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Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, has won in all the 18 local government areas of the state.
Aiyedatiwa polled a total of 355781 while Agboola Ajayi of the Peoples Democratic Party got 117845.
Returning Officer of INEC had Vice Chancellor of Federal University, Lokoja, Prof. Akinwumi Olayemi Durotimi, has begun final collation.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has conferred the national honour of the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON), on the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi.
President Tinubu gave the honour on Sunday, November 17, during the Nigeria/India Bilateral meeting held at the State House, Abuja.
The President said that the award was bestowed on the Indian leader to signify Nigeria’s appreciation and commitment to the Nigerian Indian partnership.
The Nigerian Leader added that the invitation to the Indian PM was to rekindle and reclassify existing relationship between Nigeria and India.
He also stated that the high level engagement was intended to improve
“Nigeria values its excellent relationship with India, and we work to deepen and broaden the same to the mutual benefit of our two friendly countries.
“You represent a very strong commitment in democratic values and norms, you have been doing a good job historically, winning three consecutive elections in a complex society is a feat that we respect so much.
“I will confer on you today, the Prime Minister of India, Nigeria’s National Honor, the Grand Commander of the Order of Niger. This to signify Nigerian appreciation and commitment to India as a partner”, he said.
Commiserating with Nigeria over the recent floods that ravaged several cities across the country, including the Maiduguri major flood incident, the Indian Prime Minister promised to support Nigeria with 20 tons of relief materials.
Modi said this is to support the administration of President Tinubu on its ongoing humanitarian efforts.
Details shortly…
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has returned to Abuja after a one-day travel to Riyadh in Saudi Arabia for the just concluded extraordinary Arab-Islamic summit.
Tinubu, who arrived the Presidential Wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, touched down around 8pm.
He was received on arrival by senior members of the administration, including the Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila.
Others were Ministers including Nyesom Wike (Federal Capital Territory); Wale Edun (Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy).
The National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdullahi Ganduje, was also on hand to receive him.
While at the Summit, Tinubu called for a decisive global action to end the ongoing violence in Gaza, urging world leaders to move beyond symbolic condemnations.
He called on parties in the conflict in the Middle East to respect the principles of proportionality and the basic rights of civilians, consistent with global legal and diplomatic frameworks.
”In a rules-based international order, States have the right of self-defence. But self defence must take proportionality into account, in line with global legal, diplomatic – and moral – frameworks.
”An entire civilian population, their dreams and futures, cannot be dismissed as collateral,” he said.
On the sidelines of the Summit, President Tinubu held talks with Saudi Arabia’s Crown, Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The President was accompanied on the trip by key officials, including the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar; the National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu; Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris; and the Director General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Mohammed Mohammed.
The Chief Judge of Ekiti State, Justice Oyewole Adeyeye, died at a tertiary health institution in Ekiti on Monday November 4, 2024 after a brief illness.
Although details of his death have not been made known officially, sources told our reporter that he passed on after a brief stay at the hospital.
He was sworn in as a Chief Judge on October 11 2021 by former Governor Kayode Fayemi.
The Chief Judge was born in 1960 in Araromi Ugbesi in Ekiti East Local Government of Ekiti State and called to bar in 1986.
He started his career as a State counsel in the Civil service of the old Ondo State before joining the Ekiti State Judiciary Service Commission shortly after the creation of the State in 1996.
He got elevated to the position of a judge in the Ekiti State High Court in 2002 and has served at different times in the election petition tribunals.
A member of the House of Representatives Alex Mascot Ikwechegh was docked at the Chief Magistrate Court Kuje, Abuja on Wednesday with charges of assault and threat to life against a Bolt driver, Stephen Abuwatseya, in a matter instituted against him by the Inspector General of Police.
Ikwechegh represents Aba North/South Federal Constituency on the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).
He was however granted N500, 000 bail by the Presiding Judge, Abubakar Umar Sai’id, who adjourned the matter to November 8 after the lawmaker pleaded not guilty.
His counsel, Ody Esq, made an oral application for bail, which was granted by the judge with the following conditions: bail set at N500,000 with two sureties in like sum.
The sureties must reside within the court’s jurisdiction and provide utility bills as proof of residence, the Court directed.
Ikwechegh, a member of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) representing Aba North and South federal constituency, last Sunday assaulted a bolt driver who he accused of disrespecting him.
He slapped the driver three times and threatened he could make him disappear any where in Nigeria without anything happening.
The Ekiti State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has recommended the expulsion of former Governor Ayodele Fayose for allegedly acting against the party’s interests in the state.
The state PDP Caretaker Chairman, Dare Adeleke, made this known during a press briefing on Sunday in Ado-Ekiti.
He explained that the recommendation for Fayose’s expulsion was part of the submissions made to the Tom Ikimi-led Disciplinary Panel and the Olagunsoye Oyinlola Reconciliation Committee.
Adeleke stated that the call for Fayose’s expulsion was due to his alleged anti-party activities and misconduct, including his public endorsement of Governor Biodun Oyebanji of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
This, he said, has brought embarrassment to the PDP and could mislead the public about the party’s true values.
He urged the national leadership to expel Fayose and his allies, warning that keeping them in the PDP would be detrimental, as their loyalty no longer lies with the party.
Adeleke also mentioned that Fayose has filed four separate cases against the PDP caretaker committee within two months of its formation, with the intent to weaken the party.
He said: “It is with deep concern that I must address the anti-party activities of Ayo Fayose and his cohorts. His public declarations and serial endorsements of the opposition are a direct affront to the values and unity of our great party.
“I strongly condemn these actions and encourage him to take the bold and honest step of officially decamping rather than openly aligning himself with an opposing party and misleading others into his self-serving interests. His actions mislead the public, giving them a distorted and false image of what the PDP stands for. Our focus is on strengthening Ekiti PDP, and such behavior only serves to weaken our collective efforts.
“We are pleased to say Fayose is no longer a member of PDP. So whatever he says he is saying it to massage the ego of his boss and paymaster, Governor Oyebanji. Because if a man could shout on top of the roof that BAO has come to his house 18 times in two years, what is he doing there?
“Mr Fayose is a survivalist. He is a person that wants everything for himself. If a person could sponsor his child as a PDP candidate and in the middle of the game he withdrew his child from the race to support the APC based on material gain. Will you take such a person as seriously?
“He needs to say something sweet to get money from Oyebanji. He has taken the caretaker committee to court four times within two months the assumed office solely to weaken PDP at the instance of his paymaster”, he added.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has returned after a two-week working vacation in the United Kingdom (UK).
Tinubu, who arrived the Presidential Wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, around 7:20pm, was received by senior members of the administration.
He departed for the two-week working vacation on Wednesday, October 2 as part of his annual leave, according to a statement by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.
On October 11, President Tinubu left the UK for Paris in France for an important engagement, according to his Senior Special Assistant on Political and Other Matters, Ibrahim Kabir Masari.
The President was received on arrival, among others by the Lagos Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu; Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila; Ministers, including Wale Edun (Finance), Abubakar Atiku Bagudu (Budget and Economic Planning), Nuhu Ribadu (National Security Adviser), and Abdullahi Ganduhe (National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC)
Lagos Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu has disclosed that the State plans to pay workers a minimum wage of N85,000, which is N15,000 higher than the N70,000 approved by the Federal Government in July.
Sanwo-Olu announced this during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Wednesday.
The Governor said the State is not paying N85,000 to compete with others but because it has the capacity to do so.
“I am glad to let you know that the minimum wage for Lagos which we conversed and discussed with our union is N85,000 today,” Sanwo-Olu said on the programme.
“It is not a competition, so I am not going to say we are paying more than some other people, it is a function of affordability and it is a function of capacity, but we know too well that when people live in Lagos, Lagos has a premium in terms of even the cost of living, we are fully aware.”
President Bola Tinubu signed the new N70,000 minimum wage bill into law in July, ending months of deliberations between government representatives, labour unions and the private sector.
Details shortly…
Olubunmi Oluranti Familoni author of “The road does not end” has emerged winner of the 2024 Nigeria Prize for Literature competition.
The Advisory Board for the prize led by its chairperson announced him at the Grand Award night, holding at Eko Hotel on Friday evening..
He was one of the three finalists for the 2024 edition of the prize, which is sponsored by Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG) and carries a cash award of $100,000.
Familoni’s “The road does not end, according to Ezeigbo, addresses the critical issue of child labour in society.
‘The book explores themes of resilience and human connection, emphasising the importance of relationships and the need for continuous self-improvement,” she said.
The other shortlisted books were “A Father’s Pride” by Ndidi Chiazor-Enenmo and Wish Maker by Uchechukwu Peter Umezurike.
This year’s focus is on Children’s Literature.
In July 2024, 11 selected works were released in a longlist and recognised by the Advisory Board.
This year’s panel of judges, which is led by Prof. Saleh Abdu of the Federal University of Kashere, Gombe State, includes Prof. Vicky Sylvester and Dr. Osarobu Igudia.
Announcing the finalists, the Chairperson of the Advisory Board, Prof. Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo, emphasised that the Advisory Board and the panel of judges, in selecting the shortlisted books, prioritised excellence and recognised the significant impact the Prize has on young Nigerians.
There was no winner for the prize for criticism.
The Nigeria Police Force has directed its commanders to enforce the Federal High Court’s judgement against the conduct of the controversial local government elections scheduled for tomorrow in Rivers State.
The police, in a statement by the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Grace Iringe-Koko, recalled that on July 19, 2024, a Federal High Court in Abuja issued a restraining order preventing the Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies from providing security during the local government election.
The statement insisted that the Nigeria Police Force had been advised by the Force Legal Department to comply with the judgment of the Federal High Court dated September 30, 2024, which barred the police from allowing, participating in, providing security for, or taking part in the Rivers State Local Government Election on October 5, 2024.
The statement reads: “Additionally, on September 30, 2024, the Federal High Court in Abuja delivered a judgment that again prohibited the Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies from participating in the Local Government Election.
“Given these circumstances, the Nigeria Police Force has been advised by the Force Legal Department that the ruling from the Federal High Court on September 30, 2024, takes precedence.
“Recently, an opposition party protested, calling for adherence to the court orders and expressing their determination to prevent any disregard for the law.
“The Nigeria Police Force encourages all parties to seek appropriate legal redress if they feel aggrieved by any decisions or actions related to the election process.
“The Nigeria Police Force is dedicated to maintaining law and order and will not stand idly by in the face of potential disturbances.
“Necessary actions will be taken to enforce the court’s orders. All Area Commanders, Divisional Police Officers, and Tactical Commanders have been directed to ensure full compliance with the judgment of the Federal High Court”.
The statement called on all other security agencies to comply with the Federal High Court judgment.