The battle for the ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo State ahead of the April governorship primary of the party moved to Abuja, last Wednesday, when the national leadership of the APC met with the aspirants. The meeting became inevitable following the tension in Edo APC over who succeeds Governor Adams Oshiomhole. Following the seeming preference for the Chairman of the state government’s Economic Team, Mr Godwin Obaseki, as the APC governorship candidate by Oshiomhole, it was learnt that some of the aspirants started mounting pressure on the National Chairman, Chief John Odigie Oyegun, to react on the issue, after they feared that the primary may be manipulated in favour of Obaseki. At the Abuja meeting, Oyegun reportedly allayed the fear of the aspirants, assuring them that the national leadership of the party will ensure a level-playing ground for all of them.

The leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo state has been urged to organise a free, fair, transparent and credible governorship primary election.

THE eighth indigenous General Secretary of the Bible Society of Nigeria (BSN), Rev. Dare Ajiboye, in this interview with OLAYINLA LATONA, recounts his experience at the Society founded on February 8, 1966 through the pioneering efforts of late Dr. Francis Ezeogo Akanu Ibiam, the first indigenous Governor of the defunct Eastern Region. Before 1966, According to him, the Society was under the supervision of the British and Foreign Bible Society (BFBS) which had operated in Nigeria as far back as 1807 and the Bible House in Apapa served as a distribution centre to other neighbouring West African countries. “Since then, we have been translating the word of God into several Nigerian languages. We have translated it into 24 Nigerian languages and we are trusting God to add the 25th one this year. We distribute not less than 300,000 copies of the Bible in a year,” he said, stressing that BSN has been in the vanguard of securing Nigerian culture and languages through its activities. He also spoke on some national issues.

The Benue state Police Command has smashed an illegal firearms manufacturing syndicate in Kwande Local Government Area of the state. They are alleged to be involved in the production and sale of arms to criminals from other parts of the country.

The Speaker, Delta State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon Monday Igbuya, has stressed the need for media practitioners to be thorough and be armed with accurate facts and figures in their investigative journalism He also asked them to always project the image of the State in its true perspective to counter the negative picture being presented by some individuals even as the Chairman of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), Delta State chapter, Hon Itiako Ikpokpo has dismissed the story, describing it as a stupid allegation.