The Harbingerngr News

*Canvasses setting up of independent panel to appoint INEC chairman Former President Goodluck Jonathan has called for sweeping reforms in the country’s electoral system to strengthen democracy, promote accountability, and ensure the legitimacy of elections. He also canvassed the setting up of an independent panel, comprising the judiciary, civil society organisations, trade unions, among others, to appoint chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to ensure the sanctity of elections in Nigeria. Jonathan, who was represented by the Executive Director of Goodluck Jonathan Foundation, Ann Iyonu, made the call at the National Action Plan for Electoral Reform Dialogue, organized yesterday by the Abuja School of Social and Political Thought. While emphasising the need for structural changes to improve the nation’s democratic processes, he acknowledged that while Nigeria had made progress since returning to democratic rule in 1999, the electoral process remained riddled...

*Retains existing zoning arrangement, confirms Damagum nat’l chairmanlSays APC can’t play fairlWe didn’t micro-zone leadership positions – Gov Diri  lAnyanwu, NWC sign letter to INEC for Nov convention  lEnugu, Plateau, Taraba govs not defecting to APC – Mohammed lZoning presidential ticket to  South, too late, Wike’s aide tells PDP TO stand a chance of beating  All Progressives Congress, APC, and President Bola Tinubu, the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP,  has zoned its ticket for the 2027 presidential election to the South. By so doing, the party side-stepped what it saw  as the mistake it made in 2023 when it threw its presidential ticket open, which led to the North producing the national chairman and presidential flagbearer, a development that contributed to its loss of the poll and various crises that are yet to be completely resolved. After ceding the presidential slot to the South, the PDP retained its existing zoning arrangement that ...

AMID persistent paternity crisis and deepening trust issues within Nigerian families, a new report by Smart DNA Nigeria has revealed that one in every four paternity tests conducted in the country still returns a negative result. In its 2025 Annual DNA Testing Report, released this week, the Lagos-based genetic testing company disclosed that 25 percent of paternity tests conducted between July 2024 and June 2025 showed that the presumed fathers were not biologically related to the children in question. Although slightly lower than 2024’s 27 percent, the figure highlights what the firm calls a “worrying and consistent trend.” The Operations Manager at Smart DNA, Elizabeth Digia, who gave details on the report, said: “These findings are not just about science; they tell us something profound about trust, relationships, and the legal and economic realities of Nigerian families today. “Our role is to provide certainty through accurate testing while encouraging sensitive handling of the lif...

Late Yewande Olatunbosun FOR four agonising days, the Olatunbosun family clung to hope as their 68-year-old sister, Mrs. Yewande Olatunbosun, battled for her life inside what they were told was an Intensive Care Unit at Awesome Grace Hospital, a private medical facility along Ishaga area of Lagos.  But when hope ran out and Yewande drew her final breath, a new and unimaginable nightmare began: the hospital refused to release her body over failure of the family to pay an outstanding bill of N7,126,500. The issue, it turned out  is that the family cannot afford to pay.  “We just want to bury our sister,” her heartbroken brother, Dr. Ayodele Ogunko, a Cardiologist/Consultant Physician, said in an emotional appeal to the hospital management.  “Is that too much to ask? She has suffered enough. Let her rest.” Ayodele said they suspected that Yewande, a retired nurse and widow with two children, had struggled with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which worsened...

*Alafin of Oyo, Oba Abimbola Owoade left and Oni of Ile-Ife, Oba Enitan Ogunwusi . •How Oba Ogunwusi settled with late Oba Adeyemi WHEN the Ooni of Ife, Oba Eniitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi visited the late Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, twice in January and May 2016 to break the 79-year jinx, many Yoruba sons and daughters were happy that the embers of discord that had been stoked for many decades had finally been extinguished. The historic visit resonated across the globe simply because it was in 1937 that such a visit was made by the then Ooni of Ife, Oba Adesoji Aderemi. Both monarchs ensured that the seed of peace they sowed germinated and was well nurtured by their utterances and attitude. That cordial relationship between them lasted till Oba Adeyemi joined his ancestors on April 22, 2022. During the visit, the late Alaafin Adeyemi, who could not hide his joy, said it was the first by any Ife monarch since 1937, confirming that he had not enjoyed cordial relationships with the pas...

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper says the changes are to prevent criminals from "exploiting our immigration system" iN a major  shift in its criminal justice and immigration policy, the United Kingdom has announced that foreign criminals would for the first time, face immediate deportation after sentencing. According to the UK Government website, the new power would get foreign national offenders out of UK prisons, save money for British taxpayers and protect the public from dangerous criminals. Under existing rules, most foreign offenders are deported after serving 50 per cent of their prison sentence.  But from September, they will be removed after serving just 30 per cent and, once new legislation is passed, deportation will take place immediately after sentencing for most determinate sentences. Almost 5,200 foreign offenders have been deported since July 2024, a 14 per cent rise compared to the same 12 months before.  Foreign nationals currently make up about 12 per cent...

*Say due process not followed in resolving incidents *Accuse Keyamo of interference with NCAA affairs *Comfort Bob freed, KWAM 1’s ban cut to one month *Asks Ibom Air to withdraw case against her, life ‘no fly’ ban lifted *Directs NCAA to withdraw criminal case against KWAM-1 *Regulatory agency to release licenses of ValueJet pilots after one month Shock, indignation greeted  the Federal Government’s release of  Comfort Bob, the Ibom Air passenger who caused a stir at the Murtala Muhammad Airport in Lagos on Sunday, from Kirikiri Prison and the reduction of the six-month ‘no fly’ ban placed on fuji musician, Wasiu Ayinde, aka Kwam-1, to one month, for disrupting a ValueJet flight at Abuja airport about a week ago. It would be recalled that the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr. Festus Keyamo, had earlier yesterday, announced the release of the Ibom Air passenger and cutting of the ‘no fly’ ban on Kwam-1. But lawyers, including human rights activist, Femi Falan...

•Conducting WASSCE at night can’t produce good results — School proprietors •WAEC prevented cheating — Investigation Strong reactions against the mass failure of candidates in this year’s Senior Secondary School Certificate Examinations, SSCE, continued yesterday, with parents and some groups calling for the cancellation of some of the papers, especially English Language. This is even as the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools, NAPPS, in criticising the conduct of the examination during nighttime hours, described it as unacceptable and detrimental to performance. Recall that only 38.32% passed English language and Mathematics at credit level.  Both papers are key to securing university admission in the country. Commentators on the development, especially parents, blamed the mass failure on lapses on the part of the West African Examinations Council, WAEC, regarding the time English Language exam was written by the candidates. Those on the platform of Concerned Pa...