Politics

Party members who worked against Tinubu, ex-Gov Oyetola will be punished- APC

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Tajudeen Lawal, the chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun, says party members engaged in anti-party activities during the governorship and general elections in the state will not be spared.

Mr Lawal said this during a welcome home party organised by APC Reformation Forum in the Ijesa federal constituency for Ijesa sons, who served at the national and state assembly, as well as in the cabinet of former Governor Gboyega Oyetola, on Sunday in Ilesa.

APC lost the July 16, 2022, governorship election to PDP due to a crisis within the party.

The party also lost all the national assembly seats to the PDP.

The chairman, however, urged “genuine members” of the party not to lose hope, adding that with hard work and commitment, the party would return to power in 2026.

“No member of the party involved in anti-party during the last governorship and general elections in the state will be spared. I want to appeal to genuine members of the party not to lose hope because come 2026, we shall return to power,” he explained.

Besides, Mr Lawal dismissed a statement credited to the elders’ caucus of the party that the immediate past interior minister Rauf Aregbesola should seek genuine forgiveness to return to the party.

“I read what the Igbimo Agba (elder caucus) of our party said, but they are in the advisory role of the party. The party in no distant time will state its position on it,” he added.

“Meanwhile, we must be clear about this. We are not restructuring the party. The party is intact in Osun under Baba Bisi Akande and Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola.”

Timothy Owoeye, the immediate past speaker of the state’s house of assembly, urged members of the party to embrace peace and work in unionism.

Mr Owoeye, one of the awardees at the event, noted that with unity in the party, it would be easier for the party to return to power in 2026.

Also, Oluremi Omowaye, the ex-commissioner for works, said members of the party involved in anti-party activities must be sanctioned before allowing them back.

Mr Omowaye, another event awardee, said that though politics was a game of numbers, the party must not condone indiscipline.

“I am an advocate of the more, the merrier, but it is important we send a message to those involved in anti-party activities so that next time, another set of people won’t engage in such (an) act,” added Mr Omowaye.

The chairman of the planning committee of the occasion, Lukman Abubakre, said the event was organised to honour sons and daughters of Ijesa land for their commitment to the service of their fatherland.

Politics

PDP slams APC for mismanaging Lagos’ resources

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The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has lauded Lagos residents for their tolerance and resilience since the country returned to democracy in 1999, slamming the ruling All Progressives Congress for mismanaging this state’s resources.

“Lagos state is blessed with both natural and human resources, apart from the fact that it is the commercial nerve centre of the nation, and the state has little or nothing to show for it,” PDP’s spokesman in Lagos, Akeem Amode, said this in a message to commemorate the Democracy Day anniversary on Monday in Lagos.

Former President Muhammadu Buhari had declared June 12 as Nigeria’s Democracy Day instead of May 29, instituted by ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo, in honour of late Chief MKO Abiola.

The declaration followed many years of agitations by civil society groups that Mr Abiola must be immortalised.

Mr Abiola, the acclaimed winner of the June 12, 1993, presidential election, died in detention for alleged treason.

Mr Amode, in the message, said there was no doubt that Lagos had yet to enjoy the real dividends of democracy, which Abiola and the June 12, 1993 elections stood for.

“For us in the Lagos State PDP, we believe that the residents of the state deserve more than they are experiencing under the ruling party,” said the statement.

The opposition party added;

“This is a state that ought to set the pace for others in education, health and other infrastructure based on her huge income. By now, Lagos should have been the cynosure of all eyes and built into a city compared to notable cities of the world such as Dubai, Johannesburg and others.”

Mr Amode promised that residents would begin to enjoy their wealth once the PDP takes over power in the state through the election cases before the court.

Lagos has been in the vice-grip of the ruling party (under various names) since 1999 both in the executive and legislative arms of government, with widespread claims that the APC has the ears of the judiciary in the state and at the national level.

Politics

Atiku to call 100 witnesses to testify against Tinubu

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Atiku Abubakar and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have told the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) that no fewer than 100 witnesses are ready to testify against President-elect, Bola Tinubu and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

“The petitioners intend to call not more than 100 witnesses.”

Chris Uche, Mr Abubakar’s lawyer, told the Court on Saturday morning.He further revealed that he and the respondents have agreed on the number of witnesses to take the stand as well as the minutes to be allotted to each witness.

“The parties have all met and considered and agreed on the witnesses and duration of the examination of witnesses and the examination in chief, cross-examination and re-examination and we have also agreed to streamline the number of witnesses as well as the duration of each party to call witnesses subject to ratification by the honorable court,” Mr Uche told the Court.

According to him, it was proposed that 30 minutes be allocated to the star witnesses of the respondents which include INEC, Mr Tinubu and his party, APC.

“We also proposed 30 mins for evidence in chief and 30 mins for cross-examination of the star witnesses for the respondents,” disclosed Mr Uche.

He added that the petitioners “are suggesting that there should be no cross-examination of a respondent witness by a respondent” stressing that “the petitioners intend to call not more than 100 witnesses.”

Meanwhile, Haruna Simon Tsammani, the chair of the five-member panel of justices, adjourned the case to May 22, following Roland Otaru’s request to adjourn the matter for the consolidation of petitions from the Labour Party and Allied Peoples Movement (APM).

Mr Otaru, a lawyer on Mr Tinubu’s legal team, requested adjournment because of the absence of the team’s lead counsel, Wole Olanipekun.

The Court has scheduled Monday, May 22, for the ruling on the application to livestream proceedings.

Politics

APC dissociates self from Tinubu’s visit to Rivers

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The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State has dissociated itself from the planned visit of President-Elect, Bola Tinubu to the state today May 3.

The state governor, Nyesom WIke on Tuesday, May 2, declared a public holiday in the state to give the residents of the state the opportunity to give Tinubu a rousing welcome.

In a statement on Tuesday, May 2, the spokesperson of APC in the state, Darlington Nwauju, described the visit as private and on the invitation of Governor Wike.

He added that the visit has nothing to do with the APC in the state.

“We challenge the Governor being an outgoing governor (Mr Wike) to play less divisive politics and exercise restraint in planting seeds of discord amongst opposition political parties.

We are aware that the governor has been working so hard to paint a false perception of the collapse of the APC structure in Rivers State even when he had in previous well-documented interviews vowed never to have anything to do with a “cancer party (APC),” Nwauju said Governor Wike who is a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), fell out with leaders of his party and has been very cordial with Tinubu.

Politics

Ondo APC suspends 30 for anti-party activities

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The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo State has suspended 30 members in Akoko South East Local Government for alleged anti-party activities.

The party said the affected persons undermined its chances during the 2023 general election by working for opposition political parties.

The suspension was contained in a letter signed by the Secretary of Akoko South East Local Government, Mr. Segun Bakare. He said the suspension was first done at the wards before it was ratified at the local government level.

Some of those suspended include Ajayi Johnson (Angle), Amuleya Tolorunloju, Oripelaye Akeem, Bello Abiodun, Amodu Paul Bayo, Bello Soji, Ajowele Wahab, Oloruntobi Ojo, Obaya Adedayo, Ayara Dorcas, Adurewa Kayode, Femi Agbede, Dr. John Adanike, Ajibola Olorunyomi, Imoru Ibrahim, among others.

Politics

APC’s Aisha Binani declared winner of Adamawa governorship election

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The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has declared APC Senator Aishatu Dahiru Binani the winner of the Adamawa governorship election.

The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for the state, Hudu Yunusa made the declaration this morning, April 16, following the supplementary election held on Saturday, April 15.

Results from 10 out of the 20 local government areas were declared on Saturday while the remaining would be announced today.

However, the REC announced the final result an hour before the scheduled time. The incumbent governor, Ahmadu Fintiri of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), was leading before the pronouncement was made.

Some PDP supporters in the hall had protested why the announcement was made by the REC instead of the returning officer.

Politics

APC asks tribunal to declare Kano guber poll inconclusive

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The All Progressives Congress (APC) has asked the Kano Governorship Election Petition Tribunal to declare the March 18 election in the state inconclusive.

The party is challenging the declaration of Abba Kabir-Yusuf of the New Nigeria Peoples Party(NNPP) as the election winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Mr Kabir-Yusuf of NNPP polled 1,019,602 votes to defeat his rival, the incumbent deputy governor of the state, Nasiru Gawuna, of APC, who scored 892,705 votes.

In a five-volume petition filed on April 9, the APC alleged that Mr Kabir-Yusuf of NNPP was not qualified to contest the election because his name was not on the list of members of NNPP sent to INEC.The respondents in the petition are NNPP, Mr Kabir-Yusuf and INEC.

The APC alleged that NNPP did not win the election with the majority of lawful votes, arguing that some of the votes cast were invalid and, if removed from the scores, APC would have the highest number of votes cast.

APC alleged that the Kano Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) was wrong for declaring Mr Kabir-Yusuf the winner, adding that the lead margin was not higher than the votes cancelled.

The party prayed the tribunal to declare that NNPP had no candidate and Mr Kabir-Yusuf ‘s name was not in the register of voters submitted to INEC at the time of the election.

The APC prayed the tribunal to declare its candidate, Nasiru Gawuna, the winner of the election.The party similarly prayed the tribunal in the alternative to declare the election as inconclusive, alleging that the margin of lead was not more than the votes cancelled.

Meanwhile, the Kano APC legal adviser, Abdul Adamu-Fagge, told journalists that the court had granted an ex-parte motion to inspect the governorship election materials in all the 44 local government areas of the state.

The APC gubernatorial candidate was not joined in the petition.

According to the rule of the tribunal, the respondents have 21 to respond to the petition after court processes are served on them.

Politics

Nigerians who protest against Tinubu at White House, APC calls them ‘losers’

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Tai Balofin, chairman of the APC United States chapter, says Nigerians should not be disturbed by people protesting the emergence of Bola Tinubu as president-elect in front of the White House.

Mr Balofin, in a statement on Thursday, said the chapter had mobilised “true” Nigerians to come out in support of Mr Tinubu’s mandate.

He expressed optimism that those protesting against Mr Tinubu’s emergence as the president-elect would not succeed in their mission to disrupt the peace and stability of Nigeria.

“We wish to inform the public that a group of the Nigerian 2023 presidential election losers are currently protesting at the park in front of the White House,” said the statement.

It added;

“It is important to note that the US government is not involved or in support of the protest, as anybody can get approval for a peaceful protest. It is our belief that the Nigerian presidential election was free and fair, and Asiwaju Bola Tinubu won the election.”

The statement pointed out that the majority of Nigerian voters gave the former Lagos governor their mandate, and “no propaganda, manipulation or tissue of lies” can stop his inauguration.

“We want to assure Nigerians that Nigeria will not secede, and it will remain united. We must work together to salvage it,” said Mr Balofin and urged Nigerians to remain calm and peaceful.

The APC chieftain in the U.S. stated that justice would prevail and the mandate the people gave Mr Tinubu at the poll would be respected.

Politics

PDP wins 22 Bauchi assembly seats, APC 8, NNPP 1

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The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has won 22 out of the 31 Bauchi House of Assembly seats in the March 18 state parliamentary elections.

This is contained in the list issued by Aliyu Shaba, INEC’s deputy director of voter education in Bauchi, on Tuesday.

The list also showed that the All Progressives Congress (APC) won eight seats while the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) clinched one in the state.

In the results announced by the INEC, the constituencies are Duguri Gwana, Abdullahi Dan-Bala – PDP; Kirfi, Umar Habibu – PDP; Bauchi – Jamilu Dahiri – PDP; Zungur Galambi, Yusuf Ahmed – PDP, Dass, Abdullahi Ahmed – PDP, and Bogoro, Musa Nakwada – PDP.

Others are Lame Toro, Lawal Garba – PDP; Toro Jama’a, Saidu Hamza – PDP; Ningi, Abubakar Sulaiman – PDP; Ningi Bura, Tanko Bura – PDP; Hardawa Misau, Babayo Akuyam – PDP; and Dambam Dagauda Jalam, Mohammed Garba – PDP.

The PDP also won Ganjuwa East, Ladan Mohammed; Ganjuwa West, Adamu Kawu; Katagum Zaki, Bello Maiwa; Sakwa Zaki, Wanzam Mohammed; and Itas Gadau, Abdullahi Yusuf.

Similarly, the Disina Shira constituency was won by Hodi Jibir – PDP; Shira, Hassan Auwal – PDP; Giade, Adamu Abubakar – PDP; Madara Chinade, Katagum, Ala Ahmed – PDP, and Gamawa, Sarkin-Jadori Bello – PDP.

The APC won Azare Madangala Katagum, Saleh Zakariyya; Udubo Gamawa, Lele Mohammed; Pali Alkaleri, Garba Aminu; and Darazo, Sulaiman Darazo.

Dauda Lawal of APC also won the Sade Darazo state constituency; APC’s Yahaya Maikudi for Chiroma Misau; Abdul Rishi for Lame Toro – APC; and Abdulrasheed Adamu for Lere Bula – APC, while Mubarak Haruna of NNPP won in Jama’are constituency.

The Ninth Assembly has no female members.

Politics

APC supporters protest in Abuja to demand congratulatory messages for President-elect Tinubu

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Supporters of Nigeria’s ruling All Progressives Congress have called for a demonstration in Abuja on Monday.

Billed to defend the mandate of the party’s leader and president-elect, Bola Tinubu, the protesters said the failure or refusal to congratulate a new Nigerian leader could continue to fuel doubts over his mandate.

Suleiman Raji, one of the organisers who said he came in from Ilorin to attend the protest, said it was to condemn those who have been silent because their action or inaction could put Mr Tinubu’s mandate in jeopardy.

“They are refusing to congratulate him and that is why we keep seeing people coming with all manner of attacks on the president-elect,” Mr Raji said on Monday morning.

“It is very wrong because he was elected by Nigerians in a free and fair campaign.”John Onaiyekan, a frontline Christian leader in Nigeria, President Joe Biden of the United States and several other religious and political leaders in Nigeria and beyond appeared to have withheld congratulatory messages to Mr Tinubu.

Mr Tinubu was declared winner of Nigeria’s February 25, 2023, presidential election in a race that pitted him against three formidable challengers.

Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party came second, while Peter Obi of the Labour Party came third. Both politicians are now challenging Mr Tinubu’s emergence as president-elect, alleging Mr Tinubu’s ineligibility and irregularities in the conduct of the exercise.

While Mr Onaiyekan has publicly disclosed his reasons for withholding any messages to Mr Tinubu, Mr Biden’s office has yet to state any grounds for its decision.

Although the U.S. State Department congratulated Mr Tinubu, the president-elect’s supporters said a message from the White House would remove any doubts about the U.S. leader’s acceptance of the new Nigerian leader.

In 2015, President Barack Obama congratulated Muhammadu Buhari on his election in that year’s election.

“We have to defend the mandate freely given to Asiwaju Bola Tinubu because it is the right thing to do,” another protester Sherifat Yusuf said.

“We cannot sit down and allow them to rob us of a mandate that was freely given to Asiwaju.”

The protesters said they would make their demands regularly until Mr Tinubu is sworn in on May 29.

“Their silence is very loud at this sensitive period because people out there are thinking that something bad may happen to this new government,” Ms Yusuf said while on her way to the Unity Fountain venue of the rally.

“We have to show support to Asiwaju until he is successfully sworn in as president to take our country to the next level.”

Politics

Labour Party, PDP file petition against APC’s Oluranti-Adebule and INEC

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The PDP and its candidate for Lagos West senatorial district, Sunday Adewale (alias Aeroland), have filed a petition against former Deputy Governor Idiat Oluranti-Adebule, over alleged non-qualification to contest the senatorial election.

The petitions were pasted on the wall of the Rosaline Omotosho Courthouse, Ikeja, the venue of the elections petitions tribunal.

Mr Adewale, in the petition, marked EPT/LAG/SEN/04/2023 and dated March 18, filed against Ms Oluranti-Adebule, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and INEC as first to third respondents, alleged that she was not qualified to contest the election.

He said the former deputy governor was not qualified to contest at the time of the election and was not duly elected by the majority of lawful votes.

The PDP flag bearer stated that Ms Oluranti-Adebule did not possess the educational qualification to contest the Lagos West senatorial district election held on February 25.

The petitioners also alleged that the third respondent (INEC) did not comply with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022 in the conduct of the election.

Mr Adewale and PDP said in the form requiring Ms Oluranti-Adebule to state the schools she attended, with dates, the APC standard-bearer only indicated she graduated in 1982 without stating the primary school attended.

Also, Moshood Salvador and the Labour Party are challenging the declaration of Ms Oluranti-Adebule as the election winner.

The petitioners alleged multiple thumbprinting and ballot stuffing during and after the election.In the petition marked EPT/LAG/ SEN/01/2023, Mr Salvador alleged that the election was marred by violence, intimidation, fracas, threat, ballot box snatching, over-voting, and mutilation of results from polling units.

Mr Salvador added that the second and third respondents engaged in multiple thumbprinting and ballot stuffing during and after the election.

He explained that the entirety of the Lagos Central senatorial district election was invalid because of substantial non-compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022, INEC Electoral Guidelines and the 1999 Constitution.

The Labour Party candidate added that the first respondent failed to comply with the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022 and Electoral Guidelines during the election, claiming there was no due accreditation of voters.

He also said the election result was not electronically transmitted through the BVAS machine.

Politics

I’m happy Bola Tinubu’s drug dealing in Chicago will take centre stage before Nigeria’s Supreme Court- Festus Keyamo

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Festus Keyamo, a spokesperson for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council, says he is happy President-elect Bola Tinubu’s drug-related case in the United States would be heard in Nigeria’s court.

In a tweet he posted on Monday via his verified account, Mr Keyamo stated that the hearing would set aside the difference between dispassionate adjudication of issues and stop the propaganda against Mr Tinubu’s shady past.

Mr Keyamo said he was confident that the court would favour Mr Tinubu.

“I am excited about the issues raised in those election petitions. All the deceit and lies and disinformation and misinformation about otherwise very simple and clear issues are about to be busted by our Law Lords. Whoever continues to argue after that should relocate to another planet,” stated Mr Keyamo.

The APC campaign spokesman added, “Nigerians will finally see the huge difference between calm, dispassionate adjudication of issues and all the hoopla caused by garrulous spokespersons shaking and falling on stage. Ignorant TV hosts turned debaters, misinformed documentaries, illiterate tweeps and some dancing Hijabi mamas.”

Last November, Mr Keyamo claimed that Mr Tinubu, the party’s flag bearer, only shared a “block of flats” with notorious cocaine dealers in Chicago, pushing back after the release of court documents that suggested Mr Tinubu’s ties to illicit drug business and money laundering in the United States.

“What happened was that Asiwaju (Bola Tinubu) went to open an account. The address which he used in opening the account was the address used by these people…(sic). I think some blocks of flats. Maybe, he happened to be in that block of flats too,” Mr Keyamo had said to defend his principal.

“So, they now link it that the other people they were investigating for narcotics are in the same address used by Asiwaju to open

Certified copies of the 1993 case recently released by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois was published.

The documents confirmed that the U.S. government had in July 1993 sought forfeiture of proceeds of narcotics Mr Tinubu was accused of laundering.

The matter was resolved in a compromise between the Tinubus and the U.S. authorities, with the Tinubus being asked to keep the money in the Heritage Bank account while the $460,000 in the Citibank account was forfeited.

Politics

Return certificate INEC issued to Tinubu will soon bounce like dud cheque- Datti Baba-Ahmed

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Vice-presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Datti Baba-Ahmed, has described the victory of President-elect Bola Tinubu at the February 25 election as a mirage that will soon vanish as his party commenced legal actions against Mr Tinubu’s victory.

The Labour Party filed its petition, challenging the election results on four grounds, before the elections petitions tribunal on Tuesday.

Likening Mr Tinubu’s certificate of return to a dud cheque that lacked the required credit to be considered of any value, Mr Baba-Ahmed said the election did not produce any legitimate winner.

“We do not have a president-elect in Nigeria today. What Alhaji Tinubu is holding is a dud certificate. It’s a dud cheque. There are no funds in that account. It will bounce,” Mr Baba-Ahmed said on ARISE TV.

Although the Labour Party candidate cited the wrong section, he attempted to dissect what he described as the constitutionality of Mr Tinubu’s emergence.

He posited that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) misinterpreted a particular section of the Constitution (133(b)) which addresses the number of votes the president-elect must garner to be declared the winner.

Section 133 (1) (b) of the Nigerian Constitution states that a candidate can only be declared president if “he has not less than one-quarter of the votes cast at the election in each of at least two-thirds of all the states in the federation and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.”

According to Mr Baba-Ahmed, INEC did not comply with this section as Mr Tinubu lost the FCT to the Labour Party having had only 90,902 votes (19 per cent) against Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi’s 281,717 (61 per cent).

“There is the clear interpretation of 134, and there is the INEC interpretation of 134,” he said. Mr Baba-Ahmed’s claim came as legal arguments over how to interpret the clause are interrogated in the chambers of election counsels.

Femi Falana, a senior lawyer in Nigeria, has argued that other provisions of the Constitution define the Federal Capital Territory as Nigeria’s 37th state, making the 25 per cent requirement not mandatory in the FCT.

The Appeal Court will have busy weeks ahead as it examines the arguments brought by contending parties and candidates arguing that they were unfairly edged out in the election.

The Labour Party, the APC, and the PDP had asked the court for permission to examine sensitive election records to look for irregularities and gather sufficient proof to back up their claims of victory.

Politics

APC’s Francis Nwifuru wins Ebonyi governorship election

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The governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Francis Nwifuru has been declared as the winner of the March 18 poll in Ebonyi State, by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Nwifuru, who is the Speaker of Ebonyi State House of Assembly polled 199,131 votes to defeat his closest rival, Ifeanyi Odii of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who polled 80,191 votes. Ben Odo of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) polled 52,189 votes.

Politics

APC’s Ahmed Aliyu wins Sokoto state

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Ahmed Aliyu Sokoto of the APC has been declared the winner of the Sokoto State Governorship polls.

According to the results released, Aliyu secured a total of 453661 votes to beat his main rival, PDP’s Saidu Umar, who polled a total of 40, 4632 votes

Politics

INEC denies awarding contract to APC governorship candidate

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The Independent National Electoral Commission has denied awarding a contract for the printing of sensitive election materials to the All Progressives Congress governorship candidate in Adamawa State, Senator Aishatu Dahiru Ahmed.

The commission made this known in a statement signed by the National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, INEC, Festus Okoye.

The statement read in part;

“Our attention has been drawn to a news report that the commission awarded a contract for the printing of sensitive election materials to Aishatu Dahiru Ahmed. It was alleged in the report that she owns Binani Printing Press Limited.

“Procurements in the commission go through open competitive bidding and Binani Printing Press Limited was one of the security printing companies that applied to print security documents for the commission.

“After inspecting the company’s facility and carrying out due diligence at the Corporate Affairs Commission, the commission was satisfied that they are qualified printers with the requisite technical capacity, security consciousness and expertise in printing security documents.

“However, Aishatu Dahiru Ahmed was not listed as one of the Directors of Binani Printing Press Limited.”

Okoye said the commission decided to print all the security documents for the 2023 General Election in the country to help Nigerian printers and assist in growing the national economy.

The commission said it will continue to carry out due diligence in its procurement activities.

Politics

Campaign convoy of Labour party’s Olumide Oworu attacked again in Surulere area of Lagos state

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The campaign convoy of Labour party’s Olumide Oworu has been attacked again in Surulere, Lagos state. Actor Tomiwa Tegbe who shared a video from the scene, said the attack occurred few minutes away from Bode Thomas, today, March 16.

It’s unclear the number of those injured in the attack. This is coming hours after Olumide revealed that he was attacked at Iponri area of same Surulere on Tuesday, March 14.

Politics

Kano APC Governorship Candidate Meets Buhari In Katsina

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The governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress in Kano State, Nasiru Gawuna, on Thursday, met with the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), in Daura, Katsina State.

This comes hours after the Independent National Electoral Commission postponed the governorship and state houses of assembly elections earlier scheduled for Saturday to March 18, 2023.

Buhari returned to Nigeria on Wednesday after a four-day trip to Doha, Qatar, where he participated in the fifth United Nations Conference.

Politics

APC appoints 12 Senior Advocates to defend Tinubu’s mandate

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The All Progressives Congress (APC) has appointed 12 Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) to defend the mandate of its presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu in the just concluded polls.

According to INEC, Tinubu got 8,794,726 votes in 12 of Nigeria’s 36 states, PDP’s Atiku Abubakar got 6,984,520 votes, and the Labour Party candidate, Peter Obi, got 6,101,533 voted.

Atiku and Obi have rejected the outcome of the election, vowing to challenge the result in court.

In a statement on Tuesday, March 7, APC said it is willing to meet the parties in court.

The party’s National Legal Adviser, Ahmad Usman El-Marzuq, released the 13-man list comprising 12 senior advocates.

“The All Progressives Congress (APC) has appointed a team of highly qualified and experienced lawyers to represent the Party at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal,” the statement read.

“The team is comprised of legal luminaries with vast experience in election petition matters, constitutional law, and litigation.

“The legal team consisting of twelve (12) Senior Advocates of Nigeria and the National Legal Adviser of the Party, Ahmad Usman El-Marzuq, Esq., is led by Prince Lateef Fagbemi SAN, a renowned lawyer who has successfully handled various high-profile election matters and other landmark cases.”

Other members of the list are Ahmad Usman El-Marzuq, Sam Ologunorisa, Rotimi Oguneso, Olabisi Soyebo, Gboyega Oyewole, Muritala Abdulrasheed, Aliyu Omezia Saiki, Tajudeen Oladoja, Pius Akubo, Oluseye Opasanya, Suraju Saida and Kazeem Adeniyi.

The statement added that the party is “confident that the legal team possesses requisite expertise and experience to ensure a successful outcome for the APC in the Presidential Election Petition matters.”

It continued:

“We urge members of the party to support the team in its effort to defend the will and mandate of the people.

“We also call on all parties involved to conduct themselves with utmost professionalism and respect for the rule of law throughout the legal process.”

Politics

I’m happy to sacrifice my political career for Tinubu’s presidency- Seyi Makinde

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Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo has said he was glad to sacrifice his political career for the emergence of Bola Tinubu as president-elect of the country.

Mr Makinde added that he was not bothered, even, if he had to sacrifice his career for the country to be restructured for fairness and equity.

“I am glad to be part of those who have made efforts to redraw the electoral map of Nigeria.

“If I have to choose between my political career and doing what is right, just and equitable, I will choose to forgo my political career,” he said on Sunday during an interview on a radio station in Ibadan, the Oyo state capital.

Mr Makinde, who would be contesting for a second term in office this weekend, had supported Mr Tinubu for the presidency at the last minute.

Mr Tinubu, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), was declared winner of the February 25 poll after defeating his main challengers, Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP).

A member of the PDP, Mr Makinde worked against Mr Abubakar, the party’s presidential candidate, in the February 25 presidential election.

Mr Makinde was one of the G-5 governors which included; Nyesom Wike (Rivers), Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia), Samuel Ortom (Benue), Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu), who failed to declare open support for Mr Abubakar.

Before the election, the aggrieved governors resolved not to work for Mr Abubakar’s presidential bid unless the PDP national chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, a northerner, was replaced by a southerner for geo-political balancing of power.

After weeks of actively plotting against Mr Abubakar through his alignment with Mr Wike and other members of the so-called G-5, Mr Makinde suddenly sent out a statement on the eve of the election that said voters should back members of the PDP, but without mentioning the party’s presidential flagbearer.

“So, if you still have any undecided voters on your list, this is the time to call them up and help them decide to vote for the PDP from top to bottom in Oyo State,” Mr Makinde said.

Party loyalists, however, dismissed his appeal as insincere, with many of them now saying they would work against his second term from within the party as a payback for his alleged betrayal that contributed to Mr Abubakar’s shortcomings at the February 25 presidential election.

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