Politics
Delta PDP Protesters Storm Party Headquarters, Demand Ayu’s Resignation
Some members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), on Wednesday, protested at the party’s headquarters, demanding the resignation of Iyorchia Ayu.
The demonstrators, under the platform of Concerned Deltans for Good Governance, besieged the PDP national secretariat, saying Ayu, national chairman of the party, has “deliberately” refused to obey a court order disqualifying Sheriff Oborevwori as PDP governorship candidate in Delta.
It had been reported that Oborevwori was disqualified by a federal high court in Abuja over alleged certificate forgery. In May, Oborevwori, Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly, polled 590 votes to beat his closest rival, David Edevbie, Commissioner for Finance during the James Ibori administration, who polled 113 votes.
While Oborevwori is the preferred candidate of the Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, Ibori, the former governor of the state, is said to be backing Edevbie. Aggrieved by the outcome of the primary, Edevbie filed a law suit against Oborevwori and the party, citing discrepancies in Oborevwori’s certificates.
In July, Taiwo Taiwo, judge of a federal high court in Abuja, disqualified Oborevwori for submitting false information to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to back his nomination as PDP’s governorship candidate.
Not satisfied with the verdict, Oborevwori filed an appeal through his lawyer, Joe Agi. The PDP candidate had also filed an application in a high court, praying for a stay in the execution of the judgment pending the determination of the appeal.
Addressing journalists in front of the PDP secretariat on Wednesday, Chris Anthony, who spoke on behalf of the protesters, said the national leadership of the PDP led by Ayu had shown “incompetence” by not complying with the court order.
“The implication of the PDP action on the Delta issue is that they are trying to throw up the fortunes of the PDP in Delta,” he said.
“Everybody knows that the PDP in Delta state is the majority party and there is no other political party in Delta state apart from the PDP.
“But with the action of the national chairman of the party, we are beginning to be convinced of what people have been saying that Ayu is a mole in the PDP to throw up Delta state PDP to the opposition.
“We see Ayu as a mole in the PDP. He is playing the script of the APC just to actualise the emergence of an APC governor in Delta.
“He lacks the capacity to lead the PDP and so he should honourably resign. He has demonstrated gross incompetence in handling the affairs of the party. He should resign. Ayu should resign. He does not have the capacity to manage the affairs of the PDP.”
The Senate yesterday received the 2026-2028 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper from President Bola Tinubu, marking the formal launch of the 2026 federal budget cycle.
In a letter addressed to the upper chamber, Tinubu said the submission complies with statutory requirements and sets out the fiscal parameters that will guide the preparation of the 2026 Appropriation Bill.
He explained that the MTEF/FSP outlines the macroeconomic assumptions, revenue projections, and spending priorities that will shape Nigeria’s fiscal direction over the next three years.
The letter was read during plenary by the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau Jibrin (APC, Kano North), who urged lawmakers to expedite consideration of the document.
“It is with pleasure that I forward the 2026 to 2028 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper for the kind consideration and approval of the Senate.
“The 2026 to 2028 MTEF and FSP were approved during the Federal Executive Council meeting of December 3, 2025, and the 2026 budget of the Federal Government will be prepared based on the parameters and fiscal assumptions therein,” the President stated.
Last week, the Federal Executive Council approved the fiscal projections, pegging the oil benchmark price at $64.85 per barrel and adopting a budget exchange rate of ?1,512/$1 for 2026—figures expected to significantly shape revenue forecasts and expenditure planning.
After reading the President’s letter, Jibrin referred the document to the Senate Committee on Finance, chaired by Senator Sani Musa (APC, Niger East), with a directive to submit its report by Wednesday, December 17.
The Senate adjourned shortly after to allow committees to commence scrutiny of the fiscal framework and continue the ongoing screening of ambassadorial nominees.
Tinubu’s communication to the Senate came less than 24 hours after he transmitted the same MTEF/FSP documents to the leadership of the House of Representatives.
The letter was read on the House floor by the Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, who also urged timely legislative action as required by law.
The MTEF and FSP are statutory instruments mandated by the Fiscal Responsibility Act and serve as the blueprint for Nigeria’s annual budgets.
They outline the government’s fiscal stance, macroeconomic assumptions, revenue frameworks, projected deficits, and sectoral priorities over a three-year period.
The Tide reports that approval by the National Assembly is a prerequisite for the executive to present the Appropriation Bill for the next fiscal year.
In a statement on Saturday, the former Senate Leader stated that the allocation of nominees across states and geopolitical zones falls short of the constitutional requirement for fair representation in the composition of the Federal Government.
The ex-Senate Whip warned that allowing the list to pass could deepen ethnic suspicion at a time when the administration should be consolidating national unity.
He highlighted disparities in the spread of nominees, noting that while some states have three or four slots, others have none. He also cited the inclusion of Senator Adamu Garba Talba from Yobe, who reportedly died in July.
“The entire North-East states have seven nominees in the list. Further checks revealed that the South-West geo-political zone has 15 nominees, while North-West and South-East have 13 and 9, respectively.
“North-Central region has 10 nominees in the list of career and non-career ambassadorial nominee while South-South parades 12 nominees,” Senator Ndume said.
According to him, such imbalances could heighten tensions and undermine Section 14(3) of the Constitution.
“My sincere appeal to President Tinubu is to withdraw this list. At this critical juncture in his administration, he should avoid missteps that could undermine national unity and foster ethnic distrust.
“I know him to be a cosmopolitan leader who is at home with every segment and stakeholder in the country. He should withdraw that list and present a fresh set of nominees that will align with the spirit of the Constitution on the Federal Character Principle,” Senator Ndume added.
He accused the legislators of undermining the sanctity of the legislature and acting as instruments of destabilization.
“The members of the Rivers State House of Assembly have, by their actions since they assumed office, shown that they are political puppets and a clog in the wheels of democratic progress,” Comrade Ememobong stated, adding that “They will go down in history as enemies of democracy and those who made mockery of the legislature.”
“So the easiest way to describe their action is a defection from APC to APC,” he said.
Comrade Ememobong announced that the party would deploy constitutional provisions to reclaim its mandate from those who have “ignobly and surreptitiously” abandoned the platform on which they were elected.
“Consequently, the PDP will take legal steps to activate the provision of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999 as amended) to recover the mandate gained under the banner of our party which these people have now switched to another platform,” he said.
He urged party members in Rivers State to remain calm and steadfast.
“We urge all party members in Rivers State to remain faithful and resolute, as efforts are underway to rebuild the party along the path of inclusiveness, fairness and equity,” Comrade Ememobong assured.
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