Rivers State House of Assembly has said that the impeachment process against Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his Deputy, Ngozi Odu, is fully on course.

Chairman of the House Committee on Information, Petitions and Complaints, Enemi George, disclosed this in a statement on Friday.

George said the move is in line with relevant provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).

He added that the two notices of allegations of gross misconduct brought pursuant to Section 188 of the Constitution against the Governor and Deputy have been forwarded to them by the Speaker of the House while we await their responses.

According to him, it is the House of Assembly that is empowered by the Constitution to stand by the people and stop infractions on the Constitution by the Governor, Deputy Governor or any other officer of the Rivers State Government so, adding that the Assembly members remain duty bound in this regard.

“We are aware that certain persons and media platforms are at it again to misinform the public particularly to the effect that the process has been halted or discontinued. Some are trending false narratives to cause disaffection between the House and well-meaning Nigerians.

“Therefore, with the leave of the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Martin Chike Amaewhule DSSRS .I call on all and sundry to disregard their antics, as their actions have already failed. We remain committed to our constitutional duties and would not be dissuaded by cheap blackmail or threats from those who do not mean well for our country’s nascent democracy.

“Finally, we thank the good people of Rivers State for their prayers and encouragement and express our gratitude to all stakeholders and leaders at all levels and use this medium to extend our warm regards to all democrats who believe in the Nigerian project.

“May God continue to bless our dear Rivers State and Nigeria,” the statement read.

Former Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, says the former presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, is the only life in the African Democratic Congress, ADC.

Fayose made this statement on Friday while fielding questions in an interview on ‘Politics Today’, a programme on Channels Television monitored

He also said that the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, is technically no more, adding that it is dead.

The former governor equally said that Oyo State governor, Seyi Makinde, should not be dragged into the woes of the PDP.

He said: “Obi is the only life in ADC; all other people in ADC are semi-existent. If Obi had gone to remain in Labour Party or has gone to Accord Party, he is the only life there. All the other people there, they are not existing. They are old-forces.

“Openly, I supported Tinubu in 2023. I didn’t hide it. Till now I’m still there. I don’t jump. I have said it to you I’m not a member of APC and I will never be.”

The Taraba State government has ordered the temporary closure of the State Specialist Hospital, located in Jalingo, the state capital.

The decision, DAILY POST learnt, is aimed at ensuring that the ongoing comprehensive renovation of the facility is successfully completed.

According to an official directive issued by the Chief Medical Director of the hospital, the closure follows the extensive overhaul currently taking place and the environmental and safety hazards associated with the construction work.

The directive, conveyed on the instruction of the state governor, Dr Agbu Kefas, stated that all activities within the hospital are to be suspended to enable contractors and their workers to carry out the renovation unhindered and complete the project within the shortest possible time.

The Chief Medical Director was formally instructed to shut down the hospital temporarily until the renovation work is fully completed.

The statement, signed by the Commissioner of Health, Dr Bordiya Gbansheya Buma, emphasised that compliance with the directive is mandatory and should be carried out without delay.

Abia State Government has constituted an administrative panel of enquiry to investigate the causes of the crisis in Okun Aku community, Ohafia local government area.

DAILY POST recalls that a youth, Mr. Igwe Akuma Akwu was shot dead last week, while houses and vehicles belonging to some other indigenes of Okon-Aku were set ablaze during the crisis.

A public notice announcing the setting up of the panel of inquiry was signed by the Abia State Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs,
Uzor Nwachukwu,

According to the notice, the approval for the panel was granted by Governor Alex Otti, following concerns over the remote and immediate causes of the crisis and the need to identify individuals or groups directly or indirectly involved in the escalation of the conflict.

The panel is to be headed by Justice K. O. Nwosu, Rtd, while its members include Navy Commander MacDonald Uba (Rtd), Special Adviser to the Governor on Security, Mrs Charity Okeagu, Director of chieftaincy affairs, who will serve as the Panel’s Secretary.

Others are: Obinna Chimbuo of Abia State Ministry of Justice; Eze Kalu Ogbu; Eze Franklin Nwosu; and Mr Ahamefula George, Head of Service, Ohafia local government.

The panel, which is expected to commence sitting immediately, is expected to  and submit its report within four weeks.

The Commissioner called on residents of Okun Aku community, stakeholders, and concerned citizens to cooperate fully with the panel by providing useful information that will assist in restoring peace to the area.

Kwara South is currently facing significant security challenges, with bandits holding over 22 people captives across various communities, demanding ransom payments totaling over N400 million, food, and drinks, DAILY POST reports.

A breakdown of the captives showed that nine people were abducted in Adanla community on December 26,2025, Boxing Day, with N300m ransom demanded by the bandits, 11 persons held in Isapa community with N35m ransom demanded, four people were abducted along Isanlu-Isin highway, while two people were kidnapped in Owa-Onire and eight others abducted at Ikosin community, all in Kwara South Senatorial District of the state.

The affected communities include Adanla, Ikosin, Afin Isapa, Isanlu-Isin, and Owa-Onire, just as some residents have fled their homes due to fear of attacks.

Of particular concern is the abduction of Oniwo of Afin, Oba Olanipekun and his son, a serving youth corp member.

The bandits threatened to kill either the monarch or the son to show their seriousness if the ransom demanded is not paid to them.

Findings by DAILY POST showed that the armed bandits are operating in the region’s vast forests, hills, caves, and porous borders, thereby making it difficult for security forces to track them down.

To complicate the situation, there are allegations of support from locals, who act as informants and provide items including food, shelter, and intelligence, aided by lack of effective communication and coordination between security agencies and local communities.

On the protracted issue of local informants, aiding the bandits, DAILY POST gathered that the government and security agencies are working to address it but specific details are not available.

Credible sources disclosed that “several appeals have been made to communities to fish out informants within their midst.”

Meanwhile, the Kwara State Government has also trained and deployed forest guards with a view to working with security agencies to comb the forests in addition to constant joint patrols to combat banditry.

A source disclosed that “although the exact number of suspects arrested is not available, recent operations have resulted in the neutralization of several bandits and the arrest of suspects supplying them with guns, food, and other essentials, but more needs to be done.”

According to the source, “the Kwara State Government, in collaboration with federal security agencies, has taken steps to address the security challenges, including deploying forest guards and proposing to launching joint patrols.

“The government has also warned that it will not tolerate banditry and is committed to restoring peace in the region.”

He stressed the need for community engagement by impressing locals to report suspicious activities and provide intelligence to security agencies.

“Also, there should be increased patrols and checkpoints in vulnerable areas.

“There should also be a coordination between security agencies, traditional leaders, and community leaders, as well as leveraging technology and human intelligence to track and apprehend bandits.

“Kara cattle markets where the bandits are believed to store arms and ammunition as well as holding clandestine meetings for their operations should also be temporarily closed,” he added.

The New Nigeria People’s Party, NNPP, says the dissolution of the Kano State executives of the party at all levels stands and cannot be reversed by a court order.

This is contained in a statement issued by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Ladipo Johnson, in Abuja on Thursday

Johnson said that the reaction followed media reports that a High Court in Kano State had reversed the dissolution of the party’s executive committees at the state, local government and ward levels in line with the NNPP Constitution.

He said the party National Working Committee, NWC, regards the purported reversal of its internal decisions by the court as “an ordinary street rumour” because it had not been served with any court process.

He said while media reported that the court, via an ex-parte order by Justice Nasiru Saminu on Tuesday, allegedly granted an interim injunction to this effect, the party leadership is yet to be served any court document.

Johnson said if the court order was in any way confirmed, such action would clearly be inconsistent with legal procedures and established legal precedents.

He said it was evidently a misnomer for a judge to purportedly grant such an over-reaching interim injunction against a completed action by the NWC of the party.

“We still regard the whole orchestration as a mere rumour. But if this is confirmed, we will take firm legal measures and ensure that the purported illegal injunction does not stand.

“Obviously, it can never stand because it is an illegality, a clear abuse of court process as the court lacks the jurisdiction to reverse a decision by the party, being an internal affair of the party.

“The dissolution of Kano State executives of the party at all levels therefore stands,” he said.

Johnson explained that the Supreme Court in a plethora of cases ruled that political party affairs were non-justiciable as such matters were the internal affairs of political parties.

“Therefore, the purported reversal by a Kano State High Court of the decision of the NWC of NNPP cannot be an exception.

“If the reported injunction of this nature is confirmed to be true, then it could only be described as an exercise in legal rascality,” he said.

Johnson added that in established instances of this nature, the NNPP would have no option than to take all necessary measures to ensure that the judicial officers involved were duly sanctioned by the National Judicial Council.

A former Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communication, Austin Tam-George, has suggested that the defection of Governor Siminalayi Fubara, to the All Progressives Congress, APC, altered the political dynamics in the state, weakening the influence of the camp loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.

Tam-George said that political calculations in the state within the last three weeks has changed, noting that the development appeared to have unsettled Wike and his allies.

Speaking during the Arise Television’s Prime Time, the former commissioner stated it was why Wike in recent weeks embarked on visits to several local government areas in the state.

According to him, the governor’s defection eroded the leverage previously enjoyed by the Wike camp over the Rivers State Government, forcing them to seek new ways of reasserting their influence.

He, however, warned that the prolonged political tension and instability resulting from the rivalry would ultimately be detrimental to the state and its people.

Tam-George said: “The movement of Governor Siminalayi Fubara to APC in the last 21 days has changed the political calculation in Rivers State.

“You know, in the past two weeks or so, the FCT Minister Nyesom Wike has been going from local government area to another local government area, threatening the government of Rivers state, even insulting the leadership structures of the APC at some point.

“He even accused some senior leaders and the Tinubu administration of going to Rivers State to literally accept, take money or bribes, also from the Rivers state government.

“So what I think is happening is that the defection of the governor has obviously threatened the original leverage that the Wike’s camp had over the governor, and they are finding a way to look for a way of asserting what they thought might be a threat to their leverage.

“But the regret is that it is the state ultimately that suffers from this kind of instability.”

At least 16 vessels have docked at Lagos ports, including Lekki, Tincan Island, and Apapa, awaiting the discharge of petrol, diesel, and bulk gas, the Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA, has confirmed.

According to the NPA’s latest publication, Shipping Position, a copy of which was made available to journalists on Thursday in Lagos, a total of 40 ships carrying petroleum products, food items, and other cargo are scheduled to arrive at the three ports between January 8 and January 16, 2026.

The authority noted that the incoming shipments include bulk diesel, petrol, crude oil, condensate, bulk gas, buckwheat, fresh fish, bulk urea, and various containerised goods.

Eight vessels are currently at the ports discharging containers, diesel, bulk urea, and crude oil.

A Kwara State High Court sitting in Ilorin on Thursday admitted additional exhibits in the ongoing N5.78bn corruption trial of former Governor Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed and his former Commissioner for Finance, Alhaji Ademola Banu.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is prosecuting the duo for alleged diversion of funds, including Universal Basic Education Commission matching grants and counterpart funds meant for the provision of infrastructure in primary and junior secondary schools across the state.

At the resumed hearing before Justice Mahmud Abdulgafar, the sixth prosecution witness, Ujilibo, testified that the EFCC obtained bank statements of the Kwara State Government from Polaris Bank and Guaranty Trust Bank, covering loans secured to pay teachers’ salaries under the State Universal Basic Education Board.

“My Lord, we wrote to the then Skye Bank, now Polaris Bank, and Guaranty Trust Bank requesting statements of SUBEB accounts and merging grants for 2013 and 2014,” Ujilibo said.

He added that the banks supplied all the requested documents, which were subsequently tendered and admitted as exhibits.

However, proceedings were briefly stalled following a dispute between the prosecution and the defence over the arrangement of the documents.

Defence counsel, Mr Kamaldeen Ajibade (SAN), argued that the bundle presented in court differed from what had been served on the defence and was neither paginated nor properly organised.

Prosecution counsel, Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), countered that the documents were the same as those served on the defence and that it was not the prosecution’s responsibility to arrange them.

Justice Abdulgafar later adjourned the trial to February 16, 2026, to allow proper arrangement of the exhibits.

Speaking after the proceedings, Ajibade described the situation as “unacceptable in a criminal trial,” saying the defence must have an adequate opportunity to review evidence. Jacobs, however, maintained that the EFCC had fulfilled its duty.

The EFCC alleges that Ahmed and Banu approved the use of UBEC matching grant funds to pay civil servants’ salaries, contrary to the purpose for which the funds were released.

At a previous hearing, former Kwara State Accountant-General Suleiman Oluwadare Ishola testified that N1bn of UBEC matching grants was borrowed in 2015 to pay salaries and pensions.