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2027: Ogbeide-Ihama Joins Edo South Senatorial Race, Says Upper Chamber Not For Neophytes(Photos)
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A former House of Representatives member, Omoregie Ogbeide-Ihama, on Wednesday joined the race for Edo South Senatorial seat on the platform of All Progressives Congress (APC).
Ogbeide-Ihama, during his declaration at Ward II in Oredo Local Government Area of Edo, declared that his eight years of legislative experience makes him the strongest contender for the seat.
He told party supporters and stakeholders that the 2027 senatorial contest would require competence, capacity and proven grassroots appeal rather than mere political sentiments.
The former federal lawmaker said he was stepping into the race because Edo South needed tested leadership at a time when national politics demanded strong legislative representation.
“If you talk about experience, I am the most experienced among all of us. I have spent eight good years in the House of Representatives, in the National Assembly.
“The rules and the business of both chambers are the same. So, I’m the longest-serving member who has been in the National Assembly,” he said.
According to him, the senate is too important for the senatorial district to hand over to a political newcomer, insisting that legislative experience remained a major advantage in lawmaking and constituency development.
We cannot send a newcomer to that place. We cannot survive there.
“The politics there is different. Experience counts. There must be competence, there must be capacity, there must be ability to win the election,” he said.
Ogbeide-Ihama said that beyond experience, he had already shown his capacity to deliver projects and win elections under difficult circumstances.
“I have attracted federal presence to that constituency across board. The evidences are there.
This whole process is about winning elections. I have shown that I can win elections. I won even from opposition. Back to back, I won 12 wards over 12 wards,” he said.
The APC aspirant added that his strong connection with the grassroots made him a natural choice for the ticket, describing himself as both experienced and representative of the younger generation seeking leadership opportunities.
“I represent a generation that is yearning for leadership, and I believe that it is our time. I am the most experienced, but let me tell you, na me young pass because it is our time,” he said.
Responding to claims that he was an outsider in APC, Ogbeide-Ihama dismissed the insinuation, maintaining that he was a committed and recognised member of the party.
“I don’t know what stranger means. I’m a full-fledged APC member. When I joined APC, it was known to everybody. Before I joined APC, we were not winning. When I joined, we won,” he said.
On insinuations that external political forces were driving his ambition, he said support in politics could come from anywhere and should not be treated as a crime.
Is there anybody that contests election that does not go to the people? If help comes from anywhere, we take all the help.
My helper can be in the South, in the North, in America. We take all the help,” he said.
He urged APC members across Edo South to reject divisive politics and focus on presenting the best candidate for the general election.
The former lawmaker stressed that the senatorial seat belongs to all the seven local governments in the district.
One senator, seven local governments. I am not going to be senator for one local government. I will be senator for all the seven local governments,” he said.
Ogbeide-Ihama expressed confidence that APC would emerge victorious in the 2027 general elections if the party prioritised qualification and electability.
“This ticket of APC, God has restored it to us. We will take it and we will win this election.
“We will win for presidency, we will win for senate and we will win all our House of Representatives seats,” he said.
The Permanent Chairman of the Southern Nigerian Traditional Rulers Council (SNTRC), Arole Oodua Olofin Adimula and the Natural Head of the Oduduwa race worldwide, the Ooni of Ife, Ooni Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, Ojaja II, has rubbished reports circulating on social media alleging that he conferred a chieftaincy title on popular Nollywood actor and comedian, James Olanrewaju, popularly known as Baba Ijesha.
In a statement on Saturday by the Director of Media and Public Affairs, Ooni’s Palace, Otunba Moses Olafare said the Ooni clarified that although he warmly received the actor and his wife at the Ile Oodua Palace on Wednesday to celebrate the birth of his son and presented him with a brand-new car and cash gifts as a demonstration of his fatherly love and royal generosity, no chieftaincy title was conferred on him.
According to him, the expression “Awada Konge Oduwa,” which Baba Ijesha later described on his social media pages as a chieftaincy title, was merely a light-comedy remark made by the Ooni during a relaxed interaction in recognition of the actor’s outstanding career as a comedian.
The remark was never intended to constitute a formal installation or conferment of a traditional title.
The Ooni noted that Baba Ijesha, as an indigene of Ile-Ife and a proud son of the source, is deserving of honour and could be considered for a chieftaincy title in the future.
However, no such title has been conferred on him.
“The conferment of chieftaincy titles in Ile-Ife remains a sacred traditional process governed by established customs, consultations and traditional rites, which are publicly conducted in accordance with the age-long traditions of the source. None of these customary procedures took place during the actor’s visit to the Palace, “he said.
While appreciating Baba Ijesha for acknowledging the royal kindness extended to him and his family, the Ooni urged media organisations and members of the public to disregard reports claiming that the actor has been installed as the “Awada Konge Oduwa” or conferred with any chieftaincy title.
The Ooni reaffirmed his commitment to celebrating and supporting deserving sons and daughters of Ile-Ife and the Oodua race at large while preserving the sanctity, dignity and integrity of the revered traditional institution of chieftaincy.
The Presidency has called on security and anti-graft agencies to identify, arrest and prosecute government officials who may have collaborated with Prince Matthew Adeniyi Adeyemi in the alleged operation of two fictitious federal government agencies.
Adeyemi is accused of creating the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council and the Presidential Economic Advisory Council using allegedly forged documents purportedly linked to the Presidency.
In a statement on his verified X handle, the Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi, said investigators must go beyond Adeyemi and expose the internal network that allegedly enabled him to operate for an extended period.
Ajayi urged the Department of State Services (DSS), the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate all officials within public institutions who may have aided the alleged scheme.
According to Ajayi, much of the public debate has ignored the fact that government institutions detected the alleged fraud and acted on it.
He said officials of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission, working with officers of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, first discovered inconsistencies in Adeyemi’s operations and reported the matter to the appropriate authorities.
“Contrary to the anything-goes narrative being promoted, it was the system itself that raised the red flag and dealt with it administratively,” Ajayi said.
He, however, acknowledged that the suspect could not have operated for long without help from insiders.
“What is not in doubt is that internal collaborators enabled Adeyemi to get this far. That is precisely what investigators from the DSS, the Police and the EFCC must now unravel.
“The criminal network within the affected institutions must be dismantled and everyone found to have played a role should be arrested and prosecuted,” he said.
The Presidency had earlier disowned the disowned the two organisations, insisting that they did not exist as government agencies.
It also maintained that the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, neither authorised Adeyemi’s activities nor had any connection with them.
“In Nigeria, the easiest and most believable allegation anyone can throw at a public officer is corruption.
“Once that accusation is thrown into the mix, the water is polluted, the lines are blurred and everyone is kept busy arguing over distractions rather than the real issues,” he wrote.
He described Adeyemi as “an irredeemable con artist” who was using allegations against the Chief of Staff as “his last straw” to avoid criminal liability.
The Presidency insisted that the case should not be framed as evidence of complicity at the highest levels of government, but as an alleged fraud uncovered by the system itself.
Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN, Abuja Region has announced a planned preventive maintenance at the Katampe 132/33 KiloVolt (kV) Transmission Substation on Saturday from 9:00am to 4:00pm.
General Manager, Public Affairs of the TCN, Mrs Ndidi Mbah, made this announcement in a statement in Abuja on Saturday.
Mbah said the scheduled maintenance is to enable TCN’s maintenance crew carry out preventive maintenance on the 100 Mega Volt Ampere (MVA) 132/33kV Power Transformer (TR1), its auxiliaries, and associated switchgear in the substation.
”Consequently, Abuja Electricity Distribution Company, AEDC, will be unable to off-take bulk power for distribution to customers in parts of Mpape, Maitama, Jahi, Life Camp,
”Others are Kado Fish Market, Idu-Karmo, and their environs during the maintenance period,” she said.
According to her, the company regrets any inconvenience the planned outage may cause electricity customers in the affected areas.
She added that equipment maintenance is essential to ensure their continued optimal performance.
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