The Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, on Monday said he has no apology over his comment last week that "godfather can be defeated" in Lagos State. The governor further said he is unfazed by the criticisms that have followed the comment. Mr El-Rufai had at a forum organised by the…

Four men thought to be Nigerians and arrested by the police in the United Kingdom are to remain in custody ahead of the resumption of their trial in October, the UK police told PREMIUM TIMES Wednesday. The men were arrested after they sneaked aboard a ship which set off from…

President Muhammadu Buhari’s agriculture sector initiatives may yield no success if the insecurity devastating Nigeria’s northwest persists, the Emir of Katsina, Abdulmumini Usman, suggested on Monday. According to Daily Trust, the Emir told the Minister for Agriculture, Audu Ogbe, that farmers and herdsmen who are the target beneficiaries of government…

By his refusal to assent or reject a crucial audit bill passed by the country’s legislature several months ago, President Muhammadu Buhari is jeopardising measures aimed at improving financial accountability and transparency among government officials and organisations. The president’s failure to sign the bill into law is at variance with…

Nigerian football officials are hiding behind the Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) regulation that prohibits government’s interference in football matters to divert grants and funds from sponsorship deals, a PREMIUM TIMES investigation has revealed. FIFA makes it mandatory for its members to be free from the control of the…

The Nigerian government now has a market-based mechanism to eliminate gas flaring in the Niger Delta. Gas flaring by oil companies in the region has for years devastated the environment and livelihoods of local populations. The new initiative -- National Gas Flare Commercialisation Programme -- was launched in 2016 as…

The Independent National Electoral Commission today, Tuesday, reopened the electoral process in Rivers State, with collation of results from 17 Local Government Areas for the governorship and state parliamentary elections. The commission had last month suspended the process, citing reports of disruptions and violence that affected voting and collation of…

A troubling blend of questions bordering on corrupt practices, involving N1.4 billion in one case, and theft of public assets has been raised against the Surveyor-General of the Federation, Ebisintei Awudu, and his office, the OSGF, according to audit documents reviewed by PREMIUM TIMES. The audit reports, for at least…

The Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has been re-elected for a second term. Mr Tambuwal defeated the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Ahmad Aliyu, to emerge the winner in a hotly contested exercise, The margin of victory was only 342 votes, according to the…

Governor Aminu Tambuwal of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has scored the highest votes the Sokoto State governorship election after polling a total of 512,002 from both the March 9 first ballot and yesterday's supplementary election. Ahmad Aliyu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) came close behind with 511,661, losing…

Governor Aminu Tambuwal, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the Sokoto State governorship election, now walks a tightrope as the margin of win between him and the opposition has narrowed with results from only one local government area, Kebbe, now being awaited for collation. Earlier, after results from…

Aminu Tambuwal, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the Sokoto State governorship election, is leading the poll with a slim margin after results from 18 local government areas were collated for the supplementary election on Saturday night. In the first ballot held on March 9, Mr Tambuwal,…

The collation exercise for the supplementary governorship election in Sokoto State has opened at the Sultan Maccido College in Sokoto. From the first ballot held on March 9, Governor Aminu Tambuwal of the PDP is leading with 489,558 votes against APC's Ahmad Aliyu's 486,145 votes. The margin of lead between…

Some notable party chieftains engaged in popularity supremacy at Magajin Gari ward ‘B,’ Shiyyar Danfarijo polling units 005 and 009, where supplementary polls are taking place. This led to chaos in the supplementary poll for the Sokoto North local government area of Sokoto. The presence of party chieftains, Murtala Daniya…

After the March 9 governorship elections across the country, the polls in six states – Adamawa, Bauchi, Benue, Kano, Plateau and Sokoto – were declared inconclusive. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) explained that the decision to declare the elections inconclusive was derived from Clause 34 (e) of its Regulation…

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it has received assurances from the security agencies that there would not be a repeat of violence in the Saturday's supplementary elections in Sokoto State. INEC had declared the March 9 governorship and state parliamentary elections inconclusive in Sokoto State and five others,…

A coroner's inquest has been requested into the cause of the collapse of the Lagos Island building that killed several persons, including school kids, last week. The request was made by a charity, Women Empowerment and Legal Aid (WELA) led by Funmi Falana, wife of Femi, senior Nigerian lawyer. The charity's request…

An injunction requested to restrain the Independent National Electoral Commission from further action on the Rivers State elections has been declined by the Federal High Court in Abuja. The African Action Congress and its governorship candidate in Rivers State, Biokpomabo Awara, sought the restraining injunction through an ex parte application.…

The Nigerian Army has continued to be a target of critical reviews over the elections in Rivers State, with a call, on Monday, by some prominent citizens of the state, for investigation of the role of the military in the electoral violence affecting the oil-rich state. The citizens, including Atedo…

The Nigerian Army on Monday said it felt betrayed after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) indicted soldiers, alongside armed thugs, over the violence that forced the suspension of the elections in Rivers State last week. In a statement on Monday evening, the spokesperson for the 6 Division headquartered in…

The Independent National Electoral Commission has powers to reduce the number of political parties in Nigeria, says senior lawyer, Femi Falana, decrying what he calls "unprincipled proliferation" of parties. Nigeria, a multi-party liberal democracy, currently has 91 political parties registered by INEC and there are reports even more groups have…

The Independent National Electoral Commission has blamed "some" soldiers and armed thugs for the violence and disruptions that forced the suspension of the electoral process in Rivers State. INEC said the soldiers and armed thugs wanted to subvert the will of the people in Rivers State. The commission in a…

Following Saturday's governorship elections across Nigeria, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced that polls in six states were inconclusive. Thus, supplementary elections in the affected states -- Kano, Sokoto, Plateau, Benue, Bauchi and Adamawa -- have been scheduled for March 23. The development has sparked debate because the opposition…

The Independent National Electoral Commission's fact-finding committee on the suspended Rivers State elections has completed its work in Port Harcourt. It has, however, left political actors and the public in anxiety and uncertainty. "They have finished everything, and they are going back to Abuja," said a senior official familiar with…

The All Progressives Congress in Rivers State on Tuesday said officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission in the state were cooperating with Governor Nyesom Wike to announce 'concocted' results from the Saturday's elections. The party praised the military, which the Peoples Democratic Party, on the other hand, had accused…