A chieftain of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, Ladan Salihu, has said that the fear of the coalition party is the beginning of wisdom for the ruling party.

He said that the posture of the APC and their attempts to cry foul whenever issues are raised about the agony of Nigerians is suspicious, adding that the ruling party is making it appear as if Nigerians are not suffering and that there is no endemic poverty in the country due to bad governance.

He said that the Tinubu administration and the ruling political party have thrown all their big guns at ADC, even going to court through their surrogates and sponsored actors to suggest that ADC should be deregistered.

“Well, let me say that we expect to hear a lot of literature, a lot of prose from the minders of a failing government. They try to subsidize the truth, to make it look like Nigerians are not suffering, to make it look like there is no endemic poverty in the land due to selective bad governance and misgovernance, and to suggest that Nigeria is getting better by the day.

“Look, the fear of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, is the beginning of wisdom for the APC. That is why they have raised all the guns against our party. They run to court through their surrogates and sponsored actors to suggest that ADC should be deregistered.

“And then, as an afterthought, they now added the Zenith and Accord parties. Right before our eyes, the nation has seen nine senators defect from other parties to the ADC.

“We have offices in all 36 states, not two-thirds of the states and we are consolidating all opposition forces to face this government, which has rendered this country’s democracy almost a laughing stock in the international community.”

The All Progressives Congress, APC, has reaffirmed that its existing zoning arrangement for National Working Committee, NWC, positions will remain in force ahead of the party’s 2026 National Convention.

In a statement issued on Monday in Abuja, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, said the decision is intended to guide aspirants and ensure stability within the party as it prepares for key internal elections.

According to the statement, the zoning formula outlined in the published 2026 Schedule of Nationwide Congresses, National Convention and Related Activities remains valid and will be strictly applied during the convention process.

“The existing zoning arrangement for National Working Committee positions across states within the geo-political zones remains valid and applicable to the upcoming National Convention,” the statement said.

The party also advised aspirants seeking national offices to strictly comply with the zoning framework when obtaining and submitting their Expression of Interest and Nomination Forms.

“Accordingly, aspirants are advised to be STRICTLY GUIDED by the existing zoning arrangement,” Morka added.

The APC noted that maintaining the zoning structure would help ensure fairness, balance and orderliness in the conduct of the party’s internal processes ahead of the convention.

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Resident Electoral Commissioner for Osun State, Mutiu Agboke, has urged political parties to promptly report any irregularities or concerns with regard to the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration to the commission.

Agboke said this is to ensure that necessary action can be taken where required.

The Osun INEC boss made this known while fielding questions from journalists during the monitoring of registration areas to assess the conduct of the exercise and interact with political party agents on Monday. He led the management team of INEC in the state on the monitoring visit.

The visit took the INEC team to several registration points, including Ilare Methodist Primary School in Ward 7, Obokun Local Government Area; Saint Andrew Primary School, Ada 1 Ward 7, Boripe Local Government Area; and Holy Michael Primary School, Olonde, Ikirun, Ward 8, Ifelodun Local Government Area.

Agboke also explained that the inspection was aimed at ensuring the process was proceeding in an orderly manner.

Agboke said the commission decided to visit the field so that it could obtain direct feedback from officials and representatives of political parties participating in the registration process.

“Many people are not aware that the registration exercise has been moved to the Registration Area level, and we must monitor what our staff are doing there,” he said.

According to him, the commission could not assume that all activities were running smoothly without physically observing the process and speaking with stakeholders at the centres.

“There may be issues that we are not aware of and that may not be brought to my attention. That is why we decided not to remain in the office but to come to the field and hear directly from the party agents.

“When we come out like this, they will see that we are following up on what our staff are doing. The essence is simply monitoring, nothing more, nothing less,” he stated.

On the issue of political campaigns, the REC explained that campaign activities were largely internal matters for political parties, adding that although the commission continues to observe developments to ensure compliance with electoral regulations.

“Campaigns are internal arrangements of the political parties. We may monitor them, but for now there has not been any formal invitation to us. However, we are tracking the activities of the parties and will carry out oversight where necessary,” he said.

Speaking on the duration of the voter registration exercise, Agboke disclosed that the process would continue until close to the next election period, noting that registration would eventually be halted temporarily to allow for the printing of Permanent Voter Cards.

“The totality of the exercise may run until around August, but before the election in Osun the registration will stop so that all cards can be printed and distributed to voters,” he explained.

Across the various registration areas visited, party representatives from the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Accord Party were present, while security personnel were observed maintaining order at the centres.