₦airaland Forum

The presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 elections, Mr Peter Obi, has urged the federal government to be committed to the regular payment of salaries of teachers in the country.


He also called on Nigerians to imbibe the culture of celebrating teachers who are contributing to the human capital development of Nigeria, rather than embracing the politicians creating problems for the country.


Obi wrote this on his X page (formerly Twitter) on the commemoration of the World’s Teachers’ Day on Thursday, stressing that the teachers’ contributions remain inexhaustible in Nigerian society.

“I would like to celebrate all the teachers in Nigeria today, as the global community marks World Teachers Day. I celebrate them for their commitment to the task of nation-building. It is often said that the building of great nations begins in the classrooms,” Obi wrote.

“The foundation of the development of any society is human capital development which can only be achieved through education and the immeasurable contribution of teachers. So, there cannot be any true development in a society without the critical input of the educators who are our teachers.

“The great rigour, hard work, patience, and dedication most teachers in different schools and institutions, especially at the basic level, put into their work to ensure that their students can become the best in learning and character, deserve special acknowledgement and commendation.

“I have always celebrated teachers in Nigeria, whenever the opportunity comes. For example, Mr Akeem Badru, who won the 2023 Cambridge Dedicated Teacher Award. I have also maintained that the government should begin to celebrate Nigerian teachers who through hard work and dedication, have distinguished themselves in many ways, rather than celebrating individuals who contribute to the challenges facing us as a nation.

“I urge the government to take teachers’ salaries seriously and ensure that they are paid as and when due. At the basic education level, which is the most critical, governments should intervene in schools owned by private and voluntary agencies, and ensure that their teachers are paid as their counterparts in public schools.


Obi, then, addressed the teachers to continually display tenacity and endurance, saying, “I encourage the teachers to remain resolute and patient despite the present hardship prevalent in the nation. We all look forward to better days, the dawn of the ‘New Nigeria.’”

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, says it plans to transmit results of the November 11 Bayelsa governorship election manually.


The INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in the State, Mr Obo Effanga stated this in Yenagoa on Wednesday, during an interactive session with religious leaders and faith-based organisations.

Effanga said that INEC was ready to conduct free, fair and credible election and only voters accredited by BVAS would be allowed to vote.


“Immediately you are given the ballot paper you can start voting.

“We are in the fourth week of collection of PVCs and it will end on Oct. 11. Those who have not collected their cards should go to the INEC office in their local government areas,” he said.

Effanga urged the stakeholders to advise their candidates to be peaceful.


“Religious leaders should take the message to their congregation and politicians who are also Church members,’’ he said.

He said that 16 political parties had fielded candidates for the election.

Rev. Joseph Belema, one of the religious leaders commended INEC, stressing that free, fair and credible election was a way forward for electing good leaders.


He called on the candidates not to see the election as a do or die affair, adding that only one person would be elected. (NAN)

Lanretoye:
Let this your stupidity rest abeg.

The presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the February 25 general election, Peter Obi, has enjoined Nigerians not to despair over the agonizing situation in the country 63 years after independence from colonial rule.


Obi tasked Nigerians to remain resolute and hopeful that a new Nigeria is still possible.


Obi, in an Independence message to Nigerians, on Saturday, said: ”Even amidst grave uncertainties and apparent hardship, the citizens of Nigeria are experiencing due to persistent leadership failure after 63 years of our nationhood, the situation might be critical, but certainly not hopeless.”

The LP presidential standard bearer noted that the real reason Nigerians have remained visibly mired in poor governance and poverty after 63 years is that successive administrations through policies actions and inactions have attempted to suppress conscientious people, for them to remain at the helm of power.

He said, “The evidence of elite consensus on the way forward on structure and nation-building remains a core problem.”

Obi drew analogy between a nation’s life and parameters of modern technology; “if the input is garbage in then the output will be garbage out.

“When you Google a subject, the response you get will be based on the questions you input. Every nation invariably determines its own fate and destiny; and gets a leadership they deserve.

“Nigeria cannot be an exception. If we subscribe to rogue leadership, then we must face the attending consequences,” he declared.

Obi also said, “At 63 years, what type of questions are Nigerians asking of their leaders and what type of answer are we expecting?


“If at 63 years we cannot conduct an election to allow the will of the people to prevail, what type of country do we expect?


“Every year on October 1 since 1960 we try to review our life as a nation but on looking back can we say that where we are is where we are supposed to be despite our vast human and natural resources?

“The answer is no.”

Present realities notwithstanding, Obi expressed hope that a new Nigeria is possible; but insists that the burden of responsibility is on Nigerians to take back their country from those engaged in State capture.

While wishing Nigerians a happy independence anniversary, Obi prayed for God’s continued mercy and grace on the nation.

In this piece, John Alechenu takes a cursory look at PDP’s rise to power, downfall and current struggle to return to winning ways after losing power in 2015.

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, which came into existence as a political entity on August 31st, 1998, celebrated its silver jubilee without fanfare on August 31st, 2023.


Observers are of the opinion that the reason for the party’s refusal to celebrate this significant milestone is not far-fetched. The party which once ruled Nigeria unchallenged for 16 unbroken years is now a shadow of its once vibrant self.


At inception, the party was a product of consultations between and among several groups and political associations including the Group of 18 popularly known as G.8, made up of prominent Nigerians who later grew to G.34.

It enjoyed broad-based support following its pro-business outlook, support for economic deregulation, and promise for greater funding for education and health care delivery.
Excerpts from the PDPs Manifesto then read, “We the Peoples Democratic Party of Nigeria, Conscious of our historic mission to build a modern democratic state founded on Justice, equity and fair play, make Covenant as follows…

“The indivisibility of the Nigerian polity. i. We affirm our belief in the unity of Nigeria under the Federal System of Government, We shall, therefore, continually promote political tolerance, accommodation and compromise, religious harmony, as well as inter/ethnic and intra/ethnic accommodation and cooperation.

“The party shall also promote geopolitical balancing as a fundamental principle of power sharing in the country in line with the principle of Federal Character; the party shall uphold the principle of power rotation in our party at all levels.”

Membership was drawn from all walks of life across Nigeria. Retired military officers, businessmen, academics and activists most of whom found common ground in the fight against the annulment of the June 12, 1993 Presidential Election, which was believed to have been won by the late Chief MKO Abiola as well as the brutal military regime of the Late General Sani Abacha.

Abacha’s sudden death in June, 1998 and the hurriedly organized transition programme put in place by General Abdulsalami Abubakar who succeeded him, culminating in the elections which ushered in the fourth republic.

The party proved its mettle with its sweeping victory at the polls in the 1999 general elections. Its Presidential Candidate, the then General Olusegun Obasanjo *(retd, won the election by a landslide. The party produced 21 Governors out of 36, it equally won a comfortable majority of seats in the Senate and House of Representatives.


Sadly, 25 years down the line, the fortunes of the party which once boasted that it would rule for 60 years, have been on a steady decline after a series of internal wranglings led to its first significant defeat in 2015. The Party, which today is arguably Nigeria’s largest opposition political party, has been bedeviled by internal turmoil.

With each election cycle, the battle for tickets to fly the party’s flag at all levels not only widened existing cracks but also opened up and widened fresh ones. With most of its founding fathers either dead or out of its fold, political pundits argue that the party needs to carry out an urgent introspection in order to honestly dissect its problems and work out a solution perhaps, it could warm its way back into the good graces of Nigerians.

A combination of avoidable litigations, unrestrained arrogance and some say greed; among key stakeholders /power blocks within the party, have continued to play a significant role in reducing the party once touted a behemoth described in superlative adjectives such as: the biggest party in black and white Africa to a shadow of its once unassailable height.

A senior lecturer in the Department of Political Science, University of Jos, Dr. Joseph Anuga, while commenting on the situation noted that the refusal of party leaders to make sacrifices and take responsibility contributed significantly to its present state.

According to him, if information available in public space is anything to go by, the party dug itself into a hole by allowing former Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, become so powerful to the point of insisting on having his way almost all the time in the choice of who became National Chairman as far back as 2019.


He said, “Like it or not, the party is yet to recover from the effect of the rebellion by Wike and four of his other colleagues namely.. Samuel Ortom (Benue), Seyi Makinde, (Oyo), Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, (Enugu) and Okezie Ipeazu of Abia.”

Wike developed his larger than life image after he was alleged to have taken up the responsibility of paying the party’s bills from secretariat staff salaries to funding some of the party’s standard bearers at various levels, a responsibility which ordinarily should be that of the party.

In fact, the Kogi State PDP Governorship candidate for the November 11, 2023 polls, Senator Dino Melaye, recently confirmed Wike’s financial contributions to his governorship campaign in 2019.

Anuga, further noted that this being the case, the party ought not to complain about Wike’s decision to wield influence which he has acquired by filling a void created by party leaders who abandoned ship at a time they were needed to rebuild it.

He stressed that it was embarrassing for the PDP or any other political party in this country for that matter, not to have put in place legitimate and sustainable measures to self fund its activities.


Anuga said, ”You must have heard the saying, He who pays the piper dictates the tune’. If you allow individuals, be they governors, those in authority at whatever level or your entrenched ‘money bags’ to pick the bill on behalf of the party, then you lack the moral ground to complain when they dictate what happens within the party.

”And as it often happens in Nigeria, this may include: their dictating who flies the party flag in every electoral contest. When such is allowed to happen, the party is on its way to the dustbins of history. This is because when such a candidate wins an election, his or her loyalty is to the godfather/godmother who sponsored him/her.

”Sadly, most of our political parties are not self-sustaining; they don’t have independent sources of revenue hence the various interests who have the financial muscle take over its structures and the vicious cycle continues.

“When a party is able to keep a membership register and device means of ensuring members pay their dues accordingly as well as engage in legitimate business to generate revenue, party members will show greater interest by demanding for greater accountability. “

A Chieftain of the party in Edo State, Dr. Don Pedro Obaseki, sees things differently. According to him, it was wrong to assume that the former Rivers State governor single-
handedly paid the party’s bills.


The party he noted is bigger than every individual member adding that party leaders at different levels made sacrifices and that the party has the capacity to be self-sustaining. He further explained that at the time former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and other founding fathers of the party were birthing the party, the likes of Wike were yet to cut their political teeth.

Obaseki expressed reservations over the level of tolerance being displayed by the party’s current leadership with the handling of what he called the Wike affair.

He said, ”If anybody has done anything anti-party it is Nyesom Wike. He has fought every known person within the party. If you remember, Bello Matawalle, former Governor of Zamfara State, cited him as the reason for leaving the party, Dave Umahi cited him as the reason for leaving the party. Prof. Ben Ayade cited him as reason for leaving the party, why is it that the name of Nyesom Wike, has become the proverbial tortoise in every bad story”

A former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the party, Barrister Abdullahi Jalo, who is now a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Gombe State, on his part noted that the party doesn’t deserve pity for failing to manage its victories in the past.

He said, “The PDP has nobody to blame but itself for the fate that has befallen it over the years. A party which grew so arrogant to the point that it could no longer obey its own Constitution is destined to self-destruct.


”I believe the party began to derail at the point when the battle for party tickets during primaries became fiercer even more than the real election itself.

“Of course, we all know what happened in 2014/2015 when five powerful state governors ditched the party to assist the coalition of opposition parties which transformed into the APC.

“Don’t forget, some of the party’s founding fathers were chased out by those who used the platform to get into political offices.

“It will be difficult if not impossible for Nigerians to trust the party again after tasting and enjoying dividends of democracy and good governance under the APC. ”

A public affairs commentator, Mr. Adakole Moses, however, expressed optimism that the party will overcome whatever challenges it was currently dealing with.


He said, “What ever challenges the PDP is dealing with is not peculiar to it. Name one of our prominent political parties today that is not in one crisis or another. Is it the ruling APC or Kwankwaso’s NNPP, what about Obi’s Labour Party? No matter what people say about the PDP, it made a lot of positive impact on our polity in the years it spent in power.

“It is on record that the security situation was not as bad, our debt profile was better managed, the exchange rate was stable for the most part and the quality of the life of the average citizen was a lot better.”

All eyes will be on the party as soon as the ongoing election petitions against the outcome of the 2023 Presidential Election are dispensed with by the Supreme Court.

The Federal Government, on Thursday, asked the Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC, and the Trade Union Congress, TUC, to shelve their plan to embark on a nationwide indefinite strike action on October 3.

Government maintained that the proposed industrial action by the labour unions would amount to a gross violation of a subsisting court injunction.

It stressed that issues bordering on fuel subsidy removal, which informed the decision of the NLC and the TUC to declare the strike action, are already pending before the National Industrial Court, NIC.

According to FG, it was due to the willingness of the unions to enter into a negotiation over the issue that it was persuaded to withdraw a contempt proceeding that it initially instituted against them.

Therefore, the government, through the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), wrote to the head of the legal team of the two unions, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), urging him to persuade his clients to abort the planned strike action.

The letter, dated September 26, a copy of which Vanguard obtained, read: “The attention of the Ministry has been drawn to media reports on the proposed nationwide strike action by the Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC, and Trade Union Congress, TUC, scheduled to commence on 3rd October 2023.

“You are kindly invited to recall the antecedence of previous steps/actions on this matter, particularly the exchange of correspondence between this office and your firm, before and after the nationwide ‘action/protest’ declared by the NLC on 2nd August 2023.

“Whilst your clients had maintained that the nationwide protest by NLC is in furtherance of its constitutional right to embark on protests, the Ministry has repeatedly advised on the need to advise your clients to refrain from resorting to self-help and taking actions capable of undermining subsisting orders of a court of competent jurisdiction.

“It is also to be recalled that based on the conduct of the said nationwide action/protest, this Office instituted contempt proceedings against the labour leaders.

“However, upon the intervention of the President and National Assembly, coupled with the decision of the labour unions to discontinue their action/protest, the contempt proceedings were not prosecuted further.

“This was advisedly done to enable the government and labour union engage in further negotiations without any form of encumbrances.

“However, in its Communique issued at the end of its National Executive Council meeting on 31st August 2023, NLC resolved to embark on a total and indefinite shutdown of the nation within 14 working days or 21 days from 31st August 2023.

“Also on 26th September 2023, the Presidents of NLC and TUC, jointly issued a communiqué stating that organised labour had resolved, ‘to embark on an indefinite and total shutdown of the nation beginning on zero hours Tuesday, the 3rd day of October, 2023.’

“From a review of the contents of the above communiques and available media reports, the proposed strike action is premised principally in furtherance of issues connected with the removal of fuel subsidy, hike in fuel price and consequential matters of making provisions for palliatives and workers welfare.

“These are undoubtedly issues that have been submitted to the National Industrial Court for adjudication.

“Therefore, the proposed strike action is in clear violation of the pending interim injunctive order granted on 5th June 2023 restraining both Nigeria Labour Congress and Trade Union Congress from embarking on any industrial action/or strike of any nature, pending the hearing and determination of the pending Motion on Notice.

“We wish to reiterate that a court order, regardless of the opinion of any party on it, remains binding and enforceable until set aside.

“It is the expectation of the public that the labour unions would lead in obedience and observance of court orders and not in its breach.”

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chief of Staff to the President, National Security Adviser, Inspector-General of Police and the Director-General, State Security Services, DSS, were copied.

Recall that the labour unions had vowed to enforce an indefinite nationwide strike action from October 3, following Federal Government’s failure to address the economic hardship that Nigerians are currently facing owing to its unplanned removal of fuel subsidy.

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Festus Osifo, President of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), has said that the union is tired of the promises by the Ministry of Labour to implement the union’s demands soon.

TUC’s demands included wage awards for civil servants to cushion the hardship occasioned by fuel subsidy removal, tax exemption for some categories of workers, as well as setting up structures for the effective implementation of the palliatives from the federal government.

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Simon Lalong, had previously assured Nigerian workers that the government would soon conclude the issue of wage award.

The minister also appealed to the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) not to embark on its planned indefinite strike, and allow government resolve all pending issues.


But in an interview on Channels TV on Tuesday, Osifo said the union now wanted concrete actions.


He said, “In the last meeting we had with the Ministry of Labour, they told us the same thing that the president was out of the country and when he comes back they believe that he will make the pronouncement.

“But I saw it this morning that he said the pronouncement will come soon but again we are really tired of soon, we want a definite pronouncement, we want definite solution to this lingering issues.

“At the end of the day, we have been hearing dates, we have been hearing it will come today, tomorrow or next tomorrow, we are relatively tired of promises, all we want is action.


“Nigerians are tired of lot of meetings, lots of promises, what we want is concrete action, so we are tired of promises and promises.”

The legal teams of President Bola Tinubu and the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, will resume a legal battle over the President’s Chicago academic records in a United States court on Monday.

A US District Judge, Nancy Maldonado, had on Thursday agreed to stay an order directing Chicago State University to make Tinubu’s academic document available to Atiku’s legal team.

The hearing came up late Thursday night after the President’s lawyers filed an emergency motion seeking a delay in the implementation of the self-effectuating order directing the CSU to comply with Atiku’s subpoenas till Monday.

Atiku is currently challenging the victory of the former Lagos State governor at the 2023 presidential poll and his recent affirmation by an election petition court in Nigeria.

Earlier, a magistrate, Jeffrey Gilbert, had on Tuesday ordered Tinubu’s alma mater to provide all relevant and non-privileged documents to the applicant, Atiku, within two days.

Documents sought by the PDP candidate, through his counsel, Angela Liu, include the record of admission and acceptance at the university, dates of attendance including degrees, awards, and honours attained by the former governor of Lagos State at the university, among others.

But as the deadline given by Gilbert drew nearer on Thursday, Tinubu’s lawyers approached Maldonado, arguing that the earlier decision by Gilbert needed to be reviewed by a district judge.

The request for a review and delay of the order till Monday was granted by the US district judge.

In the emergency hearing, Maldonado disclosed that mindful of legal deadlines in Nigeria, she would rule on the matter as quickly as possible.

“I will have a busy weekend. The issue is of process and rules. I’m a rule person. That’s why I’m a judge. This case is quite involved. I am aware of the stakes. It’s more important to me to get this right,” she said.

No hiding place

Ahead of the resumption of the case on Monday, however, Atiku’s media adviser, Paul Ibe, told Saturday PUNCH on Friday that the President should not be hiding anything and that the camp would wait for the court process while whatever is being hidden will be unfolded.

Ibe said “What is in that file if it is released that would bring harm that is irreparable to him (Tinubu)? It has become important for Bola Tinubu to let Nigerians know what he is hiding in his academic record at Chicago University.

“We cannot mortgage the destiny of over 200 million people for the interest of one individual. He is bringing embarrassment to Nigeria, it is shameful and it is a tragedy to have something as simple as releasing your records to be subject to public scrutiny.

“Nigerians should begin to take an interest in this matter. Nigerians should be asking questions about what is going on. Why should the President of Nigeria not be a product of due process, transparency and accountability? It has never reached this low and it is unfortunate. We will get him.

“We will await the court process, they can only stall but finally whatever it is that is being hidden will be released.”

Tinubu’s camp ready

When Saturday PUNCH contacted the Coordinator of Tinubu Presidential Legal Team, Babatunde Ogala, on the team’s preparation ahead of Monday, he said the team members were ready for Atiku’s next move.

He said whatever may be the former vice president’s next plan, members of the President’s team were also not sleeping.

Ogala, who is currently in the US as part of the legal team said, “We submitted our application and the order has been suspended. We are starting all over again.

“If they like, let them do a Plan C. We are not sleeping either. We will meet them there.

“Instead of recommending to the judge, the magistrate was ruling which he has no power to do. We told the judge and he agreed. So the whole process of what he has done was set aside.”

The Senior Advocate of Nigeria, however, did not speak on whether the President is hiding something from Nigerians and the nature of the “non-privileged” details contained in the academic record in the custody of his alma mater when he was asked.

“There is nothing new to say beyond what you have. We will wait till next week,” he said.

Efforts made to reach the PDP legal team and spokesman for the opposition party, Debo Ologunagba, were unsuccessful as of press time.

NNPP intervenes

Meanwhile, the New Nigeria Peoples Party has called on the President to assent to the release of his academic credentials to douse the growing tension and suspicion of his critics.

The party’s new National Publicity Secretary, Yakubu Shemdam, in an interview with Saturday PUNCH, said if the situation was allowed to get out of hand, it might distract even the President.

Shemdam said, “As a party, we have been following the drama. But, of course, we are not part of the people who filed an application to demand his records from Chicago University.

“But we think that if he has nothing to hide, definitely he should do the needful by allowing the people who requested those records to have access to them, especially now that the US judiciary is already involved in the matter.

“The earlier they do this, the better so that the President can continue to focus on the developmental plans he has for Nigerians. This is because what is happening now is causing a lot of distraction in the country. Many people are beginning to agitate and question the motion being filed to stop the release of the documents. There is a saying that a clear conscience fears no accusation.”

Obi’s team speaks

In a related development, the campaign team of the Labour Party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, said the President needed to present his academic records to prove his critics wrong.

In an interview with one of our correspondents, the Chief Spokesman of Obi-Datti Presidential Campaign Council, Yunusa Tanko, said Tinubu’s excuse for holding on to the result was unacceptable.

Tanko said “Can you imagine the President stating in the motion he filed that releasing the result could cause him irreparable harm? You begin to wonder what was that supposed to mean. It is very sad.

“If I am a graduate of Ahmadu Bello University who has my records intact and I know they are clean, why do I have to stop the university from releasing my result? It will assist me if ABU quickly issues it so that I can get out of this particular accusation. What this simply means is that the President has something to hide. The learned judge that they are attempting to blame acted according to his power.

“What the Chicago State University said was that it can only act on an order from the court to release the result. Why is the President not interested in having it published if truly he attended that particular school? This will further make the people more inquisitive to find out exactly what that result contains. If there is nothing to hide, they should publish it so that everybody can go and rest.”

Atiku and his Labour Party counterpart, Peter Obi, had challenged Tinubu’s electoral victory at the Supreme Court following the judgment of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal which upheld the President’s mandate on September 6.

Atiku approached the US court for an order compelling the CSU to release Tinubu’s academic record, questioning alleged gaps in the President’s academic history.

Tinubu’s credentials indicated that he graduated from CSU in 1979 with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Accounting and Management, but there have been allegations of discrepancies with his academic record.

But justifying his decision to obtain the President’s record, Atiku said unless a clarification was made, it would be difficult for Nigerians to understand the academic journey of the former Lagos State governor.

In response to an order by the court that he should make a formal filing on why his records should not be released, Tinubu claimed a clerical error was responsible for the discrepancies on the certificate issued to him by the university.

According to filings by Tinubu’s lawyers, Oluwole Afolabi and Christopher Carmichael, an unidentified clerk of the university made the error about the date the school stated on his recently-issued certificate, thereby creating “the appearance of differences.”

Regardless of his opposition to Atiku’s application, Magistrate Gilbert ordered the CSU to release all relevant academic records of the President to his political opponent.

President Bola Tinubu has joined Nigerians, academia, and the scientific community in congratulating Professor Hippolite Amadi for being awarded the 2023 edition of The Nigeria Prize for Science.


DAILY POST recalls that the Advisory Board of The Nigeria Prize for Science on Thursday announced Prof Amadi’s novel scientific work on respiratory technologies for preserving the lives of newborn babies as the winner of the 2023 edition of the prize.

His winning invention comprises a non-invasive neonatal ventilator, an oxygen delivery blender system, and an oxygen splitter system, all powered by solar energy.


Professor Amadi, a distinguished Professor of Medical Technology at Imo State University and a visiting Professor of Medical Engineering and Technology at Imperial College London, was honoured for his groundbreaking respiratory technologies for newborns.

Commending this innovative healthcare solution, President Tinubu expressed delight that the Nigerian scientist’s innovation has already reduced neonatal care costs significantly and saved lives in verified hospitals that have adopted the use of the solar-powered neonatal ventilator.

The President commended Professor Amadi for leveraging his extensive background in medical engineering and technology, with a special focus on affordable medical systems, for the betterment, progress, and benefit of Nigerians and humanity in general.


The President also extended his gratitude to Nigeria LNG Limited for awarding Prof Amadi the $100,000 prize for pioneering the neonatal care innovation.

He stressed that this gesture aligns with the Nigerian government’s commitment to collaborate with the private sector and academia to achieve more success in critical sectors of Nigeria’s economy, including healthcare, education, technology, and innovation.

THE feud between Governor Godwin Obaseki and his deputy, Philip Shaibu has continued as the office he vacated has been allocated as the Secretariat of the yearly Alaghodaro summit.

A source in the deputy governor’s office said Obaseki, in a leaked memo, asked the Secretary to the State Government, Osarodion Ogie, to allocate the office building of the Deputy Governor to the Trustees of the Alaghodaro Summit as their Secretariat.


It was gathered that the Chairman, through the Secretary, had written to the Governor for a permanent secretariat building to aid planning and logistics for the 2023 Alaghodaro Summit.

The said according to the leaked memo, the office space closest to the venue of the summit is that formerly occupied by Shaibu, and should be allocated to the Board of Trustees of the Alaghodaro Summit.

According to a Government House source, who works with the Trustees, the Summit which will take place in the second week of November this year, will attract potential investors from different parts of Nigeria.

The source further hinted the importance of the trustees having their Secretariat close to the venue of the Summit.

The leaked memo is dated the 18th of September 2023. The allocation, in the words of Governor Obaseki, is to take immediate effect.

ABUJA- THE National Working Committee, NWC of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP has described as laughable and nothing, but a pure miscarriage of justice, the ruling of the Kano State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal which upturned Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf’s victory and declared the candidate of the All Progressive Congress, APC, Nasiru Gawuna as the winner of the March 18th, 2023 governorship election in the state.


Reacting to the ruling yesterday, the NNPP Acting National Chairman, Abba Kawu Ali in a statement who vowed that the party will appeal the judgment, said, “New Nigeria People’s Party NNPP receives with utter inredulity and disbelief the judgment of the Kano State Election Petition Tribunal on the March 18, 2023, Governorship election.

“The reported judgment nullified the free, credible and globally acclaimed fair election of our Governorship Candidate, Engr Abba Kabir Yusuf and brazenly awarded the election to the APC Candidate, Nasiru Gawuna.

“The Tribunal arrived at this unjust judgment by unfairly subtracting 165,663 votes from the Governor’s tally in order to enable it unfairty award the election result to the Candidate of the ruling APC.

“In doing so, the Tribunal obviously affirms its belief that the vote tally of the APC Candidate was sacrosanct.

“The judgment of the 3-man Kano State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal is laughable and nothing but a pure miscarriage of justice.

“The decision of the TRIBUNAL is a slap on the face of Constitutionalism and rule of law and is capable of further discouraging the electorate from having confidence in the judiciary.

“The NNPP recalls with regret that this Tribunal has simply replayed the unholy script of 2019 by overturning the will of the people and awarding election results to those who evidently lost the election.


“The NNPP will appeal this most unfair judgment. We call on millions of our supporters in Kano and in the rest of the country to remain calm and maintain the peace.

“This lopsided judgment cannot stand on the altar of natural justice.”