₦airaland Forum

The Minister of Works, David Umahi, has said that the people of the South-East will declare President Bola Tinubu as their sole presidential candidate in the 2027 general election today.

According to a Sunday statement by the Minister’s spokesperson, Francis Nwaze, Umahi revealed the development on an inspection of ongoing federal road projects across Ebonyi State at the weekend.

The Minister used the occasion to highlight what he described as the unprecedented infrastructure transformation taking place under the administration of President Tinubu.

“South-East are very appreciative of what the President is doing. By Monday, under the leadership of the Governor of Ebonyi State, we will demonstrate this appreciation when we adopt the President as our sole candidate”, Umahi said.

Speaking during the inspection, Umahi showcased several strategic federal projects across the state and the Southeast, explaining that the region remains deeply grateful to President Tinubu for the “tangible evidence of inclusion, fairness and development”.

At the Calabar – Abuja project sites, the Minister explained the strategic importance of a major flyover under construction along the Trans-Saharan Super Highway corridor.

“Let me say that this is the point where the Trans-Saharan Route takes a bend. The essence of this flyover is to resolve the conflict at this point,” he said.

According to him, the Federal Government has already made provision in the 2026 budget to connect the corridor directly to the Ebonyi State capital.

“The road going to the capital city, which is 18km from this point, is included in the 2026 budget, and the Federal Government will undertake the connection to the city centre.”

Umahi stressed that despite funding challenges, work would continue uninterrupted across project sites. “Of course, the contractor has not been paid, but we are creditworthy.

“All contractors being owed will be paid. There should be no stoppage of work because we want to see if we can commission this project by December. The cost is ₦25 billion.”

The Minister described the projects as only a glimpse of what President Tinubu is delivering in the Southeast.

“This is just the beginning. You will see remarkable projects of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the South-East. When we talk about the gains of the South-East under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, some people who do not understand what we are talking about will continue to criticize us.”

He declared that the people of the Southeast have taken notice of the President’s interventions and are prepared to openly express their appreciation.

Umahi was emphatic about the region’s political direction.

“Let it be known that Ebonyi State is not obedient because we want to catch up with the rest of the country, and we will never be obedient. What happened before was an accident of history. It will not repeat itself”, he said.

He declared that the people of the Southeast have taken notice of the President’s interventions and are prepared to openly express their appreciation.

Umahi was emphatic about the region’s political direction.

“Let it be known that Ebonyi State is not obedient because we want to catch up with the rest of the country, and we will never be obedient. What happened before was an accident of history. It will not repeat itself”, he said.

maxiuc:
It is what it is

I just blame Nigerian government

Philistine:
This is bad news for we Yoruba muslims

Emma1Oj:
what's the meaning?

With the World Cup getting into full swing, Al Jazeera offers some tips for fans looking to attend a game in the US.

Los Angeles, California – The United States of America, the land of Donald Trump, baseball, gun violence and endless highways, is now co-host to football’s biggest tournament.

The World Cup is off to a good start for the US, with its team beating Paraguay four to one in Los Angeles on Friday. The result was an electric, hometown celebration, despite the visible clusters of empty seats.

Before kickoff at SoFi Stadium, there were concerns about organisation and logistics, but Friday’s game went largely without incident.

The US, which is organising the tournament with Canada and Mexico, is set to host 78 of the 104 matches in this year’s World Cup.

Here are some observations and tips for fans after the first US-based game in Los Angeles:

Invest in transparent bags: [/b]Any bag bigger than a wallet will not be allowed into the stadium, unless it’s see-through. So if you’re attending a game in the US, keep your purse or backpack at home and buy a clear bag if you must have one.

[b]Get ready for airport-style security: [/b]The process is pretty standard. Empty your pockets, put your see-through bag in the scanner and be ready for further inspection if the security gate beeps.

[b]Food and drink prices are outrageous: $5.25 for a bottle of water… $5.75 for a small bag of crisps… As much as $21.50 for a beer. Expect to pay at least twice the normal price for food and beverages at the stadium

[b]Get the ticket app: [/b]Gatekeepers at the stadium will not accept any alternative to the FIFA app, FWC2026, when it comes to validating tickets. You may be able to add the ticket from the app to your digital wallet before the game, but screenshots and printouts will not do, so make sure your phone is charged.

The traffic is real: Most parts of the US do not have reliable public transport, so driving is the default mode of transportation.Many US host cities are trying to facilitate fans’ arrival to the stadium without the need for a car. For example, Los Angeles has commissioned shuttle buses to bring fans to SoFi Stadium from transport hubs downtown. Still, there was suffocating traffic around the match on Friday. The gridlock remained for several hours after the game.

Plan to arrive early. Also, check local media outlets and the social media pages for the host cities’ municipal governments for the best way to get to the stadium, especially if you don’t want to get stuck in seemingly endless traffic.

Armies of staff and volunteers: [/b]Seeking to head off potential problems, US organisers have flooded the games with extra hands. There were hundreds, if not thousands, of workers and volunteers acting as stewards and assisting the crowd at the opening game in Los Angeles. Don’t be afraid to ask them for directions or help.

[b]Law enforcement agents everywhere: In general, US police are seen as more militarised than those of their Western counterparts. At the World Cup, their presence has been exponentially amplified. There were heavily armed officers from numerous agencies everywhere around the stadium

Don’t be too alarmed if you see a 20-something-year-old with a huge automatic rifle and tactical gear at your next World Cup match. That’s just America

Don’t pet the police dogs: [/b]Speaking of policing, many agents walk around with their sniffer dogs, who may appear cute and harmless, but don’t try to pet them. The officers won’t like it.

[b]Brace for commercial culture: [/b]Take the ongoing trend of the commercialisation of football, and add US capitalism to it. What you get is what’s happening at this World Cup: Everything is sponsored.

Corporations — from soda brands to banks and car manufacturers — have significant presence around the stadium with stations to promote and sell their products.

[b]Don’t expect much around the stadium: Many football stadiums around the world are built in the hearts of their cities. They’re surrounded by restaurants, cultural sites and vibrant communities right outside their gates. That is not the case in the US.

With the abundance of land, dominance of driving culture and the sprawling nature of US cities, many stadiums are relatively far away from city centres and isolated from urban bustle. Depending on where your World Cup match is located, it may not be advisable to count on the stadium area to offer anything other than football

Rebelutionary:
Wait you actually believe Trump will come make elections "transparent" for you and then you made your intention known about a "referendum"...hmm....your opinion though but it is incongruous to expect such of him.

Lol...see you calling him selfish because he "didn't do your wish", like you expect him to just pick his phone and call Tinubu and say make elections transparent or we force a referendum hmm .the world doesn't work that way!

Tell those your co-travellers who were lobbying for that are only chasing the wind!

Shimbo96:
then you are part of Nigeria problem because that is huge amount of money.

blackmantis:
Am I mad? Over 25 million naira to just watch a match.

The Kennedy Center has fully removed President Donald Trump’s name from its building, following a court’s orders to reverse the center’s name change before an extended deadline, Executive Director Matt Floca told a judge in court documents Saturday.

Crews placed a tarp over the signage on Friday, blocking any view of the progress made on the removal of Trump’s name. The tarp was still on the building’s facade on Saturday after Trump’s name was said to have been taken off.

A judge had granted the Kennedy Center’s request for additional time to fully remove Trump’s name from the building, giving the arts center until noon ET Saturday after the organization missed an 11:59 p.m. Friday deadline.

The 12-hour extension came after Justice Department attorneys representing the center said late Friday that while work was ongoing, thunderstorms in the Washington area caused delays.

Workers began removing Trump’s name from an exterior wall of the Kennedy Center early Saturday morning, video from a CNN crew showed.

On Saturday morning, a small crowd had gathered to watch the president’s name come down, some of them stopping to take a photo. One man took a selfie with the tarp-covered building behind him, crossing his fingers.

“I just wanted to see (Trump’s) name gone,” JoAnn Jones told CNN. “When a person wants to put their name on a building that you had nothing to do with, you did no work, you just, you don’t deserve it.”

Crews began assembling scaffolding underneath the exterior signage of the building Friday. Shortly before 2 a.m. Saturday, workers started to drape a covering around the scaffolding, essentially blocking the view of their progress, as people in a crowd that had gathered to witness the removal chanted, “Shame!”

A little after 3 a.m., crews appeared to be removing the letters, video shot through a small opening in the scaffolding covering showed.

On Friday, an appeals court rejected a last-minute effort by the center to freeze the ruling by US District Judge Christopher Cooper that imposed the 11:59 p.m. deadline, arguing more time was needed for court proceedings play out.

The appeals court did not explain its reasoning for its decision in a brief, unsigned ruling. The panel included Judge Gregory Katsas, a Trump appointee; Patricia Millett, an appointee of former President Barack Obama; and Robert Wilkins, also an Obama appointee.

The judges asked for more written legal arguments to be submitted later this month over the center’s bid to pause the lower-court’s ruling that said it must remove Trump’s name from its building, website, promotional materials and other areas. But even as the legal wrangling plays out in coming weeks, the center must take steps to comply with the judge’s directive.

Fifa has defended its attendance figures at South Korea’s opening-day win against the Czech Republic at the World Cup by insisting that some fans “stood in concourses rather than in their assigned seat.”

There were thousands of empty seats, in just the second match of the tournament, to further raise questions surrounding Fifa’s ticket prices for the world spectacle. South Korea defeated Czech Republic 2-1, in a gripping Group A contest in Guadalajara.

But amid controversy surrounding the ticket prices at the World Cup, with Fifa president Gianni Infantino defending the dynamic pricing policy at his press conference on the eve of the tournament, thousands of empty red seats could be seen throughout the contest at the Estadio Akron.

On Friday, a Fifa spokesperson told The Independent in response: “Official attendance figures reflect the number of tickets scanned and spectators present within the stadium footprint, rather than visual assessments of seating occupancy at any given moment during the match. FIFA works closely with stadium authorities and ticketing teams to ensure all published figures are based on verified operational data.

“Please note that, during last night’s match in Guadalajara, several ticketed fans could be seen standing in concourses rather than staying in their assigned seats throughout the match.”

Fifa opted to cut prices for some of its 104 matches in recent weeks, but a reported 180,000 tickets remained listed across Fifa’s official resale portals ahead of the tournament.

The pricing policy has seen the cheapest standard ticket to the final reach a reported $5,785, with some tickets reaching five figures

The issue has clouded the build-up to the tournament, with Fifa even claiming to have received over 500 million booking requests.

Infantino’s defence surrounding the ticket prices centred on his belief that the Fifa World Cup was a bigger event than the NBA Finals, which has seen exorbitant prices for the Knicks v Spurs series.

Politicians in New York and New Jersey have launched a formal investigation after allegations fans were left confused by Fifa over the inflated prices of tickets.

kedeojo:
You didn't say before the so called waiver, how he was trading cement with the loan capital of 500,000 far back in 60s from his grandfather. the VP was just mischievous. Kano mould dangote period. tell your billionaires from your place to invest in electricity, steel and not when dangote enter the market with massive input then we start hearing government made him to generate electricity. the richest igbo man, Arthur eze is busy building hotel at enugu airport.

jaxxy:
Tesla and thousands of companies arround the world got waivers too or else they wont survive in a new or capital intensive industry sector. Its not a strange practice in economicand business development.

MarketDispatch:
Is Emir of Kano saying VP was given Nigerians Lamba?

Guestmale:
You're very correct.The Islamic jihadists are all out to make Nigeria a one religion country.Around 30,000 armed militants and jihadists operate across Nigeria, according to a report by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom. Their mode operandi is like that of Taliban in Afghanistan, staging guerilla warfare with sole aim of taking over the government and install Islamic government and law, but it's DOA they won't succeed.

He said the state government remains willing to engage bandits and kidnappers who genuinely denounce criminal activities, stressing that the state government is willing to facilitate their reintegration.

Governor Dikko Umaru Radda of Katsina State has backed down on his decision not to engage bandits terrorising communities across the state, saying the door of negotiation is open to those willing to embrace peace.


He said the state government remains willing to engage bandits and kidnappers who genuinely denounce criminal activities, stressing that the state government is willing to facilitate their reintegration.

He asked them to abandon violence, embrace dialogue and surrender their weapons in the interest of peace and development.

The governor made the appeal during the official commissioning and handing over of 152 housing units to internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Jibia Local Government Area of the state,on Thursday.

The houses were constructed under the UNDP Northwest Prevention Facility Project under the support of the government of Germany in partnership with the state government.

The governor urged those still involved in criminal activities to turn a new leaf and return to their families and communities, assuring them that government support and opportunities could also be extended to them if they choose the path of peace as they lay down their weapons.

“To our brothers and sisters in the bush and forests, to those who still raise weapons against innocent people, and to those engaged in banditry, kidnapping and violence, hear me clearly today: there is a better path, the doors for dialogue, repentance and reintegration remain open.”

“Lay down your arms and return to your families and communities. The same houses, grants and opportunities being provided here today can be available to you tomorrow. Not through fear or bloodshed, but through peace, good governance and honest labour. Choose your children over your weapons. Choose prosperity over destruction. Choose life,” he said.
Radda reiterated his administration’s commitment to pursuing lawful and practical measures aimed at ending the persistent insecurity confronting many communities across the state.

He said lasting peace remains essential for the state’s development and pledged to continue supporting initiatives that promote stability, rehabilitation and community recovery.