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BREAKING: Bola Tinubu Picks APC Presidential Ticket

By
Angel Gimalo
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Former Lagos State Governor, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, took a major step toward his ambition of becoming Nigeria’s President by winning the All Progressives Congress’ presidential primary at a special convention held in Eagle Square, Abuja.

He won the election by beating the likes of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, and the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan.

More than 2,300 delegates voted in the contest that produced Tinubu as the presidential flagbearer of the ruling party.

He is now scheduled to face the Peoples Democratic Party’s Atiku Abubakar and others in the February 25 presidential ballot.

After weeks of political drama and intrigues during which the party held several meetings and tried but failed to get a consensus candidate, things started to swing Tinubu’s way when aspirants were called to address delegates before voting began.

Former Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio, was the first aspirant to step up. Rather than solicit votes for himself, he endorsed Tinubu and appealed to delegates to vote for the APC chieftain.

Senator Ibikunle Amosun and Ekiti State Governor, Kayode Fayemi, followed in Akpabio’s lead.

Two other aspirants – Senator Ajayi Boroffice and Dimeji Bankole – also signalled their support for Tinubu.

Another major endorsement for Tinubu came from Jigawa State Governor, Mohammed Badaru Abubakar.

The only female in the contest, Uju Ken-Ohanenye, also endorsed the APC chieftain.

The only other endorsement from an aspirant came from Nicholas Felix to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

Although 23 aspirants were billed to participate in the primary, nine of them – including the seven aspirants who endorsed Tinubu and Felix who stepped down for Osinbajo – pulled out of the contest.

The ninth aspirant who announced his withdrawal was former Senate President Ken Nnamani who decried the failure of the party to zone its ticket to the South East.

Thereafter, 14 aspirants went into the contest as voting commenced in earnest. They include Tinubu, Osinbajo, Amaechi, Lawan, Umahi, and Rochas Okorocha.

Others are Yahaya Bello, Tein Jack-Rich, Emeka Nwajiuba, Ben Ayade, Ikeobasi Mokelu, Ogbonnaya Onu, Tunde Bakare, and Sani Yerima.

FUTA New Vice-Chancellor Vow To Deliver Quality Education

By
Rhoda Onuzulike
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The Vice-Chancellor, Federal University of Technology Akure, Prof. Adenike Oladiji , has said she will ensure students receive quality education.

A statement signed by the university added that students were the most relevant part of the university system while welcoming executives of the Federal University of Technology, Akure Students Union who paid her a courtesy visit to formally welcome her as the new Vice-Chancellor .

She said, “Students are the people who give the university an identity and utmost care must be taken to give them a rich learning experience to encourage give back upon graduation from the university. Students are the most relevant part of the university system  and must be treated as unique individuals with respect to teaching, learning and research.’’

Oladiji said one of the cardinal focuses of her vision was to enhance students’ learning with a commitment to ensure that students had an excellent tertiary education experience while in FUTA.

“I desire a conducive learning environment that will promote premium give back from alumni who had a worthwhile experience while in FUTA. We must make students part of the university family by giving them a sense of belonging that will make them happy to give back to the University after leaving,”she said.

She added that the students, as a vital part of the university community, had a role to play in promoting peace and stability. She assured the students of the support of management in carrying out their functions as students’ leaders.

In his response, the president of FUTASU, Ibiyemi Abiodun said the students would cooperate with Oladiji to achieve her vision and mission.

Earlier, the Dean of Students Affairs, Prof. Gbenga Onibi, who was accompanied by the Students Affairs Officer, Feyi Adetula , said FUTA had well-cultured students who had continued to demonstrate excellence and have become good example for students of other institutions

Reasons 3,135 Candidates with High Scores Were Denied Admission- JAMB

By
Rhoda Onuzulike
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A total of 3,135 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination and Direct Entry examinations candidates who scored 300 and above in 2018, 2019 and 2020 did not gain admission into tertiary institutions.

The figure is based on the admission statistics prepared by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board for the three years, made available on the board’s website.

The board is still working on the 2021 statistics following the conclusion of the 2021 admissions.

In 2018, JAMB noted that though a total of 4,683 candidates scored 300 and above, only 3,683 gained admission while 1,000 candidates were unable to gain admission.

In 2019, a total of 2,967 candidates scored 300 and above, while 2,288 candidates got admitted 679 were denied admission.

In 2020, a total of 4,948 students scored 300 and above, while 3,492 candidates were admitted, 1,456 were denied admission.

The JAMB registrar, Prof Ishaq Oloyede, on the website of the board listed, “Wrong O’Level subject combination; low post-UTME screening score; non-acceptance of admission offer; duplication of application; absence from post-UTME screening and mismatch of catchment” as some of the reasons some candidates who scored over 300 marks did not get admission.

Speaking in an interview on Monday, an educationist, Roseline Obamiyi, said there was the need to sensitise students and parents on the need to select the right combination of subjects for UTME examinations.

Obamiyi said, “The issue of subject combination is a big deal. In the JAMB brochure, there are UTME subject combinations for different courses. Similarly, at the O’Level, there are certain combinations.

Meanwhile, a statement from the board’s Head of Public Affairs and Protocol, Dr Fabian Benjamin, on Monday directed all candidates who registered for the UTME and DE but had yet to link their e-mail addresses with their profile to visit any JAMB approved Computer Based Test centres and do so.

“With the examination completed, it has now become imperative for candidates to link their e-mail addresses with their profiles to complete their registration process to facilitate the printing of their results.

APC Presidential Primaries: Bola Tinubu In Early Lead As Counting Progresses

By
Angel Gimalo
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Live update from Eagles Square shows APC National Leader, Bola Ahmed Tinubu is leading the presidential primaries.

MORE TO COME….

APC Presidential Primary: Sorting Of Votes Commences

By
Angel Gimalo
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This is a live update page for the All Progressives Congress (APC) special convention to elect the party’s presidential flagbearer for the 2023 general elections. Kindly refresh this page for the latest developments.

The event, which is holding at the Eagle Square in Abuja, will see 2,340 delegates queuing to choose their preferred presidential candidate.

In the lead-up to the exercise, 28 presidential hopefuls had picked the nomination and expression of interest forms, but five of them later pulled out.

Twenty-three aspirants later appeared before the APC presidential screening committee led by the party’s former chairman, John Odigie-Oyegun.

The run-up to the special convention, which is billed to run till Wednesday, had been marred by intrigues over the zoning of the presidential ticket and consensus candidacy.

While a consensus candidate was said to have emerged on Monday, President Muhammadu Buhari on his part said the delegates should be allowed to decide the party’s presidential flagbearer.

The northern APC governors also canvassed for the party’s candidate to come from the southern part of the country.

Please check back for fresh updates.

8:15 am: Sorting of votes has commenced

PROFILING: 23 APC Presidential Hopefuls Before Some Stepped Down

By
Angel Gimalo
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Twenty-three aspirants are expected to participate in the special convention to elect the presidential flagbearer of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the 2023 general elections.

This comes amid drama and controversy over the call for a consensus candidate and the zoning of the party’s ticket to the South.

At the end of the exercise, one of the 23 aspirants is expected to emerge as the party’s flagbearer to contest the presidential election in the forthcoming polls.

Read the brief profile of the aspirants below:

Yemi Osinbajo (Ogun)

Osinbajo, 65, a professor of law and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, is the incumbent Vice President, a position he has held since May 2015.

He also served as the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in Lagos State between 1999 and 2007.

Ahmad Lawan (Yobe)

Lawan, 63, is the President of the 9th Senate and represents Yobe North senatorial district in the upper chamber of the National Assembly.

Before his election into the Senate in 2007, he had represented Bade/Jakusko Constituency in the House of Representatives since 1999.

Bola Tinubu (Lagos)

Tinubu, 70, is a two-term governor of Lagos State who held office between 1999 and 2007. He was also the senator for Lagos West during the brief Third Republic.

Since his exit from office in 2007, he has been actively participating in politics, including the creation of parties long side other critical political actors in the country.

Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti)

Fayemi, 57, is the incumbent governor of Ekiti State and chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF).

He previously served as governor between 2010 and 2014, as well as Minister of Solid Minerals Development from 2015 to 2018, when he resigned to contest for a second time as Governor of Ekiti State.

Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom)

Akpabio, 59, is the immediate past Minister of Niger Delta Affairs who recently resigned to pursue his presidential aspiration.

Before joining President Buhari’s cabinet, he was a two-term governor of Akwa Ibom State from 2007 to 2015, and a former Senate Minority Leader.

Dimeji Bankole (Ogun) 

Bankole, 52, is the youngest Speaker of the House of Representatives who held office between 2003 and 2011, elected at the age of 37.

In 2019, he contested the Ogun State governorship election on the platform of the Action Democratic Party (ADP).

Tein Jack-Rich (Rivers)

Jack-Rich, 48, is an oil magnate who hails from Rivers State in the south-southern part of the country.

He is a multidimensional strategic thinker, a motivator, and a strong believer in the greater Nigeria.

Abubakar Badaru (Jigawa)

Badaru, 59, is the fourth democratically elected and incumbent governor of Jigawa State who has been in office since 2015.

At the national level, he serves as Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fertiliser, as well as that of the Presidential Committee on Non-oil Revenue.

Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun)

Amosun, 64, is a former governor of Ogun State who served from 2011 to 2019, and was a two-term senator, after an unsuccessful bid in April 2007.

He first served as an elected senator for Ogun Central district from April 2003 to April 2007 and was re-elected in 2019.

Rochas Okorocha (Imo)

Okorocha, 59, is the incumbent lawmaker representing Imo West senatorial district in the upper chamber of the National Assembly.

Before his election in 2019, Senator Okorocha served two terms as governor of Imo State between 2011 and 2019.

Tunde Bakare (Ogun)

Bakare, 67, is a popular pastor and Serving Overseer of Global Citadel Community Church (CGCC).

He was the vice-presidential candidate and running mate of President Buhari in the 2011 presidential elections.

Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers)

Amaechi, 57, served as the Minister of Transportation up until May 2022 when he resigned to contest for the presidency.

Before he joined the President’s cabinet in 2015, he was the governor of Rivers State from 2007 to 2015, and Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly from 1999 to 2007.

Emeka Nwajiuba (Imo)

Nwajiuba, 54, is a politician and lawyer, as well as the immediate past Minister of State for Education, a position he held until resigned after declaring to contest for presidency.

He had previously served as the Chairman of TETFund Board of Trustees.

Nicholas Felix (Edo)

Felix, 40, is a US-based Nigerian pastor of the Miracle Church International who is aspiring to be president on the APC platform.

It is his second attempt to occupy the highest office in the land, having come third behind President Buhari and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar in the 2019 presidential election.

Uju Ken-Ohanenye (Anambra)

Ken-Ohanenye, who was born on 24 January in the 1970s, is a lawyer and entrepreneur.

She is the only female of the 23 presidential hopefuls seeking to emerge as the candidate of the ruling party, to contest the election in 2023.

Ajayi Boroffice (Ondo)

Boroffice, 73, is the lawmaker representing Ondo North senatorial district in the upper chamber of the National Assembly since 2011.

He was first elected on the platform of the Labour Party before he joined Action Congress of Nigeria, then APC where he is seeking to win the party’s presidential ticket.

Ken Nnamani (Enugu)

Nnamani, 73, is an APC chieftain who served as the President of the Senate of Nigeria from 2005 to 2007.

Before joining the APC, he was elected to the Senate in 2003 on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to represent Enugu East senatorial district and served until 2007.

David Umahi (Ebonyi)

Umahi, 57, is a two-term and incumbent governor of Ebonyi State – a position he has held since 2015. He won both elections on the PDP platform.

Before his emergence as governor, Umahi served as deputy governor under the administration of former Governor Martin Elechi.

Ogbonnaya Onu (Ebonyi)

Onu, 70, was the Minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation under President Buhari’s administration. A position he held since 2015, he is a two-term and longest-serving minister in the history of the ministry.

He was also the first civilian governor of Abia State between January 1992 and November 1993.

Ben Ayade (Cross River)

Ayade, 54, is the incumbent governor of Cross River State and is in his second term in office. He ran successfully for the office of governor twice on the PDP platform before he joined APC in May 2021.

Before he became governor, Ayade represented one of the three senatorial districts of the state between 2011 and 2015.

Yahaya Bello (Kogi)

A file photo of Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello.

Bello, 46, has served as the governor of Kogi State since 2016. He is said to be the youngest executive governor of a state in the country.

Ikeobasi Mokelu (Anambra) 

Mokelu is a former Minister of Information under the military regime of late General Sani Abacha.

He is said to be the last presidential aspirant to pick the nomination and expression of interest forms of the ruling party.

Sani Yerima (Zamfara)

Yerima, 61, was a two-term governor of Zamfara State who held office from May 1999 to May 2007.

Thereafter, he served as the senator representing Zamfara West from 2007 to 2019.

UPDATE: Voting Ongoing In APC Presidential Primary

By
Angel Gimalo
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0

This is a live update page for the All Progressives Congress (APC) special convention to elect the party’s presidential flagbearer for the 2023 general elections. Kindly refresh this page for the latest developments.

The event, which is holding at the Eagle Square in Abuja, will see 2,340 delegates queuing to choose their preferred presidential candidate.

In the lead-up to the exercise, 28 presidential hopefuls had picked the nomination and expression of interest forms, but five of them later pulled out.

Twenty-three aspirants later appeared before the APC presidential screening committee led by the party’s former chairman, John Odigie-Oyegun.

The run-up to the special convention, which is billed to run till Wednesday, had been marred by intrigues over the zoning of the presidential ticket and consensus candidacy.

While a consensus candidate was said to have emerged on Monday, President Muhammadu Buhari on his part said the delegates should be allowed to decide the party’s presidential flagbearer.

The northern APC governors also canvassed for the party’s candidate to come from the southern part of the country.

7:00 am: Voting is still ongoing.

APC Presidential Aspirant, Nicholas Felix Steps Down For V.P. Osinbajo

By
Angel Gimalo
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A presidential hopeful of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Nicholas Felix, has stepped down for the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, to emerge as the party’s candidate in the coming elections.

Felix, a Nigerian pastor based in the United States, announced that he was withdrawing from the contest to support the Vice President’s presidential ambition on Tuesday in Abuja.

He was addressing a crowd of APC faithful comprising party leaders, delegates, and other supporters at the Eagle Square, the venue of the presidential convention in the nation’s capital.

Akpabio, Amosun, Fayemi, Four Others Step Down For Bola Tinubu

By
Angel Gimalo
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A presidential hopeful of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, on Tuesday secured the support of some of his fellow aspirants to get the party’s ticket as they took turns to announce that they were stepping down for him.

These aspirants later beckoned on their teeming supporters who stormed the venue of the APC presidential primary to vote for Tinubu when it was time for the election.

First of the presidential aspirants to announce his withdrawal from the primary to support his co-contender in the race was Senator Godswill Akpabio.

Senator Akpabio, who recently resigned his appointment as the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, announced his withdrawal on Tuesday in Abuja.

He explained that he took the decision to step down for the APC chieftain in the interest of the party and the nation, and asked his supporters to pitch their tents with the former Lagos State governor.

The former minister was addressing a crowd of APC faithful comprising party leaders, delegates, and other supporters at the Eagle Square, the venue of the presidential convention in the nation’s capital.

Similarly, six other aspirants mounted the podium to announce their withdrawal from the contest for the APC presidential ticket and subsequent support for Tinubu.

They are former governor of Ogun State, Ibikunle Amosun; Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State; former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole; Governor Abubakar Badaru of Jigawa; Senator Ajayi Boroffice; and the only female in the contest, Uju Ken-Ohanenye.

Soldiers charged with killing nine civilians in Cameroon

By
Henry Williams
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The army in Cameroon has confirmed that soldiers have killed nine civilians, including an 18-month-old girl.

An army spokesman said a group of soldiers opened fire when they encountered hostile villagers in Missong, in the country’s North-West region, earlier this month.

The spokesman described the use of weapons as “inappropriate and manifestly disproportionate”.

Cameroon’s ministry of defence says four soldiers have been arrested following the shooting.

An investigation has been launched into the killings.

In the same region two years ago, 21 civilians including 13 children and a pregnant woman were killed by Cameroonian soldiers in the village of Ngarbuh.

Two soldiers and a gendarme were later charged with murder, arson, destruction, violence against a pregnant woman and disobeying orders.

But human rights organisations denounced a slow, unfair trial and the absence of the top army officials among the accused persons.

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