Author: Editor

Stephen Ukandu, with Agency Report The Federal Government, has denied any plot by President Muhammadu Buhari to hand over power to an Interim National Government, ING. This is coming on the heels of allegations by Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State; and Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State, that a Presidency cabal was working towards ING. Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, who made the rebuttal on Friday, described the allegation as fictitious and imaginary. Speaking on a TVC live programme, “This Morning,” Alhaji Mohammed, said the claim was the handiwork of fifth columnist, planning to destabilise the country. During…

Ike Nnachi, Abakaliki Ebonyi State has three senatorial districts, North, South and Central and 13 local government areas. Ebonyi North and Central have four local government areas each while Ebonyi South has five. Ebonyi South is one of the key battlegrounds because three major candidates are squaring off for the seat. They include Governor David Umahi who is candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), incumbent Senator Ama Nnachi of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and Linus Okorie, a former House of Representatives member flying the flag of Labour Party (LP). There are five local governments in the zone: Afikpo…

By Owei Lakemfa I expected a backlash when on February 3, 2023, I published a piece: “Recreating the Holocaust in their own image.” It came as expected. The various reactions reinforce my position that our world can be a far better place if only otherwise decent humans would not rationalise evil. But it is quite easy to rationalise criminality, if you are not the victim. To such decent people, I usually say, please put yourself in the position of the victim and see whether you will still hold the same position. But such a plea is usually a tall order…

Ben Ezechime, Enugu A socio-cultural group, Nzuko Ozo Ndi Igbo, has celebrated the Igbo New Year with a public lecture on Igbo Calendar as a way of promoting and preserving its cultural heritage. The Lecture held in Enugu, capital of Enugu State and entitled “2023 Iguaro Ndi Igbo (Igbo New Year),” has the theme “Iguaro Ndi Igbo and its relevance in Cultural and Socio-Political life of Ndigbo in Nigeria and the World.” Mr Pat Ezeagwu, Chairman of the group said the programme was a way of reviving Igbo culture and creating awareness on the need for youths to embrace the…

Our Reporter, Abuja with Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia Protests that erupted yesterday in Oyo State over the scarcity of the re-designed naira notes and the general hardship associated with the new currency policy, have escalated to Lagos, Rivers, Edo and Ogun States. The protests have turned bloody in some areas even as banks in Lagos were forced to shut down following the destruction of some bank branches and Automated Teller Machines, ATMs, as well as Point of Sale, PoS by the irate mob. Reports and viral videos show Lagos branch of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, besieged by angry protesters.…

Ben Ezechime, Enugu There are three Senators representing Enugu State in line with the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The senators include Chimaroke Nnamani (Enugu East), Ike Ekweremadu (Enugu West), and Chukwuka Utazi (Enugu North). While Sen. Ekweremadu had been in the senate since 2003 (20 years), Senators Nnamani and Utazi were elected into the senate in 2015, thereby about to complete their two tenures each. Nnamani Sen. Nnamani so far, has sponsored just one bill, which is the Social Assistance Bill of 2019. However, the senator says he has renovated schools, built boreholes, committed over N50 million in…

Lawrence Nwimo, Awka Police operatives in Anambra State have foiled an attack by armed men on officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, on an assignment at Ukpor High School, Nnewi South Local Government Area, Anambra State. The electoral officials included INEC staff, some corps members, university undergraduates and some MDA officials on the training program of ad hoc staff for the forthcoming 2023 general election. Report obtained by Ikengaonline said the training was disrupted by the armed men but that no life was lost. Confirming the incident, the State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Tochukwu Ikenga, said it took the…

Ben Ezechime, Enugu The Federal High Court sitting in Enugu has struck out the suit filled by Chika Idoko of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), seeking the disqualification of all candidates of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Enugu State. Idoko, who is the Senatorial candidate of the ADC for Enugu North district had dragged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the PDP, and all its candidates in Enugu State to the court over perceived irregularities during the conduct of the party’s primary. Idoko is claiming that the conduct of PDP primary election was in contravention of Section 77 of the…

Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia Like Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State, his Kano State counterpart, Abdullahi Ganduje, has accused President Muhammadu Buhari of fighting hard to destroy the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, that brought him to power. The duo until now were among the President’s henchmen  but they have been critical of the President over the Naira re-design policy of the Central Bank. Ganduje took Buhari to the cleaners when he received in audience the  forum of former parliamentarians from North-West zone in Kano during the week. He regretted that after APC supported Buhari to become President after his various unsuccessful attempts,…

Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia Professor  Ben Nwabueze Centre for Constitutional Studies and the Rule of Law,  has sharply disagreed with those trying to criminalise criticism of judges and court judgments, maintaining that there is nothing actually wrong with expressing ones view about the judgment of a court. A statement by the Coordinator of the Centre, Chijioke Okoli, SAN, said that it is against the spirit of democracy and freedom of expression to bar members of the public who are affected by judicial pronouncements from airing their views on the decisions of judges. The Centre noted that it had become obvious that…