The embattled National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu, has appealed to aggrieved members of the party to stop the war of acrimony following the party’s defeat at the last general elections and work towards the party’s revival. He urged party stakeholders across the country to shake off the defeat, rest all misunderstandings and put the survival and stability of the party ahead of all other considerations. The PDP chairman stated this in a statement issued in Abuja on Tuesday. He also placed an embargo on his aides from speaking to the media on any party issue. He…
Author: Wale Adebayo
Governor-elect of Kaduna State, Malam Nasir el-Rufai, on Tuesday said that the incoming administration of President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, will inherit huge debt from the President Goodluck Jonathan administration. He said the incoming government would ask politicians both at the state and federal levels, who had dipped their hands into the nation’s treasury illegally, to refund such money. The governor-elect, who spoke to executive members of the National Union of Textile Garments and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria, who were on a courtesy visit to him in Kaduna, believed such politicians must be ready to refund their ill-gotten wealth after May 29.…
Some eminent elders in Ilorin Emirate of Kwara State have thrown their weight behind the aspiration of Dr. Bukola Saraki, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, to be the president of the eighth Senate. The elders expressed confidence in the ability of Saraki, who was a two-term governor of Kwara, to provide quality leadership in the upper chamber of the National Assembly. In a statement in Ilorin yesterday, the elders thanked the National Working Committee of the APC for allotting the office of the Senate President to the north-central zone. The statement was signed by Alh. Ganiyu Lawal-Giwa,…
One of the leading All Progressives Congress contenders for the Speakership of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, has received the endorsement of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, caucus, yesterday. A re-elected member of the House, Samson Okwu, who spoke on behalf of returning PDP legislators of the House, said the caucus was determined to enthrone Dogara from Bauchi State as the next Speaker. Okwu, representing Oju/Obi federal constituency of Benue State, said members were favourably disposed to working with a Speaker whose loyalty would be to the House than someone whose loyalty would be to a godfather. The Vice…
The highly respected Yoruba-farmers’ group, The Agbekoya, has declared that the role(s) played by the pan-Yoruba socio-political organization, Afenifere and the Odua Peoples Congress, OPC, in the just-concluded general elections has made them lose their remaining level of credibility in Yorubaland. The Secretary of Agbekoya, Dr. Ade Ogunlana, in a statement he jointly signed with the Ambassador of the society, Chief Ajibola Salau on Tuesday, said the role played by the two prominent Yoruba groups during the polls left much to be desired. Afenifere and OPC had supported Presidnt Goodluck Jonathan of the Peoples Democratic Party, because of his resolve…
The incoming First Lady, Hajia Aisha Buhari, has lent her voice to the campaign against child brides in the country, saying no girl should be married before age 17. According to her, a girl, who is between the age of 18 to 20 years is better placed to be married and conceive than those who are 17 and below. The wife of the president-elect made this view known on the side-line of the Global Women Conference in Buenos Aires, Argentina shortly after her presentation on the danger women and girl child contend with daily. She also pushed for legislation against…
The President-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) has described the death of Ambassador Chukwuma Bamidele Azikiwe, first son of late Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, as a sad development. In a condolence message in Abuja on Tuesday, the president-elect said that the younger Azikiwe lived a humane life that possessed virtues of his father, which qualified him for his traditional title, “Owelle of Onitsha”. According to Buhari, a gentleman bred in the best African values and traditions had departed the world to the great beyond. “With the demise of Chukwuma Azikiwe, a gentleman has left a turbulent world”, he said. “Ambassador Azikiwe was…
The Inspector-General of Police, IGP Solomon Arase, has stated that no society is crime-free, but that the police under his leadership would try to bring it down to a tolerable level. Arase said this in an interview with State House correspondents on Tuesday shortly after he was confirmed substantive IGP. Responding to a question on what strategy he would employ to contain the current security challenges in the country, Arase stated: “There is no society that is actually crime-free, but we are trying to ensure that it is within a tolerable level”. The police chief accepted the fact that the…
President Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday expressed his condolences to the family of Nigeria’s first President, Chief Nnamdi Azikiwe, over the passing away of his first son, Chief Chukwuma Bamidele Azikiwe. The president’s condolence, which was contained in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, also commiserated with the government and people of Anambra State, and the immediate family of the deceased. Mr. Jonathan believed that the late Azikiwe, who was also the Owelle Onitsha, lived a fulfilled life by sustaining the humanitarian and leadership legacies of his father as a mobiliser, leader, philanthropist and…
Rihanna’s outfit may have been the subject of many memes,but Vogue considers her the best dressed as she graces their MET Gala 2015 special issue … An excited Rihanna said she is very honoured to be on the cover. She was basically one of the few who stick to the Chinese theme. Now,that’s a fashion icon!
Gangsta Burna.Bloggers better watch out!
Mavins Crew first lady, Tiwa Savage has once again wowed the crowd at the Maharaja ball event which was held at the Eko Hotels & Suits Lagos over the weekend. The heavily pregnant diva looked astonishing even as she was dressed in a complete Indian outfit crowned with a sparking headpiece. Tiwa Savage performed some of her songs on stage and did not allow her baby bump to stop her from showing off her dance steps. The Indian themed event was aimed at raising funds for the Down Syndrome Foundation Nigeria (DSFN). Money raised will be used to establish housing…
What do David Beckham and Stephen Hawking have in common? When the legendary physicist, 73, met the soccer (and underwear) icon, 40, at an event hosted by Google on Monday, he used the opportunity to shed some light on their common ground. Hawking’s message to Becks was nothing short of brilliant. “I’m always being compared to you as a British icon and sometimes you rate higher and sometimes I do,” he wrote. Beckham was so thrilled with the encounter he posted about it on Facebook, captioning the photo, “It was an absolute honour to meet Professor Hawking. What he said to…
The National Council of State on Tuesday in Abuja approved a template for the smooth inauguration of new government in Nigeria. The council comprises of the President, Vice President, Senate President, former Heads of State and Presidents, Chief Justice of the Federation, former Chief Justices and State Governors. Addressing State House correspondents after the meeting of the council, Gov. Gabriel Suswam of Benue disclosed that the approval of the template was meant to ensure uniformity in subsequent transitions in the country. “The Council decided that henceforth there has to be a template that successive transitions will follow. We never had…
The Presidency has invited some key members of the Peoples Democratic Party Board of Trustees, National Working Committee and Elders Caucus to a meeting scheduled for Wednesday in Abuja aimed at finding solutions to the protracted crisis in the party. A BoT member and former Deputy National Chairman of the PDP, Chief Olabode George, confirmed the development on Tuesday in a chat with The PUNCH on Tuesday. The invitation, it was learnt, was extended to two leaders from each of the six geo-political zones of the country. However, a top member of the party from the South-West clarified that the…
The First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan on Tuesday denied speculations that she was plotting to prevent wife of the President-elect, Hajia Aisha Buhari, from replacing her as President of the African First Ladies Peace Mission (AFLPM). She said that the hosting of the 8th AFLPM Summit slated for the 15th of May in Abuja was not intended to block Mrs. Buhari from succeeding her. According to her, there was an understanding in the Mission that the summit will hold on the 15th of May, 2015 if President Goodluck Jonathan loses the 2015 Presidential election. The statement issued by the Office…
The National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.), has assured that the incoming administration will have fewer problems with insecurity. Niger State Governor, Dr. Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, who disclosed this to State House Correspondents at the end of the Council of State meeting in Abuja Tuesday, said the NSA briefed the Council on the successes against the insurgents, assuring that Gen. Muhammadu Buhari’s incoming administration with have fewer security problems to contend with. Governor Aliyu said, “On the security situation in the country, the National Security Adviser did a very comprehensive briefing on the security situations in the country…
The Chairman, Senate Committee on Science and Technology, Senator Ajayi Boroffice, on Tuesday assured the leadership of the All Progressives Congress that the reported endorsement of the Senator representing Yobe North, Ahmad Lawan, as the next Senate President will not cause any rancour among the lawmakers from the South-West. Boroffice, who represents Ondo North Senatorial District on the platform of APC, stated this after a meeting between him and Lawan in his office. He said the fact that some members allegedly expressed reservations about the endorsement before the party leadership would release its resolution on the zoning arrangement for the presiding…
Militancy may be returning to the Niger Delta as aggrieved Urhobo militants under the aegis of Urhobo Gbagbako, who blew up oil facilities in Ihwrenen and Ejophe communities in Ughelli North and Ughelli South Local Government Areas, Delta State, justified their decision to be due to the marginalization and neglect of Urhobo nation by the outgoing administration of President Goodluck Jonathan. “The Urhobo nation, as the fifth largest ethnic group in the country, has long been marginalized in the presidential amnesty programme and pipeline surveillance jobs and contracts. Even the Delta Steel Company, DSC, Aladja, that is supposed to be…
The Police Service Commission has revealed why the former Inspector General of Police, Suleiman Abba was removed from office. According to the PSC, Abba had to be sacked due to increasing cases of indiscipline in the rank and file of the force. “I’m not part of the Presidency that removed him, so I cannot give adequate answer. Though at the meeting President Jonathan tried to explain to members, based on the question raised by one of the governors that Nigerians may want to know why the former IGP was removed,” said Mike Okiro, Chairman of the Police Service Commission, who…