These are the stories that drove the conversation today:
The Deputy Governor of Akwa Ibom, Moses Ekpo on Monday said he has not resigned his position and is not leaving the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) for the All Progressives Congress (APC).
According to his Chief Press Secretary, Ekikere Umoh, who debunked the resignation story, the deputy governor is in New York on an official assignment to represent the Gov. Udom Emmanuel.
“I have no reason whatsoever to resign or jump ship from a government that is both responsive and performing optimally, while giving practical meaning to democratic dividends for the people of Akwa Ibom. I cannot, and will not jump ship,” he said.
The Ekiti Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Ado Ekiti on Monday granted the prayers of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to inspect election materials and results of the July 14 governorship election in the state.
Justice Suleiman Belgore, while granting the prayers, said the counsel had sought the order of the court to access the election materials in order to make photocopy of the documents of the election materials and to use forensic equipment to view the handwriting of the election result and the fingerprint of the election materials.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has discovered 19 illegal polling units in Akwa Ibom.
Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in the state, Mike Igini, who made the disclosure on Monday at an Enlarged Stakeholders’ Forum in Uyo, said that the illegal polling units were in Obot Akara and Uyo Local Government Area.
He added that following INEC’s discovery that the polling units concerned were located in places such as hotels, church, mosques among others in violation of its guidelines, there was the need to relocate and rename some polling units in the state.
According to the minister, because the Buhari administration was performing well, the opposition left with no other option have, “decided to take the easy route, which is to use fake news and hate speech to de-market the administration, pitch Christians against Muslims and one ethnic group against another.”
And stories from around the world:
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on Monday that any future NATO decision to admit Georgia to its ranks could trigger “a terrible conflict” and he questioned why the alliance was even considering such a move. (Reuters)
President Donald Trump says he will fully enforce the sanctions being reimposed on Iran as a result of the US withdrawal from a 2015 nuclear deal. (BBC)
The EU has launched an attempt to protect European businesses from Donald Trump’s sanctions against Iran as the US administration voiced its intent to apply maximum pressure on Tehran by vigorously applying its punitive measures.
The sanctions are to enter into force at midnight (US east coast time). (The Guardian, UK)
At least a dozen people, including migrant labourers returning home after spending the day working in the fields, have been killed in a crash between a van and a lorry in southern Italy.
Italian news agency ANSA reported on Monday that the accident took place on a state highway in the area of Lesina in the province of Foggia. (Aljazeera)
Britain is ready to ask Russia to extradite two men it suspects of carrying out a nerve agent attack on a Russian former spy in the English city of Salisbury, the Guardian newspaper reported on Monday, citing government and security sources. (Reuters)
Temidayo Taiwo-Sidiq is a Journalist, Political Analyst and Satirist with major interest in Nigerian Politics, Governance and Sports.
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