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Edo poll: How APC allegedly offered witnesses N30m bribe
The candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the September 21, 2024, governorship election in Edo State, Asue Ighodalo, on Thursday, alleged that the All Progressives Congress attempted to bribe his witnesses at the tribunal with N30 million.
Ighodalo, however, expressed gratitude to his witnesses for their perseverance and loyalty to the cause, vowing to take the battle to the Supreme Court to “claim his mandate.”
Speaking at the PDP stakeholders’ meeting in Benin, Ighodalo stated that he, his running mate Osarodion Ogie, and other party members in the state would continue the fight despite the tribunal’s verdict, which he believed sought to undermine justice.
“We will fight this battle to the end. Many of our supporters left their homes to be here. All our witnesses have been steadfast, despite being offered N30m to sway them. They stood firm with the party, and I thank everyone,” he said.
In the election held on September 21, 2024, APC’s Monday Okpebholo won with 291,667 votes, defeating Ighodalo, who garnered 247,655 votes.
Dissatisfied with the result, the PDP and Ighodalo filed a petition against the Independent National Electoral Commission, Okpebholo, and the APC at the tribunal.
On April 2, 2025, the Edo Governorship Election Petition Tribunal dismissed the petition and upheld Okpebholo’s victory.
Unfazed, Ighodalo and the PDP proceeded with an appeal.
At Thursday’s stakeholders’ meeting, Ighodalo stated, “The tribunal’s verdict was not fair. We’ve appealed, and we’ll take the case to the Supreme Court. We are confident that God will intervene because He is just. We must remain strong and focused, despite everything happening around us.”
Ighodalo promised that once they reclaim the mandate, they would build upon the foundations laid by former Governor Lucky Igbinedion.
“When we get our mandate, we will pick up where leaders like Lucky Igbinedion left off. After our eight years in office, everyone will be comfortable, except those unwilling to work. God has been teaching us humility and strength of character. If we had been sworn in after the election, we would have made a big mistake by appointing the wrong people. The loyalty of party members will be rewarded when we take office,” he said.
A party leader and former Minister of External Affairs, Chief Tom Ikhimi, accused the APC of attacking the PDP to pave the way for a one-party state.
He expressed confidence that Ighodalo and Ogie had won the election, asserting that the “stolen mandate” would be retrieved.
“The PDP kickstarted this Fourth Republic, and I’m glad to see the first governor and deputy governor of the state here with us. Their presence provides leadership to the party, and it is commendable. The PDP is a family, and despite the current challenges, we will prevail. The APC has been hijacked and is now serving personal interests. The best way forward is to ensure the survival of the PDP,” he said.
Edo State PDP Caretaker Chairman, Tony Aziegbemi, acknowledged the party’s current struggles but expressed optimism that these difficulties would bring out the best in the PDP.
He assured that the majority of the state still supported the party.
“We may be facing challenges, but we are the majority in the state. The quality of people in this party will shine through when we face adversity. If the APC is using coercion to bring in PDP members, it only shows the weakness of the APC at the national level,” Aziegbemi said.
Igbinedion, former governor of the state, emphasised that there were only two political parties in Nigeria: the PDP and everyone else.
He urged Edo State PDP members to focus on marketing the party and building support.
The party’s Publicity Secretary, Chris Nehikhare, admitted that the party was facing difficult times, but reiterated that the challenges were not new.
“Every serious political organisation with a mandate to serve must occasionally pause, reflect, and recommit to its core values. That’s exactly where we are today,” he stated.
The Universal Basic Education Commission on Tuesday announced plans to introduce a new template for disbursing counterpart funds under the Universal Basic Education programme.
This was disclosed by the Executive Secretary of the commission, Aisha Garba, during an interactive workshop with State Universal Basic Education Boards in Abuja.
Garba explained that the Federal Government, through UBEC, had recently restructured the delivery of basic education nationwide to align with four strategic pillars aimed at improving access and quality across states and the Federal Capital Territory.
She identified the pillars as expanding access to basic education, especially for rural and underserved populations; enhancing the quality of teaching and learning nationwide; strengthening accountability and the effective use of education financing; and optimising monitoring and institutional systems for quality service delivery.
She said, “The Hope Education Project of the present administration is a performance-for-reward initiative designed to support states that judiciously utilise resources in line with these four pillars.”
She added that the new approach had made it necessary to develop fresh templates that will guide SUBEBs in preparing work plans to access UBE intervention funds under the framework of the Hope Education Project.
Also speaking at the event, UBEC’s Deputy Executive Secretary for General Services, Tunde Ajibulu, described the workshop as timely and essential.
He stressed that the realignment of basic education delivery made the introduction of the new templates crucial.
“We expect you, as implementers of basic education in your respective states, to contribute positively and help develop workable templates,” Ajibulu said.
A Kano State High Court on Tuesday dismissed an application filed by former Kano State Governor and current National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, challenging the court’s jurisdiction to hear a bribery and misappropriation case against him.
The Kano State Government brought 11 counts against Ganduje, his wife Hafsat, son Umar, and five others, alleging bribery totalling $413,000 and misappropriation of N1.38 billion.
The other defendants include Abubakar Bawuro, Umar Abdullahi Umar, Jibrilla Muhammad, Lamash Properties Limited, Safari Textiles Limited, and Lasage General Enterprises Limited.
Delivering her ruling, Justice Amina Adamu-Aliyu dismissed all preliminary objections raised by the defendants, describing them as incompetent and lacking merit.
She ruled that the charges filed on May 13, 2024, were competent and that the matter should proceed to trial.
The judge further issued a summons to the sixth defendant, Lamash Properties Limited, and adjourned the case to July 30 and 31, 2025, for hearing.
Ganduje, his wife Hafsat, and son Umar, had through their lawyer, Mrs. Lydia Oyewo, filed a preliminary objection dated November 18, 2024, challenging the court’s jurisdiction and seeking to have all charges quashed.
In response, counsel for the state government, Adeola Adedipe (SAN), filed a counter-application dated October 22, 2024, urging the court to dismiss the preliminary objections for lacking merit.
Similarly, counsel for the third and seventh defendants, M.N. Duru, (SAN), submitted a motion on notice dated October 18, 2024, supported by a 14-paragraph affidavit and a written address, asking the court to uphold their application.
Counsel for the fifth defendant, Muhammad Shehu, also filed a motion dated October 18, 2024, and urged the court to grant it with substantial costs against the complainant.
Abubakar Ahmad, representing the sixth defendant, filed a preliminary objection dated September 9, 2024, supported by a nine-paragraph affidavit.
Additionally, counsel for the eighth defendant, Faruk Asekome, filed a notice of preliminary objection dated October 18, 2024, supported by a five-paragraph affidavit and written address, also seeking dismissal of the charges.
Justice Adamu-Aliyu, however, ruled that the objections lacked merit and cleared the way for the trial to proceed.
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