Ex-NDPHC director joins Edo South senatorial race
•Askira steps down for Ndume •Odebiyi joins Ogun West Senate race •Pensioners, okada riders buy form for Alia Immediate past Executive Director of the Corporate Services of the Niger Delta
•Askira steps down for Ndume
•Odebiyi joins Ogun West Senate race
•Pensioners, okada riders buy form for Alia
Immediate past Executive Director of the Corporate Services of the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC), Omoregie Ogbeide-Ihama, has declared his intention to contest the All Progressives Congress (APC) primary for the Edo South Senatorial seat.
Other aspirants who have declared interest are Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu and incumbent Senator Neda Imasuen.
Ogbeide-Ihama, who declared interest before APC leaders at Ward 2 in Oredo Local Government Area, described himself as the most experienced among the aspirants due to his eight years of legislative exposure in the House of Representatives.
The former lawmaker said he has proven to be capable of flying the APC flag, having won his previous elections.
He said Edo South needs a senator with proven competence, capacity and grassroots appeal instead of political sentiments.
“If you talk about experience, I am the most experienced among all of us. I have spent eight years in the House of Representatives, in the National Assembly.
“The rules and the business of both chambers are the same. So, I’m the longest-serving member who has been in the National Assembly.
“The senate is too important for the senatorial district to hand over to a political newcomer.
“We cannot send a newcomer to that place. We cannot survive there.
“The politics there is different. Experience counts. There must be competence, there must be capacity, and there must be the ability to win the election.
“I represent a generation that is yearning for leadership, and I believe that it is our time. I am the most experienced, but let me tell you, na me young pass (I’m the youngest) because it is our time,” Ogbeide-Ihama said.
In Borno State, the House of Assembly’s Deputy Speaker Abdullahi Musa Askira has withdrawn from the race for the Southern Borno Senatorial seat, a few weeks after indicating interest in the position for next year’s general election.
Askira, who represents Askira/Uba State Constituency and has been serving in the House of Assembly since 2007, formally announced his withdrawal yesterday in Maiduguri, the state capital.
He announced his support for the incumbent senator, Muhammadu Ali Ndume.
His decision has stir
Addressing reporters, Askira said his decision followed extensive consultations with key stakeholders, including a recent meeting with Governor Babagana Umara Zulum.
“After wide consultations and deep reflection, and particularly following my recent meeting with the state Governor, Prof. Babagana Umara Zulum, I have taken the decision to formally withdraw from the race in the best interest of our great party, the Southern Borno Zone, and Borno State at large,” he stated.
Erstwhile senator representing Ogun West, Tolu Odebiyi, has declared his intention to return to the National Assembly after obtaining the All Progressives Congress (APC) senatorial nomination form for the district.
Odebiyi said his decision to rejoin the race followed the APC’s adoption of Senator Solomon Olmilekan Adeola (Yayi) as the party’s consensus governorship candidate in Ogun State.
In a statement yesterday by his media office, the former lawmaker described his planned return to the Senate as “strategic and necessary” for sustaining development in Ogun West.
He also praised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration for what he termed bold and transformative reforms aimed at repositioning the nation’s economy.
According to him, the administration’s policies have laid the foundation for long-term economic stability and national growth.
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Odebiyi highlighted key initiatives of the Tinubu administration, including fuel subsidy removal, exchange rate unification, tax reforms, infrastructural investments, and measures to stimulate local production and attract foreign investment.
He stressed that the success of such reforms depends largely on the support of experienced legislators capable of complementing executive actions at the National Assembly.
In Benue State,
members of the Benue State chapter of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP) and those of Benue Motorcycle Association mobilised from Makurdi, the state capital, to Abuja to buy the governorship nomination form for Governor Hyacinth Iormem Alia.
NUP’s Chairman in the state, Michael Terngu Vembe, stated that Governor Alia’s consistent payment of pensions and gratuities has restored dignity to retirees.
Also, the President of the Benue Motorcycle Association, Ahar Terfa, praised Governor Alia for his administration’s transformative impact on mobility across the state.
