Author: Vincent Osuwo

Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s presidential candidate for 2023, has confirmed his intention to run for president in 2027, denying suggestions that he may run alongside former Vice President Atiku Abubakar. Obi mentioned the possibility in an interview on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, which aired on Sunday. “I’m going to contest for the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and I believe I am qualified for it,” Obi said. Speaking on rumours that he may pair up with Atiku of the Peoples Democratic Party, Obi said, “This is not in play; nobody has ever discussed that. People assume so…

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has advocated for constitutional amendments to establish Sharia courts in all South West states and to make Fridays public holidays for Muslim worship. Prof. Ishaq Akintola, the group’s Executive Director, made the submission at the South West Zonal Public Hearing on Constitutional Review, accompanied by Dr Jamiu Busari. He informed the Senate Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution that the absence of Sharia courts in the Southwest goes against the region’s pre-colonial Islamic tradition. “No Sharia court currently exists in Southwestern Nigeria, where Muslims arguably form the majority,” Akintola said. He demanded the…

The Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) has denied any involvement in the transportation of illicit drugs across the country.  NIPOST was responding to an online publication that claimed it had been used to sell drugs since Bola Tinubu became president of the country. The service, in a statement issued on Sunday in Abuja by Franklin Alao, NIPOST Director of Corporate Communications, declared that the allegation was completely false. NIPOST stated that it collaborates with security agencies and logistics stakeholders, such as the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), the Nigeria Police Force, and the Nigerian Customs Service, to prevent unlawful usage…

The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, has threatened a nationwide protest over the worsening cost-of-living crisis, escalating insecurity, and coordinated attacks on workers’ rights. It warned that Nigerian workers would no longer sit idly by while the country’s economy and democracy collapsed. Following its Central Working Committee (CWC) meeting over the weekend at the 12th June Cultural Centre in Abeokuta, Ogun State, the NLC claimed that the hardships endured by workers and the poor have reached unbearable proportions, and prompt action is required to prevent a national breakdown. The NLC has also vigorously opposed any legislative action by the National Assembly…

The death toll in the flood that devastated Kerr County in the US state of Texas, according to authorities, has risen to 51, including 15 children. The flash flooding began on Thursday night into Friday morning – the start of the 4 July holiday weekend. Officials have said that the equivalent of a month’ worth of rain fell in a matter of hours. The National Weather Service (NWS) has warned that more rain is forecast for the central Texas area and that “excessive runoff may result in flooding of rivers, creeks, streams, and other low-lying and flood-prone locations”. “A Flood…

The women and youths of the Bendeghe Ekiem community in the Etung Local Government Area in Cross River State have given the Commissioner for Agriculture, Johnson Ebokpo, a 14-day deadline to reverse the planned privatisation of a government-controlled estate or face the women dancing naked around the cocoa plantation. This decision was made on Saturday during a rally organised by local teenagers and women to show their displeasure with the situation. In a separate interview with PUNCH Online, Ntunkai Obi, the community women’s leader, and Helen Ogar, the women’s leader, encouraged the commissioner to contact the leaders of their community…

Elon Musk, a former ally of US President Donald Trump, announced on Saturday that he had created a new political party in the United States to challenge the country’s “one-party system”. Musk, the world’s richest person and Trump’s largest political donor in the 2024 election, had a strained relationship with the president after leading the Republican campaign to cut spending and federal jobs as director of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency. “When it comes to bankrupting our country with waste & graft, we live in a one-party system, not a democracy,” the SpaceX and Tesla boss posted on X.…

Colombian police have apprehended the alleged mastermind behind the assassination attempt on a presidential candidate during a rally last month. Miguel Uribe, a conservative senator, was shot twice in the head in Bogotá while campaigning for his party’s nomination in the 2026 presidential election. Police apprehended a suspected criminal, Élder José Arteaga Hernandez, who they say convinced a 15-year-old to commit the attack. Four other persons had previously been apprehended, including the youngster accused of shooting Uribe. Uribe remains in critical condition. The motivation for his assassination attempt on June 7th is unclear. Colombian police chief Carlos Fernando Triana stated…

The Osun State Police Command reported on Saturday the arrest of an Islamic cleric known only as Kadiri for allegedly having carnal knowledge of a minor in Ede, Osun State. The incident at Babasanya-Araka Ede sparked a protest by an irate mob, who attacked the suspect after he was arrested. Abiodun Ojelabi, the command spokeswoman, told reporters that police officers were dispatched to the scene after the incident was reported. “The matter was reported, and we deployed operatives to the scene. When our men got to the scene, the Amotekun men who arrested him handed him over to us. “So,…

A former National Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ibrahim Tsauri, has thrown his weight behind the call for the PDP members to join the African Democratic Congress, ADC-led coalition against President Bola Tinubu in 2027. Speaking in an interview with PUNCH, Tsauri, who served in the Uche Secondus-led national executive, said the party’s leaders who today constitute the soul of the ADC must have seen good reason to abandon the once dominant political party. At a meeting in Abuja last week, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Senate president David Mark, and former governors of Jigawa and Sokoto…