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‘Oshiomhole Seeking Third Term Through Ize-Iyamu’
The Deputy Governor of Edo State, Mr Philip Shaibu, has accused a former governor of the state, Adams Oshiomhole, of wanting to covertly seek a third term in office as the governor of Edo State through his alleged surrogate, Osagie Ize-Iyamu.
Shaibu, in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media, Benjamin Atu, titled, ‘Oshiomhole seeking the third term as a governor through Ize-Iyamu,’ said the former National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress was seeking a third term by proxy.
He said, “The truth is that Ize-Iyamu is merely a stooge. The real man seeking the governorship position is Adams Oshiomhole who has perfected the plan to betray democracy by seeking a third term in office. The price that Oshiomhole will pay for projecting Ize-Iyamu is an outright rejection.
“Oshiomhole is displaying blind compassion with a specific pledge to return the state to the path of backwardness with failed institutions where individuals will be more powerful than government institutions with an analogue system of operations. Technological development has since left Oshiomhole behind in the scheme of things.”
The deputy governor said the state had a choice between policies of the heart by Governor Godwin Obaseki and policies of the head as currently being propagated by enemies of the state.
“The people of Edo State subscribed voluntarily to the principle of Obaseki because they have seen these principles at work all over the state. We cannot risk the future of Edo State with a man’s shrunken aspirations.
“Our campaign is based on the affirmation of what we have done and still capable of doing, by drawing our strength from the masses to deal with all our vulnerabilities,” he said.
Reacting to Shaibu’s statement, the Edo State Publicity Secretary of the APC, Chris Azebamwan, said the deputy governor was chasing a shadow.
Azebamwan said, “It is laughable to accuse Comrade Adams Oshiomhole of seeking a third term by proxy. He was governor for eight years and more recently, the National Chairman of the ruling party at both federal and Edo State until Godwin Obaseki betrayed the mandate freely given to him by the Edo people.
“The vision and the mission of Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, the flag bearer of the All Progressives Congress, is lucidly spelt out in his manifesto which he tagged, SIMPLE agenda. Shaibu and his boss, Godwin Obaseki, know they cannot fault the document, and they don’t have an agenda of their own to offer Edo people.
“In their cluelessness, they have resorted to name-calling and mudslinging. They believe they can distract and hoodwink Edo people by hinging their campaigns on persons, instead of issues. Perhaps they should be reminded that Comrade Adams Oshiomhole is not on the final list of candidates for Edo 2020.
“With the emergence of Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu as the APC candidate, Edo people should not just expect a better life, they should prepare to live it.”
appealed for calm, saying a joint investigation team comprising the state government and the company that owned the facility had begun investigation into the cause of the spill.
The Punch
The Federal Government has directed civil servants working within the Federal Secretariat in Abuja to work from home on Friday, March 27, 2026, ahead of the national convention of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The directive was contained in a circular issued and signed by Abdul Garba, Permanent Secretary, Service Welfare Office, for the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation.
According to the circular, access roads leading to and around the Federal Secretariat Complex, Phases I, II and III, will be closed from Friday, March 27, to Saturday, March 28, 2026.
“All Ministries, Extra-Ministerial Departments, Agencies and Offices located within the Federal Secretariat, Phases I, II & III are hereby informed of the closure of all access roads leading to and around the said Federal Secretariat Complex, from Friday, 27th to Saturday, 28th March, 2026,” the statement read.
The government said the decision was due to the use of Eagle Square for the APC national convention.
“This is due to the use of Eagle Square for the National Convention of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Party on the said dates,” the circular stated.
It added that workers in affected offices should stay off-site on the specified day.
“Accordingly, all personnel whose offices are located within Phases I, II and III of the Federal Secretariat Complex as well as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, are to work from home on Friday, 27th March, 2026,” it added.
The government also directed heads of ministries, departments, and agencies to ensure compliance.
“All concerned Permanent Secretaries and Heads of Agencies are kindly requested to bring the content of this Circular to the attention of their staff, and ensure strict compliance,” the circular stated.
The directive comes as the APC prepares to hold its national convention at Eagle Square, Abuja, an event expected to bring together party leaders, delegates, and supporters from across the country.
The National Executive Committee (NEC) of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) has approved the timetable for its nationwide congresses and National Convention.
The approved timetable is as follows: Polling Unit and Ward Congresses – Tuesday, 7 April 2026; Local Government Area Congresses – Thursday, 9 April 2026; State Congresses – Saturday, 11 April 2026; National Convention – Tuesday, 14 April 2026.
The meeting also approved the presentation of two separate reports submitted by the ADC Policy and Manifesto Committee and the Constitution Review Committee for ratification at the forthcoming national convention.
On the outcomes of the meeting, the ADC National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, said the meeting also accepted the two reports earlier submitted to the National Working Committee (NWC) by the committees headed by Chief John Odigie-Oyegun and Etigwe Uwa (SAN), respectively.
He said the NEC meeting, fully attended by members and representatives of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), approved all the memoranda presented by the ADC National Chairman, Senator David Mark.
Abdullahi said the guidelines for the congresses have already been published and the forms have been distributed across the country, adding that “All members will receive them. And those who are aspiring to contest for various positions of the party will have the opportunity to do so.”
He stressed that the congresses were fixed to elect new officers at the ward/polling unit level, the local government level, and at the state level, adding that “The nomination fees, the expression of interest fees have been duly stated.”
While announcing the dates, he said: “The polling unit and award congresses will come up on the 7th. The local government congresses will come up on the 9th. The state congresses will come up on the 11th. And the national convention here in Abuja on the 14th.”
The ADC spokesman said the forthcoming convention was not elective but to ratify all the decisions that had been taken by the previous NEC and the NWC.
“The National Convention is for the purpose of ratifying earlier decisions that have been taken. It is not an elective convention per se. It is not to elect new officers of the party, and it is not primaries. It is to ratify positions that have been taken by the NEC and the NWC. So, it is not to elect new officers of the party, and it is not to elect candidates for the party.
“Every decision that has been taken by the National Working Committee and the NEC of the party in between the last convention will be ratified at the next convention.”
He said the convention committee had been set up, but added that the National Organising Secretary, Prince Chinedu Idigo, would provide detailed information.
On the committees’ reports, Abdullahi added that “one of the key conclusions of the NEC meeting is to accept the report of the Committee on Policy and Manifesto. And that relates to the policy position of the party and the report of the Constitutional Review Committee.
“The reports submitted to the National Working Committee were formally presented to the National Executive Committee of the party. And the NEC received those reports which will now go to the National Convention on the 14th,” he added.
Earlier in his opening remarks, the ADC National Chairman, Senator Mark, said the second NEC meeting came at a critical moment when Nigerians across all walks of life are yearning for purposeful leadership, equity, justice, and a government that truly serves the people.
He stressed that unity within the party was non-negotiable, saying “Recent developments have shown that while challenges may arise, our collective will to remain focused and united is stronger than any divisive tendencies.
“We must therefore close ranks, deepen consultation, and reinforce confidence in our leadership and processes. Let me use this opportunity to thank our state chairmen who have chosen the path of dialogue and consultation in spite of all odds. Together, we can salvage Nigeria.”
Mark said the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has shown incompetence.
He said, “Unfortunately, these ills are now the new normal. They (APC) have shown that they are incapable of arresting the situation.
“Our party, the ADC, must rise up to the occasion to address these ills. We are prepared to do things differently and make Nigeria a better and safer society.
“Distinguished members, the journey ahead may be demanding, but with unity, discipline, and commitment, victory is assured. Let us remain steadfast and resolute.”
MoneyMaster Payment Service Bank (MMPSB), Nigeria’s leading payment service bank, has announced that it has further enhanced its mobile banking application to improve the order flow for its airtime and data products to improve customer experience.
For airtime, the Moneymaster mobile banking app now has an enhanced visual appeal, thus, providing customers with a cleaner, and more modern interface that streamlines account selection, denomination selection and a dynamic input validation. For its data products, the new interface organizes data into logical tabs of hot, daily, weekly, monthly, exclusive and special. In addition, each data now clearly displays data volume, validity period in a bold easy-to-read format. These changes will now enable customers to find airtime and data plans in a simplified and faster manner without expending more time on scrolling.
Furthermore, the mobile banking app users can now buy lower denominations of airtime such as N200, N500, N1000, N2,000, N4000. Also, the categorisation of the telco products has been re-ordered to ensure ease for customers in selecting their preferred products.
The company’s Head of Business, Tajudeen Omokhide, noted that MoneyMaster’s “mission is to transform payments into an agile experience, capable of moving with the speed and transparency of a fintech. Our customers expect simple, fast and transparent solutions at an affordable cost.
“These recent upgrades on mobile banking app is a testament to our relentless efforts to ensure that our customers experience is top notch and aligns with their needs. We encourage our customers to upgrade their mobile banking app whilst new customers can download the app from android playstore or IoS app store.”
All customers of the bank will enjoy 100% bonus on their airtime recharges on Glo airtime purchased. Data customers will similarly enjoy 10% bonus on every Glo data recharges. This is to attract new customers and reward the existing ones.
Mr Omokhide further stated that the suite of new products “marks an important step towards the bank’s vision of offering market-relevant and customer-centric products”.
Moneymaster, promoted by Globacom, is licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria as a payment service bank. The bank operates mobile wallet, savings account, individual current account as well as business banking accounts. It also vends airtime and data and makes it easy for customers to pay their bills to more than 4,000 billers on its banking platform.
