The Labour Party (LP) has strongly rejected rumors suggesting that it is in a partnership with President Bola Tinubu in anticipation of the 2027 elections. These rumors claimed that the LP had struck an agreement to support Tinubu’s bid for a second term should he choose to run.

In response, the LP’s National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Obiora Ifoh, issued a statement on Friday, labeling these allegations as baseless and unfounded. He emphasized that the party has continually dismissed any notion of collaboration with the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) concerning the upcoming 2027 general elections.

Ifoh asserted that the Labour Party remains the most prominent opposition party in Nigeria, with the party’s National Chairman, Barrister Julius Abure, being a leading critic of the current government. “Our National Chairman is at the forefront of challenging the policies of the government, consistently voicing opposition to the actions of the current administration,” Ifoh said.

The spokesperson also highlighted the party’s ongoing efforts to strengthen Nigeria’s democracy. These include the establishment of an Electoral Reform Committee aimed at ensuring free, fair, and transparent elections, as well as the introduction of an e-membership registration system that has already attracted a significant number of new members.

Ifoh further expressed disappointment over the defamatory nature of the rumors, calling it “ridiculous and unfortunate” for anyone to attempt to undermine the Labour Party’s efforts in such a manner. “For anyone to try to tarnish the reputation of a party that is actively working to reshape the political landscape in Nigeria is truly unfortunate,” he remarked.

Finally, the Labour Party spokesperson challenged Deji Adeyanju and anyone else promoting such claims to provide concrete evidence to support their accusations. “We call on Deji Adeyanju and others to present factual proof if they believe that the leadership of our party or Mr. Abure has any intention of working with President Tinubu or the APC for the 2027 elections,” Ifoh stated firmly.

Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele has denied ever having any altercation with the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.

This was contained in a statement issued by his media office noting that:

“Our attention has been drawn to fake news currently being circulated on the X handle of one Jackson Ude, a known serial blackmailer and cash-and-carry journalist.

“The post is about an alleged altercation and physical fight between Leader of the Senate, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele and President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio on Wednesday.

“For the record, it is a verifiable fact that Senator Bamidele has never been involved in physical assault in over two decades of his political trajectory, not even when he was a young man leading the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) as President.

“It is surprising that the purveyor of this misleading information in his selfish agenda and unprofessional conduct threw ethos of Journalism into waste bin and decided to feast on roadside gists to tarnish the image of the Senate Leader.

“We are aware that the fake news is meant to cause disaffection within the Senate and by extension; heating up the political system.

“To think that the Senate Leader, President of the Senate and other principal officers of the Senate together received the Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. YU Dunhai and his delegation few minutes after leaving the plenary on Wednesday is a significant testimony against Ude’s imagination.

“Further to this, photographs of the Chinese envoys with the leadership of the Senate were widely published in today’s major national newspapers. It is equally verifiable that the Senate Leader and the Senate President both drove out of the National Assembly premises in the same vehicle yesterday.

“This time again, the Senate Leader is sounding a note of warning to all attention seekers in the ilk of Ude to be careful and not take the Leader’s gentlemanliness for granted.

“Henceforth, the Leader will be forced to use the instrumentality of the law to protect himself and his office as enshrined in the CyberCrime Act 2015.

” We, therefore, urge the public to disregard this misinformation and treat it with the disrespect it entirely deserves.

By Francesca Hangeior.

The Executive Secretary of the Universal Basic Education Commission, Hamid Bobboyi, has revealed that 34 states and the Federal Capital Territory are yet to access the 2024 Universal Basic Education matching grant.

Bobboyi disclosed this on Monday in Abuja during the Senate Committee on Education’s (Basic and Secondary) oversight visit to the commission.

He noted that only Katsina and Kaduna states had accessed their first and second quarters of the 2024 matching grant.

Providing details of matching grants accessed between 2020 and 2024, Bobboyi said unaccessed UBE grants remain a significant challenge for basic and junior secondary education.

“For the 2020 UBE matching grant, 34 states and the FCT have accessed it, while two states—Abia and Ogun—have not. For 2021, 33 states and the FCT have accessed it, leaving Abia, Imo, and Ogun yet to do so.

“In 2022, 29 states and the FCT accessed the grants, with Abia, Adamawa, Anambra, Ebonyi, Imo, Ogun, and Oyo yet to access theirs. For 2023, 25 states accessed the grants for the first to fourth quarters,” he said.

Bobboyi further stated that N263.04 billion and N103.29 billion, representing 2 per cent of the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF), were allocated to the commission under the 2024 and 2023 Appropriation Acts, respectively.

He added that N103.29 billion was fully released for 2023, while N219.20 billion had been released for 2024, representing 83.33 per cent of the year’s allocation.

Ranking state performances in accessing the UBE grants by geopolitical zones as of October 31, Bobboyi commended the North West zone for achieving 100 per cent.

The South-South zone followed with 97.92 per cent, North Central with 97.76 per cent, North East with 97.57 per cent, South West with 92.28 per cent, and South East with 85.37 per cent.

He identified key challenges facing the commission, including a lack of political will and commitment by some state governments, low budgetary allocations to basic education at state and local government levels, and poor teacher quality.

Bobboyi added, “Non-compliance with the Federal Government’s directive on teaching history in basic schools and the high number of out-of-school children are also major issues.”

Members of the Senate Committee on Education expressed concerns over the challenges. Senator Victor Umeh lamented the high number of out-of-school children in northern states despite higher allocations.

Senator Sunday Katung called for the reintroduction of history into the basic education curriculum, citing its importance for the younger generation.

Earlier, the committee chairman, Senator Lawal Usman, commended UBEC’s efforts but urged the commission to implement the committee’s recommendations and improve its operational framework.