Barring any last minute political power play, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Prof Nentawe Goshwe Yilwatda, may be returned as the new national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the party’s National Executive Committee, (NEC) meeting in Abuja on Thursday.
This is one of the major decisions reached Wednesday night at a meeting of the APC Governors with President Bola Tinubu.
The meeting was a preclude to the larger one which comes up later on Thursday, which will involve major stakeholders of the ruling party, which forms NEC.
A source at the governor’s meeting with the president confirmed that Yilwatda, has emerged the new National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
“Yilwatda’s emergence has finally laid to rest the intense speculations over who replaces the immediate past national chairman, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, who resigned from the position on health grounds.
“His appointment came ahead of Thursday’s National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the ruling party, after the stakeholders’ parley involving President Bola Tinubu, the APC Progressive Governors Forum (PGF) among others, held at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa on Wednesday night,” the report adds.
It quotes an unnamed member of APC’s National Working Committee (NWC) as disclosing that Prof Yilwatda’s appointment is to ensure that a democrat takes over the affairs of the party, instead of the hitherto regular politicians that have presided over the party previously.
“The NWC source also based the choice of Yilwatda, who is a Christian, on the resolve of the party leaders to correct the religious imbalance in the hierarchy of the party’s national positions, describing it as strategic.
“Appointed the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs last year, Yilwatda was the APC Plateau governorship candidate in the 2023 general elections.
“Born on August 8, 1968 in Dungung, Kanke LG to the family of a clergy, Late Rev and Mrs Toma Yilwatda, he came with huge administrative and electoral experiences.
“He was appointed in 2017 as a Commissioner with Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and posted to Benue State as the Resident Electoral Commissioner.
“As a registered Engineer with Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), member Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, member Nigeria Society of Engineers, member Solar Society of Nigeria, he came as a professional after an intense networking.”
Peter Obi has the best chance against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2027 of all opposition candidates. Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s People’s Democratic Party (PDP) may have received a slightly higher percentage of the votes (6.9 million or 29.1 percent) in the last presidential election; still, that was poor for Atiku, a sixth-timer in the presidential race.
Obi had less than one year to prepare after his former party, the PDP, shafted him, followed by the bitter struggle for control between Atiku and the former Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, which left the party in ruins.
Outside the wreckage, Obi scored 6.1 million or 25.4 percent of the votes, toppling the All Progressives Congress (APC) in its traditional Lagos stronghold, energising young voters, and causing a stir amongst the complacent political elite.
Born to survive
After coming a solid third, the question was whether he could keep the momentum, strengthen the LP and manage his vibrant, sometimes fiercely unruly crowd of “Obidient” followers until the next election cycle.
He has, so far. To have survived the tumult in the Labour Party(LP), which now has three rival claimants to its leadership, and watch from the outside, what could be the final burial rites of his former party, the PDP, Obi has done well.
Yet, as surely as success invites its perils, he is entering what may proveto be the most delicate phase of his political journey, two years before the next presidential election. Obi is confused, and dangerously so, when he needs clarity the most.
Adventure to ADC
He is flirting with the African Democratic Congress (ADC), the party former President Olusegun Obasanjo vowed in 2019 would unseat the APC, but which failed disastrously to do so. The ADC’s past failure is not necessarily a bad thing. Nor is the renewed crisis in the party; they all have problems, only different in severity.
The problem is that Obi is unsure whether to join the ADC, which, like the bat, neither resembles a political rodent nor a coalition bird, or to stand firm and try to repair a fractured LP before the next election. Although he says he is not desperate, pinching himself while saying so, he believes this might be his best chance to become president, which is a fair ambition.
Mr Peter Obi
After being governor for eight years, running mate to Atiku in 2019, and his own man in 2023, Obi is qualified for the number one spot. His prospects are brighter, in my view, than Atiku’s, who is exhausted from chasing a marabout’s prophecy or Governor Rotimi Amaechi’s, who is in this race to entertain.
A coalition to nowhere
The problem is that, for reasons best known to him, instead of focusing on repairing the LP, broadening his base and appeal, Obi has fallen for the seduction that his salvation lies with joining Atiku, Amaechi, and former Governor Nasir El-Rufai in a coalition to nowhere. I’m shocked.
Obi has forgotten what brought him this far. It was certainly not the political dinosaurs he is now in love with. Polls showed his strongest support was with women aged 18 and 24, who comprised 82 percent of the cohort that voted for him. Others included the largely urban middle class and social-savvy Nigerians, across regions and age groups, apart from disaffected voters. Instead of cultivating and expanding his hold on these demographics, he has been infected by the obsession that his salvation is with the group he turned his back against.
In a political system that requires the winner to secure no less than 25 percent of the votes in at least two-thirds of all the states, Obi’s main challenge is bridging this divide, especially across the North, where he is very weak. But his approach to solving this problem is dangerously flawed.
Chasing a phantom
His misjudgment is that he needs assistance from two prominent Northern politicians, Atiku, El-Rufai or any of the vagrants from the legacy CPC. They cannot and will not help him because their broken dreams have consumed them. NNPP leader Rabiu Kwankwaso might have been, by far, a more valuable ally, but he will not accept a subordinate role.
The obsession with relying on the “tripod” or any single region, claiming that it’s the sole determinant of the pathway to power, has been shattered more than once since 1999, with Obasanjo’s election being one and Muhammadu Buhari’s another.
In what he has framed as possibly his most consequential attempt at the presidency in 2027, it is tragic that Obi either doesn’t believe or is too confused to give it a shot without using the coattails of some exhausted Northern politicians.
Under the sheets
I know that politics indulges strange bedfellows, even actively encouraging intimacy amongst them under the sheets. Still, it came to me as a stunning surprise that Obi should so easily find accommodation with El-Rufai, who has called him some of the most horrendous names in the book, the most flattering of which was an ethnic bigot, a tyrant, a joke and a Nollywood actor.
As for Amaechi, the man who doesn’t like money except when it comes in the form of a Rolls-Royce, Obi should know him better.
But these are Obi’s new friends and associates – political wanderers, united mainly by ambition to seize power and have it for themselves for its own sake. He’s perfectly entitled to his new company, but I wish he would pause, reflect, and perhaps watch his back.
Trouble at home
In his Southeast home base, Anambra Governor Charles Soludo thinks he’s superior and that “Obidients” are a nuisance.In Imo State, where Governor Hope Uzodinma thinks himself the only highway to Abuja, the governor would mount a tollgate against any perceived threat to his franchise. Of course, there’s no love lost between Obi and the only LP, Governor Alex Otti of Abia State.
There’s nothing for him in any coalition of the disaffected, and his running mate Datti Baba-Ahmed said so bluntly. To paraphrase him, a coalition with Atiku, El-Rufai, Amaechi, and other internally displaced politicians is a coalition of the second fiddle.
As things stand, Obi is neither here nor there. After being with Atiku all these years, and despite the wreckage the former vice president made of the PDP, which is now survived only by his ambition to become president, it’s surprising that Obi thinks that ADC or any other coalition with Atiku will work for him.
Long memories
Politicians from the Southeast face a double jeopardy of ruinously expensive election costs, and, after the Civil War, deep mistrust amongst the political elite, especially in the North.Despite fervent claims of no victor, no vanquished, nothing is forgotten or forgiven, and appeasement will fail.
Obi is with the wrong crowd, and worst of all, faces a serious risk of losing his party’s support. He should cultivate and use help wherever he can find it, but not at the expense of what he has built, especially in the last two years. He is now doing precisely what desperados do.
Except, of course, if he was lying about not being desperate for power.
Ishiekwene is Editor-in-Chief of LEADERSHIP and author of the book Writing for Media and Monetising It.
Global rating agency, Moody’s has affirmed Ecobank Transnational Incorporated’s long- and short-term issuer ratings;.
The agency assigns B3 rating for obligations that are deemed to be speculative and subject to high credit risk
According to rating analysts at Moody, they have changed the outlook on the group’s long-term issuer and senior unsecured debt ratings to stable from negative.
ETI’s subsidiaries operate across 38 countries—including 35 African countries- and total assets of $28.9 billion as of March 2025, details from the rating note highlighted.
Moody’s said the decision to change the outlook to stable on the long-term issuer and senior unsecured ratings reflects ETI’s resilient financial performance.
The rating upgrade also takes into consideration higher dividends being upstreamed to ETI, resulting in lower double leverage and reduced refinancing risk.
The rating adjustment also reflects an expectation that the recapitalization process of Ecobank Nigeria Limited will be completed by the end of 2025, with limited impact on the group’s financial fundamentals.
“The stable outlook also captures our expectation that a series of capital-boosting initiatives and actions to cure Ecobank Nigeria’s total capital position will be completed before the end of 2025,” according to the ratings agency.
In May 2025, ETI received shareholder approval to raise $250 million in Additional Tier 1 (AT1) capital and announced the launch of the transaction effective 9 July 2025, of which a portion is expected to be down streamed to Ecobank Nigeria as AT1 capital during Q3-2025.
Ecobank Nigeria’s plan to raise $200 million in AT1 capital was noted in the rating note.
“We also note that Ecobank Nigeria’s recent successful offer to tender $150 million of its February 2026 $300 million notes and consent to remove the capital adequacy ratio covenant from this bond’s terms alleviates risks of an event of default in Nigeria that would trigger cross default at ETI level.
“Over the past year, ETI has shown resilience in its financial performance, which supports our change in outlook to stable. Liquidity risks are being moderated by the group’s gradually improving profitability during 2024 and Q1-2025.
“This has translated into a 22% increase in dividends upstreamed to ETI during 2024, these being received from 22 dividend-paying subsidiaries compared to just 14 in 2021.”
In turn, albeit high, ETI’s double leverage ratio – which measures the liquidity risk taken on by the holding company, as a result of it borrowing in order to invest in the equity of its subsidiaries – has eased to 168% as of December 2024 from 173% in 2023.
Additionally, the stable outlook reflects reduced liquidity risk at the holding company level with the refinancing of short-term liabilities in 2024 with longer-term funding.
Moody’s said this is underpinned by demonstrated market access, notably through senior unsecured notes issuance of $400 million in October 2024 and a tap increase of $125 million in May 2025, maturing in October 2029.
ETI’s B3 long-term issuer ratings affirmation reflects the affirmation of the group’s b2 notional BCA; the affirmation of the group’s b1 adjusted BCA as captured by a one-notch uplift for affiliate support reflecting Moody’s assessment of a moderate probability that the firm’s major institutional shareholders would extend support to the group,” the rating agency said.
Governor Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State, has no plans to defect to the African Democratic Congress, according to the state government.
The governor is one of the ruling APC governors being speculated to dump his party for the ADC, the new coalition formed by key opposition political party leaders in the country.
They include, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, the 2023 Presidential candidate of the Labour party, LP, former Governors Rotimi Ameachi , Nasir El Rufai, Rauf Aregebesola , former National Chairman of the APC, Odigie Oyegun among others.
Apart from Abubakar, who formally resigned from the PDP most of those who have joined the ADC are former members of the ruling APC. More are being expected to join the ADC ahead the general election in the country slated for two years time.
The state government however said Governor Buni will be the last to dump the APC for the ADC.
According to the Director General of Press and Media Affairs to Governor Buni, Mamman Mohammed, who spoke with PUNCH Online on Wednesday in Damaturu, the state capital, the suggestion that the governor is planning to leave the ruling party, is an “empty speculation” describing such report as baseless and false, “a wild dream speculation” of its paddlers.
Earlier in July, the newspaper had reported that at least five PDP state governors were planning to join the ADC.
Quoting a credible source in the ADC, the online newspaper disclosed that five PDP governors were expected to join the party, noting that some governors in the ruling APC are also clandestinely supporting the ADC.
The insider, a former senator from Katsina State, said, “Five PDP governors have given us their commitment; they are going to join us, but they want to see the end of Wike’s drama in the PDP. Hopefully, we will meet them by the end of their next convention and review things.
“What people don’t know is that some of the governors, including those in the APC, are supporting us. We started this coalition planning 18 months ago, and some APC governors were contacted about a year ago. So, they are with us, but I won’t tell you any names.”
Another insider, an aide to one of the former ministers and ex-governors, said he was aware that leaders of the coalition, including his principal, were in touch with seven governors on the move to sway them to the ADC.
But the source didn’t mention the political parties of the said governors.
“Why are you interested in knowing the governors we’re talking to? You want us to put everything we’re doing on the pages of a newspaper? No! But I can tell you that we are talking to seven governors, and they are from the southern and northern parts of the country,” the source said.
When contacted, the immediate past National Chairman of the ADC, Ralph Nwosu, declined to comment on the governors’ planning to join the ADC.
“That is a top-secret matter. You can’t hear it from me. If you ask about other matters regarding the coalition, you are very welcome,” he said.
This comes barely a month after a chieftain of the ADC in Plateau State, Dr Sani Dawop, disclosed that about seven APC governors had secretly been funding “an opposition coalition” against Tinubu ahead of the 2027 general election.
Dawop, in an interview with Trust TV News on June 9, said, “There are about six to seven APC governors who are funding the coalition. Go and check and do your investigation. There are lots of issues happening, and even within the APC, there are those who are not happy with the way things are going.”
Governor Buni is a former APC Caretaker Chairman between June 2020 and March 2022. .
Sule Lamido, a former governor of Jigawa state has accused President Boa Ahmed Tinubu of deploying state apparatus to silent opposition in the country. The president, he said, is suing both the carrot and stick to ensure that those who oppose his government are lured into the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.
The former governor spoke in Kano on Wednesday, stressing that President Tinubu and his party are poised to “destroy democracy” in the country.
The former minister and PDP chieftain said he’s prepared to join any coalition of political forces in the country to stop President Tinubu’s re-election in 2027.
Recall that Lamido was among opposition leaders in the country who recently attended the coalition of political forces under the African Democratic Congress, ADC , whose aim is to dislodge President Tinubu from power in the next election.
According to him, President Tinubu in his quest to assert itself and crush the oppoision has deployed tools such as “ intimidation, blackmail, harassment”, stressing that the act endangers democracy.
He said those rushing to join the APC are doing so because they want to escape the onslaught of the ruling party, adding that once they do so “their sins” are forgiven, even those who are known to be facing corruption charges.
“Today, Tinubu is using state institutions to crush the opposition through intimidation, blackmail, harassment, and government patronage
“It is just like what an APC stalwart once said, no matter your crime, once you join the APC, you will be forgiven. That is why people who feel guilty are joining the APC. This is a serious danger to our democracy.”
Lamido stressed that the administration has abandoned its duties of tackling security and economic challenges facing the country, concentrating on its effort to properly silent dissent.
The administration has also embarked on divisive tendencies in order to perpetuate itself in power, Lamido said, noting that
many Nigerians are now left in fear because of the lack of love in the polity. Nothing is currently working in the country, the former governor said, adding that once the coalition is about changing the state of the country, he is a member.
He said, “People are now asking what to do. Because of the panic, there are talks about forming coalitions. But I have said it before, the coalition we had in 2014 was organic.
“Today, the proposed coalition is just a gathering of individuals. The Labour Party, PDP, and others are not uniting as political institutions but as individuals like Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, Nasir El-Rufai, and others. That is why I am not part of it.
“For me, any coalition must define clear parameters. Why are we coming together? It should be for democracy, unity, stability, security, and prosperity.
“These should be the guiding principles, not personal ambition, vengeance or revenge.
“I remain in the PDP. Yes, PDP has its problems, but I cannot walk out of my skin and take on a new identity like joining the African Democratic Congress (ADC). I have a history. I have been a PDP faithful. It is the PDP that made me a minister and governor. I was detained, harassed, blackmailed, and my office and house were nearly destroyed because of my loyalty to PDP.
“Therefore, I cannot renounce my legacy and join something new. I am PDP. I will support any arrangement within or led by the PDP that seeks to secure Nigeria in 2027, but certainly not anything involving Tinubu or the AP
“I believe in Nigeria. So any arrangements, be it within or outside the Peoples Democratic Party, that will secure and save Nigeria, I am ready to work with it in 2027.
“I believe in Nigeria. So any arrangements, be it within or outside the Peoples Democratic Party, that will secure and save Nigeria, I am ready to work with it in 2027.
On the demand for additional states in the country, the former governor said that though the agitation is legitimate, the creation of states would not solve the multifaceted challenges bedeviling the country.
“My question is: will, the creation of new states solve our problems – insecurity, poverty, hunger and division between the North and the South? There are more pressing issues than creating additional states,” Lamido said.
The former minister had recently joined opposition leaders in the country such as Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, Nasir El Rufai, amongst others in their avowed quest to stop President Tinubu from returning to power in the next presidential election.
The immediate past Political Adviser to President Bola Tinubu, office of the Vice President, Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, has expressed reservations over the President’s silence on the fate of Vice President Kashim Shettima in the 2027 Presidential Election.
Will President Tinubu run again with Shettima or not? This has been the question in the past couple of months. And rumours have been rife about Shettima’s fate in 2027. The speculation is that Tinubu would drop Shettima for either another Muslim running mate (the name of former Governor of Kano State and Presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP, Dr. Rabiu Kwankwaso has been constant), or a Christian running mate (the name of former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara) has been cropping up).
Recently at an APC Zonal convention in Gombe, there was a physical fight when Tinubu was endorsed without any mention of Shettima’s name. The Governor of Shettima’s Borno State, Professor Babagana Zulum, led the protest.
Neither Tinubu nor Shettima has made any statement on that. And, tension has bern gradually brewing even though the Presidential Election is about two years away.
In the opinion of Baba-Ahmed, it is President Tinubu that has allowed the tension to keep building by not addressing the issue and decisively put a stop to it.
Speaking Wednesday on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Baba-Ahmed wondered why the President has not personally addressed the delicate issue, dismiss it as baseless, if indeed it is, and put a stop to the tension.
His words: “I would be very curious to find out what it is that makes all these stories about dropping him (VP Shettima). I think somewhere along line, to be honest, the President should have done something a long time ago.”
He expected the President to have made affirmed confidence in Shettima, and by doing so, put a stop to the speculations.
Baba-Ahmed: “If all these stories about dropping the Vice President for somebody else, another Northern Vice president, may be a Christian, may be from somewhere else – have absolutely no iota of truth, it would have taken just one thing (to stop it): the President directly and personally saying: ‘Stop this nonsense. I have confidence in my Vice President. I work well with him. I am happy with him, and I want this nonsense about me dropping him now, or in the future to stop.’
“I will take a decision on who my running mate is in 2027 when we get there. In the meantime, we have work to do. But he didn’t say that. His people didn’t say that.
“It is worrying. Let me just say it is worrying. If what I have said is exactly what the President thinks, he should have said it. If he doesn’t say it the way I have, he should have found a way. But it should come from him. It should be direct, and it must be emphatic.”
Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, until a couple of months ago, Presidential Adviser, Politics, in the office of the Vice President, has said that neither the late President Muhammadu Buhari, nor President Bola Tinubu, became Nigerian President to serve the Nation. Instead, said he, both men became Presidents for personal reasons.
Baba-Ahmed spoke Wednesday on Channel Television’s Politics Today.
According to him, Buhari became President, not to run Nigeria but because “he just wanted to be President.”
He noticed this early enough during the Buhari Presidency, and resigned his membership of the All Progressives Congress, APC.
He said: “I was the Chairman of APC in my State for three years. I was the Chairman when we transited from the CPC and went into the coalition with Tinubu’s Party.
“About six months into Buhari’s Presidency, I resigned my membership of the Party because I could see then that I didn’t think that Buhari became President to run the country.
“I think he just wanted to become President. Just six months into that, I left.”
Baba-Ahmed also has the same opinion of President Tinubu.
He said of the President: “I think there are some similarities between Tinubu and Buhari. They both wanted to become President for personal reasons more than anything else.
“I think that they have laboured in the political process for so long that it became about them and that is the wrong reason to seek political power.
“You want power so that you can govern the people and improve things, it must never be about you.”
For his discipline, honesty, incorruptible character, and dedication to duty, a Superintendent of Police, Sentome Obi, has been celebrated and recommended to the Inspector General of Police, for special promotion.
In addition to that, SP Obi was gifted with a three bedroom flat and a car by the Governor of Bayelsa State, Douye Diri, in appreciation.
The goodwill was extended to SP Obi for rejecting the sum of $17,000 (US Dollars) offered to him to let a murderer off the hook.
The Officer was offered the amount of money by a confirmed ritualist to let him go. But SP Obi put his honour and integrity before blood money. He rejected it and arrested the criminal.
Governor Diri honoured Obi on Wednesday, July 23, just as he announced that all, but one of the abductors of the Honourable Justice Ebiyerin Omukoro, have been arrested.
Recall that Justice Omukoro was kidnapped by the hoodlums on June 21, 2025, in Yenagoa. He was in the custody of his abductors for 12 horrifying days. He was driving himself when the hoodlums accosted him in front of Kilmanjero restaurant and forcefully made away with him.
But on Wednesday, July 22, after the State Executive Council Meeting, Governor Diri announced that all those involved in the dastardly act, except the ring leader who is still at large, are in custody.
It was also during the meeting that the Governor honoured Obi, and, on behalf of the State Government, gifted him a three bedroom flat and a car.
He said of the Police Officer who is from Bayelsa State that: “SP Obi did not only make the State proud, he also bolstered the image of the Nigerian Police and I urge other officers to emulate his shining example.
He was particularly proud that at a time the Nigerian Police was grappling with image problems, Bayelsa produced an Officer with impeccable character who placed good name above riches.
The National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, on Wednesday, July 23, 2025, announced the sealing of a Kano warehouse stocked with over 88,567 litres of explosive-making and other dangerous chemicals.
At a media briefing in Kano, NAFDAC Director-General Prof Mojisola Adeyeye, informed that the warehouse located in in the Kwankwachi area of Fagge Local Council of Kano State, was laden with controlled chemicals, such as sulphuric and nitric acid, mainly used for the production of highly potent explosives.
The DG, who was represented by the Agency’s Director of Investigation and Enforcement, Martins Iluyomade, stated that about 60,000 litres of sulphuric acid at 90.5 per cent and 28,560 litres of nitric acid at 68 per cent, were found in the warehouse.
Also, contained in the warehouse, according to the NAFDAC DG, were about 330 empty jerrycans whose contents had been dispensed to unknown persons.
She expressed shock over the quantity and lethal nature of the chemicals uncovered in the warehouse.
Such dangerous chemicals she noted, have grave implications for the security situation of the country given their importance in the production of explosives.
“What we have seen here is mind-boggling. I don’t think I have ever seen this quantity of concentrated nitric and sulphuric acid together in one place like this before.
“The owner is not listed as a chemical marketer. We keep database to monitor the importation, use and disposal of such chemicals.
“These acids are controlled chemicals that are not to be handled by just anybody.
“Importing such chemicals requires clearance from the National Security Adviser, NSA, and permits, none of which the owner possesses.
“Permit and clearance are important because these chemicals are used to manufacture explosives.
“The volume we have here is enough to destroy the whole of Kano if mishandled”, Prof Adeyeye noted.
This is as she assured of the Agency’s determination to bring the owner of the chemicals and all those involved to account.
“We will ensure that he ( owner) is brought to justice. He needs to explain how these chemicals were imported, and who they are being supplied to. This is a serious national security issue”, the NAFDAC DG stated.
The hope of Dr Valentine Ozigbo of flying the flag of the All Progressive Congress, APC, in the Anambra State off-circle Governorship contest billed for November, 8, 2025, faded on Wednesday, July 23, 2025, following a court decision affirming the candidacy of Nicholas Ukachukwu.
The Source reports that Ozigbo, a former ally of Peter Obi the Labour Party, LP, 2023, Presidential candidate, was roundly trounced by Ukachukwu in the APC primaries held on April 5,2025.
Dissatisfied, Ozoigbo who only defected to the APC from his LP abode a few weeks before the primaries, had approached the court seeking a reversal.
He alleged, among other things, that his rival, Prince Ukachukwu, as at the time of the primary election was not eligible to contest on account of non-validation of his membership of the party.
However, while delivering judgment, the presiding Judge, Justice Evelyn Anyadike, held that even though there were noticable discrepancies worthy of concern in the documents presented by Ukachukwu, there is little or nothing the Court could do about the situation.
Justice Anyadike further ruled that the applicant did not adduce sufficient and conclusive evidence to prove that the respondent was not qualified to be part of the primary contest .
Besides, the trial Judge, held that the Court, going by the law, does not have the power to meddle into the internal affairs of political parties by substituting one candidate with another.
“The court cannot interfere in the internal matters of a political party where the plaintiff has not provided incontrovertible proof of the date of membership, nor shown that the party acted outside its constitutional powers”.
Consequently, the court while affirming the candidacy of Ukachukwu , dismissed Ozoigbo’s application on grounds of lacking in merit.
But reacting to the Court ruling, an obviously distraught and disappointed Ozoigbo informed that he will make known his next step after consulting with the legal team.
However, there are strong indications that the former LP chieftain is not ready yet to let go.
“We are consulting with our lawyers, and will decide on our next step soon. I am not fighting this case for myself, I am doing so for Ndi Anambra. I am fighting also to protect the soul of democracy, and I can assure you that this is far from being over.
This case was not just about forms-filling and documentations. It was about principle. It was about saying no to criminality. Unfortunately, the court today “blinked”. Ozigbo stated.
