Former presidential aspirant of the Accord Party, Prof Christopher Imumolen, says the party has been having internal crisis before Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State defected to it.....TAP TO CONTINUE READING

Prof Imumolen made this disclosure on Monday when he appeared as a guest in an interview on ‘The Morning Brief’, a programme on Channels Television monitored by DAILY POST.

He was reacting to the internal political wranglings confronting the party.

“I have been fighting this battle before now. I went to court, that’s a sign of fight. We have had issues in the party Secretariat where we went there and we fought our issues.

“What I’m saying is that we just kept quiet because in the party, sometimes, we don’t want members of the public to know about our internal issues.

“We have been having these fights. If you check many publications, I have attended a lot of interviews to talk about this.

“So, whether Adeleke came or not, we are in charge of the party and we are doing what we are doing today to save the face of the party. And to make sure that whatever happens, the party remains intact,” he said.

Former Anambra state governor and Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has expressed deep disappointment over the House of Representatives’ failure to criminalise vote buying at the level of party primaries.....TAP TO CONTINUE READING

Obi said Nigerians hoped lawmakers would finally confront what he described as the “cancer of vote buying”, but that expectation was quickly dashed.

In a strongly worded statement shared on his official X (formerly Twitter) handle, Obi warned that Nigeria’s democracy is being destroyed from its very foundation.

According to him, refusing to tackle inducement at party primaries amounts to protecting a broken system rather than securing the country’s democratic future.

“Credible elections cannot be built on corrupt foundations, and national progress cannot be achieved while inducement and bribery are legitimised,” he noted. The former governor described a system where votes are purchased as “a criminal marketplace”, insisting that such a process strips democracy of its true meaning.

“You Can’t Build Credible Elections on Corruption”

Obi argued that any serious attempt to end vote buying must start from the earliest stage of the electoral process, warning that reforms introduced later would be weak and ineffective if corruption is already entrenched at the primaries.

He stressed that elections conducted on corrupt foundations cannot produce credible leadership or sustainable national progress.

“Credible elections cannot be built on corrupt foundations, and national progress cannot be achieved while inducement and bribery are legitimised,” he noted.

The former governor described a system where votes are purchased as “a criminal marketplace”, insisting that such a process strips democracy of its true meaning.

Beyond party politics, Obi warned that the culture of vote buying has now spread into other areas of Nigerian society, including town unions, student elections, clubs, and community associations.

He said this troubling trend shows how deeply electoral corruption has infected the nation, with younger generations increasingly copying the behaviour of politicians.

“Disturbingly, the culture of vote buying has now trickled down even to town unions, village unions, clubs, associations and student elections,” he said.

Calling for urgent reform, Obi insisted that integrity must begin at the very start of the electoral process if Nigeria is to reclaim public trust and democratic credibility.

He urged lawmakers and political actors to confront vote buying boldly rather than legitimising it through inaction.

Reps reject proposal to criminalise vote-buying during party primaries

The House of Representatives has on Thursday, December 19, rejected a proposal to criminalise the inducement of voters during party primaries.

The lawmakers voted against a clause proposing that anyone who financially induces a delegate to sway the outcome of party primaries would face two years’ imprisonment, with no option of a fine. But legislators unanimously voted against it when Benjamin Kalu, the presiding officer, called for a voice vote.

Inducement of delegates, in which aspirants often offer cash or material benefits to influence votes at congresses and conventions, is a recurring feature of party primaries in Nigeria. The practice is primarily driven by the delegate-based primary system, which concentrates power in the hands of a small group of party members.

The internal crisis within the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has deepened, with the Kabiru Turaki (SAN)-led faction heading to court over the continued sealing of the party’s national secretariat in Abuja.....TAP TO CONTINUE READING

In a suit filed at the Federal High Court, Abuja, the faction is seeking an order compelling the Inspector-General of Police and the Nigeria Police Force to immediately unseal and vacate the PDP national headquarters, as well as all other party offices across the country.

Court filings show that the request is contained in a Motion on Notice brought by the plaintiffs through their lead counsel, Chief Chris Uche (SAN).

The application asked the court to issue a mandatory injunction directing the police to remove all barricades and withdraw from the party’s offices without delay.

The PDP national secretariat was sealed in November following violent clashes between two rival factions of the party one led by Turaki and the other aligned with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.

Tension escalated after both factions fixed meetings at the headquarters on the same day, prompting police intervention.

Tear gas was reportedly deployed before the premises were locked and cordoned off with barbed wire.

As a result of the closure, the Turaki-led National Working Committee was unable to hold its postponed inaugural meeting at the secretariat.

Turaki had emerged as national chairman at the party’s national convention held in Ibadan, Oyo State, in November.

However, the Wike-aligned faction rejected the convention, arguing that it breached existing court orders restraining the PDP from holding the exercise.

Ahead of the convention, Justices James Omotosho and Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, had issued orders stopping the PDP from conducting its scheduled November 15 and 16, 2025 convention.

Despite this, a High Court in Ibadan later granted an ex parte order allowing the party to proceed.

At the Ibadan convention, the party announced the expulsion of Wike, the embattled national secretary, Samuel Anyanwu, the factional chairman Mohammed Abdulrahman, and eight others over alleged anti-party activities.

In the fresh suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/252/2025, the PDP, alongside Turaki and the chairman of its Board of Trustees, Senator Adolphus Wabara, asked the court to restrain the police from further interference in the party’s affairs.

The Inspector-General of Police and the Nigeria Police Force are listed as defendants.

The plaintiffs specifically sought an order compelling the police to immediately remove all barricades, unseal and vacate the PDP national secretariat at Wadata Plaza, Wuse Zone 5, Abuja, and its annex, Legacy House in Maitama, pending the determination of the suit.

They also requested an order restraining the police from sealing, occupying or restricting access to any PDP office nationwide during the pendency of the case.

In their arguments, the plaintiffs contended that the police acted without lawful authority when they sealed and occupied the party’s offices from November 18, 2025, and have remained there since.

They maintained that Turaki and Wabara are principal officers charged with the party’s administration and management.

An affidavit in support of the motion was sworn to by the PDP national secretary, Taofik Arapaja, who stated that the party held its elective national convention in Ibadan on November 15 and 16, 2025, where new officers, including Turaki as national chairman, were elected.

He added that the Independent National Electoral Commission was duly notified of the outcome on November 17, 2025.

Arapaja explained that the party merely informed security agencies, including the police and the Department of State Services, of an emergency stakeholders’ meeting scheduled for November 18, 2025, and requested security coverage.

Instead, he alleged, a large contingent of police officers led by the FCT Commissioner of Police stormed the secretariat, fired over 200 tear gas canisters and sealed the premises.

He further claimed that party officials, staff and visiting governors, including those of Bauchi and Oyo states, were denied access to the building.

According to the affidavit, the police action was taken without any valid court order and amounted to an unlawful occupation of PDP property.

The party argued that the prolonged closure of its secretariat has severely disrupted its operations, including administrative coordination, policy formulation, membership management and preparations for future elections.

The plaintiffs also insisted that the police, as an institution established under the Nigeria Police Act 2020, must not act in a partisan manner.

They urged the court to grant the application, arguing that the balance of convenience favours the PDP and that monetary compensation would not adequately remedy the damage if the reliefs are refused.

Granting the application, they maintained, would serve the interest of justice and dispel any perception that the court is endorsing the police action. action is being endorsed by the court.