Author: damazah@gmail.com

As if the judgment he delivered ordering the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister five political parties, including the African Democratic Congress (ADC), is not enough, Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja last Tuesday fined the party and its National Secretary, Rauf Aregbesola, ₦500,000 each over the application for him withdrawal from a suit. ADC and Aregbesola had, in separate motions, asked Justice Lifu to recuse himself from the suit filed by an aggrieved party member, Nafiu-Bala Gombe, citing alleged bias. Delivering a ruling on Tuesday, Justice Lifu held that the motions lacked merit and…

The federal government has inaugurated a Presidential Task Force on Ebola Virus Disease Preparedness as part of efforts to sustain Nigeria’s zero-case status and strengthen the country’s capacity to respond to potential outbreaks. Speaking at the inauguration on Thursday at the State House, the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, who chairs the task force, said there were currently no reported cases of Ebola in Nigeria. Mr Gbajabiamila said the government was intensifying preventive measures to ensure the country remains free of the disease while positioning itself to take a leading role in epidemic preparedness and response across…

Natural field experiments might involve studying how shoppers respond to in-store changes, such as moving where products are displayed.Credit: Robert Nickelsberg/GettyPublic policy is full of initiatives that did not work out as hoped. Take Scared Straight, a programme run by more than 30 US states between 1978 and 2015 that aimed to dissuade at-risk teenagers from becoming hardened criminals by bringing them face-to-face with people incarcerated in maximum-security prisons1,2. The programme was extended after a pilot project, the subject of a 1978 documentary, found that 80–90% of teenage participants stayed out of trouble. But the intervention did not work when…

The final Signature Event of the year begins Thursday when the 2026 Travelers Championship tees off from TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Conn. The event’s signature status and proximity to last week’s U.S. Open lead to a loaded 2026 Travelers Championship field that features all the top-ranked players on tour with the exception of Rory McIlroy. Scottie Scheffler is the +440 favorite (risk $100 to win $440) in the 2026 Travelers Championship odds via FanDuel Sportsbook. Xander Schauffele (+1600), Cameron Young (+2000) and Tommy Fleetwood (+2000) are next on the PGA odds board, with U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark not far…

By Enitan Abdultawab Nigerian singer Skales has clarified his stance on politics after facing criticism online over his recent comments about the country’s political landscape. In a post shared on X, the singer insisted that he is not affiliated with any political party and does not support any of the major political figures currently in contention for leadership. “I have seen all the posts targeted at me and I repeat again I do not rep any political party. I live in Nigeria and I am affected by the misleadership just like everyone else!” he wrote. Skales stressed that his criticism…

It will be little consolation to Keir Starmer, who had loftier ambitions for his term of office, that he made a good fist of the tricky brief of prime ministerial style. “He had good hair” is not the legacy he hoped for. But we are where we are.Starmer’s prime ministerial look was smart, but unpretentious and unflashy. He looks good in a dark suit, which is a bonus in this job. His suits – often bought from Charles Tyrwhitt, where a standard price tag comes in at a typically restrained, Starmer-esque £350 – were well fitted, although menswear pedants pointed…

Torrential rainfall and a windstorm destroyed farmland and shops in Abakaliki and Akpoha Communities in Afikpo North LGA of Ebonyi State on Saturday night. The over-four-hour rainfall caused severe flooding along the Abakaliki–Afikpo Expressway, submerging farmlands and destroying crops worth millions of naira. Some of the affected farmers told the News Agency of Nigeria in Abakaliki on Sunday that the flood washed away yams, cassava, maize, rice, melons, and other crops on their farms. Cletus Idam said the disaster wiped out all his investment this planting season. “We invested huge sums of money in our farms, but everything has been…

The detonation of the atomic bomb nicknamed “Smokey,” as part of Operation PLUMBBOB in the Nevada desert. 1957. (Photo by © CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)Corbis via Getty ImagesAs AI drives rising energy demand, the Trump Administration is exploring an unconventional energy source: surplus nuclear-weapons-grade plutonium from the Cold War. In May 2026, the Department of Energy, under its Surplus Plutonium Utilization Program, selected five companies—Oklo, Flibe Energy, Exodys Energy, SHINE Technologies, and Standard Nuclear— to examine whether the excess plutonium can be converted into fuel for advanced nuclear reactors. The initiative provides an opportunity for the country to turn what…

Just three months ago, Lucid Motors showed off a new midsize electric vehicle platform that it said would give rise to a number of new vehicles in the coming years. The Saudi-backed startup is now selling its Gravity SUV alongside the ever-improved Air sedan and plans to reach profitability with smaller and cheaper models sold in higher volumes. But things are far from rosy at Lucid; today, the automaker is laying off approximately 1,500 workers—18 percent of its workforce. These aren’t the first layoffs of the year, either; In February, Lucid let go of 12 percent of its workforce. In…

This is not the first time Burnham has tried to become Labour leader, so what else do we know?