Author: Chief Editor

•Main opposition party rejects INEC’s chief returning officer •Electoral body warns staff against fraud The front runners in tomorrow’s governorship election in Ondo State, the ruling All Progressives Party (APC), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) yesterday made last-minute rally for support as electioneering ended yesterday. Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN) of the APC, PDP’s Eyitayo Jegede (SAN), and Deputy Governor Agboola Ajayi of ZLP yesterday closed down their campaigns, retreating to their war rooms to strategise on the deployment of officials that would monitor the election and ensure that their votes count. Already, the Chairman…

CRISTIANO Ronaldo and other top Juventus players could face legal action for re-joining their national teams despite coronavirus rules after two positive cases at the Italian champions, local health authorities in Turin said on Wednesday. As well as the Portuguese star, several South Americans including Paulo Dybala, Juan Cuadrado, Danilo and Rodrigo Bentancur also left the Juventus team hotel without awaiting test results this week, according to Italian media reports. “The club itself told us that some players had left the place of isolation and therefore we will notify the competent authority, that is the prosecutor, of what happened,” said…

President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday urged the electorate to vote for Ondo State Governor Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN) who is seeking re-election on the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Saturday’s poll. He said the governor deserved a second term, owing to what he described as his indigenous approach to governance and performance within the limit of available resources. President Buhari reiterated his commitment to a credible election and to play by the rules. As political parties rounded off their campaigns on Wednesday, Police Inspector-General Mohammed Adamu warned candidates and their followers against thurggery, violence and utterances that…

Ondo State Governor and All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate Oluwarotimi Akeredolu and his People’s Democratic Party (PDP) challenger Eyitayo Jegede on Wednesday clashed on the performance of the governor and the school fees. The duo spoke at the debate organized by Channels Television last night. A drama ensued when Akeredolu asked Jegede whether he had not seen any developmental projects. “You have toured the state, can you tell this gathering that you haven’t seen developmental projects? Be truthful,” the governor asked. Jegede responded that he didn’t see any. “I have not seen good governance anywhere even in Akure, the state…

AHEAD of their first game since their blazing start to the 2021 AFCON qualifiers, Super Eagles winger, Samuel Kalu has said that the team has what it takes to hold their own against Africa’s best teams. The Bordeaux of France winger, who is among the early arrivals to the team’s base in Austria, stated that most of the players are already returning to top form across various leagues in Europe. “It’s our first game after a very long while because of the pandemic; but thank God some of us have started playing regularly with our clubs before now so hopefully,…

Ahead of Nigeria’s first international match tomorrow in Austria since the Covid-19 pandemic era, Super Eagles’ Head Coach, Gernot Rohr, has put all his players under strict Covid-19 rules. Nigeria will play reigning African champions, Fennec of Algeria in Austria with no fans allowed in the stands. It is in the bid to keep players and non playing personnel from contracting the virus that team handlers are also playing strictly by the rules on keeping safe. According to the team’s Media Officer, Toyin Ibitoye, “everything is going well in the camp and we are looking forward to a good game…

Jide Ojo The die is cast! The Ondo State governorship election scheduled for October 10, 2020 remains 72 hours away. Who will be the next occupant of Alagbaka Government House in Akure? Will Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu popularly known as Aketi be able to retain his seat or will any of the other 16 contestants be able to dislodge him? Will the Independent National Electoral Commission be able to outperform its Edo State best of September 19, 2020? Will there be better voter turnout in Ondo than the less than 26 per cent voter turnout in Edo? A brief history…

Niran Adedokun nadedokun@gmail.com As the Federal Government continues to bite at citizens expressing opinions about the way their country should be run, Nigerians can currently find something that gives some joy and pride. It is one thing to deny grave structural defects which manifest in all forms and shapes (including the repeated disobedience of instructions from the Inspector General of Police by his own men across the country), it is another thing for government spokespersons to make enemies of people who ventilate ideas about the country they love. While conceding that not every view on national development is practicable, even…

Abimbola Adelakun aadelakun@punchng.com Amidst the renewed clamour of police brutality and the imperative of reforms, popular singer Azeez Fashola (Naira Marley), announced a civil protest for Tuesday via his Twitter handle. On Monday evening, Minister of Sports and Youth Development, Sunday Dare, replied and appealed to him to shelve the rally because, according to him, the grievances against SARS are being addressed at “the highest level of government.” In lieu of the march, the Police Force PRO, DCP Frank Mba, snagged an Instagram Live Chat with Naira Marley on the issue. Aside from Naira Marley, other newsmakers have voiced…

Ahead of the Ondo State governorship election coming up on Saturday, Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmoud Yakubu, has called on all political parties and candidates to respect, support, promote and commit to peaceful elections signed under the auspices of the National Peace Committee (NPC) headed by former Head of State, General Abdulsalami A. Abubakar (rtd). Speaking during the stakeholders meeting held in Akure yesterday, which had in attendance the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar, His Eminence, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, Matthew Hassan Kukah and others, Yakubu…