Author: Editor
By Sam Amadi I am told that in just a few weeks after Peter Obi switched to Labour Party to put himself on the ballot as a presidential candidate, more than 700,000 new voters have been registered in the South-East. This is good news for democracy in Nigeria. One of the failures of democracy is low voter turnout. It is not democracy if only 10-15% of citizens elect leaders. Advanced democracies battle this scourge through many means, including redesigning electoral process and making registering to vote and voting as easy and fun as possible. Oftentimes, the entry of charismatic and…
Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia Ahead of the June 17 deadline by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to presidential and governorship candidates to nominate their running mates, Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, and his Delta State counterpart, Ifeanyi Okowa, have intensified lobby for selection as the running mate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, presidential flag-bearer, Atiku Abubakar. This is as the PDP has raised a panel to pick a befitting running mate for Atiku to ensure the party’s victory in the 2023 poll. Similarly, the presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, Ahmed Tinubu, has been consulting with…
By Owei Lakemfa I am not a pacifist. Not all who seek peace are pacifists. There is such a thing as a bad peace, which is the silencing of the gun even if the terms are not favourable. This is what the unforgettable Russian President Vladimir Illich Ulyanov, alias Lenin, in 1918 called a “shameful peace.” This is the point former German Chancellor Angela Merkel made this Tuesday, advising the actors in Ukraine to return to The Minsk Agreements which to me, are a basis for ceasefire and negotiations with Russia. I love the lyrics of ‘The Impossible Dream’ by…
Lawrence Nwimo, Awka Anambra State Governor, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, has approved the appointment of Mr. Obumneme Akunyili, as the Director-General Project Monitoring. Obumneme is the son of former National Agency for Food and Drugs Administation and Control, NAFDAC, boss, late Prof Dora Akunyili. He was appointed alongside 10 others in the fresh appointments announced by the state Commissioner of Information, Paul Nwosu on Thursday. Other appointees are Rt. Hon Anayo Nebe – Special Adviser, Legislative/State Assembly Matters; Dr. Alex Obiogbolu – Special Adviser, Political Matters; Dr. Godwin Nnadozie – Special Adviser, Medicals and Pharmaceuticals; Dr. Emma Ezenwaji – Chairman of…
By Osmund Agbo At last, the much anticipated national convention of Nigeria’s ruling party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), has come and gone. The party’s candidate for the 2023 presidential election also has finally emerged. Expectedly, the August assembly hosted at the Eagle Square in the nation’s capital, did not disappoint. It was action packed and delivered handsomely on its promise of Machiavellian plots, melodrama, intrigues, and yes, a free-for-all brawl. We will discuss a few of them in this piece. Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his men dominated the entire time from start to finish. In the end, the Bullion…
Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia The leadership of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, in Abia State, has threatened heavy sanction against one of its governorship aspirants who came last in the gubernatorial primaries, Chief Chikwe Udensi, over spurious allegations and blackmail against the party. Chairman of APGA in the state, Rev. Augustine Ehiemere, who addressed the press in Umuahia, advised Udensi to desist from using the media to denigrate the leadership of the party in the state. Ehiemere said that contrary to claims by Udensi that he has been the financier of APGA in the state, the party “has not received…
Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has given political parties up till Friday, June 17 to submit names of their presidential, and governorship candidates with their running mates to the commission. INEC gave the ultimatum in a post Thursday by its Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, on the Commission’s official Twitter handle. The post read: “For emphasis, the Commission wishes to remind Political Parties that only the names of candidates that emerged from democratic primaries as provided by Sec. 84 of the Electoral Act 2022 shall be submitted to the Commission. “Similarly, the list of all Presidential and…
Our Reporter, Abuja The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), says it is committed to ensuring that all citizens interested in registering to vote are given the opportunity to do so. INEC chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, stated this on Thursday in a statement he personally signed and shared via the body’s official Twitter handle. Professor Yakubu also gave a hint of possible extension of the deadline for registration exercise in order “to respond positively to the needs of Nigerians.” The full text of the statement below read: “I wish to reassure Nigerians that the Commission remains committed to ensuring that all…
Lawrence Nwimo, Awka The Anambra State governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo has explained that sacked teachers in Anambra school system were the ones employed under hazy and irregular circumstances by the out-gone Willie Obiano administration in the state. The governor’s explanation followed Tuesdays massive protest by teachers in the state. The teachers numbering up to one thousand, stormed Awka, the Anambra State capital, to protest the termination of their employment by the incumbent governor. During the protest, the teachers said they were previously engaged by the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) of the various communities in the state before the Obiano administration…
Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia Former Governor of Anambra State, and the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr. Peter Obi, has raised alarm over alleged bureaucratic bottlenecks in voter registration in the South-East geo-political zone. Obi who raised the alarm in a tweet Thursday, called on the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to as a matter of urgency, clear up the impediments. The Labour Party presidential hopeful wrote on his verified Twitter handle: “Information reaching me indicate that voter registration across Nigeria, more so in the South-East, is dogged by inertia & bureaucratic bottlenecks. I respectfully call on @inecnigeria to facilitate…