Former Rivers State governorship candidate, Prince Tonye Princewill has criticised the organised labour for being too silent on the removal of the subsidy on Premium Motor Spiritual, otherwise called petrol.

He said Nigerians expect to hear more from labour given the pains and hardship occasioned by the fuel subsidy removal by President Bola Tinubu.

Princewill who contested for Governorship during the 2015 election under the platform of the Labour Party said this during an interactive session with newsmen at his residence in Port Harcourt on Saturday.

He stated that though subsidy removal was not peculiar to Nigeria, but the apex government’s decision to do so without putting the necessary measures in place to cushion its effect on the citizens was unfortunate.

Princewill who resigned from the All Progressives Congress before the 2023 elections emphasized that the fraud in the subsidy must be addressed.

He stated, “The issue of subsidy is deep. Countries subsidise all the time. But in this country, we have a subsidy and we found out that there was fraud in the subsidy.

“So in removing the subsidy, what about the fraud? And then look at the pain on the people.”

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Continuing, the businessman said, “So to me, removal of subsidy is the removal of the fraud of subsidy.

“It (subsidy) didn’t just come by surprise. So palliative measures, and countermeasures needed to have been put in place.

“We have enough brains in this country to establish things that need to be put in place to make the pains of people a lot easier.

“If that has not been put in place as far as I’m concerned, there is no excuse. So it is unfortunate.”

Princewill further said spending trillions of Naira subsidising fuel is ‘nonsensical’, saying, “If you are not going to do that, then you have to have alternatives in place.”

He added, “If you are going to take away this money and make these savings, then you have to point out what is it you are doing with the money.

“The government has to answer those questions. If they don’t answer those questions, people will not forget.

“I think labour has been a bit too quiet. I don’t know what the negotiation is that is ongoing or not ongoing. But we (Nigerians) expect to hear from labour a lot more in this regard.”

The ex-Governoship candidate used the forum to announce that his late father and King of Kalanari Kingdom, HRM. TJT Princewill, the longest-serving monarch in Rivers would be laid to rest between November 29-30, 2023.

The late sage spent 20 years on the throne (2002 to 2023) before his passing.

The Twitter owner indicated the design would be altered, tweeting that it probably changes later and will be refined.

Elon Musk has revealed a new logo for Twitter, choosing a “minimalist art deco” X as part of a rebrand of the platform.

The CEO of Twitter, Linda Yaccarino, confirmed the choice on Monday by tweeting the design and writing: “X is here! Let’s do this.”

The Twitter owner indicated the design would be altered, tweeting that it “probably changes later, certainly will be refined.

The “X” logo has long been an obsession of Musk’s and is his name for an “everything app” that he has pledged to launch at some point.

Shortly before buying Twitter in October, Musk described the social media platform as “an accelerant to creating X, the everything app.”

Musk had appealed to his 149 million followers for design ideas and appears to have chosen a logo that he had flagged on Sunday via a flickering video pinned to the top of his Twitter feed.

Also, late Sunday night, Musk changed his profile picture to the company’s new logo, which he described as “minimalist art deco,” and changed his Twitter bio to “X.com,” which now redirects to twitter.com.

The National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Asaba, Delta State, has nullified the election of Ngozi Okolie of the Labour Party as a member representing the Aniocha/Oshimili Constituency at the House of Representatives.

In a judgment on Monday, July 24, the tribunal held that the Labour Party did not duly sponsor Okolie as he was not a party member as of May 28, 2022, when the primary was purportedly held.

The tribunal declared the runner-up in the February 25, 2023, National Assembly, Ndudi Elumelu of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), as the winner.

Elumelu, the immediate past Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, had filed his petition, praying the tribunal to disqualify Okolie, who was declared winner of the election by the Independent National Electoral Commission.

The judgement has sparked jubilations among PDP members on social media.

The Osun State Muslim Community (OSMC) has called on the State Governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke to recognize the Islamic Personal Laws system known as Shariah in the state.

The President of OSMC, Alhaji Mustafa Olawuyi made the call during the 1445 new Hijrah Islamic year celebration in Osogbo, the state capital.

Muslims in the state thronged the Osogbo City Stadium for the celebration where school children and students of Islamic schools participated in a match pass parade.

Governor Adeleke was represented at the event by his Commissioner for Special Duties, Mr BT Salam. Traditional rulers and dignitaries in the state also grace the occasion.

Olawuyi urged Adeleke to recognize Shariah Law in the state in accordance with the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which guarantees freedom of religion without prejudice.

He also called on the governor to urgently recruit Arabic and Islamic teachers into all public schools across the state, saying that the current number of teachers in the schools falls well below the required number.

The OSMC President also urged the state government and the Federal Government to revive all dormant industries in the state, such as the Steel Rolling Mills, Machine Tools Industry in Osogbo and the Cocoa Industry in Ede.

Olawuyi said these efforts will provide employment opportunities for youths and boost the economy of the state.

He appealed to the state government to address the concern of the residents on the health hazards arising from emissions from the iron and steel recycling factories in Ikirun and Ile-Ife.

The Muslim leader said these industries have caused unnecessary deaths and infections of hepatitis diseases among the workers and residents.

National and State Assembly Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Kano has upheld the victory of Senator Rufa’i Hanga as the elected member of the Kano Central Senatorial District.

The candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the February 25, senatorial election in Kano Central, Abdulsalam Abdulkarim Zaura, has filed a petition at the election petition tribunal in Kano challenging the declaration of Hanga of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) as the winner of the election by the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC).

Zaura, through his counsel, Ishaka Dikko (SAN), prayed the tribunal to declare him the winner of the election and set aside the INEC declaration that announced Hanga as the winner of the poll.

He alleged that the Kano Central senatorial poll was marred by irregularities, malpractices, and non-compliance with the Electoral Act.

However, in their responses to the petition, the three respondents, INEC, NNPP, Hanga, and Ibrahim Shekarau maintained that the election was validly conducted in accordance with extant laws.

Delivering the judgement on Monday, the three-man panel led by Justice I.P Chima said, “The petitioner failed to prove non-compliance with the Electoral Act 2022 therefore the petition is hereby dismissed.

“Consequently, the petitioner is to pay the second respondent NNPP the sum of N300,000 cost and also to pay first, second, third and fourth respondents the sum of N300,000.”

Gov. Mbah’s NYSC Certificate Remains Fake Despite Misleading Reports To The Contrary – Groups Insist

Press Conference By Save Nigeria Movement In Collaboration With Freelance Journalists Federation

Adams Oshiomhole, former national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), says President Bola Tinubu does not have magical solutions to the nation’s problems.

The Senator representing Edo North said this when he appeared as a guest on Channels Television’s ‘Politics Today’.

According to him, Tinubu and the APC, during campaigns, never promised to fix Nigeria in 24 hours.

“They know they were not electing a magician. And nobody promised a magical solution. Don’t bother giving me an example. I know what we (APC) promised more than you. Whatever is reported, we are the source. We did not promise anyone a 24-hour solution and we did not promise an overnight solution. Can you show me any document where we said in 24 hours, this will be done?”

“I think you are the ones who have the illusion that once a promise is made, automatically once he (Tinubu) gets into office, either spiritually or by miracles, solutions will emerge. What Nigerians need is what the president has demonstrated – the courage to take the decision, humility to admit some of the unintended consequences of those decisions, and, of course, the will to deal with those consequences,” he said.

Continuing, the former president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) stated that addressing the current fuel price hike, rising unemployment and other challenges are not things that can happen in a day.

Condemnation has continued to trail the recent petrol price increase from N540 to N617 per litre.

Oshiomhole cautioned against making intemperate attacks on the Tinubu-led administration in response to the fuel price hike.

According to him, Tinubu deserves commendation for the manner he has hit the ground running since assuming office.

He said: “To be fair, the fact that the doctor is committed to treating the patient and claims to know the nature of the disease afflicting the patient doesn’t mean that as soon as you wheel the patient to the theatre, a solution emerges.

“I think President Bola Tinubu has shown commitment. He withdrew the subsidy and admitted that one of the things we have to do is to adjust wages in the formal sector. The other one is to appropriate some funds to be given to vulnerable people.”

The House of Representatives, on Sunday, flayed reports that the leadership is under external influence or pressure over appointment of chairmanship and deputy chairmanship of its standing committees.

The lawmakers in a statement signed by the Deputy Chairman, Special Ad-hoc Committee on Media, Hon. Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere Ikeagwuonu, representing Ideato Federal Constituency of Imo State, said the reports and rumours are false, as the Selection Committee set up by Speaker Rt. Hon. Abbas Tajudeen, Ph.D will do a fair, just and competent work without any external influence.

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He assured that the 10th House led by Rt. Hon. Abbas Abbas is carrying the interest of the 360 members in the selection of lawmakers that will head the various committees.

Ugochinyere said, “I assure you, the reports going around social media that the leadership is under external influence or pressure over appointment of chairmanship, deputy chairmanship of its standing committees are false. It’s not true at all.

“Mr Speaker, Rt. Hon. Abbas Tajudeen had last month constituted a Selection Committee to recommend members for appointment as members of House Standing Committees. The Selection Committee, which is headed by him, has one member each from the 36 States. The committee members are competent and they are doing their job with fairness and justice in mind.

“10th House led by Hon. Tajudeen Abbas is carrying the interest of 360 members, in the selection of lawmakers that will head the various committees or be Members. So I appeal to the masses to disregard any report of external influence or pressure, and allow the committee members do their job.”