The All Progressives Congress (APC) has recently scored major gains as Vice President Kashim Shettima formally welcomed former Kogi State Governor, Capt. Ichala Wada, into the ruling party — just as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) made an extraordinary appeal to US President Donald Trump to “save Nigeria’s democracy”.
Shettima received Wada and Hon. Samuel Abenemi, the SDP’s deputy governorship candidate, alongside several opposition figures who defected to the APC in what he described as “a new chapter for Kogi State and Nigeria”.
The Vice President said he was delighted that “good governance is taking root”, adding that the wave of defections signalled a strong mandate for President Bola Tinubu ahead of 2027.
“The message from the Confluence State today is that President Tinubu’s victory in 2027 is certain,” he declared.
In a colourful ceremony, the newcomers — led by former Governor Idris Wada — were individually handed the APC flag.
Capt. Wada praised the President’s economic decisions, including the removal of fuel subsidy, claiming it has stabilised the naira and triggered food price reductions.
“It is my pleasure to finally join the progressive family,” he said. “President Tinubu has taken our country out of a distressed economic state.”
Akpabio urges Edo to queue behind Tinubu
Meanwhile in Edo, Senate President Godswill Akpabio urged residents to back Tinubu for a second term as he commissioned agricultural equipment to mark Governor Monday Okpebholo’s first year in office.
Akpabio praised the administration’s unity and reforms, especially the boost in funding for Ambrose Alli University.
“When you open the doors of education for the children, you shut the prison doors,” he said.
He likened Okpebholo’s infrastructural drive to his achievements in Akwa Ibom, describing the governor as “God’s will for Edo”.
Akpabio told supporters to “continue to pray and support” Tinubu for “the next eight years”.
Governor Okpebholo thanked him for the visit and again urged the federal government to compel former governor Godwin Obaseki to explain his alleged “foreign financial dealings”.
PDP in turmoil as chairman calls on Trump for help
In a dramatic turn, PDP National Chairman Kabiru Turaki appealed directly to US President Donald Trump to intervene in Nigeria’s political crisis, saying democracy in the country is “under threat”.
Turaki’s plea followed Trump’s recent warning that the US could take military action if the Nigerian government “continues to allow the killing of Christians”.
Speaking at the PDP secretariat in Abuja after a tense standoff, Turaki said:
“He should come and save democracy in Nigeria. I’m calling on all other developed nations: come and save Nigeria, come and save democracy.”
Teargas and chaos at PDP headquarters
On Tuesday, chaos erupted at the PDP headquarters as police fired teargas to separate rival factions — one aligned with FCT Minister Nyesom Wike and the other loyal to Turaki.
Both sides had scheduled conflicting meetings, sparking clashes among supporters.
Turaki accused Wike of sponsoring thugs who brandished cudgels and disrupted proceedings, alleging police protected the aggressors.
Wike’s faction, led by Samuel Anyanwu, eventually arrived for their own planned NEC and BoT meetings, prompting further unrest until police ordered everyone out of the premises.
