News

Ex-lawmaker, Rivers CP Bicker Over Alleged Gunmen Attack

Published

3 years ago

December 16, 2022

Editor

A former senator representing the Rivers South-East district in the National Assembly, Lee Maeba, and the Rivers State Commissioner of Police, Okon Effiong, are on a collision course over an alleged attack on the former’s residence by suspected political thugs in GRA Phase 3, Port Harcourt, last Thursday.

While the CP Effiong expressed doubts that the said attack happened from preliminary investigations carried out by the police, Maeba, who is the Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party Presidential Campaign Council in Rivers State, insisted that it happened.

Maeba said he was prepared to go to court to prove that thugs invaded his compound, destroyed property, injured his elder brother and wanted to gain entrance into his house, but retreated when they couldn’t.

Speaking to newsmen at his office, Effiong wondered why Maeba had yet to come forward to give his statement concerning the attack on his compound.

The CP said, “I called him that we need to see you for your statement. And he said he was waiting for his lawyer.”

On Maeba’s allegations that the CP did not respond to several calls he put across to him over the attack on his compound, the CP, denying, said though he was in an operation and not with is mobile telephone, someone in a distress situation would have called more than once.

“I was somewhere in Bodo in Gokana local government in an operation. I am going to show you my call log so that you will be able to tell me how many times the senator called me.

“I want to believe that when somebody is in distress, he will call one, two, three. He called me. I didn’t have his number. I was in an operation.

“When somebody else called later, quickly I detailed a team led by a Deputy Commissioner of Police. He saw the team and interacted with them,” he said.

The CP wondered the claim of the PDP campaigner that the suspected thugs had planned to kill him, yet none of his buildings was damaged.

“We have pictures of the cars that were allegedly destroyed. We are talking about a senator who has a fleet of cars.

“How come that that day only 1990, 2000 Camry and Corollas that were damaged.

“Was it a coincidence that all the expensive cars, none was touched (by the) thugs; the people only touched the rickety cars?

“Was it a coincidence that only rickety cars were packed in his garage?”

But when contacted on Thursday, Maeba debunked claims that he stage-managed the attack and expressed shock at the CP’s comments, saying it showed that the Effiong did not investigate even though it was reported to him.

He said, “The CP has lied against me and has brought down my reputation. I will challenge him in a court of law to prove that I was attacked. How did the CP reach that conclusion without an investigation?

“Does it mean there was no investigation when people came to attack me and destroyed my property?

“You came to my house and said the only thing that would have made you believe that people attacked my house was that they destroyed old cars.

“My escalade 2015 is not an old car. My Camry is 2017. How is it an old car? I never knew that the CP had been compromised. The same thing the state Commissioner for Information and Communications said was what the CP stood on.

“If the CP said I have not given a statement, yes I told him I was waiting for my lawyer. My lawyer returned yesterday and I have made a statement.”

Continuing, Maeba said, “The CP has not even seen my statement and he concluded that I attacked myself. That is completely unprofessional, bogus and unimaginable. He lied against me that I organised thugs to attack my home.

“He even said there is no evidence that thugs attacked my home. So who attacked my home and broke those cars? The CP has a case to answer before the human rights commission.

“My rights have been trampled upon and the CP has brought my reputation to ridicule. I give the CP 24 hours to tender an unreserved apology and retract his lies against me or I will drag him to court or before the human rights commission.

“He has displayed the attitude of a compromised police officer and it is very unfortunate.”

News

Nigeria Ready, Willing To Host Commonwealth Games — Tinubu

Published

10 hours ago

September 18, 2025

Editor

Nigeria on Thursday welcomed the Commonwealth Sport Bid Evaluation Committee to Abuja, a major step towards hosting the 2030 Commonwealth Games.

President Bola Tinubu, represented by his Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, formally received the delegation at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja.

“What I can assure you is that we’re ready,” Tinubu told the delegation.

He reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to hosting an inclusive, diverse, and world-class 2030 Commonwealth Games on African soil.‎

Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, revealed this in a statement he signed Thursday titled, ‘Nigeria ready to host Africa’s First Commonwealth Games in 2030-President Tinubu assures‎.’

Gbajabiamila, along with a strong Federal Government team of Ministers and senior government officials, held strategic talks with the delegation led by Darren Hall, Director of Games and Assurance at Commonwealth Sport, and a member of the 2030 Evaluation Commission.

President Tinubu emphasised that the Commonwealth champions unity and diversity, and Africa deserves its moment after nearly a century.‎

Africa has never hosted the Games since their inception in 1930. Nigeria made an unsuccessful bid to host the 2014 Games. The city of Durban in South Africa won the bid to host the 2022 Games, but could not do so due to financial difficulties. Birmingham in the UK took over and hosted the Games. Thus, Nigeria’s bid to host the 2030 Games would be historic, Onanuga stated.

In his welcome remarks, Gbajabiamila called on the visitors to savour Nigeria’s renowned hospitality: “You’re very welcome to Nigeria. I hope you enjoy our great hospitality, which we are known for. Mr President also asked me personally to convey his regards; he fully supports this bid.”‎

“The President has written a Letter of Guarantee to you; his full weight is behind this bid. What I can assure you is that we’re ready. We’re willing, we’re able, and we actually want this. It’s been almost 100 years. The games have not been held on any soil in Africa.

‎”The element of inclusivity is what the Commonwealth is, and we hope that will benefit us,” he stated.

President Tinubu stressed that his administration has set some bold reforms to reposition sports, having realised its role as a strategic driver of national development.

He added that he scrapped the Ministry of Sports and replaced it with the National Sports Commission in the bid to drive sports development.

The President further assured the delegation that all infrastructural, security, and hospitality needs will be met ahead of schedule.‎

He emphasised that Nigeria’s bid is not just about hosting but also leaving a legacy for youth and national development.‎

Chairman of the National Sports Commission, Shehu Dikko, made a strong case for Nigeria over India, stressing that Africa has 22 Commonwealth nations, and Nigeria, as the continent’s giant, deserves the honour.‎

“One thing I want to assure you is that the President sees the hosting of the Commonwealth Games in 2030, if we win the bid, as a celebration of the country’s growing force in sports, beyond just participation.”

‎President of Commonwealth Sport Nigeria, Habu Gumel, said the country is ready to host an environmentally sustainable Games.‎

Chairman of the Bid Committee, Mainasara Illo, presented Nigeria’s proposal, highlighting key plans and innovations.‎

He revealed that Nigeria proposes 15 sports, with football introduced to boost excitement, global visibility, and audience engagement.‎

Director of Games and Assurance, Darren Hall, thanked President Tinubu and the Nigerian team for their warm welcome.‎

“I have been most thrilled by the passion of the Nigerian people in all their endeavours, including sports.”

He said the Commonwealth, now comprising 56 nations, aims for greater diversity as it approaches its 100-year milestone.‎

Minister of Information and National Orientation, Muhammed Idris, Minister of Aviation, Festus Kayamo, Minister of Art, Culture, Tourism, and the Creative Economy, Hannatu Musa Musawa, Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ahmed Musa Dangiwa and‎ Minister of Police Affairs, Ibrahim Gaidam, attended the meeting and made statements in support of the bid.

Nigeria and India are the two official bidders for the 2030 Games, with Abuja and Ahmedabad, in Gujarat, as their proposed host cities.‎

‎After a thorough evaluation of both bids, the Commonwealth Games General Assembly will decide the host city in November 2025.

The next Commonwealth Games will be held in 2026 across four venues in Glasgow, Scotland, from July 23 to August 2.

News

JAMB Extends Post-UTME Deadline For Underage Candidates In 23 Varsities

Published

11 hours ago

September 18, 2025

Editor

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has extended the deadline for universities to submit Post-UTME screening scores of underage candidates who sat for the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination

JAMB’s spokesperson, Fabian Benjamin, announced the extension on Thursday in a statement on Thursday.

Benjamin, who explained that the decision was reached in collaboration with the affected institutions, said a reminder has been sent via email to the defaulting universities.

He noted that despite the release of the 2025 Senior School Certificate Examination results by the National Examinations Council on September 17, several institutions had yet to comply.

Benjamin, hoiwever, urged the affected institutions to forward the results without further delay.

He said, “23 out of 71 universities failed to meet the earlier deadline of September 15 for the submission of the scores. The institutions are among those chosen by candidates seeking admission.”

Benjamin further directed all public universities to upload their recommended candidates to the Central Admissions Processing System on or before September 30, while private universities have until October 31.

He added, “The measure was necessary to meet the overall admission deadlines of October 30 for public universities and November 30 for private institutions.”

Benjamin said a breakdown of the affected schools shows that the University of Lagos tops the list with 39 underage candidates, followed by Nile University of Nigeria, Abuja, with 18, and Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, with 15.

Others include the University of Abuja with 12 underage candidates, University of Uyo with nine, Federal University of Technology, Owerri has eight, and David Umahi Federal University of Health Sciences, Uburu with six.

The board spokesperson added that in total, 135 underage candidates are involved across 23 institutions.

JAMB had earlier disclosed in August that it would conduct a special screening for over 500 outstanding underage candidates seeking admission for the 2025/2026 academic session.

Registrar of JAMB, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, said the screening would be handled by a technical committee between September 22 and 26 at designated centres in Lagos, Abuja, and Owerri.

He noted that while 41,027 underage candidates wrote the 2025 UTME, only a little over 500 met the requirements to proceed to the next stage.

News

FULL LIST: Anglican Church Approves 15 New Dioceses

Published

11 hours ago

September 18, 2025

Editor

The Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, has approved the creation of 15 new dioceses, bringing the total number of dioceses across the country to 176.

The decision was taken at the Standing Committee Meeting of the Church, which held in Ekiti State between September 15 and 19, 2025.

According to a statement signed on Thursday by the Church’s Communication Officer, Korede Akintunde, the approval followed a series of inspections, verifications and validation exercises after the lifting of the moratorium on the creation of new dioceses in September 2024.

The statement read, “The inspection team are as follows: Old Province 1 headed by Archbishop Joseph Akinfenwa, Old Province 2 headed by Archbishop David Onuoha while Old Province 3 headed by Archbishop Daniel Yisa.

“They presented their fact-finding report at the Standing Committee held at Niger-Delta Diocese in February 2025 which formed the basis of the assignments of the Church of Nigeria Validation Team on the creation of full-fledged and missionary Dioceses which was constituted and inaugurated by the Primate on 27th March, 2025, headed by the Most Rev’d Dr Timothy Yahaya.

“The Validation Team in turn visited, inspected and verified the contents of the report of the Inspection Teams and Verification Committee and made the recommendations to the Primate on the creation of full-fledged and missionary Dioceses in the Church of Nigeria.”

The statement noted that five of the new dioceses would operate as full-fledged dioceses, while 10 others were approved as missionary dioceses.

The full-fledged dioceses are:

1.⁠ ⁠Ekiti South Diocese out of Ekiti Diocese
2.⁠ ⁠Kalabari Diocese out of Niger Delta Diocese
3.⁠ ⁠Lagos South West Diocese out of Lagos West Diocese
4.⁠ ⁠Omoku Diocese out of Ahoada Diocese
5.⁠ ⁠Ozoro Diocese out of Oleh Diocese

The missionary dioceses include:

1.⁠ ⁠Eket Diocese out of Uyo Diocese
2.⁠ ⁠Idanre Diocese out of Akure Diocese
3.⁠ ⁠Ikom Diocese out of Calabar Diocese
4.⁠ ⁠Keffi Diocese out of Kubwa and Lafia Dioceses
5.⁠ ⁠Nasarawa Diocese out of Lafia Diocese
6.⁠ ⁠Ogoja Diocese out of Calabar Diocese
7.⁠ ⁠Oyo South Diocese out of Oyo Diocese
8.⁠ ⁠Oyun Diocese out of Kwara Diocese
9.⁠ ⁠Takum Diocese out of Jalingo Diocese
10.⁠ ⁠Zuru Diocese out of Kebbi Diocese

The church added that the election of bishops, consecration, inaugurations, and enthronement dates would be announced later.