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Anambra LG poll: No automatic victory for sole chairmanship candidates — ANSIEC

Published

1 week ago

August 26, 2026

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The Anambra State Independent Electoral Commission (ANSIEC) says there will be no automatic victory for any chairmanship candidate in Saturday, August 29, 2026, local government elections, even where only one candidate is contesting a chairmanship seat.

Addressing journalists on Wednesday at a pre-election briefing at the commission’s secretariat in Awka, ANSIEC Commissioner for Information and Publicity, Sir Tony Chinedu, said sole candidates must still secure the required majority of “Yes” votes to be declared winners.

He explained that where two or more candidates are contesting a chairmanship position, the election would proceed through the normal voting process, with the candidate who polls the highest number of votes declared the winner.

However, where only one candidate is on the ballot, voters will be required to vote “Yes” or “No” for the candidate.

“A sole candidate will not be declared the winner automatically,” Chinedu said. “The candidate must secure at least two-thirds of the ‘Yes’ votes cast to be declared elected. If there is a predominant ‘No’ vote against the candidate, the election will be declared inconclusive and the process will start afresh from the party primaries.”

The commissioner noted that the same “Yes/No” principle would not apply to councillorship elections, adding that councillors would emerge through the normal voting process.

Chinedu disclosed that 22 candidates had been screened for the 21 local government chairmanship positions.

The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) fielded candidates in all 21 chairmanship positions, while the Young Progressives Party (YPP) fielded one candidate.

For councillorship, he said 346 candidates had been screened for the 326 wards across the state.

The commissioner said the commission was “over 90 per cent ready” for the polls, adding that preparations had reached an advanced stage.

He said the recruitment and training of ad hoc personnel had been concluded, with training conducted in the state’s three senatorial zones on separate days.

Chinedu also said the evacuation of non-sensitive materials to designated locations had commenced, while sensitive materials would be moved to their respective areas on Saturday morning.

On possible court actions, he said the commission would not be deterred.

“The court will not stop our election,” he declared.

He added that the tenure of the incoming local government chairmen remained two years.

Chinedu recalled that ANSIEC had earlier fixed August 29, 2026, for the elections, noting that the process had now reached its final stage.

He said only APGA and YPP had indicated interest in the election, adding that the commission had screened their candidates and published their names.

The commissioner also said the commission had approved substitutions where necessary and that all other arrangements were being finalised ahead of the polls.

On the lawsuit by about 56 councillors seeking postponement of the council election, Chinedu said the court action would not stop the scheduled poll.

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Osimhen Scores Again But Injury Scare Raises Fresh Concern For Super Eagles

Published

2 hours ago

September 4, 2026

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Osimhen Scores Again But Injury Scare Raises Fresh Concern For.jpg

Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen produced a mixed night for Galatasaray on Friday, scoring against İstanbul Başakşehir before being forced off with an injury that could raise concerns over his availability for Nigeria’s upcoming 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

Osimhen opened the scoring in the 17th minute with a stunning effort to put Galatasaray ahead.

However, his night was cut short after he appeared to suffer a problem following a challenge with Christopher Operi in the 23rd minute. The Nigerian striker continued briefly but later felt the problem again after making a run behind the defence and signalled that he could not continue.

Osimhen was eventually substituted in the 33rd minute, with Barış Alper Yılmaz coming on as his replacement.

Initial reports describe the problem as a suspected muscle/groin injury, but there is currently no confirmed diagnosis or recovery timeline. Osimhen himself reportedly admitted after the incident that he did not yet know whether the injury was serious.

The timing could be significant for Nigeria.

The Super Eagles are scheduled to begin their 2027 AFCON qualifying campaign against Madagascar on September 23, before travelling to face Guinea-Bissau on September 27.

That leaves Nigeria with just under three weeks before the Madagascar encounter, meaning Osimhen could still have time to recover if the injury proves minor. However, a significant muscle strain or tear could put his participation in doubt.

For now, Osimhen has not been ruled out of the Super Eagles’ upcoming matches, and his availability will depend on further medical examinations and his recovery over the coming days.

The immediate concern for Nigeria will therefore be the results of those assessments.

He scored a spectacular goal, but the biggest question tonight is whether Osimhen will be fit when Nigeria need him most.

News

AI compute provider Nscale is looking for $3.5B in pre-IPO financing

Published

3 hours ago

September 4, 2026

Preport

Nscale, a British AI infrastructure company founded just two years ago, has said it may go public as early as later this month. Ahead of that expected IPO, the company is reportedly in talks to raise an additional $3.5 billion.

Bloomberg reported Friday that the company is looking to sell $1.5 billion in convertible notes — a type of loan that can later convert into company stock — to a group of investors, while also seeking an additional $2 billion in financing from Nvidia.

Nvidia also participated in the firm’s Series B funding round in March, a $1.1 billion raise led by investment fund Aker. Nscale hailed its round as “the largest Series B in European history.” The company’s Series A round, in December of 2024, raised $155 million.

TechCrunch reached out to Nscale and Nvidia for comment.

AI infrastructure startups have seen immense growth amid the current era of AI enthusiasm, wherein compute has become a competitive currency.

Nscale recently signed a large deal with Anthropic worth approximately $45 billion. Earlier this week, reports emerged that Nscale had been telling potential investors that it has approximately $103 billion in revenue following the deal. That figure isn’t current sales; it’s a projection based on signed customer leases, according to The Information.