Good morning Nigeria, welcome to OsunDaily News roundup of top newspaper headlines in Nigeria for today, Thursday, 13th April 2023
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared its position on the possibility of nullifying the 2023 presidential election in Nigeria.
INEC in its declaration, maintained that alleged infractions being raised by some stakeholders are not enough reasons for the February 25 exercise to be nullified.
The electoral umpire made its stand known on Tuesday as part of its response to the petitions by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar over the outcome of the election.
Atiku in his petition had argued that the results of the February 25 presidential election had put the entire judicial system of the country on trial, adding that there is “empirical evidence” of how the presidential election results were manipulated in favour of the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu.
But INEC through its lawyer, Abubakar Mahmood, held that the alleged controversies trailing the final result declaration as claimed by PDP and Atiku were not substantial enough to cancel the entire process.
The electoral body also denied working in favour of any party or candidate and maintained that the presidential election was conducted in substantial compliance with the Electoral Act, 2022 and INEC’s Regulations and Guidelines for the Conduct of Elections 2022.
A former Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Sinatu Ojikutu on Wednesday raised an alarm that her life is under threat.
According to Ojikutu, her life is under threat following her statement against the President-elect, Bola Tinubu.
Ojikutu, while addressing newsmen at her residence in Ikoyi, Lagos State, said her problem with Tinubu started over twenty years ago when she stood against his governorship ambition.
The former deputy governor said since then all effort to reconcile with Tinubu has proved abortive.
She recalled that there was a reconciliatory move attempted by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, but the move failed.
According to her, with the impending inauguration of Tinubu on May 29, her life is in danger.
The presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, has been detained and interrogated for hours by immigration officials at Heathrow Airport in London on April 7, 2023.
OsunDaily News reports that the Head of Obi-Datti Media Office, Diran Onifade, made this known in a statement issued on Wednesday in Abuja, the nation’s capital.
The Obi-Datti media office said the former Governor of Anambra State was wrongly detained over alleged duplication offences allegedly committed by an impostor who is still at large.
The statement added that the impostor of Obi may have committed various crimes that led to the harassment of the LP flagbearer who lived for over a decade in the UK.
The Obi-Datti Media office stated that Obi has been under all kinds of attack, since the February 25 presidential election, adding that it was not surprising that he was detained for hours in the UK.
It assured all persons of goodwill especially the Obidients that Obi is back in the country and will not be deterred as he is ready to suffer the pain and remain even more determined to pursue his ”stolen mandate”.
The spokesperson of the 9th Senate, Ajibola Basiru on Wednesday said it is unethical for lawmaker-elects to buy votes to secure the Senate President seat.
According to Basiru, buying votes would be dangerous to the democracy of Nigeria.
He, however, stated that lawmakers can apply lobbying in their bid to clinch the office of the Senate President.
Recall that the lawmaker representing Borno South Senatorial District, Ali Ndume alleged that aspirants contesting for the seat are buying votes from their colleagues.
Basiru, speaking on the issue on Channels TV, said, “It is not only unethical, it is disturbing if the leadership of exalted body like the Senate and House of Representatives have to be bought.
“It portends danger for democracy but if it comes to lobbying, of course, it will be that okay you want my support for senate president or in a particular committee, I think that is acceptable.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) delegate list for the primary election in Kogi State has been nullified.
A Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday nullified the list which was presented to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on February 7, 2023, for the forthcoming APC governorship primary election in the state, OsunDaily News understands.
It was gathered that the judgment was on a suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/329/2023 filed by some aggrieved members of the APC in Kogi, led by Realwan Okpanach
Justice James Omotosho, in his judgment, held that there was no evidence before the court to show that valid special ward congresses, were held from which the said delegates emerged.
According to him, the Kogi State APC failed to provide credible evidence that INEC monitored the said congress or congresses from which the names on the said delegates list were derived.
Justice Omotosho, therefore restrained INEC from accepting and acting on the said delegates list, saying the APC in Kogi State still has an opportunity, with the existing time frame, to conduct valid special ward congresses to elect delegates, who will elect the party’s candidate for the governorship election.
Kogi State governorship aspirant, Senator Dino Melaye, has made a fresh allegation against Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike.
Melaye, who spoke on Arise Television programme on Wednesday (today), alleged that Wike was responsible for Peter Obi’s membership withdrawal from the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Recall that Obi, a former Governor of Anambra State, was in the PDP camp before he defected to the Labour Party (LP) in the build-up to the 2023 general election.
Obi contested the 2023 presidential election on the platform of the LP, going away with a chunk of supporters of the PDP. However, he was defeated at the poll.
Speaking at the interview, however, Melaye, who served as the spokesperson of the Atiku Abubakar Presidential Campaign Council, alleged that the Rivers State Governor was also the cause of PDP’s defeat at the just concluded presidential poll.
Recall that Wike led a group of five aggrieved governors of the PDP, known as the G5, to campaign against Atiku during the last electioneering events.
Wike is also said to have vowed that he won’t support PDP in the forthcoming Kogi State governorship poll if the party fields Melaye as its candidate.
Reacting, the former Kogi West Senator said Wike has never supported PDP, adding that he supported Governor Yahaya Bello’s candidate against the party’s candidate in the Kogi Central senatorial election, Natasha Akpoti, in the just concluded National Assembly elections.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has slammed elder statesman and Leader of the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), Chief Edwin Clark, for calling for his arrest.
Recall that Mohammed had accused the Presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, of treason by inciting the public to violence over his loss in the 2023 election.
Reacting, Clark called for the arrest and prosecution of the minister for falsely accusing the LP flagbearer and spreading fake news about Obi and his running mate, Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed.
Speaking with journalists in London on Wednesday, Mohammed said the call for his arrest and prosecution for advising Obi over inciting the public to violence is unjustifiable.
The minister stated that he stood by his admonition of the former Governor of Anambra State and his running mate, insisting that his advice was never premised on falsehood.
He said Baba-Ahmed had never denied his statement made on live television, adding that Obi had also not publicly called his running mate to order over his treasonable utterances.
The National Population Commission has announced the postponement of the training of Enumerators and Supervisors for the 2023 population census.
OsunDaily News understands that the training exercise was earlier scheduled for April 13. However, the Chairman Census Committee, Dr Ipalibo Harry, told newsmen in Abuja on Wednesday (today) that the training will no longer hold as planned.
He explained that the change of event would not affect the conduct of the Population and Housing Census scheduled to hold from May 3 to May 7.
Harry noted further that the commission was ready to conduct a credible census, adding that they had already concluded the training of Quality Data Managers and others.
The census committee chairman said a new date for training the enumerators and supervisors would be communicated as soon as possible.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared that winning 25% of the votes cast in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja is not a condition for the declaration of a candidate as the winner in the presidential election.
INEC made the clarification in a statement filed by its lawyers before the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) over the outcome of the 2023 presidential election.
Responding to a suit filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) flagbearer, Atiku Abubakar challenging the outcome of the 2023 presidential election, INEC submitted that what the constitution requires is 2/3 of votes in at least 24 states of the federation plus a majority of the total votes.
Based on this, the electoral umpire maintained that Asiwaju Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) was correctly declared the winner of the February 25 presidential election in Nigeria having satisfied all the constitutional requirements.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Atiku Abubakar did not meet the constitutional requirements to be declared the winner of the February 25 presidential polls in Nigeria.
INEC made the submission in response to the petition filed by Atiku before the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) over the outcome of the 2023 presidential election.
The electoral commission also urged the court to dismiss the petition filed by Atiku and the PDP as the former Vice President failed to score, at least, one-quarter of the votes cast in at least two-thirds of the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
“The first petitioner (Atiku), failed to score, at least, one-quarter of the votes cast in at least two-thirds of the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and as such could not have been declared the winner,” INEC declared.
It added that “The election was conducted in substantial compliance with the Electoral Act 2022 and was not marred by any corrupt practices.”
