News

Borno Voters Vow To Drag INEC To Court Over PVC

Published

3 years ago

February 5, 2023

Editor

A group of aggrieved voters in Borno vowed to drag the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to court to force the organization to release their Permanent Voter’s Cards, PVC.

The group which briefed the media in Maiduguri through its spokesperson Ishiaku Yakubu said that all attempts to get their PVCs from INEC office less than three weeks before the elections have been fruitless.

Speaking about their ordeals with INEC in Maiduguri, Yakubu said: “The persons you see here this afternoon and a host of others have not been able to collect their Permanent Voters Cards having duly registered and found our names in the INEC official Electronic Voter Register.”

He continued: “Some may wonder why we waited till now to raise this concern, we appreciate the obvious effort of INEC and have given them all the trust in hope that we would get our PVCs before the deadline, but sadly, today is the official deadline for collection of PVCs with no announcement regarding any extension, but INEC in Borno state is still telling people to go and come back.”

He insisted: “We have people in their thousands (including myself) who have been going to the INEC offices for the collection of their PVCs, registered under the most difficult situations and inconvenience but are yet to get it.

“INEC has previously announced to the media that all PVCs are ready for collection and lament how Nigerians are not coming out, meanwhile we queued up at their offices and ward levels to get PVCs only to be told “your PVC is not ready, come back in 3 days, come back in one week” and stories like that.

“We have reasons to believe that there is a sinister plan to disfranchise thousands of people as there appears to be no reason for holding up the PVCs. All of us here and many others who registered, [including transfer of request for replacement of lost/damaged cards] particularly last year between May and July, have not been given their PVCs. Today is the final deadline according to INEC and people are being asked to go and come back.”

The group demanded that INEC make a public declaration that all PVCs duly registered which they claim have not been printed will be given to their owners.

“This should not end at just a promise; those cards should be printed and distributed as appropriate,” Yakubu insisted.

The group also demanded that the deadline “should not affect those who for no fault of theirs have not been able to get their cards.”

Responding to the challenge, the Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, Mohammed Ibrahim said: “Most of them without PVC may have registered more than once. That is why they did not get them.”

He however revealed that there was a window reserved for them to get their cards which can happen only when they write to his office for redress.

”All transfers have been documented and they will receive their cards if they come to our office to receive their cards,” said Ibrahim.

News

Back To School: Lions Club Distributes Educational Materials In Edo Schools

Published

4 hours ago

October 4, 2025

Editor

The Benin Etete Unique and Edo Heritage Lions of the International Association of Lions Club on Friday jointly distributed educational materials to two schools in Benin City as part of the association corporate services to humanity.

The two clubs in District 404-A4 Lions Nigeria, jointly carried out the distribution of notebooks, maths sets, school bags and sandals, pens and other writing materials to excited pupils in Ivbioba Primary School and Oghede-Ivioba Primary School, Ugbighoko, Egor Local Government Area, and Evbiyenava Primary School, in Ikpoba-Okha Local Government Area of Edo State.

Themed, Back to School Project, pupils were also engaged in Reading Action Program (RAP) and Spelling Bee Competition, after which winners were presented with special prizes.

In their remarks, Lions Darlington Uyi and Franca Nikoro, presidents of Benin Etete Unique and Edo Heritage Lions Clubs stated that the vision of the Lions International is to serve humanity.

They, therefore, tasked pupils on commitment to their studies in order to attain their fullest potentials in life.

“Emulate Lions in your visions for tomorrow. We have various professionals as members, and if you are committed to your studies, obedient to your parents and teachers, you will attain great heights,” Lion Uyi Darlinton Stated.

“Our vision is to serve, and we are here like we do every period to ensure Literacy is inculcated in pupils to enable them to attain their full potential. It is our earnest desire that you grow into well rounded personalities. Literacy is important in order to actualize that aspiration,” Franca Nikoro stated.

Earlier, in his address, Lion Sir Dede Henry Idemudia, Zone 6A Chairperson, tasked the pupils on good conduct, honour to parents and guardians and obedience to instructions of school authority.

News

NAFDAC Gives Nigerian Food Companies 18 Months To Cut Trans Fats

Published

5 hours ago

October 3, 2025

Editor

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control has set an 18-month grace period, effectively giving food companies until early 2026 before facing full enforcement of regulations to eliminate industrially produced Trans-Fatty Acids (TFA).

The initiative, launched as a comprehensive strategy and roadmap for TFA regulation, moves Nigeria from simply having the policy to enforcing its world-class standard: a regulatory limit of no more than two grams of industrially produced trans fat per 100 grams of total fat or oil.

The Director-General of NAFDAC, Professor Mojisola Adeyeye, emphasised that the roadmap moves the country beyond policy creation to aggressive enforcement and implementation.

This was contained in the NAFDAC DG’s keynote speech posted on the agency’s official X (formerly Twitter) on Friday.

Adeyeye stressed the moral imperative of the Agency’s mission.

“The removal of industrially produced trans fats from the food chain is not only a technical achievement, but a moral imperative.

“Eliminating industrially produced trans fats is possible, achievable, necessary, and urgent,” Adeyeye stated, calling for national collaboration.

The moratorium period is designed to allow manufacturers to exhaust existing stock with outdated labels and reformulate their products to comply with the legal limit.

NAFDAC’s action targets a dangerous dietary risk factor strongly linked to cardiovascular disease, stroke, and premature death globally.

Adeyeye emphasised the significance of the move beyond technical compliance, noting, “The removal of industrially produced trans fats from the food chain is not only a technical achievement, but a moral imperative.”

This aggressive step builds upon Nigeria’s existing reputation; the country was recognised by the World Health Organisation in 2023 for adopting best-practice TFA elimination policies.

The new roadmap is key to securing WHO validation of Nigeria’s full TFA elimination programme, establishing the nation as a regional leader in public health interventions.

News

Mohbad’s Father Urges Lagos AG To Prosecute Wife, Nurse, Others

Published

5 hours ago

October 3, 2025

Editor

Joseph Aloba, the father of late singer Mohbad, has urged the Lagos State government to initiate criminal proceedings against individuals named in the coroner’s inquest into his son’s death.

Mohbad passed away on September 12, 2023, following an injection administered by auxiliary nurse Feyisayo Ogedengbe.

Despite being buried the next day, public outcry and ongoing investigations led to the exhumation of his body on September 21, 2023, for an autopsy.

In a letter dated October 3 and addressed to the attorney general of Lagos State through his lawyers, Aloba demanded that criminal charges be filed against those indicted within 14 days.

“Specifically, we refer to persons indicted by the coroner’s verdict hereunder: Miss Ogedengbe Fisayo, indicted for unlawful medical practice and gross medical negligence; and Mrs. Omowunmi Aloba, indicted for negligence,” the letter reads.

“This includes Ibrahim Owodunni, a.k.a. Prime Boy, and others who either facilitated the invitation of the auxiliary nurse or refused to take him promptly to a recognised medical facility for treatment.”

Mohbad’s father said he was concerned that despite the coroner’s clear verdict, no prosecutorial steps had been taken against those indicted nearly three months after the judgment.

He asked the attorney general to exercise prosecutorial powers within the 14 days, or, in the alternative, grant him and his legal team a fiat to prosecute the matter on behalf of the state.

“Our Client, as a bereaved father desirous of ensuring that justice is done and seen to be done, is deeply concerned that notwithstanding the clear indictments contained in the Coroner’s Verdict, no prosecutorial steps have been taken against the aforementioned persons since the delivery of the Verdict on 11th July, 2025,” the letter reads.

“The judicial observations amount to clear indictments warranting the prosecution of the said individuals in order to give full effect to the Coroner’s findings and recommendations, and to ensure that justice is manifestly and adequately served in this matter.

“We request that you exercise your prosecutorial power on the above subject matter within 14 Days Next, in view of the high sensitivity of this matter and the public attention and outrage it has generated.”

In October 2023, Naira Marley and Sam Larry were arrested over allegations linking them to Mohbad’s death, but were released on bail after five weeks in detention.

By February 2025, a magistrate court cleared them of any involvement in the singer’s demise.