Barely 24 hours after the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lost four members of the House of Representatives to the ruling party All Progressives Congress (APC), another member, Jonathan Gaza has dumped the party. Mr Gaza is the latest in the gale of defection that continues to rock the opposition party. The letter of defection was read by the Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila on Wednesday during plenary. The Governor of Nasarawa State, Abdullahi Sule, and two of his predecessors, Sen Tanko Almakura and Sen Abdulahi Adamy were on the floor of the House to observe. The Speaker, who was obviously delighted with…
Author: Ifeanyi N.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Imo State has expressed worry on Governor Hope Uzodinma’s silence over the recent ban on open grazing by the Southern Governors Forum (SGF). The opposition party in the state said that Governor Hope Uzodinma has betrayed his guilt and acute inferiority complex by consciously dissociating himself from the series of meetings held by the Governor’s Forum. The party, in a release signed by its Director General of New Media, Collins Opuruzor, accused the Governor of saddling himself with worthless parties with expensive wines and champagnes while burning regional and national issues are being discussed…
China appears to be preparing to ramp up its involvement in Afghanistan amid US troops withdrawal with Beijing eyeing the war-torn nation for investment and influence opportunities. According to The New York Post, in recent weeks, Beijing has been vocal in slamming the United States for pushing forward with its troop withdrawal, citing the deteriorating situation on the ground. Still, it had not made any public commitments regarding a response. US President Joe Biden has set a deadline of September 11 for the final pullout of the few remaining troops from Afghanistan. Citing the media reports, the Newspaper outlet reported…
An Abuja-based activist, Deji Adeyanju, has disclosed why Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State is not qualified to become Nigeria’s next president. Adeyanju explained that Bello is the worst governor in Nigeria, hence is not qualified to become the country’s next president. In a tweet, the convener of Concerned Nigerian, also accused Bello of being an enemy of Nigeria’s democracy. The activist maintained that the governor has severely violated citizens’ human rights in Kogi State. He further described the governor as a believer of violence. According to Adeyanju: “Yahaya bello, not qualified to contest for President of Nigeria because he…
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Kaduna State Chapter, has sympathised with parents and relatives of the kidnapped students of Bethel Baptist High School, Damishi, Chikun Local Government Area of the state. This was contained in a statement by Abraham Alberah Catoh, State Publicity Secretary, of the party. “It is no longer news that Kaduna State has become the hotbed of Kidnappings, armed banditry and other heinous crimes in Nigeria today. “The recent abduction of over 121 students of the Bethel Baptist High School, along Kujama Road, Kaduna by bandits (kidnappers), the kidnapping of babies, nurses and security guards at the…
Aspirants of the local government caretaker committee, who did not make the lists of nominees, and their supporters have protested their non-inclusion which was last Thursday approved by the Osun State House of Assembly. The aspirants and their supporters, who were conveyed in 18 seater buses, stormed the Famson Street, Igbona, Osogbo residence of the State All Progressives Congress (APC) Chairman, Adegboyega Famodun. In a four-minute 45 second video monitored by the media, the protesting aspirants and their supporters. who are mostly from Iwo local government, disclosed that they were against the party leadership in the state and local government…
The Coalition of Northern Groups, CNG, has accused the Southern governors of ganging up against the North ahead of 2023. CNG was reacting to the resolution of Southern governors on the presidency shifting from the North in 2023. On Monday, Southern governors had called for the Southern part of the country to produce Nigeria’s next president. However, CNG’s spokesman, Abdul-Azeez Suleiman, said the call was a gang up to deprive the North of the Presidency in 2023. A statement by Suleiman reads partly: “The gang up against the North, especially, to force a regional shift of the Presidency in 2023…
U.S. lawmakers tapped to serve on the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol on Thursday vowed to release a comprehensive report of their findings, citing their oath to the U.S. Constitution. Representative Benny Thompson, the head of the Homeland Security panel who will lead the new U.S. House of Representatives select panel, said the parameters of the probe have not yet been decided, including possible witnesses, and that no hearing dates have yet been set.
A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress in Kwara State, Iyiola Oyedepo, has warned that it will be unreasonable for anyone to think that the party cannot be removed in the 2023 general elections. He said unless the lingering intra-party crisis is resolved amicably, there is a slim chance for the party to succeed in the elections in the state. In a chat with the newsmen in Ilorin on Tuesday, Oyedepo, said out of the four tendencies that formed the ruling party in the state, three aggrieved tendencies are out of government, leaving only Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq’s group. He also…
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has announced the extension of membership registration and revalidation in Imo, Kwara, Ogun, and Rivers for another two weeks. The decision for extension of the exercise in the affected states was contained in a statement by its caretaker Extra-Ordinary Convention Planning Committee Secretary, Senator John James Akpanudoehede in Abuja on Tuesday. The Secretary said the extension followed the recommendation of the party’s Membership Registration Appeals Committee. “Following the recommendation of the Membership Registration Appeals Committee, the Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has approved the continuation of the Party’s membership…
Lawmakers from the south in the House of Representatives have endorsed the position of the Southern Governors’ Forum on the 2023 presidential election. The governors had after a meeting in Lagos, resolved to support 5% operation expenditure for host communities in the PIB, rotation of presidency to the south and others. The Senate passed a version of 3% operation expenditure, while the House passed 5%. The governors endorsed the House position. In a statement issued by Victor Nwokolo, the chairman of the southern reps caucus, the lawmakers backed the governors on those issues. “We note that the demand that the…
Four members of the House of Representatives, who were elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), from Zamfara State on Tuesday defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC). They are Bello Hassan Shinkafi, Ahmed Bakura, Ahmed Shehu and Suleiman Gumi. The lawmakers cited the crisis within the PDP for their action. In a letter signed by Rep. Suleiman Gumi and read at plenary, they said they were leaving the opposition party because of the crisis which led to dissolution of the state chapter by the national leadership of the party. This comes after Governor of the State,…
As the Taliban stepped up attacks to gain control over Afghanistan in the wake of the withdrawal of the US troops, militant groups opposed to Pakistan and China have also increased their assaults, according to a media report. Amid the chaos, previously defeated insurgent groups with bones to pick against both Pakistan and China are once more on the rise, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported. The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which has been waging an insurgency against Pakistan for several years, has become active in tribal areas as well as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province with efforts to take control…
The All Progressive Congress (APC) in Abia State has expressed worries on the continued occupation of the office of the Speaker of Abia State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon Chinedum Orji, following his alleged involvement in the misappropriation of the Paris Club Refund currently being investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Recall that the anti-graft commission had grilled Governor Okezie Ikpeazu’s former Commissioner of Finance, Mr.Obinna Oriaku. Oriaku revealed, in the course of the investigation, that ex-Abia governor, Theodore Orji’s government received the sum of N8.2 billion Paris Club Refund during his tenure without any record to…
Governor Bello Matawalle of Zamfara, on Monday, approved the reappointment of eight Special Advisers who were earlier relieved of their posts. This is contained in a statement issued in Gusau by Yakubu Haidara, Permanent Secretary, Cabinet Affairs, on behalf of the Acting Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Kabiru Balarabe Those reappointed included Aminu Abdullahi-Alkali, Sustainable Development Goals; Ahmed Muktar-Mohammed, Housing and Urban Development and Junaidu Aminu-Kaura, Judicial Service and Legal Matters. Others are Ibrahim Ma’aji-Gusau, Political Affairs and Inter Party Relations; Dr Aslam Aliyu, Skills Acquisition; Yusuf Abubakar-Zugu, Chieftaincy Affairs; Danyaro Abdullahi-Wuya, FADAMA III and Abubakar Musa (Mainera), Commodity Board.…
The Northern Elders Forum (NEF) has rejected the position of the Southern governors that the South should produce the President come 2023. According to the Forum, the North would not be compelled into yielding a democratically elected office. The Northern Elders Forum through its Director of Publicity and Advocacy, Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, observed that as far as the North was concerned, the idea that it would be indirectly threatened or intimidated or blackmailed into yielding an office which ought to be settled democratically is not acceptable. The NEF sees the decision of the southern governors as an expression of sentiment…
Atiku Abubakar, former Vice President, has said it is high time the President Buhari-led government began to live up to its responsibilities. The former Vice President said this while condemning the abduction of an unspecified number of students from Bethel Baptist High School, Damishi, Chikun local government area of the state, describing it as one too many. He stated that it is time to stop pretending that all is well with Nigeria and time for the government to perform its primary responsibility which is protecting lives. Atiku on his Twitter page wrote: “This is one abduction too many. We cannot…
Congress must act to restore fundamental voting rights after the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday backed voting restrictions in Arizona, U.S. President Joe Biden said, adding that legislative safeguards were needed to repair the damage and safeguard democracy. “The attack we are seeing today makes clearer than ever that additional laws are needed to safeguard that beating heart of our democracy,” Biden said in a statement. “Democracy is on the line.”
Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN), Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC) has supported Southern governors’ position next president must emerge from the Southern part in 2023. InfoStride News earlier reported that the governors from Southern states of the country jointly agreed that its region must produce the next President. Sagay warned that zoning the presidency to the South in 2023 is the only way to avoid the country plunging into crisis. Speaking with newsmen, he said, “I agree absolutely with the South governors. That is the only way it has to be in a country like this. When…
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the National Assembly will pass the 2010 Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill, 2021 already slated for final consideration next week. This was even as the leadership of the parliament denied taking any preconceived position in the amendment. The media was at the weekend awash with news that electronic transfer of results from the 8, 809 wards direct to the portal of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has been removed from provisions of the bill. The report made some of the civil society organisations put the telephone numbers of the presiding officers of the National Assembly on…