Politics
Against Governors’ Resolution, Anyanwu Resumes Office At PDP Secretariat
Senator Anyanwu arrived at the PDP National Secretariat around midday and spent over two hours in his office before leaving.
His resumption comes in defiance of the PDP Governors’ Forum, which has recognised Sunday Ude-Okoye as National Secretary following the December 20 judgment of the Court of Appeal, Enugu Division, which affirmed Ude-Okoye’s position.
Before the governors’ intervention, the party’s Board of Trustees (BoT) had set up a committee led by Tanimu Turaki, SAN, to study the judgment and report its findings.
However, The Tide source reliably gathered that both the governors and the BoT have settled on Ude-Okoye as secretary and are exploring a diplomatic approach to ease out Senator Anyanwu.
A party source said, “The governors are a powerful organ of the party, and I can tell you that, in line with other organs like the BoT and a majority of National Working Committee (NWC) members, they have decided on the way forward.
“All the governors were in Delta State, and none of them opposed the decision. Acting National Chairman Umar Damagum, who is an ally of Senator Anyanwu, was also there, but he has yet to make any statement.
“Most NWC members have agreed that the party must move forward, and they are ready to follow the governors’ direction.”
Reacting to the development, BoT Chairman and former Senate President Adolphus Wabara told The Tide source that Senator Anyanwu should have waited for the committee’s recommendations before resuming office.
“He has to wait for the position of the Board of Trustees,” Senator Wabara said.
He, however, noted that the governors’ decision to recognise Ude-Okoye would not affect the BoT committee’s work.
“The decision of the governors’ forum to recognise Ude-Okoye will not affect what we are doing in the BoT committee. The committee is for the BoT, not the governors.
“Our work is not an investigation but an interpretation of the Court of Appeal judgment. That is why the committee is chaired by a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) of over 24 years, who is also a BoT member.”
Before now, PDP National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, had stated that the judgment in favour of Ude-Okoye was a declaratory ruling, which cannot be stayed.
Speaking on Senator Anyanwu’s application for a stay of execution, Ologunagba said, “PDP will continue to do what is in the interest of the party, in accordance with the law and the constitution. The judgment granted is a declaratory judgment. That cannot be stayed. It’s clear.”
Efforts to get Ologunagba to comment on the latest development were unsuccessful.
Similarly, Ude-Okoye promised to respond to The Tide source regarding Senator Anyanwu’s resumption but had yet to do so at the time of filing this report.
The Commission disclosed the figure in its weekly update for week 14 of the second phase of the exercise, which ended on Friday, April 17, 2026.
According to the breakdown, 2,259,288 Nigerians completed their registration through the online pre-registration portal, while 1,489,416 finalized their registration physically at designated centres nationwide.
INEC noted that the figures remain preliminary and are subject to further verification and data cleaning processes to ensure accuracy ahead of the consolidation of the national voter register.
With the conclusion of the registration phase, the Commission has now shifted focus to the display of the Register of Voters for Claims and Objections, a statutory stage aimed at strengthening the credibility and integrity of the voters register.
The display exercise is scheduled to hold from April 29 to May 5, 2026, across designated centres nationwide, providing citizens the opportunity to verify their details and raise objections where necessary.
The Commission urged all registered voters from the concluded phase to take advantage of the exercise to confirm the accuracy of their information and assist in identifying ineligible entries, including duplicate registrations, deceased persons, and non-citizens.
INEC explained that the Continuous Voter Registration exercise is being conducted in phases, with the first phase running from August 18 to December 10, 2025, while the second phase commenced on January 5, 2026 and ended on April 17, 2026.
The Commission further stated that the date for the commencement of the third phase will be announced in due course.
Reaffirming its commitment to credible elections, INEC stressed that maintaining a clean and accurate voter register remains central to ensuring free, fair, and transparent electoral processes in Nigeria.
The Executive Director of IPC, Mr Lanre Arogundade, informed the journalists that the dialogue was sponsored by the European Union, under the auspices of the EU-Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria (EU-SDGN II), Component 4: Support to Media.
According to the veteran media practitioner, the programme is aimed at strengthening the capacity of the media to promote credible elections through factual, accurate and fair reporting.
He explained that the programme is part of a broader five-year intervention designed to support democratic governance and improve the role of the media in Nigeria’s electoral process, stressing that fact-checking and inclusive reporting are critical responsibilities for journalists, especially during electioneering.
He described the media as a central role agent with regard to upholding transparency and accountability in the democratic process.
A resource person and Director of Journalism Clinic, Lagos, Mr Taiwo Obe, enjoined journalists to embrace the evolving technology so that they would not be in the backwaters in the practice of the profession.
He advised journalists not to downplay Artificial Intelligence (AI) in their bid to remain relevant in the media environment by being abreast of the changing patterns of news consumption.
The journalism teacher explained that with digital transformation of the media industry, it had become imperative for journalists to constantly upgrade and update their skills, stressing the fundamental place of attitude and self-development and underscored the dynamic nature of media consumption in the digital age, thereby compelling journalists to embrace tools and platforms, but without much reliance on AI.
In his lecture, a Professor of Mass Communication at the Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE), Adebola Aderibigbe, advised journalists in Ekiti State to ensure that coverage of the upcoming governorship poll is issue-based rather than dwelling on personalities.
He added that sensationalism should not occupy the front-burner of any discussions concerning the 2026 election, admonishing that sustenance of democracy is anchored on responsible journalism.
”Journalists must prioritise accuracy, fairness and balance in their reports by verifying facts and giving all parties involved in political matters the opportunity to present their views”, he said.
According to the university don, the election will not be defined by personalities, but by issues. ”Let issues be the pivotal ring upon which every discussion should be made. Sensationalisation of issues should not be the bedrock of discussions in the 2026 election”, he added.
“Do not hear from Party A without hearing from Party B, otherwise the report will be skewed to one side and once issues of elections are skewed, problems will naturally arise”, he stressed.
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