Author: Olukayode Oke

As the ruling All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, in Anambra State struggles with the Labour Party, LP, for the control of the political soul of the state, the presidential candidate of LP in the February 25 election, Mr. Peter Obi has insisted that he has no problem with the state governor, Professor Chukwuma Soludo. Obi’s position came on the heels of a statement credited to Soludo that constituencies that do not produce APGA members during Saturday’s House of Assembly election, would not be enjoying the dividends of democracy as lawmakers from such constituencies would only be paid their salaries, while…

The Inspector General of Police, Mr. Alkali Baba, has presented cheques of N16 million to families of police officers who died in active service in Kogi. The IG made the presentations through the Kogi Commissioner of Police, Akeem Yusuf, who was represented by the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of Administration: DCP Abel Audu at the Command’s Headquarters in Lokoja. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports in Lokoja that the N16 million cheques were presented to the next of kin of 28 Police Officers who died in active service in the state.. Baba explained, “this gesture is part…

The Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Professor Akin Abayomi on Friday gave more insight into the tragic accident involving a train and bus conveying the staff of the Lagos State government to their respective places of work. Abayomi who spoke alongside the Lagos State Head of Service, Mr. Hakeem Muri-Okunola and the Chief Medical Director of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Prof. Adetokunbo Fabamwo, said that a total of 102 people were involved in the train and bus collision that claimed six lives. He explained that two of the victims died at the scene of the accident, while four…

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Prof Mahmood Yakubu has said the allegation that he rigged the presidential election could lead to a lawsuit. The electoral chief issued a reply to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, after the leadership, on Friday, asked him to resign. The opposition charged the police and the Department of State Services, DSS, to investigate the chairman over alleged manipulation of election results. A statement by Yakubu’s Press Secretary, Rotimi Oyekanmi said the call was misplaced and challenged the PDP to prove its claims in court. The spokesperson wondered why the party did not…

Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford, 25, has been named Premier League Player of the Month for the third time this season, equalling a record held by Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah. Salah set the bar for most Player of the Month awards in a single season in 2017-18. Rashford won the award in September, January and February, scoring four goals in five games last month. Erik ten Hag was named Manager of the Month for the second time. Rashford has now been named Player of the Month four times in his career and topped a six-man shortlist for February which included Kelechi Iheanacho,…

Union Saint Gilloise forward, Victor Boniface has scooped the UEFA Europa League Player of the Week award. Boniface beat Manchester United midfileder, Bruno Fernandes, Roma’s Paulo Dybala and Bayer Leverkusen centre-back, Edmond Tapsoba to the individual accolade. The 22-year-old scored a brace in his Belgian Pro League outfit, Union Saint Gilloise 3-3 draw against Bundesliga club, Union Berlin on Thursday night. UEFA announced the Nigerian striker winner of the award on its official Twitter handle on Friday. “Victor Boniface wins #UEL Player of the week! ⚽️,” reads a tweet on UEFA website. He has scored five goals in the competition…

Flying Eagles of Nigeria have clinched bronze at the ongoing U-20 African Cup of Nations after defeating Tunisia 4-0 in the Third-place play-off on Friday. This will be the third time in history Nigeria have finished third-placed at the competition. The Ladan Bosso led side saved their best performance for the last as this was their biggest win in the competition. Ibrahim Muhammed got the Flying Eagles ahead, scoring the opening goal barely nine minutes into the game. The Tunisians, however, ensured that the Flying Eagles didn’t increase their lead going into the halftime break. Coming into the second half,…

The Bring Back Our Girls co-pioneer, Aisha Yesufu wants the new electoral reform to include that all the major elections be held the same day in the country. The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, conducts the Presidential and National Assembly elections two weeks before the Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections. But the activist wants the elections conducted in one day. “Further electoral reform is needed,” Aisha tweeted. She added: “Presidential, gubernatorial, National Assembly and state houses of assembly election should be on the same day. Early voting for essential workers. Ballot papers should carry pictures of the candidates…

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has been condemned by the Labour Party (LP) for coming up with the idea to reconfigure the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines after the party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, sought to examine the election materials. LP faulted the claim of INEC backing up data retrieved from BVAS without the presence of independent witnesses and representatives of political parties. This is coming after the Court of Appeal in Abuja granted the commission’s request to reconfigure the BVAS that was used for the presidential election on the 25th of February, 2023. The court dismissed the objection by…

The Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, Prof. Christianah Adeyeye on Thursday said Nigeria will not support the trend of legalisation of cannabis for non-medical use. Meanwhile, the agency has launched the 2022 Annual Report of the International Narcotics Control Board, INCB. Speaking during the launch of the INCB Annual Report, Availability Supplement and Precursor Report for 2022 in Lagos, Adeyeye said the 2018 National Drug Use Survey revealed that the prevalence of any drug was 14.4 4 per cent or 14.3 million people using drugs between the ages of 15 and 64 years. She pointed out that it is comparatively high compared with the 2016 global annual prevalence of…

The Presidency has assured Nigerians that the June 12, 1993, saga won’t repeat itself. President Muhammadu Buhari’s spokesman, Garba Shehu, said the presidential election allegedly marred by irregularities would not be annulled. Shehu urged candidates and political parties not satisfied with the outcome of the election to approach the court. He spoke in a statement titled “At the 5th United Nations Conference on Least Developed Countries, LDCs, disclosed President Buhari drummed up support for Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Presidency.” The statement reads partly: “Before the trip, he was faced with orchestrated attempts to poison public opinion against national institutions, particularly…

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag hailed goalscoring skipper Bruno Fernandes as the star man in his side’s Europa League last-16 first-leg victory against Real Betis. Fernandes had taken the brunt of huge criticism heaped on United following Sunday’s record 7-0 Premier League humiliation at Liverpool. But Ten Hag confirmed in the build-up the Portuguese would remain captain if Harry Maguire was not on the field – and Fernandes repaid that faith with an outstanding contribution to a much-needed win. It included his eighth goal of the season as he headed home Luke Shaw’s 58th-minute corner. “He was the best player on…