Politics
Your Appeal Needless Distraction, Stop Denigrating Judiciary, Diri Admonishes Sylva
Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, has described the appeal filed by the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the November 11, 2023 poll in the state, Chief Timipre Sylva, as a needless distraction.
In his reaction shortly after the Appeal Court sitting in Abuja dismissed the application of Chief Sylva and the APC for lacking in merit, Governor Diri said the case was not only a distraction for him but for the entire state.
A statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Daniel Alabrah, quoted the governor as saying that he was not surprised about the outcome of the case given the character of the APC candidate.
He said the verdict was a victory for the people of the state and that he was ready to meet Chief Sylva at the Supreme Court.
“It (the appeal) is a distraction not only to me but also to the government and people of the state. You also know the character of the person involved. So this is not unexpected.
“However, it is victory for Bayelsa State and I do not think I want to waste my time calling on anybody to work with us. They already said they are going to the Supreme Court. So, we will meet them there”, he said.
Meanwhile, speaking with journalists shortly after the court session, counsel to Governor Diri, Mr. Chris Uche (SAN), explained that the appellant (Sylva) failed to provide evidence and that the verdict of the appeal court vindicated his legal team and the election tribunal, which earlier upheld Governor Diri’s election.
Mr Uche said by the victory, the governor can now concentrate on his service to people of the state and expressed the confidence that, given the facts of the case, the verdict of the Supreme Court will not be different.
Meanwhile, Governor Douye Diri, has admonished Chief Timipre Sylva to face the reality of his serial losses at the courts and stop casting aspersions on the judiciary.
The Tide reports that the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja last Thursday, July 18, upheld the judgement of the Bayelsa State Election Petition Tribunal and affirmed the re-election of Senator Diri as governor of the state.
The appellate court ruled that Chief Sylva’s case lacked merit as he could not provide convincing evidence to invalidate the decision of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that election did not hold in 182 polling units.
But, Chief Sylva, in a statement reacting to the judgement, accused the appellate court Justices of breaching several portions of the Nigerian Constitution.
He also said the judgement “sadly reflected some of the concerns expressed by the CJN recently.
“By referencing the “concerns” of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Sylva was trying to be smart by half. To be sure, there were no conflicts or inconsistencies in the judgement of the Appeal Court as the verdict was clear as crystal and consistent with the earlier judgement delivered by of the state election tribunal.
“After losing the November 11, 2023 governorship poll, Sylva poured dirt on INEC. Having lost at the tribunal and the appellate court, the APC candidate now acts the bad loser he is by denigrating the judiciary.
“For a man whose party already accepted defeat in the election, one wonders the “stolen mandate” that Sylva lays claim to. For us in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the governorship poll was won through the overwhelming support and endorsement of the Bayelsa electorate. The well-delivered verdicts of the tribunal and appellate court have equally put a seal to the votes of the Bayelsa people. Sylva can only play to the gallery by whipping up sentiments to deceive those gullible enough to believe him.
“There are no two mandates in Bayelsa State and the overwhelming majority of people of our state know who has it. Sylva can only lay claim to a phantom, non-existent mandate.”
Oyo State Governor, ‘Seyi Makinde, has renamed The Polytechnic, Ibadan as Omololu Olunloyo Polytechnic, Ibadan, in honour of a late former governor of the State, Dr Omololu Olunloyo.
Dr Olunloyo, who died on April 6, 2025, was the pioneer Principal of the Polytechnic, Ibadan, while he also served as Governor of Oyo State between October 1 and December 31, 1983.
Governor Makinde made the announcement at the state interdenominational funeral service held yesterday in honour of the late former governor at the Obafemi Awolowo Stadium, Liberty Road, Ibadan.
Governor Makinde said Dr Olunloyo lived an eventful life, adding that his attainment and personality could not be summarised in one sentence.
“He was not a man we could summarise in one sentence. He was a scholar, a statesman, a technocrat, a lover of culture and, above all, a man of deep conviction.
“While giving the exhortation, I was listening to Baba Archbishop Ayo Ladigbolu and he said in 1983, Baba became Governor of Oyo State. Though his time in office was brief, his election victory over a popular incumbent remains a powerful testament to the trust people gave him.
“I talked about preserving and digitising his library yesterday [Wednesday] as a mark of honour to Baba Olunloyo.
“Today, we will be giving Baba another honour to immortalise him. He was the first Principal of The Polytechnic, Ibadan; that institution will now be named Omololu Olunloyo Polytechnic, Ibadan.”
Earlier in his sermon, a retired Methodist Archbishop of Ilesa and Ibadan, Ayo Ladigbolu, described the late Olunloyo as a role model with intellectual inspiration and unassailable integrity.
The cleric said the deceased also demonstrated leadership in most superior quality during his lifetime.
In attendance were the state Deputy Governor, Chief Abdulraheem Bayo Lawal; wife of a former Military Governor of the old Oyo State, Chief (Mrs) Dupe Jemibewon; wife of a former Governor of Oyo State, Chief (Mrs) Mutiat Ladoja; former Deputy Governor and PDP Deputy National Chairman (South), Ambassador Taofeek Arapaja; and former Deputy Governor, Hazeem Gbolarumi.
Others were the member representing Ibadan North-East/South-East Federal Constituency, Hon Abass Adigun Agboworin; Chief of Staff to the Governor, Otunba Segun Ogunwuyi; Oyo State Exco members; Chairman of Oyo State Elders’ Council, Dr Saka Balogun; Chairman of All Local Government Chairmen in Oyo State, Hon Sikiru Sanda; President-General of the Central Council of Ibadan Indigenes (CCII), Chief Adeniyi Ajewole; religious leaders and family members, among other dignitaries.
Ten members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Working Committee (NWC) have countered the Acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum, on the reinstatement of Senator Samuel Anyanwu as National Secretary.
The dissenting members, led by the Deputy National Chairman ( South), Taofeek Arapaja, in a joint statement, said no organ of the opposition party could overturn the decision of the 99th meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC).
The dissenting NWC members include Arapaja; Setonji Koshoedo, Deputy National Secretary; Okechukwu Obiechina-Daniel, National Auditor; Debo Ologunagba, National Publicity Secretary; Ologunagba; Woyengikuro Daniel, National Financial Secretary and Ahmed Yayari Mohammed, National Treasurer.
Others are Chief Ali Odefa, National Vice Chairman (South East); Emmanuel Ogidi, Caretaker Committee Chairman (South South); Mrs. Amina Darasimi D. Bryhm, National Woman Leader and Ajisafe Kamoru Toyese, National Vice Chairman (South West).
The group also insisted that contrary to the position of the acting National Chairman, the 100th NEC meeting of the party would be held on June 30 as earlier scheduled.
The statement read: “The attention of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has been drawn to a press briefing by the acting National Chairman, Amb. Umar Damagum, today Wednesday, June 25, wherein he attempted to overturn the resolution of the 99th National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting which scheduled the 100th NEC meeting for Monday, June 30.
“The acting National Chairman in the said press briefing also reportedly announced that Senator Samuel Anyanwu has been asked to resume as National Secretary of the party contrary to the resolution of the 99th NEC meeting, which referred all matters relating to the office of the National Secretary to the 100th NEC meeting.
“The pronouncements by the acting National Chairman have no foundation as no organ of the party (including the NWC), individual or group has the power to cancel, overrule, veto or vary the resolution of the National Executive Committee (NEC) under the Constitution of the PDP (as amended in 2017).
“For the avoidance of doubt, the NEC is the highest decision-making organ of the party, second only to the National Convention. By virtue of Section 31 (3) of the PDP Constitution, the resolution of the NEC to hold its 100th meeting on Monday June 30, is binding on all organs, officers, chapters and members of the party and no organ, group or individual can vary or veto this resolution of NEC.
“Furthermore, the claim by Damagum that Sen Anyanwu has been asked to resume office as the National Secretary of the party is, therefore, misleading being contrary to the resolution of NEC.
“In the light of the foregoing, the 100th NEC meeting as scheduled for Monday, June 30, has not been canceled or postponed.”
The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, has fired back at former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, following the latter’s scathing criticism of President Tinubu’s administration and his 2027 re-election prospects.
In an interview on live television, Mallam El-Rufai said it would take a “miracle” for President Tinubu to be re-elected in 2027, citing an internal poll that purportedly shows a 91 percent disapproval rating for the president across key regions in the country, including the South-East and the North. He also claimed that President Tinubu’s disapproval rating in Lagos stood at 78 percent.
Reacting on Wednesday via a post on X (formerly Twitter), Mr Onanuga took a swipe at the ex-governor, quoting a harsh assessment of Mallam El-Rufai’s character from former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s memoir, My Watch.
“Nasir’s penchant for reputation savaging is almost pathological,” Mr Onanuga wrote, citing Chief Obasanjo’s words. “Why does he do it? Very early in my interaction with him, I appreciated his talent. At the same time, I recognised his weaknesses; the worst being his inability to be loyal to anybody or any issue consistently for long, but only to Nasir El-Rufai.”
The presidential adviser emphasised Chief Obasanjo’s remarks that Mallam El-Rufai often tries to elevate himself by diminishing others. “He lied brazenly, which he did to me, against his colleagues and so-called friends,” Mr Onanuga continued, quoting the former President. “I have heard of how he ruthlessly savaged the reputation of his uncle, a man who, in an African setting, was like a foster father to him.”
Chief Obasanjo, who appointed Mallam El-Rufai as the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory between 2003 and 2007, did not mince words in the memoir, describing Mallam El-Rufai as suffering from “small man syndrome.”
Mr Onanuga’s post is seen as a direct rebuttal to Mallam El-Rufai’s recent criticism and growing opposition role. The former governor is reportedly playing a central role in forming a new coalition to challenge President Tinubu in the 2027 general election.
In March 2025, El-Rufai officially dumped the All Progressives Congress (APC) and joined the Social Democratic Party (SDP), intensifying speculations about his 2027 political ambitions.
As the political rift deepens, Mallam El-Rufai remains one of the most vocal critics of the Tinubu administration, while Mr Onanuga and other presidential allies continue to push back against what they describe as “reckless” opposition rhetoric.