The governorship and House of Assembly elections in Akwa Ibom State were conducted under an atmosphere of peace, despite some skirmishes and cases of ballot box-snatching witnessed in some local governement areas. Fights were witnessed in places like Uyo, the state capital, Nsit Ibom, Etim Ekpo, and Etinan, while two cases of ballot box-snatching were reported in Ibiono Ibom. The…

As the electorate in Kaduna State go to the polls today to elect their next governor and members of the state House of Assembly, everyone is anxious to know who will emerge as the next occupant of Sir Kasim Ibrahim House, the state's seat of power. The incumbent, Patrick Yakowa, who is contesting on the platform of the People's Democratic…

Allegations of fraud in the elections conducted in Cross River State are pouring into the office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Calabar. Aggrieved candidates of the defeated parties are calling for their outright cancellation. Notable among the petitioners are Eyo Etim Nyong, Joseph Etene and Cletus Obun of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Victor Okon of…

Following the killing of two members of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in Ekiti State during the just concluded election, the state chairperson of the party, Jide Awe, has appealed to members of the party to remain calm. A member of the party, identified as Ojo Selewa, was allegedly shot dead in Iludun Ekiti in Ilejemeje local government area…

As normalcy returned to Kaduna State after last week's political mayhem, Muslim and Christian women in the state blamed Nigerian leaders for the loss of lives and property that took place during the crisis. In a joint press conference yesterday in Kaduna, the women of the Interfaith Council of Muslim and Christian Women's Groups said it was inhuman for the…

President Goodluck Jonathan has held meetings with the former governor of Kaduna State, Ahmed Makarfi, urging him to work for the victory of the People's Democratic Party (PDP) ahead of today's governorship and House of Assembly polls in the state. A reliable source from the presidency said that the president met with Mr Makarfi, the former gubernatorial contestant of the…

Two months after 11 people lost their lives in a boat mishap near Calabar, the capital of Cross River State, another boat has capsized in the same river killing four of the passengers on board, including the boat operator. The latest incident has further instilled fear over marine transportation across the river from Calabar to Creek Town, as boats capsize…

The primate of the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, Nicholas Okoh, has appealed to politicians who won their elections to show restraint and humility in victory, while all who lost elections should take it in the spirit of sportsmanship and hope for another opportunity next time. Mr Okoh, who spoke with journalists in Abuja, also called on the federal government…

With less than 24 hours to the rescheduled gubernatorial and state House of Assembly election in Bauchi State, the state police command yesterday declared a 24-hour restriction on movement across the state, especially for people travelling from outside the state. The state police commissioner, Amanam John Abakasanga, who addressed journalists at the command headquarters in Bauchi on Tuesday, said the…

Goodluck Jonathan said yesterday that the rescheduled elections in Bauchi and Kaduna States will hold on Thursday as planned, but if the elections were not held, the federal government may be forced to impose a state of emergency in the two states. Mr Jonathan said this while talking to journalists after voting in his hometown, Otuoke, Bayelsa State, adding that…

Last week, the Court of Appeal in Abuja, in a reversal of an earlier judgment of a Federal High Court, ruled that Lawal Jafar Isa, and not Mohammed Sani Abacha, is the governorship candidate for Kano State of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC). Before the judgment, the CPC looked set to clinch the governorship seat of Kano State in…

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} There are many candidates in the race for the Benue governorship position, but political analysts in the state…

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} Ahead of tomorrow's elections and the rerun of the Anambra State central senatorial election, the All Progressives Grand…

On the morning of January 21, 2010, as five armed policemen escorted Ikenna Samuelson Iwuoha into the black Toyota Prado SUV registered to the Imo State government house, his neighbours must have looked on with envy. They would have thought that Mr Iwuoha's activism had finally caught the attention of the authorities and that the government had decided to hush…

The just concluded national assembly elections revealed a peculiar trend among Imo politicians that clearly went beyond desperation to the point of paranoia. The state governor, Ikedi Ohakim, and an ambassador, Kema Chikwe, both of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP), had played into the hands of opposition political parties through a series of perceived political misdeeds and miscalculations that…