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Coalition Tasks Nigerians to Vote En Masse in 2023 General Elections

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coalition 2023 general elections

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Committee for the Protection of Peoples Mandate (CPPM), Centre for 21st Century Issues (C21ST), and Campaign for Dignity in Governance have jointly tasked Nigerians to go out and vote peacefully and orderly in the 2023 general elections on Saturday, February 25.

In a statement made available to Business Post on Wednesday, the coalition urged Nigerians to vote for candidates of their choice to consolidate democracy for the continued progress and prosperity of Nigeria.

Signed by Mr Nelson Ekujumi for CPPM, MrsTitilope Akosa for C21ST, and Mr Razaq Olokoba for Campaign for Dignity in Governance, the message tasked that amid the current hardships experienced in the country, Nigerians must remain brave and carry out their civic responsibilities.

The message read, “As Nigerians and the global community await the conduct and outcomes of the 2023 Presidential/National Assembly and Governorship/State Houses of Assembly Elections scheduled for Saturday 25th of February 2023 and Saturday 11th March 2023 respectively, the aforementioned civil society organizations urge eligible Nigerians to participate fully in the exercise in a peaceful and orderly manner.”

“Our appeal to Nigerians is predicated on our responsibility as societal watchdogs and democrats desirous of deepening democracy through advocacy for the active participation of citizens in the electoral process.

“We are not unaware of the excruciating pains and discomfort occasioned by the implementation of the Naira redesign policy, but call on Nigerians not to despair or be weary but to remain calm and peaceful with abiding faith in democracy.  We encourage Nigerians to be hopeful that there is indeed light at the end of the tunnel.

“We urge Nigerians to continue to persevere and not pander to the antics of undemocratic elements whose motive is to take advantage of the prevailing situation to lure citizens to violence which could truncate the democratic process. We earnestly admonish Nigerians to be committed to sustaining the momentum of democratic participation for the collective good of the society, no matter the provocation.

“We are hereby using this medium to appeal to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to ameliorate the sufferings of the people in line with Mr President’s directive by making the various denominations of the new naira notes adequate and available at the commercial banks and other cash dispensing outlets to ease the untold pains and anguish which individuals and businesses have been subjected in the last couple of weeks.

“We must warn that the hardship occasioned by the prevailing cash crunch should not be allowed to undermine the successful conduct of the 2023 general elections.

“Notwithstanding, considering that Nigeria operates a constitutional democracy which makes the Rule of Law Supreme,  we fully align with the February 8, 2023, and February 15, 2023 rulings of the Supreme Court, which extended the validity of the old N200, N500 and N1000 naira notes as legal tender till the next adjourned date of 22nd February 2023.

“We demand that the Federal Government and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) immediately comply with the ruling of the Supreme Court in the interest of peace and observance of the Rule of Law, which is sacrosanct in a democracy.

We commend the Federal Government and the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) for the gradual restoration of normalcy in the distribution chain of petroleum products, which has manifested in the reduction of queues at petrol stations across the country.

“While we recognize the huge gaps in compliance on the sale of petrol at official pump prices across the country, we call on NNPCL to ensure strict compliance with official pump prices and to put an end to the queues at filling stations ahead of the polls and beyond.”

It also tasked the electoral body to ensure that it does all that was necessary and continue its track record that was witnessed last year in Ekiti and Osun states.

“We call on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to remain resolute, focused and committed to conducting free, fair, and credible polls in line with the capacity already demonstrated in the conduct of recent off-season elections in Ekiti and Osun states.

“We recognize that anti-democratic elements are not relenting in their campaign of blackmail and calumny against the Electoral Body. But we are confident that the 2023 General Election will be credible and successful.

“We also wish to encourage security agencies to be professional and unbiased in the discharge of their functions as critical stakeholders in the electoral process. We admonish security agencies to raise the bar of professionalism and dedication to duty to arrest any threat to the peaceful and successful conduct of the 2023 general elections.”

“However, we must warn that anti-democratic elements hell-bent on undermining the successful conduct of the elections and public peace through fake news incitement of violence before, during and after the election are on the prowl and must be met with the full weight of the law. It has therefore become imperative to bring to the attention of security agencies’ plots to incite violence on Election Day, as witnessed during the 2020 EndSARS protests.

“We appeal to the media as partners in progress to be professional and objective in their coverage and reportage for a successful and credible 2023 general elections.

“We call on the observers, both local and international, to maintain a high degree of neutrality and professionalism in the exercise of their functions in line with their oath and global best practices.

“We, once again, call on all eligible voters to come out en masse to vote and remain calm, orderly and peaceful before, during, and after the elections.”

Adedapo Adesanya is a journalist, polymath, and connoisseur of everything art. When he is not writing, he has his nose buried in one of the many books or articles he has bookmarked or simply listening to good music with a bottle of beer or wine. He supports the greatest club in the world, Manchester United F.C.

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Osun Threatens Lawsuit as EFCC Freezes State Accounts Ahead of August 15 Guber Election

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By Adedapo Adesanya

The Osun State Government has announced plans to institute legal action against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), following an alleged freezing of the state’s bank account, describing the action as unlawful and capable of disrupting governance.

The Governor of the state, Mr Ademola Adeleke, through the state’s Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Oluwole Jimi-Bada, made this disclosure on Wednesday.

According to the statement, Governor Adeleke has directed him to challenge the anti-graft agency’s decision at the Federal High Court.

It was widely reported that the anti-graft agency issued a “Post No Debit” directive to the management of First Bank, where the state’s accounts are domiciled, effectively restricting transactions.

He argued that while the commission has the authority to investigate financial records, it cannot freeze a state government’s accounts without first obtaining a court order.

“I have the mandate of the governor to proceed to the Federal High Court to challenge this move. EFCC can investigate the accounts, but it can’t freeze the accounts without an order of court.

“This step will affect government running, but we will challenge the move and ensure that the agency acts within the ambit of the law,” Mr Jimi-Bada said.

Also speaking, the Commissioner for Finance, Mr Sola Ogungbile, alleged that police officers stormed the main branch of First Bank in Osogbo and arrested some members of the bank’s staff.

Mr Ogungbile maintained that Governor Adeleke was not deploying state resources for his re-election campaign and urged the EFCC to consider the potential impact of its actions on public services and the welfare of residents.

Governor Adeleke had earlier raised concerns over an alleged plan by the EFCC to freeze all Osun State Government accounts, including those of senior government officials.

In a statement issued by the Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Mr Kolapo Alimi, the governor described the reported move as unlawful and politically motivated.

He alleged that the planned freezing of the accounts was intended to cripple government operations ahead of the August 15 governorship election.

Governor Adeleke further insisted that there was no legal justification for freezing the state’s accounts, arguing that the EFCC lacks the authority to take such action against a state government without due legal process.

The EFCC had not issued an official response to the allegations as of the time of filing this report.

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Court Sentences Lagos BDC Operator

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Lagos BDC operator Dabo Malam Ardi

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

A Lagos-based bureaux de change (BDC) operator, Mr Dabo Malam Ardi, has been convicted and sentenced by Justice F. N. Ogazi of the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos.

The forex trader was sentenced by the court on Tuesday, August 4, 2026, to two months’ imprisonment, with an option of N80,000 fine for engaging in illegal foreign exchange transactions.

Mr Ardi was convicted and sentenced by the court after pleading guilty to a one-count charge bordering on an illegal foreign exchange transaction.

He was brought before the temple of justice by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a one-count charge bordering on an illegal foreign exchange transaction.

“That you, Dabo Malam Ardi, sometime in 2026 in Lagos State, within the jurisdiction of this court, engaged in a foreign exchange transaction other than through the official foreign exchange market and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 11(1)(a) of the National Economic Intelligence Committee (Establishment, etc.) Act, 1994, and punishable under Section 11(2) of the same Act,” the charge read.

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Vanilla Minecraft SMP: Why Simple Servers Keep People Playing

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You Don’t Need Mods to Have Fun

It’s pretty common for people to throw in dozens of mods before they even begin a new world. Bigger caves, new mobs, extra weapons, hundreds of blocks. It sounds fun, and sometimes it is.

But after trying all that, I usually end up going back to the basic game.

There’s something nice about joining a world where everyone plays with the same rules. No complicated mechanics. No long list of commands to remember. Just Minecraft as it was meant to be played.

That’s one reason a minecraft vanilla smp still attracts so many players. The game already gives you plenty to do without changing everything.

Every Server Feels Different

People often think vanilla servers are all the same. They really aren’t.

I’ve joined servers where everyone built together in one town. I’ve also played on worlds where players spread out for thousands of blocks and only met each other once in a while.

The rules can be almost identical, but the community changes everything.

One server might become a trading hub with shops on every street.

Another turns into a group of friends building giant farms.

And sometimes the funniest moments have nothing to do with building at all. Someone gets lost. Another player accidentally blows up part of their storage room. Everyone laughs, then helps rebuild it.

Those moments are hard to plan. They just happen.

Starting From Nothing Is Part of the Fun

Joining a fresh server always feels different.

Nobody has enchanted gear.

Nobody owns stacks of diamonds.

Even finding enough iron for a full set of armor feels like progress.

The first house is usually a small wooden box. Maybe there’s a bed inside if you’re lucky.

A few days later the same area starts looking completely different. Roads appear. Farms get bigger. More people join. The empty field slowly turns into a real town.

Watching that happen is one of my favorite parts of survival multiplayer.

Small Projects Add Up

When I first started playing, I thought every build had to be huge.

Now I do the opposite.

I’ll build a bridge because crossing the river is annoying.

Then I add a path. Later I put lanterns along it.

None of these projects take all that long on their own, but together they make the whole world feel way more alive. The same thing happens on multiplayer servers.

One player plants trees. Another builds a dock.

Someone else creates a marketplace.

Weeks later nobody remembers who built what, but the whole place feels like a shared project.

Meeting Other Players Changes Everything

Playing alone is relaxing.

Playing with other people is less predictable.

Sometimes you’ll log in planning to mine for an hour. Then another player asks if anyone wants to explore an ocean monument.

Your original plan disappears.

Instead, five people grab boats and head across the map.

One random journey is sometimes all it takes to create a story the whole group remembers. That’s the magic of a vanilla minecraft smp compared to playing alone.

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Good Servers Stay Busy

A busy server doesn’t mean there are hundreds of players online every minute.

Sometimes twenty active players are enough.

You’ll always find someone building, trading, fishing, or working on a farm.

The world feels lived in. Shops have supplies.

Community projects keep growing.

Messages appear in chat every few minutes.

That steady activity makes a big difference compared to joining a server where nobody logs in anymore.

If you’re planning to create a long-term community, reliable hosting matters too. Slow chunk loading and random crashes get frustrating pretty quickly.

Many server owners compare different options before choosing free minecraft server hosting because stable performance becomes more important as the community grows.

Some also decide to use godlike host after looking at pricing, hardware, and available locations. Honestly, there’s no universal answer here. The right choice depends mostly on player count and how big the world is likely to become after a while.

Rules Don’t Need to Be Complicated

The best servers I’ve joined usually had only a few simple rules.

Don’t steal.

Don’t mess with other people’s builds. Be respectful to everyone. That’s pretty much all there is to it.

Nobody needed pages of instructions.

When people understand what’s expected, most problems never appear in the first place.

Simple rules also make the server feel more welcoming for new players.

Why Vanilla Still Works

The game isn’t anything like it was when it launched, yet survival is still just as enjoyable to start.

You collect wood. You build a house. You go mining.

Soon you’re helping another player with their project instead of working on your own.

Hours pass without anyone noticing.

That’s probably why vanilla minecraft smps continue to stay popular. They don’t rely on massive mod packs or complicated gameplay systems. The players are what make everything interesting, along with the world they build together and all the small stories in between. Still, not every session is exciting. Sometimes you only organize chests or harvest crops. Strangely enough, those quiet evenings often become part of what makes the server feel like home. That’s something mods can’t really create. It comes from people spending time in the same world and slowly turning an empty map into a place that everyone recognizes.

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