Opposition
Ebonyi governor sacks over 1,000 board members, aides
Ebonyi State Governor David Umahi has dissolved all boards and commissions in the state with immediate effect. He announced this during his 2021 anniversary day address to the people of the state. Also sacked are management Committee members, liaison officers and local government advisory committee at all the 64 local government areas and 171 wards in the state. Also affected by the sack are all the Executive Assistants, Technical Assistants and Senior Technical Assistants to the governor. Put together, those sacked are over 1000. The sack comes barely 24 hours after the governor sacked 83 members of the state executive council. He however noted that some statutory boards are not affected by the dissolution. They include Judiciary Service Commission, House of Assembly Service Commission, C...
‘Patriots rule Hong Kong’ as sweeping pro-Beijing electoral rules passed
Hong Kong’s legislature approved the biggest overhaul of its political system in the quarter century since British rule on Thursday, in a decisive step to assert Beijing’s authority over the autonomous city. The changes will reduce the proportion of seats in the legislature that are filled by direct elections from half to less than a quarter. A new body will be empowered to vet candidates and bar those deemed insufficiently patriotic towards China from standing. “These 600-or-so pages of the legislation come down to just a few words: patriots ruling Hong Kong,” said Peter Shiu, a pro-Beijing lawmaker. Most of the changes were announced by China in March, though Hong Kong authorities later contributed further details, such as redrawing constituency boundaries and criminalising calls for bal...
Military arrest Mali’s president, premier, defence minister
Military officers in Mali arrested the president, prime minister and defence minister of the country’s interim government on Monday after a cabinet reshuffle, multiple diplomatic and government sources told Reuters. President Bah Ndaw, Prime Minister Moctar Ouane and defence minister Souleymane Doucoure were all taken to a military base in Kati outside the capital Bamako, the sources said. The arrests bring further uncertainty to the West African country after a military coup in August overthrew President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita. Ndaw and Ouane had been tasked with overseeing an 18-month transition back to civilian rule after the takeover, but many inside government and the opposition worried about the military’s hold over key positions. The arrests occurred after the announcement of a chan...
Rivers governor accuses predecessor of embezzling proceeds from aircraft, power projects
Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike has accused the Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Amaechi, of embezzlement of proceeds from the sales of the state aircraft and power stations. The governor offered to resign from office if Amaechi could mention any federal project he has attracted to Rivers State as a minister since 2015. Governor Wike made the remarks at the formal defection of two former chairmen of All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, Dr Davies Ikanya and Igo Aguma, as well as other chieftains of the opposition to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Port Harcourt on Saturday. The governor explained that Amaechi, the former governor, had claimed he sold a Dash 8 aircraft purchased by the administration of former Governor Dr Peter Odili to the Government of Cross River ...
APC: PDP governors’ meeting ‘mere jamboree’
The ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, has described Monday’s meeting of governors of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party PDP as a jamboree and a complete waste of time, accusing the state executives of engaging in name calling and abuses. National Secretary of the APC Caretaker Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee, CECPC, Sen. John James Akpanudoedehe disclosed this in a statement issued Monday in Abuja. The statement reads; “Going by the communique issued by the Peoples Democratic Party PDP Governors’ Forum, at the end of its meeting on Monday, it is unfortunate that the PDP governors chose to engage in misplaced name calling and abuses instead of seizing a golden opportunity provided by the meeting to offer meaningful and patriotic contributions on the review of the state...
Sam Allardyce: Premier League is becoming boring
Press Association Sam Allardyce has warned that the Premier League is in danger of becoming boring because teams have been “brainwashed” into using the same playing style. The English top-flight has opened up to different tactical approaches over the last decade, with an influx of coaches coming from elsewhere in Europe. However the West Brom manager fears coaches are being prevented from sticking to their preferred style and that the league is suffering as a result. He said to Sky Sports: “What’s the point of playing out from the back against Man City and Liverpool, the best high-pressing team in this country. If they drop off, you play out from the back. Where’s the space? Exploit the space. I tried to get the players to think about that. It’s a simple game that’s been complicated far to...
Myanmar anti-coup fighters retreat from town as U.S. makes appeal
Fighters of a local militia opposed to Myanmar’s junta have pulled back from the northwestern town of Mindat after days of assault by combat troops backed by artillery, a member of the group said on Sunday. The United States and Britain called on the army to avoid civilian casualties and a shadow National Unity Government formed by loyalists of Myanmar’s detained elected leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, appealed for international help. A spokesman for the junta did not answer calls for comment. The fighting in the hill town of Mindat, about 100 km (60 miles) from the Indian border in Chin state, is some of the heaviest since the coup plunged Myanmar into chaos with daily protests, strikes and the emergence of new local militias. “To avoid confrontation, we retreated out of concern over damage to ...
Myanmar army battles anti-coup rebels as armed resistance grows
Myanmar’s army battled local militia fighters in the northwestern town of Mindat on Saturday, residents said, to try to quell a rebellion that has sprung up to oppose the junta which seized power in the Southeast Asian country in February. The fighting is some of the heaviest since the coup and underlines the growing chaos as the junta struggles to impose order in the face of daily protests, strikes and sabotage attacks after it overthrew elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi. “We are running for our lives,” one resident told Reuters from Mindat, a hill town just over 100 km (60 miles) from the border with India. “There are around 20,000 people trapped in town, most of them are kids, old people,” the resident added. “My friend’s three nieces were hit by shrapnel. They are not even teens.” The ju...
Myanmar junta imposes martial law in town
Myanmar has been in turmoil since the coup on February 1, with protests almost daily against military rule across the country and ethnic militias stepping up attacks, overrunning military posts. Myanmar’s junta has declared martial law in a town in Chin State after blaming “armed terrorists” for attacks on a police station and a bank, state media reported, amid an upsurge in fighting between the military and ethnic rebels in border areas. In the face of widespread opposition, the junta has struggled to retain order amid daily protests in cities and fighting in border states since overthrowing elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi to end tentative steps towards democracy. The unrest in the town of Mindat on Wednesday and Thursday involved about 100 people using homemade guns to attack a police st...
De-registration: Supreme Court judgement binding only on NUP – CUPP
The Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) has insisted that the recent Supreme Court judgement affirming the de-registration of 74 political parties is only binding on the National Unity Party (NUP). CUPP maintained that the judgment does not, in any way, bind on the 22 political parties which got victory at the Court of Appeal as they are not parties before the Supreme Court in NUP’s case and their prayers before the courts are also different. On August 10, 2020, the Court of Appeal in Appeal No. CA/ABJ/CV/507/2020, between Advanced Congress of Democrats (ACD) & 21 others, and Attorney General of the Federation & INEC ruled that the de-registration of the 22 political parties was unconstitutional and ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to relist the...
2023: ADC condemns INEC’s plan to create more polling units
The African Democratic Party (ADC) has expressed opposition to the plans by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to create additional polling units ahead of 2023. The National Chairman of the party, Okey Nwosu, addressed the media in Onitsha on Wednesday. He said that establishing more units in addition to the existing 120,000 was bad timing, considering the current economic challenges. The chairman said America, with more population and landmass, has only about 240,000 polling places. “How do we justify this with INEC’s call for additional polling units? Is it because INEC is spending from government coffers?” he quipped. The ADC leader advised the electoral umpire to be judicious with public money. Nwosu added that elections should not continue to drain funds that could b...
FIFA supremo urges restraint in punishing Super League clubs
FIFA president Gianni Infantino says he is not in favour of sanctions against the 12 clubs that tried to launch a European Super League, preferring “dialogue” on football reform. The plan to create a closed competition was “unacceptable” and “unimaginable”, the world football boss told French sports daily L’Equipe in an interview published on Wednesday. “Certain actions should have consequences, and everyone must assume their responsibilities,” said Infantino, who has publically joined the opposition to the project. “But you always have to be careful when you talk about sanctions. “It’s said quickly that you have to punish. It’s even popular — or populist — sometimes. “By punishing a club, for example, you are also punishing players, coaches and fans, who have nothing to do with it.” He sa...
