NEWS

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Professor Josiah Amupitan, has assured political parties and Nigerians that the commission will remain neutral in the 2027 elections.Amupitan gave the assurance on Tuesday at the National Peace Accord ahead of the 2027 presidential election.“INEC has no interest in who wins or loses any election. The commission does not have a candidate, nor does it favour any political platform,” Amupitan said.The INEC chairman also urged political parties and candidates to focus on issues during the 2027 campaign rather than turning the election into a contest of violence and personal attacks.“Let the 2027 election campaign be a marketplace of ideas, not a theatre of war,” he said.​Amupitan said Nigerians were mo...

The African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, has criticised President Tinubu’s absence from the signing of the National Peace Accord ahead of the 2027 general elections.Presidential candidates, including Sowore, Peter Obi, Donald Duke and others, attended the peace accord signing ceremony which was held in Abuja on Tuesday, August 18.In a chat with Channels TV this morning, Sowore mentioned that President Tinubu’s decision not to attend the ceremony showed that the President did not consider the peace pact a serious affair. TV& VideoPresident Tinubu was represented at the ceremony by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume.Sowore argued that the president, as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, should hav...

Turkey accuses Israel of destabilising Syria after airstrikes on a Syrian military base, as Ankara rejects claims of planned troop deployment.Israeli forces carried out airstrikes on a Syrian military base on Tuesday, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office claimed Syria was close to allowing Turkish troops to deploy there.Israel said such a deployment would violate existing security arrangements and threaten its national security, warning that it would not tolerate the move.Turkey accused Israel of using the claims to justify its strikes on Syria and undermine the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.“The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office has made these claims to justify Israel’s airstrikes on Syria and undermine the country’s sovereignty and territorial integri...

Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory have increased their combined budgets by 47.5 per cent, from N27.22tn in 2025 to N40.14tn in 2026.Despite the significant increase in overall spending, the proportion allocated to capital projects has declined, raising concerns about the potential impact on infrastructure development and long-term economic growth.An analysis of the 2026 budgets of the 36 states and the FCT shows that capital expenditure accounts for 64.34 per cent of the total budget, down from 73.24 per cent recorded in 2025.In nominal terms, states and the FCT have allocated N25.83tn to capital expenditure out of their N40.14tn combined budget for 2026. This compares with N19.94tn earmarked for capital projects from the N27.22tn aggregate budget in 2025.ht...

The Edo State Police Command has arrested six men for s3xually assaulting minors. The State Commissioner of Police, CP Patrick Daaor, who disclosed this during a press briefing on Tuesday, August 18, 2026 said one of the suspect allegedly r@ped his 15-year-old daughter. The suspects were paraded alongside others arrested for various crimes, including alleged kidnapping, vandalism, staged kidnapping, unlawful possession of firearms. According to the CP, a 42-year-old man, Oji Okoro was arrested for allegedly s0domizing a 12-year-old boy.“On 13 August 2026, at about 1620hrs, the command received a report of unnatural offense where a 12-year-old male apprentice was allegedly s3xually assaulted by one Orji Okoro at the suspect’s residence on 12th August, 2020. T...

At least seven Hindu devotees were k!lled Monday morning, August 17, in a stampede at a Shiva temple in eastern India, where tens of thousands had gathered to take part in a religious observance, according to reports.  The incident occurred near Ashok Dham, a famous temple dedicated to Lord Shiva in Lakhisarai during the holy month of Shravan, when Mondays are considered particularly auspicious for worship. Preliminary information indicates that reports that a live wire from a fallen electricity pole electrocuted people queuing for Ashok Dham prompted people to panic and run for safety, causing a barricade to collapse and people to pile on top of one another, The New Indian Express reported. Though at least seven had di£d, more than 10 pe...