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Kenneth Okonkwo finally dumps LP, says the “party” is over
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By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
Kenneth Okonkwo, ex- spokesperson for the Labour Party (LP) presidential campaign council, has finally dumped the party.
Okonkwo was the LP campaign spokesperson in the 2023 election.
In his resignation statement, he said the LP had been afflicted by internal and leadership crises.
“My entrance to politics is for good governance, and I will continue to work for it to ensure that Nigeria becomes a great country of incorruptible men.
“This aim can no longer be realised within Labour Party as presently constituted,” he said.
“Since the party is non-existent as presently constituted, I am constrained to resign my membership of the party to all Nigerians of goodwill who supported us when we needed them most and to pledge my continued loyalty to the Nigerian people in all I will decide to do in my political future.”
The Nollywood actor said he was open to switching party and pitching his political tent elsewhere.
“This resignation takes effect from the 25th of February, 2025, which marks the second anniversary of the presidential election of 2023, after which I will be at liberty to join other well meaning, and like minded Nigerians in charting a great future of good governance for this great country blessed by God,” he stated
Okonkwo said the tenure of the party’s leadership had long elapsed and the caretaker committee set up to salvage the party had been hindered by unnecessary litigation.
He criticised Julius Abure, national chairman of the LP, for allegedly prioritising personal interests over the survival of the party.
In June 2024, Okonkwo described the LP as “a secret society led by a group of clowns”.
In an interview on Symfoni, a news platform, Okonkwo warned that he would not rule out joining another party if the LP continued on a “trajectory where they cannot even hold an acceptable national convention”.
In July, Okonkwo said he no longer had confidence in the ability of Peter Obi, ex-presidential candidate of LP, to build a party that could win elections.
He said Obi had “proved that even if the people vote for him, he does not have what it takes to secure the mandate”.
Okonkwo left the All Progressives Congress (APC) for LP in 2022, citing the former’s adoption of a Muslim-Muslim ticket for the 2023 presidential poll.
LP LEADERSHIP CRISIS
The LP has been embroiled in a leadership crisis since Lamidi Apapa, deputy national chairman of the party (south), declared himself the acting national chairman last year.
The crisis deepened in 2024 when a national convention of the party in Anambra saw Abure re-elected as chairman amid opposition from a faction of the party.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had said it did not monitor the LP’s national convention.
The board of trustees (BoT) of the party described the convention that re-elected Abure as a charade and added that Abure’s tenure was over.
In February 2024, Oluchi Oparah, the party’s national treasurer, accused Abure of misappropriating N3.5 billion, a claim the LP chairman denied while threatening legal action.
The allegation led to calls from party members for Abure’s removal.
In April, the FCT high court issued an order restraining Abure from parading himself as the national chairman of the LP.
While ruling on an ex parte application, Hamza Muazu, the presiding judge, also restrained Farouk Ibrahim, national secretary; Clement Ojukwu, national organising secretary; and Opara; from parading themselves as national officers of the party.
In September, Nenadi Usman, a former senator representing Kaduna south, was appointed to chair a 29-member caretaker committee after Alex Otti, governor of Abia state, convened a stakeholders meeting of the party in Umuahia.
Obi and Datti Baba-Ahmed, his running mate in the 2023 vote, were among the top party members that attended the meeting.
INEC had also invalidated Abure’s leadership, saying the national convention violated the constitution and Electoral Act.
The electoral body said the party failed to meet legal requirements for holding the convention, insisting that Abure’s tenure as LP national chair expired in June 2024.
But in a judgment on October 8, the federal high court affirmed the Abure-led leadership and the March 2024 Nnewi convention that produced the party executives.
Nwite ordered INEC to recognise Abure as the legitimate chairman of the party.
On January 17, 2025, the court of appeal in Abuja affirmed Abure as the LP national chairman.
The court ruled that its earlier decision of November 2024, recognising Abure as the party’s chairman, remains valid and has not been overturned by any court.
A verdict delivered by Hamma Barka also voided a judgment of the federal high court delivered on October 8, 2024 by Nwite, on the grounds that the lower court lacked the jurisdiction to hear the suit.
[TheCable]
…English and Mathematics:
641,631 candidates (32.89%) were female
558,883 candidates (28.65%) were male
The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has officially released the results of the 2026 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for School Candidates as girls top boys in English and Mathematics.
The release brings to an end weeks of anxious waiting for nearly two million candidates across Nigeria and parts of West Africa, who sat for the examination.
The examination body announced the development on Wednesday through its official X (formerly Twitter) account, directing candidates to generate their result-checking PIN and access their results online.
“UPDATE: 2026 WASSCE (SC) results have been released. Generate your PIN at http://waec.org and check your results now on http://waecdirect.org,” WAEC stated.
Speaking during a press conference in Lagos, the Head of the WAEC Nigeria National Office, Dr. Amos Dangut, disclosed that the council withheld the results of 167,486 candidates, representing 8.59 per cent of those who sat for the computer-based 2026 WASSCE for school candidates.
According to him, the affected results were withheld over alleged cases of examination malpractice and will remain under investigation until the council concludes its review.
WAEC revealed that 1,959,668 candidates from 24,207 secondary schools registered for the examination conducted across Nigeria, Benin Republic, Côte d’Ivoire and Equatorial Guinea.
Out of those registered, 1,950,726 candidates eventually sat for the examination.
The council disclosed that 1,834,695 candidates, representing 94.05 per cent, have had their results completely processed and released.
However, the results of 116,031 candidates (5.95 per cent) are still being processed and will be released once the exercise is completed.
Over 1.2 Million Candidates Scored Five Credits Including English And Mathematics
WAEC’s statistics show that 1,200,514 candidates, representing 61.54 per cent of those who sat the examination, obtained credits and above in at least five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics.
Meanwhile, 1,687,378 candidates (86.50 per cent) secured credits in at least five subjects, irrespective of whether English Language and Mathematics were included.
Despite the strong overall performance, the council noted a slight decline in the number of candidates who achieved the benchmark five credits including English and Mathematics.
Also Read: Police foil kidnap plot, arrest two suspects, recover firearms in Delta
Compared to the 2025 examination, the pass rate dropped by 1.42 percentage points.
Female Candidates Outperformed Male Candidates
WAEC also released a gender breakdown of the successful candidates.
Of the 1,200,514 candidates who obtained five credits, including English and Mathematics:
641,631 candidates (32.89%) were female
558,883 candidates (28.65%) were male
Overall participation also showed that female candidates slightly outnumbered their male counterparts.
According to the council:
997,267 females (51.12%) participated in the examination.
953,459 males (48.88%) sat for the examination.
With the release of the results, thousands of candidates are expected to begin admission processing into tertiary institutions, while those whose results were withheld will await the outcome of WAEC’s ongoing investigation into alleged examination malpractice.
Ten days to the gubernatorial election in Osun State, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has frozen Osun State Government account domiciled with First Bank of Nigeria.Lagos News Updates
The account used for the payment of workers’ salaries, was placed on “Post No Debit” status by the anti-graft agency.
Though, this is coming after Governor Ademola Adeleke alleged that the EFCC was plotting to freeze the state’s accounts and those of top government officials.
In a statement issued on Wednesday by the Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Kolapo Alimi, Adeleke described the reported move as an attempt to cripple government activities ahead of the August 15 governorship election.
He reiterated that there was no legal basis for freezing the accounts of the state government, arguing that the EFCC lacked the statutory powers to take such action.
Meanwhile, the EFCC is yet to issue an official statement in respect to the development.
Vanguard
Small business owners in Nigeria have a fresh opportunity to access government funding as the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) reopens its Conditional Grant Scheme.
The programme provides qualified nano and micro enterprises with a one-off N50,000 grant that beneficiaries are not expected to repay.
The funding is intended to give small businesses additional resources to strengthen their day-to-day operations, invest in growth and increase their workforce.
However, the grant comes with a job creation condition. Businesses that benefit from the scheme are required to employ at least one additional worker.
Why SMEDAN is offering the grant
SMEDAN designed the Conditional Grant Scheme to make financial support more accessible to small businesses, particularly enterprises that may find it difficult to obtain conventional business loans.
Unlike a loan, the N50,000 support does not attract interest or require repayment, provided beneficiaries meet the conditions attached to the programme.
The agency said the initiative is also aimed at encouraging entrepreneurship, improving productivity and supporting economic activity at the local level.
The CGS should not be confused with the Presidential Conditional Grant Scheme. While the two programmes are separate, both provide N50,000 grants to qualifying nano businesses.
Which businesses does the scheme target?
The funding is primarily aimed at nano and micro enterprises operating within local government areas across Nigeria.
Information applicants need
Business owners seeking the grant will have to provide personal and business details during the application process.
The information requested includes:
Applicant’s full name
Email address
Phone number
Business name
CAC registration number, if applicable
Type of industry or business
Years in business
Applicants should ensure that the details supplied are correct and correspond with their business information.
The grant is intended for legitimate business-related expenses that can help improve the performance of an enterprise.
Depending on their needs, beneficiaries can channel the funds towards:
Equipment purchases
Technology improvements
The support is therefore designed to go beyond immediate cash assistance by helping businesses improve their ability to operate and compete.
Participants in the Conditional Grant Scheme (CGS) for micro enterprises receive financial assistance tailored to their business needs.
These nano businesses get a sum of ₦50,000 grant on the condition of employing one person in order to encourage job creation.
Business owners interested in the N50,000 Conditional Grant Scheme should use the application portal designated by SMEDAN.
Applicants should carefully complete the registration process, provide accurate information and confirm that their businesses satisfy the conditions for participation before submitting their applications.
(VANGUARD)
Just in: WAEC releases 2026 WASSCE results as girls top boys in Maths, English
Just in: Ten days to guber election, EFCC freezes Osun govt First Bank account
FG Reopens Portal For Nigerians To Obtain N50,000 Grant(See how to apply)
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