Latest News
FEATURES
Seasoned actor Hanks Anuku has shared thoughts on remarriage, revealing that he’s interested in finding love again but with a non-Nigerian.
Anuku said experience with his ex-wife from Asaba has left him traumatised, making him wary of Nigerian women.
In a recent interview on Nollywood Hardcore, Anuku explained that his previous marriage failed due to compatibility issues.
He emphasised that he’s seeking a deeper connection with someone who shares his values and interests.
Anuku revealed that he finds himself more compatible with Caucasian women with whom he had friendships in the past.
Anuku’s preference for Caucasian women is rooted in his experiences abroad where he had many female friends from that background.
He has a particular fondness for blonde women and in contrast, his past marriage was marred by his ex-wife’s constant demands for money and her jealousy over his acting career.
Anuku, who has been separated for over 10 years, said: “My marriage failed because we were not compatible. It was a wrong marriage. She is not the mother of my kids. But I had a stepdaughter she came with from a previous relationship.
“I have been separated for more than 10 years. I’m not married to anybody yet but I have another lady who has two kids for me. She has a son and daughter for me and they live together with their mother. I’m not married again. I’m not married after separating from my first wife. I don’t want to get married to any Nigerian. Because I went through a lot of psychological trauma and all that. I never expected that I was going to be separated from her. It hurt me. But I had to move on.
“I thought I had a chance to get married again but it never happened. The mother of my kids is not the kind of woman I want to get married to. So, we are just friends. She has two kids for me don’t mean I have to marry her. She is just my friend. I’m doing what I can. I like to be married and be happy in the marriage. I have dated for a couple of years and I know that she wasn’t going to be my wife. I like to be in love with somebody and not just be infatuated. Agape love, the greatest of love is what I want in any woman I’m going to get married to.
“It’s not that I don’t want to get married, I’m just scared of Nigerian women. Overseas, I had Caucasian female friends. If I had to go back, it would be a bit too late now. Maybe, if I go on vacation and I find a friend… I found myself a lot more compatible with Caucasian women. When I was overseas, I never dated any coloured woman. Blonde women are my specs. They never bothered me until I came to Nigeria.
“My ex-wife is a Nigerian woman from Asaba. I was in love with her. We were in school together but she was always demanding money. And she also asked me to stop acting because she was jealous of other women being around me. I told her I couldn’t stop acting.”
[TheNation]
…Intrigues, as dark forces plot to truncate credible polls in 2027
…Why President Tinubu should be concerned about the credibility of polls
…Nigeria’s history of encouraging electoral malfeasance by side-stepping the law
…How dependable institutional memory can deliver effective election management
…The challenge of rebuilding confidence in INEC
Vanguard can authoritatively confirm that there is a plot to compromise the 2027 general election through the instrumentality of appointing a yes-man as a replacement for Professor Mahmood Yakubu, the National Chairman of Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
Yakubu’s tenure ends in November of this year when he will have served two terms.
What Vanguard cannot confirm is when the plot began.
At press time, Vanguard investigations revealed that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is yet to be fully boarded on the plot’s platform.
However, forces pulling the strings from outside Aso Rock Presidential Villa are known friends of the President.
They are also working with powerful Aso Rock insiders.
The arrowhead of this move is a former South-South governor and a member of the class of 1999.
This comes at a time the credibility of the Election Management Body is suffering a massive discount due to the 2023 general elections and the off-season elections it has conducted since then.
One option being pursued for the plot to succeed is the nomination and confirmation of a malleable individual as Yakubu’s successor.
A number of names (withheld by Vanguard) is already being put forward for possible consideration.
Unfortunately, the individuals positioned by the plotters had served as National Commissioners of the Commission, and Resident Electoral Commissioners, RECs, who did not dress themselves in shining armour during their tenure.
In fact, the seemingly plausible consideration for their choice is the extent of their malleability, which would mean an erosion of INEC’s credibility in conducting free, fair, and credible elections.
Nigerians recall with nostalgia how the 2003 and 2007 general elections went, culminating in the public admission by a beneficiary of the 2007 sham presidential election, late President Umar Musa Yar’Adua, that there were flaws in the election that brought him to power.
Flouting constitutional provision
Under a democracy with a written Constitution, unlike the British parliamentary system where the Constitution is unwritten, the power exercisable by any elected or appointed state official like the President must derive from the Constitution; otherwise, it is null and void.
That is why Section 1 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) declares unambiguously: “This Constitution is supreme, and its provisions shall have binding force on all authorities and persons, (including the President) throughout the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
INEC is established under Section 153 of the Constitution.
The mode of appointment of the Chairman and members is provided for under Section 154(1) and (2) of the Constitution only. In exercising his power to appoint the Chairman or members of INEC, the Constitution mandatorily says, “the president shall consult the Council of State”, and such appointment again “shall be subject to confirmation by the Senate.”
The Constitution established INEC as genuinely independent and clearly stated under the Third Schedule, Paragraph 14, that its members “shall be persons of unquestionable integrity” and “shall not be members of a political party.”
Recently, card-carrying members of the ruling political party, the All Progressives Congress, APC, were appointed as Commissioners in INEC. Unfortunately, this practice did not start with the APC.
Avoiding former President Buhari’s blunder
On Tuesday, June 30, 2015, something very curious but strangely indecipherable, happened when President Muhammadu Buhari, who rode on the back of the vigour and determination of Nigerians to engage change, threw INEC into a cesspit of needless controversy, by not appointing a substantive national chairman for INEC until the tenure of the largely reformative Professor Attahiru Jega ended.
Acting in line with statutes and order of seniority, Jega had handed over to Ambassador (Dr.) Ahmed Wali to head and supervise the activities of the commission until a substantive chairman is appointed “in consultation with the Council of State” – as stated by the constitution.
However, within 24 hours, Buhari, who had just been sworn-in, barely 36 hours earlier, overruled Jega and appointed a familial, nay filial relation, Mrs Amina Bala Zakari, as acting head of INEC.
The Head of The Civil Service of The Federation at that time, Barr. Danladi Kifasi, who conveyed the appointment in a letter, said the appointment was with effect from 30th of June, 2015 until the appointment of a substantive chairman.
At that time, both Wali and Zakari were National Commissioners of INEC.
But in terms of seniority, Wali trumped Zakari.
Interestingly, Buhari, who had been declared winner of the presidential election of March 2015 and who ought to have been briefed by his transition team on appointments he needed to make immediately he assumed office, either had no clue about what was happening in INEC or had made up his mind to appoint a family member as INEC chairman.
The furore Buhari’s misstep generated in the country at that time threw INEC under the bus and it took several investigative stories by Vanguard, accompanied by opposition from patriotic activists in the country to stop Buhari from appointing his ‘sister’ as INEC chairman.
It was not until Wednesday, October 21, 2015 — almost four months after — that Buhari appointed Professor Mahmood Yakubu as substantive INEC chairman, after a series of lobbying and counter-lobbying to get a ’suitable replacement’ for Jega.
That ‘suitable replacement’ conducted the two controversial 2019 and 2023 general elections – whereas the former was immersed in a controversy over the presence of a server in INEC, the latter suffered incalculable damage when its much- touted BVAS and IReV platforms were rendered ineffective.
There are five clear months ahead for President Tinubu to seek and appoint a fitting replacement in the mould of a Jega, as was done in Ghana, when Kwadwo Afari-Gyan’s tenure ended, and Madam Jean Mensa was appointed to continue the good works Afari-Gyan started.
Why President Tinubu should be concerned about the credibility of polls
Aso Rock insiders have reliably informed Vanguard that President Tinubu understands the importance of credible polls.
According to a source close to the President, “his declaration that NYSC members should be used to support the conduct of the coming census is not just about saving cost alone but about ensuring credibility of the process. It is the same way he is looking at the appointment of who will succeed Professor Yakubu. He wants a credible process, and he wants to help ensure that Nigerians’ confidence in INEC is not shaken”.
There is a positive history about this.
Nigerians remember President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan because of his legacy of the free, fair, and credible general elections in 2015. That is why he enjoys international recognition as a credible election observer.
Before Jonathan, former head of state General Abdulsalami Abubakar enjoyed plausible international recognition after he handed over to a civilian administration and completed a transition programme that saw a credible election process in 1999.
Owu-born former military and civilian president Mathew Okikiolakan Aremu Olusegun Obasanjo continues to enjoy international acclaim because of his 1979 transition programme, which birthed the Second Republic. This was when African Heads of State were transmuting into civilian presidents.
These speak to global recognition of the critical role credible elections play and the primacy of integrity of the leader under whose watch such elections are conducted or vice versa.
The Nigerian Electoral laws about the best in Africa but require operators with integrity
Like many African countries that subscribe to the New Partnership for Africa’s Development, NEPAD, peer review democratic process and the AU Charter on Democracy and Good Governance, Nigeria has domesticated the same norms and standards and even gone further to extend their utility in the Nigerian context by innovating with processes such as Biometric electronic voters register, the use of electronic transmission of election results from polling units and several other amendments to the electoral rules approved by political actors based on experiential recommendations to improve the integrity of the electoral process.
Yet, despite these innovations, which, in many instances, are well ahead of other electoral legislative frameworks in Africa, operators often falter or are pressured to falter in implementing the framework’s provisions and guidelines.
How dependable institutional memory can deliver effective election management
The Akwa-Ibom and Abia instances demonstrated the important impact of human agency, which contrasted with the Adamawa scenario.
These contrasting scenarios, along with the dogged fashion demonstrated in Akwa Ibom by REC, Mike Igini, in pursuing the prosecution of two university professors for electoral offences and the actions of Professor Nnenna Oti in Abia, refusing to be cowed into announcing a fraudulent result, are stark comparisons to the actions of Adamawa REC, who, against electoral guidelines, decided to announce a fictitious governorship election result.
In the same vein, removing one Chidi Nwafor as Director of ICT negatively impacted the 2023 general elections, particularly the embarrassing malfunctioning of the IREV, the inviolability of which Professor Yakubu had boasted.
Then there is the non-re-appointment of Professor Okechukwu Ibeanu, a National Commissioner in charge of Operations who saved the Anambra elections from manipulation — even from internal sabotage — and represents a blight by not acknowledging and promoting appointees who have demonstrated a high sense of integrity.
Even the late Professors Eme Awa and Humphrey Nwosus’s team of electoral operators still have some living members.
Whereas they may have advanced in age, Professors Adele Jinadu, a former National Commissioner, and Tonnie Iredia, NEC Director of Public Affairs, are still alive and their institutional memory would be invaluable to the Tinubu administration.
The Nigerian electoral process requires a root and branch reform beyond policing election malpractice and fraud, one steeped in appointing and retaining those with a proven track record of diligence and probity.
The appointment of tested and trusted hands will assist in de-escalating the competitiveness of elections, and the process may become more manageable in terms of procedures, including minimising the influence of political actors in determining how election laws are formulated and approved.
Such reforms and several others recommended and widely accepted by citizens as necessary for election integrity should be championed by the Tinubu regime as someone who rose to leadership under a process of resistance to election annulment.
Obtaining the public’s support for such revival will be a significant step towards greater legitimacy, as will appointing credible election managers to steer such reforms to the EMB.
Former Chairman of INEC, Professor Attahiru Jega, who battled forces against the commission, ensured that the 2015 general elections enjoyed credibility while working with some trusted National Commissioners and RECs.
Curiously, some of those with whom Jega delivered the 2015 election were gradually eased out of the system.
More curiously, Vanguard investigations have revealed that the Buhari administration’s deliberate policy is to cease re-appointing some of the most truculent adherents to the rule of law and the electoral guidelines of INEC.
That was why the general elections of 2019 suffered disputations over the issue of the INEC Server, which suddenly became non-existent after being approved, budgeted for, and bought.
This was even after the national chairman had openly boasted that a server would warehouse the results of that year’s elections.
The challenge of rebuilding INEC and the vanishing tribe of Nigerian voters
Apart from 2003, when 39 million Nigerians were said to have trooped out to vote, a figure representing 69.1%, the population of Nigerians who vote at every general election cycle has continued to dwindle (See box). In 1999, 29.8 million people were said to have voted (52.3%); in 2007, 35.4 million voted (57.5%) and the election was considered a rape on free, fair and credible polls; in 2011, 38.2 million voted (53.7%); in 2015, 28.6 million voted (43.7%); in 2019, 27.3 million voted (34.8%); and in 2023, 24 million voted (26.7%).
So, why have the figures been shrinking?
A combination of factors, ranging from voter apathy occasioned by a lack of trust in INEC and the continuing hardship voters face on the day of the election, to logistical issues that appear not to be improving, election day violence that scares voters away, and a growing frustration on the part of voters that their votes do not count, is responsible.
The problem may get worse in 2027 because, for all the promises and assurances given by Professor Yakubu about the inviolability of BVAS and IReV, promises that galvanised millions of Nigerians to show interest in the election, their hopes were dashed once it was discovered that some results were not uploaded.
To avoid this, weaknesses in pre-election matters need to be strengthened; post-election dispute resolution reforms need to be implemented, and BVAS and result transmission need to be strengthened.
If President Tinubu can see to the implementation of some of these recommendations and a few others, he may be building a legacy of probity and integrity.
Victor Umeh, the senator representing Anambra central, has criticised the senate for delaying a motion seeking to immortalise Humphrey Nwosu, the late former chairman of the National Electoral Commission (NEC).
On Wednesday, a move by 15 senators to urge the federal government to immortalise Nwosu was stalled in the upper legislative chamber.
The motion by Enyinnaya Abaribe, senator representing Abia south, sought to honour Nwosu for overseeing the June 12, 1993, presidential election.
The late Moshood Kashimawo Olawale (MKO) Abiola, was widely believed to have won the election, regarded as the most free and fair poll in Nigeria’s history.
June 12 has since been declared a public holiday and named Democracy Day.
However, Opeyemi Bamidele, the majority leader, objected, stating that the motion copies had not been distributed to lawmakers, which is a requirement under senate rules.
Abaribe attempted to push for consideration under “personal explanation,” arguing that senators had the right to be heard.
Bamidele insisted that explanations must follow senate procedures unless an exception was agreed upon and reminded Barau Jibrin, the deputy senate president, who presided over the plenary, that the chamber had moved on.
Jibrin upheld Bamidele’s position, ruling that the senate should proceed with its agenda, and advised Abaribe to reintroduce the motion in the next session.
‘THE MOTION WAS UNDEMOCRATICALLY SHUT DOWN’
Speaking when he appeared on Politics Today, a programme on Channels Television, Umeh described the senate’s action as “very undemocratic”.
“I think it is a question of people not been fair to a man who has done so well and instead of giving him accolades, we want to be uncharitable to him even unto death,” he said.
“This motion came today at the most timely moment because he will be buried on Friday, two days away.
“So, there is no way we cannot talk about his contributions in the parliament; those who have opposing views will say that the man should not be immortalised, those who say that he should be immortalised should say their views.
“Shutting down the motion the way it was done this morning is very undemocratic.”
Umeh said the senate leadership should have permitted lawmakers to discuss the motion, noting that similar matters are debated daily regardless of individual opinions.
He added that delaying the motion was unfair to the late Nwosu, who, he said, dedicated himself entirely to serving Nigeria.
Born on October 2, 1941, Nwosu died on October 24 in a hospital in Virginia, USA.
[TheCable]
For over five decades, 75-year-old Oladimeji Lawal has spent his days pedalling through the Lagos Island area of Lagos State, selling ice cream to generations of schoolchildren and passersby.
With no pension, no retirement plan, and no company benefits, his livelihood has been tied to the wheels of his bicycle, which is his only means of survival.
At 75, while many of his age mates have long retired, Pa Lawal still rises each morning, mounts his ageing bicycle, and navigates the ever-busy streets, hoping to sell enough to get by.
For the septuagenarian, his recognition is largely confined to the streets of Lagos Island, where loyal customers rely on him as their go-to ice cream vendor. But beyond this community, his story seems almost unimaginable to those who have never encountered him.
This was the reality after an X user shared his picture recently with a surprising revelation that he had spent 57 years as an ice cream vendor.
Pa Lawal soon after the post became an internet sensation as netizens reacted in awe while some attested to this, sharing their encounter with him as far back as three decades ago.
Lawal would later bare it all during an audience with our correspondent, who, after frantic efforts to locate him in the community, eventually saw him on Okesuna Street, slightly hunched over his bicycle as he pedalled gently towards the end of the street.
Speaking in a calm voice tinged with nostalgia, Lawal, who is otherwise referred to as Felele and Pandy Joe, said he had sold Ice Cream to three generations of customers in Lagos Island.
“I have sold ice cream to two to three generations of customers. There are students whose parents bought from me when they were young, and now those same parents tell their children that I once carried them in my arms here in Lagos Island,” he said with pride.
On how his journey started on two wheels, he said, “I was born in Ibadan on July 22, 1950. I attended St. Patrick’s School in Abebi, but I only made it to Form 6 before I had to look for a job. That was how I met one Mrs. Babalola, who needed a cycle boy for her ice cream business. This was in 1968. She tested me by giving me a bicycle to ride, and when I rode it perfectly, she gave me the job. I worked on commission.”
One day, while making his rounds on the streets of Ibadan, Lawal had an accident that left him hospitalised for days.
When he recovered, some of his regular customers who visited Ibadan only during holidays advised him to move to Lagos, where the business was more profitable and less stressful.
He said, “When I got to Lagos in 1969 through one Mama Yemisi and her husband here on Lagos Island, they took me to an agent who supplies Ice Cream on Odunlami Street and stood as a guarantor for me. I spent five years there and left after the business no longer operated. So after that, I worked for another company supplying ice creams in Obalende till 1976.”
According to him, selling ice cream back then was lucrative, as he made as much as one pound and ten shillings daily.
Meanwhile, Lawal had no intention of staying long as an ice cream vendor other than to save up and become independent.
“When I moved to Lagos, there were many sales. I saw another job offer that was ready to pay well, but I turned it down. Meanwhile, I also had a plan to save up some money to get a car and go into the transport business, but I got so attached to the work that I never thought of leaving it. Also, the money I was seeing then was sustaining me,” he admitted.
Years passed, and the community evolved, and so did the ice cream business. The profits dwindled and the job became more strenuous.
This was also not without some form of regret for Lawal, as he lamented how it was late before he realised that the work he was so attached to and had sustained him over the decades did not have a retirement benefit.
He said, “ It was very late before I realised that there were no retirement benefits in this job. It happened when one of my customers saw me one day and jokingly asked when I was going to retire from this work. I was over 50 years old then, and that was when the reality hit me. I have been so much into the work that mine is just to get supplies, sell and get my commission. Of course, I replied to him and said there was no retirement on the work and that this was because it was not the company that employed me directly. The agents are the ones engaging us. By this time, the business was not what it used to be.
“Around 1986, the business was no longer as profitable as it used to be. At this point, I was gradually losing interest in the work, but I still stayed because I didn’t see any other job. I once thought of becoming an agent too, but the capital wasn’t commensurate with my earnings and savings. You will have to rent a shop, buy a freezer and other things that are needed to start up as an agent. “
By then, he already had rented an apartment in Maroko, and with careful savings, he bought a half-plot of land which he claimed was his first step toward stability.
The land in Maroko was meant to be his future, his retirement plan. He had saved diligently, buying a tipper of gravel for N90 to start construction. But in 1990, everything changed.
“The then-military administrator, Raji Rasaki, demolished the entire Maroko community. It was a day of anguish. I stood there, watching my land disappear. Back then, people didn’t talk much about Certificates of Occupancy (CofO); we just bought land and built on it. I didn’t know about it, so when the government announced that only those with CofOs would be relocated to a low-cost housing estate, I realized I had lost everything. What I had worked and saved for was gone. There was nothing I could do. Although I thank God I had not started to build on it because that would have taken my life.”
With his dream of having a property to call his own shattered with no safety net. Lawal immediately forgot the idea of retirement and had no choice but to keep pedalling.
“There was no way I could save up since then, because of commitments to the family. I also tried to seek help, but people only promised but didn’t fulfil their promises. I sold ice cream to some prominent people while they were still in school. At one point, some of them, including Princess Oyekan and one Mama Jide, contributed money to buy me a new bicycle when my old one was falling apart. I don’t want to find myself in a situation where I would be begging. So I continued my work and made the necessary provision for my family as much as I could.”
The situation of Lawal had drawn sympathy from people who knew his plight as they reached out to him and offered to help him get some benefits they felt he deserved from the Ice Cream company he works for.
Lawal, who did not oblige to such an offer, said, “I told them not to bother and that nothing was likely to come out of it because I wasn’t employed directly by the company. The only benefit I get from them is the raincoat they give us during the rainy season. And this is after the agents must have requested it from them. And the last time we were given such was about ten years ago. They used to repair our bicycles for us, but not any longer.”
At 74, Pa Lawal still pedals the streets of Lagos Island, though not as vigorously as before. His body isn’t as strong, and he takes breaks more often.
He also hoped for something more, as he desired to have a shop of his own where he would store his supplies as a form of retirement.
“I need money to open a small shop where I can store my own ice creams and soft drinks. That way, I won’t have to ride around so much. I could still move around for about two hours daily, taking products to school, but not for long hours like before. If I don’t ride my bicycle for a day, I feel weak. My body is already used to it.”
In the past five decades, during the good and the bad times, Lawal’s routine remained unchanged.
“I wake up at 8 a.m., get my supplies by 9 a.m., then go around some parts of Lagos Island before heading to schools, where I sell when students close for the day. If I have leftover products, I go around the community to sell them and close by 6 p.m.,” he revealed.
Beyond the trajectory of his work, Lagos Island became more than just a workplace for Pa Lawal—it became home.
“I met my wife here and married her in 1985. She had children for me, but she passed away five years ago. I have another wife in Ibadan. My children are doing their best, but I refuse to be a burden. I tell them not to give me money that will affect their livelihood, because they are also managing.
While he sees some of his agemates who have built wealth and success, he remains grateful for the little he has.
“At least, I am not begging for alms, and for that, I give thanks to God. What I am always mindful of is having a good name, just like Julius Berger. I am content with what I have.”
[Punch]
A businessman, Okorie Sunday, arrested at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, with $578,000 in cash, collapsed in court during his trial on Wednesday.
Okorie is being tried at the Federal High Court in Lagos.
He was called into the dock for the charge to be re-read to him but collapsed just as the court registrar was about to read the counts.
DAILY POST reported that the suspect was on Tuesday arraigned by the the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, at the same court on four counts of alleged money laundering and currency scam.
He pleaded not guilty.
The court later remanded him in custody and subsequently adjourned until Wednesday for his trial.
However, at the resumption of proceedings on Wednesday, his counsel, Uche Okoronkwo, informed the court that his client would like to change his plea from not guilty to guilty.
Okoronkwo asked the court to allow the charge to be read to Okorie again.
Counsel for the EFCC, Chineye Okezie, confirmed to the court that Okorie had indeed decided to plead guilty.
Justice Dipeolu agreed and ordered counts three and four to be withdrawn. He then asked the court registrar to read counts one and two to the defendant.
As the registrar was about to read the counts, he asked the defendant if he understood English. Okorie did not respond but suddenly slumped and collapsed in the dock.
His wife and daughter, who were in the courtroom, started crying.
As of the time of this report, the defendant has been rushed to the hospital while the matter has been stood down.
DAILY POST reported that the Nigerian Customs Service had intercepted the suspect who arrived in Lagos from Johannesburg aboard South African Airways Flight SA60 on March 19, 2025.
At the airport’s currency declaration desk, he declared only $279,000.
However, a routine search uncovered an additional $299,000 hidden in several packages, bringing the total amount to $578,000.
Popular Nigerian disc jockey, Florence Otedola, aka DJ Cuppy, has expressed optimism that the country will one day elect a female President.
She stated that the record recently set by Namibia as the first African country to have both a female President and a female Vice President could serve as a beacon of hope for women in Nigeria.
In a statement on her X handle, Cuppy said, “Namibia just made history.
“Africa’s FIRST country with BOTH a female President AND female Vice President.
“Maybe there’s hope for Nigeria one day after all…”
DAILY POST reported that Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah was recently sworn in as Namibia’s first woman President, after winning elections last year.
The Vice President is another woman: Lucia Witbooi.- making Namibia the first African country to have a female President and a female Vice President.
The Chief Justice of Nigeria CJN, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun on Wednesday took a critical look into the practice of law in the country and lamented the downturn in adherence to ethical principles in the legal profession.
She noted with regrets that strict adherence to ethical principles in the legal profession was not only dwindling but facing serious challenges.
The CJN spoke at the public presentation of the report of the Directions of the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee held at the Body of Benchers Complex in Abuja.
To address the trend, Justice Kekere-Ekun canvassed an urgent need for law practitioners to recommit themselves to the fundamental values of ethics, discipline and professional responsibility.
She said, “It is instructive to note that the Body of Benchers, as the apex institution of the legal profession in Nigeria, is uniquely
positioned to lead the charge in this regard.
“The responsibility of upholding the legal profession’s sanctity rests heavily on its shoulders, and I have no doubt that the
Body will continue to rise to the occasion.
“The enforcement of professional discipline among legal practitioners, through the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC), is a vital function that must be pursued with fairness, transparency, and unwavering resolve.”
The CJN who chaired the inaugural edition of the Body of Benchers annual lecture and the public presentation of the Body of Benchers Law Report, praised the Chairman of the Body of Benchers, Chief Adegboyega Solomon Awomolo, SAN, and the entire members of the Body for their foresight and dedication in initiating the lecture.
She said that the lecture was not only a testament to the progressive evolution of the Body but also a much-needed platform for intellectual engagement, practical discourse and introspective reflections on the role of the Body of Benchers within the legal profession in Nigeria.
According to her, the lecture initiative was conceived as an annual event to serve multiple purposes, including illuminating on the workings of the Body of Benchers, both nationally and internationally, to foster greater understanding of its critical role in legal practice and professional discipline, and providing a forum for robust, critical and well-researched discussions.
The CJN further explained that the lecture will address challenges and future prospects of the Body, evaluating the ethical standards of the legal profession in Nigeria to ensure the highest levels of discipline, integrity, and professional responsibility among lawyers, and presenting a forward-looking agenda for strengthening the legal profession while enhancing public confidence in the judiciary and legal practice.
She pleaded that the initiative be sustained and expanded, noting that it should not only serve as an avenue for reflection and discourse but also as a mechanism for setting clear benchmarks for professional ethics, continuous legal education and justice sector reforms.
This maiden edition of the annual lecture, with the theme ‘Half-A-Century of the Body of Benchers: The Past, The Present, and The Future of Maintaining the Ethics of the
Legal Profession in Nigeria’, is to be delivered by a former governor of Lagos State and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, Babatunde Raji Fashola.
Bill To Remove Immunity For Vice President, Governors, And Deputy Governors Passes Second Reading In House Of Representatives
AFOLABI
A bill seeking to strip the Vice President, Governors, and Deputy Governors of immunity from prosecution has successfully passed its second reading in the House of Representatives.
The bill, which aims to amend the Constitution of Nigeria, was debated and voted on during Wednesday’s plenary session.
The proposed legislation is sponsored by a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lawmaker from Rivers state, Solomon Bob.
He said the bill seeks to “promote accountability in public office” by removing the immunity currently granted to the vice-president, governors, and their deputies.
More details later…
‘Serial Presidential Election Contester, I Will Make Sure You Fail Again’ – Wike Tells Atiku
AFOLABI
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has vowed to ensure that the 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, fails in his presidential ambition.
Naija News reports that Atiku addressed his decision not to select Wike as his running mate in the 2023 election, stating that he has no regrets.
In an interview for the television show Untold Stories with Adesuwa Giwa-Osagie, Atiku responded to questions regarding the leadership crisis in the PDP that followed his choice.
Many observers speculated that the decision to overlook Wike, who had led a rebellion within the PDP along with five other governors, contributed to Atiku’s loss in the election. Wike later boasted about working against Atiku and delivering Rivers State for President Bola Tinubu.
When asked if he regretted not picking Wike, Atiku responded firmly: “No, not at all.”
Atiku explained that his decision was rooted in the process followed within the party, recalling the criticism he faced in 2019 for allegedly failing to consult widely when selecting Peter Obi as his running mate.
Reacting through his media aide, Lere Olayinka, Wike said he has no regret that Atiku refused to pick him as his running mate during the build-up to the 2023 presidential election.
He admitted to playing a role in Atiku’s defeat in the 2023 election and vowed to ensure his defeat in future elections.
In the post via ?, Lere wrote, “Two years after making the @OfficialPDPNig lose a presidential election it could have won, @atiku is giving reasons he did not pick @GovWike as his running mate and that he has no regrets.
“Someone should tell our serial presidential election contester that Wike also has no regret for ensuring that he failed in the election and will make sure that he fails again and again.”
A former member of President Bola Tinubu’s campaign council, Adamu Garba, has said unless the President retraces his steps, he may lose the North’s support in the 2027 election.
Naija News reports that the All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain said the Hausa/Fulani community feels alienated by the President.
In an interview with AIT on Wednesday, Garba stated that President Tinubu failed to carry along politicians who helped him win the 2023 election.
He stressed that the opposition parties were already capitalizing on the President’s lapses to rally Northerners against the President.
On the way forward, Garba advised the President to use the remaining two years of his administration to recalibrate his political moves.
He emphasized that Northern politicians with the President may leave him by 2027 if he did not work hard on his political choices.
His words: “I think he has lost his diplomacy and also lost his reach, and a kind of politics of inclusivity with so many people of the Northwest and the Northeast, especially to be very candid with you, the Hausa/Fulani communities are feeling alienated. So because of this challenge, you will see that so many of the leaders are disenchanted. They were feeling like government came and they were just thrown out of the window.
“Some of them are feeling that they didn’t get their fair share. The people are desperately angry. The problem that we are having in the country, ordinary people don’t have explanation to why they become, in a situation where they find themselves. So this is now… And then you have the opposition saying that because the President is anti-North, and that’s why you are suffering. So that narrative that was sold to the people. And then people are sitting well.
“Meanwhile, the people that the President is supposed to use to carry out his mission and maintain this political base, those political houses that used to maintain this base, we are not anywhere near the power equation. So they are feeling alienated. And that’s why everybody is just watching.
“I think the President needs to recalibrate his political structures in this whole area. And I think he needs to move deeper. And he has to do this reconciliation himself. Otherwise, there are so many people that are close to him, smiling, but I’m telling you, they don’t want to lose their base. And if the base say no, if they go back, they’ll betray, because this is politics, and everybody is about to survive. So the best solution is to find a way to extend his diplomatic tentacles and making sure that these people are feeling carried along.
“I am telling you, that’s exactly what will save his political interest. The President needs to take personal active interest in the political permutation of 2027. He has two years, so it’s something that he can 100% retrieve, but he really has to recalibrate his strategy going into 2027.”
More...
The National Chairman of the Action Democratic Party (ADP), Yabagi Sani, has expressed that some northerners are angry with President Bola Tinubu over the “unprecedented poverty” experienced in the region since he assumed office.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Political Paradigm programme on Tuesday, Sani stated that the anger directed at the president is now being transferred to his son, Seyi Tinubu, particularly in light of the latter’s recent philanthropic activities in the North.
When questioned about Seyi Tinubu’s recent trip to the North, where he distributed food during Ramadan, Sani said the backlash against Seyi’s gesture stemmed from the worsening poverty in the region, which many northerners blame on the president.
He said, “Well, you see, the issue is that it’s always difficult to separate, you know, the person from the office. What am I trying to say? Is that president Bola Tinubu as a person today cannot be separated from the office of the president, isn’t it? And I don’t think there’s anything wrong with any member of his family that can contribute to the development of democracy and to making the situation better for the people. You know, they should be denied the opportunity of doing that because I mean blood is thicker than water.
“I mean, it’s the fact that this is in the case of Seyi, like you are saying. It’s my father. So if he succeeds, I have succeeded. If he fails, I have failed. You know, it goes on for everybody. So, but the, I think what people are complaining about is the fact that you have chosen a particular region. You know, and then again you contribute to making that region poorer than it used to be. Because today, the poverty level in the North is is unprecedented. We have never had anybody has ever seen anything like that.”
Sani further explained that while no one should stop members of the president’s family from contributing to national development, the current economic situation in the North has fueled frustration, and some people see Seyi’s philanthropic actions as an extension of the perceived failure of his father’s administration.
He said, “No, the president could be somebody from the North, Southeast, Southwest, or wherever he may be from. The point I’m making is that whoever is in charge is responsible for whatever is happening to the country, especially when you talk about the the the the lot of the people, how the the welfare people have been have been eroded, you know, in the manner that it has been eroded here today. So it is the anger of the North against the horrendous, you know, situations they have found themselves that is now being extended to Seyi. It’s not because Seyi is helping his father because nobody can stop, you know, even there’s no country where you don’t find families coming together to help their own. “
Sani did not criticize Seyi Tinubu for his actions but called for more diplomacy in how they are carried out. “It’s a natural thing for families to come together to help their own. I don’t blame Seyi for what he’s doing,” he said.
However, he pointed out that certain actions, such as singing and dancing during the Ramadan Iftar, were “anti-Islam” and should be avoided.
“What is wrong with Iftar is when you start singing and dancing and engaging in activities that are not in line with the teachings of Islam,” he remarked.
Former Minister of Education, Oby Ezekwesili, has defended her clash with the senator representing Ebonyi North Senatorial District, Onyekachi Nwaebonyi, at a Senate Committee hearing on Tuesday.
Speaking during an appearance on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme on Wednesday, Ezekwesili stated that she is pleased with her verbal engagement with the Imo lawmaker, saying that the clash has exposed what women face in a patriarchal society.
She said, “I was very pleased with what happened yesterday because now it is in the public domain what women endure in many instances, and the rest of society may know a little about it but has not focused on it. It has now come to the top of our public agenda that we should not allow for a society that shuts down voices.”
The clash occurred during a Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions hearing on a fresh petition submitted by Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan against Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
Ezekwesili was present at the hearing alongside Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi, counsel to Akpoti-Uduaghan, and the chief petitioner from Kogi Central, Zubairu Yakubu.
Trouble started when the petitioner urged the Chairman of the Committee, Neda Imasuen, to step down in the case following the ‘controversial’ manner in which he had so far handled the alleged sexual harassment allegation against Akpabio.
He further alleged that some committee members had pre-existing ties to Akpabio, which he said compromised their ability to be neutral.
His remarks angered some lawmakers, who accused him of attempting to undermine the committee’s credibility.
Ezekwesili also came under fire for what they saw as her insistence on forcing herself into the proceedings.
However, Ezekwesili insisted on being heard out.
She said, “I asked to be put on oath as a witness. I am a citizen of Nigeria.”
This led to a heated argument with Nwaebonyi, who lashed out at her, saying, “You’re a fool. What do you mean? Why are you talking to me like that? I will not take it. You’re an insult to womanhood. People like you cannot be here.”
Ezekwesili called him a “hooligan,” further escalating the altercation.
The verbal battle momentarily disrupted the hearing before order was restored.
During the proceedings, tensions flared when Nwaebonyi was heard hurling derogatory remarks at Ezekwesili, referring to her as an “insult to womanhood” and a “hooligan.”
The Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Minister, Nyesom Wike, on Wednesday declared that he would ensure that former Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, fails in his push for the presidency.
Speaking through his media aide, Lere Olayinka, Wike said he has no regret that Atiku refused to pick him as his running mate during the build-up to the 2023 presidential election.
In an interview with Adesina Giwa-Osagie, Atiku said he had “no regrets” for ignoring Wike as his running mate in the 2023 presidential election.
DAILY POST recalls that the rift between Atiku and Wike dates back to the controversial PDP primaries of 2022.
Wike had expected to be compensated with the vice-presidential slot, but Atiku picked former Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa.
Addressing why he chose Okowa over Wike, Atiku stated that he deliberately left the decision to the PDP.
“They said I did not consult widely in 2019 when I picked Peter Obi as my running mate, so in 2023, I told the party to set up a committee to recommend three names,” Atiku said.
Atiku said the committee ranked Okowa as the top choice, with Wike in second place and former Akwa Ibom Governor Udom Emmanuel in third.
“So I picked number one,” he said.
Responding, Olayinka said Wike has no regret over losing the slot to Okowa.
Posting on X, Olayinka wrote: “Two years after making the @OfficialPDPNig lose a presidential election it could have won, @atiku is giving reasons he did not pick @GovWike as his running mate and that he has no regrets.
“Someone should tell our serial presidential election contester that Wike also has no regret for ensuring that he failed in the election and will make sure that he fails again and again.”
[DailyPost]
Former Minister of Education, Oby Ezekwesili, has defended her clash with the senator representing Ebonyi North Senatorial District, Onyekachi Nwaebonyi, at a Senate Committee hearing on Tuesday.
Speaking during an appearance on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme on Wednesday, Ezekwesili stated that she is pleased with her verbal engagement with the Imo lawmaker, saying that the clash has exposed what women face in a patriarchal society.
She said, “I was very pleased with what happened yesterday because now it is in the public domain what women endure in many instances, and the rest of society may know a little about it but has not focused on it. It has now come to the top of our public agenda that we should not allow for a society that shuts down voices.”
The clash occurred during a Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions hearing on a fresh petition submitted by Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan against Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
Ezekwesili was present at the hearing alongside Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi, counsel to Akpoti-Uduaghan, and the chief petitioner from Kogi Central, Zubairu Yakubu.
Trouble started when the petitioner urged the Chairman of the Committee, Neda Imasuen, to step down in the case following the ‘controversial’ manner in which he had so far handled the alleged sexual harassment allegation against Akpabio.
He further alleged that some committee members had pre-existing ties to Akpabio, which he said compromised their ability to be neutral.
His remarks angered some lawmakers, who accused him of attempting to undermine the committee’s credibility.
Ezekwesili also came under fire for what they saw as her insistence on forcing herself into the proceedings.
However, Ezekwesili insisted on being heard out.
She said, “I asked to be put on oath as a witness. I am a citizen of Nigeria.”
This led to a heated argument with Nwaebonyi, who lashed out at her, saying, “You’re a fool. What do you mean? Why are you talking to me like that? I will not take it. You’re an insult to womanhood. People like you cannot be here.”
Ezekwesili called him a “hooligan,” further escalating the altercation.
The verbal battle momentarily disrupted the hearing before order was restored.
During the proceedings, tensions flared when Nwaebonyi was heard hurling derogatory remarks at Ezekwesili, referring to her as an “insult to womanhood” and a “hooligan.”
[Punch]