Posts by lois:
Senate Invasion: Lawyers differ on legality of replacing stolen mace
Some lawyers have reacted to the replacement of the legislative mace after hoodlums stormed the National Assembly on Wednesday seizing the original one. The Senate plenary was disrupted after the suspected thugs invaded the chamber and made away with the symbol of authority. However, after an hour break during which…
APC to hold National Convention May 14
The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has scheduled its National Convention for the election of its new leadership for May 14. The APC made this known in a timetable signed by its National Organising Secretary, Osita Izunanso, showing the schedule of activities for its congresses and National Convention. The party…
APC speaks on attack on Senate, theft of mace
Nigeria's ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has reacted to the theft of the Senate mace by thugs on Wednesday morning. "The APC hereby condemns this action and views it as an attack on our democracy and a desecration of the hallowed institution of the National Assembly," the party said in…
‘Looters’ List: Allegations against me mere blackmail – Secondus
The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has said the allegation that he is a looter is mere blackmail. In a statement signed by his media adviser, Ike Abonyi, Mr Secondus said blackmail and intimidation of the opposition by the federal government would not stop him from carrying…
Mimiko free to return – Labour Party Chairman
The National Chairman of Labour Party, Mike Omotoso, has said his party's former member, Olusegun Mimiko, is welcome back to the party. A group within the Labour Party, known as the Voice - Out Vanguard, had said Mr Mimiko, a former governor of Ondo State, is not welcome to the…
Shiites Abuja Protest: PDP, NIM call for probe
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has demanded an immediate inquest into the violent clash which erupted when police forcefully dispersed Shiite protesters in Abuja on Monday. The protesters had taken to the Unity Fountain, demanding the release of the leader of Islamic Movement of Nigeria, Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, who has been…
APC constitutes convention committee
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has constituted its National Convention Committee ahead its elective convention which is to hold before June 2018. This was made known via a list signed by Osita Izunaso, the National Organising Secretary of the party. The committee is chaired by the Jigawa State Governor, Badaru…
APC announces new website, social media accounts
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has announced its newly-designed website and other official social media accounts. The party made this known in a statement on Sunday by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi. PREMIUM TIMES reported how the party acknowledged it had no official social media presence after its distanced…
Gaddafi Comment: You can’t gag Nigerians, PDP tells Presidency
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said the Presidency cannot gag Nigerians. The party said this following controversy over President Muhammadu Buhari's claim that killings in Nigeria had been made worse by militias trained by former Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi. In a statement on Saturday by its spokesperson, the PDP…
Looters list: Court grants Secondus permission to summon Lai Mohammed
A Rivers State High Court has granted the national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Uche Secondus, leave to issue a writ of summons to Information Minister, Lai Mohammed, and the Federal Government. This was revealed via a statement issued by Ike Abonyi, special adviser on media to the National…
Nigerian CSOs ask Buhari to intervene in crackdown on civil society leaders in Niger Republic
Some civil society groups in Nigeria have urged President Muhammadu Buhari to intervene and end alleged harassment of civil society leaders in Niger Republic. The groups in a statement made available to PREMIUM TIMES by one of its leaders, Jibrin Ibrahim, are demanding the release of persons they said were…
Nigeria, Kenya electoral chiefs speak on technology in elections
The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmood Yakubu, has expressed concern over the use of technology in elections particularly in the area of communication and security as seen in many countries in the past. However, the official, who is also the President of the ECOWAS Network of…
2019: How APC governors, PDP leaders, others reacted to Buhari’s declaration
Leaders of Nigeria’s ruling party and those of the opposition parties reacted differently to President Muhammadu Buhari’s announcement on re-election on Monday. Mr Buhari told a meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the APC that in response “to the clamour by Nigerians to re-contest in 2019,” he has…
Tenure Extension: What Oyegun told Buhari, APC NEC
The National Chairman of Nigeria’s ruling party, APC, John Odigie-Oyegun, says he has had to endure “virulent media attacks” over the controversy on tenure extension for party officials. Mr. Odigie-Oyegun, addressing the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party including President Muhammadu Buhari, narrated how the tenure extension proposal came…
INTERVIEW: We overrated Buhari in 2015 – President’s ally
Recently, Femi Olufumilade, a presidential aspirant on the platform of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), visited the corporate headquarters of PREMIUM TIMES in Abuja. During the visit the professor of International Relations and strategic studies and Dean of College of Arts and Social Sciences at the Igbinedion University, Okada, fielded…
#OurMumuDonDo demands Mantu’s prosecution
A civil society group, "Ourmumudondo", on Friday, visited the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) headquarters in Abuja, demanding the prosecution of former Deputy Senate President, Ibrahim Mantu, for electoral malpractices. Mr Mantu, in an interview on Channels Television, confessed to having rigged several elections. He said that even though he…
Kano govt to sue Buhari if he fails to re-contest — Gov. Ganduje
Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State says his government is ready to take legal action if President Muhammadu Buhari refuses to seek re-election. Mr. Ganduje also revealed he will seek a second term in 2019. The governor said this in Abuja on Friday while addressing journalists on the controversy surrounding…
‘Looters list’: Secondus drags Lai Mohammed to court
The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Uche Secondus, has taken the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, to court for defamation and is demanding N1.5 billion in damages. This follows the release of a list of alleged looters of the nation's treasury by the minister. The…
APC committee on tenure extension submits report
The 10-member committee on tenure extension set up by the National Executive committee (NEC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has submitted its report. The committee chaired by Simon Lalong, Governor of Plateau State, was inaugurated by the National Chairman of the party, John Odigie-Oyegun, at the party’s secretariat on…
APC releases timetable for Ekiti governorship elections
The All Progressives congress (APC) has released a schedule of activities for the upcoming Ekiti State governorship election. The election has been scheduled by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to hold July 14, 2018. The commission also announced that campaigns start officially on April 15. The APC's schedule was…
PDP wants Buhari sanctioned for approving $1 billion to fight insecurity
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has urged Nigerians to reject the recent approval of $1 billion (approx. N370 billion) for the purchase of arms by President Muhammadu Buhari. The opposition party also urged the National Assembly to commence appropriate constitutional legislative actions against President Buhari for gross misconduct in unilaterally…
APC inaugurates committee to review tenure extension for Oyegun, others
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has inaugurated a 10-member technical committee on the tenure of party officers following a resolution of its National Executive Committee (NEC). The committee chaired by Simon Lalong, Governor of Plateau State, was inaugurated by the National Chairman of the party, John Odigie-Oyegun, at the party's…
Cambridge Analytica: PDP calls for independent probe
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has demanded the extension of the probe into the Cambridge Analytica claim to cover the sources of the 'looted" funds used by the All Progressives Congress (APC) for President Muhammadu Buhari’s campaign in 2015. The opposition party in a statement on Sunday by its spokesperson,…
PDP speaks on Mantu’s rigging confession
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has dismissed the advice by the All Progressives Congress (APC) that it should learn from former senate president, Ibrahim Mantu‘s claims on how he rigged elections for the party. The APC had on Saturday called on the PDP to follow the example of Mr Mantu,…
INTERVIEW: Nigeria should decriminalise harmless drug use – Ex-Swiss President Dierfuss
In this interview with PREMIUM TIMES’ Owoseye Ayodamola and Lois Ugbede, the former President of Switzerland and current Chair, Global Commission on Drug Policy, Ruth Dierfuss, during her visit to Abuja, Nigeria, spoke on the Commission’s campaign on decriminalisation of drug users. Ms Dierfuss spoke on her drug campaign mission…