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The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Ogun State, on Wednesday officially received former Senator Iyabo Obasanjo, following her exit from the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.

Recall that Iyabo, daughter of former Nigerian President, Olusegun Obasanjo, represented Ogun Central in the Senate between 2007 and 2011.

She lost her re-election bid in 2011 and left the country to pursue a career in academics in the United States of America.

In January this year, Senator Obasanjo returned to active politics after 15 years and joined the ruling APC, where she declared her ambition to run for governor.

However, on the 31st of May, the former senator resigned from APC after losing the governorship ticket, citing disrespect, betrayal, and unfair treatment by the APC leadership.

She was officially received into the PDP fold at a massive rally held at the party secretariat in Abeokuta on Wednesday.

The State Chairman of the PDP, Dr Abayomi Tella, presented the PDP flag to Senator Obasanjo, welcoming her back to the party and announcing her as the PDP candidate for Ogun Central in the next election.

“On behalf of our National Chairman, Alhaji Abdulrahman Mohammed, and the entire National Working Committee of the PDP, I, Abayomi Tella, PhD, the State Chairman of the PDP, and on behalf of PDP Ogun Central, present to our revered sister, Prof. Senator Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello, this flag as the authority of the party for her candidature for the Senate in Ogun Central,” Tella said.

Taking the party’s oath, Senator Obasanjo pledged her loyalty and allegiance to the PDP, its constitution, manifesto, and code of conduct.

“I commit myself to the ideals of the PDP. I shall serve the people of Ogun State and Nigeria with integrity, humility, and dedication, prioritising their welfare above personal and sectional interests,” she declared.

She declared that she remains the candidate to beat in the next election, saying she remains the best senator to have represented Ogun Central.

On his part, Adebutu vowed that, if elected governor, his administration would ensure the viability of local government areas by implementing local government autonomy.

He also promised to be prudent and transparent in the management of public funds.

“I, Oladipupo, son of Adebutu, won’t steal your money. Local governments will get their funds accordingly, and we shall be transparent in all our dealings,” he said.

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Former Nigerian Minister of Petroleum Resources Diezani Alison-Madueke, has reacted to her acquittal of all corruption charges, on Wednesday by a United Kingdom (UK) jury.

Diezani who was found not guilty following an 11-year legal battle, is celebrating what she called “a decade of relentless vilification.”
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‎Southwark Crown Court in London had cleared Alison-Madueke, 64, on all five counts of accepting bribes and one count of conspiracy to commit bribery after more than 46 hours of jury deliberations.

The verdict closes a case that began with her arrest in London in October 2015.
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‎Speaking after the ruling, Diezani said the decision had restored her reputation.
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‎“I am deeply relieved. My name is cleared. This nightmare is over,” she said in a statement. “I thank God Almighty for His faithfulness and for completely vindicating me.”
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‎“For eleven long, gruelling years, this case has hung over my head and has tormented me and my family,” she added.

“Today, the past decade of relentless and unjust vilification, condemnation and scrutiny has finally come to an end.”
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‎Prosecutors had alleged that while serving as minister under ex-President Goodluck Jonathan from 2010 to 2015, Alison-Madueke received more than £100,000 in benefits from oil and gas executives seeking lucrative contracts.

The benefits cited in court included private jet flights, chauffeur-driven vehicles, luxury goods, use and maintenance of a London property, and payment of her son’s school fees.
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‎She was tried alongside co-defendants Ayinde Olatimbo Bukola and Agama Doye.

The trial began in January 2026, with Alison-Madueke maintaining her innocence throughout proceedings.
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‎Despite the UK acquittal, legal challenges remain for the former minister in Nigeria, where she still faces pending corruption and money laundering cases.
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‎Alison-Madueke’s tenure as petroleum minister made her the first woman to hold the position in Nigeria and later the first female president of OPEC in 2014. Her arrest in 2015 marked the start of one of the most high-profile corruption investigations involving a Nigerian public official.
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The Court of Appeal in Abuja has struck out the National Broadcasting Commission’s (NBC) latest attempt to overturn a Federal High Court judgment restraining it from imposing fines on radio and television stations, handing the broadcast regulator another significant judicial defeat.

In a unanimous judgment delivered on Wednesday, the appellate court ruled that the NBC’s appeal was fundamentally defective and incompetent, holding that it lacked the legal foundation required for the court to exercise jurisdiction.

Justice Jane Inyang, who delivered the lead judgment, identified a fatal discrepancy in the identity of the appellant. While the original suit at the Federal High Court was between the Incorporated Trustees of Media Rights Agenda and the National Broadcasting Commission, the notice of appeal was filed in the name of the “Nigerian Broadcasting Commission” – an entirely different legal entity.

According to the court, the inconsistency rendered the appeal incurably defective.

“The notice of appeal and the accompanying briefs are fundamentally defective and do not and cannot confer jurisdiction on this court to hear and determine the appeal,” Justice Inyang ruled.

The court stressed that a valid notice of appeal is the bedrock of appellate proceedings and a mandatory condition for invoking its jurisdiction. It consequently held that there was “no appeal in fact and in law” before it and struck out the case for incompetence.

The appeal arose from the January 17, 2024 judgment of Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia of the Federal High Court, who held that the NBC acted unlawfully and unconstitutionally by imposing N5 million fines on MultiChoice Nigeria Limited (DStv), TelCom Satellite Limited (TStv), Trust TV Network Limited and NTA StarTimes Limited over documentaries on banditry and insecurity in Zamfara State.

The commission had argued that the broadcasts threatened national security, but the trial court ruled that the sanctions violated the constitutional guarantee of freedom of expression under Section 39 of the 1999 Constitution and Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which protects the right to receive and disseminate information without undue interference.

Wednesday’s verdict marks yet another courtroom setback for the NBC in its prolonged legal battle over its sanctioning powers.

In April 2026, the Court of Appeal also dismissed another appeal filed by the commission against the May 10, 2023 judgment of Justice James Omotosho, which held that monetary fines are criminal sanctions that can only be imposed by a court of law and not by an administrative agency. The appellate court had earlier rejected the NBC’s attempt to set aside that judgment in November 2023.

The latest decision further entrenches judicial limits on the NBC’s authority, reinforcing the position that broadcast organisations cannot be subjected to monetary penalties by the regulator without due judicial process.