News

Why APC May Not Have Candidate For Benue Guber In 2023

Published

3 years ago

June 16, 2022

Facts have emerged as to why the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Benue State may not have a governorship candidate in the 2023 governorship election.

This is coming after a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, and governorship aspirant, Mike Aondoakaa, dragged the party to court over alleged irregularities noticed at the primaries that led to the emergence of the party’s flagbearer, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia.

The former Justice Minister had told the court in a suit against APC, Alia and INEC that contrary to the provision of the Electoral Act, 2022 (as amended), the register of members of Vandeikya and Katsina-Ala Local Government Areas of Benue State was not submitted to INEC.

Aondoakaa said he became aware of the development when a law firm of Broad Spectrum and Partners applied to the INEC for certified true copies of the membership registers of the All Progressives Congress, Peoples Democratic Party, Social Democratic Party, and New Nigerian People’s Party in Benue State that were submitted to INEC.

He said, it then means that Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, whose name was not submitted to INEC cannot, therefore, claim to be a member of the APC, let alone a winner of the governorship primary of the said party.

Alia is from Vandekya Local Government Area of Benue State.

The former minister in his prayers wrote: “That I know as a fact that by the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022 (as amended), the register of members of a party is supposed to be sent to INEC at least 30 days before a party’s primaries

”That I know as a fact that Fr. Hyacinth Alia is from Mbadede Council Ward in Vandeikya Local Government Area of Benue State

”That I know as a fact that the register of members of Vandeikya and Katsina-Ala Local Government Areas of Benue State was not submitted to INEC as only membership registers from 21 Local Governments out of the 23 Local Governments in Benue were sent by the APC to INEC.

”That I became aware of the facts in the preceding paragraph above when the law firm, Broad Spectrum and Partners applied to the INEC for certified true copies of the membership registers of the All Progressives Congress, Peoples Democratic Party, Social Democratic Party, and New Nigerian People’s Party in Benue State that were submitted to INEC. The said application dated the 24th May 2022 is hereby pleaded and hereto annexed as Exhibit.

”That, in response, INEC minuted a memorandum wherein it stated that the register of members of the APC in Vandeikya and Katsina-Ala Local Governments was not submitted. The certified true copy of the minuting made on 3rd June 2022 as well as payment of certification for same on 7th June 2022 is also hereby pleaded and hereto attached as Exhibit.

”That I know as a fact that for a person to be nominated he must belong to a political party and be lawfully registered as such and INEC fully intimated of the fact of registration by way of submitted registers as provided under the Electoral Act, 2022. This is so as independent candidacy is not known to our corpus juris.”

News

Gombe Wins Northeast Quiz Competition On Legislature, Democracy

Published

15 hours ago

October 31, 2025

Editor

Gombe State has emerged as the winner at the 2025 North East Zonal Quiz Competition on legislature and democracy organised by the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS) for senior secondary schools across Northeast on Friday.

Speaking before the commencement of the 2025 edition of the zonal debate which focuses on the legislature, democracy and governance, the Director-General of NILDS, Prof. Abubakar Sulaiman, said the exercise was to deepen the knowledge of legislative and democratic governance among secondary school students and youth.

According to him, it was also to broaden their knowledge on the history, practice and procedure of the legislature and encourage deeper understanding of civic and democratic governance.

The competition, he added, would stimulate the interest of the young students in politics and make them more proactive in matters relating to the legislature and democracy.

He explained that enhancing the knowledge of young Nigerians in the legislature would not only foster an inclusive and participatory legislature in Nigeria but would also serve as an avenue for citizen engagement in the legislative process.

Represented by Mr Jeremiah Agada, NILDS Northeast Zonal Quiz Coordinator, Sulaiman added that the quiz competition would take place in all the six geo-political zones and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

“It is also to inspire young Nigerians to cultivate the interest to participate in legislative governance.

“This 10th edition of the competition is therefore the fourth time the competition has been held at the national level.

“As the 2025 NILDS Zonal quiz competition is declared open, I therefore urge all competing students and their teachers to abide by the rules of the game so that the desired objectives of the competition are achieved,” he said.

Also speaking, the Bauchi State’s Commissioner for Education, Dr Muhammed Lawal, said the exercise was a welcome development in the circle of education, adding that it was a ground where students in the zone could be tested among other students in the country.

“This will enable us to improve the quality of our delivery in our various schools to our teeming students across the zone.

“I want them to take it upon themselves that in an engagement like this, there is no loser. You put in your best, and if at the end of the day, you don’t make it up to the top, your efforts will be crowned.

“I hope this will be well covered because it will stimulate other schools to be part of and perform better so that they can come up to this level as well,” he said.

Mohammed appreciated the commitment of teachers and moderators who coached the students to fully participate in the competition and reaffirmed the government’s commitment to revamping the education sector under Gov. Bala Mohammad’s leadership.

Announcing the winner of the competition, the Quiz Master Mr. Lucky Tongs, announced Gombe State as the overall winner of the debate with 75 points

He also announced Taraba State as the first runner up with 55 points and Yobe State as the third position with 50 points, adding that the winner is expected to represent the Northeast sub-region at the National competition in Abuja.

Other states that participated in the competition included Adamawa and Bauchi.

News

Police Arrest Nollywood Production Manager For Assaulting Crew Member

Published

18 hours ago

October 31, 2025

Editor

The Lagos State Police have arrested a Nollywood production manager, Anierobi Courage, for allegedly assaulting a crew member.

Anierobi Courage, better known as Nwa South, reportedly assaulted the head of makeup, Mary Chizzy Eze, on October 28, 2025, while on the set of the film “Lagos to Opulence.”

A trending video of the physical altercation showed the production manager pressing Mary’s throat after slapping her, an act that has sparked widespread outrage on social media.

Reacting to the public condemnation, the Nigeria Film Crew Community (NFCC), in a statement released on Thursday, described Courage’s actions as “animalistic behaviour.”

Announcing his arrest, NFCC called on Nollywood producers and other stakeholders to blacklist Courage across all productions.

“The production manager violently hit and strangled Mary Chizzy Eze for speaking up against unequal treatment among the crew. While she has received medical care, he has been arrested.

“This level of disregard for human dignity is unacceptable. We stand firmly against all forms of abuse, assault, and crew maltreatment,” the NFCC said.

News

‘EFCC Collected N10m Before They Released Me’ – Oladips Alleges [VIDEO]

Published

19 hours ago

October 31, 2025

Editor

Popular Nigerian singer, Oladips has accused the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, of collecting N10 million from him.

The rapper made this known nearly a year after he was arrested by EFCC during a midnight raid in his estate.

Oladips was arrested with some of his neighbors for alleged fraud in November 2024.

He was released after spending five days in detention.

Speaking about his experience with the EFCC, Oladips in his latest interview on Trending podcast, stated that nothing was found on him after the EFCC investigations.

While revealing that the EFCC collected N10 million from him before his release, he lamented that “Nigeria just happened to me”.

“It’s just one smelling place like that. They just packed us there like sardines and they gave us nonsense food. Funny enough it was Zlatan that was sending me food. Zlatan is not even a friend, that’s my blood.

“He was sending someone to buy good food for me because the food there is bad. They just packed us there like sardines. I’m not even supposed to be there first of all. Like, why did I spend four to five days there when you people (EFCC) didn’t find anything on me, not even a single thing. And they still collect N10 million from me before they released me.”

When asked “Is it a thing you can take up against the EFCC later, or you will just allow the sleeping dog lie?”, the singer responded “Who is my father?”

“Who is my father now? At the end of the day, who is my father? It’s just me and my truth. It’s not something I will want to. I don’t just know how the system works. I for dey their page now if to say I dey do Yahoo. They didn’t find anything on me. If they are watching this, they know that I’m saying the truth.

“They collected money from me before they released me. They didn’t find anything on me. So, what was the money for? What was all that stress and suffering for? It’s just Nigeria. Nigeria just happened to me,” he said.

https://x.com/i/status/1983504280972615813