Politics

Diri joins APC today, cites Bayelsa’s interest

Published

11 months ago

November 3, 2025

Ahead of his formal reception into the All Progressives Congress today (Monday), the Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Douye Diri, has said his decision to quit the Peoples Democratic Party was taken in the overall interest of the state.

Speaking on Sunday during the 14th Bayelsa Thanksgiving Day at the Ecumenical Centre, Igbogene, Yenagoa, Diri said someone had to make the move and that he did so on behalf of Bayelsans.

It was the first time he publicly addressed the issue since his resignation from the PDP on October 15, 2025.

The governor explained that although some people might not immediately understand his decision to join the ruling party, time would reveal that it was driven by altruistic motives.

Diri expressed delight at the convergence of political leaders across party lines at the Thanksgiving service, describing it as a demonstration of unity and maturity.

He said the peace and stability being experienced in the state were reasons to be thankful, adding that politics should be used to foster development rather than division.

He said, “Somebody had to take the decision, and I took it on behalf of the state, in the best interest of Bayelsa. Some of you might not understand now, but later it will be clear to all.

“When we came in as a government, we ensured that most uncompleted projects were completed and new ones were initiated. That alone is enough reason to thank God.

“The peace and security we enjoy today are also reasons for gratitude. Politics should be for development, not to destroy your brother. The gathering here is a testimony to the unity in our state.”

Delta State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, represented by his Senior Policy Adviser, Funkekeme Solomon, urged Bayelsans to remain united, stressing that the state’s progress and development depended on its people’s cohesion. He commended Bayelsa for sustaining the annual thanksgiving tradition, saying gratitude attracts divine blessings.

The Minister of State for Petroleum (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, who attended the event for the first time, described Diri as a unifier. He said the governor’s defection to the APC was timely, noting that the state could no longer afford to remain in opposition when key developmental decisions were being taken at the centre.

Similarly, the Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, lauded Diri’s developmental strides, describing him as a “godsend to Bayelsa,” and prayed for divine wisdom to guide him in steering the affairs of the state.

Delivering a sermon titled “Reasons Why We Should Thank God,” the General Overseer of The Redeemed Evangelical Mission, Bishop Mike Okonkwo, said thanksgiving was essential because God never abandons His children.

He assured Bayelsans that as long as they made God their Alpha and Omega, their victory and blessings were assured.

In their goodwill messages, Senator Konbowei Benson (Bayelsa Central), Head of Service of the Federation, Dame Didi Walson-Jack, Chairman of the Bayelsa Elders Council and former Deputy Governor, Rear Admiral Gboribiogha John-Jonah (retd.), and President of the Ijaw National Congress, Prof. Benjamin Okaba, commended Diri’s leadership and urged the people to remain united.

Dignitaries at the event included the governor’s wives, Dr. Gloria Diri and Justice Patience Ama-Diri; Deputy Governor, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo; wife of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hajia Fatima Tajudeen-Abbas; Senators Benson Agadaga (Bayelsa East) and Sunday Katung (Kaduna South).

Others were members of the House of Representatives from Bayelsa — Oforji Oboku (Yenagoa/Kolokuma/Opokuma) and Rodney Ambaiowei (Southern Ijaw); Speaker of the Bayelsa House of Assembly, Abraham Ingobere; Chief Judge of the state, Justice Matilda Ayemieye; the Amanyanabo of Twon Brass and former governor of old Rivers State, King Alfred Diete-Spiff; Mrs. Margaret Alamieyeseigha, widow of Bayelsa’s first civilian governor; former deputy governor, Peremobowei Ebebi; and the 2019 APC governorship candidate, Chief David Lyon.

Also present were the Managing Director of the Niger Delta River Basin Development Authority, Chief Ebitimi Amgbare; renowned cleric, Apostle David Zilly-Aggrey; as well as traditional rulers, clergy, captains of industry, and senior government officials.

punch.ng

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Politics

ADC demands probe, autopsies over deaths of 37 illegal miners

Published

1 day ago

September 18, 2026

Newsbreak365_Admin

The African Democratic Congress has demanded an immediate, independent and transparent investigation into the deaths of 37 Nigerians in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps in Niger State.

In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, on Friday, the party called for independent autopsies, the publication of the victims’ identities and detention records, compensation for their families, and the prosecution of officials found responsible for the deaths.

Thirty-seven suspected illegal miners arrested in M.I. Wushishi and Lukoto villages in Niger State on Thursday died while in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.

The NSCDC Commandant in the state, Suberu Aniviye, in a statement said that the suspects were arrested during operations conducted on September 15 and 16.

Reacting, the ADC said the victims’ arrest during raids on mining sites did not extinguish their constitutional rights to life, dignity and due process, insisting that poverty, unemployment or allegations of illegal mining should not result in the loss of citizens’ lives.

The party stated, “Thirty-seven Nigerians entered government custody alive. Their families are now being asked to receive their bodies. This is an indictment of this government about the value of the average Nigerian life. Low-income Nigerians are not disposable, and no Nigerian should lose his or her life simply because they were arrested while struggling to survive.

“We must be clear: poverty is not a capital offence. Unemployment is not a death sentence. No accusation, whatever the case, gives any government institution the right to return citizens to their families in body bags.

“The incident cannot be separated from the worsening cost-of-living and unemployment crises that have pushed millions of Nigerians into desperate and dangerous means of survival.

“The same APC-led federal government that has failed to provide jobs is now criminalising the desperation created by its own policies. Food is unaffordable, transportation has become a luxury, businesses are closing and legitimate opportunities are disappearing. Yet, rather than confront these failures, the government continues to punish the victims of its failures.”

The ADC also alleged that the government targets poor miners for arrest while failing to identify and prosecute influential individuals and criminal networks involved in illegal mining.

It continued, “The poor are arrested for digging to survive, while the powerful men who finance illegal mining, sponsor insecurity and cart away Nigeria’s mineral wealth remain beyond the reach of the law. The Tinubu administration has made honest work scarce, survival expensive and insecurity profitable.

“President Tinubu must decide whether Nigeria’s security institutions exist to protect citizens or punish them for being poor. Nigerians need jobs, security and justice, not an economy that impoverishes them and institutions that treat their lives as disposable.”

Source: punchng.com

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Politics

SDP pledges to rebuild, transform Nigeria if elected in 2027

Published

1 day ago

September 18, 2026

Newsbreak365_Admin

The Social Democratic Party has promised to liberate and rebuild Nigeria from its current socio-economic and insecurity challenges if elected in the 2027 general elections.

The National Chairman of the SDP, Prof Sadiq Gombe, made the pledge on Friday while receiving a delegation of the Confederation of West Africa Youth at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja.

Gombe, represented by the party’s Deputy National Chairman, Senator Ugochukwu Uba, said the party’s ideology is anchored in Chapter II of the 1999 Constitution, particularly the welfare and security of Nigerians.

He said the growing interest of young Nigerians in the SDP indicated that the party’s message was gaining traction, adding that Nigeria had reached a point where it needed to be rebuilt.

“The SDP is a party that has its ideology threaded. This ideology is based on Chapter 2 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which talks about provision for the welfare and security of Nigerians. That is what guides the policies of this party.

“So I find it interesting that many Nigerian youths are taking interest in the party. It means that the message we are sending is getting through to the people. This country has derailed to a situation where we need to rebuild. And if you look at our message and the manifesto that was presented to the public last week, you will see a comprehensive programme for the transformation of this country.

“We cannot continue drifting. The SDP wants to put this country back on track. Fortunately, we have a presidential candidate who knows his onions, determined, young and ready to turn things around. So, we want to do something different that will lead to the liberation of this country if we come to power.”

Also speaking, the SDP presidential candidate, Prince Adewole Adebayo, urged members and supporters of the party to concentrate on grassroots mobilisation ahead of the 2027 elections.

Adebayo said political influence was ultimately determined at the community level, stressing that national visibility or eloquence would not translate into votes without effective engagement with voters at the polling-unit level.

He said, “Politics is done in the neighbourhoods. We have 176,846 polling units across the country. Any amount of command of English you have that does not convince your neighbour about how they are going to vote is wasted.

“Any influence you have from Timbuktu to Accra that cannot influence how people vote in the community where you come from, that influence is academic. So we must go back.

“Politics is not a game of the mouth. It’s a game of the heart because the burden of politics is not easy. It is the love of your country and the vision of the future that will make you last long in politics.”

The Regional President of the Confederation of West Africa Youth, Israel Akinola, who spoke during the visit, said Nigerians needed to pursue a new political direction ahead of the 2027 elections.

Akinola said public and private sector stakeholders must work together through public-private partnerships to drive development.

He also criticised the tendency of Nigerians to celebrate governments for providing basic services, which he described as citizens’ fundamental rights.

Source: punchng.com

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Politics

Toyin Abraham distances self from Lagos APC campaign council ahead of 2027 elections, see why

Published

1 day ago

September 18, 2026

Newsbreak365_Admin

Actress Toyin Abraham has rejected her inclusion in the Lagos State All Progressives Congress Campaign Council, saying she is “staying out of politics” and asking the public to disregard her reported membership of the council.

Abraham was listed as a member of the Entertainment and Creative Economy Directorate of the campaign council unveiled by the Lagos APC on Thursday ahead of the 2027 elections. She was listed alongside actors Jide Kosoko, Eniola Badmus, Bimbo Akintola, Adebayo Salami, Saheed Balogun and Bukky Wright, as well as Fuji musicians including Wasiu Alabi Pasuma, Obesere and Adewale Ayuba.

However, reacting to the list in an Instagram Story on Thursday, Abraham said she had not joined any campaign council and had recently made her position clear.

“I’m not a member of any campaign council. I have said it recently. I am staying out of politics. Please disregard the supposed inclusion of my name in any campaign committee,” she wrote.

The development comes three years after Abraham’s public support for President Bola Tinubu during the 2023 presidential election triggered sustained criticism and personal attacks against her on social media.

In March 2023, the actress spoke about the backlash during a Twitter Space, saying some supporters of Peter Obi had petitioned Netflix to remove her films from its platform and had also targeted brands associated with her. She shared screenshots of messages urging Checkers Custard to drop her as an ambassador and described receiving daily curses and insults directed at her, her husband, Kolawole Ajeyemi, and their son.

The controversy resurfaced repeatedly after the election, with Abraham continuing to face criticism over her political choice. PUNCH reported in July 2024 that social media users continued to lambast the actress, while the situation escalated after she took action against individuals she said had made derogatory and defamatory comments about her and her family.

One of the incidents involved an X user identified as Big Ayo, who had made a post accusing Abraham of using money allegedly linked to Tinubu to pay for a hair transplant for her husband. Abraham denied the allegation and reported the matter to the cybercrime authorities.

She later clarified that she had not caused the arrest of the man’s mother, as had been alleged online, but had filed a petition over what she described as cyberbullying and defamatory content.

Big Ayo was subsequently released from police custody amid an online campaign and pleas calling for his release.

The arrest and its aftermath triggered another wave of criticism against Abraham. Some social media users threatened to report her films to streaming platforms, while others circulated messages urging Netflix to remove her movies.

Amid the controversy, Abraham made an emotional Instagram Live appearance in July 2024 in which she described the sustained online attacks and said she had been pushed to the limit.

“I want to die,” she said during the broadcast, while also saying that her child had been cursed and that she had been subjected to prolonged bullying and defamation. PUNCH reported that she said she had only exercised her rights as a citizen by filing a petition with the cybercrime department.

In another statement during the same period, Abraham said she could tolerate insults directed at her but would not accept attacks involving her children.

The actress’s latest decision to distance herself from political campaigning therefore follows a history of controversy surrounding her political involvement, particularly after her support for Tinubu in 2023.

The Lagos APC campaign council, meanwhile, lists Toke Benson-Awoyinka as Director of the Entertainment and Creative Economy Directorate, with Kosoko as Co-Director and Badmus as Deputy Director. Abraham remains listed as a member of the 33-person directorate in the published council document despite her public rejection of the reported appointment.

Source: punchng.com

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