A source within the party told DAILY POST that some party members have organized special prayer sessions across various localities.

It includes the recitation of verses from the Holy Qur’an, appealing for God’s intervention in ensuring a free, fair, and credible election.

The NNPP faithful specifically called for calamity and divine wrath to befall anyone who attempts to manipulate the election results.

“We believe that the power of God is stronger than any plan to rig the election, we are confident that He will not let injustice prevail,” the party member said.

The Jigawa State High Court sitting in Dutse had dismissed a petition filed by the NNPP and Action Democratic Party (ADP) challenging JISIEC over its election process and higher price of nomination form.

DAILY POST reported that the major opposition parties in the state, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and NNPP have filled candidates in some local government areas for the upcoming October 5, 2024 council election in Jigawa State.

They described the purported scheduled State Congress as one of the many attempts by the NWC to divide the party in Benue for selfish gain which must be resisted by all legal standards.

According to the PDP Elders Committee, a Makurdi High Court had issued the order in suit number MCH/350/2024 with motion Number MCH/1588M/2024, which stopped the Congresses pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice which has not been heard.

The Elders Committee led by its Leader, Rt. Hon. Terngu Tsegba explained that the purported State Congress scheduled for October 3, 2024, should not be allowed to hold.

They called on all law-abiding members of the party to disregard the announcement of a state Congress by the NWC as it was a clear violation of the court order.

The Elders also called on the INEC to take note of the infringement by the PDP NWC and stay clear of the illegal event.

According to Channels Television, there are massive presence of security officers at the PDP secretariat as protesters stormed the area in large numbers.

The large number of protesters was said to have caused slow movement of vehicles on the road, as security officers struggled to control the crowd.

The protesters carried placards and banners of various inscriptions, chanting songs in protest.

One of the displayed banners reads: “TAI people say no to lawlessness. Say no to LGA election. RSIEC must obey court judgment. SIM must obey court judgement”.

This is coming as the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, said it was yet to release the 2023 Voter Register to the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission, RSIEC.

According to the state Resident Electoral Commissioner, Johnson Alalibo, at a press briefing in Port Harcourt on Wednesday, RSIEC had applied for the Register, but it was yet to be released to them.

He also confirmed that the Commission received the court judgement from Abuja barring it from releasing the register.

The local government election is scheduled for October 5, 2024.

Makinde made this declaration while speaking at the official commissioning of the newly-built Local Government House and Staff Training School.

The event was held on Wednesday in Ibadan, the state capital.

Makinde said that the decision to convert the ad-hoc staff to permanent staff was taken to bridge the gap in the workforce at the local government level.

He added that due process for the employment must be followed effectively and perfected within four weeks.

He assured that his administration would continue to seek innovative ways to support and collaborate with local government authorities for the benefits of the citizens in order to actualise his vision for the state.

He added that the newly-built complex will provide a conducive environment for the local government staff and also enhance their productivity.

He maintained that the facilities within the State Secretariat would be renovated and transformed before the expiration of his administration in 2027.

Makinde said, “We will continue to work with the local government so that our vision at the state level can also be sold to the local government administrators. When there is synergy, we can achieve more.

“For primary school teachers, their leave bonuses were last paid in 2017. The primary schools, PHCs and other things were in a bad shape. But we have paid the primary school teachers their leave bonus for 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023.

“So, we had to figure out a way of reducing this deficit and we won’t play games with anybody because they are our own people. We insisted that first line items must be drawn against the LG account.

“It was a home-grown way of ensuring that outstanding pension and gratuities are paid. We have paid backlogs of over N18 billion in pension and we have also paid over N15 billion gratuities to retirees.”

Babalola stated that she does not have a preferred candidate in the oncoming poll.

She noted that she never had any clandestine meetings with Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa as well as the leadership of the APC.

ouths in the state, under the banner of the Ondo State Youth Vanguard, on Wednesday, during a protest to the state headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, accused the REC of having affiliation with the APC and that she had been secretly meeting with Aiyedatiwa ahead of the November 16 governorship poll.

While dismissing the allegations raised in a petition submitted to the National Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, by the protesting youths, the REC stated that she had only been relating with all political parties.

She said, “It is not true; I didn’t hold any clandestine meeting with the governor or any member of any political party.

“In INEC, we relate with all political parties; I have been operating open door policies to all, and I don’t have any preferred candidate for the election. I am not a member of any political party.

“In this election, we will ensure every vote counts, and I promise, there won’t be any form of bias; the election will be free, fair, and credible.”

Presenting flags on Wednesday to chairmanship and councilorship candidates of the party in Makurdi, the Caretaker Committee Chairman, AVM Napoleon Bali who was represented by the Secretary, Mr Osita Ogene, charged them to go to the polls and bring victory for the PDP.

Former Benue State Governor, Chief Samuel Ortom said PDP is fully on ground in the state as he expressed optimism that the party will be victorious in the local government polls.

He said PDP will seek redress in court if it is unjustly denied victory.

In a goodwill message, the Senate Minority Leader, Senator Abba Moro called on PDP members to come out enmase to vote for their candidates, noting that Saturday’s polls will be election and not selection as promised by the Benue State Independent Election Commission, BSIEC.

In their separate goodwill messages, Engr. Dondo Ahire, Mike Uba and Alex Ogaba, who spoke on behalf of the three senatorial districts in the state, were unanimous in their call for unity in the party, to enable PDP win the local government election.

NNPP described the bill as a sinister move to destroy democracy in the country.

The bill, titled “Local Government Independent Electoral Commission (Establishment) Bill, 2024 (SB. 531),” is sponsored by the Chairman, Senate Committee on Finance, Senator Sani Musa.

Rabiu spoke to DAILY POST in Kaduna on Wednesday.

The PDP chieftain was reacting to El-Rufai’s claim that he did not steal public money during his time as Kaduna governor.

El-Rufai had said he is ready to swear with the Holy Quran to prove his innocence.

Reacting to El-Rufai’s assertion, Rabiu said, “Former governor El-Rufai should wait patiently for the final investigation before uttering anything against his predecessors or swearing with the Quran on what transpired during the eight years of his administration in Kaduna State.”

Rabiu observed that the same El-Rufai ‘arranged’ a petition against former governor of Kaduna State, Senator Ahmed Makarfi, following which the Makarfi administration was investigated.

He added, “To be honest, from all indications, El-Rufai lacks discipline, self control and focus to do the right thing than swearing with holy Quran. The same El-Rufai ran away to a foreign country during the regime of late President Yar’Adua and only came back when the President died in 2010 and started making unnecessary utterances against the late President Yar’Adua.”

He called on the Kaduna State government, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and the Independent Corrupt Practices and related offences Commission, ICPC, to investigate the former governor with a view to recovering what was stolen from the state during his tenure.

There were earlier reports that the RSIEC secretariate in Port Harcourt was sealed following a Federal High Court order halting the local government council elections scheduled for October 5.

However, SP Grace Iringe-Koko, the command’s spokesperson, told journalists in Port Harcourt that the reports were false.

She said that police officers were stationed at the RSIEC office to safeguard the premises from potential attacks amidst the ongoing October 1 nationwide protest in the state capital.

“The police presence at the facility is strictly for security purposes and not to interfere with the electoral process,” she said.

Iringe-Koko urged reporters to verify information before publication to prevent the spread of misinformation.

The Police spokesperson also denied allegations that officers assaulted protesters during the #FearInOctober march in the state.

Despite the Federal High Court’s ruling halting the elections, RSIEC said it was determined to proceed with the local government polls on Saturday.

RSIEC Chairman, retired Justice Adolphus Enebeli, cited a ruling from the State High Court mandating the commission to continue with the elections.

He noted that for the greater part of the party’s history, it has been embroiled in leadership crisis and structural instability.

In a statement he signed and made available to journalists, Obidigbo noted that the crisis is arising primarily from the greed and intolerance of successive leaderships of the party.

DAILY POST reports that that the party has gone through different stages of crisis since it was founded with the latest involving Governor Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra State, Sly Ezeokenwa, who is favoured by the governor to lead the party and Chief Edozie Njoku, who is recognised by the court and Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, as the authentic chairman.

Obidigbo believes that a recent Instagram post by Lady Bianca Ojukwu, wife of former AGPA leader, Odumegwu Ojukwu, was an attempt to convey her concerns about the happenings in the party.

He said, “If my instincts guide me properly, I believe the elegant lady [Bianca Ojukwu] must have been appalled by what has been going on in the All Progressives Grand Alliance, where her husband is bestowed as the ultimate leader,” he said.

“Ever since APGA was founded in 2002, by Chief Chekwas Okorie and other well meaning individuals, including captains of industry, commerce, academics and politicians, the party has continued to behave like a spoilt child.

“For the greater part of APGA’s chequered history, leadership crisis and structural instability has been its main defining feature, arising primarily from the greed and intolerance of successive leadership.

“Whether it was Chief Victor Umeh, rising from his position as party’s national treasurer to mischievously supplant the founding chairman, Okorie, in the position of chairman, or the intrigues between the same Umeh and Maxi Okwu, APGA was always in the news for disputed leadership and audacious corruption.

“The story of crisis did not end with the conscription of Victor Ike Oye into the national chairmanship, because when he was suspended, Chief Nwabueze Okafor, who took over did not enjoy a cosy relationship with Chief Willie Obiano, before his sudden demise.

“Oye continued as Obiano’s preferred chairman until the 2019 national convention, when the expectation that the APGA chairman should come from outside Anambra State regained popular acclaim.

“That thinking led to the sudden change of venue from Owerri to Awka, which gave rise to another parallel national convention that produced two national chairmen in the persons of Chief Edozie Njoku and Chief Ike Oye.

“While Obiano threw the shawl of government support around Oye, the convention process and APGA constitution favoured Njoku, and both men went to court to begin another circus in search of judicial resolution.

“By July this year, both the courts and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) were agreed that Edozie Njoku is and should be the national chairman of APGA.

“But, because the party now seems to have become jinxed by ill-advised imposition of candidates, rancour, endless disagreements, political wickedness, greed and ingratitude, the Anambra State governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, appears to favour the Ike Oye lineage, which has thrown up Sly Ezeokenwa.

“Thus giving oxygen to another leadership tussle in the party.
All these must have weighed heavily on the mind of the Queen Mother, [Bianca] who tends to be caught between and betwixt, nonplussed as to how to make reason prevail in the latest chicken fight for supremacy inside the APGA basket.

“Whatever be the case, the gladiators in APGA should reckon with the facts of history and demands of posterity to allow sanity reign in the party, which presents as the camel in the folklore.”