Category Nigeria News

Jake Epelle, the chief executive officer of TAF Africa, has criticised the results of the local government elections held on August 30, 2025, calling them a “democratic scam.”

Epelle claimed that the exercise, which had been run by a democratically elected government, was completely constitutional.

What transpired in River State on Saturday can only be described as unprecedented political manipulation, which is sort of a sham, and what appears to be a democratic scam, Epelle said on Monday in an interview on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief.

To support that point, I say that. I assert that the entire process of holding this election on Saturday was completely unconstitutional and illegal.

We are intelligent, civilized, River State residents, and that’s that. They probably predicted that people would walk in the streets, and I did, in particular, urge River State’s young people to stay out of their trap.

He continued, “We cannot continue the way we are going, and it is a slap in the face to the River State people.”

He added that the figures did not accurately represent the actual events that took place during the exercise.

Epelle also warned that the state’s elections would raise a potential constitutional dispute because they would face court challenges.

The Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) held the elections for the council on Saturday in the state’s 23 local government districts.

The Rivers State local government elections were conducted in error, according to former vice president Atiku Abubakar and labour party candidate for president in 2023, according to Peter Obi, the former vice president.

The occupation government’s local government election in Rivers State is “a complete ripoff of elective democracy” and an absolute shill. It is obvious that the ruling APC party is not letting anyone know that it is prepared to throw caution the wind in order to gain an excessive political advantage, Atiku said on X on Monday.

He warned that the Tinubu administration’s plan for troubled by the development.

Additionally, Atiku urged Rivers State’s opposition parties to turn down the election, arguing that the organization that conducted the polls lacked legal authority.

“The President Bola Tinubu regime’s dangerous trajectory is taking our beloved nation into the attention of well-intentioned Nigerians, the international community, and allies and partners of Nigeria.”

In the same vein, I want to express my unwavering support for the good people of Rivers State, who are currently victims of political bribes perpetrated by a power cabal that wants to permanently end their democratic rights, “he said.

Peter Obi also criticized the polls, calling them an unconstitutional assault on democracy.

Obi called the Rivers State local government election “rascality taken too far” in the running of the election.

When a sole administrator who has been appointed illegally conducts elections that should empower the electorate, “it is a double tragedy for our democracy.” He claimed that this is not democracy; rather, it is the complete destruction of its foundation.

He added that these actions violate the rule of law and pose a risk to governance at its most fundamental level.

Illegality never produces legitimacy. The state and the populace are at risk if any structure is constructed on a foundation of lawlessness. We can’t pretend to be democratic while suppressing the people’s wishes, particularly at the grassroots, where it matters most, he added.

Nasir El-Rufai, the former governor of Kaduna State, has spoken out against his supporters who label him a fundamentalist.

El-Rufai, who addressed these concerns in an interview on Sunday Politics on Channels Television, argued that those holding them are unconnected and had no prior experience working with him.

“I don’t care,” I said. People who believe I am a fundamentalist don’t know me, have never met me, and have their opinions developed.

Frankly, I don’t care what other people think, so my enemies are very hostile toward me. I’m just how I am. I feel very at ease with who I am. What you think matters to me. He said on Sunday, “Those who work with me know me.”

El-Rufai refrained from assuming that his leadership style reflected hostility toward people in some Southern Kaduna regions.

They are free to think whatever they want. He declared, “Governance is not a joke, and I don’t tolerate nonsense.”

When you’re electing 10 million people, as I did in Kaduna, you must not discriminate between A and B, the former governor said. No one can convince me that the law doesn’t apply to him because he is a Christian.

“We didn’t take it, I dealt with them because there are some people in Southern Kaduna who feel entitled to behave in a certain way.” Some of the government employees I worked with were from Southern Kaduna. They are aware that this is untrue.

Nasir El-Rufai, former governor of Kaduna State, has argued that he is free to use his constitutional right to freedom of association without getting police permission.

El-Rufai, who was a guest on Sunday Politics on Channels Television, refuted claims made by security forces that the ADC (African Democratic Congress) meeting in Kaduna had been canceled because the police had not been notified.

What constitutes proper notification? Which section of the Constitution is subject to law, and which section? No one can limit my ability to join or require me to provide a notice. He said on Sunday, “I can give if I choose, but it is not a legal or constitutional requirement.”

People should stop repressing themselves just because they are in charge today, the former governor continued. I served as governor of that state for eight years, but I never authorized or directed a political gathering to be held there.

El-Rufai claimed that the Kaduna State Government was behind the attack and that the police officers on the scene had no way of defending the residents.

“These thugs are funded by the government,” they claim. Former police officers were present, but now there are shadows of officers. I’m writing a petition to the Police Service Commission and the Inspector General of Police about their presence.

We are on our way to the total destruction of everything we stand for in this country, he said when law enforcement agents are used to facilitate and protect those who commit violence.

Governor Sani has never been my friend, according to El-Rufai.

alleged thugs allegedly hacked into a coalition of opposition parties in Kaduna State on Saturday, preventing the transition committee members from inauguration.

The assailants attacked participants and vandalized property while wearing cutlasses, clubs, and stones.

Along with the NPP, SDP, NPP, NPP, Labour Party (LP), and ADC, members of an All Progressives Congress (APC) faction that opposes the state’s leadership were also present in the coalition.

The inauguration continued despite the violence, even in tense circumstances. El-Rufai was given the blame for the incident, according to the Kaduna State Police Command.

Despite receiving numerous warnings, the former governor, according to its spokesperson, DSP Mansir Hassan, who claimed he misled the police and other security forces.

Hassan stated that an investigation had been launched into the alleged political hostility and the alleged shootings at the gathering.

El-Rufai criticized the police’s response and referred to the incident as “a dangerous descent into lawlessness” and warned against stopping political thuggery in the state.

Following the recent desecration of the Alaba Rago Market by the Lagos State Government, the Arewa Broadcast Media Practitioners Forum (ABMPF) has urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to lead an “onslaught” against Northern traders in Lagos.

The Forum expresses its regret over the demolition project, which is said to have affected hundreds of shops and over 40 mosques, in a statement released on Sunday and signed by its Chairman, Abdullahi Yelwa. The organization claimed that Northerners’ businesses were disproportionately targeted by the operation.

The demolition was carried out without prior notice or due process, leaving thousands of traders without access to their goods or property, according to the ABMPF. The Forum claimed that the state government had fabricated a land grab under the guise of modernization and that the economic losses were over 20 billion.

The statement read, “This inhumane action has left thousands of Northerners without a source of livelihood,” as it clearly shows that Lagos State governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu wants to drive away people from some ethnic groups.

Also read: A Kaduna Power Surge kills two and destroys homes.

The Forum urged political, traditional, and religious leaders in Northern Nigeria to intervene before tensions escalate further and warned that such actions could lead to retaliatory sentiments.

They noted that Alaba Rago Market has been in operation for more than 80 years and is a major trading hub for the region’s Northern communities. The Forum argued that the practice of labeling its residents and traders as squatters is both unfair and historically inaccurate.

The ABMPF criticized what it perceives as a double standard by drawing comparisons to Northern states like Kaduna and Katsina, where Yoruba communities reportedly live peacefully and own property without discrimination.

The Lagos State Government should treat Northerners in Alaba, who have lived there for generations, as non-indigenes who can be evicted at will, according to the statement.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has confirmed that Senator Kabiru Marafa will step down.

The Zamfara State presidential campaign coordinator for the former Tinubu/Shettima 2023 made this known to Channels Television via a text message on Sunday.

Following a meeting held last Wednesday or Thursday where leaders unanimously voted to dump the APC over what they saw as injustice, neglect, and worsening insecurity in Zamfara State, Marafa was confirmed.

The group expressed grave concern about the state’s depreciating security situation in a communiqué released at the conclusion of the meeting, citing recent data that showed Zamfara to be the state with the most kidnapping cases nationwide.

READ MORE: Thugs disrupt the ADC Committee’s inauguration in Kaduna.

The group also claimed that during the recent Kaura Namoda bye-election, security forces were deployed to ensure the APC’s victory rather than defend lives.

Despite the state’s contribution to APC’s 2023 presidential victory, Marafa’s loyalists criticized what they termed deliberate marginalization of Zamfara for political appointments.

They noted that Zamfara received just one ministerial slot, compared to other states in the North-West, and that the federal government has not or has not intervened in areas that have been devastated by banditry attacks.