The All Progressives Congress (APC) has commenced its electronic membership registration exercise in Enugu East Senatorial Zone, with the official flag-off held at Akpugo Ward 2, Nkanu West Local Government Area of Enugu State.

The choice of venue was significant, as the exercise was launched in the hometown of the Executive Chairman of Nkanu West LGA, Hon. Ogbodo, underscoring the party’s renewed focus on grassroots expansion and data-driven political mobilisation ahead of future electoral contests.

Speaking at the event, the Zonal Coordinator of the APC E-Registration for Enugu East Senatorial Zone and Enugu State Coordinator of the Renewed Hope Ward Development Programme (RHWDP), Uche Kelvin Edeh, described the initiative as a major step toward building a strong, credible, and digitally verifiable party structure.

According to Edeh, the e-registration exercise goes beyond increasing membership figures, stressing that it is designed to create a transparent and people-oriented database that would enhance the party’s organisational strength from the ward level upward.

“This exercise is about laying a solid foundation for the party. A reliable digital register is essential for effective mobilisation and electoral success,” he said.

Edeh noted that the success of the registration process would significantly enhance the APC’s capacity to mobilise support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and improve the party’s performance in forthcoming general elections.

He further emphasised that consistent grassroots engagement remains critical to expanding the APC’s presence across Enugu State and deepening democratic participation at the local level.

As part of his activities in Nkanu West, Edeh paid a courtesy visit to the council secretariat, where he held a strategic meeting with the council chairman, deputy chairman, leader of the legislative arm, secretary to the local government, supervisors coordinating the e-registration exercise, and ward agents.

He highlighted the importance of collaboration between party structures and local government officials, noting that such synergy was necessary for the smooth, transparent, and efficient conduct of the exercise.

“The local government is the engine room of political mobilisation. When ward agents and council officials work together, the process becomes more effective and credible,” he stated.

To further support the exercise, Edeh donated a laptop computer to the local government, explaining that the gesture was aimed at addressing technical challenges and ensuring seamless, real-time data capture throughout the registration process.

He added that a successful e-registration drive would strengthen the party’s grassroots base and enhance its ability to support progressive leadership at both the state and national levels.

“When party structures are solid at the ward level, governance is strengthened. This exercise will help build the momentum needed to support progressive leadership, including the re-election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Governor Peter Ndubuisi Mbah,” Edeh said.

Opinion of Wordshot Amaechi Ugwele,

The loudest critics of Governor Peter Ndubuisi Mbah in Enugu are not neutral observers seeking truth or balance. They are entrenched opposition elements whose political survival depends on denial.

No matter what Mbah does, they cannot acknowledge it, because to do so would be to concede ground and weaken their strategic interests. And so, they have adopted the oldest trick in the book, feigning sleep in the midst of daylight.

Everyone knows that the hardest person to wake is not the one who is asleep, but the one pretending to be. These critics were never asleep in the first place; they simply shut their eyes tightly, hoping reality would pass them by.

But reality has refused to tiptoe around them. They are frightened by the scale and speed of the transformation taking place across Enugu State. Governor Mbah is steadily stripping them of campaign ammunition.

His vision-driven leadership, work ethic, and disciplined delivery have left an unmistakable trail of performance across sectors, one that can only be ignored by those acting blind.

Nowhere is this more evident than in the infrastructure rebirth of Enugu city. What was promised is being delivered.

Apart from the grandest, the New Enugu City, district after district, neighbourhood after neighbourhood, street after street, Enugu bears the unmistakable imprint of the Mbah administration.

Roads as old as the Coal City itself, some untouched since their commissioning decades ago, have been reborn as smooth ribbons of asphalt, complete with modern markings and drainage. These are not cosmetic fixes but deep structural corrections.

Take Abakpa, long abandoned to decay in one of the sorriest cases of urban neglect in Nigeria. Driving through it today evokes genuine amazement.

A resident who this writer encountered, visibly excited, pointed to a newly asphalted road gleaming under the sun and declared that Abakpa was no longer on its knees.

He said it was back on its feet and moving fast. That spontaneous declaration captured what data and press statements sometimes cannot. If this is not hope restored, what is it? An opposition loyalist, of course, would pretend not to see it, or dismiss it as nothing worth applauding.

The same story repeats itself across Awkunanaw, Emene, Idaw River, Thinkers Corner, Agbani Road, Uwani, Independence Layout, New Artisan, New Haven, GRA, Gulf Estate, Trans Ekulu, Cornerstone/Timber/Ugbene axis, and many other parts of the Coal City. And more are coming.

What prompted this reflection was witnessing a Ministry of Works scoping team today at Thinkers Corner, deploying modern equipment, including drones, to assess road conditions. To a sincere observer, this inspires confidence. To a sleep-feigning critic, it demands another turn to the pillow.

The critics have also tried to downplay the significant progress made in water provision.

This is both dishonest and intellectually lazy. Enugu is one of Nigeria’s most geologically disadvantaged cities when it comes to potable water, largely due to coal deposits that contaminate underground sources. Despite this, the Mbah administration quickly doubled water production capacity upon assumption of office.

The real challenge soon revealed itself: colonial-era rusted pipes, broken asbestos lines, massive leakages, and years of unchecked encroachment on supply routes.

Fixing such deep-rooted problems requires methodical, round-the-clock work, not magic. But this nuance does not interest critics who thrive on noise rather than facts.

Beyond infrastructure and water, the Mbah administration continues to push Enugu forward in education, healthcare, transport, tourism, and e-governance. Going into details would be overstretching.

They are measurable reforms and not campaign slogans. Yet the professional sleepers refuse to open their eyes, because waking up would mean admitting progress, and admitting progress would collapse their entire narrative. Still, one truth remains immutable. Closing one’s eyes does not stop the sun from rising.

Pretending not to see what Governor Peter Mbah is doing in Enugu does not erase what is plainly visible to the citizens and other Nigerians who widely acclaim him.

The daylight of performance shines on regardless. And the majority of well-meaning, appreciative citizens of Enugu are wide awake. Today, the sun of purposeful governance rises boldly over the Coal City.

It lights up newly paved roads, revitalised communities, flowing reforms, and even the skies, where Enugu Air now roars, carrying Enugu to the world and bringing the world to Enugu. Whether the critics wake up or not, the dawn has already broken.

Malami,

The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ola Olukoyede, has said the corruption investigation involving former Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, did not originate under his leadership.

Olukoyede made the clarification during an interview on Channels Television, where he responded to allegations that the probe was politically motivated.

According to him, the investigation into Malami commenced more than two years before he assumed office as EFCC chairman and had been handled in line with due process, without personal or political bias.

He disclosed that Malami was arraigned at the Federal High Court in Abuja in December 2025 on charges bordering on alleged money laundering.

The former justice minister was charged alongside his son, Abubakar Abdulaziz Malami, and his wife, Bashir Asabe, on a 16-count charge. All three defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Malami had earlier alleged that his investigation and detention were politically motivated following his defection to the African Democratic Congress.

He also called on Olukoyede to recuse himself from the case, citing claims that the EFCC chairman was indicted by the Justice Ayo Salami judicial commission of inquiry.

Dismissing the allegations, Olukoyede insisted that the probe had no political undertone, stressing that the investigation file was opened under a previous EFCC administration.

He said his responsibility was to ensure that the investigation was conducted thoroughly and professionally, adding that the anti-corruption fight must be devoid of partisanship if the country is to make progress.

“There is nothing personal in this matter,” Olukoyede said, noting that Malami had been under investigation for about two and a half years.

He explained that since assuming office, he had carefully reviewed and pursued the case to establish the alleged offences, emphasising that the process was guided strictly by law.

Responding to claims that he was indicted by the Justice Ayo Salami panel, Olukoyede challenged those making the allegation to make the report public for Nigerians to judge, reiterating that there was no persecution or personal vendetta involved in the case.

Two members of the Rivers State House of Assembly have appealed to their colleagues to halt the ongoing impeachment process against Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy, Prof. Ngozi Odu, and instead pursue alternative means of resolving the political crisis in the state.

The appeal was made on Monday in Port Harcourt during a press briefing by the Minority Leader of the House and lawmaker representing Omuma State Constituency, Sylvanus Nwankwo, alongside the member representing Degema State Constituency, Peter Abbey.

Nwankwo urged lawmakers to exercise restraint and consider dialogue as a more constructive option than impeachment.

“We are appealing to our colleagues to temper justice with mercy and explore ways of resolving this matter outside the impeachment process,” he said.

He explained that the intervention followed persistent appeals from elders and leaders within and outside Rivers State, who had called on the assembly to show leniency in handling the matter.

According to him, while there are allegations that the governor and his deputy may have breached constitutional provisions, lawmakers should reconsider their approach in the interest of peace and stability.

“We are begging our colleagues to reconsider their position and find an amicable solution, even though there are claims of constitutional infractions,” Nwankwo added.

Echoing the call, Abbey said lawmakers should adopt a humane approach, stressing that political tensions should be de-escalated rather than escalated.

“Governor Fubara may have infringed on parts of the constitution, but we are human beings.”

“We are pleading with our colleagues to reconsider the impeachment process,” he said.
Abbey also noted that the governor has a role to play in easing tensions by avoiding actions that could further violate constitutional provisions.

“The governor must also ensure that there are no further infringements on the constitution. That is key to achieving an amicable resolution,” he stated.

The Rivers State House of Assembly had last Thursday initiated impeachment proceedings against Governor Fubara and his deputy.

The process followed the presentation of seven allegations of gross misconduct by the Leader of the House, Major Jack, based on a notice reportedly signed by 26 lawmakers.

The allegations include the demolition of the Assembly complex, extra-budgetary expenditures, withholding of funds meant for the Assembly Service Commission, and alleged refusal to comply with a Supreme Court ruling on the financial autonomy of state legislatures.

The impeachment move came shortly after the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, accused the governor of breaching a peace agreement brokered by President Bola Tinubu in 2025.

Former Ekiti State Governor, Chief Olusegun Oni, has defected from the Social Democratic Party (SDP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Oni officially joined the APC on Sunday after registering with the party at his country home in Ifaki Ekiti, Ekiti State.

The Coordinator of the APC e-registration exercise in the state, Mr Adesola Adedayo, disclosed the development on Monday in Ado Ekiti, describing Oni’s defection as a major boost to the party’s ongoing membership registration drive.

Adedayo, who also serves as Ekiti State Commissioner for Youth Development, said the former governor’s decision to align with the APC had strengthened the party’s progressive base and reinforced its grassroots mobilisation efforts.

Oni governed Ekiti State between 2007 and 2010 on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party and later emerged as the SDP governorship candidate in the 2022 election.

According to Adedayo, Oni remains a popular political figure with strong grassroots appeal and is expected to add significant value to the APC ahead of future elections.

He described the defection as a major political realignment, noting that it comes at a critical period as the state prepares for the 2026 governorship poll and the 2027 general elections.

“We registered former Governor Segun Oni as a member of our great party on Sunday. This is a significant political development that will further energise our ongoing e-registration exercise across the state,” Adedayo said.

He added that the APC leadership would intensify mobilisation efforts at the grassroots and urged party members not to relent in strengthening the party’s numerical strength.

Adedayo also noted that Oni’s registration followed shortly after Governor Biodun Oyebanji revalidated his APC membership, calling on party faithful across the state to participate actively in the e-registration exercise to enhance party cohesion and documentation.

He stressed that sustained membership drives remain crucial to the growth and electoral success of the APC in Ekiti State.