2024: PDP Unveils Timetable For Edo Guber Election 

The National Working Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has unveiled the much-anticipated timetable for the Edo State 2024 gubernatorial election.  This schedule, released after a joint meeting of the Board of Trustees and National Executive Committee at the party’s headquarters in Abuja, outlines the key activities preceding the election. Key highlights from the timetable include: Aspirants eyeing the governorship seat can obtain nomination forms for N21 million, with a 50 percent discount available for youths aged between 25 and 30; Registration of both existing and new members is set between November 16 and December 7, while the crucial party congress, determining the governorship candidate, is scheduled for February 22, 2024; December 14 marks the deadline for the submission of ward registers to the Directorate of Organisation and Mobilisation; Stakeholders’ consultative meetings with the National Working Group will be held from December 19 to 20; Expression of interest and ad-hoc forms will be available for purchase from January 10 to 16, with January 17 as the final date for their submission; The screening of governorship aspirants by the National Working Committee is set for January 18, 2024; Sales of nomination forms for completed expression of interest submissions will take place from January 19 to 25, with January 27 as the deadline for their submission. The governorship primary is scheduled for February 22, while February 24 is earmarked for appeals related to the primary process.

Peter Obi Flags Off Labour Party Campaign In Bayelsa

Mr Peter Obi, the Presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the February 25 Presidential election, has flagged off campaigns for the November 11, 2023, governorship election in Bayelsa, with an assurance that the party will be victorious. Obi, who spoke in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa capital, alongside the National Chairman of LP, Mr Julius Abure, to flag-off the governorship campaign of Mr Udengs Eradiri, said that the party has overwhelming support base in the state coupled with its performance and excellence. Obi urged the people of Bayelsa to come out en mass and vote Eradiri as the next governor of the state on November 11. He said that the process that produced Eradiri as the party’s governorship candidate in the state was credible. He said: “what Nigeria is lacking is verification and that is one of its major problems. If you don’t know where you are coming from that means you don’t know where you are going to. “As I was coming from Port-Harcourt to Yenagoa, you will see poverty, Nigeria has failed Bayelsa in 57 years after oil was discovered. “After Sokoto as the poorest state, then Bayelsa is the next. The state suffered from one of the worst flooding incidents last year, since the history of Nigeria.” National chairman, Abure, said he was confident that LP would form the next government in Bayelsa. He said that the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) had failed Nigerians and the people of the state in particular. He said: “We will change the economic narratives of Bayelsa state. Eradiri is the only governorship candidate of Labour Party in Bayelsa state. “LP is founded on integrity, performance. PDP and APC have failed. We have tried PDP and APC and they failed. “Their results are insecurity, poverty and infrastructural decay. Labour party has come to change the narratives. Vote Udengs Eradiri, vote LP come November 11,” he said. Speaking after the party’s flag was handed over to Eradiri, the governorship candidate of the party, promised to fix the state if he wins the governorship election. He said his programme is to engage the people but not about making noise but to reach out to the people in the rural areas to let them know his ambition. Eradiri promised not to play politics with the development of Bayelsa, but will ensure they have a better life if he is elected governor. He said that he has held various positions from the grassroots, state government level and at national level, promising that his experience in those places will position him to solve problems in Bayelsa state.

Peter Obi leads LP rally for LG election in Edo

Presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 general elections, Mr Peter Obi, on Monday in Benin, led a mega rally for the party ahead of the September 2 Local Government Area election in Edo State. Addressing the teeming party members who trooped out for the event, Obi described the local government area system as “where development, particularly of the grassroots is domiciled. “Local government is the nearest to the people and it is supposed to be the root for ensuring development for the people. “The three most critical areas of development are health, education and poverty eradication and they are responsibilities of the local government. “So, for the system to work, for a country to develop well, it is the local government as everything that has to do with development is domiciled in the local government. “That is why it is critical to our development and sustainability. As a governor, I was prevented by litigations from conducting local government election for over six years. “So, we are here today to support our candidates in the forthcoming local government election in Edo. We will support them with everything,” he said. Obi, however, tasked voters in the state to vote en mass for candidates of the party in the election, assuring them that in doing so, their future would be protected. Speaking earlier, the National Chairman of the Labour Party, Mr Julius Abure, commended Governor Godwin Obaseki for putting modalities in place for the conduct of the election but warned, however, that the election must be free and fair. “We have the best candidates that can man the local government system in Nigeria, hence, the need for the people to vote for all our candidates in the coming local government election,” Abure said. Also speaking, Mr Olumide Akpata, governorship aspirant for the 2024 election in Edo,  urged the electorate not  to entertain fear but to go out and vote all LP candidates in the election. Akpata, immediate past President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) said the candidates were persons of impeccable character, who could deliver on the programmes of the LP. 

Swearing-in ceremony for ministers holds at Presidential Villa

The formal induction of the 45 confirmed ministers-designate took place at the Conference Centre of the State House, Abuja. This event comes less than a week after President Bola Tinubu unveiled the assigned roles for these appointees. Notable among the designations are former Rivers State governor Nyesom Wike, who takes charge of the Ministry of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), and Festus Keyamo, who assumes the role of overseeing the Ministry of Aviation. Other key ministers include Wale Edun as the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola as the Minister of Transportation, David Umahi as the Minister of Works, and Betta Edu as the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation. Here is the comprehensive list of the appointed ministers: Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy – Bosun Tijani Minister of State, Environment and Ecological Management – Ishak Salaco Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy – Wale Edun Minister of Marine and Blue Economy – Bunmi Tunji Minister of Power – Adedayo Adelabu Minister of State, Health and Social Welfare – Tunisia Alausa Minister of Solid Minerals Development – Dele Alake Minister of Tourism – Lola Ade-John Minister of Transportation – Adegboyega Oyetola Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment – Doris Anite Minister of Innovation Science and Technology – Uche Nnaji Minister of State, Labour and Employment – Nkiruka Onyejeocha Minister of Women Affairs – Uju Kennedy Minister of Works – David Umahi Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development – Festus Keyamo Minister of Youth – Abubakar Momoh Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation – Betta Edu Minister of State, Gas Resources – Ekperikpe Ekpo Minister of State, Petroleum Resources – Heineken Lokpobiri Minister of Sports Development – John Enoh Minister of Federal Capital Territory – Nyesom Wike Minister of Art, Culture and the Creative Economy – Hannatu Musawa Minister of Defence – Mohammed Badaru Minister of State Defence – Bello Matawalle Minister of State Education – Yusuf T. Sunumu Minister of Housing and Urban Development – Ahmed M. Dangiwa Minister of State, Housing and Urban Development – Abdullah T. Gwarzo Minister of Budget and Economic Planning – Atiku Bagudu Minister of State, Federal Capital Territory – Mairiga Mahmud Minister of State, Water Resources and Sanitation – Bello M. Goronyo Minister of Agriculture and Food Security – Abubakar Kyar Minister of Education – Tahir Maman Minister of Interior – Sa’Idu A. Alkali Minister of Foreign Affairs – Yusuf M. Tuggar Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare – Ali Pate Minister of Police Affairs – Ibrahim Geidam Minister of State, Steel Development – U. Maigari Ahmadu Minister of Steel Development – Shuaibu A. Audu Minister of Information and National Orientation – Muhammed Idris Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice – Lateef Fagbemi Minister of Labour and Employment – Simon B. Lalong Minister of State, Police Affairs – Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim Minister of Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Affairs – Zephaniah Jisalo Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation – Joseph Utsev Minister of State, Agriculture and Food Security – Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi Minister of Environment and Ecological Management – (Kaduna)