Author: Peter Noah KC

THUGS have invaded the office of the Independent National Electoral Commission in the Obingwa Local Government Area of Abia State. The commission disclosed this on its Twitter handle on Sunday. “Thugs have invaded our Obingwa Local Government Area office in Abia State,” the electoral body stated. “Security agencies have been alerted. The Commission is monitoring the situation and will issue a statement shortly.” More details in a while….

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THE Governorship candidate of the People’s Democratic Party PDP in Akwa Ibom State, Pastor Umo Eno has won 30 local government areas while the Young Progressives Party YPP Senator Bassey Akpan won his own local government area, IBIONO Ibom LGA. Meanwhile, stakeholders are waiting for the official declaration by INEC. Total results from 31 Local government areas of Akwa Ibom announced on Sunday.

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THE Governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Benue state, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia has taken early lead in the result of Saturday’s election announced so far by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC. The results from the 11 Local Government Areas, LGAs, as announced by the various Collation Officers, at the State Collation Centre in Makurdi, the APC candidate won in eight LGAs while the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, candidate, Mr. Titus Uba won in three LGAs The eight LGAs won by the APC includes: Apa, Gwer West, Ado, Katsina-Ala, Buruku, Tarka, Ukum and Obi. The sum…

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THE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for Ogori Magongo local government in Kogi State, Bode Ogumola, has been declared winner of the House of Assembly election held on Saturday in the state. The Independent National Electoral Commission’s Returning Officer for the election, Mr Ekundayo Mejebi, declared the results at the council’s collating centre at Magongo in the early hours of Sunday. He said the PDP candidate polled 2,910 votes to defeat his closest rival, Major Akerejoka of the All Progressives Congress (APC) who recorded 2,162 votes.

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OUR reporter observed at Ihiagwa Ward, Polling Unit Community School II that voting had started but there is massive vote buying for a political party with N2,000 transfer. A POS machine is available, once a voter identifies, payment will be made. In a pre-election press conference on Friday in Abuja, the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) through its Election Analysis Centre (EAC) had said politicians are devising new and creative strategies to engage in vote trading. The report was jointly presented by the Chair, CDD-EAC, Prof. Adele Jinadu; Executive Director, CDD, Idayat Hassan; member CDD-EAC, Mrs Ladi Bala; member…

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POLICE operatives in Imo State have rescued 19 INEC Ad-Hoc staff who were kidnapped in the early hours of Saturday in Imo State. The development was confirmed by INEC authorities in the state. According to officials, the 19 INEC Ad-Hoc staff were on their way to seven different polling units in Ugbelie ward 06 in Ideato South LGA of Imo state when they were abducted. INEC spokesperson, Chinenye Chijioke-Osuji, said the rescued took place after a distress call and information about the incident was made to the operatives who immediately swung into action. She added that even though they were…

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A HOUSE of Representatives member representing Buruku Federal Constituency, Kpam Sokpo, was on Saturday beaten to a pulp allegedly by soldiers of 401 Special Forces Brigade in Benue State. Sokpo was reportedly beaten at the Old Barn in Gboko Town, Gboko Local Government Area of the state by the soldiers who allegedly arrived at his location at 2:30am. The federal lawmaker who narrated the incident to our correspondent on the telephone, said, “I dont know what came over them, I came to the hotel where I was staying in Gboko, Old Barn around 2:30am when about five trucks filled with…

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A PARTY official has been reportedly shot dead in Ogoja, the northern part of Cross River State. He was allegedly shot dead close to a polling unit in the area. Irene Ugbo, Police Public Relations Officer in Cross River, confirmed the incident when she featured on a radio programme. She said the soldiers were supposed to stay distance away from polling units. An eye witness account said the deceased whose name was simply given as Joe was a popular bike rider in Calabar, the state capital. He had reportedly travelled to his hometown for the election. The incident has already…

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THE Supreme Court on Friday affirmed Mr Herman Hembe as the rightful governorship candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in Benue State. The apex court dismissed an appeal brought before it by Benjamin Lorlumum and one other, seeking the disqualification of the respondent from the governorship race on various grounds. In a unanimous judgement, Justice Helen Ogunwumiju dismissed the disqualification request on the major grounds that it lacked merit and legal backing. The grouse of the two appellants was that the Labour Party governorship candidate was still a member of the All Progressive Congress (APC) as of the time he…

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NIGERIAN singer Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu better known as Burna Boy will perform in the final of the 2023 UEFA Champions League in Istanbul, Turkey. UEFA revealed this in a statement on its platform on Thursday, saying the Grammy’s award-winner singer will co-headline the competition’s final kick-off show by Pepsi, at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul on Saturday, June 10. “Known for his global chart-topping hits Last Last and It’s Plenty, the Nigerian star will bring his energy and signature soulful vibes of afro beats to millions of fans before the biggest club fixture in football gets underway,” UEFA wrote…

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FORMER President Goodluck Jonathan has said that he never wanted to be Nigeria’s Vice President when he was chosen to contest alongside the late Musa Yar’Adua, adding that he was heartbroken and cried but had to take it as his destiny. He advised politicians to conduct themselves peacefully during and after the 2023 elections. Jonathan stated this when he paid a condolence visit to governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa State over the death of his father at Sampou Community in Kolokuma/Opokuma Local Government Area of the state. “As a leader in the country who had the privilege of serving at…

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THE Edo State Police Command has arrested four armed robbery suspects who allegedly broke into the house of a woman in Benin City, the state capital, through the ceiling around 2am  on February 14. Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Chidi Nwabuze, disclosed this to journalists during a briefing on Tuesday in Benin. He said the suspects attacked and robbed the woman of her money and other valuables in the Tenboga area. The spokesman said the arrested suspects include Iyabo Victor, 35; Osas Aganmwonyi, 28; Nosa Owie, 24; and Idi Etukudo. According to the police spokesman, the suspects were…

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THE National Chairman of All Progressives Congress, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, on Monday evening admitted that the conduct of the February 25 Presidential and National Assembly poll was not ‘perfect.’ Adamu made the statement while giving his speech at the parley of APC National Working Committee with the president-elect, Bola Tinubu; vice president-elect, Senator Kashim Shettima and members-elect of the National Assembly. The closed-door meeting, which did not commence until about 2.48 pm was held at the State House Banquet Hall, Abuja. Among the dignitaries spotted at the event were Shettima; Senate President Ahmed Lawan; Speaker of House of Representatives, Femi…

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THE website of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has crashed amid the commencement of its recruitment. Checks by our correspondent as of 12:21 pm on Monday revealed that the agency’s website indicated ‘500 internal server errors. The agency’s recruitment application began Sunday and was expected to last for two weeks. However, for hours now, applicants have not been able to access the website. The Director of Media and Advocacy of the agency, Femi Babafemi, confirmed the development but explained that it was due to glitches resulting from traffic on the website. “The portal never crashed. There are glitches due…

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THE Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has finally directed commercial banks to dispense old currency notes and to also receive same as deposits from customers, according to Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo of Anambra State, who is a former CBN Governor. News Point Nigeria reported how some commercial banks commenced payment of the old naira notes last week. The Anambra Governor said tellers at the commercial banks are to generate the codes for deposits and there is no limit to the number of times an individual or company can make deposits. Soludo said the CBN Governor gave the directive at a…

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FRANCA Afegbua, the first female senator in Nigeria, is dead. The Afegbua family announced her passing in a statement issued on Sunday. Afegbua, 79, was a native of Okpella, a town in Etsako-east LGA of old Bendel state (now split into Edo and Delta states). “The Afegbua family of Edo state has confirmed the demise of the first woman senator in Nigeria, Senator Franca Afegbua, whose sad event occurred this morning, Sunday, March 12, 2023. She combined beauty and brain during her service to Nigeria. Funeral details will be announced by the family soon,” the family said. She was elected…

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FIVE suspected ritualists have been arrested in Ososa, Odogbolu Local Government Area of Ogun State. The suspects were apprehended following information received by the Police at Odogbolu divisional headquarters. Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Abimbola Oyeyemi, who disclosed this in a statement on Saturday. He said that the gang, who are responsible for a series of corpse exhumations within the Ososa community, were planning somewhere within the town to carry out another round of human parts harvest. Identifying the suspects as Oshole Fayemi, Osemi Adesanya, Ismaila Seidu, Oseni Oluwasegun and Lawal Olaiya, the police spokesman accused them of…

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A REHABILITATED ex-fighter of the Boko Haram terror group, Alayi Madu and the traditional ruler of Kajola, a border community between Ondo and Edo state, Baale Akinola Adebayo are among 37 persons arrested over 2.2 tons of illicit drugs seized by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA Ikeja, Lagos and in raids across 12 states in the past week. As part of ongoing operations to mop up illicit drugs across the country ahead of the next round of elections, NDLEA officers in the early hours of Friday 10th March, stormed…

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THE Labour Party, on Thursday, knocked the Independent National Electoral Commission, saying the electoral umpire deliberately came up with its idea of reconfiguring the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System machines after its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, sought to examine the election materials. This was as the party faulted the commission’s claim of backing up the data retrieved from the BVAS without the presence of independent witnesses and representatives of political parties. The protest is coming barely 24 hours after INEC rescheduled the planned governorship and states House of Assembly elections earlier slated for March 11 in order to reconfigure the BVAS…

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