Headlines
Kogi SDP Chair Manhandled, Gov Candidate Barred as INEC, Stakeholders’ Meeting Turns Violent
The meeting called by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Lokoja, Kogi State, to sensitise stakeholders on preparation for the November 16 governorship election, turned violent as suspected political thugs invaded the meeting causing serious uproar.
According to a witness, the problem started when the candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Natasha Akpoti, who was earlier prevented by security agents from gaining access to the venue of the meeting, insisted on attending the meeting.
Efforts by her security details to persuade her to leave the venue for peace to reign proved abortive.
The SDP chairman in the state, Mouktar Atimah, who wanted to intervene, was beaten to a pulp in the full glare of security operatives.
At the meeting was Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu; INEC chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu; and the Director-General of National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Brig-Gen. Shuaibu Ibrahim.
The witness added the police released tear gas to disperse the surging crowd.
Meanwhile, the Police Service Commission (PSC) had said that it would deploy 45 of its personnel to monitor police conduct in the November 16 elections in Kogi and Bayelsa states.
Head, Press and Public Relations of the commission, Mr. Ikechukwu Ani, disclosed this yesterday in Abuja.
Ani stated that 20 of the personnel would be deployed to Bayelsa and 25 to Kogi to ensure that officers complied with the force’s rules of engagement.
He said cases of police misconduct that would arise from the exercise would be investigated, and any police officer found guilty would be punished accordingly.
Youth Initiative for Advocacy, Growth and Advancement (YIAGA) Africa has urged INEC to design a plan for flooded areas to avoid disenfranchisement of eligible voters in the Kogi and Bayelsa elections.
The Executive Director, YIAGA Africa, Samson Itodo, made this known in the organisation’s third Kogi and Bayelsa pre-election reports in Abuja.
Itodo said YIAGA Africa sent out ‘Watching The Vote (WTV)’ observers to Kogi and Bayelsa to monitor the pre-election environment and to look at key issues facing the states and INEC, among others.
He disclosed that some things observed were indicators of violence, violation of electoral codes, thuggery, selling and buying of voter cards, flooded areas, usage of weapons and so on.
Kogi State government has declared Friday, November 15, as public holiday for all schools in the state.
A statement signed by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Eric Aina, directed all public and private schools to have a break on November 15.
According to Aina, the break was to ensure that all students and pupils are united with their families during the election, and that schools would resume academic activities on Monday, November 18.
Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council (OYC) has called on Ndigbo in Bayelsa and Kogi to use their Permanent Voter’s Cards (PVCs) wisely by voting against candidates who will likely not protect their interests.
In a statement in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, yesterday, the national president of OYC, Okechukwu Isiguzoro, said that body had observed that most government policies and procedures outside Igboland had continued to make the Igbo face critical challenges and untold hardship.
He noted that aside the host community, the Igbo were the most populous in any state, adding that their input during election matter.
The Guardian
President Donald Trump claimed on Monday that Americans want him to run for another term, a step banned by the US constitution but which he continues describing as possible.
“People are asking me to run,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office when asked about the possibility of a third term.
“I don’t know. I never looked into it. They do say there’s a way you can do it, but I don’t know about that, but I have not looked into it,” Trump said.
Trump was asked about the prospect of a race pitting him against former president Barack Obama, who served two terms.
“That would be a good one, I’d like that,” Trump said.
“I’m not joking” about the idea of seeking a third term, Trump said Sunday in an interview with NBC News.
The 78-year-old Republican served from 2017 to 2021 and began his second term in the White House on January 20.
The first US president, George Washington, established a tradition by not seeking a third term after completing his second one in 1797.
But this tradition was not formally added to the US constitution until after World War II, with the ratification of the 22nd amendment in 1951.
It says no one can be elected president more than two times.
Publisher of The Boss Newspaper and a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Dele Momodu, has appealed to President Bola Tinubu not to “kill democracy in Nigeria.”
The appeal, which was made while Momodu was fielding questions during a live television show on Channel TV’s Morning Brief on Monday, was an aftermath of President Tinubu’s suspension of Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, Ngozi Odu, and the state House of Assembly for six months due to a political crisis in the state.
The journalist expressed his concern over Tinubu’s decision, which he described the move as “worse than dictatorship.”
He added that he was disappointed by the president’s actions, especially given Tinubu’s past fight for democracy.
Momodu stated, “I think it is very unfortunate. I know President Tinubu very, very, very well. Though I’ve not been in the same party [with him] and all that, we were together in exile, and he fought gallantly for this democracy,” he said.
“So a lot of us, co-comrades at that time, are actually very embarrassed that we have a pro-democracy leader in government, and yet what we are witnessing is worse than dictatorship.
“I’m pleading with President Bola Tinubu, ‘Please don’t kill democracy in Nigeria.’ Everybody who loves him will tell him this. I don’t; I’ve not asked him for anything or anything, but we love him for his contributions to the motivation in the back, which is what is going down the drain.”
He also warned that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) was trying to intimidate the opposition, urging Tinubu not to be misled by those around him, adding that he does not need to intimidate anybody.
“I’m saying it now openly to millions of Nigerians that people are deceiving President Tinubu, and he should not allow people to deceive you,” he said.
“He should just do his job. The only thing that can guarantee a second time is to do your job well. You do not need to intimidate anybody.”
President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima, on Sunday, joined others for prayers at the National Eid ground in Abuja, as Nigerian Muslims mark the Eid-El-Fitr celebrations together with millions of others around the world.
Deputy President of the Senate, Barau Jibrin, the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu and some ministers also observed the prayer at the same venue.
Eid-El-Fitr, meaning the festival of breaking the fast, is a time of gratitude, charity and communal harmony.
It began with special prayers known as Eid prayers held in Mosques and open spaces. Following the prayers, families share festive meals, exchange gifts and extend warm greetings.
Eid is a time to remember those less fortunate and to strengthen the bond of brotherhood and sisterhood. A key component of Eid is Zakat al Fitr, a mandatory charitable donation intended to ensure everyone irrespective of their financial situation can participate in the joy of the celebration.
This act of giving embodies the spirit of compassion and solidarity that Ramdan emphasizes. From the elaborate feast of South Asia to the festive clothing of Nigeria and the African continent and the warm gatherings of the Middle East, Eid celebrations vary across cultures, showcasing the rich diversity of the Muslim world.
However, the underlining message of unity, gratitude and compassion remains universal.
Saudi Arabia and some other Gulf Arab states are celebrating the Eid al-Fitr holiday from today, but other Middle Eastern countries will not do so until Monday.
“The Supreme Court has decided that tomorrow, Sunday, March 30, 2025, is the first day of Eid al-Fitr,” the Saudi Royal Court said in a statement carried by official media.
The timing of the holiday, which marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, is determined by the sighting of the crescent moon, in accordance with the Muslim lunar calendar.
The United Arab Emirates and Qatar also announced Sunday would be the first day of the holiday.
But neighbouring Oman and Jordan, as well as Shiite-majority Iran, said that Eid al-Fitr would not begin until Monday because the crescent moon had yet to be sighted. Egypt and other North African countries followed suit.
