Valentine Ozigbo, a governorship aspirant under the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Anambra State, has filed a lawsuit at the Federal High Court in Awka, seeking the nullification of the party’s April 5, 2025 primary election results.

Ozigbo, in the suit filed on Wednesday, April 16, 2025, is challenging the emergence of Nicholas Ukachukwu as the party’s candidate.

The APC, Ukachukwu, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) are named as defendants in the case.

According to results from the primary held at the Dora Akunyili Women Development Centre in Awka, Ukachukwu secured a total of 1,455 votes to clinch the party’s ticket.

Ozigbo came in second with 67 votes, while other contenders, Johnbosco Onunkwo and Edozie Madu, scored 26 and eight votes respectively.

Represented by a legal team led by Senior Advocates of Nigeria, Umeh Kalu and B.C. Igwilo, Ozigbo’s case is backed by documents drawn from the party’s constitution, internal communications, and the delegate registers.

The suit calls for the court to assess whether the APC followed its own rules in the conduct of the primary, especially concerning Ukachukwu’s qualification to contest.

In a personal statement released alongside the court filing, Ozigbo minced no words in condemning the process. Titled “For a future worth fighting for”, the statement described the primary as fraudulent and stage-managed.

“When institutions falter, it is the duty of conscience to rise. I have taken that stand—not for self, but for truth, for justice, and for Ndi Anambra,” he declared.

He further stated: “On Wednesday, April 16, 2025, I took a consequential step in fighting for truth and justice.”

“I filed a lawsuit challenging the legitimacy of the deeply flawed process that purportedly produced Mr Nicholas Ukachukwu as the flagbearer of our great party, the APC, for the November 2025 Anambra governorship election.”

Ozigbo decried the entire conduct of the primary, suggesting that it was manipulated from the outset.

“Let us be clear: the April 5, 2025 exercise was not a primary election—it was a well-scripted illusion. A contrived delegate list filled with names unfamiliar to even the most seasoned party leaders was used for the guber primary.”

“Real APC members were locked out while chaos reigned. No accreditation, no order; just thugs, violence, and a herd of hired hands masquerading as delegates.”

In addition to procedural irregularities, he also alleged that Ukachukwu did not meet the eligibility requirements laid out in the APC constitution.

As at the time of filing this report, the court has yet to assign a date for the hearing.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has issued a strong message to Dr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, the 2023 presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), making it clear that joining the ruling party will not shield him from ongoing corruption investigations.

Speaking during a press conference held at the party’s Kano headquarters on Friday, the APC Chairman in the state, Abdullahi Abbas, reacted to growing speculation about Kwankwaso’s potential defection.

“We are fully aware that some people are desperate to join the APC because they have scuttled their political goodwill and have become political lepers in the national scheme of things and looking to the APC for relevance,” Abbas said.

He emphasized that defection into APC should not be mistaken as a way of escaping scrutiny from agencies such as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) or the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).

“We are also aware that some politicians are trying to run away from accounting for their corrupt misdeeds both in government and party administration, and seeking refuge in the APC to escape from the fangs of anti-corruption agencies like the EFCC and IPCC.

However, joining APC as a political party is not a panacea for escaping from their past sins,” he declared.

Beyond the warning, the APC leader demanded an apology from Kwankwaso to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima for past disparaging remarks now that he appears to be seeking entry into the party.

He said, “It is high time Kwankwaso tender an unreserved public apology to President Bola Tinubu and his vice, Kashim Shettima, over previous derogatory comments, now that he is desperate to decamp.”

While Abbas acknowledged that political realignments are constitutional rights, he argued that Kwankwaso has few options left.

“APC remains the last political refuge for Kwankwaso, having allegedly destroyed his relations with all other political groups.”

He also warned against tolerating the presence of any organized factions within the party structure, taking a veiled swipe at Kwankwaso’s supporters.

“For the avoidance of doubt, let me emphasize that the APC as a political party does not and will not encourage or promote the existence of cult-like associations in the name of political activities or grouping.”

Despite his hardline stance, Abbas announced that the party has begun preparations to receive potential defectors.

“I have directed ward chapters to open registers to receive the new decampees irrespective of their political and social status in line with the party’s constitution provision.”

He called on party leaders at all levels to maintain their responsibilities until their tenure ends.

Former Governor of Ekiti State, Ayo Fayose, has dismissed the proposed coalition of opposition political parties planning to challenge President Bola Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2027 elections. He described the effort as fruitless and unworthy of serious attention.

Speaking during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Friday, Fayose, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), stated that the movement lacks credible support.

“Their coalition is a dead horse ab initio. Tell me one positive person, well respected Nigerians that has given his voice in support of this coalition,” Fayose asserted.

Prominent political figures such as former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who was the PDP’s 2023 presidential candidate, and former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, who recently joined the Social Democratic Party (SDP), are reportedly leading the coalition.

However, Fayose questioned its viability, claiming PDP governors are not aligned with Atiku and are more concerned about preserving their own political relevance.

“If anybody is fighting out of issues with his party, he can resolve that with his party. The (PDP) governors’ actions and statement in Ibadan is to tell Atiku that we are not with you, we are going nowhere, we have our own identity,” he said.

He continued, “So, that coalition is just in the imagination of people trying to bring it to fruition. So, let me say to you, it’s a waste of time.”

According to Fayose, many PDP governors would rather align with President Tinubu for their political survival than back Atiku.

He further criticized the state of the PDP, saying that internal issues must be addressed before the party can mount a serious challenge to the APC.

“Something is fundamentally wrong with the PDP that needs to be fixed,” he warned.

Fayose also reiterated his opposition to Atiku’s potential 2027 presidential bid, maintaining his earlier stance.

“I publicly worked against Atiku, and I am saying for the second time, if Atiku comes again, I will work against him. It is time to learn our lesson,” he declared.

He attributed the internal conflict in the PDP to the abandonment of the party’s zoning arrangement, which traditionally balances power between North and South.

“After eight years of a Northerner, it is the turn of a Southerner. which could involve someone from the East, South West or South South,” Fayose explained.

“Those who gave or zoned power back to the North caused all these problems,” he said, stressing the importance of an informal understanding on power rotation.

“You don’t have to like a Nyesom Wike or a Peter Obi, but there should be an unwritten, respected gentleman’s understanding of powershift,” he concluded.

Governor Fubara, 

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has disclosed that he had pushed for the complete removal of Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara, but President Bola Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency ultimately prevented that from happening.

Wike made this revelation during a media chat held in Abuja on Friday.

He expressed disapproval of the emergency declaration but admitted that it effectively rescued the embattled governor from being ousted.

“As a politician, I am not happy about the state of emergency in Rivers State,” Wike said.

“I wanted the outright removal of Governor Fubara. The president, by declaring a state of emergency, saved Fubara.”

President Tinubu had declared the emergency on March 18, 2025, suspending the governor, his deputy, and the state legislature, and installing Retired Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas as sole administrator.

Wike, who has been at the heart of the prolonged political tensions in Rivers, emphasized that Fubara’s situation had already deteriorated to an irredeemable point before Tinubu’s intervention.

“The governor was gone. He was gone, yes… so when people say the president did this, I say they should be praising him,” Wike stated.

“Every morning, they should go to the president and ask, ‘Can we wash your feet for saving us?’”

He also noted that while he is open to reconciliation, he believes that the suspended governor is being misled by his inner circle.

According to Wike, “Fubara’s advisers keep telling him not to embrace peace.”

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Barr. Nyesom Wike, has asserted that he played a pivotal role in the emergence of Bayelsa State Governor Douye Diri, insisting that the governor cannot refute his influence in that process.

Speaking at a media briefing in Abuja on Friday, Wike recounted his contribution to Diri’s political rise and also commented on his strained relationship with Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his former ally and political protégé.

“Like the governor of Bayelsa, I played a fundamental role; he can’t deny it,” Wike stated during the interview.

He went further to suggest that reconciliation with Fubara is possible, but only if approached with honesty and remorse.

“In sincerity, if anybody comes, it must be in sincerity. The best opportunity was when the President intervened,” he said.

According to Wike, two state governors have approached him in recent times to help mediate the dispute between him and Fubara.

“Two governors came to me, and I said, ‘Look, I am here for peace. What does he want?’ and they said, ‘Look, we will do everything,’” he explained.

Wike also reiterated his support for the state of emergency declared in Rivers by President Bola Tinubu, a move that suspended Governor Fubara, his deputy, and the state assembly, and led to the appointment of a sole administrator.

“As a politician, I am not happy with the declaration of emergency rule in Rivers State. I wanted the outright removal of the governor. But for the interest of the state, the president did the right thing to prevent anarchy in the state,” Wike said.

He emphasized that the governor had already lost political footing before the federal intervention.

“The matter is in court, but people must say the truth. The governor was gone. It is not my place to make it good for the governor. As a politician, my business is not to make him comfortable, and that is why there is a power plane,” he concluded.