News Update

The Chairman of Evergreen Musical Company, Chief Femi Esho, has passed away at the age of 77 after a brief illness.
The family confirmed his passing on Monday June 18, 2024.
Esho, also known as Baba Esho or Baba Musician, was a significant figure in the Nigerian music industry.

A three-storey building under construction in Abakaliki, capital of Ebonyi State collapsed on Tuesday with two persons trapped. The building allegedly belongs to a member of the Ebonyi State House of Assembly.
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. The Rivers Police Command has taken over the 23 local government areas over the succession crisis rocking the State. The police, in a statement by SP Grace Iringe-Koko, said the decision was taken following the breakdown of law and order in the various councils’ secretariat.
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 The Local Government Area succession crisis has claimed a policeman and a vigilance group member in Rivers State. Though details of the incident were still sketchy, it was gathered that the victims were killed at Omuma Local Government Area of the state.

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. New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) national leader, Rabiu Kwankwaso on Tuesday alleged that enemies of Kano were plotting to topple the state. Kwankwaso, a one-time Kano governor, called on the people of the state to join forces for the peace and development of the commercial city.

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. Former Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, on Tuesday, said he stayed away from the Ilorin Durbar for peace to reign and out of respect for the Sheikh Alimi throne. He, however, said the state government, led by Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, did not want him to attend the Durbar event because of his soaring popularity among the people.

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THIS IS SO SAD

 A mob in the Wukari Local Government Area of Taraba State set a man ablaze for stabbing a female Point of Sale, POS, operator to death. The POS operator, an 18-year-old young lady, was said to be preparing to write her NECO exams before the unfortunate incident.

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 The Naira on Tuesday appreciated marginally to N1480 against the US dollar at the parallel foreign exchange market, also known as the black market, amid the Sallah holidays. According to sources, the Naira was exchanged at N1,480 against the dollar on Tuesday as against the N1,490 to N1500 it was traded last Friday before the holiday.
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 The Director General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, Prof Mojisola Adeyeye, on Tuesday advised Nigerians to abstain from keeping cooked food in the refrigerator for more than three days. This was made known in a statement signed by the agency’s Resident Media Consultant, Sayo Akintola.

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. Lawmakers in the House of Representatives under the aegis of G-60, on Tuesday, demanded the trial of 23 former local government chairmen in Rivers State loyal to the Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike, for alleged treason. The group made the demand at a press conference held at the National Assembly Complex in Abuja.

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 Three suspected kidnappers have been arrested by men of the Community Volunteer Guards in Otukpo Local Government Area of Benue State. Witnesses said that the suspects were apprehended on Monday at the Otukpo motor park as they were about to board a vehicle to Makurdi.

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A group of elders in Edo State has strongly condemned what they called “unwarranted barrage of insults and abuses” being directed at the Oba of Benin, His Royal Majesty Oba Ewuare II, by supporters of the Labour Party and its gubernatorial candidate, Olumide Akpata.

The elders, who operate under the umbrella of the Edo Socio-Cultural Advancement and Good Governance Initiative, expressed shock and disappointment at what they described as a “childish, unwarranted and unacceptable behavior” of some Labour Party supporters across various social media platforms.

The 2023 presidential candidate of LP, Peter Obi and Akpata on Saturday paid a courtesy visit to the Oba’s palace shortly after inaugurating the party’s campaign office ahead of the September 21 governorship election.
During the visit, Akpata while seeking the support of the traditional ruler, repeatedly referred to himself as a “son of the palace” in both English and the local dialect.
But Oba Ewuare II later countered the claim.
According to a video clip making the rounds, the Oba swiftly dismissed his assertion, stating that he had asked one of his chiefs to verify Akpata’s claims, only to find that the candidate had no direct or distant links to the Palace.

The development did not go down well with some of the LP guber candidate’s supporters, with some of them verbally attacking the Oba on various social media channels.
However, in a press statement made available to DAILY POST on Tuesday, spokesman of the Elders’ group, Comrade Melvin Irabor, said the Oba was not out of place in correcting Akpata’s claim to be the “son of the palace.”
“Our Oba was not out of place in correcting the erroneous remarks and insinuations by the Labour Party candidate, Barr. Olumide Akpata, for claiming to be the ‘Son of the Palace’,” Irabor said.
He noted that they were inundated with a “barrage of abuses” on the revered Oba of Benin by Akpata’s supporters on platforms such as Twitter and Facebook.
Irabor read out some of the “disappointing comments,” including one by a user who described the Oba as a “useless ruler,” and another who suggested that the Oba would have “warmly received” Akpata if he had brought “money full of ‘Ghana must go.'”
The group emphasized that the Oba of Benin, as the “mouthpiece of the gods and the revered royal father of the kingdom,” has a responsibility to stay apolitical and correct any candidate making “erroneous remarks and insinuations.”
“Every candidate contesting in this election has the support and blessings of our Oba. He is the father of all and he wishes every one of them well,” Irabor stated.

The elders warned the Labour Party supporters to desist from hurling insults on the Oba, stating that such actions would be considered an “affront on the palace.”
They called on all political parties to conduct their campaigns in a “democratic manner and keep the campaign issues-based.”

Dailypost