Governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, APC, for their first term have backed the economic reforms of President Bola Tinubu while expressing concern over the country’s security challenges.

The position was contained in a communiqué issued at the end of the APC first-term governors’ meeting held on Tuesday in Kebbi State.

The communiqué was presented by the Governor of Kebbi State, Nasir Idris, on behalf of the governors.

The governors acknowledged the economic challenges facing Nigerians but said they believed the ongoing reforms were necessary to address the country’s fiscal, security and development challenges.

They said the reforms were aimed at stabilising the economy, restoring public finances, attracting investment, improving productivity and laying the foundation for long-term economic growth.

The governors also called on Nigerians to remain united and support the implementation of the reforms while urging governments at all levels to strengthen relief measures and social protection programmes for vulnerable citizens.

On security, they expressed concern over persistent insecurity, including terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, attacks on schools and other violent crimes across parts of the country.

They pledged to strengthen collaboration with the Federal Government, security agencies, traditional institutions and local communities to improve security and protect lives and property.

The governors also condemned the abduction of children, attacks on schools and the killing of innocent citizens, calling for intensified efforts to rescue victims and prosecute those responsible.

The communiqué further expressed concern over reported attacks and killings involving Nigerians and other African nationals in South Africa, condemning xenophobia and urging the South African authorities to investigate the incidents and ensure the protection of foreign nationals.

The factional G15 group of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, in Kwara State on Tuesday warned that the party may lose the state if the current implosion triggered by the disagreement over the recent primaries is not resolved amicably.

The group in a statement in Ilorin on Tuesday said losing the G15 will be a grave  political mistake.

“Numbers don’t lie: Without the G15, APC cannot win Kwara,” the group declared.

The group urged President Tinubu and the National Working Committee, NWC, to intervene.

“It will be nothing short of political suicide for the All Progressives Congress in Kwara State to contemplate the exit of the G15 to the opposition.

“Such a development would inflict irredeemable damage and inevitably precipitate the party’s defeat at the polls.

“The G15 is not an ordinary caucus. It is a formidable constellation of tested, proven, and high-profile political leaders who have consistently delivered electoral victories across their respective domains.

“They are complemented by seasoned statesmen who have occupied strategic positions within the party and government.Let us examine the weight of this bloc,” it added.

The group declared that in Kwara Central, the APC stands to lose Ambassador Yahaya Seriki-Gambari, the Director General of the governorship campaign council in both 2019 and 2023.

By Ikechukwu Nnochiri, Abuja

The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja, on Tuesday, deferred the full-blown hearing of substantive appeals seeking to set aside the judgment that ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and four other political parties until July 14.

The adjournment followed the failure of some of the parties to file and exchange the necessary processes in time.

Some of the respondents drew the attention of the court to processes they said were served on them before the commencement of the proceedings and requested time to file their responses.

Consequently, the Justice Abba Mohammed-led three-member panel shifted the scheduled hearing to enable all the parties to regularise their processes.

The panel had, on June 25, okayed the hearing of the appeals after housekeeping proceedings that enabled the parties in the matter to identify some of the processes they had filed.

Aside from the ADC, the other parties seeking nullification of the Federal High Court judgment are the Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Accord Party (AP), and the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).

It will be recalled that the appellate court had, on June 16, ordered a stay of execution of the High Court judgment, even as it slammed the trial judge for disregarding the judicial hierarchy.

The panel berated Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja for disobeying an order it had made on May 22, which directed him to stay proceedings in the case pending the outcome of an appeal by the parties.

According to the appellate court, even though the trial judge’s attention had been drawn to the order for a stay of proceedings, he intentionally flouted it and went ahead to deliver the judgment.

It held that Justice Lifu’s action was “a form of judicial impertinence,” stressing that the Supreme Court had previously held that a judge who acts in such a manner “is unfit for the bench, as the conduct amounts to judicial rascality.”

The High Court had directed INEC to deregister the five political parties, which it said had failed to meet the constitutional requirements needed to warrant their continued existence and participation in future elections.

It also barred INEC from further according recognition to the parties, accepting nominations of candidates from the affected parties, or giving effect to their activities for the purposes of participating in the 2027 general elections.

Justice Lifu ordered the defendants to stop parading themselves as registered political parties in the country, saying he found merit in the suit filed against them by the National Forum of Former Legislators (NFFL).

The NFFL had, in the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2637/2026, asked the court to determine whether INEC has a constitutional obligation to remove political parties that fail to meet the electoral performance thresholds set out in Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), as reinforced by the Electoral Act 2022 and INEC’s regulations.

It was the plaintiffs’ position that the five political parties listed as defendants had persistently failed to meet the constitutional benchmarks required to retain their registration.

The former legislators stressed that the requirements include winning at least 25 per cent of the votes in a state during a presidential election, or securing at least one elective seat at the national, state, or local government level.

They told the court that the ADC and the four other parties had performed poorly in both the 2023 general elections and the by-elections conducted by INEC, thereby failing to win seats across key tiers of government.

The litigants insisted that the continued existence of the ADC and the other defendants as recognised political parties is unlawful and undermines the integrity of the country’s electoral system.

Notably, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, who is also a defendant in the matter, threw his weight behind the plaintiffs.

In processes filed before the court, the AGF argued that the continued existence of the said political parties violates extant provisions of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and ultimately undermines the nation’s electoral integrity.

The AGF argued that unless the court intervened, INEC would continue to act in breach of its constitutional duty by retaining parties that have failed to meet the minimum requirements prescribed by law.

However, dissatisfied with the trial court’s verdict, all the defendants, including INEC, have urged the appellate court to set it aside.