By David Owei,Bayelsa

The People’s Democratic Party(PDP) has formally adopted President Bola Tinubu as the candidate of the National Rainbow Coalition in Bayelsa State.

The formal adoption of Tinubu as the presidential candidate followed the presentation of a memo on the adoption to the joint meeting of the expanded State Caucus and the party’s 100th State Executive Committee SEC) meeting at the state secretariat, Yenagoa.

The meeting also ratified a memo to pass a vote of confidence in the national leader of the Rainbow Coalition, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Chief Nyesom Wike, for his leadership in rescuing and preserving the PDP as an opposition party.

The Chairman of the PDP in the state and leader of the Rainbow Coalition, Chief George Alabh Turnah, in his remarks during the meeting, commended members of the party for remaining resolute in supporting the party.

He commended Wike for allowing God to use him to save the PDP from the hands of those who wanted to bury the party.,Byelsa

‘’ As a political party, we thank God that he has preserved the party at the state and national level. Especially when some who grew through this party chose to bury the party, God took some of us, through the help of our national leader, Chief Nyesom Wike, to rescue and restore the party. We shall be eternally grateful to him’’ he said.

Turnah, who insisted that the party on his watch would not allow itself to be gagged, criticised the state government for the poor performance of the economy.

While lamenting the lack of drugs and medical personnel at the Primary Healthcare centres, he maintained that the state government has failed to deliver on its promise of prosperity for Bayelsans.

On the violation of the transparency law, Turnah disclosed that the state government has refused to make public its spending on projects in the state.

Turnah further queried the cost of projects in the state, adding that the state government has been unable to disclose the cost of its projects publicly, thereby violating the transparency law of the state.

The PDP chairman slammed the Bayelsa State House of Assembly for being a rubber stamp instead of performing its oversight function.

According to him, Bayelsans deserve to know the exact amount of money spent on the recent celebration of the 30th anniversary of the state.

‘’ The Bayelsa State owes Bayelsans an explanation on the actual amount spent for the 30th anniversary, as it was not in the state appropriation bill. That money was spent outside the budget, and in a sane democracy, that is an impeachable offence. The State House of Assembly, by condoning this waste, has shown that it is a rubber stamp.

‘’We demand that the Diri administration publish, in naira and kobo, the expenditure of the Bayelsa at 30 celebrations. Until this is done, the Diri administration owes Bayelsans a public apology for the wasteful spending of their scarce resources. ‘’

agricultural sector, Turnah was particular about the pathetic condition of farmers in the state because of a lack of support from the state government.

‘’ The agricultural sector in Bayelsa has collapsed. Our farmers have no support, and they are suffering. All the fish ponds established by the former administration of Senator Henry Seriake Dickson have been abandoned.’’

Turnah again reiterated his criticism of the Bayelsa Stadium project, stressing that the Diri administration should concentrate on addressing the issues of unemployment, poverty and provision of social services to the people.

On the forthcoming elections, he urged the people to vote for candidates of the Rainbow coalition, noting that it has presented credible and competent candidates that would ensure prosperity is restored to Bayelsans.

By Mohammed Abubakar

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has accused the Sokoto State Government of instructing hotels in Sokoto to deny accommodation to its delegates ahead of its presidential campaign flag-off scheduled for Saturday.

The party alleged that both government-owned and privately-owned hotels in the town had been booked, with delegates told that there were no rooms available from Tuesday through Sunday, in a move allegedly aimed at frustrating the event.

The Presidential Campaign Spokesperson, Dahiru Maishanu, made the allegation in a statement issued on Wednesday in Sokoto, describing the action as unbecoming and irresponsible.

Maishanu said it was condemnable for the state government to instruct hotels to deny paying citizens the right to stay in their hotels, and equally condemnable to evict customers who had already paid and were currently staying. 0db3

He said the state government’s action smacked of executive rascality and unwarranted partisanship by the state government and its agents. 0db3

According to him, hotels had been informing delegates that they were fully booked from Monday through Sunday to effectively prevent reservations, while evicting those that had paid and were living in the hotels. 0db3

He insisted that no amount of intimidation and harassment would deter party members from attending the flag-off from all over the country. 0db3

Maishanu assured Nigerians that the flag-off would take place on schedule, with the Presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the State Party leader, Senator Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, and other party leaders and members in attendance. 0db3

He said delegates were arriving Sokoto from different parts of the country for the ceremony, despite the alleged accommodation challenges.

As at the time of filing this report, efforts to get the reaction of the Sokoto State Government to the allegation were yet to yield result.

The ADC campaign flag-off, scheduled for Saturday, October 31, 2026, is expected to formally kick-start Atiku Abubakar’s presidential campaign for the 2027 general election in Sokoto.

By Our Correspondent with AP Report

Tension builds up as Israelis watched as election results took shape on Wednesday after many voters delivered a rebuke to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ’s far-right government, with the highest turnout in over a quarter-century. Exit polls suggested there was no clear winner and that weeks of negotiating could lie ahead.
Arab-led parties appear to have made a historic showing, but it’s not clear if opponents of the government, who exit polls suggested will have a majority in the next parliament, would form a coalition with them. Issues around the Palestinians and their descendants remain incredibly sensitive in Israel.
Netanyahu was defiant early Wednesday as he seeks to remain the country’s longest-serving prime minister. He dismissed the idea of a partnership with Arab parties, whose constituents make up 20 percent of Israel’s population, as treasonous.
“We must establish a strong, right-wing, nationalist government,” Netanyahu said. “We must not endanger Israel and establish a government that relies on anti-Zionist Arab parties.”
His top challenger, centrist former military chief Gadi Eisenkot , has left the door open to partnering with Arab parties under certain conditions, including their recognition of Israel as a Jewish state and of Hamas as an extremist group. Some likely partners, however, have ruled that out. Whether they will change their minds to force Netanyahu from office remains to be seen.
With 60% of votes counted, Netanyahu’s Likud party has 21.4 percent and Eisenkot’s Yashar party has 16.2%. Either would need to form a coalition. The count from Israel’s Central Elections Committee does not indicate how many seats each will have in parliament, the 120-seat Knesset.
Likud’s share so far was lower than in the previous election in 2022, when it received 23.4 percent.
The results suggest that Netanyahu’s opponents were unable to capitalize on the anger and grief sparked by the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack and three years of war to decisively unseat him.
One loser, however, was far-right national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir , who for many Israelis represented the worst strain of Netanyahu’s government, openly taunting Palestinian detainees and asserting that many in Gaza are “not even people.”
Election turnout was at 77.7 percent of eligible voters, the highest since 1999. Final results are expected in the coming days, including from hundreds of thousands of absentee ballots yet to be counted. Those include military personnel, diplomats and others.
Voting reflected many Israelis’ unease over Netanyahu’s alliance with the far-right and anger over draft exemptions for the significant ultra-Orthodox Jewish population.
Exit polls by major Israeli TV stations suggested Netanyahu’s governing coalition shrank but that Likud would remain the largest party and best placed to be asked to form a government by Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog. The president, however, isn’t required to go with the party having the most seats.
The exit polls suggested that Netanyahu’s bloc and Eisenkot’s each won about 51 seats, and Arab parties won about 18. That sets the stage for weeks of political negotiating before a prime minister is declared, or another round of elections is called.
The easiest path to a parliamentary majority would involve Eisenkot partnering with Arab-led parties, but that could prove politically difficult. In a speech early Wednesday that focused on national unity, Eisenkot pledged to form a government and promised “a new era, an era of hope.”
Confronted with Arab parties’ strong election showing, Israelis are now facing a debate as strong as their coffee.
“We have no future here if we do not stop being afraid. And if we do not stop the racism. We must no longer accept Netanyahu’s racist division between Jewish votes and Arab votes,” the leader of the Democrats party, Yair Golan, said on X. His party supports bringing Israel’s Arab-led parties into the coalition.
Israel’s Arab citizens are descendants of Palestinians who remained in the state after its creation in 1948. They often face discrimination and are viewed with wariness because of their solidarity with the Palestinian cause. That suspicion intensified after October 7, even though Palestinian citizens were also among those killed and abducted .
Netanyahu had warned that Arab parties could make or break the election, saying they were heading to the polls in “unprecedented numbers.” He won’t work with the Arab-led parties, and they have also ruled that out.
The mood was joyful at the headquarters of the United Arab List, the lone Arab party to ever join a governing coalition, briefly, in 2021.
“We are here, we are not on the sidelines,” party leader Mansour Abbas declared.
If no one can put together a majority coalition, new elections could be held early next year. Israel held five elections between April 2019 and November 2022 because of a similar stalemate. Whether thousands of Israelis living abroad would again fly back home to vote , and whether Arab voters would again surge to the polls, is unclear.
Minority governments are possible, but they must rely on cooperation from parties outside the government to pass legislation.
Attitudes over a polarising Netanyahu will shape days ahead
The race was widely seen as a referendum on Netanyahu’s nearly unbroken 17-year rule. Israelis were divided even before the deadliest attack in the country’s history. The resulting wars , along with settler violence in the occupied West Bank, have stoked worldwide outrage , straining ties with Israel’s closest allies and fueling a rise in antisemitism.
Netanyahu’s supporters think he is protecting Israel’s security and Jewish identity in the face of international pressure and liberal elites at home.
His detractors say Netanyahu, beset by an ongoing corruption trial , dragged out the war in Gaza and its hostage crisis for political reasons. They say he is undermining Israel’s independent judiciary. And they accuse his government of allowing ultra-Orthodox religious Jews to avoid military conscription .
Eisenkot is viewed by supporters as a capable leader with sterling security credentials. His son and two nephews were killed in Gaza, and his backers believe that he feels deeply the pain that still courses through Israel. Parties that likely would support him have vowed to improve Israel’s international standing and work to conscript ultra-Orthodox men while bolstering the independence of the judiciary.