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National Assembly primaries: National headquarters yet to release results of Kwara, says State Chair

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Kwara State Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Prince Sunday Fagbemi, has urged members of the public to disregard the result of the Kwara South senatorial district primary, which is trending on an Online platform.
Fagbemi, speaking in an interview with journalists in Ilorin on Friday, noted that the party’s national headquarters has not released the results of the National Assembly primaries held in the state.
The Chairman spoke with journalists on the sidelines of a publication by The Cable Online, wherein it published the results of the National Assembly primaries of some states, including that of Kwara State.
“No results of the primaries of the House of Representatives and the Senate held in Kwara have been released.
“The results will be released by our National headquarters for everyone to see at the stipulated time; it can never be restricted.
“Any publication that therefore stipulates that someone won or lost in the National Assembly primaries held in Kwara should be ignored by members of the public; it’s fake,”  Fagbemi said.
Similarly, Legislative Aide to the incumbent Senator Lola Ashiru representing Kwara South, Olaitan Adeyanju, said in a statement on Friday that her principal remains the validly elected and widely accepted candidate of the APC, having secured overwhelming support during the primaries.
According to the statement titled, ‘TheCable Report Misrepresents Reality of Kwara South APC Primaries,’ Olaitan Adeyanju stated that, “Our attention has been drawn to a misleading publication by an online media platform, TheCable, claiming that Hajia Farida Dankaka emerged as the winner of the APC Kwara South Senatorial Primaries and that her name appeared on a purported list.”
The statement added that, “For the sake of clarity, party members, supporters, and the general public must be properly informed.
“Senator Oyelola Ashiru remains the validly elected and widely accepted candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for Kwara South Senatorial District, having secured overwhelming support across the district during the primary process.”
“The purported publication naming another aspirant as the winner of the election is nothing but an outright falsehood, a concoction lacking factual basis, and a desperate attempt to subvert the democratic choice voluntarily made by APC stakeholders and members across Kwara South.
“Such fabricated narratives cannot alter the truth as established at the polling points and collation process.
“No amount of media blackmail, false narratives, or hurried publications can invalidate the political strength, grassroots support, and legitimacy Senator Ashiru enjoys among APC members in Kwara South.
“We respectfully call on media organisations to uphold the sacred ethics of journalism by verifying politically sensitive information before publication and refraining from becoming unwitting tools in the hands of political propagandists,” the statement urged.
The Senator’s legislative Aide further urged party faithful and the public,” to disregard the misleading report making the rounds online. The authentic position remains that Senator Lola Ashiru’s mandate stands firm and cannot be stolen through media speculation or backdoor arrangements.”
“As loyal party members, we remain committed to lawful and constitutional processes within the APC and are confident that justice, transparency, and fairness will ultimately prevail,” the statement concluded.
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Police promote 17,952 junior officers

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The Nigerian Police has promoted a new set of junior police officers.
The Exclusivesonline gathered that the promotion is part of ongoing efforts to enhance personnel welfare, boost morale, and reward diligence, professionalism, and dedication to duty.
17,952 junior police officers across various ranks in the Nigeria Police Force were promoted.
The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Olatunji Disu, said the promotion exercise, which spans Commands and Formations nationwide, comprises the elevation of 165 Sergeants to the rank of Inspector, 73 Corporals to the rank of Sergeant, and 17,714 Constables to the rank of Corporal.
He noted that timely promotion remains a critical component of the Force’s human resource management strategy and a key tool for motivating officers to remain committed to discharging their constitutional responsibilities.
The IGP emphasised that the advancement of deserving personnel reflects the commitment of the current Police leadership to merit, career progression, and institutional development.
Disu congratulated the newly promoted officers and charged them to see their elevation as a call to greater responsibility, professionalism, discipline, and dedication to service.
According to a statement issued by the Force Public Relations Officer, DCP Anthony Placid, the IGP urged them to uphold the core values of the Nigeria Police Force and continue to discharge their duties with integrity, respect for human rights, and commitment to the rule of law.
He said the NPF remains steadfast in its commitment to promoting excellence, rewarding hard work, and strengthening institutional capacity in line with global best practices in policing.
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POS threatens to suspend services

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This may not be the best of times for the POS operators and many Nigerians, as The Association of Point of Sale Service Providers {POS} have threatened to suspend and cripple banking operations in the country if the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPC) fail to immediately intervene in the alleged exclusivity practice by Verve International and Interswitch Limited.

The Association disclosed this in a statement signed by Yomi Idowu, Communications Consultant to the Association.

According to Idowu, the POS operators have written a letter to protest the alleged persistent unlawful decisions of the two companies, noting that the actions of Verve and Interswitch negate ‘extant rules and regulations of the Central Bank of Nigeria{CBN} and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act  {FCCPC}, 2018.

The Association of POS Service Providers emphasised that ‘As representatives’ of a coalition comprising several Central Bank of Nigeria  Licensed payment acceptors/acquirers, processors and switches, they would have no option but to suspend acceptance/acquiring, processing and switching of Verve Card transactions.

The Point of Sales Association in the letter was quoted  thus: “This decision has become unavoidable due to the persistent and escalating unlawful conduct of Verve International (Verve) and Interswitch Limited (Interswitch) which according to the Association jointly undermine “The integrity of Nigeria’s payments ecosystem, erode the capital base of participating  institutions  and violate several regulatory  requirements.”

The Association highlighted the breaches as including but not limited to: maintenance of an exclusive monopoly over Verve transaction processing; abuse of dominant position in the domestic card scheme market, contrary to section 72 of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2018(FCCPCA) and Section 3,4,7,3 of the CBN Guidelines on Operation of Electronic Payment  Channels; imposition of scheme fees in excess of the regulated Merchant Service Commission(MSC) share attributable to acquirers under extant CBN regulations and; unauthorised and unlawful debits from settlement accounts of Acquirers, and Processors /Switches.

The POS Association recalled that its members contributed immensely to building the acceptance and growth of Verve cards at enormous cost to its members in compliance with the CBN regulations without subsidy from Verve and Interswitch as a domestic scheme in Nigeria.

Mr Idowu concluded that “Ironically, the association emphasised that other card scheme operators have since abolished all forms of exclusivity in compliance with the CBN regulations.”

 

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No end in sight to cooking gas price increase

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The surge in the price of cooking gas may not end soon if the current development is to go by.
1 kg of cooking gas is currently N2,000 as against N1,200 that was sold some months back.
Many Nigerians are currently groaning over the surge in the price of cooking gas.
The Exclusivesonline gathered that Nigerians may have to wait for a while unless drastic action is taken to address the sudden increase in the price of cooking gas.
The  Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers [NALPGAM] has also warned that the supply crisis could push millions of households and businesses into deeper hardship.
Operators in the industry attribute the rise to supply pressure in depots, high replacement cost, logistical hiccups, and foreign exchange pressure influencing importation and distribution of LPG and festive demand surge.
The Exclusivesonline gathered that the price of cooking gas has surged three times recently within two weeks. It rose from N1,200 to N1,500, then N1,700 and N1,800 per kilo and now, as at May 27th, is selling for N2,000-N2200 in various towns in Nigeria. Many Consumers refilled a 12.5kg cylinder of gas for N24,700 and more last week.
Executive Secretary of the NALPGAM, Bassey Essien, said that marketers made repeated representations to the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) seeking incentives, but have not received relief.
“The problem is beyond marketers. Domestic suppliers such as NLNG and the Dangote refinery cannot meet the rising demand,” Essien said.
Industry data show NLNG has supplied about 400,000 metric tonnes to the domestic market since 2020, when local demand was around 1.2 million metric tonnes.
Demand has now risen to about 1.9 million metric tonnes, leaving a significant shortfall. Dangote Refinery’s earlier contribution to the local market — previously as much as 50 per cent of its available LPG — has been cut back because some output is being used as feedstock for fertiliser production.
According to him, the NLNG has been supplying the entire 400,000 metric tons to the local market since 2020 when market demand was about 1.2 million metric tons.
Now, the demand has risen to 1.9 million metric tons, and the supply from NLNG cannot come anywhere close to meeting market needs.
According to Essien, off-takers previously obtained between 500 and 5,000 metric tonnes from Dangote, but this has now been reduced to about 250 metric tonnes.
The supply shortage has caused wholesale depot prices to jump to between N25.2 million and N26.2 million for a 20-metric tonnes truck.
Recall that the federal government had, in November 2024, tried to stop the export of LPG to boost domestic supply, but investigations revealed that the export has not stopped entirely.
The Minister of State, Petroleum Resources (Gas), Obongemem Ekperikpe Ekpo, had announced the directive on 22 October 2024 in Abuja, after a high‑level meeting with industry stakeholders, including NNPC Ltd. and LPG producers.
Meanwhile, NALPGAM executive secretary, Bassey Essien, said the domestic price has continued to increase because the quantity supplied by NLNG is benchmarked at international market prices and, as such, marketers would add up their running costs, which pushes up the price that is transferred to consumers.
Also, the Nigerian LPG marketers are aggressively seeking government incentives and market reforms to stimulate demand, stabilise erratic retail prices, which have now surged toward N1, 800 to N2,000 per kg, and triple the country’s annual supply to 6 million metric tonnes.
To achieve sustainable market penetration, the industry is advocating the following critical incentives: the elimination of Value-Added Tax (VAT) on locally produced cooking gas and subsidising the cost of cylinders and accessories for low-income groups and cooperatives.
Developing robust domestic blending, storage, and delivery facilities is also part of their demand to cut landing and operational costs.
Also, enforcing the prioritisation of domestic LPG allocation over exports to prevent severe structural supply deficits, while providing forex intervention to help marketers ease the financial burden of importing equipment and products amid volatile global energy shocks.
Meanwhile, the global LPG market is actively surging, driven by a strong shift toward clean residential energy and petrochemical feedstock needs.
The market valuation is projected to grow significantly from approximately $176 billion to $273 billion by 2034.
However, this upward trend is accompanied by increased price volatility due to geopolitical supply disruptions.
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