Today's Headlines: I’ll never endorse any politician, but I’ll keep engaging with them— Simon Kolawole, Jonathan mourns ex-CGS Diya

I’ll never endorse any politician — but I’ll keep engaging with them— Simon Kolawole

Simon Kolawole, the founder of TheCable and columnist at THISDAY, says he will never endorse any politician. The media entrepreneur was speaking during a book reading event in Lagos on Saturday.

Source: The Cable

The event was organized by the Committee for Relevant Art (CORA), a non-profit of artists and art critics. In October 2022, Kolawole released ‘Fellow Nigerians, It’s All Politics’, his debut book. The book encompasses a total of 61 articles dwelling on his perspectives about Nigeria.

The articles address various issues including leadership, the economy, and the country’s political culture. At the book reading, Kolawole said he has been criticized on many occasions for not endorsing political candidates. “People expect me to say certain things and I don’t. So they attack me on Twitter and everywhere,” the author said.

Jonathan mourns ex-CGS Diya

Former President Mr. Goodluck Jonathan has commiserated with the people and government of Ogun State over the death of a former Chief of General Staff, Lt General Oladipo Diya (retd.), describing him as a committed patriot and courageous soldier.

Source: Punch Newspapers

In a condolence message signed by his media adviser, Ikechukwu Eze, Jonathan lauded Diya for serving the country well, stressing that as a soldier, he fought gallantly for the unity of Nigeria. The former President further described Gen Diya, who was also a one-time Chief of Defense Staff and Vice Chairman of the Provisional Ruling Council in the General Sani Abacha regime, as “a kindhearted and disciplined officer, well-known for his loyalty to the country and love of fellow citizens.”

The former first citizen recalled that “Diya devoted so much of his energy towards uniting Nigeria and showed exceptional brilliance while holding different command positions in the nation’s military leadership. He will be remembered for his efforts towards promoting peace and commitment to the progress and development of our nation.”

Police arrest 79 suspects over ‘electoral offenses’ in Sokoto

The Sokoto police command says it has arrested 79 persons over alleged involvement in electoral offenses during the governorship and house of assembly elections conducted on March 18.

Source: The Cable

In a statement on Sunday, Sanusi Abubakar, police spokesperson in the state, said some of the suspects were found to have violated the movement restrictions order during the polls. “All the electoral offenses among them were fully investigated and transferred to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for prosecution,” he said.

“While others that contravened the penal code have been charged to court by the police, there are others that are still under investigation,” Abubakar said cases of vote buying, destruction of ballot boxes, thuggery, threats, and instigating public nuisance at polling centers were reported during the elections.

Rainstorm destroys houses, injures many in Kogi

A rainstorm has rendered residents of the Iyara community in the Ijumu local government area of Kogi State homeless. Some of the locals also sustained various degrees of injuries during the incident.

Source: Daily Post Nigeria

The rain which started around 4 pm on Friday, destroyed some classrooms in the Community High School Iyara, the source said. The source further explained that there was no loss of lives in the rainstorm, saying that those injured are presently receiving treatment at the community’s health center. Aliyu Badaki, the President of the Iyara Development Association (IDA), described the incident as a real shock and sadness, saying it was unfortunate.

He appealed to NEMA and SEMA to quickly intervene and cushion the effect of the disaster, stressing that the damage done by the storm was massive and beyond what the community can handle.

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