General
CNPP Warns Labour Party Leaders Against Influence of External Forces
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The warring Labour Party leaders have been advised to quickly close ranks and not allow the influence of external forces, who intend to control the political party and put it in disarray.
Two persons are fighting over the control of the party described by some observers as the third force as it disrupted the political scene in the 2023 general elections.
The faction led by Mr Lamidi Apapa, which has been accused of being backed by the President-elect, Mr Bola Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), is claiming to be the authentic leader of Labour Party, while Mr Julius Abure says he is the National Chairman of the opposition party.
While intervening in the matter, the Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) called on the two factions to “find common grounds and sustain its new position as a third force in the current national politics.”
“There is nothing unusual about a political party having a leadership tussle or any form of disagreement, but its ability to close ranks and make compromises in the interest of the party is paramount,” the group said in a statement signed by its Secretary General, Mr Willy Ezugwu.
CNPP urged “the parties in the leadership crisis to always remember that no individual’s desire is bigger than party’s interest”, saying that “if Labour Party leaders allow external forces to control its internal affairs, the party will be the loser, especially with its newfound love with the majority of the Nigerian youth population.”
Continuing, the CNPP stated that “Every political party at one time or the other gets enmeshed in leadership crisis due to conflicts of interests. However, it is the responsibility of the fathers of the party to rise to the occasion and ensure that the fortunes of the party are not adversely affected.
“The overall interests of a political party must be paramount at all times as power can only be shared when it is taken.
“In the build-up to the 2023 general elections, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had a taste of such internal crisis, which eventually affected its outing in the last general elections very negatively.
“In the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), the party is currently entangled in its own clash of interests over what certain interests in the party see as arbitrary micro-zoning of elective positions in the 10th National Assembly to individuals.
“It is, therefore, incumbent on a political party’s fathers to weigh options and rise up to the responsibility of cushioning the impact of whatever internal conflicts that may arise without allowing external influences to drive its affairs.
“Obviously, the Labour Party went into the 2023 general elections without deliberately healing its internal grievances, which initially led to the setting up of a Security, Peace and Conflict Resolution Committee.
“Amid the then budding crisis in the party, Labour Party had constituted two committees; a disciplinary committee to handle Ogun State Executive crisis and another tagged the Labour Party Security, Peace and Conflict Resolution Committee (LPSPCRC) to handle every other matter that has to do with grievances and mischief within the party.
“It is then very obvious that the current crisis stems from the inability of the National Executive Committee (NWC) of the party, which constituted the eleven eminent members Committee headed by Chief Friday Toyin Ibadin, to resolve the then brewing crisis despite having a single term of reference “to reconcile all aggrieved members with the aim of a common front to win the 2023 general elections and Peter Obi and Datti Baba-Ahmed becoming the President and Vice President of Nigeria.”
“It is therefore expedient that the party elders return the warring parties to the path of reconciliation as the current rigid approach to the conflict resolution will most likely tear the party apart.
“It has been observed that both parties in the leadership conflict have turned the ongoing Presidential Election Petition before the tribunal as their major area of propaganda, whereas the provisions of the law are clear on withdrawal of such petitions.
“The Electoral Act 2022 under ‘Withdrawal and Abatement of Petition’, reads Section 29. (1) An election petition shall not be withdrawn without leave of the tribunal or court. (2) Where petitioners are more than one, no application for leave to withdraw the election petition shall be made, ‘except with the consent of all the petitioners’.
“The CNPP, therefore, advises the warring factions in the ongoing Labour Party leadership crisis to pursue common grounds for reconciliation rather than resorting to the deployment of propaganda tools, using the election petitions at various Election Petition Tribunals across the country, as baits to gain support.”
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The ward congress of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oluyole Local Government Area of Oyo State on Saturday left several party members injured after a violence clash erupted.
According to reports, one of the injured persons was Mr Idowu Oyawale, who served as the campaign Director General of a House of Representatives member in the last general elections, Ms Tolulope Akande-Sadipe.
It was disclosed that he sustained severe injuries during the exercise and is currently receiving treatment at an undisclosed hospital.
The ward congress was organised by the ruling party to elect ward executives across the local government’s wards.
However, it was disrupted at Olomi Ward 7 by suspected heavily-armed political thugs allegedly linked to a member of the party.
It was claimed that the thugs invaded the congress venue at Olomi Basic School 1, dispersing party members and officials supervising the exercise, with stones, clubs and other weapons.
Eyewitnesses said tensions escalated unprovoked over delegates’ lists and ward executive positions. The disagreement reportedly degenerated into physical altercations before the violent attacks on some party members.
It was learnt that security operatives led a tactical team to restore order, peace, and disperse the attackers.
Reacting to the incident, some party leaders and elders condemned the violence, describing it as unfortunate and capable of undermining the credibility of the internal democratic process.
The leaders have called on party chieftains and President Bola Tinubu to immediately order an investigation into the violent attacks.
By Princess Yanney
One message stood out; one particular briefing gave clarity and hope for better days ahead. Africa will be heard; willingly or unwillingly, and the resolution thereof will no longer be a hope for years to come, but a reality to actualise. At a press conference during the 39th AU Summit in Addis Ababa, Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama urged African leaders to adopt a common continental strategy on the legacy of slavery and racialised chattel enslavement, which he described as “the gravest crime against humanity.”
In this context, one must understand; Reparations matter because colonialism was not simply an episode of foreign rule. It was an economic system. African land was seized, labour was coerced, institutions were reshaped to serve external interests, and entire economies were redesigned around the export of raw materials.
Long before independence, the transatlantic slave trade had already stripped the continent of people, skills and social stability, creating permanent demographic and developmental damage. Colonial rule then consolidated this destruction into a durable global structure of inequality.
President Mahama explained that Ghana’s proposed AU resolution, which received broad support from member states, was carefully drafted with extensive consultations involving the AU Committee of Experts on Reparations, legal experts, academic institutions and diaspora organisations. He said the resolution’s wording was deliberately chosen to reflect historical accuracy, legal credibility, and moral clarity.
“Ghana has undertaken extensive consultations to strengthen the resolution. We’ve engaged with UNESCO, the Global Group of Experts on Reparations, the Pan-African Lawyers Union, academic institutions, the African Union Committee of Experts on Reparations and the African Union Legal Experts Reference Group. We hosted the inaugural joint meeting of the African Union Committee of Experts on Reparations and the African Union Legal Experts Reference Group in Accra earlier this month to further refine the text of the resolution. We also began engagement with the diaspora at the Ghana Diaspora Summit held in December last year.”
Hence, come March 25, the resolution will be presented by one man, who will echo the voice of millions of African people and people of African descent. Because truly, a united Africa demanding reparations is not an Africa asking to be included in an unequal system, but rather, an Africa asserting its right to help redesign it. President Mahama stressed that the initiative goes beyond symbolism, providing a legal and moral foundation for reparatory justice and sustained engagement with the global community. The resolution is designed to facilitate dialogue with the United Nations and international partners while affirming Africa’s demand for recognition and accountability for centuries of exploitation and injustice.
“Informal consultations on the draft text are expected to take place between 23rd February and 12th March 2026. Our objective is simple: to build a broad consensus behind this resolution. The initiative is not directed at any nation; it is directed towards truth, recognition and reconciliation.”
He reiterated. Truth is, a united Africa is a strong global force that cannot be stopped or interrupted. But a divided Africa is an Africa liable to imperialism and Western domination. It is therefore a priority for all African people to join hands and stand together to ensure the aims of these resolutions are achieved.
“We call upon all member states to support and co-sponsor this resolution. The adoption of this resolution will not erase history, but it will acknowledge it. The trafficking in enslaved Africans and racialised chattel enslavement were foundational crimes that have shaped the modern world, and their consequences continue to manifest in structural inequality, racial discrimination and economic disparity.
Recognition is not about division; it is about moral courage. Adoption of the resolution will not be the end. Following the adoption, Ghana will continue engagement with the United Nations Secretary General, the African Union Commission, relevant UN bodies and interested member states,” said John Dramani Mahama as he called for unity.
The importance of today’s reparations consensus lies in its recognition that Africa’s underdevelopment is not an internal failure to be corrected through aid, reforms or external advice. It is the historical and continuing outcome of dispossession. Reparations, therefore, respond to a concrete injury, not an abstract moral wrong. Again, Reparations matter because colonialism was not simply an episode of foreign rule. It was an economic system. African land was seized, labour was coerced, institutions were reshaped to serve external interests, and entire economies were redesigned around the export of raw materials.
Long before independence, the transatlantic slave trade had already stripped the continent of people, skills and social stability, creating permanent demographic and developmental damage. Colonial rule then consolidated this destruction into a durable global structure of inequality. Which is why today’s fight, today’s struggle, is of utmost importance. It is a correction of a historical inhumane error. One that has to be amended and corrected, beginning with recognition.
“This is about a sustained dialogue on reparatory justice and healing. Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, this initiative presents us with a historic opportunity, an opportunity to affirm the truth of our history, an opportunity to recognise the gravest injustice in human history, and an opportunity to lay a stronger foundation for genuine reconciliation and equality. While the past cannot be undone, it can be acknowledged, and acknowledgement is the first step towards justice.” – John Dramani Mahama expressed to the media and all who were gathered to witness the briefing under the theme, “Ancestral Debt, Modern Justice: Africa’s United Case For Reparations”.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr Christopher Maikalangu, as the winner of the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) election, held on Saturday.
The results for the keenly observed municipal chairmanship poll were announced at the INEC area office in Karu at about 4:30 a.m on Sunday.
The Collation Officer for AMAC, Mr Andrew Abue, said that Mr Maikalangu, who is the incumbent AMAC chairman, was returned elected, having scored the highest number of votes cast, 40,295 out of the total number of valid votes of 62,861 in the election.
“That Maikalangu of the APC, having certified the requirements of the law, is hereby declared the winner and is returned elected,” he declared.
Mr Abue stated that the African Democratic Congress (ADC) came second with 12,109 votes, while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) polled 3,398 votes.
According to him, a professor, the rejected votes were 2,336, and the total valid votes were 62,861, while the total votes cast were 65,197.
He added that the number of registered voters in AMAC was 837,338, while the total number of accredited voters was 65,676.
According to him, the scores of the political parties and their candidates that contested the AMAC chairmanship election are:
Agbon Vaniah of the Accord (A) – 403 votes
Nemiebika Tamunomiesam of the Action Alliance (AA) – 108 votes
Paul Ogidi of African Democratic Congress (ADC) – 12,109 votes
Richard Elizabeth of the Action Democratic Party (ADP) – 588 votes
Christopher Maikalangu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) – 40,295 votes
Eze Chukwu of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) – 1,111 votes
Chukwu Promise of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) – 122 votes
Ugoh Michael of the Action Peoples Party(APP) – 32 votes
Thomas Happiness of the Boot Party (BP) – 43 votes
Jibrin Alhassan of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) – 1,694 votes
Samson Usani of the National Rescue Movement (NRM) – 73 votes
Dantani Zanda of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) – 3,398 votes
Iber Shimakaha of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) – 90 votes
Simon Obinna of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) – 2,185 votes
Madaki Robert of the Young Progressives Party (YPP) – 421 votes
Swani Buba of the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) – 189 votes.
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