Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, has ordered the closure of all dilapidate public schools across the state.

Students and pupils of the affected schools are to be relocated to other schools, which the state government is yet to announce.

However; Governor Obaseki specifically directed that pupils and staff of Holy Aruosa Primary School in Benin City should be relocated to the nearby Agbado Primary School.

The directives were made after the Secretary to the State Government, Osarodion Ogie, visited Holy Aruosa Primary School yesterday morning to assess the level degradation of the structures.

The Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Communication Strategy, Crusoe Osagie, disclosed in a statement that the state government had initially ordered the relocation of the school and was shocked to notice that it was still in use by the teachers and pupils.

To this end, Osagie said Governor Obaseki has ordered an investigation of the flaunting of his directive, including allegations that some teachers who do not wish to be transferred had retained the pupils in the school for selfish reasons, despite the unsafe condition.

The coast has been cleared for former Governor of Edo State, Adam Oshiomhole, to run unopposed for the position of National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress.

There were three other contenders running against Oshiomhole, including Clement Ebiri of Cross River State and Osereimhen Osunbor, who is also a former Governor of Edo State.

Ebiri announced his withdrawal from the race last night; a day after Osunbor stepped down to endorse the candidacy of Oshiomhole.

Before now, the fourth candidate - Ibrahim Emokpaire who is from Edo State but based overseas, had withdrawn his candidacy on the 12th of June.

The withdrawal of Ebiri, Osunbor and Emokpaire comes ahead of the National Convention of the APC, which would hold in Abuja tomorrow.

Meanwhile; the National Convention Committee of the APC has denied alleged compilation of a list of preferred candidates that would be adopted by delegates at the convention.

Just like the Secretary of the Committee, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba had said, Governor Abubakar Badaru of Jigawa State, who is the Chairman of the committee, also repeated that there was nothing like a “Unity List” to be adopted at the convention.

About forty two positions will be up for grabs during the National Convention of the All Progressives Congress on Saturday.

A member of the Media Subcommittee of the National Convention Committee, Abike Dabiri-Erewa who confirmed the development said no fewer than twenty candidates have been returned unopposed as members of the National Working Committee of the APC.

Arewa Dabiri also disclosed that screening has also been done adding that some candidates have been disqualified from the exercise.

She said some were disqualified on the basis of age and educational qualification.

The Presidential Adviser of Diaspora further assured that the convention will be free and fair.

Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP has sued the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola over his claimed failure to account for the spending on the privatisation of the electricity sector.

SERAP also wants to know the exact amount of post-privatisation spending on generation companies, distribution companies, DISCOS and Transmission Company of Nigeria to date.

SERAP in a suit filed at the Federal High Court in Lagos wants Fashola to explain if such spending came from budgetary allocations or other sources.

President Muhammadu Buhari is expected to sign the 2018 appropriation bill into law tomorrow.

Consequently the weekly Federal Executive Council meeting for this week may also not hold due to the budget signing and Public holidays of Friday and Monday.

The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, at the end of FEC meeting last week had told newsmen that President Buhari will sign the 2018 budget this week.

The Presidency had received the appropriation bill from the National Assembly on May 25 after it was signed by the lawmakers.

The National Assembly had increased the budget proposal of eight point six one two trillion naira by five hundred and eight billion, bringing it to nine point one two trillion naira from the original estimate.

The All Progressive Congress in Rivers State have picked holes in the just concluded local government elections conducted by the state government.

The APC said the low turn-out of electorates for the Local Government polls does not only indicate that Rivers people have rejected what they described as a sham election, but have also rejected the People’s Democratic Party in the state.

State Chairman of APC, Ojukaye Flag-Amachree in a statement said what transpired in the election have vindicated the APC.

Ojukaye maintained that APC have always insisted that the PDP could not have  won election in Rivers State during the 2015 election which led to the emergence Nyesom Wike as Governor if not for alleged used of Federal might against opposition parties in the state.

Immediate past Caretaker Committee Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party, Senator Ahmed Makarfi, has joined the race to contest as Nigeria’s President in 2019.

Markafi who was a former Governor of Kaduna state made his intention known while briefing newsmen in Kaduna.

He said his decision was an outcome of wide consultations with party men and women as well as other major stakeholders.

Rivers State Local Government Council elections have been concluded across the twenty three Local Government Areas of the state.

Our correspondent Uchendu Ejiowhor reports that the electoral material arrived late in some pulling units in Emohua, Ikwerre and Ahoada Local Government Areas.

Some electorates who spoke to our correspondent expressed satisfaction with the conduct of the election.

A candidate of the People Democratic Party in Ikwerre Local government area Samuel Nwanosike and that of Emohua Tom Aliezi commended Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission and Security for conducting free and fair elections.

However, the state chairman of the All People's Party, APP, Kenneth Atata has called for the cancellation of the exercise alleging that sensitive materials for the election were hijacked.

Also speaking a councillorship candidate of the Green Party in Ibaa community in Emuhua Ikpendu Somba accused RSIEC of assisting the PDP to rig the elections.

Meanwhile reports from Ogu-Bolo, Okrika, Eleme, indicate that there was a low turnout of voters in the areas due to the rainfalls.

Our correspondent Vitor Ezeama who monitored elections in the areas reports that electoral materials arrived in some of the polling units around 9AM.

Some respondents who spoke with our correspondent including Navy CAPTAIN Erasmus Victor, Philip Oparaji, and Boma Iyayi described the election as widely peaceful.

A member of the Rivers State House of Assembly Evans Bipi called on the Independent National Electoral Commission to learn from the Rivers RISIEC.

Correspondent reports that there was full compliance to the restriction order with security presence in all the twenty three Local government areas of the state.

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike has commended the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission for conducting credible Local Government Elections across the state.

The governor also commended security agencies for ensuring that the elections were peaceful by creating the right atmosphere for peaceful polls.

Speaking in an interview after monitoring the local government elections in Port Harcourt and Obio-Akpor Local Government Areas, Governor Wike said that the non-participation of the All Progressives Congress in the elections turned out to be one of the reasons why the process was peaceful.

The governor noted that the security agencies played their constitutional roles during the elections.

He said the message to the Independent National Electoral Commission is that they can conduct credible elections if they resist pressures from different quarters.

Governor Wike said that he was more interested in the peaceful and credible conduct of the elections than anything else.

The position of the Governor was contained in a statement issued by his Special Assistant on Electronic Media, Simeon Nwakaudu.

The Director General of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency Dakuku Peterside says the massive low turnout that characterized the controversial local government election in the state on Saturday is a clear sign that what he said it Governor Nyesom Wike’s treachery has expired.

In a statement issued by his media team, the APC stalwart said that several members of the People’s Democratic Party called him, accusing the governor of manipulating everything, including changing the names of some candidates at the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission.

He noted that despite only PDP contesting the election against some imaginary opponents, the RSIEC still connived with the ruling party to inflate figures even in the governor’s home local government where he claimed that voters chose to stay at home.