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The Chairman of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, Cross River State chapter,  Dr Lawrence Ekwok, has called for the cancellation of elections in areas where some people were not allowed to vote or where BVAS, ballot boxes and other election materials were either carted away or destroyed by political thugs.

He made the call in a statement he issued on Saturday night after the Presidential and National Assembly elections.

According to him, “Other areas where elections should be cancelled and repeated should include polling units or states where ballot papers did not contain the logo of some political parties.

“Doing this will avoid possible protests from those who feel disenfranchised and will also discourage thuggery of any form.

Gunmen, in the early hours of Tuesday, razed the country home of the Imo State Commissioner for Youths and Sports, Emeka Okoronkwo.Also razed is the country home of a former Dean of the Faculty of Law, Imo State University, Owerri, Nnamdi Obiaraeri, who served as Commissioner for Information, Youths and Sports as well as Land and Urban Planning, respectively during the administrations of former governors of the state, Ikedi Ohakim and Rochas Okorocha.

Some commercial banks and filling stations have stopped collecting the old naira notes from customers, contrary to the ruling of the Supreme Court restraining the Federal Government from enforcing the February 10 time limit earlier fixed by the apex bank for the currency swap.

Findings by The PUNCH on Monday indicated that the banks refused to accept the old N1,000, N500 and N200 notes from depositors and point-of-service agents who flooded the bank to lodge their cash.

Point of service operators and other bank customers whose old naira notes were rejected, panicked as bank officials, who said they were acting on the Central Bank of Nigeria’s directive, remained adamant.

Also, lawyers and litigants at high courts in  Lagos State were unable to file their court processes using the old naira notes for payment.

The crisis between Anaku and Omor communities in the Ayamelum Local Government Area of Anambra State has taken a new dimension after an attack allegedly carried out by soldiers in revenge of their missing colleague.Anaku and Omor communities have been embroiled in a land dispute.The crisis erupted again within the week when six people were allegedly killed and six others abducted in Omor.

The National Population Commission Chairman, Nasiru Isa Kwarra, has disclosed that census will hold in Sambisa Forest.

He said, despite the security challenges, the commission would ensure people in the area are counted.

Kwarra announced this at the inauguration of the population and housing national census publicity committee in Abuja.

“I can assure you your village has been covered. There is no place we have not visited. Our staff even went as far as Sambisa Forest where we have security challenges. So, I assure you that no one will be left out in the entire census process.

The Trade Union Congress on Thursday threatened to take “constitutional and legal ways” against the Federal Government following the ongoing naira scarcity and fuel price hike.

Speaking during a press conference in Abuja, the national president of the trade union, Festus Osifo, noted that many Nigerians are “on the brink of financial collapse” due to the policy by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

“The problem as you know is that Nigerians have been betrayed by the banking system which has been unable to pay them their money on demand.

“They have also been failed by the Federal Government which unilaterally decided to change the three highest denominations of the currency, fixed dates for the change, and is utterly incapable either to deliver on its promises or protect the populace from financial strangulation,

The Kano State Police Command has arrested two men, parading themselves as journalists, for allegedly defrauding a rice trader of N33,000.

The 30-year-old suspects, Mujahid Kabir and Abba Imam, were alleged to have, on February 2, 2023, generated a fake bank transfer alert of N33,000 to buy a bag of rice at a Plaza at Sharada Quarters, Kano Municipal Local Government Area, Kano State

The state police spokesperson, SP Abdullahi Haruna Kiyawa, who disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday, said, “On 2nd February 2023 at about 1700hrs, a report was received from the Manager of a Plaza at Sharada Quarters, Kano Municipal LGA, Kano State that, two people went to their Plaza, purchased a bag of rice at N33,000 and generated a fake bank transfer alert to them.

“On receipt of the report, the Commissioner of Police, Kano State Command CP Mamman Dauda, psc(+) raised and instructed a team of detectives led by SP Abdulrahim Adamu, Divisional Police Officer, Sharada Division to arrest the culprits.

The governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in Enugu State, Dr Peter Mbah, is presently in crisis over an alleged fake National Youth Service Corps discharge certificate he parades.

Reliably sources told SaharaReporters that Mbah, one of the frontline candidates for the March 11 governorship election in Enugu State, fainted inside the NYSC headquarters, Abuja, on Tuesday where he had gone to find out if the corps indeed issued a letter flaunted by an Non-Governmental Organisation regarding his NYSC discharge certificate.

The United Arab Emirates Tuesday pledged $100 million to Syria and Turkey, one of the largest sums yet following a massive earthquake that killed more than 5,400 people across both countries.

The oil-rich Gulf nation — which had already pledged some $13.6 million to Syria — is spearheading regional relief efforts, having dispatched planes to both countries with relief items and rescue teams following the 7.8-magnitude quake that struck early Monday.

On Tuesday, Emirati President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan “ordered the provision of $100 million for the relief of those affected”, the official WAM news agency said.

About six persons have been feared killed with many missing and houses destroyed in renewed crisis between Omor and Anaku communities in Ayanmelu Local Government Area of Anambra State.

A source in the community said the lingering crisis resumed again on Monday, after a dispute among members of both communities.

The source said, “Up to 10 people were killed in Omor by people of Anaku on Monday evening. Security later arrived the area and tried to quell the situation. As I speak now, men of the military have taking over the communities.

Reacting to the development, the Spokesman for the Anambra State Police Command, DSP Tochukwu Ikenga, confirmed that six people were killed, while also declaring that one Nnamdi Maduneke is wanted for instigating the violence, and also wielding an AK47 rifle.

Ikenga said, “The Anambra State Police Command is on the manhunt for Mr Nnamdi Maduneke and cohorts, wielding Ak47 rifles in the early hours of yesterday (Monday) according to information received, the suspect and his cohorts without any provocation started shooting indiscriminately in Omor Commu

Hundreds of residents of Ondo State on Tuesday stormed the Benin-Ore-Shagamu Expressway at Ore in Odigbo Local Government Area of the state, to protest against naira and fuel scarcity across the country.

The expressway was barricaded for several hours, by the protesters who were singing various solidarity songs, causing traffic logjam on the road.

The state Commissioner of Police, Mr Oyeyemi Oyediran, had earlier met with stakeholders in the state to address the issues of scarcity and inability to access cash at financial institutions and also the hike in fuel price at various filling stations. He had also warned against staging of protest in the state.

The Federal Government, on Tuesday, slammed opposition political parties that went to court to restrain the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), from stopping, extending or interfering with the naira swap deadline date.

It also accused the parties of politicising the situation, stressing that they were not mindful of the plight of Nigerians due to the cash crunch.

The new naira initiative is a policy of the Federal Government.

On Monday, 14 political parties threatened to boycott the February 25 election should the Central Bank of Nigeria extend the February 10 deadline for the currency swap which it had earlier announced.

Femi Gbajabiamila, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, is expected to sign the warrant of arrest against the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele during plenary on Tuesday.

The development was confirmed during an interview with Tribune by the Chairman of the House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Benjamin Kalu.

In a bid to ascertain the viability of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System and as part of preparation for the 2023 general elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission is set to conduct a mock accreditation exercise in Delta State.

The Acting Head of Department, Voter Education and Publicity INEC in the state, Bukola Ojeme, disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday in Asaba, the state capital.

He said the exercise was scheduled to hold on Saturday, February 4, in 12 selected polling units, across three Senatorial Districts and six Local Government Areas in the state.

Ojeme said, “The Independent National Electoral Commission, Delta State is scheduled to conduct mock accreditation with the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System in furtherance of the technical evaluation of the device, as part of preparations for the 2023 General Election.

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