An Ekiti State High Court in Ado-Ekiti on Wednesday granted an order stopping the conduct of the Local Government and State Congresses of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the State.

Justice E.B. Omotoso gave the order while ruling on a motion on exparte number HAD/424M/2025 filed by Mr Afolabi Adedeji.

The suit was filed against the PDP, the party’s Acting National Chairman, Umar Damagun; National Organising Secretary, Umar Bature; Caretaker Chairman of the party in Ekiti state, Dare Adeleke and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The court ordered that all parties to the suit should maintain status quo, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice.

The court also ordered that the PDP Acting National Chairman, National Organising Secretary and Ekiti State Caretaker Chairman should be served the court order through their WhatsApp numbers.

“Leave is hereby granted to the claimant/applicant to serve the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th defendants the Originating Process with its accompanying processes by substituted means, by pasting the afosesaid originating process on the wall of the 1st defendant’s office situate at Ajilosun Street, Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State.

“In addition, the claimant/applicant is granted leave to serve the 2nd, 3rd and 4th defendants vide their WhatsApp phone numbers 08047677070, 08035961850 and 08033242822 respectively.

“All parties in this case are hereby ordered to maintain status quo pending the hearing and determination of the Motion on Notice which is hereby fixed for hearing on Wednesday, the 14th day of May, 2025,” the court ruled.

The plaintiff, Afolabi Adedeji, had sought an order of interim injunction, retraining the defendants, privies, agents and successor-in-title/office, from accepting any list of persons who did not obtain election forms, participate in the elections and elected by the simple majority votes of the ward congress of the PDP in Ekiti State to act for the party, as delegates at any election of the party apart from those elected on March 15, 2025.

The plaintiff also sought an order of the court to mark the originating summons as concurrent.

He equally sought to issue and serve, the originating summons, and other accompany originating processes, and all other processes in the case on the 1st , 2nd, 3rd and 5th defendants, whose address is outside the jurisdiction of the court and in the Federal Capital Territory. (NAN)

 The Anambra Government has advised residents of the state to cooperate with security agencies and other relevant authorities in order to ensure a memorable state visit for president Bola Tinubu on Thursday.

Dr Law Mefor, Anambra Commissioner for Information, reiterated the State Government’s readiness to host President Bola Tinubu on a day official visit on May 8.

Mefor gave the advice in an interview in Awka on Wednesday said that every necessary activities to ensure the smooth flow of the President’s State visit has been done.

According to him, the historic visit, of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is to commission some projects of the state government under Gov.

Mefor emphasised that the visit would afford the state government the opportunity to showcasing the state’s progress and development under three years of Soludo’s leadership.

The commissioner, however, urges residents to comply with adjustments to traffic flow, commuter schedules and security tips to avoid any breach of peace in the state during and after the visit.

He said that the government was elated to host the President and assures the presidential team of a warm and hospitable reception. (NAN)

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Foundation has renewed its commitment to ensuring food security in the country.

Mrs Emmanuella Arukwe, Managing Director, NNPC Foundation, said this on Wednesday in her remarks during the training of vulnerable farmers in Akwa Ibom.

Arukwe said that 6, 000 farmers across the country would be trained on modern farming methods and market access strategies to boost food production in the country.

Arukwe, who was represented by Dr Bala David, Executive Director, Programme Development and Coordinator, NNPC Foundation, added that the Foundation was dedicated to implementing impactful programmes that aligned with national priorities.

She said that more than 500 farmers in Akwa Ibom were trained by the NNPC Ltd Agricultural Training Initiative for Vulnerable Farmers on modern methods and strategies to boost food production.

Arukwe added that the farmers were drawn from the state’s 31 local government areas to participate in the training to equip them with techniques and market access strategies to add value to their businesses.

“This programme is a testament to our unwavering commitment to food security, economic empowerment and national development.

“As the corporate social responsibility arm of NNPC Ltd, the Foundation is dedicated to implementing impactful programmes that align with national priorities.

“This initiative is part of our broader efforts to support the Federal Government’s agricultural transformation agenda, which seeks to enhance food security, increase productivity, and improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers.

“Our goal is to equip every participant with the tools, knowledge, and resources needed to transition from subsistence farming to commercial-scale production,” Arukwe said.

In her remarks, Dr Offiong Offor, Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Akwa Ibom, thanked NNPC for the initiative to equip farmers with knowledge on modern farming.

Offor, represented by Dr Atim Okoko, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, said that a nation that trained farmers was a nation that would not go hungry.

“I want to express the state government’s appreciation to NNPC for mounting this laudable programme.

“A nation that starts to train farmers, a nation that starts to look at farmers will never go hungry.

“In this season that our President Bola Tinubu has come up with his Renewed Hope Agenda, everything is to end hunger in Nigeria,” Offor said.

The commissioner added that the programme came to complement what the state government was doing to ensure food sufficiency.

Responding on behalf of farmers, Mr Bassey Inwang, State Chairman, All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) said farmers in the state were so grateful for the training.

Inwang said the training would boost food production in the state, as the farmers would apply the knowledge gained on their farms for increase in yields.

He said, “We want to tell you that we will not take this training for granted, we will apply it properly on our farms.” (NAN)