Author: Bala Muhammad

THE Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has approached the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal, praying it to set aside the judgement that ordered it to allow electorates with Temporary Voter Cards, TVC, to vote in the Governorship and National Assembly elections billed for Saturday. In the legal process it filed through a team of lawyers led by Mr. Taminu Inuwa, SAN, the electoral body applied for “an order of injunction against execution of the judgement delivered 9th March 2023, directing the Applicant to allow the Plaintiffs/Respondents to use the Temporary Voter Cards in lieu of the Permanent Voter…

AHEAD of the March 18 governorship and state assembly elections, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the February 25 presidential election, Atiku Abubakar has urged Nigerians to come out and vote in defense of democracy. The former Vice President said all hope is not lost, saying he will reclaim his “mandate”. Atiku, in a broadcast on Wednesday, urged Nigerians not to give in to voter apathy due to the inability of the electoral body to transmit election results electronically in consonance with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022. He said, “Indeed, what the Independent National Electoral…

WITH few days to the March 18 Governorship and House of Assembly elections, the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has cautioned broadcast stations to adhere strictly to its broadcast code, the Electoral Act as well as other extant laws governing the coverage and reportage of the 2023 general polls. The Director General of NBC, Mister Balarabe Ilelah gave the warning on Wednesday during a press conference in Abuja which had representatives of some media organisations in attendance. Underscoring the need for broadcast stations to be professional in the discharge of their duties, Ilelah disclosed that 25 stations were sanctioned by NBC…

THE Federal Government has said that a total of 12,988,978 attacks were recorded during the February 25 Presidential and National Assembly elections period in Nigeria.  Originated from both within and outside Nigeria, the attacks were made on public websites and portals and averaged around 1,550,000 daily, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof Isa Ali Pantami said in a statement on Tuesday. However, Pantami said the attacks skyrocketed to 6,997,277 on presidential election day. “It is worth noting that our (cybersecurity) centers successfully blocked these attacks and/or escalated them to the relevant institutions for appropriate action,” the minister said.…

THE police have declared a member of the House of Representatives, Bauchi Federal Constituency, Yakubu Shehu, wanted. Yakubu, a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), is being wanted in connection with a case of criminal conspiracy, causing grievous hurt, inciting disturbance of public peace, and culpable homicide. This was contained in a gazette citing CRO Form 5 issued from the Office of the Inspector General of Police. The security agency is asking anyone with useful information about his whereabouts to contact them, promising a N1m as a bounty on the lawmaker.

OFFICERS of the Zamfara State Police Command have rescued 14 kidnap victims after 68 days in captivity. The rescue, the Command’s spokesman Mohammed Shehu said, was in conjunction with the vigilante, and the victims were freed near Munhaye forest after the officers dislodged a bandits’ camp belonging to kingpin Dogo Sule. “As a result of the operation, fourteen ( 14) hostages comprising two (2) male adults, seven (7) females, and five (5) children below of age of 2 years were rescued,” the statement from Shehu added. “In the course of debriefing, the victims informed the Police detectives that, on 1st…

AS part of its determined efforts to stave off the possibility of having a 10th National Assembly leadership that would be outside of its design, the national leadership of the ruling All Progressives Congress APC has begun moves to ensure the emergence of a party-sanctioned leadership. Consequently, the National Working Committee, NWC, of the party has summoned an emergency meeting of its Senators and House members-elect to develop a common template for the emergence of the new leadership. The notice for the meeting which was sent out Friday night was titled “Invitation to all APC Senators-elect and Members of the…

JOHNSON Fatoki, the Ogun State collation agent for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, during the February 25 election, has defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC). Fatoki joined the ruling party ahead of next week’s governorship and House of Assembly elections. His defection added to the growing list of opposition parties’ leaders who have crossed to Governor Dapo Abiodun’s camp in what pundits have described as “political transfer market.” Apart from Fatoki, other chieftains of the PDP who dumped joined APC, include Segun Seriki, Otunba Femi Osifade, Alhaji Saula Adegunwa, Ralph Olaosebikan and Mr Tola Mebude.…

A NIGERIAN woman, Joy Jeff, who has been wanted in Italy since 2010 has been flown from Abuja back to Rome where she has been sentenced to 13 years in prison for crimes including running a prostitution ring, Italian police said on Wednesday. The 48-year-old was one of the few women on Italy’s most-wanted list, police said in a statement, describing her as a prominent figure in the Nigerian mafia. The extradition was facilitated by a treaty signed by Nigeria and Italy in 2020. She was arrested in Nigeria on June 4, 2022, on an international warrant issued by Italy,…

FORMER governor of Bauchi State, Malam Isa Yuguda has berated his former mentee, incumbent Governor Bala Mohammed over the number of doctors serving in general hospitals and primary healthcare centres. The former governor blamed his successors, Muhammed Abubakar and Bala Mohammed the dwindling number of doctors serving the in State hospitals, saying that only 18 doctors are serving over seven million people in the State. Former governor Yuguda was addressing the press at his residence in Bauchi during the weekend where he also blamed governor Muhammed for abandoning 22 hospitals and schools he built during his tenure. He said: “Only…

THE Nigerian Army on Monday said it has begun probing the incident of a soldier who allegedly killed his colleagues and himself at Forward Operations Base Rabbah, Sokoto State. In a statement, the Director of Army Public Relations Officer, Brigadier General Onyema Nwachukwu, said the incident occurred Sunday evening. According to him, the troops were deployed for internal security operations in the area. Onyema stated that the circumstances leading to the incident could not be immediately ascertained, adding that the soldier who killed his colleagues also shot himself immediately. “The Nigerian Army has instituted investigations into the unfortunate incident of…

YOBE state government has lifted a ban on the riding of motorbike across seven local government councils of the state following decade of Boko Haram insurgency. Special Adviser on Security Affairs to Governor Mai Mala Buni, Brigadier General Dahiru Abdulsalam, disclosed this in a press statement signed and made available to journalists in Damaturu the state capital. According to him, the motorbikes are to operate between 6am and 6pm daily, not to be used for commercial purposes ‘Achaba’ and there will be no conveyance of passengers on motorbikes. “Only a rider will be allowed without any other person on the…

THE Labour Party (LP) governorship candidate in Adamawa State, Umar Mustapha, has announced his withdrawal from the race to support the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Aishatu Ahmad Binani. A few days to the presidential election, Mustapha had accused the LP of working against him, ditching its presidential candidate, Peter Obi and calling on his supporters to work for the then APC standard bearer, Bola Ahmad Tinubu instead. Addressing an APC stakeholders meeting on Sunday, Mustapha also known as Otumba, said he had finally decided to step down for Binani, with whom he said he shared the…

THE Nigeria Police Force says it has paid all allowances of police officers deployed for the presidential and National Assembly elections. Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, in a statement on Saturday, debunked allegations that the Force had yet to pay its staff on election duties. Adejobi described it as astonishing to read reports that some police officers have been denied the payment of their accrued allowances, adding that such delay has not gone down well with the Force. “The Nigeria Police Force wishes to clear the air on the alleged non-payment of elections allowances to police personnel who…

THE Governor of Kogi State has responded to allegations of money laundering involving the state government levelled against his nephew and others by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). In December 2022, there were reports that the EFCC had arraigned some persons on allegations that they were laundering monies belonging to the Kogi State Government. Though the government rebutted the claims, last month, the Commission arraigned a suspect identified as Ali Bello, a nephew of the Kogi governor, and four others before a Federal High Court in Abuja. Reacting to the EFCC’s allegations and arrests on Channels Television’s live…

THE Federal Government has summoned the Burkina Faso envoy to Nigeria, Pascal Gouba, over alleged murder of 16 Nigerians who were on a pilgrimage to Kaolak, Senegal over a month ago. The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Zubairu Dada, made this known on Thursday in a statement signed by the Special Adviser on Media, HMOS, Ibrahim Aliyu. Recall that the Jam’iyyatu Ansariddeen Attijaniyya of Nigeria revealed that 16 of its members were shot dead allegedly by the Burkinabe soldiers on patrol. They were reportedly on their way to the home country of their leader, Sheikhul-islam Ibrahim Niasse in…

THE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has rejected the declaration and return of the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate Bola Tinubu as president-elect by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary Debo Ologunagba, the PDP asked INEC to immediately withdraw the Certificate of Return issued to Tinubu and cancel the presidential election declaration in line with its powers under Section 65 of the Electoral Act 2022. According to the party, INEC in declaring the APC presidential candidate as the winner, acted contrary to the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of…

THE National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Abdullahi Adamu, is of the opinion that the party’s candidate in the recently concluded presidential election, Asiwaju Bola Ahmes Tinubu, is indeed the people’s clear choice.  Addressing a news conference, Senator Adamu said the party is out to share the spirit of the moment with Nigerians. He added that the essence of the press conference is to show appreciation to Nigerians having won the February 25th presidential election. The APC chairman saluted the free and fair decision of Nigerians, he also applauded president Buhari for standing by the party and…

POLITICAL and community leaders in President Muhammadu Buhari’s home state in Katsina have continued to pour into his private residence in Daura to express their happiness, following the emergence of the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as the country’s next president. Receiving Governor Aminu Bello Masari and the Emir of Daura, Dr. Umar Faruk Umar, who led members of their cabinets on separate visits on Wednesday, President Buhari, in a statement issued by his spokesperson, Mallam Garba Shehu, reiterated what he had often said about the President-elect that “Bola Tinubu truly believes in Nigeria and…

PETER Obi, Presidential Candidate of Labour Party, has broken his silence after the election he lost to Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, his All Progressives Congress (APC) rival. Tinubu polled 8,794,726 votes to defeat his closest rival, Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), who scored 6,984,520 to emerge second. while Obi came third with 6,101,533 votes. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared Tinubu President-elect and handed over his certificate of return to him. There have been protests in Abuja, while the opposition parties, including Labour Party and PDP, called for the cancellation of the election over alleged rigging.…