The Chief of Staff to Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, Enyinnaya Onuegbu, has accused former Governor Rochas Okorocha of attempting to claim the benefits of a political process in which he allegedly played no part.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

This comes after the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Thursday rejected Uzodimma’s candidacy for the Imo West Senatorial District election and declared Okorocha the winner.

Speaking on Arise Television’s Prime Time on Friday, Onuegbu said Okorocha was absent from major meetings and activities leading up to the All Progressives Congress (APC) primary in Imo State.

He argued that the former governor could not claim to be an active stakeholder in the party after deliberately staying away from its activities and reconciliation meetings.

Onuegbu further alleged that Uzodimma made efforts to reach Okorocha and other aggrieved party leaders following the primary election, but they refused to answer his calls.

The governor’s Chief of Staff maintained that the APC in Imo State remained united and prepared for the election despite criticisms from Okorocha’s camp.

He said, “Okorocha was absent from key events leading to Imo APC primary. He was nowhere to be found. He didn’t attend any reconciliation meeting, he didn’t show up for stakeholders’ meeting.

“He wants to reap where he did not sow. You cannot stay away and then come back to dictate who becomes a candidate.

“Okorocha heavily distorted the facts. At what point before the primary elections did he address Imo APC members as an aspirant?

“The law requires oral evidence from witnesses, not just conflicting documents. He was not physically present at most of the events leading up to the primaries.”

United States Congressman Barry Moore has introduced a bill seeking to prohibit paid lobbying on behalf of the Nigerian government in the United States.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

The proposed legislation, H.R. 10939, is designed to prevent the Nigerian government from engaging lobbyists in America for as long as the country remains designated as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC).

The move comes amid growing concerns among members of the US Congress over alleged Christian persecution and killings in Nigeria.

Under the proposed bill, lobbying firms that receive payments to represent the Nigerian government while the country retains its CPC designation could face sanctions.

Moore alleged that the Nigerian government had spent millions of dollars engaging lobbyists in Washington to downplay the killings of Christians instead of taking sufficient action to stop the attacks.

“For too long, the Nigerian government has paid high-priced lobbyists in Washington to cover up the persecution of Christians while doing little to stop it. This bill will end that,” the congressman said.

He added that the legislation, if passed, would make it illegal for any individual or firm in the United States to receive payment for lobbying on behalf of the Nigerian government until the country’s Country of Particular Concern designation is lifted.

The bill has been referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs for further legislative consideration.

A former Director at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Oluwole Osaze-Uzzi, has warned that Nigeria’s voter register contains several irregularities and cannot guarantee free, fair and credible elections unless it is thoroughly sanitised.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

Osaze-Uzzi made the remarks on Friday during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today, where he discussed the state of the country’s electoral system ahead of the 2027 general elections.

According to him, a compromised voter register poses a major threat to the credibility of elections in Nigeria.

He warned that unless INEC audits and cleans up the register, the 2027 polls could be affected by controversies similar to those that followed the 2023 general elections.

The former INEC director urged the commission to carry out a comprehensive review of the register, remove the names of deceased persons and underage voters, and eliminate multiple registrations.

He also called on the electoral body to make the register available to the public to allow Nigerians to scrutinise it ahead of the elections.

He said, “A compromised voter register cannot guarantee credible elections. What we have now cannot give us credible elections in 2027 if we don’t fix it.”

Meanwhile, INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, has assured Nigerians that the commission has no preferred candidate or political party ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Amupitan gave the assurance on Friday in Abuja while receiving a pre-election fact-finding mission from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), led by former Sierra Leone Vice-President Victor Foh.

The INEC chairman said the commission was conducting readiness assessment visits across the country’s geopolitical zones as part of preparations for the elections.

He disclosed that voting would take place in 8,809 registration areas across Nigeria’s 774 local government areas.

Amupitan also revealed that the number of registered voters had exceeded 103 million, while the commission had completed nine of the 14 major statutory activities outlined in its revised election timetable.