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2023: Akpabio to run for Senate

Published

2 years ago

June 10, 2022

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Former Minister for Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio, will run for a seat in the Nigerian Senate after stepping down for the former governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, at the just concluded presidential primary of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Tinubu polled 1,271 votes to defeat 13 other aspirants in the race.

Two sources familiar with the development disclosed that Akpabio, Thursday night, filled the party forms that would get his name entered as the APC candidate for the Akwa Ibom North-West District election in 2023, even when he did not take part in the party primary in the district.

All party primaries for 2023 elections end on June 9, according to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Jackson Udom, the media aide to Mr Akpabio, confirmed that the former minister will contest for the Senate.

Udom said that “people were still voting” in a “rescheduled” primary for the district.

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“He (Akpabio) is contesting,” Mr Udom said. “Obong Ekperikpe Ekpo has stepped down for him.”

Ekperikpe Ekpo, a former member of the House of Representatives, was earlier this month declared the winner of the APC senatorial primary conducted by a faction of the party that is loyal to Akpabio.

Udom Ekpoudom, a retired deputy inspector general of police, won a parallel APC primary in the district – it was conducted by a faction loyal to the former national secretary of the APC, John Akpanudoedehe.

Messrs Akpabio and Akpanudoedehe have been involved in a protracted battle over the control of the APC structure in Akwa Ibom.

Akpanudoedehe, a few days ago, defected to the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP) and secured the party’s governorship ticket in Akwa Ibom after he was outmaneuvered by the other faction which got Akanimo Udofia, a man who joined the APC in less than a month, to be elected the 2023 governorship candidate of the party in the state.

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Meanwhile, the APC in Akwa Ibom may not field candidates for the 2023 elections because of the legitimacy issues over who leads the party between the two factions.

If cleared by INEC, this would be the second time Akpabio, a former Senate minority leader, would contest for the Senate after his first term in the National Assembly in 2019.

Akpabio, a former governor of Akwa Ibom, was elected a senator in 2015 under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party. He later resigned from his position as the minority leader and defected from the PDP to the APC.

He, however, failed to win the senatorial election in 2019 under the APC, and was compensated with an appointment as the minister of Niger Delta Affairs by President Muhammadu Buhari.

JUST IN: Tinubu, Shettima to pay toll at airport gates

Published

5 hours ago

May 14, 2024

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President Bola Tinubu and Vice-President Kashim Shettima will now pay the required toll whenever they use the gates at airports.

Festus Keyamo, minister of aviation, announced this to journalists after the federal executive council (FEC) meeting chaired by Tinubu at the presidential villa in Abuja on Tuesday.

Keyamo said he presented two memos which were approved by the council.

Details later…

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News

Tinubu suspends 0.5% cybersecurity levy

Published

5 hours ago

May 14, 2024

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President Bola Tinubu has suspended the 0.5 percent cybersecurity levy after criticism and protest trailed the announcement.

Mohammed Idris, minister of information and national orientation, announced the suspension.

Idris said Tinubu directed the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to suspend the implementation and review the modalities for its implementation.

Details later…

READ Old Naira Notes: Senate wants CBN deadline extended to June 30th, 2023

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Minister to sue Niger speaker over plans to ‘marry off’ 100 girls, says it’s ‘totally unacceptable’

Published

12 hours ago

May 14, 2024

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Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye, minister of women affairs, has petitioned the inspector-general of police (IGP) and sought a court injunction to halt the marriage of 100 girls in Niger state.

Abdulmalik Sarkindaji, speaker of the Niger state house of assembly, announced last week that he would sponsor the wedding of 100 girls, some of whom were orphaned by insurgency, as part of his Maringa constituency project.

He said he had procured materials for the event scheduled for May 24, and promised to pay dowries for the bridegrooms.

Following the outcry that trailed the announcement, the speaker explained that he was only financing the wedding — not forcing the girls into marriage.

However, Kennedy-Ohanenye said the plan is unacceptable, and that the future of the girls should be a priority.

Speaking to journalists in Abuja on Monday, the minister said a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding the issue will be carried out.

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She said the ministry will take responsibility for the girls’ education and vocational training.

“I want to let the honorable speaker of house in Niger state know that this is totally unacceptable by Federal Minister Of Women Affairs and by the government,” Kennedy-Ohanenye said.

“Because there is something called the Child’s Right Act and I said it from the onset, that is no more business as usual.

“These children must be considered, their future must be considered, the future of the children to come out of their marriage must be considered.

“So I have gone to court. I have written him a letter and written a petition to the IG of police.

“And I have filed for injunction to stop him from whatever he is planning to do on the 24th, until a thorough investigation is carried out on those girls, find out whether they gave their consent, their ages, find out the people marrying them.

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“As the speaker did not think about empowering these women or sending them to school or giving them some kind of training support financially.

“The women affairs have decided to take it up and we are going to educate the children.

“Those that do not want to go to school, we will train them in a skill, empower them with sustainable empowerment machines to enable that child build his or her life and make up her mind who and when to get married.

“If for any reason the speaker tries to do contrary to what I have just mentioned, there will be a serious legal battle between him and the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs.”

The minister added that based on the Child Rights Act, every child belongs to the state, hence the rights of every child will be protected from harm and violence.