The Harbingerngr News

*APC now takes decisions in mosques – Babachir *He should explain what makes APC Islamic party – JNI  *CAN faults ex-SGF; as APC keeps mum THE Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, and the Jama’atu Nasril Islam, JNI, yesterday, disagreed with former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Engr Babachir Lawal, for labeling ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, an Islamic party.  Lawal, who had on Tuesday said Mr. Peter Obi of the Labour Party, LP, won the 2023 presidential poll and not President Bola Tinubu of the APC, who he said came a distant third, continued his attacks on the party, yesterday. Responding to the APC’s counter by the National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Felix Morka, that he was angry and attacking the party because President Tinubu did not choose him as running mate, Lawal restated his stance and added that APC was now led by Muslims who take decisions in mosques. Claiming that President Tinubu’s men were reaching out to him, he expressed sympathi...

....Say we're dying of stress, frustration, man-hour loss Motorists, residents, business operators and commuters on Lekki-Epe expressway, yesterday, said they are going through harrowing experiences and excruciating pain due to the on-going reconstruction of the 49.5-kilometre expressway. Unconfirmed reports claimed that some road users, especially around Majek, Abijo, Ogidan and Sangotedo, have died, due to the tormenting gridlock and the excruciating trauma associated with it.  It was gathered that a woman in labour put to bed on the same road, while many school children have stopped going to school because they spend a minimum of five to six hours on journeys that ordinarily take between 20 and 30 minutes.  Residents who spoke lamented that the only way to beat the horrendous traffic is to leave the area by 4am.  Consequent upon the traffic, transport fares in the area have also hit the rooftop. Sharing her experience, a middle aged woman, Mrs. Rose Michael, who works ...

IN this report, it was examined how the Lagos State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal processed the issues of the winners' eligibility to contest and nationality, among others raised by the candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Olajide Adediran, and the Labour Party, LP, Mr. Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour. Five months after it began sitting, the Lagos State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal on September 25 upheld the victory of Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu as the validly elected winner of the March 18 election for the Office of the Governor of Lagos State. The three-man panel of justices unanimously rejected the challenge to Sanwo-Olu and his deputy, Obafemi Hamzat’s eligibility to contest, the issues of certificate forgery, nationality and oath declaration, among others alleged by the defeated candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Mr. Olajide Adediran, and the Labour Party, LP, Mr. Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour. The election The Independent National Electoral Commissio...

HUMAN rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana, SAN, yesterday, urged the National Assembly to amend the Constitution to empower the Accountant-General of the Federation to deduct from source the counterpart fund payable by every state government to the Universal Basic Education Fund, UBEC. In his keynote address at the out-of-school summit, convened by the IA-Foundation, held in Lagos, Falana said by enforcing the counterpart fund payable by every state government to UBEC, it will eradicate illiteracy in the country. He said: “In June last year, the Executive Secretary of the Universal Basic Education Commission, UBEC, Mr Hamid Bobboyi bemoaned the refusal of state governments to provide counterpart funding and access the annual matching grants given by the commission to develop their basic education system. The commission was particularly concerned that about N110 billion of the intervention funds accessed from UBEC were not utilised by the states in 2021, with the money left in the coffers of...

THE management of the University of Lagos, UNILAG, yesterday, explained why students staying on campus have been asked to come into the halls of residence with their mattresses and some other personal items, saying it is due to health reasons. The explanation came against the backdrop of protest by parents, who lamented that they were just struggling to cope with recent increase in tuition, hostel and other fees. Howwever, the Head of Information Unit of the varsity, Adejoke Alaga-Ibraheem, also said the halls are being renovated before the students would resume later in the month. She was reacting to complaints by parents and students that with the new fee regime introduced by the university, such items ought to be provided by the school. Alaga-Ibraheem said: "We asked the students to come with their own beddings for health reasons. That has been the practice for some time. It is not new. We are also working on the renovation of the various hostels too. Some of them would be full...

...beats Haaland, Mbappe Lionel Messi is expected to lift his eighth Ballon d'Or later this month after the winners for both the male and female awards for 2023 were leaked. Messi, 36, achieved the crowning glory of his unparalleled career when he spectacularly led Argentina to World Cup glory in Qatar last year. The former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain megastar then joined Inter Miami in July and immediately set MLS alight with a string of spellbinding performances. After missing out on the 2022 award to Karim Benzema, Messi has reportedly been informed of his victory this time around ahead of the ceremony taking place in Paris on Monday, October 30. As for the female award, Catalan newspaper Sport add that Barcelona midfielder Aitana Bonmati will be presented as the winner at the Chatelet Theater, having won the Women's World Cup with Spain after beating England in August's dramatic final. Messi's imminent triumph will see the Ballon d'Or awarded to someone wh...

THE Lagos State Government, yesterday, issued a 7-day ‘vacation order’ to commercial bus drivers parking indiscriminately on bridges across the state, or face dire consequences. The Special Adviser to the Governor on Transportation, Sola Giwa, issued the order to remove infractions impeding the free flow of traffic on bridges across the state. Giwa, in a statement, by spokesman for the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, LASTMA, Adebayo Taofiq, said that despite several warnings, motorists/commercial bus drivers have continued to defy government order, causing serious obstructions around these bridges with great negative impacts on the integrity of the bridges and traffic. He said: “Every motorist/commercial bus driver operating along ‘Apongbon’ and ‘Idumota’ (Cater) Bridges, ‘Elegbata:, ‘Ebute-Ero’ and ‘Ejalonibu’ must as a matter of urgency vacate these areas as LASTMA would commence strict enforcement operation immediately after the expiration of this ultimatum until zero tole...