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Gombe APC in crisis as two factions sack each other from party
Efforts to unseat Governor Ibrahim Dankwambo of Gombe State by the opposition All Progressives Congress, APC, through the election tribunal appears to be suffering a blow, with the APC slipping into a serious leadership crisis.
The party is presently divided into two factions, each led by a serving Senator.
While ex-Governor Danjuma Goje leads a faction comprising of the party’s candidate for the April 11governorship election, Inuwa Yahaya, a former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives and current Senator representing Gombe north, Bayero Nafada, leads the other faction that has the state party chairman, Magaji Doho, and some other executive members.
First to fire the salvo was the Goje group, which addressed a press conference in Gombe on Monday, announcing the suspension of the state chairman of the party, Mr. Doho, and 17 others including, Mr. Nafada, a former Minister, Murtala Aliyu, a House of Reps member, Khamisu Mailantarki, and Abubakar Aliyu.
A member of the state executive committee, Umar Saifuddeen, who addressed the press conference, said the chairman and others were suspended for anti-party activities.
Part of those suspended alongside the party’s bigwigs included members of the state working committee.
Mr. Saifuddeen accused them of sponsoring acts that were against the interest of the party.
“The State Working Committee (SWC) sat just a week after the gubernatorial election to review the election and in the review, we were able to set up a committee to look into the issue of anti-party activities and the suspended exco members were found wanting of anti-party activities during the election,” he said.
“We worked throughout the state through our coordinators, exco members who were at the scene of the election at wards and local government levels and we were able to find 18 of them who participated actively in anti-party activities,” he added.
Mr. Saifuddeen also said query letters of query were issued to the affected exco members on Saturday 16th May and they were given 72 hours to reply but none of them did so.
Those suspended were Magaji Doho, the state chairman; Dauda Manu, state legal adviser; Muhammad Kwairanga, zonal vice chairman; Bawa Bungum, state assistant treasurer; Abdullahi Masad, state Assistant organizing secretary; Abubakar Gerengi, zonal youth leader and Ciroma Garkuwa, state youth leader.
Others were, Aaron Yakubu, zonal youth leader (south); Billy Garba, state public relations officer; Alhamis Maigiba, state women leader; Abubakar Dantata, ex-officio member; Micheal Luka, state assistant auditor; M. Nafada ex-officio member; A. I. Gonsis, chairman Kaltungo; Timothy Set, chairman Billiri LG; Nadabo Hamidu, chairman Nafada; Ali Kurugu, chairman Kwami and Usman Abubakar, chairman Dukku local government area.
Goje, others sacked
The state Chairman of the APC, Mr. Doho, swiftly responded to the position taken by the Goje group and also convened a press Conference Monday, where he announced the sack of Mr. Goje and others from the party.
Mr. Doho said Mr. Goje ceased to be a member of the APC as from July 1, 2015.
“Having gone through the rigours of campaigns and the 2015 general elections, some of our members, led by Senator Danjuma Goje, have decided to have parallel state executives of the party.
“Secondly, one of our senators representing Gombe-South, Danjuma Goje, is grossly involved
in anti-party activities and we have, therefore, decided to expel him from the party from the first day of July, 2015, to instill discipline in our great party,” he said.
The APC chairman said the state executive council had written a comprehensive report to the national secretariat of the party, indicting Mr. Goje.
The chairman added that members of the state executive of the party loyal to Mr. Goje have all been relieved of their positions, adding, however, that they remain members of the APC if they chose to do so.
In their letter to the national chairman of the APC, John Oyegun, intimating him of their decision, the Nafada faction said Mr. Goje was also expelled because of his decision to take sides with Senators belonging to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to produce Bukola Saraki as Senate President against the decision of the party’s national executive committee.
The letter was signed by 20 members of the state executive council of the party.
At least 23 people were killed in a series of suspected suicide bombings, police in Nigeria’s northeastern city of Maiduguri said on Tuesday.
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More than 100 other people were injured in the blasts that took place on Monday evening in the capital of Nigeria’s restive Borno state.
No group has claimed responsibility for the suspected attacks.
The deadly blasts come after a military post was attacked overnight Sunday to Monday, which authorities blamed on suspected Islamist militants.
This sad incident is coming barely two weeks after Primate Elijah Ayodele, the Leader of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church specifically warned against attacks in some states. He mentioned these states while calling on security operatives to pay close attention to them.
These were his words:
“Another attack is coming up in these following states where the military must watch carefully and intelligently; Kano, Kaduna, Zamfara, Kebbi, Niger, Borno, Kwara and Kogi state. They want to do a deadly attack, it’s preventable but it depends on how they will handle it. I have told you about the danger coming up.”
@primateayodele
Unfortunately, some of our military agencies don’t believe spiritual intelligence can save the country from so much danger hence, their neglect of this prophetic warning but now, it has been fulfilled with the miliary losing credibility by the day while Primate Ayodele continues to gain momentum.
Likewise, At least 26 passengers and crew sustained varying degrees of injuries on Monday following an accident involving the Kaduna–Abuja train, according to the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC).
Opeifa explained that the train departed Rigasa in Kaduna at 7:15 a.m. and was approaching Asham station around 9:16 a.m. when a loud bang was heard after the power car and trailing locomotive collided with one of the passenger coaches.
In July 2025, Primate Ayodele asked nigerians to pray not to see train mishap on the Kaduna-Abuja route.
@primateayodele #nigeriantiktok🇳🇬 #fulfillment #train #abuja #primateayodele
“Let’s pray not to see train mishap in Abuja-Kaduna, Kaduna-Abuja route.”
This has also been fulfilled.
The project ends decades search for investors, boosts Nigeria’s blue economy
By Prince Adeyemi Shonibare
Nigeria’s maritime sector is set for a major transformation following a landmark agreement involving the world’s largest container shipping company, Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), which has secured a 45-year concession to build, manage and operate a modern container terminal at Snake Island Port in Lagos.
The project, to be developed in partnership with Nigerdock, marks one of the most significant private sector investments in Nigeria’s port infrastructure in recent decades and is expected to strengthen the country’s role as a major maritime gateway in West and Central Africa.
For Nigeria, the agreement brings to close decades of efforts to attract large-scale investors to develop Snake Island Port, a strategically located maritime asset in Lagos.
Long-standing concession history
Snake Island’s maritime facilities date back several decades. In 1992, the Federal Government granted a 99-year concession for the island’s port and industrial facilities to Nigerdock, a major maritime engineering and logistics company.
Nigerdock was later privatised and is currently operated by the Jagal Group owned by Nigerian industrialist Maher Jarmakani.
Over the years, the Island Container Terminal fell into disrepair, requiring major rehabilitation and modernization to meet modern global shipping standards.
The new partnership with MSC is expected to transform the port into a state-of-the-art container handling facility capable of attracting larger vessels and increasing Nigeria’s cargo throughput capacity.
Buhari administration approved the project.
The investment framework for the Snake Island development was approved in May 2023 by the Federal Executive Council under then President Muhammadu Buhari.
The approval authorised total private investment of approximately $974.1 million for the project under a Public-Private Partnership structure, including the 45-year concession period.
At the same time, the Federal Government also approved two other major maritime infrastructure projects:
• Development of the Ondo Multipurpose Port in Ilaje, Ondo State, with $1.48 billion in private investment and a 50-year concession.
• Expansion and development of the Burutu Sea Port in Delta State, involving $1.2 billion in private investment and a 40-year concession.
These projects form part of Nigeria’s broader effort to develop its blue economy and expand maritime trade capacity.
Construction partners
Engineering and construction of the Snake Island container terminal will be handled by:
• ITB Nigeria Limited
• DEME Group
ITB Nigeria Limited is part of the Chagoury Group and owned by the Chagoury family, while DEME Group is a globally recognised Belgian marine engineering and dredging company with extensive experience in port construction.
MSC profile
Founded in 1970 by Italian shipping entrepreneur Gianluigi Aponte and his wife Rafaela Aponte-Diamant, MSC has grown from a single cargo vessel into the largest container shipping company in the world.
Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, the company operates in more than 155 countries and serves over 500 ports worldwide, with a fleet of roughly 900 container ships and over 200,000 employees globally.
The MSC Group also operates major logistics and maritime businesses including inland logistics through Medlog, cruise tourism through MSC Cruises, and port terminal operations across several continents.
According to Forbes, the estimated net worth of MSC founder Gianluigi Aponte is about $43.9 billion as of February 2026, placing him among the world’s richest shipping magnates. The company remains privately owned by the Aponte family, with both founders holding equal ownership stakes.
Management comments
Speaking on the development, MSC Group President Diego Aponte said the company is committed to strengthening its operations in Nigeria and across Africa.
“We are proud to expand our presence in Nigeria through this important infrastructure project. The Snake Island terminal will enhance service delivery and improve port efficiency for our customers and partners in the region,”
Chief Executive Officer of Nigerdock, Maher Jarmakani, described the agreement as a major milestone for the Nigerian maritime sector.
“We are delighted to partner with MSC in developing a world-class container terminal that will enhance Nigeria’s logistics capabilities and support economic growth,” he said.
Economic impact
Industry analysts say the project could significantly strengthen Nigeria’s maritime economy by expanding cargo handling capacity, reducing congestion at Lagos ports and attracting additional international shipping traffic.
The development is also expected to create thousands of direct and indirect jobs across maritime operations, logistics, transport services and port-related commercial activities.
Infrastructure expansion
Beyond the port development, plans are also underway for Nigeria’s first underwater tunnel, linking Ahmadu Bello Way in Victoria Island through Snake Island and connecting the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway with the Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway corridor through Badagry.
The tunnel project is expected to significantly improve freight movement and road connectivity between Lagos ports and national transport networks.
Strategic milestone
With the entry of MSC into the Snake Island development, industry observers say Nigeria is taking a significant step toward modernizing its maritime infrastructure and positioning itself as a regional hub for global shipping and trade.
For a project that has waited for decades for major international investors, the Snake Island concession represents a turning point in Nigeria’s port development strategy and a strong signal of global confidence in the country’s maritime future.
By Prince Adeyemi Shonibare
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