Nigerian Breweries, Access Holdings and MTN Nigeria are stocks to watch out for this week, as the Nigerian bourse resumes for another trading week.
Ripples Nigeria stocks watchlist is a selection of stocks monitored for viable trading or investing opportunities. An investor may casually generate a list of equities for investment purposes. But we have taken the pain to do that based on certain parameters in order to save you that hassle.
Kindly note that Ripples Nigeria Stocks Watchlist is not a buy, sell or hold recommendation. It is advisable to consult your financial advisor before making any investment decision.
Nigerian Breweries
Nigerian Breweries has turned to credit to keep its business running amid a financial downturn in the alcoholic and non-alcoholic company.
The brewer recorded N10.71 billion loss in the first three months of 2023, with Nigerian Breweries’ current liabilities put at N458.18 billion, which is double the firm’s current assets of N186.04 billion, as of March 2023.
Amid this financial burden, Nigerian Breweries approached the capital market to borrow N25 billion by issuing Commercial Paper.
This would further raise the firm’s liabilities, weighing on Nigerian Breweries’ retained earnings and affect investors’ confidence at a period the stock market is distancing itself from the company’s stock, which has resulted in its share fall by -18 per cent – so, investors need to trade with caution this week.
Access Bank
Access Bank Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Access Holdings, Herbert Wigwe, continues to show his confidence in the firm’s growth by acquiring more shares in the financial institution.
Wigwe bought 75 million shares last week Friday at the cost of N843.75 million. The week before, on April 28, he acquired 1.13 billion shares valued at N11.35 billion.
Acquisition or sale of shares by top executives like Wigwe is a signal for other shareholders of a publicly listed company to either buy or sell shares.
So Wigwe’s participation in the stock market could boost investors’ confidence, considering Access Holdings’ share has been on the rise since he first acquired shares in late April.
Access Holdings’ share has appreciated by -10.83 per cent since April 28, indicating equity investors have renewed their interest in the firm.
MTN Nigeria
MTN Nigeria risks losing N1.48 billion to lawsuits, with one of the legal cases being a N200 million judgement debt from a lawsuit filed due to the alleged electrocution of a 12-year-old girl, Hamsatu Abdullahi, in Yobe State.
The company is also facing lawsuits from Benue State Internal Revenue Services and Corporate Communications Ltd.
This will impact the firm’s earnings should it lose the cases, although MTN Nigeria said no material loss is expected to arise from these claims and litigations.
Following the report of the litigation on May 2 by Ripples Nigeria, the firm’s share fell by -0.47 per cent in the stock market and closed the week on the losers’ table.
So, investors need to trade with caution, as the firm will open this week from the losers’ position, and it’s unsure if the loss will spill into this week.
[RipplesNigeria]
The Presidential Election Tribunal will begin hearing of the petitions filed before it by aggrieved opposition parties against the election of the President-elect, Bola Tinubu today, Monday May 8.
Recall that following the declaration of Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress, APC, as winner of the February 25 presidential poll, some candidates who were defeated in the race had approached the court to seek redress, alleging that the election was rigged in favour of the ruling party.
DAILY POST recalls that Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, his Labour Party counterpart, Pete Obi and others had approached the tribunal to upturn Tinubu’s victory on the grounds of substantial non-compliance with the provisions of the Constitution, the Electoral Act and the guidelines of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, for the conduct of the poll.
Atiku, a former vice president, who hinged his petition on five grounds, is asking the court to order the electoral body to conduct a fresh election following alleged irregularities at polling units during the presidential poll.
Atiku and his party are saying that Tinubu was declared the winner of the election when all results and accreditation data from polling units were yet to be transmitted and uploaded by INEC.
Obi, a former Anambra governor is also alleging various irregularities in the conduct of the election, insisting that Tinubu and his running mate, Senator Kashim Shettima, were not qualified to contest.
Obi also said that Tinubu failed to win the majority of lawful votes and was unable to garner one-quarter of votes in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT.
DAILY POST reports that during the pre-hearing session today, the Court is expected to provide a full timetable for hearing the substantive petitions filed against the President-elect at the election tribunal.
Meanwhile, the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo had alleged that some foreign lawyers had been flown into the country to stop Tinubu’s inauguration on May 29.
Also, a chieftain of the ruling party, Femi Fani-Kayode alleged in a tweet that former president, Olusegun Obasanjo contracted foreign lawyers for Peter Obi.
In a jeering tweet, the former Aviation Minister captioned a video, “when Peter heard that the Russian lawyer that OBJ had procured for him to represent him at the Election Petition Tribunal was no longer coming. Poor, tired soul! Pls pray for him”.
However, Dr Yunusa Salisu Tanko, Chief Spokesperson, LP presidential campaign council in the already concluded election told DAILY POST on Sunday that members of Obi’s legal team are all Nigerians.
He said, “As far as I know, the lawyers are all Nigerians, I have not seen any foreign lawyer in the legal team.”
He expressed optimism at the outcome of the process, insisting that the party’s candidate would be making presentations that cannot be faulted.
“From what we are presenting to the court, we are very optimistic that they cannot find fault in our presentation”, he added.
[DailyPost]
Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), has visited Wole Soyinka, the Noble laureate.
Obi, in a post on his official Twitter handle on Sunday, described his visit to Soyinka as enriching, noting that he had a useful discussion with the Nobel laureate.
“Today I visited one of Nigeria’s most revered figures and an international literary icon Prof Wole Soyinka,” Obi said.
“Prof Soyinka has been my father whom I hold in very esteem for what he has achieved and stands for in the struggle for a better Nigeria.
“His reputation as a fighter for justice and equity in our society has been legendary and we will NEVER ignore them.
“I had a very useful and enriching discussion about his aspirations for a better and greater Nigeria, and he shared a lot with me about his dream for a greater, and more inclusive Nigeria.
“I reminded the Nobel laureate of the huge price he paid just before the outbreak of civil war, fighting for the cause of the Igbos
“I cherish this Sunday visit which was intended to erase the needless misconceptions about the relationship between the great icon and the obidient family.”
The development comes days after Soyinka came under criticism on social media by the supporters base of the LP candidate, popularly known as” Obidients”.
Soyinka had in a statement said Obidients wear their refusal to “accept constructive criticism as a badge of honour”, while addressing criticism he received from supporters of the LP.
On April 5, Soyinka faulted the remarks by Datti Baba-Ahmed, vice-presidential candidate of the LP, saying they contained “fascistic language”.
Baba-Ahmed had said the country has no president-elect despite the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announcing Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the election.
The LP vice-presidential candidate said Tinubu would be leading an unconstitutional government if sworn into office because the APC candidate “has not met requirements of the law”.
[TheCable]
The Minority caucus of the incoming 10th House of Representatives made up of seven opposition parties has mocked the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, over its “confusion” on the choice of candidate for the speakership and vowed to exploit the loophole to produce presiding officers of the House.
This is coming as the South-East caucus of the Senate urged the APC and the President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, to allow the zone to produce the Senate President to ensure equity in the 10th Senate.
Currently, there are no fewer than 10 APC members-elect jostling to become the next House of Representatives speaker. Aside from the alleged “confusion” in the APC, the opposition parties have 181 members-elect compared to APC’s 179 and so can, if united, produce the leaders of the House.
Following the conclusion of the elections, the APC won a majority of 179 seats beating the People’s Democratic Party,
PDP, 114 seats; Labour Party, LP, 35; New Nigeria People’s Party, NNPP, 19; All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA,5; Social Democratic Party, SDP, 2; African Democratic Congress, ADC, 2; and Young Progressives Party, YPP, 2.
The caucus also dismissed claims that its members were beginning to drift apart with the 35 members-elect of the LP, which chose Mr. Afam Ogene as its leader, saying they would vote as a block and were still weighing their options on the choice of a candidate.
One of the spokespersons of the Minority Caucus also known as “Greater Majority,” Afam Ogene said in a statement that the fact that over 10 persons were still jostling for the speakership barely five weeks before the inauguration of the new Assembly was an indication that APC’s house was not in order.
There are speculations that the APC and president-elect had endorsed Mr. Tajudeen Abbas representing Zaria federal constituency of Kaduna State for speaker.
However, more APC members-elect have continued to join the race with the latest being the leader of the outgoing House, Mr. Alhassan Doguwa and the chairman, Committee on Navy. Yusuf Gagdi.
Also, the Chairman, Committee on Appropriations, Aliyu Betara, is expected to declare today.
Confusion in APC
Ogene said the opposition will continue to interrogate and interface with the aspirants while keeping their plan under wraps.
“What you see going on (large crowds of members at speakership declaration events) is not anything unusual. In an electioneering season, such as we have currently, members-elect are free to honour invites by friends and colleagues.
“The mere fact that five weeks to the inauguration of the National Assembly, the APC still has over 10 Speakership aspirants speaks volumes about the confusion therein. The Greater Majority will continue to interface and interrogate all members of the 10th House of Representatives even as we keep our own plans close to our chest,” he said.
We’ll vote as a bloc — LP Reps-elect
Indeed, the 35-member Labour Party caucus in the 10th Assembly of the House of Representatives has said they would vote as a bloc for any speakership candidate of their choice during the inauguration of the new Assembly on June 13.
This is because the members-elect elected Ogene as their caucus leader.
Ogene, a ranking member from the 7th Assembly, who was also the deputy chairman, Committee on Media and Public Affairs emerged as the party’s caucus leader with 21 votes, after an election, yesterday, in Abuja.
Although 34 members-elect of the party were present at the voting session, only 31 of them took part in the exercise, with the trio of Oke-Joe Onuakalusi, Obi Aguocha and Prof. Lilian Irogbu abstaining, being persons who conducted exercise.
Speaking after the exercise Messrs George Ozodinobi and Dennis Agbo, who contested the position, lauded the choice of Ogene.
Agbo who described Ogene as a team player and also vast in the politics of the House of Representatives has served as a former deputy spokesman of the House said “With Ogene as our Caucus Leader, Labour Party is sure to hold its own in the 10th Assembly.”
In an acceptance speech soon after, the lawmaker was presented to the party’s Leader and Presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, Peter Obi, and the party’s National Chairman, Julius Abure, where he assured that in all undertakings of the members-elect, the well-being of the Nigerian people would be uppermost.
Ogene said: “May I use this opportunity to reiterate that the Labour Party caucus, House of Representatives, has not endorsed any speakership aspirant. In fact, anyone desirous of our votes on the day of inauguration must first convince us, as a bloc, on what his plans and programmes for the Nigerian people are. While we may have individual preferences, I can assure you that at the end of the day, the Labour Party shall stand as one indivisible entity to take a common and progressive stand.”
Wase, Betara, Jaji, Soli pool 287-member alliance
Meanwhile, a fresh twist appears to have coloured the race for the House of Representatives speakership as four main contenders commenced alliance talks ahead of the June 13, inauguration.
The contenders, Mr. Ahmed Wase (current deputy speaker), Aliyu Betara (Chairman, House Committee on Appropriation), Sada Soli and Sani Jaji, on Saturday night, met at the private residence of one of them in Maitama District and agreed to work together and present a common front.
The meeting of the four lawmakers came 24 hours after reports that Tajudeen Abbas from Kaduna State had been adopted as the preferred choice of the ‘Lagos cabal.’
It was also gathered that a crack emerged in the Lagos State House of Representatives caucus over the purported adoption and endorsement of Abbas as the preferred choice of the president-elect, Tinubu.
A close confidant of Tinubu and secretary of the now dissolved Presidential Campaign Council, James Faleke, was said to have confronted Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila and accused him of ‘misinformation.’
287-member alliance
The four lawmakers, Vanguard gathered, have directed their supporters to attend the declaration of each of them.
Wase has directed his supporters to attend the declaration event of Betara today at the Trans-corp Hilton Hotel, Abuja.
Multiple sources told Vanguard that the combined number of supporters of the four aspirants is 287.
Sources close to the meeting of the four aspirants disclosed that the lawmakers have agreed to present a “formidable common front” just as a joint committee involving their confidants has been set up to harmonise positions and present a workable template within 72 hours.
Presenting a formidable common front
A source at the meeting told Vanguard that “from the onset, we knew what the outgoing speaker was up to but we merely waited for him to unveil his agenda, which he has done now. Interestingly, those of us on this divide do not want to believe the President-elect is part of this charade.
“We know he cannot because he knows too well the implications of such action. It is either he has resolved to use Gbajabiamila to subjugate the North or Gbajabiamila is acting a script without the knowledge of the incoming president.
“Both ways, it means that even the North will not have a say in whatever is zoned to us and that will be the last thing we will accept. How can an outgoing Speaker attempt to impose someone as a stooge and we are all looking?
“We still give Asiwaju the benefit of doubt because he himself is a product of resilience, we all supported him when there was a similar charade shortly before the presidential primaries, when someone attempted to do what Gbaja is doing now.
“For now, we can only say that our 287-man combined supporters is alert and ready to go anywhere the four leaders jointly decide to go. As of now, they have all agreed and indeed directed that their individual support groups should attend the declaration event of any of them.
Save NASS Project
“As a follow up, the four leaders have even set up a all committee to work out details of an agreeable template that will help us bring everything to the table.
“Betara will do his tomorrow (Monday), while another will follow suit on Tuesday and irrespective of who you support, you have to attend the event to show to the world that we are together in this ‘Save NASS Project’.
“In all these we are doing, we respect the President-elect even though some persons are dropping his name.
We are even more convinced that he knows nothing about what Gbajabiamila is doing because James Faleke is as close as anyone to the President-elect.
“If Faleke could openly confront Gbajabiamila in their Lagos Reps caucus meeting that the purported endorsement of Abbas by Tinubu is not correct, then something is wrong somewhere.”
Gbaja, Faleke disagree
It was gathered that at the Lagos caucus meeting hosted by Gbajabiamila, Faleke who is the chairman of the House Committee on Finance disclosed that Tinubu’s real choice for the position of Speaker remained Jaji from Zamfara.
He was equally said to have accused Gbajabiamila of deliberate misinformation to the public on the issue of the speakership, saying that Abbas’ adoption was Gbaja’s “personal agenda and not a decision of the party or Tinubu’s.”
We reject zoning of speakership to N/West-APC N/Central stakeholders
Meanwhile, APC stakeholders in the North-Central have rejected the endorsement of Tajudeen Abbas for the speakership of the House of Representatives for the incoming 10th National Assembly.
The APC leadership reportedly adopted Abass representing Zaria federal constituency of Kaduna State for the office, last Friday.
The party was also reported to have favoured former Akwa Ibom State Governor, Senator Godswill Akpabio for Senate presidency.
At a press briefing in Abuja, yesterday, the stakeholders said the zoning lacked equity, justice and fairness.
The convener, Rev. Dominic Alancha appealed to the president-elect to intervene, warning that the exclusion of other zones may lead to a repeat of 2015 scenario, where former Senate President, Bukola Saraki and House of Representatives Speaker, Yakubu Dogara, emerged against the party’s arrangements.
He said: “We are again compelled to invoke our mandate to address you this morning due to an anomaly we have detected in the direction APC leadership is taking in the course of zoning key offices in the 10th Assembly which we feel may not augur well for our democracy. Having won the 2023 presidential election fair and square, we had expected the leadership of APC to be guided by the principle of justice and fairness in zoning leadership positions in the parliament and had thought that factors like commitment to the success of the party, level of contributions and the need for fairness, equity and justice to all would guide the decision.
“What we have seen emerging from the decision of the APC however, is a situation of total disregard to justice, equity and fairness, where personal interest has been put forward thereby bringing chaos and conflict in a situation that would have otherwise gone smoothly, if national interest had been the guiding principle.
“While the decision of the APC leaders to zone the Senate Presidency to the South-South and the Deputy Senate Presidency to the North-West conforms to the expectations of most Nigerians because it takes care of zones that are yet to be represented in the composition of the leadership of the next administration, we cannot say the same for the zoning of other leadership positions for the 10th Assembly.
“We, therefore, take strong exceptions to the bid to zone the position of Speaker of the House of Representatives to the North West zone because that will imply undue favouritism, lack of fairness and marginalisation of other zones.
“Because while the North West will go home with two key positions in the National Assembly, the North-Central and the South-East would be totally excluded from the leadership of the 10th National Assembly. This to us seems to be a deliberate act of provocation to the North-Central zone which has contributed so much to the success of the APC as a party and to the victory of President-elect Asiwaju Tinubu.”
Tinubu’s group shuns Abass, endorses Wase for speaker
Following the reported endorsement of Abbas for the speakership of the House of Representatives, a support group of the president-elect, Asiwaju Tinubu had ditched the endorsement and opted for Ahmed Wase.
Wase is the outgoing deputy speaker of the House of the 9th House from Plateau State.
The group known as Tinubu/ Shettima Global Support Group, TSGSG, said it chose Wase over other aspirants because of his wealth of experience in legislative engagements.
In a statement by the convener and co-convener, Engr. Muhammad Ibrahim and Musa Gindiri, the group urged members-elect to rally around a competent candidate with a track record of excellence and experience in leadership to pilot the affairs of the incoming House.
I’m the best man for speakership— Gagdi
Also, Mr. Yusuf Gagdi, has said that he is the best man for the speakership of the 10 House.
Giving reasons why wants to become the Speaker, he said going by his humble beginning, he understands Nigeria’s problems and knows the solutions to them.
The 42-year-old Gagdi, who represents Pankshin/Kanke Kanam Federal Constituency of Plateau State in the House, said: “National Assembly members should elect a person that knows the problems of Nigeria, touched, passed through the problems and also has a lot of solutions to the problems.
“I understand Nigeria and the problems because I was a victim too. If you talk about Nigeria today, you will talk about insecurity, poverty, access to health, and education among others.
“As a member of the 9th Assembly, I sponsored 20 bills and out of that, Mr. President has assented to six of my bills.
“As part of equity, justice and fairness, speakership should be zoned to North-Central and again when it comes to age, youth must have the opportunity to have one of the strategic places in Nigeria’s democracy.
Unveiling his manifesto, he stated that it was categorized into two sections: ‘Performance of the House of Representatives’ and ‘Public Policy Priorities.’
Give S-East opportunity to produce Senate president-Senate caucus tells Tinubu, APC
To ensure equity in the 10th Senate, the South-East caucus of the Senate has urged the APC and the President-elect to allow the zone to produce the Senate President.
Arising from a meeting in Abuja, yesterday, the caucus made up of the serving and new senators-elect from the South-East geopolitical zone urged Tinubu to be the sensitive to the present times in Nigeria and give a level playing field to all aspirants for the office.
The caucus also threw its weight behind those aspiring for the Senate presidency from the South-East.
A communiqué read at the end of the meeting by Senator Ifeanyi Ubah also warned of grave consequences of endorsing a certain candidate from the South-South region without regard to South-East.
Those who signed the communiqué included Senators Orji Uzor Kalu, Enyinnaya Abaribe, Ifeanyi Ubah, Victor Umeh, Osita Izunaso, Ezenwa Oyewuchi, Tony Nwoye, PC Ndubueze, Okey Ezea, Kelvin Chukwu and Osita Ngwu.
However, the outgoing governor of Ebonyi State and senator-elect, Dave Umahi and other senators-elect from the state were absent at the meeting.
The communiqué read in part: “We have observed with dismay the antics of persons with vested selfish interests who have planted themselves around the President elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and have vowed to shut out the South-East from the Senate Presidency of the 10th Senate.
“Beyond ethnic and religious considerations, in the forthcoming 10th Senate, the South-East has been blessed with ranking Senators-elect including members of the All Progressive Congress, who have the cranial capacity, competence, influence, experience and Political followership to pilot the affairs of the Red Chamber, it becomes imperative that the All Progressives Congress upholds the principle of natural Justice and equity which it preaches founded on reasons and zone the seat of Senate President to the South-East region.
“That the President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu should extend the same democratic opportunity he received from the outgoing administration which gave all aspirants equal opportunity to exercise their fundamental and constitutional rights during the APC Presidential Primaries. He should be conscious of the grave implications of zoning and endorsing a candidate from the South-South without any regard for the South-East, such a move will no doubt serve as a recipe for injustice which will culminate in restiveness.
“We implore the President-elect to be sensitive to the times in Nigeria and ensure the country continues to thrive on the party of equity, unity and fairness to the tripod of Nigeria (Hausa Igbo Yoruba) and the geopolitical zones.
“The country is already divided amongst ethnic and religious lines due to the exclusion of the Southeast region, which formed the major reason the APC received the amount of votes from the Southeast. The incoming Administration of Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu must correct this anomaly by ensuring that the Southeast is given the opportunity to produce the next Senate President.
“With the side-lining of the South-East from producing the Presidential candidates of the major political parties before the general elections, the only means through which the zone can be compensated is for the zone to produce the next Senate President as this will restore confidence of the people from the S-East and S-South.”
[Vanguard]
The fourth batch of 410 stranded Nigerians, evacuated from conflict-ridden Sudan, has arrived at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
The evacuees arrived at the Pilgrims Terminal of the airport at exactly 10:45 am, on board a Max Airline from Egypt, according to NAN report.
We also gathered more Nigerians, on board an Azman and Tarco Airline, are expected back into the country today.
Dr Sani Gwarzo, Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, said 732 persons would arrive today from the Egypt borders.
According to him, no Nigerian is left at Egypt border, as all Nigerians at that point had been evacuated.
“I am very happy to announce that no single Nigerian is currently at the Egyptian border, we have completed the airlift from the Egyptian side.
“What remains is the Port Sudan side and that will be completed in the next few days, probably in the next 48 hours,” he said.
He said that arrangements had also been put in place to evacuate the
Nigerians, who fled Sudan to the Ethiopian and Saudi-Arabian borders, back to the country.
He added that a mop-up service had been put in place beyond the main phase of evacuation, to bring back any Nigerian who wished to return home.
He, however, added that those who wished to come back should immediately proceed to Port Sudan for onward evacuation.
Nigerian music star, Divine Ikubor aka Rema, has made it to the Guinness World Book of Records.
The singer’s hit song, ‘Calm Down’ made history as the first No.1 Hit on The Official MENA Chart (the world’s first regional streaming chart).
This was made known in a post shared on the singer’s statistics Twitter account on Saturday.
The statement read, “Calm Down by #heisrema marks entry on the Guinness Book as it has won the First No.1 Hit on The Official MENA Chart (the world’s first regional streaming chart) Record.”
Rema’s ‘Calm Down’ debuted at No. 1 when the MENA Chart was launched by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry on November 29, 2022.
Rema was recognised for securing the first number 1 hit on the world’s first regional streaming chart and first-ever official chart in the Middle East and North Africa.
The governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the Adamawa State, Dr Umar Ardo has disclosed how he deliberately sabotaged the 2015 election against the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to favour the All Progressive Party (APC).
The former PDP chieftain disclosed this in an interview with Tribune Online on his relationship with Muhammadu Buhari despite his acclaimed role in his 2015 victory.
“I remained in PDP and I ensured I pinned PDP down to pave the way for APC to win. I even went up to the Supreme Court in my suit challenging the eligibility of Jonathan to contest. The Supreme Court on November 2014 threw out the case.
“My idea was not simply how to get Buhari in, but also how to run the government in a form of an adviser to see that things are resolved. But the very day Buhari was declared president-elect, he stopped seeing me. APC took a life of its own after the strategic thinking I offered for its formation.
“I conceived the idea and when I did, I convinced Buhari and after that Tinubu was brought in. When I was conceiving the idea, I had a plan for how to operate the administration
“So, I did all this and what happened to me after. Buhari betrayed me. I did not do it because I wanted to get something from him, but my first priority was how to get things working in the country. We felt that Buhari, as a former governor of Northeastern state, would have a good insight into the area and resolve the insecurity there.”
He further described Buhari as a capable candidate who fit the profile at the time, saying, “I did it not for APC or even Buhari; I did it for the country. Buhari just fits in at that point. Buhari happened to be the only one that could fit in when Jonathan was to be removed. All Buhari needed was a good strategy.”
Ardo also added why he will challenge Governor Umaru Fintiri’s re-election at the tribunal, stating that “I see myself as a good man and went throughout the state, campaigning and seeing all interest groups. I did mobilisation and campaigned on the best manifesto in the state.
“I extracted commitment of support from virtually all these groups. Even if it is one-quarter of them that committed their support on election day, I would have won the election. But they did not and I ended up getting 6,800 votes in the election.
“The reasons are very clear. There was complete sabotage from my party, SDP. The party had been bought over before the election. While I was working, others were working on me, especially APC and PDP. Two days after the election, the party leadership showed clear betrayal.
“Where I had 100 votes, they would give me one vote there because our agents have been bought over. Most of them collected mobilisation but did not go to the polling units and those who collected the money and went colluded with the other parties.
“Only a very few agents stood firm and they are the ones who brought me the 6,800 votes. I am going to the tribunal to establish the truth.
[Tribune]
Intercepts 1,080 litres of NPS in Ogun, Adamawa, others in Kogi, Edo, Anambra
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has seized 8,852 kilograms (8.8 tons) of Canadian Loud, an imported synthetic strain of cannabis, at the Eleko beach road in Lekki area of Lagos after a 30-minute gunfight with armed men who were escorting the consignment loaded in two long trucks.
Acting on credible intelligence, NDLEA operatives had laid ambush for the traffickers along the Eleko beach road in Lekki and at about 4:51am on 4th May, two long trucks conveying the illicit consignments were flagged down but rather than stopping, the trucks escorted by armed men sped off, as a result of which there was an exchange of gunfire that lasted 30 minutes.
After they were overpowered by the NDLEA operatives, the truck drivers and their armed escorts escaped into the bush abandoning the trucks and the drug consignments.
While one of the trucks painted red has 149 jumbo bags weighing 6,548kg, the second one with blue colour has 53 big bags with a weight of 2,304kg, bringing the total number of bags to 202 and gross weight of both to 8,852 kilograms.
The Director, Media and Advocacy of the NDLEA, Me. Femi Babafemi said in a statement on Sunday said, NDLEA operatives are already on the trail of the drug lord who shipped the illicit consignment into the country.
On the same day, the statement said, operatives of the Agency also intercepted a Toyota Sienna vehicle driven by one Mukaila Idowu, conveying 88.3kg skunk at Otedola bridge, Ikeja area of Lagos, while another suspect, Joseph Friday was arrested on Saturday at Iyana Ira, Lagos with 58.7kg cannabis sativa concealed inside his Toyota Camry car marked FST 587FH.
In Ogun state, operatives in the early hours of 3rd May, busted a mini factory where a suspect, Bakare Taofeek was producing skucchies around Safari Onikolobo, Abeokuta. Exhibits recovered from him include: 4kg black currant drink (Sobo) mixed with cannabis; 255 litres of skucchies; 1,880 tablets of tramadol; 735 grams of cannabis; three deep freezers; 2 gas cylinders and two cooking pots among others.
In the same vein, operatives in Adamawa arrested a suspect, Sahabi Mohammed with 8,800 tablets of tramadol and counterfeit N60,000 notes, while another suspect, Bala Ali Umar, was arrested on Wednesday 3rd May with 2.850kg cannabis sativa and 825 litres of formalin popularly known as ‘Suck and Die’ at Anguwar Laka, Numan LGA.
In Edo state, a Toyota Previa bus marked NER 460 XA (Bayelsa) conveying 13,000 pills of tramadol and diazepam was intercepted along Ewohimi road, heading to Ekiti state, while the driver of the vehicle, Femi Oluwadare, was taken into custody on Friday 5th May.
Similarly, another suspect, Ahmed Rafi’u was arrested with 84 blocks of compressed cannabis weighing 43.200kg, by operatives in Kogi state, while 381.1kg of the same substance was recovered from three suspects travelling in a Sienna bus in Anambra state. They include: Innocent Saturday; Sunday Asuquo and Akpan Asukuma who were arrested by a combined patrol team of security agents comprising NDLEA operatives and other security agencies at Nneobi, Anambra state.
Meanwhile, NDLEA officers of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI), attached to courier firms have intercepted blocks of compressed brown methamphetamine packaged as soap bars weighing 1.54 kilograms going to Australia.
The seizure at a courier house in Lagos on 2nd May was a follow up operation to an earlier interception of 3.389kg of the same substance on 23rd February 2023. A suspected drug courier, Paul Adetigbe who delivered the previous parcel was eventually arrested with the latest consignment.
The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command has rescued 58 kidnapped victims held hostage at Udulu Forest, Gegu LGA of Kogi State, bordering Sardauna Forest, Nasarawa State, and other identified kidnappers’ den in communities contiguous to the FCT.
The bandits/Kidnappers on sighting the security team coordinated by the Police fired at the security team which resulted in a shootout duel.
The FCT Police Public Relations Officer, SP Josephine Adeh in a statement on Sunday disclosed that the bandits were overpowered and escaped with various degrees of bullet injuries leaving behind their victims.
The rescue is part of efforts by the Command leadership, in a sustained joint operation with other security agencies, vigilantes and hunters from the various local communities, to combat violent crimes in the FCT, rescue victims and bring perpetrators to book.
The Commissioner of Police, FCT Police Command, CP Haruna Garba, however, on Sunday, according to the statement, vowed that, while effort is being sustained to prevent any further threats to safety and security of residents, the Command would also not relent in ensuring the rescue of any resident held hostage by criminals, and as well bring the perpetrators to book. The CP called for the cooperation of residents, especially in being security conscious and giving credible information to the Police.
“One Tama Jonathan, unfortunately, sustained injury during the rescue operation and died on the spot. His remains have subsequently been released to his family for burial. The other 58 rescued victims are being stabilised in the hospital and would be reunited with their families.”
The CP urged residents to be vigilant, and make prompt rendition of complaints through the following emergency lines: 08032003913, 08061581938, 07057337653, and 08028940883, while the Public Complaint Bureau (PCB) desk, could be reached on: 0902 222 2352.
‘I Also Lost Three Times’ – Buhari Discloses Reason For Refusing To Anoint APC Presidential Candidate
AdminPresident Muhammadu Buhari has disclosed the reason he refused to support a presidential candidate during the All Progressives Congress, (APC) presidential primaries when he was asked to do so.
The president explained that he had to contest the presidency three times and ended up at the Supreme Court without success before finally succeeding the fourth time through a democratic process.
The president, however, wondered the reason he would go against such a system by anointing a candidate.
He noted that the late Ahmadu Bello stood for fairness, equity, and justice and he also stood for the same virtues.
Buhari said this on Saturday in Lafia during the 2023 Annual Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial lecture organised by the Nasarawa State government in collaboration with Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation.
Represented by his Chief of Staff, Prof Ibrahim Gambari, the president advised individuals who were displeased with the outcome of the election to seek redress in court
Speaking further, he said that the late Sardauna, Sir Ahmadu Bello was committed to the unity, peace, and progress of Nigeria and he stood for it till his death and urges Nigerians to embrace his selfless service and the legacies he left behind.
[NaijaNews]
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King Charles III will maintain his place as the monarch and head of state for fourteen sovereign countries, collectively known as the Commonwealth realms.
Although he may be set to lose the sovereign state of New Zealand after the Prime Minister Chris Hipkins had on May 1 announced that he favours the country becoming a republic.
But the Prime Minister added that he was not pushing for this to happen as soon as possible.
However, the Prime Minister gave an assurance again hours before leaving for London to attend King Charles III’s coronation, telling reporters, “Ideally, in time, New Zealand will become a fully independent country, will stand on our own two feet in the world, as we, by and large, do now”.
New Zealand is a self-governing former British colony.
However, Charles retains a largely ceremonial role as head of state and king and is represented in New Zealand by a governor-general.
Other countries under King Charles rulership include:
Antigua and Barbuda
Australia,
The Bahamas
Belize
Canada
Grenada
Jamaica
Papua New Guinea
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
The Solomon Islands
Tuvalu
United Kingdom (UK).
Barbados had in 2020 become the newest republic in the world after it removed the then Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state.
Mauritius also became a republic in 1992.
As head of state, King Charles, who is represented by a Governor-General in the countries in question, through the Governor-General opens and dissolves parliament, commissions the Prime Minister, appoints other ministers after elections.
He also gives assent to laws passed by Parliament and performs ceremonial duties as Commander-in-Chief of Armed Forces, such as attending parades.
[DailyPost]
Nigeria’s Quadri Aruna on Saturday lost in the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Africa Cup final match to arch-rival and defending champion Omar Assar of Egypt.
The game played at the Moi International Sports Centre in Nairobi saw the top African player losing 1-4 (8-11 13-15 7-11 11-9 7-11) to the Egyptian.
To get to the final, Aruna had defeated Egyptian Mohamed Youssef 4-0 (11-9 11-5 11-3 12-10) in the semi-finals played also on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the women’s event final saw 15-year-old Egyptian, Hana Goda, successfully defending her title against compatriot Dina Meshref 4-3 to clinch the trophy.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that three other Nigerians who participated in the tournament could not make a podium finish.
The tournament which began on Thursday ended on Saturday.
(NAN)
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have seized 8,852 kilograms (8.8 tons) of Canadian Loud, an imported synthetic strain of cannabis, at the Eleko beach road in Lekki area of Lagos after a 30-minute gun fight with armed men who were escorting the consignment loaded in two long trucks.
A statement by the spokesman of the agency, Femi Babafemi, confirmed this in Abuja.
The statement did not indicate if there were casualties from the shoot-out.
Babafemi said acting on credible intelligence, NDLEA operatives had laid ambush for the traffickers along the Eleko beach road in Lekki and at about 4:51am on Thursday 4th May.
He said two long trucks conveying the illicit consignments were flagged down but rather than stopping, the trucks escorted by armed men sped off.
He said consequently there was an exchange of gunfire that lasted 30 minutes.
After they were overpowered by the NDLEA operatives, the truck drivers and their armed escorts escaped into the bush abandoning the trucks and the drug consignments, the Agency’s Spokesman said.
“While one of the trucks painted red has 149 jumbo bags weighing 6,548kg, the second one with blue colour has 53 big bags with a weight of 2,304kg, bringing the total number of bags to 202 and gross weight of both to 8,852 kilograms.
“Meanwhile, operatives are already on the trail of the drug lord who shipped the illicit consignment into the country,” Babafemi said.
He added that on the same day, NDLEA operatives also intercepted a Toyota Sienna vehicle driven by one Mukaila Idowu, conveying 88.3kg skunk at Otedola bridge, Ikeja area of Lagos, while another suspect, Joseph Friday was arrested on Saturday 6th May at Iyana Ira, Lagos with 58.7kg cannabis sativa concealed inside his Toyota Camry car marked FST 587FH.
The statement reads: “In Ogun state, operatives in the early hours of Wednesday 3rd May busted a mini factory where a suspect, Bakare Taofeek was producing skucchies around Safari Onikolobo, Abeokuta. Exhibits recovered from him include: 4kg black currant drink (Sobo) mixed with cannabis; 255 litres of skucchies; 1,880 tablets of tramadol; 735 grams of cannabis; three deep freezers; 2 gas cylinders and two cooking pots among others.
“In the same vein, operatives in Adamawa arrested a suspect, Sahabi Mohammed, 39, with 8,800 tablets of tramadol and counterfeit N60,000-naira notes, while another suspect, Bala Ali Umar, was arrested on Wednesday 3rd May with 2.850kg cannabis sativa and 825 litres of formalin popularly known as ‘Suck and Die’ at Anguwar Laka, Numan LGA.
“In Edo state, a Toyota Previa bus marked NER 460 XA (Bayelsa) conveying 13,000 pills of tramadol and diazepam was intercepted along Ewohimi road, heading to Ekiti state, while the driver of the vehicle, Femi Oluwadare, was taken into custody on Friday 5th May.
“Similarly, another suspect, Ahmed Rafi’u, 34, was arrested with 84 blocks of compressed cannabis weighing 43.200kg, by operatives in Kogi state, while 381.1kg of the same substance was recovered from three suspects travelling in a Sienna bus in Anambra state. They include: Innocent Saturday; Sunday Asuquo and Akpan Asukuma who were arrested by a combined patrol team of security agents comprising NDLEA operatives and other security agencies at Nneobi, Anambra state.
“Meanwhile, NDLEA officers of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation, DOGI, attached to courier firms have intercepted blocks of compressed brown methamphetamine packaged as soap bars weighing 1.54 kilograms going to Australia.
“The seizure at a courier house in Lagos on Tuesday 2nd May was a follow up operation to an earlier interception of 3.389kg of the same substance on 23rd February 2023. A suspected drug courier, Paul Adetigbe who delivered the previous parcel was eventually arrested with the latest consignment.
“While commending the officers and men of Lagos, Ogun, Adamawa, Edo, Kogi and Anambra Commands of the Agency as well as those of DOGI for their vigilance and professionalism, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd) urged them and their peers across the country to step up in their drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts.”
[Nation]
Governor Okezie Ikpeazu has explained why he swore in Hon. Justice Lilian Abai as the substantive Chief Judge of Abia, Friday.
Ikpeazu while giving reason for swearing Abai in, said her stint as the acting Chief Judge of the state “witnessed tremendous positive changes” which he described as a sign of “greater things to come” and wished her well.
The Governor challenged her to ensure that the Judiciary continues to play its role as the last hope of the common man by dispensing justice without fear or favor.
He expressed his hope that her tenure will be successful and add greater value to the State judiciary and congratulated her on her new appointment and for the tenacity to rise to the zenith of her judicial career.
In her acceptance speech, the new Chief Judge, Honorable Justice Lilian Abai thanked the Governor for abiding by the provisions of the constitution and ensuring that the processes leading to her appointment were without rancor.
She pledged to abide by her oath of office as well as to work to uplift the judiciary through the quick dispensation of justice and pledged to work in harmony with the state government for the good of the state.
Justice Abai has been serving as Acting Chief Judge for some months and her confirmation as a substantive Chief Judge was one of the demands of Judiciary workers who have been on strike under JUSUN.
[Nigerian Tribune]