A former South-West Coordinator of the Labour Party Presidential Campaign Council in the 2023 general election, Sola Ebiseni, has defected to the All Progressives Congress and declared support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid in 2027.

Ebiseni, who until his defection was a Labour Party chieftain and Secretary-General of the pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, announced his decision during a meeting with Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, at the Government House in Akure on Thursday.

Reports on the development also indicate that Ebiseni has resigned his position as Afenifere Secretary-General following his move to the APC.

The former Labour Party leader was accompanied by his supporters to the meeting, where he expressed his readiness to work for Tinubu’s second-term bid.

Ebiseni said his decision to support the President was based on what he described as the national interest, political stability and the need for continuity in the country’s leadership.

He also argued that the presidency should remain in southern Nigeria, saying this would contribute to political stability in the country.

“Our declaration today for the President’s second term is in tandem with the views of most Nigerians and political gladiators that the office of the President should still be in southern Nigeria in the interest of the political stability of the federation,” Ebiseni said.

He further cited the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway as an important consideration, particularly for communities in Ondo State’s coastal areas.

According to him, the project is significant to his Ilaje people and he intends to work with the Tinubu administration to ensure its implementation, including what he described as the proper coastal alignment through Ondo State.

“Politics is local, and as a leader of my Ilaje coastal people of Ondo State, this road is the most significant life-changing project for us, and I am here to join President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for its full implementation, particularly its proper coastal alignment in the state,” he said.

Ebiseni also said his decision followed consultations and engagements with political actors across the country.

“I can assure you that I am just the forerunner for a group of Nigerians who have quietly moved across the six geopolitical zones in the last year. We have also engaged with political gladiators in the process,” he said.

He added that the findings from those engagements, which he said informed the decision to support Tinubu, would be made public in greater detail.

Speaking on the security situation, Ebiseni said he believed supporting the current administration would allow the country to build on its existing security framework rather than starting afresh with a new administration.

“Above all, particularly in the area of security, it is in the national interest to support the current Commander-in-Chief and build on his new salutary security architecture, rather than experimenting with a new architecture and design,” he said.

Aiyedatiwa welcomes defectors
Receiving Ebiseni and his supporters, Governor Aiyedatiwa welcomed their decision to join the APC and assured them of integration into the party’s campaign structure ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The governor said Ebiseni’s political experience and grassroots activities across Ondo State, alongside his involvement in Afenifere and other socio-cultural organisations, would be useful to the party’s mobilisation efforts.

Aiyedatiwa also referenced Ebiseni’s previous political positions, including his service as chairman of the old Ilaje-Ese-Odo Local Government and as a commissioner in Ondo State.

“Chief Ebiseni’s position as Secretary-General of Afenifere and his activities in other sociocultural organisations are an added advantage to the tasks ahead,” the governor said.

He added that Ebiseni and his supporters would contribute to the campaign for Tinubu’s re-election, which he said the APC and its supporters in Ondo State were committed to.

Aiyedatiwa further explained that the presence of the APC state chairman at the meeting was intended to assure Ebiseni and his supporters that they would be accommodated within the party’s campaign structure.

The defection comes as political parties and their supporters intensify mobilisation and realignment ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The immediate past President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN, has criticised the growing reliance on election tribunals and courts to determine electoral victories, saying the development is gradually weakening the power of voters in Nigeria’s democracy.

Osigwe said controversial legal technicalities and difficulties in proving violations of electoral laws had increasingly shifted the determination of election outcomes away from voters and towards the judiciary.

The former NBA president spoke on Thursday in Enugu at the 22nd Nigeria Guild of Editors Conference, where he criticised what he described as the “judicialisation” of Nigeria’s electoral process.

He argued that the growing number of election petitions and prolonged legal battles had created a situation in which politicians increasingly looked to the courts after elections rather than relying solely on the support of voters to secure political office.

Osigwe said the problem was partly linked to the difficulty of establishing non-compliance with electoral laws in court.

He said, “A judge once presented a paper called ‘The Judicialisation of the Electoral Process.’

He argued that because of the difficulty of proving non-compliance with the Electoral Act, the courts have gradually and increasingly usurped the role of the voters. I couldn’t agree more.”

According to him, Nigeria records a very high number of election petitions globally, while delays in resolving electoral disputes have further complicated the process and weakened public confidence.

Why Nigerians are losing interest in voting
Osigwe also linked declining voter turnout to the perception among some Nigerians that their votes may not ultimately determine who emerges victorious at the polls.

He said some voters had become discouraged by what they perceived as irregularities between voting at polling units and the final collation of results.

“They believe that between polling units and collation centres—especially at night—miracles happen before daybreak. So why vote?” he asked.

He said the situation had also created an environment in which politicians could allegedly influence voters with money and food items such as rice and salt, while thugs were sometimes recruited during elections.

Osigwe further criticised the conduct of some state electoral commissions, alleging that ruling parties routinely emerged victorious in elections conducted by such bodies.

“Sometimes you’ll be waiting for ballot papers, and results are already announced,” he said.

BVAS, IReV and election disputes
The former NBA president also raised concerns about the legal treatment of technology introduced to improve the transparency of Nigeria’s electoral process, particularly the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System and the INEC Result Viewing Portal.

He argued that some court decisions concerning electoral technology had undermined the effectiveness of the innovations.

Osigwe cited a court position that treated the BVAS machine itself as the primary evidence in certain electoral disputes rather than the printout generated from it.

He said, “The court held that the BVAS machine itself is the primary evidence, not the printout. So you must physically carry the BVAS from every polling unit to court within strict time limits.”

According to him, such legal requirements can create significant difficulties for litigants seeking to challenge electoral irregularities within the prescribed period.

Calls for electoral and judicial reforms
Osigwe also criticised the practice of politicians routinely approaching the courts after elections, arguing that the trend had contributed to declining confidence in the judiciary.

He alleged that some judges had been caught taking bribes and called for reforms to strengthen the credibility and independence of the electoral and judicial systems.

He also argued that pre-election matters should not be justiciable, as he expressed concern about the extent to which the courts have become involved in political contests before and after elections.

Reflecting on Nigeria’s broader political challenges, Osigwe cited Chinua Achebe’s The Trouble with Nigeria, attributing the country’s persistent problems to leadership failure across society.

“We gained independence 64 years ago. We keep making excuses, and we only end up making many lawyers wealthy and corrupt judges richer,” he said.

Osigwe warned that unless Nigeria reforms its electoral and legal systems, public confidence in elections could continue to decline.

He said a situation where voters increasingly believe that courts, rather than their ballots, determine electoral outcomes could pose a serious challenge to democratic participation.

He therefore called for reforms that would strengthen the credibility of elections, ensure that votes are properly counted and collated, and restore citizens’ confidence that their ballots can determine who governs them.

Anambra State First Lady, Dr Nonye Soludo, has urged residents across the state to remain vigilant and take necessary precautionary measures as flooding continues to affect several communities.

Soludo made the call in a statement issued in Awka on Wednesday, following two days of torrential rainfall that triggered flooding and gully erosion in different parts of the state.

She expressed concern over the impact of the flooding on families and communities, particularly residents living in flood-prone areas, and urged them to pay close attention to weather and flood warnings issued by relevant authorities.

The First Lady advised residents to avoid crossing flooded roads, waterways and other areas covered by rising floodwaters, stressing that people should relocate to safer locations whenever their homes or immediate surroundings become unsafe.

She also appealed to residents to maintain clean surroundings and stop dumping refuse in drainage channels, noting that blocked waterways could worsen flooding and increase the risk to lives and property.

“This is to call on Ndi Anambra to maintain clean surroundings and desist from dumping refuse into drainage channels. Blocked waterways can worsen flooding and pose serious risks to lives and property,” she said.

Soludo further urged parents and guardians to ensure that children stayed away from floodwaters, drainage channels, streams and other potentially dangerous areas during periods of heavy rainfall.

According to her, increased community awareness and collective responsibility are necessary to reduce the impact of flooding and prevent avoidable casualties.

“There is a need for increased community awareness and collective responsibility; early action and responsible environmental practices can help reduce the risks associated with flooding,” she said.

She also encouraged residents to promptly report emergencies and situations requiring urgent intervention to the appropriate authorities.

The First Lady urged communities to look out for one another and respond quickly whenever floodwaters begin to rise, stressing that preparedness and vigilance could help protect lives.

She reiterated that responsible environmental practices remained essential to reducing the effects of flooding across the state, while assuring residents that the state government would continue efforts to cushion the impact of the disaster on affected families and communities.

The latest warning followed heavy rainfall recorded across Anambra on Monday and Tuesday, which caused flooding and gully erosion in several communities.

The rainfall submerged houses, roads, schools, farmlands and markets, while several drainage systems, water channels and canals overflowed and affected major roads.

The flooding also resulted in a rescue operation along the Nibo–Isiagu Road in Awka after a shuttle bus carrying schoolchildren and adults was overturned by floodwaters.

The Anambra State Police Command said seven schoolchildren and two adults were rescued from the vehicle by its Safe School Operatives in collaboration with members of the community.

The command’s spokesman, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, said an additional schoolchild involved in the incident remained unaccounted for as of Tuesday.

Ikenga said the police immediately mobilised to the affected area after receiving information about the incident and worked with community members to rescue nine people from the overturned vehicle.

He said sustained search and rescue operations had been activated to locate the missing child.

“The search operation is being conducted in collaboration with community members and relevant stakeholders and will continue until the remaining persons are located and accounted for,” Ikenga said.

The development has heightened concerns over the risks posed by continued heavy rainfall, particularly in communities vulnerable to flooding and erosion.

Authorities and residents have therefore continued to emphasise early warning, proper waste disposal, caution around waterways and prompt evacuation from locations that become unsafe during flooding.