Author: Amina Ibrahim

NIGERIA’s President-Elect, Bola Tinubu has travelled to Paris in France to undertake rest, lesser hajj, his spokesman, Tunde Rahman has said. “After a very exhaustive campaign and election season, President-elect, Asíwájú Bola Tinubu, has travelled abroad to rest and plan his transition programme ahead of May 29, 2023 inauguration,” Rahman said in a statement on Wednesday. According to him, the President-Elect left the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja for Europe on Tuesday night. “The President-elect decided to take a break after the hectic campaign and election season to rest in Paris and London, preparatory to going to Saudi Arabia for…

AGAIN, a total of 3,834,244 cyber-attacks were made against Nigeria during the last governorship and state houses of assembly elections. These fresh attacks came just three weeks after more than 12.9million internet based criminal attacks were launched on Nigeria during the presidential and national assembly elections. The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy Prof Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami who disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday, said the attacks originated from both within and outside Nigeria. Pantami said 1.05m attacks were recorded a day to the governorship and state houses of assembly while 1.5m attacks were recorded on the election…

THE Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday dismissed an application by a suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari, seeking to strike out charges against him. News Point Nigeria reports that, in his ruling, Justice Emeka Nwite Kyari dismissed the application on the ground that the court has the exclusive right and Jurisdiction to hear drug-related cases as enshrined in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Act. Section 251 of the constitution confers the court the powers to hear and determine the charge, Justice Nwite held. Kyari had told…

THE presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has approached the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal to contest the declaration of Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as President-elect. News Point Nigeria reports that the Labour Party (LP) and its candidate, Mr Peter Obi, had similarly filed a petition at the tribunal in Abuja, challenging the Tinubu’s status as the winner of the February 25, 2023, presidential election. The petition marked: CA/PEPC/03/2023, has INEC; Tinubu; his running mate, Senator Kashim Shettima, and the APC as the 1st to 4th respondents. The petitioners are praying for the…

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has hailed the conduct of the 2023 elections, describing it as credible. He, however, regretted that some candidates lost in the exercise. He made the comment while speaking at a farewell meeting with the outgoing United States Ambassador, Mary Beth Leonard, at the State House in Abuja on Tuesday. “President Muhammadu Buhari says, given the chance of a free and fair election as well as non-interference as was witnessed on February 25th and March 18th elections, Nigerians have proved to be capable of deciding who leads them without anyone telling them what to do,” Presidential aide Garba…

PRESIDENT-ELECT Bola Tinubu has condemned the violence reported in the 2023 general elections in Nigeria and is calling for healing and reconciliation in the country. Tinubu said this in a statement released on Tuesday and urged Nigerians to rise above their differences and work together for the betterment of the country. The former Lagos State governor said: “I’m saddened by the reported isolated infractions during the elections and its aftermath in some states. I strongly condemn it. Also, the report of arson after the announcement of governorship results in one state did not represent who we truly are: peace-loving people.…

SIX drug traffickers have been jailed for 156 years by the Federal High Court in Lagos and Ogun states. Their convictions followed their prosecution by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) on offences bordering on drug dealing, transportation, and conspiracy to transport illicit substances. NDLEA spokesman, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday, saying the worse hit is a 27-year-old drug dealer, Ahmed Abdulsabur, who was arrested in 2022 and prosecuted at the Federal High Court, Abeokuta, presided over by Hon. Justice Joyce Obehi Abdulmalik. “Delivering her judgment on the six counts charge brought against Ahmed, Justice…

THE All Progressives Congress (APC) has secured 22 out of the 25 seats in the Kogi State House of Assembly. According to the results announced by INEC’s collation officers at the headquarters of each of the state’s 21 LGAs, APC won in Ankpa I and II, Dekina I and II, Omalla, Ofu, Idah, Igalamela/Odolu, Ibaji, Olamaboro, Adavi, Okene I and II, Ajaokuta, Okehi, Kabba/Bunu, Ijumu, Yagba East, MopaMuro, Lokoja I and II and Kogi/Kotonkarfi local governments. The PDP got Bassa and Ogori Magongo while the African Democratic Congress (ADC) won Yagba West. The APC occupies all 25 seats in the…

THE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared Kefas Agbu the winner of the Taraba State governorship election. Agbu, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), scored 257,926 votes to edge out the candidate of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), Muhammad Yahaya, who polled 202,277. In third place, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Emmanuel Bwacha, garnered 142,502 ballots. The state Returning Officer Prof M.A. Abdulazeez declared Agbu the winner at 12:30 am on Tuesday, after finding his win in fulfilment of the requirements to be named the governor-elect. Abdulazeez called on all contestants to “forgive each other”…

THE Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), under the leadership of its President-General and Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, has urged the Muslims across the country to look out this year’s Ramadan after sunset on Wednesday. The Director of Administration of the council, Arc. Zubairu Haruna Usman-Ugwu, said this in a statement in Abuja. “Consequent upon the advice of the National Moon-Sighting Committee (NMSC), the President-General enjoins the Nigerian Muslim Ummah to search for the crescent of Ramadan 1444 A.H. immediately after sunset on Wednesday, 29th Sha’aban, 1444 A.H. which is equivalent to 22nd March, 2022.…

GOVERNOR Abdullahi Sule, on Monday, was announced as the winner of the Nasarawa State governorship election. The Returning Officer of the governorship election, Professor Tanko Ishaya, declared that Sule of the All Progressives Congress (APC) polled 347,209 to beat his closest contender, David Ombugadu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who got 283,016 votes. However, the PDP expressed dissatisfaction with the results, saying it would seek redress in court, while the APC said it would also challenge the local government areas that the PDP won.

THE police in Kogi have rescued 96 staff members of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Lokoja, the state capital. News Point Nigeria reports that the victims, comprising INEC officials, ad hoc Staff and bus drivers, were attacked by gunmen at Obajana while on their way from Kupa North and South wards to the Constituency Collation Centre in Lokoja. The Police Public Relations Officer, William Ovye Aya, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday, saying the gunmen fled with injuries. “The Police escort attached to the team responded robustly and engaged with hoodlums in a fierce gun duel,” the…

GOVERNOR AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara State has been reelected for another four-year term. The All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate polled 273,424 to defeat his closest opponents — Abdullah Yahman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who scored 155,490 and Hakeem Lawal of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) who got 18,922 votes. Governorship elections were held in 28 of Nigeria’s 36 states on Saturday. The governorship and state assembly elections were held a week later than initially scheduled after a court case forced INEC to move them forward. Eight of the 36 states — Anambra, Bayelsa, Edo, Ekiti, Imo, Kogi, Osun,…

WHAT several voters saw as an opportunity to exercise their franchise turned sour as violent attacks, ballot box snatching, delays and more tainted the governorship and state assembly elections across the country on Saturday. While the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) seemed to impress voters, relative to the February 25 federal elections, and the exercise kicked off on time at many polling units, a number of others experienced disruptions and delays. One prominent case was the affluent Victoria Garden City (VGC) in the Ajah area of Eti-Osa Local Government Area (LGA), Lagos State, where the exercise failed to be conducted.…

THE National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Abdullahi Adamu, and the governorship candidate of the Labour Party in Lagos State, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour lost their polling units in Saturday’s governorship and state House of Assembly elections. Adamu, who hails from Keffi Local Government Area in Nasarawa State, lost to the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, David Ombugadu at his GRA (A1) – PB 010 polling unit. According to the results announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission Presiding Officer, Okoh Everest, the PDP candidate polled 158 votes to defeat the state Governor, Abdullahi Sule, who scored 129 votes,…

THE Independent National ELectoral Commission (INEC) has uploaded some of the results of Saturday’s elections via Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) to the IREV data base. The non use of BVAS for the February 25 election had created confidence crisis for the electoral body, which was heavily criticised by Nigerians and electoral officials. Although the commission cited technical glitch as reason for not using BVAS for result transmission, many critics refused to accept the excuse. However, the commission promised to improve and make use of the device in the ongoing election. This newspaper observed that the result of Ward 001,…

FINALLY, accreditation and voting have commenced at PU 024, LEA Primary School, Kawo in Kaduna North Local Government Area. Many voters are in the queue to cast their votes for their preferred candidates. Voting has also begun in unit five, ward four, Abonnema, Akuku-Toru LGA, Rivers State. Millions of voters get to choose their governors and state house of assembly members for a new four-year term. Three weeks after a dramatic round of presidential and National Assembly elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) again takes centre stage for the conduct of governorship and state house of assembly polls across…

WITH Presidential and National Assembly elections concluded and results declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission, albeit with the attendant legal tussles following, the battlegrounds have shifted to states. Nigerians will head to the polls again on Saturday, March 18, 2023 to elect governors and state assembly members. In all, 18 political parties fielded candidates for the governorship elections slated to hold in 28 out of the 36 states of the Federation. This is so because the governorship elections of eight states (Anambra, Bayelsa, Edo, Ekiti, Imo, Kogi, Osun and Ondo) are held off-season due to litigations and court judgements.…

THE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has defended the award of a contract for printing election materials to Binani Printing Press Limited. The printing press is alleged to be linked to the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Adamawa, Aishatu Dahiru Ahmed popularly known as Binani. It was gathered that the contract was awarded for the printing of election results sheets and security documents for the general elections. INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of Information and Voter Education, Festus Okoye, in a statement on Thursday, said the contract was handed out after competitive and transparent bidding. Okoye said the…

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has indicated a wish to see the foundation laid by his administration in the war against graft sustained by successive governments in the country. The President gave the indication today when he met with the management of the Code of Conduct Tribunal led by its Chairman, Danladi Umar, at the state house. He maintained that corruption has remained an existential threat to nations, while recognising the sacrifices made by the Code of Conduct Tribunal headed by its Chairman, Danladi Umar and other similar agencies, amidst the stiff economic and revenue shortages. “It is our hope that the…