Politics
25 Female Guber Candidates Unveil Agenda For 2023 Poll
Ahead of the 2023 general elections, about 25 fe-male governorship candidates contesting on the platform of various political parties in the states, on Monday, unveiled their agenda for the poll.
They spoke at a media engagement organised by Women Radio 91.7FM in Abuja.
The Tide source reports that the programme was supported by the UN Women and Canadian government.
The governorship candidate of Action People’s Party (APP) in Delta, Annabel Cosmos, said since the inception of democracy in 1999, the men had not done enough to give the state a facelift, hence, the need for women to take up the challenge.
“They say what a man can do, a woman can do it better.
“Women should not be left at the kitchen. The kitchen is not our place; we can govern a state if given the opportunity to serve,” she said.
She said if elected the governor, she would look into the educational, agricultural and health sectors, among others, with a view to transforming them.
The governorship candidate of Action Democratic Party (ADP) in Benue State, Madam Roseline Chenge, said if elected the governor, her plan was to industrialise the state and tackle the insecurity problem besetting it
“If you are familiar with Benue State, Benue needs industrialisation with local governments in focus.
“Benue needs security and as a mother, I have come out so that as an engineer, I can engage the most modern and sophisticated technology to provide security because my people are dying,” she said.
Chenge said she was ready to also ensure food security for the state by engaging in the modern system of agriculture.
She promised to manage the state’s account in a way that would give dividends of democracy to the people.
“The men have done well but women can do a better job,” she said.
The governorship candidate of the Action Alliance (AA) in Jigawa State, Hajia Binta Umar, said she was vying for the position to enable her to tackle the problems facing the women and youth in the state.
“The women are always at the receiving end anytime there is one challenge or the other, likewise our young people,” she said.
She said her government would ensure that the women and youth are empowered in the state. “We have a lot of resources and we are farmers too.
“We want to use all these resources to make life better than what it is now,” she said.
Social Democratic Party (SDP)’s governorship candidate for Abia State, Dr Ngozika Johnson-Ogbuneke, said though the state is 31 years old, there had been little or nothing to show for it.
“There are no infrastructure in Abia, nothing to give the people good life and when the youth of Nigeria protested back then in 2020, my heart was broken.
“When you look at what they said about the EndSARS, it applies to Abia State too. “I felt it is time to make a difference in my fatherland,” she said. According to her, “I urge the people of the state to vote for me.
“Don’t vote for me because I am a woman, vote for me because I am a capable woman. “I am an orthopaedic surgeon and also a human rights lawyer.
“I am coming to defend the rights of Abia people for quality education, good road; for the children to be well trained, for school teachers to have their salaries paid; pensioners have their gratuities and grants given to them and for Abia State to have an airport,” she said.
Johnson-Ogbuneke, who said she would make Abia to be an enviable state, said her plan was also to revamp agriculture and give a better healthcare system.
The Executive Director, Women Radio, Mrs Toun Sonaiya, said if 25 women can govern 25 states in the country, “peace will come back to Nigeria.”
According to her, if not for this programme, many do not know that we have about 25 candidates contesting for governorship elections.
She urged the media to always report the female candidates positively and give them more visibility.
“Please continue to report them until something happens. “Our women are ready and we should give them the support and encouragement,” Sonaiya urged
According to our source, the governorship candidates of the Allied People’s Movement (APM) in Kwara, Doborah Jaiyeola; APM candidate for Lagos State, Funmilayo Kupoluyi, were among others at the event.
Politics
Reps Constitution Review Committee Holds Zonal Hearing For Rivers, C’River, Akwa Ibom In Calabar
A press statement issued by the Chief Press Secretary to the Cross River State Governor, Mr Linus Obogo, disclosed that the Calabar Centre — designated as Centre B — will host representatives and stakeholders from Cross River, Rivers, and Akwa Ibom States.
The public hearing is scheduled to take place on Saturday, July 19, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. at the Transcorp (Metropolitan) Hotel, Calabar.
The initiative, according to the statement, is designed to promote inclusive dialogue and capture the aspirations of Nigerians from all regions.
It aims to serve as a platform for citizens to contribute meaningfully to the ongoing national efforts to refine and strengthen the country’s legal and institutional frameworks.
“Citizens, civil society groups, professional bodies, traditional rulers, and other interest blocs are invited to participate in this landmark engagement aimed at advancing a more just, equitable, and responsive Nigerian Constitution,” the statement read.
The hearing forms part of the broader review process of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), and is seen as a strategic move toward fostering national unity and addressing structural legal issues within the federation.
For the first time since 2022, when then-presidential aspirant Alhaji Bola Tinubu declared he made former President Buhari Nigeria’s President in 2015, Mr Mustapha dismissed the claims, stressing that the merger only contributed about three million votes in addition to Buhari’s existing 12 million votes in the North.
He insisted that former President Buhari’s integrity, national stature, and disciplined messaging were central to the breakthrough, not the three million votes from the merging parties, which he described as insignificant.
Speaking on the role of the merging parties, particularly President Tinubu, the leader of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Mr Mustapha, who was the keynote speaker at the launch of the book ‘According to the President: Lessons from a Presidential Spokesman’s Experience’ authored by Mallam Garba Shehu, described the impact of the votes from other merging parties as very insignificant.
In attendance were former Head of State Yakubu Gowon, chair of the event; immediate past Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; SGF George Akume, who represented President Tinubu; PDP’s 2023 presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar; former Chief of Staff to Buhari Ibrahim Gambari; elder statesman Babagana Kingibe; former governors Nasir El-Rufai (Kaduna), Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti), Chris Ngige (Anambra), Rauf Aregbesola (Osun), Raji Babatunde Fashola (Lagos); former ministers Solomon Dalung and Sunday Dare; former Army Chief Tukur Buratai, and Bayo Onanuga, President Tinubu’s spokesman, among others.
According to Mr Mustapha, “I do not intend to stir up any controversy. The merger in 2013 was midwifed to create a Buhari presidency. Let us look at the statistics. In the 2003 election, it was the Obasanjo-Buhari presidential contest where Buhari recorded 12.7 million votes. In 2007, it came to 6.6 million, and it went back to 12.2 million in 2011.
“When we were conceptualising the merger, what would give us a headstart? Obviously, it was at the back of our consciousness that the merger with the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), though it had only one state, the ACN had six states, ANPP three states, and when you sum up the total votes that we had as the presidency in 2015, the aggregate of the total votes was 15.4 million.
“So, basically, what we brought to the table after the merger outside the Buhari 12.5 million votes was three million. Before turning to that presidency, it is important to recognise the former President’s role in reshaping Nigeria’s political trajectory.
“In early 2013, as the leader of the CPC, Buhari formally requested and supported the creation of a CPC merger committee, part of a broader coalition-building process that brought together the ACN, ANPP, APGA faction, and elements of the ruling party through the breakaway ‘new PDP’ group. His endorsement and participation, along with other party leaders such as President Tinubu and Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, lent credibility and direction to the merger, helping to unify disparate party factions under the banner of the APC. That coalition-building paved the way for the first democratic defeat of an incumbent ruling party in Nigeria’s history.
“President Buhari’s integrity, national stature, and disciplined messaging were central to that breakthrough. No account of President Buhari’s tenure would be complete without acknowledging the extended periods he spent on medical leave. These moments, while politically delicate, were also telling of his leadership philosophy and personality,” he said.
In his remarks, President Tinubu promised to build on the legacies of former President Buhari, stressing that “nation-building is a relay. The efforts of one administration lay the foundation for the next.
“In this regard, I acknowledge the efforts of my predecessor, President Buhari, and assure all Nigerians that the reform-oriented path he initiated will be consolidated and strengthened under this administration. Our Renewed Hope Agenda is inspired by the desire to build a resilient, just, and inclusive Nigeria—a nation that delivers dividends of democracy to all its citizens”.
Speaking during an appearance on live television on Wednesday, Mr Omokri alleged that Mr Obi’s statements were misleading and damaging to the country’s economic prospects.
Mr Omokri said some investors currently operating in Nigeria were considering exiting the market due to Mr Obi’s remarks.
“That is not true. He doesn’t rile me up. I rile him up. The reason why I came here is because I’m a patriot. Peter Obi lied. You know, foreign direct investors are watching your programme, who are making investment decisions not to come to Nigeria. There are foreign investors in Nigeria that are making investment decisions to leave Nigeria because of the lie he told.
“One of the lies he told is that President Tinubu has borrowed more than the administrations of Yar’Adua, Jonathan, Buhari. That is a blatant lie”, Mr Omokri said.
To buttress his claims, Mr Omokri referenced figures from the Debt Management Office (DMO), maintaining that President Tinubu had actually reduced Nigeria’s external debt burden since assuming office.
“I have here with me data from the Debt Management Office, and Nigerians who are watching can go to DMO.com and search Debt Management Office, Nigeria State of Indebtedness 2015.
“As of 2015, Nigeria was owing a total of $63 billion. When Buhari was leaving office, Nigeria was owing $113 billion. Today, from the DMO, our debt has gone from $113 billion to $97 billion, meaning that Tinubu has reduced our debt by over $14 billion.
“We should be appreciating this man. Yet Peter Obi came here and lied to the Nigerian people. He took the debts and translated them into naira to make it look like the debts have increased”, he said.