These are the stories that drove the conversation today:
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared Alhaji Haruna Isah, of the All Progressives Congress (APC),winner of the Lokoja/Kogi House of Representatives bye-election.
The Returning Officer, Prof. Rotimi Ajayi, who announced the results on Sunday in Lokoja, said Isah polled 26, 860 votes of the 48,165 valid votes cast to defeat Alhaji Bashir Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), who polled 14, 845 votes and six other candidates.
The bye-election was conducted to fill the vacant position created by the death of the former representative, Umar Buba Jibrin, on March 30.
Mrs Abbey Ukpukpen, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has been declared winner of Saturday’s bye-Election for Obudu Constituency at the Cross River House of Assembly.
According to Dr Frankland Briyai, State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), who announced the result on Sunday in Obudu, headquarters of Obudu local government area, Ukpukpen widow of the previous holder of the seat, Stephen Ukpukpen, who died in May, scored 12,712 votes to beat her closest rival, Mr Ishamali Bendel, of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who scored 4,345 votes and 2 other candidates.
“Total valid votes 17,303; rejected votes 607; total votes cast 17,910; total number of registered voters 69,908,” he added.
Candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Lawan Gumau, has won the Bauchi South Senatorial District bye-election, held on Saturday, becoming the only senator from the ruling party in the state.
Announcing the result in Bauchi on Sunday, Prof. Ahmed Sarkin-Pagam, Returning Officer for the election, noted that Gumau scored 119,489 votes of the 245,652 valid votes cast, to defeat eight other contestants including the immediate past governor of the state, Isa Yuguda of the Green Party of Nigeria, who polled 33,079 votes.
The bye-election was conducted to elect a representative for the Senatorial District, following the death of Senator Ali Wakili on March 17.
The Managing Director, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Ms Hadiza Usman, has on Sunday given the assurance that the 2km Apapa Wharf Road being reconstructed would be completed and opened to motorists by the end of September.
Usman who made the disclosure to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos, said that the reconstruction which would cost N4.34 billion is to enable the Federal Government to achieve its goals as regards the Ease of Doing Business.
She added that NPA was working with the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing to rehabilitate all ports’ access roads in the country to ensure a level playing field and to also facilitate trade.
“At about 0630hrs on Aug. 11, a team of detectives attached to IGP intelligent Response Team ( IRT) while on operation along Jankasa village of Rigasa in Igabi Local Government Area in Kaduna State was ambushed by bandits,” he explained.
And stories from around the world:
US space agency Nasa has launched its mission to send a satellite closer to the Sun than any before.
The Parker Solar Probe rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida. (BBC)
At least 39 people – including 12 children – have been killed in a blast that brought down a building in Syria’s mainly rebel-held north-western province of Idlib, with dozens of people still missing, reports say. (BBC)
Russia will further decrease its holdings of U.S. securities in response to new sanctions against Moscow but has no plans to shut down U.S. companies in Russia, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said on state TV on Sunday, RIA news agency reported. (Reuters)
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday said the crash of the Turkish lira, sparked by a bitter dispute with the United States, was a “political plot” against Turkey and warned Ankara would now seek new markets and partners. (AFP)
Thousands of students from Saudi Arabia studying in Canada are being ordered by their government to return home, following the expulsion of the Canadian ambassador from Riyadh and the suspension of new trade and investment after Canada criticised the arrest of human rights activists in the kingdom.
A Saudi student group has however issued a press release urging their leaders to keep them out of the political dispute. (Al Jazeera)
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