Politics
Stakeholders Reject PRP Presidential Primary, Citing Irregularities
- By AbdulRahman Obaje
The Peoples Redemption Party, PRP Presidential Primary is marred by irregularities as insiders and stakeholders said the Party is abandoning its own founding principle, engineering election process to suit particular candidate.
According to a well-informed party insider the outcome of the Presidential primary election does not reflect the actual account of what happened, saying that the outcome was engineered and the inflation was not unintentional disorder but a deliberate plan orchestrated to deliver the nomination to a preferred candidate in service of a prearranged ticket.
Those same insiders point to reported plans for Mr. Duke to run alongside Senator Datti Baba-Ahmed, younger brother of the National Chairman, Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed.
“We do not state these motives as proven fact. We state them as serious allegations raised by people positioned to know, allegations that the party’s leadership now has an obligation to answer rather than ignore.” The statement added,
The People Redemption Party conducted its presidential primary on May 25th, 2026 under guidelines it issued just one day before the election. The explicit guidelines said only members whose names appeared on the official membership register submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission as of 4 May 2026 were eligible to vote. That register was the governing document. It was the single source of truth agreed by all parties before a single ballot was cast.
Result declared as against that register, defies the fundamental tenet of mathematics.
For example, in Gombe State, a register of 348 members produced 1,431 votes, a 311 percent difference, with more than 1,000 ballots. In Bauchi State, a register of 593 members produced 760 votes, 167 more ballots than there were people permitted to cast vote. In Kwara State, 55 registered members somehow produced 82 votes, an excess of nearly 50 percent. These are only a few examples from the results released.
According to eye-witness, collation at the party’s National Headquarters was itself halted amid widespread irregularities, raising even deeper concerns about the integrity of the overall process.
Across these states, 996 registered members produced 2,273 votes. That is 1,277 ballots that correspond to no eligible voter on the party’s own INEC-approved list. More than half of the total declared vote did not lawfully exist.
According to the statement released by one of the Aspirant, Dr. Ufere, “The phantom votes were not random. They broke overwhelmingly, in state after state, in favour of a single aspirant, Mr. Donald Duke, a man who joined the People Redemption Party only in the days immediately before the primary, having defected from another platform on the eve of the exercise. The pattern is consistent and lopsided enough to demand an explanation the party has so far refused to give.
“The questions deepen when one considers the candidate himself. Mr. Duke did not campaign for a single day of this contest. By available accounts, he was outside the country while the election was being conducted. He joined the People Redemption Party in secrecy after the relevant deadlines had already been breached. He openly offered to refund rival aspirants the costs they had incurred if they would step aside and allow him to emerge as a consensus candidate.
Also, according to a statement by the Yakubu Muhammed Kingsley YMK Nigeria Presidential Campaign Team, signed by the Director, Media and Communication, Prince Abdulrahman Obaje; “if internal democracy can be sacrificed so easily within PRP, then what moral right does the party have to promise Nigerian’s change, justice, fairness, and good governance?
The statement further revealed that the reason why they joined PRP is because of the believed that the party has over-grown money politics, political manipulation, imposition, electoral irregularities, and elite control of democratic processes.
“We believed that PRP was founded on the ideology of Justice, Equality, Accountability, Transparency, People-driven politics, And protection of the ordinary masses.
But today, many of our loyal members are asking painful questions: that
- HAS THE PARTY ABANDONED ITS ORIGINAL IDEOLOGY?
- HAS THE VOICE OF THE ORDINARY MEMBERS BEEN REPLACED BY THE POWER OF MONEY AND ARRANGEMENT?
- HAS PRINCIPLE BEEN SACRIFICED FOR POLITICAL CONVENIENCE?
If genuine concerns raised across the states regarding irregularities, transparency, and credibility are ignored, then confidence in the internal democratic process of the party may continue to weaken.
The Chairman, Media and Communication of the Presidential Campaign Team, Alhaji Suleman Yunusa further said, “A political party cannot successfully fight national injustice while ignoring concerns about fairness within its own structure.
“This moment requires courage, transparency, accountability, and sincere leadership.
The statement charges the leadership of the party to immediately retrack its steps to protect its dignity and integrity.
The statement further said, “The current leadership of PRP still has an opportunity to prove that:
- The party belongs to the people,
- Rules still matter,
- Internal democracy still matters,
- and justice still matters.
“History will remember whether the party defended its founding principles — or abandoned them when it mattered most, because Justice strengthens institutions, Transparency builds trust and Internal democracy protects party credibility.”, the statement concluded.
Politics
Namdas Congratulates Shettima, Says Tinubu’s Renomination of VP Signals Stability, Continuity
By Philip Nyam
The newly appointed Director General of the Border Communities Development Agency (BCDA), Hon. Abdulrazak Namdas, Ph.D has commended President Bola Tinubu’s decision to renominate Senator Kashim Shettima as the Vice Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the 2027 Presidential Election as a bold affirmation of competence, loyalty, and results.
In a statement issued in Abuja, Namdas said, “As a proud member of the APC and a stakeholder committed to the unity and progress of our nation, I heartily congratulate His Excellency, Senator Kashim Shettima, GCON, on this well-deserved renomination.
“I also extend my profound gratitude to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, for the wisdom and foresight demonstrated in retaining a Vice President who has stood firm with him in steering the affairs of this country through challenging times”, he stated.
Namdas noted that “Since assuming office in 2023, the Tinubu-Shettima ticket has provided purposeful leadership anchored on the Renewed Hope Agenda. Senator Shettima has not been a spare tire. He has been an active partner in governance. From driving economic reforms, to deepening engagement with the private sector, to representing Nigeria with dignity on the global stage, and to providing calm, thoughtful leadership in the North East and across the country, he has shown capacity, humility, and dedication”.
According to him, “Mr. President’s choice to retain Senator Shettima sends a clear message to Nigerians and to the world: that this administration values continuity, experience, and teamwork. It tells our citizens that performance will be rewarded, and that the job of nation-building is not for grandstanding, but for steady hands.
“I also congratulate our great party, the APC, for presenting what is, without doubt, the most formidable presidential ticket ahead of the 2027 general election. With President Tinubu at the helm and Senator Shettima as his deputy, the APC is offering Nigerians a tested team that understands the assignment and has the courage to take the hard decisions required to reposition our economy, secure every part of Nigeria, and create opportunities for our young people.
“The road ahead will demand more sacrifice, more unity, and more belief in the Nigeria project. But with this ticket, I am confident that the APC will not only retain power in 2027 but will do so with an even stronger mandate because Nigerians can see that the foundation being laid today will deliver the prosperity we all seek tomorrow.
“Once again, congratulations to Senator Kashim Shettima. Thank you, Mr. President, for your confidence and for putting Nigeria first. And congratulations to the APC family. The work continues, and victory, by the grace of God and the will of the people, is assured”.
Politics
Pick Christian Deputy for Fairness and More Votes
— Vatsa, APC Chieftain Tells Bago
By Michael Lim
Governor Mohammed Umar Bago of Niger state has been urged to select a Christian running mate for the 2027 governorship election for fairness and to garner more Christian support.
Jonathan Vatsa, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Niger State and former Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, has advised.
He warned that failure to do so could cost the party significant votes due to the ongoing marginalisation of Christians in the state’s political landscape.
Speaking with journalists in Minna on Saturday, Vatsa expressed concern that the APC’s recent primaries produced almost exclusively Muslim candidates.
He noted that only one Christian secured a ticket for the entire State House of Assembly, while all three senatorial candidates, 11 House of Representatives candidates, and 26 out of 27 House of Assembly candidates are Muslims.
According to Vatsa, Christians have also been sidelined in political appointments, despite Governor Bago’s public outreach to Christian groups.
But he argued that symbolic gestures such as attending church programmes or making donations cannot substitute for genuine inclusion in governance.
“It’s not about attending church programmes, singing choruses or making donations. What matters is fairness and inclusion in appointments and elective positions,” he said.
Vatsa maintained that nominating a Christian deputy would help restore balance and strengthen the APC’s chances in 2027.
He cautioned that if opposition parties present Christian running mates, they could attract sympathy votes from the Christian community.
He further stressed that the credibility of candidates, rather than party platforms, will play a decisive role in the upcoming elections.
Politics
2007: APC Govs Meet Netanwe After Review of Party Primaries
By Isa Abdul, Abuja
After a review of party primaries across the federation, Governors elected under the All Progressives Congress (APC) have resolved to meet with Prof Netanwe Yilwatda, Chairman of the party, and other leaders.
Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo and Chairman of the Progressives Governors’ Forum (PGF), said the resolution was reached at the forum’s meeting which ended in early hours of Tuesday in Abuja.
The PGF is an umbrella body of all serving APC governors.
Uzodimma, while addressing newsmen at the end of the meeting said that the governors also resolved to work to ensure that Nigerians were better off.
He said that the meeting reviewed the outcome of the party’s primaries across the federation, the recent Ekiti governorship election and various by elections in which the APC came out in ”flying colours”.
“We have resolved to work towards solving the problems and challenges facing our democratic space and ensuring that our people are better off.
“We also resolved to meet with the leadership of the party to plan the coming 2027 presidential and National Assembly elections. We are ready and good to go,” he said.
The PGF chairman added that the forum further resolved to continue to work with the APC leadership to support and strengthen it and prepare it for future elections.
The meeting was attended by governors of Ekiti, Zamfara, Taraba, Lagos, Sokoto, Kano, Kaduna, Gombe, Kebbi, Akwa Ibom and Borno States among others.
The meeting may not be unconnected with what some sources believe is the group’s displeasure with how the primaries were reportedly handled by the party hierarchy scheming out their candidates out for the 2007 polls
