Author: Chief Editor

The Governor of Kaduna State, Mr Nasir El-Rufai was expected to be one of the guest speakers at the 60th annual conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) that ended at the weekend. Rufai is not in any way shy of controversy. He either courts controversy or controversy corners him. At this moment when his state, or part of it, is in turmoil he has been in the eye of a tornado. When the NBA invited him as one of its guest speakers many people, lawyers and non-lawyers alike, thought that the opportunity had come for them to hear from…

The outburst, over the weekend, of the former deputy national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Olabode George, on the burning issue of power rotation has reinforced the feelers in many quarters that the presidency should be zoned to the South and indeed to the South-East for peace to reign in the 2023 general elections. Chief Olabode George has warned that any attempt to dump power rotation in the country may jeopardize or scuttle the nation’s democracy. He said without power rotation in 2023, Nigeria may collapse. According to him, zoning is the pillar that has been helping…

Last week, the governor of Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, announced that all the 36 governors in Nigeria were in support of judicial autonomy or independence. Fayemi, who is the chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), said judicial reform remained the engine room of any democracy. According to him, necessary reforms must be undertaken in the judiciary to promote the rule of law. While hosting the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) President-Elect, Mr. Olumide Akpata, at his office in Ado Ekiti, the governor explained that he had led a delegation on behalf of the forum to meet with the Chief…

It was a rocky transition year for the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA). The emergence of the deadly coronavirus, which forced the total lockdown of towns and cities in Nigeria, was an enormous setback to all human activities. The result was that almost all social interactions went online. Thankfully, the NBA had already amended its constitution in 2015, such that it conducts its elections online with the participation of all members who have paid their Bar Practicing and Branch Dues as and when due. With this cheery news, the congregational drawback occasioned by the emergence of COVID-19 was not a problem…

The National Assembly has urged the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) to join it in the drive to amend the 1999 Constitution (As Amended) by forwarding its memorandum to it. The NEF, at a news conference on Sunday by its spokesman, Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, had stated that rather than embarking on another constitutional review, the federal legislators should collaborate with the executive to fight banditry and insurgency facing the country. But responding to NEF’s position yesterday, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Ajibola Basiru, advised the forum to send a memorandum detailing its position to…

Mixed reactions greeted yesterday’s Supreme Court judgment affirming the victory of Kogi State Governor, Mr. Yahaya Bello, in the last governorship election in the state. While Bello and his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), hailed the judgment, describing it as an affirmation of the landmark victory entrusted to the governor by the people of the state, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) expressed shock by the judgment, saying that it did not satisfy the quest by Nigerians to end electoral violence. The main opposition party, however, said it would leave the final judgment in the hands of God. The apex…

A former vice president, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has written to the President of the Senate, Dr. Ahmad Lawan, requesting the National Assembly to reject any new loan request meant for “projects that are not viable.” In the letter to Lawan, received on August 25, Atiku, who was the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2019 presidential election, urged the federal lawmakers to also halt approval for loans that are not income-generating or production-based. He said Nigeria risked insolvency if it continued to borrow money, adding that previous loans were spent on non-viable projects. According to the…

The Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Mohammed Adamu, yesterday assured Nigerians that the police would remain neutral and professional in the conduct of the gubernatorial elections in Edo and Ondo States scheduled for September 19 and October 10, 2020, respectively. He said the police were committed to the maintenance of law and order in the forthcoming polls in the two states. The IG, during a meeting with civil society organisations (CSOs) in Abuja to brainstorm on measures to ensure the conduct of a hitch-free election, stated that the police would deploy all resources to ensure a level-playing field for all parties.…

•Osinbajo chairs committee to foster cordiality among executive, legislature, party President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday expressed concern about how bitter and unnecessary bickering cost the All Progressives Congress (APC) many governorship and legislative seats in past elections. He spoke at the State House, Abuja, while inaugurating the Tripartite Consultative Committee of the Executive, Legislature and Leadership of the APC. Membership of the committee, chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo is drawn from the executive, legislature and the APC. The president who said the APC has a clear majority of memberships of both the Senate and the House of Representatives, added that…

Rakitic was a part of the Barcelona side that won the treble in the 2014-15 season The Croatian midfielder made 310 appearances for the Barcelona first team, and is set to return to his former club Barcelona midfielder Ivan Rakitic is set to move from Barcelona to Sevilla imminently. Marca journalist Alberto Florenzo has reported that the Croatian midfielder is now having a medical at his former club, ahead of completing the formalities of the move. Rakitic moved to Barcelona from Sevilla in 2014, after spending three years at the Andalusian club, where he made his name as one of the best midfielders…