—Decry non- scholarship award by govt
–Condemn neglect of student hostels

By Vincent Tyosuugh

Forum of University Student Leaders in Benue State on Tuesday, expressed support for the SDP candidate in the 2027 elections, Prof. Sebastine Hon, SAN, while decrying the rot in student hostels and neglect by the Governor Alia administration.

The students made the declaration during a solidarity visit to the Director General, Sebastine Tar. Hon Campaign Organisation, Dr. Ngutor Anyam, in Makurdi.

The student leaders who took turns to address the DG, lamented the poor state of student welfare under the current government.

To the Coordinator of “Hon Va Youth Movement 2027,” Christian Aondongu, students have been the worst hit by the policies of the present state government. In his words:

“As student leaders, we can testify that students have been neglected.

“Government has no incentives for students.

“Our hostels are bad and the toilets are not fit even for our worst enemies.”

He added that the group is planning a solidarity march in honour of Prof. Hon ahead of the 2027 elections.

Also speaking, the Chairman, National Association of University Students (NAUS), Benue State chapter, Comrade Terfa Kator, lamented the absence of government scholarship, saying:

“We are enarmored of Prof. Sebastine Hon because he has been awarding scholarships.”

To the Coordinator, National Association of Zone C Students, BSU, Comrade Ode Francis, the Alia administration is “anti-students”, adding that:

“Even the Ortom administration tagged the worst awarded scholarships.

“We searched for a candidate to support.

“We are uplifting the candidature of Prof. Hon,” he stated.

Responding, a member of the STH Campaign Organisation, Zaki Godwin Akpen, told the students to remain committed.

“You are leaders right now. If you want a better tomorrow, your ideas for real development will make a difference,” he charged the students.

In his remarks, Dr. Anyam expressed delight at the students’ decision and promised the campaign organisation’s full support.

“You have already identified Prof. Sebastine Hon as a credible leader.

“If you assist him to get into government, you are part of the history of making Benue State great.”

Recalling his university days, the DG said he enjoyed a meal for 50 kobo as an undergraduate and expressed pain over the failure of public service and the decline in the university system in Nigeria. He regretted the unpatriotic attitude of those in positions of authority, saying that:

“A Chinese firm once sought to build hostels for the Benue State University students but the plan was thwarted because management of the university at the time was more interested in milking the company.”

Dr. Anyam outlined key plans of the STH administration to include prioritising scholarships, industrialization, sports development and export of agricultural produce and talents.

The students ended the meeting with chants of solidarity for the SDP candidate.

By Felix Umande

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has said the political crisis in Rivers State denied Governor Siminalayi Fubara the opportunity to seek a second term, blaming poor counsel from political associates and what he called external interests bent on hijacking the state.

Wike made the remarks on Tuesday during the August edition of his monthly media chat on Channels Television, while reflecting on his fractured relationship with his estranged political ally.

The former Rivers governor said he repeatedly warned Fubara not to abandon the political structure that brought him to power.

“I said, look, don’t derail. I came as governor, I had crisis. When I came as governor, there was nothing. They didn’t even relocate the Government House,” Wike said.

He recounted inheriting an administration with limited resources, adding that he had to borrow ceremonial vehicles from former Ondo State governor, Olusegun Mimiko.
“When I came, I had to borrow vehicles from the former governor of Ondo, Mimiko, these parade vehicles. Nobody kept any vehicle; I didn’t have one vehicle.

“But before I left as governor, I packed out from Government House one and a half years before. I renovated Government House. I bought vehicles for the governor, the deputy governor and the governor’s wife. I did that,” he said.

Wike said he expected Fubara to build on that foundation.
“Somebody had laid a foundation. Look, this is where I stopped. If you continue this way, our dream is to be able to compete with Lagos. What is wrong with that?” he asked.

The FCT Minister alleged that individuals who initially opposed Fubara’s emergence later became his close allies and encouraged confrontation.

“Somebody comes, and that’s why you have to be careful. Those who didn’t want you to be governor now became your friends. Obviously, they will destroy you, thinking that coming closer to you is to fight us.

“At the end of the fight, I have not lost anything. What have I lost? Nothing. But you have lost. Your intention was to go for a second term, is it not correct? And you are not going,” Wike said.

He further alleged that external actors saw Rivers as a “cash cow” and sought to control it for financial gain.
“There are external forces who want to hijack Rivers State. You don’t allow them to hijack Rivers State. There are those who see Rivers State as a cash cow.

“I can tell you so many things happened. There are people, even some Senior Advocates of Nigeria, who you would never believe can play that kind of role, who were virtually living with us in government,” he said.

According to Wike, those individuals later advised Fubara to resist his political camp.
“When this thing happened, they were so bitter that they started giving the governor wrong advice: ‘Don’t worry, the law says this, the law didn’t say this.’
“They were sending them aircraft, then they would relax in the jet. To them, they were king. So, for him to continue to be there, they would exert that kind of influence.

“We said no, this cash cow must end now. You won’t have it again. Take as much as you can, but you have to stop,” he added.

Asked if he still loved Fubara, Wike replied: “If I don’t love him, why would we support him? That’s the point I’m making.”

He disclosed that efforts were made to reconcile both camps but collapsed over political calculations.
“There was a time we all thought, we all agreed, and said, ‘Look, can we allow bygones to be bygones?’ But something fundamental came up in politics.

“They said, ‘Look, if you allow this now, there are those who are here who want to see that we are no longer politically relevant,’” he said.

The rift between Wike and Fubara began shortly after Fubara assumed office in 2023, when Wike accused him of dismantling the political structure that produced him. The dispute escalated into a confrontation involving the Rivers State House of Assembly, impeachment threats by lawmakers loyal to Wike, and a six-month state of emergency declared by President Bola Tinubu in March 2025 that suspended the governor and legislature.

After his reinstatement, Fubara defected from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress, citing gratitude to Tinubu for his intervention. He later picked APC governorship nomination forms for a second term but withdrew in May 2026, a move Wike and others linked to a peace understanding that he would not seek re-election.

In July 2026, Fubara announced his return to the political family that brought him to power, joined the Wike-led Rainbow Coalition backing Tinubu, and endorsed the coalition’s preferred governorship candidate.

By Felix Umande

The All Progressives Congress, APC, has uploaded the nomination details of 13 governorship candidates on the Independent National Electoral Commission’s candidate nomination portal ahead of the August 8 deadline.

A high-ranking APC source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, disclosed that the party was yet to upload its state Houses of Assembly candidates’ list due to glitches on the INEC portal.

“As of the latest update, the party has uploaded the details of 13 governorship candidates, while the documents of five others are being processed by the ICT department,” the source said.

“We are confident of completing the upload of all 28 candidates and their deputies before the August 8 INEC deadline.”

According to the source, those whose details have so far been processed include Dr. Obafemi Hamzat of Lagos, Solomon Adeola of Ogun, Umar Bago of Niger, Ahmed Wadada of Nasarawa, Yakubu Danladi of Kwara, Hyacinth Alia of Benue, Ahmed Galadima of Adamawa, and Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau.

The source added that the party’s ICT team has already scanned and prepared the documents for state Assembly candidates for immediate upload once the technical issues are resolved.

In accordance with INEC’s timetable, submission of nomination forms for governorship and state Houses of Assembly candidates commenced at 9:00 am on July 18 and will close at 6:00 pm on August 8, 2026.

Political parties had earlier submitted the nomination lists of presidential and National Assembly candidates between June 27 and July 14, 2026, alongside Forms EC9 and EC9A to EC9E as stipulated by Section 29(1) of the Electoral Act, 2026.

INEC is expected to publish the personal particulars of presidential and National Assembly candidates on August 8, while details of governorship and state House of Assembly candidates will be published on August 29.

The timetable also fixed August 22 as the deadline for withdrawal or substitution of presidential and National Assembly candidates, and September 19 for governorship and state Assembly candidates.

APC Director of Publicity, Bala Ibrahim, in an interview with newsmen, assured that ongoing reconciliation efforts would address grievances arising from the emergence of the party’s candidates ahead of the 2027 general elections.

“In the coming days, the party will complete the exercise of uploading our candidate list. We expect the candidates to show loyalty to the policies of the party with which they are going to campaign,” Ibrahim said.

He added that the party is campaigning on the mantra of Renewed Hope and expects candidates to “renew the hope of the people and make sure that they work towards delivering democratic dividends.”

“As for the disaffection that the emergence of some of these candidates may have caused, the reconciliation committee is working, and we are hoping that, at the end of the day, all grievances will be resolved. All the aggrieved parties will come together and forge ahead,” he said.