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2019: PDP has failed presidential debates for 16 years, cannot drag Buhari to its level – NDF

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A pro-democracy group , the National Democratic Front has lashed out at the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, over its insistence that President Muhammadu Buhari must be available for presidential debate ahead of the 2019 presidential election.

The group likened the development to a drunk requesting for a marathon with a sprinter.

NDF said the former ruling party failed four consecutive presidential debate for 16 years and could not by any means drag Buhari into its level.

Comrade Audu Awulu, National President of the group, while speaking at a press conference in Abuja, Tuesday insisted that President Buhari had during his three and half years in office literarily debated with developmental project, not media debate the opposition is clamoruing for.

According to Awulu, President Buhari has debated with projects, including those cited in geo-political zones that the PDP neglected in its wasted years.

“He has debated with the war on graft, which was the largest sector of the economy under the watch of the PDP, its being dismantled is in part responsible for the withdrawal symptoms that has left PDP members and chieftains writhing in agony and having multiple visions.,” Awulu said.

The group, therefore, asked the PDP to bury the idea of a presidential debate with Buhari, whom they said is busy with meaningful projects that would better the nation.

He said, “The latest of this obsessive request was from PDP’s National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, who challenged President Buhari to a live debate with PDP’s presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. We understand that the party wants the focus of the debate to be on critical sectors in the country.

“The first impression we have of this challenge is that the brains behind the PDP have a wrong notion of what constitute a debate. Their understanding of a debate as part of a presidential election is apparently that of the raucous shouting match they engage in on local television networks, where the most strident person is adjudged the winner irrespective of whether the views they hold and expressed tallied with reality or not.

“In the event that they are not aware, the leaked game plan of the PDP for de-marketing President Buhari specifically recommended that the party insist on a presidential debate. Unfortunately, rather than using the debate to gauge candidates’ commitment to moving Nigeria forward the PDP’s objective is to trivializing the debate and use it to further drive wedges among Nigerians along ethnic, religious and social strata.
“What the PDP, however, failed to realize is that the debate took place long ago and it came out the loser. The real live debate began on May 29, 1999 and the PDP had the chance to be the first speaker; the PDP had 16 whole years of four tenures to argue its point and convince Nigerians that it should remain in office for 60 years like it once hallucinated.

“In those 16 years that the PDP had to speak to Nigerians through actions it dismally flunked and dashed its own chances. They were 16 years of plundering, divisiveness, privatization of the state for individual benefits, failure to build institutions and systems while focusing on creating strong men that were more powerful than the society, they were 16 years of laying the foundation for the emergence of Boko Haram, IPOB and other toxic groups that today threaten the existence of the country.

“President Buhari with the APC have had less than four years of one tenure to the PDP’s 16 years and in that short period had debated through actions and projects on why Nigerians must never return to the Egypt of the PDP. In that short period of time we have seen the economy being diversified even though Atiku’s voodoo economists seek to confuse the issue by misinterpreting the resulting lifestyle changes to imply economic hardship – the PDP will not accept that the hardship it refers to is the hand-out from slush money it had gotten the citizens addicted to hence the anger of those that no longer have access to free money, those who cherish the joy honest work are full of praises for the opportunities being created under the present government.

“President Buhari’s debate in four years has seen the activation of systems that the PDP was too scared to implement in its 16 years because they know that these are instruments for curbing corruption – they claim credit for BVN, TSA and other fiscal responsibility tools that they never had the guts to implement since it would have curbed their ability to steal from Nigerians.”

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DSS Moves Against Agbo, over Alleged impersonation as Benue PDP Guber candidate

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The operatives of the Department of State Security Services, DSS has laid a manhunt on embattled former Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in Benue State, over Alleged impersonation.

A highly placed Security source on Thursday, confirmed to our correspondent that the service is currently looking for Dr. Emmanuel Agbo for impersonating himself as the Governorship candidate of the People’s Democratic Party in Benue state.

The source said that Dr. Agbo, must be interrogated to enable the service have an idea were his candidature was decided as well as venue it took place.

He further added that from preliminary findings Agbo, is playing a role of a ” useful idiot ” been sponsored by political bigwigs in the state that must be unravel by the service.

He queried that all the primary election that took place across the 36 states of the Federation including the Federal Capital Territory was monitored by the DSS and reports were filed including that of Benue State which officially in the PDP, the former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Michael Kaase Aondoakaa, SAN emerged.

Already, a political pressure group has petitioed, Dr. Emmanuel Agbo who they Alleged he is now parading a “fake” Certificate of Return as the party’s candidate is just an “impostor” who didn’t participate in the party’s primaries in May, 2026.

“The Certificate of Return which the disbanded Turaki-led Interim National Executive Council presented to Dr. Agbo yesterday is fake and will not be recognized by the Independent National Electoral Commission during the uploading of party candidates on their portal” the group noted.

The group however challenged Agbo to present evidence that he partook in the said primaries, and also make available proofs that representatives of the Independent National Electoral Commission, officials of the party from Abuja as well as representatives of Nigeria’s security agencies were present in his own selection process if there is any.

The group stated further that there are proofs that Dr. Emmanuel Agbo is being sponsored by some “disgruntled” elements to ruin the chances of the People’s Democratic Party in the forthcoming governorship election in Benue state.

The statement reads in parts:”Emmanuel Agbo has been warned to desist from this act of impersonation before it’s too late, and if he fails to stop this act, we shall drag him before a competent court to face criminal charges.

“That he is being sponsored to ruin the chances of the party is no longer a secret but, we will make sure that we stop him and his co-travellers who are hell bent on destroying the party”

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EUYI Alleges Secret Recruitment, Job Racketeering in JAMB Ahead of Oloyede’s Exit

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The Empowerment for Unemployed Youth Initiative (EUYI) has raised concerns over an alleged recruitment exercise conducted by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), claiming that more than 100 employment letters were issued in June 2026, barely six weeks before the expiration of the tenure of JAMB Registrar, Professor Ishaq Oloyede.

In a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Comrade Danesi Momoh Prince, and Secretary, Comrade Igwe Ude-Umanta, the group described the alleged recruitment exercise as secretive and called on relevant government agencies to investigate the matter.

According to EUYI, the recruitment process was allegedly carried out without public advertisement and may have violated established procedures governing employment into federal public institutions.

The organisation argued that the timing of the recruitment raises questions, particularly following President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s appointment of Professor Segun Aina as the incoming Registrar of JAMB, effective July 30, 2026.

“There is no apparent urgency that would justify a major recruitment exercise by an administration that has only a few weeks remaining in office,” the statement said.

EUYI further alleged that previous recruitment exercises conducted during Professor Oloyede’s tenure had attracted public controversy and scrutiny from the National Assembly, although the JAMB management had maintained that it obtained the necessary approvals from the Federal Character Commission (FCC).

The group contended that if the latest allegations are confirmed, the exercise could amount to violations of constitutional and statutory provisions governing public sector recruitment. It cited Section 14(3) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and relevant provisions of the Federal Character Commission Establishment Act, which emphasize equitable representation, transparency, and compliance with federal character principles in public service appointments.

The advocacy group also called on the Federal Character Commission to clarify whether it approved the alleged recruitment exercise and, if so, whether all legal requirements were met before employment letters were issued.

In addition, EUYI urged anti-corruption agencies, including the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), to investigate possible cases of nepotism, abuse of office, or other irregularities should evidence emerge to support such claims.

The organization stated that illegal recruitment practices and job racketeering have contributed significantly to the frustrations of millions of unemployed Nigerians, arguing that employment opportunities in public institutions should be transparent, merit-based, and accessible to all qualified citizens.

EUYI gave JAMB a three-day ultimatum to respond to the allegations and provide clarification regarding the reported recruitment exercise.

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THE GENETICS OF BETRAYAL: WHY ALIA WAS BORN TO FIGHT AKUME

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By Aondoakaa Tersugh Daniel | 22/06/2026

The moment Chief Hyacinth Iormen Alia took his oath of office, he turned his guns on Senator George Akume without any visible provocation, and the confusion that followed has lingered ever since. Akume himself could not hide his bewilderment. He has been quoted saying that people should pray for Father, because the man fighting him is not the Father he used to know. Yet a closer look into Alia’s family history reveals that this hostility is not new at all. It is simply genetics finding its way back to the surface.

Decades ago, when Senator Joseph Sarwuan Tarka championed the United Middle Belt Congress and became the face of that movement, Thomas Kastina Alia rose as his fiercest opponent within Benue. The elder Alia went as far as planting the headquarters of Nnamdi Azikiwe’s NCNC, the opposition party of that era, right inside Aliade, the very heartland of Tarka’s Masev support base. The rivalry between the two men was bitter and beyond repair.

As though that chapter of hostility was not enough, another figure emerged to continue the assignment. While Tarka served as a Minister, Godwin Dabo raised allegations of corruption against him, a move that eventually forced Tarka to resign from his position. That blow is widely remembered as one of the most damaging episodes of Tarka’s political career.

This raises a question the Kunav elite of today owe the younger generation an answer to. What truly happened between the Kunav and Jemgbagh people that birthed this chain of political vendetta? Thomas Alia, a Kunav son, frustrated Tarka of Jemgbagh first. Then it was as if a baton had been quietly passed to Godwin Dabo to finish the job. Both men were not only of Kunav extraction but shared the same Kyan constituency, a detail too specific to ignore.

It becomes difficult to understand why Akume, who descends directly from Tarka’s lineage, did not study this history closely enough to avoid walking into the same trap that Alia represents. There is an old saying that a blind man does not allow his roasted groundnuts to burn twice. If the first batch is ruined, he learns to manage the fire better on the second attempt, ensuring it comes out either half done or perfectly roasted. Akume has now looked history squarely in the face and still ended up handing power to the son of Tarka’s oldest political enemy.

So when people call this current war between Akume and Alia madness, they are not entirely wrong, but it is madness with deep roots. It is nothing more than a genetic expression of rivalry that has existed for generations, simply resurfacing in a new political season. Akume owes the memory of Tarka a final reckoning. The score can only be balanced if Akume does to Hyacinth Iormen Alia exactly what Godwin Dabo once did to Tarka.

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