Visibly Underage Persons Who Attempt To Vote Will Be Arrested, Says INEC

 The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says visibly underage persons who attempt to vote during the 2023 elections will be arrested.

Festus Okoye, INEC national commissioner for information and voter education, said this on Monday during an interview on ‘The Morning Show’, a programme by Arise Television.

Okoye said in an effort to address issues around underage registration, INEC has summoned all its officers in areas where underage registrations were recorded.

“They will appear before a special panel of the commission and it is still ongoing. We have also made it very clear that any visibly underage person should not on any account, approach any of our polling units on election day, because if the person does, the person will definitely be arrested,” he said.

The parents will also be arrested for aiding and abetting such a venture.”

Speaking further, Okoye said the clean-up of the voters’ register is ongoing, adding that Nigerians would be pleased with the end result.

“Some of the data you saw on social media about underage registration were some registrations that took place from 2011 to before the 2019 election,” he said.

This commission had the courage to publish the entire register of voters and ask Nigerians to also check to ensure no malicious registrations have gone into our voters’ register.

“So, we have harvested all the claims and objectives and are cleaning up the voters’ register. We assure Nigerians, that the voters’ register we are going to go into the 2023 general election with will be one they will be proud of.

‘As of today, the voters’ register is hovering around 93.5 million registered voters. On January 16, the commission will publish the official register that will be used for 2023 elections.”

Tinubu Emerges The Most Searched Presidential Candidate On Google

 The Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu has ended 2022 as the most searched presidential candidate in Nigeria on google based on people’s interest.

Google trends search interest is captured on monthly basis, the last one being between November 30 and December 27, 2022.

The nation goes into a presidential election on 25 February, 2022 and many of the presidential candidates have been trending with Nigerians and others searching for interesting things about them.


Statistics made available by Google Trends showed that Tinubu had 43% of of all the search interests on google trends.

The Presidential candidate of Labour Party, Peter Obi came second with 28% searches on google.

The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar has 26% of searches while the Presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Rabiu Kwankwaso has 3% of searches on google.

While Prof. Christopher Imumolen of Accord Party; Osita Nnadi of Action Peoples Party; Kolawole Abiola of Peoples Redemption Party and Yabagi Sani of Action Democratic Party, have zero percent search interests apiece, Ado-Ibrahim Abdulmalik of Young Progressives Party; Omoyele Sowore of African Action Congress; Mamman Dantalle, Chukwudi Umeadi, Olufemi Adenuga, among others, have -1% search on google trends.

Where are they being searched for?

Tinubu has his most searches between November 30 and December 27 from Gombe, with 100 searches, Republic of Niger with 66 searches, Katsina, 60 searches, Adamawa, 48 searches and Kogi, 45 searches. Other areas he was searched for include Jigawa, Borno, Osun, Kaduna, Nasarawa, Oyo, FCT, Ondo, Lagos, Sokoto, Delta, Ogun, Akwa Ibom, Kebbi, Plateau, Benue, Bauchi, Cross River, Kano, Anambra, Enugu, Kwara, Ekiti, among others.

Obi has his most searches between November and December 27 from Anambra, 100 searches, Cross River, 92 searches, Ebonyi and Abia 76 searches each and Akwa Ibom, 75 searches. Other areas he was searched are: Enugu, Imo, Plateau, Rivers, Edo, Nasarawa, Delta, Kaduna, FCT, Lagos, Kogi, Ogun, Ondo, Balyelsa, Oyo, among others.


Atiku has his most searches between November 30 and December 27 from Adamawa with 100 searches, Katsina, 90 searches, Sokoto, 89 searches, Jigawa, 86 searches and Zamfara, 76 searches. Other areas he was searched for include Bauchi, Borno, Kebbi, Kogi, Gombe, Republic of Niger, Yobe, Osun, FCT, Anambra, Kano, Kaduna, Ekiti, Ondo, Nasarawa, among others.

Lukaku Hails Osimhen Best Striker In Italy Now, Ahead Inter, Napoli Clash

 Inter striker, Romelu Lukaku, has hailed Napoli forward Victor Osimhen as the best striker now ahead of their clash in the Serie A on Wednesday.

The Nerazzurri take on Luciano Spalletti’s unbeaten side at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza as they attempt to cut the deficit with Lukaku set to face the Nigerian striker, Osimhen.

In a lengthy interview broadcasted by Italian television channel Sky Sport Italia on Sunday, the Belgian international warned that the Nerazzurri had not given up hope of winning the league, but are anticipating a tough encounter.

“Until a team has lifted a trophy everything is possible in football, we play for that,”Lukaku said.

“We’ll see at the end of the season, whoever lifts the trophy is the champion. For now, we’re still there, the season ends in June and we’ll only see then,” the Chelsea loanee declared.


“Napoli have a really strong coach, they are doing a great job, they have a lot of great players. They are in a good moment, they have Osimhen who scores a lot of goals, (Khvicha) Kvaratskhelia who is very strong.

“He (Osimhen) is really strong, he is the best now. We have to be honest, he’s doing really well and Napoli are first in the table. We have respect but not fear.”

The 23-year-old has become an important player in Spalletti’s side and his fine form has attracted interest from several top clubs in the Premier League with Liverpool, Manchester United, and Newcastle linked with the Nigerian.

With nine Serie A goals and two assists in 11 appearances, Osimhen has been central to Napoli’s fantastic performance this season and quest for the Scudetto in three decades.

Japa: Canada Bans Foreigners Others From Buying Houses

 A ban on foreigners buying residential property in Canada took effect on Sunday, aiming to make more homes available to locals facing a housing crunch.

Several exceptions in the act allow individuals such as refugees and permanent residents who are not citizens to buy homes.

In late December, Ottawa also clarified that the ban would apply only to city dwellings and not to recreational properties such as summer cottages.

The temporary two-year measure was proposed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during the 2021 election campaign when soaring prices put home ownership beyond the reach of many Canadians.

“The desirability of Canadian homes is attracting profiteers, wealthy corporations, and foreign investors,” his Liberal Party said in its election plank at the time.
This is leading to a real problem of underused and vacant housing, rampant speculation, and skyrocketing prices. Homes are for people, not investors.”

Following their 2021 election victory, the Liberals quietly introduced the Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act.

Major markets such as Vancouver and Toronto have also introduced taxes on non-residents and empty homes.

Despite a recent heyday, the country’s real estate market has cooled for sellers as mortgage rates followed the Bank of Canada’s aggressive monetary policy in a bid to rein in inflation.

According to the Canadian Real Estate Association, average home prices have fallen from a peak of more than Can$800,000 (US$590,000) at the start of 2022 to just over Can$630,000 (US$465,000) last month.

Nigeria Will Be In Trouble If Obi Is Not Elected President

 Leader of Pan-Yoruba sociopolitical group, Afenifere, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, says Nigeria will be in trouble if any candidate other than the Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party, Mr Peter Obi, is elected President.

Adebanjo also hailed Obi’s endorsement by former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

He however said he was not surprised by Obasanjo’s action, saying the former President has always been in support of power shift to the South-East in the interest of equity, fairness and justice as well as keeping the country together.

Speaking with Daily Trust, Adebanjo said Nigeria would be in trouble if the people failed to vote for Obi.

He stated that the decision of Afenifere to support Obi was ideological and principled, saying other regions except the South-East had enjoyed the privilege of being in the saddle.

He stated that there was no justification for the APC Presidential Candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to contest when Obasanjo, from the South-West was President for eight years.

He said the same thing applies to the PDP candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, noting it was wrong for another Northerner to take over when a Northerner is exiting.

He said, “How are you going to justify Tinubu when Obasanjo had spent eight years? Or how do you justify Atiku when another Northerner is leaving the place? That’s the crux of the matter. The South-West has done, South-South has done, is South-East not part of Nigeria?

Asked if he and Obasanjo would be able to convince voters in the South-West to vote for Obi, he said those who believe in principle would support their position, adding, “Don’t bring in ethnicity. I said it in my statement. If it is about ethnicity, I should support Tinubu. I made him the governor but I am not supporting him as President. Yoruba people don’t cheat others.

“We cannot talk of a united Nigeria when the South-East has not had it. I am not like Atiku who said he wants to keep Nigeria. How can you do that when you are denying a part of Nigeria its right?”

Ahead of the election, Adebanjo urged Nigerians to vote the right people in the right places, saying, “If they vote outside Obi, Nigeria will be in trouble. Anything outside Obi, we are in trouble.”

Obasanjo Seeking Third Term Through Obi, Says PDP Campaign Council

 The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential campaign council has tackled former President Olusegun Obasanjo over his endorsement of Peter Obi, presidential candidate of Labour Party (LP). 

On Sunday, Obasanjo, in a letter to Nigerians, declared his support for Obi ahead of the 2023 general election.

He advised Nigerians not to be “confused nor gullible” about who to vote for because Obi has what it takes to put Nigeria on the right path to progress.

Reacting in a statement, Daniel Bwala, spokesperson of the PDP presidential campaign council, said Obasanjo is “one man who believes his role also includes choosing and imposing presidents per time as if we run a monarchical system of 

“He believes he is the only former leader who knows what is right for Nigeria, and who has the celestial powers to predict the future of Nigeria and its leadership. He believes it is only his administration that has done well and hence the authority to choose the next leader or president. His way of choosing the next president is either to blackmail the incumbent or denigrate candidates in favour of his choices,” the statement reads.

“A cursory look at his letter released on this day, the 1st day of January 2023, one can’t help but draw a deduction of a man who believes so much in himself. His entire letter is riddled with me, my and I. Even when he made references to candidates, he assumed he is the source of their relevance and notoriety. First of all, history is replete with his bad decisions which time would not permit us to layout in this article, but suffice to say that his records and official acts were and still are antithetical to democratic ideals.

“The democracy we practice recognizes the participation of people in government and electioneering processes. He has the constitutional right to choose whoever he likes and support the candidacy of the person, but the right he doesn’t have is one that threatens, intimidates or harasses citizens to support any candidate as the only means to avert danger, secession or disintegration.

“One fact is clear, Nigerians would decide, and this they would do, not on the basis of a letter by a man seeking a third term by proxy, but by their own assessment of who amongst the candidates presents the case they believe warrant their votes. The letter is not new, and the content is not surprising, but it seems his legacy betrays his assertion in the letter. Baba OBJ Nigeria has moved on, please allow our democracy to grow and respect the will and wishes of the Nigerian people.”

The opposition party added that Nigerians won’t vote based on Obasanjo’s endorsement but for the candidate that can tackle the challenges confronting the country.

Blessing CEO Falls In Love With Late Bimbo's Husband, IVD Ikechukwu Ogbonna

 

Relationship expert, Blessing Okoro CEO, pours encomium on her man, IVD Ikechukwu Ogbonna, husband of late Bimbo Ogbonna, as he tattoos Blessing's name on his hand, IGBERETV reports.

Blessing shared photo of the tattoo on her Instagram handle with the caption;

"Never been so bold to post any MAN on my timeline on social media.
But I don’t know why you seem so right❤️.
Mixed feelings (fear and excitement)
I taught my feelings had died with my past, but you came and made it easy and effortless for me to bend almost all my rules and open all my boundaries.
You are strong because so many MEN tried even with money, but I did not bend,but you came and did noting and I have tumbled and falling for you …
Thank you boo boo .
And I am happy to say ❤️ you .
Happy new year …
I love the Tatooooo ❤️❤️❤️
It’s my wallpaper and screen saver."