News
Foundation Names States Safe For Elections
CLEEN Foundation has said only two states and the Federal Capital Territory are presently safe for the conduct of the forthcoming general elections in the country.
The Executive Director, CLEEN Foundation, Gad Peter, on Wednesday in Abuja while presenting the ‘2023 Election Security Threat Assessment’, named the two safe states as Jigawa and Kano alongside the FCT.
Peter noted that 13 states were violence prone and the remaining 21 had pockets of violence in various quarters.
He named the violence prone states as; Sokoto, Kebbi, Niger, Benue, Gombe, Bauchi, Plateau, Nasarawa, Taraba, Edo, Delta, Akwa Ibom and Abia
The report comes as the executive director said the foundation commissioned researchers across the six geopolitical zones to examine the security situation in relation to the elections and make recommendations for the successful conduct of the elections.
Peter said, “The frequent serious attacks on security agencies, installations and infrastructure in recent months are highly worrisome and condemnable. The pattern of recent attacks on security facilities and INEC infrastructure is suggestive that they are facilitated by criminals who are bent on pushing the country off the cliff.
“The law enforcement agencies need to take measures to prevent further attacks to boost the confidence of voters before, during and after the general elections. It is important to note that as recorded by INEC the recent voter registration has recorded the largest number of voters registered in the history of our elections and we are afraid that resources might be wasted if criminal attacks, threats and intimidation through violence and hate speeches lead to voter apathy.
READ ALSO: I Hope Nothing Tampers With 2023 Elections – Obasanjo
“CLEEN Foundation is worried over the unhealthy and divisive verbal attacks, hate speeches and criminal attacks on police, INEC offices, which if not firmly addressed may pose serious challenges to the elections, peaceful-coexistence and the unity of our beloved nation.”
Peter added that the foundation employed the methodology of Election Violence Mitigation Tool of the Electoral Institute of INEC developed to track electoral risk factors with the potential of impacting negatively on the peaceful conduct of elections in Nigeria and to map out key electoral risk factors peculiar to each geopolitical zone.
News
IYC Expresses Displeasure Over Okpebholo’s Neglect Of Edo Ijaw
Leadership of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), Western Zone, have expressed displeasure over what they described as the “persistent marginalisation of the Ijaw political class, traditional institutions and the ongoing abandonment of Ijaw communities,” by the Governor Monday Okpebholo-led Edo State government.
The IYC, in a statement jointly signed by Comrade Nicholas Igrama, Barr. Ebi Olowolayemo and Comrade Tare Magbei, Western Zone Chairman, Secretary and Information Officer respectively, lamented that despite the “massive support Ijaw people gave to Okpebholo across the five Ijaw clans in the state,” not a single appointment has been given to the Ijaw speaking people in the state.
The statement which was made available to newsmen in Benin on Tuesday, said that the “conspicuously absent of Ijaw man or woman in the State Executive Council,” gives credence to their claim.
READ ALSO:Tompolo, Otuaro: Call Your Subjects To Order, IYC Tells Itsekiri Monarch
The IYC, while stating that “we state this not out of bitterness or entitlement, but as a call for fairness, equity, and justice,” emphasized that “despite our enormous contributions to the state’s treasury through natural and human resources, Edo Ijaws remain conspicuously absent in the State Executive Council.”
The statement reads: “It is important to remind the Governor that the Ijaw nation mobilised massive support across the five Ijaw clans in Edo State to ensure his victory at the polls.
“Our voice was loud, our mobilisation was firm, and our votes counted significantly toward the success of this administration.
“Regrettably, one year after, this government has not deemed it necessary to appoint a single individual from the Ijaw extraction, nor has it addressed the glaring infrastructure deficit in our communities and also left our traditional issues unattented to.”
READ ALSO:IYC Urges Tinubu To Sack NCDMB Boss
The statement noted that “the Ijaw areas are the bedrock of the state’s oil wealth, the same wealth that qualifies Edo State as an oil-producing state and entitles it to the 13% derivation fund. Yet, there is no visible reflection of this revenue in our communities.”
“We state this not out of bitterness or entitlement, but as a call for fairness, equity, and justice.”
The IYC, therefore, urged the governor to “have a rethink so it doesn’t take to another form of agitation in the state where we contribute.”
News
EPL: Arteta Gives Update On Havertz, Saliba, Gabriel, Others
Arsenal manager, Mikel Arteta has provided the latest update on four of his players ahead of his side’s Premier League clash with Brentford on Wednesday.
The four players are Kai Havertz, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhães and Leandro Trossard.
Arteta’s side will host Brentford in a Premier League tie at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday night.
READ ALSO:EPL: Slot Reveals When Salah Will Leave For AFCON
Arsenal head to the game following a 1-1 draw with Chelsea in their last game over the weekend.
“Kai Havertz is still weeks away,” Arteta said at his pre-match press conference as quoted by Fabrizio Romano on Tuesday.
“We are all desperate to have him. I mean, it is a player that, personally, I love so much for what he brings to the team – his character, his personality. I see him suffer, being outside.
READ ALSO:EPL: He Has No Replacement – Alan Smith Names Arsenal’s Most Important Player
“Gabriel Magalhães is doing very well, but it will take weeks to see him back.
“For William Saliba and Leandro Trossard, hopefully it’s a matter of days.
“For Saliba, this one is very bizarre injury… but hopefully it will be a short time out.”
News
BREAKING: Tinubu Nominates New Defence Minister
President Bola Tinubu has nominated former Chief of Defence Staff, CDS, Gen. Christopher Gwabin Musa, rtd, as the new Minister of Defence.
In a letter to Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Tinubu disclosed Musa’s nomination as the successor to Alhaji Mohammed Badaru, who resigned on Monday.
Musa served as Chief of Defence Staff from 2023 until October 2025. He won the Colin Powell Award for Soldiering in 2012.
READ ALSO:BREAKING: Ex-CDS Musa meets Tinubu At Aso Villa
Born in Sokoto in 1967, Musa received his primary and secondary education there before attending the College of Advanced Studies in Zaria.
He graduated in 1986 and enrolled at the Nigerian Defence Academy the same year, earning a Bachelor of Science degree upon graduation in 1991.
-
Metro5 days agoJUST IN: One Dead As Ngige Escapes Assassination
-
News3 days ago(VIDEO) Obasanjo To Tinubu: Why Are We Negotiating With Bandits?
-
News4 days agoNaira Records First Depreciation Against US Dollar Across Official, Black FX Markets
-
Headline4 days agoFULL LIST: US To Review Green Cards From 19 ‘Countries Of Concern’ After Washington Shooting
-
News2 days agoInsecurity: What Sheikh Gumi Told Me After Visiting Bandits Hideouts — Obasanjo
-
Politics3 days agoTinubu Sends Ex-INEC Chair, Former Oyo First Lady, 30 Additional Ambassadorial Nominees To Senate
-
Entertainment4 days agoTems Reveals What She Loves Most About Wizkid
-
News5 days ago
Tinubu Constitutes Membership For US–Nigeria Security Working Group
-
News4 days agoJUST IN: EFCC Summons Ex-AGF Malami For Questioning
-
News3 days agoVIDEO: Jonathan Breaks Silence On Guinea-Bissau’s Military Takeover