The governorship candidate of the African Action Congress, AAC, in the forthcoming Osun State governorship election, Olajide Esan, has called for sweeping reforms to Nigeria’s political system, saying the current structure discourages competent citizens from seeking public office.

Esan made the remarks on Tuesday while addressing journalists at the Osun State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, Guest Platform, where he outlined his vision for governance, economic development, and social welfare in Osun State.

According to him, the existing political system requires major adjustments because it has failed to produce the desired level of development.

He argued that the structure favours individuals who regard politics and governance as a business rather than public service.

“The system doesn’t allow people with ideas, but those who see politics and governance as a business to run for office. It is not sustainable, and this is one of the reasons why I decided to run for office,” Esan said.

The AAC candidate stated that his administration would promote participatory governance by giving residents greater involvement in decision-making processes.

He said governance should be people-centred and designed to reflect the aspirations of citizens across the state.

He also criticised the country’s political leadership since 1999, alleging that Nigeria has continued to recycle political leaders while nepotism has become increasingly entrenched.

“Leadership should be based on service and not imposition. Nigeria has too many politicians but not leaders,” he said.

Esan argued that poverty and ignorance had been used to manipulate citizens, adding that his administration would encourage stronger interfaith relationships to promote unity and discourage divisions among communities.

On social welfare, the governorship hopeful pledged to devote his entire salary to the welfare of senior citizens if elected.

He also proposed the creation of a comprehensive Osun residents’ database to improve planning and service delivery across the state.

The AAC candidate unveiled a proposal for an Osun Child Trust Fund, explaining that every child born in the state would have a dedicated investment account until the age of 18 to support higher education or provide start-up capital for a business.

Speaking on traditional institutions, Esan said a defined percentage of local government revenue should be allocated to traditional rulers to strengthen their roles in community development while ensuring they remain outside partisan politics.

On agriculture, he advocated an agro-based economy and stressed the need for policies that protect local agricultural practices. He expressed concern over the adoption of genetically modified organisms, saying Africa should carefully assess such technologies before their widespread implementation.

Addressing the mining sector, Esan alleged that the benefits of illegal mining were being enjoyed by a few individuals instead of the people.

He said tackling illegal mining forms part of the AAC manifesto, adding, “Leaders are the ones benefitting from the proceeds of illegal mining. Curtailing illegal mining is part of our manifesto because the proceeds of mining are meant for the people of Osun State.”

A Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, has struck out a suit challenging the emergence of Dumo Lulu-Briggs as the governorship candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC.

An aspirant of the NDC, Kings Unyeawaji, filed the suit against the party, its chairman, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, and Lulu-Briggs, alleging that he was excluded from the party’s governorship primary and seeking to nullify Lulu-Briggs’ emergence as the party’s candidate.

Ibim Dokubo, counsel to Lulu-Briggs, challenged both the jurisdiction of the court and the plaintiff’s locus standi.

According to him, the plaintiff lacked the legal standing to institute the suit because he did not participate in the governorship primary.

Dokubo also argued that the statutory 14-day period within which complaints arising from party primaries can be filed had elapsed before the action was commenced.

When the matter came up before Justice Muhammed Turaki, counsel to the plaintiff applied to discontinue the suit. The application was not opposed by the defendants, following which the court struck out the case.

Reacting to the development, Lulu-Briggs commended the plaintiff for allowing the matter to end peacefully and urged political actors to embrace the same spirit during the 2027 elections.

“I thank him for allowing the matter to rest. My hope is that in 2027, everyone who contests the election will accept the outcome in good faith.

“We are all Rivers people. There are no monsters among us. Let us go to the field, contest on a level playing ground, and allow the people to decide,” Lulu-Briggs said.

The Kano State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has rejected claims that some of its members in Kumbotso Local Government Area defected to the National Democratic Congress (NDC), insisting that the party remains united in the area.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the APC’s Publicity Secretary, Auwalu Soja, described the reports as false and accused the Kwankwasiyya movement of spreading misinformation to distract from its internal challenges.

According to him, the individuals presented as defectors were not recognised by the party’s leadership in Kumbotso.

Soja said APC members in the local government were satisfied with development projects being carried out by President Bola Tinubu, including the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) gas pipeline and the Kaduna-Kano-Maradi standard gauge railway, both of which pass through parts of the area.

He also said party members appreciated Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf for attracting investments to Kumbotso to boost economic activities and create jobs for young people.

“The party stakeholders and loyalists in Kumbotso are satisfied with the infrastructural projects being executed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” Soja said.

The APC spokesperson urged the Kwankwasiyya movement to focus on resolving its own internal issues instead of spreading what he described as baseless propaganda.

“The average Kano voter can no longer entrust their future to the political gimmicks and selfish interests of the Kwankwasiyya movement,” he said.

The party also called on residents to ignore social media reports claiming that APC members in Kumbotso had joined the NDC, maintaining that its structure in the area remains intact.

The statement followed reports circulating online that some APC members had dumped the party for the NDC in Kumbotso.

However, the spokesperson for the Kwankwasiyya movement, Dr Habibu Sale Mohammed, disagreed with the APC’s position, insisting that defections from the ruling party to the NDC were continuing across Kano State.

“The defection of APC members to the NDC in the state is a daily phenomenon,” Mohammed said.

He added that photographs of recent political events supported the claims of defections.