Featured

Rate Your Leader Predicts Victory for Theresa May If…

Published

7 years ago

February 7, 2019

Eric

Theresa May could recapture a House of Commons majority if just 393 electors changed the votes they cast in the 2017 General Election – 150 times fewer than the number needed to put Jeremy Corbyn in Downing Street.

Westminster rumours this week suggested that the Prime Minister is poised to delay Britain’s exit from the European Union beyond the end of March, before calling an election on June 6 to seek backing for her Brexit deal – rumours denied by Downing Street.

Figures from new democracy app Rate Your Leader demonstrate how just 786 votes in 8 parliamentary constituencies separated Theresa May from a majority in the last General Election –meaning the Prime Minister could govern without support from a minor party if 393 Labour or SNP voters switched to the Conservatives in a new contest.

The constituencies are:

Kensington – 10 votes needed from Labour
Perth and North Perthshire – 11 votes needed from the SNP
Dudley North – 11 votes needed from Labour
Newcastle under Lyme – 15 votes needed from Labour
Crewe and Nantwich – 24 votes needed from Labour
Canterbury – 94 votes needed from Labour
Barrow and Furness – 154 votes needed from Labour
Keighley – 125 votes needed from Labour.

Labour meanwhile needs to convince 59,986 voters in 69 constituencies to defect from the Conservatives, Plaid Cymru and the SNP to secure an overall parliamentary majority – 152 times as many votes.

10,860 switchers in 23 constituenciescould however allow the party to govern in coalition with the Liberal Democrats and Scottish nationalists.

The makers of Rate Your Leader, a new app creating an abuse-proof digital platform to connect voters and politicians, are urging MPs to take the advantage of technology to better engage with their electorate in preparation of a national vote which could occur at any time.

“These figures reveal a fundamental truth about how tight the margins between success and failure is in UK elections, even if a pretty unlikely scenario in which less than 500 voters in an electorate of 46,000,000, change their vote from one election to the other.

“People sometimes think their votes don’t matter, but these figures show that couldn’t be further from the truth. Who knows what would be happening with Brexit, for example, if just 393 people had put a cross an inch higher or lower on their ballot in June 2017 and we now had a completely different Parliament.

“I’m often reminded of the story of MP Rupert Allason who famously failed to tip a waitress during the 1997 election and lost his seat by 12 votes after the staff in the restaurant all voted Liberal Democrat in disgust.

“At both a national and local level, politicians need to take every opportunity to personally engage with the voters, because one voter contact could mean the difference between the Cabinet and the Job Centre”

Rate Your Leader is a global online platform which helps politicians engage only with voters in their constituencies in an abuse-proof way. The technology allows elected leaders to truly understand what matters most to the people who elect them while allowing local people to identify and contact their representatives at the touch of a button, direct from their phones or tablets.

The app, which also allows people to check to see if they are registered to vote and identify their elected representatives at the touch of a button, is free to download from the App store and other app marketplaces.

Featured

Senate Approves Tinubu’s N1.15tr Domestic Loan Request to Fund 2025 Budget Deficit

Published

19 hours ago

November 12, 2025

Eric

The Senate has approved President Bola Tinubu’s request to raise N1.15 trillion from the domestic debt market to cover the unfunded portion of the 2025 budget deficit.

The approval followed the adoption of a report by the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debt during plenary on Wednesday.

The committee noted that the 2025 Appropriation Act provides for a total expenditure of N59.99 trillion, representing an increase of N5.25 trillion over the N54.74 trillion initially proposed by the Executive.

This expansion created a total budget deficit of N14.10 trillion. Of this, N12.95 trillion had already been approved for borrowing, leaving an unfunded deficit of approximately N1.15 trillion (N1,147,462,863,321).

In a related development, a motion by Senator Abdul Ningi was adopted, directing the Senate Committee on Appropriations to intensify its oversight to ensure that the borrowed funds are properly implemented in the 2025 fiscal year and used strictly for their intended purposes.

President Tinubu had on November 4th requested the approval of the National Assembly for a fresh ₦1.15 trillion borrowing from the domestic debt market to help finance the deficit in the 2025 budget.

The President’s request was conveyed in a letter. According to the letter, the proposed borrowing is intended to bridge the funding gap and ensure full implementation of government programs and projects under the 2025 fiscal plan.

Featured

APC’s Joe Igbokwe Calls for Dismissal of Soldier Who Stood His Ground Against Wike

Published

1 day ago

November 12, 2025

Eric

A member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Joe Igbokwe, has called for the dismissal of the soldier who resisted the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.

The soldier had blocked Wike and officials of the FCTA from accessing a portion of land in the FCT.

The officer, claiming he was acting on instructions, told Wike that he would not be allowed into the property. Wike, however, questioned his authority, leading to a heated confrontation and name calling.

Reacting on Facebook, Igbokwe questioned who was behind the military officer in challenging the FCT Minister.

He wrote, “Who is this man in uniform? Of what meat is he fed? Who is beating the drum for him? This is unacceptable? His uniform has to be removed.”

Featured

Senates Rejects NNPCL’s Explanation, Orders Refund of N210trn to Govt

Published

1 day ago

November 12, 2025

Eric

The Senate has rejected the explanations provided by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) regarding the ₦210 trillion outstanding against the oil firm.

It came to the conclusion on Wednesday that the money, which had not been accounted for, must be refunded to the Federation Account by the company.

The Senate Committee on Public Accounts chaired by Aliyu Wadada, which has been on the probe for months, took the decision on Tuesday after the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of the NNPCL, Bayo Ojulari, failed to turn up at its resumed sitting at the National Assembly.

The session was called to give the NNPCL the opportunity to make clarifications on the answers the company provided to the 19 questions the panel asked the firm about the ₦210 trillion.

Following a review of the operations of the NNPCL from 2017-2023, the committee sighted the unexplained transaction, totaling ₦103 trillion (accrued expenses) and ₦107 trillion (receivables) in the audited financial statements of the firm, prompting it to raise the queries.

After weeks of back-and-forth between the committee and the NNPCL, the NNPCL eventually responded to the 19 questions.

However, at a resumed session, Senator Wadada frowned at the absence of Ojulari, whom the committee said gave no reasons for staying away, consequently rejected the explanations.

The Chairman of the committee, Senator Aliyu Wadada, while speaking on the panel’s findings, said the responses were not only unsatisfactory, but were also contradictory.

“NNPC claimed ₦103 trillion as accrued expenses and ₦107 trillion as receivables -amounting to ₦210 trillion. On question eight, NNPC’s explanation on the ₦107 trillion receivables -equivalent to about $117 billion -contradicts available facts and evidence provided by NNPC itself. The committee is duty-bound to reject this,” he stated.

Wadada further questioned how the firm could pay ₦103 trillion in Cash Calls to Joint Venture (JV) partners in 2023 alone, despite generating only ₦24 trillion in crude revenue between 2017 and 2022.

“Cash Call arrangements were abolished in 2016 under the President Muhammadu Buhari administration. How can NNPC claim to have paid ₦103trn in one year, when it only generated ₦24trn in revenue over five years? Where did NNPC get that money?

“As far as this committee is concerned, that figure is unjustifiable and unacceptable. The ₦103 trillion must be returned to the Treasury. This will be concluded when the NNPCL appears before us,” he stated.

The committee said it would have been better for the current management of the NNPCL to admit that it encountered challenges in explaining what happened to the funds than giving contradictory answers to the questions.

“If the present management of NNPCL is finding it difficult to provide acceptable answers, it is better they say so. The committee will not hesitate to subpoena former officials of NNPCL and NAPIMS,” Wadada added.