Author: Naija Daily News

Oshiomhole: Stick with Obaseki, ‘Intelligent’ Ighodalo Barely 48 hours after the All Progressive Party won the Edo State governorship election, members of the ruling PDP in the state and associates of outgoing Governor Godwin Obaseki, are scheming to dump the party. Sources said some of the embattled governor’s associates and allies have reached out to Senator Adams Oshiomhole, a former governor of the state and de facto leader of the APC in the state to negotiate a soft-landing into the party. It would be recalled that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), on Sunday, declared Senator Monday Okpebholo of the…

By Deborah Nnamdi, Port Harcourt Kachalla Tukur Sharme, Kaduna’s most notorious bandit leader has been killed in a gun battle with another gang in the forest. The state’s commissioner for internal security and home affairs, Samuel Aruwan, who made the revelation in a press statement, said Sharme and other members of his gang were killed in the fratricidal clash with two rival bandit groups. He said the gun battle also gave room for some abducted victims of the two groups to escape from captivity. He also noted that some of the injured criminals are currently seeking medical assistance. This, he…

by Deborah Nnamdi, Port Harcourt Some caretaker committee chairmen loyal to Governor Siminalayi Fubara have openly dumped the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the Action People’s Party (APP) a few days before the October 5 local government elections. The defection follows the alleged hijack of the state PDP structure by Governor Fubara’s predecessor and estranged godfather, Nyesom Wike, the minister of the Federal Capital Territory. Council chairmen and their supporters loyal to Governor Fubara have now joined the APP in their numbers, almost all candidates vying for chairmanship and councillorship positions in the forthcoming election are now running under…

Says Governor Ungrateful, Fought His Helpers The Deputy Governor of Edo State, Mr. Philip Shaibu, has advised his estranged boss, Governor Godwin Obaseki to go back and apologize to the people of the state and everyone he offended as his administration winds down. Shaibu said Obaseki had been demystified and exposed as a political lightweight by the outcome of Saturday’s election, where Obaseki’s handpicked candidate, Mr Asue Ighodalo, lost to the All Progressive Congress candidate, Senator Monday Okpebholo. Shaibu, who fell out with the governor over their political differences, joined forces with the APC and helped perfect the PDP’s defeat…

File Photo of Yahoo Suspects paraded by EFCC The 3 Battalion of the Nigerian Army has arrested a record 123 fraudsters, popularly called Yahoo at an internet fraud training and coaching facility (also known as HK) at a Nigerian Army Estate in Effurun, Delta State. The security operatives stormed the highbrow Nigerian Army Retirement Estate, which is located at Effurun-Sapele expressway in Uvwie Local Government Area of the state, apparently following tipoff from other residents of the exurb estate. It was gathered that a suspected fraudster had chosen the site for his criminal training school, popularly known as HK for…

By Deborah Nnamdi, Port Harcourt The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA says its operatives have intercepted a total of Twenty-Five Million (25,000,000.00) pills of tapentadol and Three Hundred and Fifty Thousand (350,000) bottles of codeine-based syrup worth Fourteen Billion Nine Hundred and Fifty Million Naira (N14,950,000,000.00) at the Tincan port complex in Lagos. Tapentadol is an opioid three times stronger than tramadol. NDLEA Spokesman, Femi Babafemi made this known in a statement issued on Sunday. According to him, the seizures were made on Tuesday, 17th, and Friday, 20th September 2024, from three containers that had been on the watchlist…

By Deborah Nnamdi, Port Harcourt The Okirika Youth Association has issued a seven-day ultimatum to Oando PLC, demanding the settlement of long-overdue land rent for oil wells operating in their community. The youths said oil wells, previously owned by Agip have been operating for the past six years without paying the host community. The failure to pay rent has fuelled growing frustrations among the youth and other community members. The youths, among other grievances, called for the immediate payment of all outstanding land rent, implementation of development projects and environmental remediation, and compensation for the damage caused by oil activities,…

It is Unhealthy that 25% of Citizens Choose next Governor By Oghenekevwe Kofi The Edo State governorship election held last Saturday, September 21, 2024, was characterized by low voter turnout, logistic issues, and heavy rainfall that affected the voting process. Despite having 2,629,025 registered voters, only a fraction of them showed up to cast their votes, with less than 600,000 ballots recorded. This abysmal citizens’ participation reflects a disturbing persistent issue of voter apathy in the state, where many eligible voters stayed at home, monitoring the elections through social media or news channels like Channels TV, AIT, News Central, and…

POLLS 291,667 Votes, PDP’S OKPEBHOLO 247,274 The All Progressive Congress’s Senator Monday Okpebholo, has been declared by INEC as the winner of Saturday’s governorship election of Edo State. The final result showed that Okpebholo polled 291,667 votes against his closest challenger, Asue Ighodalo of the PDP who garnered 247,274 votes. Ikpoba/Okha LGA, which was the last to be declared, was won by the PDP candidate with 26,382 votes to Okpebholo’s 16,338 votes but was unable to overturn the over 50,000 votes deficit from the other 17 LGAs. PDP had demanded that the announcement of a winner be suspended pending the…

By Deborah Nnamdi, Port Harcourt The Presidential Amnesty Program (PAP) said it has made significant strides in Bayelsa, attracting over 150 repentant youths to renounce cultism, drug abuse, and other criminal activities. The initiative, spearheaded by the program’s surveillance team, aims to sensitize and rehabilitate youths across the Niger Delta region. It said the move was one of the ways to combat the rising tide of social vices in Bayelsa, necessitating the campaign against social vices. The event, held in Yenagoa at the weekend, brought together leaders and members of various cult groups and security experts and transformed individuals who…