Lagos 2019: Ambode dares Tinubu, says I won’t step down (Sun)
The battle for the soul of Lagos State took a strange twist yesterday when Governor Akinwunmi Ambode boldly told a meeting of leaders of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, at the Bourdillon, Ikoyi home of the party’s National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, that he will not step down for their preferred candidate in the 2019 governorship race in the state. The meeting chaired by Tinubu and called under the banner of Governor’s Advisory Council (GAC) the most powerful clique in Lagos APC also had in attendance outgoing governor of Osun, Rauf Aregbesola, his newly elected successor, Gboyega Oyetola, Ambode and other members of the 22-member council. Read more
154 aspirants in 29 states battle for APC gov tickets (Leadership)
The battle for the 2019 general elections practically begins tomorrow as the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) kick-starts its primaries with that of the governorship in the 29 states, where gubernatorial elections will hold. The states are Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Sokoto, Kebbi, Niger, Bauchi, Kaduna, Plateau, Benue, Jigawa, Zamfara, Borno, Adamawa, Katsina, Yobe, Nasarawa, Kwara, Kano, Imo, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Ebonyi, Delta, Enugu, Taraba, Gombe, and Abia. However, the exercise is unlikely to hold in Kwara as the APC National Working Committee (NWC) is yet to screen aspirants for its governorship ticket in the state as at press time yesterday. Governorship elections will not hold in Kogi, Bayelsa, Edo, Ondo, Anambra, Ekiti and Osun states in the forthcoming general elections. A total of 154 aspirants are contesting for the party’s governorship tickets in the 28 states that have been cleared for primaries. Borno State tops the list with 21 aspirants. It is followed by Taraba State with 11 aspirants, while Nasarawa State has 10 aspirants. Imo, Zamfara, Gombe and Ebonyi States have nine aspirants each. Read more
2019: Governor Wike apologises for threatening PDP presidential aspirants (PremiumTimes)
Governor Nyesom Wike has apologised to leaders and presidential aspirants of the Peoples Democratic Party for his anti-party outburst on Wednesday, PREMIUM TIMES has learnt. At a National Executive Committee meeting of the party Friday afternoon, the Rivers State governor showed remorse for his comments and assured party leaders he would be more guarded going forward, those who attended the meeting have informed PREMIUM TIMES. Read more
Osun poll: PDP attacks Buhari for celebrating ‘stolen mandate’ (Punch)
The Peoples Democratic Party on Friday said that it was wrong for President Muhammadu Buhari to have congratulated the All Progressives Congress candidate in the Osun State governorship election, Adegboyega Oyetola. It said that the President by the action, had shown that the Presidency was behind the alleged electoral manipulations, outright rigging and bloodletting that the PDP said marred the process. In a statement in Abuja on Friday, the PDP said it was sad that Buhari chose to ignore the observations of both local and international observers who he said monitored the rerun. Read more
PDP Convention: Wike wins as party okays Port-Harcourt
ABUJA- The controversy surrounding the choice of a venue for the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, national convention was yesterday laid to rest following the adoption of Port-Harcourt, the Rivers state capital by the National Executive Committee, NEC, meeting of the party. The emergency NEC meeting which was attended by Presidential aspirants including former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, ex-governor of Kaduna state, Senate President, Bukola Saraki, Ahmed Makarfi, former Minister of Special Duties, Kabiru Tanimu Turaki, erstwhile lawmaker, Datti Baba-Ahmed and incumbent governor of Sokoto state, Aminu Tambuwal also had in attendance the governors of Ekiti, Akwa Ibom, Delta and Rivers states- Ayodele Fayose, Udom Emmanuel, Ifeanyi Okowa and Nyesom Wike respectively. Read more
Osun re-Run: Voters asked to swear before being paid to vote, TMG alleges (Guardian)
The chairperson of the Transition Monitoring Group (TMG), Dr. Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi, has said that Thursday’s re-run of the Osun State governorship election was rife with irregularities, voter coercion and illegalities. Akiyode-Abiola said the party agents were not deterred in any way by the stern warning of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that it would decisively deal with any party or its agents that deal in ‘see and buy’ politics, but managed to devise other means to perpetuate illegalities. On his part, human rights lawyer, Ebun Olu-Adegboruwa, yesterday, passed a damning verdict on the conduct of the supplementary election, saying it has opened up the weakness of the country’s electoral system. Adegboruwa, in his comment, titled, ‘Osun governorship election: Back to the trenches,’ said it is a signal of what to expect in states like Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Taraba and others regarded as battlegrounds for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Read more
APC’s triumph is victory for democracy, says Oyetola (Guardian)
Osun State governor-elect, Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola, has described his All Progressives Congress (APC) triumph as victory for democracy, rule of law and due process. In a state broadcast, yesterday, thanking the people, Oyetola said the victory was for the right of every citizen to participate in governance.He stated: “The victory is an affirmation by the people of Osun in the APC government that has been on the saddle in the past eight years and the acceptance of our ideology. It is a positive affirmation of our people-friendly policies and the way we have steered the ship of state, even under the most challenging circumstances. Read more
Controversy trails alleged resignation of Women Affairs minister (Punch)
There are strong indications that the Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Aisha Alhassan, may dump the ruling All Progressives Congress to the United Democratic Party. An aide to Mrs. Alhassan, who pleaded anonymity, told our correspondent that the former minister resigned her appointment on Friday morning. She was said to be waiting for President Muhammadu Buhari’s response before joining the UDP. Read more
Nigerian female lawmaker Funke Adedoyin is dead (PremiumTimes)
A Nigerian lawmaker has died, PREMIUM TIMES has learnt. Funke Adedoyin, a member of the House of Representatives from Kwara State, died on Friday afternoon in Abuja. Her profile on the Nigerian National Assembly website put her age at 56. “This is a big loss to me, I am feeling a personal loss right now,” Razak Atunwa, her Reps colleague from Kwara, told PREMIUM TIMES Friday evening. “It was this afternoon that she passed on in Abuja.” Read more
Nigeria’s Igbokwe beats other Africans to win Atomic Video Competition (Guardian)
A young Nigerian, Ugenyi Igbokwe’s video tagged Sustainable Development Goals, has fought off stiff competition from all over Africa to clinch first place in the Atoms Empowering Africa Youth Video Competition orgainsed by Rosatom in conjunction with African Young Generation in Nuclear (AYGN), South African Institute of Electrical Engineers (SAIEE) and South African Network for Nuclear Education Science and Technology (SAN NEST). An independent jury, who cast their votes to determine the winners, adjudged the video as ‘special’. Impressed with young Igbokwe’s exceptional effort and great attention to technical detail in the video, the judges had no choice but to declare him winner. Read more
Barman accused of sexual harassment stabs neighbour to death (Punch)
A 23-year-old barman, Samson Michael, has been arrested for the murder of his neighbour, Tobiloba Osho, by the Lagos State Police Command. Osho reportedly bled to death after he was stabbed in the chest by Michael during an altercation in their residence on Mabayoje Close, Alakuko area of the state. Saturday PUNCH learnt that a 17-year-old daughter of the pastor of a church where Michael lived had accused him of sneaking to where she slept inside the church in the midnight of Thursday, September 13 and fondling her pants. Read more
Lagos canals: Residents lament government neglect (Guardian)
Residents of Akobi crescent, Surulere, Junior Chamber International, Lagos City chapter led by its President, Toyin Olaogun alongside other members of the organization have appealed to Governor Ambode to clean up the Akobi crescent canal, decrying it as a threat to human health. The clean up exercise, which received the collaboration of Visionscape and LetsdoitNigeria was organised by Access bank, Taxify and ACT Foundation with the aim of ensuring a cleaner Lagos and the collection of plastic waste for recycling. Read more
Cart pusher kills labourer over N200 change in Lagos (Punch)
If Sunday Godwin, a 49-year-old labourer in the Orile area of Lagos State, knew his life was on the line during an argument with Yakubu Abubakar, a porter (popularly known as cart pusher) in the neighbourhood, he would have probably forfeited the N200 change that culminated into his tragic end. Abubakar reportedly stabbed the indigene of Bayelsa State in the neck at Eleganza Plaza, Alaba Suru, Orile for pestering him for the change. Read more
Flood kills late music maestro, Osadebe’s son in Anambra (PMNews)
Okechukwu Osadebe, 18-year-old son of late highlife maestro, Chief Stephen Osadebe, has lost his life in a flood disaster in Ogbaru Local Government Area of Anambra. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)reports that the younger Osadebe died on Thursday Sept. 27 in the Osadebe’s Atani country home in Ogbaru when he was swept away by the flood at about 7:30pm. The death of Osadebe brings to four the number of lives so far lost to flood disaster in Anambra in the last one week. Read more
Kavanaugh: President Trump orders FBI probe as Senate delays final vote (PMNews)
A dramatic last-minute demand by Republican Senator Jeff Flake on Friday prompted President Donald Trump to order an FBI investigation into his Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh over sexual misconduct allegations. The allegations have riveted the country and imperilled his confirmation chances. With tempers flaring on both sides, the Republican-led Senate Judiciary Committee approved Kavanaugh’s nomination and sent it to the full Senate over Democratic opposition, with Flake providing the decisive vote. Read more
Facebook security breach affects as many as 50 million users (Sun)
Facebook on Friday said an attack on its computer network led to the exposure of information from nearly 50 million of its users. The company discovered the breach earlier this week, finding that attackers had exploited a feature in Facebook’s code that allowed them to take over user accounts. Facebook fixed the vulnerability and notified law enforcement officials. Read more
U.S halt D’Tigress in quarter-finals (PMNews)
The U.S senior national women’s team on Friday halted the progression of their Nigerian counterparts, D’Tigress, with a 71-40 stoppage in the quarter-finals of the ongoing 2018 FIBA Women’s World Cup in Tenerife, Spain. D’Tigress coming from the streak of three straight wins over Turkey, Argentina and Greece, fought hard to book their place in the semi-finals but fell to the super powers of their American opponents. Read more