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Breaking: Supreme Court suspend hearing of Guber Appeals

Published

5 years ago

January 13, 2020

The Supreme Court of Nigeria has suspended the hearing of the governorship appeals from six states of the Federation scheduled to take place today, Monday in Abuja.

The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Tanko Muhammad, gave the order following the inability of the security operatives to control the crowd and the noise level in the court.

Justice Muhammad had led a seven-man panel of justices hearing the appeals from the governorship elections in Imo, Bauchi, Sokoto, Kano, Plateau and Benue States. But the court rose some minutes after the hearing commenced due to the crowd and the noise level in the court.

As part of efforts to decongest the court, the CJN directed counsels representing the parties not to appear with more than five lawyers.

He, however, granted the parties in the case to witness the proceedings and until that was done, Justice Muhammad ordered that the hearing be put on hold.

Thereafter, politicians who were not parties in any of the appeals were asked to leave the courtroom as the police deploy a dog to assist in the decongestion process.

After carrying out the directive of the CJN to decongest the courtroom, the court resumed proceedings. The appeals were brought before the court by various aggrieved candidates in the March 9 polls in the affected states.

The apex court is hearing the appeals filed by the governorship candidates 10 months after the elections held in the affected states. The governors returned elected by the independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the states are Emeka Ihedioha (Imo), Bala Mohammed (Bauchi), Aminu Tambuwal (Sokoto), Abdullahi Ganduje (Kano), Simon Lalong (Plateau), and Samuel Ortom (Benue)

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2027 Election: Group Moves To recover 10m Lost Votes In Northern States, Says Muhammad Gamawa

Published

3 hours ago

July 10, 2025

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A non-governmental organisation, Advocacy for Integrity and Rule of Law (Airlin) in Nigeria, has kicked off a grassroots campaign across the 19 northern states to promote civic awareness, respect for the rule of law, and voter participation ahead of the next general elections.

Speaking during the inauguration of the Yobe State chapter of the organisation on Sunday, the National Chairman, Muhammad Ibrahim Gamawa, said the initiative was designed to “re-Nigerianise Nigerians” by instilling a deep respect for national values, laws, and democratic responsibilities.

Gamawa noted that the campaign specifically targets Nigerians who refused to vote during the last election, which recorded barely 40 per cent voter turnout.

He said his team is engaging directly with this silent majority in their homes to encourage them to reclaim their civic duty.

“We are going to those who didn’t vote not just to ask them to vote, but to educate them on their rights, how to make informed decisions, and to choose leaders based on ideology, not money,” Gamawa said.

He added that Airlin has appointed state and local government coordinators in all the LGAs of Yobe State as part of its broader plan to mobilise at least 10 million voters from its membership base in the coming election.

Airlin already has functional offices in 16 northern states, strengthening its capacity to reach the grassroots and drive consistent civic engagement.

According to him, “If you refuse to vote, you’re giving the bad eggs a chance to emerge. We’re telling people: don’t stay back. Come out and close the gap left during the last elections.”

He stressed that one of the key tasks for the newly inaugurated officials is to discourage vote-buying and reject financial inducement from politicians.

“Anyone who collected N1,000 or even N1 million two years ago already knows the money is gone. What is left is the broken promise and bad leadership. We must now live by political ideology. Don’t give your vote for money give it for policy, for vision, for something that aligns with your future,” he warned.

Gamawa said Airlin doesn’t engage in partisan campaigns or political endorsements, but instead evaluates political manifestos and meets with candidates to ask direct questions about their plans for the first term.

He added, “Our duty is to look beyond the noise and see who has a workable plan. We sit with these leaders and assess what they can deliver in the first 100 days. That is how we guide our members to vote consciously.”

The group’s core message revolves around respect for the rule of law, civic responsibility, and citizen-led accountability, with Gamawa stressing that the time had come for Nigerians to stop waiting for government agencies to enforce good governance.

“Let the rule of law live in our minds, in our bodies. It’s our job as citizens to keep Nigeria together not just the job of the government,” he said.

Gamawa concluded with a strong warning against vote trading, describing it as an act of betrayal to the nation, “Collecting money from politicians for votes is the worst thing citizens can do to their country.”

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Breaking : US cuts Nigerian non-immigrant visas to three months, single entry, With immediate effect

Published

2 days ago

July 8, 2025

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The United States Department of State has announced an update to its non-immigrant visa policy for Nigerians.

According to a press release issued by the US Embassy in Abuja on Tuesday, “most non-immigrant and non-diplomatic visas issued to citizens of Nigeria will be single-entry visas with a three-month validity period.”

The new visa restrictions take immediate effect.

However, the embassy clarified that, “those US non-immigrant visas issued before July 8, 2025, will retain their status and validity.”

The statement emphasised that this move is part of the Department’s global visa reciprocity process, which the embassy described as “a continuous process and is subject to review and change at any time, such as increasing or decreasing permitted entries and duration of validity.”

The US explained the rationale behind the policy update, noting that “US visa criteria and standards are designed to protect the integrity of US immigration systems.”

The embassy added that “these standards are based on global technical and security benchmarks.”

According to the embassy, the US Mission is working with Nigerian authorities to meet these benchmarks.

“The US Mission is working with the Government of Nigeria to ensure that Nigeria can meet the criteria,” the statement said.

Examples of these standard criteria include “Secure Travel Documents: Ensuring countries issue secure travel documents with verified traveler identities.

“Visa Overstay Management: Implementing measures to limit overstays by travelers on US visas, and Information Sharing: Sharing relevant security and/or criminal record information to protect public safety.”

Despite the new restrictions, the embassy reaffirmed its diplomatic relationship with Nigeria.

“The United States values its longstanding relationship with Nigeria and remains committed to expanding our partnership based on mutual respect, shared security priorities, and economic opportunity, keeping both our countries safer and stronger,” the statement read.

The embassy also expressed support for ongoing Nigerian reforms, stating, “We commend the ongoing efforts by the Government of Nigeria’s immigration and security agencies to meet standards of international best practices.”

Nigerian travelers were advised to comply with visa regulations.

“Nigerian travelers are encouraged to respect and adhere to the terms of their visas, and ensure travel documents are authentic, accurate, and up to date,” it added.

The embassy concluded with a reaffirmation of its engagement with the Nigerian people and government.

“The United States remains a committed partner in deepening people-to-people ties with Nigeria via business, educational, and cultural exchanges.

“We look forward to continued cooperation at all levels with the Nigerian public and government officials to ensure safe and lawful travel between the United States and all countries,” it said

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JUST IN: Abuja Primary School teachers suspend strike after Wike’s N16bn intervention

Published

2 days ago

July 8, 2025

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The decision follows the intervention of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, who convened a stakeholders’ meeting on Thursday, July 3rd, to address the lingering impasse.

This was contained in a communique dated July 4th, 2025, made available to our correspondent on Tuesday.

Recall that Primary school teachers in the FCT had embarked on industrial action on March 24, 2025, over the non-payment of arrears and failure to implement the new national minimum wage.

The Minister had, however, last Thursday, resolved to use 10 per cent of internally generated revenue for the Area Councils to offset the salaries of the primary school teachers. https://punchng.com/fct-councils-forfeit-six-month-igr-to-end-teachers-strike/

According to the Communique signed by the NUT Chairman, Abdullahi Shafas, State Secretary, Margaret Jethro, and Publicity Secretary, Ibukun Adekeye, the Union said the latest offer from the FCT Minister provided a workable pathway to temporarily halt the action.

The SWEC, after reviewing the Minister’s offer, noted the “positive disposition of the Honourable Minister for taking over the payment of the Primary School Teachers emoluments by the FCTA”, and resolved to suspend the strike upon the release and disbursement of the N16 billion.

“Consequent upon the implementation of the New Minimum Wage and payment of five months Arrears into the Teachers accounts today, 8th July 2025; the SWEC, hereby suspends the ongoing Strike action and
appeals to all Primary School Teachers in FCT to, with effect from Wednesday, 9th July 2025 return to the classrooms and continue with the Union intensifies more efforts to
their legitimate duties while ensure the settlement of the remaining entitlements.,”the communique read.

The union also extended its appreciation to stakeholders and supporters who stood by them during the industrial action.

“The SWEC – In Session wishes to use this medium to appreciate all members especially the Primary School Teachers for their unwavering support, solidarity, cooperation and prayers while the strike lasted.

“Our special thanks go to the FCT Royal fathers, Civil Society Organizations, and other well-meaning individuals who, in one way or the other intervened and stood by us during the strike.

“We equally wish to thank the National Head Office of our Union-NUT, the National and the FCT Council of the NLC for the support and guidance,” the communique added

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