Twenty-eight members of both the National Assembly and the Borno State House of Assembly on Thursday picked an Expression of Interest and Nomination Form which they intend to donate to the state governor, Alhaji Kashim Shettima, their choice candidate for the All Progressives Congress (APC), to enable him seek a second term in office. The lawmakers comprise of one out of the two APC senators, five out of the eight members of the House of Representatives under the APC and 22 out of the 27 members of the Borno State House of Assembly, who did not join the former governor…
Author: Wale Adebayo
Dan masanin Kano and elder statesman, Dr. Maitama Sule, on Thursday, expressed optimism that a violence-free 2015 general election in Nigeria is possible, stressing that youth involvement will go a long way in achieving such. Deadly election-related violence, which occurred in northern Nigeria following the April 2011 presidential election left no fewer than 300 people dead in three days of protests in 12 northern states. The elder statesman, who made the appeal during the October lecture of Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) in Abuja on Thursday, said engaging the youths as thugs undermines the essence of democracy. He, therefore,…
The Ekiti State Government has denied rumors making the rounds that plans were underway to sack civil servants, saying the news was being peddled on social media by the opposition, All Progressives Congress. In a statement on Thursday in Ado-Ekiti by the Special Assistant, Public Communication and New Media to Governor Ayodele Fayose, Lere Olayinka, the state government stated that the current exercise of trimming down the number of ministries in the state was not an indication that the workforce would be downsized. The statement said, “Workers in the state have nothing to fear, the ongoing exercise of trimming the…
Former Kwara State Governor and Chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Ecology, Senator Bukola Saraki, has declared that the $78 oil benchmark being proposed by the Federal Government for 2015 budget is unrealistic. Saraki, who also demanded a full disclosure of the state of the nation’s economy, raised the alarm that the revenue base was buckling under the stress of falling price of oil in the international market. He said the proposed oil benchmark of $78 per barrel for the 2015 budget was not realistic, adding that the Federal Government needed to tell Nigerians the truth about the…
The All Progressives Congress has called on President Goodluck Jonathan to show better understanding of democracy by immediately restoring the police security details the Inspector General of Police unlawfully withdrew from the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal. In a statement issued in Abuja on Thursday by its National Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed, the opposition party described the announcement of the withdrawal of the Speaker’s security details by the Inspector General of Police as a usurpation of the role of the judiciary by the Inspector General of Police especially bearing in mind that the question of the…
The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has announced automatic tickets for its governors seeking second terms in office. The offer means the governors will have to refuse to run before other candidates are considered. The only the PDP governor seeking a second term is Ibrahim Dakwambo of Gombe State. While the governors of Kaduna, Taraba and Adamawa States may be seeking re-election, they will be starting their first term as they merely completed the terms of their former governors. It also emerged Tuesday that President Goodluck Jonathan was only publicly endorsed as the sole candidate of the party after he had…
The self acclaimed fashionista and singer –KCee has just returned from a trip to Spain where he went to shoot a video for his new song, ‘Fine face 2′. The singer was accompanied by his manager, Soso Soberekon on the trip and while in Spain, the Limpopo singer went on to spoil himself a little. In one of his shopping sprees, he bought himself a Gold Rolex Oyster Perpetual wristwatch and the ‘Ogadinma’ singer, as usual, duly shared the pictures of his shopping spree in Spain as well as the new wristwatch on Instagram. Photos below: –
Veteran Nigerian actor, director and aspiring politician — Desmond Elliot is among the fore runners of the several entertainers eyeing political offices ahead of the 2015 general elections. Just a couple of months ago, he declared his intention to represent Surulere Constituency 1 at the Lagos State House of Assembly under the All Progressives Congress, and in a recent Twitter quiz with his fans, the 40-year old actor who before now was not really known as a Lagos State indigene, confessed he is now a night crawler because of politics. The actor revealed that he has never been a night crawler all…
Ahead of the 2015 general elections in Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, increased political risk and dwindling appetite among emerging markets investors for frontier assets have put the country’s currency under pressure, the Bloomberg Africa FX report has revealed. The situation has depleted the country’s foreign exchange reserves, with policy makers now left with a difficult decision to make: either allow the currency to move in a wider range against the dollar or raise interest rates. But Nigeria’s Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele had promised to stabilize the Naira without plying either routes. Forex reserves fell to $37.8 billion from $43.6 billion over…
Speaker House of Assembly Aminu Tambuwal’s defection to the All progressives Congress (APC) has continued getting kickbacks from different quarters, the latest being the Police. The Inspector-General of Police, Mr Suleiman Abba, Thursday ordered that the policemen attached to the office of the Speaker be withdrawn. According to a statement issued by the Force spokesman, Mr Emmanuel Ojukwu, the action was due to Tambuwal’s defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to APC. Defending its action, the police said it was done “having regard to the clear provision of section 68(1)(g) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of…
Nigerian prosecutors want a 14-year-old girl sentenced to death for allegedly murdering her 35-year-old husband and his friends by putting rat poison in their food. The 14-year-old suspect Wasila Tasi’u, who hails from a poor northern Nigeria family, was forced to marry 35-year-old Umaru Sani in April. During the small wedding which took place at Unguwar Yansoro village, at Gaya LGA near the city of Kano, the reluctant bride allegedly slipped rat poison into a rice dish that was eaten by the groom and some of his friends. Prosecutors at the High Court in Gezawa, outside Kano filed an amended…
Veteran Nigerian singer, producer and TV presenter Djinee might not be as relevant as he was years back but he still makes headlines all the same. The singer has poured out his heartfelt thoughts regarding the untimely death of recently deceased 27-year old South African football star, Senzo Meyiwa. Meyiwa was shot dead on Sunday, October 26, 2014 in Johannesburg, South Africa and the Edo State-born singer, in a series of tweets expressed grief and shock on the demise of the Orlando Pirates and Bafana Bafana goalkeeper. ‘I’m deeply saddened by Senzo Meyiwa’s untimely death at 27. Just when he was reaching…
Kano State Governor Musa Rabiu Kwankwaso has said politics is not a do or die affair, promising he will play according to the rules of the game and treat co-aspirants with respect ahead of the 2015 elections. kwankwaso made this known on Thursday when he picked up the N27.5 million nomination and expression of interest forms to contest for the presidency on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (AP) in the 2015 general elections. “Mr Chairman, at the convention yesterday (Wednesday) you said all the aspirants who have shown interest have promised to work together. “It is not a…
Gov. Bala Ngilari of Adamawa said he would consult and pray before taking final decision on whether to contest for the governorship of the state in 2015 or not. Ngilari said this on Wednesday in Yola, when he received a governorship nomination form purchased for him by the Adamawa Progressive People Movement which urged him to shelve his senatorial ambition and go for governorship. He said “I am not preparing for this; my intention was to go to the Senate, but I will pray and consult. “Give me time to consult and pray to God to give us direction. I…
Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia of a Lagos Federal High Court on Wednesday sentenced a 31-year-old businessman, Onyemaechi Chibuzor, to 10 years’ imprisonment with hard labour for drug trafficking. Ofili-Ajumogobia said she was convinced beyond reasonable doubts by the evidence presented by the prosecution that the convict actually committed the offence. The prosecutor, Mr Abu Ibrahim, said that men of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) recovered the substance during an outward clearance of Emirates Airline flight to Malaysia. He had pleaded not guilty and was admitted to bail in the sum of N1 million with two sureties in like sum.…
He has been the face behind some big songs in Nigeria but still has quite a journet ahead. The Imo State born musician, Kingsley Elikpo aka Zeez is making a comeback to the music scene he dominated some years ago with the release of his new single, ‘Atewo’ featuring rapper Olamide. However, despite the stiff competition in the industry, he has said he’s not afraid of anyone. The singer, who used to be called DJ Zeez, said he embarked on a deliberate hiatus from the music to study some courses but which are not music related in any way. Speaking…
As 2015 elections draws nearer, all the parties involve are beginning to sound their drums, it’s even more interesting with a lot of entertainers in the game now. Kenny Saint Best is currently preparing for the first screening process of her political ambition. The primaries of her party, the All Progressives Congress, is the biggest of test of her intention yet and she has intensified her campaign moves with the aim of representing Ikeja Constituency 1 at the Lagos State House of Assembly come 2015. KSB, as the singer is referred to, has taken her campaign to the streets of her…
With calls for the removal of House of Representatives Speaker Aminu Tambuwal increasing, following his defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC) from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the leadership of the party has moved in his defence. The National Publicity Secretary of the party, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, on Thursday in Abuja said that those calling for Tambuwal’s removal were ignorant. “For those who say Tambuwal should resign, I want to refer them to the extant laws and constitutional provision of the house,” said Mohammed. “It states that if a person leaves a party on the platform by which he…
PHOTO CREDIT: PREMIUM TIMES After nearly a year of frosty relations, President Goodluck Jonathan and the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammad Sanusi II, met Thursday in Abuja and ironed out their differences with both leaders pledging to work together in the national interest. Sanusi, a former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, was suspended from office by the president in February over alleged financial improprieties but the former banker insisted his blowing the whistle on the purported unremitted $20 billion oil revenue got him into the presidency’s bad books. After leaving office, Mr. Sanusi was appointed the Emir of…
Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar says the All Progressives Congress (APC) will apply the principle of internal democracy in every elective position where the party fields candidates. This is contained in a statement released to newsmen in Abuja on Wednesday and signed by Malam Garba Shehu, Atiku’s Head of Media and Publicity operations. According to the statement, Atiku, who said this while receiving some senior party members from Nasarawa State in his residence, said the principle of internal democracy was well entrenched in the APC. “I have been an ardent advocate of internal democracy in the party system throughout my political…