News

JUST IN: Again, Apapa Loses As Appeal Court Affirms Abure As LP Chairman

Published

2 years ago

August 14, 2023

…Apapa faction kicks

A Court of Appeal sitting in Benin City, Edo State capital, has affirmed Julius Abure as the National Chairman of the Labour Party.

This was disclosed in a statement issued Monday evening by the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Obiora Ifoh.

The case with No: CA/B/93/2023, which was filed by Mr. Lucky Shaibu against Abure and five others, was dismissed after a unanimous decision by Justice Abadua, Fatima Akinbami and Sybil O. Nwaka-Gbagi.

The plaintiff, Shauibu who was a member of the Labour Party Executive in Ward 3 in Esan North East Local Government Area of Edo State, had allegedly suspended the chairman of the Labour Party.

However, in his lead judgment, Justice Abadua affirmed the decision of the High Court of Edo State and held that one man cannot suspend the national chairman of LP in line with Articles 13 and 17 of the Constitution of the Party and the extant Electoral Act of 2022.

In a swift reaction to the judgment, an excited Abure eulogised the judgment and team of justices who he said refused to close their eyes to the justice of the case.

He said, “I thank the Obidient movement who tarry with me and Mr Peter Obi while the impostor Mr Lamidi Apapa and his adherents who tried to trade off the mandate freely given to the Labour Party with billions of Naira expended by his paymasters in the opposition parties”.

Also, Abure’s lead counsel, Prest Aigbokhan applauded the judgment describing it as a sound and courageous decision.

“It is a landmark judgment that will stand the test of time. Anybody still associating with impostors parading themselves as factional leaders of the party does so at their own peril. Political parties must remain watchdog of national conscience,” he stated.

Hours after the news of the appeal court judgment went viral, the Lamidi Apapa faction of the party kicked against the report, saying the Benin court only ruled on his suspension

The statement signed by the spokesman of the LP faction, Abayomi Arabambi, insisted that the Abuja High Court Restraining order that recognised Apapa as acting national chairman remains in force.

Arabambi said, “Our party attention was drawn to misleading information that has been peddled around by some criminal elements loyal to the police-indicted former National Chairman of Labour Party Mr Julius Abure. Labour Party wishes to state categorically that our complaint in the appeal filed before the court of appeal bothered on his suspension as a member in Article 19(2)A of our party constitution which the three justices of the court of appeal did not take cognisance of and refused to make findings on.

“We are aware of the capacity of Peter Obi and Abure Julius to tamper with court proceedings and documents as evidence in the forgery perpetrated in Abuja FCT high court where the signature and seal of judges were forged by Abure Julius and which he boasted yesterday in Lagos with Peter Obi that nobody in Nigeria can probe or arraigned him in court and three others indicted by the police.

“Surprisingly, the same Abure has a pending appeal in the Supreme Court against this same set of justice which has been filed and served on us to arrest today’s judgment. But since they know it may not fly in the face of the law, Abure resorted to his trademark by engaging the services of unscrupulous elements in the Edo state high court to tamper with the records transmitted. What we don’t know is if Abure has now become the Chief Judge of Edo state to be able to commit any crime and get away with it

“The said missing document is in the transmitted copy with our lawyer and duly paid for, but unfortunately this singular criminal act that aided Julius Abure today at the court of appeal was the reason the three justices base their judgment on the suspension of Julius Abure.”
PUNCH

News

BREAKING: Council Of State Approves New INEC Chairman

Published

2 minutes ago

October 9, 2025

Editor

The National Council of State has unanimously approved the appointment of Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan (SAN) as the new Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission.

This was contained in a statement posted on X by the President’s aide, Bayo Onanuga, on Thursday.

President Bola Tinubu presented Amupitan’s name to the Council during its meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Thursday. The appointment follows the exit of Professor Mahmood Yakubu, who completed his 10-year tenure in October 2025.

Tinubu told the Council that Amupitan, a 58-year-old Professor of Law from Kogi State, is the first person from the North-Central state to be nominated for the position.

More details later…

News

Full List: UI Dethrones Covenant University In Latest Rankings

Published

7 minutes ago

October 9, 2025

Editor

The University of Ibadan (UI), Oyo State, has been ranked Nigeria’s best university in the 2026 Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings.

The ranking, released on Thursday via THE’s official website, placed UI within the 801–1,000 band globally—reclaiming a position it last held in 2023. The institution moved up from fourth place in the 2025 rankings to surpass Covenant University, which had topped the list in 2024 and 2025.

THE evaluated of 2,191 institutions from 115 countries based on 18 performance indicators grouped under five key areas: teaching, research environment, research quality, industry engagement, and international outlook.

Following UI in Nigeria’s ranking are the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Bayero University, Kano (BUK), and Covenant University (CU), ranked second, third, and fourth, respectively.

The 2026 global ranking also reflected a changing higher education landscape, drawing on 174.9 million citations from 18.7 million research publications and survey responses from over 108,000 scholars worldwide.

Among Nigerian universities, UNILAG achieved the highest score in research quality, with 66.7 points. BUK ranked best for international outlook, while Covenant University led in industry engagement.

Of the 51 Nigerian universities featured in the 2026 ranking, only UI and UNILAG were placed within the 801–1,000 band. BUK, CU, and Landmark University were ranked between 1,001–1,200, while Ahmadu Bello University, Federal University of Technology Minna, University of Ilorin, University of Jos, and University of Nigeria Nsukka fell within the 1,201–1,500 range.

Additionally, 14 Nigerian universities were placed above 1,500, while 27 institutions were listed as “not ranked.”

THE is a globally recognised independent organisation that provides data and insights on higher education performance.

Universities are considered for the rankings if they teach undergraduates, produce multidisciplinary research, and have published at least 1,000 research papers between 2020 and 2024, with a minimum of 100 annually.

See the full list below:

1. University of Ibadan (801–1000)

2. University of Lagos (801–1000)

3. Bayero University (1001–1200)

4. Covenant University (1001–1200)

5. Landmark University (1001–1200)

6. Ahmadu Bello University (1201–1500)

7. Federal University of Technology, Minna (1201–1500)

8. University of Ilorin (1201–1500)

9. University of Jos (1201–1500)

10. University of Nigeria, Nsukka (1201–1500)

11. Babcock University (1501+)

12.Delta State University, Abraka (1501+)

13. Ekiti State University (1501+)

14. Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (1501+)

15. Federal University of Technology, Akure (1501+)

16. Federal University of Technology, Owerri (1501+)

17. Federal University Oye-Ekiti (1501+)

18. Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (1501+)

19. Lagos State University (1501+)

20. Nnamdi Azikiwe University (1501+)

21. Obafemi Awolowo University (1501+)

22. University of Benin (1501+)

23. University of Calabar (1501+)

24. University of Port Harcourt (1501+)

25. Admiralty University of Nigeria

26. Akwa Ibom State University

27. Al-Hikmah University

28. Augustine University

29. Bamidele Olumilua University of Education, Science and Technology, Ikere-Ekiti

30. Bauchi State University, Gadau

31. Bayelsa Medical University

32. Baze University

33. Bells University of Technology

34. Bowen University

35. Evangel University, Akaeze

36. Federal University of Lafia

37. Federal University of Petroleum Resources, Effurun

38. Fountain University

39. Godfrey Okoye University

40. Igbinedion University Okada

41. Kaduna State University

42. Lagos State University of Education

43. Lagos State University of Science and Technology

44. Lead City University

45. Maryam Abacha American University of Nigeria

46. Nasarawa State University, Keffi

47. Redeemer’s University

48. Rivers State University

49. Thomas Adewumi University

50. University of Cross River State

51. University of Delta.

News

Elon Musk Joins ‘Cancel Netflix’ Campaign

Published

12 minutes ago

October 9, 2025

Editor

Elon Musk has urged his 227 million social media followers to cancel their Netflix subscriptions, accusing the streaming platform of promoting what he describes as transgender propaganda.

In his latest culture war campaign, the Tesla tycoon joined a trend launched by conservative social media account Libs of TikTok that cited the animated series “Dead End: Paranormal Park” and Netflix’s corporate diversity efforts as a cause for dropping the streaming service.

The show’s creator, Hamish Steele, is accused of making social media remarks about conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s assassination in September that were seen by conservatives online as disrespectful and led to the backlash.

Netflix’s shares fell two percent on Wednesday when the controversy gained traction and were down as much as another two percent Thursday on Wall Street.

“Cancel Netflix,” Musk wrote in a Wednesday post on X, the platform he owns, quoting another post made by Libs of TikTok.

That post shared screenshots of a Netflix company report that said it had increased the number of non-white directors and lead actors on its programs.

In a later post on the issue, Musk encouraged his followers to “Cancel Netflix for the health of your kids.”
Steele addressed the controversy in a few Bluesky posts that have since been deleted: “It’s all lies and slander!”

Musk, the world’s wealthiest person, has a personal connection to transgender issues. His eldest daughter, Vivian
Jenna Wilson, publicly transitioned in 2022 and legally changed both her name and gender identity.

Musk has claimed his child was “killed” by the “woke mind virus” instilled at an elite California school.