Three Presiding Officers of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Monday told the Presidential Election Petition Court ( PEPC) that the refusal of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) to transmit the presidential election results on election day frustrated their jobs. The Officers admitted that the results of the Senate and the House of Representatives election were transmitted unhindered and that the problems of technical hitches arose at the point of transmitting only the presidential poll results. Testifying on Subpoena at the ongoing hearing of petitions challenging the outcome of the February 25 presidential election, the three witnesses admitted…
Author: Ifeanyi Nwagboso
Former Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, on Sunday, disclosed that he was poisoned at the secretariat of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in 2018. Wike said the poison affected his liver and kidneys, adding that it almost killed him but for God’s intervention. He disclosed this during a special Thanksgiving service organised by his family at the St. Peters Deanery, Rumuepirikom, Obio-Akpor area of the state. The former governor said he was flown to Beirut at midnight, where doctors informed him that his liver and kidneys were gone. According to wike, after attending to him, the doctors informed him…
Former Nigeria president, Olusegun Obasanjo, has claimed that the founders of Boko Haram told him that poverty and unemployment drove them into insurgency. Obasanjo also warned that the 20 million out-of-school children in the country were a breeding ground for more “Boko Haram members of the future”. He stated these while speaking at the launch of a book titled, ‘Pillars of Statecraft: Nation-building in a changing world’ written by his daughter, Dr Kofo Obasanjo-Blackshire, in Lagos. “During the early days of Boko Haram, when the man who started the movement was said to have been killed, I said I wanted…
Former President of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo, has claimed that some state governors were involved in his failed third-term ambition. In 2006, a bill to amend the 1999 Constitution and extend term limits by another four years failed to sail through the National Assembly. Ever since the fiasco, Obasanjo has consistently denied that he tried to extend his stay in office beyond 2007, saying some governors were behind it all. In an interview with media personality Chude Jideonwo, Obasanjo spoke about his time in office and his administration’s stance on anti-corruption. On his failed third term bid, he said: “The governors,…
A member of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Advisory Council, Prof Gregory Ibe, has enjoined President Ahmed Bola Tinubu to give the Igbos a sense of belonging in his administration through appointments into critical national positions. This, he said, would dispel the perceived sense of imbalance in the minds of the Igbos concerning the scheme of things in Nigeria. Ibe, who made this call while speaking on recent events in the country, advised that the composition of both elected and appointed officials at the federal level should reflect and encourage religious and tribal equilibrium for the nation’s progress. The Ohanaeze chieftain, who earlier…
A popular Nigerian politician and elder statesman, Tanko Yakassai, said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is best for Nigeria at this time and moment. His statement countered former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s recent comment that Peter Obi of the Labour Party remained a better presidential candidate Nigeria needed. Yakasai, according to NAN, after meeting with President Tinubu recently, said that what Nigeria required at this time was a man with a track record of good governance and a well-versed politician to get it out of the woods. He said that with the precedent set in Lagos State when Tinubu was the governor…
The Abia State Government has denied reports that the former administration of Governor Okezie Ikpeazu left N24 billion in the state’s accounts, describing the reports as false. Rather, the state government said the past administration left a whopping N191 billion in debt for Otti to grapple with. The Special Adviser to Governor Alex Otti on Finance, Mike Akpara, made this disclosure in a statement in Umuahia . Akpara said that the $200 million and $50 million the past administration claimed it left for the new administration were loans they were pursuing which had yet to crystalise. Akpara said that the…
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang in Beijing, in the highest-level trip by a US official to China in nearly five years, Al Jazeera reported, adding, The visit aims to stabilise ties between the two powers, Al Jazeera reported. Blinken’s two-day trip to Beijing comes during the frosty bilateral ties and follows the discovery of a suspected spy balloon above the US in February that caused him to delay the trip which was planned for the same month. China and US have expressed their hopes of improving communication although they have minimised the expectations…
Seven members of the Imo State Working Committee (SWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), have resigned from their various positions and dumped the party. The officials announced their resignation in a statement they jointly signed, which was made available to the media by Collins Opurozor, the Imo PDP State publicity secretary, on Sunday in Owerri, the Imo State capital. Those who resigned are Sir Martins Ejiogu, deputy chairman, Ray Emeana, secretary, and Greg G.O.C. Nwadike, youth leader. Others include Collins Opurozor, publicity secretary; Mrs Maria Mbakwe, women leader; Josiah Eze, treasurer; and Chibuisi Obido, vice chairman, Orlu Zone. The…
The New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) has voided the suspension of its Imo chairman, Chief Charles Duruimo, by the local government chairmen of the party. Dr Agbo Major, the NNPP National Publicity Secretary, stated this at a news conference in Abuja, NAN reports. Major explained that the decision was taken by the National Working Committee (NWC) of the NNPP. “Recently, there was a leadership disagreement in the Imo Chapter of our great party in which the State Chairman, Duruimo, was purportedly suspended by aggrieved officers in the state over alleged anti-party activities. “The national leadership of the party led by…
Reno Omokri, a popular social commentator, has claimed that the legal team of Peter Obi of the Labour Party at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal is an embarrassment. Omokri, media aide to ex-president Goodluck Jonathan, disclosed this in his official Twitter handle on Saturday. Omokri, a staunch supporter of Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, said he is disappointed at the nature of the witnesses and evidence Obi’s legal team brought before the Tribunal. He alleged that Obi’s counsels are making ‘schoolboy errors’ by blundering their schedule of documents and then asking for more time. He noted that…
Popular Nobel Laureate, Prof Wole Soyinka, has chided the Obidient Movement, supporters of Peter Obi of the Labour Party, over their role in the recently concluded 2023 general election. Infostride News reports Wole Soyinka, speaking at the launch of his book, “The Putin Files: Excursions Around The Ideology Of Pain”, on Friday, maintained that the Obidients were fascist. Responding to a lawyer and poet Ogaga Ifowodo’s question about why he called Obidients fascists, he used the 2020 EndSARS protest as an example of a struggle driven by pure truth. According to him, EndSARS is one of the most successful movements…
A faction of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo socio-cultural organization, on Saturday, faulted comments by a former Militant leader, Asari Dokubo, that Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, should not be released from DSS custody. The Igbo group said contrary to Dokubo’s claim, Kanu’s continued incarceration has caused unimaginable insecurity in the Southeast, insisting that the Biafra agitator be granted a presidential pardon. Okechukwu Isiguzoro, the faction’s Secretary-General said Kanu’s detention was destabilizing and crumbling the economy of the Southeast. During his visit to President Bola Tinubu, the former militant leader had said Kanu should not be released,…
Kano Governor, Abba Yusuf, has reaffirmed the commitment of his government to enhancing the existing diplomatic relationship between Kano State and the French Republic. The governor made this pledge during a meeting with the French Ambassador to Nigeria at the government house on Friday. Representing the Governor, his Deputy Aminu Gwarzo, highlighted the efforts of former Kano State Governor, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, in establishing and maintaining a progressive relationship with the French Government. Gwarzo specifically mentioned the establishment of French-speaking secondary schools by Sen. Kwankwaso in Madobi town and two others in the Republic of Niger. During her address, the…
Governor Siminalayi Fubara has warned the police against restoring the disbanded Special Anti-robbery Squad (SARS) in Rivers State. Some media users have been alleging profiling and indiscriminate arrests after sightings of police officers operating like SARS in Port Harcourt and other areas. Fubara raised the issue on Friday at the Government House during a meeting with the new Commissioner of Police, Nwoyi Polycarp Emeka. The governor urged the commissioner to investigate the complaints and halt any form of harassment of law-abiding individuals. “The importance of security is a collective responsibility of all stakeholders. We urge you to get to the…
The United States Government on Friday announced a ban targeting Ugandan officials, citing human rights abuses and corruption. The Department of State said it is taking steps to impose visa restrictions under Section 212(a)(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The Joe Biden administration noted that the U.S. government will continue to evaluate additional actions under the policy. The affected individuals are accused of being responsible for/complicit in corruption, undermining the democratic process, and abusing human rights, including those of LGBTQI+ persons. Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act 2023, enacted in late May, prescribes prosecution and life imprisonment or the death penalty for…
Mr Asari Dokubo, a Niger Delta activist, has urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu not to release Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB. Dokubo made the call after he visited President Tinubu in Aso Rock on Friday. Recall that Enugu State Governor, Peter Mbah, had called for the release of Kanu when he met with President Bola Tinubu. But Dokubo said Kalu should be made to face the law because releasing him will fuel impunity. “His release would fuel impunity; during EndSars, Nnamdi Kanu was walking free. What did he do? He poured petrol on the…
Russia has “successfully maintained economic stability” in the face of “unprecedented challenges”, President Vladimir Putin said during a plenary session of the 26th St Petersburg International Economic Forum. “Positive macroeconomic trends are gaining momentum and becoming increasingly apparent,” Putin was quoted by Xinhua news agency as saying on Friday. Russia’s GDP could achieve a growth rate of about 1.5 per cent to 2 per cent this year, which will enable the country to retain its place among the world’s leading economies, he said. Inflation stays close to a historical low of 2.9 per cent and unemployment stands at a record…
The Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke has been called upon to as a matter of urgency reinstate three suspended monarchs in the state. Adeleke was also advised to stop playing politics with the traditions of the Yoruba tradition. This call was made by the World Institute of Peace, a civil society group based in Osun. Infostride News recalled that upon inauguration in November 2022, Governor Ademola Adeleke signed an Executive Order putting a hold on the installation of the Owa of Igbajo, Akirun of Ikirun and Aree of Iree. The three monarchs were appointed by his predecessor, former Governor Adegboyega…
The Labour Party presidential candidate in the last election, Peter Obi has described famous Nigerian entertainer, Charly Boy, also known as Area Father as a pillar in the pursuit of a better Nigeria. Obi in a one-minute video posted on Twitter by Charly Boy, congratulated the singer on his 73rd birthday. According to Obi, Charly Boy has “been consistently consistent in his commitment to a better society”, stressing that the singer uses his talent to care for humanity. He said, “On behalf of my family, I wish to most sincerely congratulate my very dear elder brother, Charly Boy popularly known…