Connect with us

News

Ondo 2024: Aiyedatiwa declares interest in governorship race

Published

on

655 Views

The Governor of Ondo State, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, has formally declared his intention to contest the governorship election come November this year.

The governor dropped the long awaited news, hours after his predecessor, the late Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, was buried on Friday.

Mr Aiyedatiwa said he would wish to contest and win the forthcoming election as required by the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for one more term.

He, however, would first have to win the Governorship ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) which is slated for April this year.

The governor spoke on TVC News on Friday.

“Definitely, I will be running because I am already a sitting governor. And let me say this that nobody wants to be governor for one year,” Mr Aiyedatiwa said in response to a question whether he would run in the election.

“Give me what the constitution allows me to do, at least, let me have a chance of also running for one more term as it were,” he said.

The governor also denied that he had any conflict with the late Governor Akeredolu before his death.

He noted that it was a few individuals in the state, driven by their ambition, who caused the crisis in the state.

”Let me put this straight for the record sake, I never had issues with my former principal, there was no time we had a face off, there was no time we had an issue that will demand that I have to make up with him.

”All that were being pushed out at a time were basically political; they were all falsehood and insinuations because election was coming and they knew the governor was so sick and a lot of things were at play,” the governor said.

On the open letter written by five members of the House of Representatives from Ondo state to the President, Mr Aiyedatiwa said the members had a right to air their views.

“Everybody is entitled to his or her own opinion. That is just an opinion of some people that are so driven by ambition. If you look at the profile of those five members of the House of Representatives, they have individual aspirants they are supporting in the upcoming election.

”So, all of them have their own ambition who they want to be governor. That is an unprogressive position and the party has actually responded that there was no crisis in the party, that they are not at loggerheads with me,” he said.

Mr Aiyedatiwa had kept his ambition close to his chest until Friday when Governor Akeredolu’s burial rites were concluded.

The APC national secretariat had ruled out the possibility of an automatic ticket for him.

It was however, gathered that there are forces within his party averse to his ambition and that he would need to work hard to be able to win the party’s ticket.

That are also fears that the President Bola Tinubu factor might be a major decider, and this has informed a number of aspirants travelling regularly to Abuja to curry the favour of the presidency as the primaries approach.

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

News

JUST IN: Tinubu Departs Paris for Nigeria After Extended Vacation

Published

on

12 Views

President Bola Tinubu has ended his working vacation in Europe and departed Paris for Nigeria on Tuesday, with his aircraft expected to land at Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos later in the evening.

The announcement was made by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga. Tinubu left Abuja on August 30 for what was initially billed as a three-week working vacation.

He spent one week in London before proceeding to Paris. The trip was later extended, bringing his total time abroad to about 30 days.

The President chose to return through Lagos rather than Abuja to honour the memory of the late Chief MKO Abiola, the presumed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election.

On Independence Day, October 1, he is scheduled to attend the premiere of a movie celebrating Abiola at the Wole Soyinka National Theatre in Iganmu, Lagos.

While in Lagos, Tinubu will hold strategic meetings with political leaders and associates over several days as preparations for the 2027 general elections intensify. He is expected to return to Abuja after those engagements.

During his stay in Paris, the President attended a private dinner with French President Emmanuel Macron and held meetings with business leaders, including Vincent Bolloré of the Bolloré Group.

He also met with First Holdings Chairman Femi Otedola and witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Ogun State Government and DP World for a deep seaport and Blue Marine Economic Zone.

Continue Reading

News

National Assembly Plans to Translate Laws into Igbo, Hausa, Yoruba

Published

on

11 Views

The National Assembly plans to translate Nigerian laws into Igbo, Hausa, Yoruba and other indigenous languages as part of a broader effort to digitise parliamentary records and make legislation more accessible to citizens.

Henry Nwawuba, Executive Secretary of the National Assembly Library Trust Fund, announced the initiative on Monday in Abuja while declaring open the 2026 National Assembly Library Week. The event was themed “Parliamentary Memory: Connecting Records, Legislation and the People.”

Nwawuba said the translation would help more Nigerians, especially those not proficient in English, understand the laws that affect their daily lives. He described the library as the knowledge infrastructure of the legislature and a repository of its institutional memory.

The move forms part of a digital overhaul that includes upgrading the e-library, creating electronic repositories, developing a National Assembly Library mobile application, and introducing a Bills Tracker to allow the public to monitor the progress of proposed laws in real time.

The library will also produce infographics, audiovisual materials and short video explainers to simplify bills, Acts and legislative procedures. Officials said the upgrades would help curb the spread of fake or unverified legislative documents online.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio, represented by Senator Osita Ngwu, and Speaker of the House of Representatives Abbas Tajudeen, represented by Professor Julius Ihonvbere, both stressed the need for lawmakers to use the digital tools while prioritising cybersecurity.

Continue Reading

News

BREAKING: Court Order Threatens Dangote Kenya Refinery Launch

Published

on

14 Views

A Kenyan court order requiring parties to maintain the status quo on disputed land has cast uncertainty over the planned groundbreaking of Aliko Dangote’s multi-billion-dollar oil refinery in Lamu, scheduled for Wednesday, September 30.

The Malindi Environment and Land Court, in an order dated September 25 and made public this week, directed that the existing situation on Land Reference No. 13061 in the Hindi/Manda Magogoni area be preserved until a hearing on October 14. The order followed a petition by 133 residents of Chandavai in Lamu County, who claim the land is ancestral property their families have occupied, farmed and developed for generations. They allege inadequate recognition, compensation and resettlement in the acquisition process.

Judge Jane Onyango declined to certify the application as fully urgent in a way that would explicitly cancel the ceremony and refused a separate request to restrain the Office of the President, Dangote Industries, the Lamu County Government and other respondents from proceeding with the groundbreaking. However, the status quo directive bars clearing, excavation, fencing, demolition, construction or other interference with occupied portions of the land in the interim.

Dangote Group said the ruling has not halted the groundbreaking ceremony itself. “The court has not halted the groundbreaking ceremony of the refinery at this stage. However, activities at the site may be affected by the ruling as both parties are required not to carry activities until the case is heard on 14th October,” the company stated.

Energy and Petroleum Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi confirmed the ceremony would proceed as planned. Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, downplayed the development while speaking to investors in Nairobi, describing such legal challenges as “normal for us in Africa” and comparing it to past disputes elsewhere on the continent. He insisted the project would continue.

The proposed facility is a 700,000-barrel-per-day greenfield oil refinery and petrochemical complex estimated to cost $15–16 billion (roughly Ksh2 trillion). It is intended to process crude from Kenya’s Lokichar fields and other East African sources, reduce the region’s heavy reliance on imported fuels, create jobs and support industrialisation. President William Ruto is expected to attend the ceremony alongside Dangote. Heavy equipment has already begun arriving at the Port of Lamu.

The case returns to court on October 14, when respondents will have the opportunity to file responses and the matter will be heard inter partes. Until then, the legal constraint on site activities remains in force even as organisers press ahead with the ceremonial launch.

Continue Reading

Trending