The political crisis in Rivers State appears far from over as some members of the State House of Assembly have rejected an invitation from Governor Siminalayi Fubara. Waffi TV recalls that Fubara, through a letter signed by the Secretary to the State Government, Tammy Danagogo, invited the lawmakers to a meeting at the Government House, Port Harcourt, on Monday. The invitation followed the Supreme Court ruling that reinstated the 27 lawmakers led by Speaker Martin Chike Amaewhule. These lawmakers, loyal to FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, had resumed plenary after the ruling and issued a 48-hour ultimatum to the governor to re-present the 2025 budget. Hopes were high that the meeting could resolve the nearly two-year political crisis in the state. However, sources indicate that the lawmakers may decline the invitation. A member of the assembly, Lolo Isaiah Opuende, stated in a video clip that circulated on Sunday night that it was time for the governor to “dey his dey” (be on his own) while the lawmakers would do the same. The lawmaker representing Akuku-Toru Constituency 2, recalled that when the political crisis began, their principal had foreseen that a time would come for both sides to go their separate ways. Opuende also questioned the mode of invitation transmission, telling Governor Fubara, “how can you write a letter and post it on social media and expect us to honour it? We are not kids”. He, however, said if Fubara wants his invitation honoured, he “should write us the proper way”.

Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara has invited State House of Assembly Speaker Martin Amaewhule and other lawmakers to a meeting. The meeting is set to take place on Monday at the Governor’s Office in Government House, Port Harcourt. This was revealed in a letter dated March 7. The letter, signed by Secretary to the State Government Tammy Danagogo, confirmed the invitation. “I hereby write in furtherance of His Excellency’s promise stated in my letter dated 5th March, 2025 to notify you that His Excellency has received the Supreme Court judgement, and has therefore directed me to invite you and your colleagues – the Honourable members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, to a meeting,” the letter partly read. According to the SSG, the planned meeting between the governor and the lawmakers would centre on provision of a befitting place for assembly sittings, payment of all outstanding remuneration or allowances of the Honourable members. Others include the presentation of budget and sundry matters as well as other matters aimed at charting a new way forward for the oil-rich state. “Sequel to the above, I hereby humbly invite the Rt Hon Speaker, and all the members of the Rivers State House of Assembly to a meeting with the Governor as follows: “Monday, March 10, 2025. Time: 10am, Venue: Office of the Governor, Government House, Port Harcourt. “Many thanks Sir as we look forward to your kind attendance with a view to charting the way forward in the interest of the good people of Rivers State.”

The Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) has filed a lawsuit against the Federal Government over the implementation of local government autonomy. The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/05/353/2025 and filed at a Federal High Court in Abuja, seeks to include local government councils in the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC). Named as respondents are the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi; Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun; Minister of Budget and National Planning, Abubakar Bagudu; and the Accountant-General of the Federation. Other respondents include the Revenue Mobilization, Allocation and Fiscal Commission, the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited, commercial banks, and all 774 local government councils. ALGON’s Secretary-General, Mohammed Abubakar, emphasised that it aims to ensure local governments receive direct disbursements from the federation, in line with the Supreme Court's directive. On July 11, 2024, the Supreme Court ruled that local government allocations must be paid directly, following a suit filed by Attorney-General Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, on behalf of the Federal Government. In the judgment delivered by Justice Emmanuel Agim, the apex court declared that states’ control of local government funds is unconstitutional. “The demands of justice require a progressive interpretation of the law. It is the position of this court that the federation can pay local government allocations directly to the LGs or through the states. “In this case, since payment through states has not worked, the justice of this matter demands that LG allocations from the federation account should henceforth be paid directly to the LGs,” the court ruled. Despite the Supreme Court’s ruling nearly eight months ago, local government autonomy is yet to be implemented. Reports indicate that the Central Bank of Nigeria has asked all 774 local councils to submit at least two years of audited financial statements before they can receive direct allocations. The apex bank maintains that this requirement must be met before opening accounts for direct remittance of funds. Citing delays in implementation, ALGON’s Secretary-General, Mohammed Abubakar, emphasized the need for legal action to secure local governments' representation in the Federation Account Allocation Committee or any other body responsible for fund distribution. In its suit, ALGON urged the court to declare that disbursing local government funds through commercial banks or other agencies—without the councils' authorization—would be unlawful. Other prayers of the association include: “A declaration that the 1st to 8th defendants cannot disburse monies to the 774 local government councils in Nigeria, through the 9th to 23rd defendants or any other person whatsoever, without the plaintiff authorizing, approving said 9th to 23rd defendants or any other person whatsoever after conducting due diligence on them to avert any diversion of the funds of the local government councils. “A declaration that the 1st to 7th defendants or any other person whatsoever cannot discuss, approve, disburse or in any other way whatsoever deal with the monies accruing to the 774 local government councils in Nigeria without the representation of the local government councils at such deliberations, discussions, committees, howsoever called, including at the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) chaired by the 2nd defendant.”

The Nigerian Correctional Service has spent over N3.3bn feeding awaiting-trial inmates in just two months. As of early January 2025, the number of awaiting-trial inmates stood at 48,932, rising to 53,254 by the end of February, according to data from the NCoS website. This surge, along with President Bola Tinubu’s increase in the daily feeding allowance from N750 to N1,125 per inmate, has significantly strained the NCoS budget. With an estimated 50,000 awaiting-trial inmates fed for 60 days at the new rate, total spending exceeds N3.3bn. To address the backlog of cases, acting Controller-General Sylvester Nwakuche has pledged to work with key stakeholders, including state chief judges, attorneys-general, and the Inspector-General of Police, to speed up trials. He also stressed the importance of collaborating with state governments and judicial bodies to promote non-custodial measures like parole and community service, aiming to curb the rising inmate population.

Former PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has dismissed reports claiming he is leaving the party. He stated that such reports are merely attempts to disrupt the ongoing coalition efforts. Speculation had arisen that Atiku was finalizing plans to defect to the Social Democratic Party (SDP). However, his media office clarified on Saturday that he remains a committed member of the PDP. A statement by his media office said: “We have observed that some news platforms are peddling unverified information that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar is abandoning the Peoples Democratic Party. “We wish to clarify that the so-called news of Atiku defecting to another party is a total fallacy that holds no merit in logic.” Abubakar stressed that a coalition would accommodate all opposition parties, including the PDP. It added: “Hence, it is fallacious and unfounded to allege that the Waziri is jumping the PDP ship. Such an allegation is antithetical to the objective of the grand coalition, which the former Vice President is currently driving alongside other prominent political leaders in the country. “We, therefore, wish to state unequivocally that Atiku remains a principal bonafide member of the PDP, the main opposition party.” The statement stressed that the defection claims were an attempt to “confuse Nigerians about the magnitude of the grand coalition that is at work to rescue Nigeria from the grip of the APC”.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio has dismissed allegations made against him by Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, who represents Kogi Central, calling them “useless” and attributing them to the reassignment of her seat in the Red Chamber. Akpabio further alleged that Akpoti-Uduaghan, who has been suspended from the Senate for six months, caused him and others distress. Following her suspension, Akpabio has faced intense criticism but continues to insist on his innocence, denying all allegations against him. Speaking at an event marking International Women’s Day on Saturday, he claimed to be her latest target, stating that her past accusations had also proven false. He said, “It was only yesterday that I realized that what we are talking about only happened when there was a change of seat. That is when hell was let loose, and all sorts of allegations came up—only after the change of seat and change of committee, which my Senators know happens from time to time. “This is said to have happened on December 8, a day before my birthday, which was celebrated in the stadium in 2023. So from December 8, 2023, I never heard, my wife never heard, no Nigerian ever heard, even her husband never heard any issue of sexual harassment—until her committee was changed, and then her seat was changed. “Have you ever wondered about the trauma caused by that same woman to the other people she has accused in the past? None has been proven so far. Do you even wonder about the trauma this caused to the 10th Senate and the image of the Senate with all these useless allegations? I have refrained from making a statement. “Look at these beautiful women. They have come across me so many times. Have I ever harassed any one of you? Or is the person thinking that you are not beautiful?”

PDP governors have dismissed speculation that five of their members back an El-Rufai/Obi 2027 presidential ticket. In a statement on Saturday, PDP Governors Forum Chairman, Senator Bala Mohammed, through the forum’s Director-General, Dr. Emmanuel Agbo, discredited reports endorsing the claim. He said, “It is incumbent on the PDP Governors’ Forum through its leadership anchored by the Governor of Bauchi State, Senator Bala Mohammed, to openly denounce and in very strong terms, the unpleasant and provoking publications and rumours being peddled ad nauseam by negative forces and their agents who cannot absorb the temerity of this Forum to question their incapacities in leadership by performing above the limits imposed by their failed economic policies and programs, which have left the ordinary Nigerian with nothing other than poverty and financial hardship down to the remote locations. “Unsatisfied with the results their clones have gotten in the low-willed factions they keep financing within our party structure, they have proceeded with direct confrontation on the Governors towards creating a one-party entrapment, with intention to split the opposition and thereby cripple democratic institutions and values through questionable adoptions and misinterpretation of the law, all to strangle the lifeline of our nation to enforce dictatorship and one-party rule. “The PDP Governors’ Forum is not in consonance with these actors, neither does it enjoy any ambience of political space to discuss nor seal the auction of the PDP through lowlife grifters who are allegedly working behind the scenes to support a “potential Nasir El-Rufai/Peter Obi presidential ticket in the 2027 election”. “As a formidable party, all organs of the party have continually been engaged in attaining reconciliation across the board and reconsolidation of progressive development made in our Subnational to ameliorate the lives of our people. “It is obvious that these mischief makers and detractors, who are bewildered at the way and manner PDP Governors are daily performing to pull the people out of economic hardship despite the intimidation by the ruling APC, are only intimidated and can only throw mud at our good works. “In the world of politics, rumors and speculations are common, as such, we will not allow these ‘Enemies of Progress’ and ‘Agents of Confusion’ to gaslight the Nigerian people to draw wrong and erroneous conclusions. “Our principles are for equity, social justice, sincerity of purpose, accountability, enthronement of undefiled electoral process, enhancement of the lives of the people, and propagation of humanity. “Suffice it for us to irrevocably state here that in 2027, PDP Governors as disciplined leaders and stakeholders will exemplify this by wholeheartedly supporting whoever emerges as the flag-bearer of our great party in the battle to wrestle power from the non-performers at the centre. “As a creed we all share, the dreams of the founding fathers of our great party will not be in vain.”

A group of opposition party senators visited suspended Kogi Central Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan at her home on Friday. Leading the delegation was Seriake Dickson, former Bayelsa State governor and a member of the Senate’s Ethics and Privileges Committee, which recommended her suspension. Dickson posted a photo of the visit on social media, clarifying that he was absent from the Senate proceedings on the day of her suspension due to his involvement with tax reform bills. “The public may recall that, for the past 3 days, I was attending the 3-day workshop on the Tax Reform Bills which started on Wednesday 5th of March and ended this evening, Friday 7th of March,” he stated. “This is why I was not available yesterday to sit as a member of the Committee on Ethics, Code of Conduct, Privileges and Public Petitions in respect of the issues concerning our colleague Distinguished Senator Natasha Akpoti Uduaghan’s suspension, haven been assured by the Committee Chairman that the hearing would hold on Wednesday the 11th of March for which notices had already been issued. I was not notified of the emergency seating yesterday.” Dickson explained that after wrapping up the workshop, he led a delegation of opposition senators to visit Akpoti-Uduaghan and her husband at their home. He noted that senators, like all humans, experience both highs and lows, adding that “it is a tradition for Senators to support each other during these moments.” During the visit, they offered guidance on resolving the issues surrounding her suspension. Akpoti-Uduaghan was suspended for six months on Thursday after refusing to accept her newly assigned seat in the Senate chamber. The situation escalated when she accused Senate President Godswill Akpabio of sexual harassment, sparking widespread debate and criticism, especially from women’s rights groups and civil society organisations.

President Bola Tinubu has declined the National Population Commission’s N942bn proposal for the national housing and population census, according to Saturday PUNCH. According to sources familiar with the discussions at the State House on Monday, February 24, 2025, Tinubu emphasized the need for cost-cutting measures. He suggested deploying National Youth Service Corps members for the exercise. After a briefing from NPC officials led by Chairman Nasir Kwarra, Tinubu pledged to form a committee to align the census budget with the government's financial realities. In a statement, Special Adviser on Information and Strategy Bayo Onanuga quoted Tinubu as saying, “This stop-and-go activity on the census cannot work with me. So, we better have a definite path.” Tinubu was quoted to have said further, “I will set up a committee for you to look at the issues critically and do a source and application of resources. Where can we get help, and what can we lift before we embark on proclamation?” The government official said, “The main issue from that meeting was that the money they were proposing was quite much. It is around N942bn. That is almost N1tn. And the President felt that it was too much. That is why he said there would be a committee to look at the issues altogether because that cost must come down. “He wants to do it. He wants the census to happen. But the cost is too high. His goal is that they should do it for less.” Another insider at the meeting further revealed that Tinubu suggested a massive deployment of NYSC members nationwide to cut personnel costs. “He was even suggesting that they recruit youth corps members to make it cheaper,” the official revealed.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has defied Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, by forming a caretaker committee in the South-South geopolitical zone. In a statement on Friday, PDP National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, said the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) made the decision to prevent a leadership vacuum after the zonal executive’s tenure expires on March 9, 2025. This move comes despite a Rivers State High Court ruling in Port Harcourt, which restrained the PDP and South-South National Vice Chairman, Dan Orbih, from holding a zonal congress. The suit, marked PHC/551/CS/2025, was filed by Rivers PDP members Tonu Ejiogu and Field Nkor. However, PDP proceeded with the congress in Calabar, Cross River State, where Wike, a key supporter, declared the region as the party’s strongest base and insisted no other congress would be held. The congress saw Orbih re-elected with 174 votes, as announced by the electoral committee chairman, Vita Abba. Despite Wike’s backing of Orbih, the NWC, led by Umar Damagum, appointed Emma Ogidi as Chairman of a new caretaker committee. Other members include Chief Damiete Herbert-Miller (Secretary), Nicholas Ayuwa, Godwin Akpan Udonta, Bekewei Ashanti, Idehen Ebomoyim, and Dame Vivian Ahanmisi. The statement read in part “The National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has, pursuant to the provisions of the Constitution of the PDP (as amended in 2017) approved the composition of the South South Zonal Caretaker Committee to manage the affairs of the Party in the Zone from Monday, March 10, 2025. “The decision of the NWC is predicated on the need to avoid any vacuum and ensure the smooth running of the affairs of the Party in the South South Zone at the expiration of the tenure of the current Zonal Executive on Sunday, March 9, 2025” “The committee is to oversee the activities of the party in the zone for a period of three months or until when a new zonal executive is elected in accordance with the provisions of the constitution of the PDP.