Politics
Polaris Bank MD, Abiru, Set To Resign, As He Enters Race For Lagos East Senatorial Bye-Election
Tokunbo Abiru, Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Polaris Bank, is set to resign his appointment this week, Daily Independent has exclusively gathered.
Abiru, a former Commissioner for Finance in the state during Governor Babatunde Fashola’s second term, is also expected to announce his entrance into the race for Lagos East Senatorial District bye-election which the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has fixed for Saturday October 31, 2020.
A member of the Governors Advisory Council (GAC) in Lagos said Abiru, who has been nominated by the Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as a replacement for the late Senator Bayo Osinowo, who represented Lagos East Senatorial District until his death in June, will pick up the expression of interest and nomination forms during the week.
He also said the party has already set up the campaign committee of Abiru which will be formally announced to the public after he has picked and submitted his forms.
The campaign committee is headed by a former member of the Lagos State House of Assembly from Epe division.
Although a credible source in the bank said Abiru, had already made his intention to resign known to the board pending an approval from Godwin Emefiele, the Central Bank governor, another source in the bank who asked not to be named said it is not true that Abiru has resigned. He, however, remained silent on his senatorial ambition.
Efforts made to confirm the report from Rasheed Bolarinwa, the bank’s Head, Corporate Communications, proved abortive as he could not be reached.
Daily Independent had in its July 29 edition titled ‘Lagos East Bye-Election: APC Picks Abiru, Polaris Bank MD, As Osinowo’s Replacement’ reported that the bank chief is the choice of APC leaders, including Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the party’s national leader for the vacant post.
However, Abiru in a statement denied the report, saying that while he holds the public service in high esteem, his time and energy at this time was primarily devoted towards building a world-class financial brand that will serve the interest of all stakeholders of the bank.
He further restated that he is working assiduously with his team to consolidate the bank’s stellar performance which resulted in a profit before tax (PBT) of N27.8 billion in the 2019 financial year, being its first year of operation.
Abiru acknowledged that having served as a former commissioner under the then leadership of Babatunde Fashola (SAN), it is not unexpected that such rumours and sentiments could sometimes spring up in some quarters.
He also advised the staff and customers of Polaris Bank as well as regulators, local and international stakeholders to disregard such stories expressing his commitment to his current mandate in Polaris Bank.
In a related development, senatorial aspirants jostling for tickets of the APC in the forthcoming legislative bye-elections are to pick expression of interest and nomination forms for N7 million each.
House of Assembly aspirants are to procure same forms for N850, 000 each while female and physically challenged aspirants are to pay 50 percent of the prescribed fees for each position.
These details were contained in APC’s time-table and schedule of activities for conduct of the 2020 concurrent legislative bye-elections across eight states at the weekend by the Director of Organisation, Professor Medaner Ussiju Al-Mustapha in Abuja.
The Rivers State House of Assembly, led by Speaker Martin Amaewhule, has initiated impeachment proceedings against Governor Siminalayi Fubara and Deputy Ngozi Odu, issuing them a seven-day notice to respond to allegations of gross misconduct.
The Assembly cited eight specific allegations of gross misconduct as the basis for the move.
This is the third time Fubara and Odu would be facing impeachment proceedings from the Assembly since coming to office in 2023.
Attempts to impeach them in 2023 and 2025, amid political feuds between the Governor and his predecessor and erstwhile political god-father, now Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, had been halted by presidential intervention.
Here are the allegations below:
1. Reckless and unconstitutional expenditure of public funds
2. Unconstitutional misappropriation of public funds
3. Hindering the Rivers Assembly from performing its constitutional duties
4. Illegal appointments of persons without screening by the House of Assembly as provided by the Constitution
5. Seizure of salaries and funds meant for Assembly members
6. Seizure of salaries of the clerk of the Rivers House of Assembly, Emeka Amadi
7. Refusal to implement provisions of the Constitution on financial autonomy of the legislature and the judiciary
8. Withholding of funds meant for the running of the Rivers House of Assembly Service Commission and hindering its activities
Lilian Adebayo, the wife of the 2023 presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party, has said that the party will unseat the ruling All Progressive Party at the 2027 election if Nigerians are true to themselves.
Mrs Adebayo made this assertion known on Wednesday during an interview with journalists after an event in Abuja.
According to her, the opposition party has overcome its crisis after the expulsion of its former chairman, Shehu Gabam and others.
She said Nigerians should vote the APC out in the 2027 general election due to the hardship the party has plunged citizens into.
“There is always a crisis in the party; the SPD has been able to handle its own. The problems in the party have been resolved.
“He has a great chance of winning the election if Nigerians are honest with themselves. If Nigerians think that the ones they consistently vote for would move the country forward, they live in denial,” she concerning the husband.
Recall that SDP recently expelled Gabam and other party executives.
The party’s state chairmen on Wednesday urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the police to investigate Gabam over alleged misappropriation.
In a significant political move, Enugu State Governor Peter Mbah officially defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Tuesday, October 14, 2025.
Mbah announced his decision during a televised broadcast in Enugu after weeks of speculation.
He said, “Today, after a long reflection, we have made the decision to leave the Peoples Democratic Party and join the All Progressives Congress.”
Mbah explained that his decision to join the PDP was informed by the need to reshape Enugu and reorganise the politics of the state.
“Today, I stand before you to announce a break from the past and to share a decision that will shape the road ahead. This concerns our values, how we organize ourselves politically and how we secure the future of our project and our people.
“Leadership sometimes demands painful decisions in the service of higher principles and goals. And there comes a time, when everyone must make a bold choice to determine their destiny.”
Ahead of the governor’s defection, all members of his cabinet had on joined the ruling party.
Governor Mbah’s Senior Media Aide, Dan Nwomeh, confirmed the mass defection in a video posted on his social media handles on Monday. In the video, several government officials were seen openly declaring their allegiance to the APC, chanting praises for President Bola Tinubu and affirming their commitment to the new party.
“Enugu State Cabinet Members join the APC with full chest along with Governor PN Mbah,” Nwomeh stated.
The officials, including commissioners and top aides, could be heard in the video declaring, “We are now in APC; tomorrow is here; it is APC all the way; it is Jagaban all the way; from top to bottom.”
The collective defection marks a significant political shift in Enugu State, which has been a PDP stronghold since 1999.
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