voluntarily resigned from APGA and was not sacked, contrary to his claim at the Senate.
Ichita argued that Abaribe’s exit from the party that sponsored his election violates constitutional provisions, stressing that there was no leadership crisis within APGA to justify his defection.
“The senator resigned in his ward. He did so voluntarily, which is his right. However, if you leave the party that gave you the platform for another party when there is no leadership crisis, that seat must be declared vacant,” he said.
He further alleged that Abaribe misrepresented the circumstances of his exit by claiming he was sacked.
“The party has documentary evidence to show that Senator Abaribe was not sacked. He resigned three months after disciplinary measures were taken against him over actions the court did not consider appropriate,” Ichita added.
According to him, the mandate belongs to the people and the party, not the individual office holder.
“They gave him the mandate on the platform of APGA, not any other party. There was nothing like ADC when he was elected. He cannot take the mandate elsewhere without consulting the people who gave it to him,” he said.
Ichita maintained that the constitution is clear on defection, noting that any lawmaker who leaves a party without a valid internal crisis must vacate the seat.
“My message to Senator Abaribe is to honourably vacate the seat instead of waiting for the National Assembly to declare it vacant. That would amount to national embarrassment,” he added.
Also speaking, the APGA State Chairman, Sunday Onukwubiri, and the party’s Public Relations Officer, Chukwuemeka Nwokoro, reiterated that Abaribe had distanced himself from the party’s activities at various levels in the state.
They insisted that he neither holds dual membership nor was he expelled, maintaining that his resignation was voluntary.
“He was invited by the party but failed to appear and was subsequently suspended in line with the party’s constitution. Three months later, he resigned,” the officials said.
Reacting, Abaribe defended his position, insisting that he acted within his constitutional rights.
“When you are no longer a member of a party by virtue of being sent away, you have the fundamental right of association to join another party,” he said.
He argued that his indefinite suspension by APGA effectively amounted to expulsion.
“If a party places you on indefinite suspension for more than six months, what does that mean? It means you have been told to go elsewhere, and that is exactly what I did,” he stated.
The senator added that the proper constitutional procedure for removing him from office would be through a recall process by his constituents.
“If the people who elected me no longer want me, the right thing to do is to initiate a recall. That is the position of the law,” he said.
Politics
PDP to screen Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday as its sole Presidential aspirant For 2027 race
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), led by Tanimu Turaki, SAN, has scheduled to screen former president Goodluck Jonathan tomorrow, Tuesday, aMay 19, as the lone presidential candidate of party.
According to a statement from the PDP faction backed by the Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, Former Vice-President Namadi Sambo, former governor of Plateau State, Jona Jang and a former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Tom Ikimi have been listed among a committee of 14 members to screen Jonathan described as a lone candidate by the party.
Other members of the committee were Chief Olabode George, Babangida Aliyu, Maryam ciroma, Zainab Maina, Josephine Anenin, Dr. Abdul Bulama, Dr. Esther Uduehi, Edo State PDP chairman, Tony Aziegbemi, Dr. Sunday Solarium and Chief Anicho Okoro, who would serve as administrative secretary of the committee.
Last week, the national Publicity Secretary of the faction, Ini Ememobong, disclosed that former president Jonathan has successfully registered as a member of the party in the fresh digital registration exercise directed by INEC.
The PDP faction also announced that it was set to screen 748 house of representatives aspirants, 198 senatorial aspirants, and 112 governorship aspirants.
The screening committee would screen 2122 states houses of assembly aspirants. The exercise will commence tomorrow, Tuesday in different states.
According to the statement, the screening exercise would take place nationwide on Tuesday, May 19, 2026, at 10:00 a.m.
The statement said the Interim National Working Committee (iNWC) has also released the names of members to serve on the Screening Committees and Screening Appeal Panels.
It added that the publication of the screening details “is in accordance with the party’s guidelines and timetable for the conduct of the 2027 general elections.”
Politics
Oshiomhole wins Edo APC senatorial primaries unopposed
A former governor and incumbent Senator, Adams Oshiomhole, along with his counterpart Senator Joe Ikpea, sailed through the All Progressives Congress senatorial primary in Edo unopposed, and securing their tickets without a single vote cast against them.
Also Omoregie Ogbeide-Ihama emerged the winner in the APC primary for the Edo South senatorial district.
Ogbeide-Ihama won in the seven local government areas of Edo South in the results announced by the Chairman of APC National Assembly Primary Election, Muhammed Ajana at the Urokpota Hall, Benin.
He polled 27,154 votes while his opponents, Senator Neda Imasuen, got 13,580, and Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu got 6785.
The elections were hitch-free in Edo North and Edo Central, where there was no contest against the incumbents, Senators Oshiomhole of Edo North and Ikpea of Edo Central, respectively.
Ajana at the Urokpota Hall said the collation arose from votes cast in the seven local government areas made up of 77 wards where elections were conducted by members of the committee.
He said, “There are seven local governments that make up the Edo South Senatorial District. We have heard from the Returning officers from the seven local government areas. From the collation, the cumulative result we have for Edo South Senatorial District is this; Ogbeide-Ihama with 27,154 votes, Imasuen with 13,580 votes and Ize-Iyamu with 6, 785.
“This is the total reflection of what has transpired from the ward level to the local government and the Edo South senatorial district collation centre. With this we await further directives from the National Secretariat, we have done our best by collating the results which is our mandate, to collate the results and send them to the National Secretariat.”
However, it was gathered that Ize-Iyamu emerged as the APC candidate for Edo South Senatorial race. He claimed to have clinched the party’s ticket after defeating Ogbeide-Ihama and Imasuen.
It was claimed that the Chief Returning Officer, Abubakar Muhammad Kabiru, officially declared Ize-Iyamu the winner after securing the highest number of votes cast.
On his part, the senator representing the district condemned the exercise describing it as a sham allegedly designed to favour a preferred aspirant.
Imasuen spoke while reacting to events at his polling unit in Umagbae North Ward 5, Urhokuosa where he said he was denied the opportunity to vote following what he described as a chaotic and manipulated process.
The lawmaker accused leaders of the party of openly adopting a preferred candidate ahead of the exercise and intimidating members into supporting that aspirant.
He said, “There is nothing satisfactory about this sham of election they did today and it is very unfortunate because as a loyal party member, I expected something better than this.”
He said the warning signs emerged days before the primary when some ward chairmen allegedly informed him that they had been directed not to receive him during consultations.
Imasuen claimed that some ward leaders openly told him the party had already adopted a preferred aspirant, identified as Hon. Omoregie Ogbeide-Ihama, making further consultations unnecessary.
Politics
Ajuloopin Suffers Setback as Home Ward Rejects Third Term Return Bid in Kwara APC Primary
The re-election bid of the member representing Ekiti/Isin/Irepodun/Oke-Ero Federal Constituency, Hon. Raheem Tunji Olawuyi, popularly known as Ajuloopin, suffered a major setback on Friday after party members in his home ward, Omu-Aran Ward 1, boycotted the All Progressives Congress APC House of Representatives primary.
According to party stakeholders and observers present at the exercise, no valid election took place in the ward after members refused to participate in protest against what they described as the lawmaker’s poor performance after three consecutive terms in the House of Representatives.
Sources in the ward said efforts by some political figures and loyalists to persuade members to back Ajuloopin’s ambition failed, with party faithful insisting they would not endorse what they termed an attempt to impose his candidacy again.
The boycott led to a breakdown of the electoral process in Omu-Aran Ward 1, with many members staying away from the polls entirely. Stakeholders have called on the APC Electoral Committee to disregard any result purportedly presented from the ward, arguing that no credible primary was conducted there.
Political observers in the constituency described the development as a significant blow to Ajuloopin, noting that the rejection came from his own ward and among constituents most familiar with his record.
Preliminary reports from other parts of Irepodun, Isin and Oke-Ero local government areas, where voting proceeded, also indicated weak support for the incumbent. Many party members were said to have voted for alternative aspirants.
APC stakeholders have urged the party leadership to review reports from affected wards and accept only authentic and verifiable results to preserve the credibility of the primaries. They stressed that internal democracy was critical to the party’s prospects in the constituency and warned against imposing unpopular candidates ahead of the 2027 elections.
With tension rising across the federal constituency, party faithful said the leadership must listen to grassroots members and allow delegates and supporters to determine the outcome of the primaries.
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