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At last NDC uploads Obi’s name on INEC portal after deregistration scare
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has finally opened its portal to for the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), to allow the party upload the names of its qualified candidates for the 2027 general elections after initial dilly-dallying.
The commission had stalled on the issue following last Friday’s decision of the Federal High Court, Lokoja, Kogi State, withdrawing its original order for it to register the party – a development that seriously unsettled the nation’s political firmament.
Henry Seriake Dickson, National Leader of the party, who confirmed the development, said on Monday that the names uploaded included Peter Obi, as the presidential candidate of the party, and himself as the senatorial candidate for Bayelsa West, in a statement posted on his X platform.
Stating also that the party had filed an appeal and an application for a stay of execution against Friday’s order, he thanked members who had remained faithful with the party, while appreciating Nigerians who had shown solidarity over the issue.
His words: “The Nigeria Democratic Congress has come to stay and remains a duly registered party in Nigeria. Nomination processes have already been concluded and, in the eyes of the law, candidates have already emerged from the party for all offices across the country in primaries observed, monitored and recorded by INEC.
“My name and that of the presidential candidate have been uploaded to the INEC portal, while that of the vice-presidential candidate will be uploaded tomorrow upon completion of the deposition. The process is also ongoing for other candidates. There is enough time for all candidates’ names to be submitted to INEC, and there is no reason for anyone to panic.
Dickson thanked all aspirants who participated in the party’s primaries, acknowledging that although the exercises were not perfect, they were conducted under challenging circumstances for a newly registered political party with a large number of contestants.
He disclosed that reconciliation efforts had commenced to unite members who were unsuccessful in the primaries, assuring them that they would be accommodated in the party’s campaigns, committees and other structures.
“As National Leader, I congratulate all NDC candidates, members and lovers of democracy. All those who expressed interest will be carried along because they constitute the grassroots strength and backbone of our party,” he said.
The former Bayelsa State governor also stressed the need to safeguard Nigeria’s democratic system, warning against attempts to weaken the country’s multi-party democracy.
“Our multi-party democracy must not die. We will not allow desperados and mercenaries parading as political leaders to destroy our hard-earned democracy,” he declared.
Dickson commended INEC for what he described as its professionalism, particularly in complying with court directives on the registration of the NDC and two other political parties.
He also praised the commission’s decision to oppose moves seeking the deregistration of some opposition parties and its recognition of the leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) following a court order.
While acknowledging the imperfections of Nigeria’s democratic institutions, Dickson urged political leaders to protect the neutrality of the judiciary, INEC and security agencies.
He expressed confidence that the judiciary would fairly determine the pending appeal, saying, “Having filed and served our appeal and the accompanying applications, the ball is now in the court of the judiciary, and we expect the judiciary to do what is right under the law.”
He ended the statement with a reaffirmation of the party’s commitment to Nigeria’s democracy, declaring, “Long live the NDC. Long live Nigerian democracy.”
The echoes of the drums rolled out to celebrate the rescue of the 44 teachers and students, kidnapped from some schools in Oyo State, after 56 days in the bush, would surely be disrupted abruptly, with the divergent echoes of a fresh abduction, this time coming from Kogi State.
Reports indicate that the gunmen, struck on Tuesday at the Government Secondary School, Odo-Ekina, in Dekina Local Government Area of the state, abducting four students, the school principal and a National Examinations Council (NECO) ad hoc staff member.
Authorities of the Kogi State Police Command, who immediately unleashed their operatives in hot pursuit of the abductors, said the attack occurred at about 5:25 p.m. while the students were writing their NECO examination.
Saliu Oyiza Afusat, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) and spokesman of the command, said a combined team of police personnel and other security agencies has launched a search-and-rescue operation following the incident.
Informing that one of the students was actually rescued immediately, she said efforts were ongoing to secure the release of the remaining victims and apprehend the attackers, adding that Naziru Bello Kankarofi, the state Commissioner of Police, alongside the Brigade Commander and the State Security Adviser to the Governor, Commodore Jerry Omodara (Rtd), were already on the way to the scene for an on-the-spot assessment.
Oil prices are expected to go down now with the announcement of Donald Trump, US President that he will no longer impose a 20 percent “safe passage” fee on ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
The POTUS, hinged his reversal of the decision on the intervention from some Gulf countries, who pleaded with him not to toe the line due to the massive economic impact the decision would make on the region.
Indeed, oil prices had shot up immediately Trump announced the new levy on Monday while declaring the US ‘the guardians of the Hormuz strait,’ a measure which he said was to pay for the cost of guarding the volatile area in order keep supply of oil flowing.
Reports said that Gulf allies of the US worked frantically to get Trump on the phone in time to talk him out of the idea altogether, while a flurry of appeals came from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Qatar.
In response, the POTUS, posting on his Truth Social platform, wrote: “Based on highly productive conversations with Middle East leadership, I have decided to replace the 20% United States Reimbursement Fee with Trade and Investment Deals that the various Gulf States will be making into the United States.”
Trump, who said the investments would be “MASSIVE but, at the same time, extraordinarily good for them, and their future,” added that the deals would see factories, plants, and equipment pour into the US at “Historic levels.”
The Gulf nations have committed to invest trillions of dollars in the US, though it remains unclear how much of that they will actually spend over the next several years.
Meanwhile, the US continues to bomb Iran in what appears to be a resumption of active conflict between both countries, despite an ongoing roadmap to end the conflict.
Reports say operatives of the Osun State Police Command, and those of the Department of State Services (DSS) had tracking the trail of Adeniyi Adeyemi, controversial Director General of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), for weeks, before he was eventually pulled out of his hole on Tuesday.
However, the duo, were said to have pulled back after failing to track him through his mobile phones, which he had reportedly switched off for about two days, making it difficult to locate him, leaving the stage for the members of the Police Intelligence Response Team (PI-RT) led by Moses Lohor, a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP).
Lohor, said to have previously served as the Commander of the Anti-Kidnapping Squad of Osun State, and reported to have been involved in high-profile security operations and controversies, after taken over fielded his men to pick up signals from their well-oiled signal networks.
Regarded by many Osun residents as one of the key security officers who contributed significantly to the peace and stability enjoyed in Ilesa and other parts of the state during his tenure, he was said to have relied on his contacts before his transfer out of the state, said to have raised concerns from the public about the security situation he would be leaving behind.
His exit from the state was said to be hinged on an incident in 2024, in which he allegedly shot one Iyanda Alowonle, then Chairman of Osun State Motor Transport System, in the stomach at the police station in the state prompting an order for his arrest by then Inspector General of Police (IGP).
His effort was said to have paid off when he successfully tracked down the controversial PFIPC, boss, who was seen on Tuesday evening, in a shot video on social media undergoing interrogation, and eventually handed him over to Ibrahim Gotan, Commissioner of Police in the state.
The PUNCH quoted one of the sources as saying: “The arrest (of Adeyemi) took place on Tuesday morning by the IRT squad, who immediately moved him to Abuja. After he was arrested, he was taken to Ibadan and from there to Abuja.”
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