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PDP Urges INEC to Save Ebonyi from ‘Governorship Vacuum’
The Peoples Democratic Party, Ebonyi State chapter, has appealed to the Independent National Electoral Commission to save the state from the “governorship vacuum” it created by the non-issuance of a certificate of return to Mr Idu Igariwey.
The party recalled that Justice Enyang Ekwo of a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja had last week sacked Governor David Umahi and his deputy, Dr Kelechi Igwe, for defecting to the All Progressives Congress and ordered the PDP, which they defected from, to nominate a candidate to inherit its votes.
As a sequel to the judgment, the party nominated Igariwey to inherit the party’s votes but INEC has yet to comply with the order of the court.
Addressing a press conference in Enugu on Sunday, the Ebonyi State chairman of the PDP, Chief Tochukwu Okorie, alleged that the present problem in the state was caused by INEC’s non-withdrawal of certificate of return from Umahi and issuance of same to Igariwey.
Okorie, who disclosed that Umahi was yet to appeal the judgment of Justice Enyang Ekwo that sacked him and his deputy, explained that Umahi’s application for a stay of execution was yet to be granted and wondered why the electoral umpire would stand on the way of justice.
Okorie said: “The National Leadership of our great party has long complied with the ruling of the court by submitting Rt Hon Enwo Iduma Ighariwey and Chief Fred Udeogu to the Independent National Electoral Commission as a replacement for Umahi and his deputy.
“We have also ensured that the judgment and other records of the court were transmitted to the Commission too. What is standing, therefore, between the inauguration of the new administration of their Excellencies the Governor and Deputy Governor designate at the moment is INEC to issue them with their Certificates of Return in compliance with the ruling of the court. We urge the Commission to act expeditiously in this regard.
“NdiEbonyi should note that Ex-governor Umahi has neither been granted any stay of execution of the declaratory orders of the court nor has he successfully appealed the judgment. All he has done is to apply for stay of execution and file a notice of appeal; neither of which can act as a stay of execution. Similarly, the different court papers emanating from some state high courts cannot and do not confer any imprimatur of a stay of execution.”
The Punch
Following US President Donald Trump’s designation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC), US Senator Ted Cruz has declared that the next step is to hold Nigerian officials accountable.
Cruz is championing the Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act of 2025, a bill designed to protect Christians and other religious minorities from widespread persecution in Nigeria.
After the CPC designation, Trump also warned of possible military action in Nigeria if its leaders failed to protect Christians in the country.
Reacting in a post on his official X handle on Tuesday, Senator Cruz said he has been pushing legislation to designate Nigeria as a CPC and to impose sanctions on Nigerian officials responsible for religious persecution.
He thanked President Trump for the designation and for “fighting to stop the murder of Christians in Nigeria.”
According to Cruz, the next step is to hold Nigerian officials accountable, promising to publicly identify them in the coming weeks.
His post reads: “I’ve been pushing legislation to designate Nigeria a CPC and to impose sanctions on the Nigerian officials responsible.
“Thank you to President Trump for his leadership in imposing the designation, and more broadly, for fighting to stop the murder of Christians in Nigeria.
“Now we should take the next step and hold Nigerian officials accountable. I intend to be very explicit about who they are in the coming days and weeks.”
Last weekend, Trump declared Nigeria a “Country of Particular Concern” over alleged killings of Christians.
In a statement posted on his social media platform Truth Social on Friday, Trump said Christianity faces an existential threat in Nigeria, describing the alleged killing as a “mass slaughter.”
“Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria. Thousands of Christians are being killed. Radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter,” he wrote.
The US president added that the United States “cannot stand by while such atrocities are happening” and directed Congressman Riley Moore and House Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole to investigate the matter.
The Nigerian government has repeatedly rejected claims of Christian genocide in the country.
In September, the Federal government described claims of a systematic genocide against Christians as “false, baseless, despicable, and divisive.”
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, said portraying Nigeria’s insecurity as a religious conflict was a gross misrepresentation of reality.
“Portraying Nigeria’s security challenges as a targeted campaign against a single religious group is inaccurate and harmful.
“The federal government strongly condemns and categorically refutes recent allegations by certain international platforms and online influencers suggesting that terrorists operating in Nigeria are engaged in a systematic genocide against Christians,” he said.
Idris stressed that extremists have attacked citizens of all faiths, noting that Muslims, Christians, and even non-religious Nigerians have suffered alike.
Between May 2023 and February 2025, he said, security forces killed over 13,500 terrorists and rescued nearly 10,000 hostages.
He added that the recent capture of top Ansaru leaders and over 700 convictions of Boko Haram suspects reflected Nigeria’s progress in the fight against terrorism.
“These criminals target all who reject their murderous ideology, regardless of faith,” the minister stated.
The Oyo State High Court has granted the Peoples Democratic Party approval to proceed with its elective national convention scheduled for November 15–16, 2025, in Ibadan, the state capital.
The court also directed the Independent National Electoral Commission to attend and monitor the exercise, Channels TV reports.
Delivering the ruling, Justice A. L. Akintola issued an interim order permitting the party to continue its convention plans without obstruction.
The decision came after an ex-parte motion filed by Folahan Adelabi against the PDP, its Acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum; Governor Umaru Fintiri, who heads the National Convention Organising Committee; and the INEC.
In his ruling on Monday, Justice Akintola held that the claimant presented a compelling case that warranted immediate judicial intervention.
“The motion ex-parte has merit and succeeds as prayed,” the judge ruled, granting temporary reliefs that safeguard the party’s schedule and direct all parties to allow the convention to proceed as planned.
The judge subsequently adjourned the hearing of the substantive motion for an interlocutory injunction till November 10, 2025.
The interim order, issued on November 3, 2025, was sealed by the Oyo State High Court and endorsed by its Principal Registrar, S. O. Hammed.
The Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) has released the passport of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan following outrage over what she described as an unlawful and politically motivated seizure of her travel documents at a Nigerian airport.
Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan, representing Kogi Central Senatorial District, was reportedly stopped by immigration officers on Tuesday morning, who withheld her passport without any official explanation.
The lawmaker, visibly frustrated, went live on social media to protest the action, accusing Senate President Godswill Akpabio of ordering the seizure.
“I have committed no offence and there is no order from the court to withhold my passport and deny me travelling. The last time this happened, the officer in charge told us that the Senate President, Godswin Akpabio instructed them to withhold my passport and prevent me from travelling because he said each time I travel out of the country, I spoil the country’s image by granting interviews out in international media.
“Please, can you tell them to release my passport and this embarrassment should stop? You have no right to withhold my passport.
“You have no right to deny me exit and entrance into my country. I have not committed any offence and this must stop. No, this must stop.
“As a matter of fact, I think I have to sue you for continuously embarrassing me. No, don’t tell me sorry. Can I please have my passport? You can’t keep doing this to me all the time,” she said.
Akpoti-Uduaghan, who was recently celebrated her second year in office, described the incident as a continuous pattern of harassment.
She noted that her passport had previously been seized under similar circumstances, only to be released after intervention from someone influential.
The female Senator said, “I’ve been standing here for the past 20 minutes. Why are you doing this? What have I committed? The last time it had to take someone influential to call you to release my passport. That was what allowed me travel.
“Now again, you’re withholding my passport while I’m making calls. Is Godswin Akpabio so important? Why is he overruling boundaries? Godswin Akpabio, the Senate President, has instructed the Comptroller General of Customs to deny me exit, to withhold my passport. This is wrong.
“Yes, I know I have two federal government cases against me, of which the president of Nigeria instructed the AGF to cancel the cases, to withdraw the cases.
“This president, Bola Tinubu, actually spoke with Godwin Akpabio to terminate all the cases against me because he admitted, he agreed that they were politically witch-hunting cases. So there is no reason why my passport should be withheld at the international airport.
“There is no reason why. You have no right to do that, madam. You have no right. You are taking laws into your hands. There is no court order. I have not missed any of my court appearances.
“I have attended all my court sessions. I am not a flight risk. I am not a risk to my country. So why are you treating me like a criminal? Can I have my passport, please? Thank you very much. Sometimes I think you just have to be a rebel to get things right. Then you keep asking Nigerians to be good citizens.
Minutes after her public protest gained traction online, the NIS reportedly bowed to pressure and released her passport.
“If I had not gone public, would you have given me my passport,” she added.
