Author: Samuel Akpenpuun

A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Lagos state, Barrister Taofik Gani, has called on the party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 general elections, Atiku Abubakar to call his aides to order and guide them against their now intolerable agent provocateur role which has continued to embarrass the Party in the eyes of the electorates. He also called on Atiku to dissociate himself from press statement issued by his aides denigrating party elders. Gani’s call is coming on the heels of a reaction attributed to Mr Paul Ibe, an aide of Atiku who accused Chief Bode George of…

The Gross Domestic Product of Nigeria grew by 3.19 per cent in the second quarter of 2024 driven by growth in the Services sector. According to the GDP report released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Monday, the growth rate is higher than the 2.51 per cent recorded in the second quarter of 2023 and higher than 2.98 per cent in the first quarter of 2024. The report indicated that Q2 GDP performance was driven by the Services sector which grew by 3.79 per cent and contributed about 58.76 per cent to the total GDP. The agriculture sector experienced…

A combined team of officials from the World Health Organisation, the United Nations Children’s Fund, Kaduna State Primary Healthcare, and Zaria Local Government has returned to the Tukur-Tukur community in Zaria for a second round of immunisation and follow-up on the reported outbreak of diphtheria, which has claimed the lives of five children. The Executive Secretary of the Kaduna State Primary Health Care Board, Dr. Bello Jamo, led a health team that included a WHO representative to visit the community following reports of multiple child deaths. Dr. Jamo confirmed that three children had died from the outbreak, attributing the incident…

Senator representing Delta North Senatorial District at the National Assembly, Senator Ned Nwoko would on 31 August 2024 convene a stakeholders’ summit to chart a common course on the creation of Anioma State. A statement from the office of the Senator said the summit with the theme ‘Renewed Quest for the Creation of Anioma State’ would hold at Grand Hotel Asaba, beginning at 10 am. Those to attend the summit, the statement said, include traditional rulers, presidents generals of communities in the nine local government areas of Delta North, youth groups, women’s bodies, and professional organizations among others. The summit…

Stakeholders of the Third Phase of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, Delta State Chapter, have issued a warning against the impersonation of its National Chairman, Amb. Preye Ekpebide. The warning was issued in a statement signed by the Chairman and Secretary, Kerebi Ombe and Ujeyah Louis, respectively, and made available to journalists on Sunday in Asaba. The statement read in part: “We, the stakeholders and leaders of the Third Phase of PAP, Delta State Chapter, warn against the impersonation of our National Chairman, Amb. Preye Ekpebide. The newly elected National Chairman of the Third Phase of PAP is Amb. Preye Ekpebide…

A member of the Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party, Bode George, has denied claims that he did not support the presidential ambition of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar in the 2023 election because Abubakar is not from his region. George, who recently declined his appointment to the PDP National Disciplinary Committee, addressed the issue during a TVC political programme on Sunday night. The former National Vice Chairman of the party refuted the claims made by the Atiku camp, stating that his lack of support was due to Abubakar allegedly dividing the party during the election campaign. He…

The crisis rocking the Benue chapter of the All Progressives Congress deepened on Monday after the dissolved Austin Agada-led All Progressives Congress announced that it had nominated 23 chairmanship and 276 councillorship candidates ahead of the October 5, local government election in the state. The primary exercise took place in all the wards across the 23 local government areas of the state on Saturday. The development comes five days after the aggrieved executive members, who were dissolved by the APC National Chairman, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, dragged him to court for ignoring the exparte order restraining the National Working Committee…

The Federal Government has declared that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited does not have the funds required to rebuild old pipelines. The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, stated this at the just concluded Energy and Labour Summit 2024 organised by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria in Abuja. Lokpobiri, while speaking about the divestment of international oil companies and the need to ramp up production, emphasised that Nigeria also needs to repair its pipelines, which he said are old, corroded, and expired. He noted that even if the country can produce…

Chelsea forward Nicolas Jackson has responded sharply to criticism from former Blues midfielder Mikel Obi. Obi had suggested that Jackson missed too many chances in Chelsea’s recent match against Manchester City and hinted that the club might consider signing Victor Osimhen as a potential alternative. In response, Jackson took to Instagram to address Obi’s comments directly, stating, “Mikel Obi, shut your mouth, don’t talk sh*t, we are killing ourselves for Africa.” His post came after he scored Chelsea’s opening goal in their 6-2 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers, marking the club’s fastest Premier League goal since 2017. Jackson’s goal was a…

Separatist militants killed at least 39 people in “coordinated” attacks in southwestern Pakistan on Monday that largely targeted ethnic Punjabis, government officials said. In one of the attacks, dozens of militants stopped vehicles travelling on a highway through Balochistan province and shot 23 people dead — one of the worst shootings in the region in the past several years. The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), the most active militant separatist group in the province, claimed responsibility for an overnight operation in a statement sent to AFP. Government officials have reported deadly attacks in at least three districts in impoverished Balochistan, where…