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Court dismisses criminal summons against Edo governor-elect Okpebholo

An Abuja High Court on Friday dismissed a criminal summons issued on September 12 by a magistrate’s court against Senator Monday Okpebholo concerning alleged certificate forgery.

Justice Charles Agbaza ruled that the entire proceedings before Magistrate Abubakar Mukhtar of the Wuse Magistrate Court in Abuja were void, stating that the summons was issued beyond his jurisdiction and contained errors of law.

Justice Agbaza agreed with Okpebholo that both the proceedings and the criminal summons were illegal, unconstitutional, and violated his fundamental human right to a fair hearing as guaranteed under Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

Magistrate Mukhtar had ordered Okpebholo to appear in court on September 20, just before the governorship election in Edo, over allegations of a false statement regarding his date of birth made by Aginbatse, a state indigene.

He faced accusations of providing conflicting dates of birth in his nomination forms submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, for the election.

Okpebholo’s defence counsel, Andrew Emwanta, in a motion dated and filed on October 21, argued that the action was intended to prevent Okpebholo from running as a candidate in the September 21 poll and to disqualify him on false pretences.

He also sought a declaration that the entire proceedings and criminal summons were illegal, unconstitutional, and violated his client’s fundamental human rights.

He also requested a prohibition order to stop the magistrate from continuing with the case, No. CR/W22/816/2024, initiated by Aginbatse.

Emwanta argued that the magistrate did not have jurisdiction to handle this matter, as it was a pre-election issue, and Section 29 of the law grants jurisdiction to the Federal High Court.

In his judgement, Justice Agbaza agreed with Emwanta that the magistrate should have taken into account the evidence presented by Okpebholo before issuing such an order.

The judge, therefore, prohibited the magistrate from proceeding with the case.

However, he said that the magistrate had the discretion to set a hearing date for the matter before him.

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Politics

LASIEC to issue certificates of return to newly elected Lagos chairmen Wednesday

The Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission, LASIEC, will present certificates of return to elected chairmen and councillors across the 20 Local Government Areas and 37 Local Council Development Areas, LCDAs, of the state on Wednesday.

Chairman of LASIEC, Justice Bola Okikiolu-Ighile (retd.), confirmed the development in a telephone conversation, explaining that the ceremony was initially scheduled for Tuesday but had to be postponed due to the declaration of a public holiday by the Federal Government.

“It was supposed to hold on Tuesday,” she said, adding, “but due to the public holiday on that day, it has been moved to the next working day, which is Wednesday.”

The Federal Government had declared Tuesday a public holiday to observe national mourning following the death of former President Muhammadu Buhari, who died on Sunday in a hospital in London, United Kingdom.

His burial is scheduled to take place on Tuesday in his hometown of Daura, Katsina State.

An official of LASIEC, who spoke anonymously due to lack of authorisation, also confirmed that the presentation will take place at the commission’s headquarters on Wednesday.

“All elected local government chairmen and councillors are expected to receive their certificates of return on Wednesday,” the official disclosed.

DAILY POST reports that in the local government elections conducted on Saturday, July 12, 2025, the All Progressives Congress, APC, secured a sweeping victory, winning all 57 chairmanship seats and 375 out of 376 councillorship positions across the state.

The sole exception was Ward D in Yaba LCDA, where the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, candidate, Babatunde Dosunmu, emerged victorious, defeating his APC opponent.

Justice Okikiolu-Ighile (retd.) officially declared the results on Sunday from the commission’s headquarters in Sabo, Yaba, Lagos.

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2027 agenda is removing Tinubu from Aso Rock – Edo PDP

The Edo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, on Monday stated that its agenda for the next political dispensation is to ensure that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is not re-elected in 2027.

The State Caretaker Committee Chairman of the party, Tony Aziegbemi, made this known during a stakeholders’ meeting of party members, leaders, stakeholders, and critical supporters held in Benin City.

Aziegbemi, who also spoke on last Thursday’s Supreme Court judgment which reaffirmed the election of Senator Monday Okpebholo, the All Progressives Congress, APC candidate in the September 21, 2024, governorship election, said the party must unite to ensure that President Tinubu does not return to Aso Rock.

According to him, “The next thing I am urging everyone of us on behalf of PDP in Edo State is how to get Tinubu out of presidency in 2027. That is our next target.

“They have ruined the economy of this nation and the next thing is to make sure that he is removed from power in 2027. That is the mandate we are charging you going forward.

“The next task and agenda is to remove Tinubu from the presidency because we cannot continue with this suffering, we cannot continue with the way things are being run aground in this country.

“So, we charge you not to be deterred. Don’t worry yourself, God in His infinite mercy will give all of us the strength and the will to go through this because hard times don’t last, but tough people do.”

On his part, Barrister Jimoh Ijegbai, a former Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs as well as Commissioner for Education under Governor Godwin Obaseki’s administration, noted that the removal of President Tinubu from office in 2027 would be a daunting task under the crisis-ridden PDP.

Ijegbai, who was also the former elected Chairman of Owan East Local Government Area, urged members not to pretend that all is well within the party, both at the state and national levels.

“Our chairman has spoken well. Our chairman is telling us to prepare to take President Tinubu out of government. I don’t know which vehicle you are expecting us to use to remove the President from office. We will be deceiving ourselves to still think that we have a party that we are going to use as of today. A house that is divided against itself cannot hold.

“You have called for nominations from Edo Central and Edo South for the Senatorial and House of Representatives by-election. Already the other factions of the party are announcing their own candidates. Are we going to start a round of litigation right from the High Court down to the Supreme Court? I don’t think we should go that road again.

“So, I want to urge the party, our leaders, to look at it very critically. We are not ready to start following that road again of litigation.

“If we must continue to participate, we must clearly know where we belong in the PDP. Unless and except we do that and we start calling ourselves together to think that we have a party called PDP, I think we are deceiving ourselves.

“The earlier we look at it critically, and everybody is carried along and we take a joint decision on how we are going to go in Edo, then we are not ready for anything.

“We should not pretend about it. And let nobody deceive us to think that we will continue waiting for the National Convention of PDP; it will not achieve anything for us,” he stated.

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We’re not interested in alliance or merger – Abia PDP

The Abia State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has stated that it is not involved in any merger or alliance talks with any political party nor engaging any individual in any political pact for 2027.

The chairman of PDP Abia State, Abraham Amah, made this known in a statement on Monday, affirming that the structure of his party remains unshaken and its strategies uncompromised.

Amah, who was reacting to rumours suggesting that his party may enter into a political alliance in Abia or elsewhere ahead of the 2027 elections, said, “Those peddling the insinuations are agents of confusion who have long deviated from the PDP ethos. They shall be resisted at every front.”

He urged members of PDP in Abia to disregard what he called a campaign of calumny by expelled members, agents of confusion, or externally funded infiltrators.

Amah alleged that some individuals, whose loyalty has long shifted from the collective interest of PDP, may be behind the promotion of the “unholy merger.”

On the issue of the PDP National Secretary, the Abia State PDP chairman declared that the matter has been resolved in favour of Samuel Anyanwu.

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