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2023: Court affirms Uche Ogah as Abia APC gubernatorial candidate

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A  Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has declared former Minister of State for Mines and Steel Development, Uchechukwu Sampson Ogah as the valid Candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the Abia State Governorship Election slated for March 11, 2023.

Justice Binta Nyako ruled that Ogah had won the Direct primary elections and his name shouldn’t have been substituted in the first place.

Crisis had erupted in the APC Chapter of Abia State after the party held parallel Governorship Primary Elections in the state on May 26, that produced Ogah and Ikechi Emenike as candidates of the party.

The National Working Committee of the APC had communicated to INEC that Abia, Benue and Osun States will elect Candidates vide the Direct Primary System (Pictured). Whilst the indirect mode (without election of delegates) was conducted to elect Emenike, a faction of the Party conducted the Direct mode that produced Ogah.

Emenike was declared winner with 672 votes out of 892 votes cast by 907 accredited delegates whilst Ogah polled 141,952 votes out of the total 195,801 votes through the Direct mode System.

The NWC of the Party stood behind the Chairman, Governing Board of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (Emenike) despite the threats of Court cases from the 2019 Abia APC Guber Candidate.

Mr Solomon Umoh, SAN, the counsel to the plaintiff had during the resumed hearing in the matter, told the court that the direct primary election that produced Ogah was monitored by officials of INEC and that a report to that effect was made available by the nation’s electoral umpire.

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Recall that in June 2022, Emenike approached the Abia State High Court compelling the Independent National Electoral Commission to publish his name having been submitted by the NWC of the Party.

The court mandated APC to upload his name to INEC’s portal as its candidate. The court equally ordered INEC to accept his name as uploaded and publish the same as the candidate of APC for the gubernatorial election in Abia, in the 2023 general election.

Above all, the court restrained INEC from accepting or publishing the name of any other person as the candidate of APC in the said election other than Emenike.

Ogah approached the Appeal Court in Owerri despite not been a Party to the suit and his appeal was dismissed for been statute-barred. A judgement INEC obeyed on entirety.

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2027: Excluding NDC from ballot could trigger revolution, anarchy — Dickson Iroegbu warns

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Human rights activist, Dickson Iroegbu, has said that there would be a revolution if anybody stops the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, from being on the ballot in the 2027 general elections.

Iroegbu made this statement in an interview on Mic-On podcast with a media personality, Seun Okinbaloye, on Saturday night.

This comes amid confusion over the status of the NDC following the judgement of the Federal High Court in Lokoja, Kogi State.

Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC had earlier denied the NDC access to its portal for the upload of candidates.

It, however, later rescinded that decision.

But, Iroegbu, who spoke in an interview on Mic-On podcast with a media personality, Seun Okinbaloye, on Saturday night, charged the INEC to be careful if it thinks there would be a glitch in 2027.

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He noted that the electoral body will be shocked because the Nigerian people will keep eternal vigilance this time around because they have had enough.

According to him, the fear of the NDC presidential candidate, Peter Obi, is a challenge for the All Progressives Congress, APC, and President Bola Tinubu.

“There will be revolution and anarchy in the land if anybody thinks he can stop the NDC from being on the ballot.

“Anyone who thinks he can push the NDC aside is calling for anarchy.

“Tinubu is overrated. He may have succeeded in grabbing and running with power in 2023. But in 2027, he will be shocked that we will hold him down and ensure the result is counted.

“If Nigerians do not end the APC, then APC may end Nigeria,” he stated.

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Again, Peter Obi asks Tinubu to resign, cites IMF off-budget spending claim

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Don’t spare anybody involved in alleged N585m fraud involving Betta Edu – Obi tells Tinubu
Peter Obi and President Bola Tinubu
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Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has called on President Bola Tinubu to resign, citing an International Monetary Fund, IMF, report which, according to him, showed that about N8.83 trillion spent by the Federal Government in 2025 was not reflected in the national budget.

The development was disclosed in a statement posted on Obi’s official page on July 5, 2026.

According to the statement, Obi alleged that the reported expenditure was not captured in the 2025 budget and therefore fell outside legislative oversight and administrative scrutiny.

The former Anambra State governor argued that the amount represents about two per cent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product, GDP, and exceeds the combined 2025 budgetary allocations to the education and health sectors.

According to Obi, the funds, if properly utilised, could have improved public education and healthcare, created employment opportunities and supported economic development across the country.

“The IMF now reveals that about N8.83 trillion in expenditure undertaken in 2025 is not reflected in the budget.

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“This expenditure is not budgeted and is therefore not under legislative oversight or administrative scrutiny,” he stated.

Obi further alleged that the reported expenditure reflects what he described as a pattern of corruption and disregard for public finance management under the current administration.

He argued that such practices pose risks to national security, deepen poverty and weaken public institutions.

He also described the Tinubu administration as corrupt, incompetent and insensitive, alleging that the government has failed to utilise available resources to address Nigeria’s infrastructure and social welfare challenges.

Obi maintained that the latest IMF report further reinforced his earlier position on the administration, saying, “The only reasonable action is for President Tinubu to resign from office.”

He urged Nigerians to demand greater accountability from the government through lawful means.

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Xenophobia: Two more Nigerians killed in South Africa

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Two more Nigerians have been killed in South Africa as the violent attacks and harassment of black foreigners continue.

The Nigerian Consulate in Johannesburg announced the deaths in a statement issued on Saturday.

The victims, identified as Emeka Iroegbu and Musa Joe, were both killed last Sunday, 28 June, but under different circumstances.

According to the consulate, Mr Joe was killed by “suspected criminals” in Witbank city, Mpumalanga province, while security operatives murdered Mr Iroegbu in Sunnyside, Pretoria.

Mr Iroegbu was reportedly tortured to death by officers of the Tshwane Metro Police in the suburbs of Pretoria. The Nigerian consulate noted that the victim was subjected to gruesome torture techniques at the hands of the Metro police, which led to his death.

The latest deaths raise the total number of Nigerians murdered in South Africa since the latest wave of xenophobic attacks began this year to four. The pattern of the recent deaths mirrors that of the two Nigerians murdered earlier in the country. These are: Amaramiro Emmanuel and Ekpenyong Andrew.

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They were arrested and allegedly beaten to death by personnel of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) in Port Elizabeth.

Mr Andrew’s corpse was found days after his arrest on 19 April in the Booysens area of Pretoria.

He was arrested due to an alleged altercation with members of the Tshwane Metro Police, and his body was discovered at the Pretoria Central Mortuary afterwards.

Mr Emmanuel died a day afterwards due to injuries he sustained from an attack by the SANDF.

Following the incident, the Nigerian government summoned the South African High Commissioner and demanded a thorough investigation into the deaths of the two Nigerians.

This investigation is still pending, and no arrests have been made in two months. Nigerian officials have repeatedly condemned the attacks in South Africa but have urged Nigerians to avoid retaliatory attacks on South African interests in Nigeria.

South Africa’s anti-foreigner campaign began in April, with footage of citizens attacking African foreigners circulating online. The arbitrary 30 June deadline announced by anti-immigrant South Africans for African foreigners to leave the country has further intensified tension.

Last Tuesday, many South Africans marched out in droves across cities to protest the presence of African migrants in the country, chanting “Abahambe!” This means “They must go!” in Zulu, the most widely spoken language in the country.

The deaths of at least five Mozambicans and five Ethiopians have also been attributed to xenophobic violence in the country.

The latest announcement by the Nigerian consulate now raises the death toll.

Hundreds of African foreigners in the country have also been displaced.

During the protest last week, shops were looted and properties destroyed, as has become customary in xenophobic attacks in the country.

Several African countries have so far repatriated hundreds of their citizens, including Nigeria, Ghana, Mozambique, Malawi, and Zimbabwe.

The Nigerian consulate stated that the continuing pattern of “such terrible incidents raises questions over the safety of Nigerians and other foreigners in South Africa.”

“The death is coming at a time when foreigners are being unduly targeted in South Africa, raising questions about what seems to be a deliberate attempt by some elements to generalise wrongfully and tag well-meaning, hard-working and respectable Nigerians in the country as criminals,” it noted.

The consulate also demanded a thorough and immediate investigation into the murders.

“We expect the authorities to d o the needful and achieve the ultimate prosecution of the perpetrators,” the statement read.

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