Sri Lanka is not in the position to hold a snap presidential election this year because of the ongoing economic crisis and the government’s focus is on debt restructuring, Cabinet Spokesman Bandula Gunawardena said on Tuesday. No election would be possible this year as the state finances have not improved, Gunawardena said while responding to speculation that the government might opt to hold a snap presidential election. He said the government’s focus, for now, is centred on successfully ending the process of debt restructuring. Former prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was elected as the President of Sri Lanka by the Parliament…
Author: Ifeanyi Nwagboso
The New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) South West zone has called on the Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, to investigate the Divisional Police Officer and Investigating Police Officer of Adatan Police Station in Ogun State over the alleged release of the key of the party’s secretariat to the former Chairman of the party, Sunday Oginni. The party said this in a statement signed by Comrade Kilamuwaye Badmus, Southwest Zonal Publicity Secretary, and made available to the media on Tuesday. Infostride News recalls that Oginni had been expelled from the party over allegations of anti-party activities, among others. Our…
The Special Assistant on Public Communication to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, Phrank Shaibu has described President Bola Tinubu’s Democracy Day broadcast as a veiled threat to Nigeria’s judiciary. Shaibu said Tinubu had no constitutional power to determine what an illegal or legal court order is. In his broadcast on Monday, Tinubu had said: “It has become imperative to state here that the unnecessary, illegal orders used to truncate or abridge democracy will no longer be tolerated.” Reacting, Shaibu said it was funny that Tinubu, who had been one of the biggest beneficiaries of court orders,…
In his bid to establish his allegations of malpractices in the conduct of the February 25 presidential election, the Labour Party (LP) candidate in the last election, Peter Gregory Obi on Tuesday, tendered additional 188 exhibits against the declaration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu as winner of the election. The exhibits, mainly results sheets and reports used by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) during the election, were tendered at the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) and admitted as exhibits to be used to determine the legality or otherwise of Tinubu’s return as the President. Obi, through Peter Afoba, a Senior…
As Nigeria marks democracy day, the All Progressives Congress, APC in Rivers State has called for a democratic rebirth in the state. The party, in a statement by its state Publicity Secretary, Darlington Nwauju said it believes the critical elements of democracy are, respect for the rule of law, political tolerance, transparency, accountability, participation of citizens and equality. Nwauju advised stakeholders to practice the elements of democracy to deliver proper representation, which he claims is the missing link in governance in Rivers State. The statement stressed that Nigerians must have freedom of expression, noting that participation is the foundation that…
The youth wing of apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council Worldwide has congratulated the new leadership of the National Assembly. Infostride News reported that both chambers of the National Assembly were inaugurated on Tuesday, with Senator Godswill Akpabio emerging as Senate President and Tajudeen Abbas as Speaker of the House of Representatives. In a statement made available to journalists, the National President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council, Mazi Okwu Nnabuike urged the NASS leadership to work for the collective interest of Nigerians. Okwu said the Senate and the Reps leadership must prove that they are not puppets of…
President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday pledged that his administration would commit more resources to the education sector. The leader said he would ensure that every Nigerian child, regardless of their background, has access to quality education. Tinubu spoke at the State House in Abuja when he received the leadership of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS). He stated that poverty should not be a barrier to education, emphasizing the transformative power of education in combating poverty. The President said any child, including the daughter or son of traders, should be able to attain the highest standard of education. ”If…
Famous Nigerian social critic, Aisha Yesufu, has slammed the political elites for “thinking they own the judiciary just as they once thought they owned the electoral process”. Yesufu said it was lack of participation by citizens that gave them the room to indulge in all manner of criminality. Her statement was apparently in response to a section of speech in President Bola Tinubu’s “Democracy Day” address to the nation. Tinubu said, “It has become imperative to state here that the unnecessary illegal orders used to truncate or abridge democracy will no longer be tolerated.” But in a post via her…
Former Minister of Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo, has mocked former Nigerian Head of State, General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida (IBB), who he called an “evil genius” and two-time president Olusegun Obasanjo. Keyamo claimed both IBB and Obasanjo are alive to witness Bola Tinubu become President of Nigeria. He also described Tinubu as one of the most faithful political “soldiers” of the late MKO Abiola, winner of the annulled 1993 presidential election. Keyamo stated this via his verified Twitter handle on Monday, June 12, which is celebrated as Democracy Day. He shared an image showing the late MKO Abiola, the late…
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has signed the 2023 Student Loan Act into law. The bill was passed by the 9th National Assembly but assented to by Tinubu on Monday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, as part of measures to boost educational access and delivery at the tertiary level. The Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Education, Andrew Adejo, and Dele Alake, a senior aide to the President, both explained that the act will ensure indigent students access the loans to further their education. According to Alake, the loan initiative was part of what Tinubu promised during his electioneering campaigns.…
The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Lagos State says the residents are yet to enjoy the dividends of democracy despite the sacrifices of June 12. The opposition party in a statement on Sunday urged the people to be resilient and remain hopeful that the best is on the way. “The state is yet to enjoy real dividends of democracy, which the late Chief MKO Abiola and the June 12, 1993, elections stood for”, it reads. Publicity Secretary, Hakeem Amode said the residents “deserve more than they are experiencing” under the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). The spokesperson said Lagos is…
UN cultural and scientific agency UNESCO announced Monday that the United States plans to rejoin and pay more than $600 million in back dues after a decade-long dispute sparked by the organization’s move to include Palestine as a member. U.S. officials say the decision to return was motivated by concern that China is filling the gap left by the U.S. in UNESCO policymaking, notably in setting standards for artificial intelligence and technology education around the world. U.S. Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Richard Verma submitted a letter last week to UNESCO Director General Audrey Azoulay formalizing the…
President Bola Tinubu has declared that candidates who are unable to concede defeat in the last general elections do not deserve the joy of victory when they eventually win in subsequent polls. The President, who made the declaration in his Democracy Day Nationwide Broadcast, admitted that the 2023 presidential election was intensely contested, attributing the outcome to the country’s improving democracy. According to Bola Tinubu, “the beauty of democracy is that those who win election today can lose tomorrow and those who lose today will have an opportunity to compete and win in the next round.” He pointed out that…
The presidential candidate of the Labour Party, LP, in the February 25 general election, Mr Peter Obi has claimed the “nation’s democracy is deeply troubled, while its destiny remains uncertain and precarious.” Obi said it is regrettable that the country is now in an era where foundational pillars of democracy are undermined by prevalent impunity and pervasive violence and bloodletting. In a statement via his verified Twitter handle on Sunday, Obi lamented that “the country lacks selfless leaders committed to national interest, sustainable development and innovative thinking that offers every Nigerian freedom of choice of abode, protection of lives and…
Following the celebration of June 12, set aside to celebrate Nigeria’s Democracy, President Tinubu has addressed Nigerians. His address in full: “Fellow Nigerians, It is exactly three decades today that Nigerians went to the polls to exercise their inalienable right to elect a President of their choice to lead the transition from military dictatorship to a representative government of the people. The abortion, by military fiat, of the decisive victory of Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola of the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the June 12, 1993, presidential election, up to that time, the fairest and freest election in…
Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara State has approved the deployment of government buses to support the movement of students and workers in public tertiary institutions within Ilorin, the capital city, and its environs. The bus palliative for the students, covering the metropolis, is the second phase in the measures by the Kwara State Government to cushion the effects of the fuel subsidy removal by the federal government. The government had earlier reduced workdays for civil servants from five to three weekdays, while bureaucrats worked out other measures for workers exempted from the policy. According to a Kwara State Government House…
Elder statesman and Ijaw leader, Chief Edwin Clark says he will only comment on the Bola Tinubu presidency after the conclusion of the election petitions tribunal where the outcome of the February 25 presidential poll is being challenged. Speaking in Abuja ahead of the 30th anniversary of the annulment of June 12 presidential election, Clark said, “I don’t want to comment on that because the election tribunals are still sitting.” He added that he did not want to make statements that were prejudicial. Recall that Clark supported and endorsed Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party who emerged…
The New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP, presidential candidate, Rabiu Kwankwaso, has described the immediate past governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Ganduje as his “political boy.” Kwankwaso was reacting to Ganduje’s latest threat to slap him. After meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Ganduje had threatened to slap Kwankwaso. Kwankwaso and Ganduje were at the Villa on Friday, and separately briefed President Bola Tinubu on the recent developments in the state. Dismissing Ganduje’s threat, Kwankwaso said the former governor can’t look him in the face. Speaking with BBC Hausa service, Kwankwaso said the former governor was confused when…
The Ohanaeze Ndigbo sociocultural organization, on Saturday the suspended Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, governor, Godwin Emefiele, allowed himself to be destroyed by the cabals that controlled former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration. Ohanaeze said Emefiele played into the hands of the cabals that never wanted Bola Tinubu to become president. The body was reacting to Tinubu’s decision to suspend Emefiele as the CBN governor over ongoing investigation of the apex bank. Okechukwu Isiguzoro, Ohanaeze’s Secretary-General, said Emefiele’s continued stay in office would undermine Tinubu’s presidency. Speaking with DAILY POST, the Ohanaeze chieftain said Emefiele’s suspension was a right decision. According…
The Osun State Government has revealed that it will soon unveil palliatives to cushion the effect of the recent subsidy removal. This disclosure was made by Olawale Rasheed, the spokesperson to Governor Ademola Adeleke, during a sensitisation programme on Saturday. Recall that President Bola Tinubu on May 29, 2023, pronounced a suspension on the fuel subsidy regime. As a result of the fuel subsidy suspension, the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, went up, with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, capping it in all its outlets at N500 per litre. Rasheed had disclosed that the planned intervention…