THE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it has taken possession of a “substantial part” of the cash it requested of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) amid the naira scarcity. The INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, confirmed receipt of the funds on Thursday during a press conference in Abuja on the commission’s activities two days before the presidential and National Assembly polls. This comes two weeks after Yakubu on February 7 met with the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, to address the need for cash for logistical operations in the conduct of the elections. “The bulk of the small amount…
Author: Bala Ibrahim
Read More
THE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says 87 million Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) have so far been collected ahead of the upcoming general elections. INEC Chairman Mahmood Yakubu disclosed this at the maiden briefing for the 2023 elections in Abuja on Thursday. A breakdown of the figure showed that Lagos leads in the number of collected PVCs with 6,214,970. This is closely followed by Kano with 5,594,193, and Kaduna with 4,164, 473. He noted that the current voter register has over 94 million voters but stated that the Commission will continue to clean it up with technology going forward. According…
NIGERIA is operating as a Republic, with both a national government at the top and the governments of 36 states, in which the people hold power, but elect representatives to exercise and utilize that power, with the executive powers placed in the hands of the president and the governors. In line with this arrangement, called the Presidential system, the Federal Republic of Nigeria has a multi-party system, where today, the National Assembly is dominated by the members of the All Progressives Congress, APC, while the rest are in the minority. The APC got the mandate to lead based on the…
ANY person, employed to control the way people see or perceive an opinion on an issue, or try to influence what people think about the issue, is officially called the spin doctor. By definition, the spin doctor is in work to give a favourable interpretation of events to the media, be it on behalf of a government or a political party. Since the second quarter of last year, yours truly has been engaged by the ruling party, the All Progressive Congress, APC, to sit on the saddle of it’s spin doctor. Ordinarily, and by virtue of this position, I am…
AS the campaign train of the Presidential candidate of the All Progressive Congress, APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu arrived in Owerri, the capital of Imo state, one message was visibly clear, it came to renew the hope of the people of the state and that of the Governor, whose original name by coincidence is also hope. The sign of hope seems written everywhere in Imo today, just by looking at the roll call of the dignitaries that graced the rally, which held at the Dan Anyiam stadium, Owerri. The stadium was filled beyond capacity, such that the Governor had to…
SINCE the commencement of the political campaigns for the forthcoming general elections, every outing made by the Presidential candidate of the All Progressive Congress, APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, seems to come with a new score, but the gains of today’s outing in Gombe, are spectacularly special, because they are both ginormous and gargantuan. Like the people of Bauchi, supporters of Bola Ahmed Tinubu came out en-masse to welcome the Jagaba, who landed in Gombe for his mega presidential rally. Tinubu arrived in Gombe in the company of the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof Isa Ali Pantami and…
NIGERIAN youths under the aegis of the National Youth Council of Nigeria on Thursday said they would organize a 14-day nationwide protest over the scarcity of fuel and Naira. They, therefore, demanded the sack of the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele; Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva and Group Managing Director of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Limited, Mele Kyari by President Muhammadu Buhari for gross incompetence. Speaking at a press briefing addressed by its Vice President, Mukhtar Akoshile, on behalf of the President, Sukubo Sara-Igbe Sokubo, the NYCN said doing so would save the…
SOKOTO, the state with the popular slogan of the seat of the Caliphate, was today hit by a political thunderbolt, pursuant to the arrival of the campaign train of the presidential candidate of the All Progressive Congress, APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The Asiwaju was in Sokoto today, where, along with President Muhammadu Buhari, the national chairman of the party, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, Turakin Keffi and some prominent members of the party from the zone, they caused a mini political earthquake, resulting in the cabinet resignation of eleven commissioners from the PDP Government of Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal. The exciting…
THE Presidential campaign train of the All Progressive Congress, APC, is toady in Katsina, the home state of the President, Muhammadu Buhari. Like what happened on Saturday, when the train was in Nasarawa state, the home state of the National Chairman, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, the reception accorded the Asiwaju was affably amiable. People came out in their multitudes, to welcome the man that is fast gaining ground as the next President of Nigeria. Although Katsina state is in a state of mourning, as a result of the attack by bandits on about seven communities in Bakori Local Government Area, where…
THE popular slogan for Nasarawa state is, “Nigeria’s Home of Solid Minerals”, but with the arrival of the Presidential candidate of the All Progressive Party, APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the state, and the massive reception accorded him today, Katsina state, which goes by the slogan of “The Home of Hospitality”, has been forced, to temporarily relinquish that title to the state of the party’s national chairman, Sen. Abdullahi Adamu, the Turaki of Keffi. Yes, through the show of solidarity and warm reception, the people of Nasarawa state have notched up the support base of Tinubu, and made the…
THE APC Presidential campaign train was today in Zamfara state, where, along with the National Chairman of the party, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, Turakin Keffi, the Presidential candidate of the party, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu was received in Gusau, by supporters in their multitudes. Although Tinubu was there to sell himself and his programmes to the people, particularly his promise to bring a renewed hope to the country, today’s outing succeeded in sending a special message to the detractors, by dispelling the rumoured rancour between the Asiwaju and President Muhammadu Buhari. Yes, contrary to the story being rammed down the throats…
THE Northern Elders Forum (NEF) has warned individuals planning to interfere with the conduct of credible elections and peaceful transition of power to another administration to stay off. NEF said it has reviewed the difficult conditions under which Northerners and other Nigerians live currently, as well as concerns over the security of the elections which will be conducted in February and March this year. In a statement signed by the Director of Publicity and Advocacy of NEF, Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, the Elders said there are murmurs that hint at the possibility that the elections may not hold, and some kind…
THE Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) has condemned the killing of over 30 of its members in Nasarawa State. Reacting, in a statement on Wednesday night, MACBAN President, Baba Othman Ngelzarma, said the attack was barbaric. “The Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria condemns the Barbaric killing of 30 Pastoralists with unspecified number of livestock by a purported Bombing raid from unknown source in Rukubi Community, Ikye Development Area, Doma Local Government Nasarawa State. “Those killed had gone to Makurdi to retrieve about 1,250 of their cows impounded by the Benue Livestock guards after paying a…