Gov Soludo Accuses Peter Obi Of Setting Booby Trap For His Impeachment

March 11, 2023

The Anambra Governor, Charles Soludo has accused the Presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in th recently concluded Presidential election, Peter Obi of setting a booby trap for his eventual impeachment.

He said that for Peter Obi to called on the electorate in his state for vote massively for the LP means that with majority legislature being LP, would either work on their own or be cajoled to impeach him.

Governor Soludo spoke against the background of Peter Obi’s call last night, March 10, when he met with National and state Assembly candidates of the Labour Party in Anambra, on the assembly candidates to work with Soludo if elected into power.

The LP Presidential candidate said that Soludo should not fear being impeached by Labour Party-dominated assembly, as they would be working together to move the state forward.

But, Governor Soludo, in a reaction through his Press secretary, Chris Aburime said that the move by Obi could be deceptive.

He said: “That call was meant to deceive Anambra people. Obi can not be talking about development in Anambra and also be talking about asking Anambra people to elect lawmakers from the opposition party to work with Soludo.

“He worked with a legislature that was dominated by lawmakers from the PDP, when he first came in as governor, and he knows that it was not easy for him.

“He even suffered impeachment because of that, and we hope it is not the same thing he wants to set Soludo up for.

“Anambra people should go all out next Saturday and vote for APGA, if they want the developmental strides of Mr Governor to continue.

“You can not be talking of development and at the same time talking of electing opposition politicians into the House of Assembly, it is not done. It is deceit.

“Anambra people supported Obi during the presidential election, and besides, Soludo refused to interfere as the people trooped out to vote for Labour Party, and that was even before Soludo made the environment conducive for people to come out and vote.

“We have voted Labour Party in the presidential election, but for the House of Assembly election, we are voting for APGA, and we want Anambra people to know so.”

Though there won’t be a governorship election in Anambra on March 18 but Soludo, who belongs to the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) would be fighting to have control of the state assembly amidst the Obi-influenced tsunami in Anambra State which may tilt votes in favour of Laboir Party legislative candidates.

It would be recalled Obi won 92 percent of Anambra votes in the presidential election held two weeks ago.

Source: Naija News.

Real Madrid Turn Down UEFA’s Compensation For Chaos In Champions League Final

Editorial staff

March 10, 2023

Real Madrid has turned down UEFA’s offer of compensation for supporters affected by trouble outside the Stade de France in Paris at last season’s Champions League final yesterday, March 10, describing it as “insufficient” and “restricted.”

The European champions, who won the trophy in the chaos-hit final against Liverpool on May 28, 2022, which saw fans funnelled by police into overcrowded bottlenecks and hit with tear gas, said they would not cooperate with the European football governing body’s plan.

UEFA said yesterday that they would reimburse all Liverpool supporters, as well as other spectators who were affected by trouble, with the game kicking off 37 minutes late in the French capital as fans struggled to enter the stadium.

Madrid in a statement said: “Regrettably, our club believes that UEFA’s proposal, officially announced last Tuesday, is insufficient

“It merely consists of the reimbursement of the ticket price, which is also subject to the fulfilment of a series of requirements, including providing proof of the time of access to the stadium.”

Madrid said “given the conclusiveness of the experts’ findings” they had expected compensation in line with the seriousness of the events and UEFA’s culpability.

PDP Has No Moral Right To Accuse INEC When It Violated Party’s Constitution – Gov Wike

Editorial staff

March 10, 2023

The Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has asked the leadership of his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to stop accusing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of not following election guidelines.

According to him, the leaders of the party have no moral right to complain about INEC’s activities when “they blatantly refused to follow the party’s constitution.”

Governor Wike, who spoke today, March 10, at the launch of a road project in Ikwerre Local Government Area of the State, mocked the PDP leaders for staging the protest against INEC in Abuja, describing them as “student unions.”

He said that the real owners of the party will soon chase away those who made it to lose the February 25, 2023 Presidential election, describing them as “those who disobeyed the party’s Constitution.

“These people left our party in 2014-2015, our party lost; again they came back, our party has lost again.

“They have destroyed our party. We are going to chase them away from our party. They have no role to play for our party.”

Buhari Govt Will Not Annul Tinubu’s Election Like June 12 – Presidency

Editorial staff

March 10, 2023

The Presidency has said that the government of President Muhammadu Buhari has no intention of annulling the February 25, 2023 Presidential election in which the Presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu was declared winner by the electoral umpire, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, in a piece chronicling key takeaways from the President’s recently-concluded trip to Doha, Qatar, ruled out any possibility of annulling the presidential elections as was done on June 12, 1993.

He advised aggrieved candidates of the opposition parties to pursue redress in court instead of waiting for the impossible to happen.

President Buhari was in Quatar to attend the 5th United Nations summit on Least Developed Countries.

Supreme Court Renders Ex-Kano Gov Shekarau Jobless In Senate

Editorial staff

March 10, 2023

The Supreme Court has sacked by disqualification, the former governor of Kano State, Ibrahim Shekarau, after being re-elected as Senator.

Shekarau was declared winner of the February 25 on the platform of the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP) by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

But a five-member panel of the apex court led by Justice Inyang Okoro, today, March 10, ruled in a unanimous judgment disqualifying the senator-elect. The court recognized Senator Rufa’i Hanga as the party’s candidate for the 2023 general election.

Before the elections, the former Kano governor had announced his defection from the NNPP to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

The apex court faulted INEC for refusing to replace Hanga with Shekarau as the NNPP candidate after he decamped to PDP.

Following Shekarau’s withdrawal as a party member and senatorial candidate, the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal had, in an earlier ruling recognized Hanga as the NNPP’s candidate for Kano Central.

However, instead of complying with the federal high court’s ruling, INEC appealed the judgment at the Appellate Court and lost.

The INEC’s appeal was dismissed, according to Justice Emmanuel Agim, who delivered the lead ruling on behalf of the supreme court, saying it “lacked merit and substance.”

Not satisfied with the judgments of the lower courts, the electoral body proceeded to the apex court to challenge the judgments which upheld Hanga as the lawful candidate of the NNPP for the Kano Central Senatorial District.

Source: Persecondnews.

Labour Party May End Up A Failed Experiment Like APGA, By Fredrick Nwabufo

Editorial staff

March 10, 2023

It may just be a bubble. A phantasm. An ignis fatuus. A castle on quicksand. It may not take long before the house caves in. The Labour Party electoral rendition is a thrilling experiment of what could be; of political possibilities, of change, but it appears the party is doomed to crumble under the weight of its own afflictions and internal contradictions.

The Labour Party has won 40 national assembly seats so far — according to records by INEC. Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the party, put up a notable performance in the presidential election, though there are disputations over votes from the states he won as there are allegations that they were ballooned in his favour.

But are these sputters of fortune enough to keep the party afloat? I think not. The party is becoming vigorously ethnicised, rigid, and anti-intellectual. I believe the party may end up like APGA – a failed experiment and poor attempt at building a people’s forum.

There is no guarantee that those who were swept into parliament on the wave of juvenile anger, will remain in the party afterwards. And even if some of them do, there is no certainty that the same wind will blow again in subsequent elections.

At parliament, the beneficiaries of the ‘’Obi phenomenon’’ will fight for survival, opportunities, and trade interests. There is the likelihood that some of them will cross into other parties for whatever interest they hold.

So, that the Labour Party has 40 seats in parliament today is not a guarantee of political sustenance or survival in the long run. It is not a guarantee of anything. The party remains a rustled-up vehicle without organic and deep roots. It lacks intellectual bearings, and its supporters vacuous, angry, and menacing. It is only held together, at the moment, by youthful anger, but what happens when the rage tapers off?

The much-vaunted Obi phenomenon will fizzle out as soon as the elections are done, and the youth have other worthy distractions. I do not see Peter Obi sustaining the momentum long after the elections. He may retreat to his business and wait for another happenstance. It is the reason I said it will be historic if Obi extends a hand of fellowship to the president-elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu rather than chasing apparitions and chest thumping while at it.

APGA used to be that party. The third leg. It held some promise. The party came on stream as democracy returned to Nigeria in 1999. It won some elections. But over time, the party became rigidly regional. It became defiant to political evolution. While the ACN which was founded much later in the 2000s, was able to build from its base to the centre by attuning itself to the times and evolving accordingly, APGA was closed and straitjacketed.

APGA lost its oomph and quickly took on the brand of a sectional party. The dream of the revered Igbo leader, Odumegwu Ojukwu, was for the party to become a national brolly – a stamping ground for all Nigerians. To build from the base and levitate to the centre. But the party failed to realise this dream. It was racked by internecine squabbles, greed, lack of foresight by subsequent managers, insularity, and sabotage.

The Labour Party appears uninoculated against the APGA contagion. The party is becoming rigidly ethnicised. Ethnic irredentists have seized the party, branding it after themselves – recreating it in their own image. Some of these irredentists who take up residence on social media are quick to establish they ‘’own’’ the Labour Party, shutting out divergent interrogations.

Even Aisha Yesufu, a prominent voice of the Obi campaign, was not spared of the noxious epithet by these sudden appropriators of the Labour Party. She was reminded, ‘’you are not one of us’’ – despite her immense support for their candidate.

These appropriators of the Labour Party should take the pain to study the ethos of their party. It is conventionally a workers’ party. But I guess, anger and bigotry drive anti-intellectualism. There is no place for bigotry in an intellectually fecundated mind.

I am of the view that this new-fangled mob is a latent threat to our democracy. Our conversations on politics have never been this contaminated. In reality, this problem stretches beyond the Labour Party mob. But I would advise those who care to listen to desist from spreading poison and freely trading bigotry.

There is no trophy, but damnation for being a loud-mouthed bigot.

Nwabufo is a media executive.

We May Not Get Things Right If We Conduct Governorship Poll March 11 – INEC

Greenbarge Reporters

March 9, 2023

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has expressed fear that it may not get things right in the Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections across the country, earlier scheduled for March 11, if adequate time is not given to back up the data stored on the over 176,000 BVAS machines from the Presidential and National Assembly elections held on 25th February 2023. It stressed the need for such data to be reconfigured for the Governorship and State Assembly elections.
“This has been the practice for all elections, including the period when the Commission was using the Smart Card Readers.”
Rising from an emergency meeting last night, March 8, INEC management said that the ruling of the Tribunal earlier yesterday, made it possible for the Commission to commence the preparation of the BVAS for the Governorship and State Assembly elections, which came far too late for the reconfiguration to be concluded.
“Consequently, the Commission has taken the difficult but necessary decision to reschedule the Governorship and State Assembly elections which will now take place on Saturday 18th March 2023. By this decision, campaigns will continue until midnight of Thursday 16th March 2023 i.e. 24 hours before the new date for the election.”
The decision of the INEC management was released to the media in a statement by National Commissioner and Chairman of
Information and Voter Education Committee, Barrister Festus Okoye and the full text goes thus:
Following today’s ruling by the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (EPT) on the reconfiguration of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) used for the Presidential election held on 25th February 2023, the Commission met to assess its impact on the Commission’s preparations for the Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections scheduled for Saturday, 11th March 2023.
Nigerians would recall that on 3rd March 2023, the Presidential EPT had given an ex-parte order for some political parties to inspect materials used for the Presidential election, including the forensic inspection of over 176,000 BVAS used in the election which are located in INEC LGA offices across the country. The Commission approached the Tribunal to reconsider the order, given that the BVAS Systems were to be deployed for the Governorship and State Assembly elections and that the lack of a clearly defined timeframe for the inspection could disrupt the Commission’s ability to conduct the outstanding elections. For instance, the BVAS can only be activated on the specific date and time of an election. Having been used for the Presidential and National Assembly elections on 25th February 2023, it is necessary to reconfigure the BVAS for activation on the date of the Governorship and State Assembly elections.
While the ruling of the Tribunal makes it possible for the Commission to commence the preparation of the BVAS for the Governorship and State Assembly elections, it has come far too late for the reconfiguration to be concluded. Consequently, the Commission has taken the difficult but necessary decision to reschedule the Governorship and State Assembly elections which will now take place on Saturday 18th March 2023. By this decision, campaigns will continue until midnight of Thursday 16th March 2023 i.e. 24 hours before the new date for the election.
This decision has not been taken lightly but it is necessary to ensure that there is adequate time to back up the data stored on the over 176,000 BVAS machines from the Presidential and National Assembly elections held on 25th February 2023 and then to reconfigure them for the Governorship and State Assembly elections. This has been the practice for all elections, including the period when the Commission was using the Smart Card Readers.
However, we wish to reiterate that the Commission is not against litigants inspecting election materials. Consequently, it will continue to grant all litigants access to the materials they require to pursue their cases in court.
We wish to reassure all political parties and candidates that the data from the Presidential and National Assembly elections will be backed up and available in INEC cloud facilities, including the INEC Results Viewing Portal (IReV). Political parties can apply for Certified True Copies of the backend data of the BVAS. Also, the results on the BVAS will continue to be available on the IReV for interested parties to access.
We thank Nigerians and friends of Nigeria for their understanding as we continue to deal with these difficult issues and navigate these challenging times.
Barr. Festus Okoye
National Commissioner & Chairman
Information and Voter Education Committee
Wednesday 8th March 2023.

Igbos In Lagos Endorse Incumbent APC Gov. For Second Term “In Our Own Interest”

Greenbarge Reporters

March 8, 2023

“We, as Igbos living in Lagos, made up of traditional rulers, market leaders, Market women, youths, civil society organizations, town unions and other categories of Igbo population in Lagos state have resolved to endorse and pledge support to the incumbent Governor of Lagos, His Excellency, Babajide Sanwo-Olu in his re-election bid.
“Our support for him is anchored on his performance, competence, cordial relationship with Igbos and his grand vision for Lagos, which has greatly favoured Igbos in the last four years.”
These were contained in a seven paragraph statement signed by the leaders of the Igbo communities in Lagos, Peter Claver Oparah, Kelvin Nwoha and Chima Ukwandu at a press conference today, March 8.
They said: “We totally and unconditionally declare that Igbos in Lagos will come Saturday, vote for the re-election of Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu and APC state assembly candidates and we urge every Igbo man in Lagos to do so for our overall interest.”
Part of the statement goes thus:
“Among all contestants for the tasking office of Lagos state Governor in the coming election, Sanwo-Olu is the best; tested and capable so we urge all Igbos to vote for him on Saturday for the continued benefits of Ndigbo.
“We state unequivocally that Lagos is neither an Igbo State nor a no-man’s land, as some provocatively state. Although Lagos was a former federal capital, it wholly belongs to Yorubas. We therefore dissociate ourselves from any claim that contravenes the fact that Lagos is a Yoruba state and emphatically state that Igbos are not subscribers to the weird position, marketed by mischief makers that Lagos is a no-man’s land. And we pray that we may never use our mouths to say that Lagos is no man’s land because Lagos is not a no-man’s land. It is Yoruba land.
“We state that a lot is at stake given the investment of our people in Lagos. Only a thoughtless tribe without minds of their own will toil with their destiny. Ndigbo will never toy with their destiny, their interests, their investment and their security in Lagos by going into any needless confrontation with the Yorubas who have been very accommodating, very hospitable and very cosmopolitan to Igbos in Lagos. While we thank the Yorubas for their understanding, we ask them to see those who want to instigate a fight between Yorubas and Igbos for their devious and selfish political interests, as not representing the Igbos as we urge Igbos to reciprocate this tolerance by voting for Sanwo-Olu and APC House of Assembly candidates this Saturday.
“We want the Yorubas to Equally understand that In last week’s presidential election, our son Peter Obi was on the ballot and that this generally drew the sentimental support of many Igbos, who voted for him. The result has shown that while majority Igbos voted for their son, majority Nigerians voted for our President-Elect. Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. While this is understandable, we urge the Yorubas not to see the voting pattern last Saturday as an act of hostility but of democratic choice. This Saturday, Nigerians will vote on the governorship, election and we see it as a great opportunity for Igbos in Lagos to show that we are not political enemies of the Yorubas by voting en mass for Gov. Sanwo-Olu as no Igboman is contesting for the governorship of Lagos. Igbo should show love to Yoruba by voting Gov Sanwo Olu
“We note that our South East region is troubled and has become a hotbed of insecurity and not safe for Ndigbo for a long time now. In this period, Lagos has absorbed millions of Igbos and their businesses fleeing from the insecurity in the South East. Gov. Sanwo-Olu has been particularly accommodative and the Yorubas have been magnanimous in taking in these Igbos. The governorship election is a payback time and Igbos should be careful not to show themselves as hostile and aggressive guests to Yorubas as that will spell doom for millions of Igbos, living peacefully and safely in Lagos and doing their businesses without let or hindrance. Let us vote Sanwo-Olu because he represents the interests of all Lagosians.
“We want to assure the Yorubas that Igbos are not greedy as to plot to take over Lagos as some miscreants and hoodlums intent on causing crisis, are saying. We want Yorubas to know that those provocative statements and boasts are not by true Igbos. That such expression of ingratitude are made to drive wedges between the harmonious understanding Igbos enjoy with Yorubas in Lagos for over a century now. We want to assure Yorubas that Igbos are very much committed to this beneficial relationship and would do nothing to harm it. We will use the next Saturday election to demonstrate our commitment to this understanding and further cement our relationship with the Yorubas by voting massively for Sanwo-Olu who we project to enjoy massive victory in the gubernatorial election this Saturday.”

INEC May Shift Governorship Poll To March 18 Over Re-Configuration Of BVAS

Editorial staff

March 8, 2023

Indication is showing the likely postponement of the Governorship and state House of Assembly elections scheduled for Saturday, 11 March to 18 March, 2023 to enable for the proper re-configuration of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines used for the February 25 presidential and National Assembly elections.

Information emanating from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) showed that the commission’s management is currently holding a meeting, where it was considering either 18 March.

It was learnt that the main item on the agenda is the re-configuration of the BVAS machines. Court of Appeal had just granted the commission the request to re-configure the BVAS machine.

“You know that the BVAS re-configuration would take three or four days and since they would all be moved to the headquarters in Abuja, the machines would be re-configured and deployed to the various states and finally to the polling units,” an officials said.

Details later…

Source: Daily Trust.

Why We Will Remain Eternally Grateful To Nurses In FCT – Minister

Editorial staff

March 8, 2023

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Malam Muhammad Musa Bello, has said that residents of the city would remain eternally grateful to nurses in the capital city for the roles they played during the outbreak of epidemics in the recent past.

Receiving in audience today, March 8, members of the National Association of the Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), FCT Chapter, led by the Chairman, Comrade Deborah Yusufu, the minister referred in particular, to the outbreak of Ebola and that of COVID 19.

He acknowledged that nurses in the federal capital city worked hard to contain COVID 19, in spite of the fact that FCT was one of the epicentres of the epidemic.

“I personally have really worked very closely with you and I have seen what you have been able to do. I think in Abuja, all of us will be very grateful to you for your role during the COVID-19 pandemic. We all went through it here in the city and Abuja being the second epicentre, we know the sacrifices you went through and I saw the leadership also that was really demonstrated by your Chairman and also by your entire EXCO. For that, I think the entire city and the FCT Administration will be eternally grateful to you.”

The Minister also appreciated the constant dialogue and communication between the FCTA and the Nursing Association, saying it has helped to promote industrial harmony in the FCT.

“You’ve also been a pillar of support to us, particularly in terms of our efforts to really improve on Industrial relations within the FCT and I’ve had a lot of feedback. When we are going wrong, instead of the normal system of writing a lengthy letter and copying so many people, the Chairman will just find a way of communicating to me and tell me that this and this is wrong and it’s very important to do this and this. I’m sure whenever she speaks and communicates with me, she does that with the support of all of you. That to a very large extent has helped us as an administration to be able to really do what is right.”

Muhammad Musa Bello appealed to the association to continue on its worthy path of making a difference in the FCT in its activities as a union and the provision of services to residents of the FCT by its members.

Earlier, Comrade Deborah Yusufu had commended the Minister for the support he gave to the association, which, she said, had created the enabling environment for nurses in the FCT to work efficiently and effectively.

She said that the harmonious relationship between the FCTA and the union has a lot to do with the support and commitment of the Minister to the welfare of members of the association.

“We are happy to be a part of your success story today in the FCT because of the cordial and harmonious working relationship we established, sustained and uphold up to this moment. It is not unconnected with the fact that you have always given us audience, identify with us and of course attend to our issues expeditiously to the best of your ability.”

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