Politics
INEC Assures Credible Kwali Council Polls
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has assured residents of Kwali Area Council in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) of free, fair and credible election on April 10.
Chief Stephen Manya, the FCT Resident Electoral Commissioner, gave the assurance in Kwali at a Stakeholders’ Forum organised in the lead-up to the FCT area councils’ elections.
Manya said that the forum, jointly organised by INEC and the National Orientation Agency (NOA), was to enlighten FCT residents about INEC’s preparations for the elections.
“The idea of this stakeholders’ forum is to inform residents of our level of preparedness for the April 10 FCT area councils’ elections.
“ We have worked assiduously on voter registration cards and we want the electorate in the FCT to come out en mass to vote for candidates of their choice.
“With the machinery we have put in place, we are assuring FCT residents of free and fair elections,’’ Manya said.
The INEC boss called on FCT residents not to exercise any fear during the polls, assuring them that their interests and their votes would be well-protected.
Manya also urged political parties to continue with their electioneering to garner the electorate’s support, while fostering wider people’s participation in the elections.
“We do not want people to see politics as the winner takes all syndrome; rather, we want all the people’s interests to be protected in the territory,” he said.
In his speech, Mr Richard Torhee , the NOA Director in the FCT, said that the forum was organised to address the perceptible challenges of past elections.
He urged political parties to sensitise their members to voting procedures so as to reduce the number of voided ballot papers after elections.
He also implored the parties to ensure that their agents at polling stations were committed party members.
Torhee urged the traditional rulers to refrain from partisan politics, saying that their engagement in partisan politics could cause confusion since all the contestants were their “children’’.
Also speaking, Mr Dalami Yebu, the Chairman, Kwali Area Council, commended INEC and NOA for organising the forum.
Yebu called on Kwali residents to support INEC in efforts to ensure free, fair and credible election in the area.
Politics
Why I Won’t Help Tinubu’s Govt Overcome Economic Challenges – Sanusi
The 16th Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II, says he would not help President Bola Tinubu’s administration to correct the administration’s policies affecting the citizens.
Emir Sanusi spoke on Wednesday in Lagos as the chairman of the 21st Anniversary of Fawehinmiism (Gani Fawehinmi Annual Lecture 2025).
The emir stated that while there were “a few points” he could offer to explain the trajectory the administration had taken and how such decisions were predictable, he chose not to do so because “they don’t behave like friends.”
He said explaining the government’s policies would help the government, but he did not intend to assist them due to the way they had treated him.
“I can give a few points that are contrary, that explain perhaps what we’re going through and how it was totally predictable, most of it, and maybe avoidable. But I am not going to do that.
“I have chosen not to speak about the economy or the reforms or to even explain anything because if I explain, it would help this government, but I don’t want to help this government,” the emir said while addressing some of the points made by speakers about the economy.
He added: “You know they’re my friends, but if they don’t behave like friends, I don’t behave like a friend. So I watch them being stooges. And they don’t even have people with credibility who can come and explain what they are doing. I am not going to help. I started out helping, but I am not going to help. I am not going to discuss it. Let them come and explain to Nigerians why the policies that are being pursued are being pursued.
“Meanwhile, I’m watching a very nice movie with popcorn in my hands. But I will say one thing: What we are going through today is, at least in part, not totally, but at least in part, a necessary consequence of decades of irresponsible economic management.
“People were told decades ago that if you continue along this path, this is where you’re going to end up, and they refused to open their eyes. Now, is everything being done today correct? No.”
Emir Sanusi, who was deposed as the 14th Emir of Kano in 2020 by then-Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, the current national chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), was reinstated as the 16th Emir of Kano in 2024 by the New Nigeria People’s Party-led Kano State Government.
His emirship has faced ongoing challenges from forces believed to be backed by the federal government, including federal officials’ continued recognition of his predecessor, Emir Aminu Ado Bayero.
Last month, the police barricaded his palace, with the state government accusing the federal government of orchestrating the action to stir unrest in the peaceful state.
Politics
Reps Loses Deputy Chief Whip
The Deputy Chief Whip of the House of Representatives, Rt Hon. Oriyomi Onanuga, is dead.
Also known as Ijaya, Rt Hon. Onanuga, who was the member representing Ikenne/Sagamu/Remo North Federal Constituency, is said to have died following a brief illness.
This was confirmed in a tweet on the official X (formerly Twitter) account of the House of Representatives, on Wednesday night.
Rt Hon Onanuga, who was born in Hammersmith, London, to Nigerian parents on December 2, 1965, was a politician and entrepreneur. She held the position of Deputy Chief Whip in the Nigerian House of Representatives since 2023.
She contested and won a seat in the House of Representatives under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2019. She also served as the Chairperson of the House Committee on Women Affairs and Social Development.
Politics
Aiyedatiwa Dissolves Cabinet, Retains Finance Commissioner, Attorney-General
Gov. Aiyedatiwa, however, exempted two members of the cabinet from the dissolution due to the critical nature of their duties.
The two commissioners exempted include the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Dr Kayode Ajulo, SAN, and the Commissioner for Finance, Mrs. Omowunmi Isaac.
This was contained in a statement issued by the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Ebenezer Adeniyan, in Akure, the Ondo State capital.
Mr Adeniyan said in the statement that “All the affected cabinet members are to hand over all government properties in their care to the accounting officers of their respective ministries.
Gov. Aiyedatiwa thanked the executive council members “for their service and contributions to the development of Ondo State under his administration and wished them well in their future endeavours”.
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