TheNewsGuru

Tag: 2023 Elections

  • Why PDP failed to win presidential election – Aisha Yesufu

    Why PDP failed to win presidential election – Aisha Yesufu

    Social activist, Aisha Yesufu, has described the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP), as a useless party.

    Yesufu said PDP would have won the 2023 presidential election if it had fielded Peter Obi as its presidential candidate.

    She noted that PDP would have won the 2015 and 2023 presidential elections.

    In a series of tweets, the activist explained that PDP failed to win the presidential elections due to greed.

    “PDP was useless in 2015 and it is still useless in 2023. Both elections were PDP’s to win and they horrendously threw both away.

    “Their members are running around spinning some conspiracy theories when they were dumb and dumber with arrogance and greed.

    “PDP would have won the 2015 election either by fielding a different candidate or listening and responding to the cries of the people but their arrogance had gotten hold of them.

    “PDP would have won the 2023 election by fielding Peter Obi but their greed is a tight vice around their neck.

    “PDP failed and still failing to read the handwriting on the wall.”

  • BREAKING: No live broadcast of tribunal, court rules

    BREAKING: No live broadcast of tribunal, court rules

    The 2023 presidential election petitions court has ruled that there will be no live broadcast of proceedings.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports the court ruled against live coverage of the 2023 presidential election petitions tribunal on Monday.

    The Justices ruled that televising the proceedings has no relevance to the petitions, and that it is not rooted in any of Nigeria’s laws.

    The People’s Democratic Party (PDP), it’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, the Labour Party and it’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi had filed an application on May 8 for an order to allow the live coverage of the daily court proceedings on the case they brought against the President-elect, Bola Tinubu, following the February 25 election.

    At the proceeding in Abuja on Monday, Justice Tsammani said the application lacked merit

    .

    Details shortly…

  • Court sacks Abia Gov-elect, Alex Otti

    Court sacks Abia Gov-elect, Alex Otti

    The candidature of the Abia State Governor-elect Dr Alex Otti and all the candidates of the Labour Party in Abia and Kano States has been nullified.

    The judicial decision was taken on Friday by a Federal High Court sitting in Kano, presided over by Justice M N Yunusa.

    The court ruled that their emergence was not in compliance with the provisions of the 2022 electoral act.

     

    The Court in Suit No FHC/KN/CS/107/2023 filed by Mr Ibrahim Haruna Ibrahim against the Labour Party and the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, ruled that the failure of the Labour Party to submit its membership register to the INEC within 30 days before their primaries renders the process invalid.

    “The party that has not complied with the provisions of the electoral act cannot be said to have candidate in an election and cannot be declared winner of an election; this being so, the votes credited to the 1st defendant is a wasted vote,” the Judge ruled.

     

  • YAPJEN makes case for youth inclusion

    YAPJEN makes case for youth inclusion

    Amb. Timothy Nwachukwu, the President of A Global Goals Advocacy Organisation, Youth Advocates For Peace Justice And Empowerment Network, YAPJEN, has called for the inclusion of young people in leadership positions across all strata of government in Nigeria.

    Speaking to newsmen in Abuja over the just concluded Commonwealth Youth and Students Summit organised by the Commonwealth Students Association, CSA, Commonwealth Youth Council CYC, and Pan African Youth Union, PAYU, for African Region and sponsored by the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development in Nigeria.

    Nwachukwu commended Nigeria’s Honourable Minister for Youths and Sports, Hon. Dr. Sunday Dare for hosting the epoch event which provided the youths an ample opportunity to deliberate on policies, programs and action plans aimed at strengthening and promoting the leadership capacity of youth and student leaders in the Commonwealth .

    The summit focused on the role students and youth leaders can and should play in the realisation of the United Nations Global Goals also known as Sustainable Development Goals. The Summit further facilitated opportunities for young people to build their capacities to become advocates for promoting quality education and youth inclusion.

    He appealed to the federal government to create mechanism across the three levels of government for the implementation of the laudable outcome of the 5 days summit to promote the inclusion of youth of student leaders in core decision making processes to ensure youth and student voices are heard in the drive to promote quality education job creation and youth empowerment across the African region of the Commonwealth

    Nwachukwu advised that the policy implementation should be supported by performance based management of institutions, strengthened by mechanisms for close interagency coordination that bring together government and youth organizations, and informed by systematic data collection and participatory monitoring and evaluation systems.

  • May 29: Presidential transition committee unveils inauguration activities

    May 29: Presidential transition committee unveils inauguration activities

    The Presidential Transition Council, (PTC) has unveiled the programme of events for the inauguration of President-Elect, Sen. Bola Tinubu on May 29.

    The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, and Chairman, PTC, Mr Boss Mustapha, unveiled the programme at a World News Conference in Abuja.

    He said activities with the theme, “Nigeria: Better Together” had commenced with the world news conference.

    He said the conference was to brief Nigerians and the entire world on activities of the presidential inauguration.
    Another slated activity in the build up to May 29 according to him was Regimental Dinner in honor of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, scheduled for Tuesday, May 23.

    The SGF added that there would be a Valedictory Federal Executive Council Meeting on Wednesday, May 24.
    He said that Thursday, May 25 would be Investiture of the President-Elect and Vice-President-Elect.

    Mustapha said the president-elect would be bestowed with the National Honors of Grand Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (GCFR).
    He also said the vice-president-elect, Sen. Kashim Shettima, would be honoured with the Grand Commander of Order of the Niger, GCON.
    He said that there would be “Handover of Transition Documents”, all on same day.
    According to the PTC chairman, there will be public lecture and Jumaat Prayer on May 26 and inauguration lecture on Saturday, May 27.
    He said that the topic of the lecture was” Deepening Democracy for Integration and Development”, which would be delivered by former Kenyan President, Uhuru Kenyatta.
    Mustapha said there would be a programme to mark Children’s Day on May 27.
    He also said there would be an Inter-denominational Church Service on Sunday, May 28, while the Inauguration Parade and Swearing-In, which is the grand finale would hold on Monday, May 29.
    He added that there would be a Post Inauguration Luncheon for Presidents, Heads of Government and other invited guests on same day.
    Mustapha said all events would be broadcast live on major television and radio stations and streamed on various social media platforms.
    “So far, invitations have been sent to the Presidents and Heads of Government as well as Heads of International Organisations.
    “We are also glad to report that many of these invitees have confirmed attendance in person.
    “This event is historic for our nation and I enjoin every one to embrace this moment as proud Nigerians.
    “It is a moment made for togetherness, unity, peace and progress,”he said.
    Mustapha said that May 29 would mark the 7th consecutive democratic transition of power in Nigeria.
    He added that it would usher in the 16th President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
    “The upcoming event is historically significant to this great nation and the international community, particularly Africa.
    “This is because of the democratic values and lessons in nationhood.
    “For these reasons, we have chosen, ‘NIGERIA: Better Together’, as the theme for the 2023 transition,” he said.
    The PTC chairman assured the global community of President Muhammadu Buhari’s commitment to seamless transfer of power.
    “In demonstration of this commitment, the President has directed all relevant government institutions to cooperate with and support the transition process through engagement with the President-Elect’s team.
    “The president also approved inclusion of PTC team as part of the Federal Government delegation to the World Bank and International Monetry Fund, IMF, Spring meetings in Washington in April,”he said.
    On responsibility of PTC, Mustapha said three main committees were established to carry out different roles.
    He said the committees were the – Inauguration Committee; under the Chairmanship of the SGF and the Transition Documents Committee; under the Chairmanship of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation.
    Mustapha said that the third Committee was that of Security, Facilities and Intelligence under the Chairmanship of the National Security Adviser to the President, retired Maj.- General Babagana Monguno.
    Mustapha assured of adequate security throughout the inauguration.
    The conference was attended by Gov. Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi State and a representative of the president-elect, Mr James Faleke.
    Other dignataries in attendance were the National Security Adviser(NSA), federal lawmakers, permanent secretaries, members of Civil Society Organisations, CSO, the media among others.

  • APC expresses concern over spate of disciplinary action against members in State chapters

    APC expresses concern over spate of disciplinary action against members in State chapters

    Following the purported expulsion of Senator Mohammad Danjuma Goje, by the Gombe State Executive Committee of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC),

    the party’s national National Working Committee, (NWC) has expressed concern over the spate of disciplinary actions emanating from various state chapters.

    APC in a statement issued by it National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, in Abuja, said the Party takes the matter of discipline of its members seriously as a necessary mechanism for the maintenance of a strong, vibrant and cohesive party at all levels.

    “However, this is a highly inauspicious time for these actions, as meritorious as they may be, given the important upcoming leadership transition and inauguration of our new government.”

    The party directs that action be stayed on all disciplinary matters pending further directives of the National Working Committee on the effective review and treatment of disciplinary matters.

     

  • Women who get gel manicures risk cancer- Research

    Women who get gel manicures risk cancer- Research

     

    Reseach found that radiation from UV nail dryers can damage DNA and cause mutations in human cells which in turn is linked to a risk of cancer.

    According to the study recently published, researchers have suspected that the ultraviolet nail dryers used for gel manicures might be associated with a higher risk of skin cancer if they are used routinely.

    The study found that radiation from UV nail dryers can damage DNA and cause permanent mutations in human cells which in turn is linked to cancer risk.

    “is just one step along the pathway to cancer,” said Dr. Julia Curtis, an assistant professor at the University of Utah dermatology department, who wasn’t involved in the new research.”

    The researchers exposed cells derived from humans and mice to UV light from nail dryers. They observed that after 20 minutes, 20% to 30% of the cells had died. After three consecutive 20-minute sessions, 65% to 70% of cells had died.

    A 2020 analysis identified two women in the U.S. who developed melanoma on the backs of their hands from 2007 to 2016. Both had gotten gel manicures for years. Overall, however, the researchers determined that that type of manicure which involves applying a gel polish that must then set under UV lamps had little to no association with cancer.

    “At this point, I would recommend or advise people to just weigh the risk,” said one of the new study’s authors, Maria Zhivagui, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, San Diego. “Understand what this is doing. There is damage at the DNA level. We don’t know if it’s carcinogenic.”

    “UV nail lamps didn’t really get popular until about the 2000s, I would say, so making that cause and effect can be very difficult,” Curtis said.

    Even so, Curtis and Zhivagui said that in their own lives, they don’t ever get manicures that require UV nail dryers.

    “You’re not going to find a dermatologist who doesn’t say that UVA is aging us and increasing our risk of skin cancer,” said Dr. Loretta Davis, the chair of the dermatology department at Augusta University in Georgia. “So anything that’s purposely done with that type of device is going to contribute.”

    Davis said she doesn’t get manicures but would be concerned about the aging effects of UVA radiation if she did.

    The harmful effects of UV rays accumulate over time, and Davis’ own research has suggested that the more frequently people get manicures with UV nail lamps, the greater their risk of damage might be.

    Using a UV nail dryer every other week is “probably too much,” she said.

    “If you’re going to do this before a wedding and you want to feel special, sure,” Davis added. “But to do it routinely, no, I wouldn’t do that.”

     

  • 10th NASS : Low turnout as Gbajabiamila launches campaign for Tajudeen

    10th NASS : Low turnout as Gbajabiamila launches campaign for Tajudeen

    Members-elect for the 10th House of Representatives, on Wednesday, failed to honour the invitation of the Speaker, Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila for the sole aim of launching a campaign for Rep. Abbas Tajudeen, for the position of the Speaker for the 10th Assembly.

    The ruling All Progressive Congress, (APC) and the President-elect, Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu, had adopted Rep. Tajudeen, a Member representing Zaria Federal Constituency of Kaduna State for the position of Speaker in the next Assembly, to be inaugurated in 2 weeks.

    Zoning of the number four citizen’s position to the North West and the subsequent adoption of Tajudeen, it was gathered, was the brain child of the current Speaker, Gbajabiamila, who prefers to continue holding grip of the 10th House of Representatives thereby making it possible for Tinubu to control the incoming Assembly.

    But Gbajabiamila, during a meeting organized Wednesday night by the Joint Task for the 10th Assembly, an umbrella body for the actualization of Tajudeen’s ambition as Speaker, denied ever influencing the choice of the Kaduna born politician.

    “North West geopolitical zone alone contributed 30% of the total votes for APC in the last elections” and ” if you conduct a proper research, the North West zone has not been considered for the number four position in the history of our parliament”, Gbajabiamila laboured to explain.

    He was, however, shocked to see a hall filled with Support Groups, Journalists and spectators as the target audience (Members-elect) who posses the voting powers, largely boycotted the meeting.

    Sensing that the little number inside the hall might not necessarily be Honourable Members and Members-elect, whom he has sought to address, Gbajabiamila requested for an executive session, apparently to see if he has enough numbers to make his anointed candidate Speaker; only to be bewildered that only 73 Members and Members-elect actually honoured the invitation.

    The visibly angered Speaker was seen leaving the Osun Hall of Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja, just two minutes after asking for an executive session.

    A Lawmaker who was in attendance and spoke to our Correspondent on condition of anonymity, explained that, “Gbaja was not happy seeing the number of Lawmakers in attendant and I think he has sensed danger, as an experienced politician, that his preferred candidate won’t fly”.

    Asked if he was going to support Tajudeen, the Lawmaker who just won his election under the Labour Party, said he was actually at the meeting, like some of his friends, who got invitation that Rep. Gbajabiamila was going to address both returning and new Members, only to see that it was a forum to sell the candidacy of Tajudeen.

    “Some of my Colleagues understood the reason for the meeting, but innocent me, like few of my friends I interacted with in the hall, didn’t get the notion behind the invitation, untill we got here and we decided to sit and listen to whatever they had to say. I was personally disappointed seeing just a few Members in attendance, because I had thought they got all the votes, since it’s their party that selected this man for Speaker.

    “But since their own Members cannot honour their party and most of them stayed off, is it we from the minorites that would support APC? Even though we are more than them in number, we would not be used to project mediocrity or support the composition of a rubber-stamped Assembly. The institution of the National Assembly is supposed to be an independent Arm of Government and not an appendage of another arm of Government.

    “The minority caucus has been meeting lately and we shall make our stand known soon. We shall throw our weight behind anyone we feel have the capacity and independent mind to make the 10th House work for the people of Nigeria and not for an individual. We shall support such a person, regardless of any region or State he or she comes from. About 358 Members are going to cast their votes to decide the next Speaker and I don’t think, this number I’m seeing here tonight can make one-quarter of the deciding votes”, the Member-elect added.

  • Atiku slams US secretary of State for calling Tinubu

    Atiku slams US secretary of State for calling Tinubu

    Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Atiku Abubakar, yesterday expressed displeasure over the phone call by the United States Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, to President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, saying Blinken’s action contradicted the earlier position of U.S. Government on Nigeria’s 2023 general elections.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports
    that Blinken, had on Monday
    disclosed that the U.S.Government
    had imposed visa restrictions on those that aided , participated in election rigging in the last polls.

    Atiku, said the conversation gives legitimacy to the election, adding that the U.S. as a promoter of democracy should not legitimise as democratic the February 25 presidential poll which is being
    contested at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, PEPT, sitting in Abuja.

    Reacting yesterday of the U.S.
    official’s phone call to Tinubu, Atiku, via his Facebook page said,
    “I am in disbelief that Secretary Antony Blinken called Tinubu, a contradiction to the publicly stated position of the US on Nigeria’s 2023 presidential election.
    This is inconceivable considering that America, as the bastion of democracy, is well briefed on the sham election of February 25.

    “To give legitimacy to the widely acknowledged fraudulent election in Nigeria can be demoralising to citizens who have hedged their bet on democracy and the sanctity of the ballot. U.S. Department of State President Joe Biden U.S. Mission Nigeria.”

    However, a press statement from
    the U.S. State Department disclosed that Blinken spoke with Tinubu, emphasising continued commitment to strengthening bilateral ties.

    The statement attributed to
    Spokesperson Matthew Miller,
    indicated that the U.S.-Nigeria
    partnership is built on shared interests and strong people-to-people ties and
    that those links should continue to
    strengthen under President-elect,
    Tinubu’s tenure. Secretary Blinken
    and President-elect, Tinubu discussed the importance of inclusive leadership that represents all Nigerians, continued comprehensive security cooperation, and reforms to support economic growth”.

    However, the President-elect
    Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu during the conversation that lasted about 20 minutes sought the full support of the U.S. Government, pledged to be president of all the citizens irrespective of ethnicity and religion. He also reminisce about his education in the U.S. at Chicago where he bagged his Bachelor of Science in Accounting and the asylum granted to him by the U.S Government during the Abacha days and struggle to enthrone democratic government. Tinubu informed the U.S. that he will hit the ground running by uniting the country and reforming the institutions of government, fight poverty and provide jobs to the teeming youth population.

  • New administration will take off May 29 whether they like it or not – Sultan

    New administration will take off May 29 whether they like it or not – Sultan

    The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar, has said Nigerians should know that a new administration would take over on May 29 “whether they like it or not.”

    The Sultan made this statement during a roundtable engagement with traditional and religious rulers, organized by the World Bank to fashion a way out to increase human capital development in the country.

    According to him, “There must be change because in the next few days or weeks there will be a new government, what can we contribute to that government to stabilize?

    “Whether anybody likes it, it must take place, a new government is coming on 29 May, so what can we do besides prayers because we believe in Almighty, we believe in God that gives and takes.

    “After that so what? What do we do to help the government stabilize and move the country forward?”

    He added that it is an opportunity for religious and traditional leaders to work together for the betterment of the country.

    “Let us continue to work as one big family with different mothers and fathers or whatever it is, but our main father and mother is Nigeria. As religious leaders, there must be equity and justice in whatever is being done and that is what I think we need to talk about the most,” Sultan said.

    While explaining the efforts the leaders undergo for the development of their communities, he said, “We cater for thousands of people to go to schools but we don’t come out to say it.”

    The Sultan also said , “Of course, our health care system, you know what it is, if a big man has a headache, he goes to London to take Panadol and comes back, it is a fact. So many of our governors built so many clinics, nothing is there but littered with rats but in the books, you have built 1,000 clinics in your state, it is a fact. These are things we are seeing.

    “I am not mentioning anybody but giving a general view, so let no governor come and pick me and say Sultan has criticized me. I am not criticizing anybody.

    “I am making a critique which is different from criticizing, so people should know that. You can critique an issue so that people will be better. We don’t criticize anybody because we have access to these people to sit down one on one, that is what we have been doing.”