Author: Chief Editor

On January 14,  in an opinion title, Yemi Osinbajo, run, I urged Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo to join the train of candidates seeking to succeed Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) as president in 2023.  I was an early urging voice and the opinion caught the attention of the vice president. In the aftermath of the opinion roll-out, a retinue of notable voices from far, near and all around the world have since joined in the same call of duty to a man many people think may be more interested in focusing on his duties as deputy than pursuing a lifelong ambition to become…

Ayo Olukotun Earlier this week, the Federal High Court in Abuja in a landmark judgement ruled that the Governor of Ebonyi State, David Umahi, his Deputy, Dr Kelechi Igwe,  and 16 members of the State House of Assembly vacate their seats. Their offence? Abandoning the Peoples Democratic Party, under which standard they were elected into office, for the All Progressives Congress in a sensational case of party defection. The lawmakers had joined Umahi and Igwe in a show of solidarity, a characteristic example of pack behaviour in contemporary Nigerian politics. The judge had also ordered that the assemblymen and…

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, on Friday, said it intercepted three million capsules of opioids, a drug more dangerous and potent than tramadol at Jaelith Bonded Container Terminal under Tincan seaport in Apapa area of Lagos. Director, Media and Advocacy, NDLEA Headquarters, Abuja, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this in a statement on Friday. According to him, the seizure of 3,000,000 capsules of Tapentadol and Carisoprodol weighing 1,500 kilograms on Monday, March 7, 2022, followed a similar operation in which anti-narcotic officers of the Agency also intercepted 8,613 kilograms of Loud Cannabis smuggled in from Ghana through the waterways at the…

Super Falcons Captain and Africa’s most decorated female footballer, Asisat Oshoala, has signed a new contract with La Liga and Women’s Champions League holders Barcelona Femeni. The 27-year-old forward will now remain with the Spanish giants until the end of the 2023-24 campaign. Oshoala has scored 80 goals in 101 appearances for Barca since joining in January 2019, initially on loan. “I’m really happy and excited to continue the journey the best team in the world,” she told Barca TV shortly after signing the new deal yesterday. “It is not just because of the trophies. The management has done a…

Attempts by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich to sell Chelsea has been halted by the UK government. Abramovich had put up the European champions for sale in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and threats of sanctions were speculated. But yesterday, the UK government ruled that Abramovich who is one of the 10 Russian Oligarchs whose assets have been frozen, cannot  sell the club. The freezing of Abramovich’s assets, which include Chelsea, means the club cannot sell further match tickets. Top football sources in the UK insisted that the move by the Boris Johnson administration means that Abramovich cannot make money from…

The National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) has suspended its Lagos State chapter’s Chairman, Musiliu Akinsanya, popularly known as Mc Oluomo, indefinitely over alleged misconduct, insubordination, and inciting members of the state chapter against the apex body. The new development may be connected to a protest staged by Mc Oluomo supporters during which they accused the union’s national leadership of unnecessarily interfering in the state affairs. NURTW has also directed MC Oluomo to immediately hand over the mantle of leadership to his deputy chairman and release all property belonging to the transport body in his possession to the state…

Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai has said he is taking a break from public office after his eight-year tenure but might reverse the decision. El-Rufai in an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today said he has so much regard for President Muhammadu Buhari and will reluctantly agree to run for another office if the president asks him to do so. When asked by Channels Seun Okinbaloye about the rumours of an Rotimi Amaechi/El-Rufai presidential ticket, the Kaduna governor insisted he was not willing to run for any office again. “I’ve said over and over that I’m not a contestant for…

• Senate gradually asserting its independence, says Adegboruwa • It’s a victory for democracy – Awa Kalu • Lawmakers should be commended for rising above being rubber-stamp, Ogbankwa declares • Time not ripe for further amendment of Electoral Act, Pius insists • Rejection in tune with demands of Nigerians, says CNPP Contrary to expectations that the Senate would succumb to the request by President Muhammadu Buhari to further amend Electoral Act 2022 by deleting section 84(12), lawmakers yesterday, roundly rejected the request, fueling commendations from various quarters. This followed the failure of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill to scale through second…

The acting caretaker chairman of the ruling All progressive congress (APC), Governor Abubakar Bello, is under intense pressure to prevent an alleged imposition of Senator Abdullahi Adamu as the national chairman of the party during the national convention of the party billed to hold on the 26th of this month. The development may have informed the resolve by Bello to assure party faithful of a level playing field for aspirants angling for party positions during the national convention of the party. Sources told The Guardian that among those piling pressure on Bello are governors of the party who were of…

By Olusegun Adeniyi The emergence of the ruling party national chairman in Nigeria is often akin to the way Mafia bosses choose their Consigliere (right hand man). The manner of their exit from office is also no different: A nod and a wink from the president and enforcers will handle the rest. That was the way almost a dozen national chairmen were hired and fired by the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) while in power for 16 years (1999 to 2015). Interestingly, it appears that whatever the PDP could do, the (current) ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) can do even…