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National Assembly Shelves Compulsory voting bill

The National Assembly has officially withdrawn a controversial bill that sought to make voting compulsory for all eligible Nigerians.
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rep. Abbas Tajudeen, announced the decision Monday, citing “extensive consultations with a broad spectrum of stakeholders.”

The bill, co-sponsored by Hon. Daniel Asama Ago, aimed to amend the Electoral Act 2022 to enforce voting as a civic duty.

“From the outset, the bill was introduced with the best of intentions—to bolster civic engagement and strengthen our democracy by encouraging higher voter turnout,” the Speaker said in a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Musa Abdullahi Krishi

Passed through second reading in March 2024, the bill quickly sparked debate across the country. While proponents pointed to global examples like Australia and Belgium, where compulsory voting has led to over 90% turnout, critics warned it could infringe on individual freedoms in Nigeria’s evolving democratic space.

Acknowledging these concerns, Speaker Abbas said, “Lawmaking is ultimately about the people it serves, and any reform must respect individual freedoms.”

The Speaker emphasised that Nigeria’s democratic reforms must align with its societal context, stating that the withdrawal offers a chance for a deeper national conversation.

“This withdrawal will allow time for further dialogue on how best to cultivate a culture of voluntary participation that honours both our democratic ideals and the rights of our citizens,” he added.
Instead of enforcing participation, Abbas said the government would now explore non-coercive strategies to increase voter turnout, especially among the youth.

The decision marks a shift in approach from legislation to advocacy, signalling a preference for civic engagement through education and inclusion rather than obligation.

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Asake’s ‘Mr Money With the Vibe’ Is Charting Top 50 On Spotify

Three years after its release, Asake’s Mr Money With the Vibe is still doing numbers. At the time of press, the track ‘Nzaza’ currently ranks 23rd on Spotify Nigeria’s Top 50 songs, that’s 148 weeks and counting, nearly three years of nonstop streaming for a debut project.

For most artists, a first album fades after its moment. For Asake, it’s really that moment that refuses to fade.

Released September 8, 2022, through YBNL Nation and Empire, Mr Money With the Vibe arrived when the streets already knew Asake’s name. He had already spent months turning singles like Sungba into hits. This 12-track debut built on that momentum, and he managed to do even more.

The project blends Afrobeats, Amapiano, and Fuji influences, creating a sound that can be global yet deeply Nigerian. Songs like Joha, Terminator, and Organise became instant hits, setting the tone for Asake’s larger-than-life run that would define Afrobeats in the mid-2020s.

From its first day out, Mr Money With the Vibe shattered expectations and redefined what a Nigerian debut could do.

Apple Music Africa: The album broke records for the most first-day and most opening three-day streams ever by an African project.Apple Music Nigeria Top 100: For a brief, almost unbelievable stretch, every single track on the album occupied the first 12 spots on the chart. Global Reach: The project reached #1 on Apple Music Album Charts in 26 countries, including six across Europe.

Albums fade, trends change, and new stars rise every quarter. Yet Mr Money With the Vibe remains glued to the top. That consistency says something about both Asake and his audience. For one, the project captured a moment in time, the rise of a new street-pop generation that blurred the lines between amapiano and Yoruba-rooted rhythm. Every track carried Asake’s trademark vocals and a hypnotic tempo that became instantly recognizable across countries.

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Wizkid’s Son Enters the Spotlight with Debut EP ‘Champion’s Arrival’

Boluwatife Balogun, the 14-year-old son of Afrobeats titan Wizkid, has finally launched his own music career. Now known by the stage name “Champz”, the young star has just unveiled his first-ever project. The much-anticipated five-track EP, titled Champion’s Arrival, dropped on Tuesday, November 11, instantly sparking fresh buzz on the internet.

Champz himself took to his social media channels to confirm the news via a post that read: “11/11: The Champion has arrived. My debut EP ‘Champion’s Arrival’ is Out Now on all streaming platforms!”

The debut project serves nothing near his father’s iconic Afropop sound as Bolu’s sound is strictly a heavy dose of Rap, Afroswing, and Trap. Early snippets, which went viral weeks ago, showcased a lyrical flow and a smooth, polished composure that belies his tender age.

Fans can now stream the full project across all major digital platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, and Audiomack. Champz is signalling his readiness to step into the fiercely competitive Nigerian music scene. The game has a new player.

This is not merely a son following his father; it is a destiny playing out in real time.

Wizkid also began his journey at a tender age, starting in a church choir and later releasing his first collaborative album at just 11 years old under the name ‘Lil Prinz

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Incumbent Anambra Governor Charles Soludo Wins Anambra Election

Charles Soludo

Governor Chukwuma Soludo has secured a return to office after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared him the winner of the November 8, 2025, Anambra State governorship election. The results announced by the electoral umpire showed that the incumbent governor recorded a landslide victory, sweeping all the 21 local government areas of the South-East State. In the early hours of Sunday, November 9, the State Returning Officer and Vice Chancellor of the University of Benin, Professor Omoregie Edoba, declared Soludo the winner of the exercise after collating results from the state’s local government areas.

“I hereby declare that Soludo Chukwuma Charles of the APGA, having satisfied the requirements of the law, is hereby declared the winner and is returned elected,” Edoba said.

The final tally showed that the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) candidate garnered 422,664 votes, pulverising his closest challenger, the All Progressives Congress (APC) flag-bearer, Nicholas Ukachukwu, who polled 99,445 votes.

Paul Chukwuma of the Young Progressives Party (YPP) came a distant third with 37,753 votes, while John Nwosu of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) scored 8,208 votes.

Labour Party’s George Moghalu and his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) counterpart, Jude Ezenwafor, scored 10,576 votes and 1,401 votes, respectively. Peter Obi, a former Governor of the State and Labour Party’s presidential candidate in 2023, couldn’t bring his popularity to bear in the election.

Obi, who had spearheaded Moghalu’s campaign, not only failed to secure a victory for his preferred candidate at his polling unit, but the Labour Party’s total votes of 10,576 also fell way short of expectations.

Results from Polling Unit 019, Umudimakasi, Amatutu village, where Obi voted, showed that the APC recorded 73 votes, defeating the Labour Party, which polled 57 votes.

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