The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it will not postpone the 2019 general elections because of the delay in the passage of its budget. INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, made the clarifications while fielding questions from State House correspondents on Friday in Abuja. “I have said this over and over again; there are no conditions under which elections should be postponed, under section 26 of the Electoral Act. “The date is formed and fixed, February 16, 2019; we issued the timetable way in advance; for the very first time in the history of our nation, citizens of Nigeria know…
Author: David Folami
The President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki has described the death of former Secretary General of the United Nations (UN), Koffi Annan, as the end of a golden era in global politics and international relations. He said the deceased deployed his vast capacities to tackle intractable global challenges ranging from hunger, conflict, epidemic and restoration of peace in war torn countries. Saraki noted that many developing nations benefitted immensely from the humanitarian efforts of late Annan as he was able to raise the concerns and challenges confronting “forgotten peoples and nations in the Assembly of world powers. “Annan was…
Senator Godswill Akpabio has begged the people of Akwa-Ibom to forgive him for supporting the current Governor of the state, Udom Emmanuel. Akpabio recently defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) amidst celebrations. According to some sources, the Senator left the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) because of a quarrel between him and his former ally, Gov Emmanuel. The former Governor of Jigawa, Sule Lamido alleged that Akpabio was shown some files that made him afraid. Senator Akpabio also referred to the state Governor as a mistake, which he said will be corrected in 2019. According to him, “Udom (Emmanuel)…
The All Progressives’ Congress (APC) has once again condemned Senate President, Bukola Saraki, for his refusal to heed the ruling party’s calls to reconvene the National Assembly to consider the budget for the 2019 general elections. The national assembly adjourned legislative sittings till September 25 during plenary on July 24, amid a controversial clampdown by security operatives on Saraki and Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, in what has been described as a witch-hunt orchestrated by the executive. The alleged witch-hunt raised even more concerns when operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) invaded the national assembly complex on Tuesday,…
Dino Melaye (Kogi West – PDP) has hailed former president, Goodluck Jonathan, as a better leader that current president, Muhammadu Buhari. He said, “At the time I was criticising President Jonathan, I have no regrets criticising him, like I have no regrets now criticising the Buhari administration, but I want to say if you carry out comparative analysis between the Jonathan admnistration and this (Buhari’s administration), I would say President Jonathan is far far mileage above this present administration.” While further describing Jonathan as a ‘saint’ and calling Buhari’s administration ‘militocratic’, Melaye said he was never persecuted by the previous…
Bukola Saraki has called out APC national leader Bola Tinubu for “creating a wrong, false and mischievous impression about the reasons for my decision to exit the All Progressives Congress (APC) and present his prejudice as facts for public consumption”. Saraki writes that “Tinubu himself will recall that during the various meetings he had with me at the time he was pursuing reconciliation within the APC, I raised all the above issues. I can also vividly recall that he himself always expressed his displeasure with the style of the government and also mentioned that he had equally suffered disrespect from…
Aminu Tambuwal has fired back at the allegations of the national leader of the All Progressives’ Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, that he dumped the party because he could not challenge President Muhammadu Buhari for the presidency. He further accused Tinubu of exposing the APC’s refusal to maintain a level-playing field for all its members with his statement. He was quoted to have said, “If I wanted to and if the Presidency is what Ahmed Tinubu thinks I defected, I could contest with President Buhari under the APC. I have what it takes to have contested with Mr. President. “Tinubu tried…
Mr Yusuf Lasun, the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, says he will not leave the All Progressives Congress (APC) inspite of losing the party’s governorship primary in Osun. Lasun came second with 21,000 votes, while Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola, the Chief of Staff to Gov. Aregbesola won the primary with 127,017 votes. He said: “Although I was conspired against during the governorship primary, but I will not leave the party. “I am still attending all the party’s functions to that effect. “My supporters and I are still members of the APC and we are not intending to leave the…
Asiwaju Bola Tinubu has opened up on the recent defections in the polity, saying Senate President Bukola Saraki and Sokoto State Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal among others left the APC because the party could not offer them what they wanted. According to him, the defectors “left the party to return to a motley agglomeration that would promise them what true democracy could not: automatic tickets, sharing of the national wealth and other offices and privileges”. Asiwaju Tinubu asked the people to go beyond the debate on the numbers in the Senate of House of Representatives, saying “we must pull back…
The Presidency has dismissed Senate President Bukola Saraki’s allegation that President Muhammadu Buhari is to blame for the delay in approving the supplementary budget for Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Malam Garba Shehu, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, who stated this in a statement in Abuja on Sunday, said on the contrary, the Saraki-led senate should be solely held responsible for the delay. According to him, the Senate President to look into the mirror and what he will see is his own face. “He is solely to be held responsible for deliberately driving the…
It’s all about spin, I guess. Spin, and how you view the person doing the talking. Paul Pogba came out after Manchester United’s 3-2 defeat at Brighton and, as I saw it, took the loss on the chin. “The attitude that we had was not like we wanted to beat them,” he said. “They had more hunger than us and that showed on the pitch. I put myself first. My attitude wasn’t right enough. We’ll keep trying and pushing and obviously it’s a lesson for us.” I read that as a team captain saying the blame rests with the players…
Lionel Messi put World Cup disappointment with Argentina behind him to kick off the new season with a bang, scoring twice in Barcelona’s 3-0 win against Alaves at Camp Nou on Saturday. The forward’s first goal, Barca’s 6,000th in La Liga (he also scored their 5,000th in 2009) was delivered under the Alaves wall and coach Ernesto Valverde says we’re lucky to be living in the same era as him. “Messi is a genius,” Valverde said in his postgame news conference. “We’re lucky to be able to see him every day. “We’re lucky to be involved in football during the…
Marco Reus was happy with a “dirty win” after scoring a dramatic 121st-minute extra-time winner against Greuther Furth in the German Cup on Monday. “Furth did incredibly well. They acted very compact and kept their ranks closed,” Reus told Sky after the game, explaining that his team acted too timidly. “At times we just didn’t find the courage to play actual attacking football. In the end, we’ll gladly take a dirty win home.” Albeit being a late hero, Reus was the main culprit of squandering several golden opportunities to decide the match in Dortmund’s favour sooner. As more chances went…
UEFA have announced their final shortlists for the Men’s and Women’s Player of the Year awards, with Lionel Messi missing the cut. Cristiano Ronaldo, Luka Modric and Mohamed Salah make the final three-man list for the men’s award, with Wolfsburg’s Pernille Harder and Lyon duo Ada Hegerberg and Amandine Henry are up for the women’s award. Ronaldo and Modric won the Champions League for Real Madrid against Salah’s Liverpool in the final, while Hegerberg and Henry scored against Harder’s Wolfsburg in Lyon’s triumph in the Women’s Champions League. The 2016-17 men’s award was won by Ronaldo, who finished ahead of…
Mino Raiola has hit back at Paul Scholes after the former Manchester United midfielder was critical of Paul Pogba’s performance in the loss at Brighton. Raiola, posting on Twitter on Tuesday morning, appeared to joke that he would have “sleepless nights” trying to find Pogba a new club. There has been speculation Raiola has already lined up a move to Barcelona for Pogba after a breakdown in his relationship with United manager Jose Mourinho. Scholes accused Pogba of going missing during the 3-2 defeat to Brighton on Sunday despite being named captain for a second game in a row, prompting…
James Milner’s converted a penalty on the stroke of halftime and Sadio Mane added a late second goal to secure a hard-fought 2-0 win at Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Monday. While many will feel that Liverpool’s early form has confirmed pre-season predictions that they will be the main challengers to champions Manchester City for the title this season, Klopp said he had no interest in such talk. “It’s very early. I couldn’t care less really. We are not in a race with other Premier League teams each weekend. I was not 100 percent sure tonight in the…
Wayne Rooney has said MLS opponents have started showing D.C. United more “respect” in the weeks since he joined the club. The former Manchester United star has scored three goals and added three assists in eight games (six starts) since his debut on July 14. “I think what you’re seeing now is teams respecting us a bit more,” Rooney said after playing 90 minutes in the 2-0 win. “I think in previous games, New England have pressed a lot. … I think today you could see their hesitance in doing that. And leaving the space for us to get on…
Jan Oblak has indicated that defender Filipe Luis will sign for Paris Saint-Germain before the transfer window shuts at the end of August. The Brazil left-back has a verbal agreement to join the French champions according to media reports in Spain. “It’s a bit sad but that’s how it is,” Oblak told reporters after Atletico’s opening 1-1 Liga draw at Valencia on Monday. “Filipe has a good opportunity and you have to respect a player’s decision. Let’s see what happens.” However coach Diego Simeone expected the defender to stay with Atletico. “I think so, yes,” he said when asked if…
Vincent Kompany has said Manchester City only have to look at recent history to see that they won’t defend their Premier League title if complacency settles in. “I can only say it’s different from previous years we have won the league,” Kompany told reporters. “I think everyone has been warned enough as well. No team in the last nine seasons has been able to repeat and win the league. “There’s been so many warnings we have had and every single time we almost have to fight against ourselves and our nature, not to fall in the same trap as the…
The Kaduna State Government has imposed a 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. curfew on Kwaru and Ungwan Yero communities in the Kaduna North Local Government Area of the state with effect from Friday. This followed the killing of two youths in the communal clashes that took place in the two communities. Samuel Aruwan, the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Media and Publicity, announced this in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kaduna on Friday. The statement said that more security agents had been deployed to the area to maintain law and order,…