Edo State
Edo guber: I didn’t pour acid on fellow student as undergraduate – Pastor Ize-Iyamu
The governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo State, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, said contrary to what is in circulation, he never poured acid on a fellow student as an undergraduate but rather drew the attention of the school security and took the victim for first aid treatment. Speaking live on an online television programme monitored in Benin City yesterday, Ize-Iyamu said himself and others linked to the incident were rusticated because the identity of the culprit was never known. He said he entered the University of Benin in 1980 to read political science but later changed to law and did not graduate until 1986 because of the rustication adding that he was a member of pirates confraternity while in school. Ize-Iyamu said: “When I was in the University, I was a ...
PDP alleges plot to ‘derail’ Edo guber poll
The Peoples Democratic Party has alleged plots by the All Progressives Congress to use the trio of Governors Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State, Hope Uzodinma of Imo State, and Yahaya Bello of Kogi State to derail the September 19 Edo State Governorship Election. According to the party, the people of Edo were already aware that the trio “were selected by the APC to lead its campaign so as to force a combined formula of Kano and Kogi electoral violence as well as Imo State mandate robbery, to subvert the will of the people of Edo State in the governorship election.” This was contained in a statement signed by the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, in Abuja, on Friday. It read in part, “The PDP described as pathetic that the APC only has a person who has become a butt of inter...
Suspension: Adams Oshiomhole withdraws application against Appeal Court ruling
Mr Adams Oshiomhole, on Tuesday, withdrew his application for stay of execution of the June 16, 2020 judgment of the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal which affirmed his suspension as the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress. The withdrawal, his lawyers said, was in line with his concession to the dissolution of the National Working Committee and the subsequent appointment of a caretaker committee by the National Executive Committee of the party on June 25. Following the withdrawal of the motion, the three-man panel of the Court of Appeal led by Justice Eunice Onyemenam unanimously dismissed in a short ruling on Tuesday. Oshiomhole’s Ward 10 in Etsako West Local Government Area of Edo State had in November 2019 suspended him as a member of the party for anti-party activit...
Edo guber: INEC closes dedicated portal for parties nominations
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Monday says it has closed its dedicated portal designed for political parties to submit the details of their nominations for Edo governorship election. Mr Festus Okoye, INEC National Commissioner and Chairman Information and Voter Education Committee (IVEC) disclosed this in an interview with newsmen in Abuja. Okoye said that the commission did not extend the June 29 deadline fixed for the exercise, which ended at 6 p.m. on Monday. He said that the commission in line with fixed deadline and schedule of activities for the state election shut down the dedicated portal at 6 p.m. Okoye, who did not disclose the number of political parties that met the deadline, promising that the details would later be made public. “The portal for submiss...
Governor Wike: Why I want all Southsouth states under PDP
Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike has expressed his desire for all Southsouth states to be under the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). He spoke ahead of the September governorship election in Edo State where Governor Godwin Obaseki of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) got the PDP ticket. The Rivers State governor, who spoke on Arise TV, explained that as a loyal party man, he would want his party to win in Edo State. He said the PDP was happy to have resolved the disagreement that ensued in Edo State before last week’s governorship primary. “Sometimes there can be disagreements, but the ability to reconcile everybody is important. Particularly, as an opposition party, it is healthy to have division. There is no need to make people think that you don’t want them. I to...
Governor Wike: Why I want all Southsouth states under PDP
Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike has expressed his desire for all Southsouth states to be under the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). He spoke ahead of the September governorship election in Edo State where Governor Godwin Obaseki of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) got the PDP ticket. The Rivers State governor, who spoke on Arise TV, explained that as a loyal party man, he would want his party to win in Edo State. He said the PDP was happy to have resolved the disagreement that ensued in Edo State before last week’s governorship primary. “Sometimes there can be disagreements, but the ability to reconcile everybody is important. Particularly, as an opposition party, it is healthy to have division. There is no need to make people think that you don’t want them. I to...
Edo guber: Atiku Abubakar directs support groups to work for Governor Obaseki
The Former Vice President and the Peoples Democratic Party presidential candidate in the 2019 election, Atiku Abubakar, has directed the activation of his over 150 independent support groups in Edo State in preparation for the state governorship election fixed for September 19. The Deputy Director in charge of Atiku Support Group/Mobilization in the defunct Atiku Presidential Campaign Organisation and PDP Presidential Campaign, Hon. Oladimeji Fabiyi, confirmed the directives of the former Vice President to newsmen in Benin City yesterday. According to Fabiyi, Atiku directed that all Independent Atiku Support Groups in Edo State should be activated with immediate effect as part of mobilization for the victory of Godwin Obaseki, the governorship candidate of the PDP. He said the former Vice...
Governor Mohammed: PDP has learnt from past mistakes
Senator Bala Mohammed, governor of Bauchi State and Chairman, Edo governorship Primary Election Committee on Thursday declared in Benin, the Edo state capital that the Peoples Democratic Party has learnt in a hard way from their past mistakes and would not allow history to repeat itself. Speaking at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, Benin while presiding over the party’s governorship primary, Gov. Bala said ‘today, the party wants to prove to the world that the PDP is the only party that they can trust”. He said the primary would be conducted in a free, fair, credible and transparent way to prove a point that the party is the only one that can do that. While describing Governor Obaseki as a role model in Governor’s forum, Bala said Obaseki is one person who is a very resourceful, noting that g...
Edo guber: NWC members not tax collectors – PDP
The Peoples Democratic Party has faulted an allegation by the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, that members of the party’s National Working Committee are tax collectors. The PDP reacted to the governor’s claim in a press statement by its National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Kola Ologbodiyan, Wednesday. Newsmen had reported that Wike on Tuesday pulled out of the reconciliation of the Edo State chapter of the PDP. He also accused some members of the National Working Committee of the PDP of “being sycophants and tax collectors who would never tell the truth”. Wike made the allegations after a publication accused him of sponsoring disunity among PDP members in Edo. The PUNCH reports that despite efforts by leaders of the party, some aspirants of the PDP have refused to step down for Gov...
INEC reacts to crisis rocking APC in Edo state
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has reacted after conflicting court orders were issued as a result of internal crisis rocking some political parties across the country. INEC’s national commissioner for information and voter education Festus Okoye said on Tuesday June 23 that they convened a meeting due to the crisis which might impede the smooth conduct of primaries and the forthcoming governorship election in Edo state. Okoye disclosed that they resolved that the conduct of party primaries and resolution of disputes should end on June 27, while the submission of the list of candidates the parties propose to present at the election and affidavits of validly nominated candidates will close at 6pm on June 29, 2020. The INEC Commissioner said; “In view of this and as part...
Edo guber: PDP aspirant steps down for Godwin Obaseki
File Photo Ahead of Friday’s governorship primaries of the Peoples Democratic Party in Edo State, a frontline aspirant of the party, Mr Gideon Ikhine, has stepped down from the race for Governor Godwin Obaseki. Ikhine announced his decision to step down for the governor on Monday at a ceremony in Benin. Obaseki, state party chairman, Dr Tony Aziegbemi, and other party leaders across the state were in attendance. Announcing the decision, the aspirant said there was no progress without a sacrifice, adding that the governor’s defection to the party was God’s great answer to the party and his aspiration. He noted that two persons could have the same vision but the means of approaching them different. Ikhine stressed that he was not actually stepping down, but ” stepping behind the man who woul...
Civil rights group wants Edo governor sanctioned for violating coronavirus guidelines
A civil rights group, Joint Forces For the Defence of Democracy in Edo State (JOFDES), has berated the state governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, for violating the COVID-19 guidelines of social distance, wearing of face masks, no gathering of more than 20 persons in a place in his recent defection to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in Benin City. Recall that hundreds of party faithful gathered at the PDP’s Secretariat to receive Obaseki into his new found political party in the state. The group, through its leadership, Felix Osemwengie, expressed its displeasure in Benin at the weekend. “The essence of this emergency press conference today is to draw the attention of the Word Health Organization (WHO), Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Inspector Ge...
