Author: David Great

The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has declared the Zamfara State gubernatorial election inconclusive. The Independent National Electoral Commission had declared Dauda Lawal of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) winner of the March 18 election in Zamfara State. The All Progressives Congress candidate, Bello Matawalle, had challenged the outcome of the governorship election at the tribunal but his petition was dismissed for lacking in merit. In a unanimous decision, the three-member panel led by Justice Oyebisi Folayemi, on Thursday nullified the return of Governor Dauda Lawal of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the winner of the governorship poll.…

Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State has approved the suspension of the Chief Judge, Justice Oyebola Ojo. This comes after a National Industrial Court order restraining the governor from removing or interfering with the judiciary, which includes the removal of the State’s chief judge Court restrains Adeleke from sacking Osun CJ According to a statement made by the governor’s spokeswoman, Olawale Rasheed, on Thursday, the governor endorsed the House of Assembly motion requesting the Chief Judge to resign due to allegations of misconduct. “The Executive Governor of Osun State, Governor Ademola Adeleke, has approved the resolution of the Osun State…

The National Industrial Court of Nigeria, sitting in Ibadan, Oyo State, has barred Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke from removing the State Chief Judge, Adepele Ojo, and Michael Obidiya, as secretaries of the state Judicial Service Commission. The orders were issued in response to two separate lawsuits brought by Ojo and Obidiya through their attorney, Oladipo Olasope. Ojo had taken Adeleke before the court in a suit number NICN/IB/6123 filed by her attorney and was joined in the suit by the Osun State Attorney General, the Osun State Judicial Service Commission, and the state accountant general. In an ex-parte motion…

Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State has said a total restructuring of Nigeria is needed if the country is to make meaningful progress. Makinde stated this in Awka, the Anambra State capital, on Thursday during the 12th Annual Zik Lecture. According to the governor, over 60 years after independence, Nigeria has managed to remain indiscernible after going through the civil war and several elections. He praised the late Nnamdi Azikiwe, saying that the Zik of Africa fought to ensure Nigeria remained one. “A complete restructuring of Nigeria is needed at the moment if the country must move forward. What we…

Police in Delta state have arrested four suspected armed robbers, retrieving one AK-47 magazine in Agbor-Obi, Ika South Local Government Area of the state. DSP Bright Edafe, the spokesperson to the Delta State Police Command disclosed this in a statement sighted by Chronicle NG on Thursday in Asaba, the state capital. “Operatives of Agbor Area Command while acting on credible intelligence, stormed Kelubia Street Agbor-Obi and apprehended four suspects. “The suspects are Ogbolu Peter 35, Justice Nmor 28, Precious Odilu 26 and a 27-year-old female Queen Mba, all of Agbor Community.” Edafe stated Furthermore, Edafe noted that the command recovered…

Twenty-six people have died and dozens were sent to hospitals after a fire tore through a building in northern China’s Shanxi province on Thursday, state media reported. The fire started at a four-storey building belonging to the Yongju coal company in Luliang city at around 6:50 am local time (2250 GMT on Wednesday), state media said, citing local authorities. Twenty-six people were confirmed dead, state news agency Xinhua reported. Earlier, broadcaster CCTV said that 63 people had been evacuated from the site, 51 of whom were hospitalised. The reports did not say if any of those taken to hospital had…

China condemned on Thursday US President Joe Biden’s description of Xi Jinping as a dictator as “extremely wrong”, after the two leaders wrapped up a summit in California. Asked about Biden’s remarks, foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said: “This kind of speech is extremely wrong and is irresponsible political manipulation. China firmly opposes it.” “I need to point out that there are always some people with ulterior motives attempting to sow discord and wreck China-US relations, and this too will not succeed,” she added. Asked to clarify who she was referring to, Mao demurred, saying: “I think whoever is trying…

The World Bank has commenced payment of the $800 million earmarked for the National Social Safety Net Program—Scale Up. Documents obtained by Chronicle NG on Wednesday show that the bank has disbursed about $299.99 million to Nigeria under the National Social Safety Net Programme-Scale Up approved by the World Bank on December 16, 2021. This means that about 37.5 percent of the entire loan has been disbursed, with a pending balance of about $442.88 million. The $800 million social safety net programme is a conditional cash transfer scheduled to be implemented by the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty…

Saudi Arabia embassy has disclosed that the 264 Nigerians deported from Jeddah had obtained visas that “doesn’t apply to them”. Chronicle NG had reported that the Saudi government cancelled the visas of the 264 Nigerians on arrival and requested that Nigerian carrier, Air Peace, return the passengers to Kano, Nigeria. In a statement on Wednesday, the Saudi government noted that the action was not targeted at Nigerians alone. “The Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Abuja would like to make a clarification about the media reports and social media releases concerning the deportation of Nigerian citizens at the point of…

The Labour Party (LP) appears to have signalled its interest in a possible merger of opposition political parties in Nigeria following a proposal by former Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar. Atiku, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate in the 2023 election had on Monday warned that Nigeria could be heading towards a one-party state. Speaking at the National Executive Committee of the Inter-Party Advisory Council of Nigeria, Atiku called for a merger of opposition political parties to wrest power from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). “We have all seen how the APC is increasingly turning Nigeria into…