| Source | Date | Title | Summary of Report | Subject/Category | Page No./Weblink | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BREAKING NEWS | 2 APRIL 2025 | BREAKING: Edo Governorship Tribunal dismisses Action Alliance’s petition against Governor Monday Okpebholo. The tribunal ruled that the petition was a pre-election matter, hence outside its jurisdiction. Recall that the tribunal initially received seven petitions in December 2024. So far, five political parties have withdrawn their petitions. The tribunal is now set to deliver its verdict on the two remaining petitions, filed by the PDP and its governorship candidate, as well as the Accord Party. | BREAKING: Edo Governorship Tribunal dismisses Action Alliance’s petition against Governor Monday Okpebholo. The tribunal ruled that the petition was a pre-election matter, hence outside its jurisdiction. Recall that the tribunal initially received seven petitions in December 2024. So far, five political parties have withdrawn their petitions. The tribunal is now set to deliver its verdict on the two remaining petitions, filed by the PDP and its governorship candidate, as well as the Accord Party. | BREAKING NEWS; EDO GOVERNORSHIP TRIBUNAL | |||||
| BREAKING NEWS | 2 APRIL 2025 | BREAKING: The Edo Governorship Tribunal has dismissed the petition of Accord Party against Governor Monday Okpebholo. The Tribunal ruled that the Accord Party failed to provide sufficient evidence to support their claims of non-compliance. We await the tribunal’s verdict on the remaining petition filed by the PDP and its governorship candidate, Asue Ighodalo. | BREAKING: The Edo Governorship Tribunal has dismissed the petition of Accord Party against Governor Monday Okpebholo. The Tribunal ruled that the Accord Party failed to provide sufficient evidence to support their claims of non-compliance. We await the tribunal’s verdict on the remaining petition filed by the PDP and its governorship candidate, Asue Ighodalo. | BREAKING NEWS; EDO GOVERNORSHIP TRIBUNAL | |||||
| BREAKING NEWS | 2 APRIL 2025 | JUST IN: The Edo State Governorship Tribunal has dismissed the petition filed by the PDP and its candidate, Asue Ighodalo, thereby affirming Monday Okpebholo as the Governor of Edo State. The Tribunal ruled that the petitioners failed to call competent witnesses to prove the allegations of non-compliance with the Electoral Act. | "JUST IN: The Edo State Governorship Tribunal has dismissed the petition filed by the PDP and its candidate, Asue Ighodalo, thereby affirming Monday Okpebholo as the Governor of Edo State. The Tribunal ruled that the petitioners failed to call competent witnesses to prove the allegations of non-compliance with the Electoral Act." | BREAKING NEWS; EDO GOVERNORSHIP TRIBUNAL | |||||
| PUNCH | 3 APRIL 2025 | Tinubu set to praise mid-term performance and milestones in 2-week work trip to France | President Bola Tinubu will on Wednesday depart for Paris, France, on a two-week working visit. “During the visit, the President will appraise his administration’s mid-term performance and assess key milestones,” Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, revealed in a statement Wednesday. The statement is titled, ‘President Tinubu to embark on working visit to Paris’. Our correspondent had sighted the President’s convoy departing his official residence at about 11:00 am (local time). The Presidency says Tinubu will also use the retreat to “review the progress of ongoing reforms and engage in strategic planning ahead of his administration’s second anniversary.” “This period of reflection will inform plans to deepen ongoing reforms and accelerate national development priorities in the coming year,” the statement read. It said recent economic strides reinforce the President’s commitment to these efforts, as evidenced by the Central Bank of Nigeria reporting a significant increase in net foreign exchange reserves to $23.11bn—a testament to the administration’s fiscal reforms since 2023 when net reserves were $3.99bn. While away, President Tinubu will remain fully engaged with his team and continue to oversee governance activities. “He will return to Nigeria in about a fortnight,” it concluded. | WORK VISIT; TINUBU; FRANCE; | PUNCH | ||||
| ARISE NEWS | 3 APRIL 2025 | Enugu Defections: "Politics is not a do or die affair," Governor Peter Mbah declares as he welcome Former LP 2023 governorship candidate, Chijioke Edeoga back to PDP. | Governor of Enugu State, Dr. Peter Mbah, on Wednesday, welcomed the gubernatorial candidate of the Labour Party, LP, in the 2023 governorship election, Hon. Chijioke Edeoga, back into the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, commending the ex-opposition flagbearer for demonstrating that politics is not a do-or-die affair. Mbah said that Edeoga’s return to the PDP was in line with the party’s principle of reconciliation and making the people, not personal ambition, the focus of governance, urging him and his supporters to feel very much at home. This was even as the former gubernatorial candidate endorsed Mbah as the popular choice of the people of Enugu State, stressing that he had fully aligned with that choice. Receiving Edoega in his office, in the company of party leaders led by the state party chairman, Dr. Martin Chukwunweike, Mbah said, “Welcome back home. The symbolism of your action is a mark of the enduring bond that runs in our party. I am indeed very delighted to have you back to rejoin your family. “What we are witnessing today is a result of fence-mending consistent with the philosophy of our party – the imperatives of reconciliation. “It is also a demonstration on your part that politics is not a do-or-die affair; that what we are currently doing in Enugu State appeals to you and you believe that it is working for the interest of the people and you have taken that decision to say, ‘Look, let us join hands together and serve our people.’ “I commend you greatly for making such a courageous bold step. The lesson for us is quite profound, as it shows that the common denominator, even when we express our aspirations on different political platforms, is all about the people and making them the centerpiece of our ambitions. “So, we will embrace you with our arms wide open. You are going to be treated as a member of PDP, which we know you are indeed. We look forward to working with you in the service of our people.” Edeoga, on his part, commended Governor Mbah for making his return possible, describing it as a paradigm shift from politics of animosity and winner takes all to politics of empathy and people-centred development. | ENUGU STATE; PDP; LABOUR PARTY; POLITICS; DEFECTION | ARISE | ||||
| THE CABLE | 3 APRIL 2025 | Edo State Governorship Tribunal: PDP's Asue Ighodalo rejects Tribunal's verdict, vows to appeal judgment | Asue Ighodalo, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2024 Edo governorship election, has rejected the ruling of the election petition tribunal. The tribunal on Wednesday upheld the election of Monday Okpebholo as governor of the state while dismissing Ighodalo’s petition. In a statement, Ighodalo said while he respects the judiciary, he remains steadfast in his belief that the right of the Edo people to elect their leaders through a credible process must not be compromised. “Our pursuit of justice in this regard is an affirmation of our firm belief that the right of the good people of Edo State to freely choose their leaders through a credible, free and fair electoral process must never be compromised,” the statement reads. “As an avowed democrat, I respect the judiciary as the last hope of the common man, and I urge all of you, our dear good people of Edo State, to remain peaceful, calm and law-abiding in the aftermath of this Judgement. “However, let it be clear: this is not the end of our journey, but the beginning of a greater struggle for justice, democracy, and the sanctity of the people’s mandate freely conferred on my running mate, Barr. Osarodion Ogie and I on the platform of our great Party, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).” Ighodalo said his legal team has been instructed to challenge the judgment at the court of appeal. “I have, therefore, instructed my legal team to proceed to the Court of Appeal to challenge this decision which we consider a huge travesty of justice,” he added. “This is not about me or any single individual; it is about the very essence of democracy, the preservation of our collective right to freely determine our future, and the legacy we leave for generations unborn. “We remain resolute. We remain committed. And we shall not waver in our pursuit of truth and justice.” | PDP; ASUE IGHODALO; MONDAY OKPEBHOLO; EDO STATE GOVERNORSHIP ELECTION | CABLE | ||||
| GUARDIAN | 3 APRIL 2025 | Abia Defections: Labour Party expands reach as 2 PDP House of Assembly members defect to LP | The depletion in the number of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lawmakers in the Abia State House of Assembly continued today as the member representing the Isiala Ngwa North Constituency, Collins Ugochukwu, defected to the Labour Party (LP). Ugochukwu’s movement to the LP was officially made known in a letter he addressed to the Speaker of the Abia State House of Assembly, Emmanuel Emeruwa, yesterday. The letter, which was read out by the Speaker during plenary, said the legislator is now a member of the LP. This is coming just one week after the member representing Isuikwuato Constituency, Lucky Nweke Johnson, quit the PDP to join LP, after citing the crises in his former party, as well as the performances of Governor Alex Otti, as reasons. Also, the member representing Isiala Ngwa South Constituency, Rowland Dennis, in February, quit PDP and joined the LP. But today’s defection of Ugochukwu could be a blow to the PDP in the 2027 calculations, as the Isiala Ngwa North he represents is one of the populous councils that determine the winner of Abia guber polls. Meanwhile, the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on South East Development Commission (SEDC), Chris Nkwonta, has tasked the people of Abia South Senatorial District to join the All Progressives Congress (APC) and work hard to ensure the party wins all the seats in the 2027 general elections. The lawmaker, who urged party leaders in the zone to embark on an aggressive membership drive, insisted that the APC must improve from what he described as a third-rate performance in the 2023 polls to emerge as the leading political party in the zone in 2027. Addressing party faithful from the six council areas of Aba South at Akwete, Nkwonta, who represents Ukwa West/Ukwa East Federal Constituency, assured that the people of the area would enjoy more dividends of democracy when they vote massively for APC. APC came third in the 2023 election. The party has not been as strong as it should be in the Abia South zone. In 2027, we must return President Bola Tinubu and win the Abia Government House. | PDP; LP; DEFECTIONS; ABIA STATE POLITICS | GUARDIAN | ||||
| BREAKING NEWS | 3 APRIL 2025 | BREAKING: INEC says petition for the recall of Senator representing Kogi Central senatorial district, Senator Natasha Akpoti, has not met the requirement of section 69(A) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. | BREAKING: INEC says petition for the recall of Senator representing Kogi Central senatorial district, Senator Natasha Akpoti, has not met the requirement of section 69(A) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Section 69(A) provides thus: A member of the Senate or of the House of Representatives may be recalled as such a member if - (a) there is presented to the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission a petition in that behalf signed by more than one-half of the persons registered to vote in that member’s constituency alleging their loss of confidence in that member AND WHICH SIGNATURES ARE DULY VERIFIED BY THE INDEPENDENT NATIONAL ELECTORAL COMMISSION; | INEC; KOGI CENTRAL; 1999 CONSTITUTION; SENATOR NATASHA; | |||||