Senator Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo, former Governor of Gombe State and current representative of Gombe North Senatorial District, has reiterated that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar remains a highly respected political leader in northern Nigeria, even after his move to the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

Speaking during a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Expanded Stakeholders’ Meeting, Dankwambo stressed Atiku’s enduring relevance and influence in the region.

“It’s time to rebuild our party, today it’s not about contesting for elections. But we have leaders we recognise like in the north; Atiku Abubakar is our leader, we love and like him and by virtue of his position as a former vice president he is our leader whether he is in PDP or ADC,” he said.

Dankwambo urged party members in Gombe and beyond to concentrate on rebuilding the PDP as it prepares for the 2027 general elections, rather than focusing on personal political ambitions at this time.

“We are not talking about contests now. All we are after is to rebuild our party and position it for victory. All those wishing to contest should wait. Let’s build the party first,” he stated.

The senator emphasized the PDP’s commitment to internal democracy, asserting that it remains the only party in the country to have successfully conducted congresses at every level, from ward to zonal and is actively planning for its national convention.

“PDP remains the only party that has held its Congress from the ward level, to the local government to the state and zonal level and is currently working to hold the national convention,” he said.

Also speaking at the meeting, Ali Isa JC, who represents Balanga/Billiri Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, revealed that the PDP has resolved its internal disputes and confirmed that its upcoming national convention will take place in Ibadan, Oyo State.

He further disclosed that the party’s legal team has been tasked with pursuing defectors who secured electoral victories under the PDP platform but later switched allegiance to other parties.

The PDP, he said, has engaged “senior lawyers to challenge defectors who won elections on the PDP platform but later decamped,” with the goal of reclaiming “those stolen mandates.”

Ekiti State Governor, Biodun Oyebanji, received a significant boost on Monday as former Governor Ayodele Fayose publicly endorsed his potential bid for a second term.

Fayose, a senior member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), made the surprising declaration during an All Progressives Congress (APC) gathering held at the Ekiti Parapo Pavilion in Ado Ekiti.

Despite representing the opposition party, Fayose praised Oyebanji’s leadership and said his achievements justify support beyond party lines.

“I want to publicly endorse Governor Abayomi Oyebanji and his deputy for a second term,” Fayose said.

He further explained that partisan politics should not take precedence over effective governance, emphasizing the need to recognize performance irrespective of affiliations.

“Political differences should not override the need for good governance,” he added.

The endorsement was made in the presence of top APC figures, including former governors of Ekiti, current members of the National Assembly, and party leaders.

Fayose called on residents of the state to back Oyebanji’s administration in the next election, though he made it clear that this move doesn’t equate to a defection.

“I remain in my party, but when we see good governance, we must say it,” Fayose clarified.

Governor Oyebanji has not yet officially announced his intention to seek re-election.

The Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) has officially moved the date for the 2025 local government elections to Saturday, August 30, following a disruption caused by the recent state of emergency.

The elections, which were originally scheduled for August 9, had to be postponed. According to the commission, the “state of emergency” declared in the state affected earlier preparations, prompting a necessary change in the electoral calendar.

RSIEC Chairman Michael Odey made the announcement on Monday during a stakeholder meeting held at the commission’s headquarters in Port Harcourt.

“The election will now be held on Saturday, August 30, 2025,” Odey said.

“It became imperative to adjust the electoral calendar.”

As part of the revised timetable, RSIEC has instructed political parties to conduct their primaries between July 31 and August 3. Submissions of candidates’ names must be made on August 3 and 4, 2025.

“Electioneering would begin on Tuesday, August 12, 2025,” the commission stated.

Additionally, the commission has fixed Saturday, August 16 for the recruitment of ad-hoc staff to support the election process.

“It added that “the list of candidates would be displayed on Wednesday, August 20, 2025.”

Tensions within the Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) reached a boiling point on Monday as party members, under the banner of Concerned and Loyal APC Members, staged a protest outside the Lagos State House of Assembly.

Their demands centered on fair distribution of political appointments at the local government level and the immediate resignation of the state party chairman, Pastor Cornelius Ojelabi.

Protesters accused the party’s leadership of promoting nepotism, specifically alleging that key appointments have been monopolised by the Justice Forum (JF) faction.

This imbalance, they claimed, has led to growing frustration among grassroots supporters and threatens the unity of the party ahead of future elections.

At the heart of the protest was growing dissatisfaction with Pastor Ojelabi’s leadership, which the group says has been marked by poor management and electoral failures since he assumed office in 2021.

“The people’s votes, which put leaders in power, are not being respected; appointments are monopolised by a single faction,” said Sulaiman Agbaje, a protester from Alimosho.

The group further alleged that under Ojelabi’s tenure, the APC conducted what they called the “worst primary election” in the party’s history across all 57 LGAs and LCDAs in the state.

They contrasted his leadership unfavorably with past party chairmen like Abiodun Ogunleye, Otunba Henry Ajomale, and Alhaji Babatunde Balogun, who were praised for inclusivity and stronger electoral performance.

In a striking claim, they stated: “For the first time since the advent of the Fourth Republic, the Ojelabi-led party lost Lagos State to the opposition in 2023!”

They also lamented the party’s weak showing in the recent local government elections, blaming the outcome on poor candidate selection and internal marginalisation.

Speaking on future implications, Bayode Taofeeq, a party member from Ikotun-Isheri, warned:

“We demand a 50/50 split or an equitable ratio of appointments between the Mandate and Justice Forum groups. This would ensure fairness and reflect the contributions of all party members.”

He emphasized that failure to address this internal crisis could severely damage the party’s prospects ahead of the critical 2027 general elections.

In their petition, read aloud by protest spokesperson Segun Faleye, the group accused Ojelabi and key allies, including Hon. James Faleke, of plotting to entrench a “winner-takes-all” system by manipulating local government executive selections.

“The members of the party are not happy. We are tired of his selfish leadership and the plot of his team to derail from the progressive ideals championed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” the group declared.

Despite their anger, the protesters reaffirmed their loyalty to the party and expressed support for President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and Governor Sanwo-Olu’s THEMES+ Agenda.

However, they were resolute in their call for urgent leadership change.

“Our prayer to the illustrious leaders of our party is to ask Pastor Ojelabi to leave the party NOW to avoid another imminent disaster in our party administration.”

They further called for leaders to allow constitutional officers to carry out their duties without interference from individuals with what they described as “selfish interests.”

The group concluded its address with a firm warning:

“Enough is Enough! Ojelabi and co. should take an honourable exit and allow our party to breathe in Lagos State.”

The Social Democratic Party (SDP) has officially expelled former Kaduna State Governor Nasiru El‑Rufai, distancing itself from any involvement with the African Democratic Congress (ADC) coalition he was allegedly championing.

According to Ambassador Araba Rufus Aiyenigba, SDP’s National Publicity Secretary, the decision was made by the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) following prior denunciation from both El‑Rufai’s ward, Unguwar Sarki, Kaduna North LGA and the Kaduna State Executive Committee.

El‑Rufai is accused of bypassing usual registration procedures “rather than register lawfully with the Ward Executives, El‑Rufai simply forged his own documents, self‑registered, and arrogated to himself ‘number 001 in the SDP membership register of Unguwar Sarki Ward’”, a move directly at odds with official party records.

Additionally, the SDP rejected El‑Rufai’s negotiations with the ADC, stating these were in “breach of the SDP constitution.”

Aiyenigba emphasized the action taken:

“The SDP at all levels disassociates, disclaims, disfellowships, excommunicates Nasir Ahmad El‑Rufai as a member of the SDP; and to the extent that he purportedly claims membership by self‑registration or any other means, Nasir Ahmad El‑Rufai is consequently expelled from the membership of the Social Democratic Party anywhere in Nigeria and globally.”

The statement continued: “The foregoing actions by the NWC … are consequent upon the unacceptable acts of gross indiscipline of Nasir Ahmad El‑Rufai, particularly in respect of the undeniable fact of having publicly declared for the ADC his selfish agenda to destabilise the party by way of sponsoring a group of dissidents to call an illegal National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the Party on Friday, July 25, 2025. Nasir Ahmad El‑Rufai is hereby banished and banned from any activities of the SDP for a period of 30 (thirty) years effective from today.”

“Members of the SDP across Nigeria and the general public are informed that Mallam Nasir Ahmad El‑Rufai is not a member of the SDP and does not represent the interests of the party effective until Wednesday, July 28, 2055.”

Elder statesman and member of The Patriots, Professor Anya O. Anya, has delivered a scathing critique of Nigeria’s political system, warning that even a saint would become corrupt under the country’s current structure.

In an interview monitored by DAILY GAZETTE, the 88-year-old scholar and national figure called for urgent constitutional reform and a return to values.

Anya emphasized the need for a completely new constitution, dismissing current efforts at piecemeal amendments as ineffective.

“We cannot have a constitution that is patch-patch work. Ultimately, each time you patch it up, a new leak or problem would arise,” he said.

He stressed that only a people-driven constitution can address the country’s foundational issues, noting the 1999 Constitution was a military decree lacking legitimacy.

Anya lamented the moral and value collapse in Nigeria’s political culture.

“The value system has collapsed. Drugs and other problems are all there because the fundamental thing that holds Nigeria together has collapsed,” he said.

He added that Nigeria now lacks red lines or consequences for wrongdoing:

“There must be things that if you cross that line you are on your own and will pay the price. Right now, there is no such rule in Nigeria.”

He partly blamed military regimes for eroding democratic principles and fostering selfish governance:

“The succession of military governments in our history has not helped us. It’s what prepared the ground for this other development of taking care of myself first rather than thinking of the country.”

Reacting to Obasanjo’s claim that Nigeria’s problem is not the constitution but bad leadership, Anya offered a nuanced take:

“Even if you take a saint and there is no value system that guides him, the saint will become just an ordinary looter.”

Anya, who played a leading role in the 2014 Confab, maintained that the summit was necessary:

“It became clear that if you went to elect people as had happened once, it doesn’t work… they now become the boss.”

Anya said it’s too early to judge President Bola Tinubu, given the “noise” and uncertainty surrounding governance today.

“Even if I told you what God himself has said… the atmosphere we have is not conducive to discuss what God wants us to take.”

On the registration of over 140 political groups with INEC, Anya was skeptical:

“Does it make sense? People are being attracted to the opportunity it gives them to look after themselves.”

He questioned whether the 2027 elections will even take place:

“The way it is going, are you sure there will be 2027 election? You are creating a new environment, a new set of problems… That is an invitation to chaos.”

Anya warned that Nigeria’s democracy lacks majority participation.

“Out of the 93 million registered voters, less than one-third actually voted… Of every three people that voted, one voted for Tinubu and two voted against him. But he is the President.”

He called this situation inconsistent with democracy:

“The minority is ruling the majority… You have to find a solution.”

Backing the idea of a single six-year term, he argued: “The disruptions that come in the process of looking for second term are themselves morally intolerable… If after six years you have not downloaded the great ideas you have, it means you have no idea.”

Despite his critiques, Anya sees potential in young Nigerians: “Have you wondered why young Nigerian men and women are winning laurels globally?… We should start looking at: What is it that God is telling us?”

Anya insisted that returning to foundational values is the only path to national healing.

“Let’s go back to the fundamentals… It will give you a path to the future… A society where there is no punishment is not a normal society.”