Author: Editor
Ike Nnachi, Abakaliki Speaker of Ebonyi State House of Assembly and governorship candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC), Francis Nwifuru has commended the process of the election so far. Nnwifuru who voted at his Edukwu Okemini polling unit at about 9:20am lauded the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for ensuring a smooth and hitch free exercise. The speaker also expressed satisfaction at the turnout of voters at the polling unit and by implication the entire state. He expressed confidence that he will emerge victorious at the polls. He was accompanied his wife, Uzoamaka Nwifuru. He said: “I am grateful to INEC because…
Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia Unlike what happened in the last presidential and national assembly elections, there was heavy presence of security during the governorship and house of assembly elections in Abia. Different security agencies including the Army and Police patrolled the major streets as well as the voting centres. A sizable chunk of their personnel were also deployed at the various polling units especially those at the urban cities to help beef up security. The heavy presence of security in the state may not be unconnected with the alleged importation of thugs to rig the polls.
Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia With barely two months to the end of his second tenure, President Muhammadu Buhari, Friday, signed into law, a bill that mandates the President-elect and Governors-elect to submit the names of persons nominated as Ministers or Commissioners within 60 days of taking oath of office for confirmation by the Senate or State House of Assembly. This, according to the Presidency, is in furtherance of Section 58 (4) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Buhari also signed into law, the State Houses of Assembly Financial and State Judiciary autonomy bills and 14 other constitutional amendment bills alongside…
Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia Voter apathy seems to mar the Saturday (Today’s) guber and state assembly polls in Abia State, which so far has witnessed low turnout of voters in various polling units in Umuahia and Aba. Although the exercise started earlier than it did during the February 25 presidential and national assembly polls, many of the polling units were scanty. At Amuzukwu Girls Secondary School Umuahia where over 2000 voter surged up during the presidential poll, only a few of them had so far turned up for today’s exercise. The exercise was however, peaceful as voting began a bit early unlike in the previous exercise where materials for the election arrived…
Ben Ezechime, Enugu Gallant men of the Nigerian Army late Friday night stormed New Carolina Hotel in Nsukka and arrested about 40 heavily armed mercenaries who were obviously hired by politicians to intimidate voters in Nsukka and environs during Saturday’s Governorship and House of Assembly elections. The thugs, who were found with sophisticated weapons, were still held as of midnight inside the hotel owned and being run by a former chairman of Nsukka Local Government Area on the platform of the ruling PDP. Ikengaonline gathered that the soldiers, who acted on a tip off, searched the suspects and found AK-47 and pump action rifles…
Lawrence Nwimo, Awka The Labour Party presidential candidate in the February 25 presidential election, Mr Peter Obi, has raised the alarm that his opponents have taken to social media to blackmail his support group, the ‘Obidients’ Movement. Obi said that the oppositions are orchestrating postings that a nationwide groundswell “#ENDINEC,” “#ENDNigeria,” protest is being planned by the Obidients. Obi who raised the alarm in his official Twitter handle, @PeterObi, said that the Obidient group are not associated with such postings, but that they are out to reclaim their stolen mandate through the due process of the judiciary. Obi went further to state that…
By Osmund Agbo The American civil right icon and champion of social justice, the Late Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. once gave an eloquent speech and spelt how the moral arc of the universe tends to bend toward justice. Well, while I am reluctant to disagree with such a legendary figure and public intellectual, I remain unconvinced that such is the case. It appears to me that our world is built on injustice and is a place where only the strongest and fittest could survive. Of course, a semblance of justice may happen every now and then no doubt, but…
Our Reporter, Abuja Crystal Palace chose a most unlikely day, St. Patrick’s Day, celebrating the Patron Saint the legendary Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira was named after, to sack him. The club on Friday Morning confirmed that Patrick Vieira had been sacked as the club’s first-team manager after 18 months on the job. The decision follows a dismal run of form for the Eagles in 2023, who have failed to win any of their 12 matches in the new year. As a result, Palace is now left in 12th place in the Premier League table – though they remain just three points above 18th-placed Bournemouth. Vieira’s…
Ben Ezechime, Enugu Hill Side Chiefs Basketball team has won the maiden edition of the 3X3 basketball Championship, organised and sponsored by David Ogbodo, a player and student based in UK. 3×3 basketball (pronounced three-ex-three) is a variation of basketball played three-a-side, with one backboard and in a half-court setup. According to an ESSEC Business School study, commissioned by the International Olympic Committee, 3×3 is the largest urban team sport in the world. At the final match, played inside the Indoor Sports Hall of the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium, Enugu, on Thursday, Hill Side defeated Great eight 13-10 to win. The champions…
Ike Nnachi, Abakaliki Ahead of Saturday’s election, the Peoples Democratic Party in Ebonyi State has imploded following massive endorsement by its major stakeholders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Francis Nwifuru. Former Senate President, Anyim Pius Anyim, led the stakeholders who endorsed Mr Nwifuru citing the the need to maintain the charter of equity which stipulates power rotation among the zones and political blocs in the State. Others include serving and former National Assembly members including Senator Obinna Ọgba, Reps Livings Makwe and Ogbaga Sylvester, and former Rep member, Peter Edeh, and many others. Groups loyal to both factions of the PDP engaged each other in war…