These are the stories that drove the conversation today:

Sokoto Governor, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal has formally announced his return to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

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The National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bolaji Abdullahi, has on Wednesday announced his resignation as spokesman of the party and called it quit with the ruling party.

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Twenty-three of the 24 member Kwara House of Assembly, led by the Speaker, Dr. Ali Ahmad on Wednesday defected from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

Ahmad and the 23 lawmakers, with the exception of Hon. Saheed Popoola, the member representing Ojomu/Balogun Constituency of Offa Local Government Area, who remains in the APC, hinged their defection on the factionalisation of the party.

“Today, as I and other members of the Kwara State Assembly dump the APC for good, I heaved a sigh of relief.

“….. I am the happiest leaving the APC for good. I wish I was never a member of the party,” he said

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The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says the Aug. 17 deadline for the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) stands and will not be extended as being anticipated in some quarters.

Public Affairs Officer of the commission in Gombe, Mohorret Bigun, who spoke to newsmen on Wednesday noted that the exercise would henceforth include weekends and public holidays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m, to give room for more people to register beginning from Aug.1.

“The commission would not want to deny anyone the right to vote; hence the need to suspend the exercise temporarily to prepare for the general elections in 2019.’’

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A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Wednesday ordered the arrest of the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmood Yakubu, for refusing to appear in court for the third time.

The judge, Justice Stephen Pam on Wednesday had given the order for Mahmood to appear before the court while ruling on a preliminary objection by INEC and its chairman in a contempt proceeding filed by Ejike Oguebego and Chuks Okoye, Chairman and Legal Adviser of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Anambra State respectively.

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And stories from around the world:

Four people have tested positive for Ebola in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo just days after another outbreak that killed 33 people in the northwest was declared over, the health ministry said on Wednesday. (Reuters)

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Soldiers and police fought running battles with hundreds of protesters in Harare on Wednesday, firing live ammunition, teargas and water cannon as rising tensions over Zimbabwe’s presidential election spilled into violence. (The Guardian, UK)

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More than 50 boxes handed over by North Korea to the United States last week appear to hold human remains from the 1950-1953 Korean War and are likely American, according to an initial forensic analysis, a U.S. official said on Wednesday. (Reuters)

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After more than 11 years abroad — a decade of it behind bars — former DR Congo warlord Jean-Pierre Bemba made a triumphant return home on Wednesday in front of several hundred thousand supporters and police firing teargas, reflecting the country’s high-voltage political mood. (AFP)

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Investigators including U.S. officials began sifting through the wreckage of an Aeromexico-operated passenger jet on Wednesday for clues to what caused it to crash in Mexico’s state of Durango, the head of the country’s civil aviation agency said. (Reuters)

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