By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has described the alliance between Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde-backed Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) as fraudulent.

“When I say people are fraudulent, they thought I was joking. And that’s the 419 we are talking about,” said Mr Wike during an inspection of ongoing road projects in Abuja on Thursday.

Mr Makinde earlier declared his interest to contest the 2027 presidency after signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the APM to be its standard bearer.

“I, Oluseyi Abiodun Makinde, Excellency, announce my candidacy for the position of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” the governor stated.

According to the agreement, candidates of the Turaki-led PDP faction in Oyo State loyal to Mr Makinde who are contesting governorship, Senate, House of Representatives and state assembly seats are expected to run on the platform of the APM rather than the PDP in the 2027 elections.

However, Mr Wike said the alliance was unknown to the Independent National Electoral Commission and his faction of the PDP.

He added, “There’s no alliance between PDP and Allied Peoples Movement (APM) or any other political party, as the case may be. INEC also knows that there’s nothing called PDP-APM alliance.”

Noting that the ongoing political activities within the PDP, including the screening of aspirants, clearly showed that the party remained independent and had not entered into any coalition arrangement, the minister accused Mr Makinde of pursuing his personal presidential ambition through the APM platform.

“PDP has presented a presidential candidate and watch out who will be submitted to INEC and see whether there’s anything called PDP-APM.

“What you have is Seyi Makinde joining APM to be able to actualise his presidential ambition, which is already dead on arrival,” Mr Wike said.

The PDP has been embroiled in leadership crisis stirring yet to be resolved court cases.

By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, has revealed that the involvement of Honourable Desmond Elliot in the overturned impeachment of Mudashiru Obasa, Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, almost cost him his job as as chief of staff to the president.

Speaking to members and supporters of the APC in Surulere on Thursday, Mr Gbajabiamila revealed that he almost got sacked by Mr Tinubu during Mr Obasa’s impeachment saga involving Mr Elliot and other members of the Lagos State House of Assembly.

“I almost lost my job as Chief of Staff last year because of Desmond Elliot. Mr President called me to his study in his house in Abuja during the Obasa saga, and he said, ‘I heard this Desmond is your boy, the one we gave you, we heard he’s part of the people causing problems in the Lagos House of Assembly,’ and immediately I told Mr President that Desmond was not part of them. I haven’t even confirmed from Desmond, but I defended him.”

“But the president said, ‘well, I’m telling you from intelligence that he’s part of them. Go and tell him to retrace his steps,’ and I called Desmond and told him that if he was part of them, he should withdraw,” Mr Gbajabiamila added.

He, however, noted that during his phone call with Mr Elliot, the lawmaker dilly-dallied rather than being straightforward with him about his involvement in Mr Obasa’s impeachment saga.

Mr Gbajabiamila noted that three days after his meeting with the president, he received a phone call from the Director General of the State Security Service, who informed him that he was being accused of supporting Mr Elliot to ensure the impeachment of Mr Obasa.

He added, “Of course the president will not believe that Desmond would do such a thing, and I would not know about it. But I told the DG DSS that I had already spoken with Desmond, and he promised to withdraw his involvement in the matter. So, I called Desmond again and directed him to issue a public statement that he wasn’t part of them, but till tomorrow, he never did. If not for my kind of relationship with Mr President, I won’t be here today.”

On January 13, 2025, 32 of the 40 state legislators impeached Mr Obasa while he was out of the country. This triggered a leadership crisis in the Lagos State House of Assembly, prompting Mr Tinubu’s intervention and the subsequent reinstatement of Mr Obasa as Speaker after more than 40 days.

By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

The ECOWAS Parliament has adopted a resolution directing member states to take immediate action toward protecting street children, ending child exploitation, and removing them from the streets in the sub-region.

The lawmakers adopted the landmark resolution during the parliament’s ongoing 2026 First Ordinary Session on Thursday in Abuja.

They also mandated the parliament’s speaker to transmit the resolution and the joint committee report to the ECOWAS Commission president for onward submission to the chairman of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers.

The MPs noted that “street children, who are usually exposed to the gravest human rights abuses, are among the most neglected groups in society.”

The parliament’s decision follows recommendations from a delocalised meeting of its Joint Committee, which was held earlier in Freetown, Sierra Leone, in April.

The committee comprises Social Affairs, Gender, Women Empowerment, People with Disabilities, Legal Affairs and Human Rights, Trade, Customs and Free Movement.

“ECOWAS member states are to adopt and implement comprehensive domestic strategies for street children, with clear objectives, timelines, and dedicated budgetary allocations in line with international child rights standards.

“Member states are also urged to strengthen the enforcement of child protection laws and ensure that street children have access to free, inclusive education, healthcare, birth registration, identity documents, and child-friendly justice systems,” the resolution said.

The parliament also urged the ECOWAS Commission to develop a harmonised regional framework on street children to guide member states and ensure a coordinated response across the sub-region.

“The ECOWAS Commission should expand its Child Rights Information Management System to support data-driven policy-making and accountability, and strengthen regional coordination through collaboration with governments, civil society organisations and development partners,” it further said.

The lawmakers stressed the need to tackle the root causes of the street children crisis by expanding social protection programmes for vulnerable families, particularly single-parent households affected by poverty, displacement, and family breakdown.

“The parliament recommends preventive measures such as community child protection mechanisms, parental support services, psychosocial assistance, and public awareness campaigns to combat discrimination and social exclusion.

“Recognising the cross-border nature of child trafficking and exploitation, the parliament calls for referral systems, safe repatriation protocols, and information-sharing mechanisms among member states to better protect children on the move,” the resolution stated.

It also stressed the need to scale up capacity-building support for national institutions in child protection, child-friendly justice, and law enforcement.

Thursday’s sitting focused on the theme: “Parliamentary Approach to the Protection of Street Children and the Fight Against the Exploitation of Children in the ECOWAS Region.”