News & Announcements

The Labour Party Presidential Campaign Council calls for the cancellation of the rigged election and the suspension of the announcement of election results.

This was contained in a statement read during a world press conference by Dr. Akin Osuntokun, director general of the Labour Party campaign council.

The statement read in full, “The President promised Nigerians free and fair elections with the passage of the new Electoral Act and, indeed has repeated this promise multiple times.

“The INEC Chairman also came before Nigerians and the Global community to promise free and fair elections and severally reiterated its readiness to conduct the elections.

“What has become glaring is that none of these promises has been kept. All promises about deploying a fail-safe system anchored on BVAS were broken.

“The internet and social media are awash with videos and photographic pieces of evidence of the pervasive violence and attacks that were visited on Nigerians, with some attacks still ongoing across the country as we speak.

“The evidence of collusion between INEC and the security forces to subvert the will of the people is too numerous to be detailed here.

“The INEC guidelines on the conduct of the elections were extensively breached, and INEC has evidently been very reluctant to make the necessary adjustment to remedy the situation.

“Contrary to the publicly advertised guidelines for the conduct of the elections, we are convinced that the processes leading to the results have been severely compromised. Consequently, we state that we have lost confidence in the results being collated and announced.

“Nigerians have inundated us with calls and protests over INEC’s non-compliance with provisions of the electoral guidelines and the obvious manipulations of the election results.

“We, hereby, call on INEC to suspend the further announcement of the results, and follow its own guidelines or completely cancel the entire election and make plans for another election with strict compliance with the stipulated laws and guidelines.

“We ask the international community to walk their talk in Nigeria and cease to condone the multiple evils being perpetrated in our country by the rulers of Nigeria. There cannot be one standard for Nigeria and another for the rest of the world.

“We thank Nigerians for their support for our candidates, and we assure you all that your mandate shall not be surrendered to a desperate gaggle of failed rulers, who have brought nothing but ruination on our dear country.

“We urge that Nigerians remain peaceful and law abiding, whilst assured that we are doing everything within the law to protect your sacred mandate. Thank you, and God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria “

The Deputy Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, Hon Peter Akpatason, has emerged the winner of the election into the House of Representatives to represent Akoko-Edo Federal Constituency for a record fourth term.

Announcing the result in Igarra, headquarters of the constituency, the Independent National Electoral Commission collation officer, Professor Robert Okuonghae, said Akpatason, who is the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, scored a total of 14,982 votes to defeat his closest rival, Hon Kabiru Adjoto of the Peoples Democratic Party who polled 9,293 votes while the Labour Party polled 7,993.

In Edo Central Senatorial District, for the first time since 1999, a party other than the PDP won the senate seat in the person of Monday Okpebholo of APC who scored 41,334 votes while the LP scored 32,574 and the PDP got 25,225, the results were announced by Professor Ray Ozuolua DVC Academics.

Meanwhile, the husband of Nollywood actress Mercy Johnson, Odianosen Okojie, won the House of Representatives seat for the Esan South-East/Esan North-East Federal Constituency as he scored a total of 21,764 votes to defeat the PDP which scored 10,007 while LP scored 11,528 the results were announced by Dr Victor Imade.

The APC also won the Etsako Federal Constituency where its candidate, Dekery Anamero as the winner haven scored 58,692 votes to defeat Andy Momodu of the PDP who scored 25,132 as announced by the returning officer, Professor Buniyamin Adesina Ayinde.

The Deputy Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, Hon Peter Akpatason, has emerged the winner of the election into the House of Representatives to represent Akoko-Edo Federal Constituency for a record fourth term.

Announcing the result in Igarra, headquarters of the constituency, the Independent National Electoral Commission collation officer, Professor Robert Okuonghae, said Akpatason, who is the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, scored a total of 14,982 votes to defeat his closest rival, Hon Kabiru Adjoto of the Peoples Democratic Party who polled 9,293 votes while the Labour Party polled 7,993.

In Edo Central Senatorial District, for the first time since 1999, a party other than the PDP won the senate seat in the person of Monday Okpebholo of APC who scored 41,334 votes while the LP scored 32,574 and the PDP got 25,225, the results were announced by Professor Ray Ozuolua DVC Academics.

Meanwhile, the husband of Nollywood actress Mercy Johnson, Odianosen Okojie, won the House of Representatives seat for the Esan South-East/Esan North-East Federal Constituency as he scored a total of 21,764 votes to defeat the PDP which scored 10,007 while LP scored 11,528 the results were announced by Dr Victor Imade.

The APC also won the Etsako Federal Constituency where its candidate, Dekery Anamero as the winner haven scored 58,692 votes to defeat Andy Momodu of the PDP who scored 25,132 as announced by the returning officer, Professor Buniyamin Adesina Ayinde.

 President Muhammadu Buhari has condemned what he called the gruesome killing of Chief Oyibo Chukwu, the Labour Party (LP) senatorial candidate for Enugu East and his personal aide.

The president, in a statement issued on Friday by his spokesman, Femi Adesina, directed security agencies to track down the culprits of the “heinous crime.”

He said the perpetrators of the act in Awkunanaw, Enugu South Local Government Area of Enugu State, had no respect for human life and dignity.

Buhari, who said the perpetrators deserved the wrath of natural and divine justice, affirmed his commitment to an election devoid of violence and rancour.

He reminded all political actors that the choice of the electorate would count and urged all eligible Nigerians to boldly exercise their civic rights without any fear of intimidation.

Buhari, who condoled with the families of the victims, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and the Labour Party, prayed for the repose of the soul of the deceased and comfort for those who are mourning.

The Court of Appeal in Abuja has dismissed an appeal by the suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police and former head of the Police Intelligence Response Team of the Nigeria Police, Abba Kyari.

The appeal sought the reversal of an earlier ruling of a Federal High Court in Abuja which refused to grant his request for bail.

Maintaining that Kyari’s appeal was without merit, Justice Stephen Adah, who read the unanimous judgement of a three-man panel, held that given the nature of the charges pending against Kyari and others before the trial court, such requests for bail needed to be handled with caution.

He held that Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, Abuja, who earlier rejected bail to Kyari, appropriately exercised his discretion in refusing to grant Kyari bail.

Kyari is facing prosecution by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency.

He and four members of the IRT – ACP Sunday J. Ubua, ASP Bawa James, Inspector Simon Agirgba and Inspector John Nuhu were charged before a Federal High Court in Abuja with conspiracy to deal in 17.55kg of cocaine.

They were also charged with dealing in cocaine without lawful authority; conspiracy to tamper with cocaine and unlawfully tampering with the 21.35kg of cocaine seized from two convicted drug dealers.

In Delta State, it has apparently been reported that a member of the Independent Electoral Commission was shot to death and several corps members were injured to varying degrees.

This was confirmed to media on Monday shortly after the results of the Ukwani Local Government Area were announced by the resident electoral commissioner in Delta State, Mr. Monday Tom.

He stated, “There were incidents of attack in Ukwani Local Government Area where one of us died on their way coming after the election.

“The gunmen opened fire at their bus and unfortunately killed one INEC official and injured the corps members.

“The corpers are now receiving treatment but we are planning on how to move the corps members who were injured to a hospital in Asaba”

The Nigeria Police Force has ordered all presidential candidates, including those from the APC, PDP, LP, and NNPP, to warn their party loyalists and supporters to refrain from making inciting remarks that could unnecessarily heat up the polity and cause excessive excitement among the electorates and the country’s general populace.

According to the Force headquarters, this warning was issued in light of the continued close surveillance of the 2023 elections as well as a number of intelligence reports and high hopes from all sides.

Olumuyiwa, the force’s public relations officer, said this in a statement on Monday morning in Abuja.

The statement read, “The NPF, having assessed the trend of scaled-up expectations and psychological projections on the ongoing electoral process viz-a-viz collation of results, charges all presidential candidates, as leading and respected figures in their respective political parties, to seize the opportunity of this waiting period to emphasize the rule of law, respect for the Constitution, and constituted authority amongst their supporters, as we all owe a duty to ensure that the nation does not fall into anarchy on the basis of interests and sentiments.

“The Force similarly reiterates the need to desist from mounting undue pressure on the electoral process viz-a-viz the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the body which is constitutionally mandated with the conduct of elections and announcement of results, as all hands are on deck to speedily conclude collation of results and declare the winner.

“While commending the general populace and electorates for their patience thus far and largely lawful conduct around the country, the Police, therefore, encourages presidential candidates to admonish their supporters to uphold the tenets of the Peace Accord recently signed for the smooth conduct of the 2023 general elections.”

The Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) candidate for the Abia North Senate seat in the election on Saturday, Senator Mao Ohuabunwa, has denied as untrue the allegation of his claimed arrest and incarceration for alleged vote-buying.

He also referred to the report’s attempt to link him to cultists as absurd and a lousy screenplay.

The “imaginary and fabricated tale” was the “handiwork of disgruntled election losers desperately looking for ways to keep afloat,” according to the former Leader of the ECOWAS Parliament.

Ohuabunwa claimed that because of his popularity among his constituents, he did not need to buy votes in order to be re-elected to the Senate.

He added that, in contrast to the false reports, no security agency had searched his home or detained anyone connected to him because there was no justification for doing so.

The former chairman of the Senate Committee on Primary Health and Communicable Diseases said it was absurd for anyone to try to associate him with cults or hoodlums given his Christian faith and upright family upbringing.

He pleaded with the people to disregard such fictitious and fraudulent information being spread by paid shills for a bitter election loser who is urgently seeking attention.

Senator Ohuabunwa, who is confident in winning the Abia North senatorial election on Saturday, urged his supporters to maintain composure while waiting for the election’s final findings.

” Our people should be calm and remain vigilant as we monitor developments. The sponsors of this fallacious publication are the same people employing their old tact of intimidation and fraud to manipulate the outcome of the election but they won’t succeed.

” We know their antics and trade in stock which is to use blackmail as a smokescreen to perfect their rigging plot but any attempt to subvert the will of the people shall crumble”, Ohuabunwa stated.

According to the previous House of Representatives leader, Abia North must be freed from the control of anti-democratic elements.

The INEC Results Viewing Site difficulties are well known to the Independent National Election Commission, which stated as much on Sunday.

Festus Okoye, National Commissioner and Chairperson of the Information and Voter Education Committee, signed a statement containing this information.

He asserts that INEC recognizes the significance of IReV in the results management procedure, necessitating an immediate solution to the issues.

The IReV is secure, Okoye said, adding that the gateway was merely having problems and wasn’t being sabotaged.

The IReV is secure, Okoye said, adding that the gateway was merely having problems and wasn’t being sabotaged.

The statement read in full, “The Commission is aware of challenges with the INEC Results Viewing Portal. Unlike in off-season elections where the portal was used, it has been relatively slow and unsteady. The Commission regrets this setback, especially because of the importance of IReV in our results management process.

“The problem is totally due to technical hitches related to scaling up the IReV from a platform for managing off-season, State elections, to one for managing nationwide general elections. It is indeed not unusual for glitches to occur and be corrected in such situations.

“Consequently, the Commission wishes to assure Nigerians that the challenges are not due to any intrusion or sabotage of our systems and that the IReV remains well-secured.

“Our technical team is working assiduously to solve all the outstanding problems, and users of the IReV would have noticed improvements since last night.

“We also wish to assure Nigerians that results from the Polling Units, copies of which were issued to political parties, are safe on both the BVAS and the IReV portal. These results cannot be tampered with and any discrepancy between them and the physical results used in collation will be thoroughly investigated and remediated, in line with Section 65 of the Electoral Act 2022.

“While we fully appreciate the concerns of the public on this situation and welcome various suggestions that we have received from concerned Nigerians, it is important to avoid statements and actions that can heat up the polity at this time or promote disaffection towards the Commission.

“We take full responsibility for the problems and regret the distress that they have caused the candidates, political parties, and the electorate.”

On a remarkable evening filled with grandeur, and panache at the prestigious Radisson Blu Hotel, in Freetown Sierra Leone, The UBA Sierra Leone, organized a send-forth for the outgoing Managing Director Isiaka Imam Usman who used the platform to introduce the acting Managing Director Alhajie Samura Mohammed to an audience made of government represents, diplomats and private sector and chief executive of some blue chip companies in the country.

The event witnessed several positive words mentioned about the personality of Mr. Isiaka by various guests in attendance. While reacting to the comments made at the event, His Excellency Ambassador Henry Omaku, of the Nigerian High Commission emphasized that the statements gladdened his heart and described Mr. Isiaka Usman as a lucky man to be alive to receive such accolades; while noting all the speakers tonight did not mention his wife but also noted that the secret of Isiaka’s success is his wife.

He also encouraged the new MD, Mr. Alhajie Samoura, to do all he can to emulate the good virtues that would enable him to soar higher than his predecessor

Mr. Isiaka Imam Usman, on his part, expressed gratitude to the customers who supported and made his success possible, and humorously stated that he cannot stand alone to appreciate the audience but would prefer to invite his better half to join him on the stage.

He also thanked the Central bank Governor for playing a great role in improving the relationship between the Nigerian Banks

The acting Managing Director Alhajie Samoura described his predecessor as a big brother and promised to consolidate the success of the Bank by following and improving on his virtues. While Mr. Isiaka echoes the statement by stating that “I am confident that the Bank would reach greater heights under the watchful eyes of Mr. Samoura, and on behalf of my family, I say thank you and God bless you.

He was presented with a gift by the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ) in appreciation of his support to the media.La Fete Communications #1 Karl Drive By Tennis CourtHill Station, Freetown, Sierra Leone