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  Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, yesterday  gave a seven-day ultimatum to  auto mechanics operating under the Third Mainland Bridge near Adekunle area to vacate the location and remove all abandoned vehicles to allow for commencement of    a development project.  The governor gave the ultimatum during an unscheduled visit to the area. He expressed dissatisfaction with the mechanics for refusing to comply with previous quit  notices. He also ordered traders in the area to move to the designated site prepared for them in Agbowa by January 2016, while disclosing that a recreation park would be sited on the stretch of land overlooking the lagoon. He said the park project would be completed before the end of May 2017 when Lagos State would be 50 years old. The governor also yesterday commissioned the Ipaja-Ayobo and Ikotun-Ejigbo roads, and also inspected other on-going projects across the state.  At Ipaja, Ambode ...

The Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company (KRPC) will from today supply an additional 1.5 million liters of fuel to the domestic market. The 1.5 million liters according to experts, means about 50 trucks can load daily to supply filling stations in the northern part of the country.Production at the refinery was disrupted in September due to pipeline vandalisation and the plant’s main supply of crude oil was cut off.Managing Director of KRPC, Engineer Saidu Aliyu, told newsmen in Kaduna yesterday that the pipelines had been fixed while the plant now receives crude oil supplies. He said the refinery which recommenced production last week is operating at 60 percent of installed capacity but that it hopes to increase production in the next few weeks when it attains about 90 percent installed capacity to pump about 3.5 million liters of fuel per day to the domestic market. “Nigerians need to be patient, by tomorrow (today) I expect the PPMC to  commence trucking and the quantity ...

WE are deeply worried over the increasing frequency of accusations of the Nigerian military and security agencies meddling in the conduct of elections. Very few elections have been held without the Military and Police being accused by the parties in opposition, of being unlawfully used by the ruling party at the centre to compromise such elections. For instance, the All Progressives Congress (APC) had elaborately circulated “evidence” that portrayed the Nigerian Army as having been used by the then ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to facilitate the victory of its candidate, Mr Ayo Peter Fayose, for the Ekiti State governorship election of June 2014.And in the recently concluded Bayelsa State governorship poll which the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared inconclusive, the PDP, which is now in the opposition, also accused the military of providing security cover in the alleged attempt by the APC to falsify the Southern Ijaw Local Government results to upst...

The Federal Government, yesterday, said it would neither be cowed nor threatened by MTN’s court action against the N1.4trn fine which was later reduced to N780 billion, insisting that the telecommunications company risks another fine if it fails to pay on deadline. Minister of Communications, Mr Adebayo Shittu, made the statement yesterday in reaction to the suit instituted by the telecom operator at a Lagos High Court, weekend.The minister, who spoke through his Special Assistant on Media, Mr. Victor Oluwadamilare, however, admitted that MTN had the right to seek court’s interpretation if it feels unsatisfied with the action of the regulator but made it clear that nothing would stop the government from imposing additional fine on the operator, at the expiration of the deadline.

Dear Sir, I hope this letter meets you in good health. This is important considering what I guess may have been your ordeal as a guest of the Department of Security Services. Going by the antecedents of Nigeria’s secret police, I believe as they say in this clime that with the court judgment, God is keeping you alive and well enough to be given an opportunity to reflect on the first phase of your struggle even as you look into the future which is the subject of my letter to you. For you and your inner circle friends, this must not be a time for chest-thumping and talking tough. This moment calls for deep reflection and soul-searching. It must be a time to be away from the maddening crowd and have a reflective assessment of the first phase of the struggle. For the records, let me state that I first became aware of your agitation, and have listened to Radio Biafra, since early 2013. But this will be my first public intervention since your arrest and incarceration in October sparked ...

 The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission on Monday announced new tariffs payable by electricity consumers, indicating increase in charges for different categories of consumers across the country.The commission, however, abolished the fixed charges and declared that electricity users would only pay for what they consumed.About two weeks ago, the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, had hinted that the electricity tariffs would go up, insisting that the sector would record considerable improvement thereafter. NERC said the new electricity rates and its directive on fixed charges would take effect from the next billing period. Based on the new tariff regime so far released by NERC, residential consumers (R2) will pay on the average 48 per cent more than what they are currently paying as contained in the Multi Year Tariff Order 2.1 for 2015. Indeed, consumers under the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company, who are paying N19.96 as ener...

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, has ordered the deployment of employees of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation in filling stations across the country for effective monitoring of the fuel distribution system. The corporation disclosed this on Monday in a statement signed by its Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Mr. Ohi Alegbe, saying the move was in a bid to ensure the total eradication of queues from filling stations across the country. Kachikwu was quoted to have said at an emergency meeting with senior staff members of the corporation that although there were a number of challenges in the supply and distribution system hampering efficient distribution of products across the country, it was high time the NNPC rose above the problems by ensuring that the special intervention supplies provided by the government were not diverted or hoarded.

The Federal Government on Monday said Nigerians who have been bearing the brunt of the current fuel scarcity across the country were paying for the sins of the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said this while answering questions from the State House correspondents at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. Mohammed was asked what he would be telling Nigerians that had been complaining that long fuel queues being witnessed was not the kind of change they envisaged when they voted the President Muhammadu Buhari-led All Progressives Congress government in March.The minister said one of the major causes of the current fuel scarcity was the failure of Jonathan’s administration to make adequate provision for fuel subsidy. He explained that out of the N674bn supplementary budget recently presented to the National Assembly, N522bn was for arrears of fuel subsidy which was incurred by the last administration.He said, “W...

A human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), has petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, demanding an investigation into the alleged diversion of $500m, part of the over $4bn loot recovered from the accounts and the family of the late Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha. In his letter, dated December 18, 2015 and addressed to the Chairman of the EFCC, Ibrahim Magu, Falana asked the commission to confirm the actual amount recovered from the Abacha loot by the Federal Government. The Senior Advocate of Nigeria also asked the commission to determine the extent of the diversion of the said loot by the immediate past Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.).

President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday regretted that the procurement of equipment for the nation’s Armed Forces, which hitherto had followed due process under successive governments, got stuck in the mucky water of corruption under the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan. He, however, said his administration was taking urgent and appropriate actions to restore sanity, due process and probity to the arms procurement processes. Buhari said this while receiving the British Secretary of State for Defence, Mr. Michael Fallon, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. “They (officials of the last administration) just put foreign exchange in a briefcase and travelled to procure equipment for the military. That is why we have found ourselves in the crisis we are now facing,” a statement by his spokesman, Mr. Femi Adesina, quoted the President as saying at the meeting held behind closed-door. Welcoming the offer by the British Government to assist Nigeria in defence equipment procure...

The Chairman, Presidential Advisory Committee on Corruption, Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN), has advised former President Goodluck Jonathan to meet with President Muhammadu Buhari and confess all he knows about the $2bn arms scandal. Sagay told newsmen during an interview that if Jonathan could provide adequate information, he would be accorded the adequate respect by virtue of being a former Head of State. A former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki; a former Chairman of Daar Communications, Chief Raymond Dokpesi; and several others have been charged for their roles in the arms scandal.When asked if Jonathan could be arrested despite his soaring popularity in the international community for conceding defeat in the March 28 presidential election and congratulating Buhari, Sagay said the issue was a ‘sensitive’ one. He, however, argued that conceding defeat to Buhari did not make Jonathan a hero. The senior advocate said one good action could not correct several evil actions.

Faleke drags INEC before tribunal over inconclusive poll: arrived the Lokoja High Court premises around 11.20 am on Monday, said he took the action to register his displeasure at the decision of INEC and his firm belief in the nation’s judiciary to serve justice.Faleke said that since the late Prince Audu had clearly won the election before his death, there was no need for the December 5 supplementary election. He argued that he (Faleke) should have been declared the winner of the governorship election. Faleke expressed confidence that he would get justice at the tribunal.He said he had no grudge against the leadership of the All Progressives Congress, stressing that that was why he had decided to drag INEC to court to challenge the process that produced Bello as the governor and not the APC.

The lawmaker representing Egor constituency in Edo State House of Assembly, Mr. Crosby Eribo, says Governor Adams Oshiomhole will be making himself another godfather in the state if the rumoured endorsement of Mr Godwin Obaseki as candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the 2016 governorship election in the state by the governor was true.  Eribo, who addressed newsmen at his birthday celebration, weekend, in Benin City, stressed that APC members, and not a particular leader, would endorse a governorship candidate for the party in the state, warning that any attempt to impose a particular candidate was capable of creating crisis in the party, “which I am sure the governor will not want, as the leader of the party in the state.“I have heard people saying that the governor told them that Obaseki is the candidate. For me, that is not true because as the lawmaker representing Egor, the governor should have told me but he has not and that is why I don’t believe that story....

The perennial fuel crisis which has blighted the year worsened across the country, weekend, as hundreds of motorists slept in petrol stations with the intention of purchasing the products. This was even as the Federal Government, yesterday, directed the Pipelines and Products Marketing Company, PPMC, and the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, PPPRA , to commence a special supply intervention  measures to bring an end to the perennial fuel scarcity witnessed across the country. This intervention, according to the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources and Group Managing Director of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu,  is to ensure a country-wide availability of petroleum products ahead of the forthcoming yuletide and beyond.To this end, the NNPC, in a statement in Abuja, noted that  the Kaduna Refinery and Petrochemical Company resumed operation over the weekend while the intervention was kick-started with the ramping  up ...

Tension is building up in the South-East and parts of South-South geopolitical zones following the continued detention of the leader of Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, and Director Radio Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, who was, last Wednesday, discharged and acquitted by a Magistrate’s Court in Abuja of the treason preferred on him by the Department of State Security Services, DSS.It will be recalled that Justice Ademola Adeniyi of a Federal High Court, also in Abuja, had, last Thursday, ordered Kanu’s immediate release from DSS detention.Meanwhile, the youth wing of Ohanaeze Ndigbo had warned that the continued detention of the leader Nnamdi Kanu by the DDS, against court order, could spell doom for Nigeria.The youth group under the banner of Ohanaeze Youth Council, OYC, expressed shock that four days after the Federal High Court, Abuja gave ordered Kanu’s unconditional release, the DSS had continued to hold him. Similarly, reactions have continued to trail last Thursday’s shooting and kil...

Telecommunications company, MTN Nigeria Limited, has gone before a Federal High Court in Lagos to challenge the $3.9bn imposed on it by the Nigeria Communications Commission for failure to disconnect its unregistered subscribers.The company, which filed the suit through its legal team comprising Chief Wole Olanipekun, Tanimola Molajo, A.B. Mahmoud, Dr. Gbolahan Elias, Oladipo Okpeseyi, Prof. Fabian Ajogwu and Dr. Oladapo Olanipekun, all Senior Advocates of Nigeria, is urging the court to quash the $3.9bn imposed on it.Joined as a co-defendant with NCC is the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN).Among other things, the plaintiff is urging the court to determine whether NCC can act pursuant to Section 70 of the NCC Act to impose a fine on it in view of the provisions of sections 1 (3), 4 and 6 of the 1999 Constitution.It argued that by imposing a fine on it, the commission was already usurping “the exclusive legislative po...

Suspected gang of rapists on Saturday raped an undergraduate of the Delta State University in Abraka.It was gathered that the victim identified as Cecilia (surname withheld) of the Department of Sociology was among four other girls who surrendered themselves to be raped by the suspected rapists.The rapists numbering over 20 were alleged to have ambushed the girls on their way home from evening church service.Although three other victims were said to have escaped after the first round of sex, Cecilia, the last victim, could not as the rapists allegedly swooped on her after she was threatened with gun before she was raped. Another version of the story alleged that some of the girls, who were raped, were members of a cult group called Ake Confraternity and did not know that rape was part of the initiation rite.The victims, according to sources, only knew when they got to the initiation ground, where they were threatened that anyone who refused would be killed by other members. But the ...

The Divisional Police Officer, Igbogbo Police Division, Ikorodu, Lagos State, has been detained at the State Department of Criminal Investigation, Yaba, for his failure to account for the whereabouts of Waidi Kabiru, who was abducted from the station about a month ago.The DPO was arrested on Friday on the order of the state Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni. It was gathered that the CP had on Friday, December 11, give n the DPO a four-day ultimatum to produce the 26-year-old youth who was abducted from the police cell by some masked men on November 23. However, the command had refuted the abduction, saying the youth was released to a surety who had yet to be identified.A police source told newsmen that the CP had been summoned from the Force headquarters in Abuja on the incident and had been mandated to unravel the circumstances surrounding Waidi’s disappearance.

The Lagos State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party has asked the lawmaker representing Ikeja federal constituency of Lagos State, Mr. James Faleke, who is also the deputy governor-elect in Kogi State to make up his mind on which state he actually represents. The PDP said this in a statement by its chairman, Capt. Tunji Shelle (retd.), on Sunday.The party said Faleke, who has been battling for an executive position in Kogi State, had short-changed the people of Ikeja who voted for him on March 28, 2015.Faleke was the running mate of the late Kogi governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Abubakar Audu. Following Audu’s death, however, Mr. Yahaya Bello was picked as Audu’s replacement but Faleke maintains that he is the rightful successor to Audu and is in a legal battle with his party over the matter.The PDP therefore accused Faleke, the APC and the Independent National Electoral Commission of desperation, political immorality and gross violation of the spirit of ...

 The Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, has said that he will emerge victorious at the end, despite his current political challenges. Wike, who was making a veiled reference to the Appeal Court ruling that nullified his election, urged the people of the state not to be afraid of the manipulations of those who had ganged up against the state.Addressing thousands of Christian faithful at the First Rivers State Christmas Carol in Port Harcourt on Saturday, Wike said since he started politics, he had never had any victory cheaply, stressing that the current challenge would not be different.“I was the only council chairman in the country whose political litigation got to the Supreme Court during the 1999 electioneering process. I got my victory at the Supreme Court in April, 2000,” Wike recalled.He explained that as Christians, Rivers people should always look unto God for their salvation, pointing out that the machinations of men could never overcome the will of God.The ...

The Bayelsa State Governor, Mr. Seriake Dickson, has put the average statistics of the voters that took part in the December 5, 2015 governorship election at 40 per cent, contrary to the claim of the opposition candidate.The governor, who said this in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Daniel Iworiso-Markson, on Saturday, clarified that the statistics was not peculiar to Bayelsa State.Dickson said having won six out of the seven local government areas declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission with a wide margin, he should be declared the winner of the election and not the All Progressives Congress’ candidate, Chief Timpre Sylva. The governor said, “I have been engaging with various stakeholders, chiefs, women and youth groups from the area and over 5,000 members of the APC recently defected to the PDP. With this development and assurance that this time around, there will be no reign of terror and materials will get to their communities. “I am hoping that the p...

 The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission may write former President Goodluck Jonathan in connection with its ongoing investigation into arms procurement scam.It was gathered that the commission was planning to write the former President because his name had consistently featured in the interrogation of some suspects.A former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.), was reported to have said he disbursed funds from his office based on the instruction of the former President. Also, a former Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, had two weeks ago, said she transferred money to the former NSA as a result of a decision reached at a meeting presided over by Jonathan.An EFCC source said, “Although the commission will not invite the former President, we may write him to tell us his own side of the story because his name has been coming up in our investigations?”The source, however, said the commission would need to seek “clearance” from President Muhammadu Buha...

Mr Israel Kanu, the father of the pro-Biafra activist, Nnamdi Kanu, has thanked President Muhammadu Buhari and other Nigerians over the release of his son.The elder Kanu is the traditional ruler of Afara Ukwu Ibeku Autonomous Community, Umuahia. He said he was grateful to “well-meaning Nigerians for their prayers and support’’ during Nnamdi’s incarceration. He added that he was amazed by the goodwill and show of solidarity by Nigerians, especially the pro-Biafra groups, which, he said, “stood by us for the period my son was detained.’’ He said that he was particularly grateful to God that the court acquitted his son of all the charges, including treasonable felony, brought against him.“My family and the entire people of Afara Ukwu are happy over the release of our son and we shall continue to thank God and Nigerians for this happy event,’’ Kanu said.The traditional ruler commended the judiciary for proving to be the hope of the common man, saying, “the judiciary applied wisdom in di...

The office of the Accountant General of the Federation (AGF) says it is upgrading the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS) to ensure payment of December salary before Christmas.The Director of Funds in the office, Mr Mohammed Dikwa, stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Abuja on the sideline of a one-day workshop on the Treasury Single Account and e-payment/collection. Dikwa said that the system would be shut down over the weekend for the upgrade. “The essence of the shut down is for maintenance. Some people complained that they couldn’t have access over the last few weeks because of the queue management challenge. “We want to upgrade the infrastructure that we have over the weekend so that by Monday next week all payments will go on smoothly.“If you look at the trend, people find it difficult to have access easily because the infrastructure was not strong enough to effectively handle the queu...

President Muhammadu Buhari has summoned an emergency meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) over the 2016 budget. The meeting, according to a presidency source, is scheduled to hold 10:00am today inside the Council Chambers of the Aso Rock Presidential Villa in Abuja. The source revealed to newsmen yesterday that the meeting would finalise arrangements for Tuesday’s presentation of the 2016 budget to the National Assembly. The Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, had after the FEC meeting held last Monday said the Federal Government had proposed an “expansionist” budget of N6 trillion for 2016.

 Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has warned that the state would resist any move by the Federal Government to manipulate the coming National Assembly re-run election in the state with soldiers and policemen. The governor gave the warning, yesterday, when his supporters received him at the Port Harcourt International Airport. The governor who said that his prolonged silence should not be mistaken for weakness, assured that all members of the party in the National Assembly whose elections were nullified would be returned in the re-run election. Describing the nullification of his election by the Appeal Court  as a temporary set back, Wike enjoined his supporters to remain peaceful, directing that campaigns should commence at the various units and wards of the party. He said that he was confident of emerging victorious at the end of the day, adding that he had instructed his lawyers to challenge the verdict of the Appeal Court at the Supreme Court. He also promised to abi...

The Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, said on Thursday that the arrested Shi’ite sect leader, Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zak-Zaky, is no longer in the custody of the Army.Buratai said this when he met with a delegation from the Nigerian Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) at the Army Headquarters, Abuja.The Army chief, who was responding to the request by NSCIA to meet with the sect leader, said that El-Zak-Zaky had been handed over to the appropriate authorities for prosecution. According to Buratai, lawlessness must not be tolerated in the society especially when a part of the country is confronted with terrorism.Buratai dismissed claims in some quarters that the Army was after members of the sect.He said that the army was only carrying out its constitutional duties.He urged members of the public to disregard information and pictures contained in a section of the media, describing them as a false reflection of what happened.

MTN Nigeria has finally concluded it would not pay the N1.04 trn fine, the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC imposed on it, for its failure to disengage about 5.1 million improperly registered subscribers on its network in August and September 2015 and has decided to challenge the NCC in court. Not even the reduction of the fine to N780 billion last week by the commission, could sway the telecommunications company. Addressing its shareholders, yesterday, MTN said that “all factors having a bearing on the matter have been thoroughly and carefully considered including a review of the circumstances leading to the fine and the subsequent letters received from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).“MTN Nigeria acting on legal advice has resolved that the manner of the imposition of the fine and the quantum thereof is not in accordance with the NCC’s powers under the Nigerian Communications Act. Accordingly MTN has followed due process and has instructed its lawyers to procee...

 As the price of oil in  the international market continues to dwindle, the Federal Government insisted that state governments must begin to explore alternative sources of generating revenues in their respective states to augment what they were getting from the centre as monthly allocations. Addressing newsmen, yesterday, after the National Economic Council, NEC, meeting in Abuja, where Vice President Yemi Osinbajo represented President Muhammadu Buhari; Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udoma Udo Udoma, said the advice became imperative in the face of the country’s present daunting economic challenges. Udoma said the government, at the meeting, resolved that state governments should not only begin to do away with wastes but also exhibit prudence in the management of their resources.

The Federal Government stated, yesterday, that the country no longer has the resources to fund the oil and gas industry, and is therefore, considering and developing new models of financing the industry in the days ahead.Speaking at a town hall meeting in Abuja, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, said in January 2016 the final decision on the fate of the country’s refineries would likely be made, while it had also concluded arrangement to adopt a price modulation mechanism that would see it setting a price ceiling of between N87 and N97 per litre for Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, also known as petrol.

 Five persons were, yesterday, shot dead at the Niger Bridge Head, while seven others sustained varying degrees of injuries when members of the Indigenous people of Biafra, IPOB, and Movement for the Actualization of Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB, clashed with Joint Task Force, JTF, comprising the  Army and the Police, which mounted road block at the Niger Head Bridge. Four of the victims shot dead were members of both IPOB and MASSOB, while one person is said to be a soldier, who was grabbed by the  mob, angry with the way soldiers opened fire on the jubilating crowd that included non pro-Biafra agitators, and fell four of them before they ran for their lives, leaving the victims behind.All the markets around the Niger Bridge Head, including the Bridge Head Market, Onitsha Patent and Propitiatory Medicine Dealers Market (Ogbo Ogwu Market) and other markets located around the bridge, including Abada Market were quickly shut down, following sporadic shooting by the ...

The rescheduled governorship election in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State  and in some units in the seven other local government areas of the state will now hold on January 9. The new date was agreed upon at a stakeholders meeting held in Abuja, yesterday.The meeting, it was learned, resolved that police should play a leading role in the rescheduled poll as against the military dominance during the botched December 6 election in the area. Also, the distribution of electoral materials is to be decentralized as against the previous practice that provided windows for electoral fraud and violence, which resulted in the alleged death of some persons.The meeting, which had in attendance, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Chairman, Prof  Mahmood Yakubu, the National Security Adviser, NSA, Major-General Babagana Monguno (retd), the governorship candidates of all the contending political parties and other stakeholders, according to a source...

 Fireworks causes global warming in Onitsha as the news of Nnamdi Kalu's freedom filters the air through radio biafra. Men and women were seen dancing along major streets of onitsha while chanting war songs. In fact, every place is agog in celebration. Sounds of fireworks (Knockout) is heard from all locations. Also, the security men that blocked all the riot-prone junctions in Onitsha have been withdrawn as they were nowhere to be found. Close to zenith bank at new spare parts market, men are seen going direct to the refrigerators of nearby beer parlors to pick drinks while the leader of the market pays the bill. Channels TV confirmed this and reported that he was released unconditionally.

Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu, has assured Nigerians of the commission’s readiness to work towards ensuring that future elections were concluded in the first ballot. He also assured that the commission was poised to address the glitches experienced in the operation and functionality of Smart Card Readers Professor Yakubu spoke yesterday at the 11th Public Lecture of The Electoral Institute (TEI) with the topic: “Between Refuge and Rights: Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and Inclusive Electoral Process in Nigeria”, held at the TEI auditorium, Abuja. The INEC Chairman, who pointed out that the commission was satisfied with the processes, procedures as well as the conduct of the two governorship and two State Assembly elections conducted so far under his leadership, admitted that there had been reports of glitches in the operation and functionality of the Smart Card Readers with particular respect to the bi...

A 25-year-old man was on Tuesday sentenced to eight months imprisonment by an Abuja Grade 1 Area Court for stealing toothpaste and other items in a shop in Dutse, Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). David Haruna of Zone 5, Dutsen Alhaji, was convicted for joint act, shop breaking, mischief and theft, offences that contradict sections 79, 348, 324 and 288 of the Penal Code. The prosecutor, Babajide Olanipekun, told the court that the complainant, Gabriel Okri of Zone 6, Dutsen Alhaji, on December 11, reported at the Dutsen Alhaji Police Station, of how the accused and two others presently at large, on same date, conspired, broke into his shop and stole N30,000 and properties valued at N5,000. He said the accused also destroyed his wall valued at N50, 000. According to the prosecutor, some of the items, including wine, Dettol soap, toothpaste and body spray, were recovered from the accused during investigation. When the charges were read to the accused, he pl...

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has objected to the bail of former National Security Adviser (NSA), retired Col. Sambo Dasuki and five others who were charged with alleged diversion of funds, saying they could face physical attacks in the society. Dasuki was arraigned in a 22-counts charge before an FCT High Court along with Bashir Yuguda, former Minister of State for Finance; Attahiru Bafarawa, former governor of Sokoto State and his son, Sagir Attahiru, Shuaibu Salisu and Dalhatu Investment Ltd. Arguing a counter affidavit filed before the court yesterday, EFCC counsel Rotimi Jacob (SAN) told the court that it is in the interest of the defendants to be put in “protective custody so as to shield them from possible attack by relatives of the innocent soldiers who lost their lives due to lack of adequate equipment and facilities caused by the diversion of funds meant for the purpose.” He argued that if released on bail, the accused persons who still have some infl...

Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike yesterday instructed his lawyers to appeal at the Supreme Court, yesterday’s ruling of the decision of the state governorship election petition tribunal which nullified his election. The Court of Appeal Abuja Division yesterday dismissed his appeal challenging the decision of the tribunal. Justice Dongban Mensem held that the appeal lacked merit and substance and consequently dismissed it. In the unanimous judgment of the panel of five justices, Justice Mensem ordered that a fresh election be conducted by INEC in accordance with the Electoral Act 2010 and other relevant laws for the governorship race.The lead judge agreed with the tribunal that the Electoral Act was grossly violated and that the poll was manipulated when the card reader failed on election day. The court disagreed with Wike that the use of the card reader was alien to the Electoral Act, adding that INEC was vested with powers to devise rules and regulations and use any equipment for ...

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is to consult with critical stakeholders as a prelude to the announcement of the date for the election in Southern Ijaw which was cancelled due to violence, ballot box snatching and hostage taking of electoral officials. Yesterday, the Interagency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) which is co-chaired by the INEC Chairman and the National Security Adviser (NSA) met to review the situation from a security perspective. According to INEC Daily Bulletin, Tomorrow, the Commission will today engage with the National Chairmen/National Secretaries of Political Parties contesting the yet to be concluded Bayelsa governorship election and their respective governorship candidates. On Friday, December 18, 2015, the Commission will engage with Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and the Media.It could be recalled that on Monday, December 7, 2015, the Commission cancelled the election in Southern Ijaw due to violence, ballot b...

The chairman of the Senate Committee on Police Affairs, Senator Abu Ibrahim (APC, Katsina South) yesterday raised alarm that N701bn Natural Resource Funds have been misappropriated. In a statement issued yesterday, Ibrahim said  that the natural resource funds established in 2001 has provided under the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Allocation Commission (RMFC) allocate 1.6 percent of the federation account for the development of alternative natural resources outside oil and gas. He said the purpose of the fund is to provide possibility for every part of the country, other than oil and gas, to benefit from the principle of derivation.  “It has been discovered, however, that since its inception, the fund was never appropriately utilized for the purpose it was established. For example, it has been discovered that out of the total amount of N873,400,023,790.19, which accrued to the fund between 2002 and 2012, the sum of N701,489,494,960.19 was allegedly paid out from...