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A total number of 13 political parties have fielded candidates for the 2027 Kwara State governorship election..

Names and details of the candidates of the political parties in question were displayed at the state headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Olorunsogo, Ilorin on Saturday.

The list of candidates and the parties that have had their candidates recognized by the electoral umpire include Action Alliance, APP, ADC, NDC, Accord Party, SDP , ADP, APC , PDP , NNPP, NDP, APGA and APM.

This will definitely allay Kwara State ADC members and supporters’ fears cognizant that supporters of rival political parties had excluded the ADC and its guber candidate from the list they made available on social media earlier in the day.

Dr. Ridwanullah Apaokagi , former rep Zakari Mohammed (ADC Guber candidate), Speaker Salihu Yakubu Danladi, Seko Jubril Gure, Engineer Bolakale Kawu and Professor Abdulmumin Ajia were among the guber candidates that had their names and details displayed by the electoral umpire.

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There was fear and sporadic gunshots at the council headquarters of Anambra East Local Government Area on Saturday, where election was supposed to hold for the Anambra State local government poll.

The ruling All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, has no challengers in 20 of the state’s 21 local government areas. But it is challenged by Young Progressives Party, YPP, in Anambra East.

Hundreds of people had gathered at the local government headquarters at Otuocha as early as 6 a.m., to monitor the distribution of election materials kept there.

However, YPP claimed that security operatives refused to allow its members into the compound.

The local government collation agent for YPP, Chief Charles Ifediorah, alleged that agents of his party were not allowed into the area to witness what was happening, describing the exercise as a “charade” and being manipulated in favour of APGA.

YPP member hit

According to Ifediora, a female member of YPP was hit by gunfire and was rushed to the hospital for treatment.

Ifediorah said: “It’s an appalling situation here. The scheduled local government election was to take place and we assembled all our agents from the 241 polling units to the local government headquarters by 6a.m.

“Incidentally, we were refused entry into the local government premises to access voting materials.

“We were outside before the Deputy Commissioner of Police arrived, and we were thereafter allowed to enter the premises. “In our presence, some vehicles left with election materials for Enugwu Otu, Eziagulu Otu and Nsugbe ward 1.

“It’s a very disappointing moment for the YPP in Anambra East and following this development, we are boycotting the election because the process is already compromised.

“The security agencies are aiding the compromised process and I was not even allowed to enter the inner room where the election materials were kept and distributed.”

Boycott

He alleged that the sporadic gunshots around the local government headquarters were aimed at intimidating YPP supporters, claiming that one Ijeoma sustained injuries following the gunshots and was rushed to the hospital for treatment.

He vowed that his party would follow the matter to its logical conclusion, noting that YPP zoned the chairmanship to Nsugbe because the area has not produced local government chairman since the creation of Anambra East local government.

“For the sake of equity, justice and fair play, we want the next local government chairman to come from Nsugbe”, he stated.

While speaking at a campaign rally before the election, Governor Chukwuma Soludo had observed that any vote against APGA would be a wasted vote and the party is on ground.

“In 20 LGAs, no party is challenging APGA and proper election will take place only in Anambra East, while others will be affirmation. This is because Anambra is APGA and APGA is Anambra and so none of them wanted to waste their time and money.

“Following my 73% score during the governorship: election, other political parties felt there is no need for them to waste their money in the local government election and they ran away”, the governor said.
Vanguard

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Ex- Vice-President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has claimed that President Bola Tinubu is 90 years old, saying he has evidence to support the allegation.

Atiku made the claim in an interview with the BBC while responding to questions about his age and his suitability to contest the 2027 presidential election.

The former vice-president, who is approaching 80, argued that his age should not be used to question his capacity to lead the country, particularly when he considers himself physically fit.

“I have a president who is 90 years old now, and who is sick. I am healthy; I am strong. So why would I not make my services available to my fellow countrymen?” Atiku said.

He further claimed that he could substantiate his allegation concerning Tinubu’s age through legal proceedings.

“I have evidence that he is [90], and I will present it in court,” he said.

Atiku also defended his decision to seek the presidency again, describing his ambition as part of a long political journey marked by repeated setbacks.

He recalled contesting for governor on four occasions, saying his bids were frustrated by military authorities during Nigeria’s transition to democratic rule.

“I ran for governor four times, because at that position, the people who were in charge of Nigeria’s transition to democracy were military, and I was so anti-military. Any time I won, they would disqualify me,” he said.

According to Atiku, his political activities also exposed him to serious personal risks, including what he described as an attempt on his life that forced him into exile.

“I’ve never found anything easy in my life. There is nothing new there,” he said, arguing that previous presidential contests should not prevent him from seeking the office again.

Atiku said his experience, competence and patriotism remained the reasons he believed he could contribute to Nigeria’s development.

“I have the experience, I have the competence, I have the patriotism. So why would I not make all this available to the service of my country?” he asked.

On insecurity, the ADC candidate blamed the continued crisis on what he described as government irresponsibility and inadequate attention to the country’s security needs.

He recalled raising concerns about the size of Nigeria’s police force during his time in government, comparing the country’s security personnel with those of Egypt.

“I remember when we were in office, I told the president that, look, we are over 200 million people and yet we have less than 200,000 policemen,” Atiku said.

He argued that Nigeria could make significant progress against insurgency and insecurity with stronger investment in security and more effective leadership.

“Believe me, within one year, we can control this insurgency and insecurity that is all over the place,” he said.