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Elections: Kwankwaso votes in Kano, laments late arrival of materials

Published

1 year ago

February 25, 2023

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The presidential candidate of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), Rabiu Kwankwaso has cast his vote at a polling unit in the Kwankwaso town of the Madobi Local Government Area of Kano State.

Addressing reporters after voting, Kwankwaso said accreditation and voting didn’t start in the polling unit till 11 am as against 08:30am. He, therefore, appealed to the Independent National Electoral Commission to be a “little bit patient” for his supporters to vote.

The NNPP candidate is one of the leading candidates in the race for Aso Rock. Kwankwaso’s major contenders include Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP).

Kwankwaso, 66, is a former governor of Kano State, and an ex-Minister of Defence. He commands a “cut-like following” in North-West Nigeria with his socio-political movement, Kwankwasiyya movement with strong presence in Kano and other states.

READ Don’t let passion for your preferred candidate trigger chaos after poll, Fayemi urges Nigerians

Pre-election polls have positioned Kwankwaso as one of the top four contenders in Niger’a’s 2023 presidential poll. The ex-governor, known for his red cap, is running alongside a southerner, Isaac Idahosa.

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UPDATED: Tinubu appoints Jim Ovia as chairman of education loan fund

Published

3 hours ago

April 26, 2024

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President Bola Tinubu has appointed Jim Ovia as the chairman of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND).

Ajuri Ngelale, presidential spokesperson, announced the appointment of Ovia, chairman of Zenith Bank, in a statement on Friday.

Ngelale said Tinubu believes that Ovia will bring his immense wealth of experience to ensure that no Nigerian student suffers a paucity of funds in the quest for tertiary education.

On April 3, Tinubu signed the student loans amendment bill into law to provide Nigerians with quality and accessible education.

The law will allow Nigerian students in tertiary institutions to access low-interest loans for tuition and other academic needs.

Subsequently, the president appointed Akintunde Sawyerr as the managing director and chief executive officer (CEO) of the fund.

Tinubu also appointed Frederick Oluwafemi Akinfala as the executive director of finance and administration, while Mustapha Iyal will serve as the executive director of operations of NELFUND.

READ Elections will hold despite attacks, INEC reassures Nigerians

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JUST IN: Tinubu appoints Jim Ovia as chairman of education loan fund

Published

5 hours ago

April 26, 2024

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President Bola Tinubu has appointed Jim Ovia as the chairman of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND).

Ajuri Ngelale, presidential spokesperson, announced the appointment of Ovia, chairman of Zenith Bank, in a statement on Friday.

More to follow…

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ICPC detains TETFund boss ‘over questionable N7.6bn project’

Published

9 hours ago

April 26, 2024

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The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has detained Sonny Echono, executive secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund).

Demola Bakare, ICPC spokesperson, confirmed the development on Friday.

Bakare said that Echono was invited by the anti-graft agency on Thursday.

“The executive secretary of TETFund is here with us. He has been invited for questioning. He is still in custody. He was invited yesterday.” Bakare said.

“He was invited on Thursday. He has not been released. He’s still with us. Investigation is still ongoing.”

It was earlier reported that TETfund awarded two contracts to Fides Et Ratio Academy and Pole Global Marketing (PGM) within two months at the cost of N3.8 billion respectively without the approval of the federal executive council (FEC), which is required for the contract size.

The contract was to provide capacity building course and learning management systems to about 2 million students across higher institutions in the country.

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In a rejoinder, TETFund said it did not award N7.6 billion contracts to two companies without due process.

The agency said it was wrong to say they were contracts, whereas they were ICT projects implemented under a memorandum of understanding (MoU) which doesn’t require competitive bidding in public procurement.

TETFund further said its disbursement guidelines were approved by the president on the recommendation of the “Fund’s Board of Trustees and concurrence of the Honourable Minister of Education in line with the TETFund Act 2011″.

In an interview with TheCable, Echono said there was no form of irregularity in the N7.6 billion project.