Politics

INEC devolves PVC collection to wards and registration areas

No Comments

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will from today, January 6, commence the distribution of Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) to registrants at the 8,809 electoral wards across Nigeria.

INEC national commissioner and chairman Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, said this on Thursday, January 5.

All validly registered voters who are yet to collect their PVCs are encouraged to use the opportunity of the devolution to the wards to do so.

After 15th of January 2023, the exercise will revert to the local government offices of the commission until 22nd January 2023.

The statement read;

“The Commission also resolved to devolve PVC collection to the 8,809 Registration Areas/Wards from Friday 6th to Sunday 15th January 2023.

“The devolution of PVC collection to the wards commences tomorrow 6th January 2023, and all validly registered voters who are yet to collect their PVCs are encouraged to seize the opportunity of the devolution to the wards to do so.

“After the 15th of January 2023, the exercise will revert to the Local Government Offices of the Commission until 22nd January 2023. All eligible and valid registrants can collect their PVCs from 9.00am to 3.00pm daily, including Saturdays and Sundays.”

Politics

Minister warns NDDC board against exceeding approval limits

No Comments

The Minister of Niger-Delta Affairs, Chief Umana Umana, has charged members of the Governing Board of the Niger Delta Development Commission to be faithful in the implementation of the recommendations of the report of the commission’s forensic audit.

Umana gave the directive while inaugurating the new board of the commission in Abuja, urging the board members to immediately hit the ground running.

This was contained in a statement signed by the NDDC Director, Corporate Affairs, Dr Ibitoye Abosede, and made available to journalists in Port Harcourt on Wednesday.

The new board has a former presidential aide, Lauretta Onochie, as chairman and Dr Samuel Ogbuku as Managing Director.

Umana stressed the need for the board and the management to strictly adhere to the provisions of the Procurement Act, as well as financial regulations to ensure prudence in the management of limited resources.

“Every contract above the threshold of management is to be referred to the Ministerial Tenders Board of the Federal Executive Council. Any breach of contract approval limits will attract severe sanctions,” he warned.

Umana also charged the board to look into “allegations of irregular employment from 2019 and follow up on the ongoing personal audit in the Commission to make sure all cases of employment during the period under review were in accordance with extant rules and regulations of the service.”

The minister urged the board members to focus on the completion of ongoing projects and advised them to shun the lure of the “award of spurious and indiscriminate new contracts,” to help in repairing the negative public perception of the NDDC.

In his remarks, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr Boss Mustapha, noted that the inauguration of the new board would not have been possible without the collaboration of the National Assembly.

Mustapha, who was represented by a former Permanent Secretary, Mrs Habiba Lawal, urged members of the new board to bring all their expertise to bear to transform the lives and environment of the region.

Also speaking, the chairman of the board, Onochie, appealed to Nigerians, especially people from the Niger Delta region, to give them the necessary support to deliver on their mandate.

Politics

Chris Ngige dismisses claims the President is responsible for hunger and high cost of living

No Comments

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, says President Buhari ought to be praised and not criticized, amid ‘hunger and high cost of living’ the country is experiencing, as most parts of the world are also battling the same crisis at the moment.

Ngige said this when he spoke to newsmen in his hometown of Alor, Idemili South Local Government Area of Anambra State, on Wednesday, January 4.

“I was the one who brought Buhari to the South East in 2015. As the South East Zonal Coordinator, I told the General that the bridge is critical to our people and the entire South, all the way up to North Central. The General asked if we could do it, and I said, ‘Why not?.’

The same question he asked at the Ziks Mausoleum completion, and he told me that if God made him president, he would construct the bridge and complete the abandoned mausoleum for our people.

I was the one who brought to the fore in our South East campaign the Second Niger Bridge, Enugu-Onitsha Expressway, and Enugu Airport renovation and remodelling, for which the Federal Government gave the Minister of Aviation, N10bn, the authority to execute the upgrade as critical infrastructural projects needed by the zone.

Today, the tarmac was reconstructed and the runway expanded from one to three kilometres with modern night lighting systems and navigational aids and several other projects.

So, President Buhari ought to be praised, but they will tell you that people are dying of hunger. Hunger is a global problem. If you go to the news, you will see white people protesting against hunger and the high cost of living in Europe and elsewhere.”he said

Reacting to the recent letter released by former President Olusegun Obasanjo in which he said the last seven years under the Buhari administration has been hell for Nigerians, Ngige questioned what poverty alleviation measures Obasanjo put in place while he ruled for eight years.

“Disregard those politicians who will come and tell you that the Buhari administration inflicted hardship and poverty on you. One of them wrote a letter the other day, the habitual national letter writer. It is easy to criticize.”he said

Politics

Commissioner Resigns After Father’s Title Was Revoked Over ‘Disrespect’ To Bauchi Governor

No Comments

The Commissioner of Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises Development, Sa’adatu Bello Kirfi, has resigned her appointment hours after her father, Bello Kirfi, was stripped of his traditional title as ‘Wazirin Bauchi’ and removed as a member of the Bauchi Emirate Council.

Kirfi, who was a retired federal civil servant, Second Republic Minister and former Minister of Special Duties, was removed over his alleged “disloyalty and disrespect” to the State Governor, Bala Mohammed.

In the letter obtained by our correspondent, the commissioner didn’t give any reason for her resignation. She merely stated she was resigning and thanked the governor for the opportunity to serve.

Politics

Nigerian leaders have questions to answer before God – Lagos Deputy Governor

No Comments

Lagos State Deputy Governor, Dr Obafemi Hamzat has said that Nigerian leaders have so many questions to answer when they appear before God.

Hamzat who spoke at the closing of the 113th Islamic Vacation Course (IVC), organised by Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria (MSSN), Lagos State Area Unit, in Epe, noted that failure of Nigerians to vote will be detrimental to good governance.

The Lagos Deputy Governor further stated that Nigeria needs good leaders to develop, while also adding that many leaders have questions to answer before God on their performance.

Politics

FG inaugurates NDDC governing board

No Comments

The federal government, on Wednesday, inaugurated the governing board of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC.

The agency had been without a board for nearly four years.The Senate on December 20, 2022, confirmed the nominations of the Chairman and Board Members of the Commission after President Muhammadu Buhari sent their names in accordance with the NDDC (Establishment) Act, 2008.

Speaking during the inauguration, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, urged the members of the board to be above board, adding that they should work towards policies that would contribute to the coordinated development of the Niger Delta.

Also, the Minister of State, Federal Ministry of Niger-Delta Affairs, Mrs Sharon Ikeazu, urged the new board to work towards restoring hope to the people of the region.

Politics

Ask politicians to recruit their children if they approach you for thuggery – Governor Tambuwal tells youths

No Comments

Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto state has asked Nigerian youths to refrain from being used as political thugs in the 2023 general election.

Speaking at a recent rally of the party, Tambuwal told Nigerian youths to ask politicians who want to use them for thuggery, to use their children instead.

He added that they should not allow themselves to be used to compromise peaceful coexistence by perpetrating violence and chaos.

Tambuwal said;

“You should ask any politician who invites you into political thuggery to align you with his sons and daughters.”

Politics

6.7million PVCs uncollected in 17 states – INEC

No Comments

About 6.7 million PVCs are yet to be collected from the Independent National Electoral Commission offices across 17 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

Recall that INEC announced that the collection window for PVCs will commence on December 12,2022 and end on January 22.

INEC National Commissioner for Information and Voter Education, Festus Okoye, said in a statement released on Tuesday, December 3, that from January 6 -15, the collection of the PVCs will be devolved to the ward level after which collection would be moved to the local government areas.

It read;

“Old PVCs received from headquarters – 6,570,291; old PVCs collected up till December 29, 2022 – 5,653,330. Total uncollected old PVCs – 916,961; New PVCs received from headquarters – 940,200; New PVCs collected as at December 29, 2022 – 163,198.

“Total uncollected New PVCs –777,022; Overall total PVCs received from headquarters- 7,510,491; Overall PVCs collected as at December 29, 2022 -5,816,528; Overall PVCs uncollected 1,693,963.’’

Politics

Obi of Onitsha denies claim of having an altercation with Obasanjo

No Comments

Nnaemeka Achebe, the Obi of Onitsha has denied claim of having an altercation with former President Olusegun Obasanjo over the Second Niger Bridge.

Presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu had in a statement released in reponse to Obasanjo’s criticism of the Buhari-led administration, alleged that Obasanjo deceived the south-east during the flag-off for the construction of the Second Niger Bridge.

Shehu had also claimed that the Obi of Onitsha had an altercation with the former president after being called a liar.

He wrote;

“Obasanjo laid the sod for the bridge in his first term as elected President and work never started.

“When he sought re-election for his second term in office, he returned to the site to turn the sod for the bridge the second time. When the Obi of Onitsha, forthright and scholarly, reminded him that he had done this in the past, Obasanjo told the foremost Southeast traditional ruler that he was a liar, in the full presence of the Chiefs and Oracles in his palace.”

However in a statement released by the Chinyelugo Anionwu, chief of staff to the Onitsha traditional council, the Obi of Onitsha stated that he was never involved in any sod turning ceremony for the second River Niger Bridge during the first tenure of President Obasanjo.

It read;

“His Majesty, Nnaemeka Achebe, CFR, MNI, Obi of Onitsha, by his position as traditional and natural ruler, should normally not engage publicly in high level discourse on affairs of State between two of our highly respected national leaders, President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR and former President Olusegun Obasanjo, GCFR.

“However, the Palace deems it absolutely necessary to ensure that public statements relating to our monarch are factually correct.

“Accordingly, the Palace would like to state categorically that His Majesty was never involved in any sod turning ceremony for the second River Niger Bridge during the first tenure of President Obasanjo as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and, therefore, could not have engaged in any altercation with the then President as stated in the above press release.

“The only involvement of His Majesty with President Obasanjo regarding the Second River Niger Bridge was at the very tail end of his second term as President during a low-keyed flag-off of the project when His Majesty prayed that the succeeding administration would construct the bridge expeditiously.

“Onitsha people will continue to express their utmost gratitude to President Buhari and his Government for successfully constructing the magnificent bridge.”

Politics

INEC warns Nigerians about fake ad hoc staff recruitment portal

No Comments

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has warned Nigerians about a fake portal purportedly used for the recruitment of ad hoc staff for 2023 general election.

According to the Chief Press Secretary to INEC Chairman, Mr Rotimi Oyekanmi, the portal is fake as the commission is no longer recruiting for the election.

The statement read;

“The website/blog below is advertising ad hoc staff positions for the 2023 general election.

“However, the commission is no longer recruiting ad hoc staff for the 2023 general election.“The INEC ad hoc staff recruitment portal was officially shut down on December 14 2022.

“Therefore, the site, with the URL –http://www.yournewclaims.com/Inec-Recriutment/ is fake. It is intended to defraud unsuspecting members of the public. Nigerians should disregard it.”

Politics

Governor Sanwo-Olu plans training for street beggars

No Comments

The Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has said the provision of various job skills and additional homes will reduce the menace of women and children beggars across the streets of the state.

The governor stated this on Monday during an interview on TVC News.

Sanwo-Olu said;

“These women and children beggars on the streets are citizens that are looking for sustenance and livelihood daily. I tell you, we clear them almost every week but they find themselves there. Is the solution for me to say I want to pack them to another part of the country?

“No. The solution is to continue to build additional homes and continue to give them solutions by which they can become useful to their families. So we want to see how we can train them and give them skills so that they become providers of jobs themselves. It is a national issue and you don’t need a visa to come into Lagos so it is not me that has created that.”

The governor also explained that the state needs private investors with the right funding to embark on waste conversion projects.

“As a mega city, we generate between 12,000 and 14,000 metric tonnes of waste every day, largely domestic wastes, though some are industrial waste. A lot of people will tell you that there is money in waste which we are beginning to see. There is a lot of sorting that is happening and people are recycling, but it still hasn’t answered a huge number of opportunities that are there.

“These are investments that I believe the private sector can take up and I have seen a few people come up but they are never finished through. I am waiting for one that has the funding required to take up the project of waste conversion,” he added.

Business, Politics

National Assembly budgets N850m for failed constitution amendment

No Comments

The National Assembly has again allocated N850m for Constitution Amendment in the 2023 Budget.

The National Assembly had recently raised the 2023 Budget by N1.3 trillion from the N20.5 trillion proposed by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), in October 2022.

The constitution amendment process has faced several delays at the parliament and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, confirmed recently that the passage of the amendment bill in the ninth Assembly had been stalled.

He said;

“The National Assembly passed a raft of amendments to the constitution and advanced them to the states as required. That process now seems to have stalled in the state assemblies. As it is today, it is doubtful that the current constitutional amendment effort will conclude before the expiration of this legislative term”.

The government has over the years allocated about N1bn annually for constitution amendment which has continued to face challenges since 2011.

The Ninth Assembly recently lamented that the process of the constitution review was being frustrated by some state governors.The National Assembly has however continued to make allocation available for the project.

The Chairman of the Constitution Review Committee, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, recently lamented that only 11 states have passed bills.

The 11 states that have passed their bills include; Abia, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Delta, Edo, Kaduna, Katsina, Kogi, Lagos, Ogun and Osun.

Speaking on the yearly allocation of funds to the National Assembly, the Executive Director of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, Auwal Rafsanjani, believes the project has failed, saying the 10th Assembly, which begins in June 2023, will have to start all over again.

He said;

“Constitutional Amendment has deliberately become a ritual that the lawmakers are using to embezzle funds without any yielded result.

“It is unfair and a total waste of public funds that all the key issues that affect Nigerians like indigenization, discrimination, land ownership, and some other laws are not captured in the Amendment.”

The activist added that “It is sad that the leaders both executive and legislature do not have the interest of the people at heart, if they do, we won’t be spending money every year over the same repeated circle of a failed constitution amendment project that has never succeeded for once.

“The process of the Constitution Amendments should begin with gathering information from the citizens to know what issues to be amended exactly.”

Rafsanjani added that people must begin to demand for accountability the money that it spends especially as it relates to the constitutional amendment.

Efforts to get comments from the Senate proved abortive as the Senate spokesperson, Ajibola Basiru.

Lifestyle, Politics

Gunmen kill PDP leader and four others in Anambra

No Comments

Five people, including a People Democratic Party (PDP) leader, were reportedly killed by gunmen in Anambra State.

The killings, said to be cult-related, occurred at Obi Maduka’s compound within Nodu town square, Nodu Okpuno, in Awka South Local Government Area of the State on Monday, January 2, 2023.

The four victims were identified as Onyiebo Okoye – aka Onwa, Kenechukwu Okeke – PDP chairman in the area), Jude Ebenezer and Obinna Maduka.

According to a source, who spoke to The Nigerian Tribune, the gunmen arrived the house in a white tinted Toyota Corolla and shot four people who were seated inside the compound.

The gunmen were said to have driven off immediately after killing the four victims. He said the victims have been conveyed to Amaku mortuary by their families after reporting to the Police who came to inspect the incident scene.

It was later revealed that the gunmen had pursued someone into the compound where these victims were seated, and as they did that, they opened fire on the victims who were seated and being entertained by their host.

Another young man identified simply as Nonso, who recently got married was also shot dead on Monday night, in the same Okpuno.

When contacted, the spokesperson of the State Police Command, DSP Tochukwu Ikenga, said he was not aware of the incident.

“I don’t have any such report before me. I urge the witnesses of the incident or relatives of the victim to come forward with information that will help police to embark on investigation, please.” he added.

Politics

Obasanjo has crashed Atiku, Tinubu’s presidential bid with Obi’s endorsement – Udeogaranya

No Comments

A former presidential aspirant of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2019 general elections, Chief Charles Udeogaranya has called on the presidential candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubarkar and the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to abandon their presidential campaigns with immediate effect, as their chances of winning have been crashed beyond redemption by the former president Olusegun Obasanjo’s premium endorsement of Mr Peter Obi of Labour Party (LP).

The politician noted that “Obasanjo is not just a two-time former president of Nigeria in both military and democratic governments but the champion of Nigerian unity from the bitter Nigerian civil war, a tall status and an impeccable experience that crowns him the sole right to attest to Nigerians and the global village the best candidate for the Nigerian presidency, IT IS FINISHED”.

Udeogaranya counsels Peter Obi detractors and merchants of fear about Nigerian unity with a Nigerian president from the South-East, to look elsewhere as their falsehood and hateful propaganda have been shattered like an irredeemably broken bottle by the former president Olusegun Obasanjo’s endorsement of Peter Obi of Labour Party (LP).

An endorsement that is framed and firmly anchored with the best intelligence and vetting processes to determine who can best unify, safeguard and prosper Nigeria among the top 2023 presidential candidates if given power.

Politics

Presidential candidate Bola Ahmed Tinubu In Mecca For Umrah

No Comments

The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu, is in Mecca for Umrah ahead of the forthcoming presidential election in February.

It was reported on Saturday that Tinubu was in Saudi Arabia, after denying meeting with G-5 governors of the Peoples Democratic Party in London.

His media aide, Tunde Rahman, said Tinubu will be back in Nigeria “within the next two days to continue with the campaign”.

Politics

Those planning to disrupt 2023 polls will be met with full force of the law – Buhari

No Comments

President Muhammadu Buhari has said that those planning to disrupt the 2023 general election will be met with “full force of the law“.

The President gave the warning in his new message on Saturday, December 31. Buhari stated that it is important for Nigeria to have another smooth transition of government to whoever the people have decided upon.

The statement read;

“In year 2023, Nigerians go to the polls to exercise our right to vote and elect a new administration.

“It is an important year for our country to ensure that we have another smooth transition of government, to whoever the people have decided upon.

“This administration’s landmark Amended Electoral Act will ensure that we have free and fair elections across the Nation.

“We as Nigerians must also take responsibility to ensure we participate in ensuring that the 2023 elections are free and fair by not engaging in anti-state activities and other nefarious acts that may affect the run of the polls.

“We must also resist every attempt to be used by politicians to create unrest in any form to disrupt the elections. We, as the government, will ensure such activities are met with the full force of the law.”

Buhari added that Nigerians must continue to assist the armed forces by providing community intelligence and report suspicious moves.

He said;

“As our security agencies continue to make the country proud, we must continue to assist our patriotic forces by providing much needed community intelligence.

“It is our collective responsibility to ensure that Nigeria remains safe and peaceful for us all. Therefore, we have a duty and obligation to support our troops and intelligence agencies by being alert and reporting anything suspicious.”

Politics

Buhari may sign 2023 budget Tuesday- Ahmed Lawan

No Comments

The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), will sign the 2023 appropriation bill on Tuesday, January 3, 2023.

Senate President Ahmed Lawan revealed this to journalists on Friday after a closed-door meeting with Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The Senate President who arrived at the Villa minutes before 3:00 pm said he discussed Buhari’s recent additional loan request, the legislature’s support to the Independent National Electoral Commission ahead of the general elections, the 2023 appropriate bill and other national matters.

He said;

“We are looking forward to Mr President signing the Appropriation Bill 2023, by the grace of God, on Tuesday.

“This because we signed the documents yesterday, having lost some time because of some anomalous figures we had in the bill presented to the National Assembly.

“But thank God, the National Assembly, in both chambers, has passed the Appropriation Bill 2023 on Wednesday, and I’m sure that Mr. President and his team, on the executive side will work on what we have done. And the first thing on Tuesday, the first official working day of the year, I believe that Mr. President will be signing the Appropriation Bill 2023.”

He lamented that the National Assembly would have passed the bill a week earlier had it not been for irregularities spotted in the bill.

Explaining the delay, Lawan said;

“This year (delay) particularly, is because of the anomalous, very undesirable and unfortunate situation that we had to delay a little bit.”

He revealed that the Independent National Electoral Commission, “lacks nothing” and the National Assembly will support it to deliver credible elections.

Meanwhile, Senator Ali Ndume’s while reacting to the passage of the Budget on Channels TV Politics Today on Friday, said the Senate had been able to sustain the January to December budget circle.

He also said the 2022 supplementary budget presented by the President should have been included in the 2023 budget.Ndume said, “I think my position is very clear now to Nigerians. We kept our agreement on our part and that is returning Nigeria into the budget circle of January to December, but we just passed an extension of the time to implement the budget.

“That means the budget will be implemented in 15 months instead of 12 months. You passed the budget timely but the implementation is delayed. We had to now extend the budget by 90 days. We also had to pass a supplementary budget and that is another issue that I have a problem with.”

Politics

Ogun State Governor Signs N472bn, 2023 Budget

No Comments

The Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, on Thursday signed into law, the state’s 2023 Appropriation Bill.

Signing the N472,250,694,447.57 Appropriations Bill as passed earlier in the day by the State House of Assembly, Abiodun said he would ensure full implementation of all the items on the bill to sustain the momentum of ‘Building Our Future Together’ agenda of his administration.

Lifestyle, Politics

Lagos government empowers 250 household heads

No Comments

The Lagos State Government has disclosed that as part of its efforts to improve the lots of orphans and vulnerable children in the state, it has empowered 250 household heads with various start-up tools for self-reliance and independence.

The state Commissioner for Youth and Social Development, Mr Olusegun Dawodu, stated this on Thursday, during the Household Economic Strengthening initiative organised for orphans and vulnerable children at the Correctional Centre for Boys in Yaba.

Dawodu said,

“Poverty is the leading cause of household vulnerability and separation in our society today. This is why we are empowering 250 household heads with various start-up tools for self-reliance and independence.

“The orphans and vulnerable children are affected/infected with HIV/AIDS malnourished due to extreme poverty, marginalised, stigmatised or even discriminated against and need care or protection.

“The Household Economic Strengthening comprises a portfolio of interventions to reduce the economic vulnerability of families and empower them to provide for the essential needs of the children they care for rather than relying on external assistance.”

In her address, Entrepreneur Coach, Mrs Victoria Ekarika, sensitised the beneficiaries of the programme to a business plan, budget, financial discipline, saving culture, investment plan and record-keeping for them to be successful in business.

Close Menu

Privacy Policy