MICHAEL EHINDERO's BLOG

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared APC's Biodun Oyebanji the winner of the 2022 Ekiti state governorship election. According to the electoral body, Oyebanji polled a total of 187,057 votes to defeat his two closest challengers, Segun Oni of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) who polled a total of 82 211 and Bisi Kolawole of the People’s Democratic Party who polled a total of 67,457 votes. Out of the 360,753 votes cast, the total valid votes in the election were 351,865. Oyebanji is now set to replace incumbent governor, Kayode Fayemi in October.

Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, has emerged as the running mate to the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar. Mr. Okowa’s nomination was announced and confirmed by Atiku himself on Thursday at an unveiling event of his running mate held in Abuja. Following the announcement, Okowa will thereafter be screened by a committee already setup for that purpose. Recall that Wike, who has been the foreman in the radar of the PDP heavyweights was speculated to be selected as the vice presidential candidate of the main opposition party, was rumoured to have been selected as Atiku’s running mate. Read Also : PDP panel approves Rivers State Gov. Wike as Atiku's running mate

The National Advisory Committee, an ad-hoc panel set up by the Peoples Democratic Party PDP to recommend a suitable running mate for its Presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has recommended Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike as running mate. According to the Nation, the verdict was reached on Tuesday June 14. Wike was picked following a voice vote. He polled 16 votes out of 20. Three other governors, Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta state, Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu state were dropped for the Rivers governor.

Former Lagos State Governor, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, took a major step toward his ambition of becoming Nigeria’s President by winning the All Progressives Congress’ presidential primary at a special convention held in Eagle Square, Abuja. He won the election by beating the likes of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, and the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan. More than 2,300 delegates voted in the contest that produced Tinubu as the presidential flagbearer of the ruling party. He is now scheduled to face the Peoples Democratic Party’s Atiku Abubakar and others in the February 25 presidential ballot.

Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi has warned the All Progressives Congress, APC, that excluding his name on the ballot in today’s convention to elect the party’s presidential flag bearer for the 2023 election will be a recipe for trouble. Governor Bello, who is one of the 23 aspirants cleared to contest for the party, ‘s presidential ticket in the 2023 election, said there is a conspiracy against him, accusing the APC northern governors and some elite of gang-up. Describing himself as a leading aspirant that would win overwhelmingly if the process is transparent and credible, Bello said the only thing that could make him not contest the presidential primary is only if President Muhammadu Buhari tells him to step down. Speaking to State House correspondents after meeting behind closed doors with the President, Bello said that the APC will retain power at the center if only it plays by the rules. ...

An All Progressives Congress, APC, presidential aspirant, Bola Tinubu has urged a fellow aspirant, Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State to support his ambition. Tinubu said he is Ayade’s “senior brother,” hence the Governor should respect and support his Presidential ambition. He made the appeal during his visit to Ayade in Calabar yesterday, June 02, 2022, and was contained in a statement by Bayo Onanuga, the Director of Media and Communication of the Tinubu Campaign Organisation, NAN reports. The APC National Leader urged Ayade to endorse him during the party’s upcoming convention in Abuja. “Mine is to respect you as you respect me. I appeal to you as your senior brother and the first to declare his intention, not to endorse me today, but when you get to Abuja, you can endorse me fully. . “ We must have that unity of purpose. We must work together not only for the unity and economic development o...

Former Governor of Lagos state and national leader of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu has said that he won't retire from politics until he becomes President of Nigeria. The Presidential Aspirant said this while addressing delegates and party members in Makurdi, Benue State capital. Tinubu who admitted that he is 'of age,' also promised to turn around the fortune of the country where corruption will be tackled on all fronts and also ensure peaceful coexistence of Nigerians.   He said;    “ We are of age; we can retire soon but I am not going to retire until I become President. “I will govern with all my strength, we will work with you to reverse trend of corruption, there are elements of division but our commitment to Nigeria is for peaceful coexistence to build up and demonstrate unity and live together in peace and harmony. ” 

On Wednesday , reports surfaced that former President Goodluck Jonathan had joined the All Progressives Congress (APC).  Jonathan contested the presidency on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2015 and lost to President Muhammadu Buhari, who is currently in his second term in office.  The former president has, however, been rumoured to be interested in contesting the presidency in the 2023 polls.  Former President Goodluck Jonathan has reportedly joined the All Progressives Congress (APC). According to a report by the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, the former President picked up the ruling party's membership card at his ward in Otueke, Bayelsa state.   “A dependable source in Jonathan’s camp” said the former president had registered with the APC at his ward in Otuoke, Bayelsa state.''the report stated  The source also claimed that Jonathan is expected to...

Ondo State Governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, has called on the Leadership of the All Progressive Congress (APC) to zone the presidential position to the Southern Part of the country. Akeredolu made call in a statement, tagged “Our Party, APC, Must Tread The Path Of Equity”, which was made available to newsmen on Tuesday in Akure. According to him, “Our party just elected officers on the established principle of giving every part of the country an important stake in the political calculus.” He explained that the focus has now shifted to the process which would culminate in the participation of the party in the general elections in 2023. “All lovers of peace and freedom must do everything to eschew tendencies which may predispose them to taking decisions which promote distrust and lead to a crisis, the end of which nobody may be able to predict. “The leadership of the party ensured that the principle of rotational ...

Maldives former President  Abdulla Yameen  was found guilty of money laundering and sentenced to five years in prison with a fine of 5 million U.S. dollars.     The Maldives Criminal Court Judge Ali Rasheed, who headed a panel of five judges trying the case, told court it had been established beyond any reasonable doubt that Yameen had taken money that he knew was embezzled from the state.     Yameen has been accused of receiving 1 million U.S. dollars of government money through a private company as part of a deal to lease a number of tropical islands for hotel development.   Yameen however has denied all charges. The Prosecutor General’s Office pressed criminal charges against the former president on money laundering after a statement from Maldives Police Service, accusing him of embezzlement and giving false statements to mislead the investigation, local media reports said.     Xinhua reported that supporters of Yameen gathered...

President Muhammadu Buhari has congratulated the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in the November 16 election in Bayelsa State, David Lyon , on his victory. Mr Lyon was declared winner early Monday by the Independent National Electoral Commission. The returning officer, Faraday Orumwese, Vice Chancellor of the University of Benin, announced that Mr Lyon polled 352,552 votes to defeat Duoye Diri of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who polled 143,172 votes. The total number of registered voters was announced as 922,562 and the number of accredited voters was put at 517,883 . Mr Lyon won in six of the eight local government areas in the state. The total number of votes cast was put at 505,884 ; rejected votes were 6,333 ; and number of valid votes were put at 499,511 . The election witnessed violence in parts of the state, according to observers. President Buhari commended APC supporters and other Nigerians in the State who exercised ...

Hakeem Odumosu, former commissioner of police in Edo state, has been posted to the Lagos state police command. Odumosu, a former commander of the Rapid Response Squad in Lagos, is replacing Zubairu Muazu, who has been elevated to the post of an assistant inspector-general of police. Seven states, including Lagos, Ogun and Kano were affected in the latest movement and redeployment of police commissioners. Edgal Imohimi, a former police commissioner of Lagos, is now the head of Ogun state police command; while Akpan Nkereuwen is the new police commissioner in Cross River; Kenneth Ebrimson, commissioner of police in Akwa Ibom, and Lawal Jimeta is in charge of Edo police command. Ahmadu Sani Habu will take charge of Kano as the new commissioner, while Sule Maku Philip is now the new commissioner in Bauchi. In a statement, Mohammed Adamu, the inspector-general of police, charged the newly posted officers to ensure the consolidation and improvement on the gains ...

The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Pantami has ordered the immediate deactivation of automatic voicemails on all existing phone lines and the subscribers. See press statement below.... Dr. Isa Ali Pantami gave the directive yesterday  14th November, to the to the sector regulator Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), to immediately ensure that issues regarding automatic voicemails are addressed on all existing phone lines and the subscribers, given the option of accessing the service via an activation code.

By now you've probably heard about Donald Trump's Hollywood Star that was vandalized in the early hours of Tuesday, November 12th by some angry Americans which obviously is nothing new. So we put together a 13 paragraph timeline detailing all the 13 times his statue has been vandalized. See below. 1. In 2007, Donald Trump was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, joking that it was his favorite piece of real estate. A little less than a decade later, the star would be the source of unending controversy. 2 . Street artist Plastic Jesus erected a miniature border wall around the star on July 20, 2016. 3. Trumps name was crossed out and replaced by graffiti in September 2016. 4. In October 2016, a few weeks after the release of the infamous Access Hollywood tape, in which Trump can be heard bragging about groping women, the star was damaged overnight by a sledgehammer. 5. Even the w...

The Chairman of the National Assembly, Sen. Ahmad Lawan, said that the assembly would ensure the passage of the 2020 Appropriation Bill of N10.33 trillion in December. Lawan who is also the President of the Senate said this at the two-day Joint National Budget Hearing on the 2020 Appropriation Bill in the National Assembly Complex on Wednesday. President Muhammadu Buhari had on Oct. 8, presented the budget proposal to a joint session of the national assembly with a call on the legislators to change the present budget cycle to January-December. “ We have set between the two chambers; and we have resolved that this time around, we must pass this budget before the end of Dec. ”We are hopeful that the budget will be passed before we go on Christmas break by God’s grace. ”And of course, I am glad to say that President Buhari had shown commitment to what the national assembly desires. “This was seen when the government issued a statement asking ministers...