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Defection: South-East Governors May Defect To APC And Here Is Why

APC National Convention

As the country prepares for the 2023 general elections, there are concerns that we may have only one party at the polls without strong opposition. This concern is fuelled by the defections that have seen prominent politicians cross-carpet from the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) to the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC).

From the National Assembly to the various State Houses of Assembly, there has been movement from the opposition PDP to the ruling APC. Only recently, the governor of Zamfara State, Dr. Bello Muhammad Matawalle, who was elected on the platform of the PDP switched to the APC – and was welcomed with so much fanfare.

In May 2021, Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State, formerly of PDP also defected. And now there are reports that PDP governors in the South-East have decided to switch camps too.

According to Daily Indepen­dent, governors from the South-Eastern part of the country who belong to other parties have come to an agreement to join the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) so that the region will not be left out in the scheme of things.

Of all the five states (Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo) that make up the South-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, only Imo and Ebonyi states are of the ruling party APC, with Ebonyi state, having joined the party in November 2020, when its governor, Engr. Dave Umahi decamped from the nation’s opposition party, PDP.

Abia and Enugu states with Governor Okezie Ikpeazu and Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi respectively have remained in the opposition party – PDP – while Anambra state is ruled by the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) with Governor Willie Obiano at the helm.

South-East Governors

South-East Governors

Be that as it may, plans have already been reached by all governors to position the region to attract benefits from the center by aligning under the leadership of the ruling party.

A member of the PDP Board of Trustees (BoT) from the South-East who spoke with Daily Inde­pendent, said the defection of the remaining South-East governors to the APC will happen sooner rather than later. He said:

“Governor Ikpeazu is al­most 80 percent out of the PDP. Ugwuanyi is also on his way out and we are patiently waiting for the direction the Anambra governorship elec­tion will take. With the crisis in APGA, I won’t be surprised if Willie Obiano declares for APC tomorrow.

“I know the South-East governors have always com­plained that APC has done more for them in less than six years than what PDP did in 16 years. And they have also decided to join the party in bloc so as to attract more developments to the region in all the five states.” 

Although the above is the reason they have given for their decision, it has been discovered that there are more personal reasons for the decision to abandon the PDP family at this time, after all, politics, they say, is a game of interest.

Read More: I Won’t Support President Jonathan If APC Field Him In 2023 – Wike

For Enugu, the personal issues and power play between the Enugu state governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, and former Deputy Senate President, Sena­tor Ike Ekweremadu, who is of the PDP and seeks to replace the incumbent governor in 2023 is the major reason for the decision.

While Governor Ugwuanyi would want to push his own anointed candidate into power as his successor, Senator Ekewremadu, who wields so much power in the State’s PDP is also eyeing the governorship seat come 2023. So moving to the ruling party seems to be the only card on the table for the Enugu state governor.

The case of Abia state seems to be a concluded issue already despite the issues between the incumbent governor, Okezie Ikpeazu and former governor, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu. The decision on who becomes the party leader in the state (a position currently held by the latter) when the governor eventually decamps is the only thing holding an announcement from being made.

However, according to Yobe State governor, Mai Mala Buni, who is also a member of the APC Caretak­er Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee, “Abia State governor will formally be received into our party any moment from now.”

In Anambra, the crisis rocking APGA has made it almost clear that the party is losing the state in the next governorship elections. APC at the moment remains the surest party to take over the state, come November 6 and so aligning with the ruling party for Willie Obiano seems like the most logical thing to do if he intends to remain relevant in politics after he leaves office.

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Gunmen abduct Kwara APC chairman’s wife, daughter in midnight raid

Gunmen suspected to be kidnappers have abducted the wife and daughter of Alhaji Muhammad Swasun, Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Patigi Local Government Area of Kwara State.

The victims, identified as Hajiya Fatima and her daughter Amina, were seized on Sunday, September 7, at night when a five-man armed gang stormed the party chairman’s residence in Sakpefu.

Eyewitness accounts revealed that the attackers scaled the compound fence and opened fire indiscriminately to terrify residents before breaking into one of the rooms.

“They entered into one of the rooms where they found his wife and daughter and took them away, shooting into the air,” a party executive told reporters, adding that the chairman narrowly escaped being kidnapped himself.

Another APC member confirmed that the gunmen operated for several minutes before whisking the women to an undisclosed location.

“The bandits abducted his wife, Hajiya Fatima, and his daughter, Amina, and took them to an unknown destination,” the source explained, according to Vanguard.

The latest abduction has heightened anxiety in Patigi, a region already grappling with recurring cases of kidnapping.

Residents have repeatedly urged the government and security operatives in recent months to intensify efforts to curb the menace.

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Ace Comedian Ali Baba evicted from Victoria Island property over legal dispute

Veteran Nigerian comedian Atunyota Alleluya Akpobome, popularly known as Ali Baba, has been evicted from his luxurious, multi-million-naira property located in Victoria Island due to a court dispute.

The property, which was purchased for ₦220 million by Ali Baba, is the subject of an ownership dispute at the Federal High Court.

Amid the legal dispute, Ali Baba and his company, XQZMOI TV, were evicted from the property located at 324A Akin Ogunlewe Street.

The eviction was carried out by bailiffs of the Federal High Court following a writ of possession signed on August 15, 2025.

The property in question was initially sold to Ali Baba by the Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) in 2021 for ₦220 million.

At the time, AMCON claimed it was recovering debts allegedly owed by Harold Expansion Industries Nigeria Limited.

But Harold Expansion disputed the debt and counterclaimed that they had already made repayments. Their lawyer, Benjamin Olayiwola Sadibo, insisted that the property was sold wrongfully.

On July 31, 2025, Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa of the Federal High Court delivered a verdict that changed everything as he dismissed AMCON’s case, ruling that the corporation had failed to provide convincing evidence of the alleged debt.

The Justice stressed that AMCON did not even present a statement of account to back its claims a fatal omission for a creditor. Worse still, AMCON did not file a defence against Harold Expansion’s counterclaim, leaving the court with no choice but to side with the company.

In addition to ordering the property to be returned to the family of its original owner, the judge also imposed ₦500 million in damages on AMCON.

Ali Baba’s culpability in the case came as a result of the timing of the purchase. Records show that he purchased the property while the case was still in court, despite an existing preservation order.

He was said to have been a tenant of the property’s original owner before AMCON evicted the family and sold it.

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Police summon El-Rufai, other Kaduna ADC chieftains over alleged criminal conspiracy

Anti-Open Grazing

The Kaduna Command of the Nigerian Police has summoned former Governor of the state, Malam Nasiru El-Rufai, and other top chieftains of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
In the summons letter dated September 4, 2025, the ADC members were invited for questioning over alleged incitement of public disturbance, criminal conspiracy, mischief, and causing grievous hurt.

Signed by the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Uzainu Abdullahi, the letter said the invited individuals are required to come and clarify the allegations against them.

“This Department is currently investigating the above-mentioned case involving the following members of your party. You are requested to come along with them to SCID to clarify allegations reported against them by the complainants on 8th September, 2025.

“Mal. Nasir El-Rufa’i, Bashir Sa’idu, Jafaru Sani, Ubaidullah Mohammed, aka 30, Nasiru Maikano, Aminu Abita, and Ahmed Rufa’i Hussaini, aka Mikiya,” the letter reads.

Sani, one of the invited members and ADC North-West Vice Chairman, told Daily Trust that he learned of the invitation through social media.

“Yes, most of us only saw the statement on social media,” he said, declining further comments.

The development followed the heated exchanges between the Kaduna State government and El-Rufai over the violence that rocked an ADC meeting in the state last week.

The government accused the former Governor of plotting to cause destabilisation in the state through provocative actions and inflammatory statements.

In a statement signed by Dr. Suleiman Shuaibu, the Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, the government said it wouldn’t sit idle and watch El-Rufai plunge the state back into violence, division, and insecurity.

“This Government will not fold its arms and allow a discredited former leader, who left the state in ruins, to ignite chaos and plunge the state into another era of ethno-religious tension, insecurity, and economic stagnation,” the statement read.

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