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Friday, 30 October 2026Lagos · LondonUpdated 06:44 GMT

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2027 elections
Reported

Okorocha calls Obi's one-term pledge a 'dangerous gamble' and backs Tinubu

Rochas Okorocha in a white kaftan and cap
Photo: Flowrymz / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Former Imo State governor Rochas Okorocha has criticised Peter Obi's plan to serve a single four-year term if elected president, reportedly calling it a dangerous gamble.

What he said

Speaking on a Channels Television politics programme on Thursday, 29 October 2026, Okorocha is said to have questioned whether Obi's one-term model would work and urged the South East to be careful and strategic in choosing political alliances rather than backing what he described as risky options. He also backed President Bola Tinubu's re-election, arguing that the President had not acted against the interests of the Igbo people and was a more reliable choice for the region.

Background

Obi, the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate, has promised to serve only one term, a pledge his supporters say shows he is not driven by personal ambition. Critics, including Works Minister David Umahi, have argued that the South East should aim for eight years in power like other regions. Okorocha's comments came on the same day a Federal High Court ordered INEC to recognise him as the APC candidate for the Imo West Senate seat in place of Governor Hope Uzodimma, and former APC chairman Abdullahi Ganduje visited him to congratulate him.

How people reacted

Obi's supporters dismissed the comments as politically motivated, while APC supporters shared the clip widely. The Obi campaign had not responded at the time of the report.

What happens next

The debate over whether the South East should back Obi or Tinubu is likely to grow as both camps campaign across the region.

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2027 electionsReported
Peter Obi
Photo: VOA / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain

Obi tells Ebonyi town hall Nigerians should not vote for leaders who stay at home while people suffer

NDC presidential candidate Peter Obi has reportedly told a town hall in Ebonyi State that voters should reject candidates who do not know the communities they want to lead. He said leadership should come from the people's demand, not be imposed on them.

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Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), took his campaign to Ebonyi State on Thursday, 29 October 2026, where he reportedly told a town hall meeting that Nigerians should not vote for politicians who stay in their homes while ordinary people suffer.

What he said

According to reports, Obi said some of the people seeking the presidency could not find places such as Abakaliki, Ikwo and Nkalagu on a map, and did not understand the problems facing people in those communities. He argued that leaders must engage directly with citizens and listen to their needs, and said leadership should come from the demand of the people rather than being supplied to them by a few. The meeting was organised to hear residents' concerns first-hand.

Background

The Ebonyi visit came a day after Obi's town hall in Nasarawa State, where he said election riggers would be jailed under his government, and on the same day Oyo governor Seyi Makinde told a meeting in Enugu that his team had been warned against campaigning in the South East because it is seen as Obi's stronghold. Obi, a former Anambra governor, won most of the South East in 2023 as the Labour Party candidate and is now running with Rabiu Kwankwaso on the NDC ticket.

How people reacted

Supporters shared clips from the meeting widely online. Some commenters claimed that tricycle operators were restricted around the venue, but these claims have not been confirmed. The APC and other parties have not responded to his latest remarks.

What happens next

Obi is expected to continue his tour of the South East and North Central in the coming days as campaigning for the January 2027 elections intensifies.

2027 electionsReported
A glass ballot box
Stock image: National Museum of American History / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain

Ganduje visits Okorocha to congratulate him after court ruling on Imo West ticket

Former APC national chairman Abdullahi Ganduje has reportedly visited Rochas Okorocha to congratulate him after a Federal High Court in Abuja ordered INEC to recognise Okorocha, not Governor Hope Uzodimma, as the party's Imo West senatorial candidate. Ganduje is said to have described the ruling as a reason to celebrate.

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The fight over the APC ticket for the Imo West Senatorial District has drawn in a major party figure, with former APC national chairman Abdullahi Ganduje reportedly visiting former Imo governor Rochas Okorocha to congratulate him on his court victory.

What happened

According to reports on Thursday, 29 October 2026, Ganduje, a former governor of Kano State, visited Okorocha to celebrate the judgment. He is said to have told Okorocha he was excited when he heard about the ruling and described it as a reason for celebration. No direct statement from Okorocha about the visit has been reported.

The court ruling

A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja ruled that Governor Hope Uzodimma should stop presenting himself as the APC candidate for Imo West and directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to publish Okorocha's name instead. Okorocha had gone to court claiming he won the party's primary on 18 May with about 150,780 votes to Uzodimma's 102,158, while the returning officer had declared Uzodimma the winner with 230,464 votes. The case also raises the question of whether a sitting governor, whose term runs until January 2028, can contest a Senate seat in 2027.

Background

Okorocha governed Imo from 2011 to 2019 and has had a long-running rivalry with Uzodimma, who succeeded him after a Supreme Court judgment in 2020. Uzodimma has been campaigning for President Tinubu's re-election and has rejected the Rainbow Coalition in the state.

What happens next

Uzodimma has not publicly responded to the visit, and it is not yet clear whether he will appeal. The ruling is expected to deepen divisions within the Imo APC ahead of the 2027 elections.

2027 electionsReported
A glass ballot box
Stock image: National Museum of American History / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain

Dachung Bagos wins APC rerun primary for Jos South/Jos East seat

Former lawmaker Dachung Bagos has reportedly won the APC rerun primary for the Jos South/Jos East federal constituency in Plateau State with 12,181 votes. The rerun was ordered after a court nullified the first primary over alleged irregularities in 11 wards.

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Former House of Representatives member Dachung Bagos has won the All Progressives Congress (APC) rerun primary for the Jos South/Jos East Federal Constituency in Plateau State, according to results announced on Thursday, 29 October 2026.

The result

The chairman of the rerun electoral committee, Simon Elisha, reportedly announced at the party's state secretariat in Jos that Bagos polled 12,181 votes, while his rival, Esther Simi Dusu, received 2,495 votes, a margin of almost 10,000. The rerun was held on Wednesday in 11 wards, including Du, Shen, Turu, Federe and Shere.

Why there was a rerun

A High Court in Jos had nullified the original primary for the seat after finding alleged irregularities in the 11 affected wards and ordered fresh voting in those areas. With the rerun result, Bagos is set to be the APC candidate for the seat in the 2027 general election.

Background

Bagos represented Jos South/Jos East in the House of Representatives before, and is a well-known figure in Plateau politics. Party primaries across the country have produced many court cases this year, with several candidates replaced or ordered to face reruns. The Plateau constituency has seen strong contests between the major parties in recent elections.

What happens next

It is not yet known whether the losing candidate will challenge the result. INEC is expected to update its list of candidates once the party submits the name.

2027 elections
Governor Seyi Makinde, right, in a blue cap and sunglasses, with Rotimi Babajide at a rally
Photo: LastBornOfTheGods / Wikimedia Commons, CC0

Makinde takes campaign to Enugu despite warnings about Obi's stronghold, questions Tinubu's Saudi trip

Oyo governor Seyi Makinde, who is running for president on the APM ticket, told a town hall in Enugu that his team was almost talked out of campaigning in the South East because it is seen as Peter Obi's territory. He also asked the Presidency to explain the real purpose of President Tinubu's trip to Saudi Arabia.

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Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, the presidential candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) for 2027, has taken his campaign to the South East, telling supporters in Enugu that his team was almost discouraged from coming to a region widely seen as Peter Obi's base. On the same day, he raised questions about President Bola Tinubu's trip to Saudi Arabia.

What he said in Enugu

Speaking at an APM town hall meeting in Enugu on Thursday, 29 October 2026, Makinde said people had warned his team against campaigning in the South East because the zone was regarded as belonging completely to Obi, the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate. He said he decided to bring his message there anyway and urged Nigerians to reject politics that divides people along ethnic and tribal lines.

His question about Tinubu's trip

In a video shared the same day by an Oyo affairs account on X, Makinde said he had read on social media that the President was travelling to Saudi Arabia to pray for Nigeria. He remarked that prayers can be answered from within Nigeria too, and asked the Presidency to tell Nigerians the true situation. He did not say what he believed the situation to be.

How people reacted

Reactions online were divided. Some users backed his call for openness, while others accused him of politicising a religious trip, and one asked whether he was wishing the President ill because of the election. The Presidency has said the President is performing Umrah, and an aide has rejected claims that the trip is for medical treatment.

Background

Obi won most of the South East in the 2023 presidential election and remains very popular there. Makinde, who is serving his second and final term as Oyo governor, is one of several candidates now trying to build support across regions. Tinubu left Abuja for Makkah this week, and Atiku Abubakar and activist Omoyele Sowore have also questioned the trip.