Politics

2023: Candidates From 10 Parties File 436 Petitions

Published

3 years ago

April 12, 2023

Dissatisfied with the conduct of the 2023 general elections, no fewer than 10 of the 18 political parties have filed 431 petitions at the various election tribunals in 27 states of the country to quash the victories of those the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, declared winners.
There are five petitions against the declaration of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress, APC, as president-elect. This brings the tentative figure of petitions, according to The Tide source’s checks, to 436. The figure will be more if those from the remaining nine states are tallied.
Those seeking the nullification of Tinubu’s victory are Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP; Mr. Peter Obi of the Labour, LP; and candidates of the Action Alliance, AA; Allied Peoples Movement, APM; and Action Peoples Party, APP.
There are also petitions across the states against the outcomes of some governorship, Senate, House of Representatives and state assembly elections.
Apart from the five parties kicking against the result of the presidential election, other parties at the tribunals include the APC; Social Democratic Party, SDP; New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP; All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA; and Young Progressives Party, YPP.
The number of petitions may rise further after the April 15 supplementary polls for two governorship, five senatorial, 31 House of Representatives, and 57 state assembly slots.
Across the states, the tally of petitions are Abia (35), Anambra (31), Ebonyi (2), Enugu (14), Akwa Ibom (15), Bayelsa (9), Cross River (13), Delta (25), Edo (14), Rivers (34), Lagos (30), Ekiti (4), Ogun (18), Ondo (9), Osun (14) and Oyo (20).
Others are Benue (17), Niger (11), Kogi (2), Plateau (16), Adamawa (8), Bauchi (15), Gombe (3), Taraba (7), Yobe (3), Kaduna (18), Katsina (11), Kano (23) and Kebbi (8) among others.
Speaking on the controversies trailing the 2023 general polls, a source in the INEC said the 2023 exercises were the best since 1999.
There was no data on the number of petitions filed in 1999 when three parties – Alliance for Democracy, AD; All Peoples Party, APP; and PDP contested the elections. The AD and APP fielded a joint Presidential Candidate, Chief Olu Falae against PDP’s Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and Falae did not challenge Obasanjo’s victory at the tribunal.
However, for the following electoral cycles, there were 564 petitions in 2003; 1,291 in 2007; 732 in 2011; 611 in 2015 and 807 in 2019.
The source said: “The INEC crashed post-election litigation to half of what we had in 2019 with the innovations it introduced such as the Bimodal Voters Accreditation System, BVAS, and e-transmission of election results. It is very sad that the commission experienced glitches in the transmission of the presidential election results in real-time from the polling units.
“The 2023 general elections are like no other. We have never witnessed the kind of upsets we had this year. We had governors and political heavyweights losing elections they should not lose. BVAS ensured that the voter’s list was not padded and votes cast inflated.
“The number of post-election litigation shows how credible the elections were compared to what we had in the past. There are about 400 post-election petitions in 2023. In 2019 we had 807 post-election litigations. The parties complaining fared worse than INEC in organizing primaries. There was 1,370 pre-election litigation in 2023 compared to 370 in 2019.”

Politics

Alleged Coup: Protests Rock N’Assembly As Detained Officers’ Children, Wives Demand Justice

Published

1 week ago

April 2, 2026

The Tide

Scores of children and wives of military officers detained over an alleged coup plot yesterday staged a peaceful protest at the National Assembly, demanding a speedy trial and the release of the accused officials.

The protesters who gathered at the entrance of the National Assembly complex, moved in a slow procession while clutching placards with inscriptions such as “Don’t Kill Our Daddies,” “Detention Without Trial is Injustice,” and “Six Months of Torture: Enough Is Enough.”

Amid tears and trembling voices, the children appealed for justice and access to their detained fathers, many of whom they said they had not seen for months.

The appeal was made during a press briefing in Abuja attended by no fewer than 20 wives and several children of the detained officers, including a two-month-old baby.

The families were accompanied by human rights lawyer, Deji Adeyanju and activist Omoyele Sowore.

At the briefing, the families lamented that the officers had been held for over 160 days without trial or contact with their relatives, describing the situation as a violation of their fundamental rights.

Speaking on behalf of the families, Memuna Bashiru said the prolonged detention had thrown their households into uncertainty and emotional distress, noting that while allegations had been widely publicised, families remained in the dark about the fate of their loved ones.

The arrest of the indicted officers was first announced on October 4, 2025, by the then Director of Defense Information, Brigadier General Tukur Gusau, who disclosed that 16 officers were taken into custody for alleged breaches of military regulations and acts of indiscipline.

However, an interim investigation later suggested the existence of a clandestine network of officers, allegedly coordinated by a senior Army officer, which had begun preliminary planning for a coup.

According to the report, the alleged plot involved surveillance of key national assets, including the Presidential Villa, Armed Forces Complex, Niger Barracks in Abuja, and major international airports, with October 25, 2025, cited as the planned date for the operation.

Those reportedly in custody include Brig Gen M. A. Sadiq, Col M. A. Maaji, Lt Col S. Bappah, Lt Col A. A. Hayatu, Lt Col P. Dangnap, Lt Col M. Almakura, Maj A. J. Ibrahim, Maj M. M. Jiddah, Maj M. A. Usman, Maj D. Yusuf, Capt I. Bello, Capt A. A. Yusuf, Lt S. S. Felix, Lt Cdr D. B. Abdullahi, Sqn Ldr S. B. Adamu and Maj I. Dauda.

The alleged plot, according to findings, targeted senior government officials, including President Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima.

Politics

APC Resumes Electronic Membership Registration Nationwide

Published

1 week ago

April 2, 2026

The Tide

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has announced the resumption of its electronic membership registration exercise across the country.

In a statement issued yesterday, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Mr Felix Morka, said the exercise would take place in all wards and designated centres nationwide.

He called on existing members to update their records, while encouraging new entrants to join the party through the digital platform.

“As the electronic membership registration exercise resumes in all wards and designated locations nationwide, we urge existing members to validate their membership while new members are encouraged to register and join the progressive family,” Mr Morka said.

According to him, eligibility for registration is limited to individuals aged 18 and above who possess a valid National Identification Number (NIN).

The party said the initiative is part of efforts to modernise its operations by transitioning to a digital database that would enhance record accuracy and accessibility.

Mr Morka noted that the e-registration would “digitise the party’s membership register, ensure the integrity of records, and enhance efficient access to membership data for planning and management decisions.”

He added that the move is also aimed at promoting internal democracy within the party and strengthening its commitment to democratic innovation.

The APC had previously introduced electronic registration as part of broader reforms to streamline its membership system and improve organisational efficiency.

Politics

AKPABIO, DIRI, OBOREVWORI, OTHERS VOW TO REELECT TINUBU …AS GIADOM RETAINS APC ZONAL CHAIR

Published

2 weeks ago

March 30, 2026

The Tide

Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, has declared that with the six South-South states now being controlled by the All Progressives Congress (APC), the zone is set to return the highest votes cast for the reelection of President Bola Tinubu in 2027.

He stated this in Asaba, Delta State, at the party’s zonal congress, noting that the coming together of the governors of the region in the APC was made possible by its zonal Vice Chairman, Chief Victor Giadom.

Senator Akpabio also praised the outgone zonal chieftains of the party, saying they worked hard for the unity of the party and the zone.

“Now that we are complete and focused, we will be the geo-political zone in Nigeria that will turn out the highest votes in 2027 for President Tinubu.

“In the last 46 years or so, our region had not produced a senate president. But under President Tinubu, the South-South region is recognised. We thank the president for giving the South-South a senate president”, he said.

In his speech, the Bayelsa State Governor, and Chairman of the South-South Governors Forum, Senator Douye Diri, described the APC adoption of the consensus option for electing its officials as the best way to foster unity and consolidation in the party ahead of the 2027 general elections.

He expressed satisfaction that politically, the South-South zone now speaks with one voice under the APC, stressing the need for the region to be part of the decision-making process at the national level.

The governor recalled that when he contested for the governorship in 2019, the delegate election process for primaries in the political parties made the exercise rancorous, saying

the slogan then was that without delegates, there will be no governor, but that that has since changed with the consensus mode.

“I like to align myself with the previous speakers on the unity of the South-South zone. In this region politically, the South-South now speaks with one voice. This is important because of the strategic nature of the zone.

“If you are not on the sharing table, in terms of decision-making process, you will be left behind. We need to be united that we will not allow petty divisions among us.

“Let us work together for the unity and protection of APC in the South-South and God willing, all our candidates will come out tops in the 2027 elections. There cannot be anything better than a united family.

“Let me congratulate President Bola Tinubu for his remarkable achievements so far. Political events such as elective congresses like this were usually filled with rancour and violence. But, today, we have adopted the consensus model to produce our party executives from the wards to the regional level”, Senator Diri said.

In their goodwill messages, the Governor of Delta State, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori, and others all spoke on unity of purpose to be able to re-elect the President for a second term.

Meanwhile, Chief Victor Giadom was returned as the party’s zonal chairman alongside seven other zonal executives of the party.

Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly, Emomotimi Guwor, moved the motion for the dissolution of the immediate past zonal executive of the party and was seconded by his Bayelsa State counterpart, Abraham Ingobere.

In his remarks, the reelected zonal Vice Chairman, Chief Victor Giadom, said the gathering of the six governors of the region, lawmakers, ministers and other major stakeholders was an indication of the zone’s commitment to return all APC candidates in next year’s poll.

By: Ariwera Ibibo-Howells, Yenagoa