The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has taken a swipe at Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, whom it described as the leading but rather shoddy drummer for his 2027 political ambition.

Makinde is said to be nursing a presidential ambition on the platform of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) against the incumbent President Bola Tinubu also from the South-West geopolitical zone like him, in the next 2027 election cycle.

But, APC said while Nigeria’s democracy affords Makinde the liberty to his political aspiration, however, engaging in reckless executive flippancy, at the expense of the job he was elected to do as governor, was a disservice to the good people of Oyo State.

The ruling party, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, on Sunday, said the Oyo State governor had at a recent event in Ibadan, blamed APC for the turmoil in his party, the PDP and other opposition parties.

Morka said, at the same time, Makinde bragged that a decision to cooperate with his Osun State counterpart to advance the interest of his “moribund party” in South-West would be beyond the influence of APC.

“If Makinde knew how best to keep APC’s influence at bay, exactly why has he not executed that strategy in “protection” of his party nationally? Like the proverbial bad workman that blames his tools, Makinde and his co-confused leaders of the PDP should quit pointing fingers at the APC and take full responsibility for their disgraceful failure to handle the party’s implosion and decay.

“Makinde’s unhinged 2027 ambition cannot be founded upon his unguarded and unjustified attacks against our great Party or the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu that has launched the boldest and most ambitious reform effort in history to transform our country’s economy and build a solid foundation for progress.

“Governor Makinde has failed to prove himself as an effective leader. His lackluster performance as Governor speaks for itself, and undermines his credibility. Instead of prioritizing the needs of Oyo people who elected him to tackle their local issues, he has chosen to divert his attention and squander the state’s resources in pursuit of unhinged 2027 ambition. Makinde must know that Nigeria’s scale and complexities demand more than his vain and self-indulgent ambition.

“Makinde cannot even speak for the people of Oyo state regarding their future electoral choices or decisions let alone speak for Nigerians. Makinde and his partisan cohorts are only worried stiff that the looming transformation and prosperity from President Tinubu’s economic policies will consign their 2027 ambitions and calculations into the trash-bin of political irrelevance.

“We urge Nigerians to continue to stand firm in support of President Tinubu as the administration’s reform policies begin to yield the desired benefits for all Nigerians,” APC spokesman Morka stated.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ebonyi State has elected Mr Peter Nwele as the new chairman.

Nwele stated that he would start bringing those that left the party back to form a formidable force to take over the state in 2027.

He noted that Ebonyi has been a PDP state and that the party will bounce back in 2027.

Nwele spoke during the state congress at the weekend in Abakaliki.

The congress was supervised by a seven-man committee from the National secretariat of the party and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), as well as security agencies.

“Ebonyi State is PDP right from time and it will continue to be PDP. People say that there is crisis in PDP, there is no crisis in the party.

“The only thing we want to do now is to embark on bringing those who left the party back.

“PDP is a very large family that will accommodate all of us. So we are ready to start bringing everyone back home.

“We are for forgiveness, we make peace for people to come back home so that we take back our lost mandate,” he stated.

Ugonna Ogbonna, Chairman of the Congress Committee, described the exercise as peaceful and transparent and commended members of the party for conducting themselves orderly.

On his part, the National Vice Chairman, South East of the party, Chief Ali Odefa said the enthusiasm and love for PDP in the state and the country in general was still very strong.

He opined that the party was putting things together to wrest power from APC in 2027.

He dismissed any crisis in the party, saying “there has been total reconciliation, the NWC is one, we are one”.

Odefa implored the new executives of the party in the state to embark on total reconciliation.

Zenith Labour Party, ZLP has won in 15 out of the 17 Local Government Areas in Abia State during the Local Government Elections held on November 2, 2024 while the Young Peoples Party claimed victory in the remaining two LGAs.

The results were announced by the Chairman of the Abia State Independent Electoral Commission, Prof. George Chima, at the commission’s headquarters in Umuahia, the state capital, on Saturday.

“We have fulfilled the duty we were inaugurated on September 5 to carry out.
“It wasn’t an easy task, but we went above and beyond to raise awareness about the election across the state,” Chima stated.

Highlighting the significance of the election, he noted,
“In recent times, this commission has not conducted an election with over 12 political parties participating. This, in itself, is a milestone for the commission.”

Chima confirmed that the election took place across all 17 LGAs of the state, describing it as “free, fair, and credible.”

He added, “We have been able to complete a task that could typically take six to twelve months within a span of two months.”

The Commission Chairman congratulated both the winners and the opposition, emphasizing the need to maintain peace in Abia.

“In any election, there are winners and losers, but the most important thing is that Abia remains peaceful. I urge everyone to uphold this peace.”

He also expressed gratitude to security agencies for their support and commended political parties for “playing by the rules.”