Politics
Speaker Joins In Marking Armed Forces Remembrance Day
The week under review witnessed the participation of the Speaker, Rt Hon. Ikuinyi Owaji Ibani at climax of the one month celebrations of the armed forces remembrance day celebrations.
Last Sunday, Ibani joined the governor, Chief Nyesom Wike and other top dignitaries at the Thanksgiving service and later on Thursday he participated in the wreathe laying ceremony at the grave of the unknown soldier held at the Isaac Boro Park, Port Harcourt.
Though proceedings in the State Assembly is yet to commence after the Christmas and New Year celebrations, member representing Oyigbo Constituency, Hon. Promise Nwankwo has expressed hope that this year holds great expectations for law makers.
Hon. Nwankwo told The Tide in a chat that he plans to organize a town hall meeting with his constituents on areas of focus as a legislator.
He surmised that with the 2020 budget passed into law, he would work towards how to attract projects that would impact on his people to improve their well being.
Part of his focus is to use agriculture, which he said is a major mainstay for Oyigbo people, by latching on government policies and programmes towards providing means of livelihood for them.
Consequently, there has been huge expectations on the budget as the House took a short break few days to the Christmas and New year celebrations as it ended activities last year with the passage of the 2020 budget.
Shortly after passing the bill into law, the lawmakers had proceeded to present it for the governor’s accent after which they got their official car presentations by the State Chief Executive at the Government House.
The Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Ikuinyi Owaji Ibani hailed the governor for the gesture and further pledged collaborative support to the executive arm.
In reaction to the presentation, lawmakers commended the governor for the car gift and promised to ensure that legislative activities would be enhanced in the coming year.
Recall that the governor, Chief Nyesom Wike presented a budget of over five hundred and thirty billion naira(N530billion) to the Assembly for the 2020 Fiscal Year on 17th December 2019.
The governor told the Assembly that the focus of the budget was to enhance his infrastructural drive and speed up the state’s growth process.
Wike, while explaining the budget breakdown and sectoral allocations, said capital expenditure would take three hundred and seventy four billion naira whereas one hundred and fifty six billion would be for recurrent expenditure.
According to the governor, the state’s budget for 2020 tagged ‘Budget of Reassurance’ was fifty billion naira higher than the 2019 budget and was expected to generate more growth in the economy of the state.
In response, the Speaker of the Assembly, Rt. Hon.Ikuinyi Owaji Ibani commended Governor Wike for ensuring that the budget estimate would focus more on the real sectors of the economy and promised him of more cordial relationship of the Assembly with the Executive arm.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has extended the deadline for political parties to submit the list of candidates for the 2027 governorship and state Houses of Assembly elections from Saturday, August 8, to Tuesday, August 11, 2026.
The commission announced the extension in a statement issued on Saturday and signed by the National Commissioner and Chairman of its Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Haruna.
According to INEC, the decision followed appeals by political parties for additional time to complete the submission process through the dedicated online portal.
“The submission window, which according to the revised Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the General Election was originally scheduled to close on Saturday, 8th August, 2026, has been extended to Tuesday, 11th August, 2026,” the commission said.
In a a related development, INEC announced the suspension of PVC collection in Osun State ahead of the August 15 governorship election.
The commission said voters who applied for replacement of lost, damaged or defaced Permanent Voter Cards would have until midnight on Sunday, August 9, to print downloadable copies of their cards.
The electoral body explained that the deadline was necessary to enable it compile data on downloaded PVCs and produce final statistics on the total number of cards collected ahead of the election.
INEC said PVC collection in Osun commenced at the Registration Area level from July 22 to 28, 2026, but was extended to July 31 following complaints about large crowds and difficulties experienced by voters at collection centres.
The exercise subsequently moved to the local government level and ran from August 1 to 7.
The commission also disclosed that replacement downloadable PVCs had been made available to voters in Odo-Otin and Ife Central Local Government Areas following the theft of cards during attacks on the two collection centres.
It stressed that the stolen cards could not be used to vote.
INEC reassured Osun residents of its preparedness for the August 15 governorship election.
“The commission reiterates that the stolen cards cannot be used to vote.
“INEC reassures the people of Osun State of its readiness to conduct a free, fair, credible and inclusive governorship election on 15th August, 2026,” the statement said.
The commission said the deadline, initially set for Saturday, 8 August, has been extended to Tuesday, 11 August 2026, following appeals from political parties for more time.
INEC also announced that the window for voters who applied to replace lost, damaged or defaced PVCs to download their replacement cards will close at midnight on Sunday, 9 August.
The move is to enable the commission compile final PVC collection figures ahead of the 15 August Osun governorship election.
INEC said replacement downloadable PVCs have also been provided to affected voters in Odo-Otin and Ife Central Local Government Areas after hoodlums carted away cards from two collection centres, stressing that the stolen cards cannot be used to vote.
The commission reaffirmed its readiness to conduct a free, fair, credible and inclusive election in Osun State.
Gov. Kefas made the remarks over the weekend at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jalingo, during the flag-off of the second phase of the Renewed Hope Medical Outreach in Taraba State, organised as part of activities marking Prof. Yilwatda’s 58th birthday.
The governor commended Prof. Yilwatda for choosing to mark his birthday by providing medical care to people in need.
“What Professor Nentawe did is a powerful demonstration of what leadership should be,” Gov. Kefas said.
He assured that his administration would continue to support initiatives that complement government efforts to improve healthcare delivery and the wellbeing of residents.
Speaking at the event, Prof. Yilwatda called on Nigerian leaders to embrace the culture of giving and use their positions to touch the lives of the less privileged.
He said his decision to celebrate his 58th birthday in Taraba State was deliberate and informed by the needs of underserved communities, particularly people who face difficulties accessing healthcare because of distance and financial constraints.
According to him, the intervention followed a needs assessment and was extended across the three senatorial districts of the state.
He said the exercise commenced on August 3 at Takum General Hospital and covered the Federal University Teaching Hospital, Wukari; First Referral Hospital, Sunkani, Ardo-Kola Local Government Area; General Hospital, Bali; General Hospital, Gembu; and FMC Jalingo.
Prof. Yilwatda said the intervention provided medical services to thousands of beneficiaries, including people who required surgical procedures.
He said sustainable national development could only be achieved when strong institutions placed Nigerians at the centre of development.
“Leadership is about service,” he said, urging political and public leaders to make giving back to society an important part of their responsibilities.
He reaffirmed his commitment to serving Nigeria and its people, saying his personal vision was to make every day of his life useful to humanity.
“Every day that I live, the vision is: let it be useful to humanity,” he said.
The Taraba State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Bordiya Buma, commended the initiative, saying it was consistent with the Renewed Hope agenda and efforts to strengthen healthcare delivery in the state.
Dr Buma said the second phase followed the successful completion of the first phase, which was conducted simultaneously in six local government areas, with two LGAs selected from each of the three senatorial districts.
According to him, more than 10,000 patients were attended to during the first phase, including people with medical and surgical conditions.
He disclosed that 327 general surgeries, 71 eye surgeries and 575 dental procedures were carried out during the exercise.
The commissioner expressed appreciation to President Bola Tinubu for the Renewed Hope Medical Outreach and thanked Prof. Yilwatda for supporting the initiative and choosing Taraba State as a beneficiary.
The Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, also commended Prof. Yilwatda for choosing Taraba State to mark his 58th birthday through a medical outreach.
Prof. Pate said making healthcare the centrepiece of the birthday celebration was significant because health affects everyone.
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