By Laide Akinboade, Abuja

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Board of Trustees (BoT), Wike’s fraction on Sunday, vowed to restore confidence of its members across Nigeria.

The BoT Chairman, Sen. Mao Ohuabunwa stated this in Abuja.

Ohuabunwa said arrangements are almost concluded to organize congresses in states where they have not yet been held.

He told members that the national leadership is ready to work collaboratively with all state chapters to bring fresh leadership and stability across the country.

He outlined the PDP’s roadmap: conduct overdue state congresses, consolidate ongoing achievements, and support the national leadership to steer the party back on course.

According to him, these steps are critical to ensuring unity, transparency, and strengthening grassroots engagement.

By holding timely congresses and reinforcing organizational discipline, PDP hopes to rebuild trust among members and present a more organized, credible front ahead of future elections.

By Ubong Ukpong, Abuja

The Labour Party Caucus in the House of Representatives has accused President Bola Tinubu and his All Progressives Congress (APC) of prioritizing 2027 politics over the welfare and security of Nigerian citizens.

The caucus said this was insensitive, unconscionable and a clear example of questionable leadership.

It emphasized that while the President’s aspiration for re-election was legitimate, his priority should be addressing the pressing challenges facing Nigerians.

In a statement issued by the Labour Party Caucus leader, Hon. Afam Victor Ogene, in Abuja on Sunday, the lawmakers reiterated that the primary duty of a government is to ensure the welfare and security of its citizens.

However, they criticized the APC and President Bola Tinubu for prioritizing their 2027 reelection bid over these fundamental responsibilities. The statement expressed concern and bewilderment that while the nation grapples with insecurity, the ruling party is either ignoring the issue or offering superficial solutions rather than addressing the problem effectively.

These concerns were raised amid escalating insecurity nationwide and the administration’s struggles to fund budgets and demonstrate accountability. “The situation has led to prolonged protests by local contractors who remain unpaid for completed projects, sparking economic hardship, stalled development, and a dearth of new projects.”

 Recently, these aggrieved contractors have been holding vigils outside the Ministry of Finance, highlighting the government’s shortcomings.

The Labour Party representatives highlighted that the “Appropriation Act, a law governing budget allocation, has been consistently disregarded by the current administration.” They pointed out the irony of the government pursuing costly projects like the controversial multi-trillion naira coastal road without proper appropriation or procurement processes, while essential federal road infrastructure lies in disrepair. This has raised concerns among citizens, particularly those planning to travel during the festive season, who face not only difficult road conditions but also heightened insecurity.

Also of grave concern is the opaque expenditure of N17.5 trillion, in 2024 alone, on a pipeline-security contract, as revealed in the recently audited accounts of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company, NNPC.

“Nigerians would remember that over a 12-year period, the country spent about N18 trillion on subsidy (which benefitted everyone through affordable transportation and cheaper costs of foodstuffs), but on the excuse of lack of funds to sustain the subsidy regime, this Administration has clearly robbed Peter(Nigerians), to pay Paul(cronies), through a questionable pipeline-security contract whose executors are unknown.”

This statement paints a grim picture of Nigeria’s current state, highlighting concerns about the effectiveness of its government branches. “The executive is seen as underwhelming, the judiciary’s decisions are questioned, and the legislature is criticized for not having the moral fiber to hold the executive accountable.

“Our dear country, Nigeria has become a special economic zone: everyone and everything now has a price. Kidnappers and bandits now have prices on the heads of the citizenry; elected officials now have a price to look the other way; and opposition figures have prices to enthrone chaos in their own platforms. Even the clergy and ulamas are not spared the chicanery of the divisive effects of a gravely monetized polity.

“Pray, Nigerians, we’re in the 12th month of the year, 2025. In fact, across government owned enterprises, ministries, departments, and agencies of government, none can boast of 10 percent of execution of the capital component of the budget. In most cases, the scorecard reads nil.

“Yet everyone carries on, as though this has become the new normal.

Worse is the glaring impunity of relevant officials not bothering to explain to anyone where revenues meant for the implementation of the budget have ‘disappeared’ to.

“Nigeria is on a negative cruise; local contractors occupying the offices of the Federal Ministry of Finance, retired police officers taking over the gates of the National Assembly, while kidnappers freely choose where to strike every single day, yet the only response by government is to launch and distribute vehicles for a purported Renewed Hope Agenda.

So, while the country sits on the precipice, all Mr. President think about is to return to power in 2027.

“Mr. President, while your quest is a legitimate aspiration, please do well to attend to the current stark realities confronting Nigerians.

Besides the parlous state of Nigerian roads – which now ensures that a hitherto six hours journey, from either Lagos or Abuja to the South-South or South East, now takes an entire day to traverse – is the grim reality of possible kidnap which stares every road user in the face.

“Some lawmakers are reflecting on their roles and acknowledging that many are complicit, silenced by potential pecuniary gains. Many have described the 10th Assembly as the worst in Nigeria’s democratic history, reduced to puppetry and rubber-stamping, with no tangible benefits for citizens. They criticize the government for prioritizing economic interests over citizens’ welfare, labeling it “economic banditry.”

“We must not continue on this sorry path. Both the ruling party and opposition must put aside politics and prioritize the people’s welfare. Citizens are the backbone of democracy, and their interests should come above all else.”

By Mike Odiakose Abuja

Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi and a socio-political organisation, The Collective Movement (TCM), have strongly condemned the recent revelation that President Bola Tinubu has started distributing vehicles to state coordinators of a political structure otherwise known as Renewed Hope Ambassadors, apparently as part of an early push for the 2027 elections.

In a post on his verified X handle on Thursday, Obi said at a time when Nigerians are struggling with hunger, unemployment and insecurity, the decision of the government to allocate limited public resources for distribution of luxury vehicles like Hilux trucks and Hummer buses as part of the 2027 campaign mobilisation is not only insensitive but also represents a serious moral failure.

The former Anambra State governor said while ordinary Nigerians are grappling with poverty and hopelessness, those in leadership positions continue to flaunt their wealth by driving brand-new luxury vehicles, treating the suffering of the people as mere background for political theatrics.

According to him, leadership should focus on providing food for the hungry, ensuring access to healthcare for the sick, restoring hope for millions of unemployed youth, and securing the communities.

He stressed that it should not be about parading luxury vehicles or campaigning for votes.

“It is disheartening that, at a time when children are dropping out of school because their families cannot afford tuition fees, when mothers are dying during childbirth due to a lack of basic medical supplies, and when insecurity is tearing families apart, the response from those in power is to purchase and distribute luxury vehicles rather than urgently addressing the needs of the people.

“This is not governance. It reflects a profound insensitivity and an abuse of public trust disguised as a political strategy. It betrays the essence of public service, which should always be about serving the people rather than staging political publicity.

“At times like this, we must recognise that Nigeria cannot continue on a path of wastefulness, insensitivity, and misplaced priorities.

“Our citizens deserve leadership grounded in empathy, prudence, and accountability. Regardless of how bleak the situation may appear today, I firmly believe that a New Nigeria is not only necessary,” Obi wrote.

In his own reaction, TCM’s founder, High Chief Franklin Ekechukwu, in a press release on Thursday, described the move as nothing short of a scandalous betrayal of public trust.

The vehicles range from brand-new Toyota Hilux trucks, Hummer buses, and Land Cruiser jeeps.

Each of the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory reportedly received these luxury vehicles; coordinators were simultaneously instructed to raise one billion naira each for campaign logistics. This raises urgent questions: From which coffers is this extravagance being funded? And at what cost to millions of suffering Nigerians?

He noted that the timing of this lavish distribution is not only tone-deaf but deeply disturbing. While terrorists roam freely, kidnappings escalate, communities are displaced, and Nigerians live in daily fear, the administration appears more focused on assembling campaign convoys than implementing urgent security reforms.

According to him, it is morally repugnant to prioritise political power over the lives and safety of citizens. The decision reeks of contempt for ordinary Nigerians, those whose children are abducted, whose homes are attacked, whose futures remain uncertain.

Ekechukwu added, “In 2025, what Nigeria desperately needs is a government that prioritises human lives. We need well-funded security architecture, community policing, strengthened intelligence systems, and reforms that protect lives and restore public confidence.