NIGERIAN NOTCH

Eight All Progressives Congress (APC) Christian leaders in the northern part of the country, led by former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara and Prof Doknan Sheni, have dissociated themselves from former secretary to government of the federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal, over his public declaration of support for the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr Peter Obi. The APC northern leaders said Babachir Lawal was expressing a personal choice and not that of the group. The group, in a statement jointly signed by Simon Achuba, Albert Atiwurcha, Prof Doknan Sheni, Mela A. Nung, Gen Ishaya Bauka (retd.), Prof Ibrahim Haruna and Mrs Leah Olusiyi last night said the group was yet to endorse any presidential candidate ahead of the 2023 polls. The statement, which was in a reaction to a story entitled ‘Dogara, Babachir Lawal-led Northern APC Members Endorse Peter Obi,’ reads in part: “We wish to state that necessary consultations have been concluded, and based on man

  By Christian ABURIME Contrary to the misleading news making the rounds on various media platforms about the existence of personal rift between Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo and Mr. Peter Obi, the duo met at St. Patrick's Cathedral, Awka, exchanged pleasantries and embraced each other, signifying that no love was lost among them in the first place. The event was the 70th Birthday Thanksgiving celebration of the Catholic Bishop of Awka, Most Rev. Paulinus Ezeokafor. Political pundits had always said that what transpired between the two Anambra great sons was a situation of divergent political views, which is usual in the science of politics. Governor Soludo described what people tag rift between himself and Obi as mischievous and insisted that the former Anambra governor remains his brother, irrespective of their political differences. When Governor Soludo came into the church, he had quickly gone to where Obi was sitting and hugged him, while people watched with surprise. Thoug

Free and fair elections are indispensable in any democracy that seeks to be functional, credible and sustainable. It is fair to say that for us in Nigeria and indeed all other viable democracies, national elections are the starting point of measuring the quality of the process for contestation for political power. The quality of elections therefore is crucial to the establishment of any credible representative government. Whenever elections has been proven or perceived to have been rigged as a result of being shoodily conducted or shabbily administered, the consequences have often been fatal. There are examples in Africa where disputed elections became an incubatoin for violence. In some cases, it led to civil wars and completely undermined some countries governance system. Imo people have not travelled along the path of violence before. As a people, we have continued to exercise maximum restraint!   Nigeria has also held successful General Elections with peaceful hand-overs or transfe

The apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council Worldwide, OYC, has reacted to the fresh controversy over the deployment of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS and the INEC Results Viewing Portal, IReV, for the 2023 general elections. The OYC said Senator Abdullahi Adamu, the National Chairman of the APC, should be placed on watchlist by security agencies and the international community for allegedly toeing a path capable of destroying Nigeria.  Adamu had on Wednesday, while speaking to a delegation from the Commonwealth Election Observation Mission, claimed that Nigeria was not yet ready for such technology. He said, “Our concern is how ready are we to deploy some of these technologies as regards transmission. “To transmit results, every part of the nation Nigeria I’m not sure that the network covers it.  “I know that even in parts of Abuja, there is no network, and we have from now till February when in substantial parts of the country, there is no e

By Maxwell Okoli The All Progressives Grand Alliance APGA in Anambra state has uncovered an alleged plot by those they described as Political jobbers to Implicate Gov Charles Soludo of receiving the sum of $28 Million as bribe from Gov Hope Uzodimma of Imo state to run down the Presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr Peter Obi before the coming election. According to the party, someone who claims to be an investigative Journalist with a name TK Ekwudayo have been approached to write false and unfounded stories in order to implicate Gov Soludo and paint him in bad light, following his recent submissions about the ambition of Peter Obi. According to the National Coordinator APGA Renaissance Chief Uchenna Chukwuka who spoke to reporters in Awka, Anambra state; "It has come to the notice of this body that some faceless and sponsored elements masquerading as investigative Journalist claiming false insider  information from the All Progressives Congress, APC,  are out to implicat

From Izunna Okafor, Awka The Press Secretary to Governor Charles Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra State, Mr. Christian Aburime has cautioned the youths to have a rethink and not to allow themselves to be used as a tool of distraction or agents of distraction to the government.  He also advised them not to constitute a part of the problem to be solved in the society, rather than being a solution to the already existing problems. Mr. Aburime gave the advice in his reaction to the alleged plot by a group of youths, identified as Coalition of South East Youth Leaders (COSEYL), to dump wastes and debris at the gate of Anambra State Government House on Friday, November 25, as a way to ‘punish’ Governor Soludo over his recent comment on the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party and former governor of the state, Mr. Peter Obi. The Southeast-based group had, in a press release signed and issued over the week by its President General, Mr Goodluck Ibem, threatened Governor Soludo to retract t

Three years after the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Ltd discovered crude oil in commercial quantity in Northern Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari will tomorrow officially flag off the ground-breaking ceremony of the Kolmani OPLs 809 and 810 at the Kolmani field site in Bauchi and Gombe states. The NNPC Ltd had in October 2019 announced the discovery of crude oil, gas and condensate in the Kolmani River region at the border community between Bauchi and Gombe states. This oil field is to be developed by Sterling Global Oil, New Nigeria Development Company and NNPC Limited. This is as stakeholders in the oil and gas industry have submitted that Nigeria is now more forward looking in efforts to develop her natural resources. The ceremony will be attended by the president who also doubles as the minister of Petroleum Resources. Buhari will be joined in the flag-off by his cabinet members, including the minister of state for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva.

South-South influential group, Pan Niger Delta Forum, PANDEF, is sticking to the decision of the Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum (SMBLF) to mobilize support for only parties fielding southern candidates in the 2023 presidential election. SMBLF comprises of PANDEF, Afenifere (South-West socio-political group), Ohanaeze Ndigbo of the South-East and the Middle Belt Forum and took the position to back southern candidates based on power rotation between the North and South of the country. The group took the decision sometime last year ahead of the emergence of the presidential candidates for the 2023 election.   Whereas some parties toed the line of SMBLF by picking southern presidential candidates to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari who is from the North, others acted in blatant disregard of the position. The National Publicity Secretary of PANDEF, Mr Ken Robinson, at the weekend, said “we will not support any political party that has a northern presidential candidate in 2023”. As

IREV, RATECHs will check rigging Immediate access to uploaded Polling Units results by voters is key; what voters must know and do to navigate IREV sphere  Patriotic INEC staff averted rigging plot in Anambra governorship poll Efforts of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, in its drive to hand to Nigerians free, fair and credible elections in 2023 is possible if only the electorate can adhere to this procedure. In this piece Nigerians will provided with a step-by-step process of how to assist the commission and, indeed, the nation, to deliver elections worthy of their calling. Last week, the National Chairman of INEC, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, re-committed the commission to its avowed determination to deliver on the promise of free, fair and credible elections. He insisted that the Bimodal Verification Voting System, BVAS, and the uploading of results real time had come to stay.  The nagging question is whether Nigerians will have access to view polling units results a

The five aggrieved governors of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), otherwise known as G-5, led by Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State and some other party chieftains, yesterday announced the formation of Integrity Group within the opposition party. Other governors in the group are Samuel Ortom of Benue State, Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State and Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State. The governors and some aggrieved party members are currently having a strategic meeting in Lagos, which may not be unconnected to the agitation for the removal of the PDP national chairman, Dr. Iyorchia Ayu. Addressing journalists before going into a closed-door meeting, Governor Makinde said the Integrity Group remained the face behind the struggle within the PDP. Makinde said, “We are here this morning to hold a meeting of the Integrity Group within our party, the PDP. We have been of the G5 – that is, the five PDP governors. The G5 is all about the Integrity Group. “You can see us, fi

Three young men were on Friday arrested at Ibagwa Town Hall area of Abakpa Nike, Enugu East Local Government Area and Imeama Iwollo in Ezeagu Local Government Area, both in Enugu State, for assaulting staff of the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company PLC (EEDC) who were carrying out their official duties. At Ibagwa Town Hall area of Abakpa Nike, the duo of Ifeanyi Ezeugwu and Daniel Uzochukwu Okafor descended on the EEDC staff, beat them up and inflicted bodily harm on them when they discovered that their house had been disconnected. Disclosing this to newsmen in Enugu over the weekend, the Head, Corporate Communications, EEDC, Mr. Emeka Ezeh, expressed concern over the rate at which some customers boldly engage in energy theft without paying for energy consumed and still have the temerity to not only resist disconnection but go as far as attacking innocent people carrying out their legitimate duties.   According to Ezeh, the building in question has been on supply over the years wit