A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Umar Sani, says the faction of the party which is recognized by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, is not original.

Sani made this remark on Tuesday when he appeared as a guest in an interview on Arise Television’s ‘Morning Show’.

He was speaking on the ruling of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, which struck out the Taminu Turaki-led faction of the party.

DAILY POST recalls that the court, last Friday struck out a suit seeking to compel INEC to recognise and publish the names of the Turaki-led Interim National Working Committee of the party.

Reacting, the PDP stalwart said, “INEC-recognised PDP is a contraption, far cry from the design of founding fathers. It is not the original PDP, and we do not accept it.

“The Board of Trustees, BoT, which is the conscience of the PDP, has instituted a matter in court, and that matter will be pursued to its logical conclusion.

“Most Nigerians do not believe in the INEC-recognised PDP.  However, we believe the real PDP will be on the ballot. The process has begun.

“The process of interpreting the judgments of both the Appeal and Supreme Courts is being interrogated. The PDP is the only legacy party still standing, and we will refuse to let it die.”

The Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, has backed the decision of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria, ALGON in the state to suspend the activities of transport unions in public motor parks, saying the measure is aimed at addressing recurring violence and improving public safety.

In a statement issued on Tuesday by the party’s Director of Media and Information, Kola Olabisi, the APC described the suspension as a proactive step by local government authorities to curb violent incidents allegedly linked to motor parks across the state.

The party said the announcement made by Osun ALGON Vice Chairman, Lanre Balogun, reflected the commitment of local government administrations to protecting lives and property within their areas of responsibility.

According to the APC, “the suspension of transport union activities was intended to reduce incidents of extra-judicial killings and restore order in public motor parks pending further measures to strengthen security.

“The suspension of the union activities in all the motor parks in the state by the ALGON was a right step in the right direction as it would be an act of sheer irresponsibility for the local government chairmen to watch the people of the state being unjustifiably killed.”

The opposition party accused the administration of Governor Ademola Adeleke of failing in its constitutional responsibility to safeguard lives and property, alleging that the state government had not responded adequately to security concerns.

The APC alleged that some individuals involved in violent activities were being protected by the state government, claiming that certain transport union officials also occupied political appointments within the Adeleke administration.

“It is bizarre to witness the harbouring of some of these dangerous political hoodlums in the Osun State Government House from where they come out to attack their victims and rush back to the state government refuge to evade arrest and prosecution,” the statement added.

The party maintained that elected local government chairmen had a responsibility to prevent public facilities under their control from becoming centres of insecurity, irrespective of political disagreements.

Defending ALGON’s authority to issue the directive, the APC cited Paragraph 1(e) of the Fourth Schedule to the 1999 Constitution, arguing that local government councils are empowered to regulate motor parks and promote public order.

The statement urged critics of the suspension to examine the constitutional provisions relating to the responsibilities of local government councils before challenging the legality of the directive.

The vice-presidential candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Rabiu Kwankwaso, has confirmed that he and the party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, have a written agreement that Obi will serve only one four-year term if elected president in 2027.

Kwankwaso disclosed this during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday while responding to questions about Obi’s repeated promise to spend only one term in office.

According to him, he has no reason to doubt Obi’s commitment to the pledge.

“I personally believe him, and I don’t think, based on what I now know about him, he will renege. I don’t think he will change his mind when the time comes,” Kwankwaso said.

He explained that the arrangement was not based on mere verbal assurances but had been formally documented.

“We are all gentlemen, even though we have accepted to even put it on paper. We have done one (agreement) for the party, and we have done another one for us,” he stated.

When pressed to explain the content of the agreement, Kwankwaso said it provides for power to return to northern Nigeria after Obi’s four-year tenure.

“The agreement is what you said—that after four years we will come together, team together as a group, as party, friends, brothers, and involve everybody to work together so that after his term, or our term of four years, 2027 to 2031, then it comes back to the North, and that’s the general agreement,” he said.

Obi has consistently maintained that he does not require two terms in office to address Nigeria’s challenges, arguing that four years would be sufficient to implement his reform agenda.