Enugu State Governor, Peter Mbah has flagged off APC membership e-registration, pledging to build a two-million-member base across the state.

Speaking at Owo, Nkanu East Local Government Area, on Thursday, Mbah said the era of fragmented politics denying Enugu federal benefits was over.

He described the exercise as a defining moment, consolidating the state’s movement from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress.

 “It was barely two and a half months ago we chose partnership and progress. The time of fragmented politics is over.

 “We no longer want to be on the sidelines. We want to be at the centre and play dominant politics,” he said.

Mbah said Enugu must give meaningful political support to attract fair treatment from the centre.

 “We cannot give five per cent and expect the same treatment as those who gave 95 per cent. We have a duty to change that,” he said.

The governor said the target was to register at least two million members statewide.

“This movement is not about Peter Mbah or the government. It is total and requires work in every home, not just communities,” the governor said.

He said clarity of political alignment was essential at all levels of government. “We are APC in the morning, APC in the afternoon, and APC at night,” Mbah declared.

He said the October 2025 movement to the APC was not to displace existing members, but to strengthen the party for Enugu’s benefit.

He added that President Bola Tinubu’s programmes would increasingly impact grassroots communities.

 “The Renewed Hope Ward Development Programme will empower over 8.8 million people directly.

“Indirectly, about 40 million people are expected to be lifted out of poverty,” he said.

He said the programme would ensure macroeconomic improvements reached households and communities.

“This programme is the answer to concerns about benefits reaching the micro level,” Mbah stressed.

Deputy National Chairman (South), Chief Emma Eneukwu, said the e-registration aimed to digitalise the party’s database.

 “The party has done registration before, but this is a new approach. This time, we are copying Governor Mbah by embracing modern, electronic systems,” he said.

Eneukwu said e-registration would provide accurate data on voting strength, noting that registrants must provide their National Identification Number (NIN).

Dr Ben Nwoye, APC caretaker chairman in Enugu, said the exercise would reposition the party for 21st-century political realities.

By David Torough, Abuja

The Rivers State House of Assembly has formally commenced impeachment proceedings against Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy, Professor Ngozi Odu, accusing them of gross misconduct and repeated violations of the 1999 Constitution.

At Thursday’s plenary, presided over by the Speaker, Martins Amaewhule and broadcast live on Channels Television, the Majority Leader, Major Jack, presented a notice of allegations against the governor, signed by 26 lawmakers.

A similar notice against the deputy governor was read by the Deputy Majority Leader, Linda Stewart.

Speaker Amaewhule announced that the notice would be served on Governor Fubara within seven days, in line with constitutional provisions, declaring that the impeachment process had officially begun.

He warned that any attempt by the governor to present the appropriation bill or the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework while investigations were ongoing would not halt the process.

According to the Speaker, the core allegations centre on the governor’s persistent refusal to present the state budget and alleged spending outside the appropriation law. He insisted that nothing constitutionally prevented the governor from laying the budget before the Assembly, accusing the executive of deliberately undermining legislative authority.

“The particulars of gross misconduct have a lot to do with refusal to present a budget and spending outside the appropriation law,” Amaewhule said, adding that Rivers State was in an unprecedented situation, with its governor and deputy yet to present the 2026 appropriation bill.

In a further escalation, Amaewhule accused Governor Fubara and his deputy of posing a threat to democratic governance in the state, alleging that they had continued to expend public funds without legislative approval and had treated the Assembly with contempt.

“This is a sad commentary for our democracy,” the Speaker said. “If they are allowed to continue this way, I fear for what will become of democratic governance in Rivers State.”

He also revealed that mediation efforts by President Bola Tinubu and former Rivers State governor, now Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, had failed to resolve the crisis, as the governor allegedly remained adamant about not presenting the budget.

The impeachment move comes amid heightened political tensions in the state. Days earlier, the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Nentawe Yilwatda, announced Governor Fubara as the recognised leader of the party in Rivers State following his defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Yilwatda said the APC constitution automatically confers party leadership on sitting governors in states controlled by the party.

The development has sparked sharp exchanges within the APC, with Minister Nyesom Wike and the party’s National Secretary, Senator Ajibola Basiru, trading words over remarks by the APC National Vice Chairman (South-South), Victor Giadom, who referred to Fubara as “the so-called governor.”

As investigations begin, all eyes are on the Assembly’s next steps in what could become one of the most consequential political showdowns in Rivers State’s recent history.

By Mike Odiakose, Abuja

Peter Obi’s Presidential running mate in 2023 on the platform of the Labour Party, Senator Datti Baba-Ahmed, on Wednesday formally declared his interest in contesting the presidency in 2027.

Baba-Ahmed made the declaration at a rally held at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja.

His announcement comes barely one week after Obi announced his departure from the Labour Party for the African Democratic Congress.

This move has triggered intense debate over the party’s future and the direction of the wider opposition ahead of the next general election.

Addressing party members and supporters, Baba-Ahmed said his aspiration was neither reactionary nor dependent on Obi’s political decisions, stressing that his presidential ambition predates the 2023 election.

He said, “I have made myself to contest for the office in 2027. I’m not following anybody’s trajectory or stepping into anybody’s shoes.

“Can I please remind you that before His Excellency Governor Peter Obi filed for the presidency, I aspired for the presidency before him? The records are there for you to see.”

The former lawmaker recalled his earlier attempt to secure his party’s presidential ticket, noting that he had contested in the Peoples Democratic Party primaries years before aligning with Obi in the Labour Party.

“In October 2018, I participated in the primaries of the then PDP in Port Harcourt and walked to Obi for his vote, and he smiled at me. What a gentleman he was.

“If you heard me well in what I just submitted, I saw a rare opportunity for national unity to have elected Peter Obi in 2023. And that is why I decided to flow with it,” he said.

Baba-Ahmed also addressed concerns about religion and ethnicity, insisting that Nigeria’s constitution guarantees every qualified citizen the right to seek elective office.

“Yes, I am a practising Muslim. But I’m a Nigerian, and the constitution allows me to contest. You asked about my ethnicity. Yes, I am a Hausa man, and the Nigerian constitution also allows me to contest. I’m doing this because Nigeria needs help,” he said.

However, Baba-Ahmed noted that while he had made his intention known, he would adhere strictly to party and electoral guidelines.

“However, as a law-abiding citizen and a loyal party member, until the timetable is released by INEC and the leadership of the Labour Party calls for interested aspirants, I will not say anything about it. But remember I told you that Nigerians know the truth,” he stated.

Reacting, the National Chairman of the Labour Party, Julius Abure, commended Baba-Ahmed for remaining in the party despite speculations that he might defect following Obi’s exit.

Abure said the development demonstrated that the Labour Party remained intact, adding that several key figures, including the Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, had also chosen to stay back.

He said, “Only recently, the Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, told the world that he joined the party before Peter Obi did – this is true. Otti also said he was not going to defect to Peter Obi.

“On the night Peter Obi defected, I received a telephone call from our Vice-Presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, Dr Datti Baba-Ahmed. He said he is not leaving the party because it was the platform upon which he, along with the former candidate, received 10 million votes from Nigerians, which was reduced to 6 million votes. We all know what happened.”

Abure further disclosed that Baba-Ahmed personally suggested a meeting of party leaders and members to reaffirm unity within the party.

“In fact, he asked me to organise an event where members can come together. He first suggested that we meet at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel with a few senior members that he would foot the bill.

“But I suggested that we hold the event here at the party Secretariat and invite our members, artisans and ordinary people who truly own the party, and he agreed. That is why we are having this gathering here today.

“The Labour Party is intact, we will not let Nigerians down. We will remain together and provide a genuine alternative for Nigerians,” he said.

Baba-Ahmed’s declaration is coming on the heels of INEC declaration that the Abure-led faction of the Labour Party is no longer recognized following the Supreme Court ruling voiding his National Working Committee.

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