Author: Editor

Ike Nnachi, Abakaliki The Supreme Court has upheld the nomination of Ifeanyi Odii as the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ebonyi State for next year’s election. In a judgment on Wednesday, a five-member panel of the apex court, headed by Justice Amina Augie, unanimously upheld the appeal filed by Odii. The court set aside the July 19 judgment of the Court of Appeal, which ordered a retrial of the suit between Ifeanyi and Senator Joseph Obinna Ogba on the dispute over who was the actual candidate. The apex court restored the judgment of the Federal High Court delivered on…

Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia The Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, has vowed not to allow Very Important Personalities (VIPs) and uniform men involved in route violation in Abia State to go unsanctioned. State Commander of FRSC in charge of Abia, Mr Paul Ugwu, who disclosed this in an interview with  our Correspondent, said that henceforth, any VIP or uniform person “driving against traffic in the state will be disciplined. “If we get any VIP driving against traffic, we won’t be confrontational but will simply pick the plate number and forward to our headquarters in Abuja which shall in turn, forward same to…

Michael Onwuka, Enugu Gov. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State has warned criminals and hoodlums to stay away from the state. Ugwuanyi, gave the warning on Wednesday in Enugu during the inauguration of a special task-force on road decongestion in Enugu East Local Government Area (LGA). The governor, who was represented by his Special Assistant on Security Matters, Mr Tochukwu Obiorah, said that the government would not tolerate any activity that would breach the existing peace in the state. He urged members of the task-force to also see their responsibility of ensuring free traffic flow as an opportunity to reduce crime…

Nonsochukwu Uwa, Owerri The traditional ruler of Umudi in the Nkwerre Local Government Area of Imo State, Eze Joel Udenkwo, who was kidnapped last Friday, has said that he escaped from the kidnapper’s den  Monday night after he untied his legs and hands. Udenkwo, who disclosed this to newsmen in Owerri, said that  he was dumped in a forest in Okwu, Ikeduru LGA. According to him, he was able to escape when one of the kidnappers went out to smoke and the other one was sleeping. He said: “I was kept in a forest in Okwu village, Ikeduru Local Government Area.…

Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia Igbo youths have demanded the immediate arrest and prosecution of the Spokesman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Presidential Campaign Council, Festus Keyamo, over a statement credited to him that Peter Obi is planning to fake his own assassination. The youths who spoke under the auspices of Coalition of South East Youth Leaders, COSEYL, said that the unguarded statement was a confirmation that APC was planning to eliminate the Labour Party presidential candidate. COSEYL in a statement by its President General, Goodluck Ibem, said that Keyamo and APC would be held responsible should any harm befall Obi. The…

Michael Onwuka, Enugu The Labour Party (LP) has said that the two separate attacks on its members in Enugu State are politically motivated. The party also exonerated members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) in the state from the acts. Recall that LP members in Awgu and Aninri Local Government Areas of the state were on August 21, and August 31, respectively, attacked by gunmen during their meetings. Ikengaonline reports that the attack left several of them injured while some property, including cars, chairs and canopies were destroyed by the hoodlums. The LP Chairman in Awgu LGA, Mr Ikechukwu Igweokolo, told Ikengaonline on Tuesday…

Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia The Labour Party, LP, has accused the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, of hatching plots to assassinate its presidential candidate, Mr Peter Obi. According to LP, the recent diatribe by Minister of State for Labour, Festus Keyamo, accusing Obi of plotting to fake his own assassination, is a smokescreen by APC to kill Obi and blame it on the false alarm. National Publicity Secretary of Labour Party, Mr Arabambi Abayomi, said that the desperation by APC to hold on to power beyond 2023 was driving the party to resort to unholy acts. Abayomi wondered why the APC Presidential Campaign…

By Ike Okonta Sonala Olumhense, the distinguished journalist, attended an event in New York last week where Peter Obi, the Labour Party presidential candidate, gave a speech. According to Olumhense, the presidential candidate was brilliant, articulate, and on top of the key economic and political problems afflicting Nigeria. Even more important, Nigerians living in the United States who attended the talk came from diverse ethnic backgrounds, illustrating the fact that the Obi phenomenon currently sweeping across the country is pan-national and not restricted to the Igbo as some mischievous critics of the candidate would have Nigerians believe. Another observation which Sonala Olumhense…

By Owei Lakemfa As a child growing up on Lagos Island, I frequently walked through the Race Course to  school. The premises of the old House of Representatives building was in that complex. Sitting outsize in a regal flowing gown was the huge bronze statue of Queen Elizabeth II. Sculptured by Nigerian artist, Ben Chukwukadibia Enwonwu, it was commissioned in 1956 by the Queen during her visit to Nigeria. She was the Nigerian Head of State because  the country was a British colony. I loved the sculpture, more so when hanging on the wall of my home was a photograph of…

Lawrence Nwimo, Awka More stakeholders have continued to salute Governor Charles Soludo over his directive which banned factional traditional ruler of Awka kingdom, Obi Austin Ndigwe and factional President General, Chief Emeka Anagor. The traditional stool of the Awka kingdom had been a source of tussle for a few years now after some influential members of the community claimed to have dethroned the monarch, Eze Uzu II, Igwe Gibson Nwosu. In his place, they crowned Chief Austin Ndigwe popularly known as Uzu Awka, who immediately assumed the position of the monarch of the kingdom, causing the entire kingdom to be…