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Actress Kemi Afolabi is celebrating her daughter, Dara, on her 16th birthday while reflecting on the health challenges she faced this year amid her battle with lupus.

In an Instagram post, the actress shared a video of herself with Dara in hospital and revealed that 2026 had been one of the toughest years for their family after a severe lupus flare-up led to multiple surgeries.

‘Year 2026 has been tough for us. A lupus flare came on so strong, leading to multiple surgeries,’ Afolabi wrote.

Despite her health struggles, the actress praised her daughter for standing by her throughout, describing the teenager as her source of strength.

‘But Dara was stronger! You grew on me, baby. It’s been you in both sad and happy moments. You’re an amazing child. I celebrate you not just today but every day,’ she added.

Afolabi, who opened up about her lupus diagnosis in 2022, said Dara has been with her through both difficult and joyful moments.

The actress has been vocal about living with the autoimmune disease and often credits her daughter for her support during treatment and recovery.

The Osun State All Progressives Congress (APC) Governorship Campaign Council has accused Governor Ademola Adeleke’s administration of engaging in direct vote-buying ahead of the August 15 governorship election.

The campaign council alleged that the state government had commenced a widespread scheme through which residents and workers were being asked to submit their bank account details to receive ?20,000.

The allegations were contained in a statement signed on Wednesday by Oluremi Omowaiye, Head of the Media and Publicity Committee of the Osun APC Governorship Campaign Council.

The council alleged that the state government had paid ?20,000 each into the bank accounts of some workers and residents, describing the payments as political inducements.

It also claimed that some National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members in the state, who receive a monthly stipend of ?5,000, had received ?20,000 payments at intervals of 10 days ahead of the election.

The APC campaign council further alleged that the payments were coming at a time when the state government had failed to remit workers’ contributory pension and cooperative deductions for two years.

It also criticised the administration’s handling of pension arrears, alleging that although the 2025 budget provided ?6 billion for settling gratuity arrears, no payment was eventually made to pensioners.

The council accused the Adeleke administration of resorting to what it described as last-minute distribution of public funds after becoming aware of its declining electoral fortunes.

It further alleged that the payments were being routed through official state government accounts, describing the development as a criminal use of public resources for electoral purposes.

The APC campaign council said the alleged payments could not influence voters, arguing that the administration would not have resorted to such measures if it had performed creditably during its tenure.

It also urged residents to remain vigilant, alleging that some vulnerable citizens were being required to swear oaths of political allegiance before receiving the ?20,000 payments.

The council accused the state government of exploiting economic hardship for political purposes, while alleging that the education, healthcare, infrastructure and agricultural sectors had deteriorated under the administration.

It further claimed that the Adeleke administration had received about ?1 trillion in federal allocations during its tenure without commensurate development.

The campaign council described vote-buying as a serious electoral offence and called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to investigate the allegations.

It demanded a thorough examination of the state government’s accounts and called for anyone found culpable to be prosecuted.

‘Osun treasury belongs to the people, not to a desperate re-election campaign,’ the council said.

Aggrieved lawmakers of the Ondo State House of Assembly have insisted that they will not back down from their move to remove the embattled Speaker, Rt. Hon. Olamide Oladiji.

The lawmakers said Oladiji remained in office because the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state intervened in the crisis rocking the Assembly.

Oladiji is facing impeachment threats over allegations of mismanaging N44 million released by the Ondo State Oil-Producing Areas Development Commission (OSOPADEC).

The Speaker, however, has described the campaign against him as politically motivated, rather than being driven by genuine concerns about his leadership of the Assembly.

The crisis reportedly followed the endorsement of an impeachment notice by 21 of the 26 lawmakers in the Assembly.

The lawmakers accused Oladiji of mishandling funds meant for the reordering of the OSOPADEC 2026 budget.

The lawmakers, who spoke on Wednesday during their parliamentary sitting after a prolonged months without sitting, said the impeachment plot of the embattled Speaker is still on course.

Addressing reporters shortly after their sitting, the Chairman of the House Committee on Information, Hon. Olatunji Ifabiyi revealed that the lawmakers were only awaiting the direct of the leadership of the APC if is to proceed with the plan.

Ifabiyi said that it was important for the leader of the party in the state, Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa to urgently intervene and mediate over the ongoing crisis in the state parliamentary house.

‘We are still waiting for the leadership of the party. We are unable to proceed further until the leadership of the party asks us to proceed. So it is pending. We are still on course,’ he said.

According to him, the executive arm of the government has no business in the issues of legislature but since all 26 lawmakers in the Assembly belongs to the APC, it was important to resolved the crisis.

He noted that the ruling party has been a platform for all members to unite and come together ro resolve all internal crisis without favouring any individual.

‘It is normal for the party to intervene because we are all members of the same family. The APC has total control of the Ondo State House of Assembly,’ the lawmaker said.

Fabiyi added, ‘Our father should call all his sons together to discuss whatever crisis has arisen so that it can be resolved. But our father will not prefer one person at the expense of the other 26 members.

‘It is our party, and the fact remains that we want to change the kind of leadership we currently have. There is no opposition among us; we all belong to the same political party. Our father will not prefer one person at the expense of 26 members. Our father will not do that.’

However, Hon. Fabiyi disclosed that the legislators have now constituted an audit committee to examine the Assembly’s financial records amid the financial racketeering rocking the leadership of the House.

He, however, said the House adjourned to reconvene in two weeks and directed all standing committees to resume their regular sittings and oversight functions.

The Oyo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has alleged that Nigeria was fortunate not to have elected someone like Governor Seyi Makinde as its leader in 2023; otherwise, the nation would have been sold to interested buyers from other countries, with the proceeds ending up in his pocket.

The APC’s remark came against the backdrop of Governor Makinde’s recent description of President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms as ill-motivated and wrong.

Recall that the governor, speaking through a representative on Monday in Abeokuta during the unveiling of all the Ogun State candidates of the Allied People’s Movement (APM) for the 2027 poll, expressed his readiness to dislodge the APC from the Presidential Villa in next year’s general elections.

But the APC, reacting to Makinde in a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Olawale Sadare, said no amount of warped criticism and shadowboxing would make Nigerians choose a failed governor to replace a performing man as the nation’s President in 2027.

According to the party, the difference between President Tinubu and Governor Seyi Makinde in terms of experience, reputation, and results is like the distance between heaven and earth.

‘Therefore, we would not submit ourselves to an invitation to a macabre dance from him (Makinde) even as the whole world knows that he is on a journey to nowhere as far as the 2027 general elections are concerned.’

‘Gov. Makinde can afford to condemn the bold and courageous steps taken by President Bola Tinubu in 2023, as he is wont to playing to the gallery, but all informed minds and reputable global institutions cannot be wrong in their overwhelming applause for the President, who has not only saved Nigeria from imminent collapse and extinction but is also working tirelessly to place the country in its rightful place among the comity of nations.

‘The Oyo State governor swims in a pool of money as a result of the huge financial resources made available to his state and the 33 local government councils in the state by the Tinubu administration, yet he has little to show for it in terms of improved security, quality infrastructure, job opportunities, and other essentials for the residents of the Pacesetters State.

‘As it stands today, Oyo State is at the bottom of the table among the 36 states in terms of growth and development.

‘As a matter of fact, Gov. Makinde would have considered selling off Nigeria as the best option if he were the President faced with the quantum of challenges which President Tinubu encountered on assumption of office in 2023.

‘A Makinde who has transferred virtually all the assets of Oyo State to the wrong hands in exchange for cash in seven years would have sold the Niger and Benue rivers, as well as the nation’s portion of the Atlantic Ocean, if he had the opportunity.

‘To this end, Nigerians will never make the mistake of trusting him with their mandate.’