Politics

Lagos APC exco member, Yesiro dies hours before inauguration

Published

2 months ago

March 5, 2026

The newly elected Assistant Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress in Lagos State, Yesiro Karamo, is dead.

PUNCH Online reports that Yesiro was among the excos led by its Chairman, Cornelius Ojelabi, elected via consensus at the Lagos State APC congress held at the Mobolaji Johnson Stadium, Onikan, Lagos, on Tuesday.

His death comes hours before his inauguration alongside other excos scheduled to hold at the Lagos APC Secretariat today (Thursday).

The Lagos APC confirmed Yesiro’s death in a statement made available to PUNCH Online on Thursday, by the party’s Publicity Secretary, Seye Oladejo.

The statement read, “The Lagos State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) received with profound shock and deep sorrow the news of the sudden demise of our newly elected Assistant Publicity Secretary, Karamo Yesiro.

“Yesiro’s passing is a painful and tragic loss to our great party at a time when his energy, commitment, and passion for progressive politics were most needed.

“Having just been entrusted with the responsibility of serving in the State Executive Council, he embodied dedication, loyalty, and an unwavering belief in the ideals of our party.”

The party noted Yesiro’s contributions to the growth and stability of the APC in Lagos State, which led to his emergence as Assistant Publicity Secretary of the party.

“Though his tenure was tragically cut short, his enthusiasm, humility, and readiness to serve left a lasting impression on colleagues and members alike.

“He was a vibrant party man whose contributions to the growth and stability of the APC in Lagos State will not be forgotten.

“The Lagos APC stands united in mourning this painful departure. Hon. Karamo Yesiro will be remembered for his service, commitment, and belief in the progressive cause,” the statement added.

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Politics

‘Why Jonathan Can Not Win 2027 Election’

Published

12 minutes ago

May 8, 2026

Oluwagbenga Olaoye

Some political analysts have predicted that former President Goodluck Jonathan has no chance of winning the 2027 presidential election should he decide to contest.

Speaking during an interview with Daily Trust, political analysts, Jide Ojo and Prof. Saleh Dauda both ruled out the chances of Jonathan clinching victory at the 2027 polls.

It was reports that their position was made known following the latest calls by some youths for Jonathan to contest the 2027 presidency.

In his view, Jide Ojo argued that those calling for Jonathan’s return were merely trying to weaken the South politically ahead of the election.

He observed that Jonathan had largely stayed away from partisan politics since leaving office in 2015 and had instead focused on peace-building activities across Africa, and urged him to remain so.

“This man has decided to mind his own business, certifying peace efforts, observing elections across Africa and running his foundation. So why drag him into partisan politics now?” he asked.

According to him, Jonathan’s chances of winning the presidency are “next to nothing,” adding that the former President has no political support base, and it may be too late to align with any political party.

“He has not been politically active since 2016. He has not built any political support base or movement. So, the bottom line is that he will not win.

“They don’t want him to win. What they simply want is to polarise and fragment the southern vote,” Ojo said.

On the issue of political platform, Ojo questioned which party Jonathan would contest under, noting that party primaries are already close.

“Today is May 6 and party primaries are expected soon. Under which platform does he want to contest?” he queried.

Also speaking, Prof. Dauda advised Jonathan to ignore the calls and stay away from active politics. According to him, the current realities of Nigerian politics do not favour Jonathan.

“Let me be frank with you. If there is any advice I can give Jonathan, it is to stay away from this frivolous move.

“His chances of winning an election, as far as I understand, is zero,” he stated.

When asked again if Jonathan’s chances were truly nonexistent, the professor replied: “Yes, given the nature of Nigerian politics.”

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Politics

APC Trying To Turn Nigeria Into One-Party State — Bucknor-Akerele

Published

17 minutes ago

May 8, 2026

Oluwagbenga Olaoye

A former Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Kofoworola Bucknor-Akerele, has accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of attempting to weaken opposition parties ahead of the 2027 elections.

It was reports that Bucknor-Akerele warned that efforts to turn Nigeria into a one-party state would fail.

She spoke during an appearance on Vanguard’s political programme, Politics Hub, where she criticised the APC-led administration over insecurity, economic hardship and the state of the country’s democracy.

Asked to assess Nigeria’s current political climate under President Bola Tinubu, Bucknor-Akerele described the situation as dangerous.

She said, “Well, we are in a very dangerous political climate at the moment, we are in danger of being swamped by insurgents, and then, we are also in danger of being lost economically because the economic situation is really disastrous.

“Most people are finding it difficult to be able to eat one square meal a day, and this is a tragic situation for us to be in.”

She accused the ruling party of infiltrating opposition parties in a bid to dominate the political space.

“Look at what is happening to all the political parties. The main party is trying to infiltrate all the political parties and turn Nigeria into a one-party state and I do not think it can work,” she added.

Ex-Deputy Governor Recalls Rift With Tinubu

Bucknor-Akerele served as deputy governor to Tinubu in Lagos State from May 1999 to December 2002 before resigning after political disagreements.

Speaking on her working relationship with Tinubu, she said they clashed over political agenda and direction.

She said, “Bola Ahmed Tinubu did not want to work with me at all because he had a different agenda from the agenda of what the AD stood for at that time.

“What he wanted was somebody who would assist him in taking over the AD, and because I was not ready to do that, we had our differences.”

The former deputy governor said her disagreement with Tinubu reflected differences in their approach to power and public service.

She added, “I think some people go into power for self-aggrandisement, while others go into power because they want to serve, and I think that was the difference between me and the powers that be, let us put it that way.”

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Politics

El-Rufai’s son leads fresh Reps defections to NDC, ADC

Published

3 hours ago

May 8, 2026

Newsbreak365_Admin

The gale of defections sweeping through the House of Representatives gathered momentum on Thursday as more lawmakers dumped their parties for the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) and the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

The latest defections come barely days after 17 members of the House moved to the NDC, signalling what many observers see as an aggressive effort by opposition forces to build a broad coalition capable of challenging President Bola Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress in the next election cycle.

At plenary on Thursday, presided over by Speaker, Tajudeen Abbas, five lawmakers formally announced their decisions to switch political parties, citing internal crises, leadership disputes and ideological disagreements within their former parties.

Those who defected were Muhammed El-Rufai, son of former Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, from the APC to the NDC; Joshua Obika, representing Abaji/Gwagwalada/Kuje/Kwali Federal Constituency of the Federal Capital Territory, from the APC to the NDC and Abdulhakeem Kamilu, member representing the Wudil/Garko Federal Constituency of Kano State, from the ADC to the NDC.

Also, Suleiman Richifa and Umar Ajilo, both from Kaduna State, dumped the Peoples Democratic Party for the ADC.

The younger El-Rufai, who represents Kaduna North Federal Constituency, had faced months of speculation over his political future following growing tensions between his father and the President Bola Tinubu administration.

Though he had maintained a low profile in recent months, his decision to join the NDC is widely seen as a significant political statement, especially given the strained relationship between the former governor and the Federal Government.

Nasir El-Rufai, once a key figure in the APC and a strong ally of President Tinubu during the 2023 election campaign, has in recent months become increasingly critical of the ruling party and the direction of the Federal Government.

The former governor’s failed ministerial nomination in 2023 marked the beginning of a visible crack between him and the presidency.

Since then, he has repeatedly accused the APC leadership of abandoning internal democracy and sidelining key stakeholders within the party.

Obika, who represents the Abaji/Gwagwalada/Kuje/Kwali Federal Constituency of the FCT, marked his third political movement in less than two years with the latest defection.

The lawmaker was elected into the House in 2023 on the platform of the Labour Party before joining the APC in March 2026 and now the NDC.

Announcing his latest defection on Thursday, Obika aligned himself with the growing opposition bloc rallying around the NDC.

Kamilu from Kano State resigned from the ADC, citing what he described as an “internal leadership crisis” within the party.

He had only recently moved to the ADC from the New Nigeria People’s Party, the platform on which he was elected in 2023.

Richifa and Ajilo blamed their decision to dump the PDP on what they described as the prolonged crisis rocking the party “from the state to the national level.”

Thursday’s defections further altered the balance of forces in the House and reinforced expectations that more lawmakers may switch allegiances in the coming months as consultations and coalition talks intensify ahead of the next election season.

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