NIGERIAN NOTCH

Senator Godswill Akpabio, a former governor of Akwa Ibom, has resigned as the Minority Leader of the 8th Senate. Mr. Jackson Udom, his media aide said his resignation letter was dated August 4. It was addressed to the Deputy Minority Leader, Senator Emmanuel Bwacha. “Senator Akpabio thanked the Senate leadership, the minority leadership, all distinguished Senators, his party the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the opportunity to lead the PDP Caucus in the last three years. “Senator Akpabio is expected to be received into the All Progressives Congress (APC) at a rally in Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State on Wednesday, August 8, 2018.” Akpabio represents Akwa Ibom North West in the Senate. He was governor of oil-rich Akwa Ibom state between 2007 and 2015.

Pope Francis has declared the death penalty “inadmissible” and “an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person”, promising the Catholic Church will work towards its abolition around the world. The change, which has been added to the catechism of the Catholic Church and is therefore now official teaching, formalises a position that the Pope has articulated since becoming pontiff five years ago. Vatican spokesman Greg Burke told  CNN : “The key point here is really human dignity. The Pope is saying that no matter how grievous the crime, someone never loses his or her human dignity. “One of the rationales for the death penalty in Catholic teachings historically was to protect society. Obviously, the state still has that obligation. That is not being taken away here, but they can do that in other ways.” Historically, “the Church has mostly been unopposed to the death penalty, including into the 20th century”, reports the  BBC . In 1952, Pope Pius XII said it was not a

Rivers State Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Mr. Felix Obuah, has said the gale of high profile defections from All Progressives Congress, APC, has brightened the chances of PDP’s victory in 2019. Obuah said their departure has put APC in disarray, stressing that the development has confirmed the unwavering position of PDP that APC is visionless, lame and has nothing to offer the masses other than poverty, hunger and bloodletting.  Recalling that the decampees, which include Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki; Kwara State Governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed; Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom; Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal; National Publicity Secretary of APC, Bolaji Abdullahi and a host of some state assembly members constitute the ‘heart and soul’ of the party, Obuah said the development now marks the end of the road for APC. He added that the ultimate beneficiaries of the development are the generality of the Nigerian citizens, whose political system has been transform

The Governor of Sokoto State, H.E Aminu Tambuwal of has aganist all speculations decamped from the ruling All Progressives Congress to the main opposition, Peoples Democratic Party PDP. Mr Tambuwal, who is said to be nursing a presidential ambition, called on Nigerians to vote out President Muhammadu Buhari in next year’s election, considering the ineptitude of the current administration which has  reflected bad governance in all circles of the National economy. He said Mr Buhari has been “ineffective” as president. Mr Tambuwal was of the view that he decided to leave the APC because President Muhammadu Buhari has failed the nation and should be voted out in 2019. Tambuwal left the PDP to join the APC in 2014 as part of the “new PDP” bloc. His defection is expected to be a part of Mr Tambuwal’s presidential ambition. Mr Tambuwal is a close ally of Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers state who is arguably the leader of the PDP at present after his loyalists emerged leaders of th

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, has urged communities in Anambra State to assist the agency in their fight against drug abuse. The State Commandant of the agency, Mr. Sule Momodu made the call yesterday during a chat with newsmen in Awka. Speaking through the Public Relations Officer of the agency in Anambra State, Charles Efosa Odigie, the NDLEA boss said that without collective fight against the scourge, the agency will hardly win the war. While commending some communities within the state as well as the government of Anambra State under Governor Willie Obiano for assisting the agency in the fight, Momodu regretted that some communities and market leaders harbor drug sellers; thereby heightening the scourge of the trend. He noted that many people are under bondage in different ways today because of their addiction to drugs; and called on residents of the state bring their loved ones, who are already addicted to drugs to bring them to NDLEA for counseling,

  BY MOKWUGWO SOLOMON 08063831036 On Monday, December 11, 2017, I was in my house at Abube-Uno Nando in Anambra East, where I went to mark the 4th anniversary of my father’s separation from the family. I was sitting by his graveside reflecting on life generally when I received calls from my colleagues in the media, who told me that Emeka Odogwu went viral on the social media discussing me. I logged-in and scanned through the information. Initially, I was reluctant to reply because I felt it was unnecessary dignifying him with my response. Initially, I did not want to join issues with a character whose stock-in-trade is to go about impregnating people’s wives and widows. When I later made up my mind to respond, I reasoned that it was necessary to wait; first, to know what would be the response of Dr. Patrick Ifeanyi Ubah and Mr. Madu Onuorah, the publisher and MD of The AUTHORITY Newspaper respectively; and also to hear the opinions of the leadership of NUJ as well