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ALGON members are noise makers, Oyo people are solidly behind Makinde on LG management – Oyo PDP
The Oyo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has described members of the sacked local government chairmen under the aegis of Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON) as mere noise makers who want to keep benefiting from illegal conducts.
The PDP in a statement by its State Publicity Secretary, Engineer Akeem Olatunji said that the ALGON members who were raising issues about Governor Seyi Mankinde’s proposed composition of the Local Governments leadership as swimming against the tide of public opinion in the state.
According to the PDP, there is every need to reconstitute the leadership in the Local Governments and the LCDAs, noting that such step will be in the right direction and in satisfaction of the yearning of a teeming majority of residents in the State.
“As a party, the PDP wishes to tell the governor to ignore the latest rants of the sacked illegal council chairmen on the planned appointment, stating that it was another tactic to hold the people of the State to ransom by crippling governance at the grassroots.
“The sacked chairmen claiming to still be members of the Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON) in Oyo State despite having been sacked legally had attacked Governor Makinde over a reported plan to appoint caretaker chairmen for local councils, a step which the PDP described as baseless noise-making that cannot hold water,” the party said.
The party also maintained that the former chairman’s rant was medicine after death, because the circumstances that led to their sack were different from what they portray to the unsuspecting public, as they got into office through illegality and wanton disobedience to court order and that their election or more or less undemocratic coronation could not stand.
The statement further read: “Our attention has been drawing to the latest rants of some individuals who identify themselves, though illegally, as Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) in which they tried to paint the Oyo State Governor, Engineer Seyi Makinde, in bad light over his reported plan to appoint interim management committees for local councils ahead of election into the councils.
“We would like to place on record that the acclaimed spokesman of the Association, who signed the said statement and his fellow journeymen are impostors, who are attempting to deceive the unsuspecting members of the public.
“Ever since the illegal chairmen were caught up in the web of the law, Mr Abass Alesinloye and his co-travelers have become jobless irritants, acting like rambunctious children and looking for every opportunity to seek relevance, which has long left them following the exit of their party from government.
“While we consider it pedestrian and unsound for Alesinloye to take jibes at Governor Makinde, a man who has been above boards in his dealing and is becoming renowned as Mr Due Process and Mr Rule of Law, going by his unpartisan approach to the governance of Oyo State, we are quick to concede that expecting decorum from the APC will be asking for too much, as no one cannot give what he does not have.
“For the information of Alesinloye, who we suspect has been on a lone voyage of irresponsibility and noise-making, as other sacked chairmen with means of livelihood have since returned to their jobs, the people of Oyo State have been the ones yearning for government structure at the grassroots, with the latest testament to this being the shouts of “choose caretaker chairmen for local governments” at the House of Assembly chambers last Tuesday, when Governor Makinde was presenting the 2020 budget.
“Therefore, the people of the state are solidly behind Governor Makinde and we are sure that if Alesinloye and his party can embark on a survey, they will see that the government would be lifting a heavy burden from the necks of the people if, indeed, it goes ahead with the appointment of interim management committees at the local government pending election into the councils next year.
“For the avoidance of any doubt, Governor Makinde did not offend any section the Nigerian Constitution as far as issues of the sacked former local government leadership are concerned in the state and he would not be offending any if he, indeed, appoints replacement for the sacked chairmen, who have since turned themselves into busybodies. The same is also true about his handling of the Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission (OYSIEC), the Governor has not flouted any rule and this applies to everything that has to do with governance in the state in the last six months.
“As far as we are concerned, the Makinde government is well-rested on the pillars of democratic norms and ethos, as well as popular votes of the people and will not do anything to trample on the constitution like the immediate past government of the APC, which foisted the illegality that the sacked chairmen represent.
“We wish to recall that the so-called ALGON for which Alesinloye has been speaking was a beneficiary of an election that was basically an affront on the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended). Whereas, the Constitution recognised only 33 local governments in Oyo State, the illegal election that brought in the jesters being led by Alesinloye was conducted into 68 Local Governments and Local Council Development Authorities (LCDAs), something that is unknown to the Constitution.
“What was expected of any administration that adheres to the Rule of Law is to conduct elections into only constitutionally- recognised councils, while keeping the LCDAs for administrative convenience only. But since the immediate past government could not allow itself to be guided by the Constitution, no right-thinking government will allow the continuous perpetuation of illegal acts by allowing a set of people who took office through unconstitutional means to continue to keep that office.
“As it is widely believed, evil thrives only where the good people refuse to take action. By participating in an election that was banned by the courts, the said ALGON members cannot expect to remain in office if the right things must be done. As far as we are concerned, the matter between ALGON and the government of Oyo State is before the court of competent jurisdiction. They should await the verdict of the court in that regard or are they afraid of their shadows?”
The Kano State House of Assembly has initiated impeachment proceedings against Deputy Governor Aminu Abdussalam Gwarzo over allegations of gross misconduct, abuse of office, and breach of public trust.
The notice was presented yesterday during plenary by the Majority Leader, Lawan Hussaini Dala, who said the action follows Section 188 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Dala said the allegations stem from Abdussalam’s tenure as Commissioner for Local Government (2023–2024) and his current role as deputy governor. He accused the deputy governor of diverting funds meant for the 44 local government councils.
According to the majority leader, Abdussalam allegedly received N1.5 million monthly from each council between June 2023 and January 2024, totaling N462 million. Between February and July 2024, he allegedly collected N3.255 million monthly from each council under the guise of special assignments, amounting to N726 million.
Dala also accused the deputy governor of abuse of office, claiming he facilitated payments of N10 million from each council to NovoMed Pharmaceuticals Limited, totaling N440 million, in violation of state procurement laws.
“The misuse of official capacity to confer undue advantage constitutes abuse of power and undermines public trust,” Dala told lawmakers, adding that the allegations amount to gross misconduct under the Constitution.
The impeachment notice was reportedly endorsed by 38 lawmakers, meeting the constitutional threshold to proceed. The Speaker has acknowledged receipt, and the House is expected to serve the allegations on the deputy governor.
If approved, a panel may be constituted by the state Chief Judge to investigate the claims.
As of filing, Abdussalam had yet to respond publicly to the allegations.
The Senator representing Bayelsa West, Seriake Dickson, on Thursday announced his resignation from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), declaring that he had joined the newly registered Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC).
Dickson, a former governor of Bayelsa State, made the announcement during a media briefing in Abuja, attributing his decision to what he described as irreconcilable differences within the PDP.
The lawmaker said the emergence of the NDC would strengthen Nigeria’s democratic system by providing a credible opposition platform.
According to him, the party recently received its certificate of registration from the Independent National Electoral Commission.
He said, “Last week INEC issued a certificate of registration and we now have the newest party in Nigeria known as the Nigeria Democratic Congress and our symbol is victory, the victory sign.
“So, my dear Nigerians, you now have a credible alternative opposition party known as the Nigeria Democratic Congress.”
Dickson noted that although the party’s registration took longer than expected, its eventual approval was a welcome development for the country’s democratic landscape.
“Yes, it is coming at this time. We would have wished it started some years or months back. We don’t control INEC and their processes; they delayed. We don’t also control the judiciary, but thank God it has finally arrived,” he said.
The senator also stressed that Nigeria’s democracy must not slide into a one-party system, insisting that political diversity remained vital for national stability.
“This nation cannot be a one-party state. Nigeria cannot be a one-party state. Nigeria is not designed to be a one-party state.
“We are a very diverse nation culturally, religiously and politically and that is the beauty of our country.
“So anyone or any party promoting one-party rule in Nigeria is mistaken. We build political parties and get involved in movements to access power for the good of the people, not for our personal benefit,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Independent National Electoral Commission recently announced the registration of two new political parties.
The parties are the Democratic Leadership Alliance and the Nigeria Democratic Congress, bringing the total number of registered political parties in Nigeria to 21.
The announcement was made by the INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, during the commission’s first quarterly consultative meeting with political party stakeholders for 2026.
According to him, the Democratic Leadership Alliance completed the required verification process, while the Nigeria Democratic Congress was registered in compliance with a Federal High Court order.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 58-year-old alleged drug lord, Uzoma Valentine Ilomuanya, who had reportedly been on the agency’s wanted list and that of British authorities for over 15 years.
Ilomuanya was apprehended in Lagos on Monday, February 23, 2026, following what the agency described as a high-level, coordinated operation by officers of its Special Operations Unit.
The development was disclosed in a statement issued on Wednesday by the Director of Media and Advocacy of the agency, Femi Babafemi.
Babafemi said the suspect’s arrest ended a prolonged manhunt linked to his alleged involvement in drug trafficking activities across Nigeria and the United Kingdom.
According to the statement, Ilomuanya was first arrested in February 2003 in the United Kingdom and convicted for drug trafficking.
He was sentenced to nine years imprisonment but was released after serving two years following a successful appeal.
Babafemi added that the suspect was again arrested in the UK in July 2011 over drug-related offences.
He said, “He was granted administrative bail but jumped jurisdiction and fled to Nigeria.
“Typical of a recidivist, Ilomuanya was in November 2018 arrested in Nigeria by NDLEA operatives following the discovery of two clandestine methamphetamine laboratories in his Obinugwu, Orlu Local Government Area country home in Imo State and at his No. 3 Barrister Declan Uzoma Close, Lagos residence where officers recovered 77.960 kilograms of methamphetamine and extensive production equipment.
“He was subsequently charged before a Federal High Court in Lagos, after which he jumped court bail and has been on the run since then.”
Reacting to the development, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), described the arrest as a major breakthrough in the agency’s ongoing war against drug trafficking networks.
Marwa said the operation demonstrated the agency’s resolve to track down criminal elements regardless of how long they evade the law.
He said, “This arrest serves as a stern warning to those who think they can hide behind borders to escape justice.
“Whether you jump bail in London or set up clandestine labs in your village, the long arm of the NDLEA will eventually catch up with those who choose to undermine the health, security, and future of our nation.
“We remain committed to our international collaborations to ensure that Nigeria is not used as a sanctuary for global drug lords.”
Marwa also commended officers of the Special Operations Unit for their professionalism and persistence in tracking down the suspect.
He added that the agency would continue to strengthen intelligence-driven operations and international cooperation to dismantle drug trafficking networks operating within and beyond Nigeria.
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