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BREAKING: Ubah died of heart attack *Tinubu, Obi, speak
Snippets of the details of the sudden death of Ifeanyi Ubah, Senator representing Anambra South at the National Assembly, have started emerging, with a close ally of the lawmaker, hitherto, one of the governorship hopefuls on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for Anambra State, saying he died of heart-related crisis.
The source, who was greatly distressed over the sudden death, said he was short of words as he stated that he was among the team Ubah, had put together for the APC to take over the affairs of the state in 2026, after winning the election scheduled for 2025, saying all that had come to naught together with the hope of the deceased to achieve his ambition of turning the state around, using the position of a governor.
“Yes, he died early this morning. I believe it is a heart problem, but I don’t have much to say. We were preparing to launch a major move to take over Anambra government in 2026. He would have clearly won the election, because the momentum is with him. What we have now in Anambra brought a lot of sorrow to him and he wanted to change it and Anambra was ready for him. This is too much for me,” he said.
The revelation is coming on a day President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, joined prominent Nigerians, including Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), in the February 25 election, to bewail the passing of the Anambra Senator, and foremost businessman, who was until his death, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (C-CEO) of Capital Oil, a major play in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.
Tinubu, who conveyed his distress over the development, through Ajuri Ngelale, his spokesman, commiserated with the friends and colleagues of the late Senator, the National Assembly, and the government and people of Anambra State over the sad loss.
While praying for the soul of Ubah to have eternal repose as well as strength and comfort to his family during this difficult time, Tinubu, said: “President Bola Tinubu extends his condolences to the family of the late Senator Ifeanyi Ubah. The deceased was a renowned businessman and politician. He was the Senator representing Anambra South Senatorial District at the National Assembly.
“President Tinubu commiserates with the friends and colleagues of the late Senator, the National Assembly, and the government and people of Anambra State over this sad loss. The President prays for the repose of the soul of the departed lawmaker, as well as for strength and comfort to his family.”
Obi, former Governor of Anambra State, where Ubah hails, while expressing his sorrow, praised Ubah’s contributions to humanity through his foundation, which supported the underprivileged, commiserating with his family and encouraged them to take solace in the peerless legacy he left behind.
Using his X platform, he wrote: “I received a rude shock this morning, the news of the death of my dear younger brother, and Senator Representing Anambra South Senatorial District, Senator Ifeanyi Ubah. We were all together on July 12, at the burial of Chief Pius Onwuzo in Nnewi, Anambra State.”
” Senator Ubah personally welcomed me at the burial and requested that I visit his house for lunch, to which I pleaded with him to reschedule to another date as I already had several engagements for the day. During our discussions on the state of the nation, he told me that he now understands my commitment to the progress of humanity and that he aligns with it. He assured me that, despite our party differences, we would work together as a family, in serving our people.
“Similarly, despite party differences, I commended him for his contributions to a better humanity through his Ifeanyi Ubah Foundation, via which he cared for the less privileged in society, by investing in their education, and health and pulling people out of poverty. I urged him to continue in that direction. May God Almighty who called him home, at this time, forgive his sins and grant him eternal rest, and grant his family, the entire Anambra South Senatorial District; Anambra State; Nigeria; and all of us, the fortitude to bear his sad irreplaceable loss. God Almighty protect and bless his family always. -PO.”
Hours after Mohammed Hayatu-Deen did, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, on Tuesday, also flatly rejected the outcome of the presidential primaries, of the African Democratic Congress, alleging widespread voter disenfranchisement and electoral malpractice.
Amaechi former Minister of Transportation and former Governor of Rivers State, described the announced results as “concocted,” insisting that the process failed to meet the standards of transparency and fairness earlier promised by the party.
He said in a statement: “I unequivocally reject the concocted results being announced,” Amaechi stated.
He said he had previously maintained that he would only accept the outcome of the primaries if the process was free, fair and transparent, stressing that the exercise did not reflect the democratic values the ADC claimed to represent.
“I will not accept results from a process that does not reflect the values that the ADC had pledged to uphold, to rescue Nigerians from the impunity and gross mismanagement that our country is currently facing in the hands of the ruling party,” he said.
Amaechi alleged that a significant number of party members were denied the opportunity to vote during the exercise.
“There’s no way that about eighty percent of members of the party were not allowed to vote, and you expect me to accept such results,” he stated.
The former Rivers State governor questioned the moral basis of the ADC criticising the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over alleged electoral malpractice while allegedly engaging in similar conduct internally.
“A party that criticizes the ruling APC and INEC for vote buying, rigging and writing of results, cannot be engaged in vote buying, writing of results, and other electoral malpractices that leads to the disenfranchisement of voters who are party members. This is not acceptable!” he declared.
Amaechi said the ADC was envisioned as a platform to amplify the voices of ordinary Nigerians and provide credible political alternatives irrespective of ethnicity, religion or social background.
His rejection of the outcome is expected to deepen tensions within the opposition party following the conclusion of its presidential primary election.
“These timeless virtues of devotion, selflessness, and submission to divine will are values our nation desperately needs today,” were the exact words with which Godswill Akpabio, attempted to rouse Nigerians to the ethos of unquestionable faith and service to the country.
Akpabio, Chairman of the National Assembly, who drew example from Prophet Ibrahim, admonished Nigerians to emulate his unwavering faith, obedience, and willingness to sacrifice for the sake of Almighty Allah.
The Senate President, who conveyed his sentiments via a statement by Eseme Eyiboh, also used the specifically hail President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, his vice, Kashim Shettima and Muslim faithful in Nigeria and around the world as they celebrate Eid El Kabir.
Stressing that the occasion called for prayer and sober reflection on the theme of sacrifice, he added: “This sacred occasion reminds us of Prophet Ibrahim’s unwavering faith, obedience, and willingness to sacrifice for the sake of Almighty Allah.
“To our dear President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, his vice, Senator Kashim Shettima and Muslim brothers and sisters, I felicitate with them on behalf of my family, constituents and the Senate on this blessed Eid. May the lessons of sacrifice, compassion, and generosity that define this season strengthen your faith and bring peace to your homes.
“As you share with the less privileged and extend love to neighbours of all faiths, you embody the true spirit of Nigeria. To all Nigerians, I urge us to use this solemn period to pray fervently for peace, security, and prosperity in our land. Let us pray for our troops in the frontlines, for farmers to return safely to their fields, and for unity to prevail over division in our Nation.
“Eid El Kabir also calls us to deep reflection on the future of our country. Just as Prophet Ibrahim was tested, Nigeria is in a season of testing. The sacrifices we make today in patience, in tolerance and in choosing hope over despair will determine the Nigeria our children inherit.
“The Renewed Hope Agenda of this administration, supported by the National Assembly, is anchored on that same principle: that meaningful progress often requires collective sacrifice.
“May Almighty Allah accept your prayers and sacrifices. May He heal our land, guide our leaders, and bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Barka da Sallah. Eid Mubarak.”
“I will not be attending the announcement of the ADC Presidential Election Results today. I am concerned by reports from across the country of widespread vote rigging, some of which I myself observed, and will therefore be taking advice on my next steps.”
These were the exact words of Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, one of the presidential aspirants of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), with which he cast a slur on the ongoing presidential primaries of the party, hinging his position on reports of fraud trailing the exercise.
Hayatu-Deen, a second timer in the search for the nation’s number one job, ran against Atiku Abubakar, Nigeria’s former Vice President and Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, former Minister of Transportation.
In a statement on his assessment of the exercise which began on Monday, the renowned economist Chairman of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), used his X platform to convey his dissatisfaction with the process.
The ADC which said the collation for the exercise would take place in Abuja had urged aspirants, party leaders, delegates, and members to conduct themselves peacefully and uphold party unity.
Bolaji Abdullahi, its spokesman, who described the exercise as a defining moment for both the ADC and Nigerians seeking a credible political alternative, maintained that it remained committed to internal democracy and a transparent leadership selection process.
“The ADC remains proud to stand today as the only truly democratic party in Nigeria because it is the only political party whose choice of presidential candidate is determined through open primaries,” he said adding that the conduct of aspirants and party members during the exercise would reflect the leadership culture the ADC seeks to promote.
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