Author: Adejuyigbe Francis

Less than two months to the 2023 elections, Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State has said it would be difficult to rig the polls. Akeredolu said with the introduction of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS, rigging would be difficult. He spoke in his office when he received in audience the retiring Resident Electoral Commissioner in the State, Rufus Akeju. The Governor described the introduction of BVAS as a laudable development in Nigeria’s electoral process. Akeredolu applauded the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, for deploying technology to strengthen the electoral process and reinforce confidence. He noted that the introduction of…

Manchester City’s defender, Benjamin Mendy, has been found not guilty of seven of the nine charges against him. After a trial lasting almost five months, the defender has been cleared of six counts of rape and one count of sexual assault. However, after 13 days of deliberation at Chester Crown Court, the jury has been unable to reach verdicts on two other charges against Mendy – one count of rape, involving a woman aged 24 in October 2020, and one count of attempted rape, involving a woman aged 29 in October 2018. The Crown Prosecution Service has seven days to…

The Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, on Friday, hailed the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), for signing the Electoral Act (2022). According to him, the piece of legislation, which he said entrenched free and fair elections, aided his emergence as governor in the July 16 governorship polls in 2022. Adeleke said this when he revealed the talking points of his meeting with the President at around 11:00 am at the State House, Abuja. This is Adeleke’s first meeting with the President since he assumed office in November 2022. While briefing journalists, he said, “Since my election, I felt like…

Five United Nations agencies have called for urgent action to protect the vulnerable children in Nigeria and 14 other countries worst hit by the food and nutrition crisis. A press statement issued by the World Health Organisation on Thursday noted that conflict, climate shocks, ongoing impacts of COVID-19 and rising costs of living are leaving an increasing number of children acutely malnourished while key health, nutrition and other life-saving services are becoming less accessible. The statement read in part, “Currently, more than 30 million children in the 15 worst-affected countries suffer from wasting – or acute malnutrition – and eight…

The Supreme Court of Nigeria on Friday in Abuja dismissed the bid by members of the family of the late General Sani Abacha to stop moves by the Federal Government to reopen the criminal forfeiture proceedings against the ex-Head of State. The fresh government move to reopen the fraud probe is targeted at some family members over their alleged complicity in looting the nation’s treasury during Abacha’s administration. In his judgment, Justice Emmanuel Agim of the Supreme Court dismissed the suit brought before the Apex Court for want of merit and substance. The Supreme Court upheld the judgments of both…

Health union in Yariman Bakura Specialist Hospital, Gusau, Zamfara State capital has embarked on a peaceful protest over non-payment of workers’ salaries. It was gathered that the union had earlier issued a one-week ultimatum to the Zamfara State Government to clear their members’ salary arrears and correct the half salaries being paid to some of them. The union stated that they contacted relevant authorities over the issue but nothing was done despite several assurances. They said the failure of the relevant authorities to act on their demands within the 24 hours ultimatum earlier issued forced them to stage the peaceful…

Private depots have raised the price of petrol by 6.7 percent to N240 per litre this week, from about N225 per litre the previous week. This came as the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, said the current petrol scarcity might continue till June 2023 when the government was expected to remove its subsidy. The Chief Executive Officer,  Nigerian  Midstream Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, NMDPRA, Engr. Farouk Ahmed, whose agency has the  responsibility  to regulate activities in the midstream and downstream sectors, did not respond to Vanguard’s inquiries, yesterday on the rise in the private depots price of petrol by…

Cristiano Ronaldo will play against Paris Saint-Germain on January 19 as part of a combined Al-Nassr and Al-Hilal XI. The match will see the Portuguese veteran come up against old foe Lionel Messi. PSG are travelling to Riyadh to take part in the exhibition match. Ronaldo will feature in a side consisting of team-mates from current Saudi leaders Al-Nassr and players from last year’s league champions Al-Hilal. Asked about the 37-year-old’s Saudi debut, Al-Nassr boss Rudi Garcia confirmed: “(It) won’t be with the Al-Nassr jersey. “It will be a mix between Al-Hilal and Al-Nassr…” Ronaldo has been serving a two-match…

The Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association has stated that the country has been losing about $2.5bn monthly for failing to meet the 1.8m barrel per day crude oil production allocation by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. In a statement, the Director-General of NECA, Adewale-Smatt Oyerinde, claimed that though the country’s crude oil production grew by 4.2 per cent to 1.23 million barrels per day in December 2022, it was still short. He stated still a 0.57 million barrel per day shortfall, which translated to about $2.5bn monthly loss for the country. According to him, oil theft seemed to continue unabated…

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has announced the extension of the deadline for collecting Permanent Voters Cards, PVCs, to Sunday, January 29, 2023. The Commission also frowned at allegations of discriminatory issuance of PVCs in some locations, warning that this is against the law and that all bonafide registrants are entitled to their PVCs. The INEC National Commissioner, Festus Okoye, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday. Recall that the electoral body had earlier fixed Sunday, 22nd January 2023, as the collection deadline. However, following a meeting by INEC on Thursday, it pushed the deadline by eight days. The…

As the 2023 presidential election draws nearer, President Muhammadu Buhari has warned foreign nations to stay clear of interfering in Nigeria’s election. Buhari stated this warning on Thursday while receiving Letters of Credence from Ambassadors of Sweden, Switzerland, the Republic of Ireland, the Kingdom of Thailand, the Republic of Senegal and the Republic of South Sudan in Abuja the nation’s capital. According to a statement by Femi Adesina, Special Adviser to the President on Media & Publicity, Buhari urged ambassadors to be guided by diplomatic practice and go about their duties professionally. “As Nigerians prepare to elect another government at…

2022 was a blockbuster year for news – and 2023 is shaping up to be just as busy. In Nigeria, being the giant of Africa, all eyes are on the over 200 million populated country on how or not the general elections would unfold. Many are agitated about the many challenges in the land as the forefront contenders appears to create an assurance of anything different from the backdrop of what some refers to as the fear of the top fear dogs, and who you did say the cap-fit may not wear the crown. Nigerian seems not to be smiling…