By Ajuluchukwu Brown, The Guardian, Abuja The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), under Professor Joash Amupitan, SAN, has emerged from the Osun State governorship election with perhaps its clearest verdict yet: the commission has demonstrated that it can conduct a competitive election with significant levels of transparency, but it has also shown that the journey towards an election Nigerians can trust completely is far from over. The August 15 election ended with the re-election of Governor Ademola Adeleke of the Accord Party. He polled 511,067 votes to defeat the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, who scored 444,815 votes,…
Author: National Update
Nigeria’s biggest challenge is not its diversity but a political structure that has concentrated too much power, money and responsibility at the centre, former Nigerian Ambassador Godknows Igali has argued. Speaking at a national dialogue organised by the Concerned Citizens Assembly on the future of the federation, Igali said Nigeria must urgently rethink its federal arrangement if it is to restore productivity, accountability and sustainable development. According to him, the country’s founding fathers understood that Nigeria’s diverse regions could only prosper when they had sufficient autonomy to harness their resources and pursue development according to their peculiar strengths. He blamed…
The Northern Senators Forum has celebrated former military Head of State, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, GCFR, on his 85th birthday, describing his contributions to Nigeria’s political and administrative development as enduring landmarks in the country’s history. In a statement signed by its Chairman, Senator Abdulaziz Musa Yar’Adua, the forum said Babangida’s leadership during a turbulent period helped preserve national unity and left institutional legacies that continue to shape Nigeria. The senators particularly highlighted the creation of 11 states between 1987 and 1989, including Katsina, Jigawa, Taraba, Kebbi, Yobe and Kogi. According to the forum, the creation of the states responded…
The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has commended the Nigerian Army over its recent successes against terrorists, while urging the military high command to intensify efforts to rescue 52 Borno children reportedly held captive for about 90 days. In a statement by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, HURIWA praised Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Waidi Shaibu, and troops of Operation Hadin Kai for repelling an ISWAP attack on the Forward Operating Base, Mandaragirau, in Biu Local Government Area of Borno State. The group said the troops’ courage, tactical coordination and recovery of weapons demonstrated growing operational…
Rather than mourn its defeat in the Osun governorship election, the All Progressives Congress (APC) should treat the result as a political wake-up call and blueprint for reclaiming the South-West in 2027, Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, has said. Bamidele, in his post-election assessment on Monday, acknowledged Governor Ademola Adeleke’s victory but said the more important question for the APC was what it would do with the lessons exposed by the election. He urged the party to resist the temptation to dismiss the outcome as a one-off defeat, arguing that the election had provided the APC with valuable insight into…
The Social Democratic Party (SDP) has described the outcome of the Osun State governorship election as a stunning rejection of political intimidation and “federal might”. The party also mocked the army of governors, National Assembly leaders, ministers and other political heavyweights who descended on the state to secure victory for the ruling establishment but allegedly left under the cover of darkness after voters defied them. The SDP National Chairman, Professor Sadiq Abubakar Gombe, speaking at a press briefing on the party’s assessment of the election, said the Osun electorate had delivered one of the clearest demonstrations in recent years that…
Osun Poll: Reconnect With Nigerians or Forget 2027, APC Vatsa Tells Tinubu The outcome of the Osun State governorship election has triggered a fresh warning within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), with a party chieftain, Jonathan Vatsa, telling President Bola Ahmed Tinubu that he must urgently reconnect with Nigerians or risk losing the 2027 presidential election. Vatsa, a former Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism in Niger State, said the Osun result should be treated as a political alarm bell rather than dismissed as an isolated state election. Speaking with journalists in Minna on Monday, Vatsa argued that the…
By Moses Eskor, DGN The just-concluded Osun State governorship election has thrown up a lesson that extends beyond party politics: celebrity influence can become powerful political capital when it is deployed for mobilisation, peace and community interests. At the centre of that conversation is Afrobeats superstar David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, whose high-profile support for his uncle, Governor Ademola Adeleke, brought enormous visibility and youth energy to the campaign. Governor Adeleke was declared winner of the August 15 election after defeating the APC candidate, Bola Oyebamiji. Davido’s role should not, however, be reduced to the claim that his celebrity…
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has seized on Governor Ademola Adeleke’s decisive re-election in Osun State to deliver a blunt political message to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC): the 2027 battle may already be taking shape. Atiku, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, said Adeleke’s victory was more than a state-level electoral triumph, describing it as a warning signal ahead of the 2027 general elections and evidence of what he called growing rejection of the APC by Nigerian voters. In a statement issued by his media office on Sunday, Atiku congratulated Adeleke and the people of Osun for…
Former Abia State Governor and Senator representing Abia North, Orji Uzor Kalu, has described the All Progressives Congress’ defeat in the Osun governorship election as a wake-up call, rather than a setback to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s 2027 ambitions. Kalu, who congratulated Governor Ademola Adeleke on his re-election, said the APC should use the outcome to reassess its grassroots structures, reconnect with voters and strengthen its political strategy ahead of the 2027 general elections. In a statement issued by his media office on Sunday, the former governor acknowledged the disappointment within the APC following the loss but urged party leaders…