The US has begun an aggressive new push to inflict pain on Russia’s economy and specifically its oligarchs with the intent of thwarting the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine. From the Treasury Department to the Justice Department, U.S. officials will focus on efforts to legally liquidate the property of Russian oligarchs, expand financial penalties on those who facilitate the evasion of sanctions, and close loopholes in the law that allow oligarchs to use shell companies to move through the U.S. financial system. Andrew Adams, who heads the KleptoCapture task force, designed to enforce the economic restrictions within the U.S. imposed on…
Author: Ifeanyi N.
Mr Peter Obi of the Labour Party, LP, has insisted the 2023 presidential election remains the worst election in the country’s history. Obi made the statement on Monday when he appeared on Arise Television’s Morning Show. The former Anambra State Governor, who has already contested the outcome of the election by filing suit at the presidential election petition tribunal, said it is probably the worst election considering the flagrant abuse of the 2022 electoral law. “If you look at the last election, it is probably the worst election, considering in this particular republic, the 2022 electoral law which was meant…
The Court of Appeal in Abuja, on Monday, commenced sitting in an appeal filed by Mr Ademola Adeleke of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) against a judgment of the tribunal which invalidated his election as Governor of Osun State. The three-member panel of justices began sitting in the appeal at about 10am. While Adeleke is the appellant, Oyetola and the All Progressives Congress (APC) are 1st and 2nd respondents in the appeal marked: CA/AK/EPT/GOV/01/2023. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the PDP are also joined as 3rd respondent and 4th respondent respectively. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports…
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, on Sunday disclosed that over 170,000 polling unit results of the Feb. 25 presidential and National Assembly elections have been uploaded on its Result Viewing Portal (IReV). Okoye also revealed that the reconfiguration of the Bimodal Voter Registration Systems (BVAS) would be completed by Tuesday, March 14, in preparation for the March 18 governorship and state Assembly elections. He stated this while featuring on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics. According to him, no political party will be given permission to look into the brain…
A former federal lawmaker, Shehu Sani has noted that Northern politicians are now being nice and humble to the people. According to Sani, this could be as a result of lessons learnt from the February 25 presidential election. Nigerians trooped out en-masse to decide their next leader during the presidential election and even though there are reports of massive rigging and electoral fraud across the country, the turnout showed that the people, especially the youth, are now prepared to make decisions about who leads them. Sani, a former representative of Kaduna central Senatorial District in the Bukola Saraki-led 8th Assembly,…
Following the conclusion of the presidential election, Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has said the emergence of the Labour Party, LP, flag bearer, Peter Obi ensured the emergence of a Southern President-elect. Wike disclosed this while naming Obi as the hero of the presidential election. He spoke at a town hall meeting with Igbo traders in Port Harcourt, the state capital on Saturday. Wike said the states where Obi recorded victories would have been won by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. The governor said such a situation would have made the North retain power. According to Wike: “In this…
The Bauchi State Governorship, National and State House of Assembly Election Tribunal, has granted leave to PDP candidate, Garba Dahiru to access sensitive materials used by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) during the NASS election on February 25 2023. Justice Wilfred Kpochi, who led the three-man panel, gave the order following an ex-parte application filed by Dahiru and his party. INEC announced APC’s Shehu Umar as the winner of the Bauchi South Senatorial District election on February 26th. Alex Hassan, lead Counsel to the applicant, had prayed the court to compel INEC to allow his client to obtain documents…
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has confirmed Ladi Adebutu as the authentic governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ogun State. INEC declared Adebutu the rightful candidate, having won all the cases against his candidature at the Supreme Court. Earlier, the Senior Special Assistant to Governor Dapo Abiodun on New Media, Emmanuel Ojo, had claimed the PDP had no governorship candidate in Ogun State. Ojo, on different social media platforms, said: ”Ogun PDP does not have a governorship candidate according to INEC list. Don’t waste your vote when it is time. Vote for APC.” But, the INEC…
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, said it has taken steps to resolve problems encountered during the 25th February presidential and National Assembly elections. Resident Electoral Commissioner, Professor Muhammad Lawan Bashar, stated this in an interview with newsmen over the commission’s readiness for the coming 18th March elections. He said the commission in Jigawa State had received over 20 petitions from different political parties and individuals across the state. “We have so far received over twenty petitions from political parties and candidates as well as applications for the issuance of certified true copies of our ballots papers and results sheets.”…
The otherwise serene Adamawa State Muslim Council is currently rocked with a row relating to endorsements of politicians in the ongoing political transition. Trouble started when a majority number of the leadership announced the endorsement of Governor Ahmadu Fintiri, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the 2023 governorship election. In a move which confirmed that the endorsement did not go down well with some officials of the Council, the Secretary of the Council in Michika Local Government Area, Alhaji Abdulrahman Maina Yaji, has resigned. Yaji left his office in the Council, expressing sadness that it had been politicized…
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Osun has threatened to occupy police stations across the state unless the Inspector General of Police, Usman Baba Alkali, does not stop the ongoing arrest of its leaders ahead of the Saturday, March 18, 2023, state House of Assembly election. The party, which maintained that it is the ruling party in the state and its members are law-abiding citizens, ruled out restoring to self-help but added that if the harassment continued, it would mobilise and storm all police posts in peaceful protests so that all their members in the state would be arrested This…
Special Adviser to Governor Chukwuma Soludo on Political Matters, Dr Alex Obiogbolu, has alleged that Anambra House of Assembly Labour Party candidates are being sponsored to fight the state government when they win. Obiogbolu, who spoke with journalists in Awka, said Anambra needs to vote for candidates of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, to avoid lawmakers who will distract the governor, when sworn in, from doing the wonderful job he has at hand. He, however, added that the governor is not looking for a rubber stamp assembly, as he is ready to work with people of all parties, but…
The national leadership of Accord has inaugurated a caretaker committee to steer the affairs of the political party in Oyo State ahead of the forthcoming governorship and state House of Assembly elections. The caretaker committee was inaugurated on Sunday in Ibadan, the state capital. The inauguration is coming a few days after the state executive council of the party was dissolved. InfoStride News recalls that the executive council was dissolved by the national leadership of the party following the suspension of the former state chairman of the party, Kolade Ojo alongside the secretary, a few hours after they declared their…
The Kwara State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has decried alleged intimidation and harassment of voters sympathetic to the party by the police. The party urged the security agencies in the state to ensure a level playing field for all citizens to exercise their franchise freely without let or hindrance. The PDP specifically complained about alleged intimidation of voters at polling units 031 and 032 Ode Ishowo Koro Sayodun axis of Alanamu Ward in Ilorin West Local Government Area of the state in the last Presidential and National Assembly elections. A statement in Ilorin on Sunday by the…
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has denied the allegation that it has refused to allow aggrieved political parties to inspect election materials as ordered by the Appeal Court. INEC National Commissioner for Information and Voter Education, Festus Okoye, made the clarification, when he appeared as a guest on Arise TV on Sunday. Okoye advised lawyers of the aggrieved parties, to channel their request appropriately, so that, “the issues can be handled expeditiously.” He added that INEC, at the national level, does not conduct elections, but rather elections are conducted at the state and local government level. The INEC Commissioner…
Senator Suleiman Hunkuyi, the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) gubernatorial candidate in Kaduna State, has expressed concern over candidates using religion and tribe to woo the electorate in the March 18 governorship election in the state. He also blasted some religious bodies for endorsing some governorship candidates, describing the scenario as a bad omen to the future of democracy. He said that using religion or tribe in a complex state like Kaduna for electioneering was dangerous. Speaking to newsmen in Kaduna on Saturday, the gubernatorial candidate advised eligible voters to shun divisive politics and vote for a credible candidate that…
The candidate of Labour Party in Ibarapa East State Constituency in the forthcoming gubernatorial and State House of Assembly elections in Oyo state, Hon Adesope Abiodun has dropped his ambition. Abiodun announced that he has stepped down for the Speaker of Oyo State House of Assembly, Adebo Ogundoyin. He made this disclosure at the end of a meeting with the Speaker and the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ibarapa East Local Government area. Abiodun, who spoke at the meeting held at the weekend, promised to work for the victory of the Speaker in the election billed to…
Two chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Bauchi State, Aminu Umar Gadiya and Saleh Hussaini Gamawa have been convicted by a Federal High Court, Bauchi and sentenced to two years imprisonment for offences that bordered on conspiracy and money laundering to the tune of N142, 460,000.00. Justice Hassan Dikko convicted Gamawa and Gadiya on March 2, while ruling on the 2-count charge brought against the defendants by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). This was disclosed in a statement on Saturday by INEC’s Head of Media and Publicity, Wilson Uwujaren. The defendants were first arraigned on June…
The Action Alliance (AA) has denied endorsing any gubernatorial candidate in Kaduna State. AA said that the announcement by Mohammed Lawal Kayahaya, was fraudulent and not from the party. The National Secretary of AA, Ambassador Suleiman Abdulrashid, the party’s National Secretary, while briefing newsmen in Kaduna on Saturday, explained that AA was not in alliance with any party, saying that it is preparing very well for the March 18 governorship and House of Assembly elections in the state. According to him, “Mohammed Lawal Kayahaya is not the state gubernatorial candidate of AA, therefore, warned Ashiru and others to be wary…
Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike has declared that he is not going to run for the presidency again. Wike while addressing party supporters during the governorship election campaign rally, said power will shift to the North after eight years in the South. Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress, APC, was declared the winner of the 2023 presidential election but his closest challengers have gone to court to seek redress. Wike said the reason he fought for power to return to the South was not to become President, insisting that it was not about him but a matter of principle.…