Headlines
Nigerians Stranded in UAE, Lebanon Return
About 386 Nigerians have been returned to the country from the United Arab Emirates and Lebanon as part of the government’s efforts to assist stranded nationals abroad in the wake of COVID-19 travel restrictions.
The Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), in a tweet via its official handle on Wednesday, said 292 Nigerians were evacuated from the UAE, taking the number of evacuees from the Arab country to 2,933 since it began evacuation in June.
According to NIDCOM, the evacuees arrived at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, at 02:30 p.m. on board an Emirates flight.
Also, 94 Nigerian girls, many of who are believed to have been trafficked to Lebanon and had appeared in a viral video asking for government’s help, were among those evacuated on Wednesday.
They arrived at Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos from Lebanon.
94 out of 150 Stranded Nigeria Girls arrive Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos from Lebanon today Wednesday, 12th of August, 2020,” NIDCOM tweeted.
The agency said while the evacuees had tested negative to COVID-19 before boarding the plane, they would be undergoing a mandatory 14-day self-isolation, in line with the guidelines issued by the federal government.
Receiving the stranded girls at the airport, the Chairman, NIDCOM, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, commended the efforts of actors that contributed to the successful repatriation of the girls.
“On hand to welcome home 94 Nigerians stranded in Lebanon for months . A big thank you to the Lebaneese Amb to Nigeria, the Nigerian Mission in Lebanon, the Lebaneese Community in Nigeria for making this possible Nema is handling their logistics . More returning soon,” Mrs Dabiri-Erewa said in a Twitter post.
As the COVID-19 pandemic held the world in a tailspin, Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, asked Nigerians interested in returning to the country to buy into the evacuation idea and work with Nigeria’s embassies and high commissions across the world.
Nigerian airports have been closed to international flights since March, but essential flights are still allowed.
“What is important to get out to all Nigerians is that their engagement and communication should be with the embassies, high commissions and not with any other parallel agency, department of government or anything like that,” Mr Onyeama said in a briefing of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 in April.
Nigeria has since repatriated thousands of stranded nationals from countries like the United States, the United Kingdom, Egypt, Sudan, France, Ethiopia, and many others.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian government said it had spent N169 million on the evacuation of Nigerians from abroad.
Premium Times
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Biodun Oyebanji, winner of the 2026 Ekiti State governorship election.
Oyebanji secured a landslide victory, polling 319,224 votes to defeat his closest challenger, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Dr. Wole Oluyede, who garnered 40,543 votes. The African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate, Dare Bejide, came a distant third with 12,872 votes.
The election, held across all 16 local government areas of the state, was overshadowed by reports of irregularities and widespread allegations of vote buying, drawing strong condemnation from observers.
The official results were announced on Sunday morning by the Chief Returning Officer, Professor Adenike Oladiji, who declared Oyebanji duly elected after meeting the constitutional requirements.
In her declaration, Professor Oladiji stated: “I, Professor Adenike Oladiji, hereby certify that I am the Returning Officer for the Ekiti State Governorship Election held on June 20, 2026, and that the election was conducted in compliance with the provisions of the law. Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji of the All Progressives Congress, having satisfied the requirements of the law and scored the highest number of valid votes cast, is hereby declared the winner and returned elected.”
Source: Reuters
Arise Television anchor, Rufai Oseni, has alleged that there may be attempts to prevent key opposition figures, including Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar, from appearing on the ballot for the 2027 general elections.
Oseni’s remark followed a Federal High Court judgment ordering the de-registration of some political parties.
Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja, on Monday, ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Accord Party (AP), Action Peoples’ Party (APP), Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), and Action Alliance Party (AAP) over alleged constitutional breaches.
The judgment arose from a lawsuit filed by the Incorporated Trustees of the National Forum of Former Legislators (NFFL), which argued that the affected parties failed to meet constitutional and statutory electoral performance requirements necessary for continued recognition as political parties.
Justice Lifu subsequently barred INEC from recognising the affected parties, accepting nominations from them or permitting them to participate in activities related to the 2027 general elections.
The ruling, if upheld, could affect the political ambitions of several politicians, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who is the ADC presidential flag-bearer, and Osun State governor Ademola Adeleke, who is seeking re-election on the platform of the Accord Party.
But speaking on Arise TV’s Morning Show on Tuesday, Oseni described the court ruling as a “test” of public reaction, warning that more actions could follow ahead of the next general election.
According to him, opposition parties such as the African Democratic Congress, ADC, and the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, should be cautious, claiming that efforts could be made to stop major figures from participating in the election.
Oseni argued that the judgment was part of a broader process aimed at shaping the political landscape ahead of 2027.
He maintained that the ruling came despite some of the affected parties having recorded electoral victories in recent elections.
He warned that Nigerians must remain vigilant to safeguard the country’s democracy, stressing the need for judicial reforms alongside efforts to tackle insecurity.
Oseni said: “NDC, ADC should be careful because there will be attempt, and this is me predicting now, to ensure that Obi, Atiku and other big contenders are not on the ballot.
“This that you saw yesterday is just a test. This is not the real place where the whole thing is going. This is me predicting now.
“You know before you have a show you test the microphone. They want to see the reactions of Nigerians. More is still coming.
“You can see how they carry a judgement when ADC won two House of Representatives seats in Kogi, one Kogi House of Assembly seat, APP one chairmanship seat in Jigawa, Zenith Labour party won several seats in Abia, but they still went ahead and issued judgement for deregistration after the Court of Appeal, a higher court, said it should stay on that.
“If we want to deal with this judicial rascality, can I tell you something? The judge that gave this judgment, nothing will happen to him. Nothing on this earth. They are just coming.
“And who is leading this group? Gbajabiamila. Have you forgotten what Gbajabiamila said on Hon Ajibade’s birthday? So they are just coming. This one is just a test. The next one they will do is the NDC.
“With the way they’re going, if Nigerians don’t shine their eyes when they will finally have this election, you will not have the major contenders in the ballot. This thing they have just done is to test reactions from Nigerians.
“I saw this thing coming. You know we are going into an election in which Atiku Abubakar is the only major candidate from the North. It’s not like the last one you have Kwankwaso that can split the Kano votes. And you have Peter Obi and general consensus that a lot of people are in abject penury, insecurity is raging hard.
“This is the beginning of many things. They are just testing the microphone. It’s engineered. More is coming. Nigerians, it is you that will save your democracy. Judicial reforms have become so important as insecurity in Nigeria.”
