Connect with us

News

Guber Poll: INEC Clears Air On Removing Igbo, South-south From Election Duties

Published

on

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has said it did not remove the names of Igbo and South South people from the list of ad hoc staff for Saturday’s Governorship and House of Assembly elections in Lagos State.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that rumours making the rounds on social media has it that the electoral umpire in Lagos removed all Igbo and South-South staff from sensitive election duties for March 18 elections.

Reacting, the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Lagos State, Mr Olusegun Agbaje, in a statement on Wednesday evening by Mrs Adenike Tadese, Head of Department, Voter Education and Publicity, described the allegations as fake news which should be ignored.

Advertisement

Agbaje said: “INEC, Lagos State, read with great surprise and concern on the social media in respect of the removal of all Igbos and South-South staff in Lagos State from participating as ad hoc staff in the state during the forthcoming Governorship and House of Assembly elections on March 18.

“It has become imperative to correct the erroneous accusations in some quarters and put the record straight that the Ad hoc staff (Collation Officers) engaged during the Presidential and National Assembly Elections on February 25 in Lagos State were 738 in number, bearing in mind that three elections were held.

“The forthcoming Governorship and House of Assembly will only require the services of 427 Collation Officers because only two elections are involved.

Advertisement

“It is pertinent to state unequivocally that members of staff that are Igbos were all returned to work as Collation Officers in the forthcoming elections while SPOs (Supervisory Presiding Officers) maintained their positions.”

READ ALSO: Guber Election: Rivers PDP, Opposition Parties Trade Words Over Alleged Plans To Rig Poll, Bomb INEC Offices

Agbaje said that he did not at any point in time engage in any phone conversation with the “Obidients, Sanwo-Olu and Tinubu.”

Advertisement

According to him, in fact, he does not have their telephone numbers.

Agbaje added: “Whoever has information concerning the day and time of the said telephone conversation should not hesitate to make it public.”.

He urged members of the public to shun fake news, misinformation and disinformation and allow INEC in Lagos to focus on the forthcoming elections in order to achieve the desired results.

Advertisement

The commission will continue to uphold the fundamental principles of equity, fairness, transparency, credibility and accountability in line with the vision and mission to be a pre-eminent leader in deepening electoral democracy as an unbiased election management body,” he said.

News

MOWAA: Okpehbolo Receives Edo Assembly Resolution Indicting Obaseki

Published

on

Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, received report and resolutions of the Edo State House of Assembly which indicted former Governor Godwin Obaseki on the Museum of West African Art (MOWAA) and the Radisson Hotel projects.

Recall that the Edo Assembly raised a five-man committee to investigate funding and ownership of both projects following a request by Governor Okpebholo.

Okpebholo, who spoke after receiving the report said its findings and recommendations would be fully implemented.

Advertisement

Okpebholo said the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) would be invited to further examine issues raised in the recommendations.

READ ALSO:MOWAA: Why I Will Not Appear Before Edo Assembly Panel — Obaseki

According to him, the Edo State Government has significant stakes in the MOWAA and Radisson Blu hotel having invested ₦3.8bn respectively in both projects.

Advertisement

He said changes in the structure and nomenclature of the MOWAA project made the investigation unavoidable.

Okpebholo said it was unacceptable to suggest Edo State has only 10 per cent stake in the Radisson Blu hotem despite investing over ₦28bn.

Edo State has spent over ₦3.8 billion on this project, yet some people are saying the state has no stake in it. That is totally unacceptable. I will work with your recommendations and forward them to the relevant authorities to investigate what truly happened. We will also involve the EFCC.

Advertisement

READ ALSO:MOWAA Controversy: Edo Assembly Threatens Arrest Warrant On Obaseki, Others

“Our investment in this project is over ₦28 billion. We must invite the EFCC to step in and determine if this is how businesses are conducted in Nigeria,” he said.

In its recommendations passed by the Assembly, the five-man committee headed by Hon Addeh Isibor, urged the Edo State Government to take possession of both projects.

Advertisement

It asked Governor Okpebholo to contract competent hands to complete renovation of the Hotel and take all steps to put the Hotel to use.

The recommendations urged the Edo State Government to revoke “the fraudulent Certificate of Occupancy to the property issued in the name of Hospitality Investment and Management Company Limited and revert same to the Edo State Government that purchased the property.

READ ALSO:Edo Assembly Charges Contractor Handling Ekekhuan Road To Accelerate Work

Advertisement

“That the Edo State Government initiate legal action and work with relevant Anti-graft Agencies to retrieve both the complete statement of account and the balance of the Seventeen Billion, Five Hundred Million Naira (N17,500,000,000.00) Bond proceeds still in the possession of the Escrow Agents. Meristen Trustees Limited and Emerging Africa Trustees Limited.

“The title to the MOWAA Property having never been revoked, same remains the property of the Central Hospital, Benin City

“That the Edo State Government immediately takes all necessary step to put the property to good use in the best and overriding public interest of the people of Edo State.”

Advertisement

Speaker of the Assembly, Hon. Blessing Agbebaku, said the facts about MOWAA and Radisson Blu Hotel were now clearly documented in resolutions and outcomes.

Continue Reading

News

Sheikh Gummi Sues Two Over Alleged False Facebook Publication

Published

on

Prominent Islamic scholar, Sheikh Ahmad Gummi, has approached the Chief Magistrate Court in Kaduna, seeking the issuance of a criminal direct complainant summons against two Facebook users over alleged criminal conspiracy, attempt to cause public disturbance and criminal defamation.

The application, filed at the Chief Magistrate Court sitting on Ibrahim Taiwo Road, Kaduna, listed the defendants as George Udom and Bello Isiaka.

According to him, the defendants allegedly published a “Breaking News” statement on their respective Facebook pages on December 23, 2025, between 7:00 am and 10:00 am, attributed to him, threatening that the family of the Minister of Defence, General Christopher Musa, would be eliminated if military operations against bandits were not stopped.

Advertisement

Gummi alleged that the publication was falsely attributed to him, as his photograph was allegedly used alongside the statement, giving the impression that he issued the threat against the Defence Minister.

READ ALSO:Nigeria Army Alone Cannot Defeat Bandits — Sheikh Gumi

The Islamic scholar stated that following the publication, he received numerous phone calls from concerned members of the public who believed he authored the statement and was attempting to intimidate the Minister of Defence in the discharge of his official duties.

Advertisement

He further maintained that the publication portrayed him as a troublemaker and a threat to public peace, despite his long-standing reputation as a cleric known for preaching peace and harmony within and outside Nigeria.

The complainant argued that the alleged publication was capable of inciting public disorder in Kaduna State, particularly Southern Kaduna, and could expose him to danger by presenting him as a prime suspect in the event of any attack on the Defence Minister’s family.

READ ALSO:Insecurity: What Sheikh Gumi Told Me After Visiting Bandits Hideouts — Obasanjo

Advertisement

He also contended that the actions of the defendants amounted to an attempt to cause public disturbance and criminal defamation of his character.

Dr Gummi told the court that the alleged acts contravened Sections 59, 57, 372, 116 and 117 of the Kaduna State Penal Code Law, 2017.

The application, dated December 24, 2025, was filed by a team of lawyers led by Suleiman Danlami Lere, with the complainant urging the court to summon the defendants to answer to the allegations.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

News

JUST IN: Kano Lawmaker, Sarki Aliyu Daneji, Dies Hours After Colleague’s Passing

Published

on

Hon. Sarki Aliyu Daneji, the lawmaker representing Kano Municipal in the Kano State House of Assembly, died on Wednesday, barely hours after the death of his colleague, Hon. Aminu Sa’adu Ungogo.

The Director-General, Media and Public Relations, Government House, Kano, Sanusi Bature Dawakin Tofa, confirmed Daneji’s death to journalists in Kano.

Daneji’s demise came shortly after the passing of Hon. Ungogo, who was the Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations and represented Ungogo Local Government in the Assembly. Ungogo, a member of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), reportedly died after a brief illness.

Advertisement

READ ALSO:JUST IN: Former Edo Information Commissioner Is Dead

He was said to have been at the Kano State House of Assembly earlier in the day, attending a committee meeting before his death.

The sudden loss of the two lawmakers within a short interval has thrown the Kano State House of Assembly into mourning, with colleagues, party members and constituents expressing shock and grief over the tragic development.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Trending