Author: Supers Staff

The founder of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Dr. Boniface Aniebonam has lamented that Sen. Rabiu Kwankwaso and the Kwankwasaya Movement betrayed the party’s trust by trying to take over its structure.

During a news conference in Lagos on Friday, Dr. Boniface Aniebonam expressed his disappointment, stating that he provided Sen. Rabiu Kwankwaso with a golden opportunity to pursue his presidential aspirations within the party.

Aniebonam said he singlehandedly registered and nurtured the NNPP from 2002 until 2022 when Kwankwaso and his team approached him to fly the flag of the party in the 2023 presidential election.

He said: “Buba Galadima led the delegation, including Sen. Suleiman Hunkuyi and Prof. Sam Angai to my country home in Anambra, to plead for us to accept Kwankwaso in NNPP.

“After the talks, I placed a call to Kwankwaso and after asking him questions about his intentions for Nigeria, I offered him the platform of NNPP as its sole candidate.

“I believed that Kwankwaso was not aware of the internal crisis in the party until he came out openly on live television, displaying a new logo and flag for the NNPP and mutilating its constitution.

“It is disturbing and if I continue to keep quiet, it will not be in the interest of the soul of the party as the founder and at some point, its board chairman.

“The party’s constitution says the founder is a life member of the board and even when I’m alive, my brother and good friend, Kwankwaso, for whatever reasons, is destroying the party I built from 2002 to 2022 when he joined us to contest the 2023 presidency.”

According to him, “I funded the party for 22 years and Kwankwaso wants to hijack it even when he is not a member of the board of the trustees or the leader of the party.”

Aniebonam said he founded NNPP after he founded the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) and NAGAFF, therefore, is the parent body of the NNPP.

He recalled that Kwankwaso and others were expelled from the party for anti-party activities but as a life member of the board with inherent powers, he would grant him pardon if he purged himself of what he is doing.

“The kangaroo convention even when there was a court order stopping it, is null and void because a Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday, ruled that NNPP issue is an internal crisis.

“This means that the issues can only be settled using the constitution. However, we are ready to pursue the interpretation of the constitution up to the Supreme Court.”

The NNPP founder said with this singular action, Kwankwaso would no longer enjoy the sole candidacy of the NNPP should he even be pardoned.

The chess master aiming to break a Guinness World Record, Tunde Onakoya suffers a health setback during his marathon but refuses to give up.

The New York-based non-profit organization, Gift of Chess revealed that Tunde endured severe vomiting and stomach pain during his ongoing marathon but remained determined not to give up on Thursday.

Onakoya, alongside his United States counterpart Shawn Martinez, is striving to break the Guinness World Record for the longest chess marathon at New York City’s renowned Times Square, with the event set to conclude on Friday, April 19.

Despite concerns about his health, they initially believed he might not continue the record-breaking endeavour, but Tunde Onakoya proved relentless in his determination.

Gift of Chess reported this in a post via the X platform while urging his supporters not to give up on him.

“That’s @Tunde_OD curled over in pain. Yesterday we did not think we could continue, as he was experiencing intense vomiting & stomach pain.

When given the choice to quit, he said I will play on for the dreams of millions of children.

Tunde has never quit on the kids, let’s not quit on him. Everyone who has liked a photo we ask you now to donate. $5 dollars is way more than enough.”

Nigerian Wema Bank has launched the fifth edition of its flagship youth and startup-focused tech competition, Hackaholics.

The launch of the competition was announced at a press conference held at the bank’s Head Office in Lagos on Thursday.

Hackaholics is an annual tech and innovation competition birthed by Wema Bank in 2019 to provide a platform for young Nigerians with tech-driven ideas to bring their ideas to life, scale their ventures and access a wider market for these tech-enabled solutions.

The fifth edition of the competition is themed ‘Meta-Idea: DigiTech Solutions for Africa’s Prosperity.’

The bank has pledged a total cash prize of over N70m for top innovators across Africa.

Reaffirming the bank’s commitment to championing innovation and empowering innovators, Wema Bank’s Executive Director of Retail and Digital Business, Tunde Mabawonku, emphasised the role of Hackaholics in bridging the gaps in Africa’s macroeconomic landscape through innovation.

He said, “Our mission as a bank is very clear, ‘Empowering Lives Through Innovation’ and this is the exact purpose behind Hackaholics. Within the bank, we have transformed the status quo and redefined the standards with cutting-edge solutions and technology, hence our position as Nigeria’s most innovative bank, but we didn’t end there. With Hackaholics, we have taken our innovation drive outside the bank, empowering youth for success and facilitating the development of transformative solutions tailored to the needs of diverse Nigerians and even the African populace.

“By embracing innovation, fostering a culture of collaboration, and prioritising customer-centricity, we have and will continue to transform and position Wema Bank as a digital leader, in action, products and services. Our aspirations are not merely about implementing new technologies; they are about fundamentally transforming how we operate.”

He added, “Hackaholics aligns with the sustainability vision of the bank of developing digital solutions for societal impact. Over the years, we have been privileged to not only peek into some very insightful ideas, life-changing products and companies that have been created via this platform but also drive sustainable growth in every vertical of the Nigerian economy. This year, we aspire to expand into Pan-African frontiers, taking the magic from the Hackaholics train beyond Nigeria.”

Providing details of Hackaholics 5.0, Wema Bank’s Head of Innovation, Solomon Ayodele added, “The theme for this year is anchored on two principal factors, the Meta Idea and African Prosperity. We are challenging the youth to develop extraordinary ideas that will proffer practical solutions to our local problems as Africans. This year, we are widening our scope across the six geopolitical zones in Nigeria, and we are also touching Africa. As you may know, we launched the Hackaholics Digital Summit last year, culminating the Hackaholics 4.0 journey in grand style. This year, you’re going to experience the Coachella of the tech industry at our Hackaholics 5.0 grand finale tech festival, and the journey begins today.”

For this year’s Hackaholics, we are not limiting entries to any specific verticals. Any verticals you can think of will be accepted. Our focus for Hackaholics 5.0 is the brilliance of your mind so we leave it to you to discover a problem area that matters and develop an innovative solution that will drive a positive impact. Our goal is to birth solutions that address diverse aspects of real-world challenges, and you have the opportunity to be a part of this transformative journey.”

Man set himself on fire Friday outside the court where Donald Trump is standing trial in Manhattan, with officers rushing to extinguish the flames.

Burning clothes were strewn in the park, which was locked down by authorities, while ambulances lined up nearby on standby, an AFP correspondent at the scene saw, describing a strong smell of burning chemicals.

The scene unfolded moments after the full panel of 12 jurors and six alternates was selected for the trial of the former president in a hush money cover-up case.

“A male did light himself on fire outside of the Supreme Courthouse. We’re still gathering details from the field,” said a New York Police Department spokesman.

The fire department did not respond to a request for comment, but media reported the man had been taken away for medical treatment.

The incident happened in a park opposite the 100 Centre Street courthouse, which has been used by authorities to corral protesters, both pro-Trump and anti-Trump, as well as by some members of the media.

The park, which is close to several courthouses and other buildings, is a popular local lunch spot.

Trump’s criminal trial, the first of a former president, is being conducted amid tight security in a 15th-floor courtroom swarming with Secret Service officers as well as court police.

New York’s police department had promised a major deployment to ensure the trial passes off safely, with the force’s head of intelligence John Hart calling it a “major challenge.”

AFP